Following in the traditions set forth from the first annual Advanced MAME Deca, ten (10) favourite MAME titles have been voted on by you, the gaming community. And unlike normal MAME Deca events, these titles will be contested under “extreme settings” which could mean playing at a higher level of difficulty, fewer lives, or maybe both.

What follows below, in sequence, are the following sections…

I – Platform requirements
II – Competition date and submission requirements
III – Ten (10) competition titles, their requirements, settings and special rules per title
IV – Three (3) alternate titles in case of emergency
V – Schedule of competition (i.e. which two titles per month)
VI – Your list of competition referees
VII – The prizes (you HAVE to have prizes !!)
VIII – Prize and competition indemnification
IX – Twin Galaxies record submission consideration
X – Closing

I - PLATFORM REQUIREMENTS

As is the current Twin Galaxies policy, all MAME submissions must be contested via WolfMAME 0.78 format. Generally we receive PC MAME submissions, but in the event that a gamer opts to submit for MacMAME, we have a dedicated referee to handle your submissions. And although our database segregates the two MAME platforms for sake of purity, for the purpose and spirit of this competition, the scores shall be compared as if they were accomplished on similar platforms.

II - COMPETITION DATE AND SUBMISSION PARAMETERS

Each month for five (5) consecutive months, a pair of titles will be announced representing that month’s required challenges. Titles are randomly selected from the initial ten (10) choices. Participating gamers are allowed to submit a cumulative total of three (3) INP submissions within that month from those two (2) titles announced, while adhering to the “48 hour rule” governing general MAME INP submissions (i.e. the related INP must be submitted within 48 hours of accomplishment). Gamers must submit for both titles each month for five (5) months in order to qualify for the championship title and ranking.

Submissions must include in WinZip zipped file format both your INP file and a PNG screenshot (F12 key) or your final high score on that title.

After the fifth month ends, a sixth and final month will allow all gamers to submit ONE (1) more INP per title should they choose to do so, still adhering to the “48 hour rule” governing general MAME INP submissions. When this month ends, the final scores shall be tallied, and the overall winner shall be announced, as well as prizes being awarded for the top eligible participants.

That being said, what follows are the individual titles, the requirements, settings and special rules of the ten (10) titles, as well as three (3) “alternate choices” randomly determined in the event that one of the chosen ten proves to be a major problem even after significant experimentation and INP playback testing.

III – TEN (10) COMPETITION TITLES WITH REQUIREMENTS, SETTINGS, AND SPECIAL RULES FOR EACH (IF APPLICABLE)

(Titles listed in alphabetical order)

Special Note – the parameters for the 10th title, “Strikers 1945”, are still being discussed. INP playback testing has not occurred yet. Full details on this inclusion, assuming no INP playback issues are discovered, will be made shortly

Title – Bal Cube (Metro 1996)
ROMset – “BALCUBE”
Difficulty = “3”
Starting lives = “2”
Unknowns = “OFF”
Continuation = not allowed

Special Rules – one (1) life only for the competition starting with your initial life in stage one (1)

TG Submissions – a full game played to completion shall be regarded as “TGTS” for this title. Thus, players are allowed to continue recording their INP to submit a full game for scoreboard consideration

Title – Berzerk (set 1) (Stern 1980)
ROMset – “BERZERK”
Starting lives = “3”
Extra life = 5,000 and 10,000 points

Special Rules – one (1) life only for the competition starting with your initial life.

TG Submissions – a full game played to completion shall be regarded as “TGTS” this title. Thus, players are allowed to continue recording their INP to submit a full game for scoreboard consideration

Title – Camel Try (US) (Taito America 1989)
ROMset – “CAMELTRY”
Course selection = “BEGINNER”
Difficulty = “HARDEST”
Starting remaining time = “35 seconds”
Continue play time = “+20 seconds”
Allow continue = not allowed

Special Rules – ball type is “Player’s Choice”. Further, “Lucky Chance” is permissible. Further, going thru the non-breakable walls is NOT ALLOWED and is grounds for immediate disqualification of the INP performance.

Title – Dig Dug (set 1) (Namco 1982)
ROMset – “DIGDUG”
Difficulty = “HARDEST”
Starting lives = “5”
Extra life = “NONE”
Service Mode = “OFF”
Continuation = not allowed

Special Rules – one (1) life only for the competition starting with your initial life in stage one (1)

TG Submissions – a full game played to completion shall be regarded as “TGTS” for this title. Thus, players are allowed to continue recording their INP to submit a full game for scoreboard consideration

Title – Elevator Action (Taito 1983)
ROMset – “ELEVATOR”
Difficulty = “HARD”
Starting lives = “3”
Extra life = 10,000 points
Unknowns = “OFF”
Invulnerability = “OFF”

Special Rules – one (1) life only for the competition starting with your initial life in stage one (1). Additionally, “point-scrabbing” also known as “hunting” is allowed in this title as per the Twin Galaxies Board of Referees.

TG Submissions – a full game played to completion shall be regarded as “TGES” (Twin Galaxies Extreme Settings) for this title. Thus, players are allowed to continue recording their INP to submit a full game for scoreboard consideration

Title – Millipede (Atari 1982)
ROMset – “MILLIPED”
Beetle difficulty = “HARD”
Millipede difficulty = “HARD”
Spider difficulty = “HARD”
Starting lives = “5”
Extra life = “NONE
Bonus Points = “0”
Unknown = “OFF”
Service mode = “OFF”

Special Rules – one (1) life only for the competition starting with your initial life in stage one (1)

TG Submissions – a full game played to completion shall be regarded as “TGTS” for this title. Thus, players are allowed to continue recording their INP to submit a full game for scoreboard consideration

Title – Smash TV (rev 8.00) (Williams 1990)
ROMset – “SMASHTV”
Difficulty = “10” (Extra Hard)
Starting lives = “3”
Violence level = “NORMAL”

Special Rules – this is a full game submission, thus a full game played to completion shall be regarded as “TGTS” for this title.

It is possible to earn extra lives throughout the course of the game. Additionally, “point-scrabbing” also known as “hunting” is allowed in this title, with the sole exception of unlimited hunting techniques in certain buffalo and robot boards within Act II, as per the Twin Galaxies Board of Referees.

Title – Strikers 1945

Contest parameters for this title will be revealed shortly. Thanking you in advance for your patience !!

Title – Super Zaxxon (Sega 1982)
ROMset – “SZAXXON”
Difficulty = “HARD”
Starting lives = “3”
Extra life = 10,000 points

Special Rules – one (1) life only for the competition starting with your initial life in stage one (1)

TG Submissions – a full game played to completion shall be regarded as “TGTS” for this title. Thus, players are allowed to continue recording their INP to submit a full game for scoreboard consideration

Title – Vanguard (SNK) (SNK 1981)
ROMset – “VANGUARD”
Starting lives = “3”
Unknown = “OFF”
Continuation = not allowed

Special Rules – one (1) life only for the competition starting with your initial life in stage one (1)

TG Submissions – a full game played to completion shall be regarded as “TGTS” for this title. Thus, players are allowed to continue recording their INP to submit a full game for scoreboard consideration

IV – THREE (3) ALTERNATE TITLES (IN CASE OF EMERGENCY)

First Alternate – “Wonderbot” – ROMset = “WBOY”
Second Alternate – “Green Beret” – ROMset = “GBERET”
Third Alternate – “R-Type” – ROMset = “RTYPE”

If for any reason INP playback problems, major rules problems, or other unforeseen circumstances arise with any of the chosen ten (10) competition titles, these three (3) randomly chosen alternates, in sequence, shall be the backup considerations.

V – SCHEDULE OF COMPETITION

Month of August 2004 – BalCube and Elevator Action
Month of September 2004 – to be announced on Sep01/04
Month of October 2004 – to be announced on Oct01/04
Month of November 2004 – to be announced on Nov01/04
Month of December 2004 – to be announced on Dec01/04
Month of January 2005 – final opportunities for submissions (one per title)
Jan31/05 – competition ends
Feb05/05 (estimated) – final rankings announced; prized awarded immediately

VI – YOUR LIST OF COMPETITION REFEREES

I am currently solidifying the volunteer referees and their responsibilities based on the ten (10) title selections. This information will be posted by no later than Friday Aug06/04.

I will be acting as the default MAME referee for this event. Brien King shall be my official backup in case of emergency.

VII – THE PRIZES !! (YES, THERE ARE PRIZES)

At this time, the cash prizes are being announced, as well as Twin Galaxies certificates of achievement for top qualifying participants. Additional prizes may be announced at a later date.

Grand Prize for First Place - $250.00 (two hundred and fifty US dollars)
Second Place prize - $100.00 (one hundred US dollars)
Third Place prize - $75.00 (seventy five US dollars)
Fourth Place prize - $50.00 (fifty US dollars)
Fifth Place prize - $25.00 (twenty five US dollars)

Further, Twin Galaxies certificates of achievement commensurate with each finishing position will be awarded to each of the top five (5) qualifying participants.

VIII – PRIZE AND COMPETITION INDEMNIFICATION
The cash prizes offered are a personal donation by Twin Galaxies chief referee, Robert T Mruczek (myself). This is my way of rewarding those whose stellar performances exemplified the spirit of this competition when it’s all said and done on Jan31/05, and I will personally be responsible for honouring and issuing the prizes

As such, any qualifying participant is eligible for prize consideration with the sole exception of myself.

Prizes cannot be awarded where prohibited by local law, and no prize shall be offered to an individual originating from a locality with known laws in place which disallow acceptance or issuance of prizes.

Prizes may be issued in the form of a personal check (the preferred method), bank cashiers cheque, bank money order, US postal money order, or worst case scenario, Western Union wire. PayPal would be the last resort.

Participating gamers are obligated to inform Twin Galaxies if their locality prohibits prize issuance or acceptance.

The competition will be administered fairly and impartially with respect to the guidelines for this competition, and the rules governing general MAME submissions to Twin Galaxies.

All participants must be thirteen (13) years of age or older to be a registered member of Twin Galaxies. Only registered members of Twin Galaxies may participate.

Participating gamers under the age of eighteen must submit written approval via snail mail, electronic PDF document, or via fax, from a parent or legal guardian. (Say, why does putting the number 18 in parenthesis show a smiling sunglass wearing happy face to the right of the opening parenthesis ?)

E-MAIL to rmruczek@doremus.com
Fax to (212) 366-3629 to attention “Robert Mruczek”
Snail mail to…

Robert T Mruczek
179 North 7th Street
Brooklyn, New York 11211-2905
USA

IX – TWIN GALAXIES RECORD SUBMISSION CONSIDERATION

As you have seen in section III, most titles are to be contested on a single life basis. However, Twin Galaxies shall allow continuation of the INP recording process so that participating gamers can submit for TG scoreboard and database a complete game for the title(s) in question, as we do not track single-life performance records on titles in general.

The specific rules governing full-game requirements are posted in section III on a per-title basis.

X – CLOSING THOUGHTS

This is my favourite part…it means the bulk of the typing is done !!

This thread has been locked for several reasons...I'd prefer to keep any discussions on the parameters of the competition, etc, listed on separate meaningful thread postings. That's all.

I must admit to being pleased with the array of suggested titles. A fine cross between modern, classic, and different skillsets. The luck of the draw is what it is, and I think that we have a nice mix to compete on.

I look forward to the way that this competition unfolds. This is an eclectic selection of titles to compete on, including something for everyone, from all eras, and from several game categories.

Good luck to one and all !!

Robert