We are very close to the end of civilization...

[Weehawk]

I'm pretty sure this is one of the seven signs of the apocalypse:



Click on the pic to see Mr. Alpiger's 2006 bounties.

And before des rushes out to buy a Crytal Castles machine, note that only US and Canadian citizens are eligible.

Other people overly fond of inanimate objects:

http://www.smithappens.com/video/snlmercury.wmv

(IE users copy and paste, then go bang your head against a wall.)

[The TJT]

Billion points at Star Wars, right. It's only one week of continuous play.

I'm sure if someone like DBH or Dwayne will go for Crystal Castles record, it will be broken eventually. Any record can be broken with enough play and some talent for videogames. USD12k seems a bit excessive. Ah well, Americans and money...

Very funny video. Evil clown strikes again.
That picture is a classic though!

[destructor]

From rules:

You must be a citizen and resident of either the United States, or Canada. Proof of citizenship / residency during 2006 may be required. The reasoning is because of difficulties that would occur with certain requirements (urine test confirmation, prize money pickup for $1,000 plus winners, etc...) if the player were from outside of these two areas.

Better will be write:

You must be a citizen and resident of either the United States, or Canada. Proof of citizenship / residency during 2006 may be required. The reasoning is because we fear destructor from Poland who could take my money.

Good luck.

One question. Players can use arcade machines only or emulators too?

[dbh]

One question. Players can use arcade machines only or emulators too?

Original arcade machines only. He put it somewhere on the massive rules page for the bounties.

The reasoning is because we fear destructor from Poland who could take my money.

I'm sure if someone like DBH or Dwayne will go for Crystal Castles record, it will be broken eventually. Any record can be broken with enough play and some talent for videogames.

Mark has been trying to convince me to start playing CC for at least a year now From what I know, Frank's score would be quite difficult to beat but certainly not impossible.

[destructor]

Original arcade machines are hard to find in Poland. Price for machine (in Poland) isn't low. Flats are not big, no space for more than 1 arcade machine.

[BBH]

And, unlike many other bounties, the amount(s) claimed will be awarded in full

OOOOOOOOHHHHHHH

BURRRRRRRRRNNNNNNNNNN

[Weehawk]

And, unlike many other bounties, the amount(s) claimed will be awarded in full

OOOOOOOOHHHHHHH

BURRRRRRRRRNNNNNNNNNN

Cruel...cruel...



More fully, what it said was:

will be awarded in full, and available for personal presentation (for the $1,000+ awards), or mailed out (all other awards), within a week of confirmation.

[welby1]

Mark and I talked about this during the "Legends of the Golden Age" contest in Houston,TX. When he showed me the CC pic with the money, he didn't mention the other challenges, but we have talked alot about CC play. A world record crystal castles game is just over 5/6 minutes. If someone bought a copy of one of his good games, great insight could be gained, but even being really good already, you're looking at 2-4 thousand plays to beat Franz's score(it's not totally maxed, but very close). I say his money is safe on that one.
I was strongly considering a SW marathon attempt(already have this machine), but as the rules page grew, I began to reconsider. I waited for someone else to bring this up first. As Mark knows, I thought some of the rules were/are a little extreme(but not as when I saw one of the earlier drafts), and he IS listening to feedback...at least until he reaches the start time of 1-1-06. Read the rules and give him feedback. This is a pretty kick-ass way to increase interest, but I think all but the longest marathon game bounty(and not on SW) will ever be done(and not just due to the rules).
Mark has wanted to do this type of thing for years, and he will keep his end up if someone does this. Unfortunately, most of the bounties are just near impossible even without the rules.

[MDARULZ]

I'm pretty sure this is one of the seven signs of the apocalypse:

John, this is beautiful. You picked the perfect pic, out of the six I had up, to bring attention to my bounties ! I even like the joke phrases you picked, for both the thread subject, and the one I quoted here. Believe me, I know the pic is stupid, and deserves to be poked fun of. But, that was the point - to show (in exaggerated form, tho I won't say how much (or little !)) my 'love' of the game ! I haven't checked the TG forums, but, hopefully you've done something similar there (if not, you have my full permission !!).

Billion points at Star Wars, right. It's only one week of continuous play.

I'm sure if someone like DBH or Dwayne will go for Crystal Castles record, it will be broken eventually. Any record can be broken with enough play and some talent for videogames. USD12k seems a bit excessive. Ah well, Americans and money...

Yep, it would be extremely difficult, Tommi, but... for $10K (or $12K potential), it better be tough !! Actually, the Star Wars one is slightly tougher, between the two, IMO. But, not much. That's how hard Frank's score is to beat. But, again, that's why I'm offering the largest single-task (plausible) gaming bounty in the history of the world !! And, don't let my opinions influence you - at least try to go for these bounties, since we might find out that prevalent assumptions are not valid. It happened with the 'borderline impossible' Joust 2 bounty. All that it took to 'crack' that one was... reading the tips that appear on the game overlay glass !!! At least, according to Dwayne, and Greg Sakundiak.

On the money thing; probably offering $12K for this task is a poor thing, compared to perhaps donating it (or a percentage) to a worthy cause. But, I don't think, other than that, it's excessive, and the reason is because of the difficulty of the bounty task that's involved (the same goes for the billion on Star Wars).

Better will be write:

You must be a citizen and resident of either the United States, or Canada. Proof of citizenship / residency during 2006 may be required. The reasoning is because we fear destructor from Poland who could take my money.

Better (yet) will be write:

You must be a citizen and resident of either the United States, or Canada. Proof of citizenship / residency during 2006 may be required. The reasoning is because we fear destructor from Poland's ego.

Sorry destructor, but you earned that one... I'll admit that it's a 'shot', but it's also done in the spirit of humor, just as I think that you wrote yours (with both of those things in mind !). Believe me, I wish that I could extend the offers to everyone, but I want an advantage (and publicity !!) from this, so the travel requirements alone pretty much would leave out most overseas players. That, and the shipping/mailing delay issues (contract(s), performance recording(s), etc.) means that it would likely be a major hassle for both parties.

One question. Players can use arcade machines only or emulators too?

Original arcade machines only. He put it somewhere on the massive rules page for the bounties.

Believe me, I hate the encyclopedic nature of my rules, but, in all fairness, TG's are almost as massive, when read all together (marathon, non-marathon, TGTS, non-TGTS, submission, taping, etc...). And, of course, they need to be, as things must be covered. They actually cover most all of what I do, albeit, without the numerous parameters that I lay out. Again, with all the money at stake, I must do so, to ensure that no one tries some loophole BS. Also, I just plain want to be thorough, and address issues that are seemingly missing from TG's rules, such as two cameras on marathons, to ensure that there are no 'tag-team' switchouts by two players.

I'm sure if someone like DBH or Dwayne will go for Crystal Castles record, it will be broken eventually. Any record can be broken with enough play and some talent for videogames.

Mark has been trying to convince me to start playing CC for at least a year now From what I know, Frank's score would be quite difficult to beat but certainly not impossible.

So Don, you didn't say; does $12K convince you ? And, if it does, but the rules make you hesitant, please let me know what you feel are the sticking points. Mark Boolman has done so, and I've tried to accommodate him, while still ensuring fairness, and quelling 'cheat' opportunities (which is the main reason for all the 'crap' that players are probably rolling their eyes at; still, I can assure you that things have crossed some player's minds, and I wanted to cover the bases).

And, unlike many other bounties, the amount(s) claimed will be awarded in full

OOOOOOOOHHHHHHH

BURRRRRRRRRNNNNNNNNNN

I'm not sure I understand, Matt. Do you think I'm referring to a specific bounty offer, or person who's offering ? I think I know what you mean, but I don't want to guess. Please post or e-mail me (mailto is on my web page, or by my MARP scores). In any case, I'm not mad at you, but I don't want to have a misunderstanding on anyone's part. I think John gets what I was saying, since the key is the whole phrase, and (for the purposes of intent) ignoring the part between 'full', and 'within'.

Mark and I talked about this during the "Legends of the Golden Age" contest in Houston,TX. When he showed me the CC pic with the money, he didn't mention the other challenges, but we have talked alot about CC play. A world record crystal castles game is just over 5/6 minutes. If someone bought a copy of one of his good games, great insight could be gained, but even being really good already, you're looking at 2-4 thousand plays to beat Franz's score(it's not totally maxed, but very close). I say his money is safe on that one.
I was strongly considering a SW marathon attempt(already have this machine), but as the rules page grew, I began to reconsider. I waited for someone else to bring this up first. As Mark knows, I thought some of the rules were/are a little extreme(but not as when I saw one of the earlier drafts), and he IS listening to feedback...at least until he reaches the start time of 1-1-06. Read the rules and give him feedback. This is a pretty kick-ass way to increase interest, but I think all but the longest marathon game bounty(and not on SW) will ever be done(and not just due to the rules).
Mark has wanted to do this type of thing for years, and he will keep his end up if someone does this. Unfortunately, most of the bounties are just near impossible even without the rules.

A couple of quick thots / corrections: actually, playing the level 8 up method (the way myself and Frank (not Franz - he's the game designer) originally played, for years) takes 4 to 5 minutes. Playing the level 2 up method (the way Frank innovated for his wr) takes about 15 to 20 (I've never actually timed it, as I've never played that way; the reason is that it would take so long to beat Frank, I didn't want to begin pursuing it until I had a big enough swath of time to do it right, and, because of the business that I opened in the 90's, I never have had the proper time to begin the quest).

Thanks to Mark B. for the plug. Indeed, buying my Crystal Castles DVD (google that phrase) would greatly assist someone going for that bounty. And, it would take (on statistical average, tho it could happen on game 1) more than a thousand games to accomplish, indeed.

I must respectfully disagree with MDB that 'most of the bounties are just near impossible', as numerous players have done marathons of 60+ hours, and it's thot that a couple exceeded the official marathon record of 67.5 hours (and, indeed, exceeded 3 days). Todd Rogers has (I believe I've read this) played on consoles for multiple days, on numerous occasions, and I believe his longest marathon was 80+ hours (tho I presume that there was more break time afforded, and taken, than can be on Star Wars). BTW, the record for sleep deprivation, for those who think that no one can stay awake, much less play a game, for a week, is 11 days !! That's over a week and a half !!

Here's a scoop for you - as to how long it took Frank to essentially get his 910K game - he beat my 898,815 wr score (made 07-02-1987) on 08-09-1987, with a 901,290 mark. Eventually, he raised that to 902,265. But, Sometime around Sept. or Oct. of that year, he started pursuing playing level 2 up. He got his wr on 03-17-1988, meaning that it took him less than six months, and (I estimate) probably only a few hundred plays to get 'the game'. Sounds good, huh ? Well, believe me, there was some luck involved (as is the case with most wr games, especially those that have a fixed ending screen, since the wr holder generally point-presses to max the score out). So, the point is, beating Frank, based on his experience, is far from nearly impossible, and plausibly even far from a long-term effort (theoretically, at least !).

Well, I just wanted to respond to the interesting and informative posts in this thread, and I appreciate everyone's thots and commentary (yes, even destructor's !). After all, (reasonable) input helps me to plan future offers, and also lets me (if possible) try to address shortcomings that players may have with my rules. Thanks for the interest, and, hopefully, thanks for participating ! - Mark / MDA / MDARULZ

http://www.classicarcadegaming.com - Chronicling the history of the 'Golden Age'...

http://www.bounties.classicarcadegaming.com - full bounty info

http://www.classicarcadegaming.com/news ... m#12172005 - future CAG-sponsored events at Challenge Arcade in PA

[Weehawk]

Believe me, I know the pic is stupid, and deserves to be poked fun of. But, that was the point

I was pretty sure of that...I say pretty sure.

I haven't checked the TG forums, but, hopefully you've done something similar there (if not, you have my full permission !!).

I thought about it, but they instituted that "personal website link" policy this year, and I believe it was pretty much because of you in particular. (I have mentioned to the leadership there that I see the situation as unfortunate, but you and they obviously have differences that I am not going to poke my nose into.) I might have chanced it anyway, feeling that it is in the community's best interest to know about an offer such as this, but the comment that BBH quoted in his previous post could very easily be seen as a bit of a personal shot at Robert, so I decided not to. If you did not intend the comment to be seen thusly, you might want to consider removing it. I think anyone aware of the situation would get the same impression that BBH and I did. I was just pointing out that BBH's edit makes it appear even worse than it did in fuller context.

Believe me, I wish that I could extend the offers to everyone, but I want an advantage (and publicity !!) from this, so the travel requirements alone pretty much would leave out most overseas players. That, and the shipping/mailing delay issues (contract(s), performance recording(s), etc.) means that it would likely be a major hassle for both parties.

What difference does citizenship make though? Why would the red tape be more cumbersome for a resident alien, or even a foreign national performing the necessary feat on a visit here?

and quelling 'cheat' opportunities (which is the main reason for all the 'crap' that players are probably rolling their eyes at; still, I can assure you that things have crossed some player's minds

What? You mean like: fronting 6 thousand dollars to destructor so that he can a) buy a Crystal Castles machine b) spend the months necessary to get good enough at the game to even "look" good enough to play the game at a level where beating Frank's record would be believable and c) rig up the necessary equipment to his machine to record the video signal of a record breaking performance, possibly having been aided by the alteration of the ROMS to give the players some advantage that would not be readily apparent to visual scrutiny of a later videotaping, then shipping the machine from Poland to the US, or merely buying another one here, setting up the necessary cameras to record a bogus performance here, and hiding the playback equipment inside the machine now here, then pantomiming a record breaking performance in front of the video cameras while the altereded ROM aided performance by destructor plays on the hidden equipment feeding the signal to the monitor on the "official" machine, sending the tapes to yourself and collecting the 12 thousand dollars, taking my six thousand out and splitting the rest with des for his work?

Uh, no...nothing like that had occurred to me. Why?

Also, I'd like to point out that, as we get farther and farther from the Golden Era (over 20 years now), requiring performances to be done on the original machines becomes more and more like offering a reward for riding a brontosaurus for a given length of time, or for consuming a given number of pounds of California condor flesh. It's not so much that no one could do it, there just aren't that many condors out there to throw on the barbecue grill. These machines, to large degree, don't exist any more. They are generally not available for competitive play. They are in the hands of collectors, and, as collector's items, their price is on the rise.

I went to one of those "super auction" things a few months ago, and the crap available there made all the more clear to me what I already believed: that the future of these games is in emulation. The arcades are their past.

[welby1]

BTW, the record for sleep deprivation, for those who think that no one can stay awake, much less play a game, for a week, is 11 days !! That's over a week and a half !!

Yes, but they weren't prevented from being cattle-prodded, drenched with water, fed or anything by others. I'm sure Todd's marathon was keeping the game going with some very long breaks(probably a nap or two...Todd would be the one to verify those details, but I'd put money on it that at least someone touched him during the game Completing anything beyond the 72hr one(probably not on SW either). None of them are impossible, but very unlikely one/both top prizes will be won...time will tell.

[BBH]

I haven't checked the TG forums, but, hopefully you've done something similar there (if not, you have my full permission !!).

I thought about it, but they instituted that "personal website link" policy this year, and I believe it was pretty much because of you in particular. (I have mentioned to the leadership there that I see the situation as unfortunate, but you and they obviously have differences that I am not going to poke my nose into.) I might have chanced it anyway, feeling that it is in the community's best interest to know about an offer such as this, but the comment that BBH quoted in his previous post could very easily be seen as a bit of a personal shot at Robert, so I decided not to. If you did not intend the comment to be seen thusly, you might want to consider removing it. I think anyone aware of the situation would get the same impression that BBH and I did. I was just pointing out that BBH's edit makes it appear even worse than it did in fuller context.

Exactly.

[MDARULZ]

I haven't checked the TG forums, but, hopefully you've done something similar there (if not, you have my full permission !!).

I thought about it, but they instituted that "personal website link" policy this year, and I believe it was pretty much because of you in particular. (I have mentioned to the leadership there that I see the situation as unfortunate, but you and they obviously have differences that I am not going to poke my nose into.) I might have chanced it anyway, feeling that it is in the community's best interest to know about an offer such as this, but the comment that BBH quoted in his previous post could very easily be seen as a bit of a personal shot at Robert, so I decided not to. If you did not intend the comment to be seen thusly, you might want to consider removing it. I think anyone aware of the situation would get the same impression that BBH and I did. I was just pointing out that BBH's edit makes it appear even worse than it did in fuller context.

Exactly.

Thanks for the confirmation, guys. I'm not really chastising anyone, I guess, since I also got a round-about confirmation from Rob that he took it in a negative way, too. But, I must say that I'm disappointed that it was read that way by anyone. The only reason I used the word 'full' was that I assumed everyone would 'get' that the alternative (that I've seen in some of Rob's, and other's, bounties) was... payments ! This certainly wasn't a 'jab' at Rob (for those not in the know, I won't explain further, and encourage others to also not get into his business !), especially since he has been quite helpful to me with getting some of the bounty info together. As a matter of fact, one of the reasons that I offered so much in the way of Star Wars bounties was a large percentage for him, since he indicated (in a indirect way) in a TG post that he was going to try for 80+ hours on Star Wars. So, what better way to give him more encouragement, and perhaps get Brandon, and Boolman, in on the act ! So, now everyone knows the genesis of all of my Star Wars bounties...

Now... I'll rewrite the sentence on my bounty page with an overly wordy way of saying what I really intended for others to 'read'. Here it is:

And, unlike many other bounties, the amount(s) claimed will be available to be awarded in full (versus payments) within a week of confirmation, either through personal presentation (for the $1,000+ awards), or via being mailed out (all other awards).

Damn... now, that's getting to be as long and overly worded as some of my rules !! As Kelly Tharp, my gaming friend, and the new Tapper marathon wr holder told me today, after he had read the rules page: "The full moon has to be in Jupiter, and the Mars rover has to be at the South Pole...". Well, I'm not that picky, but having the solar system in line during your game would be kinda nice !!! - Mark / MDA

[Weehawk]

Now... I'll rewrite the sentence on my bounty page with an overly wordy way of saying what I really intended for others to 'read'. Here it is:

And, unlike many other bounties, the amount(s) claimed will be available to be awarded in full (versus payments) within a week of confirmation, either through personal presentation (for the $1,000+ awards), or via being mailed out (all other awards).

I would have suggested:

The amount(s) claimed will be available to be awarded in full (versus payments) within a week of confirmation, either through personal presentation (for the $1,000+ awards), or via being mailed out (all other awards).

I guess I just don't see why the "And, unlike many other bounties" is necessary at all if you're not out to put anybody down.

[welby1]

how about just plain: "Unlike most other bounties, all awards over $1k will be presented live and in person at a time and place(In or around Louiseville, KY) to be determined by mutual agreement with winner and Mark Alpiger."

I don't think the in full is needed. While it is also different, it is inferred by the live presentation. Rob's and some others bounties stated that some time would be involved for payout ie: payments, future payout dates etc. Given the massive number of bounties offered and paid(out of his own pocket), there are bound to be occasional miscalculations and such. No shame should be associated with a minor mistake once in a while. Most of the prizes to date have been much smaller(potentially), so it wasn't that big of an issue. You could probably even drop the 'unlike most other bounties' part if it's going to be an issue.

I still think you should do a MC bounty