As I have already indicated, the final score depends on the .nv file.
More exactly: The better the top 3 on the individual events, the
higher your final score will be. Since we should have a standard to go
by (so that the score will be the same regardless of who plays the
recording back), that leaves only two possibilities: (1) The final
score is the one that is achieved when deleting the .nv file first and
then playing back the recording. (2) The final score is the one that
is achieved using the .nv file of the person who recorded it. (Well, a
third would be to always use some standard .nv file, but (1) is merely
a special case of that, and (1) is a lot easier to do.)
<p>
The first clearly is the one we should go by. I can immediately think
of several arguments against using the second alternative:
<p>
- We have been talking recently about confirmers not having to jump
through a lot of hoops to get a recording to play back. Copying
someone else's .nv file first (and making a backup of your own, in
case you don't want to lose your own scores), then, afterwards,
restoring your own is more work then simply temporarily renaming your
own .nv file (if there is any to start with) and later on restoring
it.
<p>
- Alex Weir claimed a score of 362,060 on Hyper Sports, and I have no
doubt that that was really the score he got when he recorded it.
However, if he had played it back then (without deleting the .nv
file), he would have seen his own recording produce a score of
378,060. Had he then included the .nv file resulting after that
playback with his .inp, he could have claimed a score of 378,060.
Obviously, this is a very easy way to "artificially" get a higher
score, and there is no real way of detecting it, except if the person
using this trick overlooks one simple thing. Again, Alex, clearly you
did not do this (or else you would have claimed 378,060), so please do
not take this the wrong way. I am merely using your recording as an
example.
<p>
- Take the previous point one step further: Download a lot of
different "good" Hyper Sports .inps, play them all back without
deleting the .nv file in between, and, lo and behold, you'll end up
with an .nv file containing a lot of great top 3 times/scores on the
individual events. Then record a Hyper Sports recording yourself, and
all the work done by others will result in you getting a higher score.
Is that fair? No. Is it detectable? No. Unless, again, the person
doing this overlooks one simple thing.
<p>
So: In the case of Hyper Sports, the .inp will play back correctly,
regardless of whether the .nv file is deleted first or not. The only
thing that may differ is the final score. If you don't want to lose
all your scores, then, at least in the case of Hyper Sports, don't
delete the .nv when you start recording, but temporarily rename it
before you play back your own, and claim the score that results from
that playback. Then you can restore your old .nv file and you won't
have lost any of your scores, while at the same time keeping the
playing field even.
<p>
As a final note: I don't know if the actual machine behaves the same
way, so if, on the actual machine, getting a top 3 height on pole
vault will never cause the mole to appear, but if so, then the TG
people may have to have another look at the rules for getting and
accepting world records on Hyper Sports. Because, assuming the actual
machine behaves the same way, the following scenario is possible:
Let's say Alex Weir starts a game of Hyper Sports on an actual arcade
machine that has just been reset. At the same time, I start a game on
a different machine, one that has really great top 3 times/scores on
every single event.
<p>
Now, Alex is a much better player than I am at Hyper Sports, so let's
say that on EVERY SINGLE EVENT, he does at least as good as I, or even
better. And let's say that for both of us, the game is over at the 5th
round long horse. There is a chance then that, even though I never
outperformed Alex on a single event, my final score will be higher
than his... . Clearly this is not fair. And, clearly, not everyone has
access to a Hyper Sports machine on which the top 3 on every event is
very good. This makes the playing field uneven. This makes it possible
to break a world record while never performing better on any single
event than the previous world record holder. Since this "trick" of
getting higher scores is not available to everyone, it should not be
allowed. So, I repeat, in my opinion, the TG people should have
another look at, and revise the rules for Hyper Sports world records.
(Again, assuming that the mole on pole vault works the same way on the
actual machine as on MAME.)
<p>
Cheers,
Ben Jos.
--
walbeehm@walbeehm.com