I'd like to know what your opinion is when the earlier default gives more lives than the current default. For example - a game started with 5 lives in mame34, but became 3 lives in mame 36. Which setting should we allow? This was the case in at least tmnt(2 to 1), 005(4 to 3), and calipso(5 to 3)

I don't think there was a solid vote on this issue - so I'm calling one now. Thanks for voting :) GB9

-- Gameboy9 (goldengameboy@yahoo.com), June 20, 2000

Answers

Let's play using more difficult settings. Easier are usually too easy, example Paperboy.

-- Tommi (tiihoto@hotmail.com), June 20, 2000.

I agree with Tommi..

QRS

-- QRS (qrs@telia.com), June 20, 2000.

I think that the right thing to do is to use the newest setting. if older setting are easier (more lives) we can update older score considering only the number of lives of actual settings (if actual setting give 1 man instead of two, for older inp I will count only points done with one man). Newest settings are probably more correct than the oldest and after all if we want hard play there are TG settings.

-- A.D.SAKURAGI (adeidda@inwind.it), June 20, 2000.

Permit everything. Reason:If next generation of mame(38,39,...) sets the default as the "most difficulty setting",
do you want to discard or disqualified every inp files??
Good player is always winner.no matter any settings.
even if rom does not contain huge bonus.....

-- hard-worker (weavuspert@yahoo.co.jp), June 20, 2000.

Use most difficult lives setting, and as AD says other scores can be updated from where they died at the more difficult life setting. If difficulty is a difficulty setting, then i vote to disqualify easy setting recordings and make them upload with more difficult settings.

I kind of like the use the latest version settings as the overseer, but if later version settings are easier then it sucks... use most difficult settings. the settings usually don't change that often so it shouldn't be an issue that recordings are disqualified very often for being too easy.

-- Chad (churritz@cts.com), June 20, 2000.

I consider this:

USE WHATEVER SETTINGS THE ACTUAL ARCADE USES/USED....

Why be dependent on what Nicola decides to place at that moment? For instance, in Relief Pitcher, if you win the game, it allowed to continue without another quarter. MAME Defaults don't have that set, as many of the programmers never played the game, and don't know the setups... (Evidenced by the majority of Unused/Unknown dip switch settings on the list)

Also, why disqualify a previous recording of something that was perfectly legit at the time it was done. Does that mean if we would go to having Ms. Pac-Man be 1 life instead of 3 with no extra, that Chris Ayra's record would have to be thrown out??? Come on, ppl.

-- Chris Parsley (cparsley1@hotmail.com), June 20, 2000.

Newest settings, keep older scores if they are more difficult, trash if they are easier. Same with lives, but there we can cut off the score where the game should have ended. And what Parsley is saying, for the record, is irrelevant, as MAME dev team members do not deliberately misset games. Furthermore, we have a log of changes accessible by Zwaxy and gb9, and therefore if a game's settings change TWICE by some fluke, we can reinstate scores if the need arises.

-- Q.T.Quazar (qan@home.com), June 20, 2000.