Dragster

[Zemus]

Anyone remember the buzz around this one a few years ago? What's the fastest time? 5.54 according to the developers? 5.51 according to hearsay? 5.57? 5.61? It turns out there's pretty much a book's worth of writing out there about all these time points, which is unheard of for a game that was so...unheard of.

Someone disassembled the code and concluded, at great length, that the fastest possible time was 5.57. They even included a simulation they programmed...on Google Docs! See if you can get the inputs right and maybe even lower the time. You'll be in for more of a challenge than you think! The analysis and discussion goes way deeper than you'd expect; I was going to put quotes here, but I'll stick with a simple link here to do their work and research justice.

The comments there even mention a game mechanic that neither the OP nor the developers knew about with the right modification, makes 5.51 possible after all. I'm glad I posted this thread, since I'm already learning more from it.

In short, it's a fantastic rabbit hole to explore if you have any interest in speedrunning, ROM hacking, or the way old games worked. I finally grabbed a ROM myself just now, so I'm interested in anything anyone has to add.

 

[fake-chan]

Have you tried playing this game in second gear?

 

[Zemus]

Have you tried playing this game in second gear?

Once I figure out how!

 

[Clippy]

Oh no, now Todd Togers is going to have to sue the forum

 

[Zemus]

Oh no, now Todd Togers is going to have to sue the forum

His time was legit! Or did something else happen with him?

 

[Clippy]

His time was legit! Or did something else happen with him?

Was it? I only know his story in passing really since he happened to get in the crossfire as people were raging at Billy Mitchell. I just referenced a lawsuit he filed where he misspelled his own name which I find hilarious. I didn't dig deeper to know the entire story.

 

[fake-chan]

His time was legit! Or did something else happen with him?

His time was long proven to be impossible, what kind of rock are you living under?

 

[Zemus]

Was it? I only know his story in passing really since he happened to get in the crossfire as people were raging at Billy Mitchell. I just referenced a lawsuit he filed where he misspelled his own name which I find hilarious. I didn't dig deeper to know the entire story.

I thought so yesterday, since there was a 5.51 run out there. Funny bit about the lawsuit, and maybe it was because his record was faked:

His time was long proven to be impossible, what kind of rock are you living under?

A pretty big one. That's why I posted this in 2024! Time to get looking.

---

By shifting into second gear before the race starts I managed to tie Todd Rogers' 35 year old time.

Oh, I see the implication here now.

---

To advance gears, you need to engage the clutch (marked as "Shift").

When you engage the clutch, your speed will remain constant on the next frame.

Hahah, should have looked closer at my own link! Thank you, guys!

 

[fake-chan]

 

[Zemus]

Whoa.

For what it's worth, I can respect the kind of liar that notices the flaws and weak points in a system before those in charge.