Perfect Pac-Man Split-Screen Pattern Method

[HCKTROX]

Conclusion: The save-state system is fucking awesome!!

[JPHvideos1]

you can get higher score than 3,333,360 on the xbox 360. if you make it to what is supposed to be the split screen, it will "roll over" to level one (cherry) but at the same difficulty as the 9th key levels. this is only on the xbox 360 though, so if you have it you can get a new world record Pac Man higher than what used to be the max

[iliveintheforestVEVO]

WHY U NO FINISH??????!!!!!!!

[2217coolguy]

i have a question everyone. If the game was supposed to have 255 working levels and 256 are in game, isnt there a fully messed up 257th level? or is 256 actually impossible as some dots are out of the map or something? Also, is it possible to cheat on this level and make the game think you got all the dots?

[lucas66568]

@2217coolguy there was only 131 dots (122 on left+9 hidden which the 9 hidden regenerate every death)and in every normal level it's over when you reach 244 dots so you have to grab at least 244 dots.this is the only solution to complete the level.you must have endless lives.there's no dot out of the map.every level has the same number of dots.this is a very creepy glitch

[lucas66568]

@2217coolguy there is a cheat to complete the level 256 then the 257 isn't messed up, the level 257 is the round 1 because there are cherries appearing, but the ghosts don't turn blue!so the level 257 isn't messed up like 256

[Pacman30thAnnivesary]

Nice. I see 333360 score :D



[philippinespotlight1]

Pause at 1:14

[philippinespotlight1]

Pause at 1:03

[RosettaStoned06]

Edit: #FF is 255, my mistake, 99 is 99... This is also why it displays Level 0, instead of 256

[RosettaStoned06]

It is not the game's code, but rather a "memory overwrite." 8-bit games only store values between 0 and 255, and since 256 is impossible, the level counter "rewraps" itself to 0. The subroutine that draws fruit relies on this counter to see how many to draw, since it does not use 0 as an acceptable number, it "unwraps" back to 255. Since there is no room for 255 fruit, it begins to use "video memory," which is what you see on-screen. The subroutines begin to fill video memory because there are..

[RosettaStoned06]

no available bits to go to. So the programs begin to overlap so that the number of fruit can be drawn. The reason you see numbers and letters is because there are only 2 written "sprites" for each fruit, for a maximum of 8 (plus keys). Obviously, 255 is bigger than 8, so it begins to see any available image or (set-bit) as a fruit. In computer assembly, every byte is given a "set-number" and 100 number images, (0 - 99), or 00 to #FF in code. Computer sub-routines sees every number as an image..

[RosettaStoned06]

and calls on programs to draw them. In Pac-Man's game code, 90, 94, 98, A0, A4. A8, and 9C are the fruits, and have 2D sprites attached, the rest do not. Pac-Man was designed under the assumption that the player would stop playing long before this level was reached, so this level was never supposed to be loaded under the circumstances. Therefore Pac-Man's 256th level was an overflow, (and subsquent underflow) of code and drawing programs.

[DestinyHeroFlamer]

Is that the game's code on the right?

[Zawicki1]

0:38 *plays bemmy hill theme song*

[biggydoggsjj]

so on xbox the kill screen still happens?

[TheMario2767]

Why many attempts...

[ChristianBobMiller]

You can actually beat the split screen level.The guy who did it got somewhere in the 6,000,000"s.

[catchewer]

I am crazy impressed

[ert94464]

The split scrreen level interests me

[sweffe96]

I read that on Video Game Lies wiki :P lol.

[sweffe96]

Featured liePac Man:

In 1982, 8-year-old Jeffrey R. Yee of San Fransisco set the worldwide record for the high score on Pac Man: 6,131,940 points. In reality, the highest score achievable is 3,333,360 points, due to a game-ending byte-overflow bug in the screen rendering code when level 256 is reached, causing a "split-screen" effect, and rendering the game un-advanceable at this point. Even President Ronald Reagan was fooled by this lie, having sent Jeffrey a letter of congratulations.

[IRud3Bwoy]

isnt the highest score by billy mitchelle?

[AlmostTokyo]

There are 5 people that have achieved (and proven) a 'perfect game' and Billy Mitchell was the first.

[LilKnowitall]

but the other people who reached it....did it faster

[tailwhip2000]

how come the high score is soo much more than the "perfect score" ?

[eggertstwart]

you roll the counter thrice to get to the perfect score; it's 3,333,360, not 333,360

[Sarneckico]

how do you get to that?

[Andorhal99]

Basically what happens is after the 25th or 24th screen, the game runs out of memory, so it is on an infinite loop, there are 9 dots in the right side of the screen, some are hidden, and some are visible, because the memory has run out, you cant eat any ghosts, because the game physically cant make them :P

[Andorhal99]

256th I meant

[Tonyant26]

The fruit at the bottom is stored by a single byte. Its counter(excuse me for bullshitting the terms) can only go up to 255 when it gets to 256 it is set to loop to zero. But when that happens in many arcade games a glitch happens thus rendering the right side of the screen blind. So what happens is you cant see what goes on there. After you complete the level the game loops to level one all glitches gone but the ghosts are still as fast as they were in level 255 and are still invincible like b4

[TheHappySpaceman]

Why don't the ghosts turn blue when Pac-Man eats a power pill?

[kbrinks]

Once you get so far in pacman the pellets don't do anything..

[TheHappySpaceman]

Ah. Thanks for the information, kbrinks!

[Classic777777]

That's freakin crazy.

[AndyShiels]

Unless someone earlier got a high score of 999,910 this is not a 'perfect game'. The high score should be 999,790 and the main score 333,360. I am extremely embarrassed to actually know this information!

[nc16n53]

This was from a perfect game played on the MAME emulator. The high score displayed is actually dependant on the pattern you use. Different patterns will eat a different number of dots before grabbing the key and causing the score roll-over.

I have another split-screen video that sounds familiar to what you are describing in your previous comment.

[AndyShiels]

Yes, sorry you are absolutely right! When I clock the million points I eat a 5000 point key which carries over to the main score. By the way how do you record the video? I have got a really easy 9th key pattern I want to post.

[nc16n53]

I use MAME to record and playback a game, then use Windows Media Encoder to capture the playback window to a wmv file.

[AndyShiels]

There is a really easy way to clear this screen. When you start go up, left, up, left and into the warp. Then when you come out the other side go immediately down. Pac-Man will sit in a hiding spot at the bottom right of the screen. Wait for about half a minute and three of the ghosts will get trapped in the far right of the screen. You can then easily get the 9 dots on the right and clear the left part of the board with only one ghost at large.

[carsr4carpeople1]

is there a code or something to just jump to this level in an emulator? I'd like to try it. :P

[darius2pacman]

there is alwaws killscreens, glitches, debug in most arcade games. like DK, dig dug, and pacman

[graduator08]

Namco should really re-release the game with an actual ending. i'm sure many people would like to see that.

[Retep99999]

you could just take see through paper and print out the other half of the maze and tape it to the screen

[darius2pacman]

so somebody taped the master of pacman?

256 levels aint so bad. how long it taked 5 hours

[dudeishfish]

The game looks confused

[BadWolf42]

That's actually pretty accurate. This happens because when the level counter hits 256, It actually flips back to 0. When the Level counter says 0 it screws up the equasion, Causing the game to try and generate 256 pieces of fruit. The game is simply not programmed to be able to do that, causing the right half of the screen to screw up.

[Acid113377]

he's the man... the "level counter" variable is only stored in one byte... 256 is max on bytestorage --> bug

Some ppl claim to beat this level, returning to level number 1, but with fast ghost that are still immune to powerpellets... Never seen someone do that though and there is still a $100k prize out there from Namco to the person who prooves he can beat lvl 256 ;) ...

It's impossible in my oppinion, but maybe theres a hidden pellet somewhere... Havent found it so far =)

[pacmantab]

And the fact that none one even attempted to collect on that 100K bounty should speak volumes.

Let it suffice to say there is no legitimate means of passing the kill...that's why they call it a kill screen.

Any claims to the contrary are the stuff of urban legend.

[Acid113377]

thanks for your input... you basicly repeated what i said... way to go ^^

[pacmantab]

no problem...

[pureflipper]

at 1:53 if the ghosts and pacman are unloaded the game can load the map

[chikinpotato11]

if you pause it very fast in 1:53, you can see the whole screen for .04 seconds!

[ImIndoPeople]

@chikinpotato11 no 1:54 and half second

[guy2202]

Billy Mitchell actually got to this level. He has conquered the Pac Man game and been labeled gamer of the century. Look him up. Wikipedia gives some good info on him.

[RaiderX]

Has gaming been around any longer than a century?

[Skateit94]

No but thats what they labeled him. look him up it gives good info on him.

[EwwDontTouchMe]

Billy Mitchell is good, but he broke his own rule in DK. He always Pushes for live gaming and when steve wiebe beat his highscore at donkeykong and had it on film they didnt accept it but when Billy Mitchell submited a tape (brakeing his rule) He got credit fr it and was considered champion. He is a good player though

[IRud3Bwoy]

yea because billy was already well known and accepted by the community webie was not,until he proved he was that good live

[LilKnowitall]

he unfortunately failed to beat the record at this years E3

[GaronteChaos]

es el bugazo padre

[rioncrane]

OMG its MATRIX!

[crazynintendoguy]

How'd you automatically get to the last level with MAME?

[deathsnailz]

whoh! thats weird lol

[TNXcrew]

perfect game?

[Staggger]

hi score

last lv very glichy

[JohnTheMutt]

People need to pay attention and do a little research themselves.

This is the last level of a "perfect" game of PacMan. The final score is actually 3,333,360 points. A 'perfect'game.

The player got every dot, prize, and blue ghost possible.

Billy Mitchell was the first on record of achieving this and there have been others since. It's highly unlikely that any cheating was involved since this is possible...though difficult.

Kudos to the player...quite an accomplishment.

[TNXcrew]

Billy Mitchel is An ASSHOLE!!!

but a great player

[railton2]

He doesnt get a perfect game!!

He only got 333,360 points!

[JohnTheMutt]

You're joking right?

In case you were not... Yes it is a perfect game. Of course the machine only counts 6 significant digits, so anything above 999,999 doesn't show and it rolls over on the current score. To finish the split screen with a remainder of 333,360 points is a perfect game.

[MattTheSpratt]

So it's 1,333,360?

[JohnTheMutt]

No, the total is 3,333,360 points.

[ZezimaStorm]

How is this a 'perfect pattern method'

You lost all your lives. :S

[retrogamer500]

You need to loose all of your lives to get all of the dots in this level. That is why you can't die even once on the 255 earlier levels.

[XSC3]

@retrogamer500 interesting. isn't it possible to die, earn an extra life, die, etc. (assuming you did that before this level)?

[y2ktodd]

Is this the last level?

[worldstumper314]

thats so awesome....no "congratulations, you won" or pacman riding off into the sunset...just GAME OVER.

[crazynintendoguy]

I hate the red and pink ghost. The red one chases and hes fast. the pink ghost can trap u.

[orion1052003]

What would happen if the subroutine error was fixed and 256 was stored on a word of memory(2 bytes). Would the game continue for further screens?

[LordBicen]

Theoretically, yes, but i dont know any programmers that wanted to take the time to fix it. i mean 255 levels and 3 million points, why continue? especially since the ghosts just follow a set logical pattern. it wasnt until Ms. Pac-man/ pacman plus, Super Pac-man, Pac & Pal and Jr Pacman came out that patterns went away. you actually had to develop cunning and skill to get far in the later installments.

[VelvetRolo]

Yes. Google this:

don hodges split screen bug fixed

[joejonas414]

what the?

[bailinbone15]

now the ultimate question...

is the split screen on purpose to make it 'impossible'?

[biggy887766]

occurs because of a bug in the subroutine that draws the fruit at the bottom of the screen that indicate the current level. Normally, at most seven fruits are displayed, regardless of the current screen, but since the level number is stored in a single byte, level 256 (100h) rolls over to 0h in the subroutine, and 256 fruit are drawn, corrupting the bottom of the screen and the entire right half of the maze

[biggy887766]

"Taken from wiki"

[Dakkusu]

With the power of Spiral, anything is possible.

[grevejp]

I've Always Wanted To See That Now My Life Is Complete. LOL

Actualy i did wonder what that looks like so cool you go pacskill.

[grevejp]

also you should show the level before.

[jajaka]

You died in the same spot four times.

Good job for making it all the way here, but come on.

[nc16n53]

Well, when there's no points left to get, there ain't much point to staying alive.

[UdinPumpCrew]

it's a kill screen you idiot, he will die no matter what. Alot of bugs like these one are in old arcade games (see donkey kong). Last levels on these games are called kill screens, and they are named like that because you are going to die no matter what

[ambidextrality]

@jajaka I think he died intentionally, as when you die, the dots on the right side regenerate, hence, more points to collect towards the highest maximum points possible in pacman. Also, I'm not sure you can finish the level anyway... But I forget.

[ambidextrality]

@jajaka I think he died intentionally, as when you die, the dots on the right side regenerate, hence, more points to collect towards the highest maximum points possible. Also, I'm not sure you can finish the level anyway... But I forget.

[ambidextrality]

@jajaka I think he died intentionally, as when you die, the dots on the right side regenerate, hence, more points to collect towards the highest maximum points possible in pacman. Also, I'm not sure you can finish the level anyway... But I forget.

[ulices88]

someone should fix that a new pac man game

[wohoismine]

wow u died...

and the level remains unbeatable...

[cafoxp]

is it even playable? it should crash after a while...

[bobgrebe]

big deal.

[SeijiMutoX2]

you should add "killscreen" to the tags.

[Harryboy111]

Quote from Wikipedia:

"However, in December 1982, an eight-year-old boy named Jeffrey R. Yee received a letter from U.S. President Ronald Reagan congratulating him on a worldwide record of 6,131,940 points, a score only possible if the player has passed the Split-Screen Level. Whether or not this event happened as described has remained in heated debate amongst video game circles since its supposed occurrence."

[pacboy24]

i looked it up an when i read that is seriously concernd me about that, but the player who is known for a true defeat of this game with 3,333,360 points billy is the only man known for the FIRST man to beat it. so the 6 million points sounds like a faults statement on the wikipedia

[hbnsckl]

It's really hard to understand your terribly worded statement, but if you think Billy Mitchell is the only one to get a perfect game of pacman, you're mistaken.

[Zabuzachan666]

Wow,the legandara last level....

but,Chuck Norris can beat it!

[varan619]

That's a good one. Not many people would get it but it fits the Chuck Norris fact template perfectly.

[GermanZ5]

THATS LVL 256 ITS IMPOSSIBLE its like trying to walk on water you cant beat it

[loster2000]

its the 256th level

[PacMani]

is this a rom hack?

[beansmuggler]

change ur name, u dont know shit about pacman...google killscreen

[PacMani]

cant believe that you mustve cheated it ;)

[JAYJ2K6]

how can you see where you are going on the right side of the screen though?

[standup91]

yeah how can u see ??? r u just pressing buttons lol

[josedistant]

WTF?? O___O

[GiVeThEMBLooD503]

wow u most be good at htis to get to this lvl

[TOMPCpl]

He skipped it.

[dave88rock]

Uh, no actually he did not skip ahead. This is from a perfect game of 3,333,360

[LMDAVE29]

It flips at 1,000,000?

I use to be good at this in the 80's but 826,000 was my high score. Just finding out about the split screen after all of these years.