DONKEY KONGA
Scoring FAQ
Version 1.0, 19 January 2005
by Scott Hammack
----------------------------


0. Table of contents
--------------------
  0. Table of contents
  I. Introduction
  II. Terms
  III. Core point values
  IV. Scoring explanation
  V. Examples
  VI. Upshots
  VII. Raw data
  VIII. Quick reference
  IX. Contact information/copyright


I. Introduction
---------------
       Since the release of Donkey Konga, a lot of people (myself
included) were unclear on exactly how the scoring system in the game
worked.  We knew that you get points whenever you hit a note, but beyond
that, the details were fuzzy.  So I decided to sit down and figure out
the scoring system once and for all, and I think now I've got a pretty
good idea of how it works.  This information may be helpful to you if
you're trying to improve your scores or compete against others, or if
(like me) you're just interested.
       All the information in this FAQ comes my from own observations
and calculations, based on either experiments I did myself or videos of
the game found on IGN.  I've included some of the raw data in section
VII in case you want evidence.  I encourage anyone to double-check
my work, as there may very well be something I've missed.  My contact
information is at the end of the file.
       Basic algebra ability is needed to fully enjoy this FAQ.


II. Terms
---------
Just so we're all clear on what I'm talking about when I use certain
terms, in case you didn't read the manual:
 a. A "note" refers to any of the barrels that pass across the screen.
    Each note can be:
    1. Yellow -- requiring that you hit the left barrel on your bongos.
    2. Red -- requiring that you hit the right barrel on your bongos.
    3. Pink -- requiring that you hit both barrels at once.
    4. Clap -- requiring that you clap (or tap the side of the bongos).
    You will also encounter "rolls," which can be any of the above, but
    require you to keep hitting them for the duration of the roll.
 b. A "hit rating" refers to the game's judgment of how well you time
    it when you hit the note.  This can be Great, OK, Bad, or Miss.
 c. A "combo" refers to a string of consecutive greats or OKs.  The
    game keeps track of your current combo in the white box on the left
    side of the screen.  A bad or miss will break the combo.


III. Core point values
----------------------
These are the basic core point values for the different types of notes
in the game.  The actual system is significantly more complicated than
this, but these are the starting points for score calculations.

               great   OK      bad     miss
       yellow  100     50      0       3
       red     100     50      0       3
       pink    200     100     0       2
       clap    10      5       0       2


IV. Scoring explanation
-----------------------
Now we get to the meat and potatoes.  The first thing to note is that
every time you hit a note, the game is keeping track of several
variables.  These include the number of greats/OKs/bads, coins, etc.,
but we don't need to worry about those.  The ones we're concerned with
are:
 x. The core values shown in the chart above.  We'll call this variable
    x.
 y. Your current combo -- the number of consecutive greats/OKs since
    your last bad or miss.  We'll call this variable y.  It starts at
    1 and increases every time you get a great or OK, but whenever you
    get a bad or miss, it resets to 1.
 z. Your highest combo -- the highest number of greats/OKs you got in a
    row during the entire song.  We'll call this variable z.  At the
    beginning of the song, it will be equal to y, but once you get a
    bad or miss, y will reset to 1, while z will keep its current value
    until it gets replaced with a higher one.  Basically, z can
    increase, but never decrease.

So when you hit the note, what happens?  The game rates the hit based on
how well you timed it, displays that rating above the note, and
increases your score based on that.

If it's a great or OK, and it's not a clap, your score will increase by
x+2y.

If it's a great or OK, and it's a clap, your score will increase by
x*(z+1).

If it's a bad, regardless of the type of note, your score will be
unchanged.

If it's a miss, regardless of the type of note, your score will decrease
by x*(z-1).


V. Examples
-----------
So for example, if the third note is pink and you get a great on it...
 a. Check the formulas above -- the one you need is x+2y.
 b. According to the core values chart, a pink great gets you a core of
    200.  That's x.
 c. Since this is the third note, your combo is at 3 (assuming you
    managed to hit the previous two).  That's y.
 d. Now just plug the values into the formula: 200+2(3)=206.  So you
    should get 206 points for this note.

Now let's say the next note is red and you miss it.
 a. Check the formulas above -- the one you need is x*(z-1).
 b. According to the core values chart, a red miss gets you a core of
    -3.  That's x.
 c. Since you hit all three previous notes, your combo is at 3.  That's
    y, and since this is the only combo so far, it's also z.
 d. Now just plug the values into the formula: 3*(3-1)=6.  You should
    lose 6 points for this note.


VI. Upshots
-----------
So what does this all mean?  Well, we can extrapolate several things
from these formulas.
 a. Scores for reds, yellows, and pinks vary based on how well you're
    doing in your current combo. But for claps, if you got a really big
    combo earlier but then missed a note, it doesn't matter; you'll
    still get lots of points on every clap from then on (but you'll lose
    lots of points for misses, too).
 b. Getting a large combo earlier in the song increases the points you
    can get (or lose) from then on.
 c. Missing pinks and claps is not as bad as missing yellows or reds.
 d. It is possible to work out the maximum possible score (excluding
    rolls) for any song, but you have to know how many of each type of
    note there are, and in what order, so it's probably more trouble
    than it's worth.
 e. I have no life.


VII. Raw data
-------------
These are the data I used to come up with these formulas, in case you
don't believe me.  They also provide a good example of the system in
action, in case you still don't get it.

Notes
+ The first column represents the value of the variable y, which is the
 number of consecutive greats/OKs.
+ The second column represents the type of note: Y(ellow), R(ed),
 P(ink), (C)lap, or D(rumroll).
+ The third column represents the rating of the hit.
 G = great
 O = OK
 B = bad
 M = miss
 D = (drum)roll (no rating)
+ The fourth column represents the score once this note has been counted.
+ The fifth column represents the change in score since the previous
 note (in other words, the number of points earned for this note).
+ The sixth column represents the formula I think the game uses to
 determine the number of points earned for this note.  This is
 determined based on the note type, hit rating, and y.

Data set 1: Pokemon Theme, Chimp
Source:
http://streamingmovies.ign.com/cube/article/550/550723/konga1_wmvlow.wmv?
wu=http%3A%2F%2Fmedia.gameboy.ign.com%2Fdownload.html%3Fmu%3D%3CURL%2F%3E
1   P O    102      102   x+2
1   P D  11312    11210   n/a
2   P O  11416      104   x+4
3   C G  11456       40   10(3+1)
4   Y G  11564      108   x+8
5   Y O  11624       60   x+10
6   C O  11659       35   5(6+1)
7   P O  11773      114   x+14
8   C O  11818       45   5(8+1)
9   Y O  11886       68   x+18
10  Y G  12006      120   x+20
11  Y O  12078       72   x+22
12  Y G  12202      124   x+24
12  P D  13552     1350   n/a
13  P O  13678      126   x+26
14  C O  13753       75   5(14+1)
15  Y O  13883       80   x+30
16  Y O  13915       32   32
17  C M  13883      -32   -2(17-1)
1   P O  13985      102   x+2
2   C O  14075       90   5(17+1)
3   P G  14281      206   x+6
4   P G  14489      208   x+8
5   P G  14699      210   x+10
5   P D  15859     1160   n/a
6   Y G  15971      112   x+12
7   R O  16035       64   x+14
8   C B  16035        0   0
1   Y O  16087       52   x+2
NOTE: In the above table, check out y=16 for a strange
anomaly.  Instead of x+2y, in this case the game only added 2y.  When
I watch the video, there does not appear to be anything special about
that note, so for now I can only assume this is a bug.

Data set 2: Pokemon Theme, Chimp
Source:
http://streamingmovies.ign.com/cube/article/550/550723/konga2_wmvlow.wmv?
wu=http%3A%2F%2Fmedia.gameboy.ign.com%2Fdownload.html%3Fmu%3D%3CURL%2F%3E
Note: This is a continuation of the data above, but a few notes were
apparently hit and/or missed between videos.
?   ? ?  16235        ?   ?
1?  R G  16337      102   x+2
2?  C O  16427       90   5(17+1)
3?  C M  16395      -32   -2(17-1)
3?  Y M  16347      -48   -3(17-1)
1   C G  16527      180   10(17+1)
2   C O  16617       90   5(17+1)
3   P G  16823      206   x+6
4   Y G  16931      108   x+8
5   R O  16991       60   x+10
6   C M  16959      -32   -2(17-1)
1   Y G  17061      102   x+2
2   C O  17151       90   5(17+1)
3   C B  17151        0   0
1   R O  17203       52   x+2
2   C B  17203        0   0
1   C M  17171      -32   -2(17-1)
1   P M  17139      -32   -2(17-1)
1   C M  17107      -32   -2(17-1)
1   C M  17075      -32   -2(17-1)
1   P D  18835     1760   n/a
1   Y O  18887       52   x+2
2   R O  18941       54   x+4
3   C O  19031       90   5(17+1)
4   Y G  19139      108   x+8
5   C M  19107      -32   -2(17-1)
1   C B  19107        0   0
1   R G  19209      102   x+2
2   C O  19299       90   5(17+1)
3   C M  19267      -32   -2(17-1)
1   Y G  19369      102   x+2
1   C M  ?          -32   -2(17-1)
1   C O  19427       90   5(17+1)
2   R O  19481       54   x+4
3   P O  19587      106   x+6
4   P O  19695      108   x+8

Data set 3: Turkish March, Monkey
Source: independent trial
462
8   C O    507       45   5(8+1)
9   C G    607      100   10(9+1)
10  C G    717      110   10(10+1)
11  P G    939      222   x+22
12  C G   1069      130   10(12+1)
13  P G   1295      226   x+26
14  Y G   1423      128   x+28
15  Y G   1553      130   x+30
16  C G   1723      170   10(16+1)
17  C G   1903      180   10(17+1)
18  C G   2093      190   10(18+1)
19  P G   2331      238   x+38
20  C G   2541      210   10(20+1)
21  P G   2783      242   x+42
22  Y G   2927      144   x+44
23  Y G   3073      146   x+46
24  R G   3221      148   x+48
25  C G   3481      260   10(25+1)
26  R O   3583      102   x+52
27  C O   3723      140   5(27+1)
28  P O   3879      156   x+56
later... 9079
42  Y M   8956     -123   -3(42-1)
1   C O   9171      215   5(42+1)


VIII. Quick reference
---------------------
In case you don't want to wade through the rest of the crap (I don't
blame you).

       great    OK       bad   miss
yellow  100+2y   50+2y      0   -3(z-1)
red     100+2y   50+2y      0   -3(z-1)
pink    200+2y   100+2y     0   -2(z-1)
clap    10(z+1)  5(z+1)     0   -2(z-1)


IX. Contact information/acknowledgments/copyright
-------------------------------------------------
I wrote this.  Do whatever you want with it.  Thanks to Sean Walters and
the guys at KongaNavy (http://www.blindecho.net/kirby/konga/) for help
and encouragement.

I'm not a mathematician by any means, and it's quite possible that I've
screwed something up.  If you find anything, email me.  The address is
the first letter of my first name, then my last name, at gmail.com.
(Sorry, I get enough spam already.)

Thanks for readin'!