I've only played this game once - for a few minutes - and even I could tell something supercrazy was going on.
A quick explanation of what Crystals, Gems and Collor Gems are in this game would be appreciated. Wikipedia wasn't particularly forthcoming regarding the mechanics.
This is practically up there with M64 as one of the astounding sequence breaks on this site. Congratulations on being able to lead the charge on this new entry!
I'm just some random guy. Don't let my words get you riled - I have my opinions but they're only mine.
I think that for puzzle games, part of my joy is in simply trying to follow what is happening - trying to work out what combo a 'shapes-in-a-well-style-puzzle' player is setting up.
I'm terrible at RCs so couldn't follow along at all but it was still enjoyable thanks to the music and the simple visual appeal of the colours slowly amalgamating.
Though far from the best TAS, I think this should be published as it's worth watching - if someone wanted to see a Rubic's Cube game beaten, this would have little reason to disappoint.
I think that the play:menu time ratio is slightly unfavourable but I don't think it should be changed - the 2x2 was a funny joke, the 4x4 was specially fun to watch and the 3x3 seems best included to add a sense of linear progression.
OT:
I approve of the publishing times - at least a fortnight seems sensible.
I'm just some random guy. Don't let my words get you riled - I have my opinions but they're only mine.
Regarding the encode, I couldn't detect any difference between 1080 and 480. But thanks for providing the option.
The run is obviously ludicrously optimised.
I'm sure I'd seen a SML run before but was again surprised when you killed the upside down piranha plants.
The submarine stage was brilliant - I loved the last-minute scrapes and the total decimation of blocks. The patterns that you created - before destroying them too - were sublime and ensured there were no dull moments. I think a run that is a technical improvement but doesn't play around like that should get rejected. Seeing you chain together kills whilst invincible was also cool - I think scoring as a secondary goal definitely helps make this more entertaining but it's ultimately your own dedication towards packing in shitloads that kept me glued to the screen.
There were definitely a few points in the submarine stage and plan stage that went beyond what I'd expect to hit/kill you.
You know, watching the cutscenes, I wondered why the enemies don't fly towards mario when he's offguard and kill him... Or if they can disguise themselves, maybe they could infiltrate the monarchy and then kill the king?
I'm just some random guy. Don't let my words get you riled - I have my opinions but they're only mine.
Regarding compilation of similar movies (an issue that may arise again):
I think that unless it is almost-certain that someone will want to watch B after A, they should be kept separate. For example, though a single movie COULD be split into the various levels, to do so would be silly, since everyone will presumably want to watch level 2 after level 1.
Keeping movies together has the advantage of minimising clicks/downloads and - if you want to watch them all in the 'suggested' order - makes viewing more hassle-free.
However, if anyone later wants to watch just a single section (like someone might if you play different modes of the same game) that'll be a fair bit trickier, necessiating finding the right start point in the videofile and such.
Basically, if in doubt, I would suggest keeping all movies separate.
Assuming the movies are different enough, I don't think number of movies should ever be a restriction.
Regarding this run:
I enjoyed watching and it was a cool goal, skillfully achieved. The screenshot used on this site ruins the ending though, removing any sense of 'what is he doing' that I might have gotten from watching just the youtube thing.
With the next playaround, would it be possible to have multiple patterns/ pictures? Vertical stripes would be cool, as would the suggested sprites or 'TAS' lettershapes. I seem to remember Tetris DX's blocks falling faster, so maybe the pictures could be wiped and new ones created?
It would also be a fun bit of 'can you tell what it is yet?' the first time you watch, seeing a new sprite build up.
Anyways, this was a cool idea, fun watch and definitely deserved publication.
I'm just some random guy. Don't let my words get you riled - I have my opinions but they're only mine.
I imagine this is easier than the average TAS but it was really fun watching all the cards flying around so fast.
Also, the Queen of Spades looks (to me) like she's wearing a really kinky outfit.
I genuinely think there should be more ultra-short runs. They seem more intense somehow.
I'm just some random guy. Don't let my words get you riled - I have my opinions but they're only mine.
Well, if taken literally, ONE person cannot physiologically complete this run. You cannot pause the game (even between "levels"), and you have to sleep at some point. That said, 2 or more people could definitely do it -- I hope the folks at desertbus.org step up to the plate and get 99 points someday :D
If you move the bus as far as permitted, away from the 'drift', what's the maximum amount of time you could take a break?
I'm imagining that toilet breaks wouldn't be an issue if you had some containers and if you are able to grab a minute of sleep regularly, it may be possible to survive 40 days without 'proper' sleep...
I'm just some random guy. Don't let my words get you riled - I have my opinions but they're only mine.
That seems like a cool idea. It could be done by donators naming the run they want to sponsor in the comments and a bar appearing on the front page of runs with bounties attached.
It wouldn't work unless folk paid first since otherwise, payment wouldn't be guaranteed.
One issue might be people that want to sponsor runs that never actually get completed.
I'm just some random guy. Don't let my words get you riled - I have my opinions but they're only mine.
As a relative layperson, I find save-game glitches rather awesome and impressive.
If there were a simple push-button cheat to skip to the final cutscene of the RPG that I already knew of, watching it being done frame-perfectly wouldn't impress me at all.
Ultimately, these runs are meant to be entertainment and I think that's the main reason to disallow most cheats - they generally reduce the entertainment potential.
I'm just some random guy. Don't let my words get you riled - I have my opinions but they're only mine.
I think that settles it. Simultaneous left+right cannot be considered hardware modification/abuse because it is physically possible to achieve the effect by tapping left+right fast enough, so a godlike player can do it whenever needed (which is what TASing simulates).
I never realised that this was in question. I can press 3 directions at once on a Snes joypad relatively easily (e.g. left, right and up) though not all 4.
I know because I used to play this game I made up. It's called 'try to get every button to be active on the "keycheck" screen some games have.'
Maybe it's because of the joypad I was using, but whilst it takes some hard pushing in the right place, it never seemed horribly difficult to push opposite directions simultaneously.
P.S. It was an official joypad. I'm just willing to accept the possibility that you've all got harder plastic or something on your pads.
I'm just some random guy. Don't let my words get you riled - I have my opinions but they're only mine.
I understand that having artifacts looks cool, but the crisp pixels look sumptuous - specially on DK.
I think I would maybe also prefer most games with artifacts but either way, these are pretty.
Most CRT TVs take time for the image to fade out though - making a massive difference when fast scrolling occurs or in Gradius. That didn't seem to occur in the example you posted, so either way it's not entirely authentic.
I'm just some random guy. Don't let my words get you riled - I have my opinions but they're only mine.
If there is a game for Lynx that someone here could enjoy, I'd like to know. I'll look into TASing it.
Qix! PLEASE!!!
Chip's Challenge was an excellent game but would make a terrible TAS.
Qix, on the other hand, is a game I've enjoyed on various platforms, still isn't on the site and seems like it should have some real potential for superhuman play.
I've always died in that game, though, so I don't know if it's endless. If so, maybe it's possible to max out the score? I imagine that seeing the enemy put into a tinier space than any human could to be rather exciting. Of course, depending on the scoring system (I don't remember it exactly), lower % scores may be more efficient in a points race. Either way, the game deserves a TAS.
I won't offer you money as a bounty but if you do it, I will draw you a picture of anything.
I'm just some random guy. Don't let my words get you riled - I have my opinions but they're only mine.
Sorry, this has been annoying me recently.
'Were' is used for multiple people/items. 'Was' is only used for a singular subject.
'Less' is only used when the item cannot be counted - e.g. less milk, less data, less time, less entertaining. When items can be counted, use 'fewer'. E.g. Fewer millilitres of milk, fewer kilobytes of data, fewer minutes, fewer games.
I'm just some random guy. Don't let my words get you riled - I have my opinions but they're only mine.
This does seem precise but there's nothing that makes it look superhuman to me - a person unfamiliar with this game.
The same, unimpressive actions are repeated over and over and I got bored ater a couple of minutes, thereafter just keeping it on the side to watch in the corner of my eye.
Nothing seemed to change.
Voting Meh, since it does seem precise, has an amusing premise and has the benefit of bein somewhat soporific.
I'm just some random guy. Don't let my words get you riled - I have my opinions but they're only mine.
I voted 'meh' but on reflection should have been a weak yes.
I was interested to see this and though disappointed with the lack of unique mechanics, this seems well played.
I think that whilst a worthy goal, lag reduction just isn't as much of a cool 'crowdpleaser' technique as, say, unintended warps, abusing collision detection etc.
I did like the rope-climbing technique used.That was pretty cool to see.
I'm just some random guy. Don't let my words get you riled - I have my opinions but they're only mine.
Actually (after reading that thread) I've realised how cool the idea of an official bounty system that deals in points rather than cash would be.
Though these two ideas aren't mutually exclusive, I definitely think that one should be explored further.
I'm just some random guy. Don't let my words get you riled - I have my opinions but they're only mine.
Awesome!
Fun to watch again but it was DK that REALLY made use of the crisp, large pixels. The bold colours in DK and the simple shapes are really lovely and can definitely be better appreciate in HD.
The others that I watched didn't have quite the same majesty but there's definitely something appealing about seeing the crisp edges of these chunky pixels.
Please carry on with your HD versions.
I'm just some random guy. Don't let my words get you riled - I have my opinions but they're only mine.
It may have been a joke, but I actually really like the 1080p version.
When stretched normally, the video would interpolate the colours - even the 360p version looks relatively blurred and muted - but doing it via a 'nearest neighbour' method just makes the pixels look so crisp and sexy.
Maybe not 'true' for NES/Snes games since a CRT would blur the pixels but I would still support a sexy 1080p SMB encoding.
I'm just some random guy. Don't let my words get you riled - I have my opinions but they're only mine.
I think those of us who enjoyed this run would be mildly interested in his opinions too so some subjectivity doesn't seem like a big deal. The point I'd be most interested in would be the score changes but I'd look forward to read whatever you are able to translate/post.
At a pinch, if time is an issue, those of us interested can always struggle through with an online translator if the portugese text were to be posted.
I'm just some random guy. Don't let my words get you riled - I have my opinions but they're only mine.
I see you.... oh wait. No I don't.
Another example of what a TAS should be - showing the game behaving in truly unexpected ways, stretching it beyond breaking point.
I was very confused.
I'm just some random guy. Don't let my words get you riled - I have my opinions but they're only mine.
Thanks for the run and encode respectively, wwmarx and sgrunt.
I greatly enjoyed this, not having seen previous SB4 runs (and - I realise - not being very familiar with this version. I didn't even know players could throw each other and combine bombs!)
I found myself trying to work out ahead of time what you were going to do, sometimes managing to guess, usually being surprised. This lasted the entire game, keeping my mind busy and entertained.
I wish the intro were a bit shorter relative to the levels but that's unavoidable. (Though perhaps a point in favour of a Saturn Bomberman run if that is possible?)
The first time I saw level 2-1, I was so surprised I had to watch it thrice immediately.
Definite yes.
I'm just some random guy. Don't let my words get you riled - I have my opinions but they're only mine.
In a way, if the bounties were large enough to become almost a primary motivational factor (or even a very large secondary motivation) it could turn ugly, with people racing to complete TASs, disclosing no information and perhaps harbouring grudges afterwards.
Perhaps that's an argument in favour of keeping the monetary reward:time spent ratio fairly low.
On a similar note, subjective criteria (worthy of x score from the bounty payer or even the idea of being publishable) could cause hard feelings if a run is borderline. Instead, I'd suggest that you try to suggest a time goal. Of course, that could have its own theoretical problems (difficulty of deciding the goal/potential for folk to do bare minimum...)
To not be a total Debbie Downer, I'll add that I love all you guys.
I'm just some random guy. Don't let my words get you riled - I have my opinions but they're only mine.