Posts for BillBull

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Experienced Forum User, Published Author, Former player
Joined: 5/22/2004
Posts: 462
Cool game and great TAS! This game used to haunt me as a kid (that dang boat jump on stage 1....), but after figuring it out as an adult, I began to appreciate the adventure game-like aspects of the later stages. It's always great to see a nostalgic favorite game picked apart in a TAS :D One small question, since wielding the stick speeds up the "I just landed from a jump" animation, would it be any faster to equip the stick in Stage 1 as soon as you get it, so that the subsequent 3 jumps are faster?
Experienced Forum User, Published Author, Former player
Joined: 5/22/2004
Posts: 462
Great TAS for a terrible game :D There is a small improvement that can be done that I discovered while playing this game casually (it's also detailed in the manual) - In Stage 4, Room #5, you have to lure a spike ball up to the top of the screen and use it to activate a switch. The TAS uses the platform on the left side of the screen to ride up to the top, but you can instead use Alfred's dive bomb maneuver to bounce off the spike ball, and it will continually follow you upwards while you're bouncing on it. Here is a screenshot of the room in question: https://imgur.com/jiVsLeC Here is a short twitch clip of the technique https://clips.twitch.tv/DiligentCuriousOrangeBIRB-2dLQVZWlMdyEA8fh By my rough estimate, bouncing on the spike ball should be about 1-2 seconds faster. Note that I don't plan on implementing this improvement, but thought I'd share in case anyone ever decided to have another go at this game.
Post subject: New timesave
Experienced Forum User, Published Author, Former player
Joined: 5/22/2004
Posts: 462
Recently posted on youtube by a "Ross Taylor Piano Riffs" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gvf9-bV77F4 Essentially, you can skip *most* of the cutscene where you recharge Crispin's wand at the end of the game. Fortunately this is at the very end of the game, so it shouldn't be too hard to implement :D
Post subject: possible improvements
Experienced Forum User, Published Author, Former player
Joined: 5/22/2004
Posts: 462
A couple of ideas for potential improvements on this TAS that I've come up with after running this game RTA for some strange reason. One big one (well, like maybe a second) is that you don't need to pick up the shuriken in stage one to beat the game. Normally you need them to knock the boss of the game, Kunitoki, down and turn him into fireworks. I'm not sure how or why it works, but if you skip the shuriken in stage one, you can just kick Kunitoki when you fight him and he falls down in one hit. This should be faster. An idea I had that I have not tested is to try getting hit by an enemy at the same time that you pick up an item. Getting hit will cancel the "pick up item" animation and instead play the "got hit" animation, which at least feels faster. It might not be, but it's worth testing. If it is, it would save time at the first two screens of stage 4, as well as the first key you grab in stage 5 and the rope in that same stage. Also, there's no need to pull out the "stick" weapon in the fan room in stage 4, I'm not sure why this TAS does so. I don't plan on improving this TAS, but if anyone ever does, at least these ideas will be here for them.
Experienced Forum User, Published Author, Former player
Joined: 5/22/2004
Posts: 462
I love this movie! I really enjoy the fact that someone has taken the time to TAS one of my favorite games from my childhood. However, the question must be asked (even 5 years late): at what CPU cycles did you record this movie? I admit to full ignorance of JPC-rr v.11.2, so if it runs on a fixed number of CPU cycles, I'm curious as to what it is. The question arises because I've recently become interested in speedrunning old Sierra adventure games, and because they are basically universally ran through DOSBox, we try (try) to set a standard number of CPU cycles for runners to use so that everyone is at a fair playing field. EDIT: The only speedrunner of this game (that I know of) uses 10,000 CPU cycles, so that's unofficially the standard for this game.
Experienced Forum User, Published Author, Former player
Joined: 5/22/2004
Posts: 462
In this version of King's Quest V, you can use the tambourine anywhere in Mordack's Labyrinth to "summon" the monster, Dink. If you use the tambourine on yourself, he appears out of no where, does his little dance and scampers off as normal, leaving the hairpin behind. This is only doable in the NES port of this game, not in any PC versions. So, this TAS could save about a minute by not walking all the way to where Dink sits in the labyrinth, and instead just going directly to the exit and using the tambourine along the way.
Experienced Forum User, Published Author, Former player
Joined: 5/22/2004
Posts: 462
I'm cross-posting this from the SDA forums; I apologize if this information is already known or common knowledge, but I couldn't readily learn anything about it while doing a quick search a few days ago. Anyway, RE: the fall-through-floors glitch "kareshi, JC583, et al.: Floor drops still require extremely precise timing, you have to whip when falling off a 2-block high ledge at JUST the right frame, and then you'll fall through the floor, assuming you started falling with the correct y-subpixel value. Getting the y-subpixel value to be one of the correct values was what was causing floor drops to appear to be random. However, thanks to zbrannigan @ JC583's twitch stream, a lot of the mysteries have been unraveled. Here is what I have just figured out, with help from him. Y subpixel memory address = 0336 This value only changes by multiples of 8, and once it hits 256, it wraps around to 0. So, in essence, 256=0. You can use an emulator like FCEUX to monitor this value and use it to determine if you can floor drop or not. This address changes with any action Simon preforms that moves him along the y-axis. So, jumping, falling, using stairs, etc. Floor drops will only work if and only if 0336=00, 08, or 16. No other values will work. So, it needs to be one of 3 of the 32 possible values in order to work. Once you've determined that you have a subpixel value of 00, 08, or 16, then you must walk off a ledge of 2 blocks high, and whip IMMEDIATELY after walking off the edge. There is only 1 frame that this will work. If you get the frame right, you will see Simon's sprite glitch for 4 frames while falling (he reaches his arm back to whip, then ducks because he starts falling, but his arm is still floating behind him, readying his whip). Now, how do we force a subpixel value that we want? Well, this is where the fun happens. You begin the game at a subpixel value of 0. Jumping straight up and down increments it by 128. Jumping up a ledge of 2 blocks increments it by 200. Whip jumping increments it by a different amount depending on which frame you whipped (jump, wait 1 frame, then whip results in +184; jump, wait 2 frames, then whip results in +240, etc). Using any staircase resets it to 0. Jumping up a ledge of 2 blocks AND whipping increments it by a different amount depending on which frame you whipped (jump up a ledge, wait 1 frame, then whip results in +8; jump up a ledge, wait 2 frames, then whip results in +64, etc). Now, for example, if you want to drop of the ledge immediately to the left of Simon when you start the game, you have a few options to force a subpixel value that you need: You can jump up that ledge, wait 1 frame, then whip, and you'll land at the top of the ledge with a subpixel value of 8, allowing you to drop through the floor (this is what JC does in his latest WR run). You can also jump up the ledge (+200), then jump off the ledge (+128), then jump back on the ledge (+200), giving you a value of 16 ( (0+200+128+200) = 528 - 256 - 256 = 16) (subtracting 256 because the address simply rolls over at 256). Using this information, you can set yourself up to have the proper subpixel address at any given ledge that you need to drop through. Granted, you still need to be able to whip immediately after dropping off the ledge in order to actually execute the floor drop, but this removes any randomness from the glitch. Some floor drops have more complicated setups than others, because the only thing I know of that will guarantee your subpixel value to be at 0 is using stairs, so after using any stairs, if there is a floor drop you need to execute before the next staircase, you must plan every jump/fall carefully in order to set it up properly. Feel free to ask anymore questions about this trick. I feel I've got a decent understanding of how it works now, after playing and monitoring the memory address for a while, so I'll try to answer whatever else I can." Also, I'll add in a copy/paste of my notes I took while researching this glitch:
0336=0   yes drop/1 frame window         0336 = ram address for y subpixel
8   yes 1 frame
16  yes 1 frame
24  no
32  no
40  no
48  no
56  no
64  no
72  no
80  no
88  no
96  no
104 no
112 no
120 no
128 no
136 no
144 no
152 no
160 no
168 no
176 no
184 no
192 no
200 no
208 no
216 no
224 no
232 no
240 no
248 no

jump straight up = +128
whip jump straight up = varies, depending on when you whip
jump while walking = +128
whip jump while walking = varies, depending on when you whip
jump while throwing holy water = varies, depending on when you throw
jump up 2 blocks = +200
walk off 2 blocks = +232
jump off 2 blocks = +128
using stairs = reset to 0 

jump + whip 1 frame after jumping up 2 blocks  = +8
jump + whip 2 frame after jumping up 2 blocks  = +64
jump + whip 3 frame after jumping up 2 blocks  = +120
jump + whip 4 frame after jumping up 2 blocks  = +176
jump + whip 5 frame after jumping up 2 blocks  = +232
jump + whip 6 frame after jumping up 2 blocks  = +0
jump + whip 7 frame after jumping up 2 blocks  = +56
jump + whip 8 frame after jumping up 2 blocks  = +112
jump + whip 9 frame after jumping up 2 blocks  = +168
jump + whip 10 frame after jumping up 2 blocks = +224
jump + whip 11 frame after jumping up 2 blocks = +24
jump + whip 12 frame after jumping up 2 blocks = +80
jump + whip 13 frame after jumping up 2 blocks = +136
jump + whip 14 frame after jumping up 2 blocks = +192
jump + whip 15 frame after jumping up 2 blocks = +16
jump + whip 16 frame after jumping up 2 blocks = +72
jump + whip 17 frame after jumping up 2 blocks = +128
jump + whip 18 frame after jumping up 2 blocks = +184

jump + whip 1 frame after jumping straight up=  +184
jump + whip 2 frames after jumping=  +240
jump + whip 3 frames after jumping=  +40
jump + whip 4 frames after jumping=  +96
jump + whip 5 frames after jumping=  +152
jump + whip 6 frames after jumping=  +208
jump + whip 7 frames after jumping=  +8
jump + whip 8 frames after jumping=  +64
jump + whip 9 frames after jumping=  +120
jump + whip 10 frames after jumping= +176
jump + whip 11 frames after jumping= +232
jump + whip 12 frames after jumping= +32
jump + whip 13 frames after jumping= +88
jump + whip 14 frames after jumping= +144
jump + whip 15 frames after jumping= +200
jump + whip 16 frames after jumping= +0
jump + whip 17 frames after jumping= +56
jump + whip 18 frames after jumping= +112
jump + whip 19 frames after jumping= +168
jump + whip 20 frames after jumping= +224
jump + whip 21 frames after jumping= +24
jump + whip 22 frames after jumping= +80
jump + whip 23 frames after jumping= +136
jump + whip 24 frames after jumping= +192
jump + whip 25 frames after jumping= +248
jump + whip 26 frames after jumping= +48
jump + whip 27 frames after jumping= +104
jump + whip 28 frames after jumping= +160
jump + whip 29 frames after jumping= +216
jump + whip 30 frames after jumping= +16
jump + whip 31 frames after jumping= +72
jump + whip 32 frames after jumping= +128
jump + whip 33 frames after jumping= +128
Experienced Forum User, Published Author, Former player
Joined: 5/22/2004
Posts: 462
I would prefer the US version, simply because that's the version I played. Yes, that means the movie will consist of spinkicks, breadsticks (that's the super attack when Rick is powered up), and a few gut punches, but I would still watch it. Are you playing on Game Master (hard) mode? One thing I've wondered about is whether or not it's faster to sacrifice some time in stages to avoid Stage X, or if it's faster to just blitz through the levels and the Stage X afterwards. Also, there are many different paths through each stage, so finding the fastest path would be one of the most important things. I can't comment much more without any movie, but I do recommend you check out the WR speedrun, if you haven't already. He beats it in 22:33 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_8bw1l0jeDo
Experienced Forum User, Published Author, Former player
Joined: 5/22/2004
Posts: 462
www.vgmaps.com is the perfect spot for your map.
Experienced Forum User, Published Author, Former player
Joined: 5/22/2004
Posts: 462
Easy yes vote. I enjoyed all 2.25 hours of this movie, which is much much more than I can say for most TASes I've watched recently. Congratulations on an excellent movie very well done. The only thing that bugged me is that no matter how many glitches you can come up with, how many pause-buffer-scenario skips you can find, Marle will still want candy XD It seems like her insatiable hunger will never be skipped; after all, when a girl asks, we must abide :P
Experienced Forum User, Published Author, Former player
Joined: 5/22/2004
Posts: 462
I agree with everything Garrison said. I only watched the first 4 stages, and then skipped to the last level after seeing him miss the 1st secret stage. It's a shame that he skips the secrets, because the fully powered laser is way stronger than the BFG and can melt cyberdemons and the final boss very quickly. I'm not sure if the time it takes to play the three secret levels is worth it, but personally I think an "all-stages" run should be done, and it would be much more entertaining than an any% run. That is, all story stages. There are a few extra hidden bonus stages that could be interesting to see TASed (Hectic and Cat and Mouse especially), but I wouldn't expect to see them included with the rest of the game.
Experienced Forum User, Published Author, Former player
Joined: 5/22/2004
Posts: 462
It's okay, they've saved the game at least 20 times since then, so no progress will be lost!
Experienced Forum User, Published Author, Former player
Joined: 5/22/2004
Posts: 462
10 years huh? And to think, it all started with that SMB3 video of Morimoto beating it in 11 minutes. Now we've shaved over 30 seconds off that time, and there are thousands of these videos around. Although very few movies have fascinated me like the original did so long ago, these movies are still a reliable source of entertainment and nostalgia, 10 years on. I've never been a prolific TASer, not by any means, and all of my ancient runs (except for 1!) have been obsoleted long ago, but I do still watch runs of games that interest me, and do certainly appreciate the time and effort that goes into them. Thank you to Bisqwit for starting this site, adelikat, Nach, feos, FractalFusion, and Ilari for taking over and expanding it, and to everyone else who contributes. You all have my gratitude. Now I'll go back to lurking :D
Experienced Forum User, Published Author, Former player
Joined: 5/22/2004
Posts: 462
Keep up the good work Mothrayas! I'm looking forward to the complete TAS. This is one of the first Mega Man games I ever played, and I'm impressed that you've found so much (relatively speaking) to improve over BomF's previous TAS. I thought his was nearly flawless when it came out.
Experienced Forum User, Published Author, Former player
Joined: 5/22/2004
Posts: 462
Mostly unrelated question: Is Keiji Inafune the same Inafking who is featured in the credits of every single Mega Man game? If so, then I look forward to this release :D
Experienced Forum User, Published Author, Former player
Joined: 5/22/2004
Posts: 462
This is one of the most entertaining movies I have seen on this website. Maybe it's the nostalgia goggles and the NES/SNES sprites, but having never played this game I have to say that this movie is very entertaining. I understand that IWTBTG is a notoriously hard game, and it's hard for the sake of being hard, but this move was extremely amusing. That said, the few sections where "GAME OVER" appeared over the front of the screen really detracted from everything. I'm not really a huge proponent of glitching your way to success, especially if a glitch ruins the entertainment of a game. That said, this glitch is extremely annoying, and I wish it weren't present, but it is what it is. It only detracts from the total experience a little bit, and that little bit doesn't nearly match up to the positives, so this is a definitive yes vote! EDIT: very few movies have actually made me laugh out loud, but this movie is one. Although it is mostly due to game choice, I have to consider that in my judging of this movie. DEFINITELY yes. :D
Experienced Forum User, Published Author, Former player
Joined: 5/22/2004
Posts: 462
I believe it's Bizhawk
Experienced Forum User, Published Author, Former player
Joined: 5/22/2004
Posts: 462
I don't have any strategies to contribute, or tips, or much of anything other than this: http://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=ja&u=http://ultimagarden.net/&prev=/search%3Fq%3Dultima%2Bgarden%26newwindow%3D1%26safe%3Doff%26client%3Dfirefox-a%26hs%3DXRO%26rls%3Dorg.mozilla:en-US:official This (old) website shows that people (or a person) has beaten Earthbound with the levels: 66 Ness, Paula 1, Jeff 1, Winnie (Poo) 28.
Experienced Forum User, Published Author, Former player
Joined: 5/22/2004
Posts: 462
Armored Armadillo's weapon will hurt the final form of Sigma in X1
Experienced Forum User, Published Author, Former player
Joined: 5/22/2004
Posts: 462
As someone who has played the hell out of this game, I have to vote yes. I was very entertained, mostly in a "WTF?" kind of way, but entertained nonetheless. I liked that Krunch was actually used, because he is a worthless crocodile krokodile when playing normally. And I don't really care about all the hooplah surrounding this movie. I was entertained, so I voted yes.
Experienced Forum User, Published Author, Former player
Joined: 5/22/2004
Posts: 462
AngerFist wrote:
I wanted to post for two main reasons: 1) Grunz, you are my hero. Thank you for the show, you are truly an awesome person. Again, I seriously hope you will consider tasing a more modern Zelda games :D (you know what I mean). 2) Pleasure and an honor seeing you again Dan :)
Thank you AngerFist. It is good to see a familiar face name around here. This site sure has grown in the years I've been gone!
Experienced Forum User, Published Author, Former player
Joined: 5/22/2004
Posts: 462
As someone who hasn't been following the progress of OoT TASes, I'm not entirely sure what I just watched. The beginning of the game and the end of the game (In Japanese, no less!), along with a lot of glitches in between, I suppose. I have no conceivable idea how this could be any faster, so I feel obligated to vote yes.
Experienced Forum User, Published Author, Former player
Joined: 5/22/2004
Posts: 462
Very cool. This is one of my favorite N64 games and you've completely destroyed it. I loved the parts with the flying and the massive shortcuts that resulted. Easy yes vote.
Experienced Forum User, Published Author, Former player
Joined: 5/22/2004
Posts: 462
hegyak wrote:
Bisqwit wrote:
Did you double-steal the black boxes? I'm surprised this is only 5h45min considering the number of sidequests you do in the video.
The black boxes can appear in two separate time periods. If you open one in the past, the future version will not appear. If you open the future version, you can also get the past's content as well.
Yes, but if you attempt to open a black box in the past, and then say no, it powers up the item so if you open that same box in the future, it is a different item. You can then go back to that box in the past and get the original item. I haven't seen this movie yet, but I will soon and vote.
Experienced Forum User, Published Author, Former player
Joined: 5/22/2004
Posts: 462
I couldn't read it, because it has too many words that neither I nor Google have ever heard of. Words such as uniliquidial, jellopy, quadumential, etc.
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