Posts for Mr._Pwnage

1 2 3 4
8 9
Experienced Forum User
Joined: 6/6/2004
Posts: 223
Braille is used as a "secret code" for some messages, designed to be fairly obscure to most players but still easy enough to look up if someone comes across it and wants to figure out what it is.
Experienced Forum User
Joined: 6/6/2004
Posts: 223
You can already enter Pianta Village as your first level without even making use of any custom savestates (indeed, the any% run is going to use that route since it's faster, and even non-TAS players sometimes do so, but good luck getting through section 5 or its coin-laden reprise without tools). As for the note from the original post, "all shines" is the very definition of 100%, so asking how to get one without the other is as futile as asking how to beat the game without going through the Bowser fight.
Experienced Forum User
Joined: 6/6/2004
Posts: 223
It doesn't have that, but neither does the latest SpeedFix.
Experienced Forum User
Joined: 6/6/2004
Posts: 223
It's definitely bug-compatible with the important ones for a speedrun. In particular, the most outlandish bug listed is the ability for a chain-explosion to produce extra trons, and it certainly replicates that faithfully to allow me to save a bunch of time in levels 90, 94, and 98 (probably some more like 82 as well, but I haven't taken a detailed look at that level yet). Go figure that if it handles that case correctly, emulating the other bugs is a relative cakewalk.
Experienced Forum User
Joined: 6/6/2004
Posts: 223
I found this account: http://www.youtube.com/user/38Marvin38/videos It shows that the tricks I've been using are in fact compatible with the stock SP game, and in most cases the routes are very similar to what's in my tapes collection (only a few levels like Vice, Looks Difficult, and Know That which have significantly suboptimal videos). There are also several levels there that I haven't gotten around to yet. Unfortunately, YouTube commenting appears broken right now, so I can't direct the author of the videos here to see if they've noted the routes for some of the missing levels, or if they have plans to make it a full-game run.
Experienced Forum User
Joined: 6/6/2004
Posts: 223
I've attempted some TASes on standalone Supaplex levels, but using the Rocks'n'Diamonds simulator. I can't guarantee how accurate it is, or if the routes I develop there take advantage of mechanics that won't be replicable in your project, but improved SP engine compatibility was a stated design goal of the 3.3 release. TASing makes as good a stress test as anything for getting the frame-by-frame behaviors down. One thing I can guarantee isn't accurate between the two is the timer speed. Level 2 makes a remarkably good benchmark, because it's a simple maze with a 407-step solution, and a TAS of that is going to be inflexible and obvious. Your finish time is enough to conclude that Supaplex runs at 70fps (with a move taking 8 frames), while RnD is stuck at 50, so all the times I set get tagged with a 40% penalty. That said, on level 3 I found a route that completes in 1:44.74 of RnD time, which translates to 1:14.81 in SP assuming that everything else is accurate. You might be able to save some more time there after all. Other targets to shoot for when you get to these levels: (* = recent additions/improvements) 5. Easy Deal - 1:13.20 = 0:52.29 (adjusted) 6. Down They Fall - 1:23.68 = 0:59.77 7. Go Through - 1:23.70 = 0:59.79 10. Easy Come, Easy Go - 1:19.34 = 0:56.67 11. Run for Life - 0:34.50 = 0:24.64 12. Ignore Them - 1:04.48 = 0:46.06 13. Anonymous - 1:56.92 = 1:23.51 14. Fall Out - 0:59.76 = 0:42.69 19. Crazy Harry - 1:56.36 = 1:23.11 20. Minotaurus - 1:18.48 = 0:56.06 21. Gravity - 0:41.88 = 0:29.91 22. Up and Down - 0:51.66 = 0:36.90 24. 200 Moving Objects - 1:50.04 = 1:18.60 *25. Yawn - 1:36.68 = 1:09.06 29. TNT - 1:07.86 = 0:48.47 31. Time to Open - 0:58.02 = 0:41.44 34. Easy Rider - 1:18.96 = 0:56.40 37. Nearly Boring - 1:44.00 = 1:14.29 38. Bombastic - 1:02.10 = 0:44.36 *40. Mind the Stones - 0:48.50 = 0:34.64 44. Telepathy - 0:40.14 = 0:28.67 45. Easy Work - 1:36.34 = 1:08.81 47. Looks Difficult - 0:55.32 = 0:39.51 48. Ready-Steady-Go - 1:51.02 = 1:19.30 49. Fall-Festival - 2:44.66 = 1:57.61 50. Don't Worry - 1:12.88 = 0:52.06 53. Fill In - 1:40.22 = 1:11.59 55. The Eldritch - 1:29.24 = 1:03.74 59. Vice - 1:33.08 = 1:06.49 60. Versa - 1:34.80 = 1:07.71 68. Tough Going - 2:29.56 = 1:46.83 71. Head-Hunter - 1:22.98 = 0:59.27 73. One Way - 1:47.94 = 1:17.10 84. All That Fuss - 0:39.42 = 0:28.16 88. Flip and Flop - 1:28.54 = 1:03.24 89. Triple Fork - 2:53.90 = 2:04.21 90. Know That - 0:38.58 = 0:27.56 93. Timing - 0:32.28 = 0:23.06 94. Einstein's Favorite - 0:38.36 = 0:27.40 98. Mixed Salad - 1:21.32 = 0:58.09 99. Joystick Handling - 0:44.46 = 0:31.76 100. IQ - 3:33.68 = 2:32.63 102. Sub-Effects - 1:43.94 = 1:14.24 *105. One's Missing - 3:48.60 = 2:43.29 109. Upstairs-Downstairs - 0:52.88 = 0:37.77 *111. Brainman - 2:38.12 = 1:52.94 To see what those routes look like so you can try inputting them in the emulator, you can look in my tapes folder, though you'll need RnD before you can actually play back the input files.
Experienced Forum User
Joined: 6/6/2004
Posts: 223
By entering the warp zone to world 1, doesn't this run breaks its own "always make progress" rule?
Experienced Forum User
Joined: 6/6/2004
Posts: 223
If a TAS on this game is to have any purpose whatsoever, it's pretty much required to manipulate luck to the fullest in the D and Final stages, as A/B/C/E stages are completely deterministic and even the unassisted records treat them as practically turn-based puzzles from which they're easy to analyze. I'd assume that by now, the records for every luck-based stage can only be set with the most favorable 0.1% of random seeds, if not less. The fact that the final stage here takes four times as long as the unassisted record, and in fact ranks behind all but two of the submissions on Cyberscore, is a fundamentally disqualifying flaw. It's not particularly fast, nor does it offset that with any kind of style points. Now, in the previous discussion topic (see the link to unassisted records in a prior post), it was found that the RNG manipulation available in this game is minimal, and consists exclusively of waiting and brute-force restarts. This seems to imply, if anything, that the game makes a poor candidate for TASing, at least for a single-segment stage challenge run (and the other modes aren't going to be any better). Either that, or the run needs to focus on cracking the RNG directly, as has been the focus of many RPG titles recently.
Experienced Forum User
Joined: 6/6/2004
Posts: 223
This run fails to beat the unassisted records, some by significant margins.
Experienced Forum User
Joined: 6/6/2004
Posts: 223
Is it really better to grab the black key from below? It seems like you could use the tight U-turns in the maze section to adjust your grip on it with slightly less movement.
Experienced Forum User
Joined: 6/6/2004
Posts: 223
adelikat wrote:
As to why it is a moon, it is because it does not fit the Vault. But then again, it doesn't fit Moons either. It just doesn't fit in with the site rules of today, but there isn't a better designation than moon.
Forget a star, or a moon. This run merits a flux capacitor.
Experienced Forum User
Joined: 6/6/2004
Posts: 223
Stages 4 and 5 were able to get 15 million points in a single zone thanks to bonus time, so why did it take a second zone in order to finish off stage 2?
Experienced Forum User
Joined: 6/6/2004
Posts: 223
This can only mean they're going to restart again to implement that major improvement!
Experienced Forum User
Joined: 6/6/2004
Posts: 223
They're on the last Rainbow Ride segment (which includes the 100 coins), and then Bowser 3 is in place to be pasted after that, completing the run.
Experienced Forum User
Joined: 6/6/2004
Posts: 223
Would two players have the capability to BLJ off each other anywhere, without regard to the stage layout?
Experienced Forum User
Joined: 6/6/2004
Posts: 223
"No, Mr. Monopoly. I expect you to...die."
Experienced Forum User
Joined: 6/6/2004
Posts: 223
7305 days is 20 years, hence the branch name "20 to Life". At least you'll still be able to submit it when you're 31.
Experienced Forum User
Joined: 6/6/2004
Posts: 223
Try making a branch called "20 to Life" that involves the game going like this: You 1: Hard 10, hard 8 (buy, 1320), easy 4 (advance to boardwalk, don't buy) CPU 1: 2 (get out of jail free), 5 (go to jail) You 2: Hard 8 (1520, advance to nearest utility, don't buy), hard 4 (buy, 1340), hold onto the dice for 37,869,120,000 frames, finally roll a 3 (buy, 1140), buy maximum houses, and end turn CPU 2: Get a chance to use the card at long last, hard 8 (pay 750), any 4 (go back 3 spaces, pay 800 and lose) The conceptualizing has already been done for you, so it shouldn't be that hard to make. Right? If you get started on it now, perhaps when you're done with it, the collective vitriol toward you will have cooled down. Plus I hear dwarfing the Desert Bus submission by a factor of 175 is bound to score you some reputation around here.
Experienced Forum User
Joined: 6/6/2004
Posts: 223
Does any other category even exist in that game?
Experienced Forum User
Joined: 6/6/2004
Posts: 223
Mega Rush will not stack with Power Rush. If you have both and 1 HP, you only get the +4 from Mega Rush.
Experienced Forum User
Joined: 6/6/2004
Posts: 223
I'm not sure Merlee can kick in on a Bowser fight. Let's see what happens if it can't. Bowser will always use the Star Rod on the second turn, so you would have 2 turns to deal 99 damage. Power Bounce will automatically stop somewhere between 3 and 6 hits against Bowser, no matter how well you keep up the action command. If you equip Power Plus (6), Power Plus (12), P-Up, D-Down (14), All or Nothing (18), Mega Rush (19), and Close Call (20), then go into the Bowser fight with exactly 1 HP: Watt 1: Charge (Mario +1 power for 4 turns) Mario 1: Power Bounce 10+9+8+7+6+5 (45 damage) Bowser 1: Trigger a miss with the Close Call badge so you don't die Mario 2: Power Bounce 10+9+8+7+6+5 (45 damage) Watt 2: Electro Dash (5 damage) Bowser 2: Star Rod with 4 HP left ...nope, that's not going to work. Can Sushie hit for 9 with TAS rapid fire? If so, you could make that work, but you'd have to add Quick Change (24 BP).
Experienced Forum User
Joined: 6/6/2004
Posts: 223
I was able to do that in Aquatic Mine once, but never could find the trigger for making it happen again.
Experienced Forum User
Joined: 6/6/2004
Posts: 223
It's definitely possible to shift gravity without using bounce--I've done it with Shadow, to allow the Final Chase low-rail route of 2--but I don't know the window for pressing B well enough to make it consistent.
Experienced Forum User
Joined: 6/6/2004
Posts: 223
Chain-bouncing? (Maybe gravity control bouncing could use a better name too, like slant bouncing? It's not like it causes all the boxes in the level to adopt the new direction of gravity a la Crazy Gadget.)
Experienced Forum User
Joined: 6/6/2004
Posts: 223
You can definitely enter the multiball level even before collecting all the emeralds.
1 2 3 4
8 9