Posts for Randil

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Sounds interesting. Perhaps it could also be possible for NesVideoAgent to take the contrast between the sprites and the background into account. For example, if there are only blue sprites on a screen with blue background, it might be hard to see what's going on. This is probably too hard to judge for NesVideoAgent though, but it would be nice if it worked.
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For those who are too lazy, or if the .avi has too few seeders, I have uploaded the new .avi-file to my youtube-account. Here's the link to the youtube-movie: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bp51vO_Agpk
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I enjoyed watching it. Very nice job! :)
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Randil wrote:
*Another bug that I've experienced is that when I make a spliced movie with this tool, the movie will continue playing even after the last frame of the movie! For example, if I make a spliced movie that is 1000 frames long, FCEU will continue playing it even after frame 1000, endlessly. I'll see if I can upload a movie-file showing this if that will help. *This bug isn't that usual, but it has happened: I have experienced a bug where spliced movies end about 60 frames before the end of the movie. So if a spliced movie is 1000 frames long and I play it in FCEU, sometimes it will just play to around frame 940 and then say that the movie has ended.
I just wanted to point out that these two bugs seem to be bugs inside FCEU and not TAS movie editor. So don't worry about them, Maximus. :)
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An idea I have is the possibility to remove a button input for all the frames marked. For example, let's say that you by mistake held down the "start"-button for 3000 frames in a movie that you've recorded. Holding down start doesn't do anything, but you want to remove the start input from the movie-file so it doesn't look sloppy in the input display. Would it be possible to add a feature that allows you to mark the frames you want the input removed from, and then remove start input from all the frames marked? If you marked some frames without any start-input, they won't of course be affected by this action.
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Hi Maximus, as I used this tool (version 0-12) a lot when making my Solstice TASes I stumbled upon some bugs: *If you want to load a movie-file in either the "movie splicer" or "compare movie input range", and press "cancel" in the window where you can choose your movie-file, the program crashes. *The program crashes if you enter "compare movie input range" and press "Process" without having any movies in the list. *Another bug that I've experienced is that when I make a spliced movie with this tool, the movie will continue playing even after the last frame of the movie! For example, if I make a spliced movie that is 1000 frames long, FCEU will continue playing it even after frame 1000, endlessly. I'll see if I can upload a movie-file showing this if that will help. *This bug isn't that usual, but it has happened: I have experienced a bug where spliced movies end about 60 frames before the end of the movie. So if a spliced movie is 1000 frames long and I play it in FCEU, sometimes it will just play to around frame 940 and then say that the movie has ended. Besides the small bugs, the program has worked very well, and has been really useful. One small thing that is still bugging me a little though is that the TAS movie editor crashes if I try to open a movie that I'm currently playing in FCEU - sometimes I've added lots of movies into the movie splicer and then by mistake try to open a movie that I'm playing in FCEU in the background, crashing the whole program. Perhaps there could be an error message saying "can't open movie-file becuase it's currently being used by another program" or something?
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You should perhaps add to the author's comments that this run is 43.77 seconds faster than the your currently published run.
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Mr. Kelly R. Flewin wrote:
JEEBUS MAN! QUIT BREAKING THIS FRAGILE GAME! ;) [Goes to watch this insane improvement] Um DAYUM?! That's a freaking YES with a bullet! Now if there was only a way to find out how to clip that one Orange Cube so you don't have to pace back and forth before it comes down again.. Btw, how plausible would you deem this new cut the corner of the spikes to bounce over them trick, to be done on a real console? Possible, but not worth the extreme effort it'd take to make happen..? Improbable? Mr. Kelly R. Flewin
Thanks! :) I agree that it would be nice not having to wait for the orange cube to come down to me, though I don't see how that could be done. Doing the jump on spikes trick on console is indeed possible, but probably only by doing it "by mistake". You have to hit it on the exact right pixel, that means that you pretty much have to use frame advance (or slowdown) to get it done. And as you'll realize, it's way to risky to pull off, as a mistake will result in a brutal death. ;) However, one trick that could very well be used to speed up normal speed running of this game could be to enter the menu at the same places that I do. It could speed up the normal speedrun by a second or two.
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Good news: I found a new (amazing) trick! This trick will make this run at least 4 seconds faster. It will also allow for a slightly modified, and faster, route. I will cancel this run and start working on an improved run. It'll probably be done within a week (I have a lot of free time but no internet connection at the moment. Perhaps there is a connecton. :) ) EDIT: Hmm... "Access blocked because of missing/unacceptable referrer information." I guess I'll have to cancel this submission from another computer. Bisqwit, or someone else who can cancel this submission, can feel free to do so. Otherwise I'll do it once I get access to internet from another computer. Probably tomorrow. EDIT2: So, I still haven't been able to cancel this submission because I don't have access to do so from the only computer I've had access to the internet from. I'll probably be able to cancel this before the end of the week, but anyone with privelleges to do so can go ahead and reject this if they want. The new movie is underway, it will be around 8 seconds faster than this submission. There are lots of new crazy stuff in it, so I think you're gonna like it! :)
Post subject: Creating theoretical memory addresses
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I'm sorry if the topic title is confusing, but it was the best I could think of. The core of my idea is the possibility to create new memory addresses that work as a function of existing RAM addresses. These addresses would only exist inside the emulator, they won't affect the game in any way. I'll give some examples below of how these could work: *Let's say you would like a memory address that increases by 1 for each frame that there is lag. You have found a memory address, let's say RAM address 5000, that has the value FF if, and only if, there is lag. If there is no lag, it has the value 00. Let's create a theoretical address, let's call it G000, that works like this:
    G000 increases by 1 for each frame that address 5000 has the value FF. G000 has the value 00 when the game starts.
*Another use could be to find out the distance between you and an enemy, if you're TASing a typical platformer. If your X-position is stored in address 1000, and the enemy's address is stored in address 1001, you could create address G001 = (the value of address 1001) - (the value of address 1000), if the value of 1001 > the value of 1000. *Sometimes you have found an address that tells you the boss' health points, but it doesn't really work as you would like it to work. For example, in the NES game Darkwing Duck, all bosses have 16 health points. I don't remember by heart on what address the health is stored, but let's say it's address 1500. The problem with the value of this address is that it starts at 0 and then increases with each hit until it reaches 16. Let's say you want it to behave in the matter that it starts out at 16 and then decreases when you hit the boss. You could then create a new address, called G002 = 16 - (the value of address 1500). What do you think? I hope I made myself clear in this post. Note that I don't know much about how emulators work, so perhaps this isn't even possible to implement. Though I can see the use of these values, especially the part with the lag counter could be really useful.
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Thanks for the translations, Bisqwit. I guess they verify that this game is as strange as it looks. :) And thanks for accepting the movie, adelikat. I wonder how you "enter the interior"? :P
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adelikat wrote:
I voted meh. This game is marginal, but not too bad. It is very optimized in typical Randil style. The problem is that I find it too straightfoward and simplistic. The optimal solution is obvious for most situations. Therefore there was nothing impressed/suprised me in the run. In most situations, it is optimal to simply run right and jump/attack to handle the occasional enemy. In boss situations, attacking the boss quickly is straightfoward. The game is very limited in terms of types of movements, weapons, power-ups. There isn't anything in the way of route planning to consider. However, it isn't terribly simplistic, and is somewhat enjoyable so I didn't vote no. I feel that it falls into the gray area on the borderline of publication vs rejection.
Allrighty, thanks for the feedback. :) So... What are we gonna do about this submission? Perhaps hear the opinions from other judges? Is it anything I might do to speed up the decision on this movie?
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Don't worry about it Angerfist, I fully understand yours and AnS' opinion. Heck, even I who made this TAS don't know what they're talking about, I just know what happens when you do the things you do. :) Perhaps it could be a good idea to add subtitles to the .avi-file when this gets published? This is of course if someone who knows japanese wants to take on this task. I'm just brainstorming here. :)
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Titus Kwok wrote:
omfg I had one of those things without the rumble and absolutely HATED it. It was nigh impossible to press in one direction on the D-pad without getting a diagonal. I snapped the damn thing in half trying to take it apart and didn't even feel bad. I replaced it with an Xbox 360 controller, which doesn't even need any kind of adapter because it's USB!
Yeah, I have that problem in SNES9X, but it's no problem with FCEU - There are no diagonal inputs for FCEU, so I don't have to worry about that with this gamepad when TASing NES games.
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I'm reviving this thread to inform you that my trusted Logitech Rumblepad, which I've used on every TAS I've made (around 25 or so), has broken. The problem is that the computer detects the gamepad when it's plugged in, but after about 5-10 seconds, expecially if you move the gamepad around, it looses contact with it, and thinks it has been removed. I've had this gamepad for about 3 years, of which I've spent around 2 years TASing with it. But, just as the Phoenix rises from the ashes, so does a new TASing gamepad rise! I'm gonna go to town today and buy myself a new gamepad, probably an identical. Goodbye, trusted gamepad, you'll be remembered. Here's a picture of what it looked like: http://static.howstuffworks.com/gif/productImages/9/9/00000111499-LogitechRumblepad2vibrationfeedbackgamepad-large.jpeg
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adelikat wrote:
This problem is that I get a desync using FCEU .16 (though you said you used that one). It happens around 44360. You try to jump over that pit and fail. Your character dies and then it plays around on the title screen for the rest of the movie. The rom checksum matches up as well.
Damn, you're right. I guess it's because of all the copy-pasting that's been done. I'll fix it ASAP. I'll mail the updated version to Bisqwit when it's done. Sorry.
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So, can this program be used to watch memory addresses for a NES ROM (or ROMs in general)? Or can you only watch the RAM for executable files?
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So many to choose from... Chrono Trigger - Peaceful Day Chrono Trigger - What the forest taught me Chrono Trigger - To far away memories Chrono Trigger - Frog's theme Final Fantasy - Prelude Final Fantasy 7 - Interupted by fireworks Final Fantasy 7 - J-E-N-O-V-A Final Fantasy 7 - Judgement day Final Fantasy 8 - Find your way Final Fantasy 8 - The Legendary Beast Yeah, I can go on, and on, and on... :)
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Kles wrote:
I noticed this problem as well while watching the two hour SDW TAS. If you pause it and go back a second or two, it usually resyncs itself.
This is a problem I have with about 30-40% of the TASvideos avi-files I have. It has gotten better lately though, but some avi-files still have sound that desyncs after a short while. But as you said, it's easily fixed by rewinding a seconds or two.
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What's Game Maker? Is it a freeware? Can you make games playable in emulators with it?
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This sounds like a great idea, Maximus. :) I'm looking forward to seeing how it turns out. The indexing idea sounds nice too, I can see myself killing time by browsing through the different game folders. ;) Good luck on this.
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Really amazing run. Definitely a star. Yes vote from me. :)
Post subject: Workbench bug
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I believe I found a bug in the workbench section of the forum today, and at the time I am writing this, this bug is still there: When I enter the workbench, it says that there are 2 pages, see this picture. But when I click on the link to page 2, the page looks like this. Perhaps this is due to a movie being moved to the gruefood section or something. I just thought I should report it.
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If the moviefile is easy to edit with TAS editor, perhaps you could edit in another thing I found: It's possible to enter the first animal, the frog that is, 22 frames faster. This is the only place where I looked over if you can enter the animal a little faster - perhaps there are more places. Here's the movie that shows this. Don't get me wrong though, I don't expect you to redo the whole movie for this, but if you're lucky you might be able to edit this in. :) You should perhaps check if there are more places where you could have entered the animals faster (that just sounds so wrong). Good luck!
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Thanks a lot for all the feedback. :) I was worried that this movie would get a lot of no votes due to the nature of the game.
alden wrote:
I almost called you on not killing the last enemy but it looks like you could get off the boat faster if you didn't, so that's good.
Actually, it would have been exactly as fast to jump off the boat. However, I tried to reach that last enemy without luck, he was just too far away. I hope it doesn't ruin the run totally. ;)
Twisted Eye wrote:
Also, when I tried the E version and got to the bonus stage, it seemed like I could hammer the lady. ERr sorry, hit the lady with the hammer. Anyway, I think it lowered my Count...count. If it did, you could use that to save time in the movie while still being entertaining. Killing all the enemies in the second bonus stage without them ever appearing was pretty entertaining as well, though.
Yes, you lower your count by hitting the girl hanging from the roof (I think this is your girlfriend). I chose not to do that however, for two reasons: 1. I was busy doing other stuff in the bonus levels. I would have a really hard time both hitting the enemies/bombs as well as the girl. 2. If I were to waste time hitting her, I wouldn't have gotten such a high count, which to me would look less impressibe. It would also interfere with the "highest score in bonus levels" goal. I think the bonus levels look fine just the way they are. :)