Joined: 5/17/2004
Posts: 106
Location: Göteborg, Sweden
[delurk]Yay! A finished RPG run - how I've waited! Now, Phil just has to complete that Ogre Battle run and all will be right with the world ...
Anyhow, just finished watching the first hour or so, up to the Ifrit battle. Overall, looks like a good, entertaining run but there's clear room for improvement. Arche's Thunder Blades could've been much better used in some fights, the spell often hits only two enemies when it could've hit four instead, or is used after a couple of foes have already been otherwise eliminated instead of when it could've affected all enemies and shortened the fight considerably. I'd think that turning off the skills AI and controlling party members spells manually would be more efficient, not to mention more impressive due to a general reduction in sloppyness.
I'm also not sure about the early TP strategy (flare bottles over TP gummies, spam skills in regular fights and have none left for bosses) in some parts but as I've never actually tried to play ToP fast I can't really say if this is suboptimal or not.
Some of the holy bottle use strikes me as queer as well (using one, then getting a battle two steps later) but I'm guessing that's just to control the randomness of the battle type?
I'm very glad that you decided to run on the translated rom. Text scrolls by slow enough to be read even on the fastest setting and being able to get the story while watching improves the entertainment value of the run considerably. The fighting is fun to watch, certainly more spectatable than that of other RPGs out there. 's a highly recommended watch for anyone who's enjoyed ToP or one of its sequels or spin-offs. Proper job![/delurk]
P.S. In case anyone wonders from where I got the run since Alex's link apparently doesn't work, someone posted a working one in a separate post which was later removed D.S.
Joined: 5/17/2004
Posts: 106
Location: Göteborg, Sweden
I'm not sure about Nintendo World Cup/Nekketsu kôkô dojjibôrubu: Sakkâhen. 's a good game, but time-attackable? Or even particularly manipulatable? Hrm, don't really see how. It's a pretty slow game, too ... Ice Hockey seems like a more suitable game for abusing perfect reflexes.
I'd also like to point out to all australian, canadian & USAian visitors that this is an international (well, finnish, but Finland is pretty international) message board and therefore football likely refers to actual football and not your armoured version(s) of import rugby. Nyarr!
Joined: 5/17/2004
Posts: 106
Location: Göteborg, Sweden
I think a good, simple solution would be to add a "Publish This Run" flag to the submission form. If the submitter thinks his video is suitably perfected, he may check it. The mods then examine the run and uncheck or publish at their discretion. That way, people who just want somewhere to upload their test runs have space for it, and people who want to show their work to the world at large may do that to, all the while keeping admin overhead nice and tiny.
Joined: 5/17/2004
Posts: 106
Location: Göteborg, Sweden
Phil wrote:
I know it is not the codec problem but windows is trying to create thumbail so that link explain how to desactivate it.
Btw when this happen just kill explorer.exe and reopen it.
O_o . . . note to self: knee-jerk responses are bad. Just noticed the topic of the thread and didn't bother to read the posts in it. Sorry, and thanks.
Joined: 5/17/2004
Posts: 106
Location: Göteborg, Sweden
Gee, thanks for the vote of confidence... :p For the sake of informing the populace:
Phil - You misunderstand me completely. I have the right codec; obviously, as I encoded the file myself in the first place. The problem is having the avi corrupted when uploading and the gracefulness with which windows handles corrupted video files. Also, this was meant as an annoyed rant, not a request for help - though I appreciate the sentiment :)
qFox - My choice of view is entirely separate from window's silly preview window. To note this, select whichever viewing style you wish, mark a video file and hit the close-cross of your side bar ("explorer bar", according to explorer). Note what's in the little box marked "Details" in the replacement side bar.
Joined: 5/17/2004
Posts: 106
Location: Göteborg, Sweden
jdratlif wrote:
Maybe I am doing something wrong. I don't want to accuse anyone of cheating without proof, but I know there is a game genie code that allows for every hit to be critical, and it seems odd that the AVI and the FMV don't agree. Is there a reason I could not recreate what I saw in the AVI from the FMV?
Yep, there's a reason - you have the wrong version of the ROM. The US Dragon Warrior roms versions that I know of are, using GoodNES notation:
Of these, Genisto's run will only work with the (PRG 1) version, the others will invariably desync in interesting ways. Good rom sites such as *CENSORED*, *CENSORED* or *CENSORED* usually offer a choice of version.
Joined: 5/17/2004
Posts: 106
Location: Göteborg, Sweden
Heh. Like shooting stuff with the handgun or tommygun, throwing punches pretty much has to be done mid-jump (well, first 2-3 frames or last 2-3 frames of a jump to be precise, since you'll miss if higher). You can't kill things on the move without jumping in this game . . . looks a bit like the Rush'n'attack time-attack, actually, but with more and less-easily avoided gunfire. I have occasionally had a few frames to spare for standing shots, but they're definitely not the norm. Jumps abound!
Joined: 5/17/2004
Posts: 106
Location: Göteborg, Sweden
Since I should do something productive with my free time, I pulled out one of my favorite Genesis games of yore for my first stab at doing a time attack. Only half way through stage one at this point, which isn't much, but things are looking fairly good. Poor Dick can't shoot his guns while running, but he can shoot while jumping - video game logic is so lovely. At least it makes for much airborne tommygunning of generic henchmen, which must be a good thing.
Now, to get to the point; I was wondering if anyone here knew of any useful and/or cool glitches in the game, or other neato playing tips. Google and gamefaqs aren't giving me anything, but I figured that I should check with you knowledgable types before I start screwing up :p
Joined: 5/17/2004
Posts: 106
Location: Göteborg, Sweden
Almost all our genetic information is doubled - for males, all of it - so it's reasonable to assume that this includes Rh positivity.
Now, I don't remember my biology lessons well enough to know if you pass one of your two genetic sets to your offspring or if it's a random chance on which half for each of your 23 chromosome pairs. If the former, you'll have one positivity 'setting' linked to the same set as one of your blood types and you'll therefore pass on, say, either A+ or B-.
If the latter, things grow a wee bit more complicated. If the genetic information for blood type and Rh positivity are contained in the same chromosone, it's effectively the same as before. If not, you'll pass on a random combination of the two blood types you carry and the two RH settings you carry. With the previous genes, that's A-, A+, B- or B+.
Err . . . but I'm really not adding much, am I? :) Hopefully, someone who knows more genetics than me reads the forum and can clarify.
Joined: 5/17/2004
Posts: 106
Location: Göteborg, Sweden
Far as I understand (I'm not an editor), the time here is derived from the number of frames of control data in the recording. Basically, from power-up to end of control input.
Personally, I feel SDA's system makes more sense - but as not all emulators emulate console slowdown properly, it's difficult to give a fair "real" time.
Joined: 5/17/2004
Posts: 106
Location: Göteborg, Sweden
Instead on stating what the videos are not, which includes a great deal more than simply 'legit record' ("Not a tasty pastry, fresh from the oven"), I suggest sticking to stating what they are. Such as, say, tool-assisted.
Joined: 5/17/2004
Posts: 106
Location: Göteborg, Sweden
Ehh . . . the movie's fun if you've played Dragon Quest, but it's not a very good showcase of what the game is about.
The short of it is that Dragon Quest was the first japanese RPG. It's basically a japanification of then-popular western computer RPGs - Wizardry, Ultima and the like - and it reached massive popularity due to mangaka Toriyama Akira's (Dragon Ball Z, Chrono Trigger, etc) involvement. It has spawned oodles of imitators and descendents, such as the entire Final Fantasy franchise.
Joined: 5/17/2004
Posts: 106
Location: Göteborg, Sweden
Someone really should attack:
Donkey Kong Country 1, 2 & 3
Road Runner's Death Valley Rally
Legend of the Mystical Ninja
Someone might want to attack:
Magic Sword
Lagoon (fine, so it's actually a bad game, but I've fond memories :p)
Terranigma
F-Zero 1 & 2
Uniracers (best unicycle racing game ever!)
Also, I'd personally like to see, but doubt many others would have the endurance to watch or do:
Strategy games! Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Ogre Battle, Bahamut Lagoon, etc.
RPGs! FFs, DW/Qs, Lufia 1&2, Tales of Phantasia, etc.
Joined: 5/17/2004
Posts: 106
Location: Göteborg, Sweden
Most other people,
Yeh, I've seen the gamefaqs thread and it certainly strayed from sensible debate. Still, this thread is still civil, and I don't really see why not to keep it going as long as all parties keep their tempers and egos in check. If things start go pear-shaped, it can be locked away with no harm done.
Dan,
Your suggested disclaimer is neither more nor less true than the current one. The issue is a matter of which explains the purpose of the videos better.
The main additions to the current formulations that you push for, as I understand it, is the labeling of the NESvideos runs as illegitimate and hoaxes.
That they are hoaxes is, I must say, obviously untrue. The videos are exactly what they claim to be. A hoax involves intentional misleading and there is simply no such thing involved here.
Pointing out their illegitimacy has merit, but only in the context of the videos as record-breakers. In the context we are trying to establish them in - entertainment - they are entirely legitimate. I assume that you mean that they are, in fact, "illegitimate as record-breakers" and nothing else, but your current suggested disclaimer is confusing in that regard.
Now, there are several reasons that Bisq & co. have not added this to their disclaimer. First and most importantly, most people can understand that a "tool-assisted run" and an "emulator movie" is also illegitimate as a record-breaker. Most especially, the people who care about video game records in the first place know very well what an emulator is and that it's not allowed for records. Also, as these statements give more information about the video than just 'illegitimate as record-breaker', your suggested addition is wholly redundant.
Second, stating that the videos 'illegitmate as a record-breakers' is confusing in that it alludes to a context that is unrelated to the context of the video.
In short, we say more by calling the videos 'emulator made' and 'tool-assisted' rather than 'illegitimate as record-breaker' and we say it more clearly.
You could argue that it would be to the benefit of the people who fail to grasp that a tool-assisted, emulator-made movie is an illegitimate record, and you would obviously be right. The problem is that this group is very tiny. If we're to clear up confusions, there are targets of higher priority available than this. The line had to be drawn somewhere, which was above what you're looking for. The detailed explanations were left to the site and the site is linked to in the video.
Before you ask, examples of comments more important but still not in the disclaimers are:
- no video editing tools used
- no rom hacks used
- explanation of specific emulator techniques (states and slowdown)
...and so on. There's no compelling reason to present all this in the video file when a link will do for all those interested in the specifics or confused about the meanings of 'tool-assisted' and 'emulator'.
[Disclaimer: No, no, I don't enjoy debating trivial subjects at length in the slightest. It's all a ruse, I'm typing at gunpoint :p]
Joined: 5/17/2004
Posts: 106
Location: Göteborg, Sweden
Don't look at me. I voted yes...
But more seriously and less swedishly; two wrongs don't make a right. That France won't give away the Louvre even though they, from the humanist standpoint taken in the article, should is not a valid excuse to be equally pig-headed.
I can certainly understand feeling that the forest belongs to Brazil, not the world. I can't understand feeling that the forest does belong to the world, but keeping it private out of what amounts to simple spite.
Joined: 5/17/2004
Posts: 106
Location: Göteborg, Sweden
Firstly, 10 seconds of disclaimer would be highly annoying and entirely contrary to the entertainment purpose of the video.
Secondly, the videos are not hoaxes. They are exactly what they claim to be.
Thirdly, the videos already contain a disclaimer stating exactly what they are - emulator movies and tool-assisted speedruns - and a link for more information. You may feel that this is insufficient, goodness knows why, but an overwelming majority does not agree with you. It's not practical to re-encode every movie whenever someone decides that the disclaimer is not up to their personal standards, Bisqwit & Co. have to settle for something that most people find sufficient - such as the current disclaimer.
Fourthly, I faily to see how they can make it more difficult to "prove [your] accomplishments". Tool assisted runs are not competing with speed runs in any way. They do show that your runs, whatever they may be, are not theoretically perfect - but we all knew that.
Joined: 5/17/2004
Posts: 106
Location: Göteborg, Sweden
What is legal and not differs from country to country (obviously!). For example, swedish copyright law specifically gives me the right to make copies of purchased music and distribute these copies to "close friends". Most countries allow nothing of the sort. FAIK, there are a number of countries where you are allowed to keep and use back-up copies downloaded of the net.
There's also the lovely morality can-o'-worms; although it's obviously illegal, is it also unethical to download a rom of a cartridge you would under no circumstances actually purchase? 's not a can I feel like opening, though.
Joined: 5/17/2004
Posts: 106
Location: Göteborg, Sweden
[Thread hijacking, part 2!]
Yeah! Tureddo haijakku shiyo!
Sen ji gurai no kanji o benkyou shita ga, yoku imi shika benkyou shinakatta. Takusan kanji no "puronanshieeshan" ga dekinai.
(Curse JWPce's lack of furigana, I can't type this prettily and understandable for the kanji-imparired at the same time. :p Ah, well, two lines work...)
千字は確かに僕が知っているよりだ。ワープロがなければ、こんなに沢山を書くのは僕に無理だと思う。
Sen ji ha tashikani boku ga shitte iru yori da. Waapuro ga nakereba, konna ni takusan o kaku no ha boku ni muri da to omou.
Also, I think the word your looking for is 読み, not プロナンシエーシャン, though it's not a bad guess :)
So, we have another Japanese speaker, Xerophyte. Do you study at the Japanese program in Gothenburg?
Heh, good guess. I spent two semestres studying japanese at Göteborg Uni, not too long ago. I've since migrated to physics, though, and swiftly forgotten most my japanese. It's a fun language, though, and not quite as difficult as most people think. Alien, yes, but not difficult.
[/Thread hijacking, part 2!]
Sounds like I'll have to procure a translated copy of FF3, then. Wouldn't want to miss a good game...
Joined: 5/17/2004
Posts: 106
Location: Göteborg, Sweden
See, this is why publishers should not confuse people with arbitrary numeral changes when publishing abroad. At least the topic was not Tales of Destiny II... :)
I must admit that I gave up on the NES FF-games after Final Fantasy IIj, which was a wee bit horrible. Never got as far as III. What's to like about it?
Joined: 5/17/2004
Posts: 106
Location: Göteborg, Sweden
[Thread hijacking!]
I do not think that avoiding kanji is a very good idea at all if you intend to learn japanese beyond the most basic conversation. They form the primary basis for the language and its entire lexicalic structure. Practically speaking, it's absolutely impossible to grasp the bloated japanese vocabulary without being able to decompose words into kanji.
I realise that it's not very fun to slave away at memorising them for hours, but any japanese course that opts out kanji (or, even worse, uses rômaji for any significant length of time - ick!) is just doing you a disfavor. You'll not learn the language that way.
詰まり；漢字は朋。漢字を信じて。漢字は学生の生き血。
[/Thread hijacking!]
In my opinion, FFVI/III is the best jRPG ever made. Fine, FFX is prettier, Xenogears has better (well, more, at least) characterisation, Grandia tops its battle system and FFIV/II is the more impressive epic. But neither they nor any other game has managed to combine all the elements that constitute jRPG goodness into one seamless, flawless whole like FFVI did. It's as close to perfection as the genre has gotten.
So, err, yeh. I've played a lot of Final Fantasy VI :p
Joined: 5/17/2004
Posts: 106
Location: Göteborg, Sweden
Emulators handle reading from CD-drives just fine, no need for an ISO. Granted, it's not likely that anyone who feels like seeing the run rushes out to buy a copy of the game, but it is for that they have nice, kind sites like Bisqwit's and SDA distributing movies. But foremost, it'll be difficult to produce tool-assisted PSX runs in any format before someone makes an adequate tool for creating such runs.
Besides, it's not /that/ difficult to find PSX games in iso form, which is either sad or fortunate depending on ones outlook.
Joined: 5/17/2004
Posts: 106
Location: Göteborg, Sweden
Typically, I use a standard PS2 dualshock hooked up to my PC through a USB bridge. 'course, for some games, the regular pad just isn't enough and I opt to play with my cuddly half-metre wide arcade board. Both sticks are good, if for entirely different things.
Joined: 5/17/2004
Posts: 106
Location: Göteborg, Sweden
First; I'm not much of a coder and this is mostly idle musing as I avoid studying for my mechanics exam on friday. But, the PSX recording plugin someone else mentioned got me thinking. It works by recording the data the emulator sends to the graphics plugin to a file which you can then replay using a plyaback program and the relevant plugin. This file grows very large, since it's basically uncompressed graphics data, playing it all back is somewhat cumbersome and distributing the lot is generally unfun.
However, PSEmu and compatibles (usually) also rely on plugins for controller data. Shouldn't it be possible to write a similar recording wrapper for the input plugins with relatively little fuss? I guess the viability of this'd depend on the data structure used by the plugin systems (i.e. on whether or not the input plugin knows what frame it's sending input for and so on - I imagine that just dumping the entire data stream could give horrible sync problems) and it's all far beyond my meagre coding skills to divine, much less do, but it might be interesting for one of the resident board code-monkeys to take a look at.
'course, as this is such a brilliant idea, I'm sure someone else must've already thought of it and concluded that it won't work :) - but, if some coding-competent nesvideos readers have time over this summer, this might be a useful way to spend it.
