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That makes Sonic look very lazy...
The x264 encode is finished. Smaller and looking much better... SuperMarioBros-Atlas in 720p (has 600000/9995 fps for the audio to sync...). I can't do an encode in 1080p / 60fps because my PC isn't good enough to play back such a file.
EDIT: Now also on Youtube
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AndyDick wrote:
this "feature" could some how be built into emulators in real-time as you play the game
That could only be done for each game individually, and it's much more difficult than creating an Atlas video. Implementing it into an emulator would mean that absolutely every part for the "map view" must be automated. This would have to include building the maps completely automatic. These scripts aren't even close to that. And you should not forget that there can never be a "perfect" map. For example, the way I designed 1-1 in SMB (actually the design was stolen from vgmaps...) is definitely different from the map saved on the cartridge...
AndyDick wrote:
I can't help but feel as though I've been obsolete'd already.
I don't think so. You got some cool ideas for presenting the videos. And: Your method is almost completely game-independent whereas the scripts need to be adjusted each time. That can take much more time or even fail completely... For example, I couldn't find a way to determine the CamX and CamY values for Yoshi's Island. A few hours of trial-and-error for no useable results at all....
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AndyDick wrote:
Either way I guess I'm not going to stop making these things :)
That's definitely the most important part! Your videos are really good, and these scripts wouldn't be that useful for creating videos like your "marble madness" video... And the script I used for that is far from being completely automated...
Can you remove or crop out status bars?
easy, the command is Crop(x,y,width,height). So to cut out the status bar it would be Crop(0,0,256,224-statusbarheight)
Can screen transitions be removed?
Yes, it can even be automated IF you can find some "screen transition" or "total brightness" RAM value.
How would a game like Zelda be handled? What position would the basements in dungeons get placed?
Actually that needs to be adjusted manually when making the first Atlas video for the game. I used the "offset-*" files for that, see below.
Also I'm assuming you can set the output resolution to as big as you'd like in the LUA script?
Yes, that's very possible. Actually, i rewrote all the scripts. The Lua script only saved the current level, "area", and CamX position. (SMB doesn't have any "CamY" values). All the rest was done by the AVIsynth script.
"Standard" Atlas View... I don't think that's possible. For example, I "invented" the underground transitions in 1-1 and 8-4. But the current scripts will create a "standarized" version more or less.
AVIsynth gives you many possibilities to manipulate the videos... In fact, it should be possible to render the "final" video without any tempoary encodes at all, but that would be a bad idea...
Here is the source code. Most important is "Mario.lua" and "avisynth-script.avs". Most of the txt files were created automatically, but the files hasOffset.txt; Offset-*; BottomCam* were created by hand. At the moment, there is no real documentation... Just a few examples: Don't be shocked by the huge amount of files... I splitted them on a by-level-basis. That made it much easier to find the important values. AND: All levels start with mario at CamX-position -1 (not 0), so all maps have a hardcoded offset of one (additional) pixel inside the avisynth-script.avs file. AND: The script didn't create the *33.txt files. AND: I'm sure it would be easier to use "BottomMapOverride-*" files.
About finding Memory addresses... that can be quite difficult, easiest might be to ask the TASer if he can find out the values for you. I think he or she can find the right value pretty quick. For SMB, I only needed to check the "game articles" section, but unfortunately, I couldn't find the "level counter". Therefore, my "level counter" code is quite hackish...
(And encode with x264 failed again after another 10 hours... That's definitely not nice...)
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The Sonic CD video will be great for sure! Keep up your good work!
I made an Atlas encode for Happylee's SMB1 (Super Mario Bros) warpless run (yes, for the complete TAS, all levels). For the moment, it's just a DivX encode because x264 failed after 12 hours of encoding time, but I will try again. My 170MB encode can be found at Mediafire and Happylee's original movie can be found here at TASvideos. I think I will post a 1080p encode of it on Youtube once it's ready. I didn't try to sync any offscreen action at all, but I hope you still enjoy it.
AndyDick wrote:
Does snes9x allow different layers to be turned off like FCEUX?
Yes Snes9x also allows to turn off specific graphic layers. It has four background layers and a sprite layer. That was necessary for making the demo videos...
EDIT: I got the x264 encode now. about 1/4 smaller and strongly increased visual quality. SuperMarioBros-Atlas in 720p
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Yeah, that's basically the same. It shouldn't be too difficult to build a GIF from the PNGs these scripts produce, but I think it's much better to create high-resolution videos out of them. It's an automated method for creating videos like these. I'm sure you have already seen some of them in the "NES in 1080p" topic. He made them completely by hand, inserting each video frame into the map manually... And he says it takes at least four hours per minute of video. I would never ever have the patience for such a task.
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Yes, turning on and off graphic layers is possible in Snes9x, and it was used for creating the video. I've sent a private message with (much) more details how I created the video. It might give you some inspirations.
With the scripts given there, a very big part for the creation of the videos is automated...
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adding background is possible by manually integrating it... looks like this
(in this particular game it's impossible to move all the background in the same way as the other video suggested because the background is just 512x256 pixels. the filesize is so big because of lossless compression)
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The movie syncs perfectly with
Super Mario All-Stars + Super Mario World (U) [!]
although the checksums do not match.
The sound and the graphics are superior compared to the NES version. And this site already has a SNES Lost Levels TAS although there exists an FDS version of the game (Super Mario Bros 2).
(EDIT: I haven't been looking for the NES run before voting, but I think the NES run was played better. For example this run doesn't have any "koopa setups", so a "no" would have been a better idea.)
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OK, let's go "near-topic".
I decided to go for any% because
- The goal is absolutely clear and doesn't need any discussion.
- It was easier to do it, and it already took long enough. I posted the first WIPs three years ago! I stopped because of big desync problems. They got solved quite late. I had 5-1 done until i found the solution I posted here. I also chose this game because all levels are absolutely independent of each other, contrary to all the Super Mario games.
- It is not clear what needs to be included in a "100%" run. Use all invisible paths?
Pick up all the contents of boxes which fall down after a certain amount of time? Or even pick up everything? Or just collect all flags? This would also be a clear goal, but still not show all the secrets (for example 1-1). And last but not least You can get the "perfect seed" bonus if you finish the levels with a full bird seed bar. You need to collect at least one bird seed for it, and you must not use any after collecting the last one. For sure, I don't need to tell you that getting this bonus would be a big slowdown, but it may be necessary for a true 100% run.
- It is much more difficult to plan "all flags" because there is no obvious "fastest path". I think it's a bad idea to start TASing with such a heavy task. This one is my first submission.
My next submission won't happen before november. I may start going for "all flags" then, or maybe another SNES Looney Toons game. I already created a Lua script which generates the maps for this game, I posted it in the SNES forum. It's the first Lua script I ever created. It helps a lot for route planning.
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as no one claimed to encode the new submisssion, i did it myself. i hope the encode is good enough. if you watched the old submission, there is no need to watch the newer one because they are almost identical. i used the workaround stated in the submission text to produce this one.
http://www.mediafire.com/file/81gy6k0ey7tkpz4/roadrunnersdeathvalleyrally-tasv2-partyboy1a.mp4
Level 1-1: 0:28
Level 1-2: 0:14
Level 1-3: 0:29
Boss No 1: 0:13
Level 2-1: 0:26
Level 2-2: 0:28
Level 2-3: 0:21
Boss No 2: 0:16
Level 3-1: 0:24
Level 3-2: 0:20
Level 3-3: 0:15
Boss No 3: 1:45
Level 4-1: 0:11
Level 4-2: 0:22
Level 4-3: 0:11
Boss No 4: 0:15
Level 5-1: 0:17
Level 5-2: 0:46
Level 5-3: 1:15
FinalBoss: 0:38
---------------
Play Time:~9:34 (somewhere between 9:14 and 9:54)
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i have the following from your list:
seeding:
contraiii-glitched-tas-darkcloud.avi
ducktales-tas-aglar.avi
supermariobros-walkathonv4-bisqwit.avi
megaupload:
goonies-tas-randil.avi
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=MYTZR475
supermariobros-tas-klmz.avi
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=A3EO7CB2
the rest:
gradius3-playaround-warp.avi
guerillawar-tasv2-randil.avi
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This may be a nice game to play, but boring for a TAS. Highscore TASes can be entertaining if the solution is not that obvious as in this case, for example Tetrisphere or Wetrix, but this one only shows about perfect reflexes. I dislike the messed up sound. A good TAS must offer more than that.
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Cheezwizz wrote:
The levels are usually straightforward
No, they are not. Just try playing the game, you will notice most levels are more like a maze with much trial-and-error, I just make them look like that. Even in 3-1 where I'm running to the right all the time, you won't find the right path on your first try.
I consider an "all flags" run to be at least 10, maybe even (edited) 60 minutes longer, for example 4-3 will be at least one minute longer, that could be quite long for that game. For making that movie, you would at least need pictures of the complete level layout like they exist for Sonic (I don't know how to create them), and it requires much more spare time than I have at the moment. You're free to try it, I think you will require at least 200 hours. I would give you hints for doing it.
Just a note: For the nice bird seed management, I TASed all the levels while consuming the least possible amount of seed (I always used seed to start running as it saves more than 20 frames, except in one place where it would be too "expensive"), and afterwards, I thought of where using additional seed saves the biggest amount of time. However, only level 5 required bigger amounts of seed management since you don't have enough to use it for every opportunity. This gets much more complicated in an "all flags" run since you also would have to consider using death to refill seed and to pick up seed more often.
And, of course, thanks for the positive feedback.
Edit: I tested an "all flags" run for 1-1 (it's not going to replace the submission). You can get it here (use above sound settings and use 48kHz). It is somehow optimized, but far from perfect. I think much of the fast pace the submitted run has goes lost for collecting the flags. Since that's becoming a little bit off-topic, it might be a good idea to discuss about it in the SNES forum.
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i'd like to know if the updated version works for you (set sound frequency to 32khz, set the rest as described in the submission) - and if someone is willing to encode it. if yes to both, it's a good thing to use the newer file.
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ok... as far as i have seen the original submission syncs if you also set sound frequency to 48000hz while the "fixed" one requires 32000hz. is that right? then i just would stay with the original submission, and i add that to my submission text.
edit although i just copied all the moves, the level is completed 3 frames slower, but the boss starts faster for whatever reason. there is only one move (the very last jump) executed a little faster (less than 7 frames), and we already have an encode for the original run. if one wants to encode the newer movie, it would be ok to use the newer file, otherwise it's a little easier just to keep the original. i thought it to be not syncing at all when i posted the "fixed" version. sorry for making it a little difficult for you.
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hmmm.... strange for me that it synced.
i have fixed the desync and even could save some frames out of nowhere.
here it is
http://dehacked.2y.net/microstorage.php/info/985937795/roadrunner-by-partyboy-fixed.smv
that one is a little shorter, 71980 frames. i'd like to replace my submission with the new file. btw, thanks for the savestate, i could test for syncing with it.
i'd like to replace the current submission file. do i need to cancel this and create a new submission for that?