Noxxa
They/Them
Moderator, Expert player (4107)
Joined: 8/14/2009
Posts: 4089
Location: The Netherlands
Here's a side project I've been working on for some time. This WIP completes the first two missions (out of 16 total). Link to video User movie #7613755164776731 Action Man: Search for Base X is a GBC game based on the Action Man toyline/TV series, developed by Natsume, published by THQ and released in 2001. The game itself isn't really that interesting...until you put it on hard mode. The game does not hold back on throwing loads and loads of enemies and bullets at you - and Action Man has only six hit points, and the game has no powerups or pickups, so that is all you get for each mission. This makes damage-taking planning/strategies quite interesting. Other than that, Action Man just has a dinky laser pistol and a bunch of useless subweapons/items to fight with. The game is divided into 16 missions, spread over 6 stages (7 if you count both versions of Moon Base). Each stage has a basic "run right for justice" mission, but also has side missions which require using certain items or suits to reach new areas and run to the right screen exit for those. Every mission completed gets you a new item, which are used to complete more missions. At times this gets nasty, because Action Man can only use two items and some missions require him to use two items (that do nothing but open up certain areas), without even any room for his laser gun or any other weapon. (In other words, some missions need to be done pacifist, which will be another fun challenge). Some other things of note:
  • The game actually has pretty good music. Unfortunately, due to the way the stages are split up into sections and the music restarts at each section, you'll mostly just hear the first 15 seconds of each stage theme repeatedly.
  • The game has received mixed reviews, with the main issue being the game's difficulty level. (Which makes it all the more fun to make a TAS of it).
  • The game is very easily hexable - the game has no concept of subpixels and lag is non-existent in the stages. This makes it pretty convenient to redo some earlier sections, primarily to make sure I take the right amount of damage optimally in each section.
http://www.youtube.com/Noxxa <dwangoAC> This is a TAS (...). Not suitable for all audiences. May cause undesirable side-effects. May contain emulator abuse. Emulator may be abusive. This product contains glitches known to the state of California to cause egg defects. <Masterjun> I'm just a guy arranging bits in a sequence which could potentially amuse other people looking at these bits <adelikat> In Oregon Trail, I sacrificed my own family to save time. In Star trek, I killed helpless comrades in escape pods to save time. Here, I kill my allies to save time. I think I need help.
Noxxa
They/Them
Moderator, Expert player (4107)
Joined: 8/14/2009
Posts: 4089
Location: The Netherlands
I've done two more missions (total of 4 missions done out of 16) Link to video User movie #8299941098704535 After this, the route has a few missions (Mine B, Jungle B and Jungle C) which involve not being able to use the gun, which will make damage planning that much trickier.
http://www.youtube.com/Noxxa <dwangoAC> This is a TAS (...). Not suitable for all audiences. May cause undesirable side-effects. May contain emulator abuse. Emulator may be abusive. This product contains glitches known to the state of California to cause egg defects. <Masterjun> I'm just a guy arranging bits in a sequence which could potentially amuse other people looking at these bits <adelikat> In Oregon Trail, I sacrificed my own family to save time. In Star trek, I killed helpless comrades in escape pods to save time. Here, I kill my allies to save time. I think I need help.
Noxxa
They/Them
Moderator, Expert player (4107)
Joined: 8/14/2009
Posts: 4089
Location: The Netherlands
Three more missions done (7/16 total). These missions are annoying because they have multiple item requirements, which means you don't get room to bring along your gun. Fortunately, I at least get a weapon of some sort in each mission, but all weapons other than the gun are just slow and impractical. (There's one more mission like this coming up in the next WIP. It's supposed to be two more, but with some precision it's possible to skip having to use one of the items in one mission, which means I can bring my gun there). Link to video User movie #8365784577286035
http://www.youtube.com/Noxxa <dwangoAC> This is a TAS (...). Not suitable for all audiences. May cause undesirable side-effects. May contain emulator abuse. Emulator may be abusive. This product contains glitches known to the state of California to cause egg defects. <Masterjun> I'm just a guy arranging bits in a sequence which could potentially amuse other people looking at these bits <adelikat> In Oregon Trail, I sacrificed my own family to save time. In Star trek, I killed helpless comrades in escape pods to save time. Here, I kill my allies to save time. I think I need help.
Noxxa
They/Them
Moderator, Expert player (4107)
Joined: 8/14/2009
Posts: 4089
Location: The Netherlands
And again three missions done (10/16). Now only the final stages are left (Secret Base and Moon Base). The final stages are more straightforward, but are also even more densely packed with enemies and bullets. Link to video User movie #8411439123003196
http://www.youtube.com/Noxxa <dwangoAC> This is a TAS (...). Not suitable for all audiences. May cause undesirable side-effects. May contain emulator abuse. Emulator may be abusive. This product contains glitches known to the state of California to cause egg defects. <Masterjun> I'm just a guy arranging bits in a sequence which could potentially amuse other people looking at these bits <adelikat> In Oregon Trail, I sacrificed my own family to save time. In Star trek, I killed helpless comrades in escape pods to save time. Here, I kill my allies to save time. I think I need help.
Joined: 2/26/2007
Posts: 1365
Location: Minnesota
Just found the thread, and figured I would say this looks to be a fun little game. I look forward to the final product. *rah rah*
adelikat wrote:
I very much agree with this post.
Bobmario511 wrote:
Forget party hats, Christmas tree hats all the way man.
Noxxa
They/Them
Moderator, Expert player (4107)
Joined: 8/14/2009
Posts: 4089
Location: The Netherlands
Secret Base is done (13/16). Link to video User movie #8568400732667432
http://www.youtube.com/Noxxa <dwangoAC> This is a TAS (...). Not suitable for all audiences. May cause undesirable side-effects. May contain emulator abuse. Emulator may be abusive. This product contains glitches known to the state of California to cause egg defects. <Masterjun> I'm just a guy arranging bits in a sequence which could potentially amuse other people looking at these bits <adelikat> In Oregon Trail, I sacrificed my own family to save time. In Star trek, I killed helpless comrades in escape pods to save time. Here, I kill my allies to save time. I think I need help.
Noxxa
They/Them
Moderator, Expert player (4107)
Joined: 8/14/2009
Posts: 4089
Location: The Netherlands
http://www.youtube.com/Noxxa <dwangoAC> This is a TAS (...). Not suitable for all audiences. May cause undesirable side-effects. May contain emulator abuse. Emulator may be abusive. This product contains glitches known to the state of California to cause egg defects. <Masterjun> I'm just a guy arranging bits in a sequence which could potentially amuse other people looking at these bits <adelikat> In Oregon Trail, I sacrificed my own family to save time. In Star trek, I killed helpless comrades in escape pods to save time. Here, I kill my allies to save time. I think I need help.