TAS Tutorial
If you are new to making Tool-assisted Speedruns, or don't know how to get started, or are an experienced TASer looking to learn this tutorial has something to offer.
This video tutorial series takes you through the basic, medium, and advanced concepts used in making the Tool Assisted Speedruns on this site.--adelikat
How To make a Tool Assisted Speedrun
Video Tutorial Series
Part 1 - Introduction
In this introduction video I describe what is a Tool-assisted Movie and basic concepts of how to record and play a movie. Then I introduce the concepts of rerecording, savestates, slow-downs and frame advance. Basic optimization concepts are covered.
I use FCEUX for this tutorial and cover how the user can aquire it. I used Super Mario Bros to show basic rerecording.
Part 2 - Optimizing
In this video I core more advanced rerecording concepts compared to the previous video. I take the user through the process of TASing 1-1 of Super Mario bros and match the level of optimization of the currently published TAS. I cover the concepts used in the movie but also show the practical challenges that are typical in optimizing. Rather than showing all the tricks, I show how to compare to an existing movie and slowly learn to get more and more optimized strategies and the logic used to create them.
In addition, I introduce a new tool, Ram Watch and demonstrate how it can be used in the TAS process.
The user will have a better understanding of fundamental TAS concepts common in many platformer genres and a better understanding of concepts specific to Super Mario Bros.
Part 3 - Finding Ram Addresses
In this video I cover the Ram Search tool, and how to find Ram Addresses and how they can be used to create better TAS movies in less time. I cover typical RAM Addresses that are commonly useful and strategies for finding them.
This is a live stream with viewers watching and chatting, and includes me reading and answering questions from the audience.
Part 4 - Editing Movie Files
In this tutorial I over the basic concept involving editing text based movie files manually and copy/pasting sections of a movie.
Part 5 - Multi-player Movie
Various TAS process demonstrations
| Description | Link | Platform | Game | Author |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Subpixel precision: wall clipping | YouTube | NES | Super Mario Bros. 3 | andymac |
| TASing in Gens with Sonic HUD script | YouTube | Genesis | Sonic 3 & Knuckles | Aglar |
| Use of frame advance and RAM adress to trigger a glitch | YouTube | SNES | Super Mario World | bobmario511 |
| TASing in Mupen64 | YouTube | N64 | GoldenEye 007 | Rising Tempest |
| TASing in DeSmuME | YouTube | DS | Contra 4 | paul_t |
| Finding and using RAM addresses | Ustream | NES | Super Mario Bros. | adelikat |
| Rerecord session played back in real-time | YouTube | PSX | Chrono Cross | Bisqwit |
| FCEUX TAS Editor live session | YouTube | NES | Battletoads & Double Dragon | feos |
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