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Tintin in Tibet (Genesis/Megadrive version) is a game based on Hergé's comics, it is infamous for being hard because of its unforgiving jumps and hitboxes. In this run I beat a previous TAS from duck_in by nearly 2 minutes. Some great tricks were discovered by duck_in so props to him!

Game objectives

  • Emulator used: Bizhawk 2.3
  • Aims for fastest time
  • Hardest difficulty
  • Takes damage to save time
  • Slight luck manipulation

Stage by stage comments

The run is mainly a succession of well-timed jumps to result in the highest X coord, some jumps being only possible during 1 frame.

Level 1 - Train

  • Damage taken saves approximately 6 seconds.
  • The steam can be jumped over by an extremely precise jump.
  • The end of the first part can be skipped by jumping under the railroad.

Level 3 - Market

  • Damage taken saves at approximately 7 seconds.

Level 5 - Middle mountain

  • Damage taken saves at approximately 7 seconds.
  • The first apple can be taken from beneath, the second apple costs 40 frames but is worth it.

Level 7 - Descent

  • Crouching on a rock makes Tintin immune to all damage until the level ends, the only optimization left is doing the least jumps as possible.

Level 8 - Snow

  • Surprisingly snowballs can be avoided.
  • One snowball can be used mid-air as a platform to gain a few frames.

Level 9 - Wreck

  • A bit of luck manipulation was used to avoid random obstacles inside the plane.
  • A platform near the end can be stepped on without taking damage only on the last X coordinate.

Level 10 - Cave

  • Some pickaxe ramps can be jumped over although they shouldn't.
  • Jumping and re-gripping can save some frames.

Level 11 - Cliff

  • This is by far my best improvement, about 40 seconds on this level. Movements are way faster if you move a character for only 8 frames (vertically) or 22 frames (horizontally), resulting in a kind of epileptic look when we constantly switch characters. Near the end, Tintin is moved up a bit to gain some height while Haddock is falling.

Level 12 - Tempest

  • Jumping on the ramp is actually faster than using pickaxe.

Level 13 - Monastery

  • The first puzzle can be done without waiting for the animations.
  • I've worked a lot on the library part and even coded an algorithm to try all combinations. I'm pretty sure this is the shortest possible way to do (not in number of moves but in time/length).
  • A bit of luck manipulation was used to get an easy third puzzle.
  • Overall at least 20 seconds are saved by taking damage.

Level 14 - Yeti

  • Jumping at the right time allows to pass under rocks rather than waiting.

Other comments

  • Most people will probably find the run not entertaining at all, the game being quite slow and repetitive. I realized later that I could have done a better entertaining in the descent level which is pretty much the only one where you have some free movement.
  • The only available ROM is Europe and the run is using the default language (French), which is not a big deal since all dialogs are instantly skipped until the ending credits.
  • The game has been reviewed by the famous French youtuber joueur du grenier for being too hard and shitty. :p

Memory: Judging

TASVideoAgent
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This topic is for the purpose of discussing #6187: Grogir's Genesis Tintin in Tibet in 18:44.23
ViGadeomes
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Wow, I was afraid that it is the SNES version..... But I'm very curious about the strats and the use of HPs because I don't do any of them
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ViGadeomes wrote:
Wow, I was afraid that it is the SNES version..... But I'm very curious about the strats and the use of HPs because I don't do any of them
The SNES one has a few differences though, the route can't be the same as it has a lot more apples, also some obstacles can be passed on SNES and not on Genesis (like dogs in the hotel), the opposite is probably also true. Basically in Genesis version you can never heal yourself from level 7 until the end
ViGadeomes
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Grogir wrote:
The SNES one has a few differences though, the route can't be the same as it has a lot more apples, also some obstacles can be passed on SNES and not on Genesis (like dogs in the hotel), the opposite is probably also true. Basically in Genesis version you can never heal yourself from level 7 until the end
Yes and on the SNES one, if you finish a level with 0 HP (1 hit and you die) next level you'll have an extra HP which is not possible on this version. There is also a lot more of pot in the 3rd level on SNES. Now that I know differences, I know I can't say something on the quality just by seeing it ^^. Meh vote.
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yes vote for general improvement and being a classic of my childhood
Memory
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Found a trick in this game fairly quickly: Link to video by letting go of the run button at key points you can move faster than simply holding it the entire time. Lua: User movie #51910010557814257
[16:36:31] <Mothrayas> I have to say this argument about robot drug usage is a lot more fun than whatever else we have been doing in the past two+ hours
[16:08:10] <BenLubar> a TAS is just the limit of a segmented speedrun as the segment length approaches zero
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Memory wrote:
Found a trick in this game fairly quickly: https://youtu.be/nLn6gqhh4Os by letting go of the run button at key points you can move faster than simply holding it the entire time. Lua: User movie #51910010557814257
Wow, good job, I feel so stupid that I never noticed this, I guess I have to restart from scratch now
Memory
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There's likely a more optimal pattern to it than what I found, I just wanted to get the general gist across.
[16:36:31] <Mothrayas> I have to say this argument about robot drug usage is a lot more fun than whatever else we have been doing in the past two+ hours
[16:08:10] <BenLubar> a TAS is just the limit of a segmented speedrun as the segment length approaches zero
EZGames69
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Dont feel stupid about it. This isn’t really something that newer tasers are expected to know. From what I can tell, your optimizations are pretty good for what you did know. Dont be discoraged about it, we are all learning things together.
[14:15] <feos> WinDOES what DOSn't 12:33:44 PM <Mothrayas> "I got an oof with my game!" Mothrayas Today at 12:22: <Colin> thank you for supporting noble causes such as my feet MemoryTAS Today at 11:55 AM: you wouldn't know beauty if it slapped you in the face with a giant fish [Today at 4:51 PM] Mothrayas: although if you like your own tweets that's the online equivalent of sniffing your own farts and probably tells a lot about you as a person MemoryTAS Today at 7:01 PM: But I exert big staff energy honestly lol Samsara Today at 1:20 PM: wouldn't ACE in a real life TAS just stand for Actually Cease Existing
Memory
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Also if you wish to completely redo the run, I'd recommend cancelling this submission and making a new one.
[16:36:31] <Mothrayas> I have to say this argument about robot drug usage is a lot more fun than whatever else we have been doing in the past two+ hours
[16:08:10] <BenLubar> a TAS is just the limit of a segmented speedrun as the segment length approaches zero
TASVideosGrue
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om, nom, nom... crunchy!