Tool-assisted movies (17)

When I released the 7th version and I asked whether this would be the final version, my question was apparently answered. So - another 18 seconds squeezed off here :)

Note: Famtasia plays PAL games at NTSC speed, that is 16.7% too fast. Thus the encode is significantly faster than the movie should actually be.

Solstice movies get shorter and shorter by every release, just like most of the other movies. The amazing thing is that nobody could see them coming. Another 20 seconds squeezed here.

Note: Famtasia plays PAL games at NTSC speed, that is 16.7% too fast. Thus the AVI is significantly faster than the movie should actually be.

Solstice TAS has had more revisions than almost any other movie on this site. Each revision is always faster than the preceding version.

This time, Randil surpasses Exim's previous version by about 10 seconds.

Solstice TAS has had more revisions than almost any other movie on this site. Each revision is always faster than the preceding version.

For the first time we have an NTSC version here. All previous versions were PAL.

This movie may look like it's dramatically faster than the previous version, but actually, it is more complicated than that.

The difference between the movies is therefore 584 frames. In NTSC timing, that translates to 9.73 seconds, and in PAL timing, 11.68 seconds.
In any case, it is a great improvement considering how many versions there have already been of this TAS.

The Solstice TAS has had more revisions than most movies on this site. This time, the run is almost nine seconds faster than the preceding version. A new route and a new trick are involved; more details can be found in author's comments.

Solstice: The Quest for the Staff of Demnos (1990) follows a wizard called Shadax on his quest to retrieve the eponymous staff in order to save a princess from being unjustly incarcerated. The game is essentially a huge isometric labyrinth filled with devious traps and oddball creatures to ensure especially frustrating peril in the absence of any kind of map to help the player. (Well, at least it was like that before the Internet era, but make no mistake: the game isn't by any means easy nowadays, either.) One of the most memorable aspects of the game is its jazzy musical theme filled with deep bass notes uncommon for the NES.

The Solstice any% has had more revisions than most movies on this site. This one improves the preceding version by 1.25 seconds thanks to a new trick and even better optimization. More details can be found in the author's comments.

We also have a 100% Solstice run.

This is a historic movie, submitted and obsoleted before the creation of the database-based (and wiki-based) site engine, before July 2004.

It was inserted to the database in a history revival project by Bisqwit in winter 2010.

As for the movie itself... Exim's 7th attempt, about 50 seconds faster than before. This one features even more skipping of the game, visiting 18 less rooms (123 total).

This is a historic movie, submitted and obsoleted before the creation of the database-based (and wiki-based) site engine, before July 2004.

It was inserted to the database in a history revival project by Bisqwit in winter 2010.

As for the movie itself... Exim's 6th attempt, about a minute and a half faster than the previous movie (his 3rd version). Improvements come from new tricks and yet another route that shaves about 20 rooms off.

This is a historic movie, submitted and obsoleted before the creation of the database-based (and wiki-based) site engine, before July 2004.

It was inserted to the database in a history revival project by Bisqwit in winter 2010.

As for the movie itself... Exim's third attempt, over a minute faster than the previous movie. This one shows another route improvement that haves 7 rooms from the movie.

This is a historic movie, submitted and obsoleted before the creation of the database-based (and wiki-based) site engine, before July 2004.

It was inserted to the database in a history revival project by Bisqwit in winter 2010.

As for the movie itself... This is Exim's 2nd attempt, nearly 2 minutes faster than before. The improvements come from a better route (that visits 11 less rooms) and overall better precision.

This is a historic movie, submitted and obsoleted before the creation of the database-based (and wiki-based) site engine, before July 2004.

It was inserted to the database in a history revival project by Bisqwit in winter 2010.

As for the movie itself... This is Exim's first attempt at this game. It visits 180 rooms (50.78% of the game).

Solstice: The Quest for the Staff of Demnos (1990) follows a wizard called Shadax on his quest to retrieve the eponymous staff in order to save a princess from being unjustly incarcerated. The game is essentially a huge isometric labyrinth filled with devious traps and oddball creatures to ensure especially frustrating peril in the absence of any kind of map to help the player. (Well, at least it was like that before the Internet era, but make no mistake: the game isn't by any means easy nowadays, either.) One of the most memorable aspects of the game is its jazzy musical theme filled with deep bass notes uncommon for the NES.

This is a 100% completion run of Solstice. Getting 100% means visiting every room and picking up all items. We also have an any% Solstice run.

Solstice: The Quest for the Staff of Demnos (1990) follows a wizard called Shadax on his quest to retrieve the eponymous staff in order to save a princess from being unjustly incarcerated. The game is essentially a huge isometric labyrinth filled with devious traps and oddball creatures to ensure especially frustrating peril in the absence of any kind of map to help the player. (Well, at least it was like that before the Internet era, but make no mistake: the game isn't by any means easy nowadays, either.) One of the most memorable aspects of the game is its jazzy musical theme filled with deep bass notes uncommon for the NES.

This movie is 00:00.43 seconds faster than its predecessor, thanks to better optimization and using hidden stone in one room.

We also have a 100% Solstice run.

Solstice: The Quest for the Staff of Demnos (1990) follows a wizard called Shadax on his quest to retrieve the eponymous staff in order to save a princess from being unjustly incarcerated. The game is essentially a huge isometric labyrinth filled with devious traps and oddball creatures to ensure especially frustrating peril in the absence of any kind of map to help the player. (Well, at least it was like that before the Internet era, but make no mistake: the game isn't by any means easy nowadays, either.) One of the most memorable aspects of the game is its jazzy musical theme filled with deep bass notes uncommon for the NES.

This is a 100% completion run of Solstice. Getting 100% means visiting every room and picking up all items. We also have an any% Solstice run.

Solstice: The Quest for the Staff of Demnos (1990) follows a wizard called Shadax on his quest to retrieve the eponymous staff in order to save a princess from being unjustly incarcerated. The game is essentially a huge isometric labyrinth filled with devious traps and oddball creatures to ensure especially frustrating peril in the absence of any kind of map to help the player. (Well, at least it was like that before the Internet era, but make no mistake: the game isn't by any means easy nowadays, either.) One of the most memorable aspects of the game is its jazzy musical theme filled with deep bass notes uncommon for the NES.

This movie is 00:01.18 seconds faster than its predecessor, thanks to better optimization and some new strategies.

We also have a 100% Solstice run.

Watch a resync of this run being played back on a real console.

Solstice: The Quest for the Staff of Demnos (1990) follows a wizard called Shadax on his quest to retrieve the eponymous staff in order to save a princess from being unjustly incarcerated. The game is essentially a huge isometric labyrinth filled with devious traps and oddball creatures to ensure especially frustrating peril in the absence of any kind of map to help the player. (Well, at least it was like that before the Internet era, but make no mistake: the game isn't by any means easy nowadays, either.) One of the most memorable aspects of the game is its jazzy musical theme filled with deep bass notes uncommon for the NES.

This is a 100% completion run of Solstice. Getting 100% means visiting every room and picking up all items. We also have an any% Solstice run.

Solstice: The Quest for the Staff of Demnos (1990) follows a wizard called Shadax on his quest to retrieve the eponymous staff in order to save a princess from being unjustly incarcerated. The game is essentially a huge isometric labyrinth filled with devious traps and oddball creatures to ensure especially frustrating peril in the absence of any kind of map to help the player. (Well, at least it was like that before the Internet era, but make no mistake: the game isn't by any means easy nowadays, either.) One of the most memorable aspects of the game is its jazzy musical theme filled with deep bass notes uncommon for the NES.

This is a 100% completion run of Solstice. Getting 100% means visiting every room and picking up all of the items. We also have an any% Solstice run.

Watch a resync of this run being played back on a real console.