Here we go again.
- Emulator: Bizhawk 2.3.1
- Aims for in-game time
- Takes damage to save time
- Forgoes a time saving glitch
- Manipulates luck
This run beats my last attempt by 3.77 seconds of game time and 97 frames of real time. One of those frames comes from power on and is entirely from emulation differences between then and now.
As usual with runs of the Punch-Out games, this TAS aims for in-game time, then real time. Because some of Mac's actions (star punches, stunned punches) briefly stop the clock, these don't always go together.
However, there's a glitch which results in faster in-game times at the cost of about a minute of real time. If Mac lands a rapid punch unstunned, the clock will stop and will not start again. The only way to start it again is to do something that would normally stop the clock, such as throwing a star punch or knocking the opponent down.
The clock stop glitch only gives faster times on four fights, meaning most of the run would be unchanged. The original plan was to combine the two runs into a single tasproj, with the four clock stop fights as separate branches. Unfortunately that isn't possible right now, so this run contains only the no clock stop branch. A submission using clock stop will follow.
The Fights
- Glass Joe: 42.00
- Von Kaiser: 35.61
- Piston Honda I: 36.97
- Don Flamenco I: 14.97
- King Hippo: 37.61
- Great Tiger: 47.48
- Bald Bull I: 52.82 (was 55.25)
- Phase 1 uses the 18 second knockdown again. This strat relies on refilling Bull's star dodge counter at the right time, and the 18 second knockdown puts me in a much better position for the rest of the fight.
- The end of phase 1 is slightly delayed so Bull goes right into his hook pattern at the start of phase 2.
- Getting two jabs and two star punches in during the wait for Bull's phase 2 rolling jabs is frame perfect. In fact, it's only possible by precisely manipulating his guard timer during the second hook. Otherwise the frame needed to lower his guard afterward would be too much.
- Annoyingly, Bull is left with 1 HP after the last star in phase 3.
- This fight is faster in real time by 32 frames.
- Piston Honda II: 39.97
- Soda Popinski: 43.48
- Bald Bull II: 1:08.48 (was 1:08.82)
- Turns out adelikat's strat was the correct one all along. The key here is a 2 frame delay on the seventh jab. The clock is then at 20 seconds when Bull recovers, and he switches patterns earlier, cutting a few frames off the wait for the first hook.
- Switching back to the old strategy gets all the real time loss from the previous run back, plus a little extra, totalling to 48 frames.
- Don Flamenco II: 58.00
- Mr. Sandman: 2:16.48
- I always thought the dancing during the first 50 seconds was a little sloppy, but I couldn't really come up with anything better this time.
- Super Macho Man: 43.25 (was 44.25)
- After dodging Macho's uppercut, stunning him once before cancelling the next punch saves time over just waiting. Macho has a sort of frame rule where his super spin forces the clock to the next second, so the improvement saves exactly one second.
- Macho can actually land in two different places if knocked down with a jab. One is closer to the center, and saves time from a shorter walk back. This is just enough to save another 16 frames.
- Mike Tyson: 1:58.xx
- If the decimal is included by looking at the RAM or doing the fight in Another World Circuit, the time is 1:58.61
Memory: Judging
Memory: Optimization for this run is also fine! Very good improvement on the current run.
The audience reception here was quite positive, in stark contrast with #6742: McHazard's NES Mike Tyson's Punch-Out!! "clock stop glitch" in 18:52.92. The pacing was very good and a bunch of creative strategies on display here.
For why we prefer this run to #6742: McHazard's NES Mike Tyson's Punch-Out!! "clock stop glitch" in 18:52.92 see the judgment note for it.
Accepting to Moons as an improvement to [2488] NES Mike Tyson's Punch-Out!! by McHazard in 17:39.46.
fsvgm777: Processing. Zinfidel is handling the encodes for this one.