Submission #6803: Arc & ktwo's NES Advanced Dungeons & Dragons: Heroes of the Lance in 05:35.90

(Link to video)
Nintendo Entertainment System
baseline
BizHawk 2.4.2
20187
60.0988138974405
2560
Unknown
AD&D Heroes of the Lance (U).nes
Submitted by Arc on 7/11/2020 3:29:45 AM
Submission Comments
Here we go again. This movie is 982 frames / 00:16.34 seconds faster than the current movie. Almost all of the savings come from a new exploit that ktwo found. By jumping into an exit, it's possible to save up to 35 frames per screen. Typically, the player runs to the exit and then holds either up or down for a long time until the game transitions to the next screen. By jumping before the exit, the player can start holding up or down earlier.
Don't worry about the rerecord count. The movie is mostly edited from my previous work.
NumberScreenFormer HPCurrent HPTotal Frames AheadNotes
11-119190On every screen that has a door that Goldmoon can jump into, there should be 35 frames saved. Goldmoon is already in the doorway on the first screen.
21-2161943The warrior was one of the worst enemies in the old run because he caused both a significant delay and -3 HP. But after waiting a few frames for better RNG, Goldmoon is able to jump clean through him.
31-3141867Because the RNG changed, I waited an extra 11 frames to get a good pass through the warrior. But the extra HP can save time near the end of the game.
41-41418102Attacking the dwarf is definitely the best method on this screen. Attacking allows Goldmoon to jump much earlier. Attacking also means no HP lost.
51-51218139Although I didn't get the ideal RNG in which the bozak doesn't shoot, the RNG that allows Goldmoon to duck is good compared to the RNG with the unavoidable shot.
61-61218173I wish every screen were a free shot at a jump like this one.
72-11218210I finally got the perfectly clean run through the troll.
82-21218245I had to wait 3 frames because of perfectly mistimed projectiles blasting out of the pit. Jumping into the teleportation is a little weird because it seems like I didn't lose any frames, but I give those frames back when the next screen loads.
92-31016288The RNG is better than the last run. I get one arrow without any delays.
102-4815319Here the RNG is a little worse, but I lose only -1 HP instead of -2.
112-5815354There's no enemy here, and so I save the expected 35 frames.
122-6815389The bozak's behavior is the same as previous attempts.
132-7713402I can do this screen 11 or so frames faster, but it leads to absolutely terrible RNG on 2-8, and 2-8 is the most important screen in the game. I tried to hide the delay in the jump at the end of the screen.
142-87134362-8 remains one of the all-time bottleneck points in TAS history. The RNG is killer. The menu trick requires advancing past the first flame. RNG was perfect on the previous TAS thanks to incredible coincidence. This time I got perfect RNG again, but I had to manipulate it with the delays in 2-7.
152-9713492Perfect luck! Both the dragon and the exit cooperated without any manipulation needed.
162-10713494Unfortunately, since Goldmoon has to jump over the last pit before jumping into the exit, there is insufficient space to save significant time.
173-1713529The spider is harmless, and so I save 35 frames.
183-2713563This screen is the easiest of the 3 dragon encounters.
193-3713598The spider just dances.
203-4713633Fortunately the two doors are far enough apart to get the full benefit of jumping.
213-5713667Another screen where nothing happens.
223-6612702As usual, this warrior is annoying and unfriendly to RNG.
233-769745Here's where the extra HP starts to pay off. I can take damage from the troll rather than use a slower attack. I couldn't find great RNG, but 8 frames saved is better than nothing.
243-869779My favorite kind of screen—nothing happens.
253-969809The dragon's RNG changed. It took the aggressive fire-breathing approach, and so Hold Person hit it 12 frames later than last time. After some timing manipulation, I cut it down a little, but it's still not clean like before.
263-1069846There are enemies here but they do nothing.
273-1157881This screen is the "real" spider. It is impenetrable. I have to attack it.
283-1257915This spider is fake.
293-1356955This troll doesn't have very friendly RNG, but I saved 5 frames at least.
303-1415982In order to save frames at the exit, I had to use Hold Person on the troll guarding the exit so that Goldmoon could jump. Theoretically, Goldmoon could jump clean through the troll into the exit, but it wasn't happening for me.
314-115982There are no more doors. Gameplay ends after exiting the menu.
EndEnd15982I don't believe that there's any benefit to using up more HP. I don't recall using any slower methods to preserve HP.
The idea for a good game is lurking beneath the surface here. The platform-action RPG style resembles a Zelda II dungeon, and the variety of playable characters is still seen today in the Curse of the Moon series. However, Heroes of the Lance fails because it is too short and linear, the controls are limited and unresponsive, and collisions are totally unpredictable. But with all the slow door transitions removed now, at least the movie is a little more entertaining.

Truncated: Judging.
Truncated: I should have set this back to New when I left a while back, but I forgot. Sorry.
Accepting as an improvement to the current movie.
fsvgm777: Processing.
Last Edited by adelikat on 11/5/2023 2:20 PM
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