Post by Spawn

Posted: 12/27/2004 10:54 AM

Post subject: It's a good idea

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CoolBumpty

Joined: 12/12/2004
Posts: 158

I haven't posted or made a submission before, but I think that if there's a game that would work well for a first-timer it would be a game like Boulder Dash. I don't know how popular the game is but I've played it as a little kid, but only through the first world. I've done some testing on it and your character really is free to do whatever while moving around, because regardless of whether he's travelling through dirt or air, going in a zig zag or two straight lines, or flipped facing backwards half the time, they all result in the same amount of time taken. There are two random factors that I can think of. There's rocks/diamonds falling in either direction when given the choice, and the amoebas. I'm not sure what causes the randomness in the falling yet. As for glitches mentioned in the FAQ, the amoeba dissapearing glitch could be interesting, but I think it would be very difficult to pull off since it would have to be at an oppurtune time, and that glitch seems to be random in the first place. The pausing of bugs for a moment when one is killed could be important for my timing. Dissapearing rocks could be useful if I get really lucky. But other than for the bugs pausing, I think that the glitches won't be of much use. I'm going to try to get through the first quest of the game, which is the first 6 worlds, with the later ones being repeats of the first 6 but with more challenging layouts. I think that it's for the best since 1) people would be more likely to recognize it since I'm sure many people who played the game didn't get to the fourth quest and 2) I'm not that great at this game, since I've only beaten the first quest tonight, and trying for the fourth quest would be more than I think I could handle. And as a warning, keep in mind that this is my first attempt at a speedrun. I cannot promise that I'll go through with this, and I certainly have no idea how long it'll take. But if people reply with hints or suggestions or comments on whether it would be interesting or just mention if they've played or heard of the game before, that would be very helpful.

Posted: 2/23/2005 4:18 AM

Post subject: Boulder Dash

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CtrlAltDestroy

Active player (328)

Joined: 2/23/2005
Posts: 786

Hi, I'm new here. I recently got into emulation and stuff. Boulder Dash has been my absolute favorite NES game ever since I was 8. I became a pro at it on the origional cartridge. I'd like to create a "tool-assisted superplay movie" for this game.

Posted: 2/23/2005 5:00 AM

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Truncated

Editor, Reviewer, Experienced player (979)

Joined: 4/17/2004
Posts: 3109
Location: Sweden

Get FCE Ultra: http://tasvideos.org/EmulatorHomepages.html Read how to use it: http://tasvideos.org/UsingEmulatorTools.html Read the rules, guidelines, and general tips (linked from the FAQ), and you're off. If you have questions, check the FAQ before asking here. I like your nick.

Posted: 2/23/2005 5:13 AM

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CtrlAltDestroy

Active player (328)

Joined: 2/23/2005
Posts: 786

Already got FCE Ultra, already know how to use movies, save states, etc... Just read the FAQ. The only thing that bothers me is this: I started my run from the reset state. I don't see an option in FCE Ultra to begin recording a movie from the power on state. I could restart my movie, but I'd like to know how. Could I say "Start recording from now" and then hit the power button?

I like your nick.

Thanks, I get a lot of that. :D

Posted: 2/23/2005 5:19 AM

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Zurreco

Former player

Joined: 8/1/2004
Posts: 2687
Location: Seattle, WA

If you are using the newest version of FCEU (blip's patch), you should get this screen when you initiate recording:

Just select 'from reset' and all will be good. If you don't have this choice, update your FCEU version.

hi nitrodon streamline: cyn-chine

Posted: 2/23/2005 5:20 AM

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CtrlAltDestroy

Active player (328)

Joined: 2/23/2005
Posts: 786

I have Reset, I was just worried that I didn't have Power On. Cool, then. I'll get to gaming.

Posted: 2/23/2005 5:47 AM

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Ferret_Warlord

Skilled player (1416)

Joined: 10/27/2004
Posts: 1978
Location: Making an escape

I swear I've seen your name at Andrew Mills' Metroid page (I used to lurk there all the time). Are you the same person? Either way, welcome, and have fun. And don't be afraid of the F7 key. A lot of newcomers seem mortified by it. It doesn't bite, and is actually very friendly.

A hundred years from now, they will gaze upon my work and marvel at my skills but never know my name. And that will be good enough for me.

Posted: 2/23/2005 7:25 AM

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CtrlAltDestroy

Active player (328)

Joined: 2/23/2005
Posts: 786

Yes, I'm the same guy :D And yes, I've been totally abusing save states for the entire run now. The game seems to become a completely different game at 25% speed, and it's really nice being able to experiment on the go with matrix-dodge type tricks and just re-loading and erasing any mistakes that you make. So far, I've finished 5 out of 24 worlds in Boulder Dash, I'm going to resume later. I hope I do the resume recording movie technique right...

Posted: 2/23/2005 8:36 AM

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Truncated

Editor, Reviewer, Experienced player (979)

Joined: 4/17/2004
Posts: 3109
Location: Sweden

Make backups first. In fact, make lots and lots of backups. Noone likes accidentally overwriting their movie.

Posted: 2/23/2005 9:14 AM

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CtrlAltDestroy

Active player (328)

Joined: 2/23/2005
Posts: 786

So wait, tell me if I got this right. To resume a movie later, you: -Load the incomplete movie -Fast Forward to near the end -Before the movie ends, save the state and load it. If not, I must have mis-read the instructions.

Posted: 2/23/2005 6:59 PM

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CtrlAltDestroy

Active player (328)

Joined: 2/23/2005
Posts: 786

12/24 worlds done. Halfway there.

Posted: 2/23/2005 7:00 PM

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Ferret_Warlord

Skilled player (1416)

Joined: 10/27/2004
Posts: 1978
Location: Making an escape

No. All you need to do is load the incomplete movie and load the state that you left off from. What you just described is the process for going back to redo something if you don't have a state before then.

A hundred years from now, they will gaze upon my work and marvel at my skills but never know my name. And that will be good enough for me.

Posted: 2/23/2005 11:35 PM

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CtrlAltDestroy

Active player (328)

Joined: 2/23/2005
Posts: 786

Thank you. 17 worlds down. 7 More to go. The last 6 are insane though, so they'll take a bit longer.

Posted: 2/24/2005 2:02 AM

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nifboy

Former player

Joined: 5/31/2004
Posts: 375

I will always think of Boulderdash as a C64 series (which I still play time to time). I can only beat Boulderdash 2, though, mostly because it's the most reliable of the series.

Posted: 2/24/2005 6:46 AM

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CtrlAltDestroy

Active player (328)

Joined: 2/23/2005
Posts: 786

Well, I'm done. Yeah, I have a passion for that game I guess. I beat a superhuman game run in 2 days :D I'll submit it now... But I do plan on doing a faster one later.

Posted: 2/24/2005 8:19 PM

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CtrlAltDestroy

Active player (328)

Joined: 2/23/2005
Posts: 786

I spent all day working on the hardest level version, and I got to... level 1. Dang! I spend four hours and 300+ saves and this is all I came up with: http://www.samus.co.uk/cad/BoulderDashQuest4.fcm That's the fastest I can beat level 1. The game's clock ends at 80 seconds, but it literally switches from 81 to 80 as I step onto the exit. I tried for about 2 hours, but I couldn't find a way to save an extra step because the motion of the bug is off. So okay, I got level 1 down to no room for improvement. I hope it at least looks okay this time.

Posted: 2/24/2005 8:30 PM

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Blublu

Player (68)

Joined: 3/11/2004
Posts: 1058
Location: Reykjavík, Ísland

That looked pretty good, I think you're on the right track. By the way, you did use frame advance to optimize the menus as much as possible, right?

Posted: 2/24/2005 8:34 PM

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CtrlAltDestroy

Active player (328)

Joined: 2/23/2005
Posts: 786

No, I just slowed it down to 6% and mashed the keys. But that's a good idea, I'll do that from now on.

Posted: 2/24/2005 8:41 PM

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nifboy

Former player

Joined: 5/31/2004
Posts: 375

I think that looks really good. You look much more "in control" and take a lot more "risks" than what I saw of the old version (That one diamond after killing the second bug, especially). Oh, and I do know that in the C64 version it's possible to pass by a bug in a two-square hall with good timing/luck; see if you can do the same on the NES.

Posted: 2/24/2005 9:44 PM

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CtrlAltDestroy

Active player (328)

Joined: 2/23/2005
Posts: 786

While making this new movie, I actually learned a lot more physics that I didn't know before. For one, I discovered the true physics of the bugs. If, on the same "turn" you and a bug land in adjacent squares, you die. However, if you time it so that you’re between squares as the bug jumps from next to the tile you’re headed to next to the tile you came from, you’ll live. Knowing this, I was able to run right over the first bug in order to drop the diamond while the rocks came down on him. Also, I noticed that bugs take two “turns” as they turn an inside corner, but only one as they turn an outside corner. I died so many times running into the bugs while they were taking their second turns. Walking into a square takes one turn, and grabbing a diamond / pushing a rock horizontally takes one turn. Therefore, it's sometimes faster to grab diamonds than to take two tourns by walking into them and then back out. However, It's a waste of a turn to grab a diamond and then to walk around and pass by the space where it was- it would have been faster to just walk into the diamond. Anyway, I think I'll keep the time I have for the first level. I'll move on now. Jeez, it's amazing what you can learn by playing at 12% speed instead of 25%.

Posted: 2/24/2005 10:28 PM

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