Post subject: Mario vs. Donkey Kong
Joined: 1/21/2006
Posts: 117
I picked up this game recently, it's a fun little sequel to the arcade Donkey Kong. I think it shall be TAS'd, it just can't live with one :D Should the aim be for fastest time or high score? Edit: Actually I've gone through a couple levels now, aiming for high score. I'm not normally an expert at these types of games, but it stilll amazes me of the scores I'm recieving. Perhaps after I complete World 1, I'll post a WIP and have you guys comment on it.
Joined: 1/21/2006
Posts: 117
Hello everybody! I just completed the first world of MvDK, and I'll let all of you see weather you'd want to see some more. (And just in case you're wondering, I haven't been working on it solid; most of the time I spend a few minutes on it, take a few more minutes of a break :P) http://www.savefile.com/files.php?fid=2114124
Joined: 5/6/2005
Posts: 141
Mario VS Donkey Kong is a very good game to be TAS'd, so you have my support on this. From what I'm seeing in your run is that you're getting all the presents and stars in each level - going for a 100% run. Personally, in my book, anyone that does a 100% run of a game ranks high on my list. So I am looking forward to the finished product. ^_^ However, you could save quite a few frames in the bonus area by purposely obtaining the 0-Up prize. After all, for each 1-Up you get, it costs time and frames. Remember, this is a TAS'd run, so you should not need to use up lives at all, so it's moot point to get 1-Ups, especially in the bonus areas at the end of each level. Also, you should at least list the ROM name you are using for this run. I was able to run the video just fine with the Mario Vs Donkey Kong (U) ROM. Otherwise it looks great. Keep up the great work!
Joined: 1/21/2006
Posts: 117
Thanks for the input, and I'm still working on it. Though I think I'll want to restart the movie so I can optimize the earlier areas anyway.
Editor, Active player (476)
Joined: 5/23/2006
Posts: 361
Location: Washington, United States
Wow, one of my favorite games... and I never thought about a TAS for it! This is a great idea. 100% should be the way to go, since it doesn't take that much time to collect the presents in each level. I noticed a few places where your route could be changed to save time or add points (not to be critical of your run already, of course:) ). I played this game quite a bit when it first came out... I'll have to check my scores sometime. Maybe when I have the time, I'll make a quick video of the route changes (or ideas) I'm talking about, maybe tomorrow. Great job so far, though!
Joined: 1/23/2006
Posts: 352
Location: Germany
Hm, a potential issue with 100% is that you'll have to play the bonus games so often. That might get boring over time. Of course the presents will force you to go through more interesting routes but on the downside you might be able to pull off some much more amazing pathes with fewer restrictions...
Joined: 5/6/2005
Posts: 141
KDR_11k wrote:
Hm, a potential issue with 100% is that you'll have to play the bonus games so often. That might get boring over time. Of course the presents will force you to go through more interesting routes but on the downside you might be able to pull off some much more amazing pathes with fewer restrictions...
Can you mainuplate the bonus games so it will always be the present-swapping game AND mainpulate DK to punch down the presents right away?
Joined: 1/21/2006
Posts: 117
Chef Stef wrote:
I noticed a few places where your route could be changed to save time or add points (not to be critical of your run already, of course:) ). I played this game quite a bit when it first came out... I'll have to check my scores sometime. Maybe when I have the time, I'll make a quick video of the route changes (or ideas) I'm talking about, maybe tomorrow. Great job so far, though!
Yeah, it'd be helpful if you tell what you're thinking, I love criticism (when it's positive, of course)!
Editor, Active player (476)
Joined: 5/23/2006
Posts: 361
Location: Washington, United States
Here's a testrun through the first world. It's pretty unoptimized, so maybe a few seconds could be gained through more precise playing. Enjoy! http://dehacked.2y.net/microstorage.php/info/1378/MvsD%20Test.vbm
Post subject: Mario vs Donkey Kong 100% run
Joined: 3/17/2007
Posts: 4
Well, i think this will be trickier, as well, funnier than non 100% one. I have a couple of current best times, but i still need help, anyone else interested? P.S.: The rom i found of this game has a battery advice, is that common on all roms >_>?
Joined: 3/17/2007
Posts: 4
Crap, someone move the topic to GBA, man this is not my day -.- Or erase it since i found one on the gba section
Editor, Active player (476)
Joined: 5/23/2006
Posts: 361
Location: Washington, United States
I'm giving this topic a rather large bump because some might be interested in my progress on this game. First of all, http://tasvideos.org/1435S.html was the Mario vs. Donkey Kong 100% TAS I made (and later cancelled) awhile ago. The main problems were: -100% took, in this case, 1 hour and 50 minutes -I receieved many responses saying the movie was too boring, especially the later levels -The bonus levels took too much time and were also really boring. With that said, I did discover a lot of interesting tricks and techniques, but the general consensus was that an any% run would be a better choice for this game. I have been working on the any% version more recently, and I'm currently through 3-2. This is probably a good time to share the 3-2 WIP of my progress. I do have a few concerns, though... I'm worried that the any% run will still be too boring. I'm also debating whether going through the plus worlds is a good idea - completing the 6 normal worlds gives you a vastly inferior ending and credits (not to mention starting you on the level select screen again), but completing the plus worlds would likely double the length of the movie. Are there opinions about this?
Former player
Joined: 5/29/2006
Posts: 200
I'd say just go through the first six worlds. As long as credits roll, it can count as completing the game, and in any%, you want the fastest completion of the game.
Joined: 1/21/2006
Posts: 117
The game itself is boring :/ Unfortunately, its NDS sequel is even more so. Donkey Kong '94 is a much more exciting game.
Joined: 3/17/2007
Posts: 4
Sorry to say this, but your 100% TAS might be boring because some of the strats were slow, there are some faster strats, like 34100 on first level and so. But well, many levels are maxed out, so congrats on that =)
Joined: 4/29/2005
Posts: 1212
I'm just bumping this, mainly because I'm wondering if anyone has started a new 100% attempt as of yet. Two and a half years is a long time. Just thought I'd check.
Editor, Active player (476)
Joined: 5/23/2006
Posts: 361
Location: Washington, United States
I probably would have done another 100% run instead of the recent any% improvement, except for the fact that the first 100% run was judged to be way too long to be enjoyable. Granted, the original time of 1:50 can probably be brought down to 1:40 or 1:35 (at least) with new tricks, but it's still a questionably long time when people have trouble sitting through the 45 minute any% version. I would certainly like to see/work on a 100% run in the future, it's just that I don't see a way that such a run would actually be published at TASVideos.
Joined: 4/29/2005
Posts: 1212
Seems like too many people judge a run before they've seen it just because of it's length. I for one think a fully optimized 100% run would be enjoyable. People said a 100% Bomberman Hero TAS would be boring, but they've been proven wrong, because it's being done very well. But, you know. If a person wants to do something, they should ignore all of the bad criticism and just do it. They might just make those people eat their words.
Joined: 3/2/2010
Posts: 8
Any% World 1 Redone I have started work on the any% improvement. This will hopefully be the final run. World 1 is faster by about 2.5 seconds over my previous attempt (4.5 seconds over the cancelled run, 14.5 seconds over the currently published run), mostly due to much tighter play. However, I am not convinced that 1-MM is optimal, but I can't seem to do better. On the subject of a 100% run, I think it would be interesting. It would show the plus worlds, as well as the expert levels, which are not seen in the any% run. It would also need new routes through most levels, as the presents are usually out of the way. It is possible to use Start/Select/A/B to skip having to do the bonus games, saving a large amount of time, in exchange for seeing the title screen after 84/104 levels.
Joined: 4/29/2005
Posts: 1212
Your Any% TAS looks quite optimal to me. And finally, more than one person agrees with me on a 100% TAS. xD
Joined: 3/2/2010
Posts: 8
Any% World 2 Redone World 2 of the Any% run has been finished. About 10 seconds were saved in this world over my previous run (15 seconds over the cancelled run, 38 seconds over the currently published run). This is almost entirely due to new routes in 2-5a and 2-MM. Curiously, world 2 is shorter than world 1. 2-MM also has a new glitch, which causes a Mini-Mario to run foward uncontrollably. I am not sure what causes this, it might have something to do with the Mini failing to turn around.
Joined: 4/29/2005
Posts: 1212
Very nice. Rather enjoyable.
Editor, Expert player (2364)
Joined: 5/15/2007
Posts: 3940
Location: Germany
Nice wall glitching there. Keep it up! Also, I'd like to see a 100% as well.
Joined: 3/2/2010
Posts: 8
Any% World 3 Redone Sorry for the long delay. World 3 is now finished. About 16 seconds were saved over my previous attempt and the cancelled run (about 30.5 seconds over the currently published run). The time was mostly saved through route tweaks, although there was some optimizing to be done. There are a couple new tricks, but nothing interesting. Two things to note - first, the rerecord count is probably slightly inflated, due to liberal use of the "frame search" key, and second, I don't expect much more significant improvement, as I think most of the time-saving tricks/shortcuts for the last three worlds have already been found (although there are still things to test).
Joined: 3/2/2010
Posts: 8
Any% World 4 Redone Progress Bump. World 4 is finally finished. About 14 seconds were saved over my previous attempt (43 seconds over the cancelled run, 52.5 seconds over the currently published run) More route tweaks and overall lag reduction was how most of the time was saved. Thanks of Chef Stef for the idea on 4-2a. Also, I got an error the first time trying to post this. Hopefully this goes through okay.