The Mask TAS by Randil

This run is 12582 frames (3 minutes 29.7 seconds) faster than slash_star_dash's run of this very fast paced platformer. Time was saved mostly due to a shortcut in level 1, and much, much faster boss battles. More details on what has been improved can be found under the "Improvements and tricks" section below.
  • Aims for fastest possible time.
  • Takes damage to save time.
  • Manipulates luck.
  • Genre: Platform.
  • Emulator & settings:
  • SNES9x 1.43+ v9
  • Use WIP1 Timing Checked. Nothing else is checked.
Desync issues: I've had many desyncs with slash_star_dash's run, and a few desyncs with this run. If this movie desyncs, it will probably do so at the start meny, I haven't found any other places where it can desync. But don't worry if it desyncs! Just play the movie again and it should work. If it doesn't, try rebooting the emulator and try again.

About the game:

"The Mask" is an extremely fast platformer (you can move as fast as 16 pixels per frame), in which you play Stanley Ipkis, also known as "The Mask". You have several weapons in this game, namely the hammer, the boxing gloves, the guns, the horn (never used in this run).
You also have the ability to "super-run" if you hold down L+R. This is of course used a lot in the run.
When using special weapons or super-running you spend M-points. You can get more M points by picking up those green M's that you can find here and there. When you're really low on M-points, you will automatically regenerate them slowly.
You can also pick up money, but money doesn't do anything useful besides increasing you score.
After each level you meet a boss, and as you advance further in the game, the bosses will get more and more HP, and they get more aggressive.

Improvements and tricks:

So, what has been improved? To sum things up, almost every little thing has been improved by some frames. Overall, movements are much smoother, and thanks to some basic TAS tricks I was able to shave off quite a lot of time. Especially the boss fights are faster, in particular the last boss fights.
Some notes about the last boss fight: The last boss has a lot of HP, somewhere around 650 I believe. By picking up the notes that the saxophone player to the right creates, I heal my M-points by 25 each time I pick one up. This is done so that I can use the guns more often, since the double gun damage trick works on the last boss. The notes that the left saxophone player creates only heal my HP, that's why I don't pick them up.
Here are some of the tricks I used to speed up this run:
  • If you press down at the exact right frame when super-running, you will start sliding, increasing your speed by 1 pixel per frame! This is used when possible throughout the run.
  • By holding down left or right when using the hammer or guns, I start running as soon as I'm done using them, allowing me to use them again much sooner than if I don't hold down anything.
  • By using the guns at the right time (when me and the boss are at a certain distance from each other), it's possible to deal almost double damage with the guns. This is only possible on bosses who don't move much after being shot with the guns. Luckily for me, this is the case with the 2 last bosses, the ones with the most HP. :)

Level comparison table:

LevelFrames saved on levelFrames saved on boss battles
Menu64-
Level 11481145
Level 216431788
Level 3303226
Level 4283547
Level 53431849
Level 6201-
Level 75053204
Total48237759

The making of this run:

This is my first finished SNES TAS, so this was quite an experience for me to do. I'm glad it turned this much faster, too. :) I used gocha's memory watching tool to watch all kinds of RAM addresses. Obviously, this was extremely useful, especially on the boss fights.
I also edited in new improvements afterwards with TAS Movie editor. Thank God for that tool, this run would not have been done anytime soon if it wasn't for that tool. :)
This TAS was done pretty much the same way as I usually do runs, lots and lots of rerecords and "trial and error" strategies. Since SNES9X worked so good for me, it's likely that I'll do some more SNES TASes in the future. :)
Enjoy the movie!

Truncated: Easy accept.

NesVideoAgent: Hi! I am a robot. I took a few screenshots of this movie and placed them here. Here goes! Feel free to clean up the list.
adelikat: Screenshots removed, seems NVA had a desync with this one.


TASVideoAgent
They/Them
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Joined: 8/3/2004
Posts: 15630
Location: 127.0.0.1
This topic is for the purpose of discussing #1690: Randil's SNES Mask, The in 06:39.80
Joined: 2/1/2007
Posts: 245
Location: Israel
The game is insanely fast-paced. It was kind of fun to watch, but it also hurt my eyes. Sorry, but I don't know what to vote.
Joined: 3/29/2006
Posts: 273
Location: Sweden
When I watched dash's TAS, I actually considered improving it since it seemed very unoptimized throughout. This, however, looked very optimized and great to watch, so here's a yes.
Player (105)
Joined: 1/30/2005
Posts: 564
Location: Québec, Canada
Holy shit! That game got DESTROYED! :) Wow. Just, wow. I've played this game a lot as a kid, and I really LOVED to see it beaten so fast and easily! Definitively a yes vote. Note for other people to consider: This is a 3 minutes and 30 seconds improvement on the currently published run. The previous run was 10 minutes and 9 seconds long. Do the math, this run is about 2 thirds of the previous one. That a HELL of an improvement!
Player (121)
Joined: 2/11/2007
Posts: 1522
Watch out SNES here comes Randil!
I make a comic with no image files and you should read it. While there is a lower class, I am in it, and while there is a criminal element I am of it, and while there is a soul in prison, I am not free. -Eugene Debs
emu
Active player (386)
Joined: 1/2/2007
Posts: 188
Location: Germany, Munich
Good ol' mask still likes to desynch :) It has been some time since I watched the published run, still the boss fights very noticeably improved and looked well manipulated. Great run, easy yes vote.
Senior Moderator
Joined: 8/4/2005
Posts: 5777
Location: Away
Wow, so fast! This game certainly does credit to the movie (and that dance at the end is priceless). Very entertaining.
Warp wrote:
Edit: I think I understand now: It's my avatar, isn't it? It makes me look angry.
Former player
Joined: 8/15/2004
Posts: 422
Location: Minnesota
Cool movie. But I gotta wonder: How can you fight Dorian as The Mask when he also has a mask on?
Player (68)
Joined: 3/11/2004
Posts: 1058
Location: Reykjaví­k, Ísland
Wow. That was really fast and well done. The only thing I can think of is whether it would be faster in the final boss battle to run between the saxophone players to collect notes from them both instead of just one. If not, I vote yes. (I voted yes because I'm sure you already thought of that and found it slower).
Skilled player (1828)
Joined: 4/20/2005
Posts: 2161
Location: Norrköping, Sweden
Blublu wrote:
Wow. That was really fast and well done. The only thing I can think of is whether it would be faster in the final boss battle to run between the saxophone players to collect notes from them both instead of just one. If not, I vote yes. (I voted yes because I'm sure you already thought of that and found it slower).
I already thought of that, but the notes on the left side of the room don't give me M-points, they give me more health. Otherwise it could perhaps save some time. Maybe I should add this to the author's comments...
Active player (437)
Joined: 4/21/2004
Posts: 3517
Location: Stockholm, Sweden
Could you please stop dominating so much already? :( I mean this is getting out of hand. Im forced to vote yes :( Edit: was just messing around with you randil :)
Nitrogenesis wrote:
Guys I come from the DidyKnogRacist communite, and you are all wrong, tihs is the run of the mileniun and everyone who says otherwise dosnt know any bater! I found this run vary ease to masturbate too!!!! Don't fuck with me, I know this game so that mean I'm always right!StupedfackincommunityTASVideoz!!!!!!
Arc wrote:
I enjoyed this movie in which hands firmly gripping a shaft lead to balls deep in multiple holes.
natt wrote:
I don't want to get involved in this discussion, but as a point of fact C# is literally the first goddamn thing on that fucking page you linked did you even fucking read it
Cooljay wrote:
Mayor Haggar and Cody are such nice people for the community. Metro City's hospitals reached an all time new record of incoming patients due to their great efforts :P
Joined: 11/28/2004
Posts: 138
- Nice improvement... Check - Destroyed game... Check - Yes vote... Check
The best time you have is the time you share with other people.
Skilled player (1828)
Joined: 4/20/2005
Posts: 2161
Location: Norrköping, Sweden
AngerFist wrote:
Could you please stop dominating so much already? :( I mean this is getting out of hand. Im forced to vote yes :(
I don't know how I should take that, but... thanks, I guess. I'll try to control myself more in the future. :P EDIT: Hehe, I had a feeling you were just messing with me, but it can be hard to tell sometimes. ;) Thanks for the vote. :)
Editor, Emulator Coder, Expert player (2159)
Joined: 5/22/2007
Posts: 1134
Location: Glitchvania
Amazingly no longer is the boring final boss fight this time. I vote yes.
<klmz> it reminds me of that people used to keep quoting adelikat's IRC statements in the old good days <adelikat> no doubt <adelikat> klmz, they still do
Experienced player (829)
Joined: 11/18/2006
Posts: 2426
Location: Back where I belong
Amazingly fast and fun run. Good job on the improvement!
Living Well Is The Best Revenge My Personal Page
Former player
Joined: 10/27/2004
Posts: 518
yes yes yes!! improve all the sh!t i did. PLEASE! there's tons of flaws! im tired of SDA's BS and no one to back it up, so fix my brokenness! f@ck Radix! thank you Randil. im done with TASing.
Former player
Joined: 4/6/2006
Posts: 462
n0 n0 n0!!! what the h3ck??? i can't even understand what the h3ll your saying!!!
Former player
Joined: 10/27/2004
Posts: 518
im drunk, my preferred state in my current sitch. and about RADIX, it has to do with bitching and the Chakan TAS. improve it to said A-hole standards... inspite of the fact i havent heard anything since the allegations were made. farewell.
Joined: 5/2/2006
Posts: 1020
Location: Boulder, CO
really nice, fast and entertaining, exactly what a tas should be.
Has never colored a dinosaur.
Post subject: Movie published
TASVideoAgent
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This movie has been published. The posts before this message apply to the submission, and posts after this message apply to the published movie. ---- [972] SNES The Mask by Randil in 06:39.80
Player (150)
Joined: 11/27/2004
Posts: 688
Location: WA State, USA
Just out of curiosity, how fast is this game compared to Sonic?
Nach wrote:
I also used to wake up every morning, open my curtains, and see the twin towers. And then one day, wasn't able to anymore, I'll never forget that.
Mitjitsu
He/Him
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Joined: 4/24/2006
Posts: 2997
I never thought I'd say this, but Holy Christ thats fast. I'll add another yes vote.
Active player (437)
Joined: 4/21/2004
Posts: 3517
Location: Stockholm, Sweden
Can we determine which one is the fastest: The Mask or Sonic 3.
Nitrogenesis wrote:
Guys I come from the DidyKnogRacist communite, and you are all wrong, tihs is the run of the mileniun and everyone who says otherwise dosnt know any bater! I found this run vary ease to masturbate too!!!! Don't fuck with me, I know this game so that mean I'm always right!StupedfackincommunityTASVideoz!!!!!!
Arc wrote:
I enjoyed this movie in which hands firmly gripping a shaft lead to balls deep in multiple holes.
natt wrote:
I don't want to get involved in this discussion, but as a point of fact C# is literally the first goddamn thing on that fucking page you linked did you even fucking read it
Cooljay wrote:
Mayor Haggar and Cody are such nice people for the community. Metro City's hospitals reached an all time new record of incoming patients due to their great efforts :P
Skilled player (1828)
Joined: 4/20/2005
Posts: 2161
Location: Norrköping, Sweden
AngerFist wrote:
Can we determine which one is the fastest: The Mask or Sonic 3.
I was actually thinking about doing an "off topic" topic about this subject, who the fastest videogame character is for each console. I think that "The Mask" is the fastest character for the SNES, or perhaps Sparkster is faster. Anyway, I think this is pretty interesting. :) For reference, The Mask moves as fast as 16 pixels per frame, which is a lot.
Senior Moderator
Joined: 8/4/2005
Posts: 5777
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Heh, only marginally faster than Samus in SM (15 px/f maximum speed). Actually, you got me interested in the research.
Warp wrote:
Edit: I think I understand now: It's my avatar, isn't it? It makes me look angry.