Movie features

  • Emulator used: Finalburn Alpha-RR v0.0.3.03 (alpha version).
  • Aims for fastest time.

About the run

Alright, another dear game to me has been TASed. I loved playing this game when I was younger but I never managed to finish it. But thats a different story today. At first I tried using two players but for some reason, my keyboard wouldnt co-operate with me. After error1 confirmed my thought that using two players causes the enemies to have more HP, I concluded that it would be faster and less lag involved by using one player. That being the case, I am quite satisfied with how this run ended. In my opinion, killing bosses certainly didnt take that awfully long to deal with as one player. Initially, I thought lag and eliminating enemies & bosses would take forever using one player but I am glad I was more or less wrong (I am sure there are some instances where using two players is faster).
An important information about the game is that it uses checkpoints in each area. These checkpoints are obviously the enemies. Therefore you might notice and wonder "why didn't he kill that enemy faster?" Its because I don't have to worry about that, because I've already dealt with the checkpoint and can meanwhile have a bit fun by shanking nazis :)
Maybe a less important information is about the weaponry. Shotgun and Super Grenade seem to be strongest weapons, though I don't know for sure which one of them is the strongest (doesnt really matter much as I never had the difficulty of chosing between them in a mission as they never bumped into each other).
Mission 1 Nothing much to say about this mission, everything went pretty well.
Mission 2 I am extremely satisfied with how very quick I managed to destroy the boss. Didnt have to jump once.
MIssion 3 I sacrified a few frames by getting fat. This mission is much longer and harder compared with mission 1 and 2.
Mission 4 Ironically, I anticipated that with each level, it would get tougher but mission 4 was quite possibly the easiest stage of them all. Got fat again though this time I barely lost frames.
Mission 5 The hardest mission of them all. Soooooooooooo many minibosses. Don't know what to say other than I really utilized every weapon I could collect.
Mission 6 Final mission! I sat almost half a day trying to manipulate the aliens to give me a Shotgun but they wouldnt :( They gave me everyhing (= a chicken, letter, pig, Dropshot, Heavy machine gun, Lasergun, Enemy Chaser, Rocket Launcher) besides Shotgun or Super Grenade.
If you encounter a desync, replay it until it plays to the end. Oh and the ROM and the bios should probably have these filesizes to be able to play my movie: The ROM should be 27 826 bytes and the neogeo bios 1316 bytes.
Hope you enjoy!

Baxter: Replaced the submission file by a input file that stops after the last hit, instead of after the credits.

Baxter: There were a lot of responses that better goals could have been chosen for a TAS of this game, mainly suggesting that the TAS should be done on the hardest difficulty, and that it should be a 2-player TAS. The people suggesting this however added that they were really entertained by this TAS. There are two options: reject this TAS and wait for a new TAS which has different goals (this could take a very long time), or accept it and have a very enjoyable Metal Slug TAS on the site in the mean-time. The opinions in the discussion thread seem to agree on this; publish this movie. A new TAS of this game which plays on the hardest difficulty and uses 2 players will very likely obsolete this movie for having better goals, but for now we can all enjoy this highly entertaining TAS. Accepting.
ShinyDoofy: Processing...
flygon: Encoding, since ShinyDoofy is taking so long.
flygon: Replaced the screenshot with a far more entertaining one.


TASVideoAgent
They/Them
Moderator
Joined: 8/3/2004
Posts: 15576
Location: 127.0.0.1
Joined: 11/15/2004
Posts: 804
Location: Canada
I'm a long-time fan of Metal Slug, so I'll have a lot to say about this run. For the record, I wasn't able to get through the movie without desyncing. I lost sync around frame 49000 the first time. If I fast forward at any point, it will desync somewhere in Mission 3. I love the fact that Marco gets fat in some missions. I had no idea that flame shot was that huge when your player is fat. What I saw was good, but... The run aims for speed, whereas Metal Slug is about how much ass you can kick. I usually prefer 1-player runs, so I hate to say this, but wouldn't this run be better with 2 players? Marco fails to kill a lot of bad guys in the name of speed, while a second player trailing him could pick up some of the guys he leaves behind. Also, Metal Slug games are very laggy: the massive number of enemies on the screen pushes the limits of what NeoGeo can handle. If a second player was killing more guys, would that reduce lag, or would the death animations cause just as much lag? Also, some of the boss/mini-boss fights take a long time and consist of Marco standing right next to them and unloading on the vehicle until it explodes, which is a bit boring. Unless adding a second player doubles the bosses' HP, that would make the more boring boss fights go by a bit faster. Metal Slug is fun to play and fun to watch. It's way more fun to play with a second player, so that bad guys are getting killed all over the screen and the massively destroyable environment is exploding -- man it's great when buildings collapse from damage. Since it's more fun to play with a second player, maybe it's also more fun to watch. Edit: Frig, now it's desyncing in Mission 3 whether I fast forward or not. I guess that was a red herring. I don't know why I got so far the first time, but I can't seem to do it again.
TASing or playing back a DOS game? Make sure your files match the archive at RGB Classic Games.
Editor, Expert player (2073)
Joined: 6/15/2005
Posts: 3282
Fortunately it never desynced for me. I followed your progress and enjoyed the last few missions.
Joined: 8/7/2006
Posts: 344
Desynched for me at the same place it desynched when I was watching your WIP. (Around frame 46000, during the fight with the boss of mission 5.) Shame. :(
Skilled player (1410)
Joined: 5/31/2004
Posts: 1821
The movie synced for me also. I don't know much about this game, so I have no idea how technically good this movie is, but I enjoyed watching it :) Yes vote!
Joined: 11/15/2004
Posts: 804
Location: Canada
It's very good technically. This is a one-hit-and-you're-dead game (three lives per credit) -- unless you're in a vehicle like the Metal Slug, exosuit or airplane -- so you tend to get killed anywhere from every few minutes to every few seconds during a boss fight. (Fortunately you get a heavy machine gun every time you die.) You live a lot longer if you have a friend to play Player 2 to take out the stuff that you don't have time to notice. Bad guys are coming at you from all directions, so it's hard to watch ahead and behind. A second player lets you split the screen between yourselves. Still desyncing at about 16000 every time early in Mission 3. As far as the ROM and BIOS sizes, I'm just using what clrmamepro has created from the MAME 0.134u2 dat file. Does FBA want expect different ROMs? Edit: On the rare occasions when it makes it past 16000, it desyncs at 18000. So frustrating. Edit edit: Interesting. I switched to FBA Rerecording 0.0.2 to see if that helped. The first time through, it desunk at 34000 like it did the first time with 0.0.3c. Subsequent attempts crash at 16000 or 17400. Apparently the first run goes farther than any subsequent viewing, regardless of the emulator version. I wonder why that would be.
TASing or playing back a DOS game? Make sure your files match the archive at RGB Classic Games.
Active player (293)
Joined: 12/16/2008
Posts: 458
Location: Houston
synced for me. I actually think 2 player would be faster overall but it would be more then twice as hard to optimize. Anyway this one is good enough for me. I suppose I could do an encode of it beacuse others are having trouble with it.
Banned User
Joined: 12/26/2006
Posts: 231
Location: Lonely City
It is a NeoGeo Game.So only having file "neogeo.zip" ,can you enjoy it. AngerFist suggested"The ROM should be 27826 bytes and the neogeo bios 1316 bytes",I think he probably neglected "1000",The ROM should be 27826K bytes and the neogeo bios 1316K bytes:) As a fans of Metal Slug,I just say"It 's very nice",Yes Vote easily.
work hard
mz
Emulator Coder, Player (79)
Joined: 10/26/2007
Posts: 693
I followed your wips too and now really enjoyed watching the full run. Awesome game and this TAS looks technically very good to me. Thanks for making it, and of course I voted Yes. In the meantime, here's a quick and crappy encode on Rapidshare while we wait for a better one: http://rapidshare.com/files/291833405/mslugx-angerfist.avi (119 MB).
You're just fucking stupid, everyone hates you, sorry to tell you the truth. no one likes you, you're someone pretentious and TASes only to be on speed game, but don't have any hope, you won't get there.
Joined: 1/26/2009
Posts: 558
Location: Canada - Québec
synced fine here, the .fbm just need to cut off before the credit and this should be perfect, I think. The run was very fun to watch, thanks!!
Former player
Joined: 3/23/2004
Posts: 95
What I'd really like to see is MS3 on AES. I've never been able to get past stage 3 without killing all of my credits (since all AES games only get 4 credits). I've always wanted to unlock the picture gallery... Oh, and I'm downloading the encode so I'll vote after I watch this.
Joined: 7/2/2007
Posts: 3960
Thanks for the encode, mz! The sound started lagging noticeably in Mission 5, but that's a minor issue. I used to be able to beat Metal Slug 2 on about $2 worth of quarters (Metal Slug X is basically a remixed version of Metal Slug 2, with more enemies during the levels and a different first-stage boss fight). Watching the game just get completely destroyed was quite entertaining. I think my favorite bit was the ammo management against the trains in Mission 5. Well, the rope bridge in Final Mission is always awesome, but your TAS doesn't have any significant impact on that. It's just a fantastic bit of scenery. Anyway, great run!
Pyrel - an open-source rewrite of the Angband roguelike game in Python.
Joined: 6/4/2009
Posts: 570
Location: 33°07'41"S, 160°42'04"W
Thank you mz. It'd be hard to vote no at this even if don't play at level 8. Fun is most important than lag, so vote yes.
Mitjitsu
He/Him
Banned User
Joined: 4/24/2006
Posts: 2997
I've never seen so much carnage before. Nobody seems to have been spared a dignified death, but did you have to kill the puppies in Mission 2 :'-) Yes vote, but I would have liked to have seen a 2p run.
Joined: 6/4/2009
Posts: 893
i'm voting yes but i'm a little bit disapointed : the run quality is excelent and fast paced BUT it's Metal Slug, it's the kind of game where the word "exibition" take all it's sense. if someone have the guts to do it here it what would be nice : -hardest dificulty ( level 8) -insane bullet dodging ( the enemis barly shoot / move in this one :/) -total slaughter (no enemy shall survive thou assault) -all the rescue (even the hidden one's) -play as Fio ( glass are teh sexy)
Joined: 7/2/2007
Posts: 3960
A 100% secrets run would be a good way to do an entertainment-oriented run, IMO. I'd classify 100% in this game as being getting every bonus item, rescuing every hostage, bringing a Slug to the end of every level, and getting any other bonuses like the long-jump on the train level. And since you aren't going for speed directly, you might as well jack the difficulty up to 8, and add another player if you feel particularly insane. That'd be a ton of work, though...
Pyrel - an open-source rewrite of the Angband roguelike game in Python.
Former player
Joined: 8/1/2004
Posts: 2687
Location: Seattle, WA
I'm a big fan of the MS series, so this was extra special for me. There was a good pace of action, and I didn't have any complaints about any ammo planning. I would have loved for this to be 2P or on the hardest difficulty, but beggars can't be choosers. I only hope that this inspires someone to finish other MS games. Yessir.
hi nitrodon streamline: cyn-chine
Active player (315)
Joined: 2/28/2006
Posts: 2275
Location: Milky Way -> Earth -> Brazil
Yeah, Angerfist it's good, but as the other guys have posted (and I've told you on IRC before) a "100% hostages or something" run would be way better.
Nicos and Zurreco wrote:
...hardest dificulty...
hmm... have you ever played these arcade games at lvl 8? The bosses take AGES to die. You should try Metal Slug 3 next. It has the zombie transformation and multiple paths that might help in making a better run. Yes. EIDT: OH yeah yeah, and you got the chicken to lay an egg, that hatched and then the litle chick grew up to be another chicken. That was a great demonstration of the cycle of life.
"Genuine self-esteem, however, consists not of causeless feelings, but of certain knowledge about yourself. It rests on the conviction that you — by your choices, effort and actions — have made yourself into the kind of person able to deal with reality. It is the conviction — based on the evidence of your own volitional functioning — that you are fundamentally able to succeed in life and, therefore, are deserving of that success." - Onkar Ghate
Bisqwit wrote:
Drama, too long, didn't read, lol.
Joined: 5/29/2004
Posts: 757
Derakon wrote:
A 100% secrets run would be a good way to do an entertainment-oriented run, IMO. I'd classify 100% in this game as being getting every bonus item, rescuing every hostage, bringing a Slug to the end of every level, and getting any other bonuses like the long-jump on the train level. And since you aren't going for speed directly, you might as well jack the difficulty up to 8, and add another player if you feel particularly insane. That'd be a ton of work, though...
I must agree with this. a 2P run with these objectives will reduce the issue of how long it takes to kill the boss, allow maximum entertainment.. and of course.. Fio for the win! *drool* Mr. Kelly R. Flewin
Mr. Kelly R. Flewin Just another random gamer ---- <OmnipotentEntity> How do you people get bored in the span of 10 seconds? Worst ADD ever.
Senior Moderator
Joined: 8/4/2005
Posts: 5777
Location: Away
First things first. This run was a treat to watch, it has impressive ammo management, and is otherwise well-made technically. It's an absolute yes vote for publication, and it does look great from the get-go. However, the game's entertainment potential hasn't been exhausted yet. A 2P run with a more interesting goal choice than aiming for fastest time should be made to improve upon this in the future.
Warp wrote:
Edit: I think I understand now: It's my avatar, isn't it? It makes me look angry.
Joined: 6/4/2009
Posts: 893
pirate_sephiroth wrote:
hmm... have you ever played these arcade games at lvl 8? The bosses take AGES to die. You should try Metal Slug 3 next. It has the zombie transformation and multiple paths that might help in making a better run.
yes i know they take ages to dies but a hardest difficulty is what would give the run it's whole entertainement, (i still rememeber how much time it took just to beat the first boss in MS3) maybe insane luck manipulating drops and heavy weapon management there would do the trick ? as for the 2P, of course it would be even more insane ( at least if the TASer let the enemys appear on the screen) but it give bosses even more life so it still does not takle the boss problem, (what happens when a 2p join a fight in the middle of the boss fight, does the boss life extend ?)
Expert player (2567)
Joined: 12/23/2007
Posts: 830
Wow, the Metal Slug movie in our site. Good job! I love MS3 better. Unfortunately I am not able to watch this movie, I will see this after it's published.
Recent projects: SMB warpless TAS (2018), SMB warpless walkathon (2019), SMB something never done before (2019), Extra Mario Bros. (best ending) (2020).
Active player (315)
Joined: 2/28/2006
Posts: 2275
Location: Milky Way -> Earth -> Brazil
Nicos wrote:
pirate_sephiroth wrote:
hmm... have you ever played these arcade games at lvl 8? The bosses take AGES to die. You should try Metal Slug 3 next. It has the zombie transformation and multiple paths that might help in making a better run.
yes i know they take ages to dies but a hardest difficulty is what would give the run it's whole entertainement, (i still rememeber how much time it took just to beat the first boss in MS3) maybe insane luck manipulating drops and heavy weapon management there would do the trick ? as for the 2P, of course it would be even more insane ( at least if the TASer let the enemys appear on the screen) but it give bosses even more life so it still does not takle the boss problem, (what happens when a 2p join a fight in the middle of the boss fight, does the boss life extend ?)
MS3 has that overpowered zombie vomit. It could kill the boss in seconds in a TAS.
"Genuine self-esteem, however, consists not of causeless feelings, but of certain knowledge about yourself. It rests on the conviction that you — by your choices, effort and actions — have made yourself into the kind of person able to deal with reality. It is the conviction — based on the evidence of your own volitional functioning — that you are fundamentally able to succeed in life and, therefore, are deserving of that success." - Onkar Ghate
Bisqwit wrote:
Drama, too long, didn't read, lol.
Skilled player (1098)
Joined: 8/26/2006
Posts: 1139
Location: United Kingdom
Very nice. I've been looking forward to seeing MS tased for a while now and I really enjoyed the results. Voting yes.
Joined: 5/17/2007
Posts: 393
Location: Sweden
I see no reason not to vote "yes" on this. Also, thanks for the encode mz.
"No love for the game gear"