I didn't see any mention of "Beatle Adventure Racing".
This racing game is very fun to play and there are many shortcuts.
Other than Mario Kart 64, I like this racing game the most.
If you haven't played this game, give it a try.
Do you think it's worth to do a TAS on this game ?
I loved that game as a kid, and I still love it. If someone wants to make a TAS of it, I would love to see it. It would be fun to see a TASer cream my real time track records.
I'm starting to think more about doing a TAS of this game. Since no one responded to the original poster (besides me) I'll ask again: Would any one else be interested in a TAS of this game?
A little background for those that haven't played the game. You start with a set of basic cars, and two tracks to practice with. For each championship circuit completed you get another set of better cars, and another track. After completing the highest circuit you have "beaten" the game, and you get a police car, the best car in the game.
So how would this TAS work? I could make a long run of the whole game, going through all the championships and eventually beating the game, but I feel like it would get boring quickly after seeing the first three levels so many times.
I feel like a TAS would be better done using the police beetle, to allow me to show off glitches that require the speed and handling only that car can do, and to also beat the game as quickly as possible. Would it be acceptable for a run of this game to start from a savestate of after I've beaten the game and already have the police beetle, assuming (of course) I provide a verification video of that savestate? I then have two choices of how the do the rest of the game, either do a time attack (a type of race in the game where it just you racing for a single track) run of each level, or complete the most difficult championship circuit (it would go through all the levels, there are other cars in the race too, and I get a trophy/winning screen at the end).
Most of the speedruns on youtube of this game use the police beetle in time attack mode. I heard the track times can differ a little between the two modes due to the other cars. If I did the run in time attack mode it would be easier to compare the track times. However I don't know how bad the difference is in track times, and I think the run would be smoother changing from track to track, feel more race like with other cars there, and have a better ending if I did the circuit instead.
What do you guys think?
I would be very interested seeing a TAS of this game, especially in a "100% Bonus" category that shows all the shortcuts.
The only problem is... It doesn't emulate very well. The graphical errors are massive and make it nearly unplayable. Sad but true, it's the same problem that star wars episode 1 racer has...
Current project: Gex 3 any%
Paused: Gex 64 any%
There are no N64 emulators. Just SM64 emulators with hacky support for all the other games.
This game is amazing and has great a multi-player mode. That said, it may get repetitive in a full TAS. I'd love to see some test run material though :)
Unfortunately it seems like Mupen has trouble running a lot of the good games, like Blast Corps for example.
I'm thinking it may be time for a better N64 Emulator soon. Unless the creators of Mupen+ are planning on making a better version with better game support.
I did some testing with the game. It seems that you can reduce the graphical errors by using different plugins like jabo 1.5, but many things like trees or background effects still look glitchy.
When it comes to TASing, it has the bad habit of desyncing...
But besides these problems, I would still try a run. I agree with micro5000 that it should start from a savestate. Watching all the championships multiple times with crappy cars isn't too exciting. A "100% bonus" run with the police beetle on the hardest championship would be the best choice. It would show all the cool shortcuts that the game has to offer, and (hopefully) some spectacular tricks to destroy the bonus-crates as fast as possible.
Current project: Gex 3 any%
Paused: Gex 64 any%
There are no N64 emulators. Just SM64 emulators with hacky support for all the other games.
If you guys figure out exactly where invisible checkpoints are (to ensure you completed a lap), I would be very interested in this info. Like exact triggers that cause your lap to go up.
I found a way to skip half of sunset sands but the lap counter doesn't go up...
If you guys figure out exactly where invisible checkpoints are (to ensure you completed a lap), I would be very interested in this info. Like exact triggers that cause your lap to go up.
I found a way to skip half of sunset sands but the lap counter doesn't go up...
How does this skip work? I can do such tricks non-tas in coventry cove and wicked woods (going to the finish line early) Unfortunately, the game doesn't let you finish the race that way. Even if the third lap starts, you can not drive back and finish the race. If it would work, this would probably be the fastest way for coventry cove.
At least I know a pretty cool trick in wicked woods, that lets you go to the shortcut with the pumpkins on the first lap.
Current project: Gex 3 any%
Paused: Gex 64 any%
There are no N64 emulators. Just SM64 emulators with hacky support for all the other games.
I've been using Glide 64 'Napalm WX' release 1 for my video plugin with good luck. Some things are still kind of glitchy (like trees), but the game is still very much playable. I've also been trying out the anti-desync mupen. I still have desyncs, but if I reload the movie and reload a savestate I can usually get them to go away.
If you guys figure out exactly where invisible checkpoints are (to ensure you completed a lap), I would be very interested in this info. Like exact triggers that cause your lap to go up.
I found a way to skip half of sunset sands but the lap counter doesn't go up...
I wrote a few scripts in MHS that allows me to fly around a map, and I managed to "beat" coventry cove in ~1:40 just by roughly following the level. I was planning to find those invisible checkpoints using this.
And for the sunset sands skip, is this the one you're talking about?
Similar to that one, this jump may be useful if done correctly and the checkpoints don't cause a problem.
Even better! I guess it was you that I contacted a few months ago about trying to do a run.
Anyway, I found all the checkpoints for Coventry Cove!
In the town, before the left fork (with the jump over water)
Before the barn, on the right there's a tree immediately behind the fence. In that area.
A few car lengths back from the u-turn sign near the castle jump
After doing 3 laps, there's one where the road turns into dirt for the finish area(pre finish line)
The finish line
From the start of the race, you need to hit the town, barn, castle checkpoints, then hit the town again to increase the lap count. Barn, castle, town to make it the third lap. Go to the barn, pre finish line, and finish line, and the race ends.
Using MHS and those known checkpoints, I managed to set a fairly impressive course record.
nice going! 5 levels to go.
I'm actually a bit surprised there are so few checkpoints.
i wonder if it works differently on levels with diverse shortcuts, like Metro Madness
I'm bumping this, because there's one thing that you guys should know about this game:
Don't TAS it!
I talked to the only other runners of this game, Cosmo and WMK, and we're pretty sure that the physics are emulated wrong. On emulator, you stick to the ground much more, which gives you an advantage on many sections of the levels. I don't think the core that Bizhawk uses is any better in that aspect, but I could be wrong of course.
But yeah, I don't think this game should be TASed, when such basic things like the physics are not emulated correctly.
Current project: Gex 3 any%
Paused: Gex 64 any%
There are no N64 emulators. Just SM64 emulators with hacky support for all the other games.
It seems that recent more recent emulators (Project64 2.3 and Mupen64 Plus 2.5) get the physics right.
Link to videoLink to video
As far as I know, Bizhawk uses Mupen64 Plus 2.0. If it could be updated, a TAS could finally be made!
Current project: Gex 3 any%
Paused: Gex 64 any%
There are no N64 emulators. Just SM64 emulators with hacky support for all the other games.
