Post subject: Aero the Acro-bat
Active player (487)
Joined: 2/19/2007
Posts: 114
I've started working on this game. I've just done the first 2 stages, is it intersting enough to be worth continueing on? Also if there are any triks I've missed, please let me know. http://dehacked.2y.net/microstorage.php/info/1441911446/Aero%20the%20Acro-Bat%20%28U%29%20%5Bc%5D%5B%21%5D.gmv
Joined: 2/26/2007
Posts: 1365
Location: Minnesota
I was extremely entertained... having played the game in my youth, your movie made me cry tears of happiness (due to how freakin' hard the game was, and how easily aero flies through the levels in your run) Is there any way to keep a fast speed ie: when on another unicycle, if you were able to continue moving fast after getting off. Also, the downwards spin when in the air does not allow those star blocks to flip over, correct? Would there be any faster way/glitch to make them change in a way other than a full jump? EDIT: I did a little experimenting, and got this little piece of run for you. Definitely could be used to entertain somewhat, by falling off the side and then spinning back up to the blocks just in time to trigger the changing. This was recorded using a savestate. make sure you play the movie from savestate and then find the file using the browse button. microstorage wouldnt accept the file, so i have to use megaupload: http://www.megaupload.com/?d=VGZKIQKF /EDIT During the second level I liked how close you came to getting hit by spikes both times you used the cannon. Finally, due to a poor memory, is there any way to bypass the bonus rounds, say by not collecting 10 stars or something. I think, if possible, the bonus rounds should not be shown, due to aero falling for 30 seconds and collecting fruit. If there is no way to bypass the stages, you definitely need to collect ALL the food ^_< So far that is all... good work, man!
adelikat wrote:
I very much agree with this post.
Bobmario511 wrote:
Forget party hats, Christmas tree hats all the way man.
Reviewer, Active player (288)
Joined: 12/14/2006
Posts: 717
Man, I was going to do this. I say go for it. It looks pretty good so far. I think in the first two cannon shots, you might have gone too high. Is it possible to shoot yourself up sooner like you did for the last one? Also, for entertainment, why don't you pretend like you're playing the guitar at the beginning with input? I don't really think you need to get all the food, though.
Joined: 2/26/2007
Posts: 1365
Location: Minnesota
arkiandruski wrote:
I don't really think you need to get all the food, though.
The only reason I think he should get the food is because during that high dive bonus level, all you do is fall for seemingly eons, with that douchebag blowing the fan at you... might give the viewer something to see so as not to get bored... then again I am sure he could play around with that fan guy, somehow... such angry memories of that fan man EDIT: Whoops, I may have made myself unclear in my original post. He should get all the food in the random bonus levels, not in the actual levels that require you to go through rings or hit blocks or what-have-you
adelikat wrote:
I very much agree with this post.
Bobmario511 wrote:
Forget party hats, Christmas tree hats all the way man.
Active player (487)
Joined: 2/19/2007
Posts: 114
arkiandruski wrote:
I say go for it. It looks pretty good so far. I think in the first two cannon shots, you might have gone too high. Is it possible to shoot yourself up sooner like you did for the last one?
The second cannon shot was done slightly slow on perpose. You'll notice that when I drop down from the key area I just miss an enemy, if I did that bit any faster that enemy would be unavoidable.
Active player (487)
Joined: 2/19/2007
Posts: 114
I have now completed the third stage. There are a couple of bits where I don't particularly like the solutions I found though, so suggestions would be very welcome.
Skilled player (1327)
Joined: 9/7/2007
Posts: 1354
Location: U.S.
Canceled Aero The Acrobat WIP Me and Kyman were going to do this game, but we lost interest. Its about 300 frames faster than TheRandomPie's WIP.
Kaylee
She/Her
Editor, Active player (434)
Joined: 9/29/2008
Posts: 706
Location: Canada
Wow that was a while ago! IIRC most of the time saved was from a death shortcut.
Active player (487)
Joined: 2/19/2007
Posts: 114
I accually picked this up again a while back, before re-abandoning it again very shortly after. I only got part way through stage two but it's about 130 fames ahead of Sonik+Kyman's at that point. Another Abandoned WIP
Skilled player (1327)
Joined: 9/7/2007
Posts: 1354
Location: U.S.
Woah. Nice to see another "abandoned" WIP from you. :)
Post subject: Aero the Acrobat?
Editor, Experienced player (943)
Joined: 7/20/2011
Posts: 345
Hello all, I've been viewing the videos at this site for a while, and decided to make my own TAS. One of my favorite games was the Genesis version of Aero the Acrobat. I found a few partial progress vids in the forums search, which were very similar to my first 2 levels, but slightly faster. I will be going back and rethinking this, but I ask if this game seems like it would be entertaining and also why did no one ever finish it? Look forward to some input on this game, thanks.
Current thoughts: Hachiemon (J) for GBA.
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Joined: 8/26/2006
Posts: 1139
Location: United Kingdom
Hey Exxonynm and welcome to TASvideos! If you are looking for a more complete run of Aero the Acrobat you should check out the run on maTO's website: http://www.freewebs.com/suklaalevy/files/megadrive/Aero.rar I've not watched it, nor am I familiar with the game, so I can't vouch for how entertaining it would be. It seems quite long for a Genesis run, which will make it more difficult to gain support on the workbench unless the gameplay is really interesting. I suggest that you make a WIP of the first few levels, comparing to the movie above, in order to deepen your understanding of the tools and the process. If you then post your work here I'll happily watch it and provide some feedback. Even if it does end up sucking a little I assure you that your time won't have been wasted and you can carry these new skills to a different game.
NitroGenesis
He/Him
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Joined: 12/24/2009
Posts: 1873
YoungJ1997lol wrote:
Normally i would say Yes, but thennI thought "its not the same hack" so ill stick with meh.
Editor, Experienced player (943)
Joined: 7/20/2011
Posts: 345
Sorry to repost an old topic, I'll post on an old topic next time. I will have the first level done soon, and after watching the vid of the first 2 levels by TheRandomPie_IV and it seems the the (U) (c)[!] version is slighty different than the (USA) version. Perhaps it is my inexperience with TASing or with gens rerecording in general, but I find it hard to replicate his methods. Specifically drilling seems to not shoot you as far. I will edit this post as soon as I complete the first level for feedback. Edit: Thanks for moving to this topic. I used the same emulator,rom,and frames to press buttons as TheRandomPie_IV's version but I get different results. I'm not sure why, but my first level ends up being at least 100 frames slower than his. In short, I'm not happy with it and it seems I have something to learn. Any suggestions? Here's my file: http://www.4shared.com/get/0kcCYygc/Exxonym_Test_Aero.html Edit 2: BTW TheRandomPie_IV I hope you don't mind if I use your WIP as a basis for my run, I will mention you in the credits of course.
Current thoughts: Hachiemon (J) for GBA.
Editor, Experienced player (943)
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Posts: 345
I just edited TheRandomPie_IV's (I'll call you TRP4 from now on :p) video to finish the second level. I'm not sure if the part I changed in the second level was any faster than what he was doing. Basically the game reads if you're drilling into a platform you can drill again without actually having to land. Anyways, I didn't edit his first level at all because I couldn't find any frame improvements. Suggestions are always welcome, and I want TRP4's approval since I used his first level in it's entirety and the second level about 90% of what he posted. Here it is: http://www.4shared.com/file/T1UoynIl/AtAB_Level_12.html The part where I really took over was after the first ladder of the intended death shortcut. Tell me if it is up to par with his standards, as this is my first project. Any frame improvements you see, let me know! Edit: Sorry for the double post, I just realized. I just updated the file to one that is 48 frames faster. Edit 2: I realize TRP4's initial run was a few frames faster than my drill abuse. I'm editing that now. I noticed that at a certain frame when drilling down, aero unexpectedly jumps one frame later. A drill is supposed to be ininterruptable. I haven't found any uses for it however. Here are the 2 frames of this (This also caused my video to absolutely lock up at that exact moment on playback, odd): Edit 3: After some testing I believe I'm going to redo the drilling section, starting now, I'll post when I have redone it and how many frames I'm able to save. Opinions still welcome.
Current thoughts: Hachiemon (J) for GBA.
Active player (487)
Joined: 2/19/2007
Posts: 114
Sure, feel free to use my WIP for the run. I'll hold off on commenting on your current version since it looks like you're in the process of redoing it, but I wouldn't worry too much about not being able to match the stage 1 time. I suspect most of the difference there comes from subpixel optimisations (especially the extra drill distance) that you may not want to worry about for your first run (I certainly didn't for mine). Good luck with the run, it'll be nice to see someone make actual progress with this game again :)
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Thanks, I'm still making progress on the 2nd level, as annoying as it is. I'm not sure how to splice anything so I'm making sure it's as good as it can be for now. Messing around with specific frames, I managed to make this one ~22 frames faster than my previous, here is the faster run: Level_1_2_partial3 P.S. I like how optimized your first level is, and I'm trying to make it entertaining as possible. I still have yet to find any glitches at all, besides a random enemy that the developers accidently put in the wrong place (he jitters back and forth in place). This game must be well programmed. Anyways I'll post back with the third level when I get time, thanks! P.S.S. I talk a lot, please excuse me! Also, how do you post gmv files directly on here like I've seen a few people do. I hate the waiting time with most free file storage places (Thanks Nitrogenesis for the link). I upated the file with this much easier storage twice, now this one is about 24 frames faster for the first 2 levels and part of level 3 which I'm still working on.
Current thoughts: Hachiemon (J) for GBA.
NitroGenesis
He/Him
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TASvideos doesn't have an attachment service, so most TASers upload to microstorage: http://dehacked.2y.net/microstorage.php
YoungJ1997lol wrote:
Normally i would say Yes, but thennI thought "its not the same hack" so ill stick with meh.
Editor, Experienced player (943)
Joined: 7/20/2011
Posts: 345
I have finished an extensive test run of level 3, it comes out to be 1 minute 34 seconds (game clock 9:00 - 7:26). You can criticize it Here Furthermore this video's current runtime of 3 stages is 4 min 3.43s, and thats only about 15% of the game (19 Acts and 3 Bosses IIRC). Tell me if watching this is boring to you and if I should continue thanks. Edit: Reminder to myself: You can save a few frames by falling on a ladder slighty moving rather than straight down. The landing animation takes a few frames where the player can do nothing, while the running animation allows me to board the ladder almost instantly. Also optimizing anything before one of the trapeze artists is obsolete as I'll have to wait for the swinging cycle anyway, unless I could optimize the first part so much that I could catch the previous swing, which I haven't been able to do.
Current thoughts: Hachiemon (J) for GBA.
Editor, Experienced player (943)
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Posts: 345
I have finished a moderately extensive run on Act 4, and it surprising didn't take as much In-game time (the in-game clock) as I thought it would. It ends up being about 1 minute 6 seconds on the in-game clock, which is 5 seconds faster than suklaalevy's run that someone mentioned. I'm not sure of exact times however. Tell me what you think, you can see it here: Aero the Acrobat Act 1-4 Also, here are the times according to the game, not exact times: Act 1: 00:00:34.00 Act 2: 00:00:59.00 Act 3: 00:01:34.00 Act 4: 00:01:06.00
Current thoughts: Hachiemon (J) for GBA.
Editor, Experienced player (943)
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Ugh, well here it is, the dreaded Act 5 (it's a good level but a bit long for TASing). I went ahead and finished the boss as well. Anyways, here it is. I think so far that the game is entertaining, but I don't want to complete this game and get negative reviews, so any opinions now or am I wasting my time? Thanks! Edit: I've found a few flaws in stages 2-5 so I will be starting over from stage 2, so I might be absent for a while if anyone is following this. I hope to save at least 100 frames from these mistakes but I'll see as I go. Later folks! Edit 2: I've refinished Act 2, and saved 12 frames, however the stage fading doesnt begin for several more frames than the previous version and is a different color? Trying to figure this out, because with this I only save about 5 frames. Edit 3: I savedabout 129 frames on the boss fight in this update. Edit 4: I went back and am redoing things from Act 4, so far at the end of Act 4 I have saved 90 frames, on to Act 5 again... Edit 5: After reworking Act 5 I managed to save 176 frames, for a total of 266 so far. This will be in the final product. On to redo the boss.
Current thoughts: Hachiemon (J) for GBA.
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Here is an update! No new levels in this one, but I did rework Acts 4-boss on world 1. All in all I saved 535 frames, mostly due to my new boss abuse, he (or they) get(s) obliterated ;). Moving on to World 2, Funpark... Those who wish to see the improvement can see it here. Edit: Funpark Act 1 is complete (may be reworked later, a few things I need to try). Here it is. I'm about 1 minute ahead of Suklaalevy's run at this point. Edit 2 (7/27/2011): Acts 2 and 3 are finished as of now, they are here. Also, is it accepted to kill a few frames in the autoscroll level in order to make it more entertaining? While I could save a few frames, I deem it would be boring without those tricks. This is the last WIP I'm going to post, the rest will be the final product. Edit 3: I have completed Act 4 of Funpark. It is much shorter than I remember. Edit 4: Funpark is complete. At this point I estimate I'm about 1m14s faster than the only known speedrun (suklaalevy's). This is according to ingame time however, not official. Off to the Woods... Edit 5 (7/28/2011): Finally the woods is complete (only 4 short acts, no boss), which is the worst part of the game in my opinion. On to my favorite however, the Museum! Edit 6 (7/29/2011): Reworked much of the woods and saved a few seconds (3-4 ish). Also finished the Museum 1-2 after Act 2 (Ride the conveyor belts) gave me a few problems. On to Act 3..
Current thoughts: Hachiemon (J) for GBA.
Joined: 7/30/2011
Posts: 4
I have two questions after watching this completed entry for this. 1: how do you get the maximum drill whenever you want? 2: in Act 3-1, near the end, there's a tightrope with the path to the end across from it. why not just jump to the other side instead of using the see-saw at the bottom? thank you.
Editor, Experienced player (943)
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ShadowJacky wrote:
how do you get the maximum drill whenever you want?
I find the drilling to be very weird and random in this game. At certain frames the drill moves you faster and at certain speeds it will slow you down. Also the overall right-drill is faster than the left-drill. I'm sure I have not gotten all of the drilling correct.
ShadowJacky wrote:
in Act 3-1, near the end, there's a tightrope with the path to the end across from it. why not just jump to the other side instead of using the see-saw at the bottom?
Good point! After experimenting with this I found out that you can jump that far. Originally I didn't think so but with precise movement on the tightropes it is possible, and saves quite a few frames! I might just perfect this game instead of moving on to others for the time being. Thanks!
Current thoughts: Hachiemon (J) for GBA.
Active player (487)
Joined: 2/19/2007
Posts: 114
ShadowJacky wrote:
I have two questions after watching this completed entry for this. 1: how do you get the maximum drill whenever you want?
The easiest way to get the absolute best possible drills is to watch the memory. 00FF012D - 1 byte signed (X speed in pixels -ve is left) 00FF012D - 1 byte unsgned (X speed in 256ths of a pixel always to the right and added to the above to get total speed) when drilling the first value is set to +/- 3 depending on direction, but the second is fixed at whaterver it was when you start the drill. So going right you can have between 3 + 0/256 px/frame and 3 + 255/256 (ish you can quite get it that high..). Similarly you get (-3) + 0/256 to (-3) + 255/256 going left, so here 3 px/frame is the fastest possible while going to the right it is the slowest possible. which is why right drills are faster than left ones.