Plugins:
Video: glN64 v0.4.1 (this is usually the worst plugin for anything ever, but it's actually the best for this game). Jabo 1.5.2 also works (1.6 has serious problems).
Input: TAS Input Plugin 0.6 (IMPORTANT!!! Make sure mempack is checked in the settings) You also have to delete "SCOOBY-DOO (unknown rom).mpk" from your Mupen64 "save" folder before playing back the movie in order to get it to sync.
Sound: Jabo's DirectSound 1.6
RSP: RSP emulation Plugin
About the Run
I started working on this run after I played through the game on netplay with my friend aleckermit. Although the game is very linear, we thought it had some TASing potential, mostly because of how terrible the controls are. They work in almost a pseudo Resident Evil way - as long as you keep the stick anywhere which isn't neutral, then you have to adjust the stick as if it's in Shaggy's point of view in order for him to turn. This is reset when the stick is neutral, and makes the game incredibly frustrating to play in real time, which is why I think anyone who has played this game will appreciate how smooth the movement in this TAS is.
Techniques Seen in the Run
Savewarping
Thanks to the really fast saving/loading in this game, savewarps can be used to quickly put Shaggy back at the entrance of areas. This saves a lot of time in a lot of places.
Item Equipping
After a savewarp, the position of the cursor on the item screen goes back to the far left or right. By equipping items before savewarps, we can skip a lot of rotations in the item menu. This was carefully planned out for every item obtained in the run.
Scoobyboosting
Scooby is normally a massive troll who just gets in the way (but can be manipulated by making Shaggy run in the "wrong" direction for a few frames), but sometimes he can actually give a slight boost if he runs against you properly. It's rare, and most of the time he's just a troll.
Episode 1
- The headdress inside the museum is totally skipped. Its purpose in the game is to disguise Shaggy and Scooby on a wall near the Black Knight when he comes out of his coffin, but if you're fast enough, you can actually reach Velma's glasses before he has a chance to catch you.
- There are a few points where I wait in place on the way to the lamp. This is because of set enemy positions in this room. There are various other rooms in the game like this too.
- Thanks to a weird glitch, we can reach Velma's loading zone by running into a corner in the first part of the Prehistoric Wing which lines up with the corner she's in at the other side of the wing. There are no other things like this in the game.
Episode 2
- It's possible to grab the firewood and save the game before the Snow Ghost cutscene, but doing this just puts Shaggy at the start of that cutscene after reloading the game, so the cutscene has to be skipped before the save.
- The logs in the shed cannot be manipulated. They're navigated in the quickest way possible. As far as I can tell, it's not possible to get past the final log on an earlier cycle.
- The coal from the fireplace is skipped. This is a disguise item (I don't know) and isn't required.
- The slow and terrible skiing minigame is required to end the level. By altering Shaggy's position at the end of it, I manipulate a crucial timesaver in level 3.
Episode 3
- The palm leaf is completely skipped. This is supposed to be a disguise item to help Shaggy hide from the Tiki at some point, but it seems completely optional.
- The statues in the large open area can have various combinations required to open the gate. The parrot in the lounge actually tells you this order when you give him a cracker. Of course, there's no need for that in a TAS. There are 3 possible combinations, and the one with the least rotations is manipulated to happen.
Episode 4
- The fish boards are placed on the wall in a way which minimises the number of turns taken to equip them all.
- It is possible to skip the music box, but it isn't faster to do so, as it requires taking a lot of damage and doing a S&Q to avoid dying in the room with the tentacle monster.
- Taking damage from the Ghoul King is mandatory when he's chasing you in the cave. There just isn't enough space to run past him.
- Taking damage from the gear on the way to Velma allows Shaggy to run through it which saves a long walk around the area.
- Damage is again required on the gear just before Velma. This can be avoided, but the gear has to be in a very specific position just when Shaggy reaches it, and sadly, this can't be manipulated and waiting for it was slower than just taking damage.
- By walking through some of the side doors in the corridor with lots of passages, various stretches of land are skipped, which means we can get around this area very quickly. Whenever the Ghoul King is chasing Shaggy in this room, a cutscene starts when you enter a side door which makes it slower to do it then (even if the cutscenes are skipped).
With thanks to...
- aleckermit, for encouraging me to do the run, helping me test a lot of things in the game, and regularly monitoring my progress, offering advice and improvements, and showing strong support from the start.
- AniMeowzerz, for helping to plan out the third and fourth levels (the fourth was a real nightmare), checking my WIPs for improvements, and being supportive.
Nahoc: Claimed for judging.
Guga: We meet again, Mupen64...
Tentacles? I see where this is going...
On-topic: I believe that this TAS is pretty boring (I've never played this game before). The only entertaining part was when you dodged saws and shit.
I vote MEH.
