Being the 2012 Summer Olympic Games I figured I'd give this months video an Olympic twist to it. The athletes, Cloud and Aeris, will be participating in two racing events, Diner Dash, and Relay Barathon. Apart from any eventual medals, good performance in these events can of course also be put to good use during Speedruns and TAS.
THE TRICK TO BEING A TOP ATHLETE
Most of the time your ability to move Cloud is disabled when texboxes and/or scenes play out. However, given the right circumstances it's possible to avoid this paralysis, roam around freely and as a result sometimes skip unwanted events.
A paralysis dodge can occur when e.g. two textboxes are triggered (one by cloud moving, the other from pressing the action button), or poor programming fails to paralyze but still enables movement at textbox/event end.
Video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d_Z8lwk6Jo0
Ever wanted to save in the Northern Cave but still keep the Save Crystal? Well, now you can!
HOW TO
The trick to copying your Save Crystal is combining the Paralysis Dodge Glitch with Clouds ability to open chests from afar.
The topmost chest on the 3rd field of the Left-Down path can be opened on the same frame as Cloud jumps down from the ledge above it, and when Cloud lands both menu and movement will be enabled, even if the message "received X-Potion!" is still open.
With this setup, since closing the X-Potion message will enable movement, Cloud's movement will remain enabled when you select the Save Crystal from the menu.
Now, you won't be able to move whenever there is a Choice present in a textbox, but you will be able to move as soon as the Choice is made (as opposed to having to wait for the textbox to close).
Fortunately the game places the Save Point first, it then removes the Save Crystal, and normally both happen before you can move, but thanks to the paralysis dodge movement comes early and you can exit the field before the Save Crystal ever is removed (which also happens to cancel the removal altogether).
Now, while this trick may not have an apparent use in a TAS someone might always figure something out in the future, and either way it's a neat trick that might interest some people regardless.
Video: http://youtu.be/s9rlydCVFTs
Ever wanted to save in the Northern Cave but still keep the Save Crystal? Well, now you can!
HOW TO
The trick to copying your Save Crystal is combining the Paralysis Dodge Glitch with Clouds ability to open chests from afar.
The topmost chest on the 3rd field of the Left-Down path can be opened on the same frame as Cloud jumps down from the ledge above it, and when Cloud lands both menu and movement will be enabled, even if the message "received X-Potion!" is still open.
With this setup, since closing the X-Potion message will enable movement, Cloud's movement will remain enabled when you select the Save Crystal from the menu.
Now, you won't be able to move whenever there is a Choice present in a textbox, but you will be able to move as soon as the Choice is made (as opposed to having to wait for the textbox to close).
Fortunately the game places the Save Point first, it then removes the Save Crystal, and normally both happen before you can move, but thanks to the paralysis dodge movement comes early and you can exit the field before the Save Crystal ever is removed (which also happens to cancel the removal altogether).
Now, while this trick may not have an apparent use in a TAS someone might always figure something out in the future, and either way it's a neat trick that might interest some people regardless.
Video: http://youtu.be/s9rlydCVFTs
Neat :p, sounds about right to interest me but yet I always get scared to save in Northern Cave because of the save glitch there.
HOW TO SKIP THE SPLIT-SCENE IN THE NORTHERN CRATER:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GfuSVyhVh84
The party split half way down the North Crater may be perceived as slow and long winded, especially in a TAS, so why not just skip it?
If a Save Point is placed where Cloud situates himself during the first split and the player exits the crater directly after, the split-scene will be replayed when you return, and this time Cloud will, thanks to the Save Point, be able to move around freely (aka Paralyze Dodge) and skip the split, this would also trigger the infamous unclimbable stalagmite-glitch, but that's of no concern to the speedrunner!
THE SPEEDRUN SPLIT SKIP
Now, having to exit and re-enter the crater just to skip the split may not sound faster, and it wouldn't be. But as luck would have it, it's actually possible to paralyze dodge already on the first visit! Just stand Cloud next to the 2nd stalactite ready to descend, enter the menu and select the Save Crystal and *hold* the Confirm-button, if done correctly Cloud will start descending with the text-box is still open, now move the cursor to "No" and wait until the game tries to use the text-box for something else before you hit confirm, paralyze dodged!
RIGHT PATH
If you plan on taking the Right path just pick "Right" for Cloud and head on out, no need to direct the others.
LEFT PATH
If you plan on taking the Left path you can *not* just hurry on, if you do the entire party will greet you on the next field. Instead you got two options. 1) You send everyone where you want them (Cloud Left) and then proceed Left, skipping all the good byes. 2) You head Left, but pick the option "Right" for Cloud just before you leave. This way no one will be waiting for you on the next field, but Cloud will also be unable go any further, that is unless you place the Save Crystal here, and perform a paralyze dodge to get past the message that normally hinders you.
SIDE NOTE ABOUT THE UNCLIMBABLE STALAGMITE
If the split scene isn't terminated correctly the stalagmite will remain unclimbable regardless of where (any field) you place the Save Point.
FINAL NOTE
This video was originally uploaded and released "in Japan" to congratulate youtube user "letrangerstranger" on his FF7 RTA done in late 2011, clocking in at 8h 22m 26s (US/NTSC-timer, SDA-timing), so anyone following Japanese speedrunners may have seen this skip before.
I don't know that there's an official rule on disc swapping yet, but I remember that there was a precedent set when Final Fantasy 9 was published that the disc tray is not considered a valid input. (In FF9, you can skip cutscenes by opening and closing the disc tray, or in the case of PCSX/PSXjin, loading a bad ISO and then immediately loading the good one again.)
Joined: 3/18/2006
Posts: 971
Location: Great Britain
Link to video
Detailed information:
http://antdgar.com/final-fantasy-vii/the-emerald-glitch-final-fantasy-vii/
Quick information:
1. Change battle config to 'wait'. (Optional; however this makes it much easier to perform)
2. Find Emerald Weapon on Disc 2 and enter the battle. (Disc 3 almost always crashes, in my experience)
3. Inflict enough damage so that Emerald Weapon is left with a very low amount of HP.
4. Force an in-battle 'wait' by placing the cursor on a character, or by entering a menu.
5. Wait until the countdown timer reaches 10 seconds.
6. Deliver the killing blow to Emerald Weapon before the timer reaches 0. Ideally Emerald Weapon should turn red on the 8 second mark.
7. Start a new game or load a game from a memory card.
Killing Emerald too soon or too late will not reproduce the glitch properly.
Effects: High Stats / Weird limit breaks / Instant win all battles/bosses
Joined: 3/18/2006
Posts: 971
Location: Great Britain
Hepburn wrote:
What happens if you save the game after the glitch?
The game remains glitched when you load it.
If you save to memory card and the hard-reset it fixes the code:38/limit break errors, so you can play through the game with increased stats.
If you loaded a game from memory card, would that too get some glitchy effects from the Emerald Weapon kill? If so, wouldn't that potentially make this a speed run strategy?
Joined: 3/18/2006
Posts: 971
Location: Great Britain
AKheon wrote:
If you loaded a game from memory card, would that too get some glitchy effects from the Emerald Weapon kill? If so, wouldn't that potentially make this a speed run strategy?
Yep, the loaded game would be glitched. Only a hard reset can save you.
Joined: 3/18/2006
Posts: 971
Location: Great Britain
Pause glitch: 28.726 seconds
Normal: 1 minute 11.265 seconds
Link to video
This one is very important for those that want an optimised TAS.
The pause glitch should be used for luck manipulation.
Joined: 11/22/2004
Posts: 1468
Location: Rotterdam, The Netherlands
antd wrote:
AKheon wrote:
If you loaded a game from memory card, would that too get some glitchy effects from the Emerald Weapon kill? If so, wouldn't that potentially make this a speed run strategy?
Yep, the loaded game would be glitched. Only a hard reset can save you.
So saving just before Emerald Weapon and then performing this glitch would be the best idea for a TAS?
Joined: 3/18/2006
Posts: 971
Location: Great Britain
Dada wrote:
antd wrote:
AKheon wrote:
If you loaded a game from memory card, would that too get some glitchy effects from the Emerald Weapon kill? If so, wouldn't that potentially make this a speed run strategy?
Yep, the loaded game would be glitched. Only a hard reset can save you.
So saving just before Emerald Weapon and then performing this glitch would be the best idea for a TAS?
I actually don't know what would be accepted here as a legitimate tas using this glitch!
Joined: 11/22/2004
Posts: 1468
Location: Rotterdam, The Netherlands
Well, I have to admit I've been a little inactive for a number of reasons, but I'd be surprised if this glitch is somehow unacceptable. It seems to me that it isn't too different from the Chrono Trigger save/reset glitch. Maybe there's something I'm missing?
Joined: 3/18/2006
Posts: 971
Location: Great Britain
Dada wrote:
Well, I have to admit I've been a little inactive for a number of reasons, but I'd be surprised if this glitch is somehow unacceptable. It seems to me that it isn't too different from the Chrono Trigger save/reset glitch. Maybe there's something I'm missing?
I think it's just me missing something. I'm not familiar with this site's rules.
If you start with a blank memory card, you could save after getting the submarine (and access to emerald), perform the glitch and load. Then use the glitch to beat the last 10 or so battles left in the game.
The 20 minute emerald battle may not be very interesting though :p (if the party can survive ;))
This could be maybe used as a blend of obscure new game+ thingie & playaround tas. Probably not publishable on this site, but definitely could be fun to watch nonetheless.
Joined: 3/18/2006
Posts: 971
Location: Great Britain
abyrvalg wrote:
This could be maybe used as a blend of obscure new game+ thingie & playaround tas. Probably not publishable on this site, but definitely could be fun to watch nonetheless.
I'm currently doing a new game+ kind of thing now. Aiming purely for speed.
Link to video
This could be maybe used as a blend of obscure new game+ thingie & playaround tas. Probably not publishable on this site, but definitely could be fun to watch nonetheless.
I'm currently doing a new game+ kind of thing now. Aiming purely for speed.
Link to video
Personally, I think as long as you have the verification movie up to disc 2 to where you fight emerald, then do the glitch .. It could be accepted. I'd hop in the irc and ask an admin about it since it's kinda a strange case. Regardless, I look for updates on this even if you make it purely for fun :)
Joined: 3/18/2006
Posts: 971
Location: Great Britain
Does anyone have an opinion on opening the cd tray (in order to potentially skip large amounts of the game)?
Specifically it will allow cloud to act as a golden chocobo and travel around the map with relative ease.
In the instance of the emulator I'm using, I will have to load a dummy ISO.
Edit: To clarify, I'm not asking about publication and whether it will be accepted. I'm asking whether opening the cd tray is deemed "legit" or not.
I've already used the emerald countdown glitch in a weird way, so my initial argument for not opening the cd tray is waning.
Does anyone have an opinion on opening the cd tray (in order to potentially skip large amounts of the game)?
Specifically it will allow cloud to act as a golden chocobo and travel around the map with relative ease.
In the instance of the emulator I'm using, I will have to load a dummy ISO.
Edit: To clarify, I'm not asking about publication and whether it will be accepted. I'm asking whether opening the cd tray is deemed "legit" or not.
I've already used the emerald countdown glitch in a weird way, so my initial argument for not opening the cd tray is waning.
Hmm, you could relate opening the CD tray to crooked Cartridges (N64 namely but probably all cartridges); Using ocarina of time as an example, that was the first way they found to escape the forest before deku tree, and it was deemed unacceptable as "legit". Here's a quote concerning SDA:
"Why do you allow glitches but disallow cheat codes and tricks like crooked cartridge?
Using glitches is simply trying to use whatever is within the rules of the game to your advantage. When you use a cheat device or outside alteration, then you're breaking the game's rules. As for cheat codes and debug codes, they differ from glitches in being intentionally programmed, so they are naturally outside the rules of the game as defined by the designers. "
Outside alteration being messing with the cart/CD while not offering inputs via the controller. So personally, it's not legit. But, just because it isn't legit doesn't mean it wont be entertaining. The GT code for super metroid was deemed unlegit and I found it very entertaining (although probably a weird reference since it was just a debug code and not messing with the game outside of input) :p. I'd look forward to it if you decide to use it.
Joined: 3/18/2006
Posts: 971
Location: Great Britain
Torn338 wrote:
antd wrote:
Does anyone have an opinion on opening the cd tray (in order to potentially skip large amounts of the game)?
Specifically it will allow cloud to act as a golden chocobo and travel around the map with relative ease.
In the instance of the emulator I'm using, I will have to load a dummy ISO.
Edit: To clarify, I'm not asking about publication and whether it will be accepted. I'm asking whether opening the cd tray is deemed "legit" or not.
I've already used the emerald countdown glitch in a weird way, so my initial argument for not opening the cd tray is waning.
Hmm, you could relate opening the CD tray to crooked Cartridges (N64 namely but probably all cartridges); Using ocarina of time as an example, that was the first way they found to escape the forest before deku tree, and it was deemed unacceptable as "legit". Here's a quote concerning SDA:
"Why do you allow glitches but disallow cheat codes and tricks like crooked cartridge?
Using glitches is simply trying to use whatever is within the rules of the game to your advantage. When you use a cheat device or outside alteration, then you're breaking the game's rules. As for cheat codes and debug codes, they differ from glitches in being intentionally programmed, so they are naturally outside the rules of the game as defined by the designers. "
Outside alteration being messing with the cart/CD while not offering inputs via the controller. So personally, it's not legit. But, just because it isn't legit doesn't mean it wont be entertaining. The GT code for super metroid was deemed unlegit and I found it very entertaining (although probably a weird reference since it was just a debug code and not messing with the game outside of input) :p. I'd look forward to it if you decide to use it.
These arguments render save corruption (by pressing reset) unacceptable too.
I've decided not to use opening the tray, for now!
