I saw Michael's classic game topic there and because I prefer improvements of old runs to runs of new games, I just couldn't resist creating a new topic. I also hope that people could get ideas from other people and be inspired to try and improve something.
So, what do you think are the runs that could be improved the most? I know that Blaster Master is definitely improvable, perhaps by even minutes. My Mega Man 6 run also has some room for improvement especially in the end. These movies were both made with Famtasia, so I'm sure that FCEU would be a great advantage, as with all Famtasia movies. The oldest runs (for example Solomon's Key and the NES Kirby) probably have much room for improvement, since I don't think they even use the 60fps patch.
Joined: 4/16/2004
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I will improve all my runs eventually. I just don't have that much time anymore so it won't be done within very soon, but eventually they will be improved.
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I think pretty much every Famtasia movie is improvable, even if it's only because of the super perfect maneuvers allowed by frame advence. Except Contra, that game has been squeezed dry of frames.
The Super Mario Bros. 3 warpless run is especially improvable. Probably by several minutes since it's so long.
I'm interested :P I actually thought of improving your current video until you said you were already doing so. Then laziness struck. But anyway, I would love to see an improvement.
Joined: 3/29/2005
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The only real improvements to Kirby are fixing the bonus-jump-platform-thingies where he accidentally gets a higher ledge than he needs to and a couple of boss battles which are just imprecisely played. Beyond that it's a very good run for how old it is. I think I'd like to see a 100% run of that game, but given its length the movie might not be very entertaining.
Ummm.... Megaman X2 has got to be improvable, but I haven't exactly studied it, so I don't know by how much. I'm also willing to bet that the Super Metroid 14% run is improvable.
I haven't studied Castlevania 3's Alucard path, but when I watched it I didn't get the impression that it was all that optimized.
For Genesis:
Contra HC, Golden Axe, and Gunstar Heroes could probably benefit from two players.
Maybe even Altered Beast and the Streets of Rage movies.
Strider already has a new submission which is a lot faster. I think it can be taken down a bit further.
SNES:
Donkey Kong and Goof Troop can be improved, I think.
I'm pretty sure Wild Guns can be improved a lot, not only by using two players.
NES:
Blue Shadow can be improved a lot. There was a submission for it which was a lot faster but it hasn't been published yet. I haven't seen it actually so maybe it's not any good.
Cobra Triangle can be improved. A good idea would be to choose one goal - all speed or all points - and stick with that goal. In the current version it changes depending on level.
Great suggestions from everyone. I myself have been tempted to try and improve Chip & Dale and Duck Tales runs because of their shortness and simplicity. If there's something I've learned from these videos it's that even though something looks pretty much perfect it might be far from it.
I'm already working on Chip&Dale (two levels completed).
And Solomon's Key, though it's badly on the background.
I'm not sure how much Kirby could be improved, but I'd like someone to do that.
Joined: 4/21/2004
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What I really really really want to see is to someone who could put an end to Kopernical's domination for megaman 3,4 and 5. Not that his runs are bad but I get the feeling that thoose run are not fully exploited. Sure hope someone will improve them someday.
It's not very tempting to try to improve a Mega Man movie, because they look pretty well done, and it's not easy to detect possible improvements. Most of the improvements would probably have to be strategic and tactical (i.e route planning and such) instead of performance-related (better jumping etc). It's a lot more difficult to assess what the best route is than to spot some imperfect moves. But I agree, Mega Man games really should be tried.
Yeah, I'd like to see someone else give a go at them, too, since I never really had the patience to go for absolute perfection.
I don't know about that. I was able to take quite a bit of time off MM3 by switching to the 60 fps patch and I'm sure the same would happen by switching to FCEU's frame advance.
My Tetris run can be improved by about 30 seconds (dropping the bars in the middle and filling the rest higher) ... I got started on that a few months ago and never got around to finish it, but it wouldn't take too long once I do.
Not sure which other I could improve, but this would be worth checking when I can't think of a new game to try ...
Joined: 4/21/2004
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I swear I would give it a shot if I did not regard this whole re-record thing so complicated. A mean with all this switching fps and using various roms to get better time..
EDIT: Kopernical, do you have the free time to improve then mm3 since you may save some seconds of it by switching it to 60fps patch?
Joined: 3/29/2005
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Location: The boonies.
I take that back, after watching the movie again. There are a multitude of tiny errors (mostly just the ones where he misses the bonus platform) plus a handful of small ones (like climbing a ladder instead of flying up it), and a couple of judgement errors (where he mixes Wheel when Fireball or Tornado would've been more useful) and two places where he takes damage where it's not necessary and doesn't save time. All told, there's ~30 seconds of improvement, if not more. I guess that's still pretty good considering its age, but it's not as close to optimized as I'd thought.