The original version is for Arcade, but the game was also ported to PSP, PS2 and Wii.
The Arcade version is not emulated by FBA-rr. PSP can't be TASed yet, PS2 may be TASable, but it's not so easy. So perhaps the video was made through the Wii version?
I dunno since there's no information about that. I also didn't find any Metal Slug 6 video on this site. Unless if didn't I search properly.
It also can be possible to make an "encode-only" TAS on systems that can be emulated but not rerecorded -- that is, where you can't just record your inputs. Basically you start recording an encoding of your run at the start of play, and every time you load a savestate you restart the encode at that point (e.g. if you play to 10s, then load a savestate at 6s, then the encode throws away the last 4s it recorded).
Bisqwit used a similar method to make a TAS of Chrono Cross before the PSX was TASable. He didn't submit the TAS here because there was no way to verify it -- it existed only as the encode.
Pyrel - an open-source rewrite of the Angband roguelike game in Python.
mmm... I'm not sure if I understand how this kind of TAS is done. Maybe I'm just stupid.
Can you explain it in other words? I'd like to learn this method since there are a couple games I'd like to TAS that aren't TASable yet.
mmm... I'm not sure if I understand how this kind of TAS is done. Maybe I'm just stupid.
Can you explain it in other words? I'd like to learn this method since there are a couple games I'd like to TAS that aren't TASable yet.
TASing, in principle, comes down to creating an input file for an emulator that, when played back, completes the game quickly (or is entertaining in some other way).
The problem with this comes with emulators that aren't sync-stable: a recorded input file is not guaranteed to give the same result when played back. If it even is possible to record an input file.
A "solution" to this is the aforementioned encode-only TAS: you play the game using savestates (the tool-assisted part of the process) and record everything you do. The moment you load a state, the recording of everything you did after that is tossed and you "continue" where you saved the state.
In the end, you end up with an encode of your resulting playthrough, but there is no (useful) input file that can be used to verify the integrity of your TAS.
The moment you load a state, the recording of everything you did after that is tossed and you "continue" where you saved the state.
I'm sorry for bumping this old thread, but I only understood how this process works now. (A friend made things clear to me)
I could not understand before because I NEVER found any emulator that "tosses" everything you did after loading a state. All emulators I used so far shows when you loaded states in the .avi file.
I wanna ask something: is there any version of MAME that "tosses" the stuff? If not, then what emulators are like that?
Warning: When making decisions, I try to collect as much data as possible before actually deciding. I try to abstract away and see the principles behind real world events and people's opinions. I try to generalize them and turn into something clear and reusable. I hate depending on unpredictable and having to make lottery guesses. Any problem can be solved by systems thinking and acting.
All right then. I'm assuming this version in fact does what I asked. I'll grab it and test.
EDIT: How can I .avi dump with mame-rr? I can't find this option there.
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Press TAB and search for its hotkey. Also, read the docs.
Warning: When making decisions, I try to collect as much data as possible before actually deciding. I try to abstract away and see the principles behind real world events and people's opinions. I try to generalize them and turn into something clear and reusable. I hate depending on unpredictable and having to make lottery guesses. Any problem can be solved by systems thinking and acting.
I already finished reading the readme and pretty much the only thing they say is that this is an experimental version, use it with caution, blah blah, but they're not saying what we're supposed to do with the .mng file the emulator dumps.
How can I turn it into .avi? Also, I'm pretty sure .mng contains no sound, and I can't figure out how to dump the game's .wav with this emulator. Ugh, it's so confusing...
EDIT
Okay, so... I just read this:
mame-rr docs wrote:
-mngwrite <filename>
Writes each video frame to the given <filename> in MNG format,
producing an animation of the game session. Note that -mngwrite only
writes video frames; it does not save any audio data. Use -wavwrite
for that, and reassemble the audio/video using offline tools. The
default is NULL (no recording).
-aviwrite <filename>
Stream video and sound data to the given <filename> in AVI format,
producing an animation of the game session complete with sound. The
default is NULL (no recording).
-wavwrite <filename>
Writes the final mixer output to the given <filename> in WAV format,
producing an audio recording of the game session. The default is
NULL (no recording).
They're not explaining how to activate mngwrite/aviwrite/wavwrite at all. They're just saying they're there, but not what I should do to make them run. I looked into the .exe's user interface and could not find any assigned keys to activate those commands.
EDIT 2.0
You know what would make my life much easier? If I could access this program on UI mode. Everything feels FAR more organized this way. Most mame versions can enable this, and I'm pretty sure mame-rr can as well. But I just can't figure out how to access UI there.
Open a CLI (command line interface) window; e.g. for Windows press Win+R and enter "cmd" (without the quotes).
Use "cd .." and "cd <directory name>" to navigate to the emulator. "dir" ("ls" in Unix) shows the content of the current directory. "<command> /?" shows the help text for that command. Enter the first characters of a file or directory and use the Tab key to activate the autocomplete function.
When you're in the directory of the emulator, use "mame <game name> -aviwrite output.avi".
I managed to put a test .mng to play, and seems like mame-rr doesn't cut the "unwanted" frames from the encode. It shows EVERYTHING on the encode including when and where you loaded the states.
Is there not a way to make it toss out the unwanted frames? Or maybe do it on a different version of mame?
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synnchan wrote:
I managed to put a test .mng to play, and seems like mame-rr doesn't cut the "unwanted" frames from the encode. It shows EVERYTHING on the encode including when and where you loaded the states.
Is there not a way to make it toss out the unwanted frames? Or maybe do it on a different version of mame?
Mame Re-Recording could in theory but it's VERY out of date.
When TAS does Quake 1, SDA will declare war.
The Prince doth arrive he doth please.
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/me fails to see the connection between loading savestates and how they should not be in a video capture.
Warning: When making decisions, I try to collect as much data as possible before actually deciding. I try to abstract away and see the principles behind real world events and people's opinions. I try to generalize them and turn into something clear and reusable. I hate depending on unpredictable and having to make lottery guesses. Any problem can be solved by systems thinking and acting.
Mame Re-Recording could in theory but it's VERY out of date.
Do you have any idea on how to do it?
And I don't mind if it's out of date. I just want to TAS a few games there that aren't available on fba-rr. Since I won't really upload to tasvideos.org, all I need is an encode only.
Joined: 4/17/2010
Posts: 11475
Location: Lake Chargoggagoggmanchauggagoggchaubunagungamaugg
ALAKTORN wrote:
feos wrote:
/me fails to see the connection between loading savestates and how they should not be in a video capture.
Have you not read the topic?
Have you never encoded your TAS?
I just tried it out and got a great video capture out of an input file I recorded with a bunch of savesloads (yes, in mame-rr).
Warning: When making decisions, I try to collect as much data as possible before actually deciding. I try to abstract away and see the principles behind real world events and people's opinions. I try to generalize them and turn into something clear and reusable. I hate depending on unpredictable and having to make lottery guesses. Any problem can be solved by systems thinking and acting.
lol, I can't believe it. My Daimakaimura inputs-playthrough synced perfectly! I tried everything I could to make it sync on fba-rr but could never succeed. It only gave me headaches.
Seems like mame-rr isn't that bad. But I was wondering if read+write actually works properly. I tried it with Daimakaimura but the emulator didn't allow me to resume control of the movie. Does it really work?
