Skilled player (1827)
Joined: 4/20/2005
Posts: 2161
Location: Norrköping, Sweden
12 frames faster thanks to manipulating the ghosts to stay out of my way. Total play time is now 1973 frames (it takes 263 frames before the game starts). I minimized input just for fun. I don't think I can get it any faster than this, but hopefully I'm wrong! :) EDIT: I uploaded the video to my Youtube account, so anyone who's too lazy to download the .fcm can watch it here. EDIT2: I found a new trick that gives me a 96 subpixel push! By entering and quickly exiting a path, I get this 96 subpixel boost. Often, it screws up ghost movement or just doesn't save any time, but I managed to cut off another frame, so here's the updated movie. EDIT3: I managed to shave off an addition 6 frames by optimizing my subpixel positions before grabbing those the dots in the crossing corridors. By doing this, I can grab them by moving one less frame in that direction, and since I have to go back the same way, this trick saves 2 frames each time it's pulled off. I haven't uploaded it to Youtube yet, I may do so if I conclude that I won't get it any faster. Interestingly, I managed to get this time using 3 different strategies, so here I'll upload the one I found the most entertaining! :) Here's the new movie.
Joined: 12/27/2007
Posts: 50
Location: UK
Well, that's the first level licked. How about the other 255? :) Joking aside, how much variance is there beween levels? Different mazes? Faster enemies? Larger Map? I haven't played this version so I don't know and I'm curious.
Player (121)
Joined: 2/11/2007
Posts: 1522
Pretty sure it's the same map with different speed enemies/pac man. Thus, boring as hell :)
I make a comic with no image files and you should read it. While there is a lower class, I am in it, and while there is a criminal element I am of it, and while there is a soul in prison, I am not free. -Eugene Debs
Joined: 3/25/2004
Posts: 459
Might it be possible to complete a level faster by dying intentionally to teleport to the starting location of the level?
Skilled player (1827)
Joined: 4/20/2005
Posts: 2161
Location: Norrköping, Sweden
Nice idea, but I'm positive that it won't save any time. The death animation is pretty long (about 450 frames) and there isn't much time in the current speedrun that isn't spent on eating dots. If the death animation was shorter, this might have saved some time, but as it is now, it probably won't (although I'd have to admit that it would have been a WTF moment for the viewers if the death trick was implemented).
Spikestuff
They/Them
Editor, Publisher, Expert player (2643)
Joined: 10/12/2011
Posts: 6441
Location: The land down under.
Hi there page 9 of the NES forums. User movie #28227409803128177 Ignoring the elephant in the room which is Namco vs Tengen (I used Namco). Apparently for the first maze, I'm slower than hero by 8 frames, the reason for this to me is unknown. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a4OI-iEWOzE https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_-2wiZor0N4
WebNations/Sabih wrote:
+fsvgm777 never censoring anything.
Disables Comments and Ratings for the YouTube account. Something better for yourself and also others.
Editor, Experienced player (570)
Joined: 11/8/2010
Posts: 4036
I attempted to resync Randil's EDIT3 from the post at the top of this page on the Namco version using your starting input. The reason I tried was because his was the fastest from the frame the READY! text disappears (262) to the first flash of white after the level is finished, a total of 2051 frames (compared to your 2167 using this timing). However, the resync doesn't sync due to Randil's hitbox trick not working on the official Namco version, and possibly due to different ghost patterns since Pac-Man runs right into a ghost after missing some dots. I also tried resyncing the movie at the top of that post, with a similar result. I know you were trying to avoid this question, Spikestuff, but should we use the official game ROM, or the unofficial Tengen one with time-saving tricks?
Active player (428)
Joined: 9/7/2007
Posts: 329
That is a good question. How much time, excluding the load time for the menu screen and starting the game which should not count, would the Tengen version save? My opinion is use the original Namco version because it is the official version.
Dwedit
He/Him
Joined: 3/24/2006
Posts: 692
Location: Chicago
As horrible a game choice as it would be to TAS, I believe NES Pac-Man has a crash bug/kill screen after beating 40 levels. But is it possible to get past the kill screen?
Post subject: Re: Pac-Man
Samsara
She/They
Senior Judge, Site Admin, Expert player (2239)
Joined: 11/13/2006
Posts: 2822
Location: Northern California
Dwedit wrote:
As horrible a game choice as it would be to TAS, I believe NES Pac-Man has a crash bug/kill screen after beating 40 levels. But is it possible to get past the kill screen?
There's no kill screen through almost 850 levels.
TASvideos Admin and acting Senior Judge 💙 Currently unable to dedicate a lot of time to the site, taking care of family. Now infrequently posting on Bluesky
warmCabin wrote:
You shouldn't need a degree in computer science to get into this hobby.
Dwedit
He/Him
Joined: 3/24/2006
Posts: 692
Location: Chicago
Ah, I figured out what's going on, in real play, the level stops incrementing after 22, and literally repeats itself after that point. With cheats (poke 0x68), you can get farther, level 0x28 crashes the game. So a TAS would need to stop after beating level 22?
Samsara
She/They
Senior Judge, Site Admin, Expert player (2239)
Joined: 11/13/2006
Posts: 2822
Location: Northern California
Yeah, whenever it starts repeating. EDIT: Merged threads.
TASvideos Admin and acting Senior Judge 💙 Currently unable to dedicate a lot of time to the site, taking care of family. Now infrequently posting on Bluesky
warmCabin wrote:
You shouldn't need a degree in computer science to get into this hobby.
Joined: 4/2/2017
Posts: 18
I'm attempting a NES Pac-Man TAS just for fun. What do you guys think? Would it be a good candidate for TASing? Thanks, Goldfish edit: oh whoops i guess this is kind of a stupid question now that i know that a NES Pacman thread exists
Amateur TASer who uploads videos when bored on weekends. Currently improving my GBA Snake TAS.
Post subject: Whoops, I didn't respond to this question for a year.
Spikestuff
They/Them
Editor, Publisher, Expert player (2643)
Joined: 10/12/2011
Posts: 6441
Location: The land down under.
CoolKirby wrote:
I know you were trying to avoid this question, Spikestuff, but should we use the official game ROM, or the unofficial Tengen one with time-saving tricks?
Very, very late response. Sorry Kirby. Tengen Pac-Man is an official version. (technically) Tengen Ms. Pac-Man isn't an official version. So using Tengen would be more preferred for this case when comparing advantages and disadvantages.
WebNations/Sabih wrote:
+fsvgm777 never censoring anything.
Disables Comments and Ratings for the YouTube account. Something better for yourself and also others.
Post subject: A Randil bump.
Spikestuff
They/Them
Editor, Publisher, Expert player (2643)
Joined: 10/12/2011
Posts: 6441
Location: The land down under.
I've converted Randil's FCEU input to NESHawk. And you can download it here. Input has remained intact. Truncated the ending input (for cleaning sake). My revision is 52frames behind him mainly cause I'm using the wrong Pac logic. Encode of this version: Link to video
WebNations/Sabih wrote:
+fsvgm777 never censoring anything.
Disables Comments and Ratings for the YouTube account. Something better for yourself and also others.
Joined: 9/18/2018
Posts: 21
Location: Québec, Canada
There is a video of semeone using Lua scripts to play the game until the bot hit the max score (9 999 999) at level 836. If you look at the later level, ghost do seems to have a pattern once the "max difficulty" is hit.
My new website, a blog about retro gaming! RetroGameUp Youtube channel featuring gameplay of old retro game! GlitchoMuseum
Spikestuff
They/Them
Editor, Publisher, Expert player (2643)
Joined: 10/12/2011
Posts: 6441
Location: The land down under.
Yeah we know about it. The bot is poorly made. (Not to mention that the author deleted and reuploaded the video on YouTube and acted like this entire debacle never happened on YouTube. His last hurrah here was a post saying he reuploaded it and gave key points on what he liked in the video and has never returned to the forums since.)
WebNations/Sabih wrote:
+fsvgm777 never censoring anything.
Disables Comments and Ratings for the YouTube account. Something better for yourself and also others.