(Link to video)
Submission Text Full Submission Page Publication Page
Mr. Driller 2 is a fast paced puzzle game, where the goal is to drill to the bottom of the level within the given time limit. This TAS completes the 10 stock Time Attack Driller courses of the game instead of the Mission Driller mode and the Endless Driller mode.
This is the 3rd time I've TASed the "Time Attack" branch of this game since Year 2011. The first 2 runs were never made public though. This latest run is a 5.47 "in-game seconds" improvement over [2017] GBA Mr. Driller 2 "Time Attack" by Kaylee in 07:28.80. All of the improvements came from optimizations and better routes. It also features some play-style change that erases much more blocks without losing any time.
Preview encode by mtvf1

Game Objectives

  • Emulator used: VBA-RR 23.6 svn480
  • Completes the 10 stock Time Attack Driller courses and get an ending
  • Aims for fastest in-game time
  • Genre: Puzzle

Time Table

CourseTime limitRandil's timeKyman's timeMy timeImprovement
Course A00:24.0000:10.9800:10.8300:10.7500.08
Course B00:16.0000:06.5900:06.4300:06.1900.24
Course C00:46.0000:33.2400:33.0400:32.8700.17
Course D00:16.0000:07.7500:07.6800:07.4300.25
Course E00:28.0000:15.6500:14.6700:14.5200.15
Course F00:37.0000:24.5500:24.5200:24.2200.30
Course G00:28.0000:11.0600:10.9000:10.7100.19
Course H00:43.0000:32.8900:31.5200:31.3900.13
Course I00:36.0000:19.1400:18.0400:15.9902.05
Course J01:45.0001:00.9000:59.2900:57.3801.91

Other comments

Some screenshots


Suggested screenshot

During "the big avalanche" in the second half of Course I or around Depth 1100 fts in Course J which shows some new strategy.

Special Thanks

I would like to thank Randil and Kyman for their previous runs, as those helped me out a lot doing comparisons.
I would like to thank mtvf1 for the preview encode.
Enjoy!
Memory: Judging
Memory: The optimization was good, improvement over the published movie.
Personally I found the movie charming. The game had fun movement and a cute art style that was pleasant to look at. Current audience response is positive but there wasn't exactly much of it. The average entertainment rating of the published run is at 6.2 which is a little on the low side but within margin for error and there's some notable outliers in those ratings too.
Accepting for Moons as an improvement to [2017] GBA Mr. Driller 2 "Time Attack" by Kaylee in 07:28.80.
feos: Pub.

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Posted: 12/16/2018 3:53 AM
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TASVideoAgent
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This topic is for the purpose of discussing #6191: klmz's GBA Mr. Driller 2 "Time Attack" in 07:26.75
Posted: 12/16/2018 4:38 AM
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Patashu
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Eagerly awaiting encode!
My Chiptune music, made in Famitracker: http://soundcloud.com/patashu My twitch. I stream mostly shmups & rhythm games http://twitch.tv/patashu My youtube, again shmups and rhythm games and misc stuff: http://youtube.com/user/patashu
Posted: 12/16/2018 4:53 AM
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klmz
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Joined: 5/22/2007
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NES TASer of 2018 GBA TASer of 2018 GBA TAS of 2016 Lucky TAS of 2016 GBx TASer of 2008 NES TAS of 2007
Patashu wrote:
Eagerly awaiting encode!
mtvf1 made one, but it seems to be reduced to 30fps by Nicovideo....
<klmz> it reminds me of that people used to keep quoting adelikat's IRC statements in the old good days <adelikat> no doubt <adelikat> klmz, they still do
Posted: 12/16/2018 10:09 AM
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Patashu
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Joined: 10/2/2005
Posts: 4043
I see Mr. Driller, I vote yes~
My Chiptune music, made in Famitracker: http://soundcloud.com/patashu My twitch. I stream mostly shmups & rhythm games http://twitch.tv/patashu My youtube, again shmups and rhythm games and misc stuff: http://youtube.com/user/patashu
Posted: 12/22/2018 5:33 AM
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ais523
Editor, Player (44)
Joined: 7/11/2010
Posts: 1029
I like the little entertainment tricks in the times when you have to wait. This run wastes quite a bit of realtime to improve the in-game time. That's noted in the submission notes, but needs to be noted in the movie/publication notes too. For anyone who doesn't know the rules of this game: most types of block will "glue"/"stick" to other blocks of the same type; any group of 4 or more blocks of the same type will disappear after a short time period when disturbed (i.e. it's just been newly formed, or it falls or a new block sticks to it). Silver X blocks are an exception, they can't be destroyed by normal means and don't interact with anything (thus serve to get in the way). The playable character can destroy a block they're adjacent to (in any direction), move left or right, or climb diagonally up/left or up/right if there's a block to support them; and falls if there's no block beneath them. Brown X blocks take five hits to destroy and come with huge penalties when you do so (varying by game mode; in this mode, I believe it's an in-game time penalty), which is why this run doesn't destroy any of them (even when it looks like it would be faster to do so), except by allowing them to form a disturbed group of 4. Crystal blocks disappear after a short time regardless of whether they're disturbed or whether they're in a group of 4 or more (their main purpose is to cause a player who's trying to play more cautiously than this TAS is to react fast). There are also a few special blocks that do things like flipping or rotating the playfield, or making some blocks into crystal blocks; and timer blocks which directly subtract from your in-game time (and are necessary to get a good score on many levels). In casual play, there's two main ways to play this game. The "cautious" mode is to stay on top of the collapsing pile, trying to drill down through it carefully and letting the pile stabilise before digging further. You can also do what this TAS does, and try to outrace the falling blocks; of course, in Time Attack mode, that's pretty much the only viable way to play.
Posted: 12/22/2018 12:31 PM
Post subject: Re: #6191: klmz's GBA Mr. Driller 2 "Time Attack" in 07:26.75
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feos
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TASVideoAgent wrote:
SuggestedScreenshot During "the big avalanche" in the second half of Course I or around Depth 1100 fts in Course J which shows some new strategy.
You mean these 2?
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.
Posted: 12/23/2018 3:40 AM
Post subject: Re: #6191: klmz's GBA Mr. Driller 2 "Time Attack" in 07:26.75
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klmz
Editor, Emulator Coder, Expert player (2156)
Joined: 5/22/2007
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NES TASer of 2018 GBA TASer of 2018 GBA TAS of 2016 Lucky TAS of 2016 GBx TASer of 2008 NES TAS of 2007
ais523 wrote:
I like the little entertainment tricks in the times when you have to wait. This run wastes quite a bit of realtime to improve the in-game time. That's noted in the submission notes, but needs to be noted in the movie/publication notes too. For anyone who doesn't know the rules of this game: ....
Glad to see you enjoy it. And thank you for reminding about the time goal as well as explaining the game rules. Good job!
feos wrote:
You mean these 2?
The 2nd one looks good I think.
<klmz> it reminds me of that people used to keep quoting adelikat's IRC statements in the old good days <adelikat> no doubt <adelikat> klmz, they still do
Posted: 12/23/2018 9:34 AM
Post subject: Movie published
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TASVideoAgent
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This movie has been published. The posts before this message apply to the submission, and posts after this message apply to the published movie. ---- [3859] GBA Mr. Driller 2 "Time Attack" by klmz in 07:26.75