The Human Race - for Commodore 64

The Human Race is a single player game with different game styles on each level.
The aim of the game is to achieve a high score. This is done by jumping around the screen and collecting objects. Each single screen level is set at a different point in man's evolution and sees the character start as an ape and evolve into a caveman and beyond as the player progresses through the game. Each level is a different kind of mini-game. For example the first level is a platform style game where the player leaps through the jungle eating bananas and avoiding nasty creatures such as dinosaurs, while level two has the player negotiating a path through a lava lake while avoiding falling fireballs.
This game is played using a joystick.

Game Basics

  • The game consists of 5 stages, where a different challenge offered.
    • Chapter 1 (Food for Thought): Just Go For The Biggest Banana In Sight....
    • Chapter 2 (Great Balls Of Fire): Easy...Just Hot Foot It Across To Safer Ground....
    • Chapter 3 (Logger): Easy...Just Roll On Over To The Cave Behind The Falls....
    • Chapter 4 (Unstable Ground): Forget What You Know...Red Means Go..And Only A Mouth Full Of Water For Protection....
    • Chapter 5 (The Human Race): A Race Lasting Twelve Thousands Years..Your Goal Is To Reach The year 2000 AD. As Long As Your Energy Lasts You May Accelerate....

Tools Used:

Bizhawk 2.3.1

TAS Notes

Finally, after all this time...I have committed to doing a Commodore 64 game. Commodore was my first experience with computers and my absolute love. I'm sad that today's machines just don't have what they offered back then.
As for this game, I decided on TASing it because most runners of this game agreed that the controls were terrible, and the game was extremely hard. In fact, I never got to see the last Chapter, until I did my research on TASing this.
Once I got involed, and a bit of hassle with versions, DrD2K9 helped me figure out what to do in order to get this TAS correctly lined up. Basically, any disk images that were used...are typically "Cracked" versions of the game. So, with his help, I had to realign my TAS to an official version of a tape release. Because of this, my re-record count will be roughly 2500 re-records less.
The TAS eventually ended up being 2 Minutes and 52 seconds. This is about half of the fastest run that I could find.
Chapter 1
  • Everything on the screen that moves, is a hazzard. Tigers, Dinosaurs, Flying Bugs, and Birds.
  • The action that was necessary to make this stage as fast as possible, was to manipulate the bird. I affected the position of the bird early on so that its pattern would be better suited for avoidance in the later part of this scene.
  • Additionally, you will see me jumping bananas. Avoiding bananas was crucial to moving fast, because time is wasted in eating them.
Chapter 2
  • This screen is irritating to deal with, because the falling fireballs are not operating in true 3d detection. Basically, if the main characters sprite comes in contact with the fireballs...you die.
  • Jumping, when in proximity to these fireballs, will avoid sprite detection. Most players of this game, including myself, always took measures to avoid. When creating this TAS. I accidently discovere this and realized it made the game play much easier.
  • Last, the Up and Down joystick movement was limited to jumping only. Left and Right move as normal.
Chapter 3
  • In getting across the river, without having to stop, adjustments were made to the entry frame of this particular screen. If you were to go to fast, you'll eventually have to stop...in order to avoid a crocodile. This is VERY BAD, as it takes time to get started again...thus wasting time. The best option was to find a way to keep moving without any interuption.
Chapter 4
  • Avoiding the squares, where the current color marker is pointed at, is the key to keep moving. However!, I found that the checking algorithmn have a flaw...where there are a number of frames that it doesn't discover when you are on the wrong color. Because of this, I was able to find a pattern that put me in the right situation to walk across a lot of the area without falling through any of the squares. Honestly, I'm not entirely sure if this was a glitch, but it was certainly a time saver of up to almost a minute.
Chapter 5
  • This is the only scene where anything you do doesn't affect the ending time of the game. The goal is to stay alive until the year 2000 AD.
  • To make the TAS timing faster, I had to figure out how to end the inputs as earlier as I can. In doing so, I discovered that any "Static" object on the screen can be passed through, if you have a nearby moving object. Basically, if you coming in contact with sprite, it affects the collision algorithmn of the stationary items. When I found the correct RNG and route, I was able to end the inputs much earlier than the level is over. This eqauted to many seconds being cut
The Ending of this TAS was in question. Basically, the credits, or the ending, was reached. However! The cycle around to see the next no game playing screen, can only be reached by pressing the fire button upon reading the "Success" message. The inputs provided beat the game, but for the publishing...it might require an alternate BK2 to help complete the video and show all the content the game has to offer. You may add it for this purpose, but I leave that up to the judges or publisher.
Suggested Screen Shot: Frame 19757

Memory: Judging
feos: Put more descriptive ROM name.
Memory: Optimization appears fine. The main place I would think improvements would exist would be the first stage and I was unable to improve upon said first stage.
There really isn't much feedback here. I personally found the TAS to be rather mediocre in terms of entertainment but what little audience feedback existed was positive.
The author preferred their current ending point be used and in accordance with the Judge Guidelines this is acceptable.
Tentatively accepting to Moons.
feos: Pub.

TASVideoAgent
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This topic is for the purpose of discussing #6426: nymx's C64 The Human Race in 09:08.27
EZGames69
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Finally, a TAS that accounts for the human element.
[14:15] <feos> WinDOES what DOSn't 12:33:44 PM <Mothrayas> "I got an oof with my game!" Mothrayas Today at 12:22: <Colin> thank you for supporting noble causes such as my feet MemoryTAS Today at 11:55 AM: you wouldn't know beauty if it slapped you in the face with a giant fish [Today at 4:51 PM] Mothrayas: although if you like your own tweets that's the online equivalent of sniffing your own farts and probably tells a lot about you as a person MemoryTAS Today at 7:01 PM: But I exert big staff energy honestly lol Samsara Today at 1:20 PM: wouldn't ACE in a real life TAS just stand for Actually Cease Existing
DrD2k9
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The final input of this submission is the last input needed to beat the game. The extra input mentioned is simply required to transition from the 'Success' screen to the 'the end' screen which then loops back into level 1. Here's a .bk2 with the needed extra input to loop. For TAS timing; what is submitted is appropriate, in my opinion.
Post subject: Re: #6426: nymx's C64 The Human Race in 09:08.27
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I especially enjoyed the last stage.
Post subject: Re: #6426: nymx's C64 The Human Race in 09:08.27
Memory
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TASVideoAgent wrote:
The Ending of this TAS was in question. Basically, the credits, or the ending, was reached. However! The cycle around to see the next no game playing screen, can only be reached by pressing the fire button upon reading the "Success" message. The inputs provided beat the game, but for the publishing...it might require an alternate BK2 to help complete the video and show all the content the game has to offer. You may add it for this purpose, but I leave that up to the judges or publisher.
I was totally confused when I initially read this but basically pressing fire at the "You have succeeded" screen will cause the ship to fly away and when that finishes it displays some additional text before returning back to the title screen without any additional input.
[16:36:31] <Mothrayas> I have to say this argument about robot drug usage is a lot more fun than whatever else we have been doing in the past two+ hours
[16:08:10] <BenLubar> a TAS is just the limit of a segmented speedrun as the segment length approaches zero
Post subject: Re: #6426: nymx's C64 The Human Race in 09:08.27
nymx
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Memory wrote:
I was totally confused when I initially read this but basically pressing fire at the "You have succeeded" screen will cause the ship to fly away and when that finishes it displays some additional text before returning back to the title screen without any additional input.
Yeah, me too. This is why we originally asked you about this scenario. DrD2k9 and myself mulled over this a bit until we realized that it does beat the game, but the post inputs are just required to get the game back to the beginning again. Commodore sure had some strange programming back then.
I recently discovered that if you haven't reached a level of frustration with TASing any game, then you haven't done your due diligence. ---- SOYZA: Are you playing a game? NYMX: I'm not playing a game, I'm TASing. SOYZA: Oh...so its not a game...Its for real? ---- Anybody got a Quantum computer I can borrow for 20 minutes? Nevermind...eien's 64 core machine will do. :) ---- BOTing will be the end of all games. --NYMX
Memory
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I wasn't entirely sure what you meant when you asked me about this. I didn't realize that there was a unique screen after you pressed the button. In that case according to the Judge Guidelines, we generally prefer the submission to include said input, but this is not required. Please let me know your preferences.
[16:36:31] <Mothrayas> I have to say this argument about robot drug usage is a lot more fun than whatever else we have been doing in the past two+ hours
[16:08:10] <BenLubar> a TAS is just the limit of a segmented speedrun as the segment length approaches zero
nymx
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Memory wrote:
I wasn't entirely sure what you meant when you asked me about this. I didn't realize that there was a unique screen after you pressed the button. In that case according to the Judge Guidelines, we generally prefer the submission to include said input, but this is not required. Please let me know your preferences.
I'm responding here to make our discord discussion official. Yes, I'd like to keep the inputs as they were submitted.
I recently discovered that if you haven't reached a level of frustration with TASing any game, then you haven't done your due diligence. ---- SOYZA: Are you playing a game? NYMX: I'm not playing a game, I'm TASing. SOYZA: Oh...so its not a game...Its for real? ---- Anybody got a Quantum computer I can borrow for 20 minutes? Nevermind...eien's 64 core machine will do. :) ---- BOTing will be the end of all games. --NYMX
Post subject: Movie published
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. ---- [3986] C64 The Human Race by nymx in 09:08.27