(Link to video)
  • Aims for Max Completion
  • Manipulates Luck
  • Takes damage to save time
Spider-Man is a game loosely based on the 2002 movie of the same name, featuring Tobey Maguire as our hero, Spider-Man.
The 100% category for this game requires the player to complete the game on Hero (Hard) or Super Hero (Very Hard), collect every Golden Spider (combat move)*, and acquire 50,000 hero points. By beating the game on Hero or Super Hero, the player unlocks several items in the Secret Store, and by collecting 50,000 hero points, they unlock the remainder of the items in the Secret Store.
/*Advanced Impact Web has been removed in the 1.1 release of the game on Xbox and PS2, so it is not required for the run. I grab it anyway since the GameCube release never got a 1.1 update.
Some levels are adjusted based on difficulty. I'll mention the level based changes when I describe the levels, but here's the main, universal change: On easy, enemies deal 0.75 damage and have 0.75x health. On normal, it's 1x, on Hero, it's 1.5x, and on Super Hero, it's 2x (with some exceptions). Spider-Man's web usage also uses these numbers (e.x. web balls use more webbing so you can't shoot as many). I play on Hero difficulty, and I'll explain why later.
If you want to know what all the combo moves look like and do, I strongly recommend watching this video. If you want to see the health and damage values that I have attempted to calculate, go here [dead link removed].

Dumping Notes (skip this if you don't intend to dump it)

When you dump the video and audio for this game, they will fall out of sync. Allow me to explain: the dumped audio will produce 2 files: dtkdump (the game's music) and dspdump (the game's sound effects). The dtkdump will remain synced with the video dump so you have no need to splice it or anything - but it will be extremely loud, so knock it down by about 12.5db or so. Seriously, knock it down BEFORE you listen to it if you want to keep your eardrums. It's THAT loud.
The dspdump, on the other hand, is a bit more annoying. The game's pre-rendered cutscenes will cause the sfx to fall out of sync, and there's no way to skip them fast enough for it not to happen. They will play after the save prompt at the end of the following levels (so you will have to resync the audio): the menu and before the first level, Birth of a Hero, Oscorp's Gambit, Air Duel with Vulture, Scorpion's Rampage, The Razor's Edge, OsCorp's Ultimate Weapon, and Escape from OsCorp.
Additionally, the .ini for this game forces real xfb emulation - this makes the game look very bad, but it allows the pre-rendered cutscenes to play properly. Since I have no intention of watching them, I have edited the config of the .ini and you should, too (the TAS overrides the ini settings, but if you want to make a TAS of your own, you should edit the config). To do this, open Dolphin 5.0 and right click on your copy of Spider-Man. Press "properties" and then click "show defaults" at the bottom. In the txt file, at the bottom, there should be 2 things - one that says "enable xfb = true" and "enablerealxfb = true". Erase both of those lines and Ctrl+S to save the file. Now you are no longer forced to have the xfb enabled when playing the game.

Search for Justice

This level requires you to defeat 6 thugs before an informant appears which you interrogate. There are also two Golden Spiders in this level. I take a wide route to get both while throwing numerous thugs off of buildings, then skip the interrogation cutscene, and swing to the end of the level.

Warehouse Hunt

There is one Golden Spider in this level, right at the start. I get it and continue through the area, webzipping past the first batch of thugs and going through the garage door. On Hero, there are two additional enemies in the following room. I web yank one of them toward me and push him through the garage door, then jump on his shoulders to clip through the door. This saves over a minute compared to the intended route, because it skips a cutscene where a lot of things happen (specifically, an enemy with a necessary item no longer has the opportunity to lock himself in a back room). I go behind the truck, up through the vents, and land on the enemy with the necessary item and beat the crap out of him, using the slanted control terminal to skip the animation of applying web gloves (web gloves allow me to do more damage). Once he's KO'd, I put the item back on the control terminal and watch a short cutscene of a door opening - or rather, it's already opened. You have to do this anyway or else the enemies in that "locked" room won't spawn and you won't be able to complete the level. I then use a precise webzip to clip through the wall on my left, and zip over to the opened room. I quick-throw the gas canisters (by pressing X) at the thugs to deal massive damage, and then double-swing-kick the revealed thugs in the side room before performing a webdome to finish them off. I webzip to the exit door which has now been opened. Normally, when performing a webzip on the ground, Spider-Man goes through an animation of preparing the zip before actually zipping. I perform the inputs for a web-yoyo and then do a webzip 1 frame later to skip the animation. You can also do this while attacking to skip recovery animations, and I will be using it quite a bit at a later time.

Birth of a Hero

I start by webzipping through the vents (which is frame-perfect and height perfect). By evading the thugs in the following room, I'm able to enter the door to the side of the main path and grab Advanced Web Dome (if you are spotted, it doesn't spawn). I continue down the hall and grab the Handspring combo, then enter a large room. On Hero difficulty, you are expected to defeat 15 enemies before a key spawns to the exit (20 enemies on Super Hero, 10 on Normal, and 5 on Easy). I simply yank an enemy near the door and push him through to skip the entire fight, then webzip to the top of the warehouse to Uncle Ben's Killer. I do a homing kick and then apply web gloves while he's down, then perform repeated uppercuts on him before finishing him with a web ball and a swing kick.

OsCorp's Gambit

As Spider-Man, you have to start by taking some pictures of yourself (they are taken automatically when you meet the criteria). The first batch is taken by jumping off a web swing. The second batch is jumping off a web swing while locked onto a balloon in the distance. The third batch is taken by destroying the balloon (there is a small timer before you are able to destroy it, so I delay firing web at it). Now I go to the marker and move onto the second part of the level. Some robots spawn, so I swing kick them twice (on Normal and Easy, they only require 1 swing kick, and on Super Hero, they require 3). I then climb on the wall. This causes the next batches of robots to spawn directly below me instead of in the sky, and I swing kick them twice.

The Subway Station

Oh noes! Shocker and his goons have infiltrated the Grand Central station! It's a good thing I'm able to collect a new combo move, Scissor Kick. This combo is strong enough to KO enemies by itself as long as you have web gloves equipped. I use it extensively for the following groups of thugs. I stand at their spawn point and face away so I'm able to use my new combos on them as they appear. Once they're taken care of, I head up into the side room and defeat enemies, using the yoyo-into-zip trick I mentioned earlier, allowing me to do swing kicks and flying punches with no recovery time. I web zip back into the main area once the thugs are taken care of, and then swing to the two thugs attacking the policeman. I swing kick them, and then do another piece of tech - by performing the inputs to shoot a web ball and then swinging immediately after, I can shoot the web ball AS I swing kick. Then I save the guy on his phone from being crushed by the falling pillar, then webzip to the next group of thugs. I use scissor kick on them to KO them easily, then grab a Golden Spider from under the overhang. Another cutscene starts, which I skip, and head down the hallway. I use handspring extensively as crowd control on the numerous thugs, then face away from their spawn location and handspring them some more.

Chase Through the Sewer

I webzip down the hallway and yank an enemy toward me so I can clip through the door instead of defeating the armored thug who has the key. I continue down the path and reach a big, cylindrical room. I drop to the bottom and use the thug to clip through the door instead of doing the intended method. I reach a large room with a pipe blasting out water. One of Shocker's goons has taken the valve, so I head to the side room and beat him up to get it back. I intentionally get shot as I apply web gloves to skip the animation of putting them on. I KO the thug, get the valve, and head back to put it in place. I grab the Golden Spider from above the pipe and use a suplex on the nearby enemy while he's in the air, making a neat little force-suplex. I go through the pipe as the water shuts off (frame perfectly, actually) and go upwards to another room. I hit a switch with my web and go back into the previous room, dropping down, and zipping through the door to grab Advanced Web Gloves. I continue through the level and reach a largeroom with some green water. I pull a thug into the lower region and use him to clip through the door (this door has weird collision and instantly forces me off the thug's shoulders when I get through, but only on this side). I grab Advanced Impact Web and clip back out of the door on the side that DOESN'T force me off the thug's shoulders. I webzip to the door on the opposite side (this door functions in the same way - one side forces you off the thug's shoulders while the other doesn't). I web yank the enemy and use him to clip through the door, press the switch to open the exit, clip back through, and then zip to the exit.

Showdown with Shocker

You have to evade Shocker's blasts as you progress down the railway. I zip down and use my web to hit the switch to move the train in the way of my progression. I use a manually-aimed zip to go up the stairs, then grab the Uppercut combo (which is riding along the current, and is missable if you're not fast enough). I continue down the level before reaching Shocker, using a similar method to defeat him as I did with Uncle Ben's killer. Also, I should probably mention this - if you use most forms of webbing while wearing web gloves, you will instantly cause them to expire. So no advanced web zip tech.

Vulture's Lair

If you watch no other part of this TAS, watch this level. It's pretty cool. It's pretty much all frame perfect and speaks for itself.

Vulture Escapes

Vulture works on a rubber band system, so I stay close to him and manipulate him into taking the fastest route. On Hero and Super Hero, Vulture will sometimes take a third path and try to destroy a crane. Through the powers of luck manipulation, I make him not do that. I may as well mention that you can make extremely sharp turns at while swinging by holding L and pressing A while holding a direction, and keep all of your speed.

Air Duel with Vulture

Yes, I know it looks slow, but it's not. There is a Golden Spider at the top of the tower - but the catch is, lighting strikes the top of the tower at set intervals and will kill you instantly. If I were to go more around the tower to evade vulture's charge, I would be killed by the lightning or have to wait for it to expire. If I were to knock vulture down before I went up, I would be wasting webbing (which I need for this level). Getting hit by vulture is simply the fastest option here. I then drop down the tower to grab the Sting combo - a very high damaging combo. I knock vulture down and apply advanced web gloves, then do the Uppercut combo I grabbed earlier, only hitting him with the third strike, followed by the Dual Fists combo. Vulture flies back up, so I knock him back down with a web ball and swing kick. I then apply advanced web gloves again and do an uppercut (just an uppercut, not an uppercut combo - there is an important distinction there), followed by a falling punch, and another uppercut. This defeats him.

Corralled

This level is a big part of the reason I did this on Hero and not Super Hero. On easy, there are 10 spiders. On Normal, there are 20, Hero has 30, and Super Hero has 40. Kind of a massive design flaw if you ask me. I keep Scorpion alive and KO the spiders, camping at their spawn location and doing repeated crowd control moves to cause big damage to them. Advanced Web Dome is in this level, but since I already have it, it's replaced with a health pickup. I occasionally throw cars at the spiders since cars do massive damage.

Scorpion's Rampage

I start by swing kicking Scorpion, knocking him down while I apply both coats of web gloves. I then use the Sting combo I picked up earlier to slice down Scorpion a few times, followed by an Advanced Web dome. While he's down again, I fire an Advanced Impact Web at him. As his consciousness fades, I pick up the Tackle combo a few meters away. Tackle is basically handspring, but with much higher damage.

Coup d'Etat

Aside from the trick at the start, this level mostly speaks for itself. I apply one coat of web gloves and perform a jumping punch on Green Goblin, which does most of his health. If I applied a second coat, it would kill him too soon and make the level impossible to complete. I save Mary Jane next, and climb up the building I spawned on to grab a Golden Spider as Goblin flies away. This Golden Spider spawns inconsistently - I had to do some minor RNG manipulation in the previous level to get the combo to spawn here. Once I have it, I go to the location, right on time for Goblin to try and destroy the radio tower. Blah blah blah, minor chase sequence which can't be sped up, etc. I get to the bridge and perform what I like to call a "reverse web-yoyo". By cancelling a punch while on a wall into a web yoyo, Spider-Man will be upside down (from his intended axis) on the web. I fix the bridge when goblin tries to destroy it, follow him for a few more seconds, and pelt him with webbing once he becomes vulnerable again.

The Offer

This looks slow, but it's extremely fast. Instead of swing kicking Goblin and firing web balls at him, I bait him into coming close to me on a building, then staggering him with a homing air kick, followed by performing sting and uppercuts on him. This is miles faster and much less resource-intensive than trying to fight him in the air. I then follow him into the building and perform Sting, followed by sideways dodges to cancel the recovery and save... 2 frames on every sting combo I perform. Once his health reaches a low threshold, he retreats back onto his glider. And no, you can't kill him early unless you're playing on Easy or have cheats enabled to have a certain combo move early. I do the same trick as before to knock him off his glider, then follow him into the electrical station and finish him off.

Race Against Time

This level is decently difficult. Notice how I lose 90% of my health in an instant, but I have a second chance? Yeah, that's not a thing on Super Hero. You are killed pretty much instantly. Other than that, this level speaks for itself. Also, taking damage doesn't slow you down while swinging. If you want to see just how bad this level is on Super Hero, watch this video from the timestamp.

The Razor's Edge

Destroy 50 Razor Bats to complete the level. Goblin will spawn the razor bats in a wad - I use an Advanced Impact Web to destroy the wads of razor bats instantly, and then go to the end of the level.

Breaking and Entering

At the start, I intentionally knock over the security guard, or else he will raise the alarm far too early for me to be able to complete the level in a reasonable amount of time. In the offices, there are 5 computers, each holding a specific piece of the code. Also, there's a Golden Spider for move that would've been useful much earlier in the game (High Stomp, which deals the most damage of any combo in the game, with an exception I'll explain later). I take the fastest path possible to go to all the computers. I then head to the blast door on the far side and input the code in the correct order.

Chemical Chaos

You are expected to be sneaky in this level, but that would take roughly about 2 billion years to do, so I go fast at the expense of being seen and assaulted by robots. I don't actually know the lore behind this level, so I'll just explain it as I know. I go to panels A and B and activate them with my webbing (which skips a small cutscene), and then enter the main vat room and press the right side switch with my webbing (which skips another cutscene). This opens up the second area of the level, with panels C and D. Door D is locked, but I try to open to trigger a cutscene that spawns a scientist with a keycard. While he's running over to the door, I activate panel C and grab a Golden Spider for a move which, again, would've been useful much earlier. I KO the scientist and perform and advanced web dome to keep the robots near the exit door while I activate panel D. I webzip back to the main vat and press the left side switch with my webbing to finish the level. Also, the lasers in this level don't damage you; they set off the alarm.

OsCorp's Ultimate Weapon

There are 10 generators around the room. I have to fight with the lock on controls very briefly as I fire web balls at the generators (on easy, they take 1 web ball, 2 on normal, 3 on hero, and 4 on super hero). This is the other level that kept me from doing this on Super Hero, since you would lose LITERALLY HALF YOUR WEBBING from firing 4 web balls at a generator to destroy it. On Hero, it's still pretty bad, but I knuckle through it and destroy all the generators before destroying the robot's brain.

Escape from OsCorp

It's Breaking and Entering, but the opposite way - leaving. Directly in front of the spawn is the holy grail of attacks in this game - The Haymaker. This is the strongest singular attack in the game, and it's a punch, so having Advanced Web Gloves on with it will deal such massive damage that it will kill almost anything in a single blow. It's a shame you can't get it earlier. There's also Advanced Impact Web in this level, but since I already got it much earlier, it is replaced by a health pack. Getting it in this level also takes about a year, so that's why I got it in the sewer level. Anyway, in this level, you're expected to go to the far left security room to disable the laser wall, and then the far right room to disable the turrets. I do neither, instead going to the far right security room, breaking the glass, and high-tailing it out of there. Those turrets do kind of a lot of damage, though... anyway, I reach the room before the exit and and press the panel (you can't activate this panel with your webbing). As I wait for the door to open, I kill the robot since I don't like sharing space. I zip through the partially opened door and leave.

Mary Jane Kidnapped!

Follow Goblin. Goblin does not work on a rubber band. He will stop in place to set up bombs, unless you're really far away. So I stay really far away. Easy level.

Face-Off at the Bridge

Goblin places Mary Jane on the bridge and lights the bridge on fire. Do I save Mary Jane? Nope. I go straight for goblin, shooting web balls and swing kicking him as he lands. Then I apply double web gloves, and prepare for the moment of truth... haymaker. I stay close to him as I perform it, otherwise he will throw a bomb at me, which is very bad and slow. The haymaker doesn't KO him, but the uppercut immediately afterwards does. And that's the game. I guess Mary Jane just climbed down or something, since she shows up in the end cutscene.

arkiandruski: Judging..
arkiandruski:This looks good. Audience reaction is also very positive. Accepting to Moons.
Zinfidel: Processing...

TASVideoAgent
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This topic is for the purpose of discussing #7035: Natetheman223's GC Spider-Man "100%" in 29:36.08
EZGames69
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Joined: 5/29/2017
Posts: 2701
Location: Michigan
I really enjoyed this. I had this game as a kid and remembered playing it alot, but I could never get past the first Green Goblin fight as I didn’t understand where he moves to. Yes vote
[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
Joined: 9/12/2014
Posts: 535
Location: Waterford, MI
I accidentally voted No.. I meant to submit Yes. Very well optimized! I found it funny when shocker making his little speech about killing spiderman while laying on the floor because spiderman beat him lol. Also when goblin was cornered in a defenseless position hes "youre gonna have to do better to keep up with me". It just doesnt make sense and thats why its funny.
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Location: Brasil
how would any% differ?
TAS i'm interested: megaman series: mmbn1 all chips, mmx3 any% psx glitched fighting games with speed goals in general
Natetheman223
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Experienced player (584)
Joined: 12/30/2020
Posts: 40
Location: MI
KusogeMan wrote:
how would any% differ?
In any%, you play on Easy, so... - enemies/bosses have half as much health as hard - "Corralled" level only has 10 spiders - the mechs in "OsCorp's Gambit" only take one swing kick to destroy - You do not have to pick up any combos (but the player should pick up "Advanced Web Gloves" and "Sting" anyway) - It is possible to defeat Vulture in 1 cycle (by using advanced web gloves) - It is possible to defeat goblin before he gets back on his glider in "The Offer" (by using advanced web gloves and sting) - The generators in "OsCorp's Ultimate Weapon" only take one web ball to destroy - It is possible to defeat goblin before he even gets off his glider in the final level
I like 3D Spider-Man games.
Joined: 6/30/2010
Posts: 1093
Location: Zurich, Switzerland
You would not have to play on easy for an any%. Just because the RTA community does that, it doesn't mean that a TAS has to do the same. For TASes, it is standard practice to play on the hardest difficulty unless there is a good reason not to. A typical example of such an exception are games where the difficulties only change the amount of health the enemies have and how much damage they deal. Now from what you described, this game could be one of those examples where it actually is more entertaining to play on easy. But the decision of what difficulty should be used in an any% publication for this game would ultimately come down to the judges.
Current project: Gex 3 any% Paused: Gex 64 any% There are no N64 emulators. Just SM64 emulators with hacky support for all the other games.
Natetheman223
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Location: MI
andypanther wrote:
Now from what you described, this game could be one of those examples where it actually is more entertaining to play on easy. But the decision of what difficulty should be used in an any% publication for this game would ultimately come down to the judges.
It would not be very entertaining to watch Spider-Man clumsily have to pick up numerous web cartridges in certain levels because he spends his entire web meter after firing 5 web balls (yes, it's really like that on the hardest difficulty). Not to mention Vulture is 3 cycles on Super Hero, Oscorp's Ultimate Weapon would easily be twice as long, and Corralled would lose what tiny bit of charm it has left. Boss fights would be even longer, and less interesting than they already are. Any% on Easy only has to pick up 2 upgrades since enemies are weak enough that you don't need the stronger combos. Any% on Super Hero would still have to pick up numerous upgrades to deal with the damage sponge enemies that CAN LITERALLY TANK THE STRONGEST COMBOS IN THE GAME.
I like 3D Spider-Man games.
Joined: 2/28/2012
Posts: 159
Location: Philadelphia
Great run -- 3D games are hard enough to optimize when you're just running around the X and Z axes but this movement is very well-optimized despite having to manage the Y axis as well. I don't think I ever made it past the mandatory stealth levels in the last third of the game when playing this as a kid. Yes vote from me.
Zinfidel
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Finally got around to watching this one. The web swinging in particular is really well done - the fight with Vulture had a lot of fun acrobatics like leaping off of the spire of that building and firing web bullets at him on the way down. Spidey pulling himself on webs at top-speed while in doors is excellent TAS superplay as well. Overall good movie, so an overall good yes vote from me. I'm also claiming this for publication if it gets accepted, since I did the GG encode and know what to expect already regarding a/v sync.
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. ---- [4428] GC Spider-Man "100%" by Natetheman223 in 29:36.08
Zinfidel
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Joined: 11/21/2019
Posts: 247
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For future encoders: I made some minor edits to Dolphin 5.0 for this dump. See this commit and its associated branch. The modification pre-amplifies audio down to 30% and unclamps DTK audio so that the audio that makes it to the dump isn't completely clipped and blown out. Audio can be re-amplified after dumping depending on how loud you want it. See the author's notes on getting the audio to sync up properly.