(Link to video)
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James Bond's pocket-sized adventure, played by robot!
It feels wonderful to beat this game from my childhood again.
Submitting this TAS to hopefully get more people excited about it!

Game objectives

  • Emulator used: Gambatte 2.6.2
  • Talk to NPCs and find clues to uncover the true enemy
  • Foil their plans for armageddon
  • Save the world!

Comments

James Bond 007 is a top-down classic Zelda-style RPG for the Game Boy.
This run was created in TAStudio, with about half recorded movements and half hand-placed inputs.
Some hits were taken, but no deaths. This can be optimized away, but some sections are faster after a hit currently.
The aim of this TAS was to lay the groundwork for future optimizations.
With the scene transitions offering an excellent 'page-turn', putting this TAS together was really enjoyable and not tedious.
There is a casino minigame halfway through that seems to be randomized based on past button inputs.
There is a hidden MARBLE item to unlock the true ending, but that adds extra seconds to the end...
Looking for ways to 'bump' the guards instead of killing them on most screens. It seems to almost always be possible... Pacifist / "Licensed to Chill" run?
feos: Sorry but this movie is very unoptimized. In addition to not using a technique utilized in human speedruns that saves a lot of time on backtracking, general movement is also sloppy.
Entering your name can be improved by 21 frames, and also on almost every turn you can move quicker if you start holding the new direction sooner. I saved 435 frames in the first level (11k frames) by doing so.
I usually also try optimizing the last level of a submission like this one, to see if optimization is better there (due to a learning curve), but here time is lost on such a basic thing that I can't agree that this attempt is fine.
We have a lot of great resources on how to create better movies, in our TASing Guide. Just like it's said in our Movie Rules:
Your submission does not have to be absolutely perfect and unimprovable, but it should be as optimized as you can make it. Judges will check your movie's technical quality: they should not be able to easily improve your movie by large amounts of time. All techniques known prior to beginning a run should be used.
supersonik, please don't be discouraged by this rejection. You can definitely improve your run by a lot, even without working too hard on every single frame. Of course it's better to work hard, but so far this game looks basic enough to make an optimized movie that's non-trivial to beat. Better luck next time!

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Posted: 11/29/2021 6:17 PM
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TASVideoAgent
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This topic is for the purpose of discussing #7258: supersonik's GB James Bond 007 in 39:26.43
Posted: 11/29/2021 7:07 PM
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supersonik
Joined: 11/29/2021
Posts: 3
Location: NYC
Link to video Link to video: https://youtu.be/FhqoWfrA8_0
Posted: 11/29/2021 8:05 PM
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nymx
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TASer of 2023 Atari TASer of 2023 Exotic platforms TASer of 2023
I usually am criticized for misusing the "Voting" on submission, but this time...this game gives me a sense of nostalgia and makes me want to relive some of my games I played way back then. Because most games do not entertain me anymore. Now to my analysis. I have never played this...so I'm not sure what I'm analyzing. I do notice that you take longer to dish out hits on some enemies, but bosses...you can deliver them immediately after the I-frames have dissipated. Can you explain this? I'm giving you a Yes vote, for entertainment...only because game-boy games, of this kind, certainly give me great memories.
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
Posted: 11/29/2021 8:19 PM
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supersonik
Joined: 11/29/2021
Posts: 3
Location: NYC
nymx wrote:
this game gives me a sense of nostalgia and makes me want to relive some of my games I played way back then. Because most games do not entertain me anymore.
I have the same issue... that is why I chose to TAS this game :) it feels like a brand new way of playing the same story, but with a multiplayer component that is asynchronous and much deeper than a second controller!
nymx wrote:
I do notice that you take longer to dish out hits on some enemies, but bosses...you can deliver them immediately after the I-frames have dissipated. Can you explain this?
On the first level at least, many enemies block your attacks until they attack first. The goal is to quickly block then counter-attack. After the first level this mechanic doesn't show up until the wrestler fights later on, and I'm swiping the sword largely to avoid hits and create space rather than outright kill. On a technical level, I am still figuring out lag frames I think, and why certain inputs required two frames of held input (chopping grass) while regular attacks sometimes only needed one tap, depending on the actions of enemies and other sprites on the screen. For safety I used a two-frame attack hold almost everywhere that I was not sure it was necessary (no lag frames anywhere). I had more time to focus on consistent timing for the bosses, which had less lag frames overall as well, but I have some stuff to learn before I optimize the run to each enemy. Some enemies also have random health I think? At least on the first level... There were also moments with multiple enemies on the screen where it was better to wait an extra few frames for a second enemy's invicibility to wear off, then attack two at once with a rotating swipe :)
Posted: 11/29/2021 10:10 PM
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nymx
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Joined: 11/14/2014
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supersonik wrote:
nymx wrote:
this game gives me a sense of nostalgia and makes me want to relive some of my games I played way back then. Because most games do not entertain me anymore.
I have the same issue... that is why I chose to TAS this game :) it feels like a brand new way of playing the same story, but with a multiplayer component that is asynchronous and much deeper than a second controller!
nymx wrote:
I do notice that you take longer to dish out hits on some enemies, but bosses...you can deliver them immediately after the I-frames have dissipated. Can you explain this?
On the first level at least, many enemies block your attacks until they attack first. The goal is to quickly block then counter-attack. After the first level this mechanic doesn't show up until the wrestler fights later on, and I'm swiping the sword largely to avoid hits and create space rather than outright kill. On a technical level, I am still figuring out lag frames I think, and why certain inputs required two frames of held input (chopping grass) while regular attacks sometimes only needed one tap, depending on the actions of enemies and other sprites on the screen. For safety I used a two-frame attack hold almost everywhere that I was not sure it was necessary (no lag frames anywhere). I had more time to focus on consistent timing for the bosses, which had less lag frames overall as well, but I have some stuff to learn before I optimize the run to each enemy. Some enemies also have random health I think? At least on the first level... There were also moments with multiple enemies on the screen where it was better to wait an extra few frames for a second enemy's invicibility to wear off, then attack two at once with a rotating swipe :)
Ok...great. Thanks. I also like the fact that you are focused on reducing lag. Year ago, I started to see more and more TASers focusing on lag reduction. I wasn't one of them, but I soon started to realize the beauty of reducing them and the skill it takes to accomplish it.
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
Posted: 12/5/2021 10:26 PM
Post subject: Re: #7258: supersonik's GB James Bond 007 in 39:26.43
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Ferret_Warlord
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TASVideoAgent wrote:
The aim of this TAS was to lay the groundwork for future optimizations.
I've only bounced around the video, but I can tell. For example, at 37:15 of the youtube encode, you get caught on a corner, and a short while later press up against a laser turret for a second when it appears you could've been moving forward, and turn around to block for just a few frames. With the disclaimer that I haven't seen all of the movie, this makes me feel like we have a good baseline, but otherwise wasn't fully optimized. I look forward to a movie that has been tightened up.
A hundred years from now, they will gaze upon my work and marvel at my skills but never know my name. And that will be good enough for me.
Posted: 12/11/2021 10:03 PM
Post subject: Re: #7258: supersonik's GB James Bond 007 in 39:26.43
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supersonik
Joined: 11/29/2021
Posts: 3
Location: NYC
Ferret Warlord wrote:
TASVideoAgent wrote:
The aim of this TAS was to lay the groundwork for future optimizations.
With the disclaimer that I haven't seen all of the movie, this makes me feel like we have a good baseline, but otherwise wasn't fully optimized. I look forward to a movie that has been tightened up.
Yup especially towards the end I was trying to see how damage-free I could get at the cost of a few frames, since damage boost didnt seem to apply identically from all sources. I'm thinking about working backwards room by room to optimize this? there is a randomized blackjack game halfway through that seems to be based on previous inputs so that would have to be last...
nymx wrote:
I also like the fact that you are focused on reducing lag.
yea the lag really makes frame-perfect tricks difficult to time reliably, especially when rng stuff depends on previous frames which may or may not count lag? still figuring it out...
Posted: 12/25/2021 11:51 AM
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feos
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NES TAS of 2011
http://tasvideos.org/Guidelines.html#DoPossibleResearch Looks like the human record wasn't checked, because it uses Save & Quit to get back to the starting point and save a whole bunch of time on walking. Overall still slower due to human execution.
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: 12/25/2021 4:21 PM
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TASVideosGrue
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