Moon Patrol is a horizontally scrolling shooter released for the Atari 2600 in 1983. You play as a tank who can shoot aliens and dirt, jump over holes and dodge bullets.
Tags:
Emulator used: BizHawk 2.8
Genre: Shooter
Goal:
This TAS fills the meter as fast as possible by clearing 5 levels. I thought this was a suitable ending point since the game itself goes on forever.
In-Game / TAS Comments:
The tank and alien physics run at ~7.49 frames per second (60/8).
Your tank can only jump every 8 frames and shoot every 12 frames.
Sometimes an alien can make holes on the moon depending on where it shoots its bullets.
Alien RNG is dependent on how many aliens your tank shoots.
Input ends when I set up for the final jump.
Thanks for Reading
Thanks to nymx for the encode.
As usual, if you find any improvements, you can be added as a co-author.
LogansGamingRoom: full version finished. you can now resume judging.
nymx: Updating submission with longer movie file that includes the 2nd course. Additionally, created an encode for embedded use.
nymx: I've held on to this submission for a while, because I wanted to understand the mechanics a bit better. From what I'm seeing, this game's speed is constant throughout the entire run. When pressing left, you are not truly slowing down...but re-positioning your patrol car to avoid obstacles. This means, you just have to survive in order to get to the end. Proof of this speed can been seen in a number of ways:
The In Game Timer (IGT) consistently ends up 42 at the end of each round, except the last round of each course...which would be 50. This was due to one extra check point. (5 check points per stage, 6 for the last).
The frame count of each course is roughly the same, although LGR end input earlier. (I extended it to see if it would be close)
Unlike other Moon Patrol versionis...this truly is an auto-scroller and I can't see any way to improve it. (famous last words. :( )
Ending input earlier is the only conceivable way to improve the time, from my analysis. Game meets the classification of "No Major Skips".
Published TASes: #1, #2, #3, #4, #5, #6, #7, #8, #9, #10, #11, #12Please consider voting for me as Rookie TASer Of 2023 - Voting is in December 2023My rule is quality TASes over quantity TASes... unless I'm bored.
This run is incomplete. The game doesn't loop from here, but it goes on to the second of two courses, which is much harder. (I think it does loop from there.)
(It is also possible to start the game at course 2, but that seems like a poor choice for a run. On the other hand, if starting on easy mode then leads to regular course 1 and 2 - I forget and can't check right now - it's debatable whether that's a better run or just a tedious bit of completionism.)
Also, which right difficulty switch setting are you using? One provides a third speed, but the details are hazy, and I'm not sure how the overall speed of the run would be affected by either setting.
Edit: Did get a chance to check out some things. Finishing course 1 on easy mode leads to course 2 (still with the teddy bear icon but the manual implies course 2 is course 2, regardless). And either my right difficulty switch is broken or nothing about it changes the top speed. The manual is really unclear on what the extra third speed means and my numbers didn't change. As for starting at course 2, which is not simply a "hard" version of course 1, that does seem to skip some of the game, although it does get to the "end" faster by essentially selecting the hardest difficulty at the start. Tough call. I'm inclined to want to see both courses. This would be the first Moon Patrol run on the site, and it seems silly to ask, but would it make sense to have two branches?
This run is incomplete. The game doesn't loop from here, but it goes on to the second of two courses, which is much harder. (I think it does loop from there.)
(It is also possible to start the game at course 2, but that seems like a poor choice for a run. On the other hand, if starting on easy mode then leads to regular course 1 and 2 - I forget and can't check right now - it's debatable whether that's a better run or just a tedious bit of completionism.)
Also, which right difficulty switch setting are you using? One provides a third speed, but the details are hazy, and I'm not sure how the overall speed of the run would be affected by either setting.
Edit: Did get a chance to check out some things. Finishing course 1 on easy mode leads to course 2 (still with the teddy bear icon but the manual implies course 2 is course 2, regardless). And either my right difficulty switch is broken or nothing about it changes the top speed. The manual is really unclear on what the extra third speed means and my numbers didn't change. As for starting at course 2, which is not simply a "hard" version of course 1, that does seem to skip some of the game, although it does get to the "end" faster by essentially selecting the hardest difficulty at the start. Tough call. I'm inclined to want to see both courses. This would be the first Moon Patrol run on the site, and it seems silly to ask, but would it make sense to have two branches?
Score attack/endless games must complete to game to where there is no new content.
The difficulty switch being broken definitely needs to be investigated further too. Try it on emulator.
Published TASes: #1, #2, #3, #4, #5, #6, #7, #8, #9, #10, #11, #12Please consider voting for me as Rookie TASer Of 2023 - Voting is in December 2023My rule is quality TASes over quantity TASes... unless I'm bored.
Score attack/endless games must complete to game to where there is no new content.
It is no longer a hard requirement to complete all new content in endless games. We recently changed the rules to only require 1 loop of looping games even if there is new content beyond. Pertinent Rule:
https://tasvideos.org/MovieRules wrote:
If there's no clear ending, end after completing the first full game loop. However you may play further and end after any of the following:
All unique content (enemies, level layouts, game mechanics, etc.) is exhausted and completed.
The loop with the hardest in-game difficulty (enemy speed, AI, etc.) is completed.
In games with a score counter, you may end when you reach the maximum score the game allows.
In other words, there are multiple potential end points for looping games.
So the main thing to check with this particular game is how many courses are included in 1 loop of the game. Finishing all those courses would then be the minimum requirement for completion.
EDIT: Another consideration is, when the looping starts, the loop may not go all the way back to the first stage. A game may only loop later courses. For example:
Game A has 5 stages, begins looping after the 5th stage, and loops all 5 stages: 1-2-3-4-5-1-2-3-4-5-...
Game B has 5 stages, begins looping after the 5th stage, but only loops the 3rd-5th stage: 1-2-3-4-5-3-4-5-3-4-5-...
In both of these scenarios, only 5 stages would need completed to have the minimum required 1 loop. But for authors wanting to do one of the more complete options, runs completing more than 1 loop would be a different number of levels needing to be completed. If both games stopped adding new content after the 2nd loop, Then Game A would require completion of 10 stages to exhaust new content, while Game B would only require 8 Stages to do the same.
Joined: 11/14/2014
Posts: 932
Location: South Pole, True Land Down Under
Let me step in and clarify from my experiences with this game.
Moon Patrol has always been a two course game. The second course, has always been called the "Champion Stage".
In this submission, LogansGamingRoom doesn't complete this course and needs to be finished, in order for it to satisfy the rules for "1 Loop". After the 2nd course it complete, the looping begins.
I've reached out to the author and have explained that 1 loop requires both courses to be complete. When this submission has expired the initial judging window...I'll set it to "Delayed" so that LGR can provide an updated movie file.
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.
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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. :)
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BOTing will be the end of all games. --NYMX
Joined: 11/14/2014
Posts: 932
Location: South Pole, True Land Down Under
Oh...I forgot. Here is a YT with the time set at the start of the second course. As you will see, there content is quite different and more complicated.
Link to video
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
Joined: 7/3/2022
Posts: 463
Location: Berkshire, UK
nymx wrote:
Moon Patrol has always been a two course game. The second course, has always been called the "Champion Stage".
In this submission, LogansGamingRoom doesn't complete this course and needs to be finished, in order for it to satisfy the rules for "1 Loop". After the 2nd course it complete, the looping begins.
Thank you for making that TAS! Was good to see one of the games from my childhood again. A2600's version is definitely more simplistic than Atari 65 XL/XE that I had (a bit of a pity), but it's still enjoyable and the run is crazy at times, so Yes vote : )
Side note, you ran some quite interesting titles! Making encodes could really make them more accessible to simpler folks like me : ) the discussion have blown up after the encode was here, perhaps a coincidence but still, easier to see.
Joined: 7/3/2022
Posts: 463
Location: Berkshire, UK
PLANET wrote:
LogansGamingRoom wrote:
Thank you for making that TAS! Was good to see one of the games from my childhood again. A2600's version is definitely more simplistic than Atari 65 XL/XE that I had (a bit of a pity), but it's still enjoyable and the run is crazy at times, so Yes vote : )
thanks planet! unfortauntely the full 10 level tas won’t be finished for a while because i’m stuck on level 8. nymx will be trying to solve it alongside me when i can.
Thank you for making that TAS! Was good to see one of the games from my childhood again. A2600's version is definitely more simplistic than Atari 65 XL/XE that I had (a bit of a pity), but it's still enjoyable and the run is crazy at times, so Yes vote : )
thanks planet! unfortauntely the full 10 level tas won’t be finished for a while because i’m stuck on level 8. nymx will be trying to solve it alongside me when i can.
File -> Movie -> Configure & Record -> FFMpeg -> Click custom at the bottom and input:
Then you can record a movie with incredible ease. It is a temp encode format i.e. it is small and easy to upload. The nicer encodes are much larger in file size.
This game seems to not play well with the usual format I've used on all my temporary encodes, so you can also use 4:3 encode parameters:
YouTube accounts are free, upload to there and you are done.
Published TASes: #1, #2, #3, #4, #5, #6, #7, #8, #9, #10, #11, #12Please consider voting for me as Rookie TASer Of 2023 - Voting is in December 2023My rule is quality TASes over quantity TASes... unless I'm bored.
Glad to see! There are some things you might want to consider, either now or for a later run.
With fastest time being the primary goal, there's not a lot of room for improvement except in the few times you do slow down, since you can more or less keep a constant top speed. But at about 7:30, it would almost certainly be faster to shoot the enemy missile with a small pause and not have to slow down as much to back out of the way. I don't know how the RNG works, but maybe there'd be a way to avoid those situations at all in the future. It's basically the only way to optimize the time.
Other than that, it seems reasonable to maximize points if it doesn't change the timing. You get more points for shooting rocks and tanks than for hopping over them, and in a TAS you can probably make almost all of those quick shots. There are also a few UFOs left behind (could they be gotten?), and it's very unsatisfying to see the rocket ("enemy car") fly past you twice instead of being shot for points. (Those points are random, 500/800/1000; some experimentation might help achieve the max in your run.)
Finally, as long as jumping doesn't reduce speed (I don't think it does), there's always room for extra entertainment value provided it doesn't get annoying (it's possible a shot while in the air can help get a UFO better too). You can't breakdance in time with the music or anything, but among other things, hopping at the end of a section so you stay suspended during the score tally is great fun.
Joined: 7/3/2022
Posts: 463
Location: Berkshire, UK
MrSnrub wrote:
at about 7:30, it would almost certainly be faster to shoot the enemy missile with a small pause and not have to slow down as much to back out of the way.
thanks for recommending this. i’ll try it when i can.
Huh, how surprising. So you're saying slowing down a little less results in the same timing (as slowing down more, and/or staying at full speed)? I wonder if the speeds are calculated in chunkier steps even when the visual position does move.
Anyway, I do think it makes sense to get the extra points along the way, but it's worth publishing (with room for an enhanced run later).
