I'm thinking of TASing this game:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drug_Wars_(video_game)
It is an extremely fun text-based game which has a lot of TASing potential due to RNG manipulation. The problem is it depicts d**g trafficking and other criminal behavior as the main topic of the game.
With this in mind, would this game be acceptable for publication?
I'm thinking of TASing this game:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drug_Wars_(video_game)
It is an extremely fun text-based game which has a lot of TASing potential due to RNG manipulation. The problem is it depicts d**g trafficking and other criminal behavior as the main topic of the game.
With this in mind, would this game be acceptable for publication?
Yes (just like GTA and a whole bunch of other games where people do crimes).
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.
A question regarding Windows games launched through DOSBox-X or PCem.
Is there a criteria about game presentation? If a game doesn't work well by default and you need to lower settings (maybe even down to a "potato" mode) to increase stability and/or proper framerate, is a TAS of it still applicable for publication?
TASing is like making a film: only the best takes are shown in the premier.
https://xkcd.com/3246/
A question regarding Windows games launched through DOSBox-X or PCem.
Is there a criteria about game presentation? If a game doesn't work well by default and you need to lower settings (maybe even down to a "potato" mode) to increase stability and/or proper framerate, is a TAS of it still applicable for publication?
As far as I know, there are no rules regarding running games at the highest quality possible. But then again, this is a relatively novel issue in the site; consoles typically run at their predefined resolution/quality.
Of course, you should strive to produce a movie with the highest quality the game could offer. However, I'm very aware of the technical limitations we face (esp. with Windows), so a compromise can be made.
At the end of the day, it depends on the situation. In some cases, it may suffice to disable a particular rendering feature, whose absence doesn't compromise the viewing experience significantly. In others, the impact on quality may be so severe (potato), that it completely hinders the entertainment value of the movie.
So I'd say each case should be evaluated individually. A potato movie may be acceptable if there is absolutely no other way to run the game. But it needs to be proven that this is the only way to make it work. This would include asking others/staff for help and only deciding when all possible solutions have been exhausted.
What's the specific game you're referring to? (or was it merely hypothetical?)
So I'd say each case should be evaluated individually. A potato movie may be acceptable if there is absolutely no other way to run the game. But it needs to be proven that this is the only way to make it work. This would include asking others/staff for help and only deciding when all possible solutions have been exhausted.
What's the specific game you're referring to? (or was it merely hypothetical?)
This is Ricochet Xtreme. Here are gameplay videos:
Max settings
The list of issues goes like this:
The game freezes for some time on rare occasions. Also, stutters and micro-stutters are present on rare occasions.
It relates to the presence of background. Probably, GPU cannot handle it.
Music ON results in random sound clicks and specific sound effects get corrupted. The later is determined on the game start-up.
Sound Blaster Vibra is the only available model which produces audio in the game.
Graphical artifacts happen to 2D graphics. It relates to the presence of background.
Picture interference, like on an old TV when someone messes with wires. Happens very rarely for about 5 frames.
Potato mode
Out of all issues, only picture interference remains (even more rarely), if I turn the background off, turn off the music and change sound mixing from "Best" to "Faster", which restricts sound channels to 6, hence losing some sounds during intense moments.
Also, during my half-hour (IGT) testing in potato mode, the game froze for a few seconds once, but I hope it can be manipulated to avoid
TASing is like making a film: only the best takes are shown in the premier.
https://xkcd.com/3246/
So I'd say each case should be evaluated individually. A potato movie may be acceptable if there is absolutely no other way to run the game. But it needs to be proven that this is the only way to make it work. This would include asking others/staff for help and only deciding when all possible solutions have been exhausted.
What's the specific game you're referring to? (or was it merely hypothetical?)
This is Ricochet Xtreme. Here are gameplay videos:
Max settings
The list of issues goes like this:
The game freezes for some time on rare occasions. Also, stutters and micro-stutters are present on rare occasions.
It relates to the presence of background. Probably, GPU cannot handle it.
Music ON results in random sound clicks and specific sound effects get corrupted. The later is determined on the game start-up.
Sound Blaster Vibra is the only available model which produces audio in the game.
Graphical artifacts happen to 2D graphics. It relates to the presence of background.
Picture interference, like on an old TV when someone messes with wires. Happens very rarely for about 5 frames.
Potato mode
Out of all issues, only picture interference remains, if I turn the background off, turn off the music and change sound mixing from "Best" to "Faster", which restricts sound channels to 6, hence losing some sounds during intense moments.
Also, during my half-hour (IGT) testing in potato mode, the game froze for a few seconds once, but I hope it can be manipulated to avoid
You'll need other opinions than just mine, but I think potato mode here is quite ok to watch, if it saves you from that horrible freeze.
Joined: 10/18/2017
Posts: 174
Location: San Francisco
After about two months of TASing a Super Mario World ROM hack called Super Dram World 3 (available on SMW Central), I finished the all exits run.
I have questions related to the submission of this movie. For example, I started at version 1.2, before the hack was published into the list. However, there is a crash in the middle of the level which rendered the game unplayable, so I decided to use version 1.3 to finish the rest. By the time it was finished, the SHA1 was different, and it syncs over version.
User movie #639057941111627144
WIP runs:
SOS (SNES game; best ending)
Kirby Mass Attack (any% and 100%)
Grand Poo World 3 (all exits hard mode)
Proposed:
Ecco the Dolphin (Genesis, GG/SMS, CD: regular, camera freeze)
Mario Kart DS (all cups, all missions)
Social media (Instagram, X, Twitch, and YouTube): EvanLei1
After about two months of TASing a Super Mario World ROM hack called Super Dram World 3 (available on SMW Central), I finished the all exits run.
I have questions related to the submission of this movie. For example, I started at version 1.2, before the hack was published into the list. However, there is a crash in the middle of the level which rendered the game unplayable, so I decided to use version 1.3 to finish the rest. By the time it was finished, the SHA1 was different, and it syncs over version.
User movie #639057941111627144
If it syncs completely on 1.3 from start to finish it would be fine.
The game I'm TASing has an intermission cutscene every 10 levels. It cannot be skipped. This game has a password save system though. Could I soft-reset and use a password to skip the intermission? Or should I leave the cutscene in the TAS? It should be worth noting that (as far as I know), you can only see this password after the cutscene.
Hello, I just finished a TAS for a homebrew game called "sack of flour: heart of gold" and I'm not even sure if a run of this game is actually allowed, I cannot find anything about it in this website and even bizhawk does not recognizes the game, I downloaded it from what I believe to be the official website (https://bobrost.com/nes/games.php), the game does not specify a version so I guess I can just leave it blank or put 1.0, I'm not sure
the game does not specify a version so I guess I can just leave it blank or put 1.0, I'm not sure
The "game version" put in when submitting is just so judges/reviewers can know what version the game was ran on. It could be left blank if it's N/A, its sole purpose is to identify the game for staff. It's not meant for TASVideos' own game cataloging, that part is done by staff or wiki editors in a separate interface (and normally only occurs after the first submission for the game in question).
the game does not specify a version so I guess I can just leave it blank or put 1.0, I'm not sure
The "game version" put in when submitting is just so judges/reviewers can know what version the game was ran on. It could be left blank if it's N/A, its sole purpose is to identify the game for staff. It's not meant for TASVideos' own game cataloging, that part is done by staff or wiki editors in a separate interface.
The game I'm TASing has an intermission cutscene every 10 levels. It cannot be skipped. This game has a password save system though. Could I soft-reset and use a password to skip the intermission? Or should I leave the cutscene in the TAS? It should be worth noting that (as far as I know), you can only see this password after the cutscene.
Giving my opinion as a former judge:
Password use after a reset should only be allowed once that password has been seen displayed on the screen (even if only for one frame).
So in my opinion, it wouldn’t save time in your case.
IIRC, I believe there are other judges/admin who disagree with using passwords after reset even in the way i personally consider valid. I’m not 100% sure what the current site policy is on such cases (or even if a consensus has been decided on such password use).
That’s my two cents as a former judge, maybe the current staff sees things differently.
The game I'm TASing has an intermission cutscene every 10 levels. It cannot be skipped. This game has a password save system though. Could I soft-reset and use a password to skip the intermission? Or should I leave the cutscene in the TAS? It should be worth noting that (as far as I know), you can only see this password after the cutscene.
Giving my opinion as a former judge:
Password use after a reset should only be allowed once that password has been seen displayed on the screen (even if only for one frame).
So in my opinion, it wouldn’t save time in your case.
IIRC, I believe there are other judges/admin who disagree with using passwords after reset even in the way i personally consider valid. I’m not 100% sure what the current site policy is on such cases (or even if a consensus has been decided on such password use).
That’s my two cents as a former judge, maybe the current staff sees things differently.
It's been discussed 8 years ago and the result was summarized in this post by Noxxa. I can't tell if the current view on this subject would be the same or not, we'd need another round I guess.
For cases when passwords are explicitly allowed, like unlocking unique content, we don't care about having to acquire those passwords from the game, the TASer is just considered omniscient in advance and is using all the known information to get desired and optimal result.
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.
You must select one of these presets to run your game. The choice needs to be made considering the publication year of the game. That is, the machine should have been one produced at or around the game publication as reasonable. Choosing a much more modern preset may result in the game running too fast, whereas an older machine may be too slow or incompatible. In case of doubt, you can ask the Judging staff.
If I were to TAS VGA-BoulderStar in Bizhawk 2.11, what machine preset and what settings am I permitted to use?
The game was released in 1991. Animations and enemy movement becomes extremely fast, the higher I set cycles. The shareware version's nag screen says something along the lines of "On the full version, you can run the game even on a 486".
The game runs unnaturally fast on the 1991 and 1993 presets.
Nevertheless I'm still interested in seeing answers:
1) What if I were to use the 1991 preset regardless of the game running way fast?
2) What if I make a TAS on the 1990 preset and someone in the future tries to beat my TAS by using the faster 1991 preset?
Dimon12321's guide suggests to change the cycles setting as one sees fit.
3) Is that allowed? Isn't that arbitrary?
4) What if someone in the future tries to beat my TAS by using a higher cycles setting than I did?
EDIT: Thank you @ feos
There's no way to draw a hard line for such a wild west platform, and we used to be way stricter before, but right now we just have
Wiki: MovieRules wrote:
If a setting is not mentioned in any way, it's allowed if it doesn't cause significant glitches[1].
It's theoretically possible to argue that the game running too fast is a glitch in that it's an unintended side effect of using hardware that didn't exist when the game was made, and it's a pretty obvious one. Now it's impossible to come up with a strict borderline on "which exact speed is still fine even tho it's a bit faster than intended". Probably just stick with whatever speed it was made for and hardware that allows it to keep that speed even if it's newer.
MUGG wrote:
4) What if someone in the future tries to beat my TAS by using a higher cycles setting than I did?
Only improvements coming from more optimal play are counted. Meaning they apply to the previous TAS as well within whatever environment it used.
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.
Joined: 10/12/2011
Posts: 6660
Location: The land down under.
Might as well use these two games as examples for fan translation (I am ignoring official versions as these are both remade).
Both are fan translated to English, one is done proper with no issues, and the other is done proper with an issue.
In the game OFF it's French, and has a well made English fan translation, and there's not really an issue there.
There's probably the language speed thing and nothing else really, but if there is then I never noticed it personally...
Ib is the other title. It's a Japanese title. It also has well made English fan translation. However, the English translation has a sequence break.
In the original you interact with an ant painting then you talk to a dot (it's the ant) then you take it to the next room (you can also show the ant).
In the English fan translation (which runners use) you skip the mandatory requirement of talking to the ant, and just immediately take it off the wall.
So the question is basically "where's the line?"
Do we allow a fan translator oversight to be allowed or not?
Just mainly wanted to immediately ask when the laxing of the rules came in for fan translations.
Like yeah, still ask about it, but still curious with at least two different examples, where both are narratively interesting to show to an English audience, but one is broken.
WebNations/Sabih wrote:
+fsvgm777 never censoring anything.
Disables Comments and Ratings for the YouTube account.Strong for yourself and also others.
Joined: 11/13/2006
Posts: 2908
Location: Northern California
Spikestuff wrote:
So the question is basically "where's the line?"
Do we allow a fan translator oversight to be allowed or not?
Just mainly wanted to immediately ask when the laxing of the rules came in for fan translations.
Like yeah, still ask about it, but still curious with at least two different examples, where both are narratively interesting to show to an English audience, but one is broken.
The general consensus is that fan translations would just be treated as ROM hacks. Bugs that were introduced with the patch would still be fair game, but could also be foregone for showcase potential in the same way as a standard No Major Skip branch.
I will say that I intend to start a bigger discussion about this in the future, but I wanted to get a preliminary change out now because we were approached about it and everyone seemed to be in agreement that there'd be nothing wrong with publishing a fan translation alongside the original. Some of us (read: me) forgot that we still had the hard rule in place to begin with. I think for now, at least, we can treat it case-by-case.
TASvideos' Third Strongest Site Admin 🩵 Currently working in limited capacity.
warmCabin wrote:
You shouldn't need a degree in computer science to get into this hobby.
I am considering to TASing the following two games:
The Neverhood (Windows)
Supreme Warrior (3DO)
Both games contain full-motion video as cutscenes that can be skipped. My belief as TAS aficionado is that skipping these cutscenes may severely hurt the entertainment value of such movies. In fact, The Neverhood speedrunners consider a "Cutscene%" category, which prohibits skipping them. I believe this category is much more enternatining than the any% one.
I'd like to hear opinions as to whether "Cutscene%" is something that can be considered as standard category for certain games. Or should we always stick to skipping unnecessary frames whenever possible?
I'd like to hear opinions as to whether "Cutscene%" is something that can be considered as standard category for certain games. Or should we always stick to skipping unnecessary frames whenever possible?
It doesn't have to be in Standard. There's very little that can prevent it from simply existing in Alt. So little in fact that I can't think of anything.
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.
I'd like to hear opinions as to whether "Cutscene%" is something that can be considered as standard category for certain games. Or should we always stick to skipping unnecessary frames whenever possible?
It doesn't have to be in Standard. There's very little that can prevent it from simply existing in Alt. So little in fact that I can't think of anything.
Hello, i'm new in this TASing community, i created a TAS on this flash game called Headless Zombie and want to submit it, the problem is i dont get where i should include the .swf file of the game, as we used a version where all the levels are beaten just for simplicity, even though technically any beaten save would work. It's made for NG+
Hello, i'm new in this TASing community, i created a TAS on this flash game called Headless Zombie and want to submit it, the problem is i dont get where i should include the .swf file of the game, as we used a version where all the levels are beaten just for simplicity, even though technically any beaten save would work. It's made for NG+
The current requirement for NG+ is either a verification movie or an internal (cheat) code to unlock the features. There's discussion on loosening that requirement but there's a bit of a way to go yet.
How long would your game take to beat casually in a movie (optimization is not needed) to unlock NG+? Or maybe there are internal codes for that? Full reference Wiki: MovieRules#MovieMustBeComplete.
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.
