I can't wait until this is finished... so that you can start working on a any-% or 100% run. ;) Seriously though, this too looks like it could be an interesting variant.
You're welcome Kitsune!
Not that popular but definitely the most crazy variant you can pull off in this game :-)
If I'm not burned out of the Reverse Boss Order run maybe I will do a any% run next.
100% is already taken by JXQ. I think he should consult with Michael Flatley or Graveworm or someone else for an optimal route. Too bad I don't know this game good enough to invent an optimal route myself.
I don't want to stop others from working on it as well, though.
Graveworm has been giving me an immense amount of help in this department. I don't know how to contact MF, but I would have a couple questions for him if I could about his run. Current progress on the route can be found here (or in my signature for the time being).
<Swordless> Go hug a tree, you vegetarian (I bet you really are one)
I wondered if there was any potential use for the moonwalk in a time attack. I seem to remember it being a slow way of moving, although I don't know if it interacts with the fist pump in any meaningful way. I always turned it off when I played, but if there's some weird acceleration thing with it the way there is in Mario games with reversing course in mid-air, maybe it would be come in handy. I don't think anyone had discussed the use of the moonwalk in a time attack, but I didn't know if that was because it was known to be bad, assumed to be bad, or just that nobody had thought of it.
Edit: Of course, if it's no slower but more stylish to do some things with the moonwalk, that might be a reason to use it, although not if it meant restarting a run to turn it on.
Good call, I just e-mailed him through the site. Hopefully I'll hear from him someday.
What does the moonwalk accomplish? I never understood the possible advantages of using it even when playing normally.
<Swordless> Go hug a tree, you vegetarian (I bet you really are one)
Yup. If you're standing still shooting and press backwards, samus will slowly back up while still shooting.
Useless, except if you can find a glitchy way to exploit it
I remember this was pretty useful in norfair somewhere. Where you are supposed to shoot that monster into the lava. But nowdays it's way more easy to just burst at him with missiles. I'm talking about first time I ever played the game. :)
That's why you'd have to restart a run to use it, since you'd have to go into the menu. Maybe someone who's still in the planning phase (JXQ) would be able to use it, but it would be a few frames going into the menu to turn it on, so you'd need to know in advance that it was going to be useful somewhere. That said, I always thought it was hard to use as a human, but playing with frame advance would certainly let you use it optimally if there was a place where that could be done.
Next Update will be after I defeat Ridley. I'm now back in Brinstar to make the final clean-up before returning to Norfair again for Ridley.
In Brinstar I have to use a Crystal Flash to get the Spore Spawn Missile and I have to test on which way I can get rid of all my energy as fast as possible. This part will surely require alot of testing therefor the next update will still take a good while.
Joined: 4/16/2004
Posts: 1276
Location: Uppsala, Sweden
That sounds awesome Saturn! So how long is it left? Is it only Ridley left before Tourian? Also, that Crystal Flash, is it when Samus regains health from her supply of missiles and stuff? Because that would be fantastic to see in a TAS because first it's a really cool trick in the game, and secondly, its rarely seen and used. I never uses it anyway when I play the game ;)
It's used to get the Super Missle behind Spore Spawn without fighting him. By rolling into a ball and using it in the passage, Samus is ducking and can shoot the Super Missle barrier from the other side.
<Swordless> Go hug a tree, you vegetarian (I bet you really are one)
I would say the next update will be in at least 2 weeks till one month. And no, Ridley will be the first boss I will face (he is normaly last but I do a Reverse Boss Order run as already known therefor the Boss Order is: Ridley, Draygon, Phantoon, Kraid). Ridley will definitely be the hardest part of the entire movie because I not only fight against him but also against the heat which drains my energy constantly during the entire fight ---> means I will only have a very limited amount of time to kill him and this even without Plasma and most likely without Super Missiles.
About the Crystal Flash: Yes, I regain energy from Missiles (10 each, but 11 Power Bombs). There is no other way to get the Super Missiles without fighting Spore Spawn as JXQ already said. The Crystal Flash is (or was in the 90's) a very rare and top-secret technique. Back in the 90's we only have seen it in one of the demo-scenes at the beginning of the game (when you not press start and wait) and never could find out ourselfs how to perform it, thats why I bought a entire "Top-Secret" Guide to only find out how it works :-)
Joined: 4/16/2004
Posts: 1276
Location: Uppsala, Sweden
Yeah, I remember that you did a reverse boss order run, I just didn't think of it, and as you said, Ridley is usually the last boss before Tourian. Anyway, that teaser you posted where you got the speed shoes sure raised my pulse wondering if you would make it out alive ;) So I'm really looking forward to see what you can do vs Ridley with limited time.
I remember this too, spending hours watching that sequence and trying to figure out how to do it. I never bought a guide for it but I've never used it much since I learned how to do it, and I don't think I really know how to perform it today, except the fact that you need to be low on health and have some supplies left. Fantastic though that you can use it in your TAS. This is definately one of my most anticipated runs now ;)
I smell a star-vote heading your way when this is done Saturn. Keep it up. I almost get goose-bumps when thinking of the completed material. I will probably have to swallow my heart as my pulse will be so freakin' high that it will jump out my throat while watching the final. :D
Well if that helps, bumping against Giant Sidehoppers or spikes and doing superjumps (especially the latter, if done right) are by far the most suitable (at least in that area) ways to consume a moderate amount of energy per second, AFAIR. Moreover, horizontal superjumps may prove themselves useful to take you to some points faster while still doing their job (like in the huge Brinstar pink room and the long horisontal room just to the left of it).
Well it's not that fantastic since Red Scarlet and other famous speedrunners have already performed this trick exactly at that point in the game back on the SNES, simply because there is no faster way of grabbing that super missile pack. :) If you're interested, have a look at the SDA, they've got it all.
BTW Highness, I second your thought about a star. If all shall be well, I fear, the star is unavoidable, since this run will serve a pretty good example on how masterfully and creatively can the emulator features be used (which is a point of giving a star, AFAIR). :) That demos alone already deserve a star, hehe.
However, it certainly will get slow in Maridia, if at all possible without waiting. Saturn, have you finally managed to get past Mt. Doom one of the faster ways while testing (if tested at all)?
Star already, huh? You'd better make one awesome movie now, Saturn! :P
Ignoring the hype, I think this is one of the most creative and ambitious TAS projects I've heard of, so I'm definitely looking forward to it. As for me, I'm not saying the word "star" until I've seen it. Except for when I said star in that sentence. And that one.
TASing or playing back a DOS game? Make sure your files match the archive at RGB Classic Games.