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Well, here's another test run, 38 seconds shorter: http://dehacked.2y.net/microstorage.php/info/5559/blob2.vbm
There's one part with 4 seconds of continuous lag and I have no idea how to avoid it. Otherwise I might even make a submission of this.
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I was thinking that a metronome might be useful for making input synch with the game music. I know it's possible to use memory watch tools to see the song or just listen the changing sound of frame advance, but I had an idea for a more general tool that would work with any game.
The emulator metronome would be a visual aid: It would show a graphical sign at a given interval. The user would need to find the desired tempo and adjust the metronome to that value, for example 1/32 frames. Managing everything else would be easier now, because you would not need to count frames yourself while performing other actions. The metronome could be used in other purposes too, not related to the music. I often run into situations where I need/want to press some button at an even interval, but sometimes forget to do that, especially if the interval is long and the game is fast-paced. The metronome would make it easier to handle situations like that.
This would be quite easy to add in any emulator, I think. The idea could be developed further too.
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By the way, it seems that GuanoBowl's movie used the fast running method, but I didn't notice the difference at the first glance. Heeh.
I'm interested in the other glitch rooms out there, but I have no method for finding out what kind of data those rooms contain. I tested some jellybeans in them without any effects.
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feitclub wrote:
Is there any way to disembark the rocket sooner to cut down on all the running?
Even if there was a way to do that, it might not work so well, because there would be enemies to dodge. All the enemies disappear, if you throw a jelly bean through the left edge of the level (so that the boss room is loaded and there's no room for other objects to exist). I tried to fly the rocket back home and die during the flight to toss my dead body forwards, but it didn't work well either.
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I somewhat agree with you, Tub. The previous movie was one of my favorites on the site, but the improved run feels different somehow.
Tub wrote:
Maybe we need a bug-free run as the main category for this game, keeping the glitched run separate - like we did with AlttP and Link's Awakening?
Good idea, but I think the other run would not need to restrict the use of bugs. There's the possibility for a 100% run, collecting all the 22 treasures, which would show most of the game regardless of the bugs used. That would be a very interesting run. (For the record, I'm not going to do it.)
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I thought going slightly below the ground was a known trick. When I found the strange glitch rooms, I just tested what effects the different jelly beans have there.
By the way, I just realized that it may still improvable. Well, I did not ask Bisqwit to publish it so fast, but I'm sorry that I submitted it too early (twice!).
Edit: No worries, I messed up my thinking. I'm not aware of any improvements anymore. Good luck for anyone who tries to beat it! Remember: If it has pixels, we can kill it!
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zefiris wrote:
PLEASE explain all your timesavers ^__^
Well, there's not much to explain, because the whole movie is a kind of a one big timesaver. The main difference is that I did not need to go down the sewer to pick up the key (lime-flavored jelly beans), because I did not go to the final room through the locked door. The rocket is available from the beginning, so I used it immediately. Then I just ran to the physical final room through the ground. (The graphics of the final room are located nearby, but are not needed.)
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By the way, according to my calculations, these are the improvements needed in each level to get past the next 11-frame mark:
1st level: 2 frames
2nd level: less than 7 frames (Sorry, I'm unable to check the exact number of frames.)
3rd level: 3 frames
(4th level: any)
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Chapter 4 is almost done: http://dehacked.2y.net/microstorage.php/info/5511/lonerangerchapter4.fcm
It was actually 9 seconds faster to use the warp glitch near the end of the 2nd chapter. The warp brought me close to the chapter 6 boss which was killed to trigger the chapter 2 ending. Funny.
I also improved the final level a bit, but it's still more than 1600 frames longer than completing the first chapter normally.
The final level has a secret door that leads out. It can be used to access the whole overworld area early. However, the game loads only one chapter at a time, so all the later towns are empty.
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Celeri wrote:
By the way, I must confess that I am quite surprised that no one there found this trick, when I see how insanely pervert some tricks are used in all these runs ! ;)
It's very easy to miss even simple tricks, because you need to make general assumptions to avoid testing every possible button combination. After you find a new "fastest" method, you tend to use it exclusively and not test different ways. Your discovery was clever, because it's not obvious that the game works like that.
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Weatherton wrote:
I'm intrigued about this "level skip," could you further explain or, perhaps, offer a vid?
When the magic is charged over the normal limit, many strange things can happen. If you charge only slightly over the maximum level, the spells of the other characters are cast, something like this:
charge 1: spell 1 (player character: blue guy)
charge 2: spell 2
charge 3: spell 3
charge 4: spell 4 (maximum blue guy magic)
charge 5: spell 1 (dwarf)
charge 6: spell 2 (dwarf)
...
So, even with the blue guy, you can cast the dragon spell which is level 6 spell of the third character (the woman). After you go over that charge level, there are no more spells left in the game, but the charge value keeps increasing. After you release the charge button, the game tries to cast the spell. Usually this freezes the game, because the game uses some random data as the spell. However, some charge levels do not crash the game completely, but produce minor glitches. By a pure coincidence, charge level 119 makes the bonus stage appear. The bad thing is that the game is messed up and repeats the level transition effect (the rotating black screen) again and again, which means that the game is almost like paused. There's only 1 frame between each transition animation that allows the game to progress. During this frame, the little wizards move a little and the timer goes forward. It takes more than 20 minutes for the bonus round to end, because the transition effect is repeated thousands of times. After that, the next level begins.
It takes 10 frames to charge 1 level. So charging 1190 frames should produce the warp glitch. I believe there was some lower value (around 500 frames) that produced the same effect. You can easily find the charge address from the RAM by charging the magic and observing memory values that increase.
By the way, some of the charge levels that seem to freeze the game may actually produce some useful effects that are not seen directly. It is hard and laborsome to verify, but could be done by observing the memory further or just waiting a long time after the spell. Also, I don't know if different conditions (stage number, enemies on screen etc.) affect the spells.
Some spells mess the graphics badly, but you can continue playing normally by disabling some graphics layers.
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Thanks, Dromiceius.
Movie update: http://dehacked.2y.net/microstorage.php/info/5485/lonerangergotplates.fcm
Chapter 2 is almost done.
Edit: Hehee, there's a villain encounter at the beginning of the 3rd chapter, which means that I'll be replacing the whole chapter with the warp bug.
Edit: Another amazing warp was found near the end of the 2nd chapter, but it will probably be slightly faster to complete that chapter normally.
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Cool, pressing "updownleftright" causes super speed to the south, so now the only direction that I can't travel fast is north.
Here's the first chapter done in about 3,5 minutes:
http://dehacked.2y.net/microstorage.php/info/5474/loneranger1done.fcm
Crazy...
Edit: I just found some super strange warp shortcut from the villain encounters on the road...
Edit: Haha, the glitch warp went to the final level and I killed the final boss. Then the first chapter ended, not the whole game. If this route is faster than 3 minutes, it means that the final boss will be killed twice. Hopefully there are more shortcuts like these...
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Lone Ranger is awesome. It has ripped content from Castlevania, Double Dragon II and many other NES games. There's also a bunch of super speed bugs caused by abnormal combinations with D-pad.
Maximum horizontal speed is one screen length in 5 frames, but I have not been able to go to the right with it. Luckily, some levels have rooms that scroll left.
In the side-scrolling levels, these combinations alter the vertical position:
1) left, right, shoot (Combined with jumping, the height can be altered so that you can exit any room downwards. Complete game crash is possible with this trick in certain areas.)
2) up, down, right, shoot
3) up, down, left, shoot
In the bird view levels, pressing "updown" causes super speed to the right and "updownright" causes super speed to the left. These can be used to pass certain solid objects. Also, this stops the screen scrolling, so you can reach the edge of the screen at any time and exit the area.
In the autoscrolling horse ride scenes, pressing "leftright" causes teleporting backwards.
Lots of graphical mess can be achieved too. For example, it's possible to turn the main character into an axe or a dead lady. This game has potential for a very crazy movie.
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Also, try jumping inside some walls to travel fast vertically: http://www.freewebs.com/aqfaq/inwalljump.zip
I did not verify that these ideas actually save time, so I apologise if they don't.
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Nice movie.
Are you aware of the bug that allows you to pass through walls? I just found it myself, but don't know if it's useful.
Edit:
I just voted "no" and I hope adelikat is happy about this vote.
Apparently, you were not aware of this bug, because I found a way to save time with it. Press UP rapidly while walking. This halts your walking animation strangely and you can pass unpassable barriers. It seems that this can save some seconds after boss fights. You can also go "around the world" with this trick.
Edit:
Hmmm, I was wrong. The trick does not save time after boss fights, because of the screen scrolling.
Edit:
Consider this possibility in the last boss: http://www.freewebs.com/aqfaq/ocseason3episode1.zip (it's a savestate)
