Posts for Chef_Stef

Posted: 2/18/2008 1:34 AM
(Edited: 2/18/2008 8:54 PM)

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Chef_Stef

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Xkeeper, I know you already changed the screenshot, but I still think it could be better. I was thinking something like the backwards jumping in 1-2 or kicking the koopa shell in 1-3 would make a good screenshot. Examples:

Any opinions? Edit: Arranged pictures horizontally instead of vertically.

Posted: 2/11/2008 1:59 PM

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Chef_Stef

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Great improvement! I wonder if we'll ever stop finding new tricks/glitches to exploit in Super Mario World... I was glad to see that you kept some of the entertaining things from the last run, e.g. input animation and 3 1ups in the first level. A yes vote from me.

Posted: 1/4/2008 3:44 PM

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Chef_Stef

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The problem with that is that the Palace of Four Swords is normally inaccessible unless the player has first beaten the multiplayer game included with this version of LttP. Exploration glitches are currently the only known way to get into this extra dungeon. To avoid the problem of "fuzzy goals", we either have to use EG's totally, or not at all (the latter not being possible given our overall goal). So, I do want to hear from superbacon if it's at all possible to use EG's to glitch directly to the four Links battle, since this whole discussion hinges on that fact.

Posted: 1/4/2008 2:12 AM

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Chef_Stef

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superbacon wrote:

But this brings back the question: should we use an EG to skip the 4 upgraded boss and go straight for the Link clones?

Is this even possible? I didn't think there was any way to jump into the palace besides the room with water and currents. But if it is possible, then it should definitely be used because a) it avoids the problem of "fuzzy goals", b) it's not that much of a loss to skip the extra bosses (this is debatable), and c) it eliminates the need to do all the extra item collection, which may or may not be more entertaining.

superbacon wrote:

I can't do the speed run myself right now, but I expect to have time for it next week. Look for it.

Sure, no hurry :) I'll keep watching this thread.

Posted: 1/3/2008 7:25 AM

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Chef_Stef

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superbacon wrote:

Your test run is quite good, but there are minor tweaks and fixes that can be made here and there so that it's faster.

I never really intended it to be a "perfect" movie, just a simple route example. A TAS using that route would probably finish the game in less than half the time that I did.

superbacon wrote:

I didn't get a chance to see the whole thing though; Link started acting weird in DW4 and died. Must be something about my emulator...

If the checksums of the two roms match, then it's probably the emulator. I've been using VBA rerecording 19.3 (available on this site).

superbacon wrote:

Which exploration glitches should be allowed? The UDEG is used in Red Shifter's FAQ, but it easier and much more stable to use the Stairs EG instead. There are also faster routes through the exploration zone, but I'll showcase those in my testrun. Mine won't follow Red Shifter's guide as closely as yours does. It will also use the EGs a lot more, but that's just for speed.

I think it will be best to use any glitches necessary to finish the game as fast as possible. Stated succinctly, the goal would be "Reach the bonus credits as quickly as possible". Restricting the exploration glitches only forces more lengthy routes, decreasing the entertainment value of the TAS. It would be great to see a testrun with the faster routes you mentioned - I haven't done much exploring with UDEG, my knowledge is really just restricted to what Red Shifter and Zanapher wrote in their FAQs. By the way, if you're new to TASing, you may find LttP to be a difficult game to work on as your first TAS. For optimization, it's necessary to use the wobbling ("Fire Pants") glitch for every up and left movement, the doorway trick seen in the current glitch TAS, and many other tricks that I'm now forgetting. However, if you want to go ahead with a TAS for this game, I and others will be happy to give feedback on your progress. Good luck :)

Posted: 1/2/2008 10:06 PM

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Chef_Stef

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superbacon wrote:

Do you think it would be worth the trouble to obtain the Master Sword, instead of playing it easy with the Tempered Sword? I know it can be done even with 3 Hearts, but it requires major use of the Exploration Glitches. It makes the last boss battle in the 4 Sword Dungeon a lot tougher though.

I think the whole point of a run like this is to do it with 3 hearts (unless it's somehow more interesting to do it with 4 or more). Technically speaking, though, all that will happen by getting less upgrades for the sword is longer, i.e. more boring, boss battles.

superbacon wrote:

I'll be going for a speed run, so I'll be using the Fire Pants Glitch. That is, if I knew how to actually perform it. Do you know how to make it work on an emulator, Chef?

I'm a little confused... are you planning to make the movie tool-assisted, or without tools? I'm not exactly sure what you're planning to do. For the glitch, I actually have no idea what you're referring to. Can you explain what the glitch is?

superbacon wrote:

As for the ocarina glitches, what exactly are they and how do you perform them? I probably won't be using them in my 3 Heart Speed Run, but I'm curious as to what they are.

This video and this video were posted in the SNES LttP thread regarding the ocarina glitches (only doable in the GBA version, by the way). Also, I have the testrun ready: http://dehacked.2y.net/microstorage.php/info/1773088778/LttP%20Testrun1.vbm I know you already have a lot of experience with the route and such, but I thought it would be a good idea to have a movie showing the entire process from start to finish.

Posted: 1/2/2008 3:44 PM

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Chef_Stef

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As far as the actual goals are concerned, I think any useful glitch should be used to achieve the end result of getting to the second set of credits. However, if it turns out to be possible to skip the bosses, I think most of the entertainment value of the TAS would be gone. I would imagine a good priority list would be (in order of importance): -Reach the credits -Fight the bosses in the palace of four swords (i.e. complete the palace without skipping anything) -Anything else, e.g. using the exploration glitch as little as possible It's all really just my opinion, though... I've (practically) finished the 3-heart quest on my GBA, but I have no idea how a TAS would look. I'll see if I can put together a testrun for the TAS so we can gauge the entertainment value. Good luck with the TAS - I've wanted to see this done for a long time, and it's great to see some interest in it! Edit: About the ocarina glitches, I think they're just too far out of the way to be worth performing, since the Magic Mirror is necessary. In the 3-heart quest, the magic mirror is collected late in the run, essentially right before entering the palace of four swords.

Posted: 1/2/2008 2:43 AM

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Chef_Stef

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I would recommend doing a Palace of the Four Swords 3-heart quest over anything else. The palace of four swords is normally opened only by playing the 2-4 player game (4 swords) included with the GBA version. Link also faces 4 upgraded bosses and 1 new boss in the Palace of Four Swords. Also, there's a set of bonus credits at the end featuring "cinematics" of each dungeon and displaying a log of how many times the player used each item. I think it's the only good way to differentiate a run from the SNES version of LttP. This FAQ explains the whole concept and general route very well. I've often thought of doing a run like this myself, but I really don't have the skills required to TAS LttP. I would be very interested in seeing a 3-heart palace of 4 swords TAS done.

Posted: 1/1/2008 9:25 PM

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Chef_Stef

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In general: -Spending hours luck-manipulating a perfect situation, then finding out that there's a slightly better/more optimal possibility. While attempting to obsolete a TAS: -Finishing a large portion of gameplay only to find that you lost a few frames near the beginning. -Trying to replicate (or improve upon) the luck-manipulation of the previous run, and finding it nearly impossible due to different starting conditions.

Posted: 12/24/2007 8:03 PM

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Chef_Stef

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I just did some quick tests; it takes the same amount of time to finish the bonus game whether you have coins or not. Even though the first music is cut off almost immediately, there's a longer pause after the second music that adds delay. I would say that there's some sort of frame rule here, i.e. the game will finish at set increments no matter how fast/slow you complete the game.

Posted: 12/24/2007 4:49 PM

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Chef_Stef

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theenglishman wrote:

I have two questions: - Is it possible to stand on Thwomps and Thwimps as if they were platforms (like other enemies) and jump up from there?

No, they're completely fatal to Mario no matter where he hits them. They also have incredibly good hit detection, so much that I sometimes had to wait for a thwimp without jumping over (otherwise it would barely clip Mario and he would die).

theenglishman wrote:

- What's with the lag? Is it possible to reduce it?

This is something that I couldn't really do anything about. I think the only lag one could potentially reduce is that from enemies, but it takes so long to pick up and throw an enemy that it wouldn't help very much. I assume you noticed the lag mostly in the mini-mario levels; in those, I have very specific goals to accomplish, and I can't really go out of my way to reduce lag (assuming it's even possible) without wasting a lot of time.

theenglishman wrote:

Anyway, great run, I was a bit bored on rare occasions but I'm glad that I stayed through to the end.

This is something I would like people to take notice of. Worlds 5 and 6 are (in my opinion) the best and most action-filled in the TAS, but world 4, for example, is less impressive because it's full of puzzles rather than pure platforming. If people can sit through some of the more boring parts early on, I promise the TAS will get more entertaining in the last two worlds!

Posted: 12/13/2007 1:56 PM

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Chef_Stef

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Yet another "perfect" movie surpassed! I really didn't expect SMB to be improved at all. The block trick is fascinating, I wonder why the flag doesn't lower when you use it? It seemed like there were some differences between this and Pom's run that looked slower (e.g. falling instead of jumping around the barrier above the 4-2 warp zone), but since a) I don't know that much about TASing this game, and b) there's that 24 frame rule anyway, I really can't judge this movie based solely on those differences. I'm giving this a big yes vote for obvious reasons. Congratulations on beating a (supposedly) perfect TAS!

Posted: 12/7/2007 2:03 PM

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Chef_Stef

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Okay, I put together a list of levels I particularly recommend: --Any of the DK levels (except 6-DK): Plenty of action --2-6: Pit-crossing trick plus projectile avoidance --3-6: "Autoscroller" with near-death experiences --4-MM: Mini sacrifices, unusual route --5-4: Skipped puzzle with lots of quick platforming --5-MM: Lots of manipulation of minis, careful timing for almost everthing --6-2: Puzzle breaking --6-4: One of my favorite levels. The puzzles in both halves are skipped using several of the tricks listed in the submission text (midair jumping, autofiring down) --6-5: A rare case where I have to solve a puzzle, but it's more entertaining than usual --DK (final boss battle): Lots of platforming, playing with death, and many of the tricks listed are used to speed up the battle.

Posted: 12/7/2007 5:34 AM

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Chef_Stef

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It's rather ironic that Ferret Warlord's farewell topic is on the same page as this one :) I expect somebody to come in soon and quote that forum community rule about goodbyes (something like "if a user posts a goodbye message, it's very likely that he/she will be back"). Although I guess I just did it in this very message... Oh well, no harm done.

Posted: 12/5/2007 5:05 AM

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Chef_Stef

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Kles wrote:

Oh, and for those who vote no on the grounds of being familiar with most of the glitches, do keep in mind that most of the videos produced on this site are seen by people who do NOT know about these glitches.

Well, just remember that the other SMW/SDW TAS's show off most of these tricks already... so it doesn't seem necessary to publish this movie solely for its demonstration of glitches. Unless you're saying that publishing this movie with a description of "this movie aims to show off as many glitches as possible" will attract more viewers? Edit: About the run itself... I certainly think that it would have been amazing to see things like this a year or two ago (e.g. the shelljump+walljumps or multiple walljumps), but after all the work that has been done on SMW, this run just feels like an unoptimized playaround. I'm giving it a "meh" because the glitches were entertaining, but the whole movie lacks the professionalism of the current SMW runs. I do realize that "optimizing" this kind of run would make it hard to see a lot of tricks. So, my overall opinion is that this movie is not really suited for publication on the site. Edit 2: By the way, I'm rather amazed at your ability to find/perform glitches... It's really great to see that things like 3 items at once, multiple walljumps up the same wall, etc. are possible.

Posted: 12/4/2007 7:10 PM

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Chef_Stef

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*prod, prod* It's been over a week since you last posted... How is the TAS going? Have you worked out your route planning woes? Hopefully future chapters will be easier to work on than this one.

Posted: 12/3/2007 6:12 AM

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Chef_Stef

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Superb work! I wasn't really expecting a 0-star run for quite awhile yet. As in the 1-star case, history has been made here! It makes the ending seem so silly, with Peach's speech about the power of the stars returning to the castle. I guess they just magically warped from the levels back into the castle, huh?

Posted: 12/2/2007 3:12 PM

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Chef_Stef

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personally, I think the plus levels should be included.

Hopefully you'll consider doing a NG+ run showing off more levels.

I definately think the plus levels should be included somewhere for these reasons: -It's the other half of the game (not to say that this movie doesn't complete the game, just that there's an extra set of bonus levels that could be completed). -There's another, much better (read: worthwhile) set of credits upon completion. I decided not to include them in this movie because the added length would make this movie painful to sit through... even now, some users are having trouble with the current length. Also, I do reach a set of credits in the end, so it's not like I'm ending this movie early. The plus levels are probably best done, as said previously, in a new game+ TAS, done separately from this TAS. By the way, I completely understand if some users think that the movie is boring. However, it's mostly worlds 1, 2, and 4 that are slow (in my opinion); the others have a lot more action. If people are watching the first few worlds, then fast-forwarding, they miss out on a lot of tricks later on. Would it help if I highlighted several levels that are especially worth watching?

Posted: 11/27/2007 10:54 PM
(Edited: 11/27/2007 11:37 PM)

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Chef_Stef

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CtrlAltDestroy wrote:

Sorry if they've already been posted. 1. Disprove this: 64 = 65

If you look at the slopes of the bottom two pieces, you can see (looking at the second picture) that the green piece has a slope of 8/3, while the orange piece has a slope of 5/2. The slopes are close enough that it's hard to tell from the picture that the pieces don't fit together evenly. Edit: Explanatory picture:

Edit again:

CtrlAltDestroy wrote:

2. Find a 10-digit number such that the number created by the first two digits is divisible by 2, the number created by the first 3 digits is divisible by 3, et cetera, all the way up to the entire number being divisible by 10.

0000000000! Seriously, though, it's relatively easy to use an iterative-type method for solving this; the first digit has to be 0 (since the overall number must be divisible by 10), and you can just go through the possibilities for each digit, checking if the n-digit number conforms to the defined rules. One example number is: 1615111120. Edit again again: What I mean by iterative is, start with the second digit, try a "1" there, then test if the resulting number (10) is divisible by 2. Since it is, move on to digit three, try a "1" there, see that "110" is not divisble by 3, try a "2" there instead, etc. etc. If you use this method, you only have to "backtrack" once (since there are no solutions for numbers ending in -10, you have to start with -20 as the last two digits).

Posted: 10/20/2007 3:07 PM

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Chef_Stef

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Kyrsimys wrote:

isn't the Old Testament supposed to be God's direct words and thus more holy than the New Testament?

I've never really heard this point brought up before, but thinking about it, many books in the New Testament do have direct words from God (the gospels, through Jesus, and Revelation). The rest is theoretically debatable, but most Christians believe that they were divinely inspired by God. Not to say that the words themselves are holy, but that the teachings are wise and are the model for how Christians should live.

Kyrsimys wrote:

If so, how can something in the New Testament override something from the Old Testament?

Since I answered "no" to your previous question, the question/answer here won't exactly be in context ;) It's rather like a design project - the first "stage" of the plan is carried out for some length of time, then the second stage begins later. The employment of both stages will result in the best possible design/implementation. I believe that this is what God is doing as part of his overall plan for the world. Out of context, one part is not any more valid or important than the other; you have to look at the whole to understand the big picture and which would currently apply.

Kyrsimys wrote:

Or don't Christians believe that the OT is God's words, is it just the Jews?

The Old Testament is part of God's word, but the new plan for our lives has begun (you might say that it's been "updated"). I don't think most Christians believe that the Old Testament is for (or applies only to) the Jews, but it is the Jews' choice to follow the Old Testament law. I don't believe that the Law is "good enough" for the Jews - they themselves just choose to believe that it is.

Posted: 10/20/2007 5:15 AM

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Chef_Stef

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Kyrsimys wrote:

So, my point is: if it's God's will, why don't people slaughter animals anymore? Isn't that sinning and doesn't that warrant a place in damnation? What makes some aspects of the Bible ignorable and others not?

The short answer is that the latter part of the Bible (namely the New Testament) explains why these practices are no longer needed. It's the wrong approach to take sections of the Old Testament and compare them to the way people should live their lives now - the New Testament outlines the new way of life needed for salvation (accepting Jesus as Lord) as a replacement for the "old" way. I could add more, but I'm not sure if it's appropriate to fuel this discussion further.

Posted: 10/16/2007 4:19 AM

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Chef_Stef

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This is one of only two games I ever had for the Sega Genesis console (the other being Sonic 2). The whole movie was very entertaining, and it just goes to show that glitches abound even in games like this. It was very impressive to see you skip past certain areas (places in levels 3 and 9 come to mind). I also enjoyed the times when you jumped off the carpet, only to land on it a little later as it was passing under you. I was wondering why you didn't use the "stoprunning" technique more often, but reading your submission text clears everything up. Another plus was grabbing (and using) exactly the right amount of apples needed by the end :) This gets a big yes vote from me for being one of my favorite games when I was young, for being glitchy, and for being quite entertaining.

Posted: 10/16/2007 3:59 AM

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Chef_Stef

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I've never played any skating games before, but this was entertaining to me anyway. It was interesting that the combo text kept getting pushed back because there were way too many to list (also, the combo text kept getting in the way, hehe). I'm giving this a yes vote. Are there any unassisted high-score lists out there? It might be helpful to have them here for comparison.

Posted: 10/10/2007 1:41 AM

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Chef_Stef

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Xkeeper wrote:

Weird, he never died for me. That is, until the end of the level, where he suddenly dies... even trying to prevent it using a goal post/whatever won't help. Though, what's different about water levels?

Well, I seem to remember differently, but I just checked, and you're right... Back when my friend was making Super Challenge World, we were experimenting with fast autoscroll. I think we put a wall behind Mario and set it to move with the screen, and naturally Mario would be crushed into the wall after awhile. The difference with a water level was that Mario wouldn't be crushed into the wall because of the nature of water levels... that's probably where my confusion started. The reason a water level is preferable is because Mario can actually move up and down instead of being forced to the floor at all times. On the subject of fast-autoscrolling, Whomp's Castle in Super Challenge World featured an underwater autoscroller, if anybody remembers that.

Posted: 10/9/2007 2:06 PM

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Chef_Stef

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Watching that "TAS walkthrough", it seems to me that a lot of the difficult parts become easier if you attempt to get through them without hesitation. Examples are jumping over the plants before the chuck starts throwing baseballs (at the end of level 1 or 3?), or jumping over the spikes before the boos start swooping down (in the ghost house). I also find it amusing that the creator of the hack decided to use the "fast autoscroll" command in one level. Just so everybody knows, once the screen scrolls fast enough, it's impossible for Mario to keep ahead of the screen, and he gets forced to the left side. Eventually, the screen scrolls so fast that Mario is "crushed" into the left side and dies (unless you're in a water level, but that's a different story...).