Experienced Forum User, Published Author, Former player
Joined: 3/8/2004
Posts: 706
Look guys, the real reason the voting system came to be was because the number of submissions grew to the point where it was becoming too much work for the judges. This ran counter to their pension for laziness. :P
Don't disappoint them by creating this mess. Well though out arguments against why glitched runs shouldn't be published go further than a plethora of abrasive comments surrounding one user's decision to bluntly say 'no'.
The results of his or anyone else's voting don't actually determine which movies will and will not be published. The judges certainly keep one ear tuned to the preferences of the community, and to a certain extent the voting results show which runs people are most eager to see encoded, but at the end of the day the votes don't even matter. That's not really a bad thing, though. Democracy is an insidious and treacherous mistress.
Controversial stuff Xebra, but someone had to say it. Yes, each vote on its own doesn't matter; the system lets the judges know what the masses want, but even then it can sometimes take a while for certain runs to get published despite many positive votes. I recall SSF2 runs as an example.
I agree that it isn't truly democratic. It serves to guide the judges in their decision, especially with obscure games where they may have limited knowledge. And also, my point about laziness still pertains. :)
Experienced Forum User, Published Author, Former player
Joined: 3/8/2004
Posts: 706
I was about to suggest something cool, but I see that JXQ beat me to it. But yes, I've seen many forums where users routinely use their location space as a sig.
Experienced Forum User, Published Author, Former player
Joined: 3/8/2004
Posts: 706
Don't ask which game is fundamentally the "better" hack. Determine instead which will be the most fun to watch.
That being said, in the Tasvideos tradition, graphics tend to play a rather small role in whether something gets labeled here as an excellent game to run.
Experienced Forum User, Published Author, Former player
Joined: 3/8/2004
Posts: 706
Dammit I voted for the wrong one, I thought the one with the Russian guy was number 5, but I've quickly realised it was number 4.
Yeah, I was thinking something like that might happen. Rocky 5 has no purpose on that list but to serve as a source for misclicks. :P
Edit: someone should TAS this game.
Experienced Forum User, Published Author, Former player
Joined: 3/8/2004
Posts: 706
Rocky I, and it isn't close.
And seeing this at the bottom of a Rocky poll was pretty funny:
When you vote, please also post a message that explains your opinion.
This helps the author of the movie and the judges who decide whether to publish it.
Experienced Forum User, Published Author, Former player
Joined: 3/8/2004
Posts: 706
ah, the days where frame advance didn't exist...things were so much easier back then. You would set your speed at 20%-30% and then be done with it. Sleepz, Fried, Bisqwit and the rest, you know what I'm talking about :P.
But the TAS (remember when they were called "time attacks"?) science has evolved since then, so you'll definitely need to be using frame advance to compete with the current quality of competition out there.
Experienced Forum User, Published Author, Former player
Joined: 3/8/2004
Posts: 706
Watermark or nothing, my runs are way too awesome to be mistaken for someone else's work. They're not needed on any tas of my genius.
As flame protection, this extends to the runs of anyone else who posts below this.
Everytime i find one i make sure to spam the associated site with "THIS IS A TAS, IT CAME FROM TASVIDEOS.ORG"
Then why can't you do that every 5 minutes instead of making a watermark appear on my avi downloads? I think you're on to something.
Experienced Forum User, Published Author, Former player
Joined: 3/8/2004
Posts: 706
This movie is perfect. It can't be beaten.
Come on, claims like these are only fun if you back them up with some kind of wacky proposition. Something like, "if anyone beats this run, I promise to do X". I suggest X be something humiliating/unpleasant. :P
Experienced Forum User, Published Author, Former player
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What do you mean? stage 1-2? i don't see what's the problem with holding B before the level starts
By accelerate, I meant reaching the flashing P, and reaching it at the same time as in the TAS. Notice that Sleepz reaches top speed slightly later at the start of stages 1-2 and 1-3; this is intentional. Give it a try, it's deceivingly difficult.
Experienced Forum User, Published Author, Former player
Joined: 3/8/2004
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I assumed the newcomer watched the current video and could operate basic emulator functions (many newcomers don't even make it this far!). Even so, you're correct that something like the megaman runs would be especially difficult to imitate with the frame-precise time saving tactics involved.
Interestingly, in the early Nesvideo days, a newcomer could sometimes even beat the records...but I suppose we were all newcomers at the time. :)
Experienced Forum User, Published Author, Former player
Joined: 3/8/2004
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It is relatively easy for a newcomer to create a TAS within 90% of the current TAS record. What distinguishes an expert TASer from a newcomer is the ability to squeeze in that extra 10%. Expert TASers are more familiar with the emulators they use, understand the importance of frame-efficiency, and try to relate to their audience through entertainment.
Yes, nearly anyone can play 10 minutes of a game with rerecords and slowdown, but knowing what to do in that time is what really matters.
Experienced Forum User, Published Author, Former player
Joined: 3/8/2004
Posts: 706
The speedrun you saw is probably the one done by Sleepz some time ago. If you search the forum, you can probably find the thread where Sleepz and Michael Fried (who at the time was also planning to make a speedrun of SMB3) discussed speedrunning strategies of this game. You can probably find some tips there.
Some problems to consider in advance:
-Getting the acceleration at the start of the stages is particularly difficult. You may have to reset many times (and rewind your tape) should you mess it up. Altogether, you might even decide to accelerate later, as Sleepz did.
-You WILL need luck in this run. You have to hope that the hands don't pull you down in World 8. If you get pulled down, it will cost you about 20 seconds or so and will force you to reset the game and start over. You could do a run 10 times in a row and still get ruined because of it; keep this in mind.
Experienced Forum User, Published Author, Former player
Joined: 3/8/2004
Posts: 706
I think this is another case of competition vs. collaboration. Reminds me of the heated discussion that surrounded the last smb2 run.
The way I see this thread, I think astro city was siding with the idea of collaborating to make one perfect run, whereas a couple others argued in favor of competition supporting that it fuels the drive for perfection. Somewhere inbetween, I believe a muddled argument led to certain personal attacks between posters. Now let's extinguish these flames.
Experienced Forum User, Published Author, Former player
Joined: 3/8/2004
Posts: 706
I am disappointed by the new question. It is possible for someone to enjoy watching a movie and still not want it to be published(for instance, in the case of a flawed but entertaining movie). It is also possible to find the opposite outcome: in the case of a one frame improvment of SMB, would I enjoy watching it? No. However, such an improvement deserves to be published.
The problem is, the new question addresses only the feelings of the voters at the time they watched the run without including their objective appraisal of the run's value.
Experienced Forum User, Published Author, Former player
Joined: 3/8/2004
Posts: 706
The problem with Gradius is that the perfect relex play is only entertaining for a few minutes; the amazing feats are often separated by lengthy periods of monotony.
Nonetheless, I gave Morimoto points for an original approach to the game. Unless this run brings something new to the table, I will have to reject it without reservation.
Experienced Forum User, Published Author, Former player
Joined: 3/8/2004
Posts: 706
This may be a bit late. but the 101% run imo should be entertaining/finish all bonuses/not just die. Should be creative to keep the viewer in so that you never lose them. The last one i got quite bored always seeeing dieing.
Trust me, finishing all the bonuses would be 10 times as boring. This is especially so when almost all the bonuses are simply repeats of each other. What makes the dying in bonuses boring is the death animation, which in this case would simply be replaced by an equally tiring victory animation. ;)
Anyway, I haven't got a chance to watch the WIPs yet, I've been over my head in work. But from what I've read so far it sounds promising so I look forward to its completion. :)