Experienced Forum User, Published Author, Former player
Joined: 3/8/2004
Posts: 706
I have smb, smb2, gradius, and metroid runs fully encoded now. I seriously doubted my ability to compress these, looks like I can host full runs after all! :D
Experienced Forum User, Published Author, Former player
Joined: 3/8/2004
Posts: 706
I think death is too game-specific since you can't do it in every game without losing time. Maybe best use of player damage to save time is a better one.
Experienced Forum User, Published Author, Former player
Joined: 3/8/2004
Posts: 706
If you mean programming the sprites to move instead of the standard way of capturing every frame, then it starts to get really complicated. You'll have to convert emulator info directly into flash script and make sure all the sprites, sounds, scrolling, and little details are in sync. It becomes no longer a capture of the game, but rather a self-playing flash emulation. I'd love to be proven wrong though, as it will save a lot of space. :)
Anyway, I got working on a new encoding method that produces much better quality. I did a small flash compilation of P & G's Super Castlevania, which can be found here. Don't click if you have a really slow connection. (I know I should have compressed it more but I'm too tired now. :P)
Experienced Forum User, Published Author, Former player
Joined: 3/8/2004
Posts: 706
well, I've got my hosting all set up. I realize that hosting runs of entire games is not a very practical idea, especially with some games being at over 200mb in size. Instead, I was thinking encoding for online viewing the best parts of your favorite runs. Something like a Top 50 best time attack moments. It could be a favorite level or a very noteworthy boss battle--this is where I'd need your help in choosing. Just tell me what you'd like to see.
This actually reminds me a lot of this topic: http://tasvideos.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=268
Experienced Forum User, Published Author, Former player
Joined: 3/8/2004
Posts: 706
I saw this posted on a forum three years ago...it's scarier if they don't expect a ghost, and you tell them to find a mistake in the picture. Yeah, the linking directly to the .swf gives it away, so instead it's better to put it on a normal looking site where they might mistake it for a jpg.
Experienced Forum User, Published Author, Former player
Joined: 3/8/2004
Posts: 706
you might want to check SDA very frequently actually, since with the recent run out, the alttp speedrunners will be scrambling to get their new runs submitted. :P
Experienced Forum User, Published Author, Former player
Joined: 3/8/2004
Posts: 706
glad you all like it. I was planning to start by encoding the "star" runs beginning with SMB.
Just don't forget the DISCLAIMER OF DEATH
lol, how could one forget :p
what codec was used? sorenson?
For this particular run, techsmith was used.
Camtasia? No wonder the framerate was dropped dramatically.
The framerate for this run was pretty good, since kung fu is a very basic game. I didn't record the screen or anything, I did a direct conversion from avi to swf. I'll be switching from camtasia though to programs that can handle this operation better.
Edit: If anyone has an .fcm of pom's smb, I'd really appreciate it. I tried converting it from the fmv, but I got desync. Either that or I could try encoding phil and genisto's version, since it was faster but never got a chance to be published.
Edit 2: never mind, I got it encoded through Virtuanes
Experienced Forum User, Published Author, Former player
Joined: 3/8/2004
Posts: 706
It was discussed a while ago on this forum about the possibility of converting the runs into flash format for online viewing. The advantage of this is being able to watch movies instantly from anywhere. I've done a quick demo of this using one of my old runs here: http://fatedgames.6te.net/tal/k1.html. Of course, this is a quick demo so the interface isn't as cleaned up. I can encode further runs in this format and provide the hosting. Let me know if anyone is interested in this idea.
Experienced Forum User, Published Author, Former player
Joined: 3/8/2004
Posts: 706
the semantic argument over the word "time attack" goes back all the way to the time when this forum was in its diapers. You could probably find the first thread on this topic too if you search the threads. Real competition among time attack makers was almost nonexistent a year back with the exception of a few games, but now it is a driving force. I first heard these runs termed "time attack" on Arc's site. The tool-assisted speedrun term came into wide acceptance here shortly after, and I believe it should stay.
Experienced Forum User, Published Author, Former player
Joined: 3/8/2004
Posts: 706
who gives a shit? You know that already small number of the gamers that make competitive speedruns? Well take the even smaller portion of that group who have never done anything in speedrunning worth mentioning, and there's your answer. They can't reason, so they bang the table!
Welcome to angry speedrunner world, where you'll find logical fallacies such as:
Slippery Slope: Don't make time attacks. If you do, soon all speedrunning will become unpopular. Then, we'll be spending all our time submitting cheated runs as records!
Attacking the Person: "Disregard Bisqwit and his Nazi Goons"
Begging the question: Time Attackers cheat. Since WE are not cheating, it follows that we are playing fair.
Hasty Generalization: Someone submitted a cheated run to Radix. This proves that all Time Attackers are cheaters!
Appeal to Popularity: of course everyone knows that games have built-in rules that time attacks violate.
And Much More!
Experienced Forum User, Published Author, Former player
Joined: 3/8/2004
Posts: 706
I asked why they are played as fast as possible, I didn't say that you failed to mention that point. This is just something I spotted down at the Truth Garden. I believe they claimed that if the goal is entertainment and demonstrating what is possible in a game, then it is not necessary to go as fast as possible because it is possible for a slower movie that demonstrates more tricks to be more entertaining.
Experienced Forum User, Published Author, Former player
Joined: 3/8/2004
Posts: 706
Tool-assited Time-attacks are about what games can do.
this doesn't explain why they are played as fast as possible. If the goal is to show what the game can do, then the runs should focus on exposing all the glitches and tricks instead of showing all the glitches that just happen to be there "on the way" of the fastest route. (no offense though, I'm just thinking arguments that they might bring up.)
Experienced Forum User, Published Author, Former player
Joined: 3/8/2004
Posts: 706
can you harm ganon with normal slashes using the tempered sword? I don't trust my memory on this one, but to harm ganon with the standard master sword you need to use charged spin attacks.
Experienced Forum User, Published Author, Former player
Joined: 3/8/2004
Posts: 706
1 4 2 6 5 3 7
remember that you need to do 3 before 5, because the fire rod is essential for 5.
Edit: hmm, I notice I haven't been contributing much recently to this thread even though I started it! I should probably begin by making time to watch Omni's recent progress...
Experienced Forum User, Published Author, Former player
Joined: 3/8/2004
Posts: 706
Duh, is that how you are *supposed* to do it? I always thought it was an evil gamedesigner's plot to force you to do the dungeons in an order other than the expected. Especially since you don't need the item in the Ice palace to beat the next one.
no, you are incorrect. The way it was designed is for you to use the block from the upper floor. That method is also described in the " secrets book" that comes packed with the game. The puzzle was too complicated for some people so word got out that you should use the cane instead. They wouldn't label it dungeon 5 if you needed to complete dungeon 6 before it, even nintendo isn't so evil.
Experienced Forum User, Published Author, Former player
Joined: 3/8/2004
Posts: 706
I just had LASIK too. I, and I imagine my friend Bisqwit, strongly recommend anybody who is unhappy with their vision undergo the surgery. You won't regret it, it is unbelievable to wake up and see the world. Shapes are shaper, colors are brighter and just generally I'm happier with the way I see.
I'd try it if there was some more conclusive research on the long term effects of walking around with thin corneas.
Experienced Forum User, Published Author, Former player
Joined: 3/8/2004
Posts: 706
IF I DONT LIKE SOMETHING I DONT HAVE TO LIKE IT.
A profound and paradoxical statement. I think the problem here is that it seems that you are using this forum as a place to project your anger. It comes off as if you're using nesvideos as your stress doll.
Experienced Forum User, Published Author, Former player
Joined: 3/8/2004
Posts: 706
actually, a run with that code would be very cool. You could switch powerups whenever you want by just pressing the select button. Imagine flying with the feather, then switching to frog suit when you hit the water, then changing to hammer bros. suit to finish off the last few enemies at the end of the level.