Posts for Dooty

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I'm a sucker for Abe's games, and this one's got a special place in my heart. Now, the run is true to what I was expecting, but was also surprisingly fresh at times. Sam kept me up to speed with his WIPs, yes, yet watching the whole thing in one go is different. So, my vote is Yes.
I am old enough to know better, but not enough to do it.
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Archanfel wrote:
This humble trick saved 32 frames :)
Hey, that's a really nice time saver! I'm watching everything related to Mickey Mania lately. I guess I'm becoming a Mickey Maniac ... Anyways, the RTA player, YellowKillerbee stumbled upon this while playing the SNES version; Link to video They say that this "Level Warp" thing is SNES exclusive, but I don't know. It may be worth to try a game crash on the Genesis version just in case.
I am old enough to know better, but not enough to do it.
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Don't worry, I did the same with QuackShot... I was using wrong addresses. Here's some addresses I found for the Genesis version: (for the Gens emulator)
function mickey()
 speX = memory.readlongsigned(0x0FF067A)
 posG = memory.readword(0x0FF0674)
 posP = memory.readword(0x0FF066A)
 posF = memory.readword(0x0FF066E)

 gui.text(20,40,"Speed: "..speX)
 gui.text(20,50,"PosiG: "..posG)
 gui.text(20,60,"PosiP: "..posP)
 gui.text(20,70,"PosiF: "..posF)

end
gui.register(mickey)
I don't know if all Genesis games use 4 byte addresses for character speed, but so far I was able to improve the walking method in two of my old runs. To bunny hop in this game is pretty simple; jump and then release the jump button at the desired height. Hold the jump button again, while still in the air, and Mickey will jump as soon as he touches the ground. and here's a test run using BizHawk to show you the bunny hop in action. But please, use Gens if you're going to make a new run! (you end up behind of the old run using BizHawk...)
I am old enough to know better, but not enough to do it.
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Thanks, guys. In my preliminary tests, losing the last life in Mad Doctor cart section is ~60 frames faster. From Castle of Illusion, the most useful trick is the Bunny Hop; jumping is mostly faster than walking. (not always, though) Also, the boss fights can be slightly improved and I estimate that ~500 frames can be shaved off of the published run. I hope to find more tricks during the creation of this run, but I'll keep watching other runs too. I'll make sure to keep this thread updated with any new findings, both for the Genesis and SNES versions.
I am old enough to know better, but not enough to do it.
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I watched the world record run of this game recently. There the guy uses what I think are warps to skip parts of some stages. Searching for "level warp in Mickey Mania" showed only SNES version results, but nothing about the Genesis. Now I know it's not really warps, but a clever "crash handler" to avoid it freezing all the time on the SNES. Browsing the forums for more information I stumbled upon these posts about the handicap trick in Mad Doctor stage. The Genesis run was recently improved (2015), but this trick was still not included for some reason. The Castle of Illusion run was also improved not so recently (2011), and some of its new tricks work in this game too. Long story short, I'm going to include the "Handicap Trick" and "Castle of Illusion Tricks" in a run I'm working on.
I am old enough to know better, but not enough to do it.
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Spikestuff wrote:
I will be publishing this first without any commentary attached to it
Please, don't worry about including the "TAST" into the run, it was intended to be just a submission text anyway. But there's something I need to ask before you pull your hair out; the "Capture OSD" option is against some encoding rule? If not, is there a way to use a smoother font with a Lua script? The default font is pretty ugly, if it makes any sense...
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In early stage I was like; why are they passing by those easy to grab rings? Then you went back to collect a bunch of rings and those rings were just in your way. Just genius! Then there are the more "glitchy" stages, like Oil Ocean Zone 2, that one was simply insane! I like to see more of the game when possible, like 100% runs, and from all the Sonic runs I've watched so far, this one is not just one of the best ones, but the best one. Great job, guys, and of course, my vote is Yes.
I am old enough to know better, but not enough to do it.
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What about "Leap and Skip Glitch?" I think the word "skip" has a double meaning and in this case should fit better since he does not use a box most of the time. But whatever it's called, the glitch is pretty interesting and although it's a little bit repetitive sometimes, it didn't make me want to fast forward the run. So, I'm voting Yes.
I am old enough to know better, but not enough to do it.
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You got the Popcorn strategy right, mklip2001. Just the first hit is faster than any other ammo, but since the Green Plunger must be used afterwards, it avoids the need to switch to another ammo. Also, I can't use Plungers against him to avoid another ammo switch; I need to jump to use plungers. And if you jump at the start of the fight, the Boss becomes invincible. :( The new tiger fight (Shere Khan) is actually faster than the published run! I still use the same ammo on it, but by delaying the last hit, the door spawns sooner for some reason.
I am old enough to know better, but not enough to do it.
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Thank you, guys. But I guess my "TAST" idea was not so clear... Well, first of all it's not a fancy kind of subtitles, otherwise I would have used the built in function of BizHawk. What I really wanted was try to avoid two problems I have with submission texts; 1) if it's too short, there will be missing details about the run. 2) if it's too long, people won't have time to read it entirely. I thought including the submission text along with the run would solve these problems. @Hopper262 With your script, it was a lot easier to spot my typos and mistakes; adresses - addresses donald - Donald interupt - interrupt sugesting - suggesting Google Translator said that my script was Okay...
Spikestuff wrote:
So I'll claim and spend a shit-ton of time on this...
Sorry, Spikey, but I need to ask you to do one more thing; can you include these typo corrections in your encode, please?
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Thank you, Reeve. I was hoping to submit it on Christmas Eve, but it's not even half way done yet. :( Not that it will be something "top notch", but I don't want it to be too crappy either. I can give you some details of what I'm doing: I'll call it TAST: Tool Assisted Submission Text. It may contain audio too, but I'm having some trouble with it, so, no promises.
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That "something" I want to submit with the improved run will take quite some time. So here's the movie file. I'm working full time on it, so it will come out eventually.
I am old enough to know better, but not enough to do it.
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I'm just one screen transition away from Garuzia, 3100 frames ahead! And since we know that it's possible to shave ~1000 frames from this boss fight, the new run should save around ~4100 frames. Way more than I was expecting. Time to think about the submission text, and I want to do something new this time. Maybe subtitles, a Lua script or something else entirely, but there'll be something. So, if nothing new happen to force a restart, and I hope not, it will be submitted soon. edit; in fact the new Garuzia's strategy is 468 frames faster... so the new run is 3651 frames faster, still good though.
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Thank you, Evil_3D. It won't take much longer now. I just finished Maharajah without using the peppers and it's 86 frames slower than the published run, but since Donald can use those peppers as soon as he starts Egypt, it will be faster overall. edit; I'm once again about to face the Viking Ghost, ~1800 frames ahead. edit2; I'm going to South Pole to grab the Viking Diary, ~2100 frames ahead now. edit3; I'm pretty close to skip a phase of those moving platforms of Hideout, so close... edit4; The skip succeeded! Now I'm about to face Pete, 2646 frames ahead.
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Thank you, Reeve. After three restarts I'm pretty sure I'm working on the final version. :) The run is full of new things now and I just finished Transylvania, 1176 frames ahead.
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That explains why she never runs out of hair... Well, since she is pretty much what a Dixie Ninja would be like, I'm voting Yes, too. The run being so fucking awesome also helped me decide what to vote. :)
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Nice! Thank you, marzojr. I'm not at home at the moment, but I'll test your addresses as soon as I get there. I posted it on the Snes forum a while back, here's the ones I've found;
Position = mainmemory.read_u16_be(0xA2D0) 
Subpixel = mainmemory.read_u8(0xA2D2)
The X position and subpixel seem similar to the ones you've found, and I'm pretty sure we've found the correct ones. In any case, I'm testing a new strategy in Maharajah to not use the peppers. (saving them to use in Egypt) So, it will be no problem if a restart is needed, as I need to manage the Popcorn better, too. edit: Our addresses are pretty much the same, but I think longword makes Donald's position a bit confusing. It makes enough sense for speed though. This or I don't know what longword means. :) In any case, here's the Lua script I'm using. (updated with some of your addresses) final edit; Not using the peppers in Maharajah is barely faster, just 4 frames, but I can save some popcorn, too. But with the new addresses it's possible to optimize Donald's movement a little further, especially his jumps. So, a restart is more than welcome at this point, since almost everything I did so far can be improved.
I am old enough to know better, but not enough to do it.
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Dooty wrote:
I'm about to face Pete ~1000 frames ahead.
Well, I was... Now I'm about to face the Viking Ghost, ~1300 frames ahead! Something I noticed on the failed attempt is that you can kill him faster with Popcorn. This time around I'm collecting more popcorns, and I already have plenty to defeat him. edit; Um... Popcorn is indeed faster against the Viking Pirate, but just the first shot. I was wasting more time collecting the popcorn than it would save on that fight. :( Good thing I could fix this mistake quite easily with TAStudio. I'm still about to fight him, but ~1350 frames ahead now.
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Forget about those addresses, they're for BizHawk. My bad. :( But regardless, I'm getting a different pattern here. no speedshoes: 1-1-1-1-1-1-1-0-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-0 and so on one speedshoe: 1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1-1 and so on Bomberman stops after moving seven frames without speed shoes! I'll try to set up lsnes later to test your watch file and see if it's different from BizHawk. edit; They're indeed different, if you try to use lsnes' memory on BizHawk you'll receive this error; Warning: attempted read of 8259665 outside the memory size of 131072 But the memory addresses that I've found were wrong. They only worked on stage 1. Here's the more accurate addresses, tested up to stage 3 and the stage select screen. lsnes: Player X: 0x7e07f0 Player Y: 0x7e0850 BizHawk: Player X: 0x0007f0 Player Y: 0x000850 They're all one byte unsigned.
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Thank you, FatRatKnight. Now it's making a whole lot more sense. Though I'm still looking, now I know what to look for. (and what to do with it when I find it) Oh, and your tuto is pretty much on topic, as it will surely be useful for this game as well. edit: Found it!
Position = mainmemory.read_u16_be(0xA2D0)
Subpixel = mainmemory.read_u8(0xA2D2)/256
Every time the sub-pixel reaches 256 Donald moves an extra pixel. 2-2-1, 4-4-4, 4-4-5, 5-5-6 and some other weird patterns make sense now. Pretty much like the pattern grassini is getting with Bomberman. So, finding the subpixel address may not help you move Bomberman faster, but it's a lot easier to work when you know you're going as fast as possible. edit2; Found some more accurate addresses for Super Bomberman 3;
--Super Bomberman 3
while true do
 PosX = mainmemory.read_u16_le(0x000800)
 PosY = mainmemory.read_u16_le(0x000860)
  gui.text(10,42,"Position X: "..PosX)
  gui.text(10,58,"Position Y: "..PosY)
 emu.frameadvance()
end
Without any speed shoes Bomberman will walk seven pixels and then stop for one frame. With one speed shoe equipped he won't stop for one frame anymore. The addresses on the script agree with this behavior.
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grassini wrote:
how do you recommend doing that memory search?
Sorry, but we are on the same boat here; I'm about to get crazy with the memory addresses of Quackshot. :( @FatRatKnight; I'm trying out your tips, but I'm still confused about the bits and bytes... I'm pretty sure the position is 2 bytes, but the subpixel seems to be 1 byte only. Is that possible? I mean, how to calculate different addresses? (sum them) Sorry if it's a stupid question, but I never, ever used sub-pixels.
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I don't like the Genesis, the hardware, but this game is something else, really. And you, Samsara, turned it into something even better. Easy yes vote here. Now, time to copy your book, I mean submission text, to read later. :) By the by, the BizHawk version on the movie file is 1.11.7...
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Mitjitsu pointed out something I've been missing/overlooking for a very long time; sub-pixels. Maybe finding a sub-pixel address would solve that riddle for you - since you can't actually "see" them.
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The run is getting really awesome! I'm also looking forward to the finished product. Gunstar Heroes has one of the best audio commentaries on the site. Pretty easy to understand even for a non native speaker like me. :) So, are there any chances of an audio commentary for the new run as well?
I am old enough to know better, but not enough to do it.
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Thank you for the heads up, Mitjitsu. Subpixels are something I never knew how to use, or felt the need to use, but it may explain some inconsistencies I'm facing. I found some memory addresses for Donald's speed, but they just "seem" accurate. What is more weird about Donald's speed is; why he can move faster to the left? Maybe a disassembly of the game will explain it, but it's beyond my expertise. In any case, I'm using a new "Power Walk" method and I'm pretty sure I'm going as fast as I can go now. edit; I can't find the subpixel address, but there might be one because Donald moves like this; -> 4-4-5 pixels <- 5-5-6 pixels while going at a constant speed. final edit; Looks like going faster to the left is not an intended feature of the game after all. :( Playing it normaly, Donald will walk, run or slide, wether it's right/left or left/right, at the same maximum speed! The Power Walk kind of glitches that maximum speed.
I am old enough to know better, but not enough to do it.