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JXQ wrote:
Wow, my list is going to be NOTHING like what is already here.
In addition to all sorts of video game music, I listen to a lot of rap. Some of my favorite artists are Bone Thugs -n- Harmony, Joe Budden, Outkast, and Nas. I don't like rap that seems to be popular nowadays, as the lyrics are pretty mindless (which is why most people here don't like it, I'm guessing). I like really complicated rhyming schemes in the lyrics, and I especially enjoy very fast rapping. I've started listening to this station that plays classical music recently as well. I hear some of the classical music and think "Wow, this would sound even better with a tight kick/snare in it!" ;)
And as stated above, I do rap myself, so I might as well post that link here since it's in a more relevant topic :)
http://www.skuzz.com/jxq/music.html
I think stuff like this is interesting to discuss. I think the problem most people (myself included) have with rap is not the music (let's come back to that) as much as the people who like the music. The whole subculture around rap is just completely unappealing to me, and always has been. I'm not just talking about the music videos on MTV or 8 Mile, but rather the people I went to junior high and high school with. This same argument is doubly true for black metal and stuff like that (I don't know how to correctly label it, sorry metal fans).
Now about the music, I guess it's all subjective. For most rap songs, I don't even get to the lyrics because I can't stand to listen to the actual music. I suppose not much can be said about that, rappers like a good beat, non-rappers (at least me) don't. It's my opinion that, in general, if all drums were dropped in all songs, not that much would be lost. It's probably easy to understand how I don't enjoy most of the genres listed in this topic, since a lot of it is just drums and sometimes a guy screaming (metal).
Please don't take this as a personal attack anyone, especially not you JXQ. As a side note, As I Write is my favourite rap song I've ever heard, seriously.
Oh and about the actual topic. I like to listen to stuff like The Beatles and Simon & Garfunkel. I especially enjoy piano music in general, being a piano player myself, so I also listen to Elton John alot. Go figure :)
Experienced Forum User, Published Author, Former player
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JXQ wrote:
Fabian wrote:
I will of course be looking out for you in the singles charts and when you become famous brag endlessely that "I knew him before the fame!". Oh yeah.
LOL Don't hold your breath on this :) Once I find some place to host more files, I'll link to a few more songs I've done if you're interested (or anyone else, for that matter).
Please do, I'm interested.
Randil wrote:
JXQ: I just downloaded your song, and I mean crap. That was some good stuff, seriously. I usually don't like rap, but that song was really good. Keep it up... Is there any way to get my hands on some of your other songs?
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Yeah that was what I suspected, it's just that whenever someone says something to me in english (stupid foreign language!) that I'm not 100% sure what it means I'm very quick to second guess myself, so was just making sure. Anyway, I think it's really impressive, and I almost wish I knew anything about hip-hop so I could have a more qualified opinion. I will of course be looking out for you in the singles charts and when you become famous brag endlessely that "I knew him before the fame!". Oh yeah.
Edit: todd, it's a good point that while many play poker, a lot fewer play for a living. Out of curiosity, what games do you usually play, and where? If you don't mind sharing, of course.
Experienced Forum User, Published Author, Former player
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JXQ wrote:
Before I got into making runs, I went to school a lot. I have a degree in Computer Science and another in Mathematics.
My other main hobby is making music - producting instrumentals, writing lyrics, recording vocals and mastering/engineering songs. If you enjoy hip-hop (or hate it and wish it was about something less mindless), here is a sample track:
JXQ (featuring Flawless) - As I Write
I'm the first guy rapping in the song. I should really work more on music, but I find myself wanting to play games more as of recent.
Wow I'd never have guessed you were a rapper! Explain something to me who knows exactly nothing about this and don't fully understand: Is it you who have made this song? The lyrics? The music?
Also, slightly unrelated, what does "rite of passage" mean?
Edit: Bleh I figured it out. I'm stupid and I'm working on no sleep here. Never mind me in the corner.
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todd wrote:
Fabian wrote:
"Professionally", I play poker
I didn't know I'd find someone else on this board that does this for a living. Very cool :)
I guess one might expect a forum of males in their 20's to contain a fair number of poker players, especially with the similarities between poker and speedruns in regard to strategy and analytical thinking and stuff like that. Of course, nowadays one might expect poker players anywhere with its increasing popularity :)
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JXQ wrote:
Bisqwit wrote:
The ninja rank doesn't come from accomplishing something that nobody accomplished before. It comes from accomplishing something that nobody even dreamed of, creating something novel, new.
Well at least that's not vague. :\ I always thought that a ninja could be defined as a top contributor of the quality of the site, regardless of how they do so. Thus, Nitsuja is a ninja to me. Thanks for contributing!
That's how I think about it too. The only people I know well enough/have seen enough stuff from to consider ninjas are JXQ and FODA (look at that, upper case nicks get you more attention!), but I'm sure others, like nitsuja or Bisqwit, would qualify too.
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Like Randil, I enjoy playing the piano, though I don't play enough these days. "Professionally", I play poker, and since a few days ago I'm also going back to school, studying psychology. We'll see how that goes :)
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jimsfriend: You don't need to have full running speed for the trick in SW4, you can stand still on the edge of the platform and drop down at the right time.
bob: I can't explain the last 3 frames if you've handled the moving platforms perfectly and avoid the platform that slows you down.
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Ok I had to look through it three times before I found it, but here it is. You lose time when running on the platform at about frame 5990, the one that travels the opposite way you're running. Just jump from it the first frame you can and I think you'll have catched up.
Edit: Eh, wrong frame but I've already closed the emulator. Anyway, I think you can figure out which platform I'm talking about, there's only one that's moving towards you.
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It's cool with me to post it here, I'm not sure if anyone else will have objections. If someone doesn't want to follow the progress there's no obligation to watch the movie, of course.
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I'm guessing what he means is that some of the stars won't be improvable enough to take the time down yet another second from the current best time. Which doesn't seem unreasonable.
If he doesn't think FODA will be able to match the times with some stars, then that's unreasonable of course.
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Are you sure about the small run bob? I think it wouldn't be fair to jimsfriend, who I understand have worked very hard with his run. He's helped me out a lot with route strategies for my upcoming 96 exit run, and I wouldn't want to ruin his own run, I'd much prefer to be surprised and very impressed with his run when he's finished than watching it as a TAS first. At least this way you won't have to worry about duckjumping, right? ;) Remember a non-cape run hasn't been done either way, so wouldn't it be nicer to have both a small and a non-small run? Another consideration for you is that the levels where you could use Yoshi (Donut Plains 1, Star World 4) will become much faster and easier for you. Well anyway at least think about it ok?
If I were you I wouldn't worry about fadeout lag. In the two full runs (VIPer7's, JXQ's and mine) it's been ignored, and in the fast runs it's been optimized. As I understand it it's quite tedious (?) and boring, but if you want to, basically what you need to do is stomp different enemies, take different coins, jump at different times etc. Basically anything that might change the randomness, and try until you succeed.
About YI3. The key in this level is to run on the moving platforms for as long as possible. I'm guessing the reason you lose frames compared to the 11 exit version is that when jumping to one moving platform onto another, you could either
a) jump from the first as late as possible (remember to spinjump by the way, those jumps are shorter), landing about halfway through on the second.
or
b) jump about halfway through on the first, so you land on the second as soon as possible.
In the 96 exit movie, a) is used. In the improved 11 exit movie, b) is used.
I don't know if this is the only reason, or the complete reason, the 11 exit level is faster, so I can't guarantee this will completely solve the problem. I hope it does though.
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Yeah I sorta understand what you had in mind, but it's impossible to give a ballpark figure like that since it's never been done before.
The problem with hitting the ceiling is that you go right back down on the floor, which is not where you want to be. So the fastest way to do it is to jump when you're so far to the left that you won't hit the ceiling anymore. If you duckjump, this moment occurs a few frames earlier than if you jump regularly = saved time.
I wish I lived on the east coast of the USA. Well, I don't, but at least I'd be going to bed at a better time. I live in Sweden and it's 5.30 am here. Bedtime for me too I suppose.
Edit: Yeah I wasn't saying you needed to improve that video, that's not necessary. I just used it to illustrate what I meant with ducking vs not ducking. Good night.
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I understand what you mean. There's a new submission thread going right now where people act like jerks to the submitter. Stupid people.
Basically, it should be as fast as possible (thanks for pointing that out). If there are visible mistakes in it people won't like it. I suggest you post what you've done in this thread as you progress, and we'll give you pointers on where you lose speed if necessary and how to correct it. Remember to plan what you do carefully, so you don't find yourself in a situation you can't get out of without speed loss. This also helps because you "should" know what to do at all times, ie. don't play a level all the way through and when you reach the tricky end of the level try to figure out how to get past it. Plan ahead and decide how the end should be done before you begin the level in the first place.
A general tip about Super Mario World is this: Always think about whether or not ducking would save a few frames in spots where it's impossible to not lose at least a little bit of speed. A good example is where you jumped up to the top corridor in the Forest Fortress. You ran to the left, jumped, and turned to the right. A perfect execution of that would be to jump on the first frame possible without hitting your head, and turn right the first frame possible without touching the wall/ceiling/ground, and holding B just so long that you get on top of the platform. Now if you duck when you jump, you can begin the sequence a few frames earlier = gained time. So try to consider if ducking is useful in spots like that.
I might share more general things to keep in mind as we see your progress, all I'll say now is good luck :)
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That explains why I had no idea what you guys were talking about. I've never run past the first door, had no idea there was a lava pool and another boss door. Nice
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Sometimes when I need to hold YB and X at the same time I have to reconfigure and put X on my numpad for a while. I did this in DP1 just before I took the feather for example, when I threw a fireball on the koopa. Then afterwards I always forget I've changed it and go mad when I can't capespin some enemy 5 times in a row.
jimsfriend: Haven't tested, but I'm pretty sure that the curving nature of that edge is purely graphic, and that it's impossible to pass through there.
