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I don't think many or even anyone looks into the Kirby & The Amazing Mirror topic so for more visibility, I'm posting a separate topic about my problem.
I'm of the opinion this can stand as an own topic because this is a problem more about how GBA savefiles, flags and progress calculation work. Maybe users can also post how other games handle their % numbers, because I would be interested in that.
I'm interested in making a new Kirby Amazing mirror 100% TAS and this time around I wanted a means by which I can see exactly how much % I have completed. In other words, I want to know how the game calculates the % number on the file select screen. This is because I always had a slight suspicion that there might be rooms that don't even count to the completion at all. It would be completely pointless to dedicate extra routes leading into dead-ends when I don't even have to go there anyway..
What affects the % progress:
I know that visiting new rooms, touching big buttons (which unlock new areas), opening treasure chests and activating levers all add to the progress. If enough new rooms are visited, the % will go up by 1. Then there can also be rooms that are "done" or still have unopened treasures in them so they are only "partially done" (visited but not gotten the treasure).
What I already know:
The game does not seem to have an extra address that keeps track of the completion percentage. It seems to go over all the flags (for each room, treasure, button etc) and calculates the % on the file select screen on the fly. I already tried editing flags in the .sav file and in $0E000... but the game would either just undo my changes or deem the file corrupted (so on next hard reset it brings up a screen telling the savegame is corrupted and needed to be wiped). Not sure why the former happens, the latter is since it probably uses a checksum.
The help I'm asking:
It would be very helpful if someone can help me figure out how the game calculates its completion percentage. Specifically, flags for rooms seem to be "8000" when visited and turn "8001" when they are left, which doesn't make sense to me. Only the act of visiting a new room is what affects the %. Then there are rooms that can turn "8002","8003","8004", etc. depending which door was used to leave it and if certain tresure was opened or not.
I don't know how much "value" the game puts in a chest, in a visited but unfinished room and a finished room, a pressed button, an activated lever...
There could also be the very unlikely case that I just missed the % address but I doubt it.
I appreciate your help :)
Editor, Experienced Forum User, Published Author, Expert player
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I cannot figure out how the progress is calculated in this game..
The .sav file keeps track of all the flags.
When loading the game and when entering a new room, it seems to get written to.
A copy those flags is located at ~$0E0000C0 onwards. I was told the .sav gets loaded there.
But even though I edit the flags back to zero in the .sav file (I deleted the .sav the emulator uses and then used the "load battery file" feature on the edited .sav), and do the same to the $0E00... part, the flags somehow persist and turn back to 1 again. Sometimes when editing the sav, the game would deem it corrupted and flush the save slot.
As long as I don't figure out how the game calculates the % at file select, I can't start the new 100% run I'm afraid. I don't want to miss the chance of possibly avoiding rooms or chests that don't even count to %.
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Brainstorming ideas to improve 100%:
- 8:42 candy constellation room, instead of using a warpstar to here later for the chest, either go in and get it and then proceed to the mirror room OR make a route from mirror room down to here to get the chest.
- 21:05 Fix the mistake that I did in Carrot Castle where I mixed 2 bomb enemies for bomb ability.
- 29:20 Taking ufo and using the cannon takes too much time, but if I can't find an alternative for Mustard Mountain mirror room 1-right rooms (where ufo is very useful) then I can't change the strategy to these rooms.. I should compare UFO vs brought-in Smash vs having nothing.
- 44:00 water room, should have mixed hammer in the room before.
- New boss strats
- soft-reset after routes and bosses.
- Better missile navigation
- Use new momentum tricks (faster falling by inhaling & small hopping for faster acceleration) and general optimization
- is it possible to reset after the final boss and get to the 100% screen earlier?
-
Peppermint:
dont do
17,26,25,boss
17,18,19,22...
but do
17,18,reset
19,22,23,4,25,26,25,boss
todo: time it.
- Improvement in Cabbage Cavern, Ruins 1 gate --> Mole ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-25LeCs_qSM )
- Check if this could be useful: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CLbYIZMkCPo
This should save 2~6 minutes.
todo: 100% is stored which address? Does it change when entering new rooms and opening any chest? There might be rooms or chests we don't have to handle.
-Still nobody has figured out how Helper Kirby RNG works so we can't manipulate them to get Magic all the time to save about 1 minute (theoretically). Such places would include the Olive Ocean room where I have to go around an obstacle with Missile, taking 10 seconds, or any route where I have to keep an ability such as Smash for many rooms whereas I could have used wheel throughout and then magic-mixed for Smash.
edit: I cannot seem to find a % address so it's probably always calculated only at the file select by going over flags.
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I will upload the new boss endurance TAS shortly.
http://dehacked.2y.net/microstorage.php/info/905702393/katam%20boss%20rush%202014.vbmhttp://youtu.be/TIZHr_4cqvU
Here are possible improvements while I still remember them:
- Room transitions can be optimized here and there for 1 frame gains (this was already mostly done)
- Better strats? Looks unlikely
- Only call 1 or 2 Kirbys instead of 3, saves 1 sec or so (waiting time for post-Darkmind 5. I didn't do it because I didn't consider this to be such a time loss; Manipulating only 1 or 2 Kirbys will be harder and redoing the last two fights takes me more hours of work which I don't want to spend)
- Dark Mind 6 lag reduction (Usually in KATAM TASes, I don't optimize this fight too much. I generally check that he doesn't cause too much lag but that's it. Maybe a few frames can be saved therefore.)
--------------
Mirra explanations
(If this image stops loading in a few years from now, please pm me then)
The hitbox for one Mirra is located at $02000059 --> 0x30 or 48. In all directions from Mirra's position, this makes a box of 96*96.
Editor, Experienced Forum User, Published Author, Expert player
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Kirby & The Amazing Mirror can be softlocked faster than 47.22 using Cook glitch to inhale forever. The helper Kirbys will be unable to move pink Kirby to an enemy to make the inhaling stop so the game is locked for good. I don't think I will be working on a TAS of this since the cook glitch requires tedious luck manipulation of the helper Kirby movement.
Note: The 47.22 "softlock" by phone calling near a death tile causes the game to stop recognizing the ABSs button combination to reset itself. Therefore it is arguable if it is a game freeze (therefore should be put in the crash category) rather than a softlock.
There is a game freeze later on (1m30s mark) by using the first dark Kirby battle. In this case, the game starts lagging forever. (Game doesn't lag in the previous 2 cases.)
It is arguable.
For me a crash was always a game freeze where the game glitches up on a screen where you can't even see or move your character regardless of if it lags forever.
A softlock in contrast is when you're in an unwinnable situation, stuck in a cutscene mode or locked room/inside of a wall but can still see, hear or control your character. Arguably, being able to move between whole rooms or levels while also in an unwinnable situation due to missing inventory items or bad game flags may also constitute a softlock.
You could also argue, a softlock is when the game still accepts button combinations to reset itself. When it doesn't although it should then it crashed/froze.
Where is the line between softlock and crash for you? This discussion should be split into the topic that I linked.
Editor, Experienced Forum User, Published Author, Expert player
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Hack looks interesting. But the run seems somewhat lacking quality-wise. With a run of this length, I don't know if the author is going to redo all of it.
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This will activate an otherwise inaccessible debug mode
The debug menu in this game is in fact accessible.
Read here http://tcrf.net/Wario_Land:_Super_Mario_Land_3
Unfortunately this may possibly invalidate this submission.
I remembered back when we did the Earthbound debug menu runs, those were only possible to publish because the debug menu was not normally accessible in the game either. And it got put into a "special exception" category too.
So should we ignore the fact the debug menu can be accessed pressing select while the game is paused? We could argue 'why didn't you simply pause the game to access the debug menu'?
If I misunderstood something, then I'm sorry.
---
Earthbound in 30 minutes judgement wrote:
FractalFusion: This run uses a glitch which passes through a debug menu which cannot otherwise (as to our knowledge) be accessed by means apart from external codes. If the debug menu was easily accessed by an internal code, that would be a different story. As it stands, it can only be assumed as part of the glitch process, and it will be allowed.
In the apparently non-existent event that such an internal code is found later, the published run will be placed in the impure category and any further runs going through the debug menu will likely be rejected.
Editor, Experienced Forum User, Published Author, Expert player
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I know how to download youtube videos. But I don't know how to host them online (like in dropbox or mega.co.nz). I wanted to raise awareness that these videos may be gone someday.
Editor, Experienced Forum User, Published Author, Expert player
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Went back to re-watch some Melee TASes. I'm a bit concerned that someday those videos might just vanish. Perhaps Wak's Youtube channel might one day close without forewarning and poof, all HRC TASes for each character are gone.
So I'm asking, should we do something? I was thinking about downloading those videos to hold on to them.
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I tried to figure out helper kirby RNG but I couldn't do it. Each Kirby has its own memory section with a bunch of timers and stuff that I don't understand. These timers have influence on the when and what of abilities that helper Kirbys will get.
Do note that when helper Kirbys aren't in the same room as you, they will acquire any abilities randomly at random times.
If I understood it better, it could be possible to do what I suggested many years ago: Manipulate helper Kirbys to get Magic over and over and then have them use it so you get abilities that you need but can't mix yourself. For example Smash as soon as you enter the Golem boss fight. Or UFO in that one underwater room where you have to go all the way around since you can't hit the bomb block inside the wall.. Could save another minute in any% TAS possibly.
info dump from my research
02021165 = 1 byte next ability for Yellow
0202118B = 1 byte current ability for Yellow
020214b5 1 byte next Green
020214DB 1 byte current green
02021418 4 byte X pos
0202141c 4 byte y pos
020214ac 1 byte status :
---
0 stand
1 crouch
2 stand-left-soft-slope
3 crouch-left-soft-slope
4 stand-right-soft-slope
5 crouch-right-soft-slope
6 stand-left-hard-slope
7 crouch-left-hard-slope
8 stand-right-hard-slope
9 crouch-right-hard-slope
10 surprised
11 walk
12 stop
13 slide
14 slide-end-left
15 jump
16 jumping somersault
17 falling
18 fall further start
19 falling further
20 landing
21 landing somersault
22 wallbump left
23 wallbump right
24 wallbump top
25 running
26 inhale start
27 inhaling
28 inhaling more
29 inhale stop
30 inhale success
31 floating start
32 floating
33 floating
34 floating
35 floating
36 spitting air
37 swallow
38 spitting star
39 get hit
40 hop
41 flat
42 go through door
43 spitting air end
44 stand
45 ladder up
46 ladder down
47 stop
48 go through door
49 go through door end
50 turn around
51 kiss
52 water spit
53 start water spit
54 end water spit
55 tumble
56 stand
57 walk
58 fall facing down
59 fall
60 end fall facing down
61 swim side
62 swim up
63 stay swim up
64 go through door
65 spitting star underwater
66 stand water spit
67 swim face away
68 swim face down
69 stand more left
70 stand more up
71 stand more down
72 swallow
73 end spit underwater
74 dead
75 dead 45°
76 dead 70°
77 dead 90°
78 dead 135°
79 dead 150°
80 dead 180°
81 dead 215°
82 dead 230°
83 dead 250°
84 dead 270°
85 dead 290°
86 dead 315°
87 dead 340°
88 dead 360°
89 dead 45°
90 star hold
91 star hold 2
92 treasure pose
93 cannon duck
94 cannon
95 pose
96 treasure pose
97 phone pose
98 phone start
99 phone calling
100 phone calling
101 cannon expose
102 cannon duck
103 stand pose
104 ball somersault
105 ball somersault
106 inhale more
107 inhale more
108 landing somersault
109 landing somersault
110 landing somersault
111 throw hold
112 throw hold
113 throw hold
114 throw hold
115 throw star
116 throw star end
117 throw star end
118 stand
119 stand
120 stand
121 inhaling insuccessful
122 burn damage
123
---
1 Fire
2 Ice
3 Fireball
4 Wheel
5 Parasol
6 Cutter
7 Beam
8 Stone
9 Bomb
10 Throw
11 Sleep
12 Cook
13 Laser
14 UFO
15 Spark
16 Tornado
17 Hammer
18 Sword
19 Cupid
20 Fighter
21 Magic
22 Smash
23 Mini
24 Crash
25 Missile
26 Master
Editor, Experienced Forum User, Published Author, Expert player
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I may go and do a new boss endurance TAS. I could save about 5 seconds.
For future reference, Metaknight can be killed by smash ~2 frames faster than throw. (Although I'm not sure if the luck I got with throw could be improved further.. It looked impossible)
old route
EDIT: It seems that when Kirby is inhaling, he accelerates downward a bit faster.
EDIT: It seems that from standing still, when Kirby jumps 1 frame into a direction he accelerates X-speed much faster than if he jumps very high.I saved 228 frames (3.8 seconds) in my new boss endurance so far, up until the Dark Metaknight fight.
I saved 349 frames (5.81 seconds) in my new boss endurance so far; right now I'm at Darkmind 5.
(If this image stops loading in a few years from now, please pm me then)
The hitbox for one Mirra is located at $02000059 --> 0x30 or 48. In all directions from Mirra's position, this makes a box of 96*96.
