Posts for Nitrodon

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Posted: 8/3/2008 10:35 PM
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Nitrodon
Experienced Forum User, Published Author, Active player (283)
Joined: 3/4/2006
Posts: 341
Before we commit to a route, is this glitch usable from anywhere else? (escalators, ropes, ladders, etc.)
Posted: 8/3/2008 12:28 PM
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Nitrodon
Experienced Forum User, Published Author, Active player (283)
Joined: 3/4/2006
Posts: 341
I looked at the second and third prayer scenes, and both of them check flag 174 as well. I suspect that might be the only flag required for all 7 of the prayer scenes, but I haven't looked into it enough. To take the Phase Distorter into the past (and thus set flag 174), you need to take the Lumine Hall hole to the underworld (for Andonuts), defeat Ness's Nightmare (for the Phase Distorter), and get the Zexonyte from Onett as normal. Hopefully, those should be the only detours necessary to beat the game with this glitch. The next problem is figuring out how to beat the end bosses at an unnaturally low level. If nothing else, you can solidify them every turn with PSI Freeze to ensure survival and deal damage at the same time.
Posted: 8/3/2008 6:38 AM
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Nitrodon
Experienced Forum User, Published Author, Active player (283)
Joined: 3/4/2006
Posts: 341
To set flag 0DC, it appears that you need to fall down the hole in Lumine Hall. The hole counts as a door, so that part is easy. Unfortunately, I tried killing my party to return, and the game froze. Also, it's probably worth mentioning that flags 04A and 0DC are cleared immediately before the first prayer scene, and set again immediately after it. This likely means that those flags are irrelevant here. My next step will probably be to play the scene in a debugger and determine exactly which flags are checked during the prayer scenes. EDIT: The problem is flag 174, which is set when you use the Phase Distorter 3 to go back in time. This probably means you need to beat Ness's Nightmare and play the rest of the game normally.
Posted: 8/2/2008 10:53 PM
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Nitrodon
Experienced Forum User, Published Author, Active player (283)
Joined: 3/4/2006
Posts: 341
By watching the appropriate addresses, I have determined that flags 0D1-0DC control which teleport destinations are available. In particular, flag 0DC is set when you enter the Lost Underworld.
Posted: 7/20/2008 7:07 AM
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Nitrodon
Experienced Forum User, Published Author, Active player (283)
Joined: 3/4/2006
Posts: 341
Chapter 20 can be done with much less killing and enemy movement. First, remove everyone except Vanessa, Syrene, Eirika, and Tethys. On turn 1, move them to unreachable locations so no ground enemies will move and waste time. This is, in fact, the only thing Syrene is used for in this strategy. Vanessa will be attacked by 4 gargoyles and 2 mogalls, and will kill 3 of the gargoyles with a Vidofnir counter. On turn 2, simply drop Eirika on a forest, move Vanessa so Eirika won't get blocked, and manipulate a miss. Vanessa will be attacked by 3 wights and kill them all. Eirika will be attacked by Riev and the ranged attackers who went after Vanessa on turn 1. (The third mogall that appears to have attacked Eirika in the screenshot is actually a reinforcement.) Turn 3 should be obvious. Also, I should note that with this strategy, trading the Vidofnir to Vanessa can be done during the chapter itself instead of the preparations screen.
Posted: 7/20/2008 12:39 AM
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Nitrodon
Experienced Forum User, Published Author, Active player (283)
Joined: 3/4/2006
Posts: 341
Chapter 18: If you used two additional characters, there would be a lot less time spent watching eggs gain 5 HP. This may end up being worth it, but I can't be sure. Chapter 19: Short chapter, solid route, not much to say about this one.
Posted: 7/17/2008 5:54 AM
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Nitrodon
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Joined: 3/4/2006
Posts: 341
That chapter was simple enough, so no comments are necessary. After you finish chapter 18, the rest of the run should be easy. Vanessa's lance exp: 207/251.
Posted: 7/17/2008 3:24 AM
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Nitrodon
Experienced Forum User, Published Author, Active player (283)
Joined: 3/4/2006
Posts: 341
It looks like you can get Vanessa to critical the fighter and knight, and you'll still barely be able to reach the same critical RN against the sage. Vanessa's lance exp: 209/251 (will decrease by at least 4 if you get those critical hits)
Posted: 7/16/2008 8:00 AM
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Nitrodon
Experienced Forum User, Published Author, Active player (283)
Joined: 3/4/2006
Posts: 341
There's no need to make an intro thread. The best way to join this community is to simply start posting. That said, welcome to TASvideos. The best way to show your results and get feedback is to upload the emulator movie file (something.vbm) to Microstorage and post a link on the forum. I've never played SA3, so I can't comment on your time.
Posted: 7/16/2008 6:06 AM
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Nitrodon
Experienced Forum User, Published Author, Active player (283)
Joined: 3/4/2006
Posts: 341
Not bad. I haven't really looked at the chapter much, so I can't say much about your strategy until I watch it again. In turn 3 of chapter 15, you should have made Ephraim rearrange Duessel's items while giving him the javelin, so you don't need to make Duessel open the item menu to equip the silver lance. Also, I think you could have saved 1 frame by moving Knoll before Ephraim, but lag likes to mess with small improvements like that. Vanessa's lance exp after chapter 16: 194/251. EDIT: I looked it over a few times last night. The current route works fine without changing Vanessa's starting position. She may end up in the same space as Seth in the middle of turn 1 (depending on which character gets priority over the other in this game). It would have been faster to make Seth take Eirika during turn 2, because both Seth and Vanessa end up next to each other that turn. Alternatively, You can modify that route so that it uses the same number of turns, but doesn't require Tethys. It requires moving Seth's starting position 2 spaces forward and making him move his full movement range each turn (picking up Eirika on turn 1). If you choose the modified route, a silver lance would allow Vanessa to kill the mercenaries in one non-critical hit. Also, Saleh seems to have a B in light magic, which is just enough for that Purge tome you picked up. Do you plan to use it?
Posted: 7/8/2008 9:19 PM
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Nitrodon
Experienced Forum User, Published Author, Active player (283)
Joined: 3/4/2006
Posts: 341
Captain Forehead: This page will probably help you with the problem indicated in your post.
Posted: 6/10/2008 8:28 PM
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Nitrodon
Experienced Forum User, Published Author, Active player (283)
Joined: 3/4/2006
Posts: 341
Enemies on the Veldt don't give exp.
Posted: 6/9/2008 3:11 AM
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Nitrodon
Experienced Forum User, Published Author, Active player (283)
Joined: 3/4/2006
Posts: 341
Eclipsed Moon wrote:
Failed miserably to beat the old 16 star TAS time? Hell, failed to beat the unassisted time by five minutes.
SDA starts timing when the player gains control of Mario, so the unassisted run isn't 5 minutes faster than this run. He still failed to beat the unassisted time, but the margin is closer to 3-4 minutes.
Posted: 6/4/2008 4:09 AM
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Nitrodon
Experienced Forum User, Published Author, Active player (283)
Joined: 3/4/2006
Posts: 341
Those letters plus A and E form a set of 16 letters, each of which corresponds to some hexadecimal digit. There's no reason it wouldn't be possible to convert hex addresses into Game Genie codes. How else do you think Game Genie codes would be created? The codes I gave convert to SAXGNESX and SEOGOESX respectively. I tried to look at what happens when you lose power, but the same routine is used for both you and the enemies, so any code modifying that routine would probably make the enemies invincible as well. The codes I ended up making set your power to a certain number whenever it is displayed on the screen, which happens once each frame.
Posted: 6/4/2008 12:16 AM
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Nitrodon
Experienced Forum User, Published Author, Active player (283)
Joined: 3/4/2006
Posts: 341
Addresses in the range 8000-FFFF are part of ROM, and you can make Game Genie codes from cheats which modify addresses in that range. 040D is part of RAM, so the code you mentioned can't be converted. In this particular case at least, it's possible to make a different code with the same effect. Address: C827 and C891 (two different codes) Value: 8D Compare: AD
Posted: 6/2/2008 7:06 PM
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Nitrodon
Experienced Forum User, Published Author, Active player (283)
Joined: 3/4/2006
Posts: 341
Bomb is just a single-target version of Mist with a shorter casting time. It can't deal more damage than Rydia's current HP +255 or +50%, whichever is smaller.
Posted: 5/31/2008 5:49 AM
Post subject: Re: Lua-scripting discussion thread
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Nitrodon
Experienced Forum User, Published Author, Active player (283)
Joined: 3/4/2006
Posts: 341
Randil wrote:
I also wonder how on earth you check if a variable is equal to a certain value. Let's say that I want something done when variable x=0, how do I write that? if x=0 then ... end doesn't work, and neither does if x~=0 then ... end. Any ideas? The way I solve it now, if I want something done when x=c, I do "if x<=c then if x>c-1 then ... end end" which is pretty inconvenient. :)
Use == instead of = to test for equality.
Posted: 5/26/2008 1:04 AM
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Nitrodon
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Joined: 3/4/2006
Posts: 341
I used the original prototype instead of the Demiforce hack because this site has rules against hacked ROMs. I'm not sure if using the Demiforce hack would have been a problem in this case, but I didn't see any reason to risk it. I still have one more battle before I get EVE, and I also have to make a decision about the LifeUpCreams. Namely, should I get them from the presents in Sweet Little's Factory and Rosemary Manor, or get them from the doctor near Mt. Itoi? 2 LifeUpCreams from presents: 16 extra steps, 0 extra door transitions, 2 check commands, and a total of 12 lines of text which scroll a total of 4 times. 2 LifeUpCreams from doctor: 18 extra steps, 2 extra door transitions, 3 talk commands, and a total of 15 lines of text which scroll a total of 1 time. If I get the LifeUpCreams from presents, they'll take up room in my inventory, which will force me to move things around. I'm fairly sure that I can get away with only moving/dropping two items if I get the LifeUpCreams from presents, and I will need to move/drop one item even if I get LifeUpCreams from the doctor. From this, it looks like the presents may be slightly faster, but it's hard to be sure. I'll give it some thought.
Posted: 5/25/2008 4:46 AM
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Nitrodon
Experienced Forum User, Published Author, Active player (283)
Joined: 3/4/2006
Posts: 341
Starman Junior is defeated. His unexpected immunity to PK Beam gamma stopped all previous TAS attempts in their tracks, but it turns out that instant death isn't the only way to kill enemies while underleveled.
Posted: 5/16/2008 10:14 PM
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Nitrodon
Experienced Forum User, Published Author, Active player (283)
Joined: 3/4/2006
Posts: 341
One of Mammon's attacks is easy to dodge, even in realtime. Avalanche is probably random enough to allow you to manipulate Mammon to use that attack every turn. Hence, it would probably be easy to defeat him in a TAS.
Posted: 5/16/2008 1:18 AM
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Nitrodon
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Joined: 3/4/2006
Posts: 341
My mistake about the money you get from the mayor. I was going completely from memory there. 77 strength means that the target HP value is 174, which means the maximum is 181. As for the damage dealt by Giegue, I'll try to reach that battle later and hack it. Damage manipulation is no problem, since damage and turn order are the only things to manipulate in that battle at all. Looking at the various maps on starmen.net, the LifeUpCreams close to my route are in the Zoo Office, Sweet Little's Factory, Rosemary Manor, and the doctor near the base of Mt. Itoi. I may skip the one in the Zoo Office for inventory management reasons. The Bread in Duncan's Factory is slightly out of the way, but at least it means I wouldn't need to pick up the Franklin Badge until I already have a second character to carry items. EDIT: My brief hacking attempt seems to indicate that Giegue's damage is always in the range 75-88 (37-44 defending or PSI shield, 18-22 defending with PSI shield). This means that Ninten would need to be level 26 to survive 5 attacks with a PSI shield up. If you've seen his attack deal 31 damage, I suppose I'll have to try hacking it more. Also, Giegue has 84 speed, which is exactly the same speed as my level 32 Ninten (from my normal playthrough), so turn order manipulation at level 25-26 should be easy enough. EDIT2: The ability to survive 4.5 attacks seems to be enough to beat Giegue with 3 LifeUpCreams anyway, so this does not cause any problems. EDIT3: Giegue's speed seemed like too much of a coincidence, so I tested something. It turns out that his speed is always exactly equal to Ninten's. Also, I was somehow dealt 17 damage a few times and 16 damage once while testing this (defending with a PSI shield up in all instances). I clearly didn't look closely enough while attempting to determine the damage formula. EDIT4: Yeah, I'm an idiot. I forgot to notice that some bit determines whether to add or subtract the random number (0 to 13.5) from the base damage (75). Giegue's damage range is thus 61-88, which actually means it's barely possible to survive 6 shielded hits at level 25, and I think that means you only need 2 LifeUpCreams. EDIT5: I misread the table, and it's actually +/- 24% instead of 18%. Giegue's damage range is therefore 57-93, or 28-46 with a PSI shield up. [EDIT6: 75 + 24% is not 91, so I corrected it]
Posted: 5/15/2008 5:21 AM
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Nitrodon
Experienced Forum User, Published Author, Active player (283)
Joined: 3/4/2006
Posts: 341
I've had some thoughts about this run, and I believe I have most of a route. There are still some places that need work before someone tries an actual run with this route, as I explain at the end of this post. 1) Defeat lamp, defeat doll, gain first melody, get basement key and take everything out of the basement. Equip the bat sometime later when you're in the menu anyway. 2) Start a breadcrumb trail near city hall and go rescue Pippi. Use the crumbs to return and get $200 from the mayor, then go get the canary chick and as much bread as you can carry. 3) Return the canary chick to Laura for the second melody, then continue to the zoo. Start a breadcrumb trail near the zoo entrance. 4) Pick up a rope on the way to Starman Junior, and use it on him. Then, SMAAAASH his lights out until he dies. Backtrack to the third melody, then use the breadcrumbs to return to the entrance. Go to Magicant. 5) Save the game as soon as you enter Magicant. Then, without doing anything else, exit Magicant. Ignore the fish. 6) Using a breadcrumb trail, go to Sweet Little's factory and get a bottle rocket. 7) Using a breadcrumb trail, go to Rosemary Manor and get the fourth melody. (Walk through the tunnels to get there.) 8) Recruit Lloyd. Using a breadcrumb trail, go to Duncan's factory and fire the rocket. The stray dog should be easy enough to defeat. 9) Get the sixth melody, then go all the way to EVE without stopping for any plot events. 10) With EVE to kill enemies quickly, kill off Lloyd and power-level Ninten to at least 25 (see notes below). At one point during this segment, make a Star Miner drop a Super Bomb. 11) Get the seventh and eighth melodies and kill off the party. You will respawn in Magicant (where you last saved). 12) Revive Lloyd. Using a breadcrumb trail, go to the dragon and throw a super bomb at him for the fifth melody. 13) Play the eight melodies to Queen Mary. 14) Defeat Giegue. Here are the parts where this route needs some work or thought. The Starman Junior fight might be slow at level 2. Gaining one level on the way there might make it faster. This would need to be tested. Then again, gaining 19 exp isn't exactly something I can do quickly with a weak Ninten, so I doubt gaining a level could be worth it. I don't actually remember how much bread you can hold when it's time to buy some. I may end up needing to buy more sometime. Starmen.net is temporarily down as I write this, so I'm not sure how well this would work. As far as I can tell, Giegue is impossible to solo with a level 25 Ninten. He needs to reach level 29 and learn lifeup beta to stand a chance. Alternatively, I could recruit Ana and manipulate her HP. If I remember my calculations correctly, she can reach 81 HP at level 13. Going from level 1 to 13 takes much less exp than level 25 to 29, but I'm not sure if the time taken to recruit her is worth it. Regardless of anything, I still think a solo battle is the fastest way to defeat Giegue until someone convinces me otherwise.
Posted: 5/5/2008 7:18 AM
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Nitrodon
Experienced Forum User, Published Author, Active player (283)
Joined: 3/4/2006
Posts: 341
Based on the disassembly and the RAM, it is possible for the scepter to be at (11,5). I have no idea if it's possible to manipulate it quickly though. I looked at the RNG, which is longer than necessary because the programmer has obviously never heard of the ROR instruction. The RNG involves three 2-byte values, which I will call A (FFFF40), B (FFFF42), and C (FFFF44). When the RNG is called, these numbers are changed in the following way (treat these as happening simultaneously): A = A + (B rotated 5 bits right) B = B - (C rotated 7 bits right) C = C xor (A rotated 3 bits right) I'm not sure if the numbers are changed by any other means.
Posted: 5/4/2008 6:40 AM
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Nitrodon
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Joined: 3/4/2006
Posts: 341
Based on that disassembly, this line seems to be responsible for determining whether the scepter can appear in a given square. The game will keep choosing random coordinates until the scepter appears in a valid square. 
00:2960  4A 30  TST.B   $00(A0,D0)
Note: A0 = FFFF9C52, D0 = (continent << 12) + (X << 6) + Y The routine at 01:3A78 is probably the RNG. If that can be deciphered, it would make this manipulation that much easier. Unfortunately, I don't know 68K ASM either.
Posted: 4/19/2008 1:23 AM
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Nitrodon
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Joined: 3/4/2006
Posts: 341
The OR, AND, and XOR commands all clear the carry flag and clear/set the zero flag depending on whether the result is 0. OR A (or AND A) is faster and uses fewer bytes than CP 0, so it's the preferred way to determine whether the accumulator is equal to zero. The F register contains all of the flags, so that's why it changed when the AND A command was executed.
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