Posts for Samsara


Samsara
She/They
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DJ Incendration wrote:
That's still legit.
I literally linked the clause in the rules that says it's not legit. It's explicitly a level select that was left in as a debugging feature in this prototype ROM. Other officially released games by the same developer have the exact same style of level select hidden behind cheats or passwords, most notably the game that this prototype ended up becoming.
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warmCabin wrote:
You shouldn't need a degree in computer science to get into this hobby.
Samsara
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I don't really think that's necessary. The actually released version of the game has a password that unlocks the exact same level select, which seems to be a running theme in games from Bit Managers. Otto's Ottofantotto: Baby Boomer Nightmare or whatever should probably be the preferred version to TAS from here on out. It's pretty much the exact same game, just with better graphics and slightly changed level layouts. Its existence shouldn't affect this run's publication, though... Because, I mean, let's be real, I seriously doubt anyone is ever actually going to TAS Ottifanten anyway. Holy hell, it's so much slower and worse to play. You can't even walk diagonally! They regressed in gameplay from the prototype! Who even does that?
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warmCabin wrote:
You shouldn't need a degree in computer science to get into this hobby.
Samsara
She/They
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Patashu wrote:
I assume the reason why this game gets so many submissions is because it's super easy to resync, and a lot of its movement is prince of persia style or frame rule determined, so it's easy to do things optimally given the best known routes/tricks, not because Samtastic is half-assing his submissions.
I don't think the runs are half-assed, I'd just like to prevent another situation where we dedicate time and resources to judging a run, then multiple improvements, and then fully processing a supposed final version only to have a brand new improvement come in barely a week after publication with an immediate subsequent improvement afterward. I'll replace the file now, but I'm going to hold off on judging just in case more improvements manage to trickle in.
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warmCabin wrote:
You shouldn't need a degree in computer science to get into this hobby.
Samsara
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Are you planning on improving it further? Given the number of improvements on the previous submission, and now this submission that's already had an improvement, I'd prefer to wait for an absolutely final version before replacing and judging.
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warmCabin wrote:
You shouldn't need a degree in computer science to get into this hobby.
Post subject: Re: #6848: arukAdo's GBC Castlevania Adventure in 14:01.02
Samsara
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Nach wrote:
Samsara wrote:
Having watched the run several times by now, I'm inclined to agree: Game boring. (quietly googles which belmont this is) Christopher moves very slowly
Come on man, it was in the first response in this thread.
Come on man, it's right next to my name.
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warmCabin wrote:
You shouldn't need a degree in computer science to get into this hobby.
Samsara
She/They
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warmCabin wrote:
You shouldn't need a degree in computer science to get into this hobby.
Samsara
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tormented wrote:
I was hit with a mismatched cycle count error watching this on the emulator, though.
Fixed and replaced the file. Frame count is the same, but it's a tiny bit longer in real time because GB emulation accuracy sure is a thing, huh?
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warmCabin wrote:
You shouldn't need a degree in computer science to get into this hobby.
Samsara
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Xujhan wrote:
While I'm thinking of it: once the any% video is done, should I update this submission or make a new one? I'd guess the latter, but I figured I should double check.
It's a different category, so it would be a different submission.
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warmCabin wrote:
You shouldn't need a degree in computer science to get into this hobby.
Samsara
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Thanks for the update! Glad to see you're working on the any%, having an optimized run will make it much easier to compare the two categories. Admittedly (and unfortunately), given the lack of interest on this run, the fate of glitchless seems to be rejection at the moment, but I'll wait for the new any% and compare the differences myself before making a decision on what to do with it.
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warmCabin wrote:
You shouldn't need a degree in computer science to get into this hobby.
Samsara
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This is getting pretty positive voting, but not a lot of convincing thread feedback. Is this worthy of Moons? It's certainly an incredibly impressive run on a technical level, but does removing all of the enemies actually make it more entertaining of a watch?
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warmCabin wrote:
You shouldn't need a degree in computer science to get into this hobby.
Samsara
She/They
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PikachuMan wrote:
My run was faster than the unassisted world record. I'm baffled it got rejected...
We can't just allow anything that beats all RTA runs because, in theory, any single TAS tool (rerecords, slowdown, frame advance, etc) should be able to beat any RTA run by at least a second. You always have to go above and beyond that in order to get something accepted. You can be 5 seconds ahead of RTA or 45 whole minutes, it doesn't matter if the overall quality of the run isn't up to snuff. TASing for this site is about aiming for a run that is as perfect as possible, without cutting any corners. It's pooling together the internet's collective knowledge about your game, discovering more on your own, and spending time, possibly a lot of time, making the absolute best possible run you are able to. Treat TASing every game in the same way you would treat, say, trying to beat the SMB1 TAS: You can't just settle for anything, you have to eke out every single frame across the entire run. If you ever decide to try and improve this: Don't just aim for the sub-2:15:00 you talked about earlier in the thread. Aim for sub-2 hours or even less. Is it possible? Maybe not, but you'll never know unless you try. Never settle for your first attempt, or your second attempt... Or even your third attempt. When you finish a level, save it, and then immediately redo it and see if you can do it faster. Repeat until you can't do it faster. Post about your progress in the game thread you made, work with the community to cut down the time as much as possible. There's some good information in the thread, RAM addresses and WIPs to compare to and such, but keep in mind the feedback brought up in this thread as well, namely the thing about being entertaining during autoscrollers, as the run might still be rejected if it's not entertaining enough to make it to Moons even if it is fully optimized. Proving that you're making a deeply optimized, highly entertaining TAS of this game would almost assuredly get you your submission privileges back. You're definitely capable of doing great work, we just need to actually see it come to fruition.
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warmCabin wrote:
You shouldn't need a degree in computer science to get into this hobby.
Samsara
She/They
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InfamousKnight wrote:
I'm aware of that. Thank you anyways.
Think whatever you want as long as you're still following the guidelines. The most dangerous thing about your line of thought is the idea that you might not be taking it seriously. Wear a mask, social distance, sanitize everything, even if you don't think you're at risk. At this point, we don't need more people in the US who don't do the research and spread misinformation as a result.
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warmCabin wrote:
You shouldn't need a degree in computer science to get into this hobby.
Samsara
She/They
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Joined: 11/13/2006
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warmCabin wrote:
You shouldn't need a degree in computer science to get into this hobby.
Samsara
She/They
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Sounds like a keyboard limitation to me. Some keyboards just don't recognize multiple inputs at once. You can work around it by going into Controllers, disabling Auto Tab, and binding all three inputs to an unused key.
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warmCabin wrote:
You shouldn't need a degree in computer science to get into this hobby.
Samsara
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Sorry for the double post, just bumping this submission so people will check it. Posing a question to the general audience: Is this category worth publishing alongside a glitched version? I don't see a lot of feedback for it after a few weeks on the bench, so I'm leaning towards not having glitchless as a separate branch, though I'd like to actually get some opinions before moving further with a decision.
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warmCabin wrote:
You shouldn't need a degree in computer science to get into this hobby.
Samsara
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Sounds like you're recording straight to AVI/video, which will keep in any state saves/loads. You'll want to record to an input file (File > Movie > Record Movie) first, then play back that movie and record it to video from there.
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warmCabin wrote:
You shouldn't need a degree in computer science to get into this hobby.
Samsara
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Link to video No despawning Drac, unfortunately. This would likely be the same with any other ground-based boss, but it might be worth checking just in case. EDIT: No despawning any boss. Mummies and Creature just float on top of pits:
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warmCabin wrote:
You shouldn't need a degree in computer science to get into this hobby.
Samsara
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In the future, please upload fixed/improved movie files to Userfiles and post them in your original submission thread. I'll be cancelling the original submission.
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warmCabin wrote:
You shouldn't need a degree in computer science to get into this hobby.
Samsara
She/They
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Got it! Submission file will remain the same, and the alternate file will be provided in the acceptance message. The feedback on entertainment is looking better than the previous submissions, though I'd like a little more before determining tier. 5 Yes/3 Meh is borderline to me when the thread feedback shows more positive than negative.
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warmCabin wrote:
You shouldn't need a degree in computer science to get into this hobby.
Samsara
She/They
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Judges pretty much agree that the submission is perfectly fine with where it ends. I'm more concerned about the Publisher side, and with both of the seniors asleep right now I'd rather not try to make a judgement call on what they'll think. I may as well update the submission with the improvement, though. Not sure why I didn't do that already.
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warmCabin wrote:
You shouldn't need a degree in computer science to get into this hobby.
Samsara
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"Minimum score" was not the intended goal of the run to begin with, therefore there's no consistent proof that the goal was even accomplished. If killing is the only thing that contributes to score, then that's all the needed proof.
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warmCabin wrote:
You shouldn't need a degree in computer science to get into this hobby.
Samsara
She/They
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This game has credits. You have to keep providing input to go through them (A will advance through until taking you back to the title screen, B will instantly send you to the title screen), but they are in fact credits. The provided userfile clears the credits as soon as possible, meant to be an alternate for publication purposes. It's based on the improvement file: I was in fact verifying sync for the improvement file before I replaced it when I came across this. The input from the submission is completely unchanged. EDIT: User movie #65324994620780895 This userfile leaves the end screen and each page of the credits up longer, for a more "cinematic" publication experience, if by "cinematic" you mean "completely musicless and boring as heck". Movie file will be replaced once there's a clear consensus on the state of this game's awful, boring end sequence.
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warmCabin wrote:
You shouldn't need a degree in computer science to get into this hobby.
Samsara
She/They
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DreamYao wrote:
Can the goal be defined as "minimum score"?
There's no visibly defined score to speak of in the game, so no. EDIT: I've been informed there is in fact a score, but only on the pause screen. Still, given that "lowest score" wasn't the initial goal, but a reclassification of the run, there would need to be proof that the score is in fact as low as it possibly can be for it to count as an applicable goal. Ideally, there'd be a way to see the score in the run as well, but it could be tracked through RAM without needing to change the run.
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warmCabin wrote:
You shouldn't need a degree in computer science to get into this hobby.
Samsara
She/They
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Mazzin wrote:
first of all, i wonder why i always have to proove stuff to everyone in form of a file or video, but you are just allowed to claim stuff like that without evidence? i just find that unfair and it makes me feel like my words hold less value than that of other people here... (but whatever, this is not what i was going to get into for now.)
Ideally, every claim should be backed by a video and/or an input file. They hold a lot more value than words do. In this case, I'm still way more inclined to believe arukAdo due to his familiarity with TASing the game, and the fact that he's working off of the GBC version (which I would consider the preferred version, personally). It's entirely possible that your candle thing only applies to the greyscale GB version.
back to what you said. i have no file or anything prepared to proove it, but i kinda wanna appeal to everyones rational thought process here. (in addition, ONLY seeing something doesn't necessarily mean you understand it, so i think those calls for proof often sound more like a cheap excuse to ignore an extra step of thinking to me, but im drifting away again.)
A call for proof is... a call for proof. This isn't CVAvideos. We're not all experts in this game, and the technical explanation of whether or not a candle spawns isn't going to persuade us nearly as much as the actual visible gameplay that should accompany that explanation.
oh wait!! if your rule even says that 2 candles is ok, what were you even talking above then?? you still don't use your brains right? ok, let me explain this too... -_-
If you don't want to stir up drama, stop insulting other users like this.
imagine 2 candles above each other in a room.
Instructions unclear, imagining 4 balls at the edge of a cliff.
to walk in and out of sight you need 1 full room/screen of movement. but if you have the candles alined horizontally and you only see 1 first and then the next comes into sight after a while, that is more than 1 room/screen of movement but in exchange you will only have a smaller time where both candles are on screen at the same time, so the start and end of that scene only shows 1 candle on both sides. so it is even less laggy than the case with 2 candles on the same vertical position. (sadly i have no comparison for those cases but i assume the longer the screen time takes the worse, meaning the 2 candles in same spot case might be faster than 2 candles in line) so what am i saying?
"Time works the same way"?
well, there is one more thing i wanted to adress: i tried to do that trick in level 3 with the floor and ceiling and i actually got it to work. and the same applies for the knights in level 4, it seems i was just too dumb to pull it off when i made my run. but i also didn't have a RAM watch to help me... im kind ashamed that i didn't manage to find/pull off those parts and seeing them work now makes my run feel very unoptimized in that regard.
I think this is why you're being scrutinized more than arukAdo here: He doesn't really need to prove anything, his test run (and I do stress test run here) was based off of RAM watch and prior knowledge of the game, whereas all you've really done is overexplained a single technique and casually insulted his knowledge of the game, while also admitting you weren't using all the tools you had at your disposal. That's kind of the thing with TASing: I've said before that all you need to make a great TAS is patience and Google, but the Google part of that is actually really extensive. For example: If you don't know how to RAM search, Google it. More specifically, look up how to use something like Cheat Engine, as it's literally the exact same process but there's bound to be a lot more documentation on it. You're always going to get better results through watching the values than you're going to get through just watching the screen.
so i wouldn't mind if you reject my submission since it now actually is not optimal at all in some places. (here is a good example where video proof works, because it is rather obvious that a major exploit saves a shitload of time, but small actions that only save a few frames here and there aren't really obvious, so i don't think that is worth the struggle of making a file or video for them. just my opinion)
Minor known improvements wouldn't normally get a run rejected unless they should have been implemented in the first place (i.e, they were known ahead of time, in the published run or a faster offsite run). You can always cancel the run yourself if you feel that it isn't optimal enough, especially if you're not going to work on a new one.
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warmCabin wrote:
You shouldn't need a degree in computer science to get into this hobby.
Samsara
She/They
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Joined: 11/13/2006
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Site parser hates you but I got you covered:
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warmCabin wrote:
You shouldn't need a degree in computer science to get into this hobby.