Experienced Forum User, Published Author, Former player
Joined: 8/17/2004
Posts: 377
Wow, I haven't posted here in forever.
I always felt the Clash at Demonhead run could be improved, I'm surprised it took this long to happen. I made the first one when I was a TAS newbie and I never really tried to improve it. I guess I kinda lost interest in TASing myself, I'm much more interested in watching the results from other people. :)
I'm really glad this improvement was made. Well done, Randil!
Experienced Forum User, Published Author, Former player
Joined: 8/17/2004
Posts: 377
I haven't posted here in quite awhile, but I guess it's appropriate to do so now since I was the first to think about a Wario Land II 100% TAS (and promptly gave up due to the aforementioned silver coin debacle).
So it was every 64 frames, eh? It seems so..... easy in hindsight.
I look forward to watching this one.
EDIT: And to answer the above question: When you get hit during a boss fight you're normally thrown out of the 'ring' so to speak, and have to start over. So it's kind of like losing a life, except not.
Experienced Forum User, Published Author, Former player
Joined: 8/17/2004
Posts: 377
I vote to publish this as a seperate run. There's plenty of games out there with sequence breaks and non-sequence breaks.
I was entirely impressed with the run itself, but everyone else seems to have the praise covered, so I won't be redundant. :D
Experienced Forum User, Published Author, Former player
Joined: 8/17/2004
Posts: 377
Wow, that pause screen glitch is really surprising.
I have to wonder, would it be possible to use this to survive Mother Brain's hyper beam with less than three energy tanks? Could it technically be possible, using this, to make a run that collects no energy tanks, and still defeat Mother Brain? Granted, I know this is a pretty arbitrary category, and not having energy tanks would hurt the run in speed (restricting shinesparking, etc), but I'm mostly curious to see if it's at least possible...
Experienced Forum User, Published Author, Former player
Joined: 8/17/2004
Posts: 377
The fifth screenshot looks pretty good. (Going through that area with the Earth Crest) The other screenshots are either uninteresting, spoilery (Phalanx) or have blank text boxes.
Though, the eighth screenshot looks pretty good too, for the same reason as the fifth (a place where you'd normally use the Water Crest, but aren't)
Experienced Forum User, Published Author, Former player
Joined: 8/17/2004
Posts: 377
This game is a favorite of mine, and I'm glad to see a 100% run of it.
The route was well planned, it was played well, and while Firebrand moves at a snail's pace before getting the Earth Crest it didn't make it any less enjoyable to watch, to me.
Firebrand = Very Yes.
Experienced Forum User, Published Author, Former player
Joined: 8/17/2004
Posts: 377
Perhaps I should elaborate, since I didn't intend to make it seem I was an example of rules 6 and 7.
While the inability to 'see' the progression throughout the castle hurt the run, at its concept, a bit, I still enjoyed watching the movie. It showed off much more of the overall game than the other published runs. (And, personally, I made occasional save states, stopped the movie, and loaded them to take a look at the map. But of course, that won't make any difference in a published avi)
More bosses are fought, more sights are seen, I didn't notice any errors in the playing, and since I personally don't consider a 100% map run to be an arbitrary goal in a Castlevania TAS, I voted yes. :)
Experienced Forum User, Published Author, Former player
Joined: 8/17/2004
Posts: 377
I'm kind of torn on this run.
On the one hand I don't think 100% map completion is an arbitrary goal. The game records your progression through the castle and each square on the map counts towards the overall percentage. In this manner, is it any more arbitrary that 100% items in a Metroid game? (Particularly the first Metroid, which doesn't even have a counter for the items).
On the other hand, the fun of getting 100% map completion in a Castlevania game comes from playing it yourself. Seeing it in action isn't nearly as satisfying, since you can't see the map as the movie is being played. Thus it's too hard to tell just by watching the movie how much of the castle you have completed. Using the Metroid example again, at least you can see via energy tank and missile counts, the number of items you have.
But, I'll have to vote yes despite the second point. It well played and the effort that must've went into planning the route alone is commendable.
Experienced Forum User, Published Author, Former player
Joined: 8/17/2004
Posts: 377
Wendy and Lemmy are the two pipe bosses. Hopefully Iggy and Larry can be made to die on their own. That leaves Morton, Roy, and Ludwig, but is it even necessary to insert them? Could they be cut out entirely, with a standard level exit in their castles? It might seem like a bit of a cop-out, but if they can't be edited at all it might be the best option.
Anyway, I'm looking forward to seeing this. :D
Experienced Forum User, Published Author, Former player
Joined: 8/17/2004
Posts: 377
Hey, I'm glad to see there's an interest in this game again. I don't have the time anymore (or even the skill, really) to TAS, but it's great to see someone else take Goemon up.
And my vote is to leave the Impact songs in the AVI. Boring? They're awesome! But I'm a fan, so I'm biased. :D Heck, I even wish it were possible to put the opening song in the movie as well, but since that can be skipped to save time it wouldn't make practical sense, oh well.
And yeah, any% would be better to start off with, since it would be far more likely anyone not familiar with the game would watch a shorter movie, than a much longer one.
Experienced Forum User, Published Author, Former player
Joined: 8/17/2004
Posts: 377
I played this hack YEARS ago, and enjoyed it quite a lot. In fact, I've always wondered when it would pop up here as a submission.
Excellent glitching, I was surprised that you could get through both quests in such a short period of time. Yes vote.
Though, I WOULD like to see a non-glitch run that collects all the faeries too. But I don't count as just wanting to see a walkthrough movie since I've already beaten the hack once before.
....though I wouldn't mind seeing a full-run movie to refresh my memory. ;D
Experienced Forum User, Published Author, Former player
Joined: 8/17/2004
Posts: 377
After finally watching the movie (thanks so much for the AVI, DeHackEd) I'll have to vote yes just on the merit of it being a marvelous achievement.
The movie DID become very hard to follow, it was difficult to may attention to more than two windows at once. It was almost impossible to tell it was all from the same input, and I really wouldn't have been able to tell if I didn't KNOW it to be the case. It kind of falters here compared to the MMX1-2 movie which did make it easier to see it was from the same input.
Then there's the audio, but really, NOTHING can be done about that.
It's just a shame that the four final bosses couldn't be lined up at the same time, it was a bit distracting to see all the other three games end, with MM4 still fighting Wily, but it's enough that this worked out as well as it did.
Anyway, bravo on the achievement.
Experienced Forum User, Published Author, Former player
Joined: 8/17/2004
Posts: 377
Gah, I've tried watching it, I've followed the directions but whenever I try to unpause the four FCEU's only about two or three will actually unpause. Disable background input is selected for each one but it never 'clicks' with all four. And it's random, so if I try to repause the ones that were unpaused, then it's like the 'pause' button is hit for another random two or three instances, and things just get messed up.
So I'll have to wait for an AVI, and I'll hold off on voting. Congrats on completing it, though.
Experienced Forum User, Published Author, Former player
Joined: 8/17/2004
Posts: 377
I'll also have to vote no.
While I would like to see a movie using those cheats, perhaps as a concept demo, I'd much rather see the full game, instead of just Wily's castle. There really wasn't much to the cheats, aside from having Megman jump higher.
Also, what was the point of switching to Spark Shock at the end of Wily 4? It's true you use it on the next boss, but that's in Wily 5, and you only need to switch to it again when you start that stage.
Experienced Forum User, Published Author, Former player
Joined: 8/17/2004
Posts: 377
Awesome, I can't wait to see the end result of this. Though I'll probably wait for an encoded AVI since that'll be easier to view than setting up four FCEUs at once.
Anyway, good luck with the rest of it!
Experienced Forum User, Published Author, Former player
Joined: 8/17/2004
Posts: 377
Chamale wrote:
Is there any sort of byte in the game that goes from 0 (Wart is not defeated) to 1 (Wart is defeated)?
I don't think so. I used to dabble in SMB2 romhacking ages ago, though I wouldn't call myself an expert on it. But I THINK the ending can only be triggered in 7-2. Wart being defeated really isn't anything special, the way he actually dies is different from the other bosses, but like all the other bosses his defeat just triggers the exit door, in this case it leads to the ending. And that exit door has to be in 7-2 for it to work. In other words, if you planted Wart in another stage and defeated him, then nothing would probably happen. (He'd certainly look messed up, since his graphics are only in the World 7 tileset)
The Minus World movie is different. Though you don't get the actual ending at the end, the game treats it as such, more or less, and brings you back to the title screen. Which is where the difference here is. Even if your glitch did flag something as 'Wart being defeated' (the game doesn't work like that, but for arguements sake let's say it did) you still wouldn't get thrown into the ending. You have to enter the exit door leading to the ending to get there, and that door is only flagged to appear in Wart's room in 7-2, after he's defeated. And as Bisqwit said, even if that was the case, and Wart was recorded as being 'defeated' there in 1-1, he'd still be there again in 7-2. Say you die after defeating one of the other bosses (throw yourself into the pit in Triclyde's room in 6-3), you still need to fight that boss again after returning to the room because the data has been reset when you reenter.
Anyway, I'm not trying to rain on your parade or anything, it's still an amusing glitch, and I really have no idea what IS happening. It's at least worth looking into, even if the end result won't be what you initially thought.
Experienced Forum User, Published Author, Former player
Joined: 8/17/2004
Posts: 377
Actually, listening closely, I don't think that's even the sound Wart makes when he dies.
If I'm right, there's two distinct sound effects Bosses make. One is when they get hit, the other when they die. They sound similar, but are different (the one when they die is slightly longer, and is higher). When Wart dies he makes the dying sound effect three times as he falls off screen. But those shyguys just make the 'getting hit' sound effect a few times (and not even in the same pattern).
Amusing glitch, but it's in no way Wart... of course I'm just explaining it aesthetically. ^_^
Experienced Forum User, Published Author, Former player
Joined: 8/17/2004
Posts: 377
I used to own this game back when I first bought my Gameboy, ages ago. I haven't played it since...
Personally I'd like to see a 100% run. Mainly because it'll show more variety and be more entertaining. Of course, there should be room for two different categories for this game, but I don't think a 100% run would be that much longer from a normal run, because it's not like you can skip levels. You'll just be grabbing the Rainbow Drops, then fighting Dark Matter. The biggest difficulty will be planning ahead when and where to get the powers you'll need for the drops. Since there probably won't be a huge difference in run legth, may as well go for the 100%.
Experienced Forum User, Published Author, Former player
Joined: 8/17/2004
Posts: 377
pirate_sephiroth wrote:
Anyways... somebody said that runs made with the original version would desync if played in the hacked DX version, but they work perfectly. Of course, you need to edit the movie file's header, to change it to a gbc movie.
Could you describe how to do that? I have the hacked ROM as well and wouldn't mind re-watching the movie using it...
Experienced Forum User, Published Author, Former player
Joined: 8/17/2004
Posts: 377
Wow, just... wow.
That has to be the best improvised commentary EVER.
Is there any way to record the AVI with the command showing? Because I think this movie totally deserves it.
Obvious yes vote, #40, woot!
Experienced Forum User, Published Author, Former player
Joined: 8/17/2004
Posts: 377
Well, allow me to be the first to vote Yes, and the first to post.
Of course I had most of the movie watched already from your WIPs.
I'm glad to see this game finally get done, despite it's uncooperative RNG. The fact that you got it under 2:15:00 is impressive enough, especially when a lot of others thought sub 3-hour alone would be a feat.
While I'm sure a more polished run could shave a bit more time off, I believe this should be published anyway because A) the unpredictability of the game may not necessarily make a polished run go as smoothly, B) A lot of work clearly went into it and the author did a great job manipulating what he could within the game engine, and C) it's the last Dragon Warrior game on the NES to not get a movie.
Anyway, kudos Dave! Or should we start calling you Erdrick now?
Experienced Forum User, Published Author, Former player
Joined: 8/17/2004
Posts: 377
I don't think I've posted about Dave's run yet, but I've been following his posted movies with great interest. I was worried that we might never see a Dragon Warrior 3 run on this site, but now it looks like it'll happen, so I'm quite happy.
I wish I could offer something in the way of advice, but it's been too long since I've played the game and everyone else who has been posting seems to know the game inside and out. But the run certainly has my support.
