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mindnomad wrote:
oh ok. i wouldn't know about working with dolphin that much since my computer doesn't have the required specs to run the games...
however, i know a good way to gain speed using the spinning ground-pound (spin attack and ground-pound). if your at a good distance from a luma/toad/rosalina/any character that you can talk to (not sure about the signs though), you could do that ground pound near them and you would hit them, giving you a lot of speed in the direction you hit the character from.
i don't know if i explained it too well... but i hope you guys know what i mean :P
I've seen videos of this being used to break the anti-gravity in the observatory. I've done this a few times because the homing feature of the attack is useful. This trick could be useful for short bursts, but I don't know for sure if it would be faster than a normal long jump (spin-ground pound has Mario pause in the air for a bit before descending)
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Yep.
I am almost certain that certain actions influence how much treasure comes from the end-of-the-level treasure chest. Less treasure would mean less money for powerups but a faster finish of the level. I'm not sure if the treasure planning was optimal or not, but he did collect the available treasure quite quickly.
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NitroGenesis wrote:
I'll pick it up when I'm finished Castle of Dragon.
Do you have any RAM adresses?
I'll also try and help as well. There were some spots where I think can be improved. I have a few RAM addresses, but I'm not sure if they correctly represent the values I'm looking for at the moment. I'll post them later on when I test the addresses.
@theenglishman : what version of desmume are you using? and what configurations?
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jlun2 wrote:
TRT wrote:
Naturally, I would be picking latter, but this mode has to be unlocked (and I don't know how much longer into the future until DeSmume can start a movie from a savestate)
Is it possible to unlock the mode first, then record from Sram?
I'm a little embarrassed to say that I overlooked this. After all this time, I missed that feature.
But a question still remains about starting this particular TAS from SRAM. Should I unlock and buy everything before starting Gentleman mode, or should I just beat Normal without buying anything (thus adding some strategy to how I spend the time buying while in Gentleman mode).
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Its been a while since I've played this game (maybe 3 months). But I still remember that there were two words that described this game: deceptively challenging. I think this can be a good game to TAS. A TAS managing the top screen's fighting and platforming, and bottom screen's puzzles can be an entertaining run
I'm pretty sure that stylus can be used for the puzzle world (saving a lot of time in eliminating blocks). However, I'm on the fence about whether to do the normal mode or gentleman mode (hard mode). Gentleman mode is more difficult of course but you start with all your techniques and (if memory serves me correctly) the bought power-ups. Naturally, I would be picking latter, but this mode has to be unlocked (and I don't know how much longer into the future until DeSmume can start a movie from a savestate)
What does everyone think about this game?
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Yeah, I believe Dolphin was pretty unpredictable when it came to playing back the input. I'm going to check out this Release Candidate and see how it does with a few short test runs or something.
Omg! I just found out that my run is slower than LightBlueYoshi's! To be exact, every part that showed him using Toad as a boost.
......
Why didn't I thought of that?
......
Oh well, time to restart the run!
.....
Edit: Well, that was a waste of time. I gained 10 frames......
just to lose 30+ frames due to lag ._.
I guess I can't Toad boost anymore....
Do you have the addresses for the Bros movement? Maybe that can help explore ways to get boosts.
I agree that you should work on POW instead of stache. If you do only stache, I believe your Lucky hits would be doing around the same damage as when you do only POW. Maximizing POW for all Bros while getting Lucky hits every so often is probably best, in my opinion.
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I've been looking at the sample lua scripts to get an idea of how to write it (I really see how I can use this in some of my future projects) Its nothing too different from Java or C++.
However, some parts of it seem fuzzy for me. Just to be sure I get the basics of it, how would the general syntax of these two look like (with Desmume 0.9.5 as the emulator):
While a certain memory value is 0, press "right" and X
Keep advancing one frame until a certain memory value is 1, then have a save state at that point.
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thechucknorrisofNSMB wrote:
I don't think so(from what I've seen of the memory adresses) but it's hard to figure out both "Bros Movement" stats(memory values)
BTW, thanks for the wch file! It's doing great things! I found out that during the "tutorial" part of the Bowser fight, Bowser's health is locked at 20. So I should intentionally fail some jumps to speed things up.
EDIT: My new WIP is here!
Do you mind sending me the configuration of your desmume. I can't see the full WIP because it tends to desync for me (more specifically, the input from the dsm file falls behind what is displayed on the screen which makes me think that desmume on your computer has a bit more lag). What I see so far, however, is pretty good.
Thanks in advance .
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arflech wrote:
thechucknorrisofNSMB wrote:
v9.4. I've also made a more optimized WIP with v9.5.
fixed
Looks pretty good. Just a question. Is it possible to enter a room faster; sometimes it looks like you can enter a room earlier (like on the way to the meeting room, is it possible to move upward at an earlier frame?).
Anyways, can't wait to see how the final draft would turn out. Maybe I can help in something later on.
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To be honest, I was unsure how good the TAS would look on a game like Advanced Wars, being an RPG and all. Its almost like a TAS of chess or checkers.
However, what kept me interested in the run was the strategies used which I was not aware of. Sneaking past an enemy onslaught always seems satisfying to me.
So my vote is a borderline yes.
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moozooh wrote:
When I was watching the video I was thinking of two words: "potential" and "untapped". Then I reread your post and saw it was very sloppy by design. Which begs a question: if you were willing to demonstrate how the TAS would be going to look, why not make it at least close to how it would look? Pretty much the only reason I got any enjoyment out of it was due to the game being an assault on the senses — in a good way.
But all that aside, if a TAS of the second game makes the first one effectively redundant, it might be a far better idea to start with it instead.
Do you have any estimates on the completion times for either game? Also, what other modes may be suitable for TASing?
To be honest, I made this test run some time ago and I was lazy and a TAS noob when I made it. Rather than going frame by frame, I slowed down the game. But I did focus more against the bosses than against the main waves. This semi-TAS was for me to see the potential of an optimized run.
As for the total game time, I would guess 10-15 minutes for both Space Invaders Extreme 1 and 2. I'm pretty sure each level would be around 2-3 minutes long. In both games there are 5 stages but after stage 2 they branch off in difficulty depending on your score ranking (Rank B , A, or S give you the option to choose a harder branch)
In Space Invaders Extreme, you start with Arcade Mode, Ranking Mode (like Arcade Mode but without unlimited continues), and Multiplayer mode (where you can go against another player or computer). Then there are unlockable modes: Extreme Mode (more difficult Arcade), Stage Mode (playinga single stage), and Endless Mode (play all stages without a boss). In this game, I would think Arcade Mode with a 1-2-3B-4C-5D route would be the ideal approach. When movies can be made off saves, Extreme Mode and Endless Mode can also be tackled.
In Space Invaders Extreme 2, you start with Score Attack (the game records highest score), Time Attack (records the fastest time), and Multiplayer. Extreme Mode and Stage Select are unlockables in this one as well (Extreme being the most ideal when movies can be made off saves). I would go with Score Attack over Time Attack because then you can also go for high score as well as speed; plus, killing enemies quickly usually leads to higher scores anyway.
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This is a great game to play. In real time, it is challenging but not unfair. Especially in the later levels, you will lose lives if you are caught off guard.
I made a very sloppy first draft test run of a possible TAS run of Space Invaders Extreme. It will be redone in the future if people would like this type of run (and it will be played on hardest levels up to 5D). I will post a link to the test run video as soon as it is finished uploading.
For Space Invaders Extreme 2, the structure of the game is changed a little but it makes it easier to speedrun. The Bonus Round alien waves in Extreme 2 happen at the same time as the main waves, so the speedrun isn't exactly interrupted (unlike in the first game where the bonus round wave in a way interrupts and replaces the main wave you were currently at.)
Having beaten the second game on Extreme difficulty after getting my butt handed to me many times, I think Space Invaders Extreme 2 is just as good a game to TAS.
Edit:
Test run of Space Invaders Extreme:
http://www.megaupload.com/?d=3CE8UYXW
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Having a hard time figuring out the determiner of Lucky hits or the determiner of damage, but I found some useful addresses such Enemy Health, overworld movement speeds, and Mario/Luigi/Bowser stats.
Its in this .wch file. Hope this helps.
http://www.archive.org/download/MarioAndLuigiWchFile/4162-MarioAndLuigiBowsersInsideStoryuxenophobia.nds.wch
By the way, I'm probably going to start a new game later during my semester break to determine a route for a possible TAS.
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Chamale wrote:
TRT wrote:
-If I killed myself at the checkpoint of 8-Tower2, it may seem faster in the short run, but I would lose my Fire Flower and that is around 6-7 seconds loss when fighting Bowser Jr. I'm not sure if the suicide would save more than 7 seconds or not. I would look into that more.
Couldn't you just use the reserve flower after dying? Or, you could use the red coins later in the level to collect another fire flower.
Well, technically, I do not get the reserve flower until after the halfway point. But you do have a point about using the red-coin item to get another Fire Flower. Like I said before, I would test it out more and see if this indeed ends up being faster.
Speaking of improvement, I think the next improvement should feature Mario, and then, if there is another improvement, it should be Luigi. It'll be like a sibling rivalry of sorts :P.
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Time/SpaceMage wrote:
OK, one question. In World 5, wouldn't it be faster to kill the hammer bro so he wouldn't waste time moving around the map afterwards?
I didn't kill the hammer bro so that he can move to the right onto 5-Ghost and I can get the mini-Mushroom. Plus, the flying box was moving as well (it finished moving after the Hammer Bro finished).
Edit: You know, now that you mentioned it, I could have killed that hammer bro and manipulated the flying box to move to 5-Ghost and produce a mini-Mushroom instead
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Ialokin wrote:
I'm not experienced with TASing, but I've spent some time with normal speed runs of this game. In 8-Tower2 I have found that you can leave the green floaty block snake behind shortly after the level begins and run across the spikes and jump around to reach the check point directly before falling to commit suicide. I would make a video, but I lost my game cart like two years ago. I have timed this to be faster than just sticking with the blocks the whole time, but it may be different in a TAS because of how slow the overworld is. Also, you'll have to use regular ol' Mario to finish up the game. However, I have finished the final castle with 706 on the clock without using the R button in the room of flames with regular ol' Mario. I'm not sure how that compares to how the TAS does it because terrotim does not enter doors at the earliest instance possible (which stops the game clock earlier, but I'm guessing is slower in real time).
I'll just list a few techniques in the last castle I used that differ from the TAS, but I don't really know if they're faster or not:
- In the second room I would jump directly onto the first block and then ground pound the '?' button block. I found this to be faster than jumping off the right wall, but I didn't wall jump off of the middle block after the room has spun.
- In the big thwomp room I would jump to the right side of the big thwomp's smashing pedestal directly after ground pounding the '?' block. From the side of the pedestal I would wall jump and hold left, landing on the left side of the '?' button.
- This: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e9gqxwvMy0I !
Well, I'm not as experienced as others on this site at making TAS, but I'll address what you wrote:
-If I killed myself at the checkpoint of 8-Tower2, it may seem faster in the short run, but I would lose my Fire Flower and that is around 6-7 seconds loss when fighting Bowser Jr. I'm not sure if the suicide would save more than 7 seconds or not. I would look into that more.
-Entering the door as early as possible does stop the game's clock earlier, but because Mario/Luigi is not in the middle of door, you actually waste time watching Mario/Luigi run to the middle of the door before going in.
-In the second room of 8-Castle2, doing what you just said would involve losing speed to turn around and hit the switch, and this would end up being slower.
-In the big Thwomp room, going to the right is a greater distance to cover, plus, you lose speed going around the right. It takes more time, overall.
Edit: Okay, I misunderstood what you meant about the big Thwomp room. Now that I think about it, I think that is a good idea for a future run. However, I cannot hit the switch too early or else the Big Thwomp would break the block and I would lose time.
-In that video you posted, I actually tried that while working on the run. For me, it ended up being slower hitting the switch and falls behind shortly after passing the first Thwomp after the switch is pressed, despite the distance gain.
Edit: Now that I thought about it more, I really think the video does show some time-saving potential. I'm pretty sure, if optimized, that trick can save a bunch of frames.
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I've noticed in some games, the sound zooms ahead of whatever is going on onscreen. It seems like the sound does not synch with the remaining lag that exists on the emulator.
