Posts for TheHepper

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Posted: 9/7/2011 12:29 AM
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TheHepper
Experienced Forum User, Published Author, Player (84)
Joined: 7/25/2011
Posts: 58
Well I've finished the run, see link below for the complete movie. It's worth watching if only for 1) the ending music, 2) the look on the bad guy's face when he realizes he went skydiving and forgot his parachute, and 3) a kiss so boring that it needs an exploding Nazi zeppelin in the background to spruce it up. http://dehacked.2y.net/microstorage.php/info/785098590/The%20Rocketeerv8.fm2 At this point I think the current movie is pretty well optimized, but as partyboy1a suggested, there may be spots where I can improve by a frame or two. The idea about fuel consumption is really good; if you're flying up then logically you should use more fuel. But this game simply takes away fuel every 8 frames no matter what you do (RAM address 05B0). I'm going to go back and re-check everything, and also see if I can glitch through a wall or take other shortcuts to save more time. But since I pretty much end with the bare minimum fuel/health/ammo after making every enemy possible drop items, it may be that any shortcuts would be offset by time spent collecting items (the current run uses luck manipulation to prevent any item farming). I also pretty much feel that this run wouldn't be publishable as is, since it's 14 mins long and probably wouldn't look very impressive to the viewer that's not familiar with the game. So I want to be sure I take the time to do this game justice. Look forward to an encode in the near future (soon as I can learn how encoding works), but for now, here's The Rocketeer.
Posted: 9/4/2011 2:46 AM
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TheHepper
Experienced Forum User, Published Author, Player (84)
Joined: 7/25/2011
Posts: 58
Thanks for the encouragement! Big update here, Chapters 5/6 completed in approximately 11 minutes. http://dehacked.2y.net/microstorage.php/info/1410905136/The%20Rocketeerv7.fm2 Also, some trivia:
Wikipedia wrote: The Rocketeer was awarded Worst Movie-to-Game of 1992 by Electronic Gaming Monthly
I actually viewed a copy of the 1992 EGM review book, and Wikipedia was wrong about this. In fact, I don't think EGM ever reviewed the NES Rocketeer game, although they did review the SNES version. This game came out in 1991, and EGM gave the prestigious Worst Movie-to-Game award to Home Alone. Wikipedia has since updated its article to reflect this. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Rocketeer_%28NES_game%29
Posted: 8/28/2011 5:43 PM
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TheHepper
Experienced Forum User, Published Author, Player (84)
Joined: 7/25/2011
Posts: 58
There are a few things I can add here, since I'm currently working on a movie with TASEdit. However, please note I'm using FCEUX 2.1.5. I didn't want to create an entirely new thread, since the information already in this thread is valid for the latest version. You can save your projects by using "Save As" and saving over the old *.tas file, or by creating a new file. I will typically create a new file when I experiment with different routes, and then continue on with whichever file proves the fastest. Also, it may be because I have an old computer, but I can't switch between projects without first closing TASEdit, and re-opening it to select the other project. The copy and paste functions do work in the latest version, but you have to use the drop-down menu from the toolbar (ctrl-c and ctrl-v do not work). That is, you have to highlight the frames you want to copy, go to Edit->Copy, then go to the frame you want the input, and Edit->Paste. I only use "Export to FM2" when I want to save a movie on dehacked. However, the file size on the *.fm2 can become hefty, as it appears that TASEdit does some re-record tracking by adding several thousand "comment author TheHepper" lines to the input file. I manually delete these when creating a *.fm2 file to reduce size. So overall I think TASEdit works great, and can't imagine TASing with anything else. But the one thing that will have you pulling your hair out is setting it to read-write mode and accidently skipping ahead to later frames, over-writing input in the process. In practice, I only use the read-write feature (default hotkey "Q") for sequences in which I plan to hold down a button, and double-click the frames in read-only mode for jumps, etc. Lastly, I know this post is fragmented; but I've thought about putting together a complete walkthrough document for how to use TASEdit (with screenshots, etc.), and will gladly do so if anyone would like. I had planned to complete a movie with TASEdit first in order to improve my cred.
Posted: 8/22/2011 4:13 AM
(Edited: 1/5/2012 8:10 PM)
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TheHepper
Experienced Forum User, Published Author, Player (84)
Joined: 7/25/2011
Posts: 58
Game: Shadowrun Console: SNES Emulator: snes9x 1.43 v17 Author: TheHepper Goal: Fastest time Progress: Killed the king, considering best route from here Discussion: Thread #1538: Shadowrun Current WIP: http://dehacked.2y.net/microstorage.php/info/28293735/Shadowrun%20v8.smv Link to video
Posted: 8/21/2011 11:20 PM
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TheHepper
Experienced Forum User, Published Author, Player (84)
Joined: 7/25/2011
Posts: 58
I'm still working on it, but progress was delayed due to a week and a half of vacation. Thanks so much for the support and all your advice! I changed my strategy, and complete the first chapter 105 frames faster than the previous movie. At this point I'm finally satisfied with the run for Chapter 1, so please let me know if there is anything I should improve on. I'm also posting the youtube video of Chapter 1 in the WIPs section once it has finished uploading. http://dehacked.2y.net/microstorage.php/info/1622304907/The%20Rocketeer.fm2 Edit: Chapter 2 completed, although I may need to avoid taking damage at frame 16090 or manipulate an extra heart drop depending on how the rest of the chapters play out. http://dehacked.2y.net/microstorage.php/info/1501676058/The%20Rocketeerv3.fm2
Posted: 8/4/2011 4:32 AM
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TheHepper
Experienced Forum User, Published Author, Player (84)
Joined: 7/25/2011
Posts: 58
Here is a youtube link for the WIP. For some reason, the file size was almost 2g and FCEUX cut it in two .avi files. But you do get a little preview of my plan for Chapter 2. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d1AMk0P9OXw
Posted: 8/2/2011 12:40 AM
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TheHepper
Experienced Forum User, Published Author, Player (84)
Joined: 7/25/2011
Posts: 58
Thanks for the advice! I changed the objective to fastest time only, and saved 129 frames compared to my first testrun. This movie takes the Rocketeer through the end of Chapter 1, in which he finally obtains the jetpack and fights his first boss. If anyone is interested in RAM addresses used, special moves, or the boss fight, let me know. I didn't want to make a long post that nobody asked for. http://dehacked.2y.net/microstorage.php/info/1290389869/The%20Rocketeer.fm2 In response to partyboy1a's comment about the stopping after high jumps, it appears to be a game design problem. If the Rocketeer performs a high-jump from his y-axis position to an equal or higher position, there is a small delay as he stops before landing and floats down. If he jumps to a lower y-axis position, this delay doesn't occur. I've tried all sorts of button combinations, including left-right, up-down, second player buttons, etc., but nothing helps. In regards to the movie length, I have not played through this game since I was a kid. The only complete run I could find online was the below run in 2 parts on youtube. It takes 30 minutes to complete, is not a speedrun, and completes Chapter 1 in approx. 5 minutes, whereas I complete it in approx. 3 minutes. Assuming the same rate of improvement, my movie should end in 18 minutes. However, I think I can get it under 15 since I can manipulate enemies into giving me rocket fuel, thereby substantially improving the run speed. See the two links below for the other run, if interested. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Bp1tKTdoVk http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5KHlMnjHre0 Lastly, I don't know how to turn these files into youtube videos, but when I learn, I'll post in the WIP section.
Posted: 7/25/2011 6:19 AM
Post subject: The Rocketeer
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TheHepper
Experienced Forum User, Published Author, Player (84)
Joined: 7/25/2011
Posts: 58
This is my first attempt at a TAS, and I only had the idea to start this game today. Since I know this will be a big project , I wanted to share my idea and get the community's input. I'm surprised I couldn't find any reference to this game in the forums, and since I thought it was pretty good as a kid, I hope I'm not missing something. The video linked below was recorded using the TAS Edit feature of fceux, and takes the Rocketeer through half of the first stage. The goals are 1) to not take damage and 2) fastest time. So far there does not appear to be a huge tradeoff between the two, so I hope this can be interesting. http://dehacked.2y.net/microstorage.php/info/1746614558/The%20Rocketeer.fm2
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