Posts for alec_kermit

Posted: 6/5/2015 3:14 PM

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alec_kermit

Experienced Forum User, Published Author, Active player (412)

Joined: 2/29/2012
Posts: 192

solarplex wrote:

https://dolphin-emu.org/blog/2015/06/01/dolphin-progress-report-may-2015/
For instance, a loading screen in 007: Agent Under Fire would drop to 2 FPS on every single loading screen except for the first one (which, doesn't use EFB pokes for some reason.) This would lead to a very, very lengthy wait for people who were looking forward to playing the second stage of the game. Thankfully, degasus came up with a nifty way to speedup some of the games suffering from EFB poke bottlenecks in OpenGL. Before this, each EFB poke was converted into one GPU operation, creating a bottleneck between CPU and GPU communication. Now EFB pokes can be combined into one more expensive GPU operation, but because of the decrease in overhead it is much, much faster. In the same scene in 007: Agent Under Fire is around 20 FPS, a 1000% increase in performance.

I tested the new revision of Dolphin and saw no improvements in loading or sync :(. The loading fix probably only applies to when you're playing the game with speedup and dual core enabled for a higher framerate, not during TASing. The game desync'd at the start of the second level, a pretty typical spot. I also had issues with my inputs going completely unnoticed at the end of levels 2 and 3 which also used to occur at times in the older Dophins. I just got a new, much beefier, laptop so I will do more testing soon.

https://www.youtube.com/user/aleckermit

Posted: 6/1/2015 7:44 PM

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alec_kermit

Experienced Forum User, Published Author, Active player (412)

Joined: 2/29/2012
Posts: 192

Frame perfect pester ball throws here we come lol

https://www.youtube.com/user/aleckermit

Posted: 5/21/2015 9:57 PM

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alec_kermit

Experienced Forum User, Published Author, Active player (412)

Joined: 2/29/2012
Posts: 192

So I recently got a PS2 and the OCD Agent Under Fire enthusiast in me tested three different versions of the game on the console. The PS2 version came out 3 months before the Gamecube release so I assumed it would have the same/more advantages for speedrunning but I was pretty surprised with the results. The PS2 versions I tested: PDSS-001565A1 2 (black label disc) PDSS-001565A1 6 (black label disc) PDSS-001565A1 7 (red label/greatest hits disc) The main speedrunning differences between Agent Under Fire on PS2 and Gamecube: 1. None of the three PS2 versions I tried had explosion boost physics. It would seem that explosion boosting was added on Gamecube (and maybe Xbox) for whatever reason, then removed again for the player's choice version. Nerf. 2. The PS2 version of the game is harder, at least on 00 Agent. You take more damage more quickly. I'm not sure if it's because enemies are more accurate or that you have less health, but you definitely die sooner in harder sections. Nerf. 3. Your car's e-brake on the PS2 version has a lot more stopping power, it's less of a slide. Nerf? 4. Some stairs don't slow down your running speed in the PS2 version like they do on Gamecube. I noticed this in the Fire & Water level. Buff. Now that I'm certain the Gamecube version is best for speedrunning I'm going to test Dolphin's stability once again :P.

https://www.youtube.com/user/aleckermit

Posted: 4/29/2015 4:06 PM

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alec_kermit

Experienced Forum User, Published Author, Active player (412)

Joined: 2/29/2012
Posts: 192

Yes vote. It's entertaining in how fast it is, there was no time to fool around, every hit had its purpose to save time.

https://www.youtube.com/user/aleckermit

Posted: 4/26/2015 5:41 PM

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alec_kermit

Experienced Forum User, Published Author, Active player (412)

Joined: 2/29/2012
Posts: 192

True wrote:

Why so much cry? Some people are weak-willed about things. She made her decision and followed through. Did she have terminal illness or long-term intense pain? No? Seems some posters here care more for their sake than hers.

I did a quick search and came up with this article, may or may not be our Rachel Bryk (but looks like her). If it is her it sounds like she's had a traumatic past and make have slid back into depression: http://blog.timesunion.com/payitforward/rachel-bryk-speaks-out/2413/ EDIT: Well the ages don't add up, unless the article was posted 2 years after the interview. Either way, this is very sad and I hope Pheenoh and some of her closer friends are doing ok :(. Her and I playfully argued over musical tastes in Pheenoh's chat a few times, she seemed like a cool young woman.

https://www.youtube.com/user/aleckermit

Posted: 4/26/2015 5:38 PM

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alec_kermit

Experienced Forum User, Published Author, Active player (412)

Joined: 2/29/2012
Posts: 192

fsvgm777 wrote:

In light of tragic events

This is horribly sad...

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Posted: 4/10/2015 3:01 PM

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alec_kermit

Experienced Forum User, Published Author, Active player (412)

Joined: 2/29/2012
Posts: 192

solarplex wrote:

I'd be happy to join back into your team for this [tas]k. Short on time nowadays but will do my best

I don't have nearly as much free time anymore either. I would probably work on it an hour a day, 5 days a week. It's a very short game though, with all that's developed the final time might be less than 30 minutes real time. On another note, I was thinking the other day, how much easier TASing fps games would be if there was a tool that let you click on a spot on the gameplay screen and then the in-game recital moves to and locks your aim to that spot, even as you move around. I wonder if someone with coding skill would be able to make a controller plugin like this? Dealing with seperate x and ya axis movements while aiming is very time consuming. Example: You enter a room in the game, you click one time on an enemy's head to set the aim point, you continue moving forward into the room and the plugin automatically controls the c-stick to move your crosshair to the spot you selected, you shoot your gun when the crosshair reaches his head, then you un-lock the aim point and continue TASing.

https://www.youtube.com/user/aleckermit

Posted: 4/10/2015 2:37 PM

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alec_kermit

Experienced Forum User, Published Author, Active player (412)

Joined: 2/29/2012
Posts: 192

solarplex wrote:

Any tests recently if we desync? edit: https://dolphin-emu.org/blog/2015/03/01/dolphin-progress-report-february-2015/#cuthere some news I read about AUF on the dolphin blog, seems loading screens are now way faster (which may have been one of our problems between submarine and car level)

I'll test it out soon. I've been burned by this TAS so many times that it makes it very hard for me to re-approach it. If this fixes all desync issues (which it very well might) I will consider working on it with someone that's willing to do equal or more inputs.

https://www.youtube.com/user/aleckermit

Posted: 4/10/2015 2:37 PM

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alec_kermit

Experienced Forum User, Published Author, Active player (412)

Joined: 2/29/2012
Posts: 192

solarplex wrote:

Any tests recently if we desync? edit: https://dolphin-emu.org/blog/2015/03/01/dolphin-progress-report-february-2015/#cuthere some news I read about AUF on the dolphin blog, seems loading screens are now way faster (which may have been one of our problems between submarine and car level)

I'll test it out soon. I've been burned by this TAS so many times that it makes it very hard for me to re-approach it.

https://www.youtube.com/user/aleckermit

Posted: 3/20/2015 5:23 PM

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alec_kermit

Experienced Forum User, Published Author, Active player (412)

Joined: 2/29/2012
Posts: 192

https://www.youtube.com/user/aleckermit

Posted: 3/15/2015 7:42 AM

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alec_kermit

Experienced Forum User, Published Author, Active player (412)

Joined: 2/29/2012
Posts: 192

grassini wrote:

is this the game of the anubis series or not?

No. The game was developed by Eurocom (Nightfire, World is not Enough, Mortal Kombat 4, Spyro: A Hero's Tail). It's considered to be a hidden gem on the PS2/GCN/Xbox, plays similar to Zelda.

https://www.youtube.com/user/aleckermit

Posted: 3/15/2015 7:04 AM
(Edited: 3/19/2015 4:22 PM)

Post subject: Sphinx and the Cursed Mummy

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alec_kermit

Experienced Forum User, Published Author, Active player (412)

Joined: 2/29/2012
Posts: 192

Working on this game, might TAS it eventually. I will store important information and TAS-only tricks here. The rest of this game's speedrun info can be found at https://forum.speeddemosarchive.com/post/sphinx_and_the_cursed_mummy.html General Info -Sphinx and Tut can jump out of mid-air after leaving and edge, similarly to the Donkey Kong Country games. -Both Sphinx and Tut can jump at the top of ladders/climbing surfaces to avoid their climb-up animations. Sphinx requires a second jump or sword attack to make it onto the ledge. -After pushing/pulling an object Sphinx and Tut can jump away from the object instead of releasing it, saving time. -Tut can jump after exiting a "sneak", even if mid-air. This is faster than reaching the other side and exiting the sneak. -Sphinx can hit two hanging lanterns at once if you place him between them. -Deathwarps are often a good way to save time, sending you back to where you need to go quicker. -You can attack with sword faster by pressing shield immediately followed by slash near the end of your previous slash ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E55NeKfHRkA ). -Hovering is done by alternating running forward and standing still as you leave a ledge. -Taking damage while mid-air will give you your jumps back or allow you to begin a hover. -Damage boosting is possible off of certain enemies. Frame Data -Hovering for maintaining the most height = 3 frames forward, 1 frame neutral. -Hovering for highest speed = 9 frames forward, 2 frames neutral. -Fast slashing = Hold forward, slash, shield after 14 frames, slash 11 frames later, repeat. TAS-Only Timesavers (listed in the order that they're done in the game) -Skip Slim Burble boulder puzzle https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O1-MwBMcOuM -Skip crate puzzle 1 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iAAakUvV-2o -Shield of Osiris without killing enemies https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TrGJDDfs1Xk -Skip Tut's lunar puzzle https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tbe-IyjjEq0 -Skip ID https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HKTEnEHKcmw

https://www.youtube.com/user/aleckermit

Posted: 3/12/2015 6:20 PM

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alec_kermit

Experienced Forum User, Published Author, Active player (412)

Joined: 2/29/2012
Posts: 192

Can't tell you how much I'm looking forward to this TAS :)

https://www.youtube.com/user/aleckermit

Posted: 1/23/2015 4:28 AM

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alec_kermit

Experienced Forum User, Published Author, Active player (412)

Joined: 2/29/2012
Posts: 192

Did an un-optimized TAS of the last level, Evil Summit, for testing and came out with a 2:01 (47 seconds faster than I've ever done it on console). Had multiple desyncs on playback though, I guess the first level might be the only one truly immune to playback desyncs? Hoping the game will not have desync issues someday. I originally thought that you couldn't skip the first portion of the Bloch fight but it does actually work. Major time save: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rexOx1lt_WE&feature=youtu.be

https://www.youtube.com/user/aleckermit

Posted: 1/16/2015 9:09 PM
(Edited: 1/16/2015 11:20 PM)

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alec_kermit

Experienced Forum User, Published Author, Active player (412)

Joined: 2/29/2012
Posts: 192

DP

https://www.youtube.com/user/aleckermit

Posted: 1/16/2015 8:54 PM
(Edited: 1/16/2015 8:59 PM)

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alec_kermit

Experienced Forum User, Published Author, Active player (412)

Joined: 2/29/2012
Posts: 192

Boss keys, compasses, and maps are skipped because they only appear on your inventory in their respective areas, not on the global inventory screen. They would also only serve to make the run less entertaining as none of the compasses or maps would be used, and currently I think only one boss key is used (if any)? Forcing the player to collect boss keys would cause him to use a slower, outdated, route through the dungeon in most cases. MM only collects maps and compasses because they easiliy fit into the "must have everything that does not get taken away after playing Song of Time" definition. I stand by the ZSR definition.

https://www.youtube.com/user/aleckermit

Posted: 11/8/2014 6:21 PM

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alec_kermit

Experienced Forum User, Published Author, Active player (412)

Joined: 2/29/2012
Posts: 192

This soundtrack though...

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Posted: 8/15/2014 9:29 PM

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alec_kermit

Experienced Forum User, Published Author, Active player (412)

Joined: 2/29/2012
Posts: 192

Correct, we're still on our honeymoon :).

https://www.youtube.com/user/aleckermit

Posted: 7/31/2014 2:30 PM

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alec_kermit

Experienced Forum User, Published Author, Active player (412)

Joined: 2/29/2012
Posts: 192

MoronicTAS wrote:

http://www.twitch.tv/themakaron/c/4773958 How the hell? :D

I'm guessing the chicken was far enough on the inside edge of the railing to count as being in the pen. Matter of pixels? I don't think this was known about, should save time in TAS depending on chicken placement.

https://www.youtube.com/user/aleckermit

Posted: 7/20/2014 11:47 PM

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alec_kermit

Experienced Forum User, Published Author, Active player (412)

Joined: 2/29/2012
Posts: 192

Desyncing issue still present in the vehicle levels. You can load the same savestate a handful of times and sometimes it will sync, sometimes it won't. I'll send a report for it in again.

https://www.youtube.com/user/aleckermit

Posted: 7/17/2014 3:14 AM

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alec_kermit

Experienced Forum User, Published Author, Active player (412)

Joined: 2/29/2012
Posts: 192

I'll do an un-optimized TAS through the game then using all the strats and see if it syncs. Will also give me a good time estimate for an optimized run if it ever gets done.

https://www.youtube.com/user/aleckermit