Afraid he cant help himself, after a few months of (ignoring) spam like this I unfortunatly had to block him when it became insulting, and renounce the ace movie.
I think his first account a few years earlier got banned from the forum for the exact same reason, the spam was probly cleaned up so we just cant see it anymore.
He also persist to not explain whats going on in there or share the movie file, so its impossible to replicate anything or interpret the input and steps for ram glitch.
Kinda like hitting a brick wall, as the execution is poorer compared to few years earlier and that draft is way slower than published movie.
Would have love to polish it and obsolete the old psxjin movie but I lost hope to see that happening.
YoshiRulz wrote:
If type 2 is an established convention, then a movie which starts from such a SaveRAM would be acceptable for publication.
You can use the Hex Editor or Lua to fill the card, then start a recording under File > Movie and select "Record From: SaveRAM".
Im not sure at what point it become an established "convention" but apparently some emulator let you choose, some use FF, some use 00.
The original psx apparently use 00, but the playstation3 internal emulator use FF, I mean its hardly what I would call a convention, definitly not intended from this game code point of view (decompil is available at github if it matters)
If the rules are relaxed enough that we can allow to hex (or import from another emu anyway) the memory card, thats one problem out of the way tho.
Just to be clear, I wasnt able to determine if its actually required or not, since he wont share the infos or technical aspect of whats going on there, but I was under the impression that when the game copy the memory card content into the ram, it only affect the player stats "area" of the ram (not routines code per say); what I mean is theres more than one way to get to a stage where in the ram things are corrupt enough to let you do the item glitch shenigans; getting a FF value in the right address is likely achievable by others means, but maybe not so early in the game, its hard to be conclusive about this without any address reference.
If you refered to the pacifist with axe armor, it does use code and alterate gameplay, so I was under the impression that if gameplay varies, it warrant a different category.
In this specific case tho, it happens to be slower, and that was my main reasoning for it to go playground, because luck code was 1min30 faster, so that seem to stick to the scheme.
But because luck code did not obsolete the old movie, to me it means theres 4 variant of each categories, provided there is gameplay difference in between them.
In pacifist case;
-sram no code will be roughly 20min, still faster than the old and lesser kills, easy decision it just obsolete.
-sram code is the recent run (and axe armor is the playground alternative because slower).
-no sram no code will be like sram no code, with added dialogs, but also no duplicator and no skip death, so it will have to get shield rod to replace ninja stars (I would call that consequent gameplay difference...), and different/slower technique to get mist,lets say roughtly 25min. edit: it will also require to visit caverns, have to add 1 or 2 minutes, and consequently with further alterated gameplay
-no sram code will be similar to no sram no code but will be able to skip death and use big toss in similar glitch of sram code to get mist, it will also have to get shield rod for dracula, roughtly 23min.
Some of my estimate could be off 1 or 2 minutes for dialogs, but the differences in gameplay or time saved by skipping dialogs should be right.
Out of those 4 movies, only no sram no code would be "standart" and the 3 others would be alternative; replay + luck, replay, luck
Edit: as to answer your summary, I would be ok for things going into playground, problem is you would have to move ALL the current runs to playground, since im going to obsolete them at a point or another, as a reminder there is zero of the published that does nosram+nocode (thats how we have no standart category anymore).
Really sorry but yesterday I forgot something.
In that list : https://tasvideos.org/Games/PublicationHistory/497?highlight=6463
The 2 first (now luck mode - game end glitch, luck mode) are fine, they are alternative and dont use sram
But the 5 others are "replay mode" which is just another way to say they use sram (beating the game triggers it, when you start a new game then file selection will append "replay" under the time)
This also allow to skip dialogs cutscene by pressing start button (very time consuming when you dont have it).
Richter code cannot be use without replay.
Old pacifist (and the new one) buy the duplicator, only available in replay.
All relics & boss also buy duplicator.
Replay mode does not buy duplicator but is faster because it skip dialogs.
Im only mentioning this because I was wrong, this change doesnt double categories, it quadruple them.
-no sram no code (we have none)
-no sram with code (game end glitch+ old baseline)
-sram no code (the old pacifist)
-sram with code (the four others)
Out of the 4, only no sram no code is elligible for been "standart".
Is this correct ? Or did I misunderstood something ?
Some of those will overlap with each others but, dialogs been the major time sink in the equation, the difference with replay (sram) or not replay will yield gameplay changes as skipping them trough glitches will save time, most of those glitch needs luck mode but there could be alternatives.
I was looking forward to add several categories (low%, bad ending, glitchless ect...) but this would have a sizeable impact on the total number of movies acceptable, if each category has now 4 variants.
Im fine with it, just wanted to make sure.
eien86 wrote:
If you a submit a pacifist movie faster than 2657.
Or kill less, right?
It happen to be faster anyway so I guess thats just extra cherry on the cake.
Would this duplicate every other branches as well? the baseline im working on does use luck mode like the published movie, but theres no "luck code" category attached to it (or the other branches).
But would a nocode run been a seperate category ?
Its the same goal, we talked a lot about it 2 pages earlier in this very thread, I can do a non-luck mode movie and the only difference would be that its slower, I dont see the point tho.
I dont see the point neither to have multiple branches for pacifist, or at least that was the conclusion presented here.
The advantage in question is a stat difference and is unrelated to the pacifist objective, its a speed purpose.
The old movie does 5 kills so its 2 kills more than the new, aside the speed difference.
I would also like to point out that almost all the others branches use that code, including "baseline".
If for a reason or another, you want more branches for pacifist, I will do it (obsolote without the code...) but lets just state it properly then.
This movie : #9534: arukAdo's PSX Castlevania: Symphony of the Night "pacifist, AXEARMOR code" in 19:56.08
Is as close as to not use the code, you gonna say it still use a code, yes, but the point is those are the stats you get from not using luck code, not using the axe armor code will only lead to 10-30 seconds slower for using a trick in a different room and with a slower technique; the whole rest will be identic.
On a different matter, I see the old pacifist "low level" was relabel just "pacifist" but the new one is still label "pacifist, luck mode" and does not obsolete it, what gives ?
Sorry to ask again but its been a month, is theres something blocking obsoleting the old tas with the new one? luck mode only improve the time as the movie not using it was sent into playground for that very reason.
I do intend to obsolete first the us version with minor gameplay improvements.
Thing is despite the difference in non-gameplay parts (that I didnt calculated yet), the total dialogue for shaft, before and after fighting it, ammount approx to 1min40sec... so thats quite consequent.
On a different matter, I see the old pacifist "low level" was relabel just "pacifist" but the new one is still label "luck mode" and does not obsolete it, what gives ?
Heh, the emulation itself is a nightmare to track since it will be psxjin vs bizhawk 2.10...
Im trying to reference those on a spreadsheet but its difficult, let alone the +- for gameplay or not.
So switching to a different version allows you to save time in one part of the game but lose it in another?
It save time in a gameplay part (skipping a boss cutscene) and could/should/might loose time in non-gameplay unskipable part (fmv, dialogs).
Its pretty difficult to quantify this without going to the end, since well the boss cutscene is really close to the end of the movie.
I realize the user was ban but ... that technique would save several minutes over "game end glitch" category, kinda a shame this was never implemented ?
Going to ask on youtube directly but posting here too in case somebody have some info on this topic?
In this movie [2541] PSX Castlevania: Symphony of the Night "luck mode" by ForgoneMoose in 18:40.08, there is a couple cutscene that you have to go trough, because its baseline it does not use sram, which mean you cannot skip cutscenes by pressing start.
The first cutscene is unavoidable (maria).
The second cutscene is cleverly skip by going outside bounds with glitches and completly skip the trigger (richter cutscene), it saves some seconds compared to watch the cutscene.
-it is possible to go trough the trigger, and still keep going trough the second part of the game, wanted to make sure doing that mean loosing time, not saving, since its longer than going outside bounds. (and technically its not "gameplay").
The third cutscene happens right before dracula with shaft boss; I wanted to make sure that if I manage to skip that cutscene trough a glitch (like I did in the recent pacifist), it saves time compared to just wait the cutscene is over.
Now on a different matter and where it starts to be complicated is, the glitch is for jp version only, in us version you get to skip the FMV at the game start, in jp you cannot skip that, but, you can skip the cutscene right before you switch to alucard, while in usa you cannot skip that one.
Cutscenes ingame in jp are also ironically, slightly longer than their us counterpart, at the very least for prologue and shaft.
Bottom line, what I would hope is, the intro and fmv doesnt matter, but skipping the dialogue for shaft does really save time/valid for obsoletion (its at least 40 seconds compared to wait the cutscene to end).
Edit: "in the end" in the context of the quote meant "after all"
improvements must be in gameplay to warrant obsoletion.
Cutscene are definitly not gameplay, does that mean theres no merit to avoid a cutscene in the end?
Say a cutscene last a minute, and you implement a technique/glitch that takes 30 seconds, and consenquently save 30 seconds of non-gameplay.
Did you save 30 seconds or lost 30 seconds of "gameplay"?
Taking this by the letter sound like just watching the cutscene would obsolete skipping it, which I suppose is not what you want for counting frames/differences.
Oh sorry, yes its in the source code, it checks you press the button (with second controller) and it break the bridge then.
Is this allowed for glitchless?
The source code is indeed available, the most logical reason that it wasnt intentional is that all others debug features (in the code) are not accessible/deactivated.
Does debug left over unintentionally is considered a glitch in the context of glitchless?
More context:
Link to video
If you press triangle on the second controller the bridge breaks, saving quite some time over doing it the "leggit" way.
That is correct (imo) and what we did conclude after several back and forth with feos in Ask A judge
Also, the "low level" does USE sram, for duplicator, I just mention it in case theres some confusion about it.
There is only one movie that does not use sram (the one with wrong tag no major skip)
Richter dont use luck code because... its richter character, not alucard. You can only input one code at a time, RICHTER is one of the three possible codes. (luck, axearmor, richter)
I suppose I will repeat it again, the reason to NOT use the luck code is the starting stats, they are determined by how you beat the prologue, with the very exception of luck code;
-if you use luck code, you start with 25hp and 1mp.
-if you use axearmor, or no code, you get the results of prologue, 70/75/80hp and 20/25/30 mp depending your performances (commonly refered as "normal")
-if you end with no hearts remaining you get heart refresh, if you end with cross you get neutron bomb.
edit: just to avoid confusion, there is no prologue with richter, of course, you start directly at the entrance.
the term "beat" I use in the description is the term used by the jp version of the game; in us version its call "kill".
The reason this matters for pacifist is because you need the mp to do spells, provided the objective is to avoid killing, you should not get extra mana from killing things; This is what happen in "low level" run; since it use the revenge glitch to trick the engine into thinking no murder was commited, you can only count on the starting mp you get from prologue, 30mp happen to be fine enough.
If you have 1mp you cannot transform into wolf or bat or anything, they drain mp over time.
The inherant HP increase influence "big toss", to get a big toss (used in several glitching techniques, or just for the speed itself) you require the damage taken to be 50% of your max hp, if you have 80hp you can only get big toss from a monster that deal you 40damage, or, 20 damage if you are under poison status (the shroom) that increase damage by 100%.
Needless to say; with 25HP you have a lot more oppertunity to do that compared to 80HP, it is the main reason most categories use luck code.
The axe armor here is used to stop the big toss before it send you to next room, voiding the room shift used to fall between walls.
As for the mention you technically cant move a pub into playground, I mean I cant do much about that, sorry to hear it.
How about you reject this for optimization and I slightly polish more the second castle, then you can put it in playground? just a though...
Regardless, I dont believe 3 branches should co-exist (hence my mention this should go playground in the sub), but, should there be more than one, "low level" would be the most logical to have, in which case I will promptly work into obsoleting it as well, should you decide to keep it, despite its inferior in term of "pacifism" since it actually kill 5 and "luck code" current kills 3.
I also agree that luck code mention is redundant provided almost all movies uses that, I cant promise new movies will not use "normal mode" tho.
I suppose "Replay mode" is more important mention; this basicly mean sram usage, when you finish the game, any new save will have "REPLAY" in its description (and when finish its "CLEAR"), in all movies this is used to buy duplicator and skip cutscenes.
I would like to mention also the "no major skip glitch" is a farce; plently of major skip glitch are used in the movie that doesnt use sram.
Skiping richter is done in a specific way to avoid its dialog (otherwise with sram its faster and you just skip the cutscene), and its definitly a massive skip.
If you want me to clean up some tags related to the several branches we have, I will need the wiki edit role I suppose.
The wording with "normal mode" is only to distinct the use of "luck mode", the difference is the starting stats, luck mode start at 25hp and 1mp regardless what you do, normal is stats you get from how you beat prologue; time, damage taken, hearts and what subweapon you have produce slight differences on the stats results.
In this run, the axe armor is used to stop the big toss in the colosseum; it is not possible to get toss mid air but only on the ground (because of the increased HP) with the blade master slash attack (where as in the luck mode since lower HP you can simply touch him mid air to get toss), so without stopping your movement you would just get past the doorway, the axe armor provide the only mean to do this.
The other consequence (from stats) is it allow to do more wingsmash due to higher mp capacity, it is in the end still slower than just going luck mode ironically.
The sram main usage is (like in luck mode) to allow to buy the duplicator, that been sayd I believe "axearmor" can only be input with "replay" (sram) unlike luck mode itself.
Despite they have the same kill count, I was under the assumption this could only go in playground, simply because its slower.
The previous publication use "normal mode" (and sram for duplicator too)
The lie would have to be pretty elaborate to get trough the first pass of scrutiny, for each games the implications can be vastly different but for exemple, if it only unlock a game mode, I dont see an issue with just hexing the value responsible for it, provided theres sufficient technical info on how and why.
The question is how do you figure other values were hexed, but maybe it can be somehow automated ? I mean its just a byte compare in the end?
Granted this might get hairy on more modern systems but a save file on psx is ~ 10kb so maybe its possible to "parse" it?
Maybe a special case can be made when the game is prone to corruption or smth silly is triggered by some data in the memory card, then a verif movie would be required, as opposed to always have one.
How about a tool that would produce the sram and you have control over what he does write inside? (I mean it would log whats happening in there)
Then you just have to load the script or whatever and you could have identical sram, if differs then you flag it as suspect?
It doesnt require to have incredible knowledge on the whole game, only the 1 or 2 things the player requires to make his movie, the player would have to first provide the technical, you could review it, and then once accepted it could be reused anytime. (and of course even when the emulator is updated and the timing changes, desyncs no longer matters)
Bonus point if its integrated in the movie directly but maybe thats a bit ambitious for now.
in SotN there is a similar strange thing happening in 2.10 where you can unlag the frames by using different input, it doesnt help that studio/biz cant always detect the lag frames in the first place (they dont appear red in the piano).
It is not as consistant as reported here for X5 tho, by that I mean the game lag isnt consistant but appears under specific circunstances, fairly sure that psxjin had less lag but wasnt able to detect lag either.
Would be usefull if the detection could be improved.
