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SpeedRunner wrote:
why did the owner of the first coin up console thought his console was damaged after the first day people could use it?
Oh please, that's the most famous arcade success story ever. The Pong machine was literally full of quarters, so people couldn't put quarters in to play.
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Okay, I've got the first few levels (Through Skull Mountain III) done... I pick up one helmet that isn't completely necessary (Red Stealth) to avoid three hits I'd take if I stayed as the Iron Knight.
Hills of the Warrior should be fun: If I do it right you should never even see the Wall of Death.
Edit: Whew. Up through Crystal Crags, having picked up Beserker in the Hills of the Warrior II. Rough estimate says 8 minutes. Thing is, there's 10 seconds of score-accumulating at the end of every level, plus ~3 more if there's an extra life for every 50k points... And since I get a 10k speed bonus, 5k for no hits, 5k for no prize, plus a ~2.5k clock bonus, well, extra lives seem to accumulate almost every other level.
At least these aren't Bubble Bobble sized levels.
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Haha, version 3 is now done, and according to the in-game clock it's four seconds faster. According to the file sizes it's over 11 seconds faster (1:45), because I stop the movie way before I touch the flag.
http://nifboy.keenspace.com/images/KidChameleonv3-nifboy.zip
A 700 byte zip. Incredible. But I'm pretty sure I didn't do it in only 32 rerecords (I did a lot of going back to earlier saves for the final boss). Ah well.
I probably save ~4 seconds if I don't turn auto-run on but I don't particularly feel like holding down the A button throughout the run (I did enough of that for Quackshot).
And eventually, a warpless version.
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Final time for v2: 24:50
A three minute improvement! Woohoo!
First, a quick thankyou to BombAHead for pointing out the rooftop shortcut that I'm pretty sure I used waaay back when I played this on a real Genesis.
And so I present to you the .gmv. Note it only works on the rom GoodGen tags reversion 00: http://nifboy.keenspace.com/images/Quackshotv2-nifboy.zip
Random notes:
If anyone decides to try and improve on this, map the A button to something out-of-the-way like "I" and literally clamp it down. Not only does it speed up your walking but also your horizontal movement in the air at all times.
I like all the bosses better except the tiger, mostly thanks to firing the slow bubblegun way in advance. The way I do the tiger is faster but doesn't look nearly as good as v1. The tiger can't be done slightly faster: If it's possible (I don't think it is) he'd have to be killed before he jumps a third time.
I flub a ladder in Duckburg (the first one, up to the peppers). Crap. However I missed that when I did it is beyond me. It seems to be my only visible error.
The start menu is my new hated enemy. I can't access it for the first second I'm in an area (first few seconds when I first land in an area) so weapon switching after a boss is a bit of a pain.
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...Ugh...
I'm screwing around with Count Duckula...
The guy takes five hits with any weapon: Plunger, popcorn, or bubblegun. Problem is, the plunger does the eqivalent of "stun" damage while the popcorn and bubblegun do "kill" damage, and the count can take four of *each* without dying. As a result, I can't mix plungers with the other two when fighting bosses. And since I have to climb the wall to get the final hit in with the plunger, I have to go with the other two so I can get to the door faster.
Hm... Popcorn, or bubblegun, that's the question now....
Update: Got out of Castlevan.... I mean, Transylvania at 9:40. v1 did it in 10:40. I'm not even halfway done and I've already shaved a minute off!
Update again: Whew. Finished the Viking ship (though I'm going to redo the boss fight). All the boss fights are vastly improved, using bubblegum on the Count and the Skeleton, popcorn on the Tiger, and not shooting the wall three times in the Egyptian dungeon. Pete will likely eat a mix of both popcorn and bubblegum (depending on where he is), and the final boss will likely eat bubblegum.
I would make an inane comment on kicking ass and chewing bubblegum, but I have plenty of bubblegum. Popcorn is another matter entirely, considering one pickup equals one shot, and I used six on the tiger.
Edit: v1 up past viking ship: 18:09
v2 up past viking ship: 16:14
Edit: Pete has the same number of invincibility frames regardless of what I hit him with (unlike the tiger and skeleton, who have extra invincibility frames when I hit them with the plunger). Oh well, I use my two ammo-using guns anyway.
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Well, I've started on v.2... What took v.1 4:30 to accomplish (calling the plane after getting the Red Plunger) now only takes 4:11, thanks to some creative ways of dealing with fire as well as a shot from the popcorn gun.
Update: Boarding the plane to Transylvania now takes 6:02 instead of 6:37, an extra 16 second shave thanks to the rooftop shortcut and some improved climbing.
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Hey Dan_, you mind if I host it so you don't have to email it to everyone who wants it? I saw it (after spending some time looking for the PAL rom), and it looks very good.
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Cherry wrote:
In England at least, it was always infinitely more popular than the SNES.
I've noticed that (as far as stereotypes go) Europe are generally Sega fans, America are Nintendo fans, Korea are online-PC-game fans, and Japan generally like all consoles but not PCs as much at all.
'Course, these stereotypes could all just be in my imagination, it does vary from person to person after all. ^_^
I always thought of Japan as favoring the "hometown teams" namely Sony, Sega, and Nintendo (moreso the latter), as they hate the X-Box. America I figure used to favor Nintendo, but now are more Sony fans than anything, though the others certainly do well here... Well, not Sega. Sega did terrible ever since they released the Sega CD (which had a total of, by my count, six good unique games: Sonic CD, a Gauntlet clone,(edit) a Master of Monsters clone (/edit), and three Working Designs games).
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BombAHead wrote:
Unless I'm mistaken, you could plunger that building and just walk over the roof to save a few seconds. o.o Any particular reason you went for the low road?
...
*goes to check*
...
Because I'm an idiot. That's why. Chalk up another way to improve v.2.
I may come back to this (amongst other things to improve on my climbing) but not now. Pity there's no auto-run like in Kid Chameleon
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(starring Donald Duck because Mickey gets all the attention)
Anyway, this is my first full-length movie (Two minutes of Kid Chameleon doesn't count as full-length), and is really more of a "me getting used to the whole speedrunning thing."
I learned a number of things from this:
1) Make backups.
2) Sliding in this game is of the devil. The first part of the slide is faster than the rest, so you have to turbo-mode the jump button to go the fastest (this only works if you're in an area where you don't have to slide). You can interrupt the slide with a jump, but only on flat ground. Coming out of a slide, you continue to slide, so anything that requires you to be standing still (ladders, etc) are a pain to do.
3) Backups are your friend.
4) I hate ladders and flags; there's no way to do them quickly.
5) I should have experimented with the different weapons on the bosses; some bosses take an extra long time to recover from the plunger.
Other random notes on the vid:
Most pixel-perfect maneuver: Jumping over the fat guy in the south pole. Also, any two-block jump takes a couple of tries to get right.
Favorite part: Platforming in the hideout. Most of the platforms you normally can't see until they extend towards you. Also, my own personal revenge on the tiger boss.
So, without further ado (edit: v2 now up):
http://nifboy.keenspace.com/images/Quackshotv2-nifboy.zip
(edit: zipped the movie, dropping the file size to ~4% of the original size)
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Well, on top of that I recently got the "Block Error Writing Frame " message SprintGod got.
So I suppose I'll stick with playing the games rather than superplaying them.
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(edit) Nope, I still can't figure out what's causing all my movies to suddenly cut out everything before the time I resume at...
Yay backups. Using v.7
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Truncated wrote:
Why do you linger so long on the bottom at the final boss? Isn't it possible to get on top of him faster? Also, is there a Maniaxe mask somewhere there? I might have an idea.
First, the boss follows you, and he starts at the *very* top of the screen. So to get on *top* of him you need to hang around the bottom some just to get one hit in. Second, as you're bouncing on his head he goes up, and if he pins you between the ceiling and himself and keeps going up, you take damage and fall through him. Third, he stays still only once you start popping his eyes out (two thirds of the way through), so the idea is to be pinned just as that starts happening.
There's no Maniaxe mask, sorry, just a Cyclone mask on the other side of the Micromax helmet. You can pick up a Red Stealth (samurai) mask on level two but that's about it, offensively.
I started planning a way "the long way" through.. Right now the plan starts as follows: Go through normally, take the teleporter on Highwater Pass 2, and pick up the Cyclone helmet in "Elsewhere," it's a big help afterwards. Under Skull Mountain II, take the teleporter right under you, fly up to the teleporter, and skip straight to the next level.
On Hills of the Warrior 2, pick up a Bezerker helmet and complete the level normally. Cyclone isn't too much use on the next few, and you need Bezerker later anyway, so it's not worth going through the teleporter side-dungeon. Complete levels normally through the next boss: Keep the Bezerker helmet if the others don't save too much time, you'll want it for the Whispering Woods 2. Afterwards, you'll reach Devil's Marsh, where it can go three different ways...
(edit) After screwing around a bit, here's the two paths to be taken:
Path A: Devil's Marsh, Caged Beasts, Crab Cove, Elsewhere, Hoverboard Beach.
Path B: Devil's Marsh, Elsewhere, Devil's Marsh II, Knight's Isle, Whale Grotto, Hoverboard Beach.
I think Path B is faster, as the teleporter is closer, and Devil's Marsh II takes seconds with the Red Stealth mask. I'm not sure if the Iron Knight or Micromax is faster on Knight's Isle; With Micromax you have to revert back to the Kid in order to get Bezerker, as Micromax is too short to get it.
(edit again) On Hoverboard beach there's a teleporter that, after a long level and a short one, takes you past well over a dozen levels, including a boss. I suppose it's up to the runner whether to take it (faster) or not (more stylish).
(edit a third time) If you're doing it warpless it's worth your time to keep Cyclone through the Boomerang Bosses, as you can very quickly work your way through the Woods of Despair I with it.
I screwed up. There *is* a flag on Forced Entry, but you can't be Juggernaut to get at it (it requires going into the sewers at the end). If you're Juggernaut going into the level you need to kill yourself (or just take enough damage to drop the mask) if you're doing it warpless (which actually seems possible now).
Oh, and Juggernaut automatically ducks under shots that would normally hit him. How cool is that?
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Well, it's more for reference, ya, considering that was my first time screwing around with the rerecords and slowdown feature. The shortcut on the second level cuts so much time I knew it'd be shorter than the first one.
edit; Well, that and I don't think the "short versions" are very interesting.
editx2: Alright, v3 is now up and zipped: http://nifboy.keenspace.com/images/KidChameleonv3-nifboy.zip
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Ah....
Well, here's my run. I lack a method for accurately measuring its length, but according to the in-game clock it's ten seconds faster; 1 second slower on Blue Woods I, 9 seconds faster on Blue Woods 2 (just watch the vid), and 1 second faster on Plethora.
Edit: v2 now up and zipped: http://nifboy.keenspace.com/images/KidChameleon-nifboy.zip
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Edit: Most of the interesting stuff is in the last posts.
So I went and downloaded it to see what I could do...
First, yes, the warp from the second level straight to the final boss (as described on GameFAQs, down+right+speed button+special button on the block above the flag) works. As a result it's possible to complete the game in less than (guesstimate) five minutes.
Second, the first "flagless" level I encountered was "Forced Entry." It's possible there *is* a flag there, at the bottom of the level but due to the (evil evil evil) Wall of Death I was unable to investigate fully. I was instead forced to use the teleporter on the top half of the level. After that level, however, I would say almost half of the levels were "flagless" (granted, once you start warping there's no telling just how much more warping you need to do to get back on the "main path")
Third, there are a number of shortcuts based on what helmet you start the level with. For example, Whispering Woods II can be completed in less than five seconds if you start with the Bezerker Helmet. Other useful helmets include the Samurai (breaking through ice platforms in the Devil's Marsh 2) and Cyclone (Just about anywhere you go up a lot)
Lastly, I estimate that a run that tried its hardest not to get hit would take almost twice as long as one that focused on speed.
Edit: Alrighty then, I've crafted a "short version" which uses the straight-to-the-end warp, as well as a "long version" which only warps when forced to.
Update: v4 of the short run is now up, two seconds faster (primarily thanks to not going to the options menu, but there are a couple other improvements).
Short version: http://nifboy.keenspace.com/images/KidChameleonv4-nifboy.zip
Long Version: http://nifboy.keenspace.com/images/KidChameleonwarpless-nifboy.zip
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FODA wrote:
ain't it weird that it's easier to find a warp then the regular exit? lol
Well, if you were particularly unlucky you could go 'round in circles. Not that I ever did, noooo.... Well, maybe just a little.
....
Aaaaaargh! The circles! The freaking circles I went in! NooooOoooOooooo.... *hugs his Game Genie* The only thing that let me keep my sanity....
'Course, with emulators we have savestates, which are just as good.
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Truncated wrote:
>I'm not sure if Kid Chameleon can be done without warps.
What's that supposed to mean? Of course it can.
As I recall (it's been some time since I last played) there are a number of levels that don't have the normal end-flag on them; you have to use a warp to get to a new level. Granted, I don't know if any are on the "main" path: perhaps I just couldn't find the flags on those levels.
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How odd. I didn't think it was that hard (mostly I just ran at top speed on ground floor once, then hit all the platforms once, and that's all the Wabbits).
Plus, most of the fun is in screwing around with spell combinations. I think I still have my notepad with all the combinations I could get on there ('course, now I have GameFAQs).
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I ditto Flashback, as there's a good walk-through-walls glitch in the Genesis version.
I'm not sure if Kid Chameleon can be done without warps. I know there is (theoretically) a way to warp straight to the final boss from the second level, but I never could do it (it wouldn't be impressive, either). Effective use of the other warps would be very impressive, though.
Castlevania: Bloodlines would probably be faster with the whip guy, but I agree, the spear guy is waaay cooler.
Games that I think are must-do's and not on the list:
Toejam & Earl 1 (perhaps with 2-players, as one can go straight for the ship piece while the other collects presents for later)
Ecco the Dolphin
Games I would like to see that are not on the list:
Shadow of the Beast
Alisia Dragoon
Jurassic Park (Go raptor!)
Wonder Boy in Monster Land
Technoclash
Taz-Mania
Lost Vikings (Switching between vikings might get old)
Games that I would like to see but might not be that impressive:
Toejam & Earl 2 (Collecting humans == sloooow)
Cadash (Might require leveling or DW syndrome)
Greendog (Too slow except on skate/board levels)
Landstalker (Might be too long)
Ys III (Might require leveling)
Puggsy (too long?)
Krusty's Super Fun House (Waiting for rats == slooow)