Topic by dwangoAC

Posted: 11/1/2010 12:18 AM

Post subject: Metroid Prime Pinball

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dwangoAC

Moderator, Senior Ambassador, Experienced player (898)

Joined: 9/14/2008
Posts: 1007

I've started a TAS of Metroid Prime Pinball. I haven't done any encodes yet so this is just the .dsm file for now. It can be found at: http://sonic.net/~ac/tas/metroid-prime-pinball-dwangoAC-wip-01.dsm Emulator information: * DesMuMe 0.9.6 * Advanced Timing disabled This WIP completes the first table and performs the actions required to trigger five artifacts (two of them aren't actually "collected" as I creatively avoided doing so for the sake of entertainment; they'll be counted at some point in the next level). Please have a look and let me know what you think. I'll provide additional information and likely a new WIP in a future post. Thanks for watching! A.C. ******

I was laid off in May 2023 and could use support via Patreon or onetime donations as I work on TASBot Re: and TASBot HD. I'm dwangoAC, part of the senior staff of TASVideos as the Senior Ambassador and BDFL of the TASBot community; I post TAS content on YouTube.com/dwangoAC based on livestreams from Twitch.tv/dwangoAC.

Posted: 11/1/2010 8:45 AM

Post subject: New WIP

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dwangoAC

Moderator, Senior Ambassador, Experienced player (898)

Joined: 9/14/2008
Posts: 1007

The most recent WIP can be found at: http://sonic.net/~ac/tas/metroid-prime-pinball-dwangoAC-wip-02.dsm (as before, use DesMuMe 0.9.6 with Advanced Timing disabled; this is tested to sync against the US (0142) version) Length: 02:11.61 02:11.23 Rerecord count: 1662 This WIP completes the Pirate Friggate and the Phendrana Drifts tables and performs the actions required to trigger six artifacts (one of them still hasn't been "collected", however). This puts the run at being halfway through the artifact collection phase. I'm very happy with how the boss battle on Phendrana Drifts turned out - the boss must be defeated in order to get to the artifact temple and I was glad I was able to defeat the boss so quickly, considering it can take several minutes in realtime. If someone wants to tackle an encode please feel free but I don't currently plan on trying as even if I had an encode I don't currently have a good place to put it. Thanks for any feedback, A.C. ******

I was laid off in May 2023 and could use support via Patreon or onetime donations as I work on TASBot Re: and TASBot HD. I'm dwangoAC, part of the senior staff of TASVideos as the Senior Ambassador and BDFL of the TASBot community; I post TAS content on YouTube.com/dwangoAC based on livestreams from Twitch.tv/dwangoAC.

Posted: 11/1/2010 11:41 AM

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Atma

Former player

Joined: 9/1/2005
Posts: 803

it turns out that you didn't actually finish the boss battle.

Posted: 11/1/2010 3:16 PM

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Noxxa

They/Them

Moderator, Expert player (4141)

Joined: 8/14/2009
Posts: 4083
Location: The Netherlands

When I made my ancient WIP (not posting that here) of this game, I thought that it'd be faster to do Tallon Overworld first, use Phazon Multiball to do all missions and then do the bosses so you have Power Bomb on the Frigate. You'll need to suicide one of the Phazon balls along the way, though, because you can't exit the level while having both of them. Some missions can be instantly cleared with a Power Bomb as soon as they start and you'll instantly start a new mission. I think it's better to have Power Bomb on Frigate, because you can't use Power Bombs during Phazon Multiball.

http://www.youtube.com/Noxxa <dwangoAC> This is a TAS (...). Not suitable for all audiences. May cause undesirable side-effects. May contain emulator abuse. Emulator may be abusive. This product contains glitches known to the state of California to cause egg defects. <Masterjun> I'm just a guy arranging bits in a sequence which could potentially amuse other people looking at these bits <adelikat> In Oregon Trail, I sacrificed my own family to save time. In Star trek, I killed helpless comrades in escape pods to save time. Here, I kill my allies to save time. I think I need help.

Posted: 11/3/2010 8:28 PM

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dwangoAC

Moderator, Senior Ambassador, Experienced player (898)

Joined: 9/14/2008
Posts: 1007

Atma wrote:

it turns out that you didn't actually finish the boss battle.

It turns out you're right. Apparently DesMuMe doesn't like it when you copy the movie file while the movie file is still open. I've re-uploaded the file sans the truncation but I've also made a new WIP which gets to the end of Tallon Overworld: http://sonic.net/~ac/tas/metroid-prime-pinball-dwangoAC-wip-03.dsm The only problem here is that I've burned through three levels but only collected a total of 9 artifacts out of 12 so I have to backtrack to snag a few more artifacts from Tallon Overworld before exiting. I'm not sure what will be fastest; here are my remaining options based on this guide: Complete Beetle Blast Complete Phazon Frenzy Complete Wall Jump Collect Super Jackpot in Gunship Multiball (once per multiball) Collect Super Jackpot in Phazon Multiball (once per multiball) I'll get one artifact from Phazon Mines so I only need two more from Tallon Overworld so it's a question of which remaining mode is fastest. I've already done the the Metroid Mania + Phazon Multiball sequence once in the run so I'm afraid that if I do it again it'll be a bit repetitive but I'm already halfway there so I'll probably get that artifact while trying to be as creative as possible. I don't think I can collect an artifact from Wall Jump a second time because I've already done that once. It's possible I'll be able to get an artifact from a 4-way combo but I don't think that can be done during Phazon Multiball so I'll have to see if that's faster than something like Beetle Blast. I still haven't ventured in to the realm of encoding yet but I'll get to that eventually, I hope. Thanks for the feedback, A.C. ******

I was laid off in May 2023 and could use support via Patreon or onetime donations as I work on TASBot Re: and TASBot HD. I'm dwangoAC, part of the senior staff of TASVideos as the Senior Ambassador and BDFL of the TASBot community; I post TAS content on YouTube.com/dwangoAC based on livestreams from Twitch.tv/dwangoAC.

Posted: 11/3/2010 9:22 PM

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Noxxa

They/Them

Moderator, Expert player (4141)

Joined: 8/14/2009
Posts: 4083
Location: The Netherlands

Here's a plan for the artifacts to get: Tallon Overworld -Phazon Multiball (1) --Burrower Bash (2) --Triclops Terror (3) --Metroid Mania (4) Phendrana Drifts -Defeat Boss (5) Phazon Mines -Defeat Boss (6) Pirate Frigate -Parasite Purge (power bomb) (7) -Space Pirate Panic (8) -Metroid Mania (9) Other artifacts, can be collected in any of the major areas (not determined yet): -Wall Jump (10) -Hurry Up (11) -4-Way Combo (12)

http://www.youtube.com/Noxxa <dwangoAC> This is a TAS (...). Not suitable for all audiences. May cause undesirable side-effects. May contain emulator abuse. Emulator may be abusive. This product contains glitches known to the state of California to cause egg defects. <Masterjun> I'm just a guy arranging bits in a sequence which could potentially amuse other people looking at these bits <adelikat> In Oregon Trail, I sacrificed my own family to save time. In Star trek, I killed helpless comrades in escape pods to save time. Here, I kill my allies to save time. I think I need help.

Posted: 11/3/2010 10:21 PM

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dwangoAC

Moderator, Senior Ambassador, Experienced player (898)

Joined: 9/14/2008
Posts: 1007

Mothrayas wrote:

Here's a plan for the artifacts...

Mothrayas, thanks for the detailed and well formatted plan! I know your run originally did Tallon Overworld first but I opted to do Pirate Frigate first because that was the first level listed on the selection screen (all in the name of saving two frames - I'm not sure if it was worth it :). I know your reasoning for doing Pirate Frigate after Phendrana Drifts was to get the power bomb to use in the Parisite Purge but I opted to use the power bomb to defeat Thardus quickly instead. I was unable to luck manipulate the random award in Phendrana Drifts to get another power bomb that way but I *was* able to luck manipulate a metroid into dropping one in Tallon Overworld, at the expense of two lag frames due to nudging (note that player-induced lag frames have been fairly rare thus far). Based on what I've got now I'm going to continue with the order of Pirate Frigate -> Phendrana Drifts -> Tallon Overworld -> Phazon Mines. I had thought about doing Phazon Mines to get the missiles in order to quickly do Beetle Blast but there are other modes that can be done just as quickly and I like breaking up the adventure and the boss tables rather than having the boss tables right next to each other. On Tallon Overworld I've found some limitations of using Phazon Multiball where several modes can't be started (such as hurry ups, wall jumps, 4-way combo, and potentially a few other things) but it has come in handy for destroying metroids quickly. :) I've also found that Phazon Multiball makes Triclops Terror more difficult because only two bombs can be laid at a time instead of three and getting the bomb placement in the right location so the Triclops pick them up is harder with two balls to contend with. Anyway, I'm re-working portions of Tallon Overworld before continuing on to Phazon Mines and then the Artifact Temple - I'm still shooting for a sub-7 minute movie if I can manage it but it might be closer to 8 minutes. Thanks for the response, A.C. ******

I was laid off in May 2023 and could use support via Patreon or onetime donations as I work on TASBot Re: and TASBot HD. I'm dwangoAC, part of the senior staff of TASVideos as the Senior Ambassador and BDFL of the TASBot community; I post TAS content on YouTube.com/dwangoAC based on livestreams from Twitch.tv/dwangoAC.

Posted: 11/4/2010 4:29 AM

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jlun2

Skilled player (1707)

Joined: 9/17/2009
Posts: 4952
Location: ̶C̶a̶n̶a̶d̶a̶ "Kanatah"

Hello! Here's a list of some useful memory addresses I came across for this game! Address: Function 023FFC3C Frame counter (4 bytes unsigned) 02099900 Vertical Position (4 bytes unsigned) 020998FC Horizontal Position (4 bytes unsigned) 0209991C Vertical Speed (4 bytes unsigned) 02099918 Horizontal Speed (4 bytes unsigned) 0209E7A9 Timer for purple safety net (1 byte unsigned) I tested them out by changing the values to see what would happen to the game, and they seem to be correct. I hope you find them useful and good luck with the run!^^

LLCoolDave wrote:

This seems to be competing for the "Worst looking TAS of 2011" Award.

Posted: 11/4/2010 6:18 AM

Post subject: Final WIP before submitting

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dwangoAC

Moderator, Senior Ambassador, Experienced player (898)

Joined: 9/14/2008
Posts: 1007

jlun2 wrote:

Hello! Here's a list of some useful memory addresses I came across for this game! ~snip~

Those are definitely useful - thanks! The only other memory address I came up with is: 023C787D Boss damage (inconsistent when boss is low on health) I've completed a final WIP which I plan to submit, possibly as early as tonight. It completes the game in 06:48.27 and 4,037 rerecords: http://sonic.net/~ac/tas/metroid-prime-pinball-dwangoAC.dsm I'm very happy I hit a sub-7 minute time so I plan to submit the run as it is although it's definitely possible that there are potential improvements such as taking different routes and removing the constraint of "takes no damage" (while being damaged isn't typically beneficial in the game there may be points where it would have saved a few frames through damage boosting). Thanks again to everyone who contributed information and assistance both here and on IRC, A.C. ******

I was laid off in May 2023 and could use support via Patreon or onetime donations as I work on TASBot Re: and TASBot HD. I'm dwangoAC, part of the senior staff of TASVideos as the Senior Ambassador and BDFL of the TASBot community; I post TAS content on YouTube.com/dwangoAC based on livestreams from Twitch.tv/dwangoAC.

Posted: 11/12/2010 9:20 PM

Post subject: I won't be tackling this again this year

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dwangoAC

Moderator, Senior Ambassador, Experienced player (898)

Joined: 9/14/2008
Posts: 1007

I submitted my completed WIP as #2901: dwangoAC's DS Metroid Prime Pinball in 06:49.45 but a few days after the submission Gocha posted a link to a Nico video of gstick completing the game in 04:54.03 using the JPN version of the game in 18,330 re-records. This was faster than my completion time of 06:48.27 on the US version of the game in 4037 re-records. The submission was properly rejected based on the existence of a more optimized run. I very much wish I had known about gstick's JPN run before I started on my own US run. I've watched the encoded video of gstick's JPN run and there were a number of interesting characteristics - gstick's run also started with the Pirate Frigate but then continued on to Phazon Mines and Phendrana Drifts before doing Tallong Overworld. The run proved something that I was suspicious about (it's possible to collect an artifact in Phazon Mines from orbiting behind the boss) and it specifically showed that careful nudging can return the ball to the flipper quicker than the results I was getting in my run. There are still some potential improvements from gstick's run such as using Motheryas's proposed route and collecting one of the artifacts using a hurry-up instead of doing the wall jump. At this point I do not intend to attempt to re-create this run this year. I may pick this up again next year but if someone else wants to take this on please feel free to do so. If you do, best of luck! A.C. ******

I was laid off in May 2023 and could use support via Patreon or onetime donations as I work on TASBot Re: and TASBot HD. I'm dwangoAC, part of the senior staff of TASVideos as the Senior Ambassador and BDFL of the TASBot community; I post TAS content on YouTube.com/dwangoAC based on livestreams from Twitch.tv/dwangoAC.

Posted: 11/12/2010 9:26 PM

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Noxxa

They/Them

Moderator, Expert player (4141)

Joined: 8/14/2009
Posts: 4083
Location: The Netherlands

Actually, I don't really think so now that my route is better than gstick's. I didn't expect Phazon Multiball to be able to be selected so quickly in Pirate Frigate (probably faster than using it in Tallon Overworld), and I guess using power bombs on bosses is faster than using them on missions anyway. Also, could gstick be contacted to submit his TAS here? It's very probably worthy of publication here.

http://www.youtube.com/Noxxa <dwangoAC> This is a TAS (...). Not suitable for all audiences. May cause undesirable side-effects. May contain emulator abuse. Emulator may be abusive. This product contains glitches known to the state of California to cause egg defects. <Masterjun> I'm just a guy arranging bits in a sequence which could potentially amuse other people looking at these bits <adelikat> In Oregon Trail, I sacrificed my own family to save time. In Star trek, I killed helpless comrades in escape pods to save time. Here, I kill my allies to save time. I think I need help.

Posted: 11/15/2010 12:05 PM

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gstick

Player (197)

Joined: 4/6/2008
Posts: 23
Location: Nara, Japan

I'm sorry, dwangoAC. I should have found this topic earlier. I have no intention of submitting my JPN run but I'll redo the run on the US version. (Although it is still unclear when I'll get going.) So, here is a route which I'm planning tentatively. Pirate Frigate -Parasite Purge (1) --4-Way Combo (2) -Phazon Multiball (3) --Metroid Mania (4) --Space Pirate Panic (5) Phendrana Drifts -Break Specific Ice (6) --Defeat Boss (7) Phazon Mines -Compass Boss (8) --Defeat Boss (9) Tallon Overworld -Burrower Bash (10) -Triclops Terror (11) -Metroid Mania (12) Maybe, Tallon Overworld can be improved more than 10 seconds. (This video was recorded on the JPN version.) Management of power bombs is likely to become more important.

Posted: 4/27/2011 7:52 PM

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dwangoAC

Moderator, Senior Ambassador, Experienced player (898)

Joined: 9/14/2008
Posts: 1007

gstick wrote:

...I'll redo the run on the US version. (Although it is still unclear when I'll get going.)

How is the run going? Just curious - I'm looking forward to this game being published on TASVideos. Thanks for taking this on, A.C. ******

I was laid off in May 2023 and could use support via Patreon or onetime donations as I work on TASBot Re: and TASBot HD. I'm dwangoAC, part of the senior staff of TASVideos as the Senior Ambassador and BDFL of the TASBot community; I post TAS content on YouTube.com/dwangoAC based on livestreams from Twitch.tv/dwangoAC.