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Posted: 2/25/2005 1:07 AM
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CtrlAltDestroy
Active player (325)
Joined: 2/23/2005
Posts: 786
Well, I finished the first world. Same URL. Level 2: This level was pretty much a "duh" experience. The only real variable here was what order I visited all the cells, which would change where the bugs would be when I came to them. The best two orders gave the same result: 54 seconds left on the clock, and 2 steps short of 55. I chose this one because it shows me doing death-defying runs past the bugs. Level 3: I only re-did this level about 4 times, and gained a total improvement of 6 steps. The route is pretty flawless... there might be a way to gain one extra step by handling the bug differently, but I couldn't find it. Level 4: I re-did this a total of 2 times. The first time was the best, it's the one I used. The second time, I found a faster way to destroy the first two bugs... which had the effect of hopelessly desynching the next 2 bugs from my route, so I gave up on that one after about an hour of trying different strategies with the second bug cage. So far, so good I guess.
Posted: 2/25/2005 1:51 AM
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nifboy
Former player
Joined: 5/31/2004
Posts: 375
Very nice. Keep at it.
Posted: 2/25/2005 6:59 AM
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CtrlAltDestroy
Active player (325)
Joined: 2/23/2005
Posts: 786
6 levels down. I came to my first real roadblock. It's the 3rd ice level with the amebas. They're so horribly random, it's not even funny. Now, I'm perfectly aware that there's really no such thing as random in games, but these amebas are ridiculous. The way I go about the level determines how fast the amebas fill up their space, but I have no clue how. The best I can do is run through the level about a hundred times in different ways and take the one where the amebas fill up the fastest. Even save states don't help much, because the diamond conversion point seems to change with every keypress I make. So... If I want to make this level impressive, it's going to take a very long while to finish.
Posted: 3/21/2005 11:31 PM
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CtrlAltDestroy
Active player (325)
Joined: 2/23/2005
Posts: 786
Finally got around to working on this some more. I started over because I found lots more tricks to make the levels (and menu screens) faster. http://www.samus.co.uk/cad/bd_q4.fcm Nine levels down, 15 to go.
Posted: 3/22/2005 1:21 AM
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nifboy
Former player
Joined: 5/31/2004
Posts: 375
I like it. I like it immensely. Especially the one level with the two big empty rooms; you handle it very well. As for the amoeba, I take it pushing buttons doesn't make it go any faster?
Posted: 3/29/2005 6:01 AM
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CtrlAltDestroy
Active player (325)
Joined: 2/23/2005
Posts: 786
Dang, it looks to me like the final world is going to be just as long, difficult, and annoying as the rest of the run put together. It'll take me a while to figure out, but in the meantime you can watch the first 20 levels... http://www.samus.co.uk/cad/bd_q4.fcm (Added 11 more levels since last posting)
Posted: 3/29/2005 4:45 PM
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nifboy
Former player
Joined: 5/31/2004
Posts: 375
...Wow. (Nope, nothing substancial to say, just... wow.)
Posted: 4/5/2005 6:50 AM
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CtrlAltDestroy
Active player (325)
Joined: 2/23/2005
Posts: 786
I started over today. I wanted to see if I could beat my time. Well, I'm up to 19-3 again, and so far the movie is 123 frames ahead of the submitted one! In game, I measure improvement by "steps". A step is 8 frames. It takes 8 frames to perform just about any action- step from one square to another, collect a diamond one square away from you, push a bug, etc... 19-1: Gained 1 step on this level. Apparently, pushing the rock onto the bug and waiting for the rock below to fall in order to collect the diamond is faster than dropping the rock on the bug and running over to collect the diamond. This is the fastest this level can be completed. Further improvement is impossible. 19-2: No improvement. I performed this level identcally to the previous level- further improvement is impossible. 19-3: I ganed a freaking 12 steps on this level!! That's 96 frames! I did this by rethinking my strategy. Collecting the 2 diamonds on top at the beginning is faster than waiting for later to run all the way over there and pick them up. Also, getting to the bottom left diamond by running under everything is faster than entering from the top, waiting for all the rocks to topple to let you through. Further improvement may still be possible. So 13 steps, combined with faster menus and password entry, imrpoved this video by 123 frames so far. http://www.samus.co.uk/cad/boulder_dash/bd_q4_2.fcm http://www.samus.co.uk/cad/boulder_dash/run_progress.txt I'll update those files as I complete this run.
Posted: 4/5/2005 11:34 AM
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Bag_of_Magic_Food
He/Him
Active player (278)
Joined: 5/29/2004
Posts: 5712
So it's like Lolo, where all movement is in 8-pixel increments? Maybe I should take a look at this game.
put yourself in my rocketpack if that poochie is one outrageous dude
Posted: 4/17/2005 7:46 AM
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CtrlAltDestroy
Active player (325)
Joined: 2/23/2005
Posts: 786
The amebas on 20-3 got O W N 3 D ! Check it out! It took me 4 days to do it, but I did a LOT of luck manipulation and managed to get the level down to below 30 seconds. It all started with the novel idea of- why wait on the amebas, when I could have the amebas wait on me? So I took the strategy of just letting them expand wherever they wanted THEN covering them with rocks when there were 14 of them. It worked like a charm, and 20-3 is now 1000+ frames faster than in the previous run. There's still a possibility that this level can be even faster, and I'll dig for it!
Posted: 4/17/2005 2:57 PM
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DeHackEd
Emulator Coder, Site Developer, Former player
Joined: 11/6/2004
Posts: 833
I was planning on processing your last run (the one you submitted) into an AVI, but if you're coming along this well, I think I'll wait for the improved version to finish. Good luck.
Posted: 4/27/2005 3:17 AM
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CtrlAltDestroy
Active player (325)
Joined: 2/23/2005
Posts: 786
I've ompleted up to 22-3 (although 22-3 could possibly be improved, I'm not done with it yet) and I've hit the 10 minute mark. I'm aiming for a sub 20-minute movie. If I can somehow complete the next 7 levels inside 10 minutes, I've got one. Also, it seems that I'm finding improvements to all the levels. Every level with the exception of 19-2 has been improved so far. 21-1: Fought off some weird object overflow problems, caught stuff on my head to collect diamonds faster, used a faster strategy for the middle section. Huge improvement over the last run. 22-2: I believe this level cannot be improved any further. I never had to stop to wait for a bug this time. Huge improvement. 22-3: I somehow gained 1 step here. I think it was because I cleared out 1 less space beneath the huge avolanche. 22-4: I let out both bugs at once, and it went much faster. 23-1: I let the bugs out on the left this time instead of the right, because it's closer to the exit. Small improvement. 23-2: Collected the diamonds in a better order for a small improvement. 23-3: Found a new strategy for dropping the rocks, and collected the diamonds in a better order.
Posted: 8/6/2005 6:09 AM
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CtrlAltDestroy
Active player (325)
Joined: 2/23/2005
Posts: 786
Heh, I'm back at this again. I finished my Rayman rehearsal run, and I wanted to take a break and play a different game before I restarted it. Right now I'm at 20-3, having trouble matching/beating my old time. I'm currently a total of 91 frames ahead of the published run. Aside from 20-3 and 24-3, I expect this to be finished quickly.
Posted: 8/6/2005 6:42 AM
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Truncated
Editor, Reviewer, Experienced player (969)
Joined: 4/17/2004
Posts: 3107
Location: Sweden
Arcade TAS of 2023 Sega TASer of 2021 Sega TAS of 2021
Good luck. I've found your submissions for this game very interesting and new one wouldn't hurt.
Posted: 8/13/2005 2:21 AM
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CtrlAltDestroy
Active player (325)
Joined: 2/23/2005
Posts: 786
Just finished 20-3 today, and I managed to luck manipulate 35 extra frames out of the amebas! My run so far is a little over 2 seconds ahead now. I'm aiming to shave 8 seconds or more off this, I really want to get below 20 minutes. But it'll be tough, I don't see too many more oppertunities for improvement... and then I still have to get through 24-3 again, which is ALWAYS a pain... I may have this run done in about a week. I hope.
Posted: 8/27/2005 4:01 AM
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CtrlAltDestroy
Active player (325)
Joined: 2/23/2005
Posts: 786
I've been stuck on 22-1 forever. I can improve it by 3 steps (24 frames) but I have this nagging feeling that it can somehow be done faster... I just can't find a way to do it. Once, I just took the 24 frames and tried to move on, but there was a dumb luck manipulation issue with 22-2 where a square of diamonds wouldn't become immediately collectable, causing the level to be 16 frames slower! When I found this, I just decided to backup and keep trying 22-1 until I was satisfied. I'm still trying.
Posted: 8/30/2005 6:21 PM
Post subject: Wha?
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CtrlAltDestroy
Active player (325)
Joined: 2/23/2005
Posts: 786
O_o The FCM for my previous run on the site recently started to desynch at 21-1, as if by magic! Does this happen to anyone else? http://tasvideos.org/movies/fcm/ctrlaltdestroy2-boulderdash.zip
Posted: 12/12/2007 6:45 PM
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CtrlAltDestroy
Active player (325)
Joined: 2/23/2005
Posts: 786
I was working on the version 4 of this run for the past several months, but I recently lost it all in a hard drive crash. I'm going to make some notes to myself as reminders if I ever restart this run again. On the off-chance that somebody else wants to improve this run, feel free to take advantage of these and even to copy portions of the existing movie. (In that case, I apologize for the poor descriptions, as I'm recalling this all from memory alone.) Boulder-1: Through extensive testing, appears to be perfect. Boulder-2: Improvement is possible by using a bug to blast open a wall, saving a trip back to the central path. - When starting, immediately go to the top of the level. - Enter the top-left chamber where the bug roams. Grab the diamonds while letting the bug out into the central chamber. (Some digging of the dirt is required beforehand to make sure the bug follows the proper path) - After collecting those diamonds, cross the hall and go for the ones in the top-right chamber. Along the way, dig a patch of dirt to get the bug stuck in a loop. - After collecting the top-right chamber diamonds, go out into the central chamber and head down for the middle-right chambers. Manipulate the bug into following you along the way by using the character as a wall to make it jump over the gap in the loop. - Follow the bug into the middle-right chamber, grab the diamond, and smash the bug with the rock to open the bottom-right chamber and collect the diamonds in there. - Collect the diamonds in the bottom-left chamber, then complete the level. Boulder-3: Been unable to find an improvement for 3 movie versions now, so I guess it's perfect. Boulder-4: Can be improved considerably by squashing the butterflies in a different pattern. - When starting out, instead of going straight down, go to the right a few tiles and drop the rock down with you. Use the rock to crunch the butterflies. - While the diamonds are materializing, go to the next butterfly chamber and crunch one of those. - Conserve diamonds and let one of the butterflies escape to save time. Ice-1: Looks perfect. Ice-2: Looks perfect. Ice-3: Amoebas can be manipulated to convert to diamonds 40 frames sooner. Following a different path through the level will affect amoeba appearance order and rate a little bit. Touching the amoebas affects it A LOT. Character can be used in place of 2 rocks by moving back in forth every frame. Ice-4: Can be improved by just a tiny bit, using the same strategy but leaving the diamonds on the right to just fall through on their own and collecting them later along with the diamonds on the left. Sand-1: Might be improved by killing lag faster. Traversing the diamond mine up top from left to right is a formidable task and a real puzzler, but with the proper manipulation of rocks and diamonds, it can be done. Theoretical path: - Start by dropping the avalanche on the left. - While avalanche is falling, collect the diamonds from the center pit. - Return to the falling avalanche in progress. Collect all diamonds within the pile, then use the catch-on-head trick to collect the remaining diamonds as they fall and filter out the rocks. Plug the very last part of the avalanche and collect the last diamonds that would have fallen. - Run through the part on the left and collect all the diamonds possible. - After that's done, cross over and run through the center diamond mine and collect the rest of the diamonds needed. - Manipulating the part above the right avalanche zone for the last 20 diamonds is next to impossible. It requires micromanaging how diamonds fall and using them as paths to keep the rocks from blocking your path. I did it once, but have been unable to reproduce it so far. This was the reason the run was delayed. Sand-2: As perfect as it gets. Sand-3: Untested, but probably can be improved by using the 2 starting bugs to destroy walls and clear out unwanted rocks. Sand-4: Can be improved by at least 40 frames by refraining from collecting the diamond at the bottom of the last column, instead collecting it later when collecting the diamonds beneath it and letting it fall down. Relic-4: Huge improvement found here. - When the map starts, run down and start collecting the right pit of diamonds. If done right, it will catch the bugs and cause a chain reaction that destroys almost all of them and even opens up the center row of caged diamonds. - Collect the rest of the diamonds as fast as possible. Some diamonds must be left behind in order to beat the bug in the column by 1 cycle, saving a bunch of time. Volcano-1: Extensively test to see if it is possible to run through the bottom catacombs after clearing the rightmost diamond chamber. Volcano-2: Untested, possible improvement by dropping a 5th diamond into the magic wall. Volcano-3: Use the TAS movie editor to copy the performance of this level from the previous movie. Volcano-4: Untested, but definitely not perfect.
Posted: 2/29/2008 2:32 AM
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CtrlAltDestroy
Active player (325)
Joined: 2/23/2005
Posts: 786
I figure I should bump this since the other thread got locked. A quest 1 movie might not be as entertaining, but it would certainly be faster and more familiar to a wider audience. The amoeba stages would be completely neutralized. I'd estimate that it could be done in around 15 minutes.
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