This is my very first speedrun, I'm a huge fan of TH series, so I wanted to beat one of them in 5 minutes, and as the emulation of systems older than the PSx isnt rely ok for me and my computer, i chose a GBA version of THPS2.
emulator: VBA v23.5 svn421
No warps/glitch/passwords used. In this game you have to complete goals the get cash, this cash allows you to unlock stuff, stat points and following levels, all i did is trying to earn the minimum cash required to get the the next levels (some levels are competitions though, no goals in them, you have to get the best 2 scores out of 3 attempts. For these i've ended the runs as soon as possible, and I didn't take the 3rd attempts because it didnt matter not to take them)
My aim was just to have some fun establishing a record on a TH episode. The hardest part was maybe to get into this TAS world i didn't know anything about. I know my run can be optimized, i've lost a few seconds several times, but i've tried not to play it too simply, so its still fun to watch :)
I've hesitated between 2 options: beating the levels, or beating them with 100% goals and cash. I've chosen option number one, because i thought that its more fun to beat a game that fast. The sad point about this option is that you don't get a "real" ending screen (credits, not sure you get one with 100% though) and that the ending screen you get after all these efforts kinda suck as you will see...
ps: sorry if my english isnt perfect, i'm a french player :) I hope you'll enjoy my record, I enjoyed doing this, so it's my first attempt at TASing, maybe not my last!

DarkKobold: I believe that the general consensus was that this game is much more suited for a 100% run, not an any% run. Given the difference in isometric versus 3rd person view point, I'd think there is space on the site for a GBA run in addition to a PSX/N64 run. However, I'm rejecting this run for bad goal choice. I'd say the audience would approve of a 100% run. I hope to see one from you in the future.

turska: Unrejecting.

adelikat: Accepting for publication to the Vault

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This topic is for the purpose of discussing #3433: Noodlez's GBA Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2 in 05:03.82
LSK
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This game should be done as a 100%, as it is a game where the tasks are the interesting thing, not the stages (because, as you mentioned, there isn't a real ending.)
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LSK wrote:
This game should be done as a 100%, as it is a game where the tasks are the interesting thing, not the stages (because, as you mentioned, there isn't a real ending.)
agree
Post subject: tony hawk's pro skater 2: : youtube + video file
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Yeah, a 100% run would be better. I compared this one to emu's N64 Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3, and that one is simply more entertaining because it hits everything.
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Congratulations to your first TAS, please do not be discouraged by the remaining part of my message, you show good skill at TASing and the run looks really well made. I will have to echo the previous posters and say that a 100% run would be a lot more interesting than one that reaches the end as fast as possible. I also looked at some gameplay videos from the PSX and N64 versions of the games and they look more interesting than the GBA version, I think this game shall be done on one of those instead. Voting no for goal choice and version choice.
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I'll have to echo everyone else's sentiments as well, especially Warepire. My specific recommendation is the PSX version, if only because the music will sound better (and IIRC the overall music choice is better because they took some out for the N64 version, though I may be thinking of the first game).
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Is the PSX version sufficiently different from the GBA version? If so they could as well coexist, though I agree that the goal should indeed be different.
Warp wrote:
Edit: I think I understand now: It's my avatar, isn't it? It makes me look angry.
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moozooh wrote:
Is the PSX version sufficiently different from the GBA version? If so they could as well coexist, though I agree that the goal should indeed be different.
Yes, they are pretty different. Thanks for the encode, antd (I couldn't find the right ROM to watch it in the emulator). Pretty impressive for a rookie TAS! Unfortunately, I feel like many parts are terribly sub-optimal. Also, like everybody else, I think a 100% run would fit better for this game since it is less fast-paced than the N64/PSX version. Don't give up though, Noodlez! Je ne sais pas à quel niveau se situe ton Anglais, mais si tu as besoin d'aide pour quelque chose tu n'as qu'à m'écrire un MP.
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A 100 % run would definitely be worth it.
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For a starting TASer, it's a good run. Would prefer a 100% run rather than an any% run on this, but still, I can't deny that you've given it your best shot. Voting MEA because of bad goal choice, but a good run nevertheless.
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Ok, thanks everybody! So, about the gba version choice: i've chosen this version and not the PS/64 for two main reasons: 1) it already exists and 2) my laptop isnt powerful enough to TAS 32/64/128bits platforms games :) I could add to this a 3rd reason: challenge! Actually, I've been part of the online TH community for a long time, already done tons of improvisationnal/style vids of this game ( you TASers might enjoy this for example: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o2svrEzghL8 ) so, yeah, i'm good at these last episodes and i know them, and one thing i can tell you is that there wouldnt be enough difference between a TAS speedrun and not TAS speedrun for it to be challenging. The GBA version has this isometric 3D which makes things way harder to do correctly (for ex: the rail i have to hit after 4:20 in the TAS vid is almost impossible to get because of that approximative gameplay). In real 3D episodes, nothing is impossible to hit when you're a good player. Tools would only help me gain a few seconds but im able to rock the game from A to Z with an untooled single try, whereas on this GBA crappy version, i just couldn't hit the end of the game with a first try single run cause of things like this rail and other places where your eyes aren't enough to know exactly where you will land for sure. Kind of hard to explain, but i'm sure that those of you who have tried both versions will get my point :)
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hi, welcome to the TAS community, the run looks solid to my eyes and is definitly good, but as all the others said before, a 100% run would be far better. i'll vote yes for this one as it's different from "home consoles" versions but i'd like to see it obseleted by a 100% if one is ever made.
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Nicos wrote:
hi, welcome to the TAS community, the run looks solid to my eyes and is definitly good, but as all the others said before, a 100% run would be far better. i'll vote yes for this one as it's different from "home consoles" versions but i'd like to see it obseleted by a 100% if one is ever made.
Thanks :)
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This looks like a pretty nice job for a first run. Unfortunately, the player's sprite has very little detail in this run, which makes it more difficult to see the tricks clearly. For that reason, I don't think I'd want to see a 100% run on this version of the game. In the meantime, I'll vote yes with this. This run showed a good amount of variety without getting boring. If a 100% run happens on the PSX version, I'd probably want that to obsolete this run. Also, thanks for the encode, antd!
Used to be a frequent submissions commenter. My new computer has had some issues running emulators, so I've been here more sporadically. Still haven't gotten around to actually TASing yet... I was going to improve Kid Dracula for GB. It seems I was beaten to it, though, with a recent awesome run by Hetfield90 and StarvinStruthers. (http://tasvideos.org/2928M.html.) Thanks to goofydylan8 for running Gargoyle's Quest 2 because I mentioned the game! (http://tasvideos.org/2001M.html) Thanks to feos and MESHUGGAH for taking up runs of Duck Tales 2 because of my old signature! Thanks also to Samsara for finishing a Treasure Master run. From the submission comments:
Shoutouts and thanks to mklip2001 for arguably being the nicest and most supportive person on the forums.
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Put in a yes vote. When people mention game choice, alot of it is personal experience with the game. Some NES games are horrible, but when people who have played those games see them TASed, it's entertaining for me. I played this game and was floored in 2001 that they did bring a worthy port of Tony Hawk to a handheld system. Mario Advance was dumb, but Tony Hawk made a great GBA launch title for me. (I do think that an N64 run of a Tony Hawk game is a lousy idea as it should be PSX just to be on the original platform or DC which would be sweet to see :P The GBA one is unique enough to justify having it on here) That said, for goal choice, yeah I think 100% would be better. You do end runs with plenty of time to round off the goals listed. I think a run that covered all the gaps in the game too would be entertaining to watch. I would probably call that a 100%+ run as those goals aren't as obvious a selection as the stage goals on the "loading" screen (what load times for GBA?) Although I wouldn't push the quest for the full goal list to more than a single run per level so if skipping some of the gaps is required, then whatever. Either way, 100% would be best. I used to be able to 100% hangar on one run myself so there's no reason a TAS shouldn't :P Somethings I wouldn't mind knowing is why did you choose the skater that you did? As well, are there any other choices in optimizing a run for fastest cash? I noticed in one of the levels that it seemed like a slow down just to go out of your way to smash a crate. Keeping the special bar flashing would at least speed you up during those sections. And one thought I have in voting yes was to have this run published as a way of encouraging people to improve this run anyway. If Noodlez was to withdraw this himself in favour of making a 100% run, sure, don't bother publishing it. But as is, I would see it accepted to have it enter the consciousness of the site. Whether or not that is actually a purpose of publishing a run is questionable, but that's my thoughts anyway. Edit-Forgot to mention that I found it funny when you did multiple special tricks in a row and your character got ultra zoomed in on screen and it reduced your visibility to where you were going :P
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Thank you, PKFC. To answer you about the choice of the skater: i chose Kareem Campbell because of his stats, I was just looking for some good standard stats like rail balance,etc...while stats like hangtime were just useless to me. But it's just a thing i've done without thinking too much, i just took him cause i thought i'd be more comfortable with his usefull stats, not sure it changed anything :)
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moozooh wrote:
Is the PSX version sufficiently different from the GBA version? If so they could as well coexist, though I agree that the goal should indeed be different.
The gameplay, tricks, levels, physics, skaters and menus seem to be pretty similar, but there are two striking differences: * The GBA version seems to be missing three levels. Instead, it got the boring warehouse level. * The GBA lacks the 3D chip for a proper 3rd person view, instead opting for an isometric view where you just can't see where you're going. Oh, and they replaced all the nice textures with something bland that'll fit into a GBAs memory. Ugh. While I'm actually impressed how faithful the port is to the original, the only thing it can show that the PSX version cannot are crappy graphics. I'd vote yes on a PSX 100% run any day. But this? Meh.
m00
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om, nom, nom... crunchy!
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voted no cuz u can 100% this and it will be a lot better
TAS i'm interested: megaman series: mmbn1 all chips, mmx3 any% psx glitched fighting games with speed goals in general
Guga
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What would be the definition of 100% in this game? <------ Newbie of THPS
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grassini wrote:
voted no cuz u can 100% this and it will be a lot better
dude, do you even know why this got un-rejected?
Post subject: Movie published
TASVideoAgent
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This movie has been published. The posts before this message apply to the submission, and posts after this message apply to the published movie. ---- [2239] GBA Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2 by Noodlez in 05:03.82