This is an unreleased prototype for the N64 which was recently dumped.
I decided that timing should end on the first frame on which the camera changes, because this is the point where it freezes if this game is played on console.
The first character is chosen (there are three) because she has a much higher maximum speed. The speed can be increased by sliding against walls and rock and whitewater currents and appears to have no cap (much like BLJing in Super Mario 64). Unfortunately, the speed does have to be reduced at some points to ensure that the kayaker does not go flying off the map and can actually "finish" the level.
I achieved a final time of 1:26.36 (it should be noted that this is game time and not real time).
This run takes advantage of the fact that the TAS input plugin does not have a limitation on the range of the analogue stick, meaning that I can extend it well beyond the intended maximum. This is what allows the kayak to move at hyperspeed. On console, due to the N64 controller's limitations, only a fraction of this speed can be achieved (to put this into perspective, the best time recorded on console is 3:36, using this character).
The YouTube video was created using screen capture software because Mupen's built-in capturer crashes every time you try to capture a video because it can't tell what framerate the game is supposed to run at (the ROM has no region identity despite the fact that it is clearly a USA ROM).
This run might be improvable but it probably isn't because although some of the movement in it looks questionable, the viewer must remember that there are a lot of turns in the level and if the speed isn't reduced then the kayaker will simply fly into oblivion.

Hack to fix Mupen64 builtin capture

  • Change byte at 0x00003E of the ROM from 0x00 to 0x45.
  • Change byte at 0x0000E8 of the M64 from 0x00 to 0x45.
This should make Mupen64 builtin AVI capture work on this movie (by setting the region correctly).
With thanks to aleckermit for testing a bunch of stuff for me on console, and Ilari for figuring out how to make the ROM play at fullspeed and the m64 be capturable in Mupen.

adelikat: Claimed for judging.

adelikat: Replaced submission file at the request of the author. This is a 966 frame improvement, from various improvements throughout the movie.

adelikat: Accepting the movie for publication. (Note about the vote count: While the yes % is lower than most pulblications, I counted no less than 3 votes that were based on misinformation that were later retracted).
Note to publishers: This movie should be tagged with both Unofficial Game, and Single Level

natt: Will be working with our new publisher in training on this one


Experienced player (584)
Joined: 2/23/2008
Posts: 266
Location: CA, USA
I would be a sad panda without u+d/l+r. Anyway, thought this was short and amusing so I voted yes.
darkszero
He/Him
Joined: 7/12/2009
Posts: 181
Location: São Paulo, Brazil
I watched this when SS upload it to his YouTube channel, and I found it funny. Extreme and Kayak shouldn't be on the same sentence, yet here we are. This deserves at least being on Concept Demos. Also, I remember being a discussion about the extra-range on the N64 controller about some other run. I don't remember which one, was it Goldeneye? Anyway, this is the same as u+d/l+r.
Joined: 7/2/2007
Posts: 3960
Well, is it physically possible to use the extended range on the controller without modifying it? Because you can do U+D / L+R on an unmodified NES controller if you have sufficient manual dexterity. Regarding the video, I found it amusing. It looks weird, sure, but it entertained (if for no other reason than the hilariously fast rowing animation), so what else would we care about?
Pyrel - an open-source rewrite of the Angband roguelike game in Python.
Experienced player (504)
Joined: 1/12/2007
Posts: 682
Derakon wrote:
Well, is it physically possible to use the extended range on the controller without modifying it? Because you can do U+D / L+R on an unmodified NES controller if you have sufficient manual dexterity.
Yes, actually. aleckermit posted earlier in the thread that you can reset the controller while holding up, and this will make neutral act like up, meaning that if you hold up again, it'll go beyond its "intended" range.
RachelB
She/Her
Player (129)
Joined: 12/3/2011
Posts: 1579
Swordless Link wrote:
Derakon wrote:
Well, is it physically possible to use the extended range on the controller without modifying it? Because you can do U+D / L+R on an unmodified NES controller if you have sufficient manual dexterity.
Yes, actually. aleckermit posted earlier in the thread that you can reset the controller while holding up, and this will make neutral act like up, meaning that if you hold up again, it'll go beyond its "intended" range.
That would make neutral down, actually, and also makes it impossible to move up (since it is outside the range of the controller). If you don't need to use down, then of course, that isn't a problem. It still doesn't matter though. Even if it were completely impossible to do with an unmodified controller, it doesn't matter at all. It is possible to do on an n64, and that's all that matters. It is NOT an emulator only trick, and to say it is just because it cannot be done with an unmodified controller, is an outright lie.
Joined: 7/2/2007
Posts: 3960
Well, fair enough then. And I suppose you could access the full range in any direction by unplugging and replugging the controller repeatedly, though doing that with frame precision would be a neat trick. Thanks for answering my question.
Pyrel - an open-source rewrite of the Angband roguelike game in Python.
Experienced player (504)
Joined: 1/12/2007
Posts: 682
I improved this run by a lot. Here's the new m64: http://dehacked.2y.net/microstorage.php/info/1584811726/Kayak%20V2.m64 The new in-game time is 1:26.36. adelikat, could you replace it with that one before you judge the run? This is faster than the current m64 in the submission by 16.1 seconds (966 frames). That's how much quicker I reach the top-down camera at the end of the level. The improvements came from slightly different paths at parts of the level, notably after the first major shortcut (going over the boundary instead of around the corner) by going left instead of going right (I previously thought going right was worth it because it meant I would reach a wall sooner, but it turned out to be a bit slower). Other than that, better understanding of when to be against walls allowed for a more optimised run of the level.
Banned User
Joined: 3/10/2004
Posts: 7698
Location: Finland
Are people seriously considering this for publication? If I understood correctly, this isn't even a game, but just a prototype, an alpha version of a potential game that never got developed. It's not a complete game.
Warepire
He/Him
Editor
Joined: 3/2/2010
Posts: 2178
Location: A little to the left of nowhere (Sweden)
Warp wrote:
Are people seriously considering this for publication? If I understood correctly, this isn't even a game, but just a prototype, an alpha version of a potential game that never got developed. It's not a complete game.
Bio Force Ape is a prototype game, that got published. Though it was more complete than this. ----------------------- I have not made up my mind yet on what to vote.
Senior Moderator
Joined: 8/4/2005
Posts: 5777
Location: Away
alec kermit wrote:
I'm pretty certain the same max speed shown in the TAS is possible on console by calibrating the control stick (L+R+C stick down+START). My time on console with the extra stick range was like 3:xx.
Oh, okay, that makes sense. I'll amend my post above.
Warp wrote:
Edit: I think I understand now: It's my avatar, isn't it? It makes me look angry.
Mitjitsu
He/Him
Banned User
Joined: 4/24/2006
Posts: 2997
Warp wrote:
Are people seriously considering this for publication? If I understood correctly, this isn't even a game, but just a prototype, an alpha version of a potential game that never got developed. It's not a complete game.
Anything goes on this site nowadays.
Joined: 5/2/2009
Posts: 656
how finished is this game anyway? We have already published Star Fox 2 and Earthbound Zero, but they're almost complete games. And it seems more complete than Action 52 or Sonic the Hedgehog 2006, both officially released games...
My first language is not English, so please excuse myself if I write something wrong. I'll do my best do write as cleary as I can, so cope with me here =) (ノಥ益ಥ)ノ
Joined: 10/14/2008
Posts: 44
Location: Sweden
freaky n64 games + tas = yes
Joined: 4/5/2012
Posts: 1
I think anyone who votes no is crazy. This is clearly something done for fun on a game that im sure is interesting to most that you otherwise never would have seen. If you'd all stop getting bogged down by the arbitrary and realize that this is both fun to watch and shows off something new and rare you'd see the only option is voting yes! also people talking about the controller stuff as a reason to reject are massively objectively wrong as history has proven repeatedly, unless you want to delete all the 2d zelda runs also.
Tub
Joined: 6/25/2005
Posts: 1377
DarkKobold wrote:
I enjoyed it, but it isn't a completed game - so it really can't be a completed TAS.
Why does it matter? "Finished" is an arbitrary decision the publisher makes on reasons more related to monetary optimization than game quality. It's as relevant to the entertainment of the TAS as the color of the game disc. If noone had ever told you that it's unfinished and the crash had been replaced with a message saying "You've won the game", would you still have voted no? Even though the gameplay portions of the TAS would have looked exactly the same? Also, [516] SNES F-Zero "first track" by Saturn in 02:22.03.
m00
Banned User
Joined: 3/10/2004
Posts: 7698
Location: Finland
Tub wrote:
Also, [516] SNES F-Zero "first track" by Saturn in 02:22.03.
There's an informal saying in this site about past mistakes...
adelikat
He/Him
Emulator Coder, Site Developer, Site Owner, Expert player (3573)
Joined: 11/3/2004
Posts: 4754
Location: Tennessee
Mitjitsu wrote:
If this is published will it be a concept demo?
We no longer have a concept demo section of the site. It would have a Single Level tag. The fact the the game isn't finished doesn't seem to be too big a deal. The only difference between the 4 single level demos we have now vs this. In those games, one COULD play other levels, in this game they don't have a choice. Other than that, I think this TAS is quite comparable.
It's hard to look this good. My TAS projects
Active player (440)
Joined: 2/29/2012
Posts: 192
Definite yes from me now that it has been improved. Sounds good as a single level TAS such as "Wildwaters Extreme Kayak Devil's Elbow in 1:30:xx" Thumbnail suggestion - 1:03:86 on the in-game timer x)
Warepire
He/Him
Editor
Joined: 3/2/2010
Posts: 2178
Location: A little to the left of nowhere (Sweden)
With this new improved version I can safely vote yes. Extreme Kayaking does not seem like a good idea, and this TAS is the perfect proof of that, and a highly entertaining one at that.
Experienced player (764)
Joined: 6/17/2008
Posts: 146
Extreme Kayaking does not seem like a good idea
I didn't think the words "Extreme" and "Kayak" were meant to be together.
Extreme and Kayak shouldn't be on the same sentence
Link to video Also, the improved run is extremely fabulous.
Spikestuff
They/Them
Editor, Publisher, Expert player (2643)
Joined: 10/12/2011
Posts: 6441
Location: The land down under.
Right.... brb doing Crash Bandicoot 1 (PROTOTYPE) yes i have a copy of that ;D Verdict...... DO A BARREL ROLL also
turska wrote:
Extreme Kayaking does not seem like a good idea
I didn't think the words "Extreme" and "Kayak" were meant to be together.
Extreme and Kayak shouldn't be on the same sentence
~video~ Also, the improved run is extremely fabulous.
That's what I was thinking too that video
WebNations/Sabih wrote:
+fsvgm777 never censoring anything.
Disables Comments and Ratings for the YouTube account. Something better for yourself and also others.
Senior Moderator
Joined: 8/4/2005
Posts: 5777
Location: Away
The improved run is definitely good. I've also just realized that we don't have separate section for hacks anymore, so I guess my vote is yes after all.
Warp wrote:
Edit: I think I understand now: It's my avatar, isn't it? It makes me look angry.
ALAKTORN
He/Him
Former player
Joined: 10/19/2009
Posts: 2527
Location: Italy
Swordless Link wrote:
I improved this run by a lot. Here's the new m64: http://dehacked.2y.net/microstorage.php/info/1584811726/Kayak%20V2.m64
but wasn’t it perfect?
Experienced player (504)
Joined: 1/12/2007
Posts: 682
ALAKTORN wrote:
Swordless Link wrote:
I improved this run by a lot. Here's the new m64: http://dehacked.2y.net/microstorage.php/info/1584811726/Kayak%20V2.m64
but wasn’t it perfect?
Calm down and enjoy the run. :)
RachelB
She/Her
Player (129)
Joined: 12/3/2011
Posts: 1579
ALAKTORN wrote:
Swordless Link wrote:
I improved this run by a lot. Here's the new m64: http://dehacked.2y.net/microstorage.php/info/1584811726/Kayak%20V2.m64
but wasn’t it perfect?
[06:36] <rog> Swordless: you said "This run might be improvable but it probably isn't" and then improved it by almost 20 seconds. not sure i trust you that it's not possible :( [06:36] <Swordless> I was lying hte first time :/