A really difficult game for sure o_O
But it will make an awesome time attack.
You can use different ring combinations to get different attacks and stuffs.
I'm currently trying but its harder then it looks and trying to take no damage makes it even harder ;_;
Hey all. I'd like like to get you guys opinion on a game. The name of the game is Jewel Master, as you can probably tell from the title of the thread. The premise of the game is basically that an evil man started attacking the land, and four elemental masters stood against him. However, they failed to stop him, so they put their powers in some rings and spread them across the world. You play the Elemental Master who travels the world searching for these rings and uses them to fight against the evil.
I've got a test run of this game. It's very unoptimized, but I think it might give you all an idea of what a TAS might look like. There are four colors of rings and two can be put on each hand and combined into spells, which could provide a little variety as I go through the game.
http://dehacked.2y.net/microstorage.php/info/4115/Jewel%20Master%20%28JUE%29%20%5BR-USA%5D%5B%21%5D.gmv
Let me know what you think of the game, and if you have any suggestions for my run, please feel free. This run doesn't quite complete the game. It stops in the last area. I was planning on finishing the entire run before posting, but I decided I needed some feedback.
The only thing that I can think of improving would be keeping the viewer entertained. There were many instances where the character just walked from point A to B without firing a single shot... if you were to use a weaker shot, you could hit the enemy more often, creating more "eye candy", while not slowing down the pace much, if at all.
Joined: 4/8/2005
Posts: 1573
Location: Gone for a year, just for varietyyyyyyyyy!!
Well, it's not the most interesting game out there. I never had the patience to even finish the first level, because it was quite hard. So thanks for showing the full game in no time.
If you are still planning to record it, I suggest monitoring the boss health from RAM to guarantee maximum damage in minimum time. Also, I know nothing of the game, but it seems like jumping down ledges might be faster than walking since there's some acceleration in falling.
Thanks. I'll look into that. Anything to shave of time.
I tried searching for the bos RAM values, but I couldn't find them. Every value I watched did the wrong thing after a little bit. If you could help me find them, that would be great. I would like to know if my weapon choices were the best.
Re: entertaining by killing more enemies.
I might be able to do that in a few places, but most of the places where I decided to go full pacifist were for a good reason. The way spells work you can have two spells at once. I try to have the speed spell on one hand as often as possible for obvious reasons. However, there are some places that require a jump spell (High jump or double jump) as well, and with a jump spel on one hand and a speed spell on the other, that means there's no room for an attack spell. Also many enemies can't be killed in one pass because their HP is too high. This is especially true on the first level, where I'm basically limitted to a flame spell (I could have fireball, but that would require sacrificing my speed (for more information on how the ring system works, read one of the faqs on gamefaqs.com).
http://dehacked.2y.net/microstorage.php/info/4545/Jewel%20Master%20%28JUE%29%20%5BR-USA%5D%5B%21%5D.gmv
I am planning to continue this run. I liked this game a lot as a kid, and I think it has many things that save it from being very boring. The music is great. I could listen to it for hours. The ring system provides some variety, and I think most of the boss fights are pretty good. The boss fights are spaced at just the right distance, so there isn't a boss overload, but you don't have to wait forever before you actually meet a boss. I think the game is worth running. I'll finish it. I might not submit it to tasvideos when I do if I don't find anything incredibly interesting, but I'll continue working on it.
However, right now I think I want to do a game that will actually get response from the forums, say Gunstar Heroes 2p. I'm putting this run on hiatus for a while.
Okay, so this is long overdue. I think my plan is to alternate potential longer and more involved projects with ones that should be much shorter, so I can get kind of a palette cleanser between runs. My less involved project this time is Jewel Master.
The run that's currently on the site is incredibly sloppy and unoptimized, and watching speedruns of the game has convinced me that there is a lot of room for improvement.
When I first tried to run the game, I made an effort to find RAM values but ultimately failed for whatever reason. I'm not exactly sure what kept me away from getting it right, really. Anyways, I was able to find the values I needed. Most important is finding Player health and X position, and boss health.
So my plan for this run is mostly to clean it up. There are going to be a few new strategies, mostly on bosses, but the large portion of it will be just making better inputs. Also, I think I could benefit by being a little more aggressive taking damage.
So here's what I got for level 1: It's 84 frames faster than published.
http://tasvideos.org/userfiles/info/48779407286752783Link to video
Some notes:
Watching RAM values was very helpful, here's what I found and used to my advantage:
When you don't have the speed ring, damage boosting saves time, and turning around is slower than just holding right.
When you have the speed ring, taking damage will slow you down, but if you absolutely have to take damage, turning around is faster.
Taking damage on the ground will push you forward more than in the air.
This is why you see my technique for taking damage completely change partway through the level. Also, I know there's a point where I have the speed ring, but don't turn around, this is done for better positioning on the next plant.
For the tiger, having two attack rings doesn't allow you to attack any faster than having one, but the trajectory of the wave spell allows me to get more attacks on the boss at the very beginning of the fight.
That's all I have for now. Please leave feedback.
Link to videohttp://tasvideos.org/userfiles/info/48952838770970742
Second level is 356 frames faster than published run.
The desert area is the only place in the entire game that really lags, but it lags hard. Not collecting the High jump ring from the worm meant that I had to be much more diligent about my lag management, which was much tougher, since I couldn't have as many projectiles on screen, I think it was worth it, though, since it is faster to collect from that statue right before you're forced to high jump to continue the game.
Firebird was manipulated to come out of his phase where he zooms across the screen a lot quicker.
I went on to the screen after level 2 because I needed to test that to measure actual time save over collecting certain health refills that are a little off the path. Verdict is: I still come out faster not collecting them.
http://tasvideos.org/userfiles/info/48968249755490348
And here's level 3
Link to video
The big notes are on the turtle boss. The ring doesn't drop until the icicles dislodged by his stomp attack stop falling. Based on that, you want him to stomp as soon as possible, but not before he dies because if he stomps before he dies, the stomp will freeze you and make the fight take longer.
I jump on to the turtle's shell because that actually changes the icicle pattern into something I can dodge. I know it might look weird, but it was for a purpose.