(Link to video)
I'd like to thank Gamepro011 for all the help during the whole run, my Twitch followers for all the support and you for watching this movie :)
About the TAS:
  • Completes Tails's Story
  • Aims for fastest real time (over in-game time)
  • Uses luck manipulation
  • Heavy glitch abuse
Individual level/boss times:
  • Egg Hornet: 0:26.93
  • Windy Valley: 0:17.78
  • Casinopolis: 0:07.80
  • Ice Cap: 1:16.55
  • Chaos 4: 1:14.90
  • Sand Hill: 0:39.45
  • Sky Deck: 0:21.11
  • Speed Highway: 0:44.15
  • Egg Walker: 0:50.76
  • Final time (according to inputs number, without loading times): 16:59.58
  • Final time (according to frames number, with loading times): 20:24.57
Comments about tricks in the run:
With Tails, it's very easy to get to max speed, but going in straight lines can be difficult. But after some hard work, I got to finish the TAS :P
Even with less speed and less glitches than Sonic, Tails is considerably broken. By pushing him into weird geometry places or to small gaps in the level boundary, Tails can easily go out of bounds. This allows me to skip some parts of the game, like taking the Ice Stone to open Ice Cap entrance, as I can simply clip the wall near there and go to Ice Cap.
Talking about Ice Cap, this level and Sand Hill were the hardest ones to optimize, because of the snowboard physics. It's hard to keep a straight line while trying to stay on the ground. But when you get it, insane speeds are achieved. And this insane speed allows me to do another super speed trick, which is jumping twice in a ramp. Doing it in the 3rd ramp of Ice Cap with a good angle, you can go outside the level boundaries and go straight to the last section of the level, saving 8 seconds.
That one was the trick that saved the greatest amount of time, but there's another one that saved a lot of time: the gravity glitch in Speed Highway. To do it, you have to go to the booster right below the end of the 3 air dashes in the start of the level, and fly from the end of it. If done right, Tails will fly sideways, and by holding up+left in the analog for some frames, you can lock his gravity angle. This allows me to fall straight to the end, literally. By holding B, you start descending, and the longer you hold it, the faster you descend.
Suggested Screenshot:
(VI number 10025)

feos: Got it to sync, so Judging...
Ilari: Fixed the time
feos: Accepting for Moons.
Starting from power on was the author's choice because it shortens the total Tails time (this movie aims for real time instead of in-game time). So unless the movie aiming to obsolete this one is considered more entertaining, it is not allowed to increase Tails time by starting from a savestate. Moreover, Sonic time must not be longer, if not on purpose. However, if the audience likes the savestate-anchored movie more, despite of being longer, it may obsolete this one.
RGamma Publishing...

Joined: 9/22/2011
Posts: 42
Summary of the current system: Yes, the time as Sonic counts as part of the time number, but no, it will not count negatively against you if someone else TASes this game using the other method. So don't worry about it. If it's for the case of comparing this to real-time runs, then just use the ingame timer at the end of each stage.
Designer of Copy Kitty, a game about giant robots and explosions
THC98
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AzureLazuline wrote:
Summary of the current system: Yes, the time as Sonic counts as part of the time number, but no, it will not count negatively against you if someone else TASes this game using the other method. So don't worry about it. If it's for the case of comparing this to real-time runs, then just use the ingame timer at the end of each stage.
Yeah, there's no problem about the time in my opinion, I just asked that because I thought that would be the best for a TAS like this, I wasn't sure though :P
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Patashu
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It's a similar case to Ocarina of Time TASes, where the TAS method of timing make it seem slow compared to real time runs, but if you actually compare the parts in both runs it's way faster.
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THC98
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Patashu wrote:
It's a similar case to Ocarina of Time TASes, where the TAS method of timing make it seem slow compared to real time runs, but if you actually compare the parts in both runs it's way faster.
Ocarina of Time timing are like that because the real time runs don't finish in the last input, but in the end of Ganon. The TAS of it finishes in the last A press to skip the last text in the last cutscene, so it takes more time. In this TAS, the difference is in the start of the timing though. Following the thought of Ocarina of Time, I understand now that it should count the unlocking Tails part too, so it's okay for me now :P
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Wowza. I'm glad to see this run being submitted! Personally I don't think the time as sonic should be counted since this is supposed to be a tails run, but oh well.
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Zeupar wrote:
Here is hoping you make a Big the Cat TAS next. ;)
I totally second this!
Patashu
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How much do I have to pay you to make a Big the Cat TAS? :)
My Chiptune music, made in Famitracker: http://soundcloud.com/patashu My twitch. I stream mostly shmups & rhythm games http://twitch.tv/patashu My youtube, again shmups and rhythm games and misc stuff: http://youtube.com/user/patashu
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I tried Big TAS, it is horrible, mostly luck manipulation of froggy
Current: Rayman 3 maybe? idk xD Paused: N64 Rayman 2 (with Funnyhair) GBA SMA 4 : E Reader (With TehSeven) TASVideos is like a quicksand, you get in, but you cannot quit the sand
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Not starting from a savestate shortens the actual Tails time, so it is a valid choice. But do we have precedents when part of the very movie was counted as verification/unlocking and dropped from the official time? If no, the whole time of this movie must count, including obsoletion attempts. But in our case, obsoletions are decided by entertainment too, so technically Sonic time must be not slower unless on purpose.
Warning: When making decisions, I try to collect as much data as possible before actually deciding. I try to abstract away and see the principles behind real world events and people's opinions. I try to generalize them and turn into something clear and reusable. I hate depending on unpredictable and having to make lottery guesses. Any problem can be solved by systems thinking and acting.
THC98
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feos wrote:
Not starting from a savestate shortens the actual Tails time, so it is a valid choice. But do we have precedents when part of the very movie was counted as verification/unlocking and dropped from the official time? If no, the whole time of this movie must count, including obsoletion attempts. But in our case, obsoletions are decided by entertainment too, so technically Sonic time must be not slower unless on purpose.
I see it. I wanted to not count the Sonic time because it would make the time to be counted like a real time speedrun. But if in TASVideos it's better to count the whole input file, it's okay for me.
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The displayed time will be total. Tails time alone can be easily written in the publication.
Warning: When making decisions, I try to collect as much data as possible before actually deciding. I try to abstract away and see the principles behind real world events and people's opinions. I try to generalize them and turn into something clear and reusable. I hate depending on unpredictable and having to make lottery guesses. Any problem can be solved by systems thinking and acting.
THC98
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feos wrote:
The displayed time will be total. Tails time alone can be easily written in the publication.
Alright. Also, can you fix another thing? The time displayed on the submission uses the VI number, which doesn't count the loading times. The actual time should use the Frames number, which is 82441. With that, the final time (counting Sonic part) would be 22:54.02.
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Ilari can edit database.
Warning: When making decisions, I try to collect as much data as possible before actually deciding. I try to abstract away and see the principles behind real world events and people's opinions. I try to generalize them and turn into something clear and reusable. I hate depending on unpredictable and having to make lottery guesses. Any problem can be solved by systems thinking and acting.
THC98
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feos wrote:
Ilari can edit database.
Oh okay. Thanks.
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THC98 wrote:
feos wrote:
Ilari can edit database.
Oh okay. Thanks.
Okay, done.
Joined: 3/12/2011
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I might be repeating myself too much, but as this being one my favorite-game-ever, see your work just amaze me. Extraordinary TAS, you managed to find tricks I've never seen before and everything runs smoothly. All my congratulations (y) Snowboard phase: It's clearly not obvious for the normal viewer, but it can totally imagine how much time you might have spent here... Also the huge shortcut wasn't expected at all... just wow. One question though: Could you detail very fast what happens after the fight against E102? It seems like Tails disappear from nowhere and get teleported into the cut-scene. From here, you basically run directly to the next level even though the camera is still stuck by the cutscene. Just... how? :D
THC98
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yosh wrote:
One question though: Could you detail very fast what happens after the fight against E102? It seems like Tails disappear from nowhere and get teleported into the cut-scene. From here, you basically run directly to the next level even though the camera is still stuck by the cutscene. Just... how? :D
As I haven't unlocked E-102 or Amy before I reached there, it shows the text of "Now you can play with AMY", as well with E-102, right after the cutscene after the fight. And when this text plays, you have no control at Tails and he disappears, but you can actually control him for 1 frame. And if you jump in this frame, the camera will try to follow him and will be messed up. I just did that for entertainment XD And after that, you just continue the game normally, going to Station Square (you go there in the cutscene, no need to go there in the playthrough)
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Post subject: My first Dreamcast game is at it again!
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Knuckles or E-102 next? I always enjoy Sonic Adventure TAS's. And yes the Tornado levels are boring, I just skip those parts of the video.
I like Doraemon
Post subject: Re: My first Dreamcast game is at it again!
THC98
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Lorenzo_The_Comic wrote:
Knuckles or E-102 next? I always enjoy Sonic Adventure TAS's. And yes the Tornado levels are boring, I just skip those parts of the video.
Knuckles, probably. But I think that I'll work on other games before it :P
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I thought sonic was the fastest thing alive lol, very good job and cant wait to see the remaining 4 characters
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. ---- [2501] GC Sonic Adventure DX: Director's Cut "Tails" by THC98 in 22:54.02
billybobfred
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So the run plays as Sonic to unlock Tails because starting from a save would add autosave times, and that's a reasonable choice but on a real console, you'd be able to take out the memory card after loading the file and skip autosaves that way, right? (I actually don't know how SADX handles memory card removal; I never checked.)
I'm just a spectator. There was a time when I tried to participate, but I'm really lazy, so. she/her/hers
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I don't think it would make a difference for this run though. Dolphin doesn't allow removing the memory card in the middle of a movie.
billybobfred
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Yeah, I thought that might be the case. And there aren't all that many other scenarios where it'd be a useful feature, are there.
I'm just a spectator. There was a time when I tried to participate, but I'm really lazy, so. she/her/hers
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I don't think there are. Most runs that start from power on and want to avoid autosaves will just start without a memory card. There just aren't enough cases like SADX that would warrant adding it as a feature.