(Link to video)
Through throwing myself into enemies and throwing boomerangs everywhere, I am the sun. I mean the wind

Game objectives


A video with commentary by Romscout, the WR real time runner for this game, is available here.

Comments

This one uses the same general route and such as my previous submission and so most of the submission text there still applies. This one implements a number of minor timesavers and fixes dumb errors I had made because I was dumb and inexperienced when making the previous TAS. I found some of these soon after submitting the old TAS, but I kept finding more and more improvements until I decided it would be better to just start pretty much all the way over and remake it from scratch. Unfortunately, the RNG wasn't as kind this time around, but the improved quality of play still results in a sizable improvement.

Improvements

Zircon drop - Slightly faster by using the randomness generated by having multiple Mermen onscreen to push the RNG towards my target. Throughout the run I stop and open the map for a split second before getting rare drops; this allows me to observe outputs of the RNG that would otherwise get pushed past due to enemy RNG.
Slogra and Gaibon - I first found that one jump is the best way to optimize the fight, but doing two after getting both them and Alucard into a specific angle is a little faster.
Slightly faster Library Card edge travel - I got fewer flickers this time around, not much else to say
2K gold from Spellbooks - I had initially thought that this would require getting the drop and a crit on the same frame, but I found a way around this by manipulating weaker than usual criticals with my first attacks then getting the drop with normal hits.
Faster Library escape - I first had to jump over an enemy on my way out, but I found that using Summon Spirit further to the right let me avoid the fairy trying to heal me while I'm stuck to the wall, allowing me to use her potion to pass through the enemy instead.
Faster Flea Riders - I just overall got them to cooperate more. They flew me straight up as opposed to the slight curve in my previous submission.
Faster Masamune drop - Blah blah blah RNG blah
Faster Guardian kill - I was using faulty logic in my previous submission when optimizing this. I was trying to get hit by its first attack at all costs, when that doesn't even matter since you have to wait on the Ghurka to get close to you afterwards anyways. I save time by using fewer menus in exchange for being hit by its second attack instead.
Faster Shaft climb - I found a much more efficient way to do the death jump past that ledge not long after my previous submission, and that was what made me want to make this new TAS in the first place. This also allows me to use my Shield Potion without an extra menu access.
Early end of input Drac kill - The TASes before mine both used this, but it saved so little time that I wanted to just go for time to credits instead out of personal taste. However, with the new death jump I mentioned, a menu access is cut from doing this making it significantly faster than using the Alucard Shield spell.
Extended Frontslide - Every frame that you pull out a shield or use a throwing item, your horizontal momentum calculation stops. Thus, flicking your shield out rapidly allows you to maintain the burst of speed from frontsliding for a longer amount of time. This is faster than shield dashing when going uphill, and about the same speed on flat surfaces

Other Comments

The biggest improvement that could be made is better RNG for crits on bosses, which isn't even a big deal. Drop RNG could've been better too but there were no big fiascoes so I'm alright with how this turned out.
Again, thanks to everyone for being supportive of my work, but especially fellow SotN TASer Desquall for helping me find some of the improvements I made.

Noxxa: Judging.
Noxxa: Accepting as an improvement to the published movie.
feos: Publishing...

TASVideoAgent
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mklip2001
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Quick question: Is the category of "Replay Mode" different from "Newgame+" used in the previous run?
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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Originally, 1796M was published as a newgame+, and I still have no idea why, and why it was changed.
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.
mklip2001
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I'm cool with newgame+ being used as a category, since it allows for very different strategies and fewer cutscenes. My question was more about what the name of the category should be... is it "newgame+" or "Replay Mode"? It's not too important either way. I like how things currently look, where we have this run and also the any% run published which starts from a fresh save. As for this run, I don't know the game well enough to really notice all the changes you've made, but it's still a very nice run. Some of the delays still seem pretty odd (like the delays in the enemy room before Shaft), but I trust you did your best with them. Also, don't beat yourself up about the old run... if anything, this has shown how experience makes you even better :-)
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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Nice improvement, and I'm a big fan of ending input early. Yes vote. As for the category name, I think newgame+ is more common and better known. "Replay mode" sounds more like a game mode comprised entirely of the game's cutscenes or something.
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I just submitted it as Replay Mode because that's what arukAdo's and me's previous submissions had had their branch changed to, whatever everyone else wants to call it is fine with me. I personally preferred Replay Mode. Newgame+ is a little misleading, in that the term generally implies that things such as stats and weapons are carried over, when all it does is allow fire boomerangs to be purchased and cutscenes to be skipped. Also, Replay Mode is what the game actually calls it itself when you play after making a clear game file, so I don't think it would be misleading.
mklip2001 wrote:
Some of the delays still seem pretty odd (like the delays in the enemy room before Shaft), but I trust you did your best with them.
You mean the times when I use big toss level up? It's always a frame/pixel precise trick, so I have to wait for enemies to hit me at exact times for it to work. The only way to optimize them is to be as close as possible to them when doing the killing blow, which I did. The slower Guardian room outside Shaft doesn't matter anyways since I'm waiting on another enemy to run to the left side of the room. Or, are you talking about something else?
Mecha_Richter
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I always yes vote Gurkha Sandwich.
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Wow, YouTube does not like that final fight. Framerate dropped to, like, 5. Probably all the damage flashes from Drac. Looked good to me! Nice work on improving your previous movie, ForgoneMoose.
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Encoding all...
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.
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If the content of the previous playthrough doesn't matter at all, then I'd classify this as "unlocking an alternate game mode using a dirty save", which under my definition (which received widespread support when suggested) isn't a newgame+. So "replay mode" is probably a better category.
BigBoct
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Er, what exactly did you do to Dracula? Whatever attack that was, I either have never seen or have entirely forgotten it.
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It's the Shield Rod (or Mablung Sword) combination attack using the Medusa Shield, which is absurdly rare so it's not surprising that you haven't seen it.
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There's tons of extremely obscure stuff in this game, so there's always going to be something new to find! Like, you can toss the Shotel with down+forward+attack, and you can get to the Mirror Cuirass room without Mist by just waiting in the broken wall alcove in the above room for like 40 seconds. But all the super overpowered stuff is either right in front of you or extremely well-known, so you never really need any of the obscure stuff... which means it's great when a TAS can make use of it. Great run, and I love how this route is 100% completely impossible in realtime. It really shows what a TAS can do!
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Post subject: Movie published
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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. ---- [2536] PSX Castlevania: Symphony of the Night "Replay Mode" by ForgoneMoose in 13:21.60