I just started playing but, is it just me, or is this game completely impossible?
I'm good at games, maybe not the best, but I can hang with the best of them.. Although I find that this game is BRUTAL.
Is it possible? Or do you have to log a billion hours into the game honing your "ball sense" to predict where your paddle has to be? I remember having the dial controls in the arcade, but the paddle moves way too slow in the NES version.
A few lucky warps, some mad skills, and luck miight make you excell in this game I can see.. but I still can't imagine anyone easily finishing this game everytime.
One of the few games where I want to snap my controller in half sometimes. :)
The original NES version came with its own special analog paddle. Without it, you're stuck with relying on savestates, since it was never intended to be played with anything else. You could try following some plans to convert the paddle to something that can be used on the PC, but i can't recall what site to get them from, or even if it'd work properly.
Joined: 5/1/2004
Posts: 4096
Location: Rio, Brazil
anybody wants me to do this? now to think of it, would be a damn impressive way of beating the game. even though it uses a continue code... i would make an exception in this case
anybody wants me to do this? now to think of it, would be a damn impressive way of beating the game. even though it uses a continue code... i would make an exception in this case
Check Genisto's movie. If you can beat it (don't use the warp code), it will be accepted.
Joined: 5/1/2004
Posts: 4096
Location: Rio, Brazil
i did check genisto's movie, but the concept i'd like to use is completely different. instead of doing all levels, which can be repetitive AND expected, i would let the computer play the demo, get the computer to suicide, use the continue code and voilá i'm on level 30. it would still leave me with 3 regular levels for showing off and then it would be the last boss. it's an unknown glitch and it's more interesting than going through all levels in more than 20 minutes. it just goes against the site rules for using a "cheat code"...
It sound like it could be cool. Are you sure there's absolutely no way to do without the cheat code? That sorts of ruins it, since if you are allowed cheat codes there is one for level skip. (From what I understand from Bisqwit's post, anyway.)
Joined: 5/1/2004
Posts: 4096
Location: Rio, Brazil
the level skip code (A+start) only works till level 16. on level 16 and from there on, the code stops working.
by doing the run the way i said, you will start at level 30 but it will be showing "level 1" to the right of the screen. but that doesnt enable the skip level cheat. the engine knows that level is level 30 in fact
I understand that.
I mean that if you are allowed to use an extra continue code, there isn't really much stopping you from using a skip level code or any other code. With a level skip you could beat Genisto's movie in a pretty boring and unentertaining way.
Joined: 5/1/2004
Posts: 4096
Location: Rio, Brazil
yes but doing it my way is faster and definitely more interesting than genisto's movie. i dont think it's faster than using the skip level code, but isn't the purpose of this site to put up interesting unexpected movies? maybe it could be added as a supplement?
I was wondering if anyone was working on a new run of this game, to obsolete the Famtasia movie. Also I was wondering if there are any opinions about what a new run should aim for.
I did a few levels and gained some time, without using lasers any more than the current movie.
http://lukeg.50webs.com/Arkanoid%20(U).fcm
Actually, I have been working on an Arkanoid movie.
Most levels are obviously faster with laser (levels like 1,2,4,5,6,7) and these are exactly the levels which are the most fun to watch being completed with 3 balls, since there are large fields of blocks.
You used only the laser at the levels Genisto used the laser, which would make it fair to the previous movie, but really, it's a crazy restriction!
Since using the laser all the time would create a movie far less entertaining than Genisto's movie, I don't think such a movie should be made (and obsolete Genisto's movie).
This is why the movie I'm making is a movie which only uses the 3-ball powerup.
The main reason for this is to set some clear goals, while still keeping a high entertainment value. Since Genisto did occationaly use laser, there will be some disadvantages in some levels, but there can still be saved A LOT of time overall.
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@Luke
I have finished the first 6 levels sofar. Every level of my movie is faster than your movie. This with the exeption of level 5, since you used the laser at this level. I lose about 4 seconds here, compaired to your movie.
Up to level 7, your movie is 13 seconds faster than Genisto's movie.
Up to level 7, my movie is 53 seconds faster than Genisto's movie. (even with the 4 second loss at level 5)
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I did lose some balls, at the end of some levels. I had to make a choice whether to lose a ball, or to lose some time. I tested both, and losing a ball, finishing the level faster looks way better in my opinion, so I choose this. Besides, the ability to lose balls when having 3 balls is a feature of the powerup, in my opinion. Note that this only makes a small difference in time between Luke's and Genisto's movie, most of the time is saved by different strategies.
There are two questions I'd like to ask (to everyone):
Do you like the restriction of only using the 3-ball powerup?Do you have problems if balls were lost to complete the level faster?
Joined: 5/1/2004
Posts: 4096
Location: Rio, Brazil
Baxter wrote:
Do you like the restriction of only using the 3-ball powerup?
Yes. This is something that can be said in the description text "never uses the laser"
Baxter wrote:
Do you have problems if balls were lost to complete the level faster?
Yes, i think it looks more impressive if you never let a ball go
have you considered doing arkanoid 2? it has 10 balls power up and a "power up" that makes you really tiny
Yes, I have considered it, but I don't like the game at all, and I wouldn't do it.
'Arkanoid: Doh it again' (SNES) is a good option for a speedrun (has an 8 ball powerup), but I'm doing this run first.
I think the same as FODA. Laser would to boring to watch, just shot fast all blocks. So this is great when you don't use it.
The other thing is harder. Faster Stage or no Ball losing.
Genisto's movies was great, that he never lose a ball. So I think its maybe better to do it too. When you play at all not for fastest time (use no laser), why lose a ball for a bit faster time?
How much time would get lost, when you not lose a ball?
Last TAS finished: Final Fantasy Adventure (4.0 Warp Glitch Run)
WIP in the moment: Tail Gator (GB)
Matty
There are two questions I'd like to ask (to everyone):
Do you like the restriction of only using the 3-ball powerup?Do you have problems if balls were lost to complete the level faster?
1. No. The published movie is already a bit repetitive after some levels, and using only the 3-ball powerup would just make it more repetitive, and slower.
2. One good thing of the published movie, is that it never misses a ball. However, if you can gain a significant ammount of time by missing extra-balls, then I would suggest doing so, as I think a shorter movie will be more enjoyable.
The published movie is already a bit repetitive after some levels, and using only the 3-ball powerup would just make it more repetitive, and slower.
Ehm... I just don't know how to react to this... but basically I disagree with every word of this for a number of reasons. And using the 3-ball powerup only wouldn't be that much slower...
Either way, here is a movie of level 1, completed with a ball lost. If the general opinion about this still is that losing a ball looks worse than shooting balls in the air hitting nothing, then I will probably restart my run.
The published movie is already a bit repetitive after some levels, and using only the 3-ball powerup would just make it more repetitive, and slower.
Ehm... I just don't know how to react to this... but basically I disagree with every word of this for a number of reasons. And using the 3-ball powerup only wouldn't be that much slower...
That's because I see both the 3-ball powerup and the Laser as stunts. I think showing two stunts is better than one, no matter how much cooler it is. I also think that missing to hit any block with a ball doesn't look nice, too.
One thing you could do is to place those stunts across the run to show different things as the run progresses, much like the "A link to the past" run does, showing new tricks as powers are gained.
If you have gained 53 seconds in six levels by dropping a ball here or there, then I say keep it up. I always felt three balls were kept in order to make the levels fast. If you have less than that to break bricks with and you're still gaining such a significant amount of time, then I think that is impressive enough to warrant a lack of balls.
Insert random "balls" joke throughout my post.
<Swordless> Go hug a tree, you vegetarian (I bet you really are one)
Well... most of the time is saved by using other strategies. ~5 seconds at most were saved by dropping balls (I only did it in the levels 1,2 and 3... not in 4,5 and 6)... it's just that the levels look way smoother without the restriction of not losing a ball.
Joined: 4/20/2005
Posts: 2160
Location: Norrköping, Sweden
Baxter, is there any way that you could post the WIP of your current progress, or do you want to keep it secret until it's done?
Either way, I'm quite interested in how this turns out. I have no specific stand in whether or not you should loose balls to save time... Anyway, I wish you good luck! :)
Joined: 5/1/2004
Posts: 4096
Location: Rio, Brazil
Here is a cheated movie that finishes the game in 7:05
http://www.angelfire.com/ex/uobt/arkanoid-foda-cheated.zip
(it watches the CPU play, then let it die and use a continue code, then finish the game, that is not a desync)
The objective was to finish the game as fast as possible, using all resources the game gives. That includes the continue code, a glitch and the warps.
It's not optimized at all, i didn't even get the warp on all levels because i didn't want to waste too much time on luck manipulation. But i've tested, and this is faster than using the level skip code.
