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Pitfall II: Lost Caverns is a platforming video game originally released for the Atari 2600 video game console in 1984.

Game objectives

  • Emulator used: BizHawk 1.7.0
  • Aims for Fastest Time
  • Enemy Manipulation

Comments

Aiming for fastest time relies a lot on your timing with the creatures in your path. First time through: 4:07, Fixed pathing 4:04..
By waiting on the previous screen, you can place them in a better position so that you are able to walk right underneath them without pausing or walking backwards.
Other than that, this was a pretty solid run that only needed fixing in the last stage of Condors Bats and Scorpions. The game looks simple, but try playing it in real-time!
This is my first of two TASes for Pitfall II, as stated above this is fastest time, the next upcoming TAS will be maximum completion.
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feos: Publishing...

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Posted: 6/11/2014 10:02 PM
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TASVideoAgent
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This topic is for the purpose of discussing #4330: solarplex's A2600 Pitfall II: Lost Caverns in 04:04.93
Posted: 6/12/2014 1:43 AM
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NitroGenesis
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Hint: there is no need to put "USA" in the game's name.
YoungJ1997lol wrote:
Normally i would say Yes, but thennI thought "its not the same hack" so ill stick with meh.
Posted: 6/12/2014 2:32 AM
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solarplex
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NitroGenesis wrote:
Hint: there is no need to put "USA" in the game's name.
Sorry :P It was a habit to just put it.
Posted: 6/12/2014 4:25 AM
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Ford
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Not bad, though I kinda wish I knew what the deal was to this game.
Posted: 6/12/2014 5:56 AM
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feos
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You put it in the Game version field instead.
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.
Posted: 6/12/2014 3:21 PM
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Radiant
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Ford wrote:
Not bad, though I kinda wish I knew what the deal was to this game.
It can be considered an early Metroidvania game; it has the same kind of exploration mechanic, but no powerups. Nice run!
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Posted: 6/13/2014 12:13 PM
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adelikat
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Awesome, thanks for doing this. I think this is the definitive Atari 2600 title and most deserving to be represented by a TAS. I personally found it entertaining, and I voted yes.
It's hard to look this good. My TAS projects
Posted: 6/15/2014 7:03 AM
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CoolKirby
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Good work, solarplex! I'm glad you made this run. I was quite entertained, so I'm voting Yes.
Posted: 6/15/2014 10:51 AM
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DrJones
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I hate this game so much, and I hate you for beating it so easily.
No.
Posted: 6/17/2014 5:49 PM
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feos
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NES TAS of 2011
The avi file is 192x224 for me. Isn't it wrong?
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.
Posted: 6/17/2014 6:36 PM
(Edited: 6/17/2014 6:38 PM)
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Derakon
Joined: 7/2/2007
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Early videogames had all kinds of wonky resolutions. That could actually be the true resolution of the game. See e.g. this article: "Horizontal resolution is not uniform, as its size depends on the particular graphics object. The smallest unit of pixel corresponds to 1 color clock cycle of the chip, of which there are 160 visible ones on a line."
Pyrel - an open-source rewrite of the Angband roguelike game in Python.
Posted: 6/17/2014 6:37 PM
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adelikat
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feos wrote:
The avi file is 192x224 for me. Isn't it wrong?
That is a standard and expected resolution for Atari 2600
It's hard to look this good. My TAS projects
Posted: 6/17/2014 7:10 PM
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feos
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Oh, it's actually 160x224. But I don't remember that happened earlier, with other Atari games for me.
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.
Posted: 6/17/2014 7:14 PM
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adelikat
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Atari 2600 games are very inconsistent with the amount of scanlines and widths of scanlines due to the increased inconsistnency of actual display area on tvs back then. Part of encoding Atari 2600 games is the need to find the right amount of cropping. In this case the left side of the screen needs some cropping and probably the top and bottoms. On average I would say most games would need to be 160x192. The default settings in bizhawk are much more liberal. And while you can adjust the scanlines in bizhawk, unfortuantely widths is not a feature (yet). That will have to be done post capture.
It's hard to look this good. My TAS projects
Posted: 6/18/2014 10:24 PM
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thatguy
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Kind of oddly appropriate that it's quicker to fall down the eponymous pits rather than jumping into them like it is in every other game ever. I suppose that's down to the extremely simple Atari 2600 physics.
Posted: 6/19/2014 1:25 AM
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electricslide
Joined: 1/27/2014
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I think this is the definitive Atari 2600 title and most deserving to be represented by a TAS.
That would be Solaris. Solaris would be the greatest Atari 2600 TAS.
Posted: 6/19/2014 6:46 AM
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solarplex
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electricslide wrote:
I think this is the definitive Atari 2600 title and most deserving to be represented by a TAS.
That would be Solaris. Solaris would be the greatest Atari 2600 TAS.
Solaris looks pretty interesting and very confusing!
Posted: 6/19/2014 2:20 PM
Post subject: Movie published
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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. ---- [2618] A2600 Pitfall II: Lost Caverns by solarplex in 04:04.93
Posted: 6/20/2014 1:49 AM
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xnamkcor
Joined: 2/21/2008
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For reference, what is the proper Aspect Ratio for this? 4:3? Assuming Aspect Ratio is supposed to be 4:3. And the bars and blank space on the left is never meant to be sent to the TV. Adjustment is 1.6840 for X Axis and 1.0000 for Y Axis. PS: I'm also curious what the encode size for this would be with UT Video.
"The guy was fatally injured and wants to be covered by God's tears (rain) before he dies. God is too busy to bother because it wastes frames." Frames 16:26
Posted: 6/20/2014 2:04 AM
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zaphod77
Joined: 1/13/2007
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honestly this (and the other one too) just look like really good speedruns. They are still entertaining, though. Making tough games look easy is entertaining, and the fact that this looks like something you could try to do yourself doesn't subtract from the entertainment. Both goals are very doable in real time, but definitely challenging to get close to this fast.
Posted: 6/20/2014 11:15 AM
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electricslide
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Solaris looks pretty interesting and very confusing!
If anyone wants to take it on with a TAS let me know. I'd do it myself, but I have zero experience with Bizhawk. I was playing around with it to get it's controls up. I have maps and route information from a WIP with my savestates. There's glitches and stuff that I am sure someone could break the game in half with them.