(Link to video)

For those who think SMB not glitchy enough

After two and a half years of hard work, and more than 100000 times of re-record count, I'm so happy to share my latest finished projects with you. This is one of the hardest and craziest tasks I can think of, and would be the only movie that I wouldn't dare to remake. The goal is to complete all stages (including the hidden 2-1, 3-1 and 4-1 according to priority) of one of the hardest SMB hacks in the fastest time. It's 3 minutes and 44 seconds faster than Mushroom's incomplete run (just in World 1), and it improved Mars608's last speedrun for 6232 frames (103.7 seconds).
Hard Relay Mario (ips patch download, thanks to fsvgm777 and Nach) is once the hardest SMB hacks ever (beaten by MMM later), created by 6 remarkable Japanese hacker including Mana, and U1 (the creator of Air). It's mainly a well designed trial for players' brains and skills, and requires all the glitches and techniques you can use in order to complete the levels. It's better to view it as a platform puzzle game when watching, then the TAS is about how to break and solve that difficult puzzle in the fastest time.
Only few small changes are made to the original SMB engine: spikes (a new kind of object which immediately kills you when you touch its hitbox, no matter how big you are), climbing clouds (just like vines for climbing, shown in 1-3 and 1-5), marked hidden coin blocks, short Fire Bar (changed from long Fire Bar), and Bowser is changed to a quick moving target who lost his ability to spit fire. So basically every trick performed in the run can be produced in the original SMB with the same landscape.
To defeat such a hack could be tough or impossible for newcomers, but to me the hardest part is to optimize every movement to reach the speed limit, which requires thousands of attempts and lots of mathematical calculation, and a great amount of knowledge about SMB system for you ought to know exactly what you're doing all the time. Thus, it has given me a lot of headaches over the past 2 years, but I'm glad that I made it through just the way I planned it, and satisfied by the result.
I know there are people who'd vote no for bad game choice even before watching, and not many people can fully understand this run, but I still insist on submitting it to TASVideos, simply because I think TASVideos deserves a run like this. It is intended to obsolete the current Air demonstration. It may sound strange at first, but my reasons are listed as follows:
  • Hard Relay Mario and Air are basically the same type of hacks, and they even have a same creator U1, so we'd better just keep one publication in principle.
  • Obviously Air 2 is not suitable for making great speedruns, because there are way too many designing loopholes that leads to breakthroughs, and taking a shortcut through the maze is too simple and not entertaining enough to watch, so the current publication is more like a playaround with no exact goal. As new glitches and new techniques are found, I think the current Air run is out of date. One day when I chatted with Mars608 he told me he wanted to find a new TAS project to be busy with, and I said, "why not Air? I bet you can easily make a much better playaround as long as you want to." A few days later, Mars608 said with sorrow, "sorry but I just don't know how to do it. There's almost nothing to perform in a hack like this." I considered for a while and he was right. There really isn't much to show in the barren land of Air 2. So as I see, Air 2 can neither make great speedruns nor playarounds.
  • I have played so many SMB1 hard hacks, including MMM, LLL, ORZ, β Mario series, Athletic series, and among them, Hard Relay Mario is regarded as the best-designed judging not only by difficulty but also by level quality and details, a true masterpiece. Although it does have a few loopholes, taking shortcuts still needs lots of brains and skills, making it suitable to make good speedruns.
  • Lots of crazy tricks and new techniques can be performed in this run. Compared to it, Air 2 haven't really shown anything interesting.
  • In my opinion, 2 publications on TASVideos for SMB1 hacks are probably enough. The best combination might be, one with brilliant maps and special effects (Extra Mario Bros), and the other with outrageous difficulty and clever designs (Hard Relay Mario).
To describe every technical details might turn the submission text into a long dissertation, and it's way beyond my English ability, so I'll make it simple to just list tricks and level comments for those who'd like to know. I know there must be people who can't understand when watching, and would probably go like, "hey, why'd you do that? Wouldn't it be easier and faster to just..." One thing I'd like to emphasize is, I didn't make any technical mistakes, not even little ones. I chose the fastest routes in theory. Every jump is accurate, and every move is well-planed. Once you believe that, it doesn't matter whether you can understand, it's whether you want to. Feel free to compare the original solution (videos can be found on YouTube) to mine and see the improvements.

Part of tricks used in this run

  • Walljump (54 times in total)
  • Glitching through walls (in lots of different ways, I don't know how to name each of them separately in English)
  • Keeping jumping speed after hitting a wall (by not pressing direction keys and not landing longer than 1 frame, mostly used to jump through walls above)
  • Jumping after catching a power-up in the air
  • Manipulation of screen X position through walls and dithering in the air (used very often in this run)
  • Going through Fire Bars on the right side of the screen (used in 1-1 and 1-8)
  • Koopa walking in mid-air (used 3 times in 1-1, 1-5 and 1-9)
  • Moonwalk (mostly used to entertain)
  • Flagpole glitch (from the right side, using a shell, making the flag disappear by revealing an mushroom, etc)
  • Walking inside enemies
  • Stomping enemies on the bottom of the screen when Mario's above the screen (as the high and low sides are connected in SMB, used once in 1-9)
  • Getting hurt by a Fire Bar after flagpole
  • Going through spikes (only safe when your head is in the wall and not jumping, just like in SMB you may skip coins while your head is in the wall)
  • Lifts pulled down turning invisible above the screen
  • Jumping through walls above after hitting enemies from below (used in 1-A where the Lakitu drops Spinies)
  • Jumping through lifts
  • Falling into the hole after toughing the axe

Level-by-level comments

1-1
An obstruction where there are 2 Fire Bars was glitched through, and you can clearly see I went through them on the right side of the screen. The last half of the level mainly tests the usage of Koopa walking in mid-air, for 2 giant leaps are made with the help of the Koopa afterwards, and a part of time waiting was saved compared to the original solution. The flagpole can only be safely grabbed when it's on the left side of the screen, and using the flagpole glitch saved 42 frames (thanks to Mars608).
1-2
A very short level without much difficulty, but the flagpole part was designed more cleverly than it seems.
1-3
At the beginning, the route with a Goomba and 2 Beetles is slightly faster than going through the wall. I stayed on the climbing clouds for several more frames to adjust screen X position, preparing for getting hit on purpose from a Bullet Bill. Fireworks are avoided.
1-4
Another obstruction with 2 abreast Piranha plants was quickly glitched through using the trick of keeping jumping speed. I did several walljumps to have fun while waiting where there are 2 Pirana plants on 2 separate blocks, and I avoided both of them just in one time (previous solutions takes at lease two times). There's a fake flagpole right before the real one, and Mario would fall in the hole after grabbing the fake one, but it's still able to reach the next level after a extremely long period of screen scrolling (not shown in this run).
1-5
The first half of the level is also about dealing with a Koopa, and I performed a lot during kicking the shell and waiting. After entering the pipe, I went through the wall to save time just like Mars608 did in his run, but I also manipulated screen X position through the wall and climbing the clouds quickly while ducking the Pirana plant and Fire Bars. That was a extremely tough route, that I almost thought to be impossible after many attempts, and it turned out to be just nearly impossible. I managed to escape narrowly with the help of pressing up and left together to avoid being pushed out from the screen when climbing the cloud.
1-6
Spikes showed up after this level. 2 major time-saving shortcut were made through the maze. The first one was I found a way to avoid getting hurt, by doing a walljump on the spike and slide through the narrow way (see the screenshot below), saving lots of time while keeping big body to 1-8. The other shortcut skipped nearly half of the level, by performing a shell glitch on a flagpole that's intended to be fake, which is the fastest but not the only way to skip the rest part of the level. The other solution is to push Mario to the right side of the screen through walls, grab the flag and it would translate you to the left side of the screen to proceed with time calculation. The shell glitch is much more difficult, for doing a shell glitch on the right side of the flagpole is completely different from left (just like 3-1 in my SMB warpless run). In fact, it was an idea I had thought about before but failed after hundreds of attempts, and after then I consider it impossible. I wanted to try to prove it to be truly impossible while making this run so I could quit thinking about it, but instead I calculated and managed to find a value of Y subpixel that could make it happen, making me so thrilled. It's funny that the Koopa put near the fake flagpole for fun can be used for a time-saving shortcut.
1-7
The shortest level with mainly just a flagpole. The original solution to the flagpole was a little complex, that required using the spring more than twice, but I simplified it into a few seconds with the advantage of big Mario. The reveal of the poison mushroom made the flag disappear, the invisible coin block on the left is necessary for time calculation, the lift on the right made Mario stop to hang on the pole, and together they saved Mario from dying after grabbing the flagpole. Fireworks are avoided.
1-8
At the beginning I used the Fire Flower for jumping through the wall to save time. Accurate manipulation of screen X was made after then, and going through the Fire Bar made the largest breakthrough of the run (thanks to Mars608).
1-9
A large part of the level was easily skipped owning to the advantage of big Mario, for 1-9 was intended to be designed for small Mario after getting hurt from the Fire Bar in 1-8. Getting hurt was inevitable in the end after the first time grabbing the flagpole due to the Fire Bar, and Mario would be controllable again so you had to grab the same pole for the second time before time reached to zero.
1-A
The hardest and longest level, taking me a long time to finish it. A new route at the beginning was discovered to save time. During the whole process of getting the mushroom, manipulation of screen X was made to make the Fire Bar above the lift show earlier. Mario jumped through the 8 invisible blocks in a new strategy using the trick of keeping jumping speed. I found a new route of going through the wall and spikes to pull down the second balance lift, which was a slightly faster strategy compared to the original one. I managed to skip the whole mushroom part by passing the Fire Bar while the invisible period after getting hurt. Heavy luck manipulation were made before the boss fight in order to kill Bowser as quickly as possible, for the upgraded Bowser was more aggressive and had a HP of 32.
2-1
After finishing World 1, hidden worlds became available. 2-1 was a level made of letters expressing "Hard Relay Mario". The biggest time-saving shortcut was the giant jump when getting the mushroom at the letter "I".
3-1
A level designed for testing walljumps, as there is not a single landing spot throughout the stage. The hardest part was to manipulate each time Fire Bars showing up, by adjusting the screen X position. The starting position of the last Fire Bar rested with the ending position of the second Fire Bar, so I bumped into a wall once while falling to delay the disappearing time of the second Fire Bar.
4-1
The final boss fight, basically the very same stage as the end of 1-A, but the lifts were shorter, making the Bowser fight a bit longer. The movie file ended at the frame touching the final axe, just like regular SMB runs.

Screenshots

The screenshot in 3-1 is recommended.

Credits

Special thanks to Mars608, for making his previous Hard Relay Mario runs, and helping a lot, including reminding me to use flagpole glitch for 1-1, demonstrating the possibility to go through the Fire Bar in 1-8, and help testing in 1-3 and 1-A.
And all the friends at TASVideos. Thank you for spending these wonderful years together.
Have fun watching. :)

Nach: This is yet another one of those hacks where the aesthetics are horrible, and the design is all in the name of difficulty. Although, the game is of a different genre than most such hacks, in that it's really a bizarre kind of puzzle game.
Much of the run is pigeon-holed into doing one thing, and therefore a TAS isn't all that different from normal play, but on the other hand, looks quite amazing since tons of glitches are forced to be used. This gives us the unusual scenario where people who don't know the hack well can't appreciate some of the creativity, but are amazed by things which aren't special. With the opposite side, the situation is reversed, those who know the hack well see much of the creativity that others can't, but are not impressed by the sections where there's only a single solution.
Based on the feedback for this run, I find it too subpar to really be worthy of the moon tier, yet the vault tier does not allow for hacks. However, we currently have an Air run published (which I would have personally rejected), which did not get nearly as good feedback or as many yes votes as this current run. Therefore, I'm accepting this run to obsolete that one.
Guga: Processing...

Expert player (2448)
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Tangent wrote:
You know what generally don't make for particularly entertaining TASes? Mazes and puzzles. They're designed to only have one solution and play is tightly constrained within that solution. And here, we have a hack designed to narrow the corridor of possible actions for the player as tightly as possible.
Well that's not true. I'll take one place as an example. See the screenshot from 1-A: There are 8 hidden coins. And what you want to do is to jump above the high wall. Well I failed to see that it's a "tightly constrained" situation. Mars608 and I thought about at least 4 possible solutions, and each solution is more incredible than another. So is other places, and your imagination is not restricted. You can see I broke the puzzle lots of times in the run, making it different than the original solution, and there's no solution that can be defined to be "right".
Recent projects: SMB warpless TAS (2018), SMB warpless walkathon (2019), SMB something never done before (2019), Extra Mario Bros. (best ending) (2020).
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HappyLee wrote:
The word "annoying" is only for people who don't know how to use glitches to complete the level. To them, every hard hack looks almost the same,
So what you're basically saying is that this run is annoying and same-looking to 99% of our target audience.
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While I don't find this run particularly interesting, I know that this is due to my lack of understanding of the game mechanics, and the TAS is in fact very impressive on a technical level. There definitely is an audience that finds this more entertaining than I do, so I think this should be published to replace a worse hack of the same game.
Current project: Gex 3 any% Paused: Gex 64 any% There are no N64 emulators. Just SM64 emulators with hacky support for all the other games.
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even if i really don't like hack games for multiple reasons i have to admit that this run contains serious skills...
ACE is my raison d'etre!
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vote Meh. The TAS is great done I think. But I don't like this hack. Without TAS this hack would be unplayable (or it only looks like unplayable). Normaly games should be good playable without TAS and TAS should show the best possible way and what is impossible as normal Player. But here you have a hack, which looks like, that it is only possible with TAS and it makes the hack for me a bad hack, that I would never want to play.
Last TAS finished: Final Fantasy Adventure (4.0 Warp Glitch Run) WIP in the moment: Tail Gator (GB) Matty
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Mario in the Glitchland? It's a strong Meh from me :) No, I appreciate the efforts put into this, but the hack itself is a bit boring for me.
S3&A [Amy amy%] improvement (with Evil_3D & kaan55) — currently in SPZ2 my TAS channel · If I ever come into your dream, I’ll be riding an eggship :)
Samsara
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HappyLee wrote:
You can see I broke the puzzle lots of times in the run, making it different than the original solution, and there's no solution that can be defined to be "right".
I think one of the problems is that most people can't see where puzzles are broken, since it requires such an intimate knowledge of the hack and the SMB engine to understand what is and isn't the "original solution" in this run. Glitches need to be used to play the game, so using a different glitch to skip part of a stage doesn't stand out nearly as much. I'll admit I'm one of those people, but for what it's worth, I did enjoy the run even if I don't know the first thing about the SMB engine. Even without knowing the finer details, it's not hard to see that every block and item and enemy has a purpose, and it's also not hard to see that making a hack like this requires an impressive amount of technical knowledge about SMB and its physics and glitches. At least everyone agrees that the run has the same impressive amount of technical knowledge and effort behind it. There's a lot of stubborn and elitist backlash against the nature of the hack, definitely, but at least none of it is directed at the run itself.
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warmCabin wrote:
You shouldn't need a degree in computer science to get into this hobby.
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Posts: 686
Samsara wrote:
There's a lot of stubborn and elitist backlash against the nature of the hack
Really? Like what? "I don't find it entertaining" isn't elitist or stubborn, it's the opinion we are supposed to voice in this thread. And yes, we are supposed to judge the hack too:
Rules wrote:
Hacked games are allowed for submission. However, they go through more scrutiny than other games. This is because the hack itself also becomes a subject to judgment, so it must be a high quality hack with a strong following.
(http://tasvideos.org/MovieRules.html#HackedAndHomebrewGames)
Joined: 1/17/2008
Posts: 133
I see a lot of arguments against publication in this thread, most of which could be applied twofold to the Air run that we DO showcase. I did not judge this run based on how much I like hacks, but by the overall quality of the demonstration, and in particular the quality of it as compared to our Air tas. Can't comment on how well this hack is known vs Air. Just don't get why we have Air at all if we're generally closed-minded about replacing it with a different hack demo. For example, the description for Air says: a trial-and-error platform puzzle game. And I see an argument or two against the puzzles. We only have the one SMB engine hack run published, right? And its a moon
Samsara
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Scepheo wrote:
Really? Like what?
Tangent wrote:
You know what generally don't make for particularly entertaining TASes? Mazes and puzzles. They're designed to only have one solution and play is tightly constrained within that solution. And here, we have a hack designed to narrow the corridor of possible actions for the player as tightly as possible. I also really don't understand this "inherant beauty" you seem so keen on.
Glitcher wrote:
Mehhhhh, this is just another one of those annoying ultra-hard Mario hacks that are unplayable outside a TAS. I see enough of those for Super Mario World, so I can easily ignore this one.
Radiant wrote:
I'm saying that there are dozens or hundreds of Mario romhacks that are extra hard, look like random blocks thrown together, and can only be played with savestates.
Radiant wrote:
SMW romhacks with crappy appearance and ludicrous difficulty are a dime a dozen. I fail to see how this one is notable. Also, I found it boring to watch, and the levels look like line noise. I suggest this should be rejected for poor game choice.
There are people watching the run expecting to not be entertained because of the hack, there are people ignoring the run entirely because of the hack, there are people who want the hack to be rejected for bad game choice even though it's miles better than the currently published Air 2, and there are people who don't make an attempt to look below surface level because they're just writing it off as "annoying" and "random", going as far as to dispute its "notability" by a quick Google search and a serious misunderstanding of how notability works, basically discrediting all the effort put into the hack and the run just because they're too stubborn to open their mind slightly. It's alright to not be entertained by a hack or a game or a run or whatever, but I honestly feel like arguing with a group of experts is crossing the line, and announcing to everyone specifically that you're going to write it off as just another "annoying, unplayable" hack and specifically ignore the run is taking the line and strangling the creators with it. I mean, I'm not entertained by Super Metroid. I own the game, I've played it, I can see how people find the game entertaining and I can definitely see the skill behind the runs, but it's not for me. That being said, I don't go into the run threads saying "Super Metroid sucks and this run should be rejected for poor game choice" or "Oh look, another Super Metroid snorefest. I'm not even gonna bother watching." If I did, I'd get chewed out immediately. That's basically what's happening here, isn't it? Maybe it's a little exaggerated, but it's more or less an accurate comparison.
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warmCabin wrote:
You shouldn't need a degree in computer science to get into this hobby.
Joined: 3/9/2009
Posts: 530
Samsara wrote:
I don't go into the run threads saying "Super Metroid sucks and this run should be rejected for poor game choice" (...) That's basically what's happening here, isn't it?
Super Metroid isn't a hack, and hacks are evaluated under a different set of rules, so no, that's not what's happening here.
Samsara
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Tangent wrote:
Super Metroid isn't a hack, and hacks are evaluated under a different set of rules, so no, that's not what's happening here.
That doesn't invalidate anything I said, though. Sure, hacks are judged under different criteria, but not COMPLETELY different criteria. Simply saying "I don't like hard-type hacks" is the same level of white-noise shitposting as going into a normal SMB run discussion thread and saying "I don't like sidescrolling platformers". The guidelines for hacked games state that the hack must be "high quality", and someone saying "I don't like X kind of hack" doesn't exactly give a lick of insight on what that person thinks of the actual quality of the hack itself. Even saying "The blocks look randomly placed" is more constructive, but that point is ruined by the fact that the people saying that are getting defensive about it when the actual experts come in and say that every block and item and enemy is strategically placed in a position where it needs to be used in some way. That being said, how does a slightly different set of rules excuse "Hey everyone, I don't like hard-type hacks so I'm not going to watch this run" in any way? It's arbitrary in every way, not to mention insulting and narcissistic.
TASvideos Admin and acting Senior Judge 💙 | Cohost
warmCabin wrote:
You shouldn't need a degree in computer science to get into this hobby.
Joined: 9/15/2013
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I would like to add that I found this pretty entertaining and I generally abhor Kaizo hacks. Unlike a lot of Kaizo hacks, this one is more focused on puzzles and finding solutions, whether they were intended or not. Kaizo hacks very rarely involve much, if any real platforming, ironic considering they're hacks of a beloved platforming franchise, but eh. A lot of the times it does revolve around autoscrolling or puzzle-like solutions to stay alive or progress as opposed to (fast-paced) action. I can't recall the Air 2 run too well but I remember it removed the flight ability, which was really the only reason Air was an entertaining Kaizo hack in my opinion. I voted Yes.
Joined: 3/9/2009
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Samsara wrote:
Tangent wrote:
Super Metroid isn't a hack, and hacks are evaluated under a different set of rules, so no, that's not what's happening here.
That doesn't invalidate anything I said, though. Sure, hacks are judged under different criteria, but not COMPLETELY different criteria. Simply saying "I don't like hard-type hacks" is the same level of white-noise shitposting as going into a normal SMB run discussion thread and saying "I don't like sidescrolling platformers". The guidelines for hacked games state that the hack must be "high quality", and someone saying "I don't like X kind of hack" doesn't exactly give a lick of insight on what that person thinks of the actual quality of the hack itself. Even saying "The blocks look randomly placed" is more constructive, but that point is ruined by the fact that the people saying that are getting defensive about it when the actual experts come in and say that every block and item and enemy is strategically placed in a position where it needs to be used in some way. That being said, how does a slightly different set of rules excuse "Hey everyone, I don't like hard-type hacks so I'm not going to watch this run" in any way? It's arbitrary in every way, not to mention insulting and narcissistic.
Most (All?) have given their reasons, not said "I refuse to watch any hacks like this." Argue with the points they've actually made and for the merit of the hack. And can we please stop with all these claims of authority? If they/you are such an expert, it should have been easy to explain what sets this hack apart from all the others seemingly just like it. And no, ephemeral beauty that can only be seen by fellow experts does not count.
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Samsara (I'm not gonna bother quoting you anymore): Before the vault was introduced (as you may well know, you've been around since 2009, according to your profile), not just the runs, but the games themselves were judged on entertainment value. For hacks, this is still true. With that in mind, saying "I don't like kaizo hacks" simply translates to: "These sort of hacks generally don't make for entertaining play, and this hack just so." As such, it's a meaningful statement (and I don't think anyone didn't watch the run). And "the blocks look randomly placed" is equally so a statement about the entertainment value. Experts can elaborate on the perfectly valid reasons for their placement all they want, but that doesn't change the appearance of the hack. The same goes for the Fiat Multipla: the people who made that car know a lot more about cars than I do (i.e. are experts), and I'm sure they have their reasons, but that doesn't change the fact that it's a butt-ugly car. You have the misplaced idea that an expert opinion is somehow more valuable than an amateur opinion. But as we're judging entertainment (see poll question) thechnical knowledge doesn't matter jack-shit, and "I don't like these hacks" is a perfectly valid, fair, non-stubborn/elitist statement.
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76% is still very solid support, so I wouldn't fear for this run's hack's fate.
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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I found this more entertaining than the Air 2 movie, and the hack itself appears to be designed much better. Congratulations on completing this run! Voting Yes.
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I thought it was entertaining, so I voted yes, but if I got complaints it would be how abrupt the ending was; making the hack look "incomplete" (shows princess in another castle message but it's the last level), and the layout being nigh impossible for any human being to complete except with savestates (although this is better than air 2, since the level design here makes it so that even with savestates, it's still very difficult).
Experienced player (760)
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I am going to vote YES. I watched this and TAS of Air2. I found this more entertaining than Air2. Good job!
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. ---- [2627] NES Hard Relay Mario by HappyLee in 08:14.95
Noxxa
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(Discussion about hack obsoletion split to new thread)
http://www.youtube.com/Noxxa <dwangoAC> This is a TAS (...). Not suitable for all audiences. May cause undesirable side-effects. May contain emulator abuse. Emulator may be abusive. This product contains glitches known to the state of California to cause egg defects. <Masterjun> I'm just a guy arranging bits in a sequence which could potentially amuse other people looking at these bits <adelikat> In Oregon Trail, I sacrificed my own family to save time. In Star trek, I killed helpless comrades in escape pods to save time. Here, I kill my allies to save time. I think I need help.
WST
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Doesn't the publication need the "heavy glitch abuse" tag?
S3&A [Amy amy%] improvement (with Evil_3D & kaan55) — currently in SPZ2 my TAS channel · If I ever come into your dream, I’ll be riding an eggship :)
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Does it count as glitch abuse if the glitches are required to complete the game?
Pyrel - an open-source rewrite of the Angband roguelike game in Python.
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I want to give a humble addition to the thread's consensus thus far. I have not logged in for a while, but I wanted to add something in particular. I feel like this kind of run showcases the heart of what a TAS really is. In recent years, TASes have shown off glitches to be used in regular speedruns depending on usefulness, and the concept of a TAS itself has, more or less, become a symbol of things that can't be done by a human player. That is why I feel a run like this is beneficial to the TAS community in general. It drives home the fact that a human player could never accomplish this, and lengthens the boundary between human skill and (quite often) ridiculous feats of single frame play. A game/hack meant to be done via tool assist can be controversial, but in the end my personal opinion is that these kinds of experiments can be good for the community. I appreciate this run and hope to see many more like it in the future.
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Joined: 7/11/2010
Posts: 1022
I'd like to pitch in, and mention that this sort of kaizohack solution TAS is what got me interested in the concept of TASing in the first place (and eventually lead me to find TASvideos, via encode subtitles). So it's definitely beneficial to have runs like this around; there's a subset of people who'd never know about TASing otherwise.