Comparison to previous TAS
New movie is 10502 frames improvement (2 minutes 55 seconds) over my
previous submission
Almost 3 minutes is such a large improvement, that it was suggested to cancel my previous accepted submission and submit the improved version as a whole new.
Technical quality of movie has been elevated to a whole new level. Besides optimisation some improvement come from new tricks/glitches and changes of routes.
Comparison table below.
| Stage | OLD | NEW | Δ(frames) | OLD | NEW | Δ(seconds) |
|---|
| 1-1 | 2001 | 1789 | 212 | 33.35 | 29.82 | 3.53 |
| 1-2 | 2479 | 2171 | 308 | 41.32 | 36.18 | 5.13 |
| 2-1 | 4512 | 4137 | 375 | 75.2 | 68.95 | 6.25 |
| 2-2 | 6335 | 5353 | 982 | 105.58 | 89.22 | 16.37 |
| 2-3 | 4644 | 4048 | 596 | 77.4 | 67.47 | 9.93 |
| 3-1 | 2346 | 1822 | 524 | 39.1 | 30.37 | 8.73 |
| 3-2 | 1652 | 1553 | 99 | 27.53 | 25.88 | 1.65 |
| 4-1 | 1868 | 1720 | 148 | 31.13 | 28.67 | 2.47 |
| 4-2 | 1098 | 970 | 128 | 18.3 | 16.17 | 2.13 |
| 5-1 | 4271 | 3564 | 707 | 71.18 | 59.4 | 11.78 |
| 5-2 | 4544 | 4130 | 414 | 75.73 | 68.83 | 6.9 |
| 5-3 | 798 | 783 | 15 | 13.3 | 13.05 | 0.25 |
| 6-1 | 861 | 766 | 95 | 14.35 | 12.77 | 1.58 |
| 6-2 | 3266 | 2993 | 273 | 54.43 | 49.88 | 4.55 |
| 7-1 | 4827 | 4392 | 435 | 80.45 | 73.2 | 7.25 |
| 7-2 (Rico) | 2004 | 1136 | 868 | 33.4 | 18.93 | 14.47 |
| 8-1 | 3321 | 3081 | 240 | 55.35 | 51.35 | 4 |
| 8-2 | 2683 | 2354 | 329 | 44.72 | 39.23 | 5.48 |
| 9-1 | 2990 | 2603 | 387 | 49.83 | 43.38 | 6.45 |
| 9-2 | 2719 | 2236 | 483 | 45.32 | 37.27 | 8.05 |
| 10-1 | 2918 | 2905 | 13 | 48.63 | 48.42 | 0.22 |
| 10-2 | 1803 | 1452 | 351 | 30.05 | 24.2 | 5.85 |
| 11-1 | 6621 | 5997 | 624 | 110.35 | 99.95 | 10.4 |
| 11-2 | 3774 | 3425 | 349 | 62.9 | 57.08 | 5.82 |
| 11-3 | 2828 | 2624 | 204 | 47.13 | 43.73 | 3.4 |
| 12-1 | 2395 | 1613 | 782 | 39.92 | 26.88 | 13.03 |
| 12-2 | 1505 | 1099 | 406 | 25.08 | 18.32 | 6.77 |
| Menu | 19254 | 19099 | 155 | 320.9 | 318.32 | 2.58 |
| Full game | 100314 | 89812 | 10502 | 1671.9 | 1496.87 | 175.03 |
I was not sure which would be better to do table with frames or with seconds. So i did both. If you like frames look to the left of table; if seconds look to the right.
Length of stages i calculate as amount of frames between 1st active button pressing in beginning of stage and latest button pressing at end of stage (in most of cases "up" at entering exit-door). "Menu" include all screens without activity between levels and first menu.
Tricks and glitches
Grenades glitches
Normally after getting damage bosses have period of invulnerability before they can be damaged again. But simultaneous explosion of two grenades is causes of double damage (200%).
At dark judges simultaneous explosion of two grenades in specific frame have additional effect - it cause damage is whole 600% = instant kill.
Terminals glitch
Dredd able to enter in terminal without animation by pressing "up" after kick in the air after jump. Also by using this method, he can enter in terminal in any point of it, not only in middle; Almost always after visiting terminal go in opposite direction, so glitchy entering on the very edge of terminal have double benefit.
Falling ABC robot glitch
Happened in 6-2. It save 3 armor-piercing bullets.
Ladders
Jumping ladders up is faster than climbing and also jump on top of the ladders to not trigger the animation for climbing up a ladder.
Climbing ladder down animation took 21 frames before control gain back. In some places at top of ladder have obstacles and faster to not jump down immediately after end of animation, but climbing down for 4 frames and only then jump down, in result Dredd pass horizontal distance while falling.
ZZ-climbing
At climbing up long ladders (which require 2 or more interceptions) zigzag-like jumping from one side to another is faster than simple jumps up at the middle.
Ladder glitch
During climbing animation Dredd able penetrate inside solid walls. Used only once - at stage fight against Rico.
Temporary invulnerability
After damage Dredd have short period of invulnerability. Very often is useful to specially get damage earlier and later avoid some new attacks which you can't avoid without slow down without invulnerability. In apogee of this idea you even can hit yourself by ricochet of your own rubber bullet.
Cancel the landing animation
Kick leg in the air at the right distance before hitting the ground. It was used only in old movie but no used in new one.
I discovered another method shooting immediately after hitting the ground have the same effect. It is 2 frames faster than kick before landing. Such cancels are used hundreds times, so in total it allowed to save significant amount of time.
One minor interesting moment about ghostbuster gun. New method of cancel landing animation require to shooting after landing, but in one place bring problem because man in the blue cloak with shotgun fire in response. I can't jump here and get this hit without time wasting because i need it to climb down ladder. But if i shoot him from ghostbuster gun he not react. Besides ghosts from dark judges it was only one place in run where use this weapon was useful.
Armor-piercing bullets
This weapon able to shoot thru the walls, it open opportunities to skipping whole parts of stage. Used in many stages.
Flying
Used after boss fight in 1-2. Zed shield's attack leads to flying until Dredd will hit barrel or wall.
Diagonal shooting glitch
While diagonal shooting pistol while falling, sometimes enemy get damage while real bullet was not touched them. It almost have no application. I used it only once in 7-1 to hit flamethrower operator. Also it accidently happened in 9-2 while i shoot in barrels and hit ladder-man behind me.
Cancel falling from corner animation
When Dredd run to end of platform and fall from precipice, before falling he spending a few frames in air very short animation and have less vertical speed when he start falling. So jump into precipice is faster than falling. Beside some rare cases when jump is obstructed it save 10 frames per hole.
Leg kick in the air
In game there are also exist horizontal ladders. Dredd's survival reflexes says to grab hold it when he jump near such ladders. Leg kick in the air suppress this reflex and allow continue traveling at full speed.
Also leg kick in air allowed to extend body and get items which unreachable normally.
It was used once in 9-2 to get armor-piercing bullet.
Stage by stage
1-1
General optimisation. Good-long ladder for ZZ-climbing. (212)
1-2
New faster tactic at destroying group of 6 boxes. At boss fisht i used one available grenade to kill Zed after getting shield's hit and fly. When Zed will die gate will be opened and Dredd continue flying yet longer distance. (308)
2-1
Terminals glitches + general optimisation. (375)
2-2
This stage pure hell of optimization. I spent at this stage nearly ten times more time than on an average level. Too many small details to describe them all. (982)
2-3
Minor route change: After last terminal go to right not to the left, it is ~1 sec faster. 2 grenades as a way of boss greeting. (596)
3-1
In very beginning of stage minor route change to reach top wood platform faster. Thanks to Traviktox from SDA. (524)
3-2
At boss our grenades able to hit Dredd himself, so significant to get hit (and temporary invulnerability) in right moment. To kill boss as fast as possible and and not be injured later by his own grenades while getting Book of Law. It require tricky thin timing. (99)
4-1
Exploding of many boxes cause heavy lags. Less lags when boxes are explode off screen. Lags reduction. (148)
4-2
Use rocket weapon instead of grenades. Previously many rockets were necessary to save for the dark judges, but now not. Some lags reduction too. (128)
5-1
One key card can be ignored. It allowed to change of route. To pass the first falling-wall(door) at new route frame-perfect action are necessary. Usually tactile damage impossible to avoid. If door will touch Dredd he will fall on the floor. But if get another (normal) damage just few frames before touching door it will not happen, and Dredd will can stuck inside this door of successfully pass it. Fortunately guy with knife here ready to help. Beside passing this extremely hard door, cancel of tactile damage also gave 2 frames damage boots! (707)
5-2
One key card can be ignored here too. (414)
5-3
Minor changes. (15)
6-1
Small but not simple level. Especially last ABC robot pretty tricky. (95)
6-2
Moving platform at beginning of this stage have very unlucky timing. I used free time and kill first robot by using only legs. If kill it with fastest way (by 2 rockets) still 14 frames not enough to to do successful jump. It is in so very beginning that absolutely no space for save so much :(
Change tactic at last 3 robots, was 1 2 1 3 2 3 now 1 2 3 2 1 3. (273)
7-1
At the end of the stage there is falling door, probably nobody even noticed it, and it is good. Because if Dredd come there just 5 frames later doomed 85 frames of waiting. I am very happy that i passed this door. It was one of the hardest achievements.
Also change the sequence of visiting terminals #2 and #3. (435)
7-2
Rico
To kill Rico need use 8 plasma weapon shots.
Ammunition for this weapon drop out from Rico when he get hit by any normal weapon (excluding first one).
I lured naive Rico closer and get whole 5 plasma weapons dropped by shooting him from precious armor-piercing bullets while he is only walking.
Then used ladder glitch and get 6th still on the top by hitting him by grenade. Last 2 on the bottom area by homing missiles, these 2 are most difficult, because they can fall everywhere, a lot of luck manipulation was done to get them exactly in right place where i want. Rico died nearly twice faster. (868)
8-1
General optimisation. (240)
8-2
General optimisation + better boss fight. (329)
9-1
Two diagonal shot instead of vertical. One hostage died. Last two barrels destroyed by armor-piercing bullet instead of grenade. (387)
9-2
This stage is ode for using armor-piercing bullets. Map-weakness were abused many times. (483)
10-1
Nearly 10 seconds of free time. I used this time to make this stage more entertainment. I arrested or kill all criminals on my way. Law-abiding citizens of Mega-City One can sleep peacefully tonight, because they know that brave servant of the justice Dredd was on duty today. (13)
10-2
Blindfold battle against Chopper
This boss can be summoned earlier if Dredd will look ^ up while standing on the last glass tunnel.
However he located is too high, out of sight, and it is extremely hard to kill him fast blindfolded. But for TAS everything is possible.
By the way, in some earlier stages you can see graffiti "Ch☺pper". It is about him. (351)
11-1
At end of stage there is platform-elevator with very long period. Fortunately i gain enough frames to catch this platform from previous cycle. Quantity turned into quality and “only”~250 frames of real improvement until this platform was transformed to ~600. (624)
11-2
Terminals glitches + general optimisation. (349)
11-3
To destroy one of monitors i used vertical armor-piercing bullet shot from bottom, instead of diagonal shot from top. (204)
12-1
Completely new route. Faster method to summon bosses. Used grenades glitch to instant kill. (782)
12-2
Summon bosses in another place. And kill them instantly thanks to grenades glitch.(406)
