I just made this.
Link to video
It's my go at Lethal Lava Land's 8-Coin Puzzle With 15 Pieces without pressing A. I made this on BizHawk, to help practice its basic features etc.
Criticism is welcome. I know faster is certainly possible, I'll have another go soonish to see if I can significantly improve on it.
Fore comparison, here's someone much better at it doing it.
For one, if you already have a vid of a good TAS, you should try to emulate the strategy at least instead of doing something worse. Also SM64 is quite the high-level game to be learning how to TAS with. Anyway, you should use RAM Search to try and find useful addresses such as movement angle, model angle, XYZ character coordinates, speed and the like, then TAS while watching them which makes it much easier to optimize a run. Also an SM64 trick you seemed to be trying to do (but failed it) is punching for 1 frame from a standstill (neutral stick input), then start moving the frame after. That gives you more acceleration.
For one, if you already have a vid of a good TAS, you should try to emulate the strategy at least instead of doing something worse. Also SM64 is quite the high-level game to be learning how to TAS with. Anyway, you should use RAM Search to try and find useful addresses such as movement angle, model angle, XYZ character coordinates, speed and the like, then TAS while watching them which makes it much easier to optimize a run. Also an SM64 trick you seemed to be trying to do (but failed it) is punching for 1 frame from a standstill (neutral stick input), then start moving the frame after. That gives you more acceleration.
Thanks for the feedback.
I only looked for it after I made that, I will in the future. I'm going to try a more optimized one, maybe soon if I am in the mood.
I noticed I failed it, only after I made it. I need to practice a lot of tricks.
I thought about starting with Super Mario Bros or something, but I'm found myself much more interested in SM64. Though I know it's rather complex, and has very high TAS (though that also goes for SMB).
I thought about starting with Super Mario Bros or something, but I'm found myself much more interested in SM64. Though I know it's rather complex, and has very high TAS (though that also goes for SMB).
Don't. The only time I would ever recommend it is if you really need to get the hang of how basic tools work, but you've hopefully gotten past that.
I myself am a 'complete' beginner at TASing and am currently tasing a very very high skill DS game (one of the hardest skill-wise DS games, if not the hardest on par with Super Mario 64 if we don't count games with RNG).
These 3d games are great because they have a relatively low skill floor, but an extreeeeeeeeeemely high cap. That is the great part of speedrunning, for example, Super Monkey Ball; you have, for most levels, a range of strats in the double digits ranging from extremely easy to it will take you 8000 rerecords on a single frame on TAS. New things are always being discovered, even 15 years after the original game.
Hovever, there are a number of things to consider:
Be good at your game. This isn't needed for all TASes, but for the high-level games it is definitely needed. I became one of the world's best players before trying to tas Touch&Roll (and co-author with the best player in the world), although that level of mastery isn't often needed.
Constantly seek improvement. Redoing an entire section or an entire level isn't fun, and you'ill do it pretty often: so it is also important to stay fresh. You can do a multiple of things in your game: create strats, better routing, trick/glitch hunting.. Also stay fresh with your game, when you're frustated or something else, go outside, take a break, go for a walk, relax.. I personally play piano to relax. It's also important to devote your entire free time to your TAS as long as it stays healthy to yourself: you are doing a work of art, and you will be recognized later in your TAS as the unsung hero, the nameless artist.
Consult communities. Unless you are TASing the most obscure-hyperro-bizarre game, there's always at least one person, one group which can help you, which has done what you've tried to do. If you are new, I recommend checking out the TASvideos IRC: lots of cool people there. Also try speedruns communities, which are generally very receptive to TASers.
Have fun! If you don't enjoy TASing, you may as well stop right there. Enjoy what you do and take pride in it: it's your own little thing you'ill build up in weeks, months, years.
I thought about starting with Super Mario Bros or something, but I'm found myself much more interested in SM64. Though I know it's rather complex, and has very high TAS (though that also goes for SMB).
Don't. The only time I would ever recommend it is if you really need to get the hang of how basic tools work, but you've hopefully gotten past that.
I myself am a 'complete' beginner at TASing and am currently tasing a very very high skill DS game (one of the hardest skill-wise DS games, if not the hardest on par with Super Mario 64 if we don't count games with RNG).
These 3d games are great because they have a relatively low skill floor, but an extreeeeeeeeeemely high cap. That is the great part of speedrunning, for example, Super Monkey Ball; you have, for most levels, a range of strats in the double digits ranging from extremely easy to it will take you 8000 rerecords on a single frame on TAS. New things are always being discovered, even 15 years after the original game.
Hovever, there are a number of things to consider:
Be good at your game. This isn't needed for all TASes, but for the high-level games it is definitely needed. I became one of the world's best players before trying to tas Touch&Roll (and co-author with the best player in the world), although that level of mastery isn't often needed.
Constantly seek improvement. Redoing an entire section or an entire level isn't fun, and you'ill do it pretty often: so it is also important to stay fresh. You can do a multiple of things in your game: create strats, better routing, trick/glitch hunting.. Also stay fresh with your game, when you're frustated or something else, go outside, take a break, go for a walk, relax.. I personally play piano to relax. It's also important to devote your entire free time to your TAS as long as it stays healthy to yourself: you are doing a work of art, and you will be recognized later in your TAS as the unsung hero, the nameless artist.
Consult communities. Unless you are TASing the most obscure-hyperro-bizarre game, there's always at least one person, one group which can help you, which has done what you've tried to do. If you are new, I recommend checking out the TASvideos IRC: lots of cool people there. Also try speedruns communities, which are generally very receptive to TASers.
Have fun! If you don't enjoy TASing, you may as well stop right there. Enjoy what you do and take pride in it: it's your own little thing you'ill build up in weeks, months, years.
Good luck.and good rng
Thanks. I'm okay at Super Mario 64 having done some 16 star runs etc, though far from the best, not a speedrunner or anything.
Yeah, I've got a bit of time to spend TASing, it's a little hard, since most of the SM64 TASers use Mupen. It was pretty fun making that TAS though the result was a little shoddy. I have a bit of time ATM too, though it varies with life stuff. I think I'll try and have another go today if I get the chance.
To be more excact, you only need to be good at theoretical understanding the game. You should highly abstract the game and focus on it's rules that are mandatory for basic TASing. For high level TASing you look beyond the basic set of rules, in order to create an artwork.
xy2_ wrote:
Constantly seek improvement.
Also watch TASes and read submission comments, even if you don't know the games. You may transfer tricks into your TAS.
xy2_ wrote:
8000 rerecords on a single frame on TAS
That's not realistic, unless you have heavy bot usage. Or your game is only a few frames long, and is "impossible" to beat.
The difficulty for creating a TAS for a game depends on:
-How many ways there are to get to the end. More specific, the number of input sets that go from the beginning state of a segment to the end state of the segmentl within a fixed number of frames. The frame number decreases every time an improvement was made and thus lowering the fixed number. The closer the segment is optimised the less input sets there are.
-It also depends on the ratio between valid input sets (see above) to all input sets in a segment within a fixed number of frames. The lower that ratio is the more unlikey it is to find an improvement or at least an equally fast input set.
I'm trying to find the speed address. My current method is removing ones that are not zero while static, and removing ones that are zero while moving. When I first tried this I seemed to get a bunch to do with the analogue stick. I later had the idea of moving it about while static and paused, U removing ones that aren't zero.
I've not got it to work but my execution hasn't been perfect. In my latest attempt I only removed a couple early by mistake when I shouldn't and it seemed unlikely that they included the one I want.
It takes a while to do this on my potato, so I want to know if my method sounds flawed to you guys, and if you have any tips, that'd be great.
That's a good start, but also try to search for an increased value when you start moving, because otherwise your search will probably contain a bunch of addresses that change value randomly (like 255, 13, 53, etc.).
This gets even easier if your character (in this case Mario) visibly starts at a slower speed. Search increased value after you know it's more than 0, then search again when he starts full-on sprinting.
Do the same thing with decreased value, and try running in different directions too.
That was pretty fast, and I liked your strategy. You could probably really help out the eventual full A-Button Challenge TAS by optimizing star times like this.
Try out different bounces off the floating platform (you should be able to make it to the log a couple seconds earlier), and then try jumping toward the star from a different part of the log. You might find a better angle or slightly faster strategy this way.
That was pretty fast, and I liked your strategy. You could probably really help out the eventual full A-Button Challenge TAS by optimizing star times like this.
Try out different bounces off the floating platform (you should be able to make it to the log a couple seconds earlier), and then try jumping toward the star from a different part of the log. You might find a better angle or slightly faster strategy this way.
Thanks, I think it may be worth trying to modify to avoid being burnt early as well, and not collect the coins. There's a good bit I want to try out.
