Posted: 11/24/2016 9:30 PM
Post subject: Spirou : The Robot Invasion
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smack
Joined: 10/20/2016
Posts: 5
Greetings, all. Mothrayas and I intend to do some work on this game. It's a rather obscure platformer for the GBC, came out in 2000. Here's a link to the first video of a youtube playlist of somebody casually playing it : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FACY0y4ezQQ&list=PLE3EEEFB58D276B70 While it looks like just another GBC platformer at first glance, it's actually got a fair few gameplay quirks. You can smack robots with a hammer, but you can also bounce on them, or crouch. Spirou grabs ledges if he's close to them, he can swing on some, uh, chandelier-like chains. Items can be carried and thrown, and stacked upon one another. Not to be confused with Spirou, which is a Game Boy game, not GBC (and has really good music by Alberto Gonzales). This one is an adaptation of 'Qui arrêtera Cyanure?', the 35th book of the series. I personally am quite fond of the game, and it has some nice graphics and music. As far as TAS possibilities and skips go, there's a fair amount of stuff. Spirou moves fairly fast, and movement can look really crisp and smooth. There are a few skips and clips and lots of little optimisations that can be done. I've done some speedrunning and poking about on this game over the years. I have a couple of runs, and my best one (still very sloppy in places, and I die at least once) was around 30:30. A TAS could easily shave off several minutes off that time. So, yeah, this is probably a long shot, but has anybody else played this game ? Any tips to share ? Any skips ? There seems to be a lack of information relevant to speedrunning this game, apart from a post from Niamek in the GB/GBC games' wishlist stating that the first level could be done weaponless. I (or Mothrayas) can answer most questions you might have about the game. I'm holding onto my speedrun for a little while longer, but I'll post it eventually if people are interested in it.
Posted: 11/25/2016 5:32 AM
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Niamek
Joined: 10/23/2009
Posts: 545
Location: Where?
Not could, but "can". I recall the game giving you the hammer after the first level even if you don't have it collected. Good luck on this. :) Will follow this.
Posted: 12/22/2016 3:34 PM
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smack
Joined: 10/20/2016
Posts: 5
OK, here's a full speedrun of Spirou : The Robot Invasion. It's around 30 minutes and 20 seconds long (and I was the one running). It's got a sloppy first few levels and around a minute wasted on the second-to-last level, but really good RNG on the second boss. Click to get speedrun I used dehacked as storage, I hope that is alright. Don't know any sites for file storage, and other people here were making use of it. The speedrun is not quite up to date in parts, it is over a month old. Several minor tricks have been discovered since. I also don't attempt a couple of very specific time-saving techniques, such as a clip in the level before last. The TAS should be considerably faster and smoother. Still, it should give everyone a decent idea of what the game looks like.
Posted: 6/30/2017 8:53 PM
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smack
Joined: 10/20/2016
Posts: 5
It's been a while. Mothrayas and I haven't made much headway on the TAS, though some labbing has been done (and don't expect too much in the coming months either). Still, I did discover a few more skips here and there. I have also uploaded on Youtube the run I linked in the previous comment (since a youtube video is a little more convenient than a bizhawk file). It displays some of the game's mechanics and tricks (though it is already out of date and very sloppy at times, the main reason this is my best run is good RNG and lack of practice since). It is also the WR by default, though anybody could beat it with a little practice and good RNG. It lasts about 30:25, and from looking at the time wasted and potential optimisations, I think a TAS could easily be several minutes faster. In any case, here's the link for those that are interested : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Br4iDloF9BU
Posted: 11/25/2017 8:51 AM
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Yvnar
Joined: 11/25/2017
Posts: 1
I'm doing a glitch hunting in another game from the same developers of this game, so I thought I give it a shot as well, I found a wall / ceiling clip glitch by stacking objects that you can carry and stand on, when you do it close to a ceiling, the character will crouch if you turn the character, he'll be standing for some frames and then crouch again, if you jump while he's standing he'll clip into the ceiling and zip to the right, since I didn't saw this glitch at your tas I figure out I should post it here, althought I'm not sure if it's userful for skips https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7MU2FbF3-Sw
Posted: 1/2/2018 12:34 AM
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zoboner
Skilled player (1005)
Joined: 10/13/2014
Posts: 409
Location: nowhereatthemiddleofnoone
Awesome project! Are you alone to make this TAS?
smack wrote:
It displays some of the game's mechanics and tricks (though it is already out of date and very sloppy at times, the main reason this is my best run is good RNG and lack of practice since). It is also the WR by default, though anybody could beat it with a little practice and good RNG.
What are the RNG factors for this game? If you are interested, I made the first level : https://youtu.be/nJgE0Rn47wE
GAW sms... Totally destroyed
Posted: 1/11/2018 8:12 PM
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smack
Joined: 10/20/2016
Posts: 5
Sorry for the late replies. Yvnar, I know of two other clips that can be done in this game, and at least one of them is useful for TAS. You can also clip through any non-pillow moving platforms with a well-timed hammer blow. I actually did make a very sloppy and unoptimised TAS which I posted on my channel (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a1XZNcO6-P4), but didn't mention here. I've also found out a couple things that make it obsolete. It lasts 22:48, and I think one could easily save about a minute and a half with a cleaner run, and some new things I've found out since that save a few seconds here and there. The clip I use is around 20:30 in the video. The other clip I know is in Nightmare 1, where around 10:51 when falling you can hit the wooden platform and get propelled near the level exit, but I haven't found a way to get back into the level, nor to reproduce it consistently. zoboner, bosses 2 and 4 are affected by RNG (maybe 1, and 4.5 too, I can't remember offhand, I don't have my notes with me right now). The floating guys that shoot lightning bolts (I call them 'Geodudes') also appear to shoot randomly. I think I'm forgetting something else, too, it'll be in my notes though. I was able to manipulate RNG in a couple instances through trial and error in my TAS, but I don't know the underlying mechanics behind it. Your run of the first level has a few minor issues that waste a little time. - Running on stairs is slower than jumping above them (credit goes to Mothrayas for that one). - Health management, of course. I don't know for sure where taking damage is the most worthwhile. This'd require a lot of trial and error to find out. There are also a couple of spots where hearts are only a second or two of wasted time, but that may be worth it in the long run. - Did switching to English require losing a couple frames ? I'm curious. The English translation is actually not great, and I'm used to the French version, so I tend to stay in that version. - Around 0:38, I found out very recently (by accident, when recording footage explaining the speedrun/TAS strats, haha) that you can clip through that platform. I haven't looked into it. - When you jump over Fantasio, you should avoid the conversation entirely (just about whenever possible, and it is possible to do so for the first Fantasio), since there are a few lag frames when the speech bubble pops up. - When you move downwards (you do so around 0:23, for instance), you should jump beforehand; you'll have some vertical velocity that will make you fall faster, instead of simply dropping down like you do. I like the way you grab the robot though. Does it waste/save time ? It looks much better than the way I do it, anyway. I haven't done much work on the TAS in recent months, due to lack of time and other interests. I recorded that unoptimised TAS for that reason, in fact, since I was unsure I'd be consistently working at it in the coming months. I'm happy people are interested in the game, I'll clean up some of my notes on it (there's a lot) and upload the footage explaining some of the tricks, hopefully in a few days' time.
Posted: 1/11/2018 9:08 PM
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ViGadeomes
He/Him
Judge, Active player (311)
Joined: 10/16/2017
Posts: 462
Location: France
What could be a 100% TAS on this game ? What item could be this objective? I never seen a game where you can think you are in a comic, that's amazing ! Maybe you run can be optimized but you did a great first work on it ! if someone optimize it, I think you will be co-author with him when he'll submit it on the site !
Posted: 1/12/2018 10:42 AM
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smack
Joined: 10/20/2016
Posts: 5
There are end-of-level tallies (the squirrel bounces on a button to indicate your % on the level). They're skipped in any %. I think you get 100% on a level if you collect all 'S' blocks and all '?!' collectibles. Mushroom count has no effect on the % you get, nor does collecting all weapons or the Ubi key, iirc. That could be a criterion for a 100% run. Note that you are forced to play through a 60-second bonus level whenever you have collected three '?!' symbols. I don't remember if it resets to 0 after a bonus level, or if any extra '?!' you collected count towards the next bonus level, though. In any case, this does affect potential 100% runs. The bonus level is always the same layout, but it is possible to complete it in different ways, so there's potential for avoiding repetition.
Posted: 1/12/2018 1:06 PM
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ViGadeomes
He/Him
Judge, Active player (311)
Joined: 10/16/2017
Posts: 462
Location: France
Ok.