DrD2k9: This also means that an
All Items branch of regular
NES Donkey Kong is now an option as the current
All Items branch of
DK:OE would no longer be the comparison it would have been in the past.
Noted.
Inputs retained (and adjusted where needed) are from Phil's 25m and GoddessMaria's 100m.
DrD2k9: Updating movie file with an error corrected.
DrD2k9: So this was an interestingly complicated judgement.
Firstly, I didn't have a ROM that matches the submitted .bk2, but I still achieved sync using Donkey Kong (J) (PRG0) [!].nes from the goodtools set
SHA1 hash: 24CA16FE0C4807405BB7711490982D151EB26008
Alyosha's .bk2 shows the same hash as Spike's submission, but only syncs for me on
Donkey Kong (W) (PRG1) [!].nes again from the goodtools set
SHA1 hash: D8DFACBFEC34CDC871D73C901811551FE1706923
Essentially, Alyosha's work affected RNG in a way that allows for finishing the 2nd stage faster by 5 frames. As an added bonus, this also manages to finish stage 2 fast enough to save what appears to be a frame rule. Finishing Stage 2 one frame later than Alyosha (while still 4 frames faster than the original submission) yields starting the final stage at the same frame as the original submission. So Alyosha saved a total of 11 frames via the RNG manipulation/frame rule by beginning of the 3rd Stage.
Copy/pasting Alyosha's Stage 2 inputs into the original submission finishes that stage faster on the (J) rom as well. Unfortunately, RNG is affected for the final round causing desync due to different enemy movements. This can be mitigated by re-manipulating the final level enemy movements so that Mario's original movements still work and the total time for the final stage unchanged from the submission.
So a decision between the following options was needed on how to proceed with this submission.
1) Change the submission to use the (W) ROM and update the movie file to an equivalent of Alyosha's .bk2 with a proper header.
2) Update the submission with a .bk2 resync of the run that yields the same framecount as Alyosha's but while maintaining the (J) ROM.
After brief discussion with other judges, it seems most prudent to maintain consistency in ROM usage with the any% run of this game (which uses an equivalent of the (W) ROM).
Alyosha will be added as co-author for the RNG and frame rule improvements.
Updating authorship, move file, ROM filename, and accepting.
