(Link to video)
Thanks to BlackWinnerYoshi for a 4K encode!
About the Game
Pringles is a 2009 Sega Genesis / Mega Drive homebrew platformer about... well, Pringles. It has 9 levels, which are split into 3 worlds, no music and only 3 sound effects. You play as the pre-simplicity era Pringles mascot who has to bounce on Pringles to reach the goal in every level.
2 of the world names are misspelt. Basil & Tomato is & Basil Tomato and Black Pepper is Brack Papper. The first world, Sour Cream & Onion is spelt correctly. I'll be referring to the world names with their correct spellings.
About the TAS:
The physics of this game are quite simple. When Mr Pringles touches a Pringle, he gets more vertical height. When he touches the top of a can, the same thing happens as he bounces off of it. Touching the goal will end the level, regardless of how many Pringles you've collected.
This TAS aims for an A in every level, which can be achieved by collecting every Pringle without landing on a can, except for the very start of each level.
Sour Cream & Onion 1
This level consists mainly of trying to get every Pringle with as little slowing down as possible, with a vertical climb at around the middle.
Sour Cream & Onion 2
A short section at the start leads to a diagonal climb. After this diagonal climb, we have to slow down a lot to jump on all of the Pringles. After this it's a fall into the goal and onto level 3.
Sour Cream & Onion 3
The first part is headed to the right and requires pinpoint precision for minimal slowdowns. Then it's a vertical climb into a turnaround. Finally, there's a few more jumps of precision and a short diagonal climb.
Basil & Tomato 1
For the first half of the level, we're headed forward, setting up a handful of very quick diagonal climbs. Then it's a vertical climb headed left. After that, there's 2 more vertical climbs to set up. Finally, there's three more Pringles to land on, two of which are diagonally opposite, and that's the end of this level.
Basil & Tomato 2
This level features a lot of climbing. The first vertical climb is close to the start. We want to hold left with the right timing so we can get to the next climb faster. Two more climbs and a few precise Pringle jumps and we're done with this level.
Basil & Tomato 3
The first section is straightforward as usual, with similar precise Pringle jumps. After a diagonal climb, we start heading left towards another diagonal climb, which leads to a vertical climb. From here, we want to continue holding left at the right time, jump on a couple more Pringles, make a very precise turn around, bounce on the last two Pringles and fall into the goal.
Black Pepper 1
The first section is all as similar as last time. From here it's a vertical climb, then heading left, then a very technical vertical/diagonal climb, which involves extreme precision to do perfectly. After collecting the last one or two Pringles, we turn left and hit the goal.
Black Pepper 2
A few vertical turnarounds lead us to a straight section. From here, it's an abrupt left turn, where I implemented a brand new trick. Instead of turning around slowly like the RTA record, I turn around as soon as possible after landing on the leftmost Pringle in this section. This saves 6 frames over the RTA strategy. And now it's time for the final level, which is (I think you can guess)...
Black Pepper 3
We start by heading forward for a few seconds. Then it's a turnaround for Mr Pringles. A few seconds heading left and we reach a vertical climb and a very precise turnaround which leads us to the right. After a short back and forth section a few more cautious landings, input ends when we have enough momentum to reach the goal on frame 9618.
Thanks for reading. You probably know the drill by now, but if you find any improvements, I'll add you as a co-author.

nymx: Claiming for judging.

nymx: Thanks for Tompa and his contributions to this movie. Considering Tompa's experience, and the report of LGR having no success in removing some of the cuts..I think this submission seems to be okay for acceptance.
Accepting to "Standard" for publication.

despoa: Processing...

TASVideoAgent
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This topic is for the purpose of discussing #8368: LoganTheTASer's Genesis Pringles "all As" in 02:40.51
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Own encode on Wed, 21 Jun 2023 17:45 +0200 Sun, 18 Jun 2023 19 +0200 (so now) to make it easier to compare to Tompa's Gens? run -- syncs just fine: Link to video
Tompa
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I made a TAS of this several years ago for fun during ESA, not with the goal of fully optimising it. While I don't have the input file anymore, it is up on YouTube. Link to video One thing I noticed at once was that you didn't get a triple for the very first three pringles. Another one is at about 1:26, where could get all 4 in a row. I remember when TASing the part at 2:31, I tested that it would be faster to get all three up there in a row, rather than grabbing the top one later. Not sure if you got a different result? Other than those; tricky to compare frame count between our runs =). Also: "if you find any improvements, I'll add you as a co-author." Please don't for me in any case.
LoganTheTASer
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hi tompa! thanks for pointing these improvements out. will let you know when I’ve implemented them. 2 things i want to respond with: - i don’t see a supposed “4 in a row” at around 1:26. EDIT: i found the 4 in a row. in frame count, it's around the mid 2500s. - i’ll compare both strats of yours and i and see which one is faster. EDIT: comparison finished. it’s kinda hard to tell, but i think your strategy is slightly faster.
LoganTheTASer
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BlackWinnerYoshi wrote:
Own encode on Wed, 21 Jun 2023 17:45 +0200 Sun, 18 Jun 2023 19 +0200 (so now) to make it easier to compare to Tompa's Gens? run -- syncs just fine: Link to video
thanks! I’ll replace my encode with yours as mine is low quality (240p) for some reason
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LogansGamingRoom wrote:
I’ll replace my encode with yours as mine is low quality (240p) for some reason
Well, the FFmpeg command you might have used from the guide (Post #506712) should have set the dumped video resolution to >720p, the minimum for YouTube HFR:
-vf scale=floor(((ih*4)*(4/3)+1)/2)*2:(ih*4),setsar=0 -crf 18 -sws_flags neighbor -pix_fmt yuv420p -b:a 128k -f mp4
(using 128k audio bit rate over 384k takes less space with no hearable quality loss) Alternatively, you can just use the MP4 or whatever template and upload to a file sharing site... if you have the storage. Also, if you want higher resolutions, change the number in (ih*4) -- 5 for 1080p, 10 for 4K, 20 for 8K...
LoganTheTASer
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45 frames faster https://tasvideos.org/UserFiles/Info/638227597375810425 in the final level, it turns out i was wrong. my strat was faster.
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LogansGamingRoom wrote:
45 frames faster https://tasvideos.org/UserFiles/Info/638227597375810425 in the final level, it turns out i was wrong. my strat was faster.
Own encode in five minutes. Can Tompa compare this too? Link to video
LoganTheTASer
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BlackWinnerYoshi wrote:
Can Tompa compare this too?
i’ll send him an email on this topic.
Tompa
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No need to send mail, I'm watching the topic :) When testing some today, I realized that if your speed is 0, you won't get the lag frame frame you otherwise get for stomping on a pringle. This in mind, I improved the first level by 15 frames on my first go, could probably be improved further https://tasvideos.org/UserFiles/Info/638228055780039178 All levels could be improved in the same fashion. Sometimes it's not faster to avoid the lag frame, due to having to take a slower route for example, as it takes awhile to reduce the speed fully.
LoganTheTASer
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that sounds like a tough optimisation challenge. i’ll give it my best shot. EDIT: given it a go and i can safely say it's too hard to do consistenly at my skill level, as i got overwhelmed trying to optimise it. i might leave this matter in other hands.
nymx
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LogansGamingRoom wrote:
EDIT: given it a go and i can safely say it's too hard to do consistenly at my skill level, as i got overwhelmed trying to optimise it. i might leave this matter in other hands.
Because of this statement, I will be passing judgement in about 9 hours from now on both your submissions. Just let me know if you have more you would like to do.
I recently discovered that if you haven't reached a level of frustration with TASing any game, then you haven't done your due diligence. ---- SOYZA: Are you playing a game? NYMX: I'm not playing a game, I'm TASing. SOYZA: Oh...so its not a game...Its for real? ---- Anybody got a Quantum computer I can borrow for 20 minutes? Nevermind...eien's 64 core machine will do. :) ---- BOTing will be the end of all games. --NYMX
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. ---- [5360] Genesis Pringles "all As" by LoganTheTASer in 02:40.51