Joined: 4/20/2005
Posts: 2161
Location: Norrköping, Sweden
The reason why you're carrying a Snifit when entering the bird head is because RAM address $0052 is 2. Poking this address to 0 before entering the mouth will make you appear in the room without a Snifit. Now you just have to find out why this value was set to 2, and what the RAM address stands for. :)
Emulator Coder, Site Developer, Site Owner, Expert player
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Joined: 11/3/2004
Posts: 4754
Location: Tennessee
According to my spreadsheet, 0x0052 is the enemy slot #4 initialization address. So it is no surprise that with that value positive, an enemy will appear. But that does give a clue as to what might be going on. My guess is that a killed enemy in the previous screen didn't get reset to 0. I bet it is a gray snifit either because that is the first enemy type loaded for that screen, or it happens to be 0 in a table of enemy types (and the address for the enemy type is probably 0 at this point).
Probably useless, but you also start out holding a sniffit if you die with the value set to 2.
Other useless observations that probably are already known:
0052 = 1 - A pink upside down Sniffit spawns on your head. Doesn't seem to do anything but jerk around
0052 = All other numbers I've tried will also spawn with you holding a Sniffit. I assume the enemy that you appear with is located in another adress. Wouldn't know which one though.
Yeah, thanks for keeping the trick secret so we could waste our time figuring it out again!
Ah, no, I'm not really mad, but why didn't you mention it sooner?
put yourself in my rocketpack if that poochie is one outrageous dude
Joined: 11/9/2007
Posts: 375
Location: Varberg, Sweden
Well I and andrewg are the ones currently working on the TAS and since this game isn't Super Mario 64 or anything, at least I didn't think other people were looking for new tricks at the same time. If you now are looking for other tricks than this, it would be a good idea to first PM one of us to get updated on the set of new tricks and strategic differences we've made, since it'd be nice to have save some surprises left for the public when the runs are done.
I suppose it wouldn't hurt explaining how the trick above is done though. In the room before Mouser do the following:
1. Pick up the POW-block
2. Throw the POW-block
3. When the POW-block hits the ground, pick up an enemy at the one frame where this will result in you not picking it up, and instead having it fall of the screen
4. Enter the bird head and you'll be carrying the same enemy you tried to pick up earlier using a different palette
(you can do whatever you like between step 3 and 4)
Link to video
Apologies if this is not relevant or has already been discussed. Seen in the SDA thread, glitch doesn't seem to be used in most recent any% movie.
Not having tested it myself, it looks like some kinda variation of this trick used in the current run:
Just with enemies instead of bombs, kinda? Looks like that, since the first place was at a vine and the second at a chain. So it shouldn't have anything to do with the continue (unless I'm wrong). Might make it worth trying to check out what's underneath all the ladders/vines in the games, hehe. Thanks for the video, Pointless Boy!
I remember reading at some point or other that climbing down the bottom of the screen there usually takes you back to the top of the intro falling section of 1-1, unless you had previously warped back to 1-1 from another location.
Though it's probably worth playing around with how the game keeps track what level you're supposed to be in by repeatedly using tricks like that. See if you can fool it into putting you in the wrong level.
Joined: 11/9/2007
Posts: 375
Location: Varberg, Sweden
This was found by andrewg, while we were making the TAS. To set this thing up, you must first (IIRC) beat Birdo in level 1-2, then go back getting a game over. That way going down that vine in 1-1 will take you to 1-3, and entering the bird head will have the same effect as if you've beaten a level with no boss at the end.
That vine in 1-1 can also take you to 1-2 if you first go to Birdo in 1-1 and then all the way back to the vine.
hehe Aglar, that is not the way we did it though!
You can skip alot, which is the reason we wanna do a new TAS and I want to be a part of it, and yes, we (me and Arva) have been doing these tests, doing the vine thing all over the place, but we are not TAS:ers so we need your help!
This trick allows you to gain loads of time in a Any% or Warpless TAS! Continue was used because you wanna have the first charactor selection screen, and as Aglar said, you can do this without a continue but that means you have to go to 1-2, kill birdo, warp back to 1-1 and warp your way to 1-3 without ever stepping into that level, that was what Andrew did. I think our way is gonna make a more awesome TAS, You are done with world 1 in like 40 seconds, lol!
SDA haven't decided on a verdict yet, Their current ruling is that the timing start when you enter the charactor selection screen, but if that could be used from a continue, we have to see!
Joined: 11/9/2007
Posts: 375
Location: Varberg, Sweden
Actually, TASes being submitted to this site must start from power on, so the whole setup process must be a part of the movie. Also, skipping levels like this can only be used in the warped run since if you skip levels in the warpless run, it's not warpless anymore.