Topic by SectionX

You know, there is a search function at the top of the page. There are at least 2 other threads about this game, you created the third one. If you can't find the search function, you can click on the thread here: http://tasvideos.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=443

Posted: 10/16/2006 12:05 AM

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SectionX

Joined: 6/8/2004
Posts: 43

Blublu wrote:

SectionX wrote:
Blublu wrote:
Someone already did it. It was ultra-boring.
link me to it...
You know, there is a search function at the top of the page. There are at least 2 other threads about this game, you created the third one. If you can't find the search function, you can click on the thread here: http://tasvideos.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=443

I looked at the NES videos and assumed no one had done it. Stop being an ass knivur durkur.

Posted: 10/16/2006 12:50 AM

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NecroVMX

Player (70)

Joined: 8/13/2004
Posts: 205

There's nothing more annoying than people who come into a thread to tell people "omg use the search feature!!!11" It's just 2 mintues of their time that could be spent doing something better. Anyway, as for the game, it would most likely be terrible because the TASer would probably not use lightbulbs in the sewers

Posted: 10/16/2006 2:59 AM

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Blublu

Player (67)

Joined: 3/11/2004
Posts: 1058
Location: Reykjavík, Ísland

Even more annoying are people who complain about people who point out the search feature. This thread should be locked. It is useless.

Posted: 9/15/2008 6:52 PM

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p0rtal_0f_rain

Banned User

Joined: 12/5/2007
Posts: 742
Location: Gone

I finally found a good-working clean ROM of this game. I noticed that Fester can run faster in make believe 3-D hallways than on foot. But to ensure a grip on what needs to be done, I would like to manipulate enough luck into getting Fester's gun to LV 8 (as quick as possible) before I proceed with the whole run.

Posted: 9/23/2008 6:26 PM

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p0rtal_0f_rain

Banned User

Joined: 12/5/2007
Posts: 742
Location: Gone

Okay, if and only if this will be a good game to TAS, it will take extreme luck manipulation because it is very difficult and it will take serious movement. You can get by with Invisible Potions if you pick those up on the way to the first boss, but upgrading Fester's gun to LV 8 takes serious luck manipulation. I was barely able to defeat the first boss with a LV 6 gun and I definitely had to use the Inv. Potions because I was short on health. http://dehacked.2y.net/microstorage.php/info/1205822508/Fester%27s%20Quest%20%28U%29%20%5B%21%5D.fcm Don't forget, some of these ROM's are shared on the Web as incomplete, dumped, or both. Sometimes entering a building will cause the game to instantly reset without reason. Make sure you have the ROM name and the checksum listed below or my WIP won't work right.

Fester's Quest (U) [!]
F4F27B27E4F7964B5A6E151B4E4323DA

Posted: 9/26/2008 5:55 PM

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p0rtal_0f_rain

Banned User

Joined: 12/5/2007
Posts: 742
Location: Gone

That was just a demo. Now, I'm looking to work on this game to see what I can pull. Some of the most common goals are: Hardcore luck manipulation because it is extremely difficult based on two known facts: (1) Fester's slow-ass "Robocop" movement and it does get even slower if it gets hit by bees; and (2) prizes generated at random when defeating certain enemies at certain points - some will drop "blue gun" icons which is a plus and some won't drop anything at all. Defending the weapon after upgrading Fester's gun because a "red gun" icon (look at my current avatar) can show up at anytime after an enemy gets eliminated. Should Fester even touch that icon, it will downgrade Fester's gun which won't work. It's always a good idea to check out the enemy first and see what it drops - then rerecord and just leave it alone if unsatisfied. Significant frame-advance usage because when Fester's gun gets between levels 3 and 7, that's where boomerang waves and circling cannonballs can become hit-and-miss for the enemies ahead. Frame-advance is needed for precise use of hitting enemies using these guns. ~ Road to the 1st boss ~ The streets: The first thing Fester should do is power his gun directly to maximum level (8). As he powers his gun, he should also have plenty of keys to enter 3-D buildings and plenty of lights to use in the sewers. Then he will avoid obtaining TNT's and Vice Grips as he enters the sewers. The sewers (1): It is a pretty-long underground pathway to the other side of the earthquaked piece of road on the streets, so it will take as much movement as possible without any means of slowing down. Using the gun at LV 8 should wipe enemies that lie ahead for miles. Sometimes, the hits may not be precise but as long as it is able to hit another enemy that lies further ahead, then everything should be okay. The streets: Despite the level 8 gun does send bullets fast, it still takes a lot to kill off the pink frogs, so skills are needed to get around and avoid them no matter what. Their 3-way flames can also slow down Fester. The first building that Fester comes across has a bonus health. According to my input, I will challenge this game and avoid obtaining that. Fester makes way all the way to the NW area to obtain invisible potions because they do work great against formidable bosses. Finally, the sewers again. The sewers (2): Another pretty long pathway for Fester, and he might find some pink one-eyed monsters along the way, too. These things go through walls, so it is important to avoid and/or get rid of them in any way possible. After some zig-zagging and trying to get a good racing line, back to the streets again. The streets: After coming out of the sewers for the second time, Fester shows up at the front door of another 3-D building where the first boss is being held. Fester should already have enough keys to go inside. 3-D hallways: This thing looks annoying, but according to significant use of frame-advance, Fester should be able to hustle quickly to the room where the first boss is held, so this should be a no brainer. Fester stops for a moment to quickly equip his invisible potions before meeting the first boss. First boss: Of course, he stretches his arms out. Fester may need to move a little bit to avoid taking damage and begin using his inv. potions because they don't take effect for the first 5 to 10 seconds upon entering the room. But the LV 8 gun should make short work of him because it doesn't take too long to defeat this boss. After the destruction, he goes through the back door and heads back into the sewers. I stop here, I post more detail later.

Posted: 9/26/2008 8:36 PM

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samurai_goroh

Editor, Player (53)

Joined: 12/25/2004
Posts: 634
Location: Aguascalientes, Mexico

symbolic X wrote:

As he powers his gun, he should also have plenty of keys to enter 3-D buildings and plenty of lights to use in the sewers.

Doesn't using bulb lights takes time using them & are not a must? Or can you use them to manipulate luck? BTW, have you read the other topic?

I'm the best in the Universe! Remember that!

Posted: 9/27/2008 1:08 AM

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p0rtal_0f_rain

Banned User

Joined: 12/5/2007
Posts: 742
Location: Gone

Yeah, I didn't know which thread to view since months has passed by. Going to the original.

Posted: 9/27/2008 1:14 AM

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p0rtal_0f_rain

Banned User

Joined: 12/5/2007
Posts: 742
Location: Gone

Doesn't using bulb lights takes time using them & are not a must?

Since upgrades, downgrades, and items are generated at random, there's no way to see them. Only sounds can take the guesswork out of determining which items were good and bad. But I do know one thing, when it comes to a TAS, light bulbs shouldn't be an issue. Everyone, this is my first draft - 24:54.57 http://dehacked.2y.net/microstorage.php/info/728527025/fester.fcm Rom: "Fester's Quest (U) [!]" Checksum: F4F27B27E4F7964B5A6E151B4E4323DA FCEU: 0.98.15

Posted: 9/27/2008 2:42 AM

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ShinyDoofy

Former player

Joined: 12/5/2007
Posts: 716

Just watched it - looks fairly entertaining to me (considering how slow paced and repetitive this game is).

Posted: 9/27/2008 3:00 AM

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p0rtal_0f_rain

Banned User

Joined: 12/5/2007
Posts: 742
Location: Gone

Thanx so far! It took me about ~16000 frames to upgrade Fester's gun to LV 8. But all I needed was that, the invisible potions, and the nooses (which eliminates all enemies on screen and may prevent the risk of lagging). Keys can be a concern (and I barely had enough to get through the game), but I don't think light bulbs should be. If I want to improve, that will take even more time. But I don't think I'm planning on submitting what I already got.

Posted: 9/27/2008 3:05 AM

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ShinyDoofy

Former player

Joined: 12/5/2007
Posts: 716

Those two thing you just mentioned are my main points to meh the run: it takes quite some time to upgrade the gun (I assume it speeds up the rest of the game), and the dark sewers parts. The latter concerns me the most because those parts are already lengthy enough, but not even clearly seeing what you're up to makes it even worse.

Posted: 9/27/2008 3:41 AM

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p0rtal_0f_rain

Banned User

Joined: 12/5/2007
Posts: 742
Location: Gone

That LV 8 gun is likely the strongest and most powerful. I'd definitely skip the whip. Then again, why would SunSoft try to turn Uncle Fester into Simon Belmont by giving him a LV 4 whip anyway... that proves my case.

Posted: 9/27/2008 6:12 AM

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Derakon

Joined: 7/2/2007
Posts: 3960

The question really is, how much time do you save by using the more powerful gun? Because if it saves less time than it costs to get the powerup, then it's not worthwhile. This is why the Magic Sword is skipped in Legend of Zelda TASes, for example. If it takes you 16000 frames to get to level 8, and assuming that that means ~2300 frames/powerup (since you start at level 1), then getting that last level would need to save you 38 seconds, which seems implausible for most games.

Pyrel - an open-source rewrite of the Angband roguelike game in Python.

Posted: 9/27/2008 2:46 PM

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samurai_goroh

Editor, Player (53)

Joined: 12/25/2004
Posts: 634
Location: Aguascalientes, Mexico

symbolic X wrote:

It took me about ~16000 frames to upgrade Fester's gun to LV 8.

I saw the run & while I liked the fact that you beat the bosses instead of using the bug to instant kill them, I don't think you should aim for the gun's upgrade at the beginning of the game, it looked like it wasn't a TAS at all. I'm sure you can get items faster by killing the green blobs (they reproduce again if you let them live for a while).

I'm the best in the Universe! Remember that!

Posted: 9/27/2008 11:41 PM

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p0rtal_0f_rain

Banned User

Joined: 12/5/2007
Posts: 742
Location: Gone

That will not only require luck manipulation, but it will also require the proper positioning of each blob to certain points where they would drop downgrading Gun icons out of whatever hot zones that Fester can create - as he defeats each blob. A huge bundle of power-ups and items all grouped together in a pile is what I call a hot zone, so Fester can pick them all up on-the-fly as he proceeds. But if at anytime that any downgrades (red Gun's) get into a pile, there can be a problem down the road.

samurai goroh wrote:

I'm sure you can get items faster by killing the green blobs (they reproduce again if you let them live for a while).

Posted: 11/1/2008 3:54 PM

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shallow

Joined: 10/16/2006
Posts: 174

Not sure if it's just me, but that link you posted to your rough draft doesn't seem to be working. Could you update the link or post a new one? I'd really like to see how it is.

Posted: 11/1/2008 4:21 PM

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ShinyDoofy

Former player

Joined: 12/5/2007
Posts: 716

http://www.2shared.com/file/4199061/45be727a/fester.html

Posted: 11/1/2008 5:11 PM

Post subject: Uncle Fester vs. the ROM

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p0rtal_0f_rain

Banned User

Joined: 12/5/2007
Posts: 742
Location: Gone

Uncle Fester vs. the ROM!!! I learned that if I move slower down the streets, the ROM will generate more enemies much easier, especially the grapes on the street (at least the beginning). And then Fester can get them all within his gun's range. If Fester moves constantly, the ROM has to take more time to decide what enemies should be dispatched to the screen next, and that could kill valuable time. There is probably a certain number of enemies that the ROM can place on the screen for Fester to deal with. Also, standing in one spot with a powerful gun and constantly blasting grapes on the street will speed up progress a little bit and break down the odds of getting a gun upgrade. It is possible to shoot enemies that got dispatched by the ROM but never made it into the screen upon the player's viewing. Of course, I found that if I blast an enemy outside the screen, the ROM immediately generates another one within 100 to 500 ms. In other words, shooting grapes outside the screen and then seeing lights, keys, and possibly gun upgrades just by simply moving a few frames toward it. Despite Uncle Fester having a quest that will be a true memory to us all, it is simply the functionality of the ROM that is not only responsible for dispatching enemies that it chooses, but also responsible for determining prizes for each enemy defeated (like "should I give Fester a reward for defeating this enemy?") and definitely the rewards it would give to him. That is my research so far, but what type of memory addresses do we have to watch? I know there is quite a few.

Posted: 11/2/2008 5:46 AM

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shallow

Joined: 10/16/2006
Posts: 174

ShinyDoofy wrote:

http://www.2shared.com/file/4199061/45be727a/fester.html

Not to ask another annoying question, but where exactly is the download link on this page? I can't seem to find it. You'd think it'd be the blue letters that say, "Download fester.fcm", but that doesn't seem to be the case. Can someone help me out here?