INTRODUCTION

Emulator: Gens 9.5b
Goals:
  1. Aims for fastest time
  2. Variety and entertainment if it barely affects (1)
  3. Abuses programming errors/glitches
  4. Takes damage to save time
This collaboration with XYZ is my fourth submission for this game, an improvement of ~40 secs off my previous run and the first run below the 10 min mark. Since many of the improvements were either discovered or suggested by XYZ as with my previous submission, I decided to credit him as a co-author of this run. Without him, I would not be able to improve the run by so much... in fact I may not even be motivated enough to start another one.

IMPROVEMENTS & LEVEL WALKTHROUGH

Since there has been quite a bit of an overhaul to the run since the previous versions, I have decided to repost an update on my walkthrough for those interested to know what exactly is going on.
1-1
A glitch is exploited on the first screen to allow Sketch to pick up the dagger in 1 frame. This is done by pressing DOWN the exact frame before Sketch hits the ground, which results in his landing animation interrupting and ending the picking up animation prematurely. In the sewer, the correct position was found to bump Strigil off the screen, which saved a bit of time too. Finally, the last improvement would be falling through the trapdoor; this was done by doing a jump kick before hitting the ground, which results in the trapdoor being hit and the impact pushes Sketch through onto the lower side of the screen.
1-2
Route change right from the start. Instead of using the bomb here to blow up the door, the door is shoulder-smashed to bits and the bomb kept for later. In the next screen, Strigil is cornered to the left and trashed there rather than knocking him across to the right. This is because the delay before you can grab Strigil again is shorter if he collides into a wall, as compared to if he falls and hits the ground. Unfortunately, the space is too tight to bump him off the screen right from the spawn. The rest of the stage is similar to before, except that the dagger and bomb are used to dispose of a flying creep and Gravis more efficiently.
2-1
Better pixel alignment allows for the screens up to the tournament to be cleared slightly faster. The first major change came at the tournament, as discovered by XYZ once again. Using the PowerFist here immediately cuts the talking and spawns the enemies, saving more than 10s. Although this uses up the PowerFist reserved for the final screen previously, time saved by using it in the tournament is much more significant, mainly due to the animation of using the PowerFist prevents Sketch's movement in the last screen, but it doesn't quite matter while waiting in the tournament.
2-2
Instead of skipping the free "?" power-up on the second screen, it is manipulated into another PowerFist for the final fight against Kung Fung. By using the fist at the right time against Kung Fung, XYZ discovered that Kung Fung could be made to appear immediately, cutting away the portions where he floats around shooting fireballs. This effectively shortens the fight by around 10 seconds.
3-1
The strategy on the first screen is slightly different. The second green monster spawned is killed much earlier than in the previous versions, ie immediately after the third has been spawned, rather than keeping it for after the fourth. This is because with the right combinations of attacks, it could be taken out even before the fourth materializes, which means that the fifth green monster would similarly appear much earlier. The grenade on the next screen was picked up using the same glitch as on the first stage. Other than these, the rest of the stage were just minor optimizations.
3-2
Major route change on this stage which resulted in saving more than 16s. Instead of manipulating 2 PowerFists as the previous versions have all gone for, 1 of the PowerFists was substituted for a grenade. Also, the same route as Zer0's first run was used, heading to the left in the second screen rather than to the right. Here, dropping a bomb down the hole proceeds the game, which beats waiting for the 3 creep generator to appear had Sketch gone right. However, coming from the left this time, the screen with the mine blocking the down arrow becomes vastly different. Now there isn't a safe zone anymore, so after destroying the mine, intentionally jumping into the crane above allows Sketch to take less damage, allowing him just enough health for 1 last paper plane, which is employed in the next screen. The plane kills of 1 Strigil and the other is just in place to be bumped out of the screen, so perfect :) The next screen is also done differently, since the Gravis happen to be in such a perfect position to be bumped out of the screen. However since his health is so low, a paper plane is out of the question, so the second last screen is just cleared via brute force, but still good enough for a quick finish. Mortus is done the same, however 1 extra frame after activating the switch to turn Sketch around just for a change :)

LEVEL TIMES

StageV3V4Difference
1-143254116209
1-26921683487
2-168986410488
2-252774619658
3-147264499227
3-281277153974
In-game Time36274336312643
Length of Movie37158344932665
Total Score Tallying Screen88486222
22 frames were gained by optimizing the score tallying screen.
Note that the method of determining the start and end of a stage is different; instead of taking the frame when the screen first lights up to the frame the screen finally blacks out, I took it as the duration between the first and last frame that input is still being accepted(as indicated by Gens 9.5b). As such, some level times may appear longer than earlier reported.

XOINX'S COMMENTS

Though I'm pretty satisfied with the results this time around, I'm sure that's it is only a matter of time before even this time can be easily beaten. My experience with this game has taught me to experiment with everything and anything possible; a game this glitchy would have a countless number of possible shortcuts and exploits to quicken the completion time. Many of the glitches found in this run have been just as inexplicable as before and the quickest possible time will never be attained until all possibilities can be exhausted... good luck to anyone else interested in running this game :)

XYZ'S COMMENTS

"To be added"

NesVideoAgent: Hi! I am a robot. I took a few screenshots of this movie and placed them here. I'm not sure I got the right ROM though. Well, here goes! Feel free to clean up the list.
(Screenshots removed, wrong ROM.)

Truncated: Accepted for great justice.

adelikat: Processing.

TASVideoAgent
They/Them
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Posts: 14776
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This topic is for the purpose of discussing #1685: xoinx, XYZ's Genesis Comix Zone in 09:34.88
Joined: 10/3/2005
Posts: 1332
Wow. And I thought the last version was busted. Bravo.
emu
Active player (380)
Joined: 1/2/2007
Posts: 188
Location: Germany, Munich
I never expected the old run to be improvable by so much. Great findings XYZ and incredible run xoinx! "oh yea" vote
Joined: 4/3/2005
Posts: 575
Location: Spain
Uber-awesome run!!!! "Who are you?!" "I'm your creator" "No, you're Neo on rails" Yes-yes-yes-yes-yes.
No.
Joined: 7/26/2006
Posts: 1215
great improvements, and funny to boot! hearty yes vote.
Joined: 9/20/2006
Posts: 287
Location: Singapore
Thanks for the compliments :) I think credit has to go to XYZ for finding all the weird quirks in the game that I never ever bothered experimenting with. Almost all the new strategies from chapter 2 were contributed by him, and those alone account for about half of the total time saved.
NesVideoAgent wrote:
I'm not sure I got the right ROM though...
This appears to be the game over screens, so I guess NesVideoAgent's automated screenshot producer met with a desync...
Truncated wrote:
Truncated is the most fiendish instrument of torture ever devised to bedevil the days of man. -- xoinx
Post subject: Movie published
TASVideoAgent
They/Them
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Joined: 8/3/2004
Posts: 14776
Location: 127.0.0.1
This movie has been published. The posts before this message apply to the submission, and posts after this message apply to the published movie. ---- [954] Genesis Comix Zone by xoinx & XYZ in 09:34.88
Skilled player (1530)
Joined: 7/25/2007
Posts: 299
Location: UK
Very nice. Desynched on level 1 first time I watched it, but then worked again next time
upthorn
He/Him
Active player, Emulator Coder (387)
Joined: 3/24/2006
Posts: 1802
This is the first TAS of this game that I've actually enjoyed watching. Good work Xoinx, Xyz.
How fleeting are all human passions compared with the massive continuity of ducks.
Joined: 9/20/2006
Posts: 287
Location: Singapore
Could anyone post a direct dl of the published avi on maybe megaupload or something? I've been trying for quite a while now but can't seem to get the torrent working right...
Truncated wrote:
Truncated is the most fiendish instrument of torture ever devised to bedevil the days of man. -- xoinx
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Warning: When making decisions, I try to collect as much data as possible before actually deciding. I try to abstract away and see the principles behind real world events and people's opinions. I try to generalize them and turn into something clear and reusable. I hate depending on unpredictable and having to make lottery guesses. Any problem can be solved by systems thinking and acting.