"Your mission: Save the captured princess Lala from the Great Devils evil empire!!! You are the only one who can save Lala." By collecting every heartpiece in the room a treasure chest opens with a pearl inside. If you collect this pearl a door will open and you advance to the next level. This game contains 50 of these levels.

Game objectives

  • Emulator used: FCEU 0.98.23 (works also on other versions)
  • Completes game as fast as possible
  • Uses no passwords
  • Manipulates luck (enemy movement)
  • Abuses programming errors

Comments

Deign and Nitrodon told me that Zugzwang, who is/was making a speedrun at SDA, had posted a movie of the first three levels. He used a different strategy on level 3-2, and if TASed, his strategy was 7 frames faster than the currently published TAS. The improvement comes from using an egg to ride to the other side of the level instead of walking around it. I had obviously already tried this in previous versions, but the way I did it didn't work out.
Luckily, this new version isn't entirely due to this improvement... I also found another improvement myself! In level 2-5, there was a small wait before getting the heart in the lower left corner. This wait is now avoided by shooting the enemy nearby. I however had only 1 shot left to complete the rest of the level, so I lost a few at the end for manipulating enemy movement, but it was still 9 frames faster!
9 frames from my improvement, and 7 from Zugzwang's improvement makes 16 frames in total. However, due to unfortunate lag, that couldn't be avoided, I lost 2 frames in other levels. In the end, this movie is 14 frames faster than the previous version!

Easter egg

You only have to press a direction in Lolo every 8 frames for Lolo to move. This allows a lot of freedom to put in other input, without affecting the Lolo TAS. This particular movie file will not only complete Adventures of Lolo (U).nes, but it will also complete Defenders of the Crown (U).nes!
I picked Defenders of the Crown because I like the game, and there is no TAS for it was or will be made. I know the game if a poor TAS choice, but I think the few people who did play the game will enjoy it. For the others it might be a nice thing to know that this movie file also completes another game (without of course slowing down the Adventures of Lolo TAS in any way).
The Defenders of the Crown TAS is completed (for as far as I know) in the least turns possible. It isn't possible to complete it in this few turns in normal playing, due to the luck manipulation involved. The Defenders of the Crown TAS obviously isn't perfect, since Adventures of Lolo was obviously sometimes in the way (especially when I had shots there I couldn't fire yet). I am also not sure about the catapulting and if I really needed to shoot that much there (probably not). In any case, besides those small things, it's a very fast completion of the game, enjoy!
Also note that this isn't a dual TAS of anything and isn't supposed to look good together. The games are completely different, and this was only done to add a funny easter egg. Maybe it even shows that dual TASes of completely different games with different lengths are pointless :).

Thanks

I thank: - Zugzwang for the level 3-2 improvement - Deign for hexediting - The people who found improvements to previous versions of this TAS: Nitrodon, AnS, BagofMagicFood and Hanzou.
Enjoy!! (for those who are still watching new Adventures of Lolo submission)

NesVideoAgent: Hi! I am a robot. I took a few screenshots of this movie and placed them here. Oh! I also corrected the ROM name.
  • You indicated Adventures of Lolo (U).nes
  • I updated it to Adventures of Lolo (U) [b1].nes

adelikat: Accepted as an improvement to the published movie.

adelikat: Processing.

Skilled player (1399)
Joined: 5/31/2004
Posts: 1821
Zugzwang wrote:
HA not sure what the hell I did. So i said to myself wow he must have found an improvement on the variation I didnt try. Checked it and sure enough 112. So I wentback to my own and... WTF... 112. So the variation I counted was in err two steps bummer, its all you. Ill see I cant squeeze out any more steps. Of course the solution involves pushing the block from upper left to upper right then going around and pushing down. :)
Yeah, indeed... that's what makes it faster :) So yours what also 112, but you counted wrong?
Player (57)
Joined: 8/15/2008
Posts: 34
Location: Sacramento, CA
Yeah, so I too had a few variations (mostly the begining) that I thought were all 114. Checked and double checked mine and thought they were all the same. I had been using the method were you push the block down from the top left to bottom left then go indirectly around going underneath the block to push. But hadn't tried pushing directly down from top left to bottom left. So I tried going directly and immediatly found, what I thought was your 112. Then I went back to my own method of doing it indirectly and immediatly did it in 112. So basically I was counting one of my inferior variations :( and we may have had the same solution. Regardless I found it in 110 steps :D
Skilled player (1399)
Joined: 5/31/2004
Posts: 1821
Zugzwang wrote:
Regardless I found it in 110 steps :D
Very nice... I already suspected this was possible, given that there were so many possibilities.
Skilled player (1882)
Joined: 4/20/2005
Posts: 2160
Location: Norrköping, Sweden
I don't know if you already have a lua-script for counting steps, but if not, I made one here:
while true do

input = memory.readbyte(0x008)
levelover = memory.readbyte(0x007)

xpos = memory.readbyte(0x06D)
ypos = memory.readbyte(0x06F)

movement = math.mod(xpos+ypos,8)

if movie.framecount()<100 then steps=0 end
if levelover>0 then steps=0 end
if AND(input,16)==16 then steps=0 end
if movement==1 then steps=steps+1 end

gui.text(10,10,"Steps: " .. steps)

   FCEU.frameadvance()
end
The script has some minor inconveniences though: *You can only run the script while playing or recording a movie. *You have to start running the script while the frame count is <100, basically as soon as you start playing the movie. I tried out the script on the published run, and it worked very well. Pressing start button will reset steps to 0. The number of steps also reset after each level. I'm looking forward to your end-result!
Player (57)
Joined: 8/15/2008
Posts: 34
Location: Sacramento, CA
Have you found the 110 yet Baxter? 309/5=61.8 309+96=405 405/62=6.5 .5sec=31frames is my math right? about 2 steps to get sub 22:30? Thanks Randil Im sure that will give me more incentive to use my emulator! especially if i want to find sub 22:30
Player (57)
Joined: 8/15/2008
Posts: 34
Location: Sacramento, CA
Its 4am here, and I'm very pleased to present a 24 frame improvement in 10-2 I achieved this by finding a more direct route to all the sleeper chambers. Starting with upper right I go clockwise. My route is actually 4.5 steps shorter (Thanks Randil) then the current TAS but there is more time wasted waiting for the sleepers. Perhaps if someone else would like to look as well there may be more frames saved by better enemy manipulation.(Nitrodon) ;) How close are we to sub 22:30 Baxter? MERRY CHRISTMAS!! Edit: 12/26/08 I was able to modify this level to get a 3.5 step improvement - 56 frames over the current TAS. This level I had been avoiding because of the "seeming" complexity, and to find the solution Id have to rely entirely on my emulator. My original idea was to save steps by not going from side to side, so the answer to this solution requires you to go in a clockwise or counterclockwise direction. I realized today I could start in the lower left because although you pass the upper right chamber to begin with you end up there regardless, so you dont waste time. Fortunatly this way aviods any enemy waiting. :) This puzzle should now be optimal. The only other way I could see to save steps would be to: 1. to have the sleeper follow you out on the upper left chamber. less distance to walk out and back in. I dont belive this works because then I cant go in the clock pattern as I get shot deprived. 2. Do two of the chambers in combination with each other. Although a great idea, I tried several variations with no success. VERY close :( Edit: verified this again tonight 12/28/08 with a couple other variations Hurray! I do believe this secures sub 22:30
Player (57)
Joined: 8/15/2008
Posts: 34
Location: Sacramento, CA
Sorry about the triple post. Baxter must be on vacation...... or maybe sick of me finding improvements :P Made a 1 step, 16 frame improvement on 10-1 (Hey I was right about this level!) This solution is sick. Again, its not what you'd expect. Also I'll need your help Baxter on 10-4. I realized tonight that my realtime solution for this level MAY offer an improvement. It would only be like 4-8 frames. I'm just not that good at frame advance/slow mo. You guys know of a website that will host my fcm files?
Player (208)
Joined: 7/7/2006
Posts: 797
Location: US
DeHackEd's microstorage: http://dehacked.2y.net/microstorage.php If you were wondering, the .fm2 file Baxter made previously can only be played with FCEUX which is available somewhere in the FCEU forums. The site still accepts .fcm files as well though. Also, nice job on sub 22:30.
Skilled player (1399)
Joined: 5/31/2004
Posts: 1821
Zugzwang wrote:
Sorry about the triple post. Baxter must be on vacation...... or maybe sick of me finding improvements :P
Yeah, I was on vacation. It's great to hear about all of the improvements, I'll check them out shortly (probably tomorrow) when I have some time. Kirkq already linked to the best place to upload fcm's or other emulator movies. The fm2 files can be played with FCEUX, which (among all other TASing emulators) can be found here.
Player (57)
Joined: 8/15/2008
Posts: 34
Location: Sacramento, CA
Ok here they are. Dont look if you want to find yourself ;) 8-4 to chest in 110 http://dehacked.2y.net/microstorage.php/info/1642228105/AdvLolo-0.fm2 10-1 Sweet 1 step improvement http://dehacked.2y.net/microstorage.php/info/169987343/AdvLolo-18.fm2 10-2 improvement, 3.5 steps http://dehacked.2y.net/microstorage.php/info/510519170/AdvLolo-21.fm2 The fcms arent perfect I did them at 50% speed because its really late. Edit: My new Avatar, is the card my wife made for my birthday on the 28th :D
Player (57)
Joined: 8/15/2008
Posts: 34
Location: Sacramento, CA
After spending some time on level 10-3, I realized the only thing that keeps you from finishing the level quicker is the frequency of the Don medussa. (you have to finish the level in multiples of 64 frames - 4 steps) Since there isnt another solution that is an entire 4 steps improvement it should be impossible. I had found many ways to get to the rock break faster, but a few did not have the snake present in time to push. Then it came to me. What if I could use this to my advantage. The idea was simple enough: I had to make the level faster to the rock break, but the snake appear more slowly. If I can break the rock, then get inside the snake that will shave of 8 frames. This proved to be an extremely ridiculous task. After TWO WEEKS and a hundred variations I finally stumbled accross the key. This perfection is the result http://dehacked.2y.net/microstorage.php/info/1496106543/AdvLolo-2.fm2 10-3 in .5 steps less I really can't explain how satisfied I feel right now :D
Skilled player (1399)
Joined: 5/31/2004
Posts: 1821
Wow... the idea is simple indeed, but who would think of it? As you said, the level is very dependent on that don medusa, and it seemed it would be impossible to improve, given it would need to be an entire cycle faster. This was a very nice idea to improve the level anyway :D I'll bundle all of those improvements in one fm2 shortly, and have a look over a few levels again myself. You constantly keep surprising me... every improvement is so unexpected! :)
Skilled player (1399)
Joined: 5/31/2004
Posts: 1821
I completed the fm2 movie file, which includes all the latest improvements again: 9 levels improved by Zugzwang, and one by me. Note: 1 full step is 16 frames Level 3-1 46 frame improvement (Zugzwang) Level 3-2 43 frame improvement (Zugzwang) Level 6-1 16 frame improvement (Zugzwang) Level 6-3 7 frame improvement (Baxter) Level 8-4 112 frame improvement (Zugzwang) Level 8-5 138 frame improvement (Zugzwang) Level 9-3 41 frame impovement (Zugzwang) Level 10-1 16 frame impovement (Zugzwang) Level 10-2 64 frame impovement (Zugzwang) Level 10-3 8 frame impovement (Zugzwang) I said last time I was very lucky with the lengths of the black screens. This time, I was less lucky, and lost 2 frames due to those. In the end, this version is 182 frames faster than the previous improvements wip and 491 frames (a little over 8 seconds) faster than the published run. I'll check some levels again, and will submit this if no improvements have been found for a short while.
Skilled player (1633)
Joined: 11/15/2004
Posts: 2202
Location: Killjoy
Baxter wrote:
I said last time I was very lucky with the lengths of the black screens. This time, I was less lucky, and lost 2 frames due to those. In the end, this version is 182 frames faster than the previous improvements wip and 491 frames (a little over 8 seconds) faster than the published run. I'll check some levels again, and will submit this if no improvements have been found for a short while.
8 seconds? Wow. Way to kick ass in the one man frame war. Looking forward to submission. Congrats
Sage advice from a friend of Jim: So put your tinfoil hat back in the closet, open your eyes to the truth, and realize that the government is in fact causing austismal cancer with it's 9/11 fluoride vaccinations of your water supply.
Senior Moderator
Joined: 8/4/2005
Posts: 5769
Location: Away
Well, if 484 frames of a 491-frame improvement to an already tight movie were found by Zugzwang, I think it would only be fair to list him as a co-author, not?
Warp wrote:
Edit: I think I understand now: It's my avatar, isn't it? It makes me look angry.
Skilled player (1399)
Joined: 5/31/2004
Posts: 1821
moozooh wrote:
Well, if 484 frames of a 491-frame improvement to an already tight movie were found by Zugzwang, I think it would only be fair to list him as a co-author, not?
Yeah, I was thinking the same. I'll submit it listing both of us as authors.
Player (57)
Joined: 8/15/2008
Posts: 34
Location: Sacramento, CA
Ive been quiet for a few days because my son was born on 1-15-09. Carter Evan Pike (my wife wouldnt accept Lolo Evan Pike) Happy Day. :D Baxter: It certainly wasn't my intention to be a co-author but I would be honored. I've been playing when I get a chance and finally found the 8 frame improvement in 10-4 I had mentioned on the 28th. It might be a touch more or less than 8 frames. I dont know how to frame advance. It was my real time strat that helped with this improvement as I dont have to pause in the upper left corner. The difficult part was finding the pause in the upper right to time the Don Medussa. http://dehacked.2y.net/microstorage.php/info/1804779070/AdvLolo-6.fm2 I can now say I've improved 20% ;) EDIT: Thinking about it before falling asleep, I realized this improvement should be closer to 1 step maybe 14-16 frames
Skilled player (1399)
Joined: 5/31/2004
Posts: 1821
Zugzwang wrote:
Ive been quiet for a few days because my son was born on 1-15-09. Carter Evan Pike (my wife wouldnt accept Lolo Evan Pike) Happy Day. :D
Whoah, congrats man :D (I think your son will be happy he won't be called Lolo his entire life ;)
Zugzwang wrote:
It certainly wasn't my intention to be a co-author but I would be honored.
You more than deserve it. Seeing so many inventive improvements to a TAS that had been looked at over and over this many times is a great accomplishment.
Zugzwang wrote:
I've been playing when I get a chance and finally found the 8 frame improvement in 10-4 I had mentioned on the 28th. It might be a touch more or less than 8 frames. I dont know how to frame advance. It was my real time strat that helped with this improvement as I dont have to pause in the upper left corner. The difficult part was finding the pause in the upper right to time the Don Medussa. http://dehacked.2y.net/microstorage.php/info/1804779070/AdvLolo-6.fm2
Wow, very nice. I timed it, and it's actually 26 frames faster! It gave me a bit of inspiration to check out the level some more though, and I was able to improve your version by another 20 frames! It involves using the snake for the second time not at the top left, but at the bottom left. 10-4 is now 46 frames faster than the published run!! Here is the fm2. 9 levels improved by Zugzwang, and two by me. Note: 1 full step is 16 frames Level 3-1 46 frame improvement (Zugzwang) Level 3-2 43 frame improvement (Zugzwang) Level 6-1 16 frame improvement (Zugzwang) Level 6-3 7 frame improvement (Baxter) Level 8-4 112 frame improvement (Zugzwang) Level 8-5 138 frame improvement (Zugzwang) Level 9-3 41 frame impovement (Zugzwang) Level 10-1 16 frame impovement (Zugzwang) Level 10-2 64 frame impovement (Zugzwang) Level 10-3 8 frame impovement (Zugzwang) Level 10-4 46 frame improvement (Baxter)* *After Zugzwang improved it by 26 frames first. 537 frames (about 9 seconds) faster than the published run.
Player (57)
Joined: 8/15/2008
Posts: 34
Location: Sacramento, CA
Ouch! Nice
It gave me a bit of inspiration to check out the level some more though, and I was able to improve your version by another 20 frames! It involves using the snake for the second time not at the top left, but at the bottom left. 10-4 is now 46 frames faster than the published run!!
I got to work yesterday and realized I hadnt tried that option. I did know that going to the bottom was one step less, but when I got home couldnt find it. Im very anxious to see... Excellent :O !! I hadnt tried splitting the top left like that yet. I'm not sure I would have found that without another week of playing so my wife is very happy. :)
Player (57)
Joined: 8/15/2008
Posts: 34
Location: Sacramento, CA
Hey Baxter, I'm looking at one more viable improvement so if you want to hold off submiting for a little bit. If I cant find it in a few days perhaps everyone can help. I would say at this point there shouldnt be any more improvents over 8 frames. I can think of maybe four exeptions: 1. If you could avoid waiting so long in 1-3 (Nitrodon proved this is impossible) 2. Better optimization of pushing in 8-5 (I exuasted most alternatives) 3. 10-1 Having the skeletons run wild differently (I tried many other options) And the last..... ;) I wouldnt be surprised if there where a half dozen sub 8 frame improvements throughout. But the they are beyond my basic TAS ability. So this level will be my last possible improvement I Really mean it this time :)
Player (57)
Joined: 8/15/2008
Posts: 34
Location: Sacramento, CA
Found it! You improved my 8-4 so I improved your 6-3 Baxter. ;) HA This was the last level I was speaking of, and am glad to have found 4+ step improvement (about 69 frames) http://dehacked.2y.net/microstorage.php/info/34673982/AdvLolo-1.fm2 I aviod waiting to pickup the heart on the first pass, and then dont use the emerald at all to block the either medussa. Im really trying to keep my 20% :)
Skilled player (1399)
Joined: 5/31/2004
Posts: 1821
Wow, that's an awesome improvement. Very nice to skip that top block all together... very inventive, and another second of improvement is huge :D Btw, what do you mean by 20%? 20% of all the time saved since the first published Lolo movie?
Player (57)
Joined: 8/15/2008
Posts: 34
Location: Sacramento, CA
Thanks, it feels nice to set this game down. I finally have stretched each level to the best of my ability. The 20% is just the number of levels I've managed to improve in relationship to the entire game 10/50 :)
Player (20)
Joined: 10/14/2005
Posts: 317
Hi Zugzwang. I've watched as you've kept these Lolo discoveries coming since last year, but I haven't said much on this forum in a while. Just wanted to say you've done an amazing job. The Lolo 1 TAS had already been tested through the eyes of many players, but your tenacity and Lolo puzzle IQ pushed it beyond what we could have expected. Keep up the good work.
Player (57)
Joined: 8/15/2008
Posts: 34
Location: Sacramento, CA
Thank you for your kind words hanzou. I'm certain that my solutions would have been impossible to find without the solid effort of all the previous individuals involved. hanzou wrote:
Keep up the good work.
Hmm... It's as if you expect me to continue to find improvements ;)