Post by eternaljwh

Batman Begins is a platformer style game based on the movie. It was released in 2005, making this possibly the youngest game to receive a TAS submission.

TASing a game so new was quite an intriguing experience. There was no prior body of knowledge, no previous speed run record, or anything from which to research. This means I was exploring new ground the whole way. It was quit fun and rewarding :)

I chose this game because of the rich variety of moves, weapons, and attacks at Batman's disposal. So many possibilities should result in a great number of possible strategies in a TAS, making route planning very difficult, varied, and more interesting. It is also a nice combination of platformer action, beat em up style gameplay, and stealth. Along the way I also found a few nice glitches to greatly speed up the completion of the game.

Movements

Running - obviously useful for TAS purposes. This is the fastest movement
Double jumping - again, a no brainer
Gliding - once in the air you can hold the jump button to glide with Batman's cape.
Jump kick - useful as an attack but also as a means to increase forward motion or extend a jump.
Jump punch - another attack with useful movement benefits. If at full running speed, jump punching will retain full speed (716), it also can extend a jump further.
Duck Roll - useful for going under enemies or objects
Cartwheel - intended as a horizontal movement but can be taken advantage of when descending vertically because it quickly maxes out downward speed. (Laws of physics be damned!)

Attacks

Duck Roll attack - a powerful attack from a rolling position. Can do a good deal of damage.
Uppercut - slow but powerful.
Basic punch or kick - faster than the uppercut and less powerful, but sometimes the best strat
Sweep kick - relatively fast and often useful.
Head butt - Not used in this TAS

Weapons

Shuriken/Bat Star - used to stun people or hit switches. Also used for a rather power glitch...
Grappling hook - used to catch the ceiling and glide up. Rarely useful due to the shuriken glitch
Smoke bomb - Allows you to move without being seen. Very useful during stealth parts.
Stun bomb (best name I could come up with) - Stuns enemies, slow and not useful.

Basic optimization strategies

Running is the fastest movement at 716 speed.
Jumping retains previous speed, as well as gliding and jump punching.
Landing slows Batman down slightly, so landing should be minimized.
Jumping kicking is 512 speed.
- Jump kicking is always faster than non running speed. Useful when jumping up onto a ledge. As soon as your Y position is high enough, jump kicking will propel your horizontal motion quicker than simply landing on the ledge.
Rolling can retain 716 speed, but has a slow recovery time afterward.
Grabbing hooks, chandeliers, or ropes at the right spot causes a small amount of zipping as the game centers batman on them. This can be used to shave frames.

Stealth

Cops and (and Ninjas in the stealth part of level 2) cannot be harmed. If they see you, you die (well, get caught and have to restart). If they hear you, they also catch you. They hear footsteps when at running speed. However, if you press jump at the same frame as you begin to run, you can get in the air without making a footstep. This can be used to fly past many cops while still at max speeed, saving tons of time.

In other situations, the shuriken glitch can be used as well to avoid many cops. The smoke bomb is also used once in a situation where the ceiling is too low to get past the cop by any other means.

Glitches

What is a TAS without some good glitches?

Shuriken/bat star glitch - after you throw a shuriken/bat star while in the air, batman returns to standing position for 1 frame before the game registers him as falling. In this one frame window of opportunity, you can make another jump! This can be done as often as needed for infinite jumping! This has numerous applications throughout the run.

Going through walls - This is an extension of the shuriken glitch. With infinite jumping, you can get vertically into places the game programmers had decided could not be reached. It turns out any wall that extends past the top of the screen has no "ceiling". If you get over the edge of the wall, the game treats it as if you are in normal open space. This allows you free travel in the wall! This can only be done rarely however, since most areas have a ceiling. It can only be done "outdoors" where there is no roof connecting to the wall. This is done twice in this TAS to save a good chunk of time.