Submission Text Full Submission Page Publication Page
Little Nemo is a fun platformer where you collect keys to unlock the door at the end of the level. You can transform into animals by feeding them with candy and then entering them. This is a 1 minute 30.07 seconds (5404 frames) improvement to the published run of this game. The improved time comes from new routes, getting killed to save time, subpixel optimization, lag reduction, better damage boosting, etc. See below for more details.
  • Emulator used: FCEU 0.98.28 (the submitted movie file is an .fm2 that synchs with FCEUX.)
  • Aims for fastest possible time.
  • Manipulates luck.
  • Takes damage to save time.
  • Uses death as a shortcut.
  • Genre: Platform

About the game

The goal in this game, at least on all levels except the last one, is to collect all the keys to unlock the door at the end of the level. To his help, Nemo can enteranimals by feeding them 3 candies. All animals have their own strenghts and weaknesses which will become apparent when watching the run. You have a health bar at the bottom right corner of the screen, and your maximal health changes depending on what animal form you're in.
You can only fly for 3 seconds as the bee, then you have to land. That's why I land every now and then as the bee.

General strategy and tricks

Avoiding conversation with animal at the start of level

This trick was discovered by Kyrsimys and is used in the published run. By jumping constantly the conversation never triggers, because you need to stand on the ground for 2 frames for it to take place, and by jumping as soon as I land, I avoid triggering it.

Use death as a shortcut

This trick was discovered by Guybrush. By killing myself in level 2, I respawn at a convenient place, saving some time. I have not found any other place where this trick can be used.

Acceleration trick

This trick is used thoughout the whole run. Basically, I oscillating my movement speed, increasing my average movement speed. This is done by pressing right every fifth frame instead of holding down right when moving. Another way to achieve the same movement speed is by pressing left,right,left,right, wobbling your way forward. this will increase my average movement speed from by an additional 16 subpixels per frame, which adds up to quite a lot at the end.
In the example below, if I say that my speed is X it means 16*x subpixels per frame. The reason for this is because you only move in 16 subpixel intervalls. So if I say that my speed is 18, it's actually 18*16 = 288 subpixels per frame.
An example: Nemo's normal speed is 18. The game will calculate if it should increase speed by reasoning like this: When right is held down, if your speed is >=18 then set speed to 18, else increase speed by 4. If I release right when moving at top speed in air, my speed will be decrease to 17. Now, if I press right again, my speed will increase to 21. I now release right, which causes my speed to decrease by 1 per frame. The I repeat this procedure, making my movement pattern look like this: 17-21-20-19-18-17-21-20-19-18-17-..., giving me an average speed of 19, 1 higher than your normal top speed.
The same works for all your other forms. This trick makes the game tedious to TAS, but the saved subpixels add up.

Optimizing subpixels before landing

This trick is only usuable with Nemo. When Nemo lands, his speed is set to 0. By making sure that my speed is 21 or 20 right before I land, I optimize subpixels slightly. It does not save many subpixels with each use, but since Nemo tends to jump quite a lot, it adds up.

Maintaining speed after landing

This trick can be used with the gorilla, the rat and the lizard. When you land after a jump with any of these, you will maintain the speed you had right before you land for 4 frames. So by oscillating my speed in a way such that I have top speed right before I land, I gain some subpixels.

Damage boosting

When you take a hit, your speed is increased to a value that is higher than you can achieve normally, even with the acceleration trick. This means that damage boosting is often very useful in this game. Damage boosting does not save any time when you're in lizard form or in frog form under water.

Throwing candy when jumping out of the water

You'll often see me throwing candy when making a jump out of the water. This is because if you throw a candy at the same time as you jump out of the water, you'll get maximum speed upwards. Sometimes you'll get that speed anyway, but it's not certain if you don't throw a candy at the same time.

Mainting speed and position after transforming to animal

When you transform into an animal, both your X and Y speed and positions are saved. So if you want to move right after entering an animal, you want to enter the animal with a speed to the right, as well as try and hit the animal's hit box on the rightmost part.
It also goes the other way around - when transforming back into Nemo, you keep your X and Y speed. And since some animals can get a much higher Y speed than Nemo can, I can get a speed boost right after turning back to Nemo.

Improvements

I had not only the published run to compare to, but a WIP by Guybrush that ends after level 4, and a full run by max that was rejected. By having 3 runs to compare to, I could make sure that I didn't lose any time anywhere.
Besides all these tricks, the published run has been improved by reducing lag and cutting corners better, as well as some general optimized movements. Below I will provide comments for each level ("frames saved" refer to frames saved over the published run):

Dream 1 - Mushroom forest: 182 frames (3.03 sec) saved

  • Jumping up the first two mushrooms is faster than running.
  • After picking up the key above the big mushroom, keeping the frog form is faster than transforming back to Nemo, at least when using the movement trick. (I did some testing and it turns out that it's 4 frames faster to keep the frog)

Dream 2 - Flower garden: 626 frames (10.43 sec) saved

  • When climbing up the tree as the gorilla, max climbed the right side of the tree, while I (and Guybrush) climbed the left side. Climbing the left side is actually faster, even if it might not look like it. (I tested this too, and it's at least 35 frames faster than climbing the right side of the tree)
  • I use the death trick on this level (see above), so the death is not a desynch! :)

Dream 3 - House of Toys: 37 frames (0.62 sec) saved

  • This is an autoscroller, so not much time saved here. I saved time by reducing lag and reaching the train a little faster. I hope you liked my antics on this level!

Dream 4 - Night sea: 312 frames (5.20 sec) saved

  • Just like in max's rejected run, I enter the snail at the beginning of the level and move under the boat, in the sand. This neat trick saved about 150 frames!

Dream 5 - Nemo's House: 1088 frames (18.13 sec) saved

  • Picking up the first key with the frog instead of the bee (see around frame 30600). This is because the frog moves slightly faster than the bee, and I'm right next to that corridor anyway with the frog, so it's no detour at all. With the bee, picking up this key is a slight detour. This trick saved about 150 frames or so.
  • In the cellar, I keep the frog form right until I'm next to the bee (the frog moves faster than Nemo), and then use the bee to take the key instead of using the lizard. This strategy saved around 520 frames.
  • Around frame 38300, I use a strategy that max used in his run: By manipulating the enemy's position, I can do a damage boost on him, instead of stopping for some time like in the published run. This forced me to conserve one more point of HP, but it still made up for it.

Dream 6 - Cloud ruins: 122 frames (2.03 sec) saved

  • This level is mostly an autoscroller so not much time saved here. After the screen has stopped scrolling up, you have to be on the left part of the screen for it to start scrolling to the right again, that's why I don't puch against the right side of the screen after the autoscrolling parts.

Dream 7 - Topsy Turvy: 500 frames (8.33 sec) saved

  • I take the frog before getting the first key, and then take the key with the frog. This is about 1 second faster.
  • Just like max, I don't enter the first bee, but keep the frog. This saves some time, because I don't really need the bee at this part of the level.
  • I keep the rat a bit longer, because the rat moves faster than Nemo.

Dream 8 - Nightmare land (part 1): 500 frames (8.33 sec) saved

  • I take less damage and jump from the tree sooner (around frame 65900).
  • The boss is killed considerably faster than in the published run, which makes up for most of the time saved.

Dream 8 - Nightmare land (part 2): 952 frames (15.87 sec) saved

  • I don't enter the frog but keep the lizard form, like max does in his run. This is faster, and the spike roof on the second part of the level can't hurt you when you're in the lizard form.
  • I have to turn back to Nemo at the end of the level because the lizard dies if he hits water.
  • The boss is killed considerably faster than the in published run.

Dream 9 - Nightmare land (part 3): 1056 frames (17.60 sec) saved

  • The boss is killed considerably faster than in the published run.

Thanks to:

  • Kyrsimys for his published run.
  • max12187566 for his run.
  • Guybrush for his WIP.
  • All who encouraged me in the forum thread.
Enjoy!
mmbossman: A worthy replacement to the published run. Accepting.
OmnipotentEntity: Encoding.

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Posted: 9/25/2009 11:21 AM
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TASVideoAgent
They/Them
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This topic is for the purpose of discussing #2408: Randil's NES Little Nemo: The Dream Master in 22:06.95
Posted: 9/25/2009 11:56 AM
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Kyrsimys
Former player
Joined: 4/16/2004
Posts: 1286
Location: Finland
Totally awesome run, thanks for doing it! There were so many moments that just made me go "duh!" and give myself a palm in the face. Can you explain a little about how the beam weapon works? Is there a certain amount of frames you should keep the button pressed or does it somehow change depending on the situation? Why is it not a good idea to fully charge it?
Posted: 9/25/2009 12:04 PM
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Randil
Skilled player (1885)
Joined: 4/20/2005
Posts: 2160
Location: Norrköping, Sweden
Kyrsimys wrote:
Totally awesome run, thanks for doing it! There were so many moments that just made me go "duh!" and give myself a palm in the face. Can you explain a little about how the beam weapon works? Is there a certain amount of frames you should keep the button pressed or does it somehow change depending on the situation? Why is it not a good idea to fully charge it?
Thanks! The beam weapon works like this: RAM address $0091 tells you how charged your staff is. Basically, it increases by 1 for each frame you charge it. Its maximum charge is 96. It deals maximum damage, 5, when its charge is 64 or higher, so you don't need to charge it all the way up - just release the shot when $0091 is 64 and you'll deal max damage. Boss HP are stored at $05D2 (Boss 1 and 2) and $05D3 (last boss)
My own page on this site.
Posted: 9/25/2009 2:09 PM
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p0rtal_0f_rain
Banned User
Joined: 12/5/2007
Posts: 742
Location: Gone
Another yes vote. I still need to get the ROM but I already know what to expect from an improved attempt!
Posted: 9/25/2009 10:43 PM
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max12187566
Former player
Joined: 8/22/2007
Posts: 36
Location: CHINA
oh,very nice!!! You take my ideas in some place,and some improvements to be well.
Posted: 9/25/2009 10:49 PM
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Baxter
Skilled player (1402)
Joined: 5/31/2004
Posts: 1821
TAS of 2013 SNES TAS of 2013 Speedy TAS of 2007 Innovative TAS of 2007
Nice run. I like the music in level 1 and 2 :)
http://tasvideos.org/Baxter.html
Posted: 9/26/2009 7:08 AM
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J.Y
Skilled player (1153)
Joined: 5/24/2008
Posts: 81
NES TAS of 2022 Homebrew TAS of 2022
Nice run. I like the game and the music... Max12187566's work has many little wrong... You finished a very good work... A yes vote from me...
Posted: 9/26/2009 10:46 AM
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HappyLee
Expert player (2452)
Joined: 12/23/2007
Posts: 822
NES TASer of 2012
Very nice, I'd like to see someone publishs this one.
Recent projects: SMB warpless TAS (2018), SMB warpless walkathon (2019), SMB something never done before (2019), Extra Mario Bros. (best ending) (2020).
Posted: 9/26/2009 1:51 PM
Post subject: Re: #2408: Randil's NES Little Nemo - The Dream Master in 22:06.95
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4matsy
Joined: 4/25/2004
Posts: 498
Submission text wrote:
You can transform into animals by feeding them with candy and then entering them.
... I HAVE CANDY GET IN THE VAN :D *runs*
Posted: 9/27/2009 2:19 AM
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mklip2001
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Editor
Joined: 6/23/2009
Posts: 2224
Location: Georgia, USA
Oh man. This is the first chance I've had to actually watch this run while being well-rested enough to pay close attention. This is really awesome. I'm glad to see that the tricks from max12187566's run made it in. Some random comments:
  • It's amazing how the climbing techniques made it faster to use the gorilla in Stage 2. I will miss the gorilla skip from the published run, though.
  • Loved the playaround with the dropping spikes in Stage 3 and in Nightmare Land part 2. Also, great pose at the end of the manta fight in Nightmare Land part 2, and that would make a cool screenshot.
  • You fly higher with the bee than I remember being possible on controller, especially in Stage 5 and in Nightmare Land part 3. How does bee flight work? Is it just that 3 seconds after you start pressing A to fly up, you can't gain height anymore, or is there some maximum number of times you can press A before starting to fall?
  • On a related note, I know the published run skips using the lizard in Stage 6 as well, but that still blows my mind. Hooray for barely circumventing the barriers that the programmers thought were absolute!
  • In Nightmare Land part 1, you take a hit off a little frog near the beginning and then have to wait for the flame jets later. You end that part with two health points left, and your health gets refilled after the penguin boss. Why not take damage on both the frog and the flames to save some time?
Regardless of all of this, hearty Yes vote. Oh, and p0rtal_0f_rain, this ROM shouldn't be too bad to find. I can't say more about how to get it, of course, but you should totally check it out, rather than voting Yes on a run you haven't actually checked out for yourself.
Used to be a frequent submissions commenter. My new computer has had some issues running emulators, so I've been here more sporadically. Still haven't gotten around to actually TASing yet... I was going to improve Kid Dracula for GB. It seems I was beaten to it, though, with a recent awesome run by Hetfield90 and StarvinStruthers. (http://tasvideos.org/2928M.html.) Thanks to goofydylan8 for running Gargoyle's Quest 2 because I mentioned the game! (http://tasvideos.org/2001M.html) Thanks to feos and MESHUGGAH for taking up runs of Duck Tales 2 because of my old signature! Thanks also to Samsara for finishing a Treasure Master run. From the submission comments:
Shoutouts and thanks to mklip2001 for arguably being the nicest and most supportive person on the forums.
Posted: 9/27/2009 1:42 PM
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Randil
Skilled player (1885)
Joined: 4/20/2005
Posts: 2160
Location: Norrköping, Sweden
mklip2001 wrote:
In Nightmare Land part 1, you take a hit off a little frog near the beginning and then have to wait for the flame jets later. You end that part with two health points left, and your health gets refilled after the penguin boss. Why not take damage on both the frog and the flames to save some time?
Getting hit by the flame jets here would make me fly back (to the left) after taking a hit, and this would be slower than to stop for a few frames for the flames to withdraw. Thank you for the compliments and the yes vote. :)
4matsy wrote:
Submission text wrote:
You can transform into animals by feeding them with candy and then entering them.
... I HAVE CANDY GET IN THE VAN :D *runs*
I was actually wondering when someones would notice my deliberate choise of words here. ;)
mklip2001 wrote:
You fly higher with the bee than I remember being possible on controller, especially in Stage 5 and in Nightmare Land part 3. How does bee flight work? Is it just that 3 seconds after you start pressing A to fly up, you can't gain height anymore, or is there some maximum number of times you can press A before starting to fall?
It's the former. When you lift from the ground, a 180 frame timer starts, and while this is >0, you can fly upwards by pressing A. When it hits 0, you fall to the ground. Pressing A sets your Y speed to maximum upwards speed, so the fastest way to fly upwards as the bee is to press A every other frame.
My own page on this site.
Posted: 9/27/2009 1:59 PM
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Brushy
Former player
Joined: 11/13/2005
Posts: 1587
Yay! Go Randil go! Awesome, yay! I even managed be helpful, yay (although I really suck at TASing)!
Posted: 10/2/2009 4:30 PM
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Dooty
Expert player (2581)
Joined: 6/2/2009
Posts: 1182
Location: Teresópolis - Rio de Janeiro - Brazil
Sega TASer of 2013 SNES TASer of 2012 SNES TASer of 2010
Two words for this run: Yes.
I am old enough to know better, but not enough to do it.
Posted: 10/2/2009 4:34 PM
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mklip2001
He/Him
Editor
Joined: 6/23/2009
Posts: 2224
Location: Georgia, USA
Dooty wrote:
Two words for this run: Yes.
Is this run so good that "Yes" gets counted as two words these days? ;-) (Not trying to be mean... I like the run too.) Also, any TAS of this game makes me wish I could mash buttons effectively to fly better as the bee. Just saying. The mouse skip in Nightmare Land 3 still blows my mind, even though it was already in the published run.
Used to be a frequent submissions commenter. My new computer has had some issues running emulators, so I've been here more sporadically. Still haven't gotten around to actually TASing yet... I was going to improve Kid Dracula for GB. It seems I was beaten to it, though, with a recent awesome run by Hetfield90 and StarvinStruthers. (http://tasvideos.org/2928M.html.) Thanks to goofydylan8 for running Gargoyle's Quest 2 because I mentioned the game! (http://tasvideos.org/2001M.html) Thanks to feos and MESHUGGAH for taking up runs of Duck Tales 2 because of my old signature! Thanks also to Samsara for finishing a Treasure Master run. From the submission comments:
Shoutouts and thanks to mklip2001 for arguably being the nicest and most supportive person on the forums.
Posted: 10/2/2009 11:21 PM
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upthorn
He/Him
Emulator Coder, Active player (388)
Joined: 3/24/2006
Posts: 1802
Sega TAS of 2011 Sega TAS of 2010 Sega TAS of 2008 Sega TASer of 2007
It seems like every time this TAS gets improved, half the levels of the game are replaced with new ones that I have no memory of from watching prior versions, or playing the game as a child. Except for the train level.
How fleeting are all human passions compared with the massive continuity of ducks.
Posted: 10/27/2009 6:31 PM
Post subject: Movie published
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TASVideoAgent
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This movie has been published. The posts before this message apply to the submission, and posts after this message apply to the published movie. ---- [1372] NES Little Nemo: The Dream Master by Randil in 22:06.95
Posted: 10/27/2009 7:15 PM
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Randil
Skilled player (1885)
Joined: 4/20/2005
Posts: 2160
Location: Norrköping, Sweden
Thanks for encoding and publishing. I like the screenshot, their facial expressions are priceless. :)
My own page on this site.
Posted: 10/28/2009 11:39 PM
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clip29
Joined: 7/8/2009
Posts: 43
Location: Catalonia
nice run, i never imagined that it was possible to finish the game faster of course vote YES
Posted: 10/31/2009 8:35 AM
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L337
Joined: 12/25/2007
Posts: 86
Location: Muhos, Finland
whats up w/ dailymotion upload? It stops at Topsy Turvy :(
<small>Big signature cleared by admin; read <A>forum rules</a>.</small> <small>-Me:..and big sig. was just small picure(two row's), It dont even lag my 3660's web browser >_></small>
Posted: 10/31/2009 9:02 AM
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Flygon
Joined: 11/4/2007
Posts: 1772
Location: Australia, Victoria
It is separated into two parts, doesn't DM advise you to go to the next video in the last minute? If not, then the uploader will really need to fix that.
Posted: 10/31/2009 9:03 AM
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Randil
Skilled player (1885)
Joined: 4/20/2005
Posts: 2160
Location: Norrköping, Sweden
It's split into 2 parts. The second part is here: http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xay5vv_nes-little-nemo-the-dream-master-in_videogames Perhaps this link should be added to the Daily Motion movie description for part 1?
My own page on this site.