Nach
I'm one of the Coders who browse and enjoy the content on this site.
I along with adelikat also happen to run this site.
I along with adelikat also happen to run this site.
Table of contents
Movies
What I look for in a movie
- Watchability. Does the player find something interesting to do during auto-scrolling levels? In [577] SNES Super Mario World "all 96 exits" by Fabian in 1:21:29.63, [1135] SNES Super Demo World: The Legend Continues "all 120 exits" by Chef_Stef in 2:08:01.68, and [1035] SNES Super Mario All-Stars: Super Mario Bros. 3 "playaround" by Genisto in 1:06:46.28 not only isn't auto-scrolling boring, the auto-scrolling levels are some of the most entertaining levels present in the runs. Does the player in general try to move in a more entertaining manner? Example: [1349] NES Super Mario Bros. "warpless" by HappyLee in 18:41.70's 6-2. The opposite of this would be TASing a game which makes a lot of annoying sounds or flashes a lot, see this rejected submission: #2809: Fladdermus's DS Point Blank DS "highest score" in 05:35.84.
- Superhuman. Is the player seemingly portraying superhuman reflexes, abilities, and precision? Examples: Jumping over piranha plants in 1-3 of [1607] GB Super Mario Land "hard mode" by MUGG in 12:14.77. Flying around in [711] NES Gradius by adelikat in 10:52.35.
- Innovation. Presenting some novel ideas which weren't present in previous movies. See how [901] NES Castlevania by Phil & Morrison in 11:20.50, [309] NES Super Mario Bros. 2 "warps" by Sleepz in 07:54.23, [1368] SNES Super Metroid by Taco & Kriole in 38:41.52 each added something new to the table compared to their predecessor runs for the same game. Each of their predecessors also added something new over their predecessors which normal players would never think of.
- Timing. Did the player set up something to have it complete exactly when it was needed? [1252] SNES Lemmings "best ending" by Lord_Tom in 1:03:04.45 is a great example of this. Various tasks are started by one Lemming, and completed the instant another Lemming requires it. Or see firing in the various Super Mario Bros runs (especially 3), where a shot is fired to hit an enemy exactly when it appears on screen.
- Items. Collecting and managing items with great precision and shock value. Were in your face items avoided? Were items hard to obtain collected without wasting time? Such as avoiding the coins over the pits in 8-1 of Super Mario Bros and collecting the four in a row coins in 4-1. If items are tallied at level end, are they thrown away before the level finishes? See [901] NES Castlevania by Phil & Morrison in 11:20.50 for a good example of this. How effectively did the player use the resources provided to them? Did they complete the level with exactly one energy bar left? Did they get just enough refills to match their exact need? See the various Mega Man runs (especially NES ones) for good examples.
- Quickness. Did the player avoid extraneous activities which added little value to the entertainment of the run? Did he employ techniques or items to increase his speed? See jump and slash for movement speedup in [33] NES Shadow of the Ninja (Europe) by Exim in 11:36.00, or using practically every item available for increasing horizontal movement in [809] SNES Mega Man X2 by FractalFusion & Graveworm in 31:42.45. Was movement in general optimized? Such as jumping just the amount required to reach a platform, or at just the right frame to optimally scroll vertically.
- Brains. Were the objectives and the route used to complete them well planned out? Did the route take into account that precision allows for doing things that otherwise would not be possible and use an impossible route? See the planning and execution that went into [868] NES The Legend of Zelda by Phil & Baxter in 24:04.05, [1462] GBC The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening DX by SwordlessLink in 1:00:02.68, and [1195] SNES Super Metroid "100%" by Cpadolf in 1:08:10.87.
These qualifications are what make up a superb TAS, and generally differ from just another movie of someone playing a video game. Not all of these are required, but the extent that they're featured is generally in proportion to how spectacular a TAS is. Things like exploiting glitches can be somewhat entertaining, but only contributes really well towards the TAS when the means used further the conformance to the above criteria.
Wish List
Movies that should be beaten
These movies were done a while ago, and I think new tools and more experience on the part of the players will allow these to be surpassed.
- Battletoads in Battlemaniacs
- Metal Slug X
Movies that I'd like to see beaten
These movies are quite excellent, but I think there's a small chance they can be surpassed and I'd like to see it.
- Castlevania
New movies I'd like to see
Some games that weren't done yet, but would look good.
- Bionic Commando - Elite Forces
- Command & Conquer 64
- Commander Keen in Goodbye Galaxy: Secret of the Oracle
- Dune II: The Building of a Dynasty
- Donkey Kong (DMG)
- Joy Mecha Fight
- Kirby's Dream Land 3
- The Legend of Kyrandia
- Mario Tennis (N64)
- Marvel Super Heroes Vs. Street Fighter
- Marvel Vs. Capcom
- Mega Man IV (DMG)
- Mega Man V (DMG)
- Mega Twins
- Metal Slug 2-5
- Nemesis (DMG)
- New Super Mario Bros. 3 (NDS)
- Paper Mario
- Powered Gear - Strategic Variant Armor Equipment
- Pulstar
- Raptor: Call of the Shadows
- Realms of Chaos
- Star Wars - Jedi Power Battles (AGB)
- The Second Reality Project 2 (SNES)
- TMNT (DMG)
- Torin's Passage
- Wacky Wheels
- Warcraft II: Tides of Darkness
- Warcraft II: Beyond the Dark Portal
- Wario Blast: Featuring Bomberman
DOS Games that have better Windows counterparts.
- Command & Conquer
- Command & Conquer: The Covert Operations
- Command & Conquer: Red Alert
- Command & Conquer: Red Alert: Counterstrike
- Command & Conquer: Red Alert: Aftermath
Old Favorites List
- Bionic Commando by Genisto in 14:06
- Castlevania by Phil & Genisto in 11:43
- Gradius by Morimoto in 14:12
- Mega Man by Bisqwit in 16:58
- Mega Man X1+2 by DeHackEd in 41:41
- Mega Man X2 by FractalFusion in 32:23
- Metroid Zero Mission by BoltR in 35:56
- Sonic Advance 2 by nitsuja in 18:45
- Super Demo World - TLC 1.1 by Fabian & JXQ in 2:13:18
- Super Mario Bros. by Phil & Genisto in 18:58
- Super Mario Bros. 2 by Phil in 07:54
- Super Mario Bros. 3 by Genisto in 10:35
- Super Mario Bros. 3 by JXQ in 48:29
- Super Mario World by flagitious & VIPer7 in 10:36
- Super Metroid by Terimakasih in 46:37
Favorite Quotes
<Dada_> Great, so you have perpetual energy--the holy grail that was said to be impossible to achieve and will undoubtedly save mankind's energy needs for all eternity and ends global warming, and you're using it to keep a backup scrimpy on ice in case you need him to make you a TAS?
<Nach> Dada_: exactly
<Nach> Dada_: exactly
About Me
I'm Nach, most well known for my program NSRT.