My name is Doug. I am 53 years old and probably closer to being a father to most of you. :P Even though I might be the oldest in this community, I certainly have a heart of youth...as gaming continues to be a focus of my entertainment all the way back to around 9 or 10 years old.
The Name
Something that is not openly talked about, by others who have aliases, is the fact of how names are taken on for an identity. I took on the name of NYMX during my college years (1991-1995). What 99.9% of people don't know, is that my alias before NYMX was SDA, which I took on during my early high-school years. So, how did I come up with NYMX? I was heavily involved with the Valdosta State University Jazz band, where I played a variety of saxophone positions for their Big Band. During my time with them, a guy by the name of E.J. presented a piece of music, during his senior recital, that he wrote called Nemx. I thought the name had flare and decided to take it up a level by removing the common vowel and replacing it with the non-commonly used "Y". This occurred in April 1994, shortly after Super Metroid was release. I find it strangely coincidental that I would become known by this name so closely to the release of one of my top favorites of all time.
Pre-TASing life
Because of my uncle, I was able to start my computer journey in the year 1984...when I was given a Commodore Vic-20. This turned my world upside down and I never quit since then. Additionally, he started me on a subscription of the famous Compute's Gazette!, where I waited each month for the magazine to be delivered to my mailbox. It was exciting to crack open that magazine and run back to my computer to type in games and learn new coding tricks. I eventually talked my parents into purchasing a Commodore 64, and finally a C128. Afterwards...my PC usage started, where I eventually ran across a new concept that blew me away. In 1997, I found an emulator for the Commodore 64 and couldn't contain myself. Over the next few years, I saw more and more emulators come into existence. Finally, I accidentally found out about TAS Videos late 2013, when looking up records for anybody speed-running Super Metroid. I was shocked to think that anybody could play so well, only to find out that it wasn't a person playing, but a script. My background in computing helped me to get started, especially when examining game code in ML/ASM to see what was going on underneath. My excitement increased when I found out that you can automate functions by using the embedded features for the lua environment.
Even though my first game choice never made a publication, I speak often about the experiences that my failed Super Metroid submissions gave me to tackle other games with high aggression. After having a run of successful submissions, I have sought out more aggression by including automation in my TASing. So basically, I have become a BOTer.
What excites me
I absolutely love a good puzzle, whether it is something physical like a Magic Cube, or coming up with an algorithm to automate a process...like BOTing. TASing has become one of my hobbies where it has completely satisfied my cravings for puzzle solving.
Future Submissions
As it currently stands, I have a number of games that I have BOTed. Instead of mentioning them all here, this list pertains to the ones that I got the most satisfaction.
- [4547] NES Tetris 2 by nymx in 37:35.82 This one was my very first BOTed submission and holds a special place in my accomplishments. Having spent over 2 years on this, the work certainly eclipses the unpopularity of this game...thus giving me enjoyment on how much time I squeezed out of it. the approach to solving this was a unique solution that hasn't been used on any other game. I may be wrong, but I feel this is solid enough that it should stand for a very long time.
- [4637] SNES F-Zero by nymx in 39:30.36 This will probably stand as the most popular game that I have BOTed. After learning the art of BOTing, with Tetris 2, I was finally able to get back to this game and do it justice. Crazy thing is...there is one more version coming. :) I think you'll be surprised.
- [4624] C64 Anarchy by nymx & DrD2k9 in 10:36.16 This one may have the biggest shock factor, as runners will never be able to get close to the times that DrD2k9 and myself achieved. Those "Yellow Blocks" were the key to blowing this out of the water.
- [5775] C64 Pegs "maximum score" by nymx in 00:25.54 This game certainly doesn't have any viewing excitement; however, the process of achieving the time makes me enjoy it more than normal. I am so satisfied with the outcome, that it puts it as one of my best efforts on the site.
- [5893] C64 The Frantic Fisherman "maximum score" by nymx in 2:13:41.72 I've always wanted to write a BOT that would play a game all by itsefl. Well, I did so and found that this game couldn't handle itself after a number of glitchy behaviors turned up. Basically, it finally crashed...which gave me the perfect completion to this seemingly endless game.
- [6302] C64 Scorpion II by nymx & DrD2k9 in 02:24.35 This is a special submission, where I finally mimicked the engine of a game within a C# coded BOT. Instead of waiting for the slow C64 core to response, I was able to get a fast solution from running my own engine.
So my push for future work will always be to automate inputs for the highest level of optimization possible.
I am currently working on a number of TASes in secret, but still will TAS some manually. This leaves my choice for TASing a game to be based on one of the following considerations below:
- Top priority...Can it be BOTed (Fully or Partially)
- If I can't figure out a BOTing algorithm, then do I like it enough to manually TAS it?
- Resorting to manual TASing helps to keep games, from my youth, high on my list...since I am curious as to the limitations of them.
Current Work
I have so many unfinished TASes, that I'm embarrassed to even mention.