View Page Source

%%TOC%%

!! Glossary of terms

Normally glossaries go at the end, but it is important that basic TAS terminology is understood beforehand.  These are terms that will be used throughout this documentation.

! Bullet-proof rerecording

This is a term coined in the early development of rerecording techniques.  The term applies mainly to the concept of embedding movie data into savestate files.  This allows the user to load a savestate and restore the movie data (events) associated with that savestate.  This allows out of order savestating, multiple timelines, and eliminates problems of broken movies from the result of accidental savestate misuse.

! Event log

''see [LawsOfTAS/Glossary#Movie|Movie]''

! Frame

The shortest unit of time in a game.  This is generally each frame that the screen updates which on consoles is ~60fps (or ~50fps PAL).
! Input file

''see [LawsOfTAS/Glossary#Movie|Movie]''

! Input Frame

The amount of time between input polls by the game.  Some consoles/games poll input less than once per frame and some more than once. 

! Loadstate

The act of loading a savestate file.

! Movie

The ‘input file’.  This is the final product of a TAS project and what will be submitted and distributed.  It contains a header with relevant information & settings and all the input necessary to replay the movie on the emulator.  From the user standpoint, all the TAS work they do is simply a means to create this file as a finished product.

! Memory savestate

This is a savestate that is not saved to disk but resides completely in memory.

! Movie savestate

This is a special kind of savestate.  It contains both the "snapshot" of the game/machine state and all the input (events) required to get to that point.  In implementation terms it is a normal savestate with a movie embedded into it.

! Savestate

This is a "snapshot" of the game/machine.  It is file saved to disk.  This is a common implementation in emulators that allows the user to save their progress and reload.  It is a single moment in time of a game.  It is also used to mean the act of saving a savestate file to disk.

! Rerecording

The act of using movie recording (input/event logging) in conjunction with saving and loading savestate files.  This combination is the core requirement for a TAS movie.

! Rerecord count

This is a feature implemented in the earliest rerecording emulators and has become a traditional part of TAS movies.  This is a counter that increments anytime the user loads a state while in recording mode.  This can be thought of as the number of times the user truncated the input event log.

! TAS

Acronym for Tool-assisted Speedrun or Tool-assisted Superplay; refers to any movie that is Tool-assisted.

! Tool-assisted

A popular term used to distinguish from human input and input resulting from the use of rerecording and other tools.  Tool-assisted is now the definitive term for any movie that takes advantage of rerecording.