Submission #9136: DreamYao's NES Monster in My Pocket "2 players" in 13:39.55

Nintendo Entertainment System
2 players
FCEUX 2.2.3.3256
49254
60.0988138974405
143619
PowerOn
Monster in My Pocket (U) [!]
Submitted by DreamYao on 6/20/2024 11:26 AM
Submission Comments
I have improved the current publication by 2044 frames=34.06 seconds, with Lag1075 frames improved
I have highly optimized Lag in this TAS, and now it has been completed and become smoother. Please enjoy the entertainment performance of this game and its pleasant music!
This game is a two player game that I loved very much when I was a child, and it also has very beautiful music. Making a TAS for this game has always been in my plan. It's easy to say, but completing this TAS has also been a painful journey for me
I created this TAS on January 28, 2023, and the game has a lot of Lags. When I started making this TAS, the first enemy I encountered brought me a lot of Lags. So I tried to optimize it, but there were still so many Lags. Since then, I have stopped making this TAS. Unfortunately, I lost to the first enemy!At that time, this TAS only completed over a thousand frames
A while ago, I was about to delete this TAS when I played the movie again, which only had a frame rate of over a thousand. So, I tried again and finally got this TAS submission.Although there are still so many Lags, fortunately I have overcome various difficulties, and coupled with this being a two player game, optimizing Lags has become very difficult.
Gradually, I found some techniques for optimizing Lag. Usually, moving the buttons of two players simultaneously will bring more lag, so reducing button input can also effectively improve lag. Generally, stopping the button input of player 2 and allowing player 1 to continue moving forward can improve some lag without wasting time
You will see that a lot of use in this TAS has stopped the progress of player 2, which can also lead to a problem, that is, player 1's position will gradually approach the far right of the screen. When you play with two players, player 1's birth place will be at X position 161 on the screen. When you play with one player, his birth place will be at X position 128 on the screen. Therefore, when two players play, player 1's birth place will be closer to the finish line. When player 2 turns left and player 1 turns right, the screen cannot scroll, causing the X position of player 1's screen to exceed 161. The position of the endpoint for each level is different. For example, the optimal endpoint for the first level is triggered at X position 193. If player 1's X position exceeds 193, triggering the endpoint will not be the best way. Although stopping the movement of player 2 can effectively improve Lag, it is best not to let player 1's X position exceed 193, as the endpoint position of each level is different, so it depends on the situation of the endpoint position. Even in some places, a large amount of Lag is generated, so sometimes we have to make some trade-offs.Although I have highly optimized this TAS and mastered some techniques to improve Lag, there are still so many
Here's one thing I want to explain, let's take the first level as an example. For example, the optimal X position at the end of this level is 193, and when two players start the game, the X position of Player 1 is 161. As long as Player 1's X position does not exceed 193, it is considered an ideal state. From 161 to 193, we need to move 32 pixels forward. So, we can use these 32 pixels reasonably to make Player 2 stop moving and optimize Lag. This technique is very practical and effective. You can see that I have done many such things throughout TAS to optimize Lag. Since the first level, I have been trying my best to do this
In fact, the simplest and most effective optimization method is for one player to play the game, which will result in losing the advantage of the first player's place of birth when two players play the game. Therefore, if conditions permit, try not to let the second player appear on the screen or let the second player die. Therefore, you will often see the second player's death without reason in this TAS, which is the reason. Despite having so many techniques to optimize Lag, optimizing Lag is still quite difficult because there are so many Lags in this game that I hold a negative attitude towards future improvements, at least I don't have the idea of improving this game again.
improvement:
1-1:I use two player gameplay to gain the advantage of player 1's birth position and quickly make player 2 die to reduce lag. I found a small detail in this level at the "2279" frame rate, where there is a small acceleration on the slope of the bread
1-2:Running and jumping on a slope while continuously punching in the air, as long as you don't land, theoretically you can maintain your current movement speed infinitely. Even if you land, immediately jumping again and frantically punching can minimize the loss of speed. At first, I didn't know that this slope could maintain speed. When I was watching RTA racing, I noticed that RTA kept punching in the air. At that time, I was thinking about why there were so many Lags in this game and why he kept punching in the air, which would generate more Lags. So after trying it out, I realized that it would indeed generate more Lag and that it would keep the speed going, which was worth it
1-3:Better control of the time it takes for the boss to land in order to improve. Only when the boss is on the ground can it be judged as dead, so controlling the randomness of the boss is the most important. Due to the fact that the loading of the next level in a two player game will generate more Lags, I caused more Lags in this level
2-1:There's nothing to say about this level. Reduce a lot of lag and have player 2 reduce their health in advance to prepare for the next level
2-2: Let player 2 die as soon as possible in order to play single player games faster and reduce lag
2-3:Optimize the boss battle, but I always feel that this boss can be faster, but I have tried many times but have not been successful
3-1:Let player 2 fall off a cliff and briefly disappear to reduce lag
3-2:Kill enemies falling from the sewer to reduce lag
3-3:This boss will generate a lot of lag, and I have found a way to improve it because each boss has 28 frames of immune damage. Therefore, using this mechanism to launch attacks later can improve a little lag without losing time
4-1:I caused the death of player 2 in the previous battle in order to reduce lag in a single player game at this level. However, since the endpoint of this level is on the left, the birth point of the two player game cannot gain any advantage here. The current publication is not ideal for the player's X position in this level, resulting in losing a lot of time to adjust after jumping on the hook. This time, I solved this problem in a single player game with TAS. At the beginning of the game, when the barbed wire is "16283 frames", the slope can also accelerate, but due to the limitations on the player's X position caused by stepping on the hook, it is not possible to retain the long-term acceleration again.And optimized a large number of Lags
4-2:Reasonably utilizing the player's health status, causing the first player to die in the previous level, reviving the second player to maintain healthy health and optimizing Lag in the game(Since I discovered a small technique for taking damage in level 6-1 that can save some time, I can improve this level by 5 to 10 frames. I will explain it in level 6-1)
4-3:Add an attack before the boss escapes, and when he comes out again, he can reduce immune damage by 28 frames
5-1:This level has a lot of lag, and in order to optimize it well, I was trapped for several days in this level. There is also an acceleration ramp in "24574 frames", and although there are some limitations, I still managed to run on the ramp. I am surprised that the current publication has overlooked these details! Before entering the bamboo forest behind me, I managed to make Player 2 briefly disappear from the screen to reduce Lag, and when entering the bamboo forest, I made him die, reducing a large amount of Lag
5-2:I don't understand why the current publication needs to go to it to get screws, which can generate a lot of lag. The enemy health of this level is the highest, which is 2HP. Playing with two players is enough to kill enemies without losing time, so I didn't go to fetch screws and improved a lot of lag
5-3:This level doesn't seem to have much improvement, oh! By the way, 2 frames of lag
6-1:At the beginning of the game, at the location of the second dinosaur, it is worth noting that if you walk up a slope, the player will be slowed down, and only when you walk down will there be acceleration. I am trying to find a way to pass over dinosaurs without taking any damage, which is similar to "Batman". When you attack dinosaurs, there is a short period of time when the player will not be harmed, which allows me to maintain a healthy state and quickly pass through the ground spikes above my head, while also reducing lag by killing one player. In "30924 Frames", you will see that I discovered a method that can withstand damage without losing time. Since this method was only discovered by me on 6-1, I replayed the entire TAS where this method may have saved time. I observed that only 4-2 took damage, so this method can achieve an improvement of 5 to 10 frames in level 4-2. Thinking about the painful lag optimization in this game, I did not make any further improvements to level 4-2 because the lag in this game is really tiring. Finally, I also performed an entertainment performance at the end of the lift. I hope you will enjoy it!
6-2:I don't have much to say about this level, it's just about defeating the previously defeated boss again. However, this boss battle is different from previous battles because we always approach the boss as soon as possible and attack him. This battle saves some time by not having to actively approach the boss.
6-3:This is the last level of the entire game, and I managed to fly the attack launched by the boss's eyes towards the left side of the screen, because once the boss hits you or hits the ground, two 3HP enemies will appear, and there will also be a lot of lag generated. At the same time, I also try to increase the attack damage by 1 HP before the boss disappears. 

DrD2k9: Claiming for judging.
DrD2k9: Accepting as improvement over the the current publication.

despoa: Processing...
Last Edited by despoa 1 day ago
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