Active player (328)
Joined: 2/23/2005
Posts: 786
I had some theories for killing that cat. When you redo the level, check all the rooms on the way there, as well as his own room, for a fairy in a convenient position. If that doesn't work (takes 22 or more frames to manipulate), you could try to manipulate one on the way back to him. Also there is the possibility of getting a super-rare crystal in his room or the room beneath him after getting the key to kill him instantly. These are super-rare, though, and I still haven't succeeded in getting one. I have a feeling that the crystals might be disabled in his room. I did a quick search for the cat's HP and it looks like it is the left nibble of 0792. It also looks like all the enemy HP is stored in nibbles there in 079x. Edit: It looks like 0710 and 0711 could be the random number generator.
Skilled player (1828)
Joined: 4/20/2005
Posts: 2161
Location: Norrköping, Sweden
Okay, I've done the cat-room and the room after that now. I lost 8 frames on the cat-boss (I managed to squeeze out one more frame), and I saved 1 frame on the room after that. So now I'm just 7 frames behind. I'm going to bed now, but I'll post what I've done: Here's the WIP. I tried getting a fairy or a crystal, but these took way too long to manipulate. But after all, loosing only 8 frames on the catboss is a good deal. I'll see if I can do some more work tomorrow. Good night.
Active player (328)
Joined: 2/23/2005
Posts: 786
Looks good, no complaints here. Looks like your 8 frames were lost due to shot lag.
Skilled player (1828)
Joined: 4/20/2005
Posts: 2161
Location: Norrköping, Sweden
I think I need your help on the boss, CtrlAltDestroy. :P I've been trying to pull off the leave-early trick, without any luck. I've come pretty close, but I can't make Minnie stop and jump straight up as you make her. How do you do that anyway? In any case, could you please try to pull that trick off again? Here's the WIP. Good luck! :)
Active player (328)
Joined: 2/23/2005
Posts: 786
http://dehacked.2y.net/microstorage.php/info/4579/witch.fcm Here's the procedure: -Start walking, hold Up to make Minnie fall back and align herself under you. -When she's directly below you, release Up and she'll stand in place until she's the normal distance behind you. -BEFORE she starts following you again, jump. When you're in the air, release the Right arrow key (but you will keep going right). Minnie will jump in place. -A couple frames after getting onto the ladder, hit Left and Jump for one frame to make Minnie jump in place again.
Skilled player (1828)
Joined: 4/20/2005
Posts: 2161
Location: Norrköping, Sweden
Okay, thanks. I've got the first level done now. There's not much to mention since the part after the boss is very straightforward. I gained a few frames here and there due to better movement, but I also lost a few frames due to bad luck. Please take a look at this movie and tell me what you think. If you give me green light, I'll carry on with level two. One thing that should be mentioned, you'll probably see that I stop for 4 frames around frame 6200 before entering the next screen, to manipulate luck. This bugged me, but couldn't be helped, those enemies were just too much in my way and needed to get moved. :) Here's the WIP. Enjoy!
Active player (328)
Joined: 2/23/2005
Posts: 786
I can't believe I caught this, but frame 7467 is a lag frame which can be prevented by not shooting the rugs. Other than that, it looks great. Keep it up! I'm sure you're happy you're finally past the hardest level in the run.
Skilled player (1828)
Joined: 4/20/2005
Posts: 2161
Location: Norrköping, Sweden
Level two is done now. There shouldn't be anything to comment on on this stage, but I'll post it anyway: Here's the WIP.
Active player (328)
Joined: 2/23/2005
Posts: 786
Fairies may help destroy big laggy monsters quickly This was just a test, it does not claim to be perfect. :P
Skilled player (1828)
Joined: 4/20/2005
Posts: 2161
Location: Norrköping, Sweden
CtrlAltDestroy wrote:
By the way, I found another fairy that can be used to instant-kill the level 3 boss. It's hidden in a flower.
Where is this flower? I've only found one fairy, but it's too close to the beginning of the area, so it flew away before I could reach the boss. Could you perhaps post an .fcm showing where to get this fairy you're speaking of? EDIT: Nevermind, I found it. Now I just need to manipulate luck to actually get it too. :P Oh, I managed to get the fairy in the snow area in a different place, allowing me to instant kill both groups of bears. You'll see what I mean when watching the WIP. EDIT: Replaced with a .fcm that beats whole level 3. Here's the WIP. And as usual, if you spot anything, let me know. :) But I'm quite satisfied with the result.
Active player (328)
Joined: 2/23/2005
Posts: 786
I think the only problem I see is that my jump for the first fairy is atrocious. (I wasn't expecting it to be used in the TAS. :P) Here's an actual frame-optimized movie that shoots the fairy about half a second faster. http://dehacked.2y.net/microstorage.php/info/4614/mmSpring.fcm Sorry about that. At least this level is 10x easier than Fun House was. Edit: When manipulating the bears (or whatever they are), you can pause for a frame before they appear on-screen, but I also believe they react to your vertical position. So if you're in mid-jump as they appear on the screen, they'll act differently. I believe I once got an iteration of the first bears (when making the above movie) where they threw no rocks at all.
Skilled player (1828)
Joined: 4/20/2005
Posts: 2161
Location: Norrköping, Sweden
Thanks for the tips. Umm, I just found something pretty big... This is really awkward, but... Why are we playing the spring area? In our movie, we enter a door around frame 12800, leading to the spring area... But there is a door a but further up that goes directly to the autumn area, skipping the spring area (you'll see this in Fried's movie)... So we played an entire area too much. :D Well, at least this will cut off a lot of time. ;) Although it's necessary to play the spring level to get a fairy for the bears, it doesn't by far make up for the time spent running through the spring area. I'll have a new WIP up soon enough.
Active player (328)
Joined: 2/23/2005
Posts: 786
I totally forgot about that. Edit: This is really difficult to pull off, but I tried it and it works. There is a fairy in a tree in Summer on the way to the Autumn door, and if you shoot the door well, you can carry it into Autumn and kill the bears with it. Edit 2: I've played Summer and half of Autumn. (This time I was actually aiming for TAS-quality.) http://dehacked.2y.net/microstorage.php/info/4615/spliced-ctrl-mickey.fcm
Active player (328)
Joined: 2/23/2005
Posts: 786
(Posted again so that you'd see this) I fixed a small mistake in shooting open the door and manipulated the bears much better. http://dehacked.2y.net/microstorage.php/info/4616/spliced-ctrl-mickey.fcm
Skilled player (1828)
Joined: 4/20/2005
Posts: 2161
Location: Norrköping, Sweden
Nice, thanks. I did the bear-fight, and I think it went pretty well. I'll post it so you can take a look at it, perhaps you can manipulate it further: Here's the WIP I use'd the pause-trick here, to manipulate let the bears movement. You'll also see that I end the fight while on the ground, making me fire at the door a little sooner, which is nice. :)
Active player (328)
Joined: 2/23/2005
Posts: 786
30 frame improvement. http://dehacked.2y.net/microstorage.php/info/4620/spliced-ctrl-mickey.fcm I think I can get more, though, so let me keep trying. (BTW: I hate bird poop.) Edit: uploaded the correct movie.
Active player (328)
Joined: 2/23/2005
Posts: 786
...and 20 more frames come off from shooting the door faster. I think I'm satisfied with this part now. :) http://dehacked.2y.net/microstorage.php/info/4622/spliced-ctrl-mickey.fcm
Skilled player (1828)
Joined: 4/20/2005
Posts: 2161
Location: Norrköping, Sweden
Any luck improving it further? By the way, it looks like the movie you linked to is wrong. You linked to my .fcm that beats whole level 3, going through the spring area.
Active player (328)
Joined: 2/23/2005
Posts: 786
Yeah, I had some luck. :P By the way, it looks like the fairy in Winter ended up in a stupid place. It's right before the second group of bears. Perhaps that should be manipulated.
Skilled player (1828)
Joined: 4/20/2005
Posts: 2161
Location: Norrköping, Sweden
Aaaah, you fired at the bear before jumping over the hole! You sneaky bastard. ;) Manipulating the fairy's spawning location is usually pretty easy. I'll see what I can do about the winter level... The key would be to make the bears throw as few stones as possible, since it's that that cause all the lag... I think I'll do as I did now, do my best, post my progress, and see if you can improve it. :P EDIT: Okay, I've done the snow area now: http://dehacked.2y.net/microstorage.php/info/4623/spliced-ctrl-mickey.fcm I think it went well. Let me know if you manage to improve anything. :)
Active player (328)
Joined: 2/23/2005
Posts: 786
Looks great. That first bear fight was amazing. I have to leave now, so I'll do the testing on this tomorrow.
Active player (328)
Joined: 2/23/2005
Posts: 786
I was testing a playthrough of Winter, and I found a very interesting (but unfortunately useless) glitch: Offscreen Fairy Glitch This looks like it has the following effects: 1) Touching an enemy will hurt you, but your "invincibility after being hit" animation will be replaced with fairy invincibility: anything you touch will die. 2) The effect lasts forever until you enter a door. 3) When you enter a door, the fairy timer will reset and it will "fly away" after a certain point, so your invincibility won't kill anymore. However, the music and the graphics will remain incorrect. So as you can see, funny, but useless.
Skilled player (1828)
Joined: 4/20/2005
Posts: 2161
Location: Norrköping, Sweden
Wow, that is strange. If I understand correctly, whenever you get hit in the Winter area, you gain this invincibility animation for a few frames. During these frames enemies will die if they walk in to you. So instead of gaining the "you can walk through enemies for a few frames after getting hit" animation, you get the fairy effect for a few frames. In any case, a nice little glitch. Is this the case wherever you get hit in the Winter area? I'll be pretty busy today, so I don't think I can do any work on this until at least tomorrow. Were you able to improve the winter area (especially the bear fights) anything?
Active player (328)
Joined: 2/23/2005
Posts: 786
I can improve the winter area a little bit, but progress is slow. I've been grounded from the internet from home, so my work will be posted a little slower than normal. I think this is the last area I can help out with anyway, I'll leave the last two levels to you.
Active player (328)
Joined: 2/23/2005
Posts: 786
http://dehacked.2y.net/microstorage.php/info/4650/spliced-ctrl-mickey.fcm I saved 17 frames, but some parts are visibly worse than in your movie, so I'll keep trying a little bit more. Edit: I saved 4 more frames (WIP not posted) but I don't know what's going on, really. Your boss fights are clearly superior, I seem to have just eliminated some lag near the very beginning and end of the level. These bears seem harder to manipulate than the last ones. I'll give it one more shot...