Posted: 10/24/2004 5:59 AM
Post subject: Darkman
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Josh_the_FunkDOC
Former player
Joined: 3/13/2004
Posts: 706
Location: Elyria/Oberlin, OH
Hmm, just started playing this not too long ago. I remember reading about it in Nintendo Power way back in the day and thinking it sounded really neat. From my experience, the ideas are indeed neat but the game is just too damned hard to control. What makes this interesting for a timeattack, though, is the Maximum Retard Velocity which Darkman reaches in about a second or two. This, combined with his tendency to fall off platforms sooner than you'd think, is what makes the game frustrating in real time. In a timeattack, though, this speed can make for quality entertainment. I made a quickie test run, completing level 1 in 1:10 (4190 frames). There's likely still room for improvement, as I was just figuring out some of the game's advanced properties. Enemies are EXTREMELY difficult to avoid completely, as you need to jump over them and still have a lot of room to spare before you land. And there are these red capsules which contain health potions but also kill you if you touch them before they release said potions...I have to do a lot of waiting for these things in my current movie. Oh yeah, and when you walk on ropes you have to alternate pressing A and B to balance yourself. You move at Regular Velocity while on the ropes, but in at least one case they're better to use than the floor below them. -Josh
but then you take my 75 perchance chance of winning, if we was to go one-on-one, and then add 66 and two-thirds ch...percents...i got a 141 and two-thirds chance of winning at sacrifice
Posted: 10/24/2004 8:26 AM
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Walker_Boh
Former player
Joined: 4/16/2004
Posts: 1276
Location: Uppsala, Sweden
I think I played this game back in the days.. From my memory it is one of the most boring, worthless and boring games ever! It is the game with this mummy, right? (Ok he was in a fire accident I think) If you decide to do this I hope you find something really cool but else im not that eager to see this run =/ Edit: It was that game. If you decide to make it I wish you good luck!
/Walker Boh
Posted: 10/24/2004 9:47 AM
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Highness
Player (71)
Joined: 8/24/2004
Posts: 2562
Location: Sweden
I have only played it through the first level I think. The game sucked and it was very hard. How ever I would like to see a run of it knowing that it is a very hard game to complete. Good luck!
Posted: 10/25/2004 5:20 PM
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MahaTmA
Joined: 3/8/2004
Posts: 185
Location: Denmark
Opinions seconded (Remember this getting like 26% in a computer mag back in the amiga days.) Good luck on staying awake during the run.
"We observe the behaviour of simple folk, and derive pleasure from their defects." -Aristotle - Book of Humour
Posted: 10/26/2004 2:48 AM
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Josh_the_FunkDOC
Former player
Joined: 3/13/2004
Posts: 706
Location: Elyria/Oberlin, OH
Going good so far, redid the first level and shaved off 2 seconds. Figured out that if you touch the red capsules at a certain point, in a certain way, they won't kill you. Also, it's important to avoid the blue health potions whenever you can; they're tallied up at the end of each stage. Grabbing one doesn't hurt anything, but each one after that takes about 15-16 frames to count. Here's my plan for the photography stages: Use up my film as quickly as possible, while still getting snapshots of the bad guy when I can. This is the quickest way to end the stage, and it still looks at least somewhat skillful. From my experience it doesn't seem to make a difference whether your mask is rated "Poor" or higher, so that's not an issue. EDIT: Yes, I'm concentrating on this now. Monster Party will take a lot longer to do than this, so that one will come later. -Josh
but then you take my 75 perchance chance of winning, if we was to go one-on-one, and then add 66 and two-thirds ch...percents...i got a 141 and two-thirds chance of winning at sacrifice
Posted: 10/26/2004 3:14 AM
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Josh_the_FunkDOC
Former player
Joined: 3/13/2004
Posts: 706
Location: Elyria/Oberlin, OH
Just completed first photography stage. As I'm about to start level 2, the time is 1:39. -Josh
but then you take my 75 perchance chance of winning, if we was to go one-on-one, and then add 66 and two-thirds ch...percents...i got a 141 and two-thirds chance of winning at sacrifice
Posted: 10/26/2004 4:50 AM
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Josh_the_FunkDOC
Former player
Joined: 3/13/2004
Posts: 706
Location: Elyria/Oberlin, OH
At the start of level 3, the time is 4:09. Those stages where you're hanging from a rope are pretty damned long and boring, but the cool thing about them is that you can grab health potions without any fear of time penalty. The boss fights are very, very lame. Just wanted to mention that. Oh yeah, and some of the sound effects from this game would later be recycled in the NES Addams Family game. -Josh
but then you take my 75 perchance chance of winning, if we was to go one-on-one, and then add 66 and two-thirds ch...percents...i got a 141 and two-thirds chance of winning at sacrifice
Posted: 10/26/2004 6:43 AM
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Josh_the_FunkDOC
Former player
Joined: 3/13/2004
Posts: 706
Location: Elyria/Oberlin, OH
5:45 at the start of level 4. Jeebus this game is stupid...I thought the speed would make it interesting, but you hardly ever get to use it! No way I'm submitting my movie to this site, it's too boring. However, I will finish it and give it to Nintendorecords. Already only two more levels to go, this may be under 10 minutes... -Josh
but then you take my 75 perchance chance of winning, if we was to go one-on-one, and then add 66 and two-thirds ch...percents...i got a 141 and two-thirds chance of winning at sacrifice
Posted: 10/26/2004 5:51 PM
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Josh_the_FunkDOC
Former player
Joined: 3/13/2004
Posts: 706
Location: Elyria/Oberlin, OH
Time of 7:58 at the start of the last level. Level 4 was fun, surprisingly. Your guy jumps really high here, so you get to use your speed a lot finally. If the whole game were like this it actually might be entertaining... -Josh
but then you take my 75 perchance chance of winning, if we was to go one-on-one, and then add 66 and two-thirds ch...percents...i got a 141 and two-thirds chance of winning at sacrifice
Posted: 10/26/2004 5:59 PM
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Walker_Boh
Former player
Joined: 4/16/2004
Posts: 1276
Location: Uppsala, Sweden
Nice try anyways man. This is one of the worse games I've played unfortunately.
/Walker Boh
Posted: 10/26/2004 8:06 PM
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Josh_the_FunkDOC
Former player
Joined: 3/13/2004
Posts: 706
Location: Elyria/Oberlin, OH
Done with a time of 9:54 and e-mailed to ziplock. Last level's pretty boring, though at least they used the best music for the last two stages. -Josh
but then you take my 75 perchance chance of winning, if we was to go one-on-one, and then add 66 and two-thirds ch...percents...i got a 141 and two-thirds chance of winning at sacrifice
Posted: 4/28/2006 5:51 PM
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Diman
Player (58)
Joined: 6/15/2005
Posts: 312
Location: Sweden
Here is a WIP. Feel free to take it. 2 levels http://dehacked.2y.net/microstorage.php/info/1083/Diman-Darkman.fcm
Posted: 4/28/2006 5:56 PM
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Phil
Active player (411)
Joined: 3/16/2004
Posts: 2623
Location: America, Québec
Diman: Why are you doing many games ? We already have our Walkerboh. We don,t want another one. Do one game, analyze it and work on it. If needed, take weeks. Seriously, I will instantly reject your submission if I notice too evident flaws like the SMB2 peach run.
Posted: 12/16/2006 10:50 AM
Post subject: Darkman
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Andrey
Joined: 12/16/2006
Posts: 4
Location: Moscow, Russia
Hi there! I've just completed some levels of this game and I need to know: should I continue? I'm not a very experienced player, but anyway... Check it (FCEU 0.98.16, Darkman (U) ROM. Click on the link when asked.)
Posted: 12/16/2006 2:59 PM
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Maximus
Emulator Coder, Former player
Joined: 10/2/2005
Posts: 563
Location: Toronto, Ontario
In the level where you're basically just shooting guys through a window, is there a goal or pattern or something? The run looks pretty good, but you should try to avoid anything that's going to slow down your character's movement (ie. fighting, since kicks/punches are slow).
TAS Movie Editor v0-12-1 http://sourceforge.net/projects/tas-editor
Posted: 12/16/2006 6:53 PM
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Andrey
Joined: 12/16/2006
Posts: 4
Location: Moscow, Russia
Well, the number of taken photos will make a better mask and... as a result, will give you more time in each level. Now I'm thinking - is it better to get a poor result for mask and save some frames at the end of a level (I mean the time countdown for score)? But then I should just do nothing in the level when I "basically just shooting guys through a window"... And this is boring.
but you should try to avoid anything that's going to slow down your character's movement (ie. fighting, since kicks/punches are slow).
Oh... I'll try to find some method how to avoid fighting, but the game has a very strange collision detection. And those annoying red balls - if you touch them before they break, the character will fall down. So, I need some time to jump over them. Huh... =)
Posted: 12/16/2006 9:23 PM
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Josh_the_FunkDOC
Former player
Joined: 3/13/2004
Posts: 706
Location: Elyria/Oberlin, OH
I made a preliminary TAS of this game myself, a long time ago. Definitely try to avoid fighting! And you never need a good mask. As such, in the bonus stages, keep taking pictures as fast as you can, and also try to get hit as often as possible. These things make the timer count down faster. Good luck, Josh.
but then you take my 75 perchance chance of winning, if we was to go one-on-one, and then add 66 and two-thirds ch...percents...i got a 141 and two-thirds chance of winning at sacrifice
Posted: 12/17/2006 10:24 AM
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Andrey
Joined: 12/16/2006
Posts: 4
Location: Moscow, Russia
Josh the FunkDOC wrote:
And you never need a good mask. As such, in the bonus stages, keep taking pictures as fast as you can, and also try to get hit as often as possible. These things make the timer count down faster.
Understood. And what technique did you use to avoid fighting? I didn't find a way to do this... =( But I'll keep trying, anyway.
Posted: 12/17/2006 7:45 PM
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Andrey
Joined: 12/16/2006
Posts: 4
Location: Moscow, Russia
I remade the first part of the game. Just click on the first link. Is it ok to post about my progress here?..
Posted: 12/17/2006 10:50 PM
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slash_star_dash
Former player
Joined: 10/27/2004
Posts: 518
its encouraged.
Posted: 12/19/2006 1:12 PM
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Maximus
Emulator Coder, Former player
Joined: 10/2/2005
Posts: 563
Location: Toronto, Ontario
Looks much better than the first attempt.
TAS Movie Editor v0-12-1 http://sourceforge.net/projects/tas-editor
Posted: 2/8/2015 8:48 PM
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Denial140
Player (204)
Joined: 8/18/2013
Posts: 146
Location: location, location!
Arcade TAS of 2023
Link to video WIP 1 Input WIP 1 contains the first two stages. Intro - 24 frames saved
    Presses down and A on the same frame to select "Start" without moving the cursor.
Stage 1-1 - 64 frames saved
    Stands on 1 moving platform instead of two - moving platforms reset speed to 0. Jumps over enemy instead of killing it - fighting enemies slow you down greatly. Collects 1 bottle instead of 2 - saves time in the end of level countdown.
Stage 1-2 - 0 frames saved
    I wasn't able to save any time here.
Stage 1-3 - 96 frames saved
    Uses jump attack to get past first enemy without stopping. Gets past rope balloon faster. Uses jump attack to get past second enemy without stopping. Grabs wall higher. Uses jump attack to get past third enemy without stopping. Jumps from "fast ground" to keep speed >= 3 pixels/frame. Just a note that the cloning of data from a despawning enemy glitch does work on the second balloon from the end, but with the current enemy fighting I'd have to wait 140 frames to get the data cloning to work on the last balloon, so that would lose time. I tried skipping the second from last but not the last as well, but that ended up about 50 frames slower than what's done in this WIP.
Picture Level 1 - 0 frames saved
    There's no way to speed this up - there's an even timer between all of the shots. Yes, you can press B on the first frame and A on the second frame to make the first shot faster, but you lose that time by having to wait longer for the second shot. I'm not sure why you have to wait longer, but you do.
Stage 2-1 - 84 frames saved
    Better positioning to get past the rolling log. Uses jump attack to get past the enemy on the floating log faster. Takes top route to avoid landing on the moving platform. Jumps over the enemy before the waterfall without stopping.
Stage 2-2 - 21 frames saved
    Uses jump attack to get the enemies out of the way faster.
Stage 2-3 - 32 frames saved
    Uses jump attack to get past the first enemy without stopping. Climbs up ladder instead of turning around to jump through the gap. Positioning means I have to get 2 less hits on the boss.
Rope Level 1 - 0 frames saved
    It's an autoscroller, enough said. Collects all of the bottles as they don't count down and I need health.
Picture Level 2 - 0 frames saved.
    Same as picture level 1, the second shot means we can't use the trick at the beginning to save time.
Overall time saved: 289 Frames. Comments/suggestions are very much appreciated.
Current TAS: [SNES] Jelly Boy [NES] Street Fighter 2010
Posted: 2/8/2015 11:19 PM
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Niamek
Joined: 10/23/2009
Posts: 545
Location: Where?
Wow! What impressed me the most is that you can move through an enemy withoyt stopping. Well done! Aside that, You've indeed improved the place where I had some trouble (the rolling log and the 2 platforms) I'll check the input once I'll have time and try to improve it.