I've downloaded mupen 64 and ive been messing around with the frame advance and slow motion on super mario 64 and i can't figure out how you guys do TAS runs so well. The Slow motion almosts makes it harder for me. Could someone share some tips on how to make a good TAS run on the emulator, because i can beat the game with 16 stars on the N64 version, but i want to beat it with 1 or 0.
So in the end i need to know how and when to use save states, slow motion, frame advance and recording with mupen 64 0.5(is this an old version).
Don't expect to get much quality without full frame advance and the TAS Input plugin. Study the published movies and check out their inputs for some general ideas...
Are you planning to try and beat any of the still active runs?
Im going to try. I've done some on the N64 in about 17 minutes getting 16 stars. I've seen a few videos were i could take some shorter spots to see if im able to gain some time. Other than that i'm just doing this because i've been amazed by the guys that do these TAS videos.
I'll check out the videos though, thanks for the fast reply.
If anything, I'd suggest messing around with a simpler 2D game first to get your bearings. Hotkeys for savestates and manual frame advance are your new best friends. As you get more familiar with the environment, you may want to start watching memory addresses for important data and manipulatable behavior (if you ever messed around with a Gameshark Pro, this shouldn't be horribly difficult).
3D games aren't the easiest starting point, largely because of the tremendously huge exponential increase in motion variables. There are people in the world who earned their pilot's license in grade school, but most of us learned how to drive before we could fly. I won't discourage you from starting with SM64, but I would suggest working your way up to it.
Those are nice for playing the game (I have two of 'em, myself), but the TAS input plugin would be more beneficial for TASing - you basically draw the motions for the analog stick with the mouse by clicking coordinates in a dialog box. I find it to be a little bit trying on my patience, but there's nothing better in terms of accuracy, which is the most important factor.
I have another question. I've recorded a speed run of a level for a test with mupen64 0.5 and i have the m64 file. I can't figure out how to convert the video to avi though. I go to start movie playback and open the file. Then once it starts i go to Avi capture and set it to record in mircosoft video 1. Then once it starts again the framerate drops to about 5 per second and it gets really laggy. Then when i go play the video it says its 4 gigs and when i start it up the sound laggs horribly and the screen turns different colors and the screen has the same picture the whole video.
So how do i make it so that i can put my video up on youtube?
Where would i get this TAS input plugin and how do i apply it?
You need to use one of the compression schemes if you want to record for more than a minute at a time. I reccomend Xvid at maximum quality (about 10000 kbps). If you don't have Xvid, you can download it for free somewhere (I don't know where, but a google search should do the trick).
Anyways, once you have that file, open it in Virtualdub and recompress it to a more manageable size. 384 kbps should be good for most applications.
Also, you've done a 16-star run on the N64 version in about 17 minutes? You should be able to beat the one on SDA then
http://speeddemosarchive.com/Mario64.html
here's the thread for that particular run
http://speeddemosarchive.com/yabb/YaBB.pl?board=consoles_older;action=display;num=1197185617
Hey thanks.
I did my 17:56 run about 3 years ago so its been a while, and of course i still dont have a camcorder or a dvd/vhs recorder so i can't get it. If i get a camcorder for christmas or something ill start trying to do it again.
Well i used the built in avi converter in mpeg-4 format this time and its till running at about 5 fps and the audio is off...
I have another question. I've recorded a speed run of a level for a test with mupen64 0.5 and i have the m64 file. I can't figure out how to convert the video to avi though. I go to start movie playback and open the file. Then once it starts i go to Avi capture and set it to record in mircosoft video 1. Then once it starts again the framerate drops to about 5 per second and it gets really laggy. Then when i go play the video it says its 4 gigs and when i start it up the sound laggs horribly and the screen turns different colors and the screen has the same picture the whole video.
So how do i make it so that i can put my video up on youtube?
Where would i get this TAS input plugin and how do i apply it?
I actually just use FRAPS, although if you desperately want good quality and sound you'll need to use the method you were refering to initially, but beware as FRAPS does have a tendency to desync with the audio.
ok, so you need to use re-records to erase all of those fuck ups. here is something that may help you understand how to use them:
You load the rom and start recording.
you make a savestate, like every other emulator has, at (for example) 2 minutes 53 seconds.
oh no! you fucked up at 2 minutes 54 seconds!
load the savestate for 2:53 and try the part at 2:54 again.
this is how the tas movies get to perfection, lots and lots of savestates, lots and lots of fuck ups, and lots and lots of loading the savestates to try again.
hopefully that wasnt condescending, but it was the simplest wording i could come up with.
EDIT: for the record, you cannot submit a run here that starts recording from savestates! i know you used a savestate because the movie started from mario already having 8 stars, instead of the usual zero. just a word to the wise, since i cant recall if you said you were making these runs for the hell of it or not
adelikat wrote:
I very much agree with this post.
Bobmario511 wrote:
Forget party hats, Christmas tree hats all the way man.
Yes...needs work. As Stickyman05 said, you need to rerecord...a lot. If you were using the TAS Input Plugin, you need to use frame advance and test each stick position to see if it works the best.
ok, so you need to use re-records to erase all of those fuck ups. here is something that may help you understand how to use them:
You load the rom and start recording.
you make a savestate, like every other emulator has, at (for example) 2 minutes 53 seconds.
oh no! you fucked up at 2 minutes 54 seconds!
load the savestate for 2:53 and try the part at 2:54 again.
this is how the tas movies get to perfection, lots and lots of savestates, lots and lots of fuck ups, and lots and lots of loading the savestates to try again.
hopefully that wasnt condescending, but it was the simplest wording i could come up with.
EDIT: for the record, you cannot submit a run here that starts recording from savestates! i know you used a savestate because the movie started from mario already having 8 stars, instead of the usual zero. just a word to the wise, since i cant recall if you said you were making these runs for the hell of it or not
Ahh ok thanks, i get how to rerecord now, thanks alot. That video was only a test run to see what you guys would suggest and i got what i wanted out of the video with this last post=)
looks a helluva lot better now ^_^
so, now you have a run with no mistakes in it... what to do now? notice how mario stops moving occasionally? (for a good example look at when he hangs onto the pipe at the end of the level) not moving is BAD! rerecord so mario never stops moving forward, he could probably even long jump into that pipe if he wanted. any time that is spent trying to set something up is wasted, you should always think ahead and begin to set up a trick so you dont have to take the time to stop and get into the perfect position. watch from 6:10 on wards. notice how he never stops moving no matter what trick he does. i am not saying copy exactly what the runner does, but learn from it's non-erroring, non-stopping style.
adelikat wrote:
I very much agree with this post.
Bobmario511 wrote:
Forget party hats, Christmas tree hats all the way man.
