Posted: 4/2/2008 10:22 PM
Post subject: Golden Axe 3 - seeking some help on game specifics
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FrostyTheDragon
Joined: 6/7/2006
Posts: 53
I didn't know whether to put this in the Sega Genesis games subforum or the Speedrun Competitions subforum, since I'm asking about stuff that would be important to know in a TAS (and that a TASer would be most likely to get), but the run I'm doing is non-assisted so I'm going to put it here. If it needs to be moved, do so. Also, the people that visit both SDA and TASVideos will have probably heard some of this already. Basically, what's going on here is that I'm preparing to do a run on Golden Axe 3, for the Sega Genesis. More exactly, I'm planning on doing it on the Sega Genesis Collection (for PS2), without using the save function that's in said collection (I would rather leave a function like that to TASers, who would use the ROM of the Genesis version anyway). The run would use the panther warrior (I believe his official name is Chronos Lait, but I don't expect that to be common knowledge and I frankly think that name sucks), be a no-death run (ideally - this will be the hardest part, and I may take a one-death run if it's exceptional), and go through the following stages: Vast Field -> Tender Hamlet -> Cave of Crystal -> Bloody Street -> Death Mountain -> Cursed City -> Gate of Fate ....yeah, I'm doing the "all cursed characters" route - it's the one I'm actually most familiar with as far as playing the game on emulator in the past. In order to improve the quality of my run strategy, I went to an emulator and attempted to find out some values for the damage each of the panther's attacks causes (by tracking the RAM values for enemy health) - the idea being that I figure out a specific strategy for each enemy and each situation based on what attacks are the fastest set. Unfortunately, either the RAM search and RAM watch in the latest Gens release are harder to use than I thought, or this game's RAM values track things in an unusual manner. (One value I looked at went UP as I attacked an enemy and killed them, then back down when the next enemy appeared.) This is where I ask you proficient TASers for help. What I seek are the RAM values for the following: -Player 1's health -Each value for enemy health Don't need to go so far as to decode all the attacks' power for me - I'll do that part if I just know what values to examine.
Posted: 4/2/2008 10:41 PM
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moozooh
Senior Moderator
Joined: 8/4/2005
Posts: 5777
Location: Away
Panther (I was certain she was a female) has one awesome attack that I have been using for almost the entire time during my playing sessions: change directions twice, press jump+attack. Deals a good lot of damage to everyone in its way, covers 2/3 of the screen, and is unblockable. All bosses die within seconds only having enough time to get up. She has a more powerful attack (forward+jump+attack), but it's slow and has very short range. Her jump+down attacks are also nice and quick.
Warp wrote:
Edit: I think I understand now: It's my avatar, isn't it? It makes me look angry.
Posted: 4/2/2008 10:53 PM
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mmbossman
Experienced player (829)
Joined: 11/18/2006
Posts: 2426
Location: Back where I belong
GBx TAS of 2008
Here's a couple, let me know if there are any specific boss HP or whatever you need, I didn't seem to have any problems finding these. All three are 1byte, signed. 
00FFC8E7  1player HP
00FFCD06  enemy 1
00FFCBA6  enemy 2
Living Well Is The Best Revenge My Personal Page
Posted: 4/3/2008 1:13 AM
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FrostyTheDragon
Joined: 6/7/2006
Posts: 53
Thanks, mmbossman, I'll figure out most of the rest from here and just note what ones I can't seem to get. If you wish to figure out even more, that is up to you. By the way, based on some of the info I got on the enemies I've tested so far, I've noticed two other values as far as enemy HP: -The third enemy is 00FFCE66. -On the one occasion so far that I've seen four enemies on screen, the fourth is 00FFCFC6. Here's what I've determined so far: The panther's main attacks in each combo mostly deal 4 damage each. I think I've occasionally had a strike that dealt only 2 damage though. A charge attack deals 4. A sweep attack (tail strike, in the case of Panther) deals 2. The backflip kick (the attack+jump move version) deals 5. The flying attack (that's my name for the unblockable attack moozooh is describing) deals 10. Jump kicks deal 4. A dive attack deals 6. A running jump attack deals 6. Biting (Panther's grab attack) deals 2, then 3, then 2. The launch attack (Panther's variant of a grabbing throw) seems to deal 10. I plan on never using level 1 magic, so I won't measure it. Level 2 magic (I plan to use this on the first boss to wipe out his minions) deals 16 damage. Level 3 magic deals 32 damage - for reference, that's half the health of the first 'cursed character' boss. The blue snail's tongue attack deals 7 damage. The blue snail's charge attack deals 10 damage. (I think it's unblockable too.) Other riding animals to come soon - I won't cover them all just because, as far as I know now, some of them simply don't show up on this route. There are two attacks whose damage values I can't figure out because I don't know how to consistently do the moves. They are the back flip (the combo ender version) and a move where the panther picks up and throws his opponent (also a combo ender). I also can't currently get the damage of the double claw attack (forward+attack+jump) because I can't seem to hit with it, period. I'm either knocked out of the move or I miss entirely. A few enemy health totals: The panther starts with 51 health. In early stages: The spearmen have 16 health. The clubmen have 12. The macewomen (I believe they're called Vanities) have 24. The skeletons have 16 I believe. The guys in gray armor in the second stage seem to have 24. Bosses: The guy in green armor (first boss) has 48 health. The cursed barbarian (second boss on this route) has 64 health. More to come later, of course.
Posted: 4/3/2008 7:51 AM
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moozooh
Senior Moderator
Joined: 8/4/2005
Posts: 5777
Location: Away
FrostyTheDragon wrote:
I also can't currently get the damage of the double claw attack (forward+attack+jump) because I can't seem to hit with it, period. I'm either knocked out of the move or I miss entirely.
Yeah, that's the main problem with it, thanks to the awful range. Based on the figures you've gathered, it should deal around 12 (I think) damage, since clubmen die from one hit. I also think you should invite someone to your house and try running the game in 2p, since tag attacks deal just enough damage (48, I guess) to wipe out the first boss and his minions in a single strike, not to mention the beautiful magic animations. :)
Warp wrote:
Edit: I think I understand now: It's my avatar, isn't it? It makes me look angry.