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Posted: 11/21/2009 12:26 AM
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dunnius
Active player (428)
Joined: 9/7/2007
Posts: 329
Computer TASer of 2015 Computer TAS of 2015
Your script helped me immensely since I wouldn't have known how to begin. The area outlined by black is the entire town's map area, and the area outlined by yellow is the area of the map that is currently visible. The white square shows where the angel is, and the colored squares show where the monsters are, and the colors show the monsters' type. This is how I show where the monsters are when offscreen, as well as onscreen. The newly added purple squares outline the current square that the angel is in, and the smaller purple square is the area that the angel needs to be in when starting a "direct the people". The black dot on the angel shows where the angel is in relation to that so that I can tell when the angel is near the edge of the square.
Posted: 12/4/2009 5:28 AM
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Gohanks
Joined: 7/21/2007
Posts: 9
Location: Austin, TX
Are you guys going to be submitting soon? It sounded like things were just about ready until that new special mode TAS was discovered.
Posted: 12/4/2009 5:38 AM
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dunnius
Active player (428)
Joined: 9/7/2007
Posts: 329
Computer TASer of 2015 Computer TAS of 2015
Because of the discovery, we are restarting the run. Zidanax has improved Fillmore Act 1 by 20 frames, and I am currently working on the Fillmore simulation. I found a better route that can save 17 frames as long as I am able to keep the random lag to a minimum.
Posted: 12/4/2009 5:43 AM
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Gohanks
Joined: 7/21/2007
Posts: 9
Location: Austin, TX
Ah, well, I appreciate the fast reply. The subtitles really made it extra entertaining for me, so I hope the re-rerun goes well for you guys. Can hardly wait to see the finished run!
Posted: 1/24/2010 6:59 PM
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Sonikkustar
Skilled player (1326)
Joined: 9/7/2007
Posts: 1354
Location: U.S.
Sega TASer of 2021 Sega TAS of 2021 Sega TASer of 2011 Sega TAS of 2011
Hey! So hows progress on this improvement? Its been over a month.
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Posted: 1/24/2010 7:46 PM
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dunnius
Active player (428)
Joined: 9/7/2007
Posts: 329
Computer TASer of 2015 Computer TAS of 2015
Yes, there is progress. I am currently working on optimizing the Bloodpool simulation. We have improved all segments so far, and have saved an additional 385 frames up to the beginning the Bloodpool simuation. Almost all of that is in Fillmore Act 2.
Posted: 2/19/2010 9:35 PM
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mklip2001
He/Him
Editor
Joined: 6/23/2009
Posts: 2227
Location: Georgia, USA
Hey there, I saw that zidanax had edited a Tricks page for this game, so I thought I'd check this out. I just wanted to say I'm also really looking forward to an improvement to Actraiser, and good luck guys!
Used to be a frequent submissions commenter. My new computer has had some issues running emulators, so I've been here more sporadically. Still haven't gotten around to actually TASing yet... I was going to improve Kid Dracula for GB. It seems I was beaten to it, though, with a recent awesome run by Hetfield90 and StarvinStruthers. (http://tasvideos.org/2928M.html.) Thanks to goofydylan8 for running Gargoyle's Quest 2 because I mentioned the game! (http://tasvideos.org/2001M.html) Thanks to feos and MESHUGGAH for taking up runs of Duck Tales 2 because of my old signature! Thanks also to Samsara for finishing a Treasure Master run. From the submission comments:
Shoutouts and thanks to mklip2001 for arguably being the nicest and most supportive person on the forums.
Posted: 3/8/2010 2:18 PM
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zidanax
Player (217)
Joined: 2/12/2006
Posts: 373
Location: Oregon
In case you guys are wondering: Dunnius says he's been busy with family and work, and given how much better he is at the sims than I am, I'll wait as long as necessary. In any case, it's dead week here and I'll be going to Taiwan with the rest of my family for spring break. So you may not see anything from us for awhile.
Posted: 4/21/2010 10:11 PM
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dunnius
Active player (428)
Joined: 9/7/2007
Posts: 329
Computer TASer of 2015 Computer TAS of 2015
I finally finished the Bloodpool simulation, saving 10 frames. Kasandora will go much faster since the testing has already been done, though I will do some minor testing near the end. I think it will be possible to hex edit most of the big long waiting part in, since lag should be minimal at that point.
Posted: 5/16/2010 12:37 AM
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zidanax
Player (217)
Joined: 2/12/2006
Posts: 373
Location: Oregon
Sorry about the long wait. Here's Kasandora Act 1 finished: http://dehacked.2y.net/microstorage.php/info/1251052370/ActRaiser_%28U%29_Zidanax_and_Dunnius_v2_Kasandora_Act_1_Done.smv I ended up having to stick some delays in the Sky Palace menu in order to get the Bloodpool Act 2 boss to spawn in good positions. I was having trouble getting the Kasandora Act 1 boss fight to be as fast as it was before. Dunnius gave me some ideas for other stuff to try to see if I could minimize the delay needed to get the Bloodpool Act 2 boss to spawn in good places. It turned out that the waiting has to be in the sim or in the Sky Palace and random button presses won't help, but nevertheless as a result of my experimentation I managed to reduce the waiting needed. And things fell into place rather nicely from there: it gave me a better Stardust pattern in Kasandora Act 1, so now that boss fight is actually 4 frames faster. Unfortunately it now takes 4 frames longer to get from boss death to crystallization, so it balances out to the same as before. Total time saved so far compared to our previous version of this run: 766 frames.
Posted: 5/16/2010 5:04 AM
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Gohanks
Joined: 7/21/2007
Posts: 9
Location: Austin, TX
Are y'all still planning to keep in the commentary? That really set the short demo run apart from a lot of movies. I hope you are!
Posted: 5/18/2010 7:42 AM
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zidanax
Player (217)
Joined: 2/12/2006
Posts: 373
Location: Oregon
Of course. The idea was and is that by including subtitles, watchers won't be totally bored during the waiting periods of the simulations. So Dunnius and I absolutely intend to include subtitles, at least as an option.
Posted: 5/20/2010 2:46 PM
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neo_omegon
Player (160)
Joined: 5/20/2010
Posts: 295
I’m new here, but let me point out a bit time saver. I think that if a player is upper part after beating a boss, a display change starts a bit earlier.
Posted: 5/21/2010 1:34 AM
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zidanax
Player (217)
Joined: 2/12/2006
Posts: 373
Location: Oregon
You are right, it does start earlier. Fillmore Acts 1 and 2 are not affected by this trick. I am already on the highest platform in Bloodpool Act 1, so that is already optimal. This trick does affect Bloodpool Act 2 and possibly Kasandora Act 1. I will try to hex in relevant parts. neo_omegon, are you familiar with the video submitted at the following link: http://www.nicovideo.jp/watch/sm3944699? I would like the SMV file for that TAS but I don't know where to find it, or if it is even on the Internet. EDIT: Although I was able to get to Kasandora Act 1 faster I got a worse Stardust pattern. The next pattern I tried didn't fare better. My best attempt coincidentally gave the exact same time as not using this new trick when measuring up to the start of the Kasandora sim. I did try to get to high ground after the boss, away from the moving sand, but there generally isn't quite enough time after killing the boss. So I'm sticking with my old attempt since I think the boss fight looks better. But I will be sure to try to use this trick in other places if I can. EDIT#2: Not really a timesaver, but sort of an unconventional way to die: http://dehacked.2y.net/microstorage.php/info/584165411/ActRaiser%28U%29%20weird%20death.smv
Posted: 5/21/2010 8:33 AM
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neo_omegon
Player (160)
Joined: 5/20/2010
Posts: 295
I’m sorry I can’t contact him, too.
zidanax wrote:
EDIT#2: Not really a timesaver, but sort of an unconventional way to die: http://dehacked.2y.net/microstorage.php/info/584165411/ActRaiser%28U%29%20weird%20death.smv
Wow, he must have gone to heaven.
Posted: 5/24/2010 4:03 AM
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zidanax
Player (217)
Joined: 2/12/2006
Posts: 373
Location: Oregon
I've redone stages after Kasandora Act 1 as separate SMVs, so I should be able to hex in those and then just worry about beating the bosses as quickly as possible. So for the most part I'll just be on standby while Dunnius does the sims.
Posted: 7/7/2010 2:19 AM
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dunnius
Active player (428)
Joined: 9/7/2007
Posts: 329
Computer TASer of 2015 Computer TAS of 2015
I finally finished the Kasandora simulation, saving 193 frames, comparing from level up to level up which will be explained later. It took a really long time to find the quickest path. My initial idea saved 163 frames, but then I had an idea to do an extra rain, which ended up saving an additional 30 frames, surprisingly. Since there are many places to do an extra rain, it resulted in a massive amount of testing. Cycle 1 took a really long time and was very frustrating. I can't believe how lucky I was last time with the monsters being in a good position. Even so, it was difficult then to get 24 souls. This is the most difficult part of the run. I had to luck manipulate the monsters a bit, which resulted in a little bit of research. It seems that one of the factors that modifies the RNG is the frame that a monster was hit. It seems that button presses do not affect the RNG. I need to do more research to verify that. For the other cycles, I hex edited in the pieces from the old run wherever they fit, so most of the old run is there. It was a little difficult because the blue dragon was uncooperative. The reason I am doing the frame comparison that way is that I am waiting for the road over the blue dragon's lair to be built. The waiting does not cost any frames because the construction counter is going. This means that cycle 1 of Aitos will happen 24 frames earlier, which will cancel out the waiting. I don't need all 720 frames in cycle 1, unlike Kasandora. The waiting temporarily changes the frame comparison. To do a comparison, subtract the construction counter from the frame count. The delay is also good for doing luck manipulation of Kasandora Act 2 (and Aitos Act 1, though I believe none is needed). Zidanax can delay leaving Kasandora further, and this time the luck manipulation will not cost any frames. I moved the angel to a spot where no movement is needed for a little bit, so there is no need to move the angel unless the wait is really long. Here is the link to the WIP. http://dehacked.2y.net/microstorage.php/info/1340563838/ActRaiser_%28U%29_Zidanax_and_Dunnius_v2_Kasandora_Sim_Done.smv
Posted: 7/7/2010 10:18 AM
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funnyhair
Player (118)
Joined: 5/13/2009
Posts: 700
Location: suffern, ny
I was just thinking about this run, Glad to see there is progress. Good luck and looking froward to submission.
[19:16] <scrimpy> silly portuguese [19:16] <scrimpy> it's like spanish, only less cool
Posted: 7/7/2010 5:57 PM
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zidanax
Player (217)
Joined: 2/12/2006
Posts: 373
Location: Oregon
OK, here's up to the beginning of the Aitos sim. http://dehacked.2y.net/microstorage.php/info/1201118383/ActRaiser_%28U%29_Zidanax_and_Dunnius_v2_Aitos_Act_1_Done.smv Lost two frames against the Kasandora Act 2 boss over my WIP, but I gained 3 frames going to Aitos Act 1 (less lag?). Total frames saved so far: 1423
Posted: 7/7/2010 9:30 PM
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dunnius
Active player (428)
Joined: 9/7/2007
Posts: 329
Computer TASer of 2015 Computer TAS of 2015
Wow, that was quick. I noticed that you used some frames in Act 2 to manipulate luck. Have you tried waiting in the simulation so that no frames are lost? I did a test using the similar idea of not building on the final lair in Aitos and I managed to save 90 frames so far.
Posted: 7/8/2010 3:42 PM
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neo_omegon
Player (160)
Joined: 5/20/2010
Posts: 295
I’m very looking forward to this run. I see that the new trick sometimes make luck worse and boss fight looks worse. I like tracing boundaries. ^ ^
Posted: 7/14/2010 1:06 PM
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zidanax
Player (217)
Joined: 2/12/2006
Posts: 373
Location: Oregon
I'd forgotten that it's OK to wait in the Kasandora sim since it advances the construction timer anyway. I took advantage of that, so here's a good boss time without waiting in front of the entrance to the boss's chamber: http://dehacked.2y.net/microstorage.php/info/1832452868/ActRaiser_%28U%29_Zidanax_and_Dunnius_v2_Aitos_Act_1_Done.smv
Posted: 7/14/2010 4:19 PM
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dunnius
Active player (428)
Joined: 9/7/2007
Posts: 329
Computer TASer of 2015 Computer TAS of 2015
Comparing at the beginning of the Aitos simulation, and adjusting for the construction difference, 1441 frames saved now compared to our old run.
Posted: 8/14/2010 5:22 AM
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Sonikkustar
Skilled player (1326)
Joined: 9/7/2007
Posts: 1354
Location: U.S.
Sega TASer of 2021 Sega TAS of 2021 Sega TASer of 2011 Sega TAS of 2011
Any progress on this?
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Posted: 8/15/2010 10:09 AM
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zidanax
Player (217)
Joined: 2/12/2006
Posts: 373
Location: Oregon
Since Dunnius hasn't responded yet, here's what he said the last time I bugged him: 
Conversation with dunnius at 8/7/2010 3:17:22 PM on zidanax (aim)
(3:17:31 PM) zidanax: Any progress with the Aitos sim?
(3:19:48 PM) dunnius: I am about half way planning the route. I managed to save frames at the end using the same trick as Kasandora
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