Joined: 3/9/2004
Posts: 4588
Location: In his lab studying psychology to find new ways to torture TASers and forumers
I'm not crazy about it, but this is the first idea that comes to mind:
Warning: Opinions expressed by Nach or others in this post do not necessarily reflect the views, opinions, or position of Nach himself on the matter(s) being discussed therein.
Another level, finally. 34:
Link to video
The batbots really dictate whether a route is practical or not. They tend to create a lot of traffic above the 6 gems on the ground and love blocking up narrow passages, so the route depends on their placement when you reach that area. The reason I collect the last 3 gems in this order is because a batbot will always get stuck in the nook with the last gem, and I have to coax it out by moving to the right. This is a modified version of the route that Nach posted and it was the quickest out of the 3 routes I tested.
Level 35, Shameless Plug:
Link to video
I kind of brute-forced this level. It matters which side you do first because the spinner placement can change and the stunner may help more in one side than the other. The spinners also change whether a clockwise or counter-clockwise route is faster, so I tried every combination and this was the best one.
I did 36 and 37 yesterday, I won't post the videos because they're mostly linear and only required small tests. 38 might look familiar, here's my idea for it. Note that there's a secret passage in the bottom center through the stone, but I cannot immediately enter it because of enemy placement, so I built this route avoiding that.
EDIT: I'll sneak this video in here because I don't feel like posting 5 times in a row. Logo:
Link to video
Getting the stunner saves a ton of time.
I deviate from the route to the green teleporter by going to the left and doing a teleport-grab on the nearby gem.
Fuel management was more important here than I anticipated. If I used all of it as fast as possible I wouldn't have enough fuel to make it up to the exit, so I do some walking (the conveyers at the top helped as well) to save it for later. The last gem is grabbed as the fuel hits zero.
Teleporter says, "Ima move you." You say, "That's cool and all and I will let you finish but first, Ima steal this stuff."
If you want to see really egregious abuse of this, check out level 25: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lm8fzBH7UhY
New video, here's level 39, Golden Pyramid:
Link to video
I don't see a better way to make it through the pyramid...I tried going along the left side first instead of the right, but it was almost a second slower. This route seems to flow a lot better. It's fairly easy to figure out if a route is faster or not by simply adding up how many blocks you have to phase through - dark reds count as 2 and it's possible to backtrack through 3 phased blocks.
Lunch Box:
Link to video
I feel like this is the only sensible route through this, since all 3 switches need to be flipped to complete the level. The enemies were surprisingly not an issue except for the trackbot in the upper right that is in a fixed CCW rotation. Lots of destruction and I have no idea what this level has to do with lunch boxes.
Jetpack Invaders.
Link to video
Just concentrating on one or two Flitzers at a time makes this manageable to attempt. With good enough luck manipulation, they'll part the seas for you - all the routes I tried here actually lost no time to maneuvering around them. With the Flitzers essentially no longer a problem, the level boils down to finding the best path for collecting the gems.
Part II of the labyrinth series:
Link to video
I'm walking through most of this because of fuel management. There are two full tanks on this level, but I get away with using only one by walking to bottlenecks instead of pointlessly flying to them. The main bottleneck is the missile blocking the route to the exit - skipping the second fuel tank not only saves time but also lines up the enemy cycles nicely. I have just enough fuel to sprint to the exit.
Okey, big update. We've reached the halfway point!
(if you've seen the 30-level WIP and want to skip ahead, click here)Link to video
Stats up to this point
Movie length: 15:45.98
Rerecords: 28358
This will very likely be the last multi-level WIP I post, but I hope you enjoy it. I haven't been posting videos for the last several levels so there should be plenty of surprises. The rate that I upload videos is going to slow down quite a bit as I'm becoming more independent with this project and I don't want to spam up the thread if it's getting quiet. Big thanks to everyone that has helped and shown support so far!
Still with you Slamo! If you're saying you're feeling confident about routing stuff yourself, do you mean you don't necessarily need contributions to that from others? I think Nach said he's busy with a work project and myself I'm still going to update the RP periodically. Currently working on the (probably quite pointless) marble movement glitchiness.
BTW You say you don't want to "spam" the thread, but I don't think that's really what's happening even if you should be the only one posting.
So I'm guessing you're noticing your methods are getting pretty solid and I'm not surprised. Congratulations on reaching 49!
Still with you Slamo! If you're saying you're feeling confident about routing stuff yourself, do you mean you don't necessarily need contributions to that from others? I think Nach said he's busy with a work project and myself I'm still going to update the RP periodically. Currently working on the (probably quite pointless) marble movement glitchiness.
No way, routing and feedback are always welcome here. Coincidentally some of the upcoming levels are quite complex so some ideas would be appreciated.
Here's a route for level 51, tons of possibilities here...
I'm looking at 51... Looks like you may not be able to phase the right wall of the basin the ball you start next to falls into... not in one go at least. So delay-phasing or going round? Your route looks pretty solid... hard to see obvious improvements.
I guess you're using the teleporters to the fullest... i.e. if you can almost pick up an item through a tele using it regularly, then if you use it at the last possible moment, you might be able to do it. Otherwise, let's see if there's a ball cycle thing preventing you from taking the fastest route (looking at (-6,-5)) maybe you can do something useful during that time.
Keep doing what you're doing Crea!
Thank you creaothceann :) I hope the encoders will offer a slower video as well for the final submission, as this run can be hard to keep up with.
Svimmer wrote:
I'm looking at 51... Looks like you may not be able to phase the right wall of the basin the ball you start next to falls into... not in one go at least. So delay-phasing or going round? Your route looks pretty solid... hard to see obvious improvements.
I guess you're using the teleporters to the fullest... i.e. if you can almost pick up an item through a tele using it regularly, then if you use it at the last possible moment, you might be able to do it. Otherwise, let's see if there's a ball cycle thing preventing you from taking the fastest route (looking at (-6,-5)) maybe you can do something useful during that time.
Keep doing what you're doing Crea!
Dang, you predicted everything correctly here, although I don't think either of us were aware there's a third green teleporter at first. Level 51:
Link to video
The most problematic gem is the isolated one across from the bottom left green teleporter. The marble on the rightmost conveyer that Svimmer mentions does have a nasty cycle, so I grab this isolated gem instead of waiting for the marble. This move pays off later as I no longer have to detour there after the area with the red gates, and I just teleport (and grab a gem, why not) closer to the exit. Delay-phasing is used to get to the exit, although I only had to use one extra cycle because the marble is so bogged down by the conveyer.
I don't think I'm done with this level, it's too complex for me to be satisfied yet. I'll try a couple more routes.
Thank you creaothceann :) I hope the encoders will offer a slower video as well for the final submission, as this run can be hard to keep up with.
No problem. I don't know if the official encoders know about my method of slowing down the audio with GoldWave (or if they even have a better-sounding method), so I'd offer uploading that audio. It's not as simple as halving the sample rate.
slamo wrote:
I don't think I'm done with this level, it's too complex for me to be satisfied yet.
Well it already looks very impressive and "TAS-like" (objects seem to "line up" neatly for you to pass).
Joined: 3/9/2004
Posts: 4588
Location: In his lab studying psychology to find new ways to torture TASers and forumers
creaothceann: Thanks for the slow motion encode.
slamo: I loved how you screwed up the missiles in Escape from the Pupil
Questions:
If you took out an extra block on your way right, on your way left, would you have been able to jump over the spring instead of pausing a moment?
You seemed to waste a couple of frames getting this gem. Did you fall down farther than you had to before flying out?
What happened here? Were you in danger of a trackbot hitting the red switch, so you had to dance back and forth?
Couldn't you jump over the spring here too?
Warning: Opinions expressed by Nach or others in this post do not necessarily reflect the views, opinions, or position of Nach himself on the matter(s) being discussed therein.
If you took out an extra block on your way right, on your way left, would you have been able to jump over the spring instead of pausing a moment?
Couldn't you jump over the spring here too?
In terms of distance you can travel, jumping takes several frames longer than just walking. In some cases it's better to just wait a couple frames instead of jumping over it.
You seemed to waste a couple of frames getting this gem. Did you fall down farther than you had to before flying out?
Hmm...I think you're right here, I landed, yet waited a couple of frames to take off. I can't remember if there's a good reason for that or if I just made a mistake.
What happened here? Were you in danger of a trackbot hitting the red switch, so you had to dance back and forth?
I waited at the teleporter so I could activate it again as soon as possible. If I had gone straight for the gem, the animation would have ended while I was on the way back to it.
Joined: 3/9/2004
Posts: 4588
Location: In his lab studying psychology to find new ways to torture TASers and forumers
slamo wrote:
I waited at the teleporter so I could activate it again as soon as possible. If I had gone straight for the gem, the animation would have ended while I was on the way back to it.
Not sure I understand. This was a matter of entertainment or a way to save speed?
Svimmer wrote:
Nach: Your eagle eyes were acutely missed on this thread! ;)
I'm actually still really busy. Couldn't even watch the video till some time after it was posted. But I hope to finish my massive project this week.
Warning: Opinions expressed by Nach or others in this post do not necessarily reflect the views, opinions, or position of Nach himself on the matter(s) being discussed therein.
EDIT: I'll sneak this video in here because I don't feel like posting 5 times in a row. Logo:
Link to video
If you took out an extra block on your way right, on your way left, would you have been able to jump over the spring instead of pausing a moment?
You seemed to waste a couple of frames getting this gem. Did you fall down farther than you had to before flying out?
What happened here? Were you in danger of a trackbot hitting the red switch, so you had to dance back and forth?
Couldn't you jump over the spring here too?
