This topic is for the purpose of discussing #4234: Sopreti's Windows Castle in the Darkness Prologue "true ending" in 04:03.95

This one seemed a lot less optimized than the any% run you submitted, and the rerecord count appears to support that. I think you should take the time to improve this run wherever you can and then submit when you can't improve it any more.

This is what I posted in the thread of the other run and it applies here as well:

Since this is just a demo of a game, I don't think there should be a TAS of it on the site. I know that the game hasn't been released yet, but that doesn't change the fact that it's not a full game. As for the run itself, it doesn't look optimized. TASes aim for perfection and perfection is not achieved by not using the most basic tools to their full extent. TASes should never forgo the use of frame advance and it never hurts to use a lot of rerecords to check if you can do something faster, be it a jump or an attack or even a simple action such as entering a door. Based on these thoughts, I will have to vote no. I encourage you to try to improve this run for the good practice it provides and post your WIPs on the forum (not submitting them, but creating a thread for this game and posting the WIPs there) to get feedback.

There are some unoptimal parts. For example, at 1:01 you should have jumped earlier, so that the jump that mattered (off the one block higher ledge) was done earlier as well, then it should have been curved so you reached the higher ledge with as much leftward velocity as possible ('cutting the corner'), then you clipped the corner and lost your downward velocity on the way to the door (a later jump would have let you go to the door faster). Based on just that I think there is still simple 2D platforming heuristics improvements to be done. Similarly at 1:54 you should be cutting it as close to the corner of the ceiling with as much rightward velocity as possible when you're coming down with the receding lava. (For example, by taking a running start off the pillar rather than just dropping down meekly.) Since this is only a 2 minute long run, you should take the time to go over every room with a frame advancing, frame-count-checking comb until it's difficult for you to save any more frames anywhere in the room. It won't take you long and tasvideos submissions should be high quality. For the people saying 'this is a demo, so shouldn't be published': If it remains a separate game from the full game, as opposed to being expanded into the full game, then I think it is OK for this to be TASed. (For example, MGS V Ground Zeroes, if it were TASable, would be acceptable on tasvideos, even though it's just a prelude to a much larger game that will be entirely different. There's probably a better example, but you get the idea.)

In this case, a "demo" is similar to having the shareware (free) version of a game instead of the full (paid) version. By precedent, we already allow runs like that, and I see no reason to disqualify this one just because it's a "demo". (disqualifying it on grounds of quality is another matter)

For example, this run is of a demo version that contains only the first few levels of the full game. That strikes me as similar to the situation here.

Shareware is not freeware nor a demo.

But the point is here isn't the license. It is the fact that the game has several sets of freestanding episodes. The first one is free.

I don't think the time is correct. Input seems to end around 2:40 minutes in (earlier if you aren't skipping through the text) and yet the time in the title is at 4:03.95.

Yes, because he forgot to end movie before credit.

It's OK guys, as I said it was my first TAS and I just wanted to learn how to use the tools (even if I didn't use everything). When I finish it I asked myself "why not suggest it on TASvideo ?" but I shall understand if you refuse it.

It's OK guys, as I said it was my first TAS and I just wanted to learn how to use the tools (even if I didn't use everything). When I finish it I asked myself "why not suggest it on TASvideo ?" but I shall understand if you refuse it.

That's why we always suggest to use userfiles to host movies and game forums to post them, if they are not meant as perfectly polished work. That way one doesn't meet rejection, and still gets quite some feedback, and a good setup to post improvements and get feedback on them too, all that before submitting.

om, nom, nom