Top Gear 2 is an arcade simulation racing game made and developed by the company Kemco for the Super Nintendo and was released on September 15th, 1993.
The TAS will play through 16 countries … but only do 47 out of the 64 required races to reach the credits sequence.
This TAS will not just be racing … but also will be breaking the fabric of reality, and create parallel universes, as the ground suddenly disappears from existence. Prepare to watch as the car magically slams into objects and walls, and what you think is real, is actually just a simulation of the time-space continuum in and of itself.
Game Objectives
Emulator used: Bizhawk 2.3.2
Uses Wall Glitches to Finish Certain *Races Faster
Skips Naming File to Save Time
Plays on Hardest Difficulty
Starts from a New Game File "(Start)"
Setup
This TAS was created using BizHawk 2.3.2 (the current newest version released).
Upgrades:
Stock V-6 = I keep this same engine for quite some time, but later in the run allows me to upgrade 4 races earlier than normal.
5-Speed Overdrive = I buy this gearbox upgrade in Australasia: Ayers Rock - This will allow me to maintain enough speed to get into to first place, while as maintain it throughout the race.
Kemco Rain Slicks = I buy the best-wet tires in Australasia: Sydney, however, I still keep the money earned and don't buy the nitro upgrade quite yet. The best-wet tires will not make your car slip as often, even at higher speeds.
Total Boost 600-R = I finally buy the best nitro upgrade in Britain: London - This was a good purchase because I wanted to go just long enough to rack up money, and buy something better than if I were to get the third best nitro: "Super Boost-400" @ Sydney.
5-speed Close Ratio = I buy the third-best Gearbox in Britain: Stonehenge - This upgrade allows for more speed, but, at the same time also allows to maintain the speed given after using a nitro, it's not the best gearbox, as I will get that a little later in the run, but, this does the job for time being.
Screamin' V-12 = I finally buy the best engine in France: Bordeaux. This engine allows me to get a lot of speed rather quickly, and also will allow me to maintain the speed gotten overall.
Kemco Racing Slicks + 6-speed Race Tranny = I buy the last two "required" upgrades of run in France: Paris - Now that the car is completely upgraded with "required" upgrades, The races will now just fly by in a jiffy.
_
About the Run
100% New Game Glitched is a category for Top Gear 2. This categories main intent is to allow the player to play all tracks with the given exception of using glitches to either skip laps or finish races 30 seconds after they start. This TAS run I have created goes through 47/64 tracks located in the game. The TAS skips laps and also skips entire races. When I created this TAS I wasn't sure where to begin, because I was limited, and I had limited options to work with. I persevered and stuck with it all the way through. This TAS completes 100% New Game, Hard, Glitched with a time of 2:23:40.99 | 32 Minutes and 16 Seconds faster than an RTA run.
About the Category
100% New Game, Hard, Glitched Rules State: The 100% New Game Glitched Category *requires* the player to go through the entire game with the exception of being able to use wall glitches, no restrictions. Timing starts from Console on, Press start on the upgrade screen of Australasia - Auckland with $0 and no upgrades purchased. (changing car color is fine as it is not a purchase).
100% requires these upgrades:
- Best Engine
- Best Wet and Dry Tires
- Best Gearbox
- Best Nitro
-Armor - Front and Side (Optional)
Stop the timer when you have successfully crossed the finish line on the 3rd lap of the United States - San Francisco (or in this case with the TAS the last meaningful input) which is the last Money screen after San Francisco.
Wall Glitches
During this run, you will notice I will be exploiting the game in unintended ways, to either skip laps or just finish the race outright. This is known as Wall Glitches. Wall Glitches have a weird property to them, and not all walls work the same way. Some walls require really precise inputs to execute the correct action. For example: If you are holding the X button the entire time, then press B for 1 frame, etc the wall might skip laps or finish the race right away. This is certainly a game exploit and should be treated as such.
Why Manual?
In Top Gear 2 you have the choice of choosing between two types of transmissions. You can choose either Automatic or Manual transmission. In this TAS and for every TAS that I or others make of this game, will likely always have a manual transmission. With the use of a manual, the run is a lot quicker. Why? The reason is faster acceleration, along-side faster startups. Overall, manual will typically save anywhere between 6 and 9 seconds respectively per track.
Countries:
Australasia - Auckland, Ayers Rock, Canterbury Plains, Sydney
Egypt - Abu Sunbul, Aswan, Cairo, Hugh Sitton(Giza Pyramids)
France - Bordeaux, Monaco, Nice, Paris
Germany - Bavaria, Cologne, Frankfurt, Munich
Greece - Athens, Meteora, Mykonos, Santorini
India - Amber Port, Bombay, Delhi, Taj Mahal
Ireland - Dublin, Galway, Killarney, Limerick
Italy - Florence, Pisa, Rome, Sicily
Japan - Hiroshima, Kyoto, Toyko, Yokohama
Scandinavia - Copenhagen, Helsinki, Reykjavik, Stockholm
South America - Chile, Mexico, Peru, Rio De Janeiro
Spain - Andalusia, Barcelona, Madrid, Seville
Switzerland - Geneva, Grunwald, Lucerne, Zurich
The United States - Los Vegas, Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco
Races Skipped Via Laps or Entirely
London
Banff
Hugh Sitton
Bordeaux
Meteora
Santorini
Bombay
Taj Mahal
Dublin
Galway
Pisa
Hiroshima
Mexico
Peru
Seville
Geneva
Los Angeles
Improvements that can be made for this TAS
Figuring out Left-side merge barrier wall glitches
Things left for this game for TAS'ing
Possibly a Low% Hard New Game TAS (Which is kinda interesting, because Low% is not really Low% as you can upgrade so you don't lose)
My Experience as a TASer
Like my previous TAS'es I have made, none of them actually were great, to be honest. With this TAS, however, it's a different experience, especially having to actually navigate using what is given and when it is obtainable. This not only makes the glitches A LOT more difficult, but gives me a good challenge overall, and I managed to overcome in the end.
When I first started TAS'ing I, of course, chose Top Gear 2 for SNES, as I have been speedrunning the game for almost 5 1/2 years. Another runner of the username: RallyFTW, was the first person who actually left an impression towards me and this game, which then inspired me to start all of this process.
My Future TAS Plans
Top Gear 3000 AKA The Planets Champ (JP)
I have been dabbling in Top Gear 3000 as of late. Currently, I have two TAS'es going right now: Top Gear 3000 New Game Hard,| Top Gear 3000 Low% Hard (which is almost impossible to do without upgrading).
feos: It was a really long ride, both literally and figuratively.
The first subject I questioned was optimality, and just like with #6148: jmosx36's SNES Top Gear in 1:27:34.66, the key in this game is routing and resource management. So I gained some frames by shifting gears and using initial nitro more optimally, but it was quite hard to beat this movie on the scale of entire tracks. I didn't originally arrive sooner on the first track, it required several attempts to beat this movie's time. And on the last track, I only did the first loop 50 frames sooner, but couldn't finish the race sooner overall. So yes, this run can be optimized quite a bit, but it'd still be non-trivial to improve the overall times. So I think the technical quality is acceptable.
The goal is trickier than I believed a year ago. The password glitch can be considered a major skip glitch, and avoiding it doesn't mean the movie completes anything internally defined by the game as optional. Here's what the rules say:
Full completion can only consist of optional one-time, irreversible, or otherwise strictly limited accomplishments that can be objectively measured and maximized.
Conditions that are imposed unofficially by players are only eligible if they originate from fundamental game-play features.
Avoiding a glitch is clearly a self-imposed condition. However the result is quite clearly a full game completion, because all tracks are played, and that's indeed a fundamental gameplay feature. You can use passwords to play from a given country, or you can play the whole thing in one go. We don't allow skipping ahead via passwords. But we allow game breaking glitches, and in this game, the password glitch doesn't involve entering anything as a code, so 1) it's a legitimate glitch, and 2) it effectively simulates in-game password behavior but allowing you to skip ahead via glitch abuse. So we end up having the same options as the game officially has.
A similar thing happened with [962] N64 Glover "all stages" by adelikat in 37:15.28, which is in Vault and doesn't use internally defined options to complete maximum of the game: that movie just existed as an any% branch before the major glitch skip was found by Nahoc. And the decision was to leave that movie as a full game completion, which is fundamentally a vaultable category.
To be sure, I asked other judges and no one minded using the same logic for this submission. On the other hand, we shouldn't add the "100% completion" class to the publication. Yet I think the current branch makes more sense than having this as a blank label and the potential "USA%" run as a "password glitch" movie: to emphasize that this movie contains full game completion.
the wall glitch in Britain London can be used more than one time?
Currently making a route for Super Bomberman 5 200%
TASes i'm planning: aero fighters, tg3000 (again), gradius 3, bust a move, bust a move plus, gradius rebirth, smg, smg2, mp9, gh3 (wii)
While it is possible to do the wall glitch more than once, I was going so slow, that I couldn't phase through the barrier and the wall at the same time, as it requires a certain amount of speed that I couldn't obtain with the minimal upgrades that I had during the race.
Joined: 10/12/2011
Posts: 6442
Location: The land down under.
Now, I may not know much about racing games nor sitting down for ~2 months to TAS it out, but I do know about in-game time.
Your Movie:
Your Movie but the final turn is different:
What's going on here?
WebNations/Sabih wrote:
+fsvgm777 never censoring anything.
Disables Comments and Ratings for the YouTube account.Something better for yourself and also others.
The in-game timer in this game is very off and inaccurate. The chances are very subtle, but, I've had races where I finish with a: "33" (example being given here) and have gotten a 30 after the names appear with the other racers, so trusting the in-game timer is big mistake, not by me, but the game it'self.
Joined: 10/12/2011
Posts: 6442
Location: The land down under.
Unfortunately that In-Game Timer is actually useful albeit to what you're stating is "inaccurate", as it does indeed show that it is one frame faster.
Again I'm not a person who does racing games, so I'm not going to go over Auckland and do all 5 laps to see if more can be skinned off but it is something worth noting that the TAS isn't using racing lines efficiently.
This game also doesn't feature frame rules, so there's no catchup available after that point.
Again you can check the input I provided on my other post about this case, or just grab it from this post.
WebNations/Sabih wrote:
+fsvgm777 never censoring anything.
Disables Comments and Ratings for the YouTube account.Something better for yourself and also others.
Sometimes this game makes no sense, and it's weird that the game gave the upper hand when you turned down that miniature hill, the game says no speed gained and no speed lost, but still 2 milliseconds faster, which doesn't make sense, and I know the turn to the left can't make that much of a difference.
I still think there are many curves that can be improved to avoid the grass or the signs. Meh vote from me
Currently making a route for Super Bomberman 5 200%
TASes i'm planning: aero fighters, tg3000 (again), gradius 3, bust a move, bust a move plus, gradius rebirth, smg, smg2, mp9, gh3 (wii)
Joined: 4/17/2010
Posts: 11479
Location: Lake Chargoggagoggmanchauggagoggchaubunagungamaugg
The RTA rules demand all 64 races to be completed for 100%, why did you make up an exception and skipped 17 of them? Doesn't sound complete really.
About upgrades, does this movie maximize all upgrades or just a few?
Warning: When making decisions, I try to collect as much data as possible before actually deciding. I try to abstract away and see the principles behind real world events and people's opinions. I try to generalize them and turn into something clear and reusable. I hate depending on unpredictable and having to make lottery guesses. Any problem can be solved by systems thinking and acting.
While the RTA Rules do state that I need to complete: "all races" This category Allows wall glitches, which means I can use the glitches to skip races, and use them to my advantage.
This category is: 100%, New Game, Hard, Glitched the rules for that category state:
"The 100% Category requires the player to play all 64 races in a row from start to finish. ---> *BUT* - <----
* ---> The category 100% Wall Glitches is to beat the game as fast as possible, while using unintended mechanics to finish the race faster." *Which means Wall Glitches are Allowed and therefore you can skip races with unintended mechanics *
while gathering the following required upgrades:
- Best Engine
- Best Wet and Dry Tires
- Best Gearbox
- Best Nitro
-Armor - Front and Side (Optional)
The movie does maximize all the upgrades:
Best Engine
Best Wet & Dry Tires
Best Gearbox
Best Nitro
(upgrading the car protection is not necessary, as it does not make the car faster, it only gives more protection to the car) but since this is a TAS, I wouldn't need to use any of these.
Joined: 4/17/2010
Posts: 11479
Location: Lake Chargoggagoggmanchauggagoggchaubunagungamaugg
How is that even 100% of anything then?
Warning: When making decisions, I try to collect as much data as possible before actually deciding. I try to abstract away and see the principles behind real world events and people's opinions. I try to generalize them and turn into something clear and reusable. I hate depending on unpredictable and having to make lottery guesses. Any problem can be solved by systems thinking and acting.
It technically is still 100% because the upgrades is part of that definition.
If you have a better reasoning then I am down for it. (not trying be mean or anything) just genuinely curious about this.
Joined: 4/17/2010
Posts: 11479
Location: Lake Chargoggagoggmanchauggagoggchaubunagungamaugg
I guess your wording is just too confusing, again.
Warning: When making decisions, I try to collect as much data as possible before actually deciding. I try to abstract away and see the principles behind real world events and people's opinions. I try to generalize them and turn into something clear and reusable. I hate depending on unpredictable and having to make lottery guesses. Any problem can be solved by systems thinking and acting.
Joined: 10/12/2011
Posts: 6442
Location: The land down under.
See this is how we're reading what you're writing:
"I'm not actually doing the race."
This is what you meant:
"I'm actually just performing a glitch whilst racing this map and that I abuse to either finish the race from the first lap or to jump to the final lap in the race."
You're still racing this map you aren't skipping it. You're just performing a major glitch to further progress whilst still doing the map.
In the better explanation sense.
WebNations/Sabih wrote:
+fsvgm777 never censoring anything.
Disables Comments and Ratings for the YouTube account.Something better for yourself and also others.
You're still racing this map you aren't skipping it. You're just performing a major glitch to further progress whilst still doing the map.
In the better explanation sense.
Currently making a route for Super Bomberman 5 200%
TASes i'm planning: aero fighters, tg3000 (again), gradius 3, bust a move, bust a move plus, gradius rebirth, smg, smg2, mp9, gh3 (wii)
Warning: When making decisions, I try to collect as much data as possible before actually deciding. I try to abstract away and see the principles behind real world events and people's opinions. I try to generalize them and turn into something clear and reusable. I hate depending on unpredictable and having to make lottery guesses. Any problem can be solved by systems thinking and acting.
I couldn't get any cars to push me for extra speed, which might be the case in this scenario. I copied the same inputs used on your bk2 edit and I couldn't get below 2:34.
This makes me curious because it seems that creating a situation in which the cars will catch up to you, and bumps you up in speed will create a lower time overall.
The only problem is that, I don't know of any way to manipulate the cars to do certain actions such as that.
If there is a RNG manipulation that I am unaware of, then it could possibly be implemented into a new TAS in the future, but, RNG manipulation needs to be accounted for on all the races that are done aka 47 in this instance.
Gyazo Picture of the best time I got without car push using the same inputs from the BK2 edit: https://i.gyazo.com/9be6011466a4d1c3ff8bca8548a2585c.png
11,146 frames [ adjusted for name input ] [ 664/632 ] = [32 extra frames ; = <-
-> 11,114 frames] [time calculated = 3:05.40] [rerecord count = 658] @ 60FPS
Frames Calculator Used: [ https://www.omnicalculator.com/other/frames-to-timecode ]
[ This is was for testing purposes not for an actual attempt at completing the entire game ]
Joined: 4/17/2010
Posts: 11479
Location: Lake Chargoggagoggmanchauggagoggchaubunagungamaugg
I didn't manipulate them to go faster than me, they tried to outrun me automatically, and I just used trial and error not to let them do it by bumping into them.
Warning: When making decisions, I try to collect as much data as possible before actually deciding. I try to abstract away and see the principles behind real world events and people's opinions. I try to generalize them and turn into something clear and reusable. I hate depending on unpredictable and having to make lottery guesses. Any problem can be solved by systems thinking and acting.
Now, I may not know much about racing games nor sitting down for ~2 months to TAS it out, but I do know about in-game time.
Your Movie:
Your Movie but the final turn is different:
What's going on here?
That means this graph applies here?
Currently making a route for Super Bomberman 5 200%
TASes i'm planning: aero fighters, tg3000 (again), gradius 3, bust a move, bust a move plus, gradius rebirth, smg, smg2, mp9, gh3 (wii)
Joined: 4/17/2010
Posts: 11479
Location: Lake Chargoggagoggmanchauggagoggchaubunagungamaugg
What I think about turning in this game is that it may be generally losing time (notice the sound), so one might need to travel in straight lines that are chosen carefully. But this hasn't been tested.
Warning: When making decisions, I try to collect as much data as possible before actually deciding. I try to abstract away and see the principles behind real world events and people's opinions. I try to generalize them and turn into something clear and reusable. I hate depending on unpredictable and having to make lottery guesses. Any problem can be solved by systems thinking and acting.
Joined: 4/17/2010
Posts: 11479
Location: Lake Chargoggagoggmanchauggagoggchaubunagungamaugg
I tried improving the last level and couldn't. Sure there are some frames lost on starting up: when you initially hit X, A, when you shift gears. But the bigger problem with this game is nitro management on slopes, and it's really hard to get right. And it loses tons of time too. I saved 50 frames on the first lap and lost almost 200 at the finish. I even admit that improving the first level wasn't exactly easy, for the same reason.
Warning: When making decisions, I try to collect as much data as possible before actually deciding. I try to abstract away and see the principles behind real world events and people's opinions. I try to generalize them and turn into something clear and reusable. I hate depending on unpredictable and having to make lottery guesses. Any problem can be solved by systems thinking and acting.
Joined: 4/17/2010
Posts: 11479
Location: Lake Chargoggagoggmanchauggagoggchaubunagungamaugg
The RTA rules for this category say "ALL cheat codes are BANNED from use EX: Super Speed Cheat". Do you use that cheat here?
Also can 2-player mode be faster than 1-player?
BTW, if you don't maximize all upgrades, they can't be an additional part of the full completion definition. If the ones you maximize are required to beat the game ASAP, then they are implied and don't need to be spelled out.
Warning: When making decisions, I try to collect as much data as possible before actually deciding. I try to abstract away and see the principles behind real world events and people's opinions. I try to generalize them and turn into something clear and reusable. I hate depending on unpredictable and having to make lottery guesses. Any problem can be solved by systems thinking and acting.
I don't use any cheat codes during this run, plus the super speed cheat needs to be modified into the game by changing the values of how fast the car travels.
2 Player Mode to me feels a lot more laggier, but, I am pretty sure the same results could be performed either way.
Your Movie but 
What's going on here?
