Once upon a time, there was a young little boy who is very naive. But since there was a bad man, and soon the boy was kidnapped by him. After then, the poor little boy has been hired for over 30 years for arranging millions of boxes, without any wages. This, is a definite scene of a sweatshop, and is caught by one of the civic groups. Therefore, they filed a complaint to the Ministry of Employment and Labor, but it was not settled yet. And this is how the story of Sokoban begins.
...Well, it was a joke, you know. To tell the truth, Sokoban (倉庫番, pronounced as "sōkoban") is a classic puzzle game was released in 1982. The name comes from Japan and means "warehouse keeper". As simple as that name is, so is the idea of this game: A level represents a store room, where boxes appear to be randomly placed. You help the warehouse keeper to push the boxes around the maze of the room so that, at the end, all boxes are on marked fields. The only restrictions are that the warehouse keeper can only push a box, never pull, and that just one box may be pushed at a time. Ref.
This run solves all 255 levels including five tutorial levels.

Game objectives

  • Emulator used: DeSmuME 0.9.9
  • Aims for fastest time (to clear the game)

Addresses

  • X Camera: 02156480 - Fixed Point, 2 bytes
  • Y Camera: 02156488 - Fixed Point, 2 bytes
  • Z Camera: 02156484 - Fixed Point, 2 bytes
  • Steps: 020D9604 - Unsigned, 1 byte

Notes

  • An each step requires at least 10 frames, but it consumes more when there are more objects in specific stages. For example, Stage 232 requires 12~15 frames for an each step.
  • The way to spend the least frames for an each step is inserting one input into the earliest frame which does accept the input as a step. Touching the screen will spend 2 more frames than it, and continuing pressing the buttons may cause of delay between steps.
  • While trying various ways to optimize between steps, I've found an exception to the method above. Let's see the 25th step at Stage 232. In this run, the step's input (using the method above) is on frame 458778, but if you add (206,166) to frame 458584, the 25th step's input at the stage could be on frame 458767. So, we can figure out that it saves 11 frames. (But this trick consumes more later frames so couldn't be used in this movie.)
  • The re-record count doesn't show the actual count, because I re-recorded with text-editing most of the movie. This process would be very shorted if there were Piano Roll in DeSmuME.
  • This run does not aims for shortest input. Since the game doesn't show credits automatically after clearing the whole stages, I added some inputs that show and end up credits for encoding. So, if you want to beat this movie, make sure to be faster than this movie which does aim for shortest input.

Possible Improvements

  • Optimizing solution is the most simple way to save frames. This can save at least 10 frames per steps.
  • Optimizing frame count between steps could be another way to improve the run. Try to optimize it with various ways like using touch screen, etc.

Special Thanks

Thanks to Nitrodon's run for giving me motivation to make this run. And also thanks to Brian Damgaard for making YASC to help me optimize solutions.

Screenshot Suggestion

12490, 15772, 19715, 30697, 52030, 87660, 109208, 114850, 132032, 141916, 155511, 183461, 217703

Others

Since the screen at the end of each stage is passed quickly, I have listed the step counts here.
StageSteps
T0114
T027
T0314
T0417
T0523
00123
00246
00345
00431
005148
00666
007110
008194
009127
01054
01184
01295
01344
01493
01589
01698
017152
01859
01962
02030
02182
02231
02331
024174
02575
02640
02740
028110
029195
030132
031230
032142
033110
03498
035251
03651
037229
038104
039177
040135
04187
04244
04397
04450
04560
04627
047158
04835
04941
05072
05128
05252
05368
05495
05579
056115
05786
058122
059243
060266
06159
06257
063222
06441
06581
06675
067316
068257
06961
07084
071129
072244
073168
074135
075124
076153
077506
07876
079284
080282
08149
082329
08338
08457
08551
08644
08770
088110
08963
090121
091104
092267
093100
09488
095432
096454
097111
098214
099219
10076
101144
102107
103118
104268
105199
106476
107130
108247
109352
11080
111115
11280
11385
11473
11536
11666
11777
11851
11978
120239
121146
122161
123129
124196
125184
126517
127277
128117
129382
13097
131191
132208
133230
134335
135265
136412
13742
138436
139546
14067
14188
142123
14357
14454
14567
14689
147198
14849
14999
150195
151131
152118
153137
154314
15567
15660
157102
15881
159217
160196
161153
162248
163156
164152
16582
166166
167488
168179
169254
170388
171300
172416
173273
174316
175289
176228
177159
178714
179421
180202
181293
182198
183224
184227
185223
186259
187254
188128
189646
190108
191273
192222
193245
194278
195362
196284
197150
198251
199306
200155
201461
202261
203248
204487
205140
206240
207217
208547
209191
210386
211207
212172
213230
214444
215377
216220
217207
218340
219325
220247
221435
222348
223518
224518
225465
226559
227388
228457
229304
230303
231220
232639
233542
234396
235704
236534
237118
238838
239302
240407
241366
242292
243510
244734
245751
246989
247273
248741
249482
250644
Total54133

Noxxa: Claiming for judgment.
Noxxa: I can't get the run to sync. Setting to "needs more info" until more sync information is provided (see discussion thread). This has been resolved now.
Noxxa: Added YouTube encode, and accepting for the Vault.
Guga: Processing...


TASVideoAgent
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This topic is for the purpose of discussing #4248: coldsun0630's DS Sokoban DS in 2:39:07.44
Noxxa
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Posts: 4090
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I can't get the run to sync - it desyncs already at the menus at the start. Tried using DeSMuME 0.9.9 with Advanced Bus Timing off and on, and using the following ROM:
  File: 2730 - Sokoban DS (E)(SQUiRE).nds
CRC-32: ea7f4f6e
   MD4: e6bf7b49b900e015314c008c5615d81c
   MD5: dee086801afe95c9caaacbf4c7277fa3
 SHA-1: 2e80a74c83675189d8b56e48980343d20ebf728b
(I tried a few other ROMs, but they all ended up having the same checksums (and same results) anyway.) Are there any particular firmware settings that may need to be set or changed from default?
http://www.youtube.com/Noxxa <dwangoAC> This is a TAS (...). Not suitable for all audiences. May cause undesirable side-effects. May contain emulator abuse. Emulator may be abusive. This product contains glitches known to the state of California to cause egg defects. <Masterjun> I'm just a guy arranging bits in a sequence which could potentially amuse other people looking at these bits <adelikat> In Oregon Trail, I sacrificed my own family to save time. In Star trek, I killed helpless comrades in escape pods to save time. Here, I kill my allies to save time. I think I need help.
Editor, Expert player (2080)
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Posts: 3284
Did you try using the Firmware settings in the submitted file? Last time I checked, DeSmuME requires changing the firmware manually.
Editor
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Posts: 899
Location: Sweden
Yeah, it is a half baked implementation, saving but not loading the firmware settings.
Noxxa
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Ah, I got it working now. For some reason, firmware language was set as French on the emulator I was using. (The run requires it to be English.)
http://www.youtube.com/Noxxa <dwangoAC> This is a TAS (...). Not suitable for all audiences. May cause undesirable side-effects. May contain emulator abuse. Emulator may be abusive. This product contains glitches known to the state of California to cause egg defects. <Masterjun> I'm just a guy arranging bits in a sequence which could potentially amuse other people looking at these bits <adelikat> In Oregon Trail, I sacrificed my own family to save time. In Star trek, I killed helpless comrades in escape pods to save time. Here, I kill my allies to save time. I think I need help.
Editor
Joined: 3/10/2010
Posts: 899
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Two hours of repetitive puzzle solving? To the vault!
xRavenXP
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Posts: 116
Location: Brazil
Yes for Vault.
I love games and love to record videos (longplays). Visit my Youtube channel https://www.youtube.com/user/xRavenXP
Joined: 2/7/2012
Posts: 15
Without an encode I can't see the run, but I'm wondering: does this run meet the "standout from non-assisted play" requirement?
Editor
Joined: 3/10/2010
Posts: 899
Location: Sweden
It should be no problem for a human to enter the same solutions to within a few frames. There are no timing tricks in this game. No real glitches, no random gameplay elements. All this tests is frame perfect solution entering and avoiding mistakes.
Noxxa
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Keeping in mind that many later levels take literally several hundred steps to finish, I'd say that actually leaves quite a bit of room for frame loss by entering the input "within a few frames" for every step, or room for error in making even a single misstep along the way. By the way, I've been working on an encode for the past few days. It's currently processing on YouTube. I'll link the video and accept the run when it's up.
http://www.youtube.com/Noxxa <dwangoAC> This is a TAS (...). Not suitable for all audiences. May cause undesirable side-effects. May contain emulator abuse. Emulator may be abusive. This product contains glitches known to the state of California to cause egg defects. <Masterjun> I'm just a guy arranging bits in a sequence which could potentially amuse other people looking at these bits <adelikat> In Oregon Trail, I sacrificed my own family to save time. In Star trek, I killed helpless comrades in escape pods to save time. Here, I kill my allies to save time. I think I need help.
Player (59)
Joined: 3/15/2011
Posts: 28
EricS wrote:
Without an encode I can't see the run
I have 67GB dump file with using camstudio lossless codec and my computer is too old to complete encoding it. So, I gave up with it.
EricS wrote:
but I'm wondering: does this run meet the "standout from non-assisted play" requirement?
Well, a non-assisted player may finish the puzzle with the same solution, but it will take much time than tool-assisted run. This run, is made for to solve it in the shortest time as possible.
Mothrayas wrote:
Keeping in mind that many later levels take literally several hundred steps to finish, I'd say that actually leaves quite a bit of room for frame loss by entering the input "within a few frames" for every step, or room for error in making even a single misstep along the way.
Yeah, and that's the cause why I handled this TAS for over a half year. I'm not sure why it happens, but I guess it happens because the process of generating the objects does not freeze the screen as lag frames, instead, it still show the output while processing and generating them. Anyway, I had to add blank frames to sync those inputs and did it with text-editing more than a thousand of times. Now, I'd really like to see if there is Piano Roll in the DS emulator... And could I upload your encode on my Youtube channel after it finishes?
Noxxa
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Encode is up now.
coldsun0630 wrote:
And could I upload your encode on my Youtube channel after it finishes?
The HD encode is 11.98 GB, so it'll be a little tricky to send.
http://www.youtube.com/Noxxa <dwangoAC> This is a TAS (...). Not suitable for all audiences. May cause undesirable side-effects. May contain emulator abuse. Emulator may be abusive. This product contains glitches known to the state of California to cause egg defects. <Masterjun> I'm just a guy arranging bits in a sequence which could potentially amuse other people looking at these bits <adelikat> In Oregon Trail, I sacrificed my own family to save time. In Star trek, I killed helpless comrades in escape pods to save time. Here, I kill my allies to save time. I think I need help.
Post subject: nice, nice, nice, nice, nice, nice, nice, nice, nice.
Spikestuff
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This run is nice enough to go to the vault <3 Moth your logo is nice but I'm going to be picky with one thing. The Purple on Blue. That isn't a good combo.
WebNations/Sabih wrote:
+fsvgm777 never censoring anything.
Disables Comments and Ratings for the YouTube account. Something better for yourself and also others.
Post subject: Re: nice, nice, nice, nice, nice, nice, nice, nice, nice.
Noxxa
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Spikestuff wrote:
Moth your logo is nice but I'm going to be picky with one thing. The Purple on Blue. That isn't a good combo.
I figured it's readable well enough as it is now. Though I'll look into it and see if I can come up with something better.
http://www.youtube.com/Noxxa <dwangoAC> This is a TAS (...). Not suitable for all audiences. May cause undesirable side-effects. May contain emulator abuse. Emulator may be abusive. This product contains glitches known to the state of California to cause egg defects. <Masterjun> I'm just a guy arranging bits in a sequence which could potentially amuse other people looking at these bits <adelikat> In Oregon Trail, I sacrificed my own family to save time. In Star trek, I killed helpless comrades in escape pods to save time. Here, I kill my allies to save time. I think I need help.
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EricS wrote:
Without an encode I can't see the run, but I'm wondering: does this run meet the "standout from non-assisted play" requirement?
Wouldn't a majority of Atari games pretty much fail this then? ;)
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are the puzzles an exact remake of the turbografx 16 version?
Post subject: Movie published
TASVideoAgent
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This movie has been published. The posts before this message apply to the submission, and posts after this message apply to the published movie. ---- [2578] DS Sokoban DS by coldsun0630 in 2:39:07.44
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Done watching this. I got a question though. Why does sometimes, in the encode, the bottom screen flickers a bit? Most of the time, it's barely noticeable, but there's levels like 232 where it constantly flickers for some reason. Edit: I almost forgot, since at the end screen, it shows 100% completion, I think it needs a 100% tag.
Noxxa
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jlun2 wrote:
Done watching this. I got a question though. Why does sometimes, in the encode, the bottom screen flickers a bit? Most of the time, it's barely noticeable, but there's levels like 232 where it constantly flickers for some reason.
I think it's a lag issue. Probably a minor emulator glitch.
jlun2 wrote:
Edit: I almost forgot, since at the end screen, it shows 100% completion, I think it needs a 100% tag.
This "100%" is the only way to complete the game, so it's not very meaningful here. Movie class guidelines also state that the 100% completion tag shouldn't be used if the run is also the fastest way to complete the game (which, in this case, it is).
http://www.youtube.com/Noxxa <dwangoAC> This is a TAS (...). Not suitable for all audiences. May cause undesirable side-effects. May contain emulator abuse. Emulator may be abusive. This product contains glitches known to the state of California to cause egg defects. <Masterjun> I'm just a guy arranging bits in a sequence which could potentially amuse other people looking at these bits <adelikat> In Oregon Trail, I sacrificed my own family to save time. In Star trek, I killed helpless comrades in escape pods to save time. Here, I kill my allies to save time. I think I need help.
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Mothrayas wrote:
Movie class guidelines also state that the 100% completion tag shouldn't be used if the run is also the fastest way to complete the game (which, in this case, it is).
Oh. In that case I think this movie should have the 100% tag removed since the credits only show at 100% like this movie.
Joined: 4/3/2006
Posts: 269
FuzZerd wrote:
are the puzzles an exact remake of the turbografx 16 version?
No. Many of the levels in the Sokoban DS game are freely available, some are not. But none of them are from Thinking Rabbit. (as you may know, 99%, if not 100%, of the levels for all existing licensed Sokoban games are from Thinking Rabbit.) You see the level author info at the end of the game in the credit section.