This has probably been brought up before =P
On The Pit and the Pendulum in TTC, is it possible to do the 2x a presses route for that star with the level on the random setting?
I'd imagine cloning all the coins would be a royal pain in the ass, but if it's possible to do it on random then an AB kick off the wall next to the star can land you down on the spinning red coin platforms, saving another A-press on the re-entry.
Hi. I'm goofing around with script-controlling an emulator and changing memory (I made a thread about my project here). I'm focusing on Mario 64 and there are some things I'm trying to figure out.
1. Looking I found RAM/ROM maps here and here. However, they only have the US release and one has the EU release. Is there a RAM map for the original JP release anywhere?
2. Is there any information on how to parse the level geometry information in ROM? The thing I really want to do is write a bot that can play the game by itself, so I'd need to be able to get the level polys and basic information about them (can they be collided with, can mario walk on them).
3. I'm seeing a weird thing controlling my emulator where if I alternate setting the A button pressed and then released every other vertical blank, Mario jumps only once and then does not jump again. In fact if I release the A button I have to leave it released for four full vertical blanks (I'm still confused about whether this is the same thing as a frame or not :sad:) before pressing A again, or it does not register. Is this something Mario 64 is doing? The information I'm finding about BLJs seems to suggest that you can totally hit A every other frame. I'm wondering about this because if Mario 64 isn't doing this it implies mupen64plus is debouncing my simulated input or something.
Thanks!
Hi guys,
There is a thought that has occurred to me a few times but i don't have the TAS skills to test out the theory.
There is a glitch in the Japanese version of the game (this is the version used for speedrunnning) where you pause and exit course as mario is standing on a falling block (WF and LLL have blocks like this) you fall through the floor of the lobby and end up near the basement key door.
My question is whether this could be used to reroute the game slightly faster? After all you can now go from the lobby to the basement without walking through two doors using the blocks in WF.
I'm guessing this has already been thought of and dismissed but i don't think i've ever heard the idea discussed so i thought i'd share and see if anyone had ever done a comparison?
Here's a video of the glitch in question:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VX0WYWNvZlQ
anyone have any updates on the any% TAS? Does anyone know if the japanese TASers are working on it?
I seem to recall someone saying the moat door could be used in any% now, but I haven't seen it done.
Joined: 11/26/2010
Posts: 454
Location: New York, US
If I recall correctly I believe he said it will be released around Summer. I for some reason can't find the post though so maybe something got delayed and he edited the post or something. Really looking forward to the new Any% TAS!!!
Joined: 9/21/2009
Posts: 1047
Location: California
We have a team of very busy people with jobs, etc, that are hardly in front of computers at this point in our lives. It's not fake, and I'm not addressing that topic anymore. We work on stuff when we can and all contribute in our own different ways. This game is extremely optimized and takes lots of effort. Just be patient. The Japanese are authors of our run due to us requesting their B2 fight input, and they are not working on something separate (and wouldn't be able to anyway, because only the Westerners know how the new skip works). Sorry for the wait, but that's exactly what it is: a wait. We aren't going to update with any specifics at any point in time, so it's pointless to ask. You will all get to see it when it's submitted.
Take your time, I'm sure the TAS will be worth the wait. Even if you didn't make any progress lately, It's still good to hear that the project is still alive.
Current project: Gex 3 any%
Paused: Gex 64 any%
There are no N64 emulators. Just SM64 emulators with hacky support for all the other games.
Yes! Thanks sonicpacker. I know you get fed up with all the people asking all the time, so thanks for responding. Take your time, I'm sure it's going to be awesome!
Back on topic, I'm always curious how exactly do people optimize 3D movement in situations that really require all 3 dimensions (bowser in the fire sky level, for example). How do you even start with what to improve? Do you people just start at what looks potentially improve-able and go from there?
Joined: 11/13/2006
Posts: 2823
Location: Northern California
Thread locked for now due to repeated (and now deleted) issues. Will unlock when they're sorted out.
EDIT: Thread re-opened, sorry for the inconvenience!
TASvideos Admin and acting Senior Judge 💙 Currently unable to dedicate a lot of time to the site, taking care of family.
Now infrequently posting on Bluesky
You can just try what looks improve-able, or you can just try lots of stuff with trial-and-error. But ideally you'd figure out whatever you can with maths and then fit whatever pieces that gives you together as best as you can. Of course the math can get complicated, but whatever bits you can do are helpful.
(This is from my experience TASing other games.)
It sounds like your vertical blanks are VIs(?). I believe the game runs at 30fps but mupen runs at 60. You need to use only input-frames and iirc that's more difficult to do on mupen64plus. Mupen v8 increments on input-frames only. If you use vertical blanks you might have a bad time since that increments many VIs without any input frames, though I have no clue how mupen64plus interprets the frames.
Just set "points" that you know you need to traverse and then try getting from say point C to point D faster than previously. BitFS for example we know you need to get to the elevator for the PU strat, and we need to wait on the elevator, so you should set a point for activating the elevator. Then another from PUspeed to bowser entrance. Maybe one from first movable frame to the 'pole glitch'. Works for all 3d games, just establish where you need to go and then use different moves to try and get a faster time to desired point.
Joined: 11/26/2010
Posts: 454
Location: New York, US
Sorry for asking its just been a while and some good N64 TAS' are gonna be submitted soon. I'm just hyped because so many good runs that came out and are coming out, hoping this will come out soon as well. Hard to contain my excitement right now!!!
lxx4xNx6xxl: on previous requests for updates, one of the people involved with making the run told us all to remain patient. There was some further discussion where he got defensive and people questioned if the whole run was just a joke. The mods have since removed that whole discussion. I found it both informative and on topic, therefore it is unfortunate that the discussion didn't continue and a mod deleted it. The whole thread basically died after that incident. My guess is people are either too afraid to get involved or have disregarded the run as not happening.
Joined: 8/14/2009
Posts: 4090
Location: The Netherlands
Or they're just patiently waiting while the TASers are busy with real-life efforts. Imagine that one.
Also, the discussion you mentioned is not deleted, it was moved, and it definitely was not an informative, productive or even on-topic discussion. It just derailed the topic into personal attacks of various sorts.
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.
Joined: 11/26/2010
Posts: 454
Location: New York, US
Yea I read it and it was not on topic at all, just a bunch of bashing. I believe they are busy with real life and I completely understand that. Its been so long since the top post I forgot and posted whats been on my and probably everyone's mind that follows this thread. I will wait patiently as always. I just get curious about whats going on and to the TASers that that may bother, I'm truly sorry. I'm just trying to let them know there are people still interested and hope it sparks some motivation and inspiration.