Princess Rescue is a Super Mario Bros. inspired platformer for the Atari 2600. It is a very impressive game for A2600 standards.
I improved 3-3 by 3 frames (one movement step) with a better enemy manipulation. No other improvements were found (I checked the other trampoline level 4-3 a few times but couldn't find anything.)
The same improvement would likely also work for the deathless run.
The run is visually virtually identical to the original, so no need for a temp encode.
Occasionally I go through runs as QC for changes I make to various BizHawk cores. A2600 underwent a lot of changes recently so I looked at this run and Halo2600 as a test. That section in 3-3 just stuck out at me so I thought I'd give a try at getting a better manipulation.
I wonder if the publications for this game should get a different labelling. As of now, the fastest completion has blank label, while the other branch is labelled as "deathless". I think that the current situation has started due to a misunderstanding, as the fastest completion movie was initially thought to be using a built-in warp mechanic, while instead it ultimately turned out to be exploiting a programming overlook. From the judgment note of that submission:
feos wrote:
This run uses a technique that looked like a debug combination at the first glance - being able to advance the level number after Game Over - but it turns out to be an actual game bug. The manual says that after Game Over you can revisit levels that you've beaten. This is how it works.
After the Game Over screen, you go to the first room of the level you've died in. You press Up or Down, and then B to confirm your choice and enter the room you've chosen. If you press Up after you've reached the last room you're supposed to enter, you get back to 1-1, and vice versa. The glitch here is that if you press Up at the same frame as B, you get access to second room of the level you've died in. And if you press Down in that case, you go back to the title screen.
So that's an example of an actual game bug, erroneous assumption made by the developer, or simply an oversight, doesn't matter how you call it. This run is legitimate and it also got great feedback, accepting to Moons.
The policy for branch labelling is to leave it blank for goals that feature the most common way to play a game, while instead giving an accurate label for more exotic goals. So in my opinion, the fastest completion movie should be labelled as "warp glitch", while making the deathless movie without label.
Joined: 8/14/2009
Posts: 4089
Location: The Netherlands
I submitted the previous movie as branchless (any%) fully aware of how the glitch worked. feos did not know and mis-assumed how it worked at first, but he did not touch the branch name, to my knowledge.
As for the branch name itself, it depends on how you define "the most common way to play a game". In terms of TAS publications, it's 1 each, so that doesn't help anything. Speedrunners of the game also call this category "any%", while the other is called "any% no death abuse". Speedrun.com also has single world categories (titled "World 1", etc.) that allow death abuse.
So, there isn't any defined consensus, in speedrunning terms, that the deathless category is the "common" way.
I don't currently see a reason to deviate from the current branch labels.
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.
Can this improvement be added to deathless as well?
[14:15] <feos> WinDOES what DOSn't
12:33:44 PM <Mothrayas> "I got an oof with my game!"
Mothrayas Today at 12:22: <Colin> thank you for supporting noble causes such as my feet
MemoryTAS Today at 11:55 AM: you wouldn't know beauty if it slapped you in the face with a giant fish
[Today at 4:51 PM] Mothrayas: although if you like your own tweets that's the online equivalent of sniffing your own farts and probably tells a lot about you as a person
MemoryTAS Today at 7:01 PM: But I exert big staff energy honestly lol
Samsara Today at 1:20 PM: wouldn't ACE in a real life TAS just stand for Actually Cease Existing
Yes it can. The deathless run actually loses 3 frames in that level in the published run, so this improvement saves 6 frames over the published deathless run. Also the deathless run starts the game 6 frames late, so the total improvement is 12 frames.
I'm still going over the deathless run but so far haven't found anything else, will probably submit it soon.
It starts 6 frames later? How is that possible?
Does it start later on the bizhawk it was made on?
[14:15] <feos> WinDOES what DOSn't
12:33:44 PM <Mothrayas> "I got an oof with my game!"
Mothrayas Today at 12:22: <Colin> thank you for supporting noble causes such as my feet
MemoryTAS Today at 11:55 AM: you wouldn't know beauty if it slapped you in the face with a giant fish
[Today at 4:51 PM] Mothrayas: although if you like your own tweets that's the online equivalent of sniffing your own farts and probably tells a lot about you as a person
MemoryTAS Today at 7:01 PM: But I exert big staff energy honestly lol
Samsara Today at 1:20 PM: wouldn't ACE in a real life TAS just stand for Actually Cease Existing
Alright. Can you provide an encode for deathless when it’s finished? I wont have that much time this week to make one.
[14:15] <feos> WinDOES what DOSn't
12:33:44 PM <Mothrayas> "I got an oof with my game!"
Mothrayas Today at 12:22: <Colin> thank you for supporting noble causes such as my feet
MemoryTAS Today at 11:55 AM: you wouldn't know beauty if it slapped you in the face with a giant fish
[Today at 4:51 PM] Mothrayas: although if you like your own tweets that's the online equivalent of sniffing your own farts and probably tells a lot about you as a person
MemoryTAS Today at 7:01 PM: But I exert big staff energy honestly lol
Samsara Today at 1:20 PM: wouldn't ACE in a real life TAS just stand for Actually Cease Existing
Joined: 11/14/2014
Posts: 927
Location: South Pole, True Land Down Under
Alyosha wrote:
Yes I checked BizHawk 2.2.1 and it starts late there as well, not sure how everyone missed that.
Good catch. This is the kind of "follow-up review" that makes for a great "frame war" show.
Oh... Yes vote. :P
I recently discovered that if you haven't reached a level of frustration with TASing any game, then you haven't done your due diligence.
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SOYZA: Are you playing a game?
NYMX: I'm not playing a game, I'm TASing.
SOYZA: Oh...so its not a game...Its for real?
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Anybody got a Quantum computer I can borrow for 20 minutes?
Nevermind...eien's 64 core machine will do. :)
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BOTing will be the end of all games. --NYMX
