Game objectives

  • Emulator: libTAS 1.4.6
  • Game Version: 1.5.1 itch.io Linux https://leef6010.itch.io/projectkat
  • Getting True Ending
  • libTAS Resolution settings: Video > Custom: 1280x720
  • Option to be set in libTAS: Runtime > Time tracking > clock_gettime() realtime
A mysterious golden letter is sent to a select number of people... Its contents are unknown.
Project Kat is a story-based puzzle game created by Leef6010, where each puzzle has multiple solutions and outcomes! There is always another way. The game is playable in about 45 minutes and contains multiple endings depending on your actions.

Comments

TAS uses the Japanese version to save 2 seconds per dialog box

Sync

The previous Dead End K2 TAS was rejected for optimization, the game had problems in libTAS version 1.4.4, after a long time I managed to solve the problem in 1.4.5, the game requires the same options as FNA / MonoGame in libTAS because even though this game was created in Godot it uses Mono which thus caused the game to crash without these options as the initial TASer I did not know, I now have a bit of experience in creating TAS, thanks to this now TAS Project Kat (and maybe also) Paper Lily - Chapter 1 will now be possible.
For judges and publishers: The game has a problem with imputs desync if you turn off pause from the start, it will cause problems with playback, use frame advance carefully during loading times, the clock in the bottom right corner should disappear at 24 frame and the other one at 314, holding frame advance after that will not cause problems, turn off the pause, it will play incorrectly.

Dialogues

  • A quicker way to skip texts is to hold down X to automatically skip texts and alternately press Z and Space, this will save a lot of time by doing so.

Garden

  • I made one change here, instead of putting the flower? in the vase, I took them all out and interacted with the door, this is much faster than what I did in the previous TAS, I want to thank DaserByte who discovered that this is faster.

Benches

  • You have to solve this minigame in each class to continue the storyline, you can use 2 keys at once to control Kat during this minigame, I tested each move to optimize it, the bench can also block our movement with 2 keys which means it won't always work that's why I had to optimize to put them in the fastest possible time without complications.

Oculist club

  • In class 3-A I take a pair of scissors and a dusty hairpin and leave the classroom, along with the oculist club and use the scissors to open the box to collect the rune, then I cut the hair of one of the girls to save time (I know, it's mean of me), because even though we get hair which saves more frames than cutting our own we still get out of the classroom faster.

Rest

  • The last thing left is the curtains, you need to interact with the windows without curtains in class 3-B to set off the objective, the curtain is in the art club but it's locked, you can use the key you can get from Ponytail Girl or specifically drop her bag or use the hairpin, I use the hairpin because it's faster than taking the key from the bag, the hairpin will still be needed elsewhere, after that I take the curtains, cover the window, put candles and draw with chalk in all the classrooms and burn a clump of hair.

Doors on the long staircase

  • This location has 2 routes, interact with all the doors to trigger the loops and use the key at the door on the long stairs or use the hairpin, I use the hairpin route, it helps me save time, there is a trigger to start a tutorial on how to climb the stairs but it is not well designed and you can enter the stairs in a tight place without having to activate the tutorial, but it will be there all the time until you enter the trigger, it will still be there almost at the very end, opening the door is difficult using the harpin, the harpin may break after two attempts but since it's TAS, we don't worry about it and move on, honestly, I don't have much to say about it because we just walk around and wait
  • After that, we enter and go to the right because the trigger is still there and we would lose 2 seconds because of it, then I have nothing more to say.

eien86: Claiming for judging.

eien86: Replacing movie with a shorter one, provided by the author

eien86: A cute little game where definitely nothing violent happens. This movie is visibly optimized. The author selects the Japanese text since it saves time in each dialogue. Accepting to Standard
This game is a pain to sync. Even if you think you're doing well, it will desync if you're not careful. I believe the issue is the movie alternating between key pressed / not pressed at every frame. This can saturate the system's buffer or even go out of phase when doing the playback. For the next movie, I'd recommend holding inputs for a few solid frames instead of alternating so quickly.
The procedure to sync this game is:
  • Tick the 'Pause' box in libTAS before starting the game
  • Press 'v' once and wait for things to load
  • Press 'v' slowly for a few hundred frames. Once you read something in Japanese, you're good
  • Set 'Slow Motion' to 12% and unpause
  • Pray it doesn't desync
Spikestuff: 🔪


TASVideoAgent
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CoolHandMike
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While I have no context for the game, it did interest me towards the end so gave it a yes vote.
discord: CoolHandMike#0352
Reviewer, Experienced player (920)
Joined: 11/18/2011
Posts: 312
Location: Morocco
I couldn't get the game to sync sadly, even after following the author's instructions. I do indeed get the loading clock disappear at frames 24 and 314 but gameplay afterwards desyncs where the girl is staring at some grass (left grass found at 0:38 in author's encode).
I still learn more about English. https://www.youtube.com/user/McBobX100
I wrote:
Working is the best way to achieve goals in speedruning. Hardworking is a pain.
Tegron
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Posts: 9
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McBobX, do you use frame advance or do you normally play without it? Because you have to use frame advance all the time during playback, if you turn off the pause and play back like this it will play incorrectly, it is a bit of a pain but it is the only way to play and encode the video correctly
Reviewer, Experienced player (920)
Joined: 11/18/2011
Posts: 312
Location: Morocco
Tegron wrote:
McBobX, do you use frame advance or do you normally play without it? Because you have to use frame advance all the time during playback, if you turn off the pause and play back like this it will play incorrectly, it is a bit of a pain but it is the only way to play and encode the video correctly
I was releasing after frame 314 but I guess I will check again with holding it for the entirety of the run. I've never seen such a way of playing back a movie lol.
I still learn more about English. https://www.youtube.com/user/McBobX100
I wrote:
Working is the best way to achieve goals in speedruning. Hardworking is a pain.
Reviewer, Experienced player (920)
Joined: 11/18/2011
Posts: 312
Location: Morocco
So I did follow the steps you provided Tegron, word by word. I never released frame advance at all. I did get past the point I posted earlier, but now it desyncs around frame 6900 where it pauses with no action. I can't seem to fix this sadly. If someone else manages to get this in sync, it is going to be great! The game seems to be cool and fun to watch it being TASed (kind of Undertale), and the movie itself is good.
I still learn more about English. https://www.youtube.com/user/McBobX100
I wrote:
Working is the best way to achieve goals in speedruning. Hardworking is a pain.
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Posts: 11475
Location: Lake Char­gogg­a­gogg­man­chaugg­a­gogg­chau­bun­a­gung­a­maugg
Don't hold it, press it every frame.
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.
Tegron
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McBobX seeing your screen the chalk is not in your inventory, try clicking slowly while taking the chalk from the board, it's strange that it didn't collect when you hold it down
Reviewer, Experienced player (920)
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Posts: 312
Location: Morocco
Well, I guess the only thing left for me is trying what feos said. Though my speed is around 5 FPS if I were to keep repressing xD. Gonna take a while to confirm this way but also not sure how it is gonna be. Like I said, I may just leave it up to someone else if I can't confirm, sorry!
I still learn more about English. https://www.youtube.com/user/McBobX100
I wrote:
Working is the best way to achieve goals in speedruning. Hardworking is a pain.
Tegron
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Player (20)
Joined: 1/8/2023
Posts: 9
Location: Poland
I am inserting the correct file with the correct time, I have already embraced the removal of unnecessary extra end frames in the video
eien86
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Tegron wrote:
I am inserting the correct file with the correct time, I have already embraced the removal of unnecessary extra end frames in the video
For future reference, know you can upload work-in-progress and finished movies to TASVideos directly here: /UserFiles/Upload
eien86
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Joined: 3/21/2021
Posts: 262
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I was able to sync the movie. I believe the issue is you pressing keys all the time and alternating at all frames. This can saturate the system's buffer or even go out of phase. I recommend holding inputs for a few solid frames instead of alternating so quickly. The procedure to make this sync is as follows: * Tick the 'Pause' box before starting the game * Press v once and wait for things to load * Then press v manually and slowly for a few hundred frames. If you see Japanese text, you're good * Set Slow Motion to "12%" and unpause
Tegron wrote:
I am inserting the correct file with the correct time, I have already embraced the removal of unnecessary extra end frames in the video
I am afraid your cut wasn't enough, as the new movie you provide still includes the credits (where you see Kaiyo & DrKie) within it. You need to truncate your movie to just after the very last input necessary to finish the game. Such movie shouldn't contain the credits but should be one that, if you keep playing it without pressing anything, it should reach the credits anyway. Remember to upload that movie to /UserFiles/Upload.
Tegron
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Player (20)
Joined: 1/8/2023
Posts: 9
Location: Poland
eien86 Thank you for explaining to me, I mainly ended up with the frame of the exit from the game saves after the credits, because on the True End credits screen it's not possible to automatically get to the note from the developers, I can edit the frames for the version of the last imput before the credits if it helps anything else before accepting the TAS, I'll also remember next time to send these files to User files, for Paper Lily - Chapter 1 I'll also keep this in mind.
eien86
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Joined: 3/21/2021
Posts: 262
Location: Switzerland
Tegron wrote:
eien86 Thank you for explaining to me, I mainly ended up with the frame of the exit from the game saves after the credits, because on the True End credits screen it's not possible to automatically get to the note from the developers, I can edit the frames for the version of the last imput before the credits if it helps anything else before accepting the TAS, I'll also remember next time to send these files to User files, for Paper Lily - Chapter 1 I'll also keep this in mind.
Ah, I didn't know about this extra note from the developers. Then your current movie is fine. For TASing, we consider the last piece of congratulatory messages /credits as the true game ending. So it's fine you wait to press a key after the credits rollout, if that triggers the dev notes
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. ---- [6208] Linux Project Kat - Paper Lily Prologue "true ending" by Tegron in 07:56.55