I like what I see so far, though there seem to be a few improvements on a level of frame precision. Can't you summon rush earlier in a few screens? Why don't you jump on the solid platform at 0:57? Can't you turn around earlier when jumping from a ledge after that part?
By all means, keep it up!
Any chance you can give me time indexs to further suggest? Glad to find out I've done moderately fine so far.
I don't jump on the solid platform at 0:57 because it offers no time advantage, by the time I get there on the rotating platform I would've landed there by jumping off rush anyway so it just saves a little power on Rush.
Any particular spots you can mention about frame precision?
As for "turning earlier after 0:57" I assume you mean near 1:15? If so, no, even a single frame earlier meant that I wouldn't be able to jump without hitting the enemy above me (or so late that I can't, and simply fall off the platform)
I might be misunderstanding you, but you should always close and reopen Dolphin before playing a .dtm. It's the only way to reset a few things that would otherwise lead to de-syncs.
-Jump at the tops of all ladders. There's a few frame delay for Mega Man to get up to full speed while running. He's always at full speed in the air, though. So jumping (even a 1 frame hop) eliminates this.
-Make your edge jumps as high and as close to the edge as possible to take advantage of vertical acceleration.
That's my input on the gameplay. For the Dolphin issues you're having, I'm having the exact same problems, but I have a few suggestions. I haven't tried MM9, but I've been playing MM10 on r7302 which works for me, and I can't see why it would be that different.
* Semi-frequent crashes causing loss of input. Any insights?
I started experiencing this when I tried r7328 and up. That's why I went back to the r7302 I was using. No crashes there. Maybe this will be fixed in the future.
* Sometimes, Loading a savestate results in no
longer recording input (and sometimes locks input to what was happening from the loaded frame)
This annoys me the most. Think it has something to do with the emulated Wii-mote going into standby. This is a known issue with no current fix. Just have to do your best to avoid it by using multiple save states.
* Not 100% deterministic, may take 3 plays to get it to sync up (but will eventually sync up without any change to input)
This one gets the TL;DR. I'm not exactly sure why it takes multiple restarts of the replay to get to sync up. I have the same issue, but it may have something to do with how Dolphin loads the rom. I noticed it occasionally takes a different amount of time to load, and the recording always desyncs in one of about 4 locations. If it gets past all four spots (which are all within the first 30 seconds) then the entire video will be correctly synced. To avoid this problem, try starting your input (so in this case, entering your name, since the Wii warning screen only needs start to be held down) a frame or two later than when it actually accepts it. That way, if there's a discrepancy in how the Dolphin loads the rom, your inputs will still sync up. Just my guess, though. I haven't tested this fully.
And lastly, to sync better, save a main save-state to one you don't use very often (#8) at the beginning of a section (anywhere from a single screen to the whole level). Then run through the section using the other save states as often as you need, but write down (in notepad) what inputs need to be performed on whatever frames. It only needs to make sense to you, so it can be as ambiguous as you like. Here's an example excerpt from mine for MM10:
12
/\21
fall 22
30-35
43-49
59
x91
x93
98-x01-x07
x10
27-38
x50
68
That wont make sense to anyone but me.
Once you've completed the section and have everything written down, load your main save-state (#8), and run through the section using the input you wrote down and using minimum save-states (only every so often to redo mistakes). The Dolphin can rerecord through saved/loaded states, but it does a much better job when they aren't used in rapid succession or at all.
After you've completed the section, save the recording and play it back to see if it synced. Save states along the way, and if it desynced, load a state from a little before the desync and continue recording using the inputs your wrote down. Rinse and repeat. Lengthy process but it works for me.
Hope that helps.
I understand that I should always re-open it before playing the .DTM, that is not what I'm going on about, I am on about it simply refusing to accept input if i load a save-state more then once for example, or upon loading said-save state it refusing or locking input to last frames'
Thanks for those suggestions, I wasn't really sure if hopping at the top of a ladder did give that improvement so I guess I'll go back and start again haha. 9 hours down the drain 8D
Also, I do like your suggestion of using "Base" save-state to work on a screen, get the frames I need to do things then do it for real later, may save alot of re-doing so I'll try this. Thanks.
[Edit]
Are you certain about obtaining full-speed from a ladder if you jump at the top? I just did it and Megaman still seems to waste 3 frames.
Waste 1: Get to stop, facing way you came onto ladder
Waste 2: Turn to face direction being held
Waste 3: Don't move (For unknown reason?)
Frame 4: Finally start moving in desired direction.
Also, I'm not sure I fully grasp why you are saying I should jump as high as possible, when I don't need to go any higher? How will vertical acceleration help when im trying to go horizontal (And when vertical will gain me no benefit going horizontal)
Hmm. Not sure what you're doing wrong. Possibly jumping too soon so it doesn't register? I'm positive jumping gets you up to speed better than simply running. This is true anytime you accelerate from a full stop (level start, boss fights, tops of ladders, etc) because if you look closely, Mega Man actually leans into his run before he takes off.
At the top of the ladder, there should be only frame where Mega Man stands at the top of the ladder. The very next frame, Mega Man should be slightly in the air and at full horizontal speed heading forward.
As for my vertical acceleration comment, having more vertical momentum will help whenever the jump leads into a screen change, or you need to change directions on a lower platform. This is simply because you will get there sooner. Just jump as soon as possible to make a full jump and just barely clear the edge (One frame sooner and you would hit the ground, which stops vertical momentum=bad). Do this at 1:08 and you might save a frame or two unless the parachute enemy shoots at you in a way that prevents it. And the next two screens should benefit from this as well.
Hmm. I shall have to look into it some more, I was jumping the first frame possible upon getting ontop of the ladder and it seemed to take just as long to get to full speed. I'll keep looking into it though, if only we had RAM watch and someone knew the address...
As for your vertical acceleration I understand now, I mis-understood what you were referring to, thanks for your insights on that.
Progress is coming along slowly. My recording has become alot more stable thankfully, but I do have a rather busy life unfortunately (kids.. love 'em <3)
I'm just a screen away from Tornado Man. Slow I know but I've restarted twice now, and I get the feeling I'm gonna have to re-record the stage a few more times trying to get a optimal pattern for Tornado man. I hope not but guess we'll find out.
I strongly believe this game should be timed with the in-game timer. This allows the concrete zip tactic to be utilized to its fullest extent. If you don't believe me, watch this teaser video I made. Entirely unoptimized (mostly threw it together without much planning), but still showcases the zip quite nicely.
Link to video
To be completely honest, while the zipping is probably the most impressive trick discovered so far, the pausing and switching completely kills it for me. It's probably why I enjoy speedruns of MM10 so much more than those of MM9. Please, for a normal TAS, just use real time.
Joined: 8/14/2009
Posts: 4090
Location: The Netherlands
This, very much.
I'm a little disappointed Concrete Shot doesn't seem to allow for larger zips :(
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.
Im gonna have to agree with the crowd here. While it is impressive, unless there are large sequence breaks, I dont think watching basically 40 minutes of pausing isnt worth it. It should be labeled as a speed/entertainment tradeoff.
While I agree with the negative stance on the constant pausing, there isn't really a way around it. Even a real-timed run will have plenty of pausing. Quite a bit less, of course, but it will still detract from the viewing experience.
It could be just me, but I'd rather let the TASer take full advantage of this. Mostly because any real-timed run will also more than likely end up slower than MegaDestructor9's 19:18 run (which uses zips).
If it belongs in a different category, but still accepted, that would be fine with me too.
Joined: 4/21/2004
Posts: 3517
Location: Stockholm, Sweden
I am and was against pausing but seeing that lowered a bit my negative opinion about it. I am sure there are a few places where you can via nice pixel positioning zip through larger areas. It's tougher now to be against it.
Joined: 3/2/2007
Posts: 123
Location: Lake Havasu, Arizona
one thing that always bugged me about mm9...with the concrete is how to do the zipping with concrete. I swear i've tried like hundreds of times before in the past, but only managed to succeed very few times.