Former player
Joined: 8/1/2004
Posts: 2687
Location: Seattle, WA
dan, ogreslayer, and myself were all working on CV:DX movies. as of yet, dan's movie trumped both ogre's movie and my movie in every area of each level. therefore, it only makes sense that we bowed out to let dan work on it, since he seemed to have the best chance of setting a good record for the movie. I can only hope that dan will start working on his movie again. dan: i tested out your little 'sliding fish launch' thing in the sewer area and was able to get it to work if you did a backflip and used your item, rather than just letting the flip go. I didnt record it, but at least i can vouch that the shortcut is possible.
hi nitrodon streamline: cyn-chine
Former player
Joined: 5/22/2004
Posts: 462
Just so you know, backflipping is the fastest mode of transportation. http://www.filespace.org/dan_/castlevania_dracula_x_v2_dan_.smv ~5.3 seconds faster than my version 1 after the first stage.
Joined: 1/9/2005
Posts: 219
Location: The Netherlands
So does that mean you're working on this game again? ;) Or was it just a test for the fun of it.
http://www.megazpeed.com - THE site for the ultimate MegaMan Zero superplay movies.
Post subject: Re: Castlevania: Dracula X
Joined: 3/23/2005
Posts: 32
Location: Croatia
Dammit. This is my timeattack project also. Well, best of the luck to you.
-- Fortune
Former player
Joined: 6/26/2004
Posts: 139
Location: Kuopio, Finland
I think it's a good thing to have a little competition. :) good luck to all of you.
- mazzeneko
Joined: 1/9/2005
Posts: 219
Location: The Netherlands
Would someone PLEASE finish it for a change? :) Everyone's like working on it, but as soon as they hear someone else is working on the game too, they quit making the vid... :)
http://www.megazpeed.com - THE site for the ultimate MegaMan Zero superplay movies.
Former player
Joined: 5/22/2004
Posts: 462
McBAIN: I am intending to finish this, finally. If I ever quit making it, get on IRC and hassle me about it, maybe I'll get motivated :P Random notes: Walking is the slowest speed. Monster recoil is the same speed as walking. 1 normal, forward jump will save you 12 frames. 1 backflip will save you 22 frames. Thus, 1 backflip saves 10 frames more than a jump. You have 64 units of health. At the end of each level, it takes 1 frame per unit of health you have left to add up the bonus. Thus, it is only beneficial to take hits when the time gained in the end is greater than the time lost by not moving at backflip and/or jump speed. Knowing this, I will have to look over my movie and determine if I actually save any time with the hits at all. Getting hit by a monster's body does 8 units of health. Using that information, logic says that it would be faster to try to maintain at least constant jumping rather than getting hit, unless the hit you are taking does more than 12 units of damage, or preferably, 22 units. Whipping and using sub-weapons take 24 frames. The item crash for the cross takes 102 frames before you can whip, and 126 frames before you enter landing animation.
Player (66)
Joined: 3/29/2005
Posts: 229
Location: The boonies.
Does the item crash for the cross do the most damage/frame? If not, you might want to look at Holy Water's crash; you regain movement much more quickly, from what I can tell. (And in Symphony of the Night, you can abuse a glitch in programming to reduce that time even more, but I don't know if that glitch exists in Dracula X.) I can only imagine what a pain this game is. It's slow enough to play at standard speed; it must feel like you're playing frame by frame when you're recording.
If life were an RPG, I'd be an NPC.
Former player
Joined: 5/22/2004
Posts: 462
I am playing frame by frame when recording; I want to make this movie as close to perfect as possible, as should all other people making movies and wanting them published on this site.
Player (66)
Joined: 3/29/2005
Posts: 229
Location: The boonies.
*smirks* Literally? Like, you pause it before you start recording and work from there? I only resort to that when it's apparent that I need to. Otherwise I just run it at 140ms/frame. (higher if I can get away with it, but I rarely can.) But that's me, and I'm lazy. I figure as long as it looks good, a frame here and a frame there doesn't matter. Anywho... if you want, I'll check to see if Holy Water's crash is any faster than the cross'. (Not that it matters for, what, the first 3 levels?)
If life were an RPG, I'd be an NPC.
Joined: 1/9/2005
Posts: 219
Location: The Netherlands
Dan, just send me the info of the irc server and channel, and i'll do my best when the time comes ;)
http://www.megazpeed.com - THE site for the ultimate MegaMan Zero superplay movies.
Former player
Joined: 5/22/2004
Posts: 462
/me points up "We also have an IRC channel #nesvideos at irc.freenode.net..."
Former player
Joined: 5/22/2004
Posts: 462
http://www.filespace.org/dan_/castlevania_dracula_x_v2_dan_.smv After redoing level 1 a bunch of times, I finally feel ready to move on to level 2 :D However, after all the optimizing, I only shaved off 19 frames. Still, that's 19 frames closer to perfect than I was before.
Editor, Active player (297)
Joined: 3/8/2004
Posts: 7469
Location: Arzareth
I moved the offtopic posts to a separate thread. Now, please continue with the actual topic.
Former player
Joined: 5/22/2004
Posts: 462
Level 2 complete! Check the previous link for the WIP. At this point, I'm 605 frames faster than my v1, or just over 10 seconds. If anyone spots any possible improvements, let me know before I move on to level 3 in the next few days.
Joined: 1/9/2005
Posts: 219
Location: The Netherlands
Well, i liked what i saw :) Although i'm afraid i have too few eye to detail for time attack video's to spot any possible improvements.
http://www.megazpeed.com - THE site for the ultimate MegaMan Zero superplay movies.
Former player
Joined: 5/22/2004
Posts: 462
http://www.geocities.com/aazurreco/dan_dracx.zip Thanks to Zurreco for the hosting. Level 3 is now completed. I got the key because I'm going for the best ending, which requires using it twice in level 4 to save Maria and then open the door the level 5b. After that, I can ditch it and get some useful subweapons again. As usual, any improvements would be nice before I move on.
Joined: 1/9/2005
Posts: 219
Location: The Netherlands
Well, one thing i noticed is that you have 7 hearts too much at the end of the level. thus, you gain a few points after the level and lose almost half a second. :) I could be wrong though, the score could be instant, or always the same amount of time or something. Just thought i'd point it out.
http://www.megazpeed.com - THE site for the ultimate MegaMan Zero superplay movies.
Former player
Joined: 5/22/2004
Posts: 462
You weren't the only one to point that out, McBAIN. I don't know why I didn't think of it earlier. However, I redid from the column room on and managed to gain 37 frames. It appears as though getting 7 too many hearts wasn't the only bad thing I did. Same link as before.
Joined: 1/9/2005
Posts: 219
Location: The Netherlands
Another thing i noticed. In the 3rd level, the start, the tall room with all the stairs and platforms where you jump a lot. At the end of it, you normally jump right, and then walk the last few inches to the right to the exit. Wouldn't it be faster to backdash? As you pointed out, backdashing is faster than jumping, plus you gain some sliding from it, so you'd have to walk less. As for the rest, looking fine. :)
http://www.megazpeed.com - THE site for the ultimate MegaMan Zero superplay movies.
Former player
Joined: 5/22/2004
Posts: 462
If I were to have backflipped there, then I would be closer to the exit. However, once you have backflipped and slid as far as you can, then you have to wait for 12 frames for Richter to stand up before it changes screens. That extra 12 frames makes regular jumping a bit quicker in that place.
Former player
Joined: 3/13/2004
Posts: 1118
Location: Kansai, JAPAN
Looks hot so far. Don't forget that the Key Weapon Crash can hurt enemies too, provided they touch the key. I think it uses one heart if you do that.
Do Not Talk About Feitclub http://www.feitclub.com
Player (66)
Joined: 3/29/2005
Posts: 229
Location: The boonies.
Can't you whip just before you land to cancel the sliding animation? Making it actually faster to backflip? Or does whipping mid-backflip lose the same amount of frames that just walking does?
If life were an RPG, I'd be an NPC.
Former player
Joined: 8/1/2004
Posts: 2687
Location: Seattle, WA
That is what he does...
hi nitrodon streamline: cyn-chine
Joined: 1/9/2005
Posts: 219
Location: The Netherlands
iirc, he does a normal jump. So yeah, backflip and whip :) Or is that slower than normal jumping too?
http://www.megazpeed.com - THE site for the ultimate MegaMan Zero superplay movies.