This page lists the questions and answers to things that a newcomer to TASVideos might be wondering about.

1. Hi! I'm new to this site, and I just wanted to introduce myself! Is there anything in particular I should know before posting or submitting a TAS?

Welcome to TASVideos! First of all, there is some technical stuff to do: Before posting in the forum, please read the Site Rules. We also suggest you read the Welcome To TASVideos page to get a better understanding of what this site is about. It will tell you what all you need to know about how and why we make these movies. Basically, When posting in the forum, the thumb rules are to be polite and articulate!

If you intend to submit a TAS, make sure you've read the Movie Rules before submitting. We also suggest you read through the Common Tricks page too, before recording anything. Remember, you can always post in the forum if you need help with anything; we'll be glad to help out!

2. I'd like to make a TAS of a game, but I've never done one before. What specific game can you recommend?

It mainly depends on your prior experience with games, but generally, any simple platformer for any of the older consoles, such as NES or Gameboy, would be a good choice. We also suggest that first of all, you learn all the basic tools of the emulator before recording anything. When you decide to start recording, it might be a very good idea to pick a game that already has a TAS published, and to constantly compare your run to that one, making sure that yours isn't slower. Randil personally favors NES games, so here are a few simple NES platformers:

3. I'm wondering, why would anyone make a TAS? It sounds like it takes a big amount of time and planning to make one.

It does, but the result is worth it! It's really a fun activity, and it's not that hard to learn. Not only is it fun and challenging to make a TAS, you get to see the result of your time invested when you replay the movie you've recorded.

Many emulators let you 'save the state' of a game, no matter where you are or what you're doing. Have you ever tried this? When you 'load' the state, it's like going back in time! Save before a difficult part of the game, so you can always go back and try it again right away. Cheat all you want with this, and the game will never care!

But the movie may still not be as perfect as possible, because some moves would be too fast to pull off right away every time. But emulators fix that too! Make the game as slow as you want! Pause it, even! If a game only accepts 60 button presses a second, you can pause the game and press a key for 'frame advance' which makes the game play for just 1/60th of a second and then pause itself again. Hold a button you want pressed in the game while you tap the 'frame advance' key, and you'll have held that button for a mere 1/60th of a second from the game's point of view! You can be one fast player now!

Because of these tools, you're constantly progressing in the making of the TAS, and you can just continue to record from where you stopped the last time. So if you record 2 minutes of the TAS on day 1, you can continue to record from that point in the TAS on day 2.

4. I've started doing a TAS, but it's not going very well… I'm having a hard time getting the same time as the TAS I'm comparing to. Can you guys help me out?

Of course! That's what the community is all about. If you have a question about the emulator, such as how a certain feature works or so, ask your question in the appropriate emulator thread. If your question is about the game you're TASing, post your question in the appropriate game thread. Please do not be discouraged if you find it hard to get a good result the first time you TAS a game. It's certain that you'll get better and better the more you try, and eventually you'll find that you can get at least as good, if not better, results than the TAS you're comparing to! And really, don't be afraid to ask questions, especially in the Newcomer's forum section. As long as you ask nicely, we will answer nicely. If you are unsure where in the forum to post your question, ask it in the Newcomer's section, it's better that you ask your question in the wrong sub forum than not asking it at all.

5. I have finished a TAS! Should I go ahead and submit it?

If this is your first TAS, we strongly suggest you post your run in the forum before submitting it. If everyone in the forum give their thumbs up, you can go ahead and submit it. The reason we prefer that you post your first TAS in the appropriate forum thread is simply because for your first TAS, even if you've studied the tools and the previous runs thoroughly, it's not certain that it's site material, simply because it often takes a long time to learn TASing. But again, if your run is well made and good material for the site, we will most likely give you thumbs up!

Make sure you post your run in the correct forum thread — use the forum search feature to find it.

6. Where can I upload my run if I don't want to submit it just yet?

You can upload your run to Microstorage. Just copy the link that it gives you after uploading your movie file, and post it in a forum post. This way everyone can watch what you've done!

7. I don't know how to use the forum search feature, can you help me out?

Sure! At the top of the forum page, you'll see the word "search" with a magnifying glass next to it. Click on that link. In order to search for your game, simply type in your search in the first textbox. If your game contains multiple words, such as Super Mario Bros, put "quotes" around the name when you search, so that you only get results for "Super Mario Bros" instead of separate "Super", "Mario", and "Bros". You can also select which subforum to get results from, under the Forum: list under Search Options. If your game is a NES game, for example, set this option to "NES games" to sort out all the hits you're not interested in.

8. Is it allright if I register at the forum without starting TASing? I'm not sure I want to make a TAS myself, but I'm interested in posting in the forum.

It's completely okay to register at the forum and start posting without starting to make any TAS yourself. Of course, we would be very happy if you would start TASing, but it's not necessary in order to become a member of the site.

9. In what ways can I contribute to this site?

It's nice to hear that you're interested in helping out! There are many ways to contribute to this site, and you don't have to submit TASes to help out. Our Helping page contains all the information you need on this subject.