User Files from RetroEdit

A Barbie: Magic Genie Adventure speedrunner found that minigames can be exited early by pressing select when the "success jingle" plays, saving 1.5 seconds on most minigames and 2.5 seconds on the last minigame for a total 10-second time save over #8403: PinkyNoice, OtakuTAS & RetroEdit's GBC Barbie: Magic Genie Adventure in 07:36.85. (on the last minigame Magic Rainbow Potion, you can press select when the last rotation finishes).

(previous user files: 008, header fix, boot resync)

A few months ago, I decided to test GBAHawk's multiplayer support using Game & Watch Gallery 4. After a few UI bugs were fixed, it seemed to function pretty well. I semi-optimized this TAS test, but there's probably a little bit more time save from better RNG in Donkey Kong 3 at the very least. This movie is missing the two Classic multiplayer modes, but those do also appear to function in the emulator.

It's very exciting to have multiplayer support so this game could finally be properly beaten. It's still a massive undertaking to optimize, but at least it's possible!

This movie was created in GBAHawk 2.1.1, but still syncs in 2.1.3, the most recent version at time of writing.

I completed a full 100% run because it was more straightforward than any%.

This is a mix of rewind and manual editing. Certain levels are relatively optimized, while others are bad (2-1 for instance).

This needs a fair bit more work to be ready to submit, but it's a solid baseline.

(Previous movie: WIP_001)

<< prev / WIP_005

I redid 1-1, 1-2, and 1-3 basically from scratch. The main improvement is a new fighting glitch where moving with precise timing while shooting will shoot more projectiles and basically defeat enemies twice as fast.

This was a surface-level second-pass. There are still probably a few seconds of further improvements, but this is already 04:24.08 ahead of my previous movie after only three levels. Some further improvement is complicated by the pistons: they block the path, and you can be stuck in a cycle where you're not saving any time on the part of the level prior to the pistons (essentially a frame-rule; although technically, you can probably save time by reducing lag).

I didn't fully apply the projectile glitch to 1-1, but in my testing, it would only save a few seconds because of having to wait numerous seconds for an extremely poor piston cycle, and I preferred the piston damage boost stylistically for now. 1-2 was pretty clean. 1-3 could maybe be faster by damage-boosting up through the toxic waste pipe instead of destroying the computer console to disable it.

One other potential improvement might be turning off the music and/or the sound effects at the beginning of the run. That would probably reduce the amount of lag, with net gains after just a few levels.

A resync of [1736] GBA Wario Land 4 "Hard" by andymac in 40:04.88 to BizHawk 2.9.1.

See my resync page for more details.

A successful resync of [3228] GBA The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap by Tompa & quo in 1:40:02.18 from VBA-RR v24 svn422 to BizHawk 2.9.1. The lag/load time adjustments were almost completely automated: this required only one manual adjustment for the last input at the end.

Edit (2023-10-29): Ah, I just realized there was a oversight in my automated resync script. So the manual resync at the end wasn't due to game incompatibility.

Apparently, VBA-rr movies *can* be resynced. It just required better knowledge of the scripting behavior and movie format.

Attempted resync of [1478] GBA Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow by Kriole in 20:58.62 to BizHawk 2.9.1.

This movie was able to sync surprisingly far with some lag adjustments, but had different enemy movement patterns that damaged the player and desynced in the room at frame 14402 or 4:03 (https://youtu.be/xPpXbxOxceM?t=243).

One of my RTA speedruns from a few months ago. I decided to upload this so that at least one complete any% movie exists on the site, even though this wouldn't be very good as a TAS.

This theoretically saves 42 frames over my previous best 5-4 route, mostly from a better Puss in Boots climbing setup at the beginning.

However, it desyncs on the second Fairy Godmother candy cane throw for unknown reasons. There might be a way to salvage it, but it's a complex level and I have no immediate plans to investigate further or redo the rest of the level to incorporate the time save.

The second revision of my WIP movie for Shrek 2 (GBA)! See further details in the accompanying post in Forum/Posts/522769.

A resync of Donkey Kong Country 2 any% to 2.9.1, automated using an script. From https://tasvideos.org/4048M

Emulation differences reduced the final time by -00:03.75 (-247 fewer lag frames, and 23 extra lag frames)

Note (19 July 2023): GBAHawk is probably now a more accurate option than BizHawk 2.9.1, and I suspect there are probably around 30-60 seconds more lag on it to match more accurately with real console.

Note (4 October 2023): I recently did a resync showing that GBAHawk does indeed have notably more lag than mGBA. It wasn't quite as significant as I initially proposed, though. It had 6.898 seconds of additional lag.

A ~00:33.06 improvement over the current submission. It does trivially end with parachute, although because of point acceleration, it concludes instantly. Unfortunately, I just realized this doesn't quite follow the same goal as the submission. It enters parachute at the end, but it's really during the buffer zone where parachute is still accessible after entering octopus. It's mainly focused on reaching 1000 points.

This is basically entirely fresh inputs. The only commonality with Fortranm's movie is the 'InitialTime' sync setting. I've kept their author status in the movie on that basis, since it affects the initial RNG, which is a significant part of the movie (I have not yet optimized the initial RNG).

See the accompanying review post I will post shortly at Forum/Topics/24336.

Hello, TASVideos userfile explorer! This is Game & Watch Gallery for the Game Boy. I created a bot to play 6 out of the 8 total games required for 100% completion: Fire Modern and Classic, Manhole Modern and Classic, and Oil Panic Modern and Classic.

Octopus Modern and Classic posed a few more issues because it requires more navigation strategy around tentacle movements, so I haven't quite gotten around to botting it. But maybe soon!

This movie isn't entirely optimized: there's significantly more RNG manipulation, subtle strategies, as well as a few more blatant strategies. For instance, in Manhole Modern, the bot doesn't allow the manhole covers to fall as early as they could to end the game after 1000 points, because it would require more complex logic. But hopefully this provides a good baseline for an eventual publication.

(And yes, you have to intentionally lose to gain a high score in each subgame, unlike later games in the series where you can quit and have the score save).

Finishes all puzzles: Easy, Kinoko, Star, and Time Trial.

Still many improvements to be made.

Not using equal-length frames apparently saves a notable amount of time. Inputs are probably pressed earlier, which apparently reduces level lag as a secondary benefit. This also eliminates all the differences between soft-resetting and power-on. By simply replacing the soft-reset with a power-cycle, and then inserting 146 frames, the movie will still sync perfectly.

A short movie showing proof-of-concept for luck manipulation in the Fire subgame in Game & Watch Gallery 4. More details are available here.

Some Fire-related addresses, particularly those related to luck manipulation. A related movie is available here, and more details are available here.