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Revision 43 (current)
Edited by Brandon on 6/6/2012 6:39 AM
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!!! Introduction
This page will host all runs that attempt to find a non-trivial minimum for an action, such as jumping, weapon usage, and puzzle moves. Non-trivial means the minimum is not clear, meaning that low% runs do not qualify if it is known before running what path yields the lowest percent. [user:HappyLee]'s [2908S|Super Mario Bros. "lowest score (500)"] is another example of a trivial minimum.
!!! Ranking
Although there is no consensus on how these types of TASes should be ranked, [user:Brandon] suggests completely separating each sub-goal as attempting to achieve several at once would inevitably lead to trade-offs, which would render ranking impossible. In these divisions, runs with less actions will obsolete runs with more actions, and a shorter run with the same amount of actions will obsolete a longer one. However, the "record holder" for a particular game is the first person to reach the smallest amount actions. Here's an example of a possible list of Super Mario Bros. TASes in the "minimum buttons pressed" category:
300 buttons pressed by John
* Added Super Mario Bros (JPN/USA PRG0) by Chris with 300 buttons pressed in 5:00.75 (2011-07-16)
** obsoletes Super Mario Bros (JPN/USA PRG0) by John with 300 buttons pressed in 5:01.99 (2011-07-07)
*** ---Added Super Mario Bros (JPN/USA PRG0) by Bob with 301 buttons pressed in 4:59.88 (2011-07-04)---
**** ---obsoletes Super Mario Bros (JPN/USA PRG0) by Bob with 301 buttons pressed in 5:00.30 (2011-07-02)---
***** ---obsoletes Super Mario Bros (JPN/USA PRG0) by Bob with 301 buttons pressed in 5:01.66 (2011-07-01)---
As you can see, John, the first player to achieve 300 presses, holds the rank. However, Chris' movie obsoletes John's.
!!! Minimum Buttons
[user:Nach] once [Forum/Topics/7082|suggested] the idea of a kind of TAS where button presses were minimized. Sadly, no one could agree on what constitutes a press. Therefore, [user:Brandon] proposed two groups for these kinds of runs:
!! Pressed
This category means that the player tries to press as few buttons as possible. A button press is defined as one button down counting as one button press, regardless of how long it's held. For example, if a player holds down two buttons for 5 frames, the number of buttons pressed is 2.
! Runs - 5 active, 7 obsolete
__GB Super Mario Land__
289 buttons pressed by [user:MUGG]
* Added [http://dehacked.2y.net/microstorage.php/info/187532754/sml1muggleastpress.vbm|GB Super Mario Land (any v1.0) by MUGG with 289 buttons pressed in 18:24] (2011-07-19)
__NES Donkey Kong__
35 buttons pressed by [user:nitrogenesis]
* Added [http://dehacked.2y.net/microstorage.php/info/1982631593/DK_MP.fm2|NES Donkey Kong (JPN/USA) by nitrogenesis with 35 buttons pressed in 01:17.32] (2011-07-20)
__NES Donkey Kong Jr.__
47 buttons pressed by [user:Brandon]
* Added [http://dehacked.2y.net/microstorage.php/info/361017945/Donkey%20Kong%20Jr.%20%28JU%29.fm2|NES Donkey Kong Jr. (JPN/USA) by Brandon Evans with 47 buttons pressed in 2:22.15] (2011-12-04)
__NES Super Mario Bros__
142 buttons pressed by [user:Brandon]
* Added [3556S] (2012-04-06)
** obsoletes [3534S] (Submitted on 2012-04-01, originally added on 2012-01-19)
*** ---obsoletes [http://dehacked.2y.net/microstorage.php/info/1820584312/fractalsmininputlol.fm2|Super Mario Bros (JPN/USA PRG0) by MUGG & FractalFusion with 147 buttons pressed in 06:45.57] (2011-07-20)---
**** ---obsoletes [http://dehacked.2y.net/microstorage.php/info/1058016196/fractalsmininputlol.fm2|Super Mario Bros (JPN/USA PRG0) by FractalFusion with 148 buttons pressed in 06:59.09] (2011-07-19)---
***** ---obsoletes [http://dehacked.2y.net/microstorage.php/info/67719869/Super%20Mario%20Bros%20%28JU%29%20%28PRG%200%29%20-%20Minimum%20Presses.fm2|Super Mario Bros (JPN/USA PRG0) by Brandon Evans & MUGG with 156 buttons pressed in 05:43.33] (2011-07-18)---
****** ---obsoletes [http://dehacked.2y.net/microstorage.php/info/606060007/smb1muggleastpress.fm2|Super Mario Bros (JPN/USA PRG0) by MUGG with 158 buttons pressed in 05:34.45] (2011-07-18)---
******* ---obsoletes [http://dehacked.2y.net/microstorage.php/info/949843052/Super%20Mario%20Bros%20%28PRG%200%29%20%28JU%29%20least%20press2.fm2|Super Mario Bros (JPN/USA PRG0) by FractalFusion with 163 buttons pressed in 05:59.08] (2011-07-18)---
******** ---obsoletes [http://dehacked.2y.net/microstorage.php/info/1828284305/Super%20Mario%20Bros%20%28JU%29%20%28PRG%200%29%20-%20Minimum%20Presses.fm2|Super Mario Bros (JPN/USA PRG0) by Brandon Evans with 171 pressed in 05:45.90] (2011-07-17)---
__ Super Mario Bros. 3__
235 buttons pressed by [user:Brandon]
* Added [3586S] (2012-05-01)
!! Inputted
This category means that the player inputs as few buttons as possible. For example, if a player holds down two buttons for 5 frames, the number of buttons inputted is 10.
! Runs - 1 active, 1 obsolete
__NES Urban Champion__
40 buttons inputted by [user:Brandon]
* Added [http://dehacked.2y.net/microstorage.php/info/349427736/Urban%20Champion%20%28JU%29.fm2|NES Urban Champion (JPN/USA) by Brandon Evans with 40 buttons inputted in 00:49.98] (2011-07-20)
** obsoletes [http://dehacked.2y.net/microstorage.php/info/254652472/Urban%20Champion%20%28JU%29.fm2|NES Urban Champion (JPN/USA) by Brandon Evans with 40 buttons inputted in 00:56.59] (2011-07-20)
!! Resources
[user:bkDJ] created a [http://code.google.com/p/tastools/downloads/detail?name=TAS_Button_Stats_v0.7.zip|program] that can calculate several statistics on the buttons pressed and inputted for a movie file. In addition, [user:Brandon] wrote a Lua script to track button presses and input. Its [http://code.google.com/p/bizhawk/source/browse/trunk/BizHawk.MultiClient/output/Lua/ButtonCount.lua|best incarnation] is for [Bizhawk]. There's another version which works satisfactorily on several other emulators, which you can find at [http://code.google.com/p/brandon-evans-tas/source/browse/Lua/ButtonCount.lua|Brandon's TASing repository], [http://code.google.com/p/tastools/source/browse/trunk/Lua/ButtonCount.lua|tastools], and [http://fceultra.svn.sourceforge.net/viewvc/fceultra/fceu/output/luaScripts/ButtonCount.lua?view=log|FCEUX's repository] (It is set to be bundled with the release of FCEUX 2.1.6). For more information on both scripts, such as what platforms they support, see their [http://code.google.com/p/tastools/wiki/TASButtonStats|tastools Wiki page].
! Encoding
For encodes of these runs, we have [user:FractalFusion]'s [http://code.google.com/p/brandon-evans-tas/source/browse/Lua/ddrinput.lua|DDR Input] Lua script. It generates the input as if it were a song from Dance Dance Revolution, making it clear what the duration of the presses are. It also displays the number of buttons pressed on top. A few tweaks will be necessary to make it work for "minimum buttons inputted".