Super Castlevania IV

2010-04-23 08:44:32 am

I'm a flippin' ninja

Quote from DK28:

Quote from ColonelFatso:

37:11 is fantastic already. Can't wait to see the finished product. Did you, like, figure out a reliable fast-whip method on console, or is it just lots of super-optimized boosts/etc?

These questions.

But also, are you using the cross to the end or picking up the holy water?

I'm very bad at fast-whipping. That's another thing I'm really suspicious about the nicovideo speedrun. There really isn't a good way to do it fast and reliably, the timing is kinda silly for it. I only use it against Frankenstein and Axe armor, but it's honestly almost not worth it since I do screw up some hits so that they won't end up registering full damage.

Yes I do use almost my full life in every stage for damage boosts, and I tried to choose the most optimal ones. I also throw crosses a lot in advance so I don't have to stop for killing any monsters that take 4 or more hits. I've pretty much tried to think everything over again.

I don't find holy water worth picking. Sure it speeds up some boss fights, mainly Mummy and Slogra, but it just sucks for everything else. Bosses die sort of fast in this game anyway, it's the regular enemies that slow you down more. Even for Slogra, Gaibon, Death and Dracula it probably isn't worth it. Cross with III multiplier is faster for Gaibon, Death and Dracula whereas holy water only speeds up Slogra fight. Also I rarely die against Slogra anyway so I don't need it for survival either.

[quote="DK28"]
[quote="ColonelFatso"]
37:11 is fantastic already. Can't wait to see the finished product. Did you, like, figure out a reliable fast-whip method on console, or is it just lots of super-optimized boosts/etc?
[/quote]

These questions.

But also, are you using the cross to the end or picking up the holy water?
[/quote]

I'm very bad at fast-whipping. That's another thing I'm really suspicious about the nicovideo speedrun. There really isn't a good way to do it fast and reliably, the timing is kinda silly for it. I only use it against Frankenstein and Axe armor, but it's honestly almost not worth it since I do screw up some hits so that they won't end up registering full damage.

Yes I do use almost my full life in every stage for damage boosts, and I tried to choose the most optimal ones. I also throw crosses a lot in advance so I don't have to stop for killing any monsters that take 4 or more hits. I've pretty much tried to think everything over again.

I don't find holy water worth picking. Sure it speeds up some boss fights, mainly Mummy and Slogra, but it just sucks for everything else. Bosses die sort of fast in this game anyway, it's the regular enemies that slow you down more. Even for Slogra, Gaibon, Death and Dracula it probably isn't worth it. Cross with III multiplier is faster for Gaibon, Death and Dracula whereas holy water only speeds up Slogra fight. Also I rarely die against Slogra anyway so I don't need it for survival either.

Josh the Funkdoc

2010-04-24 12:42:09 pm

spread the dirt to the populace

Yeah, I think with Nicovideo runs you should assume emulator until proven otherwise.

Also, Bablo, would you use the cross even in a TAS? I'm getting that impression from your comments.

Bablo

2010-04-24 01:26:54 pm

I'm a flippin' ninja

Quote from Josh the Funkdoc:

Yeah, I think with Nicovideo runs you should assume emulator until proven otherwise.

Also, Bablo, would you use the cross even in a TAS? I'm getting that impression from your comments.

Yes. I have a wip up to 3-3 that uses the cross and it's a lot faster than holy water. However I'm not sure if it's faster to use holy water against Slogra and some other bosses in a TAS, but that's another story.

Bablo

Edit history:

Bablo: 2010-04-27 05:31:44 am

2010-04-27 04:17:58 am

I'm a flippin' ninja

I did a savestate run just now. I wanted it to be sort of realistic as I didn't get the best luck nor did I do anything I wouldn't attempt in a normal speedrun.
The run clocked at 35:14, but that'd be more like 35:02 with SDA's timing methods. Snes9x lags way less than console though.

So yeah, 35:30 is definitely possible. I'm still sure I haven't come up with best strategies everywhere, so the time might go even lower.

Input file here if anyone wants to see. Use (J) ROM. Edit: Use Snes9x v1.43.

Josh the Funkdoc

Edit history:

Josh the Funkdoc: 2010-07-31 12:17:52 pm

2010-07-31 12:08:44 pm

spread the dirt to the populace

OK, folks, now that 3 is done I'm going in on this game!

I don't have access to a SNES at the moment so I have to ask: Is ZSNES more accurate in handling lag than SNES9x? Does SNES9x 1.52 fix things? I will be streaming my practice of this game on an emulator so I want to pick the best one. Thanks!

DK28

2010-07-31 10:22:17 pm

General Kong - Bullets and Bananas

I don't know about the different emulators, but the major points of lag would be the spinning tunnel and the short walk past the red caterpillar. You should be able to get some pretty comparable practice regardless. Good luck on this. I look forward to your progress. Smiley

Bablo

2010-11-10 09:20:52 am

I'm a flippin' ninja

Time to bump this thread.

As I've been mentoring Josh to get ready for his marathon run, I've started playing this game a bit more and found some new tricks too.

I wanted to see what kind of times I could get now on console, so I played a little and got 35:58 today, which beats the nicovideo-most-likely-made-on-emulator-run by ~5 seconds!

Now I just need a new rca splitter and I'm set for actual recording and serious attempts. I'm also getting a faster internet soon so I could stream my attempts too!

So get your popcorn ready, folks!

P.S. Not to steal Josh's lightning though, watch his marathon performance first, as I probably can't start streaming before that anyway.

DK28

2010-11-10 10:49:48 pm

General Kong - Bullets and Bananas

You and Josh both have my attention. Loving what's been coming so far.

Josh the Funkdoc

2010-11-19 12:44:34 pm

spread the dirt to the populace

Alright, now I've run into a new issue...

I get input delay with every emulator I've tried, 1 or 2 frames compared to console; not a huge deal for most of the game, but it completely messes up my timing for Medusa head boosts and 3-2 glitch. I can see this being a problem for some of the crazier tricks I'd need to learn if I want to go for a recorded run...level 8, I'm looking at you!

Also: I'm always getting choppy scrolling with Snes9x now, ZSNES has the obvious sound issues and also crashed my computer just now, and BSNES is too resource-heavy for streaming. Any other suggestions? Isn't there some other emulator that the Japanese use?

On the good side, I've found a solid strategy for level 3 boss finally:

- Stand on upper-right platform, jump and throw cross when water is just a little bit below the boss trigger point, then jump again and throw another one right as the water reaches that trigger point.

- Jump onto middle platform, then walk left and drop onto the lowest platform. Stay on that far edge of that platform and don't move!

- Crouch, and throw 2 more crosses as the first 2 are leaving the screen. This should hopefully kill one of the dragons, allowing you to go all-out with 3 more crouching crosses to finish off the second one without slowdown. Even if this misses, you can still whip up/left to take out the second dragon immediately afterward. You shouldn't get hit at all with this strategy, and worst-case scenario is one hit (allowing you to skip that last meat even for marathon).

My last two console attempts on this game died at this boss, but now they're a joke. One less thing to worry about, which is good especially with everything else in that level...

Alright, now I've run into a new issue...

I get input delay with every emulator I've tried, 1 or 2 frames compared to console; not a huge deal for most of the game, but it completely messes up my timing for Medusa head boosts and 3-2 glitch.  I can see this being a problem for some of the crazier tricks I'd need to learn if I want to go for a recorded run...level 8, I'm looking at you!

Also: I'm always getting choppy scrolling with Snes9x now, ZSNES has the obvious sound issues and also crashed my computer just now, and BSNES is too resource-heavy for streaming.  Any other suggestions?  Isn't there some other emulator that the Japanese use?

On the good side, I've found a solid strategy for level 3 boss finally:

- Stand on upper-right platform, jump and throw cross when water is just a little bit below the boss trigger point, then jump again and throw another one right as the water reaches that trigger point.

- Jump onto middle platform, then walk left and drop onto the lowest platform.  Stay on that far edge of that platform and don't move!

- Crouch, and throw 2 more crosses as the first 2 are leaving the screen.  This should hopefully kill one of the dragons, allowing you to go all-out with 3 more crouching crosses to finish off the second one without slowdown.  Even if this misses, you can still whip up/left to take out the second dragon immediately afterward.  You shouldn't get hit at all with this strategy, and worst-case scenario is one hit (allowing you to skip that last meat even for marathon).

My last two console attempts on this game died at this boss, but now they're a joke.  One less thing to worry about, which is good especially with everything else in that level...

cyghfer

2010-11-19 01:34:39 pm

you could try snesgt, dunno how that compares to 9x in terms of input lag though

i've enjoyed all your streams of this lately, can't wait to see this at the marathon, and the eventual recorded run (whether you or bablo does it!)

DK28

2010-11-19 03:35:53 pm

General Kong - Bullets and Bananas

You may just need to move to practice on console only to get adjusted. It really shouldn't take long.

Josh the Funkdoc

2010-11-19 05:14:07 pm

spread the dirt to the populace

Yeah, for marathon purposes I've been doing all my practice on console now. There are plenty of other tricks I would need to grind out with savestates if I wanted to go for a recorded run, as well as other SNES games I would want to run, hence why I asked.

I think snesgt is the one I heard about, going to try that. Thanks!

Bablo

2010-11-19 08:44:45 pm

I'm a flippin' ninja

This game actually has a delay in input and Simon's actions. It's 3 frames. I don't think it's any different on console. Some games just work this way.

I know the issue with choppy scrolling, I get that too, except it's on FCEUX. Dunno how to get rid of it. Just got used to it. Still, I know it's annoying.

Josh the Funkdoc

Edit history:

Josh the Funkdoc: 2011-01-27 03:06:44 pm

Josh the Funkdoc: 2011-01-27 03:06:18 pm

Josh the Funkdoc: 2011-01-27 03:06:11 pm

Josh the Funkdoc: 2011-01-27 03:06:10 pm

Josh the Funkdoc: 2011-01-27 03:05:42 pm

2011-01-27 02:49:52 pm

spread the dirt to the populace

It's done, ladies and gentlemen, with a final time of 35:13. Going to record audio commentary now...

Thanks for everything, Bablo. And thanks to everyone who watched my streams and the marathon!

BTW, I do think sub-35 is theoretically possible for a legit run, but the luck you'd need to get that...

ShinerCCC

2011-01-27 03:27:49 pm

Yes, a worthless avatar riding my posts.

Good job Funkdoc! Can't wait to see the run!

Bablo

2011-01-27 09:57:18 pm

I'm a flippin' ninja

Uh-oh!

DK28

2011-01-27 11:38:05 pm

General Kong - Bullets and Bananas

Oh snap! Sounds amazing Josh. Can't wait....

IronSlayer

2011-11-02 06:47:54 am

Maybe the best run I've seen on this site.

Amazing stuff...

Bablo

Edit history:

Bablo: 2012-03-26 08:08:45 am

2012-03-26 04:33:46 am

I'm a flippin' ninja

I'm on a mission: Super Castlevania IV world record before May 15th (you know what day this is, don't you!)

There's a lot of new stuff I've come up with for speedrunning. Pretty much every stage has something new. Expect a big improvement hopefully soon. I'd estimate about 30 seconds of improvements in total. I'm also gonna stream my attempts at some point.

EDIT: Apparently I'm very bad at doing rough estimations. Expect a minute of improvements instead.

Darkceo

2012-03-26 07:09:30 am

Dark Gamer

nice dude! u_u i did a run yesterday and wasnt such a good run, but first i need to finish Cv 1 before going for this, cant wait to see your runs

DK28

2012-03-26 11:17:58 am

General Kong - Bullets and Bananas

I'm on the edge of my seat bablo. Hurry up! Wink

PJ

2012-03-26 01:20:47 pm

Is PJ

Awesome bablo! I can't wait to see this. Get ittttttt.

Josh the Funkdoc

2012-03-27 03:19:57 pm

spread the dirt to the populace

I definitely wasn't expecting that much in the way of timesavers. Still haven't gotten to see much from you besides the last couple levels so I'm curious.

Unfortunately given your timeframe and my other projects, I don't think I'll be able to compete on this. Maybe later...anyway, best of luck to you!

Bablo

2012-03-28 06:07:19 am

I'm a flippin' ninja

There are timesavers in every stage, except stage 1 is kinda the same. Biggest are in stage 3, 7 (partly luck dependant), 8, and the Slogra fight.

Slogra is the biggest timesaver here by far. It's possible to shave 6-7 cycles off his first phase alone. Second phase is a bit more tricky but can be done a lot faster too. Really it all just depends on luck. If he decides to attack me it won't work out. I need to grab a lot more hearts in stage B though, but the big hearts aren't far away.

My run still definitely won't be a one trick pony with a faster Slogra. The timesavers on earlier stages should add up to at least 20 seconds.

Darkceo

2012-03-28 09:48:04 am

Dark Gamer

i see what you meant with slogra, it can definitely save some time, and its also a double edge sword, because if you died there it can ruin your run