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'Super Mario Bros.' speedrunner hits nearly inhuman 4:55 world record

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Re: 'Super Mario Bros.' speedrunner hits nearly inhuman 4:55 world record

#41
post #9

>When Kosmic says he's tied with the TAS run at 4-1, that means his inputs are matched up exactly with the program's and he can't physically do any better. It means he can't physically get a better time, but it does not mean his inputs are matched up exactly with the TAS. SMB1 level transitions are based around the "frame rule", which means you don't advance to the next level until the number of elapsed frames from t…

> It means he can't physically get a better time ... using the same techniques the TAS does . It's possible (although unlikely) that a new glitch/exploit could be discovered that allows for faster times.

but then wouldn't TAS also be able to use it?

Re: 'Super Mario Bros.' speedrunner hits nearly inhuman 4:55 world record

#42
post #15

super impressive stuff. I'm generally unfamiliar with speedrunning, but I am familiar with the billy mitchell controversies, so I'm surprised that people accept the legitimacy of streamed runs. wouldn't it be trivial-enough to fake? tangental: my personal favorite mario-related feat is sethbling injecting flappy bird into super mario world manually: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hB6eY73sLV0

Would it be fair to say similar scandals have happened in actual sports (PEDs, judge corruption)? Cheating is often caught and corrected in the speedrunning community.

As a regular fan of MMA and occasional watcher of boxing, I can't think of a single example of the sports' governing bodies overturning a corrupt result, even in the Olympics. Occasionally judges will be fired later; that's it.

PEDs are enforced almost sporadically; I wish they didn't bother.

Edit: By corrupt result I meant corrupt or inaccurate judging.

Re: 'Super Mario Bros.' speedrunner hits nearly inhuman 4:55 world record

#43
post #9

>When Kosmic says he's tied with the TAS run at 4-1, that means his inputs are matched up exactly with the program's and he can't physically do any better. It means he can't physically get a better time, but it does not mean his inputs are matched up exactly with the TAS. SMB1 level transitions are based around the "frame rule", which means you don't advance to the next level until the number of elapsed frames from t…

> It means he can't physically get a better time ... using the same techniques the TAS does . It's possible (although unlikely) that a new glitch/exploit could be discovered that allows for faster times.

I thought glitches were not allowed?

Re: 'Super Mario Bros.' speedrunner hits nearly inhuman 4:55 world record

#44

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> It means he can't physically get a better time ... using the same techniques the TAS does . It's possible (although unlikely) that a new glitch/exploit could be discovered that allows for faster times.

I thought glitches were not allowed?

Not at all. Speed runs rely heavily on glitches in the game to take advantage of.

Re: 'Super Mario Bros.' speedrunner hits nearly inhuman 4:55 world record

#45
A great explanation of all the tricks used is this video here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_FQJEzJ_cQw

They basically go through Kosmic's (4:56.462 WR) run earlier in the year.

Showing a few replays explaining each of the tricks/techniques used.

There are quite a lot of places where you literally need to be perfect to the pixel to get a good run.

Re: 'Super Mario Bros.' speedrunner hits nearly inhuman 4:55 world record

#46
post #11

If anyone is interested in speed runs I really recommend this YouTube channel https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCtUbO6rBht0daVIOGML3c8w Thy're a series of videos on how world records have been lowered over time on various games. It's fascinating watching particularity the one on Super Mario 64 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l7ePi38LnrA&t=16s

Did you ever see this one?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kpk2tdsPh0A

This guy literally has a PhD in SM64. It's insanely complicated, and surprisingly lucid.

Re: 'Super Mario Bros.' speedrunner hits nearly inhuman 4:55 world record

#47
post #9

>When Kosmic says he's tied with the TAS run at 4-1, that means his inputs are matched up exactly with the program's and he can't physically do any better. It means he can't physically get a better time, but it does not mean his inputs are matched up exactly with the TAS. SMB1 level transitions are based around the "frame rule", which means you don't advance to the next level until the number of elapsed frames from t…

> It means he can't physically get a better time ... using the same techniques the TAS does . It's possible (although unlikely) that a new glitch/exploit could be discovered that allows for faster times.

This is, as always, a local maxima— new strats may come along which change everything again. Summoning Salt's WRP videos do a great job of showing how the strategies for a particular game evolve over time as new things are uncovered:

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCtUbO6rBht0daVIOGML3c8w/vid...

Re: 'Super Mario Bros.' speedrunner hits nearly inhuman 4:55 world record

#48

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> It means he can't physically get a better time ... using the same techniques the TAS does . It's possible (although unlikely) that a new glitch/exploit could be discovered that allows for faster times.

I thought glitches were not allowed?

If a glitch is severe enough it will result in a new category of competition being created. A glitch that saves a second here or there would likely be accepted in the main category. Frequently speedrun games also have categories for how much has been completed in the run, like Any% meaning you just got the end credits up, or 100% meaning you collected all the items on the way or whatever

Re: 'Super Mario Bros.' speedrunner hits nearly inhuman 4:55 world record

#49

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> It means he can't physically get a better time ... using the same techniques the TAS does . It's possible (although unlikely) that a new glitch/exploit could be discovered that allows for faster times.

I thought glitches were not allowed?

Watch the video — all sorts of glitches

Re: 'Super Mario Bros.' speedrunner hits nearly inhuman 4:55 world record

#50

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Love the SummoningSalt vids and second the recommendation. I just wish there was more as they are so interesting!

There's a guy on YouTube & Twitch, who posts N64 Goldeneye speedrunning breakdowns at the start of each month. Very specific niche but oddly interesting! RWhiteGoose is his username.

I love RWhiteGoose and the GoldenEye speedrun community generally. There's a core group of 50 or so people who've spent literally man-decades optimizing that game. If you haven't seen his "speedlore" series on YouTube I recommend it, he goes through the history of optimizations of a particular level. There are many parallels with the experience of optimizing software systems and the cycle of breakthrough and consolidation we go through there.
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