GW Olympics - Speedrun Event II[/size]

I've finally decided to go ahead with a second speedrun event. I decided to hunt down a NES title that was obscure, seemed fun and would be a decent speedrun with some challenge. The rules and regulations will be the same as the previous round which gave the Netherlands their first Gold medal of the games, and so is submitting your game.

The game? Adventure Island. We'll be speedrunning the opening level. It's fairly straight forward, but pretty challenging to do it fast. You'll have to run, skateboard and jump your way to the end of the level.

Get practising, and we're ready to take your submissions over the next week. As soon as we get the submission and authenticate it, your score will be entered into the very sexy scoreboard. Obviously the top three scores at the end of the deadline (which is yet to be set) will win either a Bronze, Silver or Gold medal for their country. So make sure you give your nationality when submitting.


What we're going to do is make a speedrun recording with an emulator.¹  What we need in order to do this is a special emulator and a ROM file.  Every participant must get exactly the same.

Since the chosen game is Adventure Island, we'll need a NES emulator that allows for recordings to be made.  Go get it here (version 2.0.2).  The source code is available here, in case you're not on Windows and want to take a shot at compiling it (PM me if you need help).

The ROM we will be using is Adventure Island Classic (E) [!].nes.  No other version will do. 

Since it's the opening level, there's no need to use a savestate for this game.

Here's what you should do in order to record an attempt:

• First open the ROM.
• When you're ready, you should go into the menu and choose (File -> Record Movie...).  Don't bother typing in the author information or changing the name of the recording, but make sure you choose "Now" in the "Record From" field.
  
• Your movement is now being recorded! You should see a red dot in the bottom-right corner of the screen to indicate that you're recording.
• Now play through the level and choose File -> Stop Movie when you're done (or when you want to try again).

When everything is done, you should have several FM2 files.  These are the actual movies.  Make sure you create a backup of the one you want to send in! Clearly name it (e.g.  gw_speedrun_adv_dada.fcm or something like that) and then e-mail or PM it to Esh.  You'll then be added to the big scoreboard up there. You're aiming for the Gold, Silver and Bronze medals for this category. Even if you don't get Gold, don't worry, keep trying to the Silver or Bronze. You can submit more than one run, so don't fret if it isn't perfect first time.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

• Are you sure this FM2 is the actual recording file? It's only about 16 KB!
  Yes, FM2 files are the recordings.  The reason why they're so small is because they don't actually contain any video data, they really just contain a log of all the keys that you pressed during the recording (and a save state, in our case).  That's also why everybody needs to have the EXACT same ROM file.  Since only all key presses are logged, correct replay of the movie is at the mercy of the emulated internal state of the machine, which will undoubtedly be slightly different when using a different ROM.  That's why you can only use the ROM that has the exact name as described above.
  
  
• I can't find the ROM.
  Go on IRC and bug me for it (Esh).
  
  
• What about cheating? Is it possible?
  Yes, it's possible to cheat by slowing down the emulator or using save states.  The emulator was made for "tool-assisted" speedrunning and thus has those capabilities.  We expect that nobody will actually do this, but if it does happen we'll likely be able to tell.  It's possible for one to erase his tracks, but that's difficult.  Short answer: don't worry about it too much.
  

_{1: Normally, people simply record their play via VHS tape, but that's only necessary if you want to break an "official" record, so we won't go through the trouble.}

Make sure to ask any questions if in doubt of anything.

Definitely in. I knew what would happen as soon as MM2 won the poll the first time so yeah, I stayed away from that!

I don't think I ever played the original Adventure Island, so this should be fun.

Hell yes I am down for this.

*fire button. Also try jumping over two turtles at once! (not advisable)

Well damn I guess I just failed miserably!

I'm in for this one for sure. I love Adventure Island.

I actually might give this is a go tonight, I have never played this game...and I just tried a little bit of it with my keyboard. (But I'll be hooking up my controller tonight for this)

Question! Is it just the first area? Or do we have to finish the ENTIRE ROUND? 

What do you mean? It's from S to G (ie. when your score gets added up)

Nothing more than that.

I'm in. I used to play this game all the time.

It begins.


HL submitted a run, but he ain't faster than a welshie. Both times are easily beatable. And it's only day one, bring it on.

EDIT: I just recieved two more runs, but I'll add them to the scoreboard when after a bit of sleep. 4:20 am 4:20 am

I have a feeling Britain will do well here...

Greatly timed, Rockman. Greatly timed.

The deadline for this event is now the 12th of September

Right, so overnight and since the last update I recieved 5 new runs. The competition has really started.

It's so very close at the top, Mr. L has taken the Gold position even after a hefty challenge from _Guana who is currently sitting in the Silver position. DeadPhoenix, who claimed Silver in the last Speedrun event is trying to repeat his glory and is sitting in the Bronze medal position. Their so close together within 55 seconds it could go any way.

Just missing out was a first run by ASE and a re-run by HL.

I sent mine, it was like 1:05+ and included some shit like the tune after you finish a level and the title screen so i reckon its a bit shorter in reality, but now i just thought that I might have the wrong version of the game so OOPS.

yeah, I have no idea how you guys calculate these things short of counting the individual frames and dividing by frames/sec.

My actual video was 1:14 with a few seconds extra at the ends, so i figured the actual thing would be maybe 1:05 but this is good!

I sent mine, it was like 1:05+ and included some shit like the tune after you finish a level and the title screen so i reckon its a bit shorter in reality, but now i just thought that I might have the wrong version of the game so OOPS.

Yeah, it was the wrong version but it still worked fine. You're in last place though.