Crazy Stuff...

Hello people!

So I've been thinking quite a bit lately about my schedule, my goals, and what I want to do with my time. There really isn't enough time in a day! I feel I have been neglecting some things, and that this aspect of my life needs to change. However, I would still love to continue in my gaming pursuits, continue in my various hobbies, continue in working toward a new career path, and remember to do all that general life stuff that we all should be doing.

OK, so now let's talk about what's new with me since my last post and what has happened.

First of all, one really cool thing that happened is that I got partner on Twitch.tv. It's a really exciting opportunity because in my mind it's sort of like I have my own TV show. What partner means is that I can get paid to live stream video games on Twitch. Let me clarify: Me getting paid to play video games is based on support from my viewers. I wouldn't call it a job, and I wouldn't want to do it if it was work. It's not income I can rely on to always be there.

For me, getting partner is a bonus to what I am already doing. I love to live stream my gaming performances anyway, and now I might make money doing what I love to do. I don't think partner is going to really change what I've been doing. I play some popular games, but I've always also played a lot of "nonsense games," games that are complete garbage or games that no one even cares about. I get enjoyment out of gaming for various reasons, and I can understand why someone might not want to watch me play Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, but I'm still going to do it! At the end of the day, it's about fun for me. I enjoy playing, and if people want to watch, great! But I am not going to go out of my way to get more viewers, and I am not going to be upset if people don't watch me. I love to entertain, but I'm not going to do so at the cost of my own enjoyment. I am almost always attempting a gaming challenge. 99% of my streams involve me trying to either break a world record or get closer to doing so. Even when playing a game like Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, I don't think many people realize that it's actually serious in that, I actually do speedrun that game. As silly as it may be, it actually is challenging to beat quickly! Once you can appreciate the challenge, you can appreciate the quest. Of course, that still doesn't mean you will want to watch it! ;)

Before I move onto a subject I NEED to talk about, I just want to say that Donkey Kong (arcade) is similar to what I just described of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. The above image is the current (and new) world record score for Donkey Kong. It was achieved April 19th by player Wes Copeland. Score is 1,195,100 for those who aren't realizing that the score is so high that it looped back to 0. This is an amazing achievement, and yet not many people actually WANT to watch a Donkey Kong score attempt. Donkey Kong is one of the most popular games, yet one of the most under-watched performances.

Donkey Kong (arcade) is the perfect example of gaming for the challenge itself. Despite the game's popularity: it doesn't bring a whole lot of viewers to streams, the attempts might not be the most exciting thing to watch, but the challenge is why they play. It should come to no surprise that I am also a Donkey Kong player.




Alright, so now... let's talk about darbian!

Who is darbian you may ask? Well, darbian just blew my mind. He recently topped the speedrun world record for Super Mario Bros (again). It is a self improvement for him as he already held the world record before he achieved his new time. However, this new time is very significant. For me, it is significant on a personal level. He reached my goal time of under 4:57.30 with a 4:57.26 time. Why is this significant? This might take me a minute to explain.

Actually, let me have someone else explain:
This is the backstory

These are the more specific details:

Back in 2011, when I was striving for the elusive 4:57 time, I stopped just short of my goal. The reason I stopped was because it seemed pointless for me to continue. I thought "Well, my current world record time is safe. I don't think anyone will beat it for a VERY long time" Well, of course, I was wrong in that assumption. In mid-2014, a player named 'blubbler' managed to best my time. I had held the world record consecutively since early 2007, and had previously "tied" (milliseconds weren't counted back then) the record in 2005.

Using the 'Bullet Bill Glitch' or BBG for short, blubbler saved 0.70 seconds, he skipped a trick I did and lost 0.35 seconds, and he beat the last stage .05 seconds faster than me. Even if blubbler used the same methods I did, skill-wise, he still would have bested me by .05 seconds. This was very significant, because finally someone managed to achieve the elusive 4:57 time. The time I had been striving to get for so long. However, I couldn't help but feel that despite the run being 4:57, it felt sub-optimal. The reason for this thinking is because I always have pushed the run down to "all frames rules," which basically means 'absolute perfection up until level 8-4'.

The Bullet Bill Glitch

My time was 4:58.09, and the limit I put on the run was around ~4:57.85.
Blubbler's time was 4:57.69 and now the limit time moved to ~4:57.15.
So the record went from being improvable by 0.2 seconds to being improvable by 0.5 seconds.


The day my record was beaten, my goal jumped from 'under 4:58' to 'under 4:57.30.' Literally accounting for the 0.7 seconds that the new BBG saved. Darbian's new time is 4:57.260. Without the BBG, darbian's time would be 4:57.96 (the 4:57 time I always wanted, but never achieved). Someone finally managed the level of perfection I tried for, and with a new trick no less!!!!!! At the moment, darbian's run has all frame rules and a nearly flawless 8-4 run, meaning his run is hardly beatable.


I know that I have the ability to best darbian's run, but he reached my goal before I did. It is definitely an arbitrary time, but it was what I tried to do for so long and couldn't. Finally someone managed to do it, and it wasn't me.


I guess that's it. Hopefully you understand what I'm trying to convey here. I have a great deal of respect for all my competitors, but darbian really impressed me by achieving what I couldn't.

I am still going to try and beat the new world record, but I'm satisfied with how optimized the run is, despite it not being me who did it. :) Hopefully some day I can reclaim this record.

And for those who haven't seen darbian's run, here it is! Watch it, it's less than 5 minutes!

Super Mario Bros and the Elusive 4:57

Hello all, and Merry Christmas!

I have been trying to reorganize a bit and maintain a consistent schedule lately. I haven't had much time, but relaxing tonight, I felt like doing a small write-up. Just a few days ago, I managed to achieve my personal best time for completing Super Mario Bros. The end time for that run was 4 minutes and 57.993 seconds. It is actually personally significant for me, and I'm going to explain why below.


For a very long time, a time under 4:58 was my ultimate end goal. The kind of optimization needed to achieve a 4:57 time was a very worthy challenge, and I was determined to be the one to do it. It was the dream time, and many people would ask me whether I really thought I could achieve the perfect time, a nearly unbeatable time, and something that would possibly stand forever.

The Bowser Axe Jump

With my best efforts, I got my time down to 4:58.09 roughly 2 years ago. Shortly after, I took a break, and the 4:57 remained elusive. However, a few months later, a 4:57 time was achieved (by Blubbler) with the help of a technique I foolishly considered unreasonable. This trick (bullet bill glitch) saved 0.7 seconds, which is a huge amount of time for the run. It was still an amazing feat, but the game now has plenty of room for optimization.

The Bullet Bill Glitch

The human limit time for the game is around 4:57 flat. Achieving a time under 4:57 is now within the realm of possibility, something I previously deemed absolutely impossible. With that in mind, in addition to my recent efforts on the game, I am convinced I will reach a low 4:57 (if not the "impossible" time of 4:56). The 4:56 time still remains outside of the limit we have established, but only by mere frames. Because of this, I am determined to find a way to realistically achieve a 4:56 time. With the optimization of this game seemingly approaching its definite limits, it will certainly be tough to find any further savings to the game, but I am not deterred...

And I will one day have total mastery of Super Mario Bros.

Twitch and Speedruns!

Alright, so I'm officially back to doing speedrun attempts. I'm now actively doing attempts for Super Mario Bros. any% (that is, fastest possible completion).

My current time stands at just under 5 minutes at 4:58.09. The current world record time is 4:57.62 by a runner named Darbian. So my time is a little under half a second (0.47) slower than the record. Since I am one of the top competitors, I feel the need to give a little background info regarding how the game itself works. Technical details in bold, ignore if you'd like!


From when you turn on the NES, there are these 21 frame cycles that continuously run. Due to this, one can only save time in 21 frame (0.35 second) intervals

From Scott Kessler: "Think of it like a window at the end of a level that is only open every 21 frames  Say you have two separate runs where you reach the window on the 50th time it opens. If you arrive just after it closes the 49th time then you have to wait 20 frames for it to open the 50th time. If you get there just as it opens the 50th time then you can enter without waiting even though you arrived up to 20 frames later. Generally speaking, you can only save time in multiples of 21 frames (0.35 seconds)."

The above is true with the exception of the final stage because we obviously stop the timer immediately upon hitting the axe and beating the game. 


Summary: The current world record can only be improved by 21 frames (0.35 seconds) in 4-2 + ~12 frames (0.2 seconds) in 8-4. Realistically, and as far as we know, there's only a little over half a second worth of improvement left in the game.



My goal is to achieve a "perfect" run. I would like to beat every stage with perfect in-game times in addition to getting every single frame rule. I guess I'd say my ultimate goal is a time of 4:56, but as of now, that is very unrealistic. However, that won't stop me from trying!

Andrewg, Are You Still Speedrunning?

After a hiatus from speedrunning, I am finally back at it! So here's what's up!

1) I just purchased a new laptop and capture card

I don't usually make large purchases. What this basically means is that I'm going to try to stream speedruns regularly on Twitch again. I am going to be spending the next few weeks trying to improve my stream and make sure things work properly. I am sick of having many stream issues, and my hope is that these purchases will bring an end to my many streaming problems.

2) I got a full time job

I'm finally making a little bit of income, and have a consistent schedule. I am currently working a second part time job, but plan to leave it in January 2016. Once I leave that job, my schedule will be open for more gaming, etc.

3) I moved a few towns over

While this isn't a big change, it means that I'll have a bit more flexibility in my life. The area is much nicer, and I'm really happy to have moved out of my home town finally. 

So my announcement is that starting January 2016, I plan to be streaming speedruns regularly and on a consistent schedule!

First order of business? Well, reclaim the Super Mario Bros. any% world record of course!

2016 Speedrun Line-Up:

1) Super Mario Bros. (NES) - Any%

2) Super Castlevania 4 (SNES-J) - Any%
3) Kirby Super Star - (SNES-J) - Any%

4) Mega Man (NES) - All Stages

5) Super Metroid (SNES) - Any%
6) Mario, Mario, Mario, Mario, Mario

Watch out!

Various Video Game Achievements

I just got back from a very enjoyable vacation to New Hampshire. I have not had a chance to post on here because I have had a pretty busy schedule lately. I realized the other day that I never did post many of the video game achievements I have done this year. I have primarily been working on some more non-serious gaming projects, which is unusual for me. However, I'm always trying for and setting world records because that's really where I get a lot of enjoyment out of gaming.

My Lake Winnipesaukee View

So this post is going to be a recap of my gaming for this year (video links at the end). I'm also doing this just to keep a record of my personal bests. From now on, I think I will always include my recent gaming personal bests at the end of my posts.


January: 

Donkey Kong (Arcade version)

I started the year out strong setting a personal best on the original arcade Donkey Kong with a score of 946,900. This was achieved via MAME (emulator) during a Donkey Kong tournament hosted by donkeykongforum.com. Among the best players in the world, I got 10th place (it's surprising I didn't place higher, considering I reached the kill screen). The DK arcade community keeps growing, and among the community, my scores are actually pretty average at this point. At the same time, I rarely practice, but continue to beat my personal high scores for this game. I still hope that one day I will top the world record on this title.


February:

Excitebike (NES)

Earlier this year, I decided to reclaim the world records for Excitebike. I have held the records for Track 1 for at least 5 years, and Track 5 for about a year. The records for Tracks 2, 3, and 4 were held by a player named 'FlyHec' up until late February. His times bested mine only by a few milliseconds on each, and I finally managed to reclaim all the individual track world records for Excitebike. These times are extremely challenging to achieve, and I suggest viewing the videos posted at the end of this post.


March:

Track & Field (NES)

Track & Field games are basically just a test of how fast one can mash buttons. There's slide, vibrate, claw, multi-handed, multi-finger, electric toothbrush, and even methods involving spoons and pens for fast button mashing. Everyone has their own technique, and obviously for competition, no external devices can be used to obtain a record.  Sorry spoon players! 

'FlyHec' is ridiculously good at button mashing. He holds nearly every button mashing record out there, including the prestigious Track & Field arcade world record. Using his technique for the NES version, I was able to come close to, and tie some of the world records. I also managed to tie the archery high score listed on Twin Galaxies.

Track & Field II (NES)

More Track & Field... well, kind of. After striving for the button mashing records in the original, I decided to avoid them in the sequel. Why? Well, my arm and fingers were hurting a bit, and I don't plan on tackling any more button mashing records...period. So I managed to tie the record for Fencing, and best the world record for Taekwondo. They both require some luck, and I still don't fully understand the Taekwondo one. 

Super Street Fighter II

I wish I could say something amazing about the time I set here, but I can't. For the time attack mode, I managed to get 8.567 seconds. It doesn't even beat the staff record! For the time attack, one can choose any character and any opponent to fight against. The staff record used Ken vs Dhalsim, and I copied. The staff record is 6.874 seconds, and I imagine it can be beaten, but I won't be the one to do it.


April:

Baseball (NES)

This one was funny, but really stupid to do. Biggest Blowout: 29 - 0. The whole time, you just score runs by stealing bases. If you get a hit, you practically get a free run home. Not too exciting, but I think it is a world record score.


May:

NWC 2015 Best Buy Line (New York)

That's me in front.

May was certainly an interesting month. Upon the announcement of the 2015 Nintendo World Championships, I decided to practice for the chance to compete in the main event. I was 15th in line and was in the first round of competitors to play. The game Nintendo chose to use was Ultimate NES Remix for the 3DS, the championship mode.

The championship mode consists of 3 games with a time limit of 6 minutes and 21 seconds to score the highest score possible. This is the exact setup of the original 1990 Nintendo World Championships in which players played Super Mario Bros, Rad Racer, and Tetris to rack up a score. In this competition, the games were Super Mario Bros, Super Mario Bros 3, and Dr. Mario.

Dr. Mario is a pretty unforgiving title, and quite a bit of luck is needed to score big. For this competition, the best way to score was obvious. Dr. Mario has a x100 (times 100) bonus. Meaning that whatever your score in Dr. Mario was, they would multiply it by 100 to get the final tally for the game. So the goal was to reach Dr. Mario as fast as possible, and create massive combo chains.

I felt I had a real shot of winning. In practice, I managed to score 4,904,500 which at the time put me in the top 10 for North America. Checking the leaderboard now, I'm ranked 22nd, which is still respectable. Luck wasn't on my side that day. I managed to score a little over 1 million, and left the moment I knew someone beat my score (only the top winner would be invited to the main competition). I was happy with my performance. I played very well, but just didn't get the right pieces when I needed them. It was a fun event, and I'm glad I participated.


June/July:

After getting my butt kicked in the Nintendo World Championship, I decided to explore the other modes for Ultimate NES Remix. One was Speed Mario Bros, which is the full game of Super Mario Bros, at I think 1.5x speed. I managed to beat the game in 3:47.8 in this sped-up version.

The other mode has me hooked. Even still, I'm working on the challenges in this game. Ultimate NES Remix consists of 15 different NES titles with online time attack leaderboards. This game was made for me! I love NES games, I love speedrunning, and I love leaderboards. Not only that, but the game also saves your replays automatically (and even shows a player's inputs on the controller).

In total, there are 258 challenges among the 15 games (and 3 bonus categories). At this point, I have roughly half of the world records: http://www.cyberscore.me.uk/game/1505
-------------

It is now August, and I am still working on these challenges. I would like to have the records for every single challenge in the game, but given the competition, I doubt that will ever happen. There are a lot of tied world records, but even those require quite a bit of dedication to achieve. I'm 133/258 right now, and counting. These are mostly Mario challenges, so I have quite a bit of work ahead of me if I continue toward mastering all 258 challenges. :)

As for Super Mario Bros and my quest to regain the record: progress is slow, but steady. I have a lot of things I need to focus on in my life right now, but I still think I can put in some time to get that elusive 4:57 time.  Once I do reach it, it may be the end of my Super Mario Bros adventure.

Donkey Kong (MAME):
High Score - 946,900

Excitebike (NES):
Track 2 - 46.04
Track 3 - 48.68
Track 4 - 44.51

Track & Field (NES):
100M Dash - 8.39
110M Hurdles - 11.23
Long Jump - 11.87M
Javelin - 118.09M
Archery - 5750

Track & Field II (NES):
Fencing - 0:29
Taekwondo - 0:20

Super Street Fighter II (SNES):
Time Challenge - 8.567

Baseball (NES):
Biggest Blowout: 29 - 0

Ultimate NES Remix (3DS):
Championship Mode - 4,904,500 (no replay)
Speed Mario Bros. - 3:47.8 (no replay)
Playlist of Challenges

Return to Competitive Gaming

Hello!

 I haven't really been consistent on updates, and have been taking a bit of a break from serious competitive gaming. However, I hope I can continue to improve my blog from this point on. While I have still been gaming to some degree, the past year, I haven't had any serious projects in the works. This is a bit unusual for me, but I needed to take a break from major, difficult, gaming goals I have set for myself. I was burnt out, but now I'm back in full action! Well, at least, I'm back on this blog.

My channel on Twitch (andrewg1990) is still having many issues streaming successfully. Unfortunately, I'm essentially starting from scratch to rebuild my stream. I am having lots of internet issues, as well as issues with hardware, and I need a new computer. It has been extremely frustrating, but I hope to get my channel up and running (smoothly) again within the next few months.


Alright, so... GAMING!

While I can't stream my attempts, I am now doing speedrun attempts again. As of July 10th, I've got a serious project again.

What am I speedrunning? You guessed it! Super Mario Bros!

First, I do want to say sorry to those who watch my speedrun attempts on Twitch. Once I do manage to break the current world record time of 4 minutes and 57.69 seconds, you won't witness it live, and I really am sorry for that.

Here is a run from my latest attempts:

I promise I will keep playing until I regain the world record. :) It is only a matter of time.

Excitebike: Track 4 - New World Record

After many resets I've managed to top the world record for Track 4 in Excitebike... This one is very frustrating and the run is bitter-sweet. Wow, just a very frustrating track, but still not the hardest!

Next up, the hardest track in the game! Track 5 is absolutely horrific to speedrun.