SecretAsianMan

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Posts posted by SecretAsianMan

  1. Posted

    17 hours ago, RubixsQube said:

    I've also been into LttP randomizer runs (and that dope Super Metroid / LttP randomizer run from GDQx a few months ago), but I kind of wish that I knew LttP better in order to try it out. I've beaten the game a handful of times, but I've never sought out 100% of the items, and my knowledge of any of the dungeons (or those giant rooms full of treasure chests) is a little lacking. 

     

    I'd love to see the logic that goes into the randomization - you mentioned there was an Easy mode where no major glitches are required. Is there a place where this is all set out?  

     

    Edit: Oh, I guess I should just go and look this up myself! There are some resources online here. 

     

    The SM/LttP run was really great.  It's what finally got me to start looking into playing the game myself, although I'm not close to trying that particular iteration yet.  Despite my love for SM I'm not nearly as familiar with the layout of the game as I am with LttP.  I'm also extremely lacking in the technical proficiency required.

     

    You've probably already learned some of this by now but I'll go over what I know anyway. 

     

    Easy is a difficulty setting rather than a category.  Difficulty impacts things like how hard enemies hit, frequency of item drops, and how potions work, among other things.  It impacts the logic a bit in that easier difficulties put more beneficial items in the pool while harder difficulties do the opposite.  For example on the easy difficulty you start with 6 hearts instead of 3 and there are 8 swords placed in the item pool instead of 4 (if you find a sword location after getting the gold sword then you get rupees instead).  Expert limits you to the Master Sword and no mail. 

     

    Most of what I know about the randomizer logic comes from the mouths of runners and there's still a lot I don't know.  I only play on the no major glitches (NMG) setting so I have no idea what the glitch logic is.  Major glitches are categorized as things that allow major sequence breaks in the normal game, mostly things like wall clips.  There's a couple minor glitches like fake flippers and hovering that can also allow some sequence breaks but I don't think they're considered major glitches because you can't skip entire sections of the game, just get a few items early or bypass a single puzzle.  These will never be required by the logic either though.

     

    One of the bigger blocks to things is the dark rooms that require the lamp.  I mentioned it before but NMG will never require these rooms to be traversed without the lamp.  For example, in the regular game to access Death Mountain you have to enter a cave where you escort an old man.  The old man will give you an item which is in the randomizer but because he's located in a dark room he will NEVER have the lamp.  But if he has something like the Fire Rod and Turtle Rock or Skull Woods is a crystal dungeon, then it means the lamp is a required item.  It is still possible to get through the dark rooms without the lamp if you know what you're doing and many runners suggest learning how to do at least some of them.  Doing this puts you outside the randomizer's sequence a bit but won't break it wide open.

     

    Other always required items include the Master Sword, Bow and Silver Arrows, the Moon Pearl, and either the Lamp or the Fire Rod (not necessarily both).  There are ways around those things (such as fighting Ganon without silver arrows, a technique known as silverless) but again these will never be part of the logic.

     

    The sword, gloves, and mails are progressive items.  When you find one of these items, the game gives you the next upgrade in sequence.  Taking the sword as an example, the first time you find a sword it will be the Fighter's Sword, then the Master Sword, then Tempered, then Gold.  It will always be in that order no matter when you open chests.

     

    Dungeons will always contain a big key, map, compass, and all the small keys.  The boss holds an item and it might include a dungeon specific one.  This means it's sometimes possible that you can't open every chest in the dungeon but if that's the case it means you won't need to.  As an example here neither Skull Woods nor Swamp Palace require the big key to access the boss so it's possible the big key is inside the big chest.  If you know how many items are in a dungeon and you find everything except the dungeon items then you know there's nothing else there and you can leave if it's a blue/red pendant dungeon without missing anything (unless it's a pedestal seed).  Alternatively if you find the dungeon items right away then you know that every other chest will have items.

     

    That's already a lot of info and there's a ton of other subtleties that I'm still learning such as how to "read" the logic.  Like if the game gives you early flippers, hookshot, and moon pearl it's probably pushing you toward completing Swamp Palace even if its just a pendant dungeon.  I'd actually love to make another video where I explain a lot of this but there's are so many people with way better knowledge than me.  I'd probably end up getting a lot wrong.

  2. Posted

    On 12/6/2018 at 3:18 PM, GavinTheAlmighty said:

    The best part is that every run is completely different.  You'll have different items at different points in each playthrough.  You really have to be quick on your feet for strategy.  God help you if you don't find the lantern early...

     

    If you're playing on the no major glitches setting, then the logic will never require you to traverse a dark room without the lantern.  That means that if an item is required to progress is hidden behind a dark room then the lantern will also be required and can be found outside them.  Some of the better runners know how to navigate the dark rooms without the lantern which lets them sequence break a bit but I'm not there yet.  The one that always bugs me is the boots.  Finding them last means you spend the entire game walking instead of running.

     

    As you get more familiar with the chest locations you soon learn how to route things for efficient item gathering but even then the game can still mess with you.  I think that's why I like it so much, it's a fun puzzle to solve that changes every time you play.  It's "I need the hookshot to beat swamp palace but the hookshot is in the library which needs the boots that are on the island in the lake which requires the mirror and the flippers..."

  3. Posted

    4 hours ago, Henke said:

    The audio is definitely better!

     

    I've never played this game (or any Zeldas before BOTW) so I have no idea what's been randomized or modded here. Except I'm like 99% sure that's not Link's original outfit. ¬_¬

     

    2 hours ago, Ben X said:

    I watched some of these and enjoyed them but I know basically zero about the game so I don't think I fully appreciated what was going on!

     

    Literally every item is not where it's supposed to be and the ROM is based on the Japanese 1.0 version which includes some glitches/tricks that were patched in later versions.  The randomizer generator requires this version and it's the preferred one for speedrunning anyway because of the tricks.  One example is the thing I do where I perform the spin attack then touch a staircase and move very quickly.

     

    The randomizer really only appeals to people who either played the original game or like speedrunning; in my case it's both.  I could do additional runs and explain more things but that probably wouldn't make it any more interesting to watch.  I highly recommend anyone try the original game if that's something you can do because it's a fantastic game.  If someone is interested in trying the randomizer I could help get that going too.  I'm not an expert by any means but I know enough about the base game and the randomizer that I could definitely get you started.

     

    Also the randomizer includes about 70 sprites you can substitute for Link.  For my first run I chose Pride Link in support of a friend.  In my current game I'm a Squirtle.

  6. Posted

    I should probably explain about the tracker a bit.  It's not part of the randomizer itself, it's a script running in a browser window that lets me keep track of what I have and where I can go.  I have to manually add each item when I get it as well as check off the locations on the map.  The version I'm using also automatically indicates what areas are accessible based on my equipment which is nice for a newbie like me.  The abbreviations on the bottom two rows above the map are for the dungeons.  Swamp Palace, Skull Woods, Thieves Town, Ice Palace, Misery Mire, Turtle Rock, Eastern Palace, Desert Palace, and Tower of Hera.  Misery Mire and Turtle Rock require medallions to access in the vanilla game, but those too have been shuffled around which is why they're on the tracker.  The green pendent is tracked independently of the other two because the green one lets you get an item from the old man near Eastern Palace (the boots in vanilla LttP).  The fifth and sixth crystal are also significant because they unlock the big bomb in the dark world which you can use at the pyramid.

     

    One thing about the tracker I'm using I don't like is it doesn't track items that don't unlock things like the bug catching net or the cane of byrna.  It's not a huge deal but I can see myself forgetting I have those things when they might be useful.

  8. Posted

    Lately I've been getting into watching A Link to the Past Randomizer races and it's reached the point that I want to try this myself.  For anyone unfamiliar, ALTTPR takes the base game and randomizes all the items among the chests in the game.  This means that any item could be anywhere (with some exception, there is a logic in the randomizer that prevents unbeatable scenarios).  There's also a number of variants that shuffles dungeon keys as well or requires all dungeons to be beaten or requires the use of major sequence breaking glitches/exploits.  There's another randomizer that combines it with the Super Metroid randomizer and makes you jump back and forth between the two games.

     

    Since I'm a baby I'll be starting with ALTTPR on easy difficulty (I get more hearts, all items are available, enemies don't hit quite as hard, the randomizer logic won't require me to perform any major glitches or exploits).  I even went as far as getting a USB SNES controller.  If anyone wants to watch me get lost and confused, I'll be streaming it as well.

     

    https://www.twitch.tv/secretasianmann

  10. Posted

    6 hours ago, Merus said:

     

    Yeah, LttP/Super Metroid randomisers are fascinating to watch speedruns of. Because the players don't know what they need, it works really well for races. Runners will make big, visible bets that something useful will be in an area of the game they otherwise can't do much in, compared to most speedruns where the only real chance comes down to execution or glitching. You get to see parts of the game that runners almost always avoid. Density of items ends up becoming a real factor - there are parts of both games that become way more important in a randomiser run because there's three or four items in the same room. It's a speedrun format where teams actually work: some of the most interesting runs I've seen have been 2v2 runs where the two runners work together to try and lock down the location of each important item so both can finish quickly. And the two games have very different structures, so there's a moment where runners get all the powerups they need to finish one side of the game and the other team can't.

     

    There's some great variants and tournaments that randomizer allows and I love it.  One of my favorites to watch is crowd control where the chat can actively mess with the runners by doing things like upgrading/downgrading their weapons, taking their ammo, making them have ice physics for a while, etc.  Another randomizer variant is called keysanity which not only mixes up the items but also all the dungeon keys.  This means that you can find something like an Ice Palace small key in Link's house or the Turtle Rock big key in the Swamp Palace.  The game will tell you what the key unlocks when you pick it up but it still requires a super intimate knowledge of the game to complete and I'm just not up to that yet.

     

    2 hours ago, Ben X said:

    Do y'all have any particular recommendations for a good one of these to watch?

     

    If you want a LTTP/SM run specifically, I recommend the one from GDQx.  It's not a race but a co-op run where on person played the Zelda part and another played the Metroid part, passing the controller back and forth.

     

     

    If you want good races, it's hard to recommend specific ones because they're frankly all really good.  There's inevitably a moment that comes where both runners need one or two more items to get to "go mode" (the point where they have everything necessary to beat the game) and since you never know when that's about to happen it's always exciting when it does.  That said, there was a summer keysanity tournament for LTTP and games 1 and 3 of the finals were amazing.  Perhaps not coincidentally it features the same two runners who performed the LTTPR race from AGDQ 2018.

     

     

     

  11. Posted

    4 hours ago, Ben X said:

    No way, I'm looking forward to the Twitch streams!

     

    I actually have considered streaming my inevitably disastrous attempts.  I've watched enough runs that I think I know the theory but putting it into practice is another thing entirely.  I'm supposed to get the controller this weekend so I'll probably give streaming a try at least once.

  12. Posted

    On ‎11‎/‎27‎/‎2018 at 8:09 AM, SecretAsianMan said:

    I've been watching a bunch of A Link to the Past randomizer races lately to the point that I now really want to try getting into this.  I've generated a random seed (albeit on easy mode) and picked up an item tracker.  But I really don't want to play with a keyboard and none of my controllers (360 and Steam) are well suited for this type of game.  I'm really considering getting a USB SNES controller.

     

    I've just ordered a SNES controller.  Someone stop me.

  13. Posted

    Over one year without random thoughts!

     

    I've been watching a bunch of A Link to the Past randomizer races lately to the point that I now really want to try getting into this.  I've generated a random seed (albeit on easy mode) and picked up an item tracker.  But I really don't want to play with a keyboard and none of my controllers (360 and Steam) are well suited for this type of game.  I'm really considering getting a USB SNES controller.

     

    As an aside to this, I started getting into these races because I was watching stuff from GDQx which happened a couple weeks ago.  I completely forgot to mention it at all but one of the better runs was a Link to the Past/Super Metroid randomizer.  If you're not familiar with that, it's a combination of both games where all the items are mixed between the two so that it's possible (and indeed extremely likely) to get SM items in LTTP and vice versa.  Certain doors act as transitions between the two games allowing for some creative routing.

  14. Posted

    On ‎11‎/‎5‎/‎2018 at 4:36 AM, osmosisch said:

    It's he who has abandoned us. But I shall always have the memories :violin:

     

    Also, talking about tegan @SecretAsianMan? How's she holding up?

     

    She's having some ups and downs lately.  I won't get into detail since it's not my place to discuss her personal life but I've been trying to help her out as much as I can.

  17. Posted

    Anytime a new AAA game from a big studio comes out I expect to see almost nothing except that game covered for at least 3 days, but yeah it feels like RDR2 has way more exposure then normal.  Maybe it was the long lead-up time, maybe the reception of the first game or the evolution of the hype cycle but it feel very unavoidable in a way that other games this year haven't been.

  18. Posted

    I feel like the only person in the world who is not remotely interested in RDR.  I tried playing the first one but it did nothing for me.  I didn't hate it but at the same time I never felt a motivation to keep playing.  It doesn't help that westerns are maybe my least favorite genre or that Rockstar gameplay in general seems really janky to me.  I'm not going to suggest it's a bad game.  It seems very well made with lots of thought put into it and attention to detail (maybe too much from what I hear).  But it's another AAA game that I don't care about in the least. 

     

    I probably didn't need to intrude into this thread just to say that.  I guess I'm just a grumpy old man who likes to complain.

  19. Posted

    I fully endorse reminiscing about our favorite Thumbs moments.

     

    One of mine is only tangentially related to the actual cast.  In one of the pods with Steve they spent a good chunk of time talking about the Heavy Rain demo and how you could make the character do some ridiculous looking stuff.  A friend of mine didn't have a Playstation but was interested in trying out the Heavy Rain demo so he came over one day.  Right after playing it normally I put on the podcast bit and we proceeded to do it again but with 1000% more hilarity.  He said I ruined the game for him but he also loved the podcast and became a reader so I'd say it was worth it.

     

    On a more egocentric note my favorite moments are when I get mentioned on the cast.  I have a private YouTube playlist of all the moments that I got name dropped, mostly due to candy but occasionally to other things as well.

  20. Posted

    To clarify, I'm not trying to put down Slack or the people who frequent it.  There is 100% the merit that jenna and gorm mentioned.  It's just not my style, at least not in that large of a group setting.  Although I do admit that if my workplace allowed it I would probably hang out in the Slack all the time and get nothing done so it's probably better this way.

  21. Posted

    I agree.  Part of the reason I never got into the Idle Thumbs Slack (apart from the fact that it's extremely inconvenient for me) is that I don't like the neverending stream of consciousness conversation.  Here on the forums my disorganized thoughts are at least placed into a somewhat appropriate category and I have a window of more than 5 seconds to say something.  I never feel like I'm butting into a conversation by posting in a forum, but I feel like I'm doing that all the time in Slack.

     

    If this really is the end (this is what, the third end?) then I'll be sad but I don't have a lot of extra time these days anyway.  I'll always cherish the time I've had and the people I've met.  Thanks for everything folks.

  22. Posted

    22 minutes ago, Roderick said:

    Wow, this is weird. I visit Idle Thumbs daily, just like Henke, it's simply part of my internet routine. But, I will admit, I rarely post. Only when I have something interesting to say, I guess. But I'd hate for this community to fall apart.

     

    This also describes me. But even before the current hiatus I felt like the forums were slowing and most of the active community had moved to Slack (which sadly isn't a viable option for me). I'll keep a silent vigil just in case.

  23. Posted

    My first thought was The Inner Light which you've already included.  It's the quintessential Picard episode.  I can think of several choice Picard moments but the episodes they occur in are not necessarily Picard-centric.

     

    I think Devil's Due has some fun with Picard as space lawyer but there's also a lot of sci-fi nonsense to wade through.

     

    Sarek has an excellent scene with Picard struggling to contain the ailing Vulcan's emotions but again it's just that one bit at the end and it's more about showcasing the talents of Stewart than it is about Picard.

     

    Lessons is a Picard focused episode (and a very very minor follow-up to The Inner Light) but I find the episode to be awkward and not especially good.

     

    The Battle has a lot of Picard background as well but it's also just not a good episode.

     

    Captain's Holiday is another Picard episode that also introduces Vash who returns in Q-Pid but it's not terribly interesting.

     

    Ménage à Troi has a wonderfully silly Picard moment in it but that's lot to swallow just for that moment, glorious as it is.

     

    Chain of Command you talked about so I won't get into it.

     

    All Good Things centers around Picard as well but it clearly won't have much meaning without the rest of the series.

     

    I guess ultimately I don't have any full episode recommendations that fit your criteria, maybe just some clips.

  24. Posted

    After being away for a long time I've started getting back into KF2.  There have been some major changes since I last played so it's almost like a new game.  The meta is completely different and I'm having to learn everything all over again.  They added the ability to prestige so I've reset all my perks and I'm a scrub again.  It kind of feels great.  I'm not sure how long I'll be sticking with it but if anyone wants to play I wouldn't mind some company.

  25. Posted

    5 hours ago, twmac said:

     

    That isn't accurate on the current version I am playing (after saying I might not have time, it is all I have played for the last 3 days).

     

    I got to the Forgotten Sepulchre through a place called the Stilted something or other...

     

    Man, things have been changing like crazy.

     

    If I can I lean towards bear trap and turret combo, with either a shield and arrow combo, or a whip and ice blast.

     

    The Stilt Village used to be called the Fog Fjord.  The level progression map changed quite a bit over the course of development.  The boss names all changed too (I still think of them by the old names and keep getting surprised when I see a different name pop up).