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Fin: SMW Time Trialing Tournament Progress & Rules

-->Brackets!<--

IMPORTANT NOTE: Put latency on 1 for minimal lag.

-> The levels <-

The following are POSSIBLE levels. Random.org will determine which of the 3 options per round will be played.
I (or actually, random.org) will decide one level per week. The decided level will be in GREEN. THAT will be the level you have to play for the corresponding round.
Has the round been passed, then I'll turn it to ORANGE.

February 1st - February 7th
Round 1.
Iggy's Castle
Donut Plains 1
Yoshi's Island 3

February 8th - February 14th
Round 2.
Morton's Castle
Donut Plains 3
Vanilla Dome 1 <-- You are not allowed to get the secret exit.

February 15th - February 21st
Round 3.
Soda Lake
Star World 4
Lemmy's Castle

February 22nd - February 28th
Round 4.
Butter Bridge 2
Chocolate Island 4
Roy's Castle

March 1st - March 7th
Round 5.
Valley Fortress
Valley of Bowser 3
Mondo

March 8th - ->
Round 6.
Tubular
Outrageous
Funky

Projected ending date: Anywhere between Monday, March 8th and Monday, March 15th.



64 cap has been reached.

A few days ago, I made a thread to measure the interest there would be for a Super Mario World time trialing tournament.
On the IRC and in that thread, plenty of interest was shown, so here it is - the signups thread.



-> The objective:
You're supposed to play a couple of SMW's levels (you'll get to see which level you have to play during the respective round).
Depending on the number of contestants, we play 3 (8 people), 4 (9-16 people), 5 (17-32 people) or 6 (33-64) rounds.
In each round (unless you don't make it to that round, of course), you're supposed to play a certain level from SMW 5 times, against an opponent.
Each time you play it, it counts as a turn. That means if you beat it, but also if you die, it counts as a turn.
The fastest time in which you beat the level, out of those 5 tries you get, is taken into account, and compared with the fastest time of your opponent.
Whoever has the fastest time, wins, and advances to the next round.

PRO-TIP: Write your times AND your opponent's times (the time that appears in the status bar, when the goal has been reached) on a paper, or something.
This to keep a good record of the times. It's to YOUR advantage!


If there's a draw after five times, you play again, and discard whatever you and your opponent achieved the first five times.
Now, it only matters who's faster THIS time. If there's a draw again, play another time, and if there's a draw again, do it again, etc.
The dying rule still applies as normal.

If, after five times, you have not beaten the level a single time, but the opponent has, then the opponent wins.
If both did not beat the level a single time, that counts as a tie, so the tie-rule goes in : play the level just as long until there's a difference.
In this case, that'd ultimately mean whoever beats the level first. Repeat until the level is beaten by at least one of the two.
Come on, guys. SMW isn't that hard.

You start out as small Mario inside the level (this will happen automatically if you apply the IPS patch linked below), but you ARE allowed to collect powerups (yes, even feathers) throughout the level.
You're also supposed to beat the level, beginning at the START OF THE LEVEL. Again, if you apply the IPS patch linked below, this will be of no concern, as midway points won't have any effect.



-> Before we get started:
Get Hamachi (here) and ZSNES 1.42 (here).
Do not use ZSNES 1.51 or anything else that doesn't have netplay, since you will require netplay in this tournament.

I already created a few Hamachi channels.

Name: SMWTT
Password: timebomb

Name: SMWTTB
Password: timebomb

Name: SMWTTC
Password: timebomb

Name: SMWTTD
Password: timebomb

It's a good idea to join one of these at February 1st. I will tell you which channel to join.



-> The ROM:
SMW's normal timer is okay, but there's a big chance a draw occurs when there's actually really not a draw at all.
Therefore, I made an IPS patch which installs a mm:ss:mm timer instead. With the patch, I also included an ASM hack (and Lunar Magic hacks) that enable you to go to any tile on the overworld, without needing a 100% SRAM.
Additionally, it disables the midway point from having effect (easier for you) and Mario starts as small Mario every level (like should happen). You also can't carry Yoshi over from level to level.

You can find it here, and I REALLY RECOMMEND you apply this. This to avoid cheating and to make the whole matter much easier.
It's for your own good. I won't disqualify you if you don't apply it, but it makes things much easier - and cheat-proof - for YOU.

Apply it on a clean SMW ROM, of course. The only side effect it has is that:
1) During a castle/ghost house intro, the timer runs (but that doesn't affect the timer in the end, since the timer is cleared as soon as the level is entered).
2) The Special World flag is activated. This is because Funky is set to be 'passed'. It shouldn't bother you too much.



-> When you're done:
BOTH OF YOU send a PM to me, containing AT THE VERY LEAST:
- Explaining who won the match.

Additionally, you can add the following (it would be nice if you did, but not necessary):
- What exactly the best time of each player was.
- Screenshots.



-> The rules.
1. Time limit.
There is a time limit of 7 days per round.
If I do NOT receive a PM from you in time, you're disqualified, unless you can give me a reason why you're holding it up (emergency, etc.).
In that case, I will, at most, extend the time limit for that round by 3 days.
If you're willing to play, but can't, because your opponent gives no reply to your messages, alarm me in time so I get to know who's responsible.

Timezones shouldn't be a problem. You have a week of time, and in that week you should be able to play the match against your opponent, at least on one of the weekend days.
If you and your opponents think it's truly impossible, though, then send me a PM about it, and I'll try to do something about it.

2. Cheating.
Cheating is never fun to the opposing player.
Now, because we're using netplay, and because you're -supposed- to apply the IPS patch, the chance of cheating is brought to a minimum.
But it's still possible. If you even have the slightest idea your opponent is cheating to his advantage, then send me a PM, and I'll take a look at it.

Also, since both players have to send me a PM, I will naturally inform both of them if their results DO NOT match.
(I.e.: player A tells me that player A won, and player B tells me that player B won. Naturally, that will make me curious.)
--------> Don't follow "Find Roy's Dignity", my hack. Because it's pretty outdated. <--------
I'm in.

I am so in.

But will you choose who we will be pared with?
Background image by Tzadkiel & Anomalin
I'll use random.org of course. Fraud-proof, you know me. ;)
--------> Don't follow "Find Roy's Dignity", my hack. Because it's pretty outdated. <--------
I'll also apply to this tournament.

I have a question though: will you be able to carry Yoshi over from level to level? One could easily cross gaps actually by using Yoshi.

I would've told you this on IRC but I was actually moderating stuff intensively for once.

Edit: didn't really look at the patch. I'll do so now
My blog. I could post stuff now and then

My Assembly for the SNES tutorial (it's actually finished now!)
Yeah, good point. I reuploaded the patch. It should now have applied counter break (for Yoshi) in as well.
--------> Don't follow "Find Roy's Dignity", my hack. Because it's pretty outdated. <--------
I AM IN
I'd like to join, if you don't mind. I'll probably lose a few rounds in, but what the heck? Let's give it a try. :D I'm sure some people might try some TAS tricks, though, like keeping their speed from fluctuating by releasing Y/X at the right time and immediately pressing it again, wall-jumping, etc... What should we do about those? The first one is probably near-impossible to detect, but I'd hate to lose solely because I can't do tricks that TAS'ers can at a moment's notice.
<Adam> I feel like smwc is a prostitute now, because we put up a porn ad for money
Originally posted by Riolu180
I'd like to join, if you don't mind. I'll probably lose a few rounds in, but what the heck? Let's give it a try. :D I'm sure some people might try some TAS tricks, though, like keeping their speed from fluctuating by releasing Y/X at the right time and immediately pressing it again, wall-jumping, etc... What should we do about those? The first one is probably near-impossible to detect, but I'd hate to lose solely because I can't do tricks that TAS'ers can at a moment's notice.


Not sure. Although, are you talking about the skill of being able to time well? Since there's nothing wrong with that, IMO. Or are you referring to a real cheat?

Also, for people downloading the IPSes (read: everyone, hopefully): I advise you to REDOWNLOAD it when the tournament commences. I'm fixing and adding a few things here and there to make it as complete as possible. For now, though, feel free to use it so you can practice.
--------> Don't follow "Find Roy's Dignity", my hack. Because it's pretty outdated. <--------
Originally posted by Roy

Not sure. Although, are you talking about the skill of being able to time well? Since there's nothing wrong with that, IMO. Or are you referring to a real cheat?

You know how whenever Mario moves along, his speed fluctuates among several values? There's a trick abused by TAS'ers (or so I hear) where, while you're running, you stop running for a single frame on a specific frame (the one where your speed is the highest), and then you instantly hold the button to run again, repeating this over and over, and it keeps you at your highest speed. Is this sort of thing allowed, along with jumping into walls at the right speed to where you get caught in it for a split-second and are allowed to jump up out of it to gain more height?
<Adam> I feel like smwc is a prostitute now, because we put up a porn ad for money
Hm... I'd say, if you can time it well, there's no harm in it. It's not like you're using slowdown etc. It's simply a trick known among the TAS'ers.

Remember that you have 5 tries, so you have less room for error than you would have normally as a TAS'er. But yeah.
We'll see how things will roll out.
--------> Don't follow "Find Roy's Dignity", my hack. Because it's pretty outdated. <--------
I guess I'm up for it.
sign me up.
I am in. :O
Your layout has been removed.
I'm in.
YOUR layout has been removed.

I do non-kaizo beta tests!
Check my profile for more details.

A Mario and Luigi Story: The Universe's Star Demo 2:
50%
Status: Dead until I regain interest. Link to hack thread.

Sure, I'll join this just for fun.
Stickied.

I might join this. As I said on IRC, I think it's a great idea, and it could be a ton of fun. Heh.
I'm in for sure.
Yes! I am in!
I play different games on Twitch, I did speedruns of Pokemon Red and Gold, Mario Party 4, but I also do SMW stuff.
I only stream to make progress on my hack currently. Check out my twitch!

Exits done: 50, Overworld: 99%
Play through Taomb Demo 3
Taomb is alive again. Check my Twitch as I work on in it when live.


I'm in. I'm sure this is going to have a lot of fun.

Absolutely in.

There is no way I'm going to be left in the dust. I'm going to practice!

EDIT: Woah woah woah according to my calculations... I just leveled up!
Now with extra girl and extra hacker