Pikmin

GameFAQs archives

These are the full, expanded threads from the preserved GameFAQs threads. I had to exercise some wicked Perl voodoo to extract the actual text, bad HTML and all, from the archives provided by RockMFR 5 (and DistantSpring54), and patch up the code so it's valid. We couldn't preserve the links to the author name or message detail because they don't seem to work anymore.

Archive: 1 · [2] · 3 · 4 · 5

Posted by Ferret5317 - 4/28/2002 10:23:11 AM

"The page cannot be found"

........ :P

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http://www.freehomepages.com/ferretdruid/ - Chao!
All your board are belong to us. You have no chance to post make your karma. -GotenksSSJ3

Posted by TomatoMan - 4/28/2002 11:07:11 AM

Sorry, the filename got corrupted in transition somehow. Try it again; it's about 450k zipped. Hopefully it's OK now.

Posted by Ferret5317 - 4/28/2002 4:23:45 PM

Okay cool, I got it... Now what the heck do I do with it?

That is, what do I need to use to open it?

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http://www.freehomepages.com/ferretdruid/ - Chao!
All your board are belong to us. You have no chance to post make your karma. -GotenksSSJ3

Posted by TomatoMan - 4/28/2002 5:16:54 PM

It's a .tar.gz directory archive, so you need to un-tar and un-gzip it. If you have access to Unix, Linux, or MacOSX, the command is:

tar xfzv (filename)

That will extract the directory and its files.

If you're on Mac OS<X or Windows, Stuffit Expander should be able to unstuff it. There are two phases to unstuffing: the first is the un-gzipping, which will leave you with a .tar archive, and the second is the un-tarring which will leave you with the expanded folder. Stuffit Expander should be able to do both of these passes.

Let me know if you're having trouble.

Planning anything interesting for them? Or just wanting to re-read?

Posted by Ferret5317 - 4/28/2002 9:45:32 PM

The Distant Spring - 502

I have worked out a new strategy for this level, it basically involves alternating the type of Pikmin that I use... I start with all three colors, then move on to just Blue and Red, then eventually only blues to finish everything off. It works excellently so far, and I have a lot of time left when the day finishes. I just need to work on not leaving stuff so far away and losing less Pikmin and I should be doing pretty well here.

Anyhow, about that archive. I guess the only word I have to describe how I feel about those instructions is.... "HUH?"

Nevermind, it's not a big deal. I was just talking to an online bud who may possibly be interested in getting the game and I wanted him to see the old Challenge Mode topic for reference. But thanks anyways.

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http://www.freehomepages.com/ferretdruid/ - Chao!
All your board are belong to us. You have no chance to post make your karma. -GotenksSSJ3

Posted by Ferret5317 - 4/28/2002 10:32:48 PM

The Distant Spring - 531!!!

I... so.. happy...

*faint*

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http://www.freehomepages.com/ferretdruid/ - Chao!
All your board are belong to us. You have no chance to post make your karma. -GotenksSSJ3

Posted by TomatoMan - 4/29/2002 8:58:58 AM

Jesus H.

You didn't tape it by any chance, did you? If you didn't, please do it got damit! :) We've got to get an archive of all these feats.

That might be the most amazing score yet reported on any level. Holy cow.

PS: on the archive thing, if you don't have stuffit expander installed, you can download it from alladinsys.com; it's free, and an insanely useful utility. Once you've got it, drop the archive on the stuffit expander icon and it should open right up.

Posted by Jimithingr - 4/29/2002 11:54:33 AM

Holy Sharkfins, Ferret! I want a detailed description of how you did that! I do not want to be stuck in this rutt I have been in for the past month, I gotta be able to make 500's again. Send me how you did it. No I don't plan on using for any devious deeds, I just want to know how the heck you did it. You are the man, Congrats, and I hate you 8-)
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OH NOS I"M AN EGGPLANTT>>!!!!!!!! - Mikaze, Kid Icarus Board

Posted by Ahlyis - 4/29/2002 12:54:57 PM

OK, here is a link for a low-res version of my Final Trial 299 run. Tomato is going to fix the title screen, which currently says Distant Spring by mistake. Once he does and sends me the links, I'll post new links for both the Hi and Low res versions of the run. Apparently, the Hi-res run came out quite large, about 390 megs. The lo-res one is only 56 megs. Please do not repost this link anywhere else. Thank you.

ftp://exchange.rational.com/exchange/outgoing/dwood/ft299lo.zip

OK, some comments about the run.

As Tomato pointed out earlier, I switch between camera angles quite a bit. I've gotten used to the overhead view and now I use it in various places. It seems to make some areas easier while others are better with the regular view.

I got extremely lucky against Beady that run. My first perfect run was much cleaner against Beady. There are two separate times where Beady 'should' have killed at least one Pikmin on this run. But luckily for me, he missed :-)

After killing Beady, I pause to see what color pellets fall. The perfect colors for me would be 3 blue and one red. In this case, I got 2 blue, a red and a yellow. The colors I get sometimes affects how I distribute the Pikmin on the other pellets. If there are no blues from Beady, I will do things like put 6 reds and 4 blues on the red 10. Anything to reduce the number of blues I have since there are no preset blue pellets in the area.

As it was, I ended up sending the yellow 10 from Beady back with almost all blues. But no problem, I get back in plenty of time to correct that.

As I come across the bridges with my 90 Pikmin, you can hear that I'm using the c-stick. In order to keep any reds or yellows from falling in the water, it is not necessary to keep them in a tight group next to you. Just wiggle the c-stick back and forth and the Pikmin will form into a 'stream'. Some will be well behind you and off the screen, but none will fall into the water. This works well anywhere you need to take a lot of Pikmin over a relatively thin strip.

You may be confused why I drop the blues, then immediately call them back as I head for the blue 20. Watch the Pikmin in my control count. It goes from 35 to 33. I needed to drop the extra yellows that had fallen back under my control when they failed to be able to help with the red 10.

All in all, this was as near to a perfect run as I can envision. There are a couple of areas where I could have been more efficient, but all of them are really minor. Besides, as Tomatoman said, I end with a ton of time left anyway.
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I'm just a pigment of your imagination.

Posted by BLAH38 - 4/29/2002 3:18:11 PM

The movie is great! I just have a few questions:

1. How did you always throw the color pikmin that you wanted, and how did you get them to line up?

2. Why did you throw all the pikmin around at the end?

3. How did you kill the Snagret so fast? That was cool!

Posted by Ahlyis - 4/29/2002 5:11:15 PM

1. How did you always throw the color pikmin that you wanted, and how did you get them to line up?
This is a fairly standard trick. When you go to throw a Pikmin, hold down the button. All of the rest of the Pikmin will line up according to color. You can throw many of the same color consecutively that way. Sometimes I want a red, but get a blue when they are all scrambled, but holding the blue orders them. Then I toss the blue to the side and grab a red from the ordered group. after tossing the reds, I'll whistle back the blue. It saves tons of time over releasing the Pikmin into groups.

2. Why did you throw all the pikmin around at the end?
Just for the sheer fun of it. :-)

3. How did you kill the Snagret so fast? That was cool!
I got a bit lucky that he came up slowly so early, but eventually he always does. By swarming the Pikmin the way I do in the video, the Pikmin almost immediately begin attacking the Snagret. When he comes up slow, 80 Pikmin pounding on him from the start kills him quite quickly! :-)
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I'm just a pigment of your imagination.

Posted by RockMFR 5 - 4/29/2002 6:16:43 PM

Nice job Ferret! Now GameFAQs is once again the best. No need to worry about that guy in Nintendo Power that got 520 anymore.
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<SSBM-290> <P9-DC> <SA2B-141> <MKSCWR-2> <SA-7> <ZELDA 1-8 100%>
"Booker T: Hair done by Whoopi; Shane McMahon: Still a *****!" ~ The Rock

Posted by Ferret5317 - 4/29/2002 8:18:53 PM

It's hard to explain my strategy for The Distant Spring. But, I will take some time later to put up a detailed description of how to consistently get 500+ (Last night I got 500+ six times in a row, minus one time where I restarted due to a Wollywog accident). Once I am finished with it I'll send it to my page and link you to it.

It's pretty straight forward and effective, and should not be too hard to understand. And like I mentioned on my 502, I was using alternating colors. So, sometimes it depends on luck when it comes to getting a lot of blue 5 pellets from enemies near the end. But, even if you do not it is still 3 Pikmin per pellet. Better to grab some Dwarf Bulborbs instead sometimes. Hehe

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http://www.freehomepages.com/ferretdruid/ - Chao!
You know... Nevermind, you don't. - I forgot

Posted by Ferret5317 - 4/29/2002 8:47:29 PM

The Distant Spring - 534

I have to admit, that I am proud of this score... BUT, I lost a whole bunch of Pikmin for stupid reasons. Somehow the Wollywog near the onions ended up squashing a few yellows when I wasn't looking! And then when I was getting the beach pearl I only had about 30 blue Pikmin to kill a Fiery Blowhog and so bunch of them ended up getting fried to a crisp. Grrrrrrr!

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http://www.freehomepages.com/ferretdruid/ - Chao!
You know... Nevermind, you don't. - I forgot

Posted by TomatoMan - 4/29/2002 10:59:49 PM

[TomatoMan gets on his knees]

Ferret, PLEASE TAPE THESE RUNS! This is like watching Picasso doodle and then chuck his doodles into the fire.

It's really easy - just run your cube's a/v output into your vcr's input and record away. I'll do the rest if you send me a tape, like I did for Ahlyis. You're making history here, let's capture it!

Posted by Ferret5317 - 4/30/2002 12:55:33 AM

Got a 516 in The Distant Spring... And sadly, I experienced something for the first time which was very depressing... Traffic jam.

There was quite a few things crammed together at the bottom of the onion during the countdown, and I never speculated that they would not be able to get IN the onion. They were stuck... A whole PILE of stuff... Just wobbling there with Pikmin attached to it. As the clock struck 1, I paused to count what was there... A total of 36 Pikmin extra would I have not gotten in that mess.

So, 550 was snagged right from under my feet because of something TOTALLY STUPID! AAAAAAAAUUUUUUUUUGGGGGHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!

*falls over dead*

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http://www.freehomepages.com/ferretdruid/ - Chao!
You know... Nevermind, you don't. - I forgot

Posted by Ferret5317 - 4/30/2002 12:57:02 AM

Okay, TomatoMan... Tomorrow night I will put the Cube in the living room and record a bunch of runs and see what I can do. Hopefully I'll get that stupid 550. I'm still fuming over it. :)

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http://www.freehomepages.com/ferretdruid/ - Chao!
You know... Nevermind, you don't. - I forgot

Posted by Ferret5317 - 4/30/2002 1:50:51 AM

Okay, here is the strategy, it's only fair.

http://www.freehomepages.com/ferretdruid/distantspring.html

I would have posted it here, but it's a rather large file so I just put a link instead.

Keep in mind, for those who decide to read it, that every run is different and I usually grab a lot of extra stuff along the way that I may not have mentioned in my overall strategy. This includes common sense things such as grabbing stuff that I killed that I did not mention bringing back, etc. And anything else that even a moron wouldn't leave behind. :)

I tried my best to make it understandable, and I'm not the greatest with pages. So, for the good of the public eye, any suggestions for that page (Font, and text color included) is welcome and appreciated.

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http://www.freehomepages.com/ferretdruid/ - Chao!
You know... Nevermind, you don't. - I forgot

Posted by Ferret5317 - 4/30/2002 3:59:09 AM

Update...

The Distant Spring - 544

I'm very close now... I can't wait to hit 550!

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http://www.freehomepages.com/ferretdruid/ - Chao!
You know... Nevermind, you don't. - I forgot

Posted by TomatoMan - 4/30/2002 8:39:28 AM

Tomorrow night I will put the Cube in the living room and record a bunch of runs and see what I can do.

EXCELLENT! :) :)

Tomato is happy. So is everybody else. Can't wait to see it!

Posted by Ahlyis - 4/30/2002 11:17:07 AM

While we all wait for Ferret's DS runs, here's the links to my FT runs:
ftp://exchange.rational.com/exchange/outgoing/dwood/ft299lo.zip
ftp://exchange.rational.com/exchange/outgoing/dwood/ft299hi.zip

Tomatoman's 278 IS runs are there still too. Their links are:
ftp://exchange.rational.com/exchange/outgoing/dwood/is278l.zip
ftp://exchange.rational.com/exchange/outgoing/dwood/is278h.zip

Please download a file once and save it for future reference. Please do not post these links anywhere else. Thanks.

Oh, and please post comments on the runs! :-)
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I'm just a pigment of your imagination.

Posted by Ferret5317 - 5/1/2002 12:30:26 AM

Great video, Ahlyis! I enjoyed watching that as much as I enjoyed SnapDragon's :) And the ending was hilarious!

Anyhow, I put the HiRes version in my shared directory for others to download from AIM. (Ferret Druid)

As far as videos go, I recorded a 522 on Distant Springs tonight! It seems like when I play in the living room, sitting up instead of lying down on my stomach on my bed, my entire playing style changes... It's irritating, and I am considering dragging the VCR into my bedroom so I can actually get a good run on tape. Well, more news to follow! Peace!

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http://www.freehomepages.com/ferretdruid/ - Chao!
You know... Nevermind, you don't. - I forgot

Posted by Ferret5317 - 5/1/2002 3:28:56 AM

Okay, I got a 543 on tape. It's really weird too, the counter never went past 496! I guess that is because so much stuff got sucked into it at once that it got confused. Oh well, as long as the final count showed up on the end screen I'm happy.

(399 + 2 pearls + 2 Wollywogs + Umm, lots of other stuff)

I'm going to give it one or two more tries tonight, and then I'm going to sleep.

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http://www.freehomepages.com/ferretdruid/ - Chao!
You know... Nevermind, you don't. - I forgot

Posted by Ferret5317 - 5/1/2002 4:36:18 AM

And I end the night with...

The Distant Spring - 547

...On tape! Well, tomorrow will hopefully be "the big day". I'm getting a bit anxious now. :)

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http://www.freehomepages.com/ferretdruid/ - Chao!
You know... Nevermind, you don't. - I forgot

Posted by TomatoMan - 5/1/2002 9:36:31 AM

Awesome! Can't wait to see the tape, Ferret. I never even broke 400 on DS, as I recall.

Is 550 a "calculated max"? How close are you to a "clean sweep"? Is that possible on DS? Or is the conclusion still that that's one of the ones that can't be "perfected"?

Posted by Ferret5317 - 5/1/2002 10:10:47 AM

550 is more of a goal than a calculation... My overall strategy has the potential for probably about 570-580, but after watching my runs I realized many of the horrible mistakes that I make on a regular basis! It's going to be helpful for me to actually look back at my runs to see what I did wrong. :)

I am still not sure about a clean sweep on this level, although I think there's probably some way to make it work... It just wouldn't be very efficient, and most likely a heck of a lot of mismatching would need to be done.

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http://www.freehomepages.com/ferretdruid/ - Chao!
You know... Nevermind, you don't. - I forgot

Posted by Ahlyis - 5/1/2002 11:16:53 AM

Great job Ferret. I'm looking forward to seeing such an awesome run! :-)
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I'm just a pigment of your imagination.

Posted by TomatoMan - 5/1/2002 4:18:09 PM

I've been thinking recently that it would be cool to maintain vids of the top runs on the various boards - and really cool if we had one vid for each board, with the "top" score, as a kind of set we could chuck on a CD. The problem is the gigantic size of the videos - ahlyis's FT run was 390mb, and Ferret's DS run will probably push 500! Guess it would have to be a CD-set, or maybe a DVD?

Who's going to record Forest of Hope and Forest Navel? Snap?

I'd be happy to maintain such a collection, and set up something where for a SASE and a buck I'd happily copy CDs for people that wanted them - I'm assuming there'd be no legal/copyright issues with that, and just recouping cost-of-media - sort of as the "Pikmin Challenge Mode Master Series" or something like that. File size is still a bummer - we could fit all the lo-res versions on a CD, no doubt, but who wants to watch those? :P

Anyway, just rambling. It would be a cool thing to do/have, though, dontcha think?

Posted by Juggler - 5/1/2002 6:27:56 PM

A DVD of the best runs would be awesome. I'd watch it for sure.

A friend of mine has been experimenting with putting my nine-day/zero-deaths run on DVDs. He put days two to four on one DVD and I've been watching it with my kids. It's great watching it on a big TV instead of a quick-time viewer in the office. The kids love it and insist on it as a pre-bedtime ritual.

With slightly reduced quality his DVD-R burner will put 90 minutes on one DVD, which would fit five runs quite nicely. With each run as a chapter, and snazzy animated menus - sweet!

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Zero deaths Pikmin: 30 parts, nine days, no deaths
Read the guide at: http://www.cygnus-software.com/papers/pikmin/

Posted by Ferret5317 - 5/2/2002 3:03:19 AM

Hey, TomatoMan, what format can you create those videos from? I could just make an mpeg and burn it to a CD or something instead of sending the tape. That way it would be easier to send, too. And I have a really good capture card so the quality won't be a problem, what do you think?

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http://www.freehomepages.com/ferretdruid/ - Chao!
You know... Nevermind, you don't. - I forgot

Posted by Ferret5317 - 5/2/2002 4:41:46 AM

The Distant Spring - 557

I'm fairly content with that. Goodnight.

(Yes, it's on tape)

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http://www.freehomepages.com/ferretdruid/ - Chao!
You know... Nevermind, you don't. - I forgot

Posted by TomatoMan - 5/2/2002 9:35:50 AM

Hey Ferret.

First off, CONGRATS on that ungodly 557!

On the tape issue, that's an interesting one. If you created an mpeg, I could convert it to DV with QuickTime Pro and then add titles and credits and so forth, but you'd want to be sure it was done at high quality. The high-quality versions of the .mov files I create are done with Sorensen at 320x240, 29.97fps, key frame every 30 frames. I'm assuming/hoping there would be no loss of quality in essentially converting them twice (once to make the original mpeg, and once following the export to DV and re-creation with the additional stuff).

Anyone with any hard knowledge about this? We could certainly try it!

Posted by Jimithingr - 5/2/2002 10:17:27 AM

Dear Everyone, I am posting my resignation from the boards today... I have decided that I can not contend any further with the likes of Ferret, Snap, Tomatoman, Ayhlis, and anyone else...I have lost my steam, the once burning Coal chamber in my heart to fullfil a personal gratification of this game, and now I have been beaten so far into the ground there is no room left to move. I'll check it back and forth but as for posting, its going to be a long long time before I ever progress to the likes of these numbers... Its been great people Ferret...Congrats man, you seriously destroyed any record thus far, and I just know your going to hold it forever. Good job man, you really did the impossible.
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OH NOS I"M AN EGGPLANTT>>!!!!!!!! - Mikaze, Kid Icarus Board

Posted by Ahlyis - 5/2/2002 3:36:42 PM

Jimi, don't give up man. Try Final Trial. It's really not too difficult of a level. If you want, copy my pattern pretty much exactly. You should be able to get onto the boards easily enough even if it isn't a perfect run. All I would ask is that you give me credit for helping if you do copy my run :-)

Ferret, what can I say? Awesome Baby!
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I'm just a pigment of your imagination.

Posted by TomatoMan - 5/3/2002 8:11:09 AM

What he said. Jimi, don't be discouraged by having a hard time breaking into the high scores - these guys are nuts! :) Since you mentioned me in your list of people whose scores you couldn't compete with, keep in mind that I suck at all of the levels except IS, where I worked like crazy until I had that one run. I assure you I've been nowhere near it since.

Anyway, for me it's never been about scoring high other than in a friendly way; I doubt I'll ever hit the scores on the other boards that are at or near the top, or even in the top 5, but that's not the point for me at all - I just enjoy the game, and like talking about it (and recently, doing vids). Don't become a lurker just because some of your scores are being squeezed out - over time, that's inevitable, and we've probably got the best players in the world right here on this board.

Posted by Ahlyis - 5/3/2002 10:47:38 AM

Well, the only level I'm good at is FT.

But I've started trying DS anyway.
Distant Spring - 289 Oh yeah, fear me ... NOT! lol

With more practice I'm sure I'll get better. 289 was only my third complete run there. I'm still really learning the level.
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I'm just a pigment of your imagination.

Posted by Ferret5317 - 5/3/2002 11:16:26 AM

Good job, Ahlyis. :) You'll definitely improve, as I remember my first few DS runs ending in total disaster... (And as much as I sucked at killing enemies back then, I haven't improved TOO much.. LOL)

Back to the video tape issue... I noticed on some of the runs I record there are blips in the tape and sometimes even a few frames of completely blue screen, is there any way to avoid this that you know of? Your run seemed to be pretty fluid with little distortion. I have been trying to use a 'clean' part of the tape (not a blank area, but one that doesn't seem to cause 'blips') and I guess that works- but I'm still not sure if there's a better way without buying a fresh new tape, since there is still fuzz and snow.

Did I mention I don't like VCRs? Ugh...

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http://www.freehomepages.com/ferretdruid/ - Chao!
You know... Nevermind, you don't. - I forgot

Posted by Ahlyis - 5/3/2002 12:19:27 PM

Sounds like a bad tape. I just bought a new tape and used it.
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I'm just a pigment of your imagination.

Posted by TomatoMan - 5/3/2002 1:19:24 PM

Yes, the "blue" that you see is actually thrown up there by the TV when it can't pull a signal from the VCR - the blue isn't on the tape itself. The best thing to do is to just use a new tape.

If your 557 is on a glitchy tape, individual frames and so forth can be edited out in software, but it can make it jumpy. You may just have to drop a few bucks on a new tape and then record a 560. :)

Posted by Ferret5317 - 5/3/2002 1:21:47 PM

Don't worry about the 557...

The Distant Spring - 569!

I recorded it on a part of the tape which seems to be clean for the most part. :)

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http://www.freehomepages.com/ferretdruid/ - Chao!
You know... Nevermind, you don't. - I forgot

Posted by Ahlyis - 5/3/2002 1:31:26 PM

Well, that ties Snap for the highest score on ANY level! Congrats. Very impressive score.

OK Snap. Are you still checking here periodically? Are you ready to come back and challenge for DS bragging rights? Can we pump some life back into this board?
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I'm just a pigment of your imagination.

Posted by TomatoMan - 5/3/2002 1:39:12 PM

Oh my FRIKKIN GOD!!

OK, Ferret, you must be near knowing whether a clean sweep is possible. How much is left after 569? Anything? Is it possible to project a maximum score at this point?

God, I can't wait to see this!!

Posted by Ferret5317 - 5/3/2002 1:48:33 PM

After 569, there is still a lot of things left, but there is one area that I leave out every time. It just seems impractical to even try to go for anything in the center area (Where the yellow 20 is) with no yellows. And by the time I head over there I have already put them away. I also leave the area where the Zirconium Rotor is in the main game. Once again, just impractical, and out of the way.

I suppose you'd have to see for yourself, but other than those areas that I mentioned I pretty much got everything except for the Wollywog where the Smoky Progg egg is on my 569...

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http://www.freehomepages.com/ferretdruid/ - Chao!
You know... Nevermind, you don't. - I forgot

Posted by Ferret5317 - 5/3/2002 1:51:44 PM

Oh yeah, TomatoMan, would you mind creating an AIM account for yourself for the sake of communication during the file creating process? I think I can probably do something similar to what SnapDragon did with his, I have a Dazzle card that makes really good quality WMV files, good compression too.

If you do, my screen name is Ferret Druid.

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http://www.freehomepages.com/ferretdruid/ - Chao!
You know... Nevermind, you don't. - I forgot

Posted by TomatoMan - 5/3/2002 11:47:09 PM

All right. First off, thanks to Ferret for working with me this evening to capture (in a pre-production, trial fashion) his 569 on DS, and for uploading it so I could look at it. It weighs in at 150megs, and it probably looks great on Windows. :) I had to really lean on my mac to make it play adequately - no resizing, for example. But I digress.

We will do a full production of this in quicktime format, I hope, and if this crazy DVD idea gets off the ground, this will be a centerpiece - unless Ferret beats it, which I don't think is out of the question. There's absolutely no doubt that a clean sweep, given enough time (which I don't think there is by a long shot), would be somewhere around 700 - but that's just plain impossible, there ISN'T ENOUGH TIME. If there is any hope for a GameShark that can pause the Pikmin clock, this is going to be one of the prime areas to play in. But I digress again.

What you have to understand here is this: Ferret's 569 on DS is the most jaw-dropping video feat I've seen so far. And this is taking nothing from Ahlyis's 299 on FT, which was also a special kind of perfection that demonstrated a clean mastery, simple perfect skill. Maybe there's just something about the sheer quantity of fighting necessary on DS that makes it seem more impressive. Maybe it's the length, the numbers - combinations of all of these perhaps - but I had to ratchet my jaw off the floor many times, watching this vid.

First off: Ferret's combat skills are unbelievable. Here are some of the things I learned about combat watching his vid:

1. Like Ahylis did also in his FT run, you can take out the dwarf bulborbs by just throwing three or four pikmins on top of them, instead of swarming them with larger numbers.

2. You can take on the full-size bulborbs with about 30 pikmins with the same tactic: throw pikmin on his back rather than swarm him with twice the number, which is what I usually do. I rarely tackle the bulborbs with less than 70.

3. You can extinguish burning yellows and blues by whistling them. I smacked myself in the head when I saw this.

4. You can put 10 reds on a fiery blowhog and they will wear him down on their own without your supervision.

5. You can -- well, FERRET can -- take on the effing yellow frogs with 30 or so and beat them cleanly every time. He said there's a particular way they shake when they're about to jump, although I'm damned if I can tell the difference so far. But he's got the uncanny ability to whistle all of his pikmins back safely when they jump, and kill them all without losses. My strategy is: swarm with 100, pray he doesn't jump, restart when he does because I always lose 50 when he comes down.

Ferret's camera control is also something to see - very smooth and fluent, and this really helps. Mine is jerky as hell by comparison.

He demonstrates profound understanding of timing with the way he sets small numbers to bridge-building early on while other things happen.

He killed a bunch of things that he just left on the ground, and I don't think it's out of the question that he could have gathered more in the late stages with microsecond adjustments at the end phase, when he's grabbing returning blues in clumps as others are arriving.

The parade at the very end, where he goes from about 400 as the countdown starts to 569 by the time it hits 2, is just amazing to watch, and the fireworks he sets off under the blue onion will just make you smile.

An absolutely amazing run, and I don't want to put pressure on Ferret here - if I were him I'd retire after this - but I get the feeling he might be able to better even this, just watching the mastery of the vid. Just incredible.

I have to cut this short because I've hit the maximum message size here. We'll keep working on the production, but I have a small feeling Ferret might not be done yet. I'm rambling. Time for bed. Congrats, Ferret, on an incredible run.

Posted by Ferret5317 - 5/4/2002 12:39:21 AM

Haha! Thanks, TM! I'm glad you can appreciate some of the finer points of Wollywog bashing :) Credit should be given to Snap for the Spotty Bulborb strategy, as the idea of using about 30 Pikmin while calling them back in sequence with throwing was given to me by him... As far as the rest, it took a lot of practice, but in the longrun the entire run was born from my All-Blue idea. As you probably noticed in the final stages of the run.

I certainly hope to improve this score sometime, but as of now I am comfortably (Well, maybe NOT so comfortably) playing Resident Evil... Which so far, is just that.

If anybody is using AIM, you can get a copy of the WMV version of the video from my account "Ferret Druid"... Hope that DVD idea goes through! If not, at least a High-Res version of each run would be good.

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http://www.freehomepages.com/ferretdruid/ - Chao!
Red Rooms.. Redroom, REDROOOM.. REEDROOOOOM. REDROOM. - Teremei

Posted by BLAH38 - 5/4/2002 5:29:46 PM

Ferret: Have you put your movie on a website yet?

Posted by Ferret5317 - 5/4/2002 6:12:08 PM

It's 150 magabytes... I don't know where I would put it?

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http://www.freehomepages.com/ferretdruid/ - Chao!
Red Rooms.. Redroom, REDROOOM.. REEDROOOOOM. REDROOM. - Teremei

Posted by Ferret5317 - 5/6/2002 9:30:56 PM

The Distant Spring - 579

I am disgusted at this score... Not that it ISN'T great, but... I got everything back before the countdown even started! I was so mad... I could have killed the WollyWog in the water, AND gotten more stuff from the back end if I had known that I was going to have that much time left. And, you guessed it, I would have gotten 600+

Oh well, I'm still happy. :)

(Yeah, it's on tape, and this run is much much nicer than my 569, not a lot of ClamClamp fumbling, etc...)

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http://www.freehomepages.com/ferretdruid/ - Chao!
Red Rooms.. Redroom, REDROOOM.. REEDROOOOOM. REDROOM. - Teremei

Posted by Ferret5317 - 5/6/2002 10:25:33 PM

The Distant Spring - 580

Well, it's a milestone... A couple more miles to go, though.

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http://www.freehomepages.com/ferretdruid/ - Chao!
Red Rooms.. Redroom, REDROOOM.. REEDROOOOOM. REDROOM. - Teremei

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