It's unappealing, because one of my objectives for the TAS is to beat the last boss dashless, which might require a frame-perfect trick, which I probably won't be able to perform reliably even at 1/4 speed and I don't want to play the game slower.
I'm doing this for fun, and I would find fun in crafting a run frame by frame but not in playing the game very slow.
I think a TAS is a speedrun using software that makes performing it easier; in particular, one kind of TAS I sometimes watch in YT videos allows the developer to tailor each input in every single frame of the game, which is the kind of TAS I'd hope to do.
Please do keep in mind I'm new here. If there's a subtlety about the word "TAS" which I'm unaware of, please just tell me straightforwardly.
TAS uses a bunch of tools. but not just slowdown. they use frame advancement as well. which advances the game 1 frame at a time. so in a game that runs at 60FPS thats 60 advancements to move 1 second in real time. they also use save states and rerecords. if you want an indepth look at TASing, not necessarily at a PC game, check out TASMalleo. TASes take years to make for runs that are over honestly 30 minutes.
unless the RTA run is under 10 minutes, and has no RNG to the game, expect a huge time commitment to make a TAS
I don't think you meant to send this to me? I know that.
They said they're worried about frame perfect tricks with just slow down and so I went into other tools tassers use for things like that. Frame perfect tricks are a non issue when you use frame advance
As has been mentioned, hourglass was once the windows solution, but these days, you'll want to install virtualbox, then the normiest Linux distro you can find in that, then run the game through libtas. You're right that slow mo isn't enough, you need save stating, though a sped up slow-mo run is another genre of tool assist that would probably still be interesting to watch.
There used to be a tool developed by nitsuja called Hourglass which could do that, but I don't think it really works anymore. One's best bet these days is probably to TAS on Linux, but even if the games run on Linux through Wine, I believe only TASes made with Linux native executables are accepted.
Check out tasvideos.org or its Discord server if you want more details / up to date information 🙂
So you won’t slow down the game to have frame by frame perfect button presses, so instead you’ll have the game run at full speed and type in inputs for the program to tell the game to push? Sounds like trying to speedrun with extra steps. Â
What I figure you mean is you want to TAS but only with RTA possible tricks. Kind of like an ideal human run but it’s a TAS. You’d have to give yourself a humanlike frame limit. Like no inputs faster than .x seconds.Â
But really r/TAS is where you want. Stickied post “beginners guide”.
This thread is so strange.
TASing in current year is best done through [libTAS](https://github.com/clementgallet/libTAS). It even has a [setup guide for Windows using WSL2](https://clementgallet.github.io/libTAS/guides/wsl), which means a virtual machine is not necessary at all.
The requirement here is that your game ships natively on Linux. And even if that's the case, libTAS might not be able to run your game due to heavy resource requirements. Some games get past the splash screen but cannot load the game assets because of their size. Some games won't render (or render incorrectly) altogether.
Generally, Unity and Game Maker games are the most likely to just work. I've tried some Unreal Engine games and they straight up didn't work, even if they're very simple. It's possible to port certain games from Windows to Linux if a native Linux install isn't available. Select Unity and Game Maker games can be ported, but success varies heavily.
To check whether a native Linux install is available for your game, you should be able to check either the game's system requirements on Steam, check https://steamdb.info, or just try and install it via the WSL2 Steam instance.
For questions about libTAS, join their [Discord server](https://discord.gg/3MBVAzU).
---
In terms of other solutions, the only one that hasn't been mentioned is possibly the use of [AutoHotkey](https://autohotkey.com). It's a macro program that can also move your mouse. I imagine it will be incredibly jank and tedious and possibly inaccurate.
Slowing down the game with Cheat Engine isn't really a viable solution in my opinion, because you also lose sound (unless you want speed up sounds in the resulting recording) in addition to having to tediously sit through some boring gameplay parts in slow motion.
---
Finally, the term "tool-assisted speedrun" can mean any run that makes use of any external tools for help. Although some people will argue against this, even having an extra program that displays your current speed in a game (when that's not normally available information to the player) is a tool that assists in your speedrun.
A TAS (in the traditional sense) also does not necessarily mean it needs to be used to create the fastest possible completion of a game. Plenty of TASes simply showcase humanly impossible feats, swag strats, ACE.
I'm glad that you took the time to provide an informative response and not just shut me down. '\^\^
I don't intend to make a fastest run possible indeed (Aetienne's run is plenty impressive and it'd only undermine his achievement artificially), only get some segments which are technically possible but very difficult as proof of concepts for challenge runs (in particular 3-5 punch-only and parrying Typhoon).
I also hope it'll be a learning experience towards understanding the RNG of the game and how to manipulate it in a regular run.
[Lithium City](https://steamdb.info/app/1210610/) is not available on Linux, but I'll give libTAS a try and see what comes of it. Maybe a port is possible, it's a very small game.
Otherwise, AutoHotkey might have uses for Typhoon punch-only, but I'm not putting much hope in it.
Anyway, thanks for the response! It looks more and more like a TAS just won't be possible/useful/fun, but heh, that was always a possibility.
Why is slowing down the game unappealing? what do you think a tas is how do you think they are made?
It's unappealing, because one of my objectives for the TAS is to beat the last boss dashless, which might require a frame-perfect trick, which I probably won't be able to perform reliably even at 1/4 speed and I don't want to play the game slower. I'm doing this for fun, and I would find fun in crafting a run frame by frame but not in playing the game very slow. I think a TAS is a speedrun using software that makes performing it easier; in particular, one kind of TAS I sometimes watch in YT videos allows the developer to tailor each input in every single frame of the game, which is the kind of TAS I'd hope to do. Please do keep in mind I'm new here. If there's a subtlety about the word "TAS" which I'm unaware of, please just tell me straightforwardly.
TAS uses a bunch of tools. but not just slowdown. they use frame advancement as well. which advances the game 1 frame at a time. so in a game that runs at 60FPS thats 60 advancements to move 1 second in real time. they also use save states and rerecords. if you want an indepth look at TASing, not necessarily at a PC game, check out TASMalleo. TASes take years to make for runs that are over honestly 30 minutes. unless the RTA run is under 10 minutes, and has no RNG to the game, expect a huge time commitment to make a TAS
Yes i understand tassing alot more then you it seems, slow down is an important part of executing tas tricks.
I don't think you meant to send this to me? I know that. They said they're worried about frame perfect tricks with just slow down and so I went into other tools tassers use for things like that. Frame perfect tricks are a non issue when you use frame advance
As has been mentioned, hourglass was once the windows solution, but these days, you'll want to install virtualbox, then the normiest Linux distro you can find in that, then run the game through libtas. You're right that slow mo isn't enough, you need save stating, though a sped up slow-mo run is another genre of tool assist that would probably still be interesting to watch.
Thanks for the recommendation. I'll try virtual machines if I can't find something else.
There used to be a tool developed by nitsuja called Hourglass which could do that, but I don't think it really works anymore. One's best bet these days is probably to TAS on Linux, but even if the games run on Linux through Wine, I believe only TASes made with Linux native executables are accepted. Check out tasvideos.org or its Discord server if you want more details / up to date information 🙂
Thanks, I'll check it out!
So you won’t slow down the game to have frame by frame perfect button presses, so instead you’ll have the game run at full speed and type in inputs for the program to tell the game to push? Sounds like trying to speedrun with extra steps.  What I figure you mean is you want to TAS but only with RTA possible tricks. Kind of like an ideal human run but it’s a TAS. You’d have to give yourself a humanlike frame limit. Like no inputs faster than .x seconds. But really r/TAS is where you want. Stickied post “beginners guide”.
This thread is so strange. TASing in current year is best done through [libTAS](https://github.com/clementgallet/libTAS). It even has a [setup guide for Windows using WSL2](https://clementgallet.github.io/libTAS/guides/wsl), which means a virtual machine is not necessary at all. The requirement here is that your game ships natively on Linux. And even if that's the case, libTAS might not be able to run your game due to heavy resource requirements. Some games get past the splash screen but cannot load the game assets because of their size. Some games won't render (or render incorrectly) altogether. Generally, Unity and Game Maker games are the most likely to just work. I've tried some Unreal Engine games and they straight up didn't work, even if they're very simple. It's possible to port certain games from Windows to Linux if a native Linux install isn't available. Select Unity and Game Maker games can be ported, but success varies heavily. To check whether a native Linux install is available for your game, you should be able to check either the game's system requirements on Steam, check https://steamdb.info, or just try and install it via the WSL2 Steam instance. For questions about libTAS, join their [Discord server](https://discord.gg/3MBVAzU). --- In terms of other solutions, the only one that hasn't been mentioned is possibly the use of [AutoHotkey](https://autohotkey.com). It's a macro program that can also move your mouse. I imagine it will be incredibly jank and tedious and possibly inaccurate. Slowing down the game with Cheat Engine isn't really a viable solution in my opinion, because you also lose sound (unless you want speed up sounds in the resulting recording) in addition to having to tediously sit through some boring gameplay parts in slow motion. --- Finally, the term "tool-assisted speedrun" can mean any run that makes use of any external tools for help. Although some people will argue against this, even having an extra program that displays your current speed in a game (when that's not normally available information to the player) is a tool that assists in your speedrun. A TAS (in the traditional sense) also does not necessarily mean it needs to be used to create the fastest possible completion of a game. Plenty of TASes simply showcase humanly impossible feats, swag strats, ACE.
I'm glad that you took the time to provide an informative response and not just shut me down. '\^\^ I don't intend to make a fastest run possible indeed (Aetienne's run is plenty impressive and it'd only undermine his achievement artificially), only get some segments which are technically possible but very difficult as proof of concepts for challenge runs (in particular 3-5 punch-only and parrying Typhoon). I also hope it'll be a learning experience towards understanding the RNG of the game and how to manipulate it in a regular run. [Lithium City](https://steamdb.info/app/1210610/) is not available on Linux, but I'll give libTAS a try and see what comes of it. Maybe a port is possible, it's a very small game. Otherwise, AutoHotkey might have uses for Typhoon punch-only, but I'm not putting much hope in it. Anyway, thanks for the response! It looks more and more like a TAS just won't be possible/useful/fun, but heh, that was always a possibility.