How Speedrunners Delete the Flag to Save Time

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#Kosmic #SMB1 #Mario

[@Kosmicd12]

Going to be working hard to put out more videos and stream more. Subscribe! And follow on Twitch! www.twitch.tv/kosmic

[@Vinylicc]

So happy for new videos

[@WhatDeyKno24]

Hope to see the return of Romhack Wednesdays, btw watching Kosmic play super Mario bros deluxe was hilarious in the speed running 10 different versions of smb1 video. Those 8-3 hammer bros don’t play around in that version lol

[@chrisjagon]

Thanks! Always putting out great content!

[@JokeURL]

ok

[@keiharris332]

Oops! No Flags% when?

[@Bismuth9]

Great video! I particularly enjoyed the sprite icons next to their RAM values.

[@reshia]

hi bismuth

[@Kosmicd12]

Thanks! Even though I didn't do it all the time haha. Probably should've for all the despawns at the end. Oh well Also the HappyLee clip they're a little innaccurate, but they flip around so much I did what made it the easiest to follow I think

[@Filiaris1]

Hi bismuth I love your videos

[@ericeaton2386]

@@Kosmicd12 I actually think the way you did it at the end works well, with the arrows on screen counting out the sprites, it made the ram values window unnecessary since throughout the video the viewer had been building the intuition for how it worked.

[@ExtremeBirdTypography]

I love that even with no possible time saves, you went looking for more places to despawn the flagpole just to style on the game. Even without any practical use, these tricks can just be fun!

[@Sixfortyfive]

I've only been aware of this phenomenon on a surface level because there are at least a few places in Lost Levels where crucial trampolines will despawn if too many enemies are present. World C-3 is a big one; if you don't kill the Lakitu right away there's a good chance that he'll toss a Spiny while multiple enemies are already present, and the trampolines will just start disappearing, leaving you with literally no way to cross all the huge gaps. Something similar will happen in World D-2 if you don't use fire to kill a few Piranha Plants. On some level I've always been curious if the designers were aware of this and arranged things like this intentionally; D-2 does actually provide the player with the means to loop through the first part of the stage a few times to collect a Fire Flower if needed, which makes it always possible to clear even if you started out small. So, this has always blurred the line between "glitch" and "intended play" to me.

[@Kosmicd12]

Killing piranha plants actually doesn't reduce the sprite count, they just hide dead inside their pipe

[@Sixfortyfive]

@@Kosmicd12 Ah yeah, that's right. Then it has to be either the paratroopas or the vine that's messing with something there.

[@EebstertheGreat]

Despawning platforms can also be a major pain. In some places, it makes the level unbeatable when it happens, just like despawning springboards. Sometimes I feel like there was probably a better way to design some levels to avoid that, but the sprite limit is so restrictive that it's hard to do so without compromising elsewhere.

[@Mercerenies]

The OG 5-3 platform has fooled me a few times, but the springs on C-3 are absolutely sadistic. Even if you kill Lakitu, if the game is in a bad mood he just respawns too soon and ruins your day anyway.

[@renakunisaki]

@@EebstertheGreat an ideal solution would have been for platforms and springs to have priority - nothing is allowed to replace them. So you might see an enemy disappear or fail to spawn, but the level is still beatable.

[@MikoLotte]

This happened to me in 2-1 once: I hit the block with the vine in it, but then I realized I had 00 coins, so instead of climbing I decided to keep going to try for the Flagpole 1UP. I accidentally kicked a Koopa shell and stopped it in front of the end stairs before the three Goombas made it down. I did NOT get the Flagpole 1UP because of the missing flag, even though I kept my coins at 00 and finished at 170 time!

[@WaluTime]

SMB1 doesn't have 1-ups for flag pole tops. that started with NSMB.

[@MikoLotte]

​@@WaluTime I meant 2-1 in The Lost Levels. When you hit the Flagpole in that game while both digits of the coins match the last digit of the timer, you get the 1UP regardless of how high up the Flagpole you got... if the flag is still there, of course

[@ClassicTVMan1981X]

@@WaluTime The Japanese SMB2 (for the FDS) was the first game that featured that. So too did All Night Nippon SMB.

[@otakubullfrog1665]

I never realized just how many piranha plants I had been despawning all these years. They must have known about that happening and probably didn't care because a missing plant never breaks the game in any way.

[@Kosmicd12]

you're despawning all sorts of goombas and koopas etc. too

[@pherlong7]

Ah, those speedrunners, doing anything in their ability to go fast! edit: hate to be *that* guy, but this is the most likes I've gotten, thanks

[@Dunhaibee]

I was thinking about why so many in the radical left participate in "speedrunning" The reason is the left's lack of work ethic ('go fast' rather than 'do it right') and, in a Petersonian sense, to elevate alternative sexual archetypes in the marketplace ('fastest mario'), obviously, there are exceptions to this and some people more in the center or right also "speedrun". However, they more than sufficient to prove the rule, rather than contrast it. Consider how woke GDQ has been, almost since the very beginning. Your eyes will start to open. Returning to the topic of the work ethic: a "speedrunner" may well spend hours a day at their craft, but this is ultimately a meaningless exercise, since they will ultimately accomplish exactly that which is done in less collective time by a casual player. This is thus a waste of effort on the behalf of the "speedrunner". Put more simply, they are spending their work effort on something that someone else has already done (and done in a way deemed 'correct' by the creator of the artwork). Why do they do this? The answer is quite obvious if you think about it. The goal is the illusion of speed and the desire (SUBCONSCIOUS) to promote radical leftist, borderline Communist ideals of how easy work is. Everyone always says that "speedruns" look easy. That is part of the aesthetic. Think about the phrase "fully automated luxury Communism" in the context of "speedrunning" and I strongly suspect that things will start to 'click' in your mind. What happens to the individual in this? Individual accomplishment in "speedrunning" is simply waiting for another person to steal your techniques in order to defeat you. Where is something like "intellectual property" or "patent" in this necessarily communitarian process? Now, as to the sexual archetype model and 'speedrunning' generally...

[@goldencheeze]

looks like Shadow was right

[@ZarkWiffle]

Gotta Go Fast! -Pope John XXIII

[@EuphoricPentagram]

Gotta go fast

[@adamPhoebe]

👴

[@Cabarkin]

Kosmic is such a wholesome... ehm... content creator? There's a word for it. Anyway, Kosmic is always a mood lifter with his content and personality. Like I can temporarily forget about my troubles thanks to Kosmic. I'm just watching videos, but this honestly is one of the few positive constants in my life and I'm very appreciative for it. Hopefully it'll last for a while, but a thank you is in place either way.

[@n646n]

No.

[@narnianninja4964]

​@@n646n Yes.

[@Userminusone]

This gives me an idea for a new speedrun category: min flags, where you beat the game while encountering as little flags as possible. It would work a lot like any% but would also allow for the use of flag despawning in levels where it doesn't save any time...

[@evervirescent]

or maybe like low%? i don’t know how to explain it that well, i recommend looking it up if you don’t know how it works

[@BobTheAnimator101]

Damn next step will be : how erasing the background helps saving 2 milliseconds

[@CheZfrmdaWestWisc]

lols

[@ElizabethClements-np7gc]

This was a super great video! Part of the reason I love Speedrunning so much is finding about the ways runners take advantage of the code to cut time. Excited to see more content like this from you

[@GTAce99]

The Flag Despawn Revolution

[@milesd0texe385]

Awesome ! was curious about this the other day after seeing it in lost levels speedruns, but couldnt find an explanation anywhere easily for how it happens

[@TheCasualMark]

There’s something so fascinating about such a simple game with SO MUCH working under the hood at times. It’s always a pleasure watching your videos :)

[@rajkanishu]

Love these new videos, you explain things really well and the editing is super chill and easy to follow, the sprites next to the ram slots are a genius idea!

[@buttecake]

Great video! I love how you break down the mechanic then use it in some new ways!

[@PierceArner]

I really loved the opening editing in this presentation, and I'm glad you're gonna be doing more videos like this!

[@madezio2]

This is really cool. These are my favourite videos of your channel.

[@radiak55]

I find learning the intricacies of the exploits in speedrunkig to be very entertaining. The kind of fun you can only get online with user content. Even though I'm a casual player, I now get what speed runners get out of playing a single game more than average on a lifetime. It becomes its own meta game by that poimt

[@izzieb]

New category: Quickest flagless all levels

[@Opanker_]

It's impossible to despawn the flag in levels like 1-1, 1-2, 2-2 etc.

[@jeremysmith7176]

@@Opanker_ so minimum flag%

[@SOTP.]

@@Opanker_ cant u turn buzzy beatles (dont judge how i wrote it) into red koopas to do it? You can also turn goombas into koopas but they die anyways so yeah

[@varietychan]

Interesting video format, I like this explanation

[@smithsmithenson9536]

Huge fan of these game analysis videos, they remind me of the ones Decino does for Doom. Keep up the great work!

[@Schlimtor]

I still remember where I was when GTAce first despawned the flag

[@Kosmicd12]

If I had to guess, it'd be twitch.tv/GTAce99

[@mattguy1773]

Super Mario Bros speedrunning has evolved into something amazing

[@arixraven]

I loved this type of analysis, keep up the great stuff!

[@morchela]

Nice, it's always fun to learn new things about this classic

[@whee2390]

I'm loving these video essay-style videos!

[@rhinuu045]

same

[@nicholasiverson9784]

Went ahead and signed up for that meals looking forward to trying it out :) First meals arrive on the 19th. Hope it gives you continued support through future ad deals

[@KOrgan0414]

The gif of Y really came out of left field for me, I nearly spat out my drink. Hilarious.

[@jadenpadin4707]

I love these type of videos pls do more

[@mattm.992]

great video Kosmic! I love these types of videos, so keep 'em coming :)

[@staudinga]

Interesting. I've watched a lot of your content, and also some other people speedrunning, playing or discussing Super Mario, but somehow I made it until today without ever seeing Mario jump off the flagpole.

[@butcherkevin]

what a great video, well written and really enjoyable!

[@siraxlrose5659]

I love these technical explanations

[@trayson]

Even if flag-despawning only ends up being feasible for speedrunning a few levels in SMB2J, the thought process required here still adds such a fresh new feeling to speedrunning these games. I love all the new discoveries and oddities people keep finding here.

[@Chanceux2]

love the new style man

[@TheNetflixGamer]

This is sweet, the just for fun stuff is my favorite

[@TYNEPUNK]

these people are insane, each time i put out a game i wonder if in 20 yrs some kids will be totally cracking it in ways i neverr considered. and giving it respect that i never thought possible. good vids mate thanks i like speed running.

[@RF_dhdahngtj99]

LOL. Great video Kosmic!

[@anthonyiodice]

Excellent format, 10/10

[@Hyper_Slade]

Kosmic out here sending these glitch hunters to the Shadow Realm

[@csucskos]

Great, I love these! First because I just like knowing these fringe details that I'll probably never in my life use, second showing this to a bigger audience may result in breakthroughs in speedrunning and I can always be hiped for that. Thanks Kosmic!

[@OhSayWhatIsTruth]

It's amazing how speedrunners can find new things about Super Mario Bros. over 35 years after its release

[@sholmes3654]

Wow, this was really fascinating!! I think it'd be fun just to see a whole playthrough where the goal is to beat the game without flags (or minimum flags), thank you for sharing!

[@4the0cean]

I really enjoy these types of videos Kosmic. Long time fan of the game, but it’s sometimes intimidating going into a twitch chat with all of these terms flying around that I’ve never heard. I hope these become more successful and fruitful for you.

[@eriks2962]

Hello Ophelia, I have found that cosmic and his chat are very friendly and answer all kinds of questions about the game. That's not your typical (toxic) twitch channel. Come and stop by!

[@andersmmvfc.8376]

Awsome things you didn't know you wanted to know, brilliant contents!!

[@geeshta]

great video, I really like this explainer format. Can't wait for the NoFlag% TAS 😆

[@dj_enby]

Sick vid! I love the detective work 🕵️

[@SilverVayne]

I hovered the video and the first bit of captions read like narration and I was like "Wait... Kosmic's doing a narration style video? I wonder how he sounds, I don't think I've heard him do that before." Wasn't disappointed, it's still Kosmic, but you did well with this style. I may not watch every Romhack Wednesday, but I think I'd have to keep up on anything you do in this format.

[@chris9716]

love the tropical freeze music, great taste!

[@Imnotnotjarrett]

love these!

[@flibidydibidy]

Awesome job!

[@xinjango6791]

Definitely would like more videos like this please :)

[@hazard6896]

Always love a new vid!

[@Harrun]

I love this kind of videos.

[@3ternals0ul25]

Hell yeah, new video

[@vidvad]

Shoutout to Goofy! Very interesting video. It's crazy to me that we still find new optimizations in these games after all those years!

[@SA77888]

3:00 aAAaaaAah I wondered why this platform only SOMETIMES spawned. Now I can do the level with confidence. Thanks Kosmic :)

[@luke6784]

I really loved this video! Informative and funny

[@geeohhhh]

i love these video game science videos

[@eggimage]

damn it’s 2022 and new stuff is still being discovered about this game. amazing

[@justanobody0]

I found your flag deload glitches at the end interesting, especially the level where you had to get the red koopas to skywalk on the ground in that last level

[@aradgouklani2239]

5:15 It's probably just me but that font just instantly remindes me of a summoning salt vid

[@cantsu]

that was really fun I love these kinds of videos

[@TheCasualSubculturist]

5:06 at this moment, I felt your inner Summoning Salt

[@sillymel]

(3:53) That's not really the relevant code here. Instead, you want the code where the star flag is spawned by the castle object, on lines 3749-3762. This code calls FindEmptyEnemySlot (on lines 3896-3904), which counts up to try to find an empty slot in the normal enemy slot region. SInce the code to spawn the star flag doesn't check if FindEmptyEnemySlor actually found an empty slot, if all of the normal enemy slots are all full, the star flag will instead spawn in the next slot *after* the normal enemy slots, i.e. slot 6, the slot normally reserved for items.

[@krippydepperi8636]

nice, are you gonna talk more about vs super mario bros?

[@NintendoPals]

I gotta try this now! super cool!

[@warmCabin]

6:32 I'd recognize the gui.text font anywhere. That's awesome!

[@SuperYoonHo]

wow awesome! thanks a lot bro

[@copperymarrow1583]

It's hard to believe new tricks are still being found in these games.

[@DinoCuber]

Dude, this is cool!

[@QIKUGAMES-QIKU]

Back in my day it was trial and error until you figured it Many months later ! Today you need to know how to make the game first to know how to Speedrun it ! Good to see kids understanding a thousand times more than we did at same age BUT it also kills the entire magic and Kills any imagination left inside it for each person

[@isprobablyjobhunting]

This was pretty great

[@JordanicusRex]

Seems like having a vine permanently occupy a spot can be useful for despawing other stuff throughout the level to same time too.

[@henryfleischer404]

It's interesting seeing how much more primitive sprite management is in early nes games like this, than in later games like RECCA. I can actually understand it! There's no constant shuffling or reloading everything, they just stay put!

[@zachandashgaming123]

good video as always

[@TaIathar]

I love seeing creative invention like this. Great vid. Now the question remains: Will this become a category?

[@TS_Mind_Swept]

The vines everyone *wants* to see (apparently) Wonder if they'd ever make a flagless% specifically for doing this, cause ya, in many instances the overall time isn't faster, but it would still be it would still be fun to do/watch

[@cubeyblok793]

as always: highly entertaining!

[@tux8664]

You made me finally splurge and get a famicom and a copy of mario Having an amazing time so far, i just got a near perfect FDS for next to nothing THX for being a great tubeyouer

[@karpolla]

Nice! Keep the vids coming :)

[@go_gazelle]

I used to be addicted to speed running the Nes Remix challenges. Many were traditional speed running, but some were like "defeat x number of enemies with star or fire power." A fun speed running strat was to actually slow down because it allowed more enemies to spawn, enabling you to complete the challenge quicker. It was also fun searching for new places to make more enemies spawn. Now that I understand what's going on behind the scenes with sprite slots, I can basically do the opposite of the strat in the video: free up instead of fill up the slots. With your knowledge of the levels (lost levels included), you might already know many places where slowing down to free up sprite slots will enable additional enemies to spawn.

[@noir66146]

pristine breakdown. i really wish nintendo would reinvent it's console to house more sprites. i tried making my own mario levels before, and never understood why the screen would slow down and crash when i flooded the map with monsters.... it's all so clear now.

[@pandorathepenguin3236]

That is so cool!

[@lennyface5314]

0:39 yeah that's an efficient description

[@archivewarrior8535]

The thing that stood out to me most in this video was not anything weird with flags or whatever, but that there are sequels to SMB on the same engine!?

[@vonmatrices]

This is how speedrunners play Capture the Flag

[@kylewagoner]

Great discovery!

[@GabrielPerboni]

Enjoyed in deed! Subscribed for sure... now I WANT MOOOOORE knowledge!!!!!! please, of course

[@seanbrockest3888]

Speedrunners should be hired to beta test new games. Something a lot of people don't realize is that "playtesters" are people who are really good at noticing patterns, figuring out mechanics, and seeing if they break a game for better or for worse. One of the best "found a bug" stories I know if was a guy who left a car running full speed at a wall while he went for lunch. He came back and found the car roaming around out of bounds. It led to a game-saving bug being discovered. Speedrunners do that kind of thing for fun/discovery, and are invaluable to game dev teams.

[@Rainbow-Dash]

Games don't do QA these days thou, it's all release first fix later

[@bluerobloxberry4740]

KOSMIC YOUR THE BEST SPEEDRUNNER

[@kev_whatev]

New category: SMB1 Flagless

[@antthegord9411]

Not gonna lie, that Factor 75 food looks like a tv dinner and a fancy dinner had a baby and the result looks delicious.

[@jasonrowe3847]

Do ya'll realize how awesome this is for someone who played these games back in the day? Very awesome. It's also very awesome for people who played these games back in the night. That's a grandpa joke glitch. It works, but nobody knows why it works, not even grandpa. See, we KNEW the games were awesome. We didn't know how much MORE awesome they would get almost 40 years later. That. Much. MORE.

[@TokraRoch]

5:08.....Kosmic doing his best Karl Jobst impression!!! :)

[@tttITA10]

5:14 - Speedrunner: "flag despawn" KZbin Autosubtitles: "Flagdy Spawn"

[@tdiogo_gamer]

Good video!

[@hillrp1]

And now we wait for the inevitable flagless% category extension

[@linuxameteur]

I always wondered why the flag despawned when a 1up spawned next to it in my hack, makes sense now