Earthbound/Tricks and Glitches - Revision history

Nemi at 10:12, 13 July 2014

2014-07-13T10:12:54Z

Nemi at 07:10, 3 July 2014

2014-07-03T07:10:38Z

Nemi at 04:46, 22 November 2013

2013-11-22T04:46:54Z

Nemi at 04:11, 22 November 2013

2013-11-22T04:11:51Z

Nemi at 09:26, 21 November 2013

2013-11-21T09:26:01Z

Nemi at 09:20, 21 November 2013

2013-11-21T09:20:31Z

Nemi at 08:21, 20 November 2013

2013-11-20T08:21:52Z

Nemi at 08:20, 20 November 2013

2013-11-20T08:20:13Z

Nemi at 05:22, 18 November 2013

2013-11-18T05:22:12Z

Nemi at 10:33, 17 November 2013

2013-11-17T10:33:35Z

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 <p>Stutter-walking refers to moving short distances at a time. It's used to avoid certain enemies and skip event triggers, such as the Starman Jr. fight and Buzz Buzz's final words.</p>
-<p>There are several different enemy movement patterns on the field. In one pattern, an enemy only moves towards the party when the party is moving; when the party is standing still, the enemy also stands still. The Coil Snake and Rowdy Mouse are examples of enemies that move this way.</p>
+<p>There are several different enemy movement patterns on the field. In one pattern, an enemy only moves towards the party when the party is moving; when the party is standing still, the enemy also stands still. The Coil Snake and Rowdy Mouse are examples of enemies that move this way. Stutter-walking can be used to avoid such enemies because they start moving a few frames (usually about 3 to 6 frames) after the party starts moving. Waiting for a longer period of time between each step seems to improve results.</p>
-<p>Stutter-walking can be used to avoid such enemies because they start moving a few frames (usually about 3 to 6 frames) after the party starts moving. Waiting for a longer period of time between each step seems to improve results.</p>
+<p>Skipping event triggers is much more difficult because it requires alternating between walking and stopping on every frame. If the party walks for 2 frames or stops for 2 frames, the skip will fail. There are two possible techniques for skipping event triggers: button-mashing or [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CNxnle1_d6E menu buffering]. With menu buffering, standing still for any period of time does not seem to be a problem.</p>
-−
-<p>Skipping event triggers is much more difficult because it requires alternating between walking and stopping on every frame. If the party walks for 2 frames or stops for 2 frames, the skip will fail. This technique is essentially TAS-only, unless the player is extremely good at button mashing.</p>
 == Luck Manipulation ==

@@ Line 11: / Line 11: @@
 <br />
-<p>There are several spots in the game that, when checked, can cause the game to read an arbitrary location in memory. These spots are all located along the outer edge of the game map, and many are normally inaccessible. The 2 most commonly used spots are the [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bYCsp5CTkHs&t=8m39s northeast corner of Onett] and the southeast corner of the circus tent in Threed. The former spot can be reached by using the [[#Walk through Cliffs | walk-through-cliffs glitch]], while the latter spot can be reached normally.</p>
+<p>There are several spots in the game that, when checked, can cause the game to read an arbitrary address in memory. These spots are all located along the outer edge of the game map, and many are normally inaccessible. The 2 most commonly used spots are the [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bYCsp5CTkHs&t=8m39s northeast corner of Onett] and the southeast corner of the circus tent in Threed. The former spot can be reached by using the [[#Walk through Cliffs | walk-through-cliffs glitch]], while the latter spot can be reached normally.</p>
-<p>The desired outcome is for the glitch to activate the <span class="plainlinks">[http://classic.fobby.net/mother2/tips/debug.php debug menu]</span>. With the debug menu, it's possible to warp straight to an end-game event (e.g. Picky knocking on Ness's door).</p>
+<p>The desired outcome is for the glitch to open the <span class="plainlinks">[http://classic.fobby.net/mother2/tips/debug.php debug menu]</span>. With the debug menu, it's possible to use its event selection option to warp straight to the end of the game, when Picky is knocking on Ness's door.</p>
-<p>However, this glitch is rather unpredictable and difficult to control because which memory address the game reads depends on the state of the game's RAM. What usually happens with this glitch is that garbage text will start scrolling in the dialogue window. The garbage text can be as short as a couple of lines or last as long as several minutes. Often the garbage text leads to nothing; sometimes the game can end up freezing, or in more unusual cases, the graphics can become corrupted, the music can change, or the party can even be warped somewhere.</p>
+<p>However, this glitch is rather unpredictable and difficult to control. What usually happens with this glitch is that garbage text will start scrolling in the dialogue window. The garbage text can be as short as a couple of lines or last as long as several minutes. Often the garbage text leads to nothing; sometimes the game can end up freezing, or in more unusual cases, the graphics can become corrupted, the music can change, the party can be warped somewhere, or save files can be deleted (rare).</p>

@@ Line 111: / Line 111: @@
 #*Whenever an NPC starts or stops walking. Scripted NPC movements, such as Pokey at the beginning of the game, do not affect the RNG.
 #*Walking over certain parts of the map. These are usually caused by enemy spawn triggers.
 #*Displaying the HP/PP window outside of battle. This causes a new random number to be generated on each frame, so its use is limited to tool-assisted runs.
@@ Line 117: / Line 118: @@
 <p>When manipulating battles, your speed is probably the most sensitive stat because a slight difference can affect the order of turns. Offense and Defense matter only if they affect whether you inflict or receive single-, double-, or triple-digit damage.</p>
-<p>Also, what numbers get generated can be affected by party composition. NPC allies, unconscious party members, and even a Teddy Bear can change what numbers you get.</p>
+<p>Also, having a Teddy Bear can cause 1 extra number to get generated when loading the game or entering a new area. This hasn't been tested, but each additional party member or NPC ally might cause another number to get generated as well.</p>
 == Misc. Tips ==

@@ Line 49: / Line 49: @@
 <p>Unlike the first method, there is no horizontal line that you cannot cross.</p>
 === Exploring as a Ghost ===
@@ Line 109: / Line 105: @@
 #Resetting the game resets the RNG to the same initial state.
-#The RNG is affected by specific in-game events, many of which can be manipulated by the player. Examples include:
+#New numbers are generated whenever specific in-game events occur, many of which can be manipulated by the player. Examples include:
 #*Scrolling text/dialogue: each character of scrolling text generates 1 random number.
 #*Cursor movement: each movement of the cursor in menus generates 1 number.
@@ Line 117: / Line 113: @@
 #*Displaying the HP/PP window outside of battle. This causes a new random number to be generated on each frame, so its use is limited to tool-assisted runs.
-<p>In a console run, luck manipulation is useful only after a reset because it's impossible to determine the RNG's state in the middle of normal gameplay. Methods for adjusting the RNG include opening and closing the main menu, pressing L, talking to no one, and making a specific number of cursor movements in menus. The path you take when walking can also be important in areas where enemies appear. In areas where enemies do not appear, your walking path has only a small effect.</p>
+<p>In a console run, luck manipulation is useful only after a reset because it's impossible to determine the RNG's state in the middle of unmanipulated gameplay. Methods for adjusting the RNG include opening and closing the main menu, pressing L, talking to no one, and making a specific number of cursor movements in menus. The path you take when walking can also be important in areas where enemies appear. In areas where enemies do not appear, your walking path has only a small effect.</p>
 == Misc. Tips ==

@@ Line 24: / Line 24: @@
 <br />
-<p>The stairs glitch causes your party to enter a "ghosted" state in which your party is able to walk through any solid object, including walls, NPCs, trees, cliffs, etc. This allows the party to walk directly between adjacent locations on [http://starmen.net/mother2/maps/fullmap_small.png the map.]</p>
+<p>The stairs glitch causes your party to enter a "ghosted" state in which your party is able to walk through almost any solid object, including walls, NPCs, trees, cliffs, etc. This allows the party to walk directly between adjacent locations on [http://starmen.net/mother2/maps/fullmap_small.png the map.]</p>
 <p>The stairs glitch can be activated in 2 ways:</p>

@@ Line 68: / Line 68: @@
 <p>Two events are required to initiate the Phase Distorter quest in Saturn Valley:</p>
 #In Lumine Hall, fall through the hole leading to the Lost Underworld: this causes Dr. Andonuts to appear in Saturn Valley.
-#Defeat Ness's Nightmare: this causes the prototype Phase Distorter to appear.
+#Defeat Ness's Nightmare: this causes the Phase Distorter to appear.
 <br />

@@ Line 87: / Line 87: @@
 == Condiments Glitch ==
-<p>The condiments glitch (or the <span class="plainlinks">[http://walkthrough.starmen.net/earthbound/tips_tricks.php#item Rock Candy trick]</span>) lets you use a single food item an indefinite number of times. It's done by having condiments and the food item in the same character's inventory, but the food must be placed after the condiments in the inventory's sorting order; simply placing the food at the bottom of the inventory is sufficient.</p>
+<p>The condiments glitch (or the <span class="plainlinks">[http://walkthrough.starmen.net/earthbound/tips_tricks.php#item Rock Candy trick]</span>) lets you use a food item an indefinite number of times. It's done by having condiments and the food item in the same character's inventory, but the food must be placed after the condiments in the inventory's sorting order; simply placing the food at the bottom of the inventory is sufficient.</p>
 <p>Now, if the food item is used during a fight, only the condiment will be consumed. The food item will remain after each use as long as a condiment is available. This glitch does not work if the food is consumed outside of a fight.</p>
@@ Line 96: / Line 96: @@
 == Stutter-Walking ==
-<p>Stutter-walking refers to moving short distances at a time when walking. It's used to avoid certain enemies and skip event triggers, such as the Starman Jr. fight and Buzz Buzz's final words.</p>
+<p>Stutter-walking refers to moving short distances at a time. It's used to avoid certain enemies and skip event triggers, such as the Starman Jr. fight and Buzz Buzz's final words.</p>
 <p>There are several different enemy movement patterns on the field. In one such pattern, an enemy only moves towards the party when the party is moving; when the party is standing still, the enemy also stands still. The Coil Snake and Rowdy Mouse are examples of enemies that move this way.</p>

@@ Line 30: / Line 30: @@
 === First Method ===
-<p>This game treats movement on stairs differently from normal movement. When walking onto a set of stairs, the transition from the normal to the stairs movement state isn't instantaneous. Instead, the game disables all player input, and Ness automatically keeps walking forward until the transition is complete. The duration of disabled input is about 19 frames.</p>
+<p>This game treats movement on stairs differently from normal movement. When walking onto a set of stairs, the transition from the normal to the stairs movement state isn't instantaneous. Instead, the game disables all player input, and Ness automatically keeps walking forward until the transition is complete. The duration of disabled input is about 19 to 21 frames at the top of stairs and about 15 frames at the bottom.</p>
 <p>If an interruption occurs during the transition, Ness will stop walking and the game will give control back to the player when the interruption finishes. The interruption can either be a phone call (e.g. from Ness's dad, Mach Pizza) or a critical health warning, which appears if a party member has a health-draining status effect (cold, poison, nausea, or sunstroke) and HP drops below a certain percentage of the maximum. (The threshold might be about 19.5% of max HP, but this hasn't been confirmed.)</p>
-<p>If the interruption occurs after the transition begins but several frames before it completes, the game will give control back to the player with the party left in a ghosted state. The timing window for the interruption to trigger the ghosted state is about 12 frames rather than the full 19 frames, and the earliest possible moment is the second frame of the transition. If the interruption occurs within a few frames after this window, the party will be confined to move along a diagonal but not actually be on the stairs--in this movement state, the party can still walk through walls, but there is no way to get off the diagonal without deactivating the glitch.</p>
+<p>If the interruption occurs after the transition begins but several frames before it completes, the game will give control back to the player with the party left in a ghosted state. The timing window differs between the top and bottom of the stairs and also depends on where along the width of the stairs you are. Walking onto the top of the stairs from the upper side of the stairs's width, the timing window is about 15 frames. Walking onto the bottom of the stairs from the upper side of the stairs's width, the timing window is about 8 frames. Starting from the lower side of the stairs's width reduces the timing window by a few frames. If the interruption is a few frames too late, the party will be confined to move along a diagonal but not actually be on the stairs--in this movement state, the party can still walk through walls, but there is no way to get off the diagonal without deactivating the glitch.</p>
-<p>The glitch can be triggered at the top or the bottom of a set of stairs, but it cannot be triggered by walking <em>off</em> the stairs. The glitch cannot be triggered with escalators either.</p>
+<p>The glitch cannot be triggered by walking <em>off</em> the stairs. The glitch cannot be triggered with escalators either.</p>
 <p>There is another limitation with this method. Imagine drawing an infinitely long horizontal line at the location the glitch is triggered. If you try to cross this line, the game will warp the party onto the stairs no matter where the line is crossed, and the party can end up stuck on the stairs. If the glitch is triggered at the top of the stairs, the line is actually a bit below the party; conversely, if the glitch is triggered at the bottom of the stairs, the line is slightly above the party. Hence, if you want to travel up or down, the glitch needs to be triggered at the top or the bottom of a set of stairs respectively.</p>
@@ Line 118: / Line 118: @@
 <p>In a console run, luck manipulation is useful only after a reset because it's impossible to determine the RNG's state in the middle of normal gameplay. Methods for adjusting the RNG include opening and closing the main menu, pressing L, talking to no one, and making a specific number of cursor movements in menus. The path you take when walking can also be important in areas where enemies appear. In areas where enemies do not appear, your walking path has only a small effect.</p>

@@ Line 64: / Line 64: @@
 === Finishing the Game ===
-<p>Once the party is ghosted, it's possible to go straight to Giygas, but the game will hang up during the first prayer scene. This is because each area that appears in the prayers needs to be "prepared" to run the scenes. This preparation occurs when the party travels back in time through the Phase Distorter. You can tell this is the case by ghosting your party after going back in time and walking to an area that appears in a prayer--instead of the normal music, you'll hear the song that plays during the Giygas fight.</p>
+<p>Once the party is ghosted, it's possible to go straight to Giygas, but the game will hang up during the first prayer scene. This is because each area that appears in the prayers needs to be "prepared" to run the scenes. This preparation occurs when the party travels back in time with the Phase Distorter. You can tell this is the case by ghosting your party after going back in time and walking to an area that appears in a prayer--instead of the normal music, you'll hear the song that plays during the Giygas fight.</p>
 <p>Two events are required to initiate the Phase Distorter quest in Saturn Valley:</p>
@@ Line 81: / Line 81: @@
 === Uses ===
-<p>The biggest use of cliff crossing is skipping Twoson. The set of cliffs south of the bus station can be crossed to access a road segment that connects Threed and Dusty Dunes Desert (see the <span class="plainlinks">[http://starmen.net/mother2/maps/fullmap_small.png game map]</span> for reference). From here, entering the haunted tunnel leading to Threed will cause the ghosts to carry Ness into Threed because this tunnel is normally intended to block progress into Dusty Dunes Desert until Master Belch is defeated. While skipping Twoson also skips rescuing Paula in Happy Happy Village, the game adds Paula to your party when Jeff reaches Threed.</p>
+<p>The biggest use of cliff crossing is [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RhlN6NNKMqA skipping Twoson.] The set of cliffs south of the bus station can be crossed to access a road segment that connects Threed and Dusty Dunes Desert (see the <span class="plainlinks">[http://starmen.net/mother2/maps/fullmap_small.png game map]</span> for reference). From here, entering the haunted tunnel leading to Threed will cause the ghosts to carry Ness into Threed because this tunnel is normally intended to block progress into Dusty Dunes Desert until Master Belch is defeated. While skipping Twoson also skips rescuing Paula in Happy Happy Village, the game adds Paula to your party when Jeff reaches Threed.</p>
 <p>This glitch can be used in a few other places to skip sections of an area. Examples are a few spots in [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wic2Kn1FOHM Peaceful Rest Valley] and the [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q2-Dmoidk8w second Sanctuary cave.]</p>