
The Last Kings of Donkey Kong - MattF
http://fivethirtyeight.com/features/the-last-kings-of-donkey-kong-high-score/
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JoshTriplett
Interestingly, despite the mention of the theoretical perfect score
(1,265,000), I've never actually seen the calculation for that. I've also
never seen a TAS of Donkey Kong aiming for score; if that perfect score is
actually achievable, it should be possible to construct a TAS that does so.

~~~
MrJagil
"a random number generator determines the value of many of the prizes you
encounter and the path some of the obstacles take."

Seemingly, you would still need several TAS-tries because of the RNG, right?
(Unless you can rewind and the 'random' is calculated as a function of
something separate from the running instance of the game.)

~~~
rizzin
Some games have mechanisms to manipulate their RNG and it is even used in some
TASes.

During this year's SGDQ's TAS block they had a TAS of a Sonic game that used
exactly this technique: the bot waited at the title screen the exact amount of
frames to manipulate the seed of the game's RNG.

Perhaps a similar mechanism can be used for DK.

~~~
chipsy
Botting the whole game for perfection involves a huge number of permutations
since it's a dynamic system. But fastest time is arguably a less complex
problem than maximum score since fewer of the RNG events "matter" to time
attacks. In a game like Donkey Kong, maximizing one score-relevant event may
take away from another.

My favorite RNG manipulation is the King's Bounty TAS:

[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gm9cKEWbTiU](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gm9cKEWbTiU)

If you don't get it, here is the summary: To win King's Bounty your hero must
find and dig up the randomly-located Sceptre of Order. This normally means
questing around for map pieces, combat, recruitment, etc. But with some RNG
manipulation it can be placed right outside your starting point.

The run posted actually improved upon the previous one with a new bot that
does a more exhaustive search.

~~~
panic
Here are the authors' comments on the video which go into more detail:
[http://tasvideos.org/2025S.html](http://tasvideos.org/2025S.html)

------
chkuendig
See also: "The King of Kong", an amazing introduction to the scene of
competitive donkey Kong playing.

[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gi2lApoZ5lY](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gi2lApoZ5lY)

~~~
cbd1984
[http://ascii.textfiles.com/archives/1303](http://ascii.textfiles.com/archives/1303)

It's extremely misleading at best. It might even be fiction if you're strict
enough about the facts.

~~~
cbd1984
[http://ascii.textfiles.com/archives/1310](http://ascii.textfiles.com/archives/1310)

