Tests on boosting

Summary: You need a pro-NBT d-pad to do zig-zag boosts.  You need to do about 1.03 seconds of sliding in total to get a boost (# of left-right alternations does not affect the rate that the boost is charged up).  If you switch the direction of the slide, the boost will continue charging up at the same rate, but only if you never let go of the d-pad.  If you do let go (even for 1 frame), you need to start over.

Using VBA's cheat search, I found the address that keeps track of how much you've charged up the boost so far.  The address is 03003c34.

The value of this address starts out at 0.  The second frame during which you press left or right while pressing R, it increases to 1.
After that, it increases by 2 every frame, until it reaches 255 and goes back to 1.  After it loops like that, I think you spin out when it reaches about 50-60 or so, but I'm too lazy to test it.

If you release R or A at any time even if just for 1 frame, the value resets to 0.

If you let go of the d-pad at any time, even for just 1 frame, the value resets to 0.  Therefore, when you do a zig-zag boost, when you release one direction you must then press the opposite direction the very next frame.  If you switch directions without letting go of the d-pad at all, the value will continue increasing at the same rate.

If you press left and right at the same time, the game acts the same way as if you're pressing only left.

If you slide or zig-zag while shrooming or boosting, the value will increase by 1 each frame (half the normal rate), and the rate will return to normal when the shroom/boost wears off.  However, for this to work for the shroom, you must do the hop for the slide before you use the shroom.

When the value reaches 121 (79 in hexadecimal) (which takes about 62 frames or 1.03 seconds), you've now done enough sliding to get a boost and can let go of the R button if you want.  Edit: Actually you can release R one frame earlier, and the value will continue to increase for 1 more frame.

Once you've done enough sliding, then just let go of the direction you were sliding in to let the kart untilt (and press the opposite direction if you want), and hop again to get a boost.  Or you can just continue holding R and let go of the direction (and press the opposite direction if you want) to get a boost.  Or if you're able to switch directions without letting go of the d-pad you can start pressing the opposite direction a little before reaching 121.

Tests on releasing A

Summary: Always release A when you shroom, and when boosting, only release A if you're still in grass when your speed starts decreasing (unless you need to release A to turn sharply enough).

Releasing A while shrooming makes you slow down at a slower rate.  If done in grass, it helps even more because releasing A tricks the game into thinking you're not in grass.

When you do a boost, after your speed starts decreasing, it's better not to release A (in terms of speed).  However, when boosting through grass, releasing A does make you slow down at a slower rate, because it tricks the game into thinking you're not in grass

Cool info

This really helps me time when I let go of R, all I have to do is count one second. Because of that I can do a lot more boosts.  

Now all we need is to find how to make D-pads pro-nbt  

Edit:
Matt Ellis wrote on 12/03/06 at 19:12:04:

Ya in a previous topic I remember Pierre said he knows if someone is cheating by this or something...

Edit: The topic was: http://www.mariokart64.com/cgi-bin/yabb2/YaBB.pl?num=1155966213

edited my recent posts so that possible cheaters wont figure it out

edit: i deleted one of them too

-If you press both left and right in the same time, any decent emulator decides by his own how to do (that's because the game could even crash, since the input is not possible in real enivronment).

In the emulator I was using, there's an option that you can turn on or off, "Allow Left+Right / Up+Down".  If the option is off, then whenever you press both at the same time the emulator pretends that you're only pressing left.  If the option is on, then the game acts the same it would if you pressed left+right on a real GBA, and it just so happens that this game was programmed so that pressing left+right makes you turn left.  In other games, left+right can have difference effects, sometimes causing the game to glitch, but I don't know of any games that crash when you press left+right.

-i suspect that some grounds can increase the MT charging rate.

Good point.  I only tested it in PC.  I'd assume most tracks would be similar, but maybe a few are different.  Are there any particular tracks you want me to test?

fuck emulators - ruin the game - increase chance of "super secret cheaters" etc. - just play the real game  

wheres the fun in that - MK is a game not a science  

no. when it gets to the level where everything is already decided - E.g exact racing lines etc. then it loses all the fun - you can't improve MK.

Emulators try their best, but a Rocky Balboa they'll never be..

science ain't fun and emulators are gay - end of story  

Everyone chill or you'll find your posts disappear.

i'm on AIM now

i think you have to open the controller or gameboy and remove the soldering from the buttons to the main circuit board.  then remember how many circuits connect each button and resolder to the new buttons.  i'm not sure if you have a menu on the gba player for doing this.

termoPilucco wrote on 12/15/06 at 05:19:09:


Ha ha, as for SMK ! But if it's pretty easy to make a SNES controller pro-NBT (or pro-ZZMT), I'm afraid it'll be harder and riskier to dismantle a GBA or a DS...

interesting