Editing Tool-assisted superplay

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A '''tool-assisted superplay''' (or in most contexts, '''tool-assisted speedrun'''; commonly abbreviated as '''TAS''') is a playthrough of a game in which no mistakes are made, and near-perfect performance is achieved. Because human players are prone to making mistakes, and have limited reflexes, finger speed, and prediction, external tools must be used in order to achieve these types of runs, including:
*Save states: a player can go back to any previous time in the game in order to correct mistakes.
*Frameskip: advancing a game's logic, one [[frame]] at a time, to achieve perfect temporal accuracy.
*Controller-less inputs: selecting inputs without the limitations of a controller, allowing for otherwise impossible button combinations.
*Memory reading: by reading the game's memory, a player can obtain information otherwise inaccessible.

Because of the implementation of these tools, these runs are only feasible on emulators. Normally, to show the finished run to an audience, the player's [[Controls|inputs]] are recorded, and later played back at full speed, and with no cuts. Because of the wildly different nature of these type of runs, records obtained this way are not comparable to records obtained with real-time [[challenge run]]s in terms of measuring skill. The name "tool-assisted [[Challenge run#Speedrun|speedrun]]" comes from the fact that most of the time, these tools are used to complete a game as fast as possible; a "superplay" refers to playing the game with or without a fast completion, as long as it features tool-assisted gameplay.

==Tricks==
Some things in the [[Pikmin series|''Pikmin'' series]] cannot be performed in real-time, and are only possible with the use of the aforementioned tools. Notably, Pikmin can be thrown as fast as possible by pressing the throw button on the first possible [[frame]] each time, Pikmin can be thrown at precise locations, even while moving the leader, and [[Randomness|random]] elements can be controlled by manipulating the random number generator and using savestates until the desired outcome is achieved.

===''Pikmin''===
The following tricks are featured prominently in tool-assisted superplays of ''Pikmin''. While some of them can be reproduced by humans, albeit sometimes inconsistently, they are typically much easier to reproduce in tool-assisted superplays.

*Several [[glitch]]es that can be used to the player's advantage can be performed with perfect precision.
**The [[Glitches in Pikmin#Object nudging|object nudging]] and [[Glitches in Pikmin#Riding on enemies and going out of bounds|enemy riding]] glitches can easily be abused to end up [[out of bounds]], thus allowing the player to skip large areas otherwise meant to be played through, or push any object that would slow [[Pikmin family|Pikmin]] down.
**[[Bomb-rock]]s can be duplicated.
**Detrimental glitches, such as the [[Glitches in Pikmin#Crushing glitch|crushing glitch]], will never feature in tool-assisted gameplay, unless they provide some sort of advantage at a later point.
**[[Ship part]] collection [[cutscene]]s can be skipped reliably.
*[[Enemy|Enemies]] can be lured, made to perform specific actions, drop specific [[pellet]]s or manipulated to end up in certain places or positions at a specific time.
*[[Nectar weed]] and [[rubble]] will always drop [[nectar]] if necessary.

===''Pikmin 2''===
The following tricks can be performed reliably in a tool-assisted environment:

*[[Pikmin 2 cave generation|Cave generation]] can be manipulated until the desired layout is achieved. Typically, tool-assisted superplays feature layouts promoting fast [[treasure]] collection, few obstacles in the way of the Pikmin, and [[Candypop Bud]]s. Layouts with [[Mistake#Missing sublevel objects|missing sublevel objects]] can be avoided as well.
*[[Nectar egg]]s and [[Ultra-bitter spray|petrified]] enemies can be made to drop [[spray]]s at will.
*It is possible to reliably skip the brief [[Glitches in Pikmin 2#Lockout skip|control lockout]] that happens after some cutscenes.
*Going out of bounds by exploiting enemy knockback and the [[Glitches in Pikmin 2#Napsack warp|napsack glitch]] is made easier.

==See also==
*[[Challenge run]]
*[[Frame]]

== External links ==
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jl6Ufp4LZCU Tool-assisted speedrun of ''Hey! Pikmin'']

[[Category:Challenge runs]]
[[Category:Technical]]