Tool-assisted speedrun Updated 2025-07-16
To some extent, the ultimate achievement of a TAS is to achieve arbitrary code execution (ACE) on a game, although this has been becoming rarer and rarer in newer consoles. The Nintendo 64 is the current interesting ACE discovery frontier as of 2020.
Post ACE, you then get into more subtle categories which tend to be more geometric clipping through wall glitches, but those can still be fun.
The most beautiful TAS content ever made are:
- Super Mario 64
- Super Mario 64 A press challenge
- 1-key any percent run:
- 2016 emulator run: www.youtube.com/watch?v=TkOkJvLKxUY
- AGDQ 2018 commented TASBOT console verification: www.youtube.com/watch?v=xvWOLT9G6tM
- Why we need one key: gaming.stackexchange.com/questions/249969/in-mario-64-speedruns-why-are-the-keys-necessary/351595#351595
- related: Super Mario 64 reverse engineering project
- Super Mario World for the SNES arbitrary code execution
- www.youtube.com/watch?v=OPcV9uIY5i4 with in-game programmed Pong and Snake, 2014
- www.youtube.com/watch?v=HxFh1CJOrTU Seth Bling does the credit warp manually in about 3 minutes, 2015. Later reduced to less than 1 minute: www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jf9i7MjViCE
- www.youtube.com/watch?v=voL3e0iqugo ACE was initially not forbidden in 11 exit rules, so Seth made an in-game manual ACE that programs an in-game accessible "exit stage now" functionality!!! This was later forbidden of course, but it was fun while it lasted.
- then he injected a Flappy Bird clone manually!!! www.youtube.com/watch?v=hB6eY73sLV0, 2016
- Ocarina of Time
- 2020 ACE via use after free including a non-TAS credit warp faster than the 2016 wrong glitch: www.polygon.com/2020/1/24/21080568/zelda-ocarina-of-time-arwing-spawn-video-speedrun-credits-ace-cheat-code ACE later reproduced in Majora's Mask, which has a similar game engine.
- 2016 Zelda Ocarina of Time wrong warp glitch:
- www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gso4MuNSuV8 EZScape explains the glitch, 2016
- Zelda Majora's Mask debug menu
It is also amusing to see console verification of emulations, e.g.: Video 1. "Super Mario 64 '120 Stars' in 1:20:41.52 Console Verified by Soul Umbreon (2012)".
Space exploration organization Updated 2025-07-16
Additive synthesis Updated 2025-07-16
Modular synthesizer Updated 2025-07-16
Chorus effect Updated 2025-07-16
Envelope (music) Updated 2025-07-16
Frequency modulation synthesis Updated 2025-07-16
Reverberation Updated 2025-07-16
Subtractive synthesis Updated 2025-07-16
Bristol (synthesizer) Updated 2025-07-16
Simulates vintage hardware synthesizers, and includes some pretty complex ones!
Aims to show an UI that looks exactly like the synthesizers in question.
FluidSynth Updated 2025-07-16
Synthesizes MIDI input. vmpk +
aconnect + Advanced Linux Sound Architecture hello world: askubuntu.com/questions/34391/virtual-midi-piano-keyboard-setup/1298026#1298026Supports only very basic effects it seems: chorus effect and reverberation. The main way to add instruments to it is via SoundFont files.
ZynAddSubFX Updated 2025-07-16
Instruments are edited on a GUI. It is a multi-window program, and you open new windows from new windows from new windows, all filled with hundreds of virtual knobs that you drag with your keyboard, and which would be better done from textual software like Csound. It is a thing of beauty.
It does not seem possible to program arbitrary modular synthesizer circuits therefore. But if you understand additive synthesis and subtractive synthesis well, you can make some funky sounds with it.
It is basically a superset of all popular hardware synthesizers ever made.
Has its own built-in MIDI keyboard which is nice.
On Ubuntu 20.04 Version: 3.0.5:as per askubuntu.com/questions/220802/no-sound-zynaddsubfx-and-jack-wont-run/1297988#1297988
To do anything of interest, switch to the Advanced UI:
sudo apt install zynaddsubfx
zynaddsubfx -O alsaTo do anything of interest, switch to the Advanced UI:
- Misc
- Switch Interface Mode
The UI is completely different form what is shown on the website as of 2020: zynaddsubfx.sourceforge.io/, it looks instead like: www.youtube.com/watch?v=iVPr6iUuO3g Maybe on the website it is the new zyn-fusion UI... www.reddit.com/r/linuxaudio/comments/bxn3ur/some_help_for_installing_zynfusion_zynaddsubfx/ so confusing.
And they have some crappy policy of asking for 45 USD for binary downloads.
Compiling from source:fails with:Ciro gives up for now.
git clone https://github.com/zynaddsubfx/zynaddsubfx
cd zynaddsubfx
git checkout a789866de4d45a784c1f4d95fcf5a1938347baef
sudo apt build-dep zynaddsubfx
mkdir build
cd build
cmake ..
make -j`nproc`Traceback (most recent call last):
File "/usr/bin/cxxtestgen", line 7, in <module>
import cxxtest.cxxtestgen
File "/usr/share/cxxtest/cxxtest/__init__.py", line 33, in <module>
from cxxtest.cxxtestgen import *
File "/usr/share/cxxtest/cxxtest/cxxtestgen.py", line 18, in <module>
import __release__
ModuleNotFoundError: No module named '__release__' GUI music editor Updated 2025-07-16
Text-based music synthesizer Updated 2025-07-16
Military-industrial complex Updated 2025-07-16
This is notably what the United States emerged to be after World War II. But it was likely what Nazi Germany also was, and many other superpowers.
Ciro Santilli feels that much more relevant would be to also include academia as in "military-industrial-academic" complex, the Wikipedia page actually mentions precedents to this idea.
The addition of congress/politicians is also relevant.
It is basically in this context that American science and technology flourished after World War II, including notably the development of quantum electrodynamics, Richard Feynman being a prototypical example, having previously worked on the Manhattan Project.
Shibboleth Updated 2025-07-16
Political correctness Updated 2025-07-16
Ciro Santilli believes it generally hurts more than it helps.
Especially when you can't even mention censored things to criticize them. You have to pretend they never existed. So people will forget about them, and do them again in the future.
Skills Grading scale stoles from a Goolge interview Updated 2025-07-16
Skills Programming languages Updated 2025-07-16
| Grade | Name | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 4 | C / C++ | Cheatsheets: C, C++, POSIX C API |
| 3 | x86 assembly, ELF | Cheatsheet, x86 Paging Tutorial, Bare Metal |
| 4 | Python | Cheatsheet |
| 4 | Bash | Cheatsheets: language, POSIX / GNU utils |
| 4 | HTML, CSS, JavaScript | web technology, Node.js, CoffeScript |
| 4 | Java | Cheatsheet, school projects |
| 3 | Ruby, Rails | GitLab contributions, cheatsheets: Ruby, rails-cheat |
| 3 | GDB | Cheatsheet |
| 2 | MySQL | Tutorial |
| 3 | LaTeX, Markdown | LaTeX cheatsheet, Markdown style guide, Markdown Testsuite contributions, Jekyll cheatsheet |
Skills Other technologies Updated 2025-07-16
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