My feelings on The Demon Rush
Game Page: http://speeddemosarchive.com/BlasterMaster.html
Benjamin 'UraniumAnchor' Cutler's death abuse and deathless run
Verifier Responses
deathless
If you need context, there was slightly slower deathless run previously submitted.
Death abuse
Same verifier:
Decision: Accept
Reason: So many runs today, I can't muster a half-decent, or even a half-assed reason.
Benjamin 'UraniumAnchor' Cutler's death abuse and deathless run
Verifier Responses
deathless
If you need context, there was slightly slower deathless run previously submitted.
Quote:
Verified!
And this is exactly why I originally denied the last one.
level 1 shows SIGNIFICANT improvement and doesn't look out of place skillwise.
levels6-8 are under preformed compared to the last, but he only lost about 10 seonds all together, and 1-4 was averaging a SMALL mistake per level.
the only real qualms about this at all, are again hold the pause a button a little longer on level 6, and if he's gonna submit next week over level 7 again, and missing the grenade on level 2.......however this run doesn't glaringly say "oh he fell in level one, AND missed leve l6? I can x-copy it and not do that level 1 ".
And this is exactly why I originally denied the last one.
level 1 shows SIGNIFICANT improvement and doesn't look out of place skillwise.
levels6-8 are under preformed compared to the last, but he only lost about 10 seonds all together, and 1-4 was averaging a SMALL mistake per level.
the only real qualms about this at all, are again hold the pause a button a little longer on level 6, and if he's gonna submit next week over level 7 again, and missing the grenade on level 2.......however this run doesn't glaringly say "oh he fell in level one, AND missed leve l6? I can x-copy it and not do that level 1 ".
Quote:
The time here is 42:27, which is an improvement of 1:42 over the run on SDA, and an improvement of 22 seconds over the run that was first submitted.
As usual, most mistakes speak for themselves.
Notes:
- It occurs to me that someone who doesn't understand the game may wonder why the face enemies are killed in Area 1. They always drop the Triple Missile sub-weapon. I'm not sure why that one enemy in Area 2 is killed, though...
- A few hesitations in Area 2's boss area. I thought the runner was kidding about how much his hands hurt...
- He is a single hit from death while fighting the Area 3 boss. The comments I make below about how the power bar isn't an exact science does not apply to on-foot sections.
- Remember what I said about damage not costing time? I take it back. Getting damaged does affect your ability to make precision jumps at times. It also slows you down at times.
- I've never seen the Giant Enemy Crab sit still for so long. He gets the crab into its second phase (shooting a crazy amount of bubbles) before he even has to let off the grenade launcher.
- That Area 6 boss still loves lag. I didn't realize that this can happen even when you get enough damage to kill him with the pause trick.
- Lost some time on the Area 7 boss when he doesn't hit the pause glitch the first time. Why are there two frogs, anyway? Nobody will ever explain this plot twist to me...
- Someone without knowledge of the game wouldn't understand what the hell happened during the return trip in Area 7. The vehicle gets pretty hard to control after you get Wall 1 in Area 6 since you can't fall off platforms anymore; you stick to the sides automatically. When someone isn't paying attention, mistakes like this can crop up.
- It's amazing how close he is to death in Area 8, and it causes him to farm health at points. The power/hover bars for the vehicle aren't really an exact science, a fact I know all too well (and remembered in Area 2 when he got hit by certain enemies and appeared not to take damage). In the second-to-last room, there's a bit more health farming than I would've liked, considering that there were only a few enemies left in his path.
Based on time alone, I would accept this as an improvement to the existing run. It does a lot of things better, and gets insane luck on the Giant Enemy Crab. On the other hand, the run looks bad at points and proves that there are still improvements left to be made. The runner talks about trying for sub-42 eventually, which is a good place to set the bar.
As usual, most mistakes speak for themselves.
Notes:
- It occurs to me that someone who doesn't understand the game may wonder why the face enemies are killed in Area 1. They always drop the Triple Missile sub-weapon. I'm not sure why that one enemy in Area 2 is killed, though...
- A few hesitations in Area 2's boss area. I thought the runner was kidding about how much his hands hurt...
- He is a single hit from death while fighting the Area 3 boss. The comments I make below about how the power bar isn't an exact science does not apply to on-foot sections.
- Remember what I said about damage not costing time? I take it back. Getting damaged does affect your ability to make precision jumps at times. It also slows you down at times.
- I've never seen the Giant Enemy Crab sit still for so long. He gets the crab into its second phase (shooting a crazy amount of bubbles) before he even has to let off the grenade launcher.
- That Area 6 boss still loves lag. I didn't realize that this can happen even when you get enough damage to kill him with the pause trick.
- Lost some time on the Area 7 boss when he doesn't hit the pause glitch the first time. Why are there two frogs, anyway? Nobody will ever explain this plot twist to me...
- Someone without knowledge of the game wouldn't understand what the hell happened during the return trip in Area 7. The vehicle gets pretty hard to control after you get Wall 1 in Area 6 since you can't fall off platforms anymore; you stick to the sides automatically. When someone isn't paying attention, mistakes like this can crop up.
- It's amazing how close he is to death in Area 8, and it causes him to farm health at points. The power/hover bars for the vehicle aren't really an exact science, a fact I know all too well (and remembered in Area 2 when he got hit by certain enemies and appeared not to take damage). In the second-to-last room, there's a bit more health farming than I would've liked, considering that there were only a few enemies left in his path.
Based on time alone, I would accept this as an improvement to the existing run. It does a lot of things better, and gets insane luck on the Giant Enemy Crab. On the other hand, the run looks bad at points and proves that there are still improvements left to be made. The runner talks about trying for sub-42 eventually, which is a good place to set the bar.
Quote:
Verifier: ok, here are my entire blaster master comments
Verifier: this run made me cum uncontrollably
Verifier: ship it
Verifier: hi ua, can you guess who this is
Verifier: this run made me cum uncontrollably
Verifier: ship it
Verifier: hi ua, can you guess who this is
Death abuse
Quote:
if you haven't already released my last commentary to him, please send this one first.
blow by blow comments following:
I cannot make myself pas this. I feel bad rejecting 2 runs in a row, esp with all the hard work I KNOW was put into them. I have Deathless run this myself, its is almost impossible. I fell like total pompus jack***, but I have to do it.
Both Runs: REJECTED
While EVERYONE has bad days, I realize this, why submit them, and resubmit the same exact mistake? Showing complete and utter failure to play level 1 at a reasonable level of skill, much less twice in the same game, when the rest of the run obviuosly states you are a master of the game, is frankly unacceptable. Double so since its the second submmission of such. Also combine this with a major screw up on level 6's boss, and I cannot say this meets any competitive standard, out side of a Live tournament.
However I have to say his level 8 is what the one in the death run should have.
ALL other mistakes aside, if he could play returns to level one that show his skill level, and not screw up level 6's boss, I would pass his runs.
Also a challenge, if He can get the death run UNDER 30 minutes without any major mistakes by the end of the year, I'll give him some kind of decent prize. I'm not really a fan of the death run anyway, but if he can do it right, I feel a sub 30 BM is an extremely praiseworthy accomplishment.
also again, concern of a third party NES.
now as last time blow by blow,I 'm not bothering estimating time lost this time, as is I feel the run is reject worthy as it is without a minute of mistakes.
Level 1 perfect
Level 1 passage perfect
Level 1 boss perfect
Level 1 return perfect
Level 2 3:55 missed jump 4:41 got caught up by enemies.
Level 2 passage perfect
Level 2 boss perfect
Level 2 return perfect
Level 3 7:28 missed jump
Level 3 passage perfect
Level 3 boss nearly perfect, slightly missed pattern on last block no significant time lost
Level 3 return 11:34 missed jump
Level 2 return perfect
Level 1 return 12:55 missed jump 13:01 missed jump 13:19 missed jump 13:27 missed jump 14:11 overshot jump 14:15 undershot jump 14:16 undershot jump
Level 4 nearly perfect, minor issues no significant time lost
Level 4 passage perfect
Level 4 boss perfect
Level 4 return perfect
Level 5 perfect
Level 5 passage perfect
Level 5 boss perfect
leveL 5 return perfect
Level 6 25:59 missed jump 27:38 slight tangle up
Level 6 passage perfect
Level 6 boss 26:44 didn't hold the grenade long enough, lost several seconds playing with the boss,as bad as the time wasted on the last run missing the sweet spot with the grenade.
Level 6 return perfect
Level 5 return perfect
Level 4 return near perfect
Level 1 return 31:08 series of missed jumps 31:37 fell into pit AGAIN, and almost died, AGAIN, perfect image performance of last time. 41:38 hit the turret instead blasting it, then stopped and blasted it anyway.
Level 2 return 32:50 failure to control wall 1
Level 7 37:55 jump technique issue 36:04 missed jump
Level 7 passage perfect
Level 7 boss perfect
Level 7 return 38:23 major failure to control wall-2
Level 2 return perfect
Level 3 return perfect
Level 8 perfect
Level 8 passage perfect
Level 8 boss
blow by blow comments following:
I cannot make myself pas this. I feel bad rejecting 2 runs in a row, esp with all the hard work I KNOW was put into them. I have Deathless run this myself, its is almost impossible. I fell like total pompus jack***, but I have to do it.
Both Runs: REJECTED
While EVERYONE has bad days, I realize this, why submit them, and resubmit the same exact mistake? Showing complete and utter failure to play level 1 at a reasonable level of skill, much less twice in the same game, when the rest of the run obviuosly states you are a master of the game, is frankly unacceptable. Double so since its the second submmission of such. Also combine this with a major screw up on level 6's boss, and I cannot say this meets any competitive standard, out side of a Live tournament.
However I have to say his level 8 is what the one in the death run should have.
ALL other mistakes aside, if he could play returns to level one that show his skill level, and not screw up level 6's boss, I would pass his runs.
Also a challenge, if He can get the death run UNDER 30 minutes without any major mistakes by the end of the year, I'll give him some kind of decent prize. I'm not really a fan of the death run anyway, but if he can do it right, I feel a sub 30 BM is an extremely praiseworthy accomplishment.
also again, concern of a third party NES.
now as last time blow by blow,I 'm not bothering estimating time lost this time, as is I feel the run is reject worthy as it is without a minute of mistakes.
Level 1 perfect
Level 1 passage perfect
Level 1 boss perfect
Level 1 return perfect
Level 2 3:55 missed jump 4:41 got caught up by enemies.
Level 2 passage perfect
Level 2 boss perfect
Level 2 return perfect
Level 3 7:28 missed jump
Level 3 passage perfect
Level 3 boss nearly perfect, slightly missed pattern on last block no significant time lost
Level 3 return 11:34 missed jump
Level 2 return perfect
Level 1 return 12:55 missed jump 13:01 missed jump 13:19 missed jump 13:27 missed jump 14:11 overshot jump 14:15 undershot jump 14:16 undershot jump
Level 4 nearly perfect, minor issues no significant time lost
Level 4 passage perfect
Level 4 boss perfect
Level 4 return perfect
Level 5 perfect
Level 5 passage perfect
Level 5 boss perfect
leveL 5 return perfect
Level 6 25:59 missed jump 27:38 slight tangle up
Level 6 passage perfect
Level 6 boss 26:44 didn't hold the grenade long enough, lost several seconds playing with the boss,as bad as the time wasted on the last run missing the sweet spot with the grenade.
Level 6 return perfect
Level 5 return perfect
Level 4 return near perfect
Level 1 return 31:08 series of missed jumps 31:37 fell into pit AGAIN, and almost died, AGAIN, perfect image performance of last time. 41:38 hit the turret instead blasting it, then stopped and blasted it anyway.
Level 2 return 32:50 failure to control wall 1
Level 7 37:55 jump technique issue 36:04 missed jump
Level 7 passage perfect
Level 7 boss perfect
Level 7 return 38:23 major failure to control wall-2
Level 2 return perfect
Level 3 return perfect
Level 8 perfect
Level 8 passage perfect
Level 8 boss
Same verifier:
Quote:
This is hard, i can see Significant room for improvement on both runs, ESP in lebel 1s 1 and six.
However given the amount of work I KNOW it takes. my final decision is this:
Since it appears 42:30 is the time of the deathless run, it already obsoletes the non death time gain of the death warping run. hence Death warping run is rejected on mistakes on execution, and on a better run by same runner.
The deathless run, while I can see better in level 1 and 6, it obsoletes the old run by 2 minutes...in consideration of that vast improvement, and the work that took, and the hopes he will be motivated to gain the lost time, I'll pass it.
However given the amount of work I KNOW it takes. my final decision is this:
Since it appears 42:30 is the time of the deathless run, it already obsoletes the non death time gain of the death warping run. hence Death warping run is rejected on mistakes on execution, and on a better run by same runner.
The deathless run, while I can see better in level 1 and 6, it obsoletes the old run by 2 minutes...in consideration of that vast improvement, and the work that took, and the hopes he will be motivated to gain the lost time, I'll pass it.
Quote:
He beat the giant enemy crab without gun power-ups.
This run has a lot of deaths in it. In fact, the runner chugs abuses instant death and chugs through all three of his continues in the name of speed. This action cannot be compared to the existing run on SDA, and should make it a separate category. Therefore, it needs to be judged on its own merit and not as a comparison to the run already in place.
There are a lot of things going for this run. The on-foot sections are done without much regard for the damage taken; in fact, a lot of time is cut off in the areas of Levels 4 and 7 by taking damage. Most of the tank sections are done very well, and the runner makes great use of the sub-weapons (though the Lightning is as unreliable as always).
There are a few mistakes. He screws up the first quick kill on the boss of Level 6, and it ends up being laggy as hell. There is some sloppy playing near the end, but it still ends up being pretty fast.
The run is very solid, and looks like an obvious accept as a new category.
He beat the giant enemy crab without gun power-ups.
This run has a lot of deaths in it. In fact, the runner chugs abuses instant death and chugs through all three of his continues in the name of speed. This action cannot be compared to the existing run on SDA, and should make it a separate category. Therefore, it needs to be judged on its own merit and not as a comparison to the run already in place.
There are a lot of things going for this run. The on-foot sections are done without much regard for the damage taken; in fact, a lot of time is cut off in the areas of Levels 4 and 7 by taking damage. Most of the tank sections are done very well, and the runner makes great use of the sub-weapons (though the Lightning is as unreliable as always).
There are a few mistakes. He screws up the first quick kill on the boss of Level 6, and it ends up being laggy as hell. There is some sloppy playing near the end, but it still ends up being pretty fast.
The run is very solid, and looks like an obvious accept as a new category.
He beat the giant enemy crab without gun power-ups.
Quote:
Blaster Master (NES) with Death Warps
Video/Audio Quality:
Streamlined video and well-synched audio. No signs of tampering, editing, or modification.
Cheating:
Legitimate play throughout. A game glitch exists at 19:16 that makes it look like the runner walks through a wall, but I believe this to be a random bug and is not a sign of cheating (details are in the run comments for Area 5), nor does it add or subtract to the run's length.
Play Quality:
Good. It's not perfect and some time can be gained through better timing and less random damage. However, the the biggest mistakes cost no more than a few second apiece. In addition, lag is a key factor for speed in this game, and overall the runner does the best he can to keep the framerate high. In a perfect run I'd wager a guess that a full minute could be gained at best, but any single-segment run of this length will have a few mistakes like the ones in this run.
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Extremely Detailed Run Comments:
Really, there's only four elements of randomness in this game: Waver spawns, enemy movement, Power and Hover drops from defeated enemies, and particle damage (bullets, bombs, mine residue). A lot of this game is predictable, which means it's easy to tell when something goes wrong. That said, there's still a lot that can go awry and my specific run comments focused more on what went wrong rather than everything well executed. Strangely, the runner's comments mirror my own thoughts almost exactly with the exception of Areas 5 & 6.
Start → Boss 1:
The movement from the start to the first dungeon is mostly optimized. The only variance I see from the TAS is in the third area, just before the initial vertical descent; the runner jumps over the 1x1 block rather than driving underneath it for a minimal time loss. Does his best to reduce lag by killing all enemies directly in his path. The dungeon is done well. However, in the spikey room just before the boss, runner momentarily hesitates twice while tossing grenades at the mechanical heads.
Boss 1:
Quickly dispatched. Nice cross-over strategy that I don't recall seeing before now.
Boss 1 → Area 2:
Moving to the Area 2 entrance goes as well as could be. Due to random enemy movement it was impossible to remove all lag. Nice touch with the tri-missiles at the gate keeper.
Area 2 → Boss 2:
Area 2 itself is pretty good. Takes a couple hits that could have been avoided, but most damage taken here was luck-based. One transition/pause was executed too early, leading to another pause which cost time. Area 2 dungeon: movement is optimized, but there were two small hitches with the room transition/pause trick, adding at maximum a second to the run.
Boss 2:
About perfect. Nearly spot-on grenade/pause trick to start. The damage persists throughout the pause, and the audible change of sound signifying the boss' death is barely perceptible before the unpause.
Boss 2 → Area 3:
Two hits slow down the runner to the Area 3 entrance; no pause trick just before Area 3?
Area 3 → Boss 3
So begins the true lag in the game. Amid the randomly spawning wavers, the runner does pretty well to destroy what he can to keep the framerate up. Decent job with the tri-missiles, but because the timing isn't always perfect, he has to wait for a bomb for a half a second once and slows down by way of damage near the end of the level. Some wavers cause lag partway through. Unfortunate random turret damage cost maybe two seconds. A ceiling dweller gets the 'jump' on him at 9:02 that causes a course deviation costing maybe two more seconds and a waver disrupts the optimal jump just before the final doorway. Movement through the dungeon sacrifices a small amount of time for safety; more spikes could have been crossed earlier for speed.
Boss 3:
Spawns in the same pattern every time, but directional movement can vary. Does pretty well and manages to destroy nearly every spawn on its first cycle. Could be faster by maybe 2-3 seconds, but still decent.
Boss 3 → Area 4
Intentional deaths, followed by a continue, then straight away to backtracking through Area 2. Save a single hit, just about perfect to Area 1. Risky Hover pickup from the turret, but it paid off. Two more quick Hover pickups from the wavers, but then retreats for a fourth useless Hover, wasting a couple seconds.
Area 4 → Boss 4:
Area 4: enemy elimination goes relatively well. 2X mine hits in the sewers for minimal slowdown (the TAS hits one mine, too, but because there's no damage boost in this game I assume it's for the optimal route). Besides a couple miscellaneous hits, the level went about as well could be with good kills in the final hallway to reduce lag. The dungeon itself went well: the moat skips were executed perfectly and there was no fear of taking damage for max speed.
Boss 4:
A half a second of hesitation before the initial grenade hit (it's the runner's error because the Area 7 boss jumps four times before its first attack while this boss jumps only three). The minuscule change in damage sound signifying death is longer than the Area 2 boss, but in all this boss goes well with a defeat on its first attack.
Boss 4 → Area 5:
Quick intentional suicides in the dungeon moat for a the second death warp to the entrance of Area 4. Good jump to unlock the far door and commit suicide in one quick motion. His second suicide is wrong, though; this could have occurred in the previous room OR off the high ladder for faster results.
Area 5 → Boss 5:
Leaves the tank behind in the optimal spot for a death warp run and sinks quickly as the human. Takes four hits by the scuba divers, though, and you see in the second room after this the runner hesitates after the first diver kill looking for a Power pickup (success). Other than a missed diver kills to reduce lag, the swimming sections go well, especially scrolling the multiple divers off screen to increase the frame rate in the big 'U' room. The dungeon goes alright, but because his power level is at 5/8ths and the upcoming boss fight is treacherous, the first chicane room plays it a bit safe by avoiding enemies. Also does another 2X transition/pause between the first to second rooms, costing a bit of time.
(19:16) Just before the boss room, there's a peculiar display glitch that shows the runner walking through the wall left of the doorway and appearing in the same spot in the boss room. I can't recall seeing this glitch in-game before. That said, however, I do believe it's only a glitch/bug and is not due to cheating or cartridge modification. You can see a similar level 'jump' while traversing a doorway in Area 6 (23:30) where the gaming area shifts slightly when walking diagonally through the door, but the character comes out of the door as normal. Again, I raised my eyebrows when I saw this, but I truly believe this is merely a graphical bug; in any case, neither example saves nor adds time to the run. Maybe the runner could address this anyway? Game on.
Boss 5:
Without a powered up gun, this is probably the toughest boss fight in the game. I am somewhat surprised at the strategy to switch from grenades to the gun halfway through, but I can only assume it's the safer approach. Considering a damage-based suicide will follow this battle immediately, this fight could have been more aggressive with a lot more grenade throwing, albeit with much larger risk factors. Overall, it's passable, but not nearly as quick as I'd like to see. EDIT: After reading the runner's comments, I'm surprised at his remarks that this is his fastest kill and is only 2.5 seconds slower than the existing run. ...I'm still not impressed, sorry.
Boss 5 → Area 6:
Suicide on the pink walker in order to warp skip a very long backtrack and side tunnel sequence. Getting to the entrance of Area 6, the runner takes a hit that slows him completely, but it's almost unavoidable.
Area 6 → Boss 6:
Because of the icy terrain, there's bound to be a few unoptimized areas here. In the second room, random mine residue messes up a jump, costing two seconds. In the first vertical Hyper block room, a bad jump near the Homing Missile pickups costs a second, then in the same room while traveling horizontally a few bad Hyper block shots cost another second, and AGAIN mistimed shots force a second jump up to a ledge with a mine; pretty ugly. The second vertical Hyper block room is worse; between bad shots, taking a random hit, and a few off jumps, I'm guessing as many as seven seconds could be saved here. All told, I find this tank stage to be the worst area of the run and where a good amount of time can be gained. The dungeon is nearly optimal; besides a momentary hitches in the block room and sliding a bit on the ice at 23:48, this part is smooth.
Boss 6:
Not pretty. Three seconds are lost when mistiming the initial grenade, and what was the extra pause at the end?
Boss 6 → Area 7:
Good Homing Missiles on the bees X4 to eliminate lag. Silly Homing Missiles on the mines in the next room (presumably to cut on lag, but the residue is bound to hit you at least once), combining for two hits and time loss. Area 5 is clean. Area 4 is, too, with a split second lost due to being over eager at the first gate. Area 1 rerun gets a fail, though; a waver, which could have been avoided easily, knocks the runner into the brambles which eats time and health. Jumps over the 1x1 block again, takes bomb damage for slowdown, then eats another hit in the final vertical chamber to knock power down to 1/8th. Runner is hesitant at the start of Area 2 but gets fortunate for 2X Power pickups. Backtracks for a third one before the door, which takes two seconds. Wall climbs before the Hyper blocks and loses a second, takes mine damage for a slowdown, then a bad jump in the next to last room wastes a second. This is another section where a good chunk of time can be gained through better user gameplay.
Area 7 → Boss 7:
The random waver spawns will always cause some lag in this area, but overall I was pretty impressed. The first Hyper block room could have been a couple seconds faster, a couple random wavers do random damage for a moment of slowdown, there's one missed jump, and one successful jump that takes the runner by surprise, but still this level was quick. The dungeon is quick, too, but twice the runner hesitates for intentional hits to ensure successful moat crosses. I can't blame him at this point in the run.
Boss 7:
Perfect grenade timing, and no noticeable sound change for the boss death. Flawless victory.
Boss 7 → Area 8:
Suicide in the moat for the final death warp to the Area 7 entrance. Impeccable tank control becomes much harder now with both Wall and Ceiling add-ons; however, both the wall climbs in the second room of Area 2 are easy to avoid and cost more time than simply jumping from ledge to ledge. The rest of Area 2 is smooth to Area 3. Wall and Ceiling make the initial rooms here slower than the first visit. Hover pickups are necessary to get here for Area 8; good job avoiding the final wavers!
Area 8 → Boss 8:
Wall and Ceiling make traversing this stage near impossible to do perfectly, so I expected nearly every mistake I saw here. The spike drop speeds up the run a lot, but missing the ledge beneath it costs a second. Wastes two more seconds trying to reach an unattainable Power pickup in the next room, plus a hit for slowdown and Wall/Ceiling causes a second of backtrack. Spike drop #2 is good, but wastes a second killing a battleship... looking for more Hover? It's almost inevitable the worms/spike room combined with Wall/Ceiling will rip through your Power reserves. Two drops into the spikes, one too many, cause the runner to reroute the next room looking for Power pickups. The pink brain / ”intestine” room is slow for safety reasons, but some Wall/Ceiling makes it a couple seconds slower than needed. This stage can obviously be done faster, but I can't dock points against the runner because there's a lot that can go wrong here. The large block room of the dungeon, however, was ugly as sin.
Final Bosses:
Great. A few angle adjustments and a few misplaced grenades, but very good. I see at most a second being saved here.
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Unofficial Estimated Timing (no VirtualDub):
Character control begins at ~:00:18
Last hit on final boss at ~37:16
Elapsed time: ~36:58
I believe this to be a very good run. While I think there is improvement to be made, it would be difficult to attain without some serious practice and a good bit of luck.
Final Verdict For Verification: Accept
Video/Audio Quality:
Streamlined video and well-synched audio. No signs of tampering, editing, or modification.
Cheating:
Legitimate play throughout. A game glitch exists at 19:16 that makes it look like the runner walks through a wall, but I believe this to be a random bug and is not a sign of cheating (details are in the run comments for Area 5), nor does it add or subtract to the run's length.
Play Quality:
Good. It's not perfect and some time can be gained through better timing and less random damage. However, the the biggest mistakes cost no more than a few second apiece. In addition, lag is a key factor for speed in this game, and overall the runner does the best he can to keep the framerate high. In a perfect run I'd wager a guess that a full minute could be gained at best, but any single-segment run of this length will have a few mistakes like the ones in this run.
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Extremely Detailed Run Comments:
Really, there's only four elements of randomness in this game: Waver spawns, enemy movement, Power and Hover drops from defeated enemies, and particle damage (bullets, bombs, mine residue). A lot of this game is predictable, which means it's easy to tell when something goes wrong. That said, there's still a lot that can go awry and my specific run comments focused more on what went wrong rather than everything well executed. Strangely, the runner's comments mirror my own thoughts almost exactly with the exception of Areas 5 & 6.
Start → Boss 1:
The movement from the start to the first dungeon is mostly optimized. The only variance I see from the TAS is in the third area, just before the initial vertical descent; the runner jumps over the 1x1 block rather than driving underneath it for a minimal time loss. Does his best to reduce lag by killing all enemies directly in his path. The dungeon is done well. However, in the spikey room just before the boss, runner momentarily hesitates twice while tossing grenades at the mechanical heads.
Boss 1:
Quickly dispatched. Nice cross-over strategy that I don't recall seeing before now.
Boss 1 → Area 2:
Moving to the Area 2 entrance goes as well as could be. Due to random enemy movement it was impossible to remove all lag. Nice touch with the tri-missiles at the gate keeper.
Area 2 → Boss 2:
Area 2 itself is pretty good. Takes a couple hits that could have been avoided, but most damage taken here was luck-based. One transition/pause was executed too early, leading to another pause which cost time. Area 2 dungeon: movement is optimized, but there were two small hitches with the room transition/pause trick, adding at maximum a second to the run.
Boss 2:
About perfect. Nearly spot-on grenade/pause trick to start. The damage persists throughout the pause, and the audible change of sound signifying the boss' death is barely perceptible before the unpause.
Boss 2 → Area 3:
Two hits slow down the runner to the Area 3 entrance; no pause trick just before Area 3?
Area 3 → Boss 3
So begins the true lag in the game. Amid the randomly spawning wavers, the runner does pretty well to destroy what he can to keep the framerate up. Decent job with the tri-missiles, but because the timing isn't always perfect, he has to wait for a bomb for a half a second once and slows down by way of damage near the end of the level. Some wavers cause lag partway through. Unfortunate random turret damage cost maybe two seconds. A ceiling dweller gets the 'jump' on him at 9:02 that causes a course deviation costing maybe two more seconds and a waver disrupts the optimal jump just before the final doorway. Movement through the dungeon sacrifices a small amount of time for safety; more spikes could have been crossed earlier for speed.
Boss 3:
Spawns in the same pattern every time, but directional movement can vary. Does pretty well and manages to destroy nearly every spawn on its first cycle. Could be faster by maybe 2-3 seconds, but still decent.
Boss 3 → Area 4
Intentional deaths, followed by a continue, then straight away to backtracking through Area 2. Save a single hit, just about perfect to Area 1. Risky Hover pickup from the turret, but it paid off. Two more quick Hover pickups from the wavers, but then retreats for a fourth useless Hover, wasting a couple seconds.
Area 4 → Boss 4:
Area 4: enemy elimination goes relatively well. 2X mine hits in the sewers for minimal slowdown (the TAS hits one mine, too, but because there's no damage boost in this game I assume it's for the optimal route). Besides a couple miscellaneous hits, the level went about as well could be with good kills in the final hallway to reduce lag. The dungeon itself went well: the moat skips were executed perfectly and there was no fear of taking damage for max speed.
Boss 4:
A half a second of hesitation before the initial grenade hit (it's the runner's error because the Area 7 boss jumps four times before its first attack while this boss jumps only three). The minuscule change in damage sound signifying death is longer than the Area 2 boss, but in all this boss goes well with a defeat on its first attack.
Boss 4 → Area 5:
Quick intentional suicides in the dungeon moat for a the second death warp to the entrance of Area 4. Good jump to unlock the far door and commit suicide in one quick motion. His second suicide is wrong, though; this could have occurred in the previous room OR off the high ladder for faster results.
Area 5 → Boss 5:
Leaves the tank behind in the optimal spot for a death warp run and sinks quickly as the human. Takes four hits by the scuba divers, though, and you see in the second room after this the runner hesitates after the first diver kill looking for a Power pickup (success). Other than a missed diver kills to reduce lag, the swimming sections go well, especially scrolling the multiple divers off screen to increase the frame rate in the big 'U' room. The dungeon goes alright, but because his power level is at 5/8ths and the upcoming boss fight is treacherous, the first chicane room plays it a bit safe by avoiding enemies. Also does another 2X transition/pause between the first to second rooms, costing a bit of time.
(19:16) Just before the boss room, there's a peculiar display glitch that shows the runner walking through the wall left of the doorway and appearing in the same spot in the boss room. I can't recall seeing this glitch in-game before. That said, however, I do believe it's only a glitch/bug and is not due to cheating or cartridge modification. You can see a similar level 'jump' while traversing a doorway in Area 6 (23:30) where the gaming area shifts slightly when walking diagonally through the door, but the character comes out of the door as normal. Again, I raised my eyebrows when I saw this, but I truly believe this is merely a graphical bug; in any case, neither example saves nor adds time to the run. Maybe the runner could address this anyway? Game on.
Boss 5:
Without a powered up gun, this is probably the toughest boss fight in the game. I am somewhat surprised at the strategy to switch from grenades to the gun halfway through, but I can only assume it's the safer approach. Considering a damage-based suicide will follow this battle immediately, this fight could have been more aggressive with a lot more grenade throwing, albeit with much larger risk factors. Overall, it's passable, but not nearly as quick as I'd like to see. EDIT: After reading the runner's comments, I'm surprised at his remarks that this is his fastest kill and is only 2.5 seconds slower than the existing run. ...I'm still not impressed, sorry.
Boss 5 → Area 6:
Suicide on the pink walker in order to warp skip a very long backtrack and side tunnel sequence. Getting to the entrance of Area 6, the runner takes a hit that slows him completely, but it's almost unavoidable.
Area 6 → Boss 6:
Because of the icy terrain, there's bound to be a few unoptimized areas here. In the second room, random mine residue messes up a jump, costing two seconds. In the first vertical Hyper block room, a bad jump near the Homing Missile pickups costs a second, then in the same room while traveling horizontally a few bad Hyper block shots cost another second, and AGAIN mistimed shots force a second jump up to a ledge with a mine; pretty ugly. The second vertical Hyper block room is worse; between bad shots, taking a random hit, and a few off jumps, I'm guessing as many as seven seconds could be saved here. All told, I find this tank stage to be the worst area of the run and where a good amount of time can be gained. The dungeon is nearly optimal; besides a momentary hitches in the block room and sliding a bit on the ice at 23:48, this part is smooth.
Boss 6:
Not pretty. Three seconds are lost when mistiming the initial grenade, and what was the extra pause at the end?
Boss 6 → Area 7:
Good Homing Missiles on the bees X4 to eliminate lag. Silly Homing Missiles on the mines in the next room (presumably to cut on lag, but the residue is bound to hit you at least once), combining for two hits and time loss. Area 5 is clean. Area 4 is, too, with a split second lost due to being over eager at the first gate. Area 1 rerun gets a fail, though; a waver, which could have been avoided easily, knocks the runner into the brambles which eats time and health. Jumps over the 1x1 block again, takes bomb damage for slowdown, then eats another hit in the final vertical chamber to knock power down to 1/8th. Runner is hesitant at the start of Area 2 but gets fortunate for 2X Power pickups. Backtracks for a third one before the door, which takes two seconds. Wall climbs before the Hyper blocks and loses a second, takes mine damage for a slowdown, then a bad jump in the next to last room wastes a second. This is another section where a good chunk of time can be gained through better user gameplay.
Area 7 → Boss 7:
The random waver spawns will always cause some lag in this area, but overall I was pretty impressed. The first Hyper block room could have been a couple seconds faster, a couple random wavers do random damage for a moment of slowdown, there's one missed jump, and one successful jump that takes the runner by surprise, but still this level was quick. The dungeon is quick, too, but twice the runner hesitates for intentional hits to ensure successful moat crosses. I can't blame him at this point in the run.
Boss 7:
Perfect grenade timing, and no noticeable sound change for the boss death. Flawless victory.
Boss 7 → Area 8:
Suicide in the moat for the final death warp to the Area 7 entrance. Impeccable tank control becomes much harder now with both Wall and Ceiling add-ons; however, both the wall climbs in the second room of Area 2 are easy to avoid and cost more time than simply jumping from ledge to ledge. The rest of Area 2 is smooth to Area 3. Wall and Ceiling make the initial rooms here slower than the first visit. Hover pickups are necessary to get here for Area 8; good job avoiding the final wavers!
Area 8 → Boss 8:
Wall and Ceiling make traversing this stage near impossible to do perfectly, so I expected nearly every mistake I saw here. The spike drop speeds up the run a lot, but missing the ledge beneath it costs a second. Wastes two more seconds trying to reach an unattainable Power pickup in the next room, plus a hit for slowdown and Wall/Ceiling causes a second of backtrack. Spike drop #2 is good, but wastes a second killing a battleship... looking for more Hover? It's almost inevitable the worms/spike room combined with Wall/Ceiling will rip through your Power reserves. Two drops into the spikes, one too many, cause the runner to reroute the next room looking for Power pickups. The pink brain / ”intestine” room is slow for safety reasons, but some Wall/Ceiling makes it a couple seconds slower than needed. This stage can obviously be done faster, but I can't dock points against the runner because there's a lot that can go wrong here. The large block room of the dungeon, however, was ugly as sin.
Final Bosses:
Great. A few angle adjustments and a few misplaced grenades, but very good. I see at most a second being saved here.
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Unofficial Estimated Timing (no VirtualDub):
Character control begins at ~:00:18
Last hit on final boss at ~37:16
Elapsed time: ~36:58
I believe this to be a very good run. While I think there is improvement to be made, it would be difficult to attain without some serious practice and a good bit of luck.
Final Verdict For Verification: Accept
Decision: Accept
Reason: So many runs today, I can't muster a half-decent, or even a half-assed reason.
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