My feelings on The Demon Rush
Game Page: http://speeddemosarchive.com/Contra3.html
Kyle Halversen's hard mode run with death warps
Jeremy 'DK28' Doll's easy no item runs (one with and one without deaths)
Sorry, none of these runs challenge my record.
Big discussion I had with the runner after I watched the low% run without deaths. The quote boxes alternate between me and the runner, except for the last two.
Verifier Responses
Death warps
No items (both runs)
This is the message I sent the runner.
Decision: Accept
Reason: The warps run is great, and I'm just a big softie when it comes to Contra.
Kyle Halversen's hard mode run with death warps
Jeremy 'DK28' Doll's easy no item runs (one with and one without deaths)
Sorry, none of these runs challenge my record.
Big discussion I had with the runner after I watched the low% run without deaths. The quote boxes alternate between me and the runner, except for the last two.
Quote:
Quote:
Okay, I just watched your run (no, I haven't given it to other verifiers yet because I wanted to see it for myself and give a review first)
I think it's acceptable as is, but there are a lot of little things I noticed, and a couple of very big possible points of improvement.
I might test some of the stuff I mention later. If it turns out one of the big improvements is possible (like point-blanking is faster), then I might end up rejecting this run.
General:
Does range matter with the pea shooter? You say changing the weapons helps, so maybe being up close also helps?
Does switching weapons help in the overhead stages? I'm guessing it doesn't, since your gun actually switches hands.
Stage 1:
It might be worth it to skip the tank. It didn't seem like the second wall took a long time.
Getting through the flames without stopping never works on hard unless if you have a shield.
Stage 2:
ARGH, WALK DIAGONALLY (no I don't mean zigzag, just watch my run) - Compare my run with yours. I'm moving faster than you are.
There is probably a way to kill the second boss faster by tracking the movement of his eye like I did, but I'd have to do more research.
Stage 3:
Do you lose time wall climbing like that? IIRC, vertical scrolling works differently from horizontal scrolling and it's actually important to move as quickly as possible.
I know for a fact you could save a lot of time on your third boss fight. You could have started firing at the boss when you were on the ceiling, instead of waiting to jump down and hit the boss from the bottom. If you need more clarification on what I'm saying, just ask.
Stage 4: I'm thinking it might be a better idea to shoot the boss's top gun from an angle instead of constantly jumping like you did.
Stage 5: ARGH JUST FUCKING DO THE SKIP, IT'S NOT THAT HARD. I had about 30-40 attempts end on that skip, but that didn't mean pussied out and gave up.
BTW, the only purpose of picking that spot instead of the upper right corner is to pull off the skip.
Stage 6: Would it help to be closer to the crawler boss? I was thinking maybe hitting the boss while standing on its legs would do more damage, but I think that's just how crush missile hitboxes work.
I agree with you using the bomb on the Gargoyle. However, I'm not sure if it's best to shoot the Gargoyle from the bottom. It might be a better idea to shoot the Gargoyle from the top so you can not only shoot him at an angle, but you can also shoot him right before he teleports.
I can't believe you jumped while fighting the Alien Queen. Those heads are so slow on easy.
I think it's acceptable as is, but there are a lot of little things I noticed, and a couple of very big possible points of improvement.
I might test some of the stuff I mention later. If it turns out one of the big improvements is possible (like point-blanking is faster), then I might end up rejecting this run.
General:
Does range matter with the pea shooter? You say changing the weapons helps, so maybe being up close also helps?
Does switching weapons help in the overhead stages? I'm guessing it doesn't, since your gun actually switches hands.
Stage 1:
It might be worth it to skip the tank. It didn't seem like the second wall took a long time.
Getting through the flames without stopping never works on hard unless if you have a shield.
Stage 2:
ARGH, WALK DIAGONALLY (no I don't mean zigzag, just watch my run) - Compare my run with yours. I'm moving faster than you are.
There is probably a way to kill the second boss faster by tracking the movement of his eye like I did, but I'd have to do more research.
Stage 3:
Do you lose time wall climbing like that? IIRC, vertical scrolling works differently from horizontal scrolling and it's actually important to move as quickly as possible.
I know for a fact you could save a lot of time on your third boss fight. You could have started firing at the boss when you were on the ceiling, instead of waiting to jump down and hit the boss from the bottom. If you need more clarification on what I'm saying, just ask.
Stage 4: I'm thinking it might be a better idea to shoot the boss's top gun from an angle instead of constantly jumping like you did.
Stage 5: ARGH JUST FUCKING DO THE SKIP, IT'S NOT THAT HARD. I had about 30-40 attempts end on that skip, but that didn't mean pussied out and gave up.
BTW, the only purpose of picking that spot instead of the upper right corner is to pull off the skip.
Stage 6: Would it help to be closer to the crawler boss? I was thinking maybe hitting the boss while standing on its legs would do more damage, but I think that's just how crush missile hitboxes work.
I agree with you using the bomb on the Gargoyle. However, I'm not sure if it's best to shoot the Gargoyle from the bottom. It might be a better idea to shoot the Gargoyle from the top so you can not only shoot him at an angle, but you can also shoot him right before he teleports.
I can't believe you jumped while fighting the Alien Queen. Those heads are so slow on easy.
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Okay, I'll address as best I can -
Point blank - I do this wherever possible as I believe it does help. I'll reference what I can, please let me know if I miss a boss you're specifically referring to. L1 - Green Tank, have to stay on the side or he'll run you down. Turtle, the pea shooter takes too long and he will fire a bullet, have to be able to dodge. L2 - As close without getting clipped or shot IIRC. L3 - Spike, 1st form, in his face. Robots, need space to manuever, stayed close when I knew he would die before firing. Big Bot, stay directly under his head as much as possible for point blank. L4 - Just have to move to avoid bullets from above. 1st mid-bosses, angle is faster than staying underneath, because you have to move out of the way, from an angle it's non-stop firing. 2nd boss, blasted. Airship, could try at an angle for the top gun, but from the top, you have more room to get around, from the bottom, the red things can trap you with no missle to fall back on like you can from the top missile, which usual results in more frequent retreating to avoid death. L5 - Hive, as quick as can be. Closer means the worms will get you. L6 - Mouth and Heart done right, Crawler, trying to manipulate so he doesn't go underground (doesn't work on w/ deaths), Gargoyle, just more reliable since you have to go through more cycles. Queen, only way to go. Brain, as close as can be.
I guess the main factor is that all the boss fights go much longer with the pea shooter, so you have to plan to go through pretty much all of their cycles. And more time fighting is more opportunity to die, so I was pretty confident I had the best spots picked to maximize damage and survive any attacks.
General - Overhead switching is a mixed bag. I think it does help, but it's not a straight line like the side scrolling, so while juggling left to right, you can end up holding the wrong gun and missing. The L2 spider is the perfect example of trying to juggle the good and bad with this.
Stage 1 - Tank comes out equal or definitely less than a second if anything. But it guarantees immediate destruction instead of time to position and kill the enemy soldiers.
Stage 2 - The walking was just me then (around the barriers?)
The spider sucks, he goes left or right AND I'm trying to toggle the guns and can end up holding the wrong one, was actually faster than a lot of other attempts.
Stage 3 - I know my jumping isn't as fast as yours, was mashing the button though damn it. You're probably right about the scrolling. Oops on the first robots. The Big Bot was prime though, I can assure you that it is not fun to run, dodge, toggle, mash and hold fire for that long. LOL.
Stage 4 - Like I said above. The red things can suck when dealing with them for long periods of time. And being on bottom gives little to no room to run if they get on top of you. Although it may be faster. But from the top, I can fire constantly and get away, not 100% sure which would be faster.
Stage 5 - Rocking in fetal position "find a happy place".
Stage 6 - Guaranteed 2 cycles to kill. I promise. I tried point blanking, even with a bomb, still takes 2 cycles. Like stated above, trying to limit damage to keep him above ground. Gargoyle, would have to experiment that. Queen, yeah, I flinched. You'll see on the w/ deaths, it comes all the way over, that's what normally happens the first attack.
Please let me know what you think. Overall, after saying everything, I'm still proud of the run. I can definitely see some seconds of improvment possible. But I had some kick ass moments come together. I think other than missing the L5 skip it's well executed. Let me know if you have any other questions. 
Point blank - I do this wherever possible as I believe it does help. I'll reference what I can, please let me know if I miss a boss you're specifically referring to. L1 - Green Tank, have to stay on the side or he'll run you down. Turtle, the pea shooter takes too long and he will fire a bullet, have to be able to dodge. L2 - As close without getting clipped or shot IIRC. L3 - Spike, 1st form, in his face. Robots, need space to manuever, stayed close when I knew he would die before firing. Big Bot, stay directly under his head as much as possible for point blank. L4 - Just have to move to avoid bullets from above. 1st mid-bosses, angle is faster than staying underneath, because you have to move out of the way, from an angle it's non-stop firing. 2nd boss, blasted. Airship, could try at an angle for the top gun, but from the top, you have more room to get around, from the bottom, the red things can trap you with no missle to fall back on like you can from the top missile, which usual results in more frequent retreating to avoid death. L5 - Hive, as quick as can be. Closer means the worms will get you. L6 - Mouth and Heart done right, Crawler, trying to manipulate so he doesn't go underground (doesn't work on w/ deaths), Gargoyle, just more reliable since you have to go through more cycles. Queen, only way to go. Brain, as close as can be.
I guess the main factor is that all the boss fights go much longer with the pea shooter, so you have to plan to go through pretty much all of their cycles. And more time fighting is more opportunity to die, so I was pretty confident I had the best spots picked to maximize damage and survive any attacks.
General - Overhead switching is a mixed bag. I think it does help, but it's not a straight line like the side scrolling, so while juggling left to right, you can end up holding the wrong gun and missing. The L2 spider is the perfect example of trying to juggle the good and bad with this.
Stage 1 - Tank comes out equal or definitely less than a second if anything. But it guarantees immediate destruction instead of time to position and kill the enemy soldiers.
Stage 2 - The walking was just me then (around the barriers?)
Stage 3 - I know my jumping isn't as fast as yours, was mashing the button though damn it. You're probably right about the scrolling. Oops on the first robots. The Big Bot was prime though, I can assure you that it is not fun to run, dodge, toggle, mash and hold fire for that long. LOL.
Stage 4 - Like I said above. The red things can suck when dealing with them for long periods of time. And being on bottom gives little to no room to run if they get on top of you. Although it may be faster. But from the top, I can fire constantly and get away, not 100% sure which would be faster.
Stage 5 - Rocking in fetal position "find a happy place".
Stage 6 - Guaranteed 2 cycles to kill. I promise. I tried point blanking, even with a bomb, still takes 2 cycles. Like stated above, trying to limit damage to keep him above ground. Gargoyle, would have to experiment that. Queen, yeah, I flinched. You'll see on the w/ deaths, it comes all the way over, that's what normally happens the first attack.
Please let me know what you think. Overall, after saying everything, I'm still proud of the run. I can definitely see some seconds of improvment possible. But I had some kick ass moments come together. I think other than missing the L5 skip
Quote:
Honestly, most of the bosses I can understand not point blanking. For example, I never questioned why you didn't point blank the tank miniboss, it seemed obvious that you would waste more time dodging the tank. There's just a couple, like the stage 3 boss, that I question.
The direction the spider rotates is dependent on whether you're to the left or the right of his eye. It's not random, just very very annoying. I still think there is a better strategy than what you did, but it would require a lot of painful research (i.e. firing the game up in an emulator with a save state on the boss and trying 100s of times)
Stage 3 boss: I don't know why you think being on the bottom is the best place to shoot the boss. You're closer if you shoot the boss from the top, look at my run. I know it's not fun to dodge the boss while firing at it, but what I'm suggesting wouldn't even require dodging. You'll see what I mean if you look at your run again. BTW, by the boss I mean the big guy, not the robot twins.
Stage 5: I meant upper left corner, but I'm sure you knew what I meant.
Stage 5 boss: You're invincible when you start the fight, so maybe you can point blank for a second or two, then immediately run back.
Anyways, like I said, I do think your run is good, I'm just pointing out all this stuff to you:
1. Just in case if you want to improve the run.
2. I've played this game to death and there would be something wrong with me if I wasn't critical as hell.
If it makes you feel any better, I could probably point out just as many mistakes in my run.
The direction the spider rotates is dependent on whether you're to the left or the right of his eye. It's not random, just very very annoying. I still think there is a better strategy than what you did, but it would require a lot of painful research (i.e. firing the game up in an emulator with a save state on the boss and trying 100s of times)
Stage 3 boss: I don't know why you think being on the bottom is the best place to shoot the boss. You're closer if you shoot the boss from the top, look at my run. I know it's not fun to dodge the boss while firing at it, but what I'm suggesting wouldn't even require dodging. You'll see what I mean if you look at your run again. BTW, by the boss I mean the big guy, not the robot twins.
Stage 5: I meant upper left corner, but I'm sure you knew what I meant.
Stage 5 boss: You're invincible when you start the fight, so maybe you can point blank for a second or two, then immediately run back.
Anyways, like I said, I do think your run is good, I'm just pointing out all this stuff to you:
1. Just in case if you want to improve the run.
2. I've played this game to death and there would be something wrong with me if I wasn't critical as hell.
If it makes you feel any better, I could probably point out just as many mistakes in my run.
Quote:
No worries at all. I love the feedback. Especially from the Master. 
I'm a manger, so I guess I just know how to use constructive criticism instead of being a little crybaby about it like some people would.
And I understand what you mean know. IIRC, my strategy here was not on the top because I was trying to maximze damage time while also running from the eye lasers. I'll have to watch it again, but I think the lasers didn't time out until after I'm already on the floor again using the current strategy.
But again, I don't feel bad about the comments, no problem at all. Although I just realized you probably deal with a lot of people who bitch and moan about everything, so it requires a more delicate touch. No maturity issues with me Sir. I assume if there was actually a serious problem, you'd say it up front.
I was LOLing at the original L5 comment though. Got some people at work wondering what the hell I'm doing.
Quote from mikwuyma:
Stage 3 boss: I don't know why you think being on the bottom is the best place to shoot the boss. You're closer if you shoot the boss from the top, look at my run. I know it's not fun to dodge the boss while firing at it, but what I'm suggesting wouldn't even require dodging. You'll see what I mean if you look at your run again. BTW, by the boss I mean the big guy, not the robot twins.
And I understand what you mean know. IIRC, my strategy here was not on the top because I was trying to maximze damage time while also running from the eye lasers. I'll have to watch it again, but I think the lasers didn't time out until after I'm already on the floor again using the current strategy.
But again, I don't feel bad about the comments, no problem at all. Although I just realized you probably deal with a lot of people who bitch and moan about everything, so it requires a more delicate touch. No maturity issues with me Sir. I assume if there was actually a serious problem, you'd say it up front.
I was LOLing at the original L5 comment though. Got some people at work wondering what the hell I'm doing.
Quote:
Hola Mike,
If you've given the runs to the verifiers, awesome. Here's what I got -
I've been working on Big Daddy Robot. Using a couple of different patterns to be on top, it doesn't save any time. The extra maneuvering costs damage time when I can just give it to him on the chin longer from underneath. At best, I almost match my current time, but with more work and it doesn't look as smooth. (stupid eye lasers)
And for the Ship boss in L4 (top barrier destruction). It's also kind of a wash. My way, I get two "sets" of shots in, one on the jump up and one on the way down. It's similar from the bottom, a set of rounds each as it rocks back and forth. Although I found it could be just a second or two faster, but it depends entirely on the rockets you get and the little red things popping out (making you move).
And the Gargoyle. Since the hit window is a fraction of a second before he puts the tail up, when you jump up when he appears, it's a wash as if you were on the bottom shooting up. And he does leave the tail up until he fully disappears.
All in all, after this reasearch, I'm still solid on the runs I sent you IMO. Except for the crawler not cooperating on the with deaths run. Speaking of which, did you have any feedback on that one? I know it was really just more of the same, but a bit faster.
Thanks.
If you've given the runs to the verifiers, awesome. Here's what I got -
I've been working on Big Daddy Robot. Using a couple of different patterns to be on top, it doesn't save any time. The extra maneuvering costs damage time when I can just give it to him on the chin longer from underneath. At best, I almost match my current time, but with more work and it doesn't look as smooth. (stupid eye lasers)
And for the Ship boss in L4 (top barrier destruction). It's also kind of a wash. My way, I get two "sets" of shots in, one on the jump up and one on the way down. It's similar from the bottom, a set of rounds each as it rocks back and forth. Although I found it could be just a second or two faster, but it depends entirely on the rockets you get and the little red things popping out (making you move).
And the Gargoyle. Since the hit window is a fraction of a second before he puts the tail up, when you jump up when he appears, it's a wash as if you were on the bottom shooting up. And he does leave the tail up until he fully disappears.
All in all, after this reasearch, I'm still solid on the runs I sent you IMO.
Thanks.
Verifier Responses
Quote:
Verifier: ok well i just got done watching no items w/ deaths
Verifier: assuming you start after stage 1 starts up and end when he kills the final boss, it's 15:38
Verifier: if you count til he jumps on the helicopter, it's 15:57
me: yeah I think it's until he jumps on the helicopter
me: but I don't know how to time it on easy
Verifier: yea i know i was like WHERES THE FINAL BOSS MAN oh right it's on easy
Verifier: but regardless, no unintentional deaths and the deaths for replenishing bombs were well placed (during boss death animations, etc), it was sufficiently fast for not grabbing any weapons so yea put that run up
Verifier: k now onto death warps run
Verifier: is that on easy as well?
Verifier: then again it doesnt matter
Verifier: wtf o_o
Verifier: k finished watching death warps run
Verifier: i'd never seen a contra 3 tas before so it was pretty intriguing
Verifier: time should be 5:25
Verifier: it was weird seeing a run that had to use a continue, but i guess that's no different than throwing it in with a deaths a category so it works
Verifier: i wasnt sure if one of the deaths on stage 4 was unintentional (it looked a little like he was trying to do the glitch but failed once), but then again he still pulled it off the next time so the bomb was probably for sufficient scoring
Verifier: but regardless, this is definitely a new way of running it so i'd say go ahead and throw it up and if there was anything in the run that happened not to be optimized, someone else is welcome to try beating the run =p
Verifier: finished watching no items no deaths
Verifier: yea dood's thumbs must be gone, i'd like to see someone try this on hard
Verifier: time is 15:51 on boss death and 16:10 on helicopter jump
Verifier: stage 3 stood out with some flaws
Verifier: definitely could have improved there, and while the runner says the stage boss had a lot of planning put into it and went pretty good, i couldn't help but think while watching that the fight could've been done a little riskier
Verifier: but regardless, i think it was sufficient
Verifier: in stage 4 i was like OMG NO THE SPREADSHOT'S GONNA HIT HIM! that was the only part outside of a near death on final stage miniboss that really almost screwed the run
Verifier: it's a good run though, accept
Verifier: so yea that should be all the runs i was supposed to watch
Verifier: assuming you start after stage 1 starts up and end when he kills the final boss, it's 15:38
Verifier: if you count til he jumps on the helicopter, it's 15:57
me: yeah I think it's until he jumps on the helicopter
me: but I don't know how to time it on easy
Verifier: yea i know i was like WHERES THE FINAL BOSS MAN oh right it's on easy
Verifier: but regardless, no unintentional deaths and the deaths for replenishing bombs were well placed (during boss death animations, etc), it was sufficiently fast for not grabbing any weapons so yea put that run up
Verifier: k now onto death warps run
Verifier: is that on easy as well?
Verifier: then again it doesnt matter
Verifier: wtf o_o
Verifier: k finished watching death warps run
Verifier: i'd never seen a contra 3 tas before so it was pretty intriguing
Verifier: time should be 5:25
Verifier: it was weird seeing a run that had to use a continue, but i guess that's no different than throwing it in with a deaths a category so it works
Verifier: i wasnt sure if one of the deaths on stage 4 was unintentional (it looked a little like he was trying to do the glitch but failed once), but then again he still pulled it off the next time so the bomb was probably for sufficient scoring
Verifier: but regardless, this is definitely a new way of running it so i'd say go ahead and throw it up and if there was anything in the run that happened not to be optimized, someone else is welcome to try beating the run =p
Verifier: finished watching no items no deaths
Verifier: yea dood's thumbs must be gone, i'd like to see someone try this on hard
Verifier: time is 15:51 on boss death and 16:10 on helicopter jump
Verifier: stage 3 stood out with some flaws
Verifier: definitely could have improved there, and while the runner says the stage boss had a lot of planning put into it and went pretty good, i couldn't help but think while watching that the fight could've been done a little riskier
Verifier: but regardless, i think it was sufficient
Verifier: in stage 4 i was like OMG NO THE SPREADSHOT'S GONNA HIT HIM! that was the only part outside of a near death on final stage miniboss that really almost screwed the run
Verifier: it's a good run though, accept
Verifier: so yea that should be all the runs i was supposed to watch
Quote:
CONTRA 3 Alienwars verification
Easy low-% with deaths:
-No cheats
-No audio trouble
-Quality is fine enought
-No power ups collected
Stage 1:
Very well run here.
Boss fight was as well near perfect as far as i can tell.
Stage 2:
Tight run and quite good boss fight. i think it is possible avoid boss jump attack and save some seconds.
Stage 3:
I not pick up mistakes or stops here. Method against robot twins was nice. Adult form went as well very well.
Stage 4:
Level 4 is autoscroll level. Only way save time is make fast job against bosses.
Rope boss went well enought. Nice power bomb used here and fast kill.
Leg boss went well enought and jet pack guy as well. Main boss definitely can be done some seconds faster if you got more risks. But otherwise this was very well done and this might be too suicide take any more risk.
Stage 5
Very nice run again. Boss went very well. But i think it can be done 1-2 seconds faster. But this was as well very minor
Stage 6
Awesome job against bosses. Especially i like your silver dragon fight. This can easily take too long to beat but you make it very well.
Brain was done in 2nd round which is fastest possible on easy mode no power up used.
I timed run was done in 15.58. D-pad lost controll between 15.58-16.00. You still can controll your X-button and X-button lost controll somewhere 16.40.
I say ACCEPT.
This run was near perfect and i not pick up any serious error.
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CONTRA 3 Alienwars verification
Easy low-%:
-No cheats
-No audio trouble
-Quality is fine enought
-No power ups collected
-No deaths
This run is par like death run. I timed 16.10 which mean this was something 12 seconds slower. I feel some bosses not was fast like death run. Maybe biggest mistake was level 2 boss fight, but this is not reason reject that. But avoid boss jump attack and better hits definitely save some seconds time.
Silver dragon fight not was superb like it was with death run, but it was still good enought.
I´ll ACCEPT this run because it is very good run with few mistakes.
**************************************************************************
CONTRA 3 Alienwars verification
Hard run with death warp:
-No cheats
-No audio trouble
-Quality is fine enought
-Used huge warps skips levels 1,3,4 & 6.
Ok death warp run is very unknow for me. I not personally have any experience about this. I watch Cpadolf TAS run and i compared that run with this.
Stage 1
Death warp was almost well like TAS run
Stage 2
Awesome level and awesome boss fight.
Stage 3
TAS make death warp much more early
Stage 4
This look runner make mistake here. But when i read his comment he said TAS style is near impossible on console.
Stage 5
No luck take C-weapon. But laser is as well good choice and boss went well done using laser.
Stage 6
Nice death warp and game completed
I timed 5.25
I`ll ACCEPT this run. As far as i can tell it is good.
Easy low-% with deaths:
-No cheats
-No audio trouble
-Quality is fine enought
-No power ups collected
Stage 1:
Very well run here.
Boss fight was as well near perfect as far as i can tell.
Stage 2:
Tight run and quite good boss fight. i think it is possible avoid boss jump attack and save some seconds.
Stage 3:
I not pick up mistakes or stops here. Method against robot twins was nice. Adult form went as well very well.
Stage 4:
Level 4 is autoscroll level. Only way save time is make fast job against bosses.
Rope boss went well enought. Nice power bomb used here and fast kill.
Leg boss went well enought and jet pack guy as well. Main boss definitely can be done some seconds faster if you got more risks. But otherwise this was very well done and this might be too suicide take any more risk.
Stage 5
Very nice run again. Boss went very well. But i think it can be done 1-2 seconds faster. But this was as well very minor
Stage 6
Awesome job against bosses. Especially i like your silver dragon fight. This can easily take too long to beat but you make it very well.
Brain was done in 2nd round which is fastest possible on easy mode no power up used.
I timed run was done in 15.58. D-pad lost controll between 15.58-16.00. You still can controll your X-button and X-button lost controll somewhere 16.40.
I say ACCEPT.
This run was near perfect and i not pick up any serious error.
*************************************************************************
CONTRA 3 Alienwars verification
Easy low-%:
-No cheats
-No audio trouble
-Quality is fine enought
-No power ups collected
-No deaths
This run is par like death run. I timed 16.10 which mean this was something 12 seconds slower. I feel some bosses not was fast like death run. Maybe biggest mistake was level 2 boss fight, but this is not reason reject that. But avoid boss jump attack and better hits definitely save some seconds time.
Silver dragon fight not was superb like it was with death run, but it was still good enought.
I´ll ACCEPT this run because it is very good run with few mistakes.
**************************************************************************
CONTRA 3 Alienwars verification
Hard run with death warp:
-No cheats
-No audio trouble
-Quality is fine enought
-Used huge warps skips levels 1,3,4 & 6.
Ok death warp run is very unknow for me. I not personally have any experience about this. I watch Cpadolf TAS run and i compared that run with this.
Stage 1
Death warp was almost well like TAS run
Stage 2
Awesome level and awesome boss fight.
Stage 3
TAS make death warp much more early
Stage 4
This look runner make mistake here. But when i read his comment he said TAS style is near impossible on console.
Stage 5
No luck take C-weapon. But laser is as well good choice and boss went well done using laser.
Stage 6
Nice death warp and game completed
I timed 5.25
I`ll ACCEPT this run. As far as i can tell it is good.
Death warps
Quote:
Mr. Mike,
Contra III retort -
Win. Is that good enough? A game sadistically hard, glitched into a few minutes, epic.
My only question is level four on the motorcycle. While still in the tunnel, one of the dropped grenade's explosion passes right through him. I was unable to duplicate this. Maybe it's a glitch resulting from the game being run through this way? Just something to peek at.
Otherwise, this is one of the rapingest glitch speedruns I've seen. Yes, it was necessary to create a new word to approve this run.
Contra III retort -
Win. Is that good enough? A game sadistically hard, glitched into a few minutes, epic.
My only question is level four on the motorcycle. While still in the tunnel, one of the dropped grenade's explosion passes right through him. I was unable to duplicate this. Maybe it's a glitch resulting from the game being run through this way? Just something to peek at.
Otherwise, this is one of the rapingest glitch speedruns I've seen. Yes, it was necessary to create a new word to approve this run.
No items (both runs)
Quote:
Hi Mike,
I was only able to verify the contra3low-v.avi and contra3deaths-v.avi since I don't know how warping works and I'd hate to give an igorant review.
#1 contra3low-v.avi
a/v is fine
no cheating observed
consistent stats across levels
Aside from a few minor flaws, it is an excellent speedrun that has my acceptance. If there were a reason to reject it'd be the overly cautious stage 4 boss battle.
stage 1
(0:37) turned around to shoot enemies cost 1/2 second
(0:55) should shoot wall with tank earlier. Cost 1/2 second
stage 2
masterful first section
(3:38) missed shots on boss that cost 3 seconds
stage 3
(4:19) caught by rotating rail cost 1/2 second
made short work of spiked first mini boss
(5:59) too cautious scaling wall
good work on skull boss
stage 4
too cautious on boss. Spent too much time missile hoping than shooting.
stage 5
excellent first section
excellent boss kill
but why no weapon switching in either section??
stage 6
great stage and incredible boss kill
#2 contra3deaths-v.avi
a/v is fine
no cheating observed
consistent stats across levels
Aside from a few minor flaws, it is an excellent speedrun that has my acceptance. If there were a reason to reject it'd be the overly cautious stage 4 boss battle.
stage 1
(0:45) turned around to shoot cost 1/2 second.
(0:55) should shoot wall with tank earlier. Cost 1/2 second.
(2:40) a/v starts being out of sync. Can be sorta solved by skipping around the video, but after a while desyncs again. Sound arrives before video.
stage 2
excellent
stage 3
(4:12) caught by rotating rail cost 1/2 second
stage 4
too cautious on boss. Spent too much time missile hoping than shooting.
stage 5
excellent first section
excellent boss kill
but why no weapon switching in either section??
stage 6
(13:35) time wasted on killing stalking enemies
(14:05) uncharacteristically slow weapon switching cost 1/4 sec maybe
(14:25) too cautious scaling wall
(15:00) lost a second trying to retarget the boss head after killing off right arm
otherwise, excellent boss battle
I was only able to verify the contra3low-v.avi and contra3deaths-v.avi since I don't know how warping works and I'd hate to give an igorant review.
#1 contra3low-v.avi
a/v is fine
no cheating observed
consistent stats across levels
Aside from a few minor flaws, it is an excellent speedrun that has my acceptance. If there were a reason to reject it'd be the overly cautious stage 4 boss battle.
stage 1
(0:37) turned around to shoot enemies cost 1/2 second
(0:55) should shoot wall with tank earlier. Cost 1/2 second
stage 2
masterful first section
(3:38) missed shots on boss that cost 3 seconds
stage 3
(4:19) caught by rotating rail cost 1/2 second
made short work of spiked first mini boss
(5:59) too cautious scaling wall
good work on skull boss
stage 4
too cautious on boss. Spent too much time missile hoping than shooting.
stage 5
excellent first section
excellent boss kill
but why no weapon switching in either section??
stage 6
great stage and incredible boss kill
#2 contra3deaths-v.avi
a/v is fine
no cheating observed
consistent stats across levels
Aside from a few minor flaws, it is an excellent speedrun that has my acceptance. If there were a reason to reject it'd be the overly cautious stage 4 boss battle.
stage 1
(0:45) turned around to shoot cost 1/2 second.
(0:55) should shoot wall with tank earlier. Cost 1/2 second.
(2:40) a/v starts being out of sync. Can be sorta solved by skipping around the video, but after a while desyncs again. Sound arrives before video.
stage 2
excellent
stage 3
(4:12) caught by rotating rail cost 1/2 second
stage 4
too cautious on boss. Spent too much time missile hoping than shooting.
stage 5
excellent first section
excellent boss kill
but why no weapon switching in either section??
stage 6
(13:35) time wasted on killing stalking enemies
(14:05) uncharacteristically slow weapon switching cost 1/4 sec maybe
(14:25) too cautious scaling wall
(15:00) lost a second trying to retarget the boss head after killing off right arm
otherwise, excellent boss battle
Quote:
Mike if you could let me know if the runner has any questions about any of my suggestions, I'd be much obliged.
Continuing in the proud tradition of purely technical language and boring verifier comments focused exclusively on the run itself without any colorful asides, here are my verification comments for the Contra III Easy Runs with and without deaths.
Stage 1
I thought that stage one was done quite well. I was impressed at how the runner handled the base walls. It's good to see the tank used again in a run. For the run with deaths, remember that you do more damage to an enemy the closer that you are when you use the bomb.
Stage 2
This stage needs some major improvements. The runner handles the first bunker fine, but then does not use the diagonal walking technique at all. I think that this costs about two or three seconds going through the stage.
My next concern is the boss. Maybe the runner doesn't know this strategy, but if you hold the R button during the run and spin 180 degrees, the boss will land with the core in front of you. You can keep shooting the core as it spins if you mirror its movements. Mike does it in his hard mode run and I was able to do it quite easily in easy mode and kill the boss a lot faster. The runner loses nearly fifteen seconds doing this. If you mess up a bit, you can destroy one of the spiked balls so that you can get in a bit closer, but the point is that you've got to chase this thing down, otherwise you'll be dealing with that turret it has and the long up in the air and down animation.
Stage 3
The first mid boss was done very well. That was some excellent timing.
You also did a good job not waiting for the barrier drop to come down. Everything up the boss looked pretty good. While moving around the skeleton boss to escape the flame, don't forget that you can jump up to the ceiling while you are climbing instead of climbing all the way up.
Stage 4
I was pretty happy with this stage up to the boss. Let me also mention that the tighrope soldier was done really well and the walker was done really well. Back to the boss, it seems like the runner is playing a bit too cautious here. When going after the top turret, it's much faster to shoot at it diagonally from a lower missile instead of jumping for each hit. Perhaps the strategy is borrowed from the hard mode run, but since the peashooter has better range than the crush gun, you should be firing at the top turret diagonally instead of jumping. Being a bit more aggressive against the core afterward wouldn't hurt either.
Stage 5
The runner doesn't use the corner trick, but compensates decently well. It would be a good couple of seconds if the runner is willing to practice it. The sidewalking can be a bit better but I think that the stage is done decently well. There are some other more risky strategies one can do in this stage to save time, but yeah...
As for the boss, maybe I'm a bit of a stickler, but if you just stand in front of the eye, the reaching claw soaks up shots that should be going to the eye. Move away from the claw and keep your fire on the eye and you can save a bit of time.
Stage 6
The stage goes decently well here.
In the death abuse run you ought to try to damage the mutant crawler boss from Super C a bit less on the first pass to prevent it from doing the digging and jumping out of the ground routine. You can cut off another ten seconds this way. It's done properly in the no deaths run, but that seems to be almost by accident.
I have a trick for fighting the gargoyle. Instead of going below it when it starts to teleport, you start climbing up and jump up and shoot down at the head. I was able to kill it in four teleports, matching what you did without a bomb. Mike goes below in the hard mode run and that's fine because he fires a salvo of crush missiles before the tail comes out to block the shots so he doesn't lose much time. You should go above because you'll get a bit more time to shoot. I notice that you have a few teleports where you do hardly any damage to the thing. The issue is more pronounced in the no deaths run, where it takes six teleports to destroy the gargoyle, as opposed to four in the deaths run.
I was pretty happy with the rest of the stage.
My advice is to redo the runs. Don't focus so heavily on mashing the X button, but practice a few of the other time savers I've mentioned. Yes, the pea shooter does do a bit more damage if you mash the X button, but it's not double, it's just a bit more. The runner could easily (maybe not so easily?) save thirty seconds and the runs will look much more impressive with a little more route planning. These aren't bad runs at all and a lot of the other stages and parts are done very well so it ought to be just a bit more practice with a few places that are slowing you down and inhibiting some otherwise impressive pea shooting carnage.
I've been practicing this game under these conditions and I might come up with a few more suggestions and would be more than happy to offer assistance/demonstrations if the runner wants to try and resubmit.
Continuing in the proud tradition of purely technical language and boring verifier comments focused exclusively on the run itself without any colorful asides, here are my verification comments for the Contra III Easy Runs with and without deaths.
Stage 1
I thought that stage one was done quite well. I was impressed at how the runner handled the base walls. It's good to see the tank used again in a run. For the run with deaths, remember that you do more damage to an enemy the closer that you are when you use the bomb.
Stage 2
This stage needs some major improvements. The runner handles the first bunker fine, but then does not use the diagonal walking technique at all. I think that this costs about two or three seconds going through the stage.
My next concern is the boss. Maybe the runner doesn't know this strategy, but if you hold the R button during the run and spin 180 degrees, the boss will land with the core in front of you. You can keep shooting the core as it spins if you mirror its movements. Mike does it in his hard mode run and I was able to do it quite easily in easy mode and kill the boss a lot faster. The runner loses nearly fifteen seconds doing this. If you mess up a bit, you can destroy one of the spiked balls so that you can get in a bit closer, but the point is that you've got to chase this thing down, otherwise you'll be dealing with that turret it has and the long up in the air and down animation.
Stage 3
The first mid boss was done very well. That was some excellent timing.
You also did a good job not waiting for the barrier drop to come down. Everything up the boss looked pretty good. While moving around the skeleton boss to escape the flame, don't forget that you can jump up to the ceiling while you are climbing instead of climbing all the way up.
Stage 4
I was pretty happy with this stage up to the boss. Let me also mention that the tighrope soldier was done really well and the walker was done really well. Back to the boss, it seems like the runner is playing a bit too cautious here. When going after the top turret, it's much faster to shoot at it diagonally from a lower missile instead of jumping for each hit. Perhaps the strategy is borrowed from the hard mode run, but since the peashooter has better range than the crush gun, you should be firing at the top turret diagonally instead of jumping. Being a bit more aggressive against the core afterward wouldn't hurt either.
Stage 5
The runner doesn't use the corner trick, but compensates decently well. It would be a good couple of seconds if the runner is willing to practice it. The sidewalking can be a bit better but I think that the stage is done decently well. There are some other more risky strategies one can do in this stage to save time, but yeah...
As for the boss, maybe I'm a bit of a stickler, but if you just stand in front of the eye, the reaching claw soaks up shots that should be going to the eye. Move away from the claw and keep your fire on the eye and you can save a bit of time.
Stage 6
The stage goes decently well here.
In the death abuse run you ought to try to damage the mutant crawler boss from Super C a bit less on the first pass to prevent it from doing the digging and jumping out of the ground routine. You can cut off another ten seconds this way. It's done properly in the no deaths run, but that seems to be almost by accident.
I have a trick for fighting the gargoyle. Instead of going below it when it starts to teleport, you start climbing up and jump up and shoot down at the head. I was able to kill it in four teleports, matching what you did without a bomb. Mike goes below in the hard mode run and that's fine because he fires a salvo of crush missiles before the tail comes out to block the shots so he doesn't lose much time. You should go above because you'll get a bit more time to shoot. I notice that you have a few teleports where you do hardly any damage to the thing. The issue is more pronounced in the no deaths run, where it takes six teleports to destroy the gargoyle, as opposed to four in the deaths run.
I was pretty happy with the rest of the stage.
My advice is to redo the runs. Don't focus so heavily on mashing the X button, but practice a few of the other time savers I've mentioned. Yes, the pea shooter does do a bit more damage if you mash the X button, but it's not double, it's just a bit more. The runner could easily (maybe not so easily?) save thirty seconds and the runs will look much more impressive with a little more route planning. These aren't bad runs at all and a lot of the other stages and parts are done very well so it ought to be just a bit more practice with a few places that are slowing you down and inhibiting some otherwise impressive pea shooting carnage.
I've been practicing this game under these conditions and I might come up with a few more suggestions and would be more than happy to offer assistance/demonstrations if the runner wants to try and resubmit.
This is the message I sent the runner.
Quote:
So I finally tried out some stuff with Contra 3, and here's my verdict.
I am willing to accept this run, but I would rather see you improve it.
The two big reasons are:
1. You can kill the second boss by tracking its movement. Doing so is kind of tough, but you save 10+ seconds doing it, and it's early in the game. Basically you move faster than the boss turns, so you can shoot it while moving.
2. You don't move diagonally during the top-down stages at all. Look at my run to see what I'm talking about.
The run is good, but there are a lot of little areas you can improve in (and one big one).
I am willing to accept this run, but I would rather see you improve it.
The two big reasons are:
1. You can kill the second boss by tracking its movement. Doing so is kind of tough, but you save 10+ seconds doing it, and it's early in the game. Basically you move faster than the boss turns, so you can shoot it while moving.
2. You don't move diagonally during the top-down stages at all. Look at my run to see what I'm talking about.
The run is good, but there are a lot of little areas you can improve in (and one big one).
Quote:
Contra III - Permit me to do something out of character here. You know I don't mind constructive criticism and I usually don't mind re-doing runs, see X-Men, Double Dragon II, Super Castlevania IV. But I'm actually looking to take a real break. Mainly, my wife is great and supportive, but I can tell I'm wearing her down with the playing I've been doing. I told her I was going to take a long pause before I do another run (Final Fight will be it for now) I love gaming, but certain things can't replace a woman So I probably won't be doing another run for at least a few months. So if I could beg you for some mercy on this one and see if we can accept it as is? I understand it is ultimately your call. I will put it back on my game list to improve, once I get back on the racetrack again. But would it be alright to go ahead? Thank you for your understanding Mike.
Decision: Accept
Reason: The warps run is great, and I'm just a big softie when it comes to Contra.
Thread title: