My feelings on The Demon Rush
Game Page: Doesn't exist yet
New game + single-segment run
Verifier Responses
I asked the runner about doing Shai-Gen first instead of last, and this is what he had to say.
These were the verifier responses afterward.
Decision: Reject
Reason: It's a good run, but some more contingency plans would help against the bad luck, and the route should be reconsidered.
The run is available upon request. PM me by October 1st if you want the run.
New game + single-segment run
Verifier Responses
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Firstly, the comments don't entirely sync up with the run. They seem to be from an older version of the run in which he uses the HMG-90. Anyways, on to the verification:
Video quality's good (from what I can tell on the tiny video I got). No problems with audio either. No signs of cheating.
Ramon Gonzales - Perfect. No mistakes.
Rafael Diaz - Misses the first grenade. Costs about a second.
Natalya Gryzunova -A well timed jump right before the "eliminated" box saves a couple seconds. Very good. No mistakes.
Boris Mikhailov - Wastes 3 seconds shooting the wall while Boris is on the ground.
Jose Guerra - No mistakes.
Juan Martinez - Misses jump before "eliminated" box. Costs 3 seconds.
Rodrigo Alvarez - Misses grenades, but those aren't expected to hit. He only throws them because there's a chances they could hit, and they don't cost any time to throw.
Violetta Sanchez - Perfect. No mistakes.
Don Domingo Garcia - No mistakes. Saves time by dying as soon as he fires the killing rocket
Los Muertos Final Crime - Loses 2 seconds to shitty lock-on.
Olga Romanova - Perfect. No mistakes.
Igor Biragov - Loses 2 seconds to a bad jump through the window.
Viktor Rabotnikov - Loses 7 seconds due to bad luck with rockets and 3 seconds from a missed jump. Saves time by dying as soon as he throws the second grenade.
Sergei Sovetnik - A missed grenade costs him 5 seconds.
Vladmir Golyak - No time wasted.
Volk Final Crime - No mistakes.
Thadeous Oakley - Loses 2 seconds by ragdolling from his own rocket.
Melissa Fang-Yin - Loses 5 seconds by jumping off the platform.
Ms. Timbol - Misjump at the start costs 4 seconds. Saves time by blowing himself up when he kills her.
Vitaliy Rzeznik - 4 seconds from being hit by a rocket. The actual kill itself goes flawlessly.
Dr. Baltazar Czernenko - Perfect. No mistakes.
Colonel Axton Cowel - Misjump in circular room costs 3 seconds versus taking the ramp without attempting jump. Time lost versus making the jump was probably more like 6 seconds. loses 1 second on a second misjump.
Zuang Lun Wang - Loses 17 seconds by not making the double jump. He gets hit by a helpful rocket that sends him in the right direction, costing him only a second on the recovery. missed jump out of the circular hole loses him 2 seconds. Amazing luck with the rockets after this, and a perfect kill.
Shai-Gen Final Crime - 3 seconds lost from the first rocket. 16 seconds from the next two rockets and subsequent fall. Misjump from ledge costs 1 second.
Time lost due to bad luck: ~33 seconds
Time lost due to poor play: ~1 minute, 8 seconds.
1:41 short of optimal on a 26 minute run may seem bad, but as the comments say, Crackdown is a highly unpredictable game, and a bit of leeway should be given when it comes to luck based time loss. There's a million things that can go wrong with respect to luck, and making everything go right is impossible.
That said, it's a reject from me, due to the horrid luck in the shai-gen final crime, and the missed double jump.
Video quality's good (from what I can tell on the tiny video I got). No problems with audio either. No signs of cheating.
Ramon Gonzales - Perfect. No mistakes.
Rafael Diaz - Misses the first grenade. Costs about a second.
Natalya Gryzunova -A well timed jump right before the "eliminated" box saves a couple seconds. Very good. No mistakes.
Boris Mikhailov - Wastes 3 seconds shooting the wall while Boris is on the ground.
Jose Guerra - No mistakes.
Juan Martinez - Misses jump before "eliminated" box. Costs 3 seconds.
Rodrigo Alvarez - Misses grenades, but those aren't expected to hit. He only throws them because there's a chances they could hit, and they don't cost any time to throw.
Violetta Sanchez - Perfect. No mistakes.
Don Domingo Garcia - No mistakes. Saves time by dying as soon as he fires the killing rocket
Los Muertos Final Crime - Loses 2 seconds to shitty lock-on.
Olga Romanova - Perfect. No mistakes.
Igor Biragov - Loses 2 seconds to a bad jump through the window.
Viktor Rabotnikov - Loses 7 seconds due to bad luck with rockets and 3 seconds from a missed jump. Saves time by dying as soon as he throws the second grenade.
Sergei Sovetnik - A missed grenade costs him 5 seconds.
Vladmir Golyak - No time wasted.
Volk Final Crime - No mistakes.
Thadeous Oakley - Loses 2 seconds by ragdolling from his own rocket.
Melissa Fang-Yin - Loses 5 seconds by jumping off the platform.
Ms. Timbol - Misjump at the start costs 4 seconds. Saves time by blowing himself up when he kills her.
Vitaliy Rzeznik - 4 seconds from being hit by a rocket. The actual kill itself goes flawlessly.
Dr. Baltazar Czernenko - Perfect. No mistakes.
Colonel Axton Cowel - Misjump in circular room costs 3 seconds versus taking the ramp without attempting jump. Time lost versus making the jump was probably more like 6 seconds. loses 1 second on a second misjump.
Zuang Lun Wang - Loses 17 seconds by not making the double jump. He gets hit by a helpful rocket that sends him in the right direction, costing him only a second on the recovery. missed jump out of the circular hole loses him 2 seconds. Amazing luck with the rockets after this, and a perfect kill.
Shai-Gen Final Crime - 3 seconds lost from the first rocket. 16 seconds from the next two rockets and subsequent fall. Misjump from ledge costs 1 second.
Time lost due to bad luck: ~33 seconds
Time lost due to poor play: ~1 minute, 8 seconds.
1:41 short of optimal on a 26 minute run may seem bad, but as the comments say, Crackdown is a highly unpredictable game, and a bit of leeway should be given when it comes to luck based time loss. There's a million things that can go wrong with respect to luck, and making everything go right is impossible.
That said, it's a reject from me, due to the horrid luck in the shai-gen final crime, and the missed double jump.
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i didn't see any cheating, a/v problems, or unintentional deaths.
first two districts went very well; it's clear the runner has got a great route that they know well.
only the shai-gen's district contained numerous mistakes (hit by rockets several times, fang-yin, missed double jump, getting juggled in the final crime), but i don't think the run should be rejected because of them. shai-gen was relatively mediocre, but only relatively. as the runner says, crackdown is a very unpredictable game, and the first two districts' fluidity makes up for any mistakes later.
in the comments, the runner states "I killed the rest and let the final cutscene run". i don't recall if this cutscene can be skipped or not, and i assume timing stops just before the cutscene begins. if that's not the case, then this unskipped cutscene might be a problem.
regardless, accept. nice run.
first two districts went very well; it's clear the runner has got a great route that they know well.
only the shai-gen's district contained numerous mistakes (hit by rockets several times, fang-yin, missed double jump, getting juggled in the final crime), but i don't think the run should be rejected because of them. shai-gen was relatively mediocre, but only relatively. as the runner says, crackdown is a very unpredictable game, and the first two districts' fluidity makes up for any mistakes later.
in the comments, the runner states "I killed the rest and let the final cutscene run". i don't recall if this cutscene can be skipped or not, and i assume timing stops just before the cutscene begins. if that's not the case, then this unskipped cutscene might be a problem.
regardless, accept. nice run.
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Verifier: So I've given the Crackdown run a whirl.
Verifier: Audio-wise it never dropped or lagged.
Verifier: The video quality was up to par with most other runs I've seen, and I... hold on, Zerg.
Verifier: .... K. Anyway, gameplay-wise, there were a few complaints. Nothing all that major as the game can be horribly obnoxious at times with luck, but a few small things like how come when some leaders had pathetic amounts of health, the runner would resort to using grenades as opposed to the Rifle to finish them off.
Verifier: There was also one incident outside one of the Volk leaders where he managed to get his ass smacked around by some firefly toting grunts which could've easily been avoided by taking out said grunts while he's jumping 15-20 feet in the air without losing momentum. It isn't like Ammo's a major concern in this run anyway.
Verifier: Anyway, small hang ups aside and a few curious moments, I'd accept it.
Verifier: Audio-wise it never dropped or lagged.
Verifier: The video quality was up to par with most other runs I've seen, and I... hold on, Zerg.
Verifier: .... K. Anyway, gameplay-wise, there were a few complaints. Nothing all that major as the game can be horribly obnoxious at times with luck, but a few small things like how come when some leaders had pathetic amounts of health, the runner would resort to using grenades as opposed to the Rifle to finish them off.
Verifier: There was also one incident outside one of the Volk leaders where he managed to get his ass smacked around by some firefly toting grunts which could've easily been avoided by taking out said grunts while he's jumping 15-20 feet in the air without losing momentum. It isn't like Ammo's a major concern in this run anyway.
Verifier: Anyway, small hang ups aside and a few curious moments, I'd accept it.
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This isn't a bad run by any means, but it does contain quite a few embarrassing mistakes. I'm on the fence. For a ~30 minute run, about a minute of mistakes is around my limit. I think it would have been better if he'd tried some of the harder missions first, say if he'd started with Shai-Gen. The 'plot' of the game tries to prevent you from doing this but if there's a reason why you can't do it, I don't know it. The planning is obviously very good but the randomness of the game and stickiness of ledge-jumping etc. lets him down. The Shai-Gen cleanup mission in particular is painful to watch, the time is probably double what an optimal one would be.
I asked the runner about doing Shai-Gen first instead of last, and this is what he had to say.
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To be perfectly honest, in a new game plus the order doesn't really matter since you could take out Shai-Gen first before Los Muertos and The Volk... The Problem here though is that even if I did Shai-Gen first, that would change nothing... As you know, the only way you can get the cleanup mission (or as I like to call it "Final Crime") is to take out the 6 generals and the one kingpin (even if you tag the kingpin first, that doesn't trigger the final crime just like that... if that would be the case, this run could very well be under 10 minutes and I would have tackled Shai-Gen first) but you engage the Shai-Gen first, all your doing is playing the endgame about 15 minutes in advance; Granted that I could see how doing Shai-Gen first can help since they are the hardest to get out of the way, but to be perfectly honest, I like to save Shai-Gen for last... I can bet a Shiny Silver Doller that the people who are either "on the fence" or rejected the run was at the part where I juggled for 10 seconds by rockets... Once again, I'm willing to grant that I did make a mistake of not reloading sooner, however during the final crime at Shai-Gen, it is very difficult to go through it without getting hit by the heat seeking rockets and the time for you to perform hit and runs could easily add up to the time (if not be even more than) that I got juggled... Then near the end, the only reason why I slowed down a bit was to be behind cover to avoid more rockets... The part where I threw three grenades was just to assist with blowing up the rocketmen without jumping out since if I was to jump out, I would have been tagged quickly and more time would have been wasted...
The reason why I went the route of Los Muertos, Volk, then Shai-gen is not because that is how the game does the order, but it is a simple order I also like to do it, since I can take out the Los Muertos in under ten minutes and the volk in another ten minutes... Another reason why I do the route like I did is that for some reason, there is something wrong with the game (so to speak) where Generals don't want to appear in their location even though they are suppose to... During the runs I have done this, I noticed that this happens alot during the part where I first go to the volk area where I hit the lady at the Arcade (Natalya) then when I run to the shipyard, no one is around (and I can easily show videos where this has happened to me on more than one occasion...) I suppose that would be my 2nd reason as to why I do the route like I do in the run; to help prevent that situation from happening later in the run since if it happens at the start of the run, I can just simply retry after 5 minutes than having to retry 20 minutes into the run...
I'm sorry that I have to type an essay as to explain something simple, but I feel that I need to fully explain myself.. But for anyone who didn't bother to read the first two paragraphs, allow me to summarize it in a sentence: You can't do the Cleanup mission until you take out all six generals and the kingpin and doing the Shai-gen's cleanup mission wouldn't make anything easier or harder...
Again, sorry Mike... If there is a chance the run is going to be turned down due to what happened near the end, I want to make sure that I fully explain as to what happened, but if it is rejected near the end, then I'll go back to the drawing board, but I wouldn't change my route or strategy in any way...
To be honest, there is no difference to me if Shai-gen is done first or last... I just enjoy taking out Los Muertos first... That and also the first general I kill is pretty difficult to take out from that distance, so I like to start my runs with him since if I fail to get him within a few seconds, I can restart than trying to run in and get him... there can be a chance where I may consider it later, but for now, the route is just fine... Crackdown is just unpredictable at times and its hard to get things to go your way in that game from time to time...
The reason why I went the route of Los Muertos, Volk, then Shai-gen is not because that is how the game does the order, but it is a simple order I also like to do it, since I can take out the Los Muertos in under ten minutes and the volk in another ten minutes... Another reason why I do the route like I did is that for some reason, there is something wrong with the game (so to speak) where Generals don't want to appear in their location even though they are suppose to... During the runs I have done this, I noticed that this happens alot during the part where I first go to the volk area where I hit the lady at the Arcade (Natalya) then when I run to the shipyard, no one is around (and I can easily show videos where this has happened to me on more than one occasion...) I suppose that would be my 2nd reason as to why I do the route like I do in the run; to help prevent that situation from happening later in the run since if it happens at the start of the run, I can just simply retry after 5 minutes than having to retry 20 minutes into the run...
I'm sorry that I have to type an essay as to explain something simple, but I feel that I need to fully explain myself.. But for anyone who didn't bother to read the first two paragraphs, allow me to summarize it in a sentence: You can't do the Cleanup mission until you take out all six generals and the kingpin and doing the Shai-gen's cleanup mission wouldn't make anything easier or harder...
Again, sorry Mike... If there is a chance the run is going to be turned down due to what happened near the end, I want to make sure that I fully explain as to what happened, but if it is rejected near the end, then I'll go back to the drawing board, but I wouldn't change my route or strategy in any way...
To be honest, there is no difference to me if Shai-gen is done first or last... I just enjoy taking out Los Muertos first... That and also the first general I kill is pretty difficult to take out from that distance, so I like to start my runs with him since if I fail to get him within a few seconds, I can restart than trying to run in and get him... there can be a chance where I may consider it later, but for now, the route is just fine... Crackdown is just unpredictable at times and its hard to get things to go your way in that game from time to time...
These were the verifier responses afterward.
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When I made my comments I didn't realize that he had a valid reason for doing shai-gen last. Still, it's pretty bad that he both misses the double jump and gets juggled in the final crime. If he only had one of those major time wasters, it would be an accept from me, but as it is now, it's still a reject.
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Verifier: As for Crackdown:
Verifier: There's a number of curious things here and there that annoy me just a bit, such as at 10:50 where he gets nailed by two rockets that I don't remember being mentioned in the comments.
Verifier: Basically, he's running and jumping over a bridge, a rocket flies at him from the right side. Insead of continuing and trying to pick off whoever it was that shot it he keeps on running. He gets smacked around by rockets a good bit as a direct result costing him a good six to ten seconds.
Verifier: He's up in the air for disgusting periods of time anyway, it wouldn't slow him down.
Verifier: His fight at 17:15 or so I wouldn't necessarily call a "decent" one (He mentions it under #15 in his comments).
Verifier: He jumps off the platform, falls off and wastes five seconds coming back up, has to resort to his grenades since he burned through his missles, THOSE don't kill her off and eventually resorts to his rifle to finish her off.
Verifier: At 18:27 against Ms. Timbol (#16) he does mention that he missed a shot which I can only assume sent him flying on his ass since he got caught in a corner and didn't do anything as she first ran around for three seconds, tries to recover by chasing her down and again he ends up burning through his rockets, she's still alive so he's chasing her down with the sniper rifle, kicks her once before switching to the Firefly and killing her off...
Verifier: Note that I'm not giving him too much grief over the entire "Ten seconds wasted" over the two rocket blasts he endures near the end, or even commenting on the completely unfair rocket blast he takes at 19:15 or so which kills his momentum for a bit.
Verifier: That's simply poor luck.
Verifier: Came off screen, no way to respond.
Verifier: But the entire final stretch is riddled with these small, obnoxious mistakes.
Verifier: 22:14, the runner gets disoriented and forgets which way to go, and at 23:20 or so, misses the double-jump glitch opportunity he tried to pull off costing him at least 17 seconds.
Verifier: I'm rejecting his run not just because of a 10 second mishap with some rockets at the very end. There's also some things I'm forgetting about in the Volk area like moments he should have tried to reload before a boss (The Volk general in the strip mining area) or small, curious nearly inconsequential mistakes that do add up over the course of the run.
[21:39] mikwuyma: okay fair enough
Verifier: He should reconsider his route and try to find something that'd end up working for him where he can get the most difficult region out of the way first to ensure a good, quality run. If he -can't-, then he should at least consider working out a few strategies if things do go bad on him.
[21:40] mikwuyma: fair enough
Verifier: There's a number of curious things here and there that annoy me just a bit, such as at 10:50 where he gets nailed by two rockets that I don't remember being mentioned in the comments.
Verifier: Basically, he's running and jumping over a bridge, a rocket flies at him from the right side. Insead of continuing and trying to pick off whoever it was that shot it he keeps on running. He gets smacked around by rockets a good bit as a direct result costing him a good six to ten seconds.
Verifier: He's up in the air for disgusting periods of time anyway, it wouldn't slow him down.
Verifier: His fight at 17:15 or so I wouldn't necessarily call a "decent" one (He mentions it under #15 in his comments).
Verifier: He jumps off the platform, falls off and wastes five seconds coming back up, has to resort to his grenades since he burned through his missles, THOSE don't kill her off and eventually resorts to his rifle to finish her off.
Verifier: At 18:27 against Ms. Timbol (#16) he does mention that he missed a shot which I can only assume sent him flying on his ass since he got caught in a corner and didn't do anything as she first ran around for three seconds, tries to recover by chasing her down and again he ends up burning through his rockets, she's still alive so he's chasing her down with the sniper rifle, kicks her once before switching to the Firefly and killing her off...
Verifier: Note that I'm not giving him too much grief over the entire "Ten seconds wasted" over the two rocket blasts he endures near the end, or even commenting on the completely unfair rocket blast he takes at 19:15 or so which kills his momentum for a bit.
Verifier: That's simply poor luck.
Verifier: Came off screen, no way to respond.
Verifier: But the entire final stretch is riddled with these small, obnoxious mistakes.
Verifier: 22:14, the runner gets disoriented and forgets which way to go, and at 23:20 or so, misses the double-jump glitch opportunity he tried to pull off costing him at least 17 seconds.
Verifier: I'm rejecting his run not just because of a 10 second mishap with some rockets at the very end. There's also some things I'm forgetting about in the Volk area like moments he should have tried to reload before a boss (The Volk general in the strip mining area) or small, curious nearly inconsequential mistakes that do add up over the course of the run.
[21:39] mikwuyma: okay fair enough
Verifier: He should reconsider his route and try to find something that'd end up working for him where he can get the most difficult region out of the way first to ensure a good, quality run. If he -can't-, then he should at least consider working out a few strategies if things do go bad on him.
[21:40] mikwuyma: fair enough
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you obviously know what you're doing but speedrunning isn't about pleasing yourself, it's about pleasing the timer.
Decision: Reject
Reason: It's a good run, but some more contingency plans would help against the bad luck, and the route should be reconsidered.
The run is available upon request. PM me by October 1st if you want the run.
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