1-Up!
Game Page: http://speeddemosarchive.com/EternalDarkness.html
Segmented Xel'lotath alignment any% run
Verifier Responses
Decision: Accept
Congratulations to Devin 'Uilnslcoap' Smither!
Segmented Xel'lotath alignment any% run
Verifier Responses
Quote:
It's a very good run, and a huge improvement over the one currently on the site. There are still a number of minor mistakes and slip-ups, all of which the runner mentions in his comments. Anything I could think of to say about the run itself he has already said there.
One thing: I'm going to assume it's because this was just a verification encode, but the video quality was unusually poor. That combined with the general darkness in the game made it impossible for me to tell what was going on at various points.
Obviously, the run should be accepted.
One thing: I'm going to assume it's because this was just a verification encode, but the video quality was unusually poor. That combined with the general darkness in the game made it impossible for me to tell what was going on at various points.
Obviously, the run should be accepted.
Quote:
Eternal Darkness Flip:
No cheating, audio is good. Visual is a little grainy, I assume it's the verification copy as the thread videos were fine.
The Darkness Comes...
Much has already been said in the thread and I'll echo those sentiments here. The runner stuck with this and completed a truly amazing run. The spell management was great, the runner flies through all the levels. The patience taken to have segments of this quality is absolutely remarkable. The runner avoids almost all sanity effects while going off a zero sanity meter. For those not in the know, that is incredible in and of itself. I could easily go into more detail, but then my verification would read like war and peace. Let's just say that this run is more than deserving of an ACCEPT. The only way this run could be better is if you could retain the cutscenes to follow the story. Fantastic job!
No cheating, audio is good. Visual is a little grainy, I assume it's the verification copy as the thread videos were fine.
The Darkness Comes...
Much has already been said in the thread and I'll echo those sentiments here. The runner stuck with this and completed a truly amazing run. The spell management was great, the runner flies through all the levels. The patience taken to have segments of this quality is absolutely remarkable. The runner avoids almost all sanity effects while going off a zero sanity meter. For those not in the know, that is incredible in and of itself. I could easily go into more detail, but then my verification would read like war and peace. Let's just say that this run is more than deserving of an ACCEPT. The only way this run could be better is if you could retain the cutscenes to follow the story. Fantastic job!
Quote:
O darn, and here I was hopeing that I could be the first verifer in this verification too. O well, let's talk Eternal Darkness. Also just so the verifier knows; I too like to use parentheses (it helps elaborate what messages I like to get across) and I could care less if your description is either a paragraph long or a short novel since it helps me better understand what the hell is going on with your run. Also interesting backstory runner, nice to know your career as a tester has carried over to speed running this game.
I admit that since the runner first started, but I reminded mostly silent for reasons I can't really figure out, but the execution here was very good, in spite of some menu complications. Another thing to point out is that since the runner is doing a Xel'lotath alignment, this would be directly challenging the current record on the site already, thus this makes the verification a bit easier to complete.
Also to answer one of your questions, the segment (I believe) would begin once you have control over your character and end after you hit the last strike on the final boss, so the "cutscene Barrage before the final fight" and "segment 12 at the end of Peter's chapter" is techincally counted, although this would mean that the fore-runner before you had to deal with the same complications, however as for the "The Darkness Comes..." loading, at the start, that shouldn't count since you don't have control yet, but if that cuts in between the time before you save, then it will be added to the final time. Of course however, if there is an in-game timer, than most of what I said is thrown out the window since the final time is sometimes to mostly based on what the in-game timer says. As much as I would love to take credit as to how the timing works, that isn't what I'm here to do (although getting a more official word on this would be nice).
Of course Eternal Darkness suffered from the "Resident Evil" playstyle of stiffy controls and how interactions seem to take much longer than they really should be, but the runner manages it fairly well during the run. However, for your "Scrolling Problem" it could very well be the controller since I have noticed a few of my gamecube controllers have a very bad tendency to start moving to the left or right, even without me touching the stick. even the times when the runner used magic (magic... Magick... it is the same thing in my opinion) was handled fairly well considering.
When what I saw, the runner made great use of the time he used, in spite of making use of 16 segments compared to the current run's 12 segments. These extra segments allowed the runner to better optimize his time, not to mention the improvements over the current run...
Really I could keep going typing pure nonsense, but like Mr. Verifier 2, I'm not one to start writing wall of texts (most of the time) so let me just get to the point...
Accept... Be proud of the work you have done runner, you earned it...
I admit that since the runner first started, but I reminded mostly silent for reasons I can't really figure out, but the execution here was very good, in spite of some menu complications. Another thing to point out is that since the runner is doing a Xel'lotath alignment, this would be directly challenging the current record on the site already, thus this makes the verification a bit easier to complete.
Also to answer one of your questions, the segment (I believe) would begin once you have control over your character and end after you hit the last strike on the final boss, so the "cutscene Barrage before the final fight" and "segment 12 at the end of Peter's chapter" is techincally counted, although this would mean that the fore-runner before you had to deal with the same complications, however as for the "The Darkness Comes..." loading, at the start, that shouldn't count since you don't have control yet, but if that cuts in between the time before you save, then it will be added to the final time. Of course however, if there is an in-game timer, than most of what I said is thrown out the window since the final time is sometimes to mostly based on what the in-game timer says. As much as I would love to take credit as to how the timing works, that isn't what I'm here to do (although getting a more official word on this would be nice).
Of course Eternal Darkness suffered from the "Resident Evil" playstyle of stiffy controls and how interactions seem to take much longer than they really should be, but the runner manages it fairly well during the run. However, for your "Scrolling Problem" it could very well be the controller since I have noticed a few of my gamecube controllers have a very bad tendency to start moving to the left or right, even without me touching the stick. even the times when the runner used magic (magic... Magick... it is the same thing in my opinion) was handled fairly well considering.
When what I saw, the runner made great use of the time he used, in spite of making use of 16 segments compared to the current run's 12 segments. These extra segments allowed the runner to better optimize his time, not to mention the improvements over the current run...
Really I could keep going typing pure nonsense, but like Mr. Verifier 2, I'm not one to start writing wall of texts (most of the time) so let me just get to the point...
Accept... Be proud of the work you have done runner, you earned it...
Quote:
Just finished watching it. Good news is the play is much better than before. Bad news (for those who like non-speed related spectacles) is it doesn’t showcase many of the insanity effects that the game is famous for.
General things:
No cheating or other illegal activities.
Audio quality is fine.
Video quality ranges from bad to horrendous. I hope that’s just the verification copy.
Play is very good overall and very well optimized, and a marked improvement over the current run
Segment specific things:
1) Great. Except for those little things like camera cuts, no time to be saved.
2) Awesome. I thought this would be boring because this chapter is pretty insubstantial on the gameplay side, but watching blaze through all the trap-infested corridors was amazing.
3) The menu juggling is a real highlight. People who haven’t played the game may have a hard time following it, but they’ll appreciate the number of actions you had to perform.
4) Being the most combat-heavy segment, I expected a few flubs, and they were there. Nothing majorly detrimental to your time, but noticeable (like having to heal yourself or bobbling the menu).
5) Run awaaaaaay from the Bonethieves, Mr. Fatman! Run awaaaaaaaaaaay! Good job, though if I recall correctly, the colour of your enchant doesn’t matter, only that it is enchanted, therefore it would still take only 4 bullets to kill the Guardian if your enchant hadn’t fallen off. Even if I’m wrong, though (which wouldn’t surprise me in the slightest), you’ve discussed that casting another enchant would save no time anyhow, so it’s a non-issue.
6) Starting here is where the most time is saved from previous runs, with the Life Pool providing you with unlimited sprinting ability. Running through the traps is less impressive when you have the shield, but still kinda fun to watch. I would like to see a 100% run one day that collects all the optional stuff (codecs, Mantorok rune, Elephant Gun, Enchanted Gladius), but that’s a topic for another day.
7) Really good use of Life Pool. I like how you wait until just before your stamina runs out before casting it, instead of just refreshing it as soon as it wears off. A few minor movement mishaps, but otherwise solid
8) Boring, no fun to watch, etc. etc., but I guess necessary. I can sympathize with doing the difficult menu management in different segments, and I won’t hold it against you.
9) Sad we didn’t get to see Paul’s head be asplode; I always found that scene to be great. I also always found Roberto’s part kind of surreal. I mean, you go wandering through a bunch of zombie-infested tunnels, and when you pop back up the other people just make small talk with you. Anyhow, it is nice to see a segment that has more than two characters in it.
10) See my comments for segment 8. I also think you spent a bit too long looking at your spell assignments before saving.
11) No comments, really. Nothing tricky happens here, just going from point A to point B.
12) Another one of those surreal chapters where all kinds of horrific things are happening, but no one seems to notice. Kind of boring again, when you stand around spawn-camping the Vampire, but that’s the fastest way. This is also where the really boring Ehn’gha portions start, and thus where the game itself kinda falls apart, but such is life. I’m also guessing you can’t get insanity effecst in Ehn’gha; either that or you’re just the luckiest person ever.
13) More of the same in the city of boring, though blessedly not as long as the first one. The Alex portion is handled nicely, and Michael is just a point A to point B deal.
14) Finally an entertaining segment after so much boring stuff. Highlights for me were running through the trappers and jumping down the ladder just before they whisked you away, and not killing anything in the chapter where they hand you a freaking assault rifle.
15) Joy, more funtimes running around the world’s worst basement. I can’t believe that the developers actually make you go through that whole malarkey twice. I can, however, appreciate the planning that went into finding the best order for this part.
16) Alright, final fight. A few small mistakes here and there, but you make it look easy anyhow. I didn’t know that the shotgun was better against Pious than the Gladius, so I guess I learned something new today. Time to go home, then!
Conclusion
Very good overall. Good planning, good execution, copiously detailed comments, etc. etc. cherry jam.
Verdict: Accept
General things:
No cheating or other illegal activities.
Audio quality is fine.
Video quality ranges from bad to horrendous. I hope that’s just the verification copy.
Play is very good overall and very well optimized, and a marked improvement over the current run
Segment specific things:
1) Great. Except for those little things like camera cuts, no time to be saved.
2) Awesome. I thought this would be boring because this chapter is pretty insubstantial on the gameplay side, but watching blaze through all the trap-infested corridors was amazing.
3) The menu juggling is a real highlight. People who haven’t played the game may have a hard time following it, but they’ll appreciate the number of actions you had to perform.
4) Being the most combat-heavy segment, I expected a few flubs, and they were there. Nothing majorly detrimental to your time, but noticeable (like having to heal yourself or bobbling the menu).
5) Run awaaaaaay from the Bonethieves, Mr. Fatman! Run awaaaaaaaaaaay! Good job, though if I recall correctly, the colour of your enchant doesn’t matter, only that it is enchanted, therefore it would still take only 4 bullets to kill the Guardian if your enchant hadn’t fallen off. Even if I’m wrong, though (which wouldn’t surprise me in the slightest), you’ve discussed that casting another enchant would save no time anyhow, so it’s a non-issue.
6) Starting here is where the most time is saved from previous runs, with the Life Pool providing you with unlimited sprinting ability. Running through the traps is less impressive when you have the shield, but still kinda fun to watch. I would like to see a 100% run one day that collects all the optional stuff (codecs, Mantorok rune, Elephant Gun, Enchanted Gladius), but that’s a topic for another day.
7) Really good use of Life Pool. I like how you wait until just before your stamina runs out before casting it, instead of just refreshing it as soon as it wears off. A few minor movement mishaps, but otherwise solid
8) Boring, no fun to watch, etc. etc., but I guess necessary. I can sympathize with doing the difficult menu management in different segments, and I won’t hold it against you.
9) Sad we didn’t get to see Paul’s head be asplode; I always found that scene to be great. I also always found Roberto’s part kind of surreal. I mean, you go wandering through a bunch of zombie-infested tunnels, and when you pop back up the other people just make small talk with you. Anyhow, it is nice to see a segment that has more than two characters in it.
10) See my comments for segment 8. I also think you spent a bit too long looking at your spell assignments before saving.
11) No comments, really. Nothing tricky happens here, just going from point A to point B.
12) Another one of those surreal chapters where all kinds of horrific things are happening, but no one seems to notice. Kind of boring again, when you stand around spawn-camping the Vampire, but that’s the fastest way. This is also where the really boring Ehn’gha portions start, and thus where the game itself kinda falls apart, but such is life. I’m also guessing you can’t get insanity effecst in Ehn’gha; either that or you’re just the luckiest person ever.
13) More of the same in the city of boring, though blessedly not as long as the first one. The Alex portion is handled nicely, and Michael is just a point A to point B deal.
14) Finally an entertaining segment after so much boring stuff. Highlights for me were running through the trappers and jumping down the ladder just before they whisked you away, and not killing anything in the chapter where they hand you a freaking assault rifle.
15) Joy, more funtimes running around the world’s worst basement. I can’t believe that the developers actually make you go through that whole malarkey twice. I can, however, appreciate the planning that went into finding the best order for this part.
16) Alright, final fight. A few small mistakes here and there, but you make it look easy anyhow. I didn’t know that the shotgun was better against Pious than the Gladius, so I guess I learned something new today. Time to go home, then!
Conclusion
Very good overall. Good planning, good execution, copiously detailed comments, etc. etc. cherry jam.
Verdict: Accept
Quote:
As a few other people have mentioned, the video quality on this is horrible. Hopefully, it’s better for the run that’s actually posted.
This is one of my favorite survival horror games ever, and this is really, really incredible play. Resource management with sanity and health is great throughout, and the management of the clunky menus and inventory in this game is really well handled. There are a couple of embarrassing blips here and there with the menus, and a few obvious hits that could have been avoided, but the runner obviously knows about them because they’re mentioned in the comments.
A couple of things in specific I was looking for going into watching this were Trappers, the Karim chapter, and the city chapters (otherwise known as the absolute *worst* parts of the game). Karim’s chapter went much quicker than I expected it to…very good job with the combat, especially dealing with the whole issue of Finishing Moves. You can see a couple of parts in the city stages where it looks like the runner lost concentration for a second or two…I did, too! They’re just boring, boring sections. But the little lapses are nothing even remotely approaching major. As for the trappers, some of the things the runner done with those are just plain awesome.
In summary, a few minor mistakes, and definitely places where there is a bit of room for improvement, but still an absolutely fantastic run, and leaps and bounds better than the run currently on the site.
Accept
This is one of my favorite survival horror games ever, and this is really, really incredible play. Resource management with sanity and health is great throughout, and the management of the clunky menus and inventory in this game is really well handled. There are a couple of embarrassing blips here and there with the menus, and a few obvious hits that could have been avoided, but the runner obviously knows about them because they’re mentioned in the comments.
A couple of things in specific I was looking for going into watching this were Trappers, the Karim chapter, and the city chapters (otherwise known as the absolute *worst* parts of the game). Karim’s chapter went much quicker than I expected it to…very good job with the combat, especially dealing with the whole issue of Finishing Moves. You can see a couple of parts in the city stages where it looks like the runner lost concentration for a second or two…I did, too! They’re just boring, boring sections. But the little lapses are nothing even remotely approaching major. As for the trappers, some of the things the runner done with those are just plain awesome.
In summary, a few minor mistakes, and definitely places where there is a bit of room for improvement, but still an absolutely fantastic run, and leaps and bounds better than the run currently on the site.
Accept
Quote:
Consider me the late guy to the party. All the other verifiers have listed pretty much everything important. The run really is amazing; it brings back memories of nightmares I had when playing the game, yet the runner demolishes those bad memories. A few things could be improved, but they're not major issues.
The darkness better be coming to SDA soon, especially since I accept (assuming the video quality is better when released, of course).
The darkness better be coming to SDA soon, especially since I accept (assuming the video quality is better when released, of course).
Decision: Accept
Congratulations to Devin 'Uilnslcoap' Smither!
Thread title:
