F.E.A.R. Perseus Mandate - February 23, 2016

Edit history:

SDAVerification: 2016-02-23 01:33:16 pm

2016-02-09 01:36:13 pm

Game Page: http://speeddemosarchive.com/FEARPerseusMandate.html

F.E.A.R. Perseus Mandate (pc) (pc) [Any %] [Single Segment] [Low]

Decision: Accept

Congratulations to 'Overfiendvip'!

Thread title:

SDAVerification

2016-02-09 01:36:14 pm

Run Information

F.E.A.R. Perseus Mandate (pc) (pc) [Any %] [Single Segment] [Low]

Verification Files

http://v.speeddemosarchive.com/FEARPerseusMandate-20160205/

Please refer to the Verification Guidelines before posting.

Please post your opinions about the run and be certain to conclude your post with a verdict (Accept/Reject). This is not a contest where the majority wins - I will judge each verification on its content. Please keep your verification brief unless you have a good reason otherwise.

ktwo

Edit history:

ktwo: 2016-02-11 09:02:10 am

2016-02-10 01:33:26 pm

~~An improvement is incoming, so consider this verification on hold until the new files have been uploaded.~~ Edit: New files and comments uploaded (the ones names "xxx_new").

Freezard

2016-02-12 07:01:10 am

A great improvement to the SDA run with a new big skip and a refined route, combat is also much smoother. Time loss in this game mostly comes from pulling off the float glitch, and enemies blocking you or refusing to die, both of which are pretty random.

2-1: Manages to climb the logo on the first try, the jumps are more difficult than they look cause of some weird friction.
2-2: Pretty sure the first rope climb is new, sometimes the ropes are really slippery but the runner found a way to climb them consistently.
3-2: The Leviathan is taken care of without any trouble. Skips a lot of running by pressing the elevator button through the wall, which ends the level. This glitch is actually used in my run of the original game as well, but it has completely escaped me. Makes me wonder if it can be used in any other places.
3-3: Interesting usage of the remote bombs, equipping them seems to change the melee behavior as if holding a weapon, which deals more damage and usually one hit kills enemies, but it retains the same running speed as being unarmed.
4-1: Didn't know you could actually get ahead of Chen, but it saves a few seconds here.
5-2: Really nice strategy taking down the four Nightcrawler Elites, one of the more annoying fights in the game.

Accept.

A great improvement to the SDA run with a new big skip and a refined route, combat is also much smoother. Time loss in this game mostly comes from pulling off the float glitch, and enemies blocking you or refusing to die, both of which are pretty random.

2-1: Manages to climb the logo on the first try, the jumps are more difficult than they look cause of some weird friction.
2-2: Pretty sure the first rope climb is new, sometimes the ropes are really slippery but the runner found a way to climb them consistently.
3-2: The Leviathan is taken care of without any trouble. Skips a lot of running by pressing the elevator button through the wall, which ends the level. This glitch is actually used in my run of the original game as well, but it has completely escaped me. Makes me wonder if it can be used in any other places.
3-3: Interesting usage of the remote bombs, equipping them seems to change the melee behavior as if holding a weapon, which deals more damage and usually one hit kills enemies, but it retains the same running speed as being unarmed.
4-1: Didn't know you could actually get ahead of Chen, but it saves a few seconds here.
5-2: Really nice strategy taking down the four Nightcrawler Elites, one of the more annoying fights in the game.

Accept.

IsraeliRD

Edit history:

IsraeliRD: 2016-02-12 07:03:51 am

2016-02-12 07:03:26 am

Dragon Power Supreme

A/V fantastic, no cheating.

A fantastic improvement over the previous run, both smoother in execution, and if memory serves, slightly more glitching. I think at least one more float-glitch happeneing here, which saves time on an already optimized SS run. Combat is better too.
Some of the parts definitely are made look easy and I'm sure as hell they aren't.

The downside are probably 2-3 mistakes, though they add to 4-5 seconds at most.

Accept.

SDAVerification

2016-02-23 01:33:18 pm

Decision posted.

Overfiendvip

2016-02-23 02:04:56 pm

never a frown

Thanks as always for the kind words. In case anyone ends up reading this thread, I'll respond to the earlier posts.

IsraeliRD:

I actually didn't add any additional floats, but I did change when I execute the ones in 6-1 and 7-2.

6-1 - For some reason it's more difficult on average to pull off a float from the top of ladders compared to the bottom of them. If I want to avoid that, then my options are to either do it off the bottom of one of the two ladders before the MP-50 boosts, or the bottom of the ladder before that location. I choose the latter, because even though it might make movement afterward a tiny bit more awkward, I'm not taking constant damage while trying to obtain the float, and health is valuable to me at that point.
7-2 - It feels less difficult to acquire the float off the ladder that has the slowmo effect present rather than the one later. It also makes skipping the Scarecrow afterward free - my 2014 run lost a few seconds to trying to avoid that Scarecrow without floating over.

The main difference between the runs is that I found a way to skip the second half of Interval 3-2 by being able to activate the elevator to leave the stage through the wall. This saved over two minutes in real time over my 2014 run because of how quickly I was able to hit the switch and the mistakes my 2014 run made in movement. I was very fortunate that I was able to hit the switch that quickly in the run because you need to be punching with your right arm towards the wall to be able to use the switch through the wall - left arm punches don't push the player forward enough for whatever reason, and it seems that the arm the game has you punch with is random.

The rest of the time saved was from strategic improvements. I saved way more time than I was expecting to save just from figuring out faster ways to do things and trying to play riskier. If you would have asked me a year ago how much time I could save off my 2014 run, I would have said around half a minute (excluding 3-2 skip). I was obviously a bit off.

Freezard:

2-1 - My previous run took three tries. Due to that and the fiasco with the pipe in 4-1, I wanted a better run. I unfortunately still messed up the latter, but not nearly as badly.
2-2 - Yeah, it is. I think it saves around two seconds compared to going around. I figured out the trick is to walk onto the rope from another surface. If you try jumping directly onto the rope or something along those lines, they'll push you off.
3-2 - I go counter-clockwise around the rooms to collect stuff as it seems to give me a few more seconds to spare and more rockets to play with for later, since I take the rocket launcher with me now. I also try to plant mines near fire extinguisher locations that I think will damage it, although I'm honestly not sure how much damage they do to it. The Leviathan has so much health.
3-3 - I like using the remote whenever I can to melee because it feels more reliable.
4-1 - It seems random whether the game lets you get ahead of him or not in the beginning, but getting ahead of him does save a couple of seconds.
5-2 - I actually execute that fight the same as I did in 2014, I just happened to have them be in more fortunate positions so I didn't look as silly as before. The kind of positive fights I have in practice rarely seem to occur in runs.

Thanks as always for the kind words. In case anyone ends up reading this thread, I'll respond to the earlier posts.

IsraeliRD:

I actually didn't add any additional floats, but I did change when I execute the ones in 6-1 and 7-2.

6-1 - For some reason it's more difficult on average to pull off a float from the top of ladders compared to the bottom of them. If I want to avoid that, then my options are to either do it off the bottom of one of the two ladders before the MP-50 boosts, or the bottom of the ladder before that location. I choose the latter, because even though it might make movement afterward a tiny bit more awkward, I'm not taking constant damage while trying to obtain the float, and health is valuable to me at that point.
7-2 - It feels less difficult to acquire the float off the ladder that has the slowmo effect present rather than the one later. It also makes skipping the Scarecrow afterward free - my 2014 run lost a few seconds to trying to avoid that Scarecrow without floating over.

The main difference between the runs is that I found a way to skip the second half of Interval 3-2 by being able to activate the elevator to leave the stage through the wall. This saved over two minutes in real time over my 2014 run because of how quickly I was able to hit the switch and the mistakes my 2014 run made in movement. I was very fortunate that I was able to hit the switch that quickly in the run because you need to be punching with your right arm towards the wall to be able to use the switch through the wall - left arm punches don't push the player forward enough for whatever reason, and it seems that the arm the game has you punch with is random.

The rest of the time saved was from strategic improvements. I saved way more time than I was expecting to save just from figuring out faster ways to do things and trying to play riskier. If you would have asked me a year ago how much time I could save off my 2014 run, I would have said around half a minute (excluding 3-2 skip). I was obviously a bit off.

Freezard:

2-1 - My previous run took three tries. Due to that and the fiasco with the pipe in 4-1, I wanted a better run. I unfortunately still messed up the latter, but not nearly as badly.
2-2 - Yeah, it is. I think it saves around two seconds compared to going around. I figured out the trick is to walk onto the rope from another surface. If you try jumping directly onto the rope or something along those lines, they'll push you off.
3-2 - I go counter-clockwise around the rooms to collect stuff as it seems to give me a few more seconds to spare and more rockets to play with for later, since I take the rocket launcher with me now. I also try to plant mines near fire extinguisher locations that I think will damage it, although I'm honestly not sure how much damage they do to it. The Leviathan has so much health.
3-3 - I like using the remote whenever I can to melee because it feels more reliable.
4-1 - It seems random whether the game lets you get ahead of him or not in the beginning, but getting ahead of him does save a couple of seconds.
5-2 - I actually execute that fight the same as I did in 2014, I just happened to have them be in more fortunate positions so I didn't look as silly as before. The kind of positive fights I have in practice rarely seem to occur in runs.