My feelings on The Demon Rush
Game Page: Doesn't exist yet
'Anonymous52555's very hard difficulty run with deaths
Verifier Responses
NOTE: Any response that says accept on the condition that segment 22 is fixed is an accept because the runner fixed segment 22.
@ the verifiers: There is no way I'm going to post everything you guys said in that thread, because there's 36 responses.
Decision: Accept
Reason: Someone had to do this game, sorry UltraJMan.
'Anonymous52555's very hard difficulty run with deaths
Verifier Responses
NOTE: Any response that says accept on the condition that segment 22 is fixed is an accept because the runner fixed segment 22.
@ the verifiers: There is no way I'm going to post everything you guys said in that thread, because there's 36 responses.
Quote:
Quality isn't great, as other verifiers have noted. But it's fine in most segments, just one or two where it isn't, so I think it should be okay.
As for the actual run, easy accept. He makes the game look easy. I struggled on wimp.
One concern I have is, in segment 18 (mine cart) he seems to go through the cheep-cheeps a lot. Is that normal, due to a glitch, or just bad video quality, or something else?
As for the actual run, easy accept. He makes the game look easy. I struggled on wimp.
One concern I have is, in segment 18 (mine cart) he seems to go through the cheep-cheeps a lot. Is that normal, due to a glitch, or just bad video quality, or something else?
Quote:
Disclaimer: You are only allowed to feel offended if you read everything, otherwise your opinion did not count. And in case you do, I'm sorry I did not mean it in that way that you thought I did. (did I?)
Short version: see down below boii
oh jolly oh gosh oh joy.
You're away for the weekend and suddenly you got 1 fully spammed private message thread...
Haven't read most of the posts but just wanted to point out these few things I've seen/read now:
I personally am extremely against the fact that he's not in the same exact position every time. But seeing as how most (right? :P) people don't care about it and the fact there are other runs on SDA with inconsistencies in them I guess I can overlook such an event.
Although I really do think (considering SDA 'laws') that he, at the very least, should be further away towards the direction he has to go.
Sounds really stupid, but so am I.
Anyway..... I somehow feel I need to do this whilst being drunk :(.
Soo... as for his locations at saves...
2nd segment he appears to be moving slighty ahead...
and then at segment 3 you don't even see him save...
And AGAIN at the end of segment 4 (he doesn't even seem to try to save :()... aaarrghh
And he skips quite far ahead tbh at segment 5.
My beautiful principles... they are being crushed
Or are the segments cut short?
*looking at youtube version*
Seems like the segments are cut a little bit short... (maybe this is my VLC player somehow failing, I don't know)
Well I don't wanna give Nate any more hassle and my principles are still in place, because technically he did do the effort...
I'll let it go...
Ok... I'll guess I'll just watch the run in it's entirety.
*watches run*
Ok then, that was nice...
*reads comments*
Alrighty then, time to watch the run once more and give my super insightful information about it.
Cheating: I trust this man!
Audio/Video Quality: all good except final segment is pooppiss, but I hear it's being redone.
Segment 1: Can avoid double jump on last falling platform if fast enough.
Segment 2: Mikey can be pawnched a little bit faster. Great G&G segment though.
Segment 3: No bird flight. And mediocre zippo fight with that robochicken. (you take a long time to kill that last phase of his. This fight is (easily) improvable)
Segment 4: few small jumping errors.
Segment 5: Funny Medusahead encounter. AMAZING luck manip.? I've never managed to let dracula to do all those easy moves and I've fought him a shitton of times. Also he could be killed faster considering what he spew at the little kid.
Segment 6: Hooray for jumping over spikewall! Almost like TAS :p
Segment 7: I liked the tiny time savers.
Segment 8: Sliding down green wall makes me sad. Falling is faster. OH NOES AVOIDING GREEN GOE MAN! *death abuse used*
Segment 9: Very nice play
Segment 10: That kart boy is soo slow... but little kid man is so fast with shooting! Nice segment, used infinity bullet glitch as should be.
Segment 10: Still segment 10! oh boy, You go!! Get's em tiger!!! yeah!!! oh wait... waiting for lifts... Good not saving to save time. I like you.
Segment 11: Minor jump errors.... THETEXTISBROKEN!!! HWAARRDKCUEO#J< Great jump!!!!
Segment 12: WEEE more spike wall avoidance... Hummm what he do now?... Oh uses other path. Of Course! (yes it's faster tumpidum)
Segment 13: Running around... Shooting around... (It's all good)
Segment 14: ITS ZUH MOTHER BRAIN!!! It's dead! WEEEE very nice bullet trick again. On escape used too much double jumps.
Segment 15: Looks clean.
Segment 16: Looks cleansed.
Segment 17: Looks flabbergastingly fluid.
Segment 18: wait a second.. YES IT'S THE AMAZING SOUND!!! WOOO Only true men speed run games that develop such a great taste of music. This must have been composed by the seven lords of music. WEEEEE *listens to the segment once more* aaawwww ecstasy.
Segment 19: wait what? he saved there? aww that costed him some seconds... I like the dragon fight though.
Segment 20: On our way to bowser the evil castle ruler! (He's playing mario right?)
Segment 21: My lust for proper commenting is long gone (another invincible glitch thingy a.k.a. death abuse)
Segment 22: AAAAA!!! MY EARS!!! IT BURNSES USSSS!!!!!!
All in all it was a very nice run. It sometimes does look like it costs him some time with some slow saving, but it's not that big of a deal I guess.
So yeh that's the way the cookie crumbles.
*doesn't know what to say anymore*
Verdict: Accept! Very nice run and very good music!
... I feel like I forget to mention something, but I don't know what.
Also, I don't know how this new private thread message stuff works so I'll guess I'll let Mike decide what part of this rambling is verification thread worthy.
Or am I suppose to discuss this lot with you guys?
[edit] ok never mind, I just read the whole thread and I've decided that it's too much of a hassle (for me) to be bothered by the save difference, mainly because I am unable to actually check it due to the fact that VLC (or something else) does not show me the entire segment, so I cannot even see his position during said save point.
Well that's all from me.
Short version: see down below boii
oh jolly oh gosh oh joy.
You're away for the weekend and suddenly you got 1 fully spammed private message thread...
Haven't read most of the posts but just wanted to point out these few things I've seen/read now:
I personally am extremely against the fact that he's not in the same exact position every time. But seeing as how most (right? :P) people don't care about it and the fact there are other runs on SDA with inconsistencies in them I guess I can overlook such an event.
Although I really do think (considering SDA 'laws') that he, at the very least, should be further away towards the direction he has to go.
Sounds really stupid, but so am I.
Anyway..... I somehow feel I need to do this whilst being drunk :(.
Soo... as for his locations at saves...
2nd segment he appears to be moving slighty ahead...
and then at segment 3 you don't even see him save...
And AGAIN at the end of segment 4 (he doesn't even seem to try to save :()... aaarrghh
And he skips quite far ahead tbh at segment 5.
My beautiful principles... they are being crushed
Or are the segments cut short?
*looking at youtube version*
Seems like the segments are cut a little bit short... (maybe this is my VLC player somehow failing, I don't know)
Well I don't wanna give Nate any more hassle and my principles are still in place, because technically he did do the effort...
I'll let it go...
Ok... I'll guess I'll just watch the run in it's entirety.
*watches run*
Ok then, that was nice...
*reads comments*
Alrighty then, time to watch the run once more and give my super insightful information about it.
Cheating: I trust this man!
Audio/Video Quality: all good except final segment is pooppiss, but I hear it's being redone.
Segment 1: Can avoid double jump on last falling platform if fast enough.
Segment 2: Mikey can be pawnched a little bit faster. Great G&G segment though.
Segment 3: No bird flight. And mediocre zippo fight with that robochicken. (you take a long time to kill that last phase of his. This fight is (easily) improvable)
Segment 4: few small jumping errors.
Segment 5: Funny Medusahead encounter. AMAZING luck manip.? I've never managed to let dracula to do all those easy moves and I've fought him a shitton of times. Also he could be killed faster considering what he spew at the little kid.
Segment 6: Hooray for jumping over spikewall! Almost like TAS :p
Segment 7: I liked the tiny time savers.
Segment 8: Sliding down green wall makes me sad. Falling is faster. OH NOES AVOIDING GREEN GOE MAN! *death abuse used*
Segment 9: Very nice play
Segment 10: That kart boy is soo slow... but little kid man is so fast with shooting! Nice segment, used infinity bullet glitch as should be.
Segment 10: Still segment 10! oh boy, You go!! Get's em tiger!!! yeah!!! oh wait... waiting for lifts... Good not saving to save time. I like you.
Segment 11: Minor jump errors.... THETEXTISBROKEN!!! HWAARRDKCUEO#J< Great jump!!!!
Segment 12: WEEE more spike wall avoidance... Hummm what he do now?... Oh uses other path. Of Course! (yes it's faster tumpidum)
Segment 13: Running around... Shooting around... (It's all good)
Segment 14: ITS ZUH MOTHER BRAIN!!! It's dead! WEEEE very nice bullet trick again. On escape used too much double jumps.
Segment 15: Looks clean.
Segment 16: Looks cleansed.
Segment 17: Looks flabbergastingly fluid.
Segment 18: wait a second.. YES IT'S THE AMAZING SOUND!!! WOOO Only true men speed run games that develop such a great taste of music. This must have been composed by the seven lords of music. WEEEEE *listens to the segment once more* aaawwww ecstasy.
Segment 19: wait what? he saved there? aww that costed him some seconds... I like the dragon fight though.
Segment 20: On our way to bowser the evil castle ruler! (He's playing mario right?)
Segment 21: My lust for proper commenting is long gone
Segment 22: AAAAA!!! MY EARS!!! IT BURNSES USSSS!!!!!!
All in all it was a very nice run. It sometimes does look like it costs him some time with some slow saving, but it's not that big of a deal I guess.
So yeh that's the way the cookie crumbles.
*doesn't know what to say anymore*
Verdict: Accept! Very nice run and very good music!
... I feel like I forget to mention something, but I don't know what.
Also, I don't know how this new private thread message stuff works so I'll guess I'll let Mike decide what part of this rambling is verification thread worthy.
Or am I suppose to discuss this lot with you guys?
[edit] ok never mind, I just read the whole thread and I've decided that it's too much of a hassle (for me) to be bothered by the save difference, mainly because I am unable to actually check it due to the fact that VLC (or something else) does not show me the entire segment, so I cannot even see his position during said save point.
Well that's all from me.
Quote:
Okay, my response:
Okay, as for gameplay quality:
Segment 1: The runner is waiting for a platform for most of the segment so how fast he goes doesn't matter. After that everything is fine.
Segment 2: The runner does Mike Tyson and the spike corridor (which is the hardest part of the game playing normally, no matter what Arkhanno says) in the same segment, which is impressive and difficult enough to make me overlook the second or so lost by poor handling of the Horrible Hawk at the end of the segment.
Segment 3: Kind of a bad segment, I think. The runner doesn't use the Horrible Hawk skip, which would save 7 seconds or so. Also, there's vids on YouTube of people killing MechaBirdo (in Boss Rush mode) a good 10 seconds faster. I could understand skipping the Hawk boost to get a better success ratio in order to optimise the Mecha Birdo fight, and I could understand using the Hawk boost and then accepting a suboptimal Birdo fight, but this is the worst of both worlds. The runner should probably have put in more attempts to either work in the skip or improve the fight. Still, both of these ARE very hard improvements to implement, and I haven't tried either, so maybe I'm complaining too much.
Also, for some reason the runner runs all the way up to the save point to save which costs him a few frames at the start of the next segment; I'm not sure if this is done to help with the timing of the turrets in the next rooms or something?
Segment 4: Two screwed up jumps and a moment of bad luck in the fan room, costing a second apiece. I do recall those jumps being somewhat tricky though so I'll let it slide.
Segment 5: The runner gets petrified by a Medusa head just before Dracula, but luckily falls and lands on the platform he needed to land on anyway, so it barely costs time. Dracula looks decent to me.
Segment 6: It would've cost the runner no time to use the easy version of the spike wall skip by ending segment 5 in the trigger zone of the spike wall instead of where he did end it. He makes his life a lot harder by doing it this way, but his execution is still good in the rest of the segment (with the exception of a short delay before leaving the Tetris room) so it's not really a problem.
The runner makes another saving-related mistake at the end of this segment. After firing at the save point, instead of standing still he should've kept moving and started the next segment in midair over the rocket-spike. Costs a second.
Segment 7: Start looks basically perfect to me, and after that he's waiting for the spike wall. A strange hesitation by the runner before saving is my only criticism here.
Segment 8: Pretty much perfect except that the runner incomprehensibly decides to slide down the vine before the room with the walking spikes instead of falling, which throws away 2 seconds for no good reason.
Segment 9: Basically optimal since the runner has to wait for platforms.
Segment 10: Good boss fight, with the final form killed on the first bowling bowl. After that it's just more waiting for platforms. The runner correctly skips the save point in the Bionic Commando area since ending a segment there will reset the platform positions and cost a shitload of time.
Segment 11: Another couple of jump mistakes in the same room as segment 4. Not a biggie.
Segment 12: Once again the runner chooses to use the hard version of the spike wall skip instead of the easy version, and pays for it with some minor but noticeable execution mistakes later in the segment.
Segment 13: Well executed, but the runner loses half a second or so at the end by landing and then jumping to shoot the save point instead of hitting it while falling.
Segment 14: Maybe a little slow to start button mashing when destroying some of the barriers, and Mother Brain could probably have been killed a few seconds faster by using the glitch where you can stand on her tank and just mash bullets into her. A bit more cautious than was needed with the jumps on the escape, too.
Segment 15: Fine, though the runner probably could've saved a second by merging this and segment 16, since segment 16 is fairly easy and the time for it is pretty much fixed.
Segment 16: The runner messes up the jump off the ice man blocks, and then is slow with saving, which are pretty much the only things in this segment that affect the time. It's only a second, but still it looks pretty ugly to have screwed up the only things in the segment it's possible to screw up. Should've been redone.
Segment 17: Fine
Segment 18: The runner should definitely have combined this and the segment after it, since this one is a fixed-time segment and the next one is the Dragon Devil fight, which is quite easy and is also mostly fixed-time. Segmenting here costs a lot more time than it might look like, after you're flung off the crashing cart you can double jump in the air and keep your speed, and fly all the way into the Dragon Devil trigger. Instead, he has to backtrack to the save point, and then travel at walking speed all the way to the trigger, which adds up to about 5 seconds lost.
Segment 19: Silly fumble saving at the end, a few frames lost for no reason. Meh.
Segment 20: He messes up saving at the end (a common theme) and loses a second or so, but otherwise this is a good segment
Segment 21: The worst segment in the run, entirely because of the runner's handling of the Breakout section, where 15 seconds can be saved with good luck. The trick to this section is to wait left of the apple until the apple is level with the Breakout paddle, then move right to clip the paddle into the apple. Now keep moving and you can basically drag the apple all the way to the right hand wall of the room, where it will bounce off in a random direction. If you're lucky, that direction will be vertically up, and if you're lucky again, it will keep bouncing vertically until it clears exactly the four blocks that need to be cleared to give you access to the top of the room. The runner doesn't seem to have much of a system here and doesn't get particularly lucky, and he loses a lot of time.
Segment 22: Some improvement possible with more aggressive play, but basically fine.
As for video/audio quality:
The video quality of the videos sent to the verifiers is absolute shite to the point of barely being watchable and making details like bullets impossible to see; I presume this is LQ. Perhaps in future verifiers should by default be sent the best quality version of runs (unless the run is ridiculously long)? This issue has come up in verifications I've done before (SC:CT).
As such, I'm currently basing my comments on the version of the run that the runner uploaded to YouTube. Video quality is excellent throughout. Audio is fuzzy in a handful of segments, which is slightly distracting but tolerable. However, audio in the final segment is really fucked up. There's just constant white noise throughout the whole segment which is almost as loud as the actual game sound. Did the runner accidentally record his mic at the same time or something?
In conclusion:
In terms of gameplay quality this is acceptable, despite the Breakout section costing a huge amount of time. With the exception of segments 3 and 21 the run is very impressive indeed; solid execution, planning and glitch use with only minor mistakes costing a second here and there. I'm perfectly happy to let most of the audio issues slide. However, there's no way I can accept the run with the audio in segment 22 as bad as it is currently; I'm going to have to reject and ask the runner to fix that and resubmit. While he's at it, I suggest he also improves segment 21 using the method I've suggested for the Breakout room - with both of those things done, I'll be very ready to accept this enthusiastically.
P.S. Consider the above a provisional verdict until we've had a chance to check out all the final encodes of segment 22. I don't see why it should make much difference, but all the same I'm kind of uncomfortable basing a rejection upon the audio quality of a YouTube video and a shitty-quality verifier copy. Once I've seen the HQ and MQ versions I'll say whether I'm sticking by my decision or prepared to let it through.
Okay, as for gameplay quality:
Segment 1: The runner is waiting for a platform for most of the segment so how fast he goes doesn't matter. After that everything is fine.
Segment 2: The runner does Mike Tyson and the spike corridor (which is the hardest part of the game playing normally, no matter what Arkhanno says) in the same segment, which is impressive and difficult enough to make me overlook the second or so lost by poor handling of the Horrible Hawk at the end of the segment.
Segment 3: Kind of a bad segment, I think. The runner doesn't use the Horrible Hawk skip, which would save 7 seconds or so. Also, there's vids on YouTube of people killing MechaBirdo (in Boss Rush mode) a good 10 seconds faster. I could understand skipping the Hawk boost to get a better success ratio in order to optimise the Mecha Birdo fight, and I could understand using the Hawk boost and then accepting a suboptimal Birdo fight, but this is the worst of both worlds. The runner should probably have put in more attempts to either work in the skip or improve the fight. Still, both of these ARE very hard improvements to implement, and I haven't tried either, so maybe I'm complaining too much.
Also, for some reason the runner runs all the way up to the save point to save which costs him a few frames at the start of the next segment; I'm not sure if this is done to help with the timing of the turrets in the next rooms or something?
Segment 4: Two screwed up jumps and a moment of bad luck in the fan room, costing a second apiece. I do recall those jumps being somewhat tricky though so I'll let it slide.
Segment 5: The runner gets petrified by a Medusa head just before Dracula, but luckily falls and lands on the platform he needed to land on anyway, so it barely costs time. Dracula looks decent to me.
Segment 6: It would've cost the runner no time to use the easy version of the spike wall skip by ending segment 5 in the trigger zone of the spike wall instead of where he did end it. He makes his life a lot harder by doing it this way, but his execution is still good in the rest of the segment (with the exception of a short delay before leaving the Tetris room) so it's not really a problem.
The runner makes another saving-related mistake at the end of this segment. After firing at the save point, instead of standing still he should've kept moving and started the next segment in midair over the rocket-spike. Costs a second.
Segment 7: Start looks basically perfect to me, and after that he's waiting for the spike wall. A strange hesitation by the runner before saving is my only criticism here.
Segment 8: Pretty much perfect except that the runner incomprehensibly decides to slide down the vine before the room with the walking spikes instead of falling, which throws away 2 seconds for no good reason.
Segment 9: Basically optimal since the runner has to wait for platforms.
Segment 10: Good boss fight, with the final form killed on the first bowling bowl. After that it's just more waiting for platforms. The runner correctly skips the save point in the Bionic Commando area since ending a segment there will reset the platform positions and cost a shitload of time.
Segment 11: Another couple of jump mistakes in the same room as segment 4. Not a biggie.
Segment 12: Once again the runner chooses to use the hard version of the spike wall skip instead of the easy version, and pays for it with some minor but noticeable execution mistakes later in the segment.
Segment 13: Well executed, but the runner loses half a second or so at the end by landing and then jumping to shoot the save point instead of hitting it while falling.
Segment 14: Maybe a little slow to start button mashing when destroying some of the barriers, and Mother Brain could probably have been killed a few seconds faster by using the glitch where you can stand on her tank and just mash bullets into her. A bit more cautious than was needed with the jumps on the escape, too.
Segment 15: Fine, though the runner probably could've saved a second by merging this and segment 16, since segment 16 is fairly easy and the time for it is pretty much fixed.
Segment 16: The runner messes up the jump off the ice man blocks, and then is slow with saving, which are pretty much the only things in this segment that affect the time. It's only a second, but still it looks pretty ugly to have screwed up the only things in the segment it's possible to screw up. Should've been redone.
Segment 17: Fine
Segment 18: The runner should definitely have combined this and the segment after it, since this one is a fixed-time segment and the next one is the Dragon Devil fight, which is quite easy and is also mostly fixed-time. Segmenting here costs a lot more time than it might look like, after you're flung off the crashing cart you can double jump in the air and keep your speed, and fly all the way into the Dragon Devil trigger. Instead, he has to backtrack to the save point, and then travel at walking speed all the way to the trigger, which adds up to about 5 seconds lost.
Segment 19: Silly fumble saving at the end, a few frames lost for no reason. Meh.
Segment 20: He messes up saving at the end (a common theme) and loses a second or so, but otherwise this is a good segment
Segment 21: The worst segment in the run, entirely because of the runner's handling of the Breakout section, where 15 seconds can be saved with good luck. The trick to this section is to wait left of the apple until the apple is level with the Breakout paddle, then move right to clip the paddle into the apple. Now keep moving and you can basically drag the apple all the way to the right hand wall of the room, where it will bounce off in a random direction. If you're lucky, that direction will be vertically up, and if you're lucky again, it will keep bouncing vertically until it clears exactly the four blocks that need to be cleared to give you access to the top of the room. The runner doesn't seem to have much of a system here and doesn't get particularly lucky, and he loses a lot of time.
Segment 22: Some improvement possible with more aggressive play, but basically fine.
As for video/audio quality:
The video quality of the videos sent to the verifiers is absolute shite to the point of barely being watchable and making details like bullets impossible to see; I presume this is LQ. Perhaps in future verifiers should by default be sent the best quality version of runs (unless the run is ridiculously long)? This issue has come up in verifications I've done before (SC:CT).
As such, I'm currently basing my comments on the version of the run that the runner uploaded to YouTube. Video quality is excellent throughout. Audio is fuzzy in a handful of segments, which is slightly distracting but tolerable. However, audio in the final segment is really fucked up. There's just constant white noise throughout the whole segment which is almost as loud as the actual game sound. Did the runner accidentally record his mic at the same time or something?
In conclusion:
In terms of gameplay quality this is acceptable, despite the Breakout section costing a huge amount of time. With the exception of segments 3 and 21 the run is very impressive indeed; solid execution, planning and glitch use with only minor mistakes costing a second here and there. I'm perfectly happy to let most of the audio issues slide. However, there's no way I can accept the run with the audio in segment 22 as bad as it is currently; I'm going to have to reject and ask the runner to fix that and resubmit. While he's at it, I suggest he also improves segment 21 using the method I've suggested for the Breakout room - with both of those things done, I'll be very ready to accept this enthusiastically.
P.S. Consider the above a provisional verdict until we've had a chance to check out all the final encodes of segment 22. I don't see why it should make much difference, but all the same I'm kind of uncomfortable basing a rejection upon the audio quality of a YouTube video and a shitty-quality verifier copy. Once I've seen the HQ and MQ versions I'll say whether I'm sticking by my decision or prepared to let it through.
Quote:
A play by play for each segment, then general comments. I must point out that although I'm going to be quite critical of some parts, I realize (having died probably over 5000 deaths in the game) this game is insanely hard, so please don't take it personally:
1 - Nicely done, can't see any real way of improving the time, the fruit are done quickly, the pre-Tyson room is done lightning fast too.
2 - The Tyson fight could have been 1/2 a second faster, maybe, by better positioning the kid and Tyson, but I'm not even sure if that's possible. Everything up to the Ghosts 'n Goblins segment goes along fine (maybe 1/2 second could be gained in the moon portion by moving forward as the pieces of the wall are falling?). The Ghosts 'n Goblins segment itself is excellent, very quick, bold and almost as fast as you can go (excepting, of course, for trying an insane hawk boost and/or getting more luck with the hawks themselves). A great segment.
3 - A very weak segment. The hawk boost is <very> difficult to pull off, sure, but saves considerable time when done properly. The Mecha Birdo fight is pretty bad too, he goes through more cycles than would be necessary (I'm thinking that he may have lost up to 10 seconds here), so the fight isn't a pretty sight. I agree that the missile room is a pain, it's quite easy to die there (and it's horribly painful to do so, since you'll be coming off one of the toughest segments of the game). Still, it's not a deal breaker, but it comes close and I'd say this is the segment where improvements are a must.
4 - First two rooms are flawless and excellently executed, but you probably lost around 1-2 seconds by mistiming the the jumps and shot in the Ruy room. Still, making those jumps are really hard and the first two rooms more than compensate for this.
5 - Everything up to the Dracula fight is pretty much optimal. The fight itself goes very well, you got a good, lucky Dracula, and although it could have been faster with a little more luck, it's more than good enough.
6 - Frankly, this is a pretty good segment. It's not perfect, but the time lost isn't that significant and I think it looks good, except, maybe, the Tetris room (which allows for a little goofing around, if you so wish). Not even close to being as bad as segment 3.
7 - Solid segment. First room is very quick, the spike wall segment goes as well as it can.
8 - You lost around 2 seconds by falling instead of sliding down and it's not very hard to do either, so that's a big disappointment. Kraidgief is fun to watch, for all the right/wrong reasons! ^_^
9 - Close to optimal; little to be improved.
10 - ZZZzzzzZZz. It's such a boring segment, to be honest, but not an easy one and you do well. The boss fight is close to optimal / very quick, nicely done. Same for the falling spike room. The next two rooms can be done faster, but only by running unacceptably high risks and luck. Nice to see that you skip a save point so that your overall time goes down, it's a risky but good tactic.
11 - Pretty much the same as before (i.e., really good, except for 1 second mistimed jumps in Ryu), although the lag in the Metroid-dead-bosses area is horrific.
12 - Again, nicely done, not optimal, but nothing I'd complain about.
13 - You did it on your first try? Kudos! It's not a terribly hard segment, but it's close to optimal (might have been slightly faster in the invisible blocks room, maybe).
14 - Exceptional Mother Brain fight. I personally hate this boss so much, but you pull it off like a pro, it's a real highlight. The escape segment is well executed too, I see only a little room for improvement.
15 - Close to optimal, I see very little room for improvement, but it's not the hardest of segments either.
16 - Again, ZZzzzzZZ and, again, close to optimal. Although I do like how you occasionally explore the bugs in the game, by allowing you to go behind walls, in this segment, the previous one and the patience one.
17 - Close to optimal, but the lag is horrific again.
18 - No flaws, in so much that you're moving at a fixed rate anyway, and enojyable, but a couple of things that bother me: how did you avoid the lag in the Metroid-dead-bosses area? Why did you get such horrible lag in the beginning of the mine-cart segment? And why did you get lag just after where the bullet bills? I ask because my computer is sufficiently powerful that I'm not affected by the lag at all (at least not when recording) and I've seen youtube videos that pass through all these segments without any lag.
19 - Close to optimal, but again with some lag.
20 - Close to optimal.
21 - Breakout room is kind of poor, you could have saved around 5 seconds, I'd guess, with more luck. Love the Gradius glitch (I think I'd seen it before, but I couldn't remember, so it gave me a shock to see it happening like that!), it's so nice to just be able to fly through everything like that. ^_^ You might have been a little quicker killing the save point, though.
22 - Great The Guy fight, it goes along swimmingly. And, as it has been pointed out, it's a really risky strategy to go straight for the right eye like that. But the audio quality is horrific here, just terrible. T_T
Overall comments: I detected no instants of cheating. The video quality is verging on the unacceptable. The bullets are almost impossible to see (ok, they're normally hard anyway, but not like this), the lag spikes are pretty bad and the resolution level is really poor too. If this is the LQ video, then it <should>. be ok, but if this is MQ or (god forbid) HQ, I'd seriously have to think about it (see below).
Audio quality is ok (but not good) throughout, except at the last segment when it's unacceptably bad. I'm in serious doubt whether to recommend that the run should be put on hiatus until a better final segment can be recorded, it's that bad (again, see below).
Accept/reject? This is a marginal case, I'd say. On the one hand, we have segments like 2, 15 and a myriad (6) of segments that I've labeled close to optimal because they really are. The glitch abuse is also very well done and add to the run tremendously. And, of course, IWBTG is really, really, really, REALLY hard, so just completing a speedrun of it, is worthy of MASSIVE KUDOS!
However, segments 3, 8 and 21 have problems in them, specially 3, which has a BIG scope for improvement. And the video/audio quality is a serious issue here.
So, I'd say accept the run, BUT with the following caveats: if this is a LQ video, then let us see the MQ/HQ versions and, assuming they're ok, accept; or, if this is the MQ video, then reject the run until the last segment is re-recorded with better audio quality.
As the run is, it's more than good enough, in terms of gameplay, to be accepted. But the video/audio quality is really, really poor. If the last segment is fixed up, then this being a MQ run would be fine, just; but I'd expect to see significant improvement in the MQ/HQ movies to able to accept that last segment with such horrific audio quality.
So, in short, it's a provisional accept; assuming we can see the higher quality versions and that they're good enough (which I assume is going to be the case), then fine. Otherwise, no deal until segment 22 is re-recorded with better audio quality.
Finally, let me re-iterate something: this is a really good run, in terms of gameplay, so my provisional accept is above all because of the recording quality, which isn't up to SDA standards.
1 - Nicely done, can't see any real way of improving the time, the fruit are done quickly, the pre-Tyson room is done lightning fast too.
2 - The Tyson fight could have been 1/2 a second faster, maybe, by better positioning the kid and Tyson, but I'm not even sure if that's possible. Everything up to the Ghosts 'n Goblins segment goes along fine (maybe 1/2 second could be gained in the moon portion by moving forward as the pieces of the wall are falling?). The Ghosts 'n Goblins segment itself is excellent, very quick, bold and almost as fast as you can go (excepting, of course, for trying an insane hawk boost and/or getting more luck with the hawks themselves). A great segment.
3 - A very weak segment. The hawk boost is <very> difficult to pull off, sure, but saves considerable time when done properly. The Mecha Birdo fight is pretty bad too, he goes through more cycles than would be necessary (I'm thinking that he may have lost up to 10 seconds here), so the fight isn't a pretty sight. I agree that the missile room is a pain, it's quite easy to die there (and it's horribly painful to do so, since you'll be coming off one of the toughest segments of the game). Still, it's not a deal breaker, but it comes close and I'd say this is the segment where improvements are a must.
4 - First two rooms are flawless and excellently executed, but you probably lost around 1-2 seconds by mistiming the the jumps and shot in the Ruy room. Still, making those jumps are really hard and the first two rooms more than compensate for this.
5 - Everything up to the Dracula fight is pretty much optimal. The fight itself goes very well, you got a good, lucky Dracula, and although it could have been faster with a little more luck, it's more than good enough.
6 - Frankly, this is a pretty good segment. It's not perfect, but the time lost isn't that significant and I think it looks good, except, maybe, the Tetris room (which allows for a little goofing around, if you so wish). Not even close to being as bad as segment 3.
7 - Solid segment. First room is very quick, the spike wall segment goes as well as it can.
8 - You lost around 2 seconds by falling instead of sliding down and it's not very hard to do either, so that's a big disappointment. Kraidgief is fun to watch, for all the right/wrong reasons! ^_^
9 - Close to optimal; little to be improved.
10 - ZZZzzzzZZz. It's such a boring segment, to be honest, but not an easy one and you do well. The boss fight is close to optimal / very quick, nicely done. Same for the falling spike room. The next two rooms can be done faster, but only by running unacceptably high risks and luck. Nice to see that you skip a save point so that your overall time goes down, it's a risky but good tactic.
11 - Pretty much the same as before (i.e., really good, except for 1 second mistimed jumps in Ryu), although the lag in the Metroid-dead-bosses area is horrific.
12 - Again, nicely done, not optimal, but nothing I'd complain about.
13 - You did it on your first try? Kudos! It's not a terribly hard segment, but it's close to optimal (might have been slightly faster in the invisible blocks room, maybe).
14 - Exceptional Mother Brain fight. I personally hate this boss so much, but you pull it off like a pro, it's a real highlight. The escape segment is well executed too, I see only a little room for improvement.
15 - Close to optimal, I see very little room for improvement, but it's not the hardest of segments either.
16 - Again, ZZzzzzZZ and, again, close to optimal. Although I do like how you occasionally explore the bugs in the game, by allowing you to go behind walls, in this segment, the previous one and the patience one.
17 - Close to optimal, but the lag is horrific again.
18 - No flaws, in so much that you're moving at a fixed rate anyway, and enojyable, but a couple of things that bother me: how did you avoid the lag in the Metroid-dead-bosses area? Why did you get such horrible lag in the beginning of the mine-cart segment? And why did you get lag just after where the bullet bills? I ask because my computer is sufficiently powerful that I'm not affected by the lag at all (at least not when recording) and I've seen youtube videos that pass through all these segments without any lag.
19 - Close to optimal, but again with some lag.
20 - Close to optimal.
21 - Breakout room is kind of poor, you could have saved around 5 seconds, I'd guess, with more luck. Love the Gradius glitch (I think I'd seen it before, but I couldn't remember, so it gave me a shock to see it happening like that!), it's so nice to just be able to fly through everything like that. ^_^ You might have been a little quicker killing the save point, though.
22 - Great The Guy fight, it goes along swimmingly. And, as it has been pointed out, it's a really risky strategy to go straight for the right eye like that. But the audio quality is horrific here, just terrible. T_T
Overall comments: I detected no instants of cheating. The video quality is verging on the unacceptable. The bullets are almost impossible to see (ok, they're normally hard anyway, but not like this), the lag spikes are pretty bad and the resolution level is really poor too. If this is the LQ video, then it <should>. be ok, but if this is MQ or (god forbid) HQ, I'd seriously have to think about it (see below).
Audio quality is ok (but not good) throughout, except at the last segment when it's unacceptably bad. I'm in serious doubt whether to recommend that the run should be put on hiatus until a better final segment can be recorded, it's that bad (again, see below).
Accept/reject? This is a marginal case, I'd say. On the one hand, we have segments like 2, 15 and a myriad (6) of segments that I've labeled close to optimal because they really are. The glitch abuse is also very well done and add to the run tremendously. And, of course, IWBTG is really, really, really, REALLY hard, so just completing a speedrun of it, is worthy of MASSIVE KUDOS!
However, segments 3, 8 and 21 have problems in them, specially 3, which has a BIG scope for improvement. And the video/audio quality is a serious issue here.
So, I'd say accept the run, BUT with the following caveats: if this is a LQ video, then let us see the MQ/HQ versions and, assuming they're ok, accept; or, if this is the MQ video, then reject the run until the last segment is re-recorded with better audio quality.
As the run is, it's more than good enough, in terms of gameplay, to be accepted. But the video/audio quality is really, really poor. If the last segment is fixed up, then this being a MQ run would be fine, just; but I'd expect to see significant improvement in the MQ/HQ movies to able to accept that last segment with such horrific audio quality.
So, in short, it's a provisional accept; assuming we can see the higher quality versions and that they're good enough (which I assume is going to be the case), then fine. Otherwise, no deal until segment 22 is re-recorded with better audio quality.
Finally, let me re-iterate something: this is a really good run, in terms of gameplay, so my provisional accept is above all because of the recording quality, which isn't up to SDA standards.
Quote:
Cheating: None.
Audio / Video quality: Audio is generally fine except for last segment, where it's terrible. Video quality is not so hot. The relatively rare occasion of choppy video (Dragon Devil fight comes to mind) isn't so bad, and that's a casualty of screen capture during play, but given how small the sprites are in this game I hope the final encode is a little clearer. Currently missing some detail and is very difficult to see the shots.
Segment notes:
1 - very fast. Nice control of the delicious fruit.
2 - Tyson is pretty good, could perhaps have been shot a tiny bit faster but that's being very picky. Ghosts 'n' goblins gauntlet is SERIOUSLY IMPRESSIVE. Very fast. That's one of the hardest parts of the entire game. I can only imagine how many restarts were involved in this segment.
3 - Speaking from experience the hawk boost is very, very difficult however I would really have liked to have seen it. Given that it's so close to the save point (20 seconds away) it would have been nice to have gone for it. Mecha Birdo is not very fast. Kind of an ugly fight. Luck has a lot to do with this, but overall this segment is a bit of an eyesore compared to the rest of the run. Not a particularly long segment either, I wish you'd gone balls out and conquered this chunk. That being said, man, I hear you on the orb room. The active missile cone has splattered me so many times…
As a side note I'm not aware of the advantage of the death abuse here. Just for chuckles?
4 - Nice ballsy execution. The tiny mistakes in the Ryu room are more than made up for by the risk you take in the jumps.
5 - Shame you were so close to a three rounder with Dracula. Very nice time especially considering it happened at the end of a platforming segment (living dangerously with that medusa head in the room before Drac!)
6 - Not as bad as you make it out to be. Definitely not optimal, but still fast. Could stand to be improved upon. Exit from Tetris room is a touch sluggish, but there isn't a super significant loss of time.
7 - Not a very entertaining run of the spike wall section (ie: you didn't endeavour to get to the end as fast as possible then wait for the wall) but for the sake of sanity I understand the thoughtful approach. Nice little timesavers in the first screen. Activation of save could be a touch faster, but that's really being picky.
8 - Could have saved a few seconds by falling instead of sliding at the end of the second room. Kraidgief death abuse is very tasty. Glitchiest boss ever.
9 - Pretty tight. Possibility for improvement is miniscule.
10 - Great BWW fight, esp. Wily. Curious as to why you didn't save, whi this ends up being such a long segment. Might have been able to take further risks in the room with the save block had you created an extra segment. Nonetheless, very fast bionic commando area. Close call with the falling platforms right before patience room.
11 - ho hum.
12 - ho hum. second room is not terribly fast.
13 - Straightforward but excellently done. Very fast.
14 - FABULOUS mother brain fight. You played it a little safe in the escape sequence, but this is a nice segment. You make MB look easy when in reality those Rinkas are absolute bastards to avoid.
15 - Some of the jumping going up into the third room is a little sloppy but otherwise well done. I hate this segment as I had a really great impossible mode attempt end here once (kraidgief -> MB -> onwards) as I didn't wait long enough for the slow platform before jumping and I splattered on the spikes. Sigh.
16 - can't go any faster than that.
17 - Super short.
18 - Well done. A few close calls! Dramatic!
19 - Good shooting on DD.
20 - Very good.
21 - Great hall of former guys. Breakout could have gone a little better although very stylish to have it "stall" right after it broke the last blocks you needed. Gradius death abuse saves A LOT of time and some tricky platforming, well done. The error screen always makes me laugh because the game is notorious for crashing legitimately.
22 - really, really fantastic The Guy fight. Super risky strategy on the final right eye with the white shards. Too bad the audio quality here is GARBAGE. Takes away from the total asswhipping you unleash here.
And I see you take no chances with the final credits Delicious Fruit. Heh.
Verdict: ACCEPT ACCEPT ACCEPT. This demonstrates supreme mastery of the game. The marvel of this run is that it makes it look simple, when in fact this game is a complete and unrelenting mother, sister, cousin and dog fucker. Hats off to you, sir!
Pros - Unbelievable play and showcase of some interesting and beneficial glitch abuse.
Cons - Segment 3 is not so hot. An instance or two of segments being quite long (they skip a save where if they didn't it could encourage riskier strategy and thus a better time overall) Some segments are quite short in a row and could thus have been amalgamated, saving a segment but not losing time.
Final thoughts: NATE - If the run is accepted (please let it be accepted) then I am of the opinion that the videos should be appended into one file given the length of the run and the relatively short length of some of the segments. Might look a little weird, but it's the best solution IMHO.
Hopefully this creates enough interest to inspire some other runs of the game (such as a SS Easy run with deaths, boss rush run, 100% run with secret items) because that would be killer. Not from me, though. I would rather eat broken glass covered in fire ants than run this game.
Audio / Video quality: Audio is generally fine except for last segment, where it's terrible. Video quality is not so hot. The relatively rare occasion of choppy video (Dragon Devil fight comes to mind) isn't so bad, and that's a casualty of screen capture during play, but given how small the sprites are in this game I hope the final encode is a little clearer. Currently missing some detail and is very difficult to see the shots.
Segment notes:
1 - very fast. Nice control of the delicious fruit.
2 - Tyson is pretty good, could perhaps have been shot a tiny bit faster but that's being very picky. Ghosts 'n' goblins gauntlet is SERIOUSLY IMPRESSIVE. Very fast. That's one of the hardest parts of the entire game. I can only imagine how many restarts were involved in this segment.
3 - Speaking from experience the hawk boost is very, very difficult however I would really have liked to have seen it. Given that it's so close to the save point (20 seconds away) it would have been nice to have gone for it. Mecha Birdo is not very fast. Kind of an ugly fight. Luck has a lot to do with this, but overall this segment is a bit of an eyesore compared to the rest of the run. Not a particularly long segment either, I wish you'd gone balls out and conquered this chunk. That being said, man, I hear you on the orb room. The active missile cone has splattered me so many times…
As a side note I'm not aware of the advantage of the death abuse here. Just for chuckles?
4 - Nice ballsy execution. The tiny mistakes in the Ryu room are more than made up for by the risk you take in the jumps.
5 - Shame you were so close to a three rounder with Dracula. Very nice time especially considering it happened at the end of a platforming segment (living dangerously with that medusa head in the room before Drac!)
6 - Not as bad as you make it out to be. Definitely not optimal, but still fast. Could stand to be improved upon. Exit from Tetris room is a touch sluggish, but there isn't a super significant loss of time.
7 - Not a very entertaining run of the spike wall section (ie: you didn't endeavour to get to the end as fast as possible then wait for the wall) but for the sake of sanity I understand the thoughtful approach. Nice little timesavers in the first screen. Activation of save could be a touch faster, but that's really being picky.
8 - Could have saved a few seconds by falling instead of sliding at the end of the second room. Kraidgief death abuse is very tasty. Glitchiest boss ever.
9 - Pretty tight. Possibility for improvement is miniscule.
10 - Great BWW fight, esp. Wily. Curious as to why you didn't save, whi this ends up being such a long segment. Might have been able to take further risks in the room with the save block had you created an extra segment. Nonetheless, very fast bionic commando area. Close call with the falling platforms right before patience room.
11 - ho hum.
12 - ho hum. second room is not terribly fast.
13 - Straightforward but excellently done. Very fast.
14 - FABULOUS mother brain fight. You played it a little safe in the escape sequence, but this is a nice segment. You make MB look easy when in reality those Rinkas are absolute bastards to avoid.
15 - Some of the jumping going up into the third room is a little sloppy but otherwise well done. I hate this segment as I had a really great impossible mode attempt end here once (kraidgief -> MB -> onwards) as I didn't wait long enough for the slow platform before jumping and I splattered on the spikes. Sigh.
16 - can't go any faster than that.
17 - Super short.
18 - Well done. A few close calls! Dramatic!
19 - Good shooting on DD.
20 - Very good.
21 - Great hall of former guys. Breakout could have gone a little better although very stylish to have it "stall" right after it broke the last blocks you needed. Gradius death abuse saves A LOT of time and some tricky platforming, well done. The error screen always makes me laugh because the game is notorious for crashing legitimately.
22 - really, really fantastic The Guy fight. Super risky strategy on the final right eye with the white shards. Too bad the audio quality here is GARBAGE. Takes away from the total asswhipping you unleash here.
And I see you take no chances with the final credits Delicious Fruit. Heh.
Verdict: ACCEPT ACCEPT ACCEPT. This demonstrates supreme mastery of the game. The marvel of this run is that it makes it look simple, when in fact this game is a complete and unrelenting mother, sister, cousin and dog fucker. Hats off to you, sir!
Pros - Unbelievable play and showcase of some interesting and beneficial glitch abuse.
Cons - Segment 3 is not so hot. An instance or two of segments being quite long (they skip a save where if they didn't it could encourage riskier strategy and thus a better time overall) Some segments are quite short in a row and could thus have been amalgamated, saving a segment but not losing time.
Final thoughts: NATE - If the run is accepted (please let it be accepted) then I am of the opinion that the videos should be appended into one file given the length of the run and the relatively short length of some of the segments. Might look a little weird, but it's the best solution IMHO.
Hopefully this creates enough interest to inspire some other runs of the game (such as a SS Easy run with deaths, boss rush run, 100% run with secret items) because that would be killer. Not from me, though. I would rather eat broken glass covered in fire ants than run this game.
Decision: Accept
Reason: Someone had to do this game, sorry UltraJMan.
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