My feelings on The Demon Rush
Game Page: Doesn't exist yet
Single-segment run
Verifier Responses
Decision: Reject
Reason: The runner doesn't use the fastest method of movement and failed to use numerous small timsavers.
The run should be available for about a month. PM me for a link.
Single-segment run
Verifier Responses
Quote:
Limbo. Limbo...limbo.....there's a word that starts to sound weird the more you say it.
Audio: No complaints.
Video: No complaints.
Cheating: None evident (would anyone really go so far as to cheat in Limbo? :P)
Gameplay/Breakdown:
My notes are going to be a lot less comments about the run, and more silly commentary. It's Limbo. There isn't a lot to say here, really. The game doesn't have much for a fast pace, and its execution comes in knowing the puzzles, correct timing, and object placement/manipulation. Not dying helps too.
3:50 - Execution is very solid. Runner definitely has object positioning worked out well, knows exactly how far to pull that box to jump to the hanging rope.
5:20 - Warning - This game contains graphic depictions of violence towards giant arachnids. Spider discretion is advised.
10:15 - I'd like to note that I felt often pathetic at times while playing this game. I saw this coming, boldly declared "It's a trap!" to my roomies watching me play, and still failed here.
11:32 - I almost feel sorry for the thing. Almost.
13:21 - More excellent box placement.
14:30 - I failed here too. I predicted the first crusher accurately, but then wrongly assumed it would be the same for the second one.
16:00 - Runner stays on the 2nd rope just long enough to get the door up and get under it, within a quarter of a second leniencey.
21:38 - We can't stop here. This is brain slug country.
26:50 - Tasty tasty brain slugs.
27:25 - I'm not quite sure it takes 3 repetitions to get enough height to make the jump. I seem to recall doing it in just 2, and it doesn't look like any height is really gained on the 3rd run, but I could be wrong. Difference would be about 7 seconds.
30:05 - This kid clearly has something against arthropods.
33:20 - 3 swings are definitely optimal here.
34:18 - This looks like a mistake, but I don't believe that first tooth can be grabbed. 3 second difference, maybe.
38:05 - Execution, execution, execution. Definitely optimal timing on stopping the gear.
38:50 - This one is deceptively difficult to time right; don't be fooled by how easy the runner makes it look.
39:57 - So well timed, the jump at the end wasn't even necessary. This late in an SS run, though, I can definitely understand a safety jump.
42:36 - First real mistake of the run, in positioning the crate. The floors here are deceptively slippery. Maybe 4-5 seconds of loss.
45:00 - Ceilings aren't slippery enough, apparently, though no time loss, as there's a timed element involved.
48:12 - END
49:10 - BUT WAIT, there's more!
Summary: A no death run of Limbo is somewhat boring to watch (watching noobs like myself fail repeatedly at the game is where the real entertainment is), but it takes some damn good execution to pull off, which makes it very impressive in its own right.
Verdict: Accept
Audio: No complaints.
Video: No complaints.
Cheating: None evident (would anyone really go so far as to cheat in Limbo? :P)
Gameplay/Breakdown:
My notes are going to be a lot less comments about the run, and more silly commentary. It's Limbo. There isn't a lot to say here, really. The game doesn't have much for a fast pace, and its execution comes in knowing the puzzles, correct timing, and object placement/manipulation. Not dying helps too.
3:50 - Execution is very solid. Runner definitely has object positioning worked out well, knows exactly how far to pull that box to jump to the hanging rope.
5:20 - Warning - This game contains graphic depictions of violence towards giant arachnids. Spider discretion is advised.
10:15 - I'd like to note that I felt often pathetic at times while playing this game. I saw this coming, boldly declared "It's a trap!" to my roomies watching me play, and still failed here.
11:32 - I almost feel sorry for the thing. Almost.
13:21 - More excellent box placement.
14:30 - I failed here too. I predicted the first crusher accurately, but then wrongly assumed it would be the same for the second one.
16:00 - Runner stays on the 2nd rope just long enough to get the door up and get under it, within a quarter of a second leniencey.
21:38 - We can't stop here. This is brain slug country.
26:50 - Tasty tasty brain slugs.
27:25 - I'm not quite sure it takes 3 repetitions to get enough height to make the jump. I seem to recall doing it in just 2, and it doesn't look like any height is really gained on the 3rd run, but I could be wrong. Difference would be about 7 seconds.
30:05 - This kid clearly has something against arthropods.
33:20 - 3 swings are definitely optimal here.
34:18 - This looks like a mistake, but I don't believe that first tooth can be grabbed. 3 second difference, maybe.
38:05 - Execution, execution, execution. Definitely optimal timing on stopping the gear.
38:50 - This one is deceptively difficult to time right; don't be fooled by how easy the runner makes it look.
39:57 - So well timed, the jump at the end wasn't even necessary. This late in an SS run, though, I can definitely understand a safety jump.
42:36 - First real mistake of the run, in positioning the crate. The floors here are deceptively slippery. Maybe 4-5 seconds of loss.
45:00 - Ceilings aren't slippery enough, apparently, though no time loss, as there's a timed element involved.
48:12 - END
49:10 - BUT WAIT, there's more!
Summary: A no death run of Limbo is somewhat boring to watch (watching noobs like myself fail repeatedly at the game is where the real entertainment is), but it takes some damn good execution to pull off, which makes it very impressive in its own right.
Verdict: Accept
Quote:
A/V - good
Cheating - nope
No... Just no. Right from the start (like the first 3 seconds of the run) I rejected this in my mind. I did finish watching it though.
Thing that made me reject this so fast - The runner did not use the fastest means of travel. Run 2 steps, jump, run 2 steps, jump, and so on and so on...
Other things I noticed
1: The animation that the parasite thing does once it attaches to yourself can be skipped. I found this myself on my first play through of the game. Just as you trigger it, turn around.
2: When turning around to make a jump off a ledge, the runner went WAY too far before turning around. You only need like 1.5 steps or less iirc (not gunna start this thing up to see how many steps it does take)
3: This game is far from random except in one spot of the game (working on figuring it out really, seems random but there must be a way to control how far you land when coming out of the spider web), that said, about 90% of this run was played "safe" and did not make any close calls for the sake of saving a half second or so. given how many jumps/falls/ext that can be taken advantage of, there is plenty of time to be taken off this run.
4: The runner did not jump off of any of the slopes (well I think 1) for a huge speed boost for the travel distance that can be made from them.
5: All the small little things that cost a bit of time here and there. Example: At 28:30 of the video, you only need to pull it enough to overlap the smallest amount, not pull it till it stops moving...
I will say there was some spots that made me say "Oh cool" because I did not know something could be done a few times though, props for them finds.
I see in your run notes you streamed this game a bunch, I never once noticed it for one reason or another (work, me streaming, ext for what ever reason). I know there is not a thread for this game. THAT IS WHERE THE MISTAKE FOR THIS RUN IS!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I would have been more than happy to post some of the things I mentioned in this in that thread. USE THE DAMN FORUM!!!! IT IS HERE FOR A REASON!!!!!! Post some vids, get some feedback.
Just re read all of this... I sound like a raging ass hole... But I refuse to edit this.
Cheating - nope
No... Just no. Right from the start (like the first 3 seconds of the run) I rejected this in my mind. I did finish watching it though.
Thing that made me reject this so fast - The runner did not use the fastest means of travel. Run 2 steps, jump, run 2 steps, jump, and so on and so on...
Other things I noticed
1: The animation that the parasite thing does once it attaches to yourself can be skipped. I found this myself on my first play through of the game. Just as you trigger it, turn around.
2: When turning around to make a jump off a ledge, the runner went WAY too far before turning around. You only need like 1.5 steps or less iirc (not gunna start this thing up to see how many steps it does take)
3: This game is far from random except in one spot of the game (working on figuring it out really, seems random but there must be a way to control how far you land when coming out of the spider web), that said, about 90% of this run was played "safe" and did not make any close calls for the sake of saving a half second or so. given how many jumps/falls/ext that can be taken advantage of, there is plenty of time to be taken off this run.
4: The runner did not jump off of any of the slopes (well I think 1) for a huge speed boost for the travel distance that can be made from them.
5: All the small little things that cost a bit of time here and there. Example: At 28:30 of the video, you only need to pull it enough to overlap the smallest amount, not pull it till it stops moving...
I will say there was some spots that made me say "Oh cool" because I did not know something could be done a few times though, props for them finds.
I see in your run notes you streamed this game a bunch, I never once noticed it for one reason or another (work, me streaming, ext for what ever reason). I know there is not a thread for this game. THAT IS WHERE THE MISTAKE FOR THIS RUN IS!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I would have been more than happy to post some of the things I mentioned in this in that thread. USE THE DAMN FORUM!!!! IT IS HERE FOR A REASON!!!!!! Post some vids, get some feedback.
Just re read all of this... I sound like a raging ass hole... But I refuse to edit this.
Quote:
AUDIO: Great
VIDEO: Great
OK, within the 1st 5 seconds of control I know this is going to be a reject.
JUMPING IS FASTER THEN RUNNING! Jump, run for 2 steps then jump again!
Also jumping after a slide is a no brainer to preseve that speed.
2:40 - you dont need that much run up after dragging the bear trap
3:53 - you can make that jump up into the trees in 1 swing
8:29 - Thats pretty cool, I was unaware you could stay on the rope while avoiding the trap
15:24 - You dont have to pull the cart all the way since it will roll into position anyway at a certain point
18:14 - you should be swinging so when you let go you get a little boost, also he stayed on the chain maybe a whole second too long.
23:49 - If you carry on running on top of the "O" and drop down the right hand side you can land directly onto the swinging wire. Saving time and looking cool.
33:29 - You only have to swing twice on that chain before hitting the switch Im sure
39:47 - can be done much faster by never leaving the cart, just stand at the front and hold B and fowards once you hit the platform
42:46 - crate shenanigans
44:40 - I think it might be faster to push the 1st crate along the bottom of the level rather then 2 at the to at the same time but it would need to be tested.
46:57 - could have gone for it rather then waiting for a another cycle
Reject because he wasnt jumping all the time which is faster then running. That and aswell as what I have in my comments theirs a ton of small things like waiting too long or not standing as close as possible that all add up.
VIDEO: Great
OK, within the 1st 5 seconds of control I know this is going to be a reject.
JUMPING IS FASTER THEN RUNNING! Jump, run for 2 steps then jump again!
Also jumping after a slide is a no brainer to preseve that speed.
2:40 - you dont need that much run up after dragging the bear trap
3:53 - you can make that jump up into the trees in 1 swing
8:29 - Thats pretty cool, I was unaware you could stay on the rope while avoiding the trap
15:24 - You dont have to pull the cart all the way since it will roll into position anyway at a certain point
18:14 - you should be swinging so when you let go you get a little boost, also he stayed on the chain maybe a whole second too long.
23:49 - If you carry on running on top of the "O" and drop down the right hand side you can land directly onto the swinging wire. Saving time and looking cool.
33:29 - You only have to swing twice on that chain before hitting the switch Im sure
39:47 - can be done much faster by never leaving the cart, just stand at the front and hold B and fowards once you hit the platform
42:46 - crate shenanigans
44:40 - I think it might be faster to push the 1st crate along the bottom of the level rather then 2 at the to at the same time but it would need to be tested.
46:57 - could have gone for it rather then waiting for a another cycle
Reject because he wasnt jumping all the time which is faster then running. That and aswell as what I have in my comments theirs a ton of small things like waiting too long or not standing as close as possible that all add up.
Quote:
The fact is, this run is not very well optimized. There are tons of small optimizations that can be made to the movements and to the puzzles which really add up over the course of the whole game. Hesitation, standing in sub-optimal spots while waiting for some timed event to occur, not jumping off ladders/ropes as early as possible, pushing things farther than necessary. I've tried to list some of the things below, but there's lots of lost seconds scattered throughout the run that didn't make the list. I understand this is a fairly long SS run, so I wouldn't fault the runner for playing it safe in some spots, but the majority of these optimizations are not things that would add unnecessary risk. They are simply lost time.
The biggest problem of all is that running is NOT the fastest movement method. The running jump is faster. It would save a couple minutes overall.
Specific suggestions:
3:59 - Can be done in one swing.
4:30 - You can stop pushing the trunk at least two seconds earlier.
5:09 - You don't need to be on the left side of the beartrap. You can fight the spider safely on the right side of the beartrap, which saves time jumping over the trap initially and puts you further to the right once the fight is over.
5:51 - You can gain speed using this slope. You should jump before it, land on the beginning of the slope, and then jump again as you reach the end of it to preserve that speed a while longer. This same thing applies to all the slidey-slopes in the game.
6:02 - You had the right idea here, jumping just before the sticky part in order to get as far in as possible before you start walking slow. But you can actually jump even later, by about half a jump-length. The cutoff spot is the first rounded bump, if that makes any sense.
8:06 - Could have made this jump a couple seconds earlier, but it is risky so you can't be faulted for that on such a long SS.
13:50 - You can make this jump MUCH earlier. By 5 seconds, no exaggeration.
13:57 - Minor thing: Rather than hopping over the body right away, you can stay on the right side all the way until the very end and hop over just as it's falling into the pit. This is slightly faster, because hopping over the body when it's on a down-slope gives the body a little speed boost.
18:09 - You can swing-jump off this rope to get a speed boost. Also, you can jump off the rope slightly before the water level reaches the top, since it will keep filling for another second or so after you let go.
20:41 - this jump can be made slightly sooner (and you can stand farther to the right in order to be higher up).
23:51 - You can drop down on the right side of the "O", and it's a little faster.
25:11 - You can drop from this rope a LOT earlier. You can even climb down it a click or two so you're dropping from the lowest point.
27:34 - This can be done in one less pass.
27:42 - You don't need to pull it so far in order to make the jump.
31:50 - This part can actually be done in just 1 cycle of the door opening. The box has to be further left, and you don't want to push that tire quite so far to the left (you will actually get more door-open time if the tire doesn't do a hard bump against the right side of its range but instead rolls up to it and loses its momentum on its own). It will allow you to get through the door, climb over the box, and then push the box left just in time that it gets stuck in the door, causing the door to re-open so you can get through. Not as hard as it sounds, with some practice.
33:27 - One swing is all you need!! The trick is, after you run back left and flip the switch, pause for just a second before running right, else you'll miss the rope. It is actually very reliable this way.
37:56 - It's possible to get on that gear one tooth earlier just by optimizing your movements, starting from where the creature eats the brain-slug. (It's not easy, though).
38:44 - A brief tug (< 1 sec) is all you need to give the cart enough momentum to reach where you need it. No need to pull on it for so long and then take more time to stop its momentum at just the right spot.
39:50 - You don't need to jump off the cart and push it. You can stand at the front of it, hold the grab button, and simply grab onto the beam and press right in order stop the cart.
40:48 - As you're pushing the crate you can just continue holding left (even after it falls off the ledge), and you will walk off the ledge and land right on the crate. It's easy and reliable.
41:10 - The gun can be destroyed a couple seconds faster, but your method isn't bad and it's less risky.
41:38 - Box doesn't need to be pushed this far the first time. You can stop about a second earlier, which will also save another 2 seconds of waiting for it to slide back down.
46:50 - If you had pushed the block just a little farther during the first switch-flip you could have made it through this room on the second switch-flip instead of the third. (Actually you probably could have made it on the second switch-flip even without moving the box farther the first time, though it would be safer to do so).
A/V:
No problems here. Looks and sounds great.
Legitimacy:
No signs of cheating.
Verdict: Reject.
This is a long SS with lots that can go wrong, so the runner's efforts are commendable. It was definitely no easy task getting a run like this. But the planning needs some work and the execution could be tighter. If these were the only problems, I'd be on the fence, but not using the fastest movement method always equals reject.
The biggest problem of all is that running is NOT the fastest movement method. The running jump is faster. It would save a couple minutes overall.
Specific suggestions:
3:59 - Can be done in one swing.
4:30 - You can stop pushing the trunk at least two seconds earlier.
5:09 - You don't need to be on the left side of the beartrap. You can fight the spider safely on the right side of the beartrap, which saves time jumping over the trap initially and puts you further to the right once the fight is over.
5:51 - You can gain speed using this slope. You should jump before it, land on the beginning of the slope, and then jump again as you reach the end of it to preserve that speed a while longer. This same thing applies to all the slidey-slopes in the game.
6:02 - You had the right idea here, jumping just before the sticky part in order to get as far in as possible before you start walking slow. But you can actually jump even later, by about half a jump-length. The cutoff spot is the first rounded bump, if that makes any sense.
8:06 - Could have made this jump a couple seconds earlier, but it is risky so you can't be faulted for that on such a long SS.
13:50 - You can make this jump MUCH earlier. By 5 seconds, no exaggeration.
13:57 - Minor thing: Rather than hopping over the body right away, you can stay on the right side all the way until the very end and hop over just as it's falling into the pit. This is slightly faster, because hopping over the body when it's on a down-slope gives the body a little speed boost.
18:09 - You can swing-jump off this rope to get a speed boost. Also, you can jump off the rope slightly before the water level reaches the top, since it will keep filling for another second or so after you let go.
20:41 - this jump can be made slightly sooner (and you can stand farther to the right in order to be higher up).
23:51 - You can drop down on the right side of the "O", and it's a little faster.
25:11 - You can drop from this rope a LOT earlier. You can even climb down it a click or two so you're dropping from the lowest point.
27:34 - This can be done in one less pass.
27:42 - You don't need to pull it so far in order to make the jump.
31:50 - This part can actually be done in just 1 cycle of the door opening. The box has to be further left, and you don't want to push that tire quite so far to the left (you will actually get more door-open time if the tire doesn't do a hard bump against the right side of its range but instead rolls up to it and loses its momentum on its own). It will allow you to get through the door, climb over the box, and then push the box left just in time that it gets stuck in the door, causing the door to re-open so you can get through. Not as hard as it sounds, with some practice.
33:27 - One swing is all you need!! The trick is, after you run back left and flip the switch, pause for just a second before running right, else you'll miss the rope. It is actually very reliable this way.
37:56 - It's possible to get on that gear one tooth earlier just by optimizing your movements, starting from where the creature eats the brain-slug. (It's not easy, though).
38:44 - A brief tug (< 1 sec) is all you need to give the cart enough momentum to reach where you need it. No need to pull on it for so long and then take more time to stop its momentum at just the right spot.
39:50 - You don't need to jump off the cart and push it. You can stand at the front of it, hold the grab button, and simply grab onto the beam and press right in order stop the cart.
40:48 - As you're pushing the crate you can just continue holding left (even after it falls off the ledge), and you will walk off the ledge and land right on the crate. It's easy and reliable.
41:10 - The gun can be destroyed a couple seconds faster, but your method isn't bad and it's less risky.
41:38 - Box doesn't need to be pushed this far the first time. You can stop about a second earlier, which will also save another 2 seconds of waiting for it to slide back down.
46:50 - If you had pushed the block just a little farther during the first switch-flip you could have made it through this room on the second switch-flip instead of the third. (Actually you probably could have made it on the second switch-flip even without moving the box farther the first time, though it would be safer to do so).
A/V:
No problems here. Looks and sounds great.
Legitimacy:
No signs of cheating.
Verdict: Reject.
This is a long SS with lots that can go wrong, so the runner's efforts are commendable. It was definitely no easy task getting a run like this. But the planning needs some work and the execution could be tighter. If these were the only problems, I'd be on the fence, but not using the fastest movement method always equals reject.
Decision: Reject
Reason: The runner doesn't use the fastest method of movement and failed to use numerous small timsavers.
The run should be available for about a month. PM me for a link.
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