Lucky Luke: On the Daltons' Trail

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SDAVerification: 2016-10-04 10:25:39 am

2016-09-21 03:58:33 am

Game Page: Doesn't exist yet

Lucky Luke: On the Dalton's Trail () (pc) [Any %] [Single Segment]

Decision: Reject

Reason: A fairly close call. It's well played and planned out in most areas. The RNG was roughly average, there were scattered minor mistakes, but also two major execution mistakes that each led to >20s lost. An acceptable run should strive towards eliminating mistakes this big.

https://queue.speeddemosarchive.com/verificationfiles/1951/

This run will be available for a month. After that these link(s) will no longer work.

Thread title:

SDAVerification

2016-09-21 03:58:33 am

Run Information

Lucky Luke: On the Dalton's Trail () (pc) [Any %] [Single Segment]

Verification Files

http://v.speeddemosarchive.com/luckyluke-20160919/lucky_luke.mp4

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

2016-09-25 08:57:09 am

A/V: Good

Gameplay:
Too bad there are no comments uploaded yet for this run, but this covers most of it https://www.speedrun.com/Lucky_Luke_On_the_Daltons_Trail/guide/rauik (except what went good and bad in this particular run). Anyways, the game reminds me of similar Infogrammes games based on comic series. Particularly the hit boxes when jumping look challenging to work with. There are also a couple of execution mistakes based on mistimed jumps. Most of them small, but also one leading to a time-consuming unintentional (at least it looks unintentional to me) death (>20s at the beginning of level 5).

I believe there is a bit of routing involved. Nothing that I have checked in any detail, but it's obvious that effort has been put into this area. Death abuse, money management and general routing look good from what I can see. A minor question mark at 35:32 in the mine cart section though. Why go right there and not left? It looks like right was a detour?

Several of the bosses seem very RNG-based, so it's easy to see how plenty of time can go down the drain with no possibility to do anything about it. All I can say is that the job gets done, but there is still lots of time to save by better luck (well understanding that perfect luck is never going to happen).

Overall, it looks pretty good (especially if it hadn't been for the unintentional death in level 5, which was kind of meh...).

Accept

A/V: Good

Gameplay: 
Too bad there are no comments uploaded yet for this run, but this covers most of it https://www.speedrun.com/Lucky_Luke_On_the_Daltons_Trail/guide/rauik (except what went good and bad in this particular run). Anyways, the game reminds me of similar Infogrammes games based on comic series. Particularly the hit boxes when jumping look challenging to work with. There are also a couple of execution mistakes based on mistimed jumps. Most of them small, but also one leading to a time-consuming unintentional (at least it looks unintentional to me) death (>20s at the beginning of level 5).

I believe there is a bit of routing involved. Nothing that I have checked in any detail, but it's obvious that effort has been put into this area. Death abuse, money management and general routing look good from what I can see. A minor question mark at 35:32 in the mine cart section though. Why go right there and not left? It looks like right was a detour?

Several of the bosses seem very RNG-based, so it's easy to see how plenty of time can go down the drain with no possibility to do anything about it. All I can say is that the job gets done, but there is still lots of time to save by better luck (well understanding that perfect luck is never going to happen).

Overall, it looks pretty good (especially if it hadn't been for the unintentional death in level 5, which was kind of meh...).

Accept

wesen

2016-09-26 11:34:53 am

I added the comments today, they also mention the huge and unnecessary time loss in level 5.

I did not find any glitch in this game that would help me to complete levels faster, so the onliest routing I did was indeed using checkpoints and deaths to skip some walking parts and a money strategy to visit the shop as least often as possible. In general I also had to know the items locations and where to go after collecting them.

In the mine cart level you always drive on a fixed path. You can only choose between two tracks at parts with a red tolling lever. Besides that the two tracks are connected by a giant curve, so even if I could choose the left way I would still drive the same way, it would only be reversed.

I also think that the bosses and the boxing levels can be improved.

The death in level 5 was quite disappointing but I didn't want to cancel the run just because of one death.

LotBlind

2016-09-27 01:00:48 pm

My verification coming in 1-2 days.

LotBlind

2016-09-29 01:02:14 pm

So sorry in advance... I have to ask you a bunch of questions because I'm not quite decided on my verdict yet. Feel free to edit some critical answers into your comments so it's easier to verify the potential improvements later on.

Are you buffering the jumps the whole time or do you have to mash/time each one?

Are the moving platforms/crushers/swinging spike balls etc. in this game on a global timer or local? Does dying (as in lvl 5) affect their patterns, other than if you get to skip something like the dynamite on the next attempt?

How exactly do you have to stand on a switch (level 5) to be able to pull it?

How much time does it save to jump up a ladder instead of starting at the bottom? (ignoring time saved by faster horizontal movement when jumping). Also, what determines if you can move sideways while dropping down a ladder (like you do at e.g. 13:12)? At 14:36 you seem to be able to sort of ignore the ladder completely. Is it a special spot? And thirdly, do you have to land/stand next to the ladder before you can initiate a jump that gets you down it?

---

1:01 - Did you test trying to shoot the rope before dropping on ground level? Can you shoot while jumping?

11:18 - should have run for a bit so you can jump directly up the ladder?

13:37 - What happens if you take damage from this type of enemy? Why can't you jump over it before it's thrown the axe? Why can't you take damage from it, jumping over the next one instead (you'd have to run a bit but maybe that's still faster than waiting).

15:22 - We should talk about this level a bit...

Both the mistakes in this level are unforced, i.e. not RNG. They both waste lots of time. They also look to me like the kind of thing runners usually just have to have experienced once or twice to be able to avoid them consistently. The first one looks like you should now be able to avoid it... well, consistently. Buffering, BTW, is an important technique in setting up difficult tricks, "taming" them essentially.

Do you think you had more margin to jump sooner after the bat you dodge at 15:18? Does the bat behave the same each time? In either case I'm trying to see a way in which the death isn't just lack of experience. You're not trying to be careful because you think you may have jumped too late at the bat, but that's all it would have taken.

The missed cycle at 18:20 - when you do the jump at this timestamp, you're definitely overshooting it a lot. By using a visual cue you could easily have gotten on the second platform quicker. Or do you miss that cycle no matter what because of something the death causes or... what?

19:47 - Is there a faster cycle here in theory? In any case you're being way conservative at the end of the short platform section, unless it's all on a global cycle and you knew the falling doors were going to hold you anyway.

20:36 - Just to be sure, is there no fast cycle here even theoretically?

24:18 - So I get there's some thin thin platforms below here somewhere? You really can't use the background visual cues to hop off at the right spot? If you try this, does the camera follow you slowly so you have no time to react if you're off?

25:23 - Can't you jump off the cloud any earlier? Doesn't the whirlwind catch you if you do? You do have the easy visual cue in the dollars.

25:32 - Does just dropping off here as you do sometimes work? If you had made it onto the low platform next to the whirlwind, could you have fallen into the pit underneath the whirlwind without having to fly up first? Also could you not have set up dying to the Indian instead by taking more damage elsewhere?

28:50 - Here, could you shoot and jump a bit sooner, so the second jump takes you onto the platform without having to stop in the air?

32:33 - Any way to kill the bear a little bit sooner, so the jump takes you all the way up onto the crate in one go? Or is the falling rock that kills it? Afterwards, what happens if you suicide by hopping off? Is the fall so long that it's faster to do what you did?

37:40 - Here you go for an extra loop for getting the money above 100. However, shopping for a second item is quicker than taking this loop. What am I missing?

Level 11 - So there's some randomness as to when some guys (the one in the barrel) spawns?

waiting

So sorry in advance... I have to ask you a bunch of questions because I'm not quite decided on my verdict yet. Feel free to edit some critical answers into your comments so it's easier to verify the potential improvements later on.

Are you buffering the jumps the whole time or do you have to mash/time each one?

Are the moving platforms/crushers/swinging spike balls etc. in this game on a global timer or local? Does dying (as in lvl 5) affect their patterns, other than if you get to skip something like the dynamite on the next attempt?

How exactly do you have to stand on a switch (level 5) to be able to pull it?

How much time does it save to jump up a ladder instead of starting at the bottom? (ignoring time saved by faster horizontal movement when jumping). Also, what determines if you can move sideways while dropping down a ladder (like you do at e.g. 13:12)? At 14:36 you seem to be able to sort of ignore the ladder completely. Is it a special spot? And thirdly, do you have to land/stand next to the ladder before you can initiate a jump that gets you down it?

---

1:01 - Did you test trying to shoot the rope before dropping on ground level? Can you shoot while jumping?

11:18 - should have run for a bit so you can jump directly up the ladder?

13:37 - What happens if you take damage from this type of enemy? Why can't you jump over it before it's thrown the axe? Why can't you take damage from it, jumping over the next one instead (you'd have to run a bit but maybe that's still faster than waiting).

15:22 - We should talk about this level a bit...

Both the mistakes in this level are unforced, i.e. not RNG. They both waste lots of time. They also look to me like the kind of thing runners usually just have to have experienced once or twice to be able to avoid them consistently. The first one looks like you should now be able to avoid it... well, consistently. Buffering, BTW, is an important technique in setting up difficult tricks, "taming" them essentially.

Do you think you had more margin to jump sooner after the bat you dodge at 15:18? Does the bat behave the same each time? In either case I'm trying to see a way in which the death isn't just lack of experience. You're not trying to be careful because you think you may have jumped too late at the bat, but that's all it would have taken.

The missed cycle at 18:20 - when you do the jump at this timestamp, you're definitely overshooting it a lot. By using a visual cue you could easily have gotten on the second platform quicker. Or do you miss that cycle no matter what because of something the death causes or... what?

19:47 - Is there a faster cycle here in theory? In any case you're being way conservative at the end of the short platform section, unless it's all on a global cycle and you knew the falling doors were going to hold you anyway.

20:36 - Just to be sure, is there no fast cycle here even theoretically?

24:18 - So I get there's some thin thin platforms below here somewhere? You really can't use the background visual cues to hop off at the right spot? If you try this, does the camera follow you slowly so you have no time to react if you're off?

25:23 - Can't you jump off the cloud any earlier? Doesn't the whirlwind catch you if you do? You do have the easy visual cue in the dollars.

25:32 - Does just dropping off here as you do sometimes work? If you had made it onto the low platform next to the whirlwind, could you have fallen into the pit underneath the whirlwind without having to fly up first? Also could you not have set up dying to the Indian instead by taking more damage elsewhere?

28:50 - Here, could you shoot and jump a bit sooner, so the second jump takes you onto the platform without having to stop in the air?

32:33 - Any way to kill the bear a little bit sooner, so the jump takes you all the way up onto the crate in one go? Or is the falling rock that kills it? Afterwards, what happens if you suicide by hopping off? Is the fall so long that it's faster to do what you did?

37:40 - Here you go for an extra loop for getting the money above 100. However, shopping for a second item is quicker than taking this loop. What am I missing?

Level 11 - So there's some randomness as to when some guys (the one in the barrel) spawns?

waiting

wesen

2016-09-30 06:46:05 am

Quote:

Are you buffering the jumps the whole time or do you have to mash/time each one?

You can't just hold the jump key to do multiple jumps, you have to press jump again to do a second jump.

Quote:

Are the moving platforms/crushers/swinging spike balls etc. in this game on a global timer or local?

I think they are on no timer at all, they start moving as soon as they are on screen and always behave the same way. Same goes for enemies, they alway behave the same when on screen.

Quote:

Does dying (as in lvl 5) affect their patterns, other than if you get to skip something like the dynamite on the next attempt?

No, I don't think so.

Quote:

How exactly do you have to stand on a switch (level 5) to be able to pull it?

You have to be in front of it and then press the up key to pull it.

Quote:

How much time does it save to jump up a ladder instead of starting at the bottom?

I think the time is equal, going up ladders is quite fast.

Quote:

Also, what determines if you can move sideways while dropping down a ladder

When you reach the bottom end of the ladder while still in air you can move to the left and right.

Quote:

At 14:36 you seem to be able to sort of ignore the ladder completely. Is it a special spot?

No, I just started the jump just before going down the ladder (you can not jump while walking on the ladder by the way). This works for all ladders in the game, at this spot you can enter the door a bit faster when you do it while in air.

Quote:

do you have to land/stand next to the ladder before you can initiate a jump that gets you down it?

Yes, to jump down or up a ladder you have to stand in front of it. However you can also jump and move to the left or right first to get in front of the ladder and then with the same jump go down the ladder.

Quote:

1:01 - Did you test trying to shoot the rope before dropping on ground level? Can you shoot while jumping?

Shooting while jumping is not possible. You have to stand on the ground to be able to shoot.

Quote:

11:18 - should have run for a bit so you can jump directly up the ladder?

Well I am not sure whether it makes a difference to jump or walk up a ladder. Both methods seem equally fast.

Quote:

13:37 - What happens if you take damage from this type of enemy? Why can't you jump over it before it's thrown the axe? Why can't you take damage from it, jumping over the next one instead (you'd have to run a bit but maybe that's still faster than waiting).

It is possible to jump over the ghost that comes out of the door, however it is very very hard and you most likely hit him when trying to jump over him. I chose to wait at the axe throwing enemy because I think the waiting time is shorter than the waiting time until the other ghost walks down the ladder.

Quote:

The first one looks like you should now be able to avoid it...

The first trick is based on the jump right after the bat. I have to avoid touching the bat but at the same time jump as soon as possible. When succeeding I will land on the edge and can then jump over the first wooden platform.

Quote:

Do you think you had more margin to jump sooner after the bat you dodge at 15:18? Does the bat behave the same each time?

Yes, I could have jumped a bit earlier without touching the bat. If I'd had done so I would not have fallen into the gap. The bat behaves the same each time.

Quote:

The missed cycle at 18:20 - when you do the jump at this timestamp, you're definitely overshooting it a lot. By using a visual cue you could easily have gotten on the second platform quicker. Or do you miss that cycle no matter what because of something the death causes or... what?

Yes, if I jumped earlier on the sidewards moving platform I could have easily gotten the cycle. I was a bit unsure at that moment because the death in this level wasn't planned and I thought I wouldn't have enough lives for Level 8. So basically it was just a fail for no reason.

Quote:

19:47 - Is there a faster cycle here in theory? In any case you're being way conservative at the end of the short platform section, unless it's all on a global cycle and you knew the falling doors were going to hold you anyway.

No, the cycle is always like that. I waited a bit long at the last platform, maybe I wanted to be careful and avoid another death. The doors also always act like that, they start moving when on screen.

Quote:

20:36 - Just to be sure, is there no fast cycle here even theoretically?

Unfortunately, there is none. This is the fastest you can get at that section.

Quote:

24:18 - So I get there's some thin thin platforms below here somewhere? You really can't use the background visual cues to hop off at the right spot? If you try this, does the camera follow you slowly so you have no time to react if you're off?

The platforms are like the ones that are spread over the whole level. It has to be a quite good timed jump otherwise you will fall in one of the pits. It is possible to use the background visual cues, but I didn't pay attention to where each platform is so I didn't know when to jump.

Quote:

25:23 - Can't you jump off the cloud any earlier? Doesn't the whirlwind catch you if you do? You do have the easy visual cue in the dollars.

The whirlwind still catches me even if I only touch the bottom of it. I would also fly up less high if I did so.

Quote:

25:32 - Does just dropping off here as you do sometimes work? If you had made it onto the low platform next to the whirlwind, could you have fallen into the pit underneath the whirlwind without having to fly up first? Also could you not have set up dying to the Indian instead by taking more damage elsewhere?

No, that was just another mistake. You can't jump down right where the whirlwind is, it will not fly up high enough to not touch you.
It might be possible to set up a death by the Indian, there are arrows flying at you next to the guy who creates the clouds. It should work like this:

1. jump at the Indian
2. trigger cloud guy
3. go to the left and get hit by two arrows
4. go back collect the totem part and jump at the Indian again

Quote:

28:50 - Here, could you shoot and jump a bit sooner, so the second jump takes you onto the platform without having to stop in the air?

No, it is not possible. When you shoot this enemy type before he throws his tool, he will block every shot. When you walk at him you will be pushed back and can't move for a moment.

Quote:

32:33 - Any way to kill the bear a little bit sooner, so the jump takes you all the way up onto the crate in one go? Or is the falling rock that kills it? Afterwards, what happens if you suicide by hopping off? Is the fall so long that it's faster to do what you did?

The falling rock kills the bear. When you jump down, there are two levels of platforms. You will land where you shot the long box down. You have to walk to the left or right for a few seconds to reach a place where you can jump down.

Quote:

37:40 - Here you go for an extra loop for getting the money above 100. However, shopping for a second item is quicker than taking this loop. What am I missing?

It's not that I chose to drive this loop. The game forces me to drive it before it lets me reach the exit of the mine. You can only choose between two tracks when you can activate a lever, every other path is fixed.

Quote:

Level 11 - So there's some randomness as to when some guys (the one in the barrel) spawns?

No, this level has a fixed pattern of enemies. The onliest random parts are (only the position not the number of enemies):

1st section: guy at the three windows.

2nd section: house on the right side, where there are a guy in a barrel, on the roof and in the window.

3rd section: on the left side, guy on the roof, behind the house and in the trailer.

[quote]Are you buffering the jumps the whole time or do you have to mash/time each one?[/quote]

You can't just hold the jump key to do multiple jumps, you have to press jump again to do a second jump.

[quote]Are the moving platforms/crushers/swinging spike balls etc. in this game on a global timer or local?[/quote]

I think they are on no timer at all, they start moving as soon as they are on screen and always behave the same way. Same goes for enemies, they alway behave the same when on screen.

[quote] Does dying (as in lvl 5) affect their patterns, other than if you get to skip something like the dynamite on the next attempt?
[/quote]

No, I don't think so.

[quote]How exactly do you have to stand on a switch (level 5) to be able to pull it?[/quote]

You have to be in front of it and then press the up key to pull it.

[quote]How much time does it save to jump up a ladder instead of starting at the bottom?[/quote]

I think the time is equal, going up ladders is quite fast.

[quote]Also, what determines if you can move sideways while dropping down a ladder[/quote]

When you reach the bottom end of the ladder while still in air you can move to the left and right.

[quote]At 14:36 you seem to be able to sort of ignore the ladder completely. Is it a special spot?[/quote]

No, I just started the jump just before going down the ladder (you can not jump while walking on the ladder by the way). This works for all ladders in the game, at this spot you can enter the door a bit faster when you do it while in air.

[quote]do you have to land/stand next to the ladder before you can initiate a jump that gets you down it?
[/quote]

Yes, to jump down or up a ladder you have to stand in front of it. However you can also jump and move to the left or right first to get in front of the ladder and then with the same jump go down the ladder.

[quote]1:01 - Did you test trying to shoot the rope before dropping on ground level? Can you shoot while jumping?[/quote]

Shooting while jumping is not possible. You have to stand on the ground to be able to shoot.

[quote]11:18 - should have run for a bit so you can jump directly up the ladder?[/quote]

Well I am not sure whether it makes a difference to jump or walk up a ladder. Both methods seem equally fast.

[quote]13:37 - What happens if you take damage from this type of enemy? Why can't you jump over it before it's thrown the axe? Why can't you take damage from it, jumping over the next one instead (you'd have to run a bit but maybe that's still faster than waiting).[/quote]

It is possible to jump over the ghost that comes out of the door, however it is very very hard and you most likely hit him when trying to jump over him. I chose to wait at the axe throwing enemy because I think the waiting time is shorter than the waiting time until the other ghost walks down the ladder.

[quote]The first one looks like you should now be able to avoid it...[/quote]

The first trick is based on the jump right after the bat. I have to avoid touching the bat but at the same time jump as soon as possible. When succeeding I will land on the edge and can then jump over the first wooden platform.

[quote]Do you think you had more margin to jump sooner after the bat you dodge at 15:18? Does the bat behave the same each time?[/quote]

Yes, I could have jumped a bit earlier without touching the bat. If I'd had done so I would not have fallen into the gap. The bat behaves the same each time.

[quote]The missed cycle at 18:20 - when you do the jump at this timestamp, you're definitely overshooting it a lot. By using a visual cue you could easily have gotten on the second platform quicker. Or do you miss that cycle no matter what because of something the death causes or... what?[/quote]

Yes, if I jumped earlier on the sidewards moving platform I could have easily gotten the cycle. I was a bit unsure at that moment because the death in this level wasn't planned and I thought I wouldn't have enough lives for Level 8. So basically it was just a fail for no reason.

[quote]19:47 - Is there a faster cycle here in theory? In any case you're being way conservative at the end of the short platform section, unless it's all on a global cycle and you knew the falling doors were going to hold you anyway.[/quote]

No, the cycle is always like that. I waited a bit long at the last platform, maybe I wanted to be careful and avoid another death. The doors also always act like that, they start moving when on screen.

[quote]20:36 - Just to be sure, is there no fast cycle here even theoretically?[/quote]

Unfortunately, there is none. This is the fastest you can get at that section.

[quote]24:18 - So I get there's some thin thin platforms below here somewhere? You really can't use the background visual cues to hop off at the right spot? If you try this, does the camera follow you slowly so you have no time to react if you're off?[/quote]

The platforms are like the ones that are spread over the whole level. It has to be a quite good timed jump otherwise you will fall in one of the pits. It is possible to use the background visual cues, but I didn't pay attention to where each platform is so I didn't know when to jump.

[quote]25:23 - Can't you jump off the cloud any earlier? Doesn't the whirlwind catch you if you do? You do have the easy visual cue in the dollars.[/quote]

The whirlwind still catches me even if I only touch the bottom of it. I would also fly up less high if I did so.

[quote]25:32 - Does just dropping off here as you do sometimes work? If you had made it onto the low platform next to the whirlwind, could you have fallen into the pit underneath the whirlwind without having to fly up first? Also could you not have set up dying to the Indian instead by taking more damage elsewhere?[/quote]

No, that was just another mistake. You can't jump down right where the whirlwind is, it will not fly up high enough to not touch you.
It might be possible to set up a death by the Indian, there are arrows flying at you next to the guy who creates the clouds. It should work like this:

1. jump at the Indian
2. trigger cloud guy
3. go to the left and get hit by two arrows
4. go back collect the totem part and jump at the Indian again

[quote]28:50 - Here, could you shoot and jump a bit sooner, so the second jump takes you onto the platform without having to stop in the air?[/quote]

No, it is not possible. When you shoot this enemy type before he throws his tool, he will block every shot. When you walk at him you will be pushed back and can't move for a moment.

[quote]32:33 - Any way to kill the bear a little bit sooner, so the jump takes you all the way up onto the crate in one go? Or is the falling rock that kills it? Afterwards, what happens if you suicide by hopping off? Is the fall so long that it's faster to do what you did?
[/quote]

The falling rock kills the bear. When you jump down, there are two levels of platforms. You will land where you shot the long box down. You have to walk to the left or right for a few seconds to reach a place where you can jump down.

[quote]37:40 - Here you go for an extra loop for getting the money above 100. However, shopping for a second item is quicker than taking this loop. What am I missing?[/quote]

It's not that I chose to drive this loop. The game forces me to drive it before it lets me reach the exit of the mine. You can only choose between two tracks when you can activate a lever, every other path is fixed.

[quote]Level 11 - So there's some randomness as to when some guys (the one in the barrel) spawns?[/quote]

No, this level has a fixed pattern of enemies. The onliest random parts are (only the position not the number of enemies):

1st section: guy at the three windows.

2nd section: house on the right side, where there are a guy in a barrel, on the roof and in the window.

3rd section: on the left side, guy on the roof, behind the house and in the trailer.

LotBlind

2016-09-30 10:38:23 am

Thanks for all the answers! Cheesy

"How exactly..." haha, I meant "How close to the switch"... It's fine though.

I tried to read your explanation, but I sort of still don't understand why you can't do air movement when coming down the ladder at 1:22 or 1:34 for example.

It looks to me like you're finishing the run on 5 lives... why were you scared of not having enough for level 8?

The level 5 mishaps are confirmed to be what I suspected: all on the runner really. The second thing is I don't think this run is quite as well-planned as it could have been. It looks like such a simple game, despite being average length, in a lot of places it doesn't look like a lot of things can go badly wrong. There's all kinds of autoscrollers, waiting for bosses, random fights that by runner comments don't really rely on good execution any more so than luck. And the luck can't have been much better than average either, right? Seeing as you mention much time is possible to save on most bosses.

E.g. in 00:37 while pushing the crate, you could probably stop pushing a little bit earlier if you used the water trough in the background (or something similar) as the visual cue. It's little stuff like that that I'd really like to see more of from a fairly straightforward run like this.

So with everything taken into account, I think I am fairly confident in my verdict now. I don't think the runner will be too surprised either. I wanted to bring up a lot of possibilities in my questions not only to gauge how much time may have been lost elsewhere than the misfortunate level 5, but also to try to give the runner any possible tips on what else they could think about and try to improve on.

reject for now

PS: I can see it's a bit difficult to practise one part repeatedly because no saving/loading and no level select (?), but if you can practise either in an emulator or by using something like CheatEngine to give yourself infinite lives or so maybe it'll be easier. Hope that helps!

Thanks for all the answers! :D

"How exactly..." haha, I meant "How close to the switch"... It's fine though.

I tried to read your explanation, but I sort of still don't understand why you can't do air movement when coming down the ladder at 1:22 or 1:34 for example.

It looks to me like you're finishing the run on 5 lives... why were you scared of not having enough for level 8?

The level 5 mishaps are confirmed to be what I suspected: all on the runner really. The second thing is I don't think this run is quite as well-planned as it could have been. It looks like such a simple game, despite being average length, in a lot of places it doesn't look like a lot of things can go badly wrong. There's all kinds of autoscrollers, waiting for bosses, random fights that by runner comments don't really rely on good execution any more so than luck. And the luck can't have been much better than average either, right? Seeing as you mention much time is possible to save on most bosses.

E.g. in 00:37 while pushing the crate, you could probably stop pushing a little bit earlier if you used the water trough in the background (or something similar) as the visual cue. It's little stuff like that that I'd really like to see more of from a fairly straightforward run like this.

So with everything taken into account, I think I am fairly confident in my verdict now. I don't think the runner will be too surprised either. I wanted to bring up a lot of possibilities in my questions not only to gauge how much time may have been lost elsewhere than the misfortunate level 5, but also to try to give the runner any possible tips on what else they could think about and try to improve on.

reject for now

PS: I can see it's a bit difficult to practise one part repeatedly because no saving/loading and no level select (?), but if you can practise either in an emulator or by using something like CheatEngine to give yourself infinite lives or so maybe it'll be easier. Hope that helps!

wesen

2016-09-30 03:56:03 pm

Ok, I try to explain the ladder thing a bit different:

The game has somewhat 3 dimensions, when you use ladders you go a bit into the background, when you go down ladders you come back closer to the foreground. There's a short path that is connecting the background and foreground platforms. On this path you can not move left or right because there are invisible walls preventing you from doing so. The path starts shortly before the bottom of a ladder and ends shortly after the top end of the ladder. When you jump from the top end of the ladder to the foreground, you can jump through the whole path that can only be used to walk from the front to the back or vice versa. Only if you jump wide enough you can move right or left when exiting the path.

To be honest, this was the first time trying out the tactic of not getting more than 29 Dollars in the desert. Usually I had to buy an extra life there and I did not calculate how many lifes I will have to loose in the complete run.

It really looks simple, but it is quite hard at some places. Especially the Mine Cart Ride in Level 9 is really hard, the jump length is so short, that you will have to time every jump over gaps very good.

The problem at 00:37 is the different viewing angle. To be able to jump earlier you have to run to the edge of that crate and then jump. It is quite hard to estimate when you reach the edge. I had a cue at that section, the barrel throwing guy. When he is about to throw the second barrel, I jump on the box and to the roof of the house.

I agree, this run can probably be improved by at least a minute or even two.

Practising Levels is possible though, when you choose "OPTIONS" in the main menu, you can select "PASSWORD" from there and enter level passwords to play specific levels.

Thanks anyway for taking the time to watch the run and making suggestions for improvements. I didn't even think about a different way for the second death in the desert for example.

Ok, I try to explain the ladder thing a bit different:

The game has somewhat 3 dimensions, when you use ladders you go a bit into the background, when you go down ladders you come back closer to the foreground. There's a short path that is connecting the background and foreground platforms. On this path you can not move left or right because there are invisible walls preventing you from doing so. The path starts shortly before the bottom of a ladder and ends shortly after the top end of the ladder. When you jump from the top end of the ladder to the foreground, you can jump through the whole path that can only be used to walk from the front to the back or vice versa. Only if you jump wide enough you can move right or left when exiting the path.

To be honest, this was the first time trying out the tactic of not getting more than 29 Dollars in the desert. Usually I had to buy an extra life there and I did not calculate how many lifes I will have to loose in the complete run.

It really looks simple, but it is quite hard at some places. Especially the Mine Cart Ride in Level 9 is really hard, the jump length is so short, that you will have to time every jump over gaps very good.

The problem at 00:37 is the different viewing angle. To be able to jump earlier you have to run to the edge of that crate and then jump. It is quite hard to estimate when you reach the edge. I had a cue at that section, the barrel throwing guy. When he is about to throw the second barrel, I jump on the box and to the roof of the house.

I agree, this run can probably be improved by at least a minute or even two.

Practising Levels is possible though, when you choose "OPTIONS" in the main menu, you can select "PASSWORD" from there and enter level passwords to play specific levels.

Thanks anyway for taking the time to watch the run and making suggestions for improvements. I didn't even think about a different way for the second death in the desert for example.

SDAVerification

2016-10-04 10:25:40 am

Decision posted.