1001 Spikes

Sunder

Edit history:

Sunder: 2014-06-08 07:45:42 pm

Sunder: 2014-06-05 02:58:10 pm

2014-06-05 02:28:38 am

I've had my hands on this game for a couple of weeks and it just officially came out on June 2nd (Steam, 3DS, Wii U, PSN, Xbone) but it seems like the PC version is the most stable build at the moment (and the easiest to record).

It's a super-tight precision platformer that definitely has some great run potential going for it. It's fun to play, impressive to watch, and extremely skill and timing-based, meaning nothing but good, clean runs Smiley

*minor spoiler alert*
There are 2 main worlds each with 35 levels.

Ukampa is the main game, every 6 levels the theme changes and the last 5 are a boss fight and outro sequence. There are 30 Skulls to be obtained in Ukampa throughout the first 30 levels (these are similar to Meat Boy's bandages, you have to collect the skull -and- beat the level for it to be obtained and these are used to unlock features and characters in the game)
Antarctica is unlocked by beating Ukampa, the first level of Antarctica picks up where Ukampa left off on difficulty and is SIGNIFICANTLY harder.

There's also 20 separate characters and some of them can objectively finish certain levels faster than others due to slightly or drastically altered mechanics. Because of this, it would only be fair to divide the characters into their own run catagories. They can't be swapped in and out per stage like Super Meat Boy, each one is required to play every level in order, so there can't really be a "use any character whenever you want" category.

There also seems to be a rhythm to every stage, and most stages have secret shortcuts to be found and some even have difficult cycle-skips for huge time-saves.

If I was to say which categories would be the most "traditional" for this game, it would be playing as the main character Aban through the Ukampa world and collecting all Skulls (and an alternate for not 100% skulls).
Essentially, I think these categories would all be good for runs:
Aban in Ukampa, beat all levels as fast as possible.
Aban in Ukampa, beat all levels and obtain all skulls as fast as possible.
Both of these previous categories but with Antarctica added to the end (after you beat Ukampa, if you keep mashing the continue button you automatically start the first level of Antarctica)
Just Antarctica by itself.

I just started running today to see how low I could get it in a few attempts, and I've managed a 36:01 (timing when I start the first level to when I exit the last level) but I had a lot of timeloss and I think the run could reach times below 27 minutes possibly.

Here's my run if you're interested in watching: http://www.twitch.tv/sundercr/c/4401733

Thread title:

I've had my hands on this game for a couple of weeks and it just officially came out on June 2nd (Steam, 3DS, Wii U, PSN, Xbone) but it seems like the PC version is the most stable build at the moment (and the easiest to record).

It's a super-tight precision platformer that definitely has some great run potential going for it. It's fun to play, impressive to watch, and extremely skill and timing-based, meaning nothing but good, clean runs :)

*minor spoiler alert*
There are 2 main worlds each with 35 levels.

Ukampa is the main game, every 6 levels the theme changes and the last 5 are a boss fight and outro sequence. There are 30 Skulls to be obtained in Ukampa throughout the first 30 levels (these are similar to Meat Boy's bandages, you have to collect the skull -and- beat the level for it to be obtained and these are used to unlock features and characters in the game)
Antarctica is unlocked by beating Ukampa, the first level of Antarctica picks up where Ukampa left off on difficulty and is SIGNIFICANTLY harder.

There's also 20 separate characters and some of them can objectively finish certain levels faster than others due to slightly or drastically altered mechanics. Because of this, it would only be fair to divide the characters into their own run catagories. They can't be swapped in and out per stage like Super Meat Boy, each one is required to play every level in order, so there can't really be a "use any character whenever you want" category.

There also seems to be a rhythm to every stage, and most stages have secret shortcuts to be found and some even have difficult cycle-skips for huge time-saves.

If I was to say which categories would be the most "traditional" for this game, it would be playing as the main character Aban through the Ukampa world and collecting all Skulls (and an alternate for not 100% skulls).
Essentially, I think these categories would all be good for runs:
Aban in Ukampa, beat all levels as fast as possible.
Aban in Ukampa, beat all levels and obtain all skulls as fast as possible.
Both of these previous categories but with Antarctica added to the end (after you beat Ukampa, if you keep mashing the continue button you automatically start the first level of Antarctica)
Just Antarctica by itself.

I just started running today to see how low I could get it in a few attempts, and I've managed a 36:01 (timing when I start the first level to when I exit the last level) but I had a lot of timeloss and I think the run could reach times below 27 minutes possibly.

Here's my run if you're interested in watching: [url]http://www.twitch.tv/sundercr/c/4401733[/url]

qbicfeet

Edit history:

qbicfeet: 2014-06-06 06:06:38 am

2014-06-06 06:04:21 am

I already own the game and might pick it up as a speedgame, since it's all about memorization and execution without too many gimmicks which is always fun.

I've noticed there's an in-game option for a speedrun timer that you can toggle on and off, ~~but it doesn't seem to do anything to me. Maybe it's bugged in the current version of the game?~~
Oh, never mind, it's just for individual levels that you have already beaten once, so it wouldn't have any practical use in actual runs anyway.

qbicfeet

2014-06-06 05:34:16 pm

Alright, so I've done some any% (Aban, Ukampa) runs and managed to get it down to 24:46 with a lot of time left to shave off due to my inability to stay alive when it matters the most.

I think I have most of the cycle skips nailed down on most levels except 3-3 (the one with the thwomps at the beginning and the end), 3-5 (with all the boulders and scorpions) and 5-3 (with the golden thwomps that move in the direction you're not looking) and probably one or two other I can't remember right now. I'll try to post a short description of all of best ones later, but the most important (and obvious) one that stands out is that you can break open a block in the left wall on stage 4-5 (with the platform that moves along a long path) and skip right to the action instead of having to wait for what feels like hours for the first cycle to finish.

The level that is giving me the most trouble is 5-1 because of how hard it is to time the last jump. There are no reliable audio cues (since the key music is playing) and the last fireballs are seemingly random (where they land seems different every attempt).

One thing I've noticed which is mildly annoying is that the timing that the exit from the "treasure vault" level appears is random . Sometimes it takes 2 seconds for it to break open, but sometimes it can take close to 10. I imagine thing could be the difference between setting a new record or no once any% runs are optimized enough, so it might be wise to try and see if there's any way to manipulate it.

Alright, so I've done some any% (Aban, Ukampa) runs and managed to get it down to 24:46 with a lot of time left to shave off due to my inability to stay alive when it matters the most.

I think I have most of the cycle skips nailed down on most levels except 3-3 (the one with the thwomps at the beginning and the end), 3-5 (with all the boulders and scorpions) and 5-3 (with the golden thwomps that move in the direction you're not looking) and probably one or two other I can't remember right now. I'll try to post a short description of all of best ones later, but the most important (and obvious) one that stands out is that you can break open a block in the left wall on stage 4-5 (with the platform that moves along a long path) and skip right to the action instead of having to wait for what feels like hours for the first cycle to finish.

The level that is giving me the most trouble is 5-1 because of how hard it is to time the last jump. There are no reliable audio cues (since the key music is playing) and the last fireballs are seemingly random (where they land seems different every attempt).

One thing I've noticed which is mildly annoying is that the timing that the exit from the "treasure vault" level appears is random . Sometimes it takes 2 seconds for it to break open, but sometimes it can take close to 10. I imagine thing could be the difference between setting a new record or no once any% runs are optimized enough, so it might be wise to try and see if there's any way to manipulate it.

Sunder

2014-06-06 09:31:12 pm

Have you gotten the extremely fast cycle for Hall of Platforms (3-2)? There's a cycle that you can get super extremely early and it cuts a chunk off of your time but it's pretty execution-heavy.

5-3 is my bane, I know there's a faster way to do it than I do currently, but it's my least favorite stage in the game so I don't want to play it more Tongue

5-1 has the switches on a 5-second timer, the trick I've been using to time it is to count out loud for the first few switches you hit so by the time you hit the very last one you sort of have a good idea of the timing (though you're right, not very reliable).

Do you have a set time when you hit your final split in Ukampa? I'm thinking it's when you grab that last Key in the final level, because I assume that's what triggers the ending timer for the level, but I'm not completely sure.

qbicfeet

Edit history:

qbicfeet: 2014-06-07 03:24:34 pm

qbicfeet: 2014-06-07 03:24:17 pm

2014-06-07 03:23:48 pm

Alright, any% cycle skips, stage by stage, for anyone who might need it. It's gonna be terrible but it's better than nothing. I kind of assume whoever is reading this are able to figure out the fastest way sort-of by themselves -

1-1: --
1-2: start off with a short jump. The rest is self-explanatory.
1-3: short-high-short-high past the first arrow traps. Get the key, hop up to the pushable blocks and push it so that it plays 5 sounds. Jump down on the bottom spike, which should retract just before you land, and climb to the exit without pressing the button. Do not grab the skull, as you are forced to grab 3 skulls using this route and a fourth one will trigger a "new unlock!"-textbox which wastes 1-2 seconds.

1-4: kill scorpion with 3 knives, jump, kill scorpion with 3 knives. Assassinate the next two, then high jump past the final one. Grab the key as fast as possible using short jumps and get to the exit.
1-5: assassinate scorpion, grab key, do a high jump and trigger a falling platform, break a block in the wall and jump into the opening. Jump to the exit.
1-6: --

2-1: jump and break the block in the wall above the pushable block and enter the opening. This is a frame-perfect trick (or at the very least extremely precise). Get the key, move to the exit as normal.
2-2: jump past the first falling ceiling block, trigger the falling block above the golden skull and break open the breakable block. Move to the exit as normal.
2-3: short-jump -> pixel perfect high jump. Trigger the falling block, break the breakable block above it and enter the opening. Move to the exit as normal.
2-4: --
2-5: skip all of the pushable blocks and deflect the darts using your knives. By the time you reach the flamethrowers, jump on top of the bottom one while the upper one is still active and wait for it to pass. Move towards the key deflecting everything when needed, if you are moving fast enough you should be able to stand on the breakable block next to the third flamethrower and drop down the hole before the flamethrower activates. Be careful around the key and the flamethrowers, and move towards the exit as normal.

2-6: --

3-1: Learn how to time your jumps. You want to grab the key by the ninth cycle (by breaking the block in the left-side wall) and jump from the pushable block by the eleventh.
3-2: MOVE AND JUMP FAST. You want to reach the bottom platform after the "two holes and spikes" by the time it's leaving the left side for the second time. Move towards the upper two moving platforms and do the following jumps: leftmost moving platform -> platform with exit -> leftmost breakable platform -> rightmost moving platform -> rightmost breakable platform -> moving platform on the bottom. Doing this fast enough should let you reach the bottom platform without having to wait for it to return. Grab the key, move towards the exit as normal.

3-3: play this level as usual. If you are fast enough you can skip a cycle on the bottom thwomps, but it's like a 2 second timesaver so it matters minimally.
3-4: play this level as usual.
3-5: HARDEST AND MOST PRECISE CYCLE SKIP IN THE GAME. This one is hart to explain too. Play as normal, killing the scorpions, dodging the three successive boulders, jumping over the last boulder on the top "line" on the screen. Kill the two scorpions, drop down into the "key pit", grab the key and make your way out without having to waste a cycle from the upper "boulder spawner" (you will notice whether you get this right or not). Here's the hard thing: stay as close to the three following boulders as possible and hit the switch as quickly as possible. If done fast enough, you have just enough room to squeeze yourself past the oncoming boulder when jumping to the final part of the level. Wait for the spikes to retract and jump towards victory.

(Please let me know if this made no sense and I'll post a video describing it.)

3-6: --

4-1: go fast. Jump past the first fireballs (left to right) by the time the fourth one has just been spawned, hit the switch and jump back before you are hit by the next barrage. Wait for the spikes to retract, jump to the next platform and exactly when the cycle is "finished" (when the final fireball passes you), make a high jump towards the switch and throw a knife at the peak of your jump, enabling the platforms and allowing you to move to the top right just before the next cycle. Play the rest of the level as you normally would (good luck timing the drop!).

4-2: play as you normally would. There's a breakable block right next to where the falling block is, break it and enter the opening. Move towards the exit and the key as fast as possible, and watch out for the scorpions.
4-3: this level might seem overwhelming at first, but it isn't. Move as fast as possible, simple as that. The only tricky part is getting the first milliseconds of the level right, but if you listen to the music you can time the first jump with the second "DUN" (the music goes DUN-DUN, DUN DUN, DUN DUN ... etc.).

4-4: move fast. If you reach the first timed floor spikes by the 10th cycle, good. Figure out some reliable audio cues for jumps and grab the key and exit the level as normal.
4-5: there are two breakable blocks and a falling platform next to what I would like to nickname "the autoscroller". Break them, grab the skull and you should be able to easily make it to the moving platform. Figure out the visual cues for when you need to jump the arrows and the rest is easy.

4-6: --

5-1: CAN'T HELP YOU HERE. Just move fast and get good at timing the switches and the last jump. Sorry.
5-2: move as fast as possible. You can jump the bottom three moving platforms and grab the key by the first cycle by doing some tricky jumps between them.
5-3: play as you normally would. By dropping down on the totem, jumping and grabbing the key, landing on the totem and quickly turning to the left just before it is "locked" you can skip a few cycles. Learn how to dodge the arrow traps, time the second totem right and you are good to go.

5-4: break the first leftmost platform, drop down, break the rightmost platform, drop down, move towards the left, avoid the shurikens and move to the second part of the level as soon as the topmost shuriken is out of the way. Deflect and break the platform, drop down, repeat until you are down to the moving platform and land on it by the time it is moving towards the right. Play the rest of the level as normal.

5-5: There's a breakable block on the third set of platforms, high jump and break it for a HUGE shortcut.
5-6: --

Final boss: you want the boss to move right -> right -> right -> left -> left. Learn how to time jumping on the blocks as well as the timing for the throws.

Alright, any% cycle skips, stage by stage, for anyone who might need it. It's gonna be terrible but it's better than nothing. I kind of assume whoever is reading this are able to figure out the fastest way sort-of by themselves -

1-1: --
1-2: start off with a short jump. The rest is self-explanatory.
1-3: short-high-short-high past the first arrow traps. Get the key, hop up to the pushable blocks and push it so that it plays 5 sounds. Jump down on the bottom spike, which should retract just before you land, and climb to the exit without pressing the button. Do not grab the skull, as you are forced to grab 3 skulls using this route and a fourth one will trigger a "new unlock!"-textbox which wastes 1-2 seconds.

1-4: kill scorpion with 3 knives, jump, kill scorpion with 3 knives. Assassinate the next two, then high jump past the final one. Grab the key as fast as possible using short jumps and get to the exit.
1-5: assassinate scorpion, grab key, do a high jump and trigger a falling platform, break a block in the wall and jump into the opening. Jump to the exit.
1-6: --

2-1: jump and break the block in the wall above the pushable block and enter the opening. This is a frame-perfect trick (or at the very least extremely precise). Get the key, move to the exit as normal.
2-2: jump past the first falling ceiling block, trigger the falling block above the golden skull and break open the breakable block. Move to the exit as normal.
2-3: short-jump -> pixel perfect high jump. Trigger the falling block, break the breakable block above it and enter the opening. Move to the exit as normal.
2-4: --
2-5: skip all of the pushable blocks and deflect the darts using your knives. By the time you reach the flamethrowers, jump on top of the bottom one while the upper one is still active and wait for it to pass. Move towards the key deflecting everything when needed, if you are moving fast enough you should be able to stand on the breakable block next to the third flamethrower and drop down the hole before the flamethrower activates. Be careful around the key and the flamethrowers, and move towards the exit as normal.

2-6: --

3-1: Learn how to time your jumps. You want to grab the key by the ninth cycle (by breaking the block in the left-side wall) and jump from the pushable block by the eleventh.
3-2: MOVE AND JUMP FAST. You want to reach the bottom platform after the "two holes and spikes" by the time it's leaving the left side for the second time. Move towards the upper two moving platforms and do the following jumps: leftmost moving platform -> platform with exit -> leftmost breakable platform -> rightmost moving platform -> rightmost breakable platform -> moving platform on the bottom. Doing this fast enough should let you reach the bottom platform without having to wait for it to return. Grab the key, move towards the exit as normal.

3-3: play this level as usual. If you are fast enough you can skip a cycle on the bottom thwomps, but it's like a 2 second timesaver so it matters minimally.
3-4: play this level as usual.
3-5: HARDEST AND MOST PRECISE CYCLE SKIP IN THE GAME. This one is hart to explain too. Play as normal, killing the scorpions, dodging the three successive boulders, jumping over the last boulder on the top "line" on the screen. Kill the two scorpions, drop down into the "key pit", grab the key and make your way out without having to waste a cycle from the upper "boulder spawner" (you will notice whether you get this right or not). Here's the hard thing: stay as close to the three following boulders as possible and hit the switch as quickly as possible. If done fast enough, you have just enough room to squeeze yourself past the oncoming boulder when jumping to the final part of the level. Wait for the spikes to retract and jump towards victory.

(Please let me know if this made no sense and I'll post a video describing it.)

3-6: --

4-1: go fast. Jump past the first fireballs (left to right) by the time the fourth one has just been spawned, hit the switch and jump back before you are hit by the next barrage. Wait for the spikes to retract, jump to the next platform and exactly when the cycle is "finished" (when the final fireball passes you), make a high jump towards the switch and throw a knife at the peak of your jump, enabling the platforms and allowing you to move to the top right just before the next cycle. Play the rest of the level as you normally would (good luck timing the drop!).

4-2: play as you normally would. There's a breakable block right next to where the falling block is, break it and enter the opening. Move towards the exit and the key as fast as possible, and watch out for the scorpions.
4-3: this level might seem overwhelming at first, but it isn't. Move as fast as possible, simple as that. The only tricky part is getting the first milliseconds of the level right, but if you listen to the music you can time the first jump with the second "DUN" (the music goes DUN-DUN, DUN DUN, DUN DUN ... etc.).

4-4: move fast. If you reach the first timed floor spikes by the 10th cycle, good. Figure out some reliable audio cues for jumps and grab the key and exit the level as normal.
4-5: there are two breakable blocks and a falling platform next to what I would like to nickname "the autoscroller". Break them, grab the skull and you should be able to easily make it to the moving platform. Figure out the visual cues for when you need to jump the arrows and the rest is easy.

4-6: --

5-1: CAN'T HELP YOU HERE. Just move fast and get good at timing the switches and the last jump. Sorry.
5-2: move as fast as possible. You can jump the bottom three moving platforms and grab the key by the first cycle by doing some tricky jumps between them.
5-3: play as you normally would. By dropping down on the totem, jumping and grabbing the key, landing on the totem and quickly turning to the left just before it is "locked" you can skip a few cycles. Learn how to dodge the arrow traps, time the second totem right and you are good to go.

5-4: break the first leftmost platform, drop down, break the rightmost platform, drop down, move towards the left, avoid the shurikens and move to the second part of the level as soon as the topmost shuriken is out of the way. Deflect and break the platform, drop down, repeat until you are down to the moving platform and land on it by the time it is moving towards the right. Play the rest of the level as normal.

5-5: There's a breakable block on the third set of platforms, high jump and break it for a HUGE shortcut.
5-6: --

Final boss: you want the boss to move right -> right -> right -> left -> left. Learn how to time jumping on the blocks as well as the timing for the throws.

Sunder

Edit history:

Sunder: 2014-06-08 04:24:14 am

2014-06-08 03:39:48 am

Thanks to a tip-off, I know of a new route for 2-5 that's much faster!

Get to the second pushable block, but run in front of it and push it backwards. Once you've pushed it all the way backwards it will fall and lock into place, stand on it and push the broken dart-shooter face on the right of you out of the hole and you're now in the last flamethrower area! You can stand on top of the flamethrowers, and using high-jumps you can get across the whole area on top of them, so it's up to you whether or not you want to take the low route at all!

EDIT: After some testing, it seems the more efficient, faster, and easier way is to take the top route going TO the key and take the bottom route coming back to get to the door.

Sunder

2014-06-08 06:53:59 pm

The first half of 5-1 has a tough cycle skip. Start by falling at the start and hitting the second switch on your way down, then jump up past the third switch to the block just left of the "Tetris-Shaped block" that covers the hallway to the next section with the Key in it. If you time it right you can jump off of the right side of this block (normally you would bump your head on the tetris block) right when the blocks disappear and you do the entire section in one cycle instead of two (saved around 5-6 seconds).

It's tough but it trains you to time the switches perfectly, thus making the jump at the end much quicker.

ZDWario

2014-06-08 10:04:05 pm

All I want to know is: Does this game eat inputs anymore? I remember playing the xblig version way back in the day. There was a certain way if you tapped to move and tried to throw dagger or jump it would eat the input. Being that it was the really old xblig version it may have been patched and might not be in the new version, just wondering. In a game already very hard the control problems just made me stop playing.

Sunder

2014-06-08 11:03:58 pm

Quote from ZDWario:

All I want to know is: Does this game eat inputs anymore? I remember playing the xblig version way back in the day. There was a certain way if you tapped to move and tried to throw dagger or jump it would eat the input. Being that it was the really old xblig version it may have been patched and might not be in the new version, just wondering. In a game already very hard the control problems just made me stop playing.

1001 Spikes uses a completely new engine, and it doesn't eat any inputs!

Caerulius

2014-06-08 11:21:30 pm

Hey guys, just nabbed my first good PB today: http://www.twitch.tv/caerulius/c/4428661 SO much to improve on though, that's for sure!

Sunder

2014-06-09 12:34:43 am

My quick-strat for 2-4 can easily get below 20-seconds on the stage (this is with a skull collection) I've been grinding it a bit, think I got it down.

Cae and I discussed some new strats in his stream, I think he said he has a google doc with his notes, so maybe once he combines that knowledge with Qbic's and mine, we could have a semi-routed run! Cheesy

Ashtendo

2014-06-10 01:43:18 pm

Not sure If anyone knew but you can save 3 seconds off 4-1. Instead of waiting behind the spikes on the regular cycle skip, jump over it quickly before it appears. Then on the fireballs 1st set of four jump through the 2rd & 4th ball and hit the Glow stone. Then jump up to the corner on the left, when the next set of balls comes jump over the one closest to you and continue. Once you get to the key, hit the glowstone on the 1st set of balls and jump over to the key. Then big jump over the next set and finish as normal.

(Also you can jump over the arrow at the end once and still exit, instead of doing it twice at least for any%)

Ashtendo

2014-06-10 01:58:27 pm

(Sorry 3rd & 4th fireball, what the hell is a 2rd?)

StoK

2014-06-10 08:05:59 pm

Hey guys, I've been trying out any% a bit and managed to put together a few runs. My PB stands at 21:08, but it could definitely get sub-20 with a really good run.

Caerulius

2014-06-13 06:22:50 pm

Hey again guys, I keep forgetting to check this topic. Here's my document so far, with my best strats up through world 3. https://docs.google.com/document/d/1kN4rrA9rP_lStPixWBeAPbnI8QA4p4v2omblvqK8nIY/edit Sunder I'm curious how you got 2-4 down to <20 seconds. I'm wondering if it's the head bop thing I was considering.

EIiitti

2014-06-14 11:53:25 am

I don't know if anyone else will be doing character specific runs here but I'll be doing them for the heck of it. Today I fooled around with the Ninja costume and found that it's probably one of the best for running any% (behind Curly) but most definitely the most fun character to run. I'll try to get a decent run streamed and highlighted so you guys could get the general idea on how the runs look like and feel with that character.

Sunder

2014-06-14 12:42:12 pm

Cae: I'll try to record a perfect run of the 2-4 fast-strat today and upload it so you can check it out!

EIiitti: I've actually been in contact with Tyrone (from Nicalis, the publisher/developers) and he said he's been hoping that people pick up the Ninja for speedruns soon! I haven't got enough coins to unlock him yet (been getting everything else) so I can't join you just yet!

ALSO kind of a big question/topic: I don't think there should be Antarctica runs, to be totally honest. The boss fight at the end of Antarctica is heavily RNG-based, and can fluxuate in time and sometimes puts you in insta-death situations where there's no possible way to get out of it. With all of the crazy difficulty in Antarctica, it would be cool to see people run the levels, but I'm not sure if runs will even be worth it with the boss being (to my knowledge) unable to be influenced in any way.

Ashtendo

2014-06-14 01:18:18 pm

Never tried the Ninja, could be interesting. Anyone know what Thompsoncare is btw? Feels like a scam to waste coins.

qbicfeet

2014-06-14 03:29:39 pm

The general idea behind the 2-4 fast strat can be described like this:

You get some eye candy if you take the somewhat slower route, but it's faster to just drop down, pick up the skull and cut right through the pillar.

Thompsoncare just gives you infinite extra lives (shows up as [lives]x--- on the hud), so it's kinda useless.

EIiitti

2014-06-14 04:13:32 pm

@Sunder Oh really? That's great to hear that the devs want to see it happen too! I'm now even more motivated in starting to run with Ninja more.

On a Ninja% run -related note: I made some base splits today (off-stream) just fooling around with my routes and I beat the game in a single segment in 23:52. I failed hard on 3-4 levels but I got most of them pretty flawlessly. Sub 20 could be possible.
I'll be streaming some Ninja% tomorrow around midday GMT+2 at twitch.tv/eiiitti if anyone is interested. As I already mentioned, I'll link the PB here once I get a good run.

Hühnerschreck

2014-06-14 04:15:49 pm

Hey guys!

I'm running this game for a couple of days now. And since I'm pretty new in speedrunning, I've got a tiny question: Any % in this game means beating all the levels, but no need for the skulls, right?

So far I'm still 'learning', but this game rocks Wink

EIiitti

2014-06-14 04:29:25 pm

Schreck, yup, that's any%. The current categories that people run are as follows:

Any%: All levels from 1-1 to 6-5 completed as fast as possible with the default character.

100%: All levels from 1-1 to 6-5 completed and all skulls collected as fast as possible with the default character.

Ninja%: The same as Any% but with the Ninja costume. (Not popular yet, but I personally consider the ninja to be the best combination of speed and fun for speedruns so I'll start running this. The developers have also shown interest in seeing this particular costume used for speedruns. Let's make this a thing!)

[Possible category]: Any% with any character. No limits, everyone is allowed. (I haven't personally unlocked all characters so I don't know if there is some jetpack character or something that defeats the purpose, but this should be fun anyway)

qbicfeet

2014-06-14 04:52:55 pm

I honestly don't think 1-1 to 6-5 with all skulls should be labelled 100%, since the general usage of 100% means beating and collecting everything, which (even if you ignore beating all levels with all characters, completing all game modes and buying everything in the shop) would at the very least include Antarctica (with Aban) and all golden coins. I think the simple "all skulls" we've been using so far is the best name for the category.

Any% is usually defined as getting the credits to roll, which they do after 6-5 so even if we technically "don't" beat all the levels I still think it's a good title for the category.

EIiitti

2014-06-14 04:54:52 pm

Yeah, sorry, my bad. I saw someone stream All Skulls runs with the "100%" title so I got mislead.

Sunder

2014-06-14 06:06:24 pm

EIiitti, Any% with any character wouldn't really work because there -is- a jetpack character that kind of makes everybody else irrelevant (Curly Brace, unlocked at 30 skulls).

I think objectively, either her or Ninja would be the fastest run, so having an open-character category wouldn't really make sense. The game is designed around cycles, and most characters (like Aban) have absolutely optimal routes that they couldn't possibly do any faster. Levels like 2-4 can kinda be pushed, but something like 3-1 can't be done faster than a certain point.