Alone in the Dark (1992 DOS)

Edit history:

LotBlind: 2015-08-06 02:01:10 pm

2015-08-06 02:00:17 pm

So to respond to your two posts:

I finally watched the black room demonstration... that looked even weirder than I expected because of the random corridor view in-between. I know there are other places where wandering off gives you another view and agree that it DOES allow new kinds of OOB routes but it does seem to always take a long time.

The library door clip - I wonder if there's other doors in the game that behave in that way. What I think is probably happening (if I understood you correctly) is you need to be able to clip THROUGH the point at which the game thinks Emily wants to open the door. That's probably all there is to it. So if you line yourself up the exact same way and do the clip in big "steps" instead of small ones, I think it might work more consistently. Speaking of clip steps, I noticed that sometimes the only way to get to the very corner of the thing you're clipping inside is to do a very small "step". Here's a video of what I mean:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B6VbXOZpnj6MVWlmQ0RUaEdlaFE/view?usp=sharing

If you like you could upload it on your channel. Afterwards could you paste the link to it in the guide (look for "Clip steps").

EDIT: Oh I read your edit now. Well maybe I'm wrong. In that case it could be sub-pixels???

I'm pretty sure about Emily actually being faster, because if she takes one less step to reach a destination, and they run at the same pace (I'm fairly sure it's exactly the same), then there is no way she's not moving faster as well.

Your new run: You changed the resolution? In fact I also changed the graphics settings recently to make the game look like it used to (no pixel blurring). Did you use the GOG graphics launcher? Could I see the run before you submit?

So to respond to your two posts:

I finally watched the black room demonstration... that looked even weirder than I expected because of the random corridor view in-between. I know there are other places where wandering off gives you another view and agree that it DOES allow new kinds of OOB routes but it does seem to always take a long time.

The library door clip - I wonder if there's other doors in the game that behave in that way. What I think is probably happening (if I understood you correctly) is you need to be able to clip THROUGH the point at which the game thinks Emily wants to open the door. That's probably all there is to it. So if you line yourself up the exact same way and do the clip in big "steps" instead of small ones, I think it might work more consistently. Speaking of clip steps, I noticed that sometimes the only way to get to the very corner of the thing you're clipping inside is to do a very small "step". Here's a video of what I mean:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B6VbXOZpnj6MVWlmQ0RUaEdlaFE/view?usp=sharing

If you like you could upload it on your channel. Afterwards could you paste the link to it in the guide (look for "Clip steps").

EDIT: Oh I read your edit now. Well maybe I'm wrong. In that case it could be sub-pixels???

I'm pretty sure about Emily actually being faster, because if she takes one less step to reach a destination, and they run at the same pace (I'm fairly sure it's exactly the same), then there is no way she's not moving faster as well.

Your new run: You changed the resolution? In fact I also changed the graphics settings recently to make the game look like it used to (no pixel blurring). Did you use the GOG graphics launcher? Could I see the run before you submit?

NHG

2015-08-06 03:38:11 pm

Shut up and go back to another earth

I tried to reach the fakebook room by running into OOB and found a traight line for it, but it is indeed a lot longer. Also and as I said, the same "random corridor view" appeared when I tried the same maneuver in the painting hallway.

About the library, I don't have any problem to clip into the door when Emily is stuck in the "corner" but I'm pretty sure this corner is not always here. At first I thought it was an precise angle to have when you come against the door, but after some tries I really think it's not.

About resolution: I just took a bigger window with GOG graphic launcher indeed. But I'm pretty sure the numbers ar wrong. I took 1280x768 but when I create the window to record with Mirillis, it gives me something totally different (1225x765, with maybe 1 more or less as I do it manually). It is not important at all but still, I wonder why the chosen resolution is not the one who appears on the screen ^^' I already posted the submit =o I can show you the run anyway, I posted you yesterday on Youtube.

I found the "walk to not fall" thing at bridge maze really uggly but saddly it works ^^'

I tried to reach the fakebook room by running into OOB and found a traight line for it, but it is indeed a lot longer. Also and as I said, the same "random corridor view" appeared when I tried the same maneuver in the painting hallway.

About the library, I don't have any problem to clip into the door when Emily is stuck in the "corner" but I'm pretty sure this corner is not always here. At first I thought it was an precise angle to have when you come against the door, but after some tries I really think it's not.

About resolution: I just took a bigger window with GOG graphic launcher indeed. But I'm pretty sure the numbers ar wrong. I took 1280x768 but when I create the window to record with Mirillis, it gives me something totally different (1225x765, with maybe 1 more or less as I do it manually). It is not important at all but still, I wonder why the chosen resolution is not the one who appears on the screen ^^' I already posted the submit =o I can show you the run anyway, I posted you yesterday on Youtube.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_gvIpfo-TR4

I found the "walk to not fall" thing at bridge maze really uggly but saddly it works ^^'

LotBlind

2015-08-08 11:04:56 am

I also noticed that when I use settings that scale the game from 400x320 (or whatever its original resolution was) up 2x (or 3?), leaving some empty space around the sides but giving the right aspect ratio, for some reason it seems to have 2 less pixels horizontally that I expected. Maybe something similar happened with you... Why don't you submit another tech check demo and ask them if they know why it's happening. So long as the aspect ratio is the original (4:3 I guess) and it's not missing pixels. Actually it looks like it has dark pixels around the side, which can easily be removed in post-processing but maybe you'll get some answers from the tech people.

Out of curiosity, did you test if the clip in the loft makes it any faster at all? I know it's a bit finicky so I'm not going to reject the run for that Smiley

1:40 did you try to do this clip faster by just running? You DID remember to do that when entering the cellar luckily.
3:55 YES!
5:00 Did you forget to do the "choose next action before starting to run" trick or did you think it wasn't worth much? I don't see you losing time because of it. If you think it's not really useful at all, just remove it from the guide.
5:40 A-ha! I think how this works is you turn around and pass through the door (but under it) and the game thinks you must have entered the lit-up maze, not the dark one. But why does this help you to get to the boss room? I don't quite get it. Also I see you found a much faster path to the boss room, well done! So THAT'S how you cut so much time.

I'm guessing you use the oil only after running to the door to not lose the running from before? But you can keep running after opening doors too AIR. Could you create a set of run notes (good for other verifiers too) and post them under the "any%" sub-page in the strategy guide now please? That would be awesome, and they can be modified later if there's more runs.

Well anyway I think this will be an accept Wink

Next time we should just clip through the jelly and be done with it!

I also noticed that when I use settings that scale the game from 400x320 (or whatever its original resolution was) up 2x (or 3?), leaving some empty space around the sides but giving the right aspect ratio, for some reason it seems to have 2 less pixels horizontally that I expected. Maybe something similar happened with you... Why don't you submit another tech check demo and ask them if they know why it's happening. So long as the aspect ratio is the original (4:3 I guess) and it's not missing pixels. Actually it looks like it has dark pixels around the side, which can easily be removed in post-processing but maybe you'll get some answers from the tech people.

Out of curiosity, did you test if the clip in the loft makes it any faster at all? I know it's a bit finicky so I'm not going to reject the run for that :)

1:40 did you try to do this clip faster by just running? You DID remember to do that when entering the cellar luckily.
3:55 YES!
5:00 Did you forget to do the "choose next action before starting to run" trick or did you think it wasn't worth much? I don't see you losing time because of it. If you think it's not really useful at all, just remove it from the guide.
5:40 A-ha! I think how this works is you turn around and pass through the door (but under it) and the game thinks you must have entered the lit-up maze, not the dark one. But why does this help you to get to the boss room? I don't quite get it. Also I see you found a much faster path to the boss room, well done! So THAT'S how you cut so much time.

I'm guessing you use the oil only after running to the door to not lose the running from before? But you can keep running after opening doors too AIR. Could you create a set of run notes (good for other verifiers too) and post them under the "any%" sub-page in the strategy guide now please? That would be awesome, and they can be modified later if there's more runs.

Well anyway I think this will be an accept ;) Next time we should just clip through the jelly and be done with it!

NHG

2015-08-09 11:43:18 am

Shut up and go back to another earth

Ahah, okay let's take it step by step:

About the ratio it was already the case the last time when I posted Alone 1&2 quality tests. If I trust what Anri-chan tells me when I encode it, the good resolution is the one that Mirillis tells me (wich is logical after all because it's the recorder). It's an useless detail at this point, it just my curiosity who talks. I really wonder why the resolution taken in setup launcher is not the real one x) I did not try to change any other option because I simply don't know what it changes and I did not want to risk a "discalification" by not having the basic settings.

Loft ? Wich room is it ? Sorry I don't remember well there are so many rooms xD Boudoir, desk, anti-chamber and stuff, I'm losing myself.

1:40: I think I already told you that. I have to touch the "changing room" spot to be able to pass through the painting wall. The "fast clip" technic asks me to run perpendicularly to the wall, wich make me miss the spot 90% of the time (sometimes I touch it, I think it depends of the how much I'm already in the wall, wich depend of my initial angle, WICH is very complicated to manipulate with precision).
3:55: Thanks you about that ^^
5:00: Well in theory the best moment to do it is when I fall into water... Except that if I do that my lantern will turn off. And after that I don't stop my run until I reach the rock. That's why I only choosed the action at the end initially (and basically, using menu at the begining or at the end of an action is the same thing). I learned this section like that. But now that I think about it, I can wedge it just at the moment where I stop running because of Emily's climbing problems. If I have to optimize the run I'll eventually do it like that for a better harmony ^^ But I don't think it's a real time lost though.
5:40: Just after I fell into water, there's a very precise spot that I have to avoid. In my previous run I took a larger detour for that but after some tries I saw that the spot was not so big and so it was useless to do such an huge circle. I can't go straight to the "lighting spot" because some walls block the way. And why does it help me to have the light on ? Not because I'm afraid to not see where I'm running, but simply because the lit-up maze IS NOT the same room than the dark maze. At least, the game does not consider them as the same room. And so their "limits" do not lead to the same rooms. If I use the exact same path in the dark maze, it'll lead nowhere and most of the time I'll be stuck in another random part of the maze. I don't really understand how they technically coded and built this part but that how it works.

About that, a good friend of me ( who is a speedrunner) made the interesting observation that maybe the library kinda worked the same.

(I'm not sure of what is your "AIR"... Am I an idiot again ? u_u) About the oil can, it is a choice. I could use it at the moment where I take it but if I do it I loose my "fast turning movement", and this one is really important to reach the door fastly without touching the bow. Use it after opening the door cancels the run that I could maintain but it's easier to recuperate. BUT now you make me think that I did not realize that now that the route is totally different I can wait to do it in the lower floor. Well... My bad u_u That is a mistake indeed ! I hate you LotBlind xp

Oh, I realize you already asked me to do that in the strategy guide >< I totally forgot. But even though, I am not toally sure to know what I can explain more. Is it like a precise description of each movement ? If it is, I'm gonna have a bad time writting it u_u

Ahah, okay let's take it step by step:

About the ratio it was already the case the last time when I posted Alone 1&2 quality tests. If I trust what Anri-chan tells me when I encode it, the good resolution is the one that Mirillis tells me (wich is logical after all because it's the recorder). It's an useless detail at this point, it just my curiosity who talks. I really wonder why the resolution taken in setup launcher is not the real one x) I did not try to change any other option because I simply don't know what it changes and I did not want to risk a "discalification" by not having the basic settings.

Loft ? Wich room is it ? Sorry I don't remember well there are so many rooms xD Boudoir, desk, anti-chamber and stuff, I'm losing myself.

1:40: I think I already told you that. I have to touch the "changing room" spot to be able to pass through the painting wall. The "fast clip" technic asks me to run perpendicularly to the wall, wich make me miss the spot 90% of the time (sometimes I touch it, I think it depends of the how much I'm already in the wall, wich depend of my initial angle, WICH is very complicated to manipulate with precision).
3:55: Thanks you about that ^^
5:00: Well in theory the best moment to do it is when I fall into water... Except that if I do that my lantern will turn off. And after that I don't stop my run until I reach the rock. That's why I only choosed the action at the end initially (and basically, using menu at the begining or at the end of an action is the same thing). I learned this section like that. But now that I think about it, I can wedge it just at the moment where I stop running because of Emily's climbing problems. If I have to optimize the run I'll eventually do it like that for a better harmony ^^ But I don't think it's a real time lost though.
5:40: Just after I fell into water, there's a very precise spot that I have to avoid. In my previous run I took a larger detour for that but after some tries I saw that the spot was not so big and so it was useless to do such an huge circle. I can't go straight to the "lighting spot" because some walls block the way. And why does it help me to have the light on ? Not because I'm afraid to not see where I'm running, but simply because the lit-up maze IS NOT the same room than the dark maze. At least, the game does not consider them as the same room. And so their "limits" do not lead to the same rooms. If I use the exact same path in the dark maze, it'll lead nowhere and most of the time I'll be stuck in another random part of the maze. I don't really understand how they technically coded and built this part but that how it works.

About that, a good friend of me ( who is a speedrunner) made the interesting observation that maybe the library kinda worked the same.

(I'm not sure of what is your "AIR"... Am I an idiot again ? u_u) About the oil can, it is a choice. I could use it at the moment where I take it but if I do it I loose my "fast turning movement", and this one is really important to reach the door fastly without touching the bow. Use it after opening the door cancels the run that I could maintain but it's easier to recuperate. BUT now you make me think that I did not realize that now that the route is totally different I can wait to do it in the lower floor. Well... My bad u_u That is a mistake indeed ! I hate you LotBlind xp

Oh, I realize you already asked me to do that in the strategy guide >< I totally forgot. But even though, I am not toally sure to know what I can explain more. Is it like a precise description of each movement ? If it is, I'm gonna have a bad time writting it u_u

LotBlind

2015-08-09 02:03:20 pm

Loft = attic = grenier Smiley

1:40 - Ah, I didn't realize the margins were that narrow.
5:00 - Harmony (and swag, which are the same) is ½ of the "accept".
5:40 - Yeah I get they're two different areas, I was just expressing my confusion.

What exactly does your friend mean about the library?

AIR = As I Recall... sorry! only I use that abbreviation Cheesy

Aaaahhh.... Yes that's very true about the oil can. Very smart! And I hate you too.

Strategy Guide (and run comments): well maybe I can help you. If there is anything else that you can possibly say (why you did things the way you did, was there another alternative that was almost as fast etc.) then if you tell me about it, I can probably write the comments for you. I don't mind.

LotBlind

Edit history:

LotBlind: 2015-08-10 12:50:07 pm

2015-08-10 12:49:45 pm

Here's something you can use as an audio commentary for the run!
https://mega.co.nz/#!e5RDAI7T!e7yN5bNh2KG90SlxUDNzq0xlq0lotgOAkteMk4TK4iA

We can still do written comments as well.

Aqfaq

Edit history:

Aqfaq: 2015-08-15 09:01:20 am

2015-08-15 08:29:07 am

Hahah, I haven't read the thread the whole summer. You guys are like Sherlock Holmes and Hercule Poirot working on a mystery. The game should be called Miss Marple and the Mystery of The Haunted House.

I saw the night gaunt skip! Mind blown! The solution was under our noses the whole time, but seeing it happen like that was still a huge surprise! Knowing the detailed history of it, it is now one of my favorite skips ever.

The idea that the dark library works the same as the dark maze is also very intriguing. Maybe the final exit door is also located in a different room than the killer door? If so, maybe we could OOB and find the real final door? Maybe we have already been in the real final room, but we did not open the door, because we were testing something else and did not know that there are two different exit doors?

Thank you guys, reading this thread was so much fun. I guess I'm gonna play some AITD today...

Edit:

By skipping nightgaunts, we can now bring the mirrors with us. We should test using the mirrors everywhere. They might cause glitches.

Hahah, I haven't read the thread the whole summer. You guys are like Sherlock Holmes and Hercule Poirot working on a mystery. The game should be called Miss Marple and the Mystery of The Haunted House.

I saw the night gaunt skip! Mind blown! The solution was under our noses the whole time, but seeing it happen like that was still a huge surprise! Knowing the detailed history of it, it is now one of my favorite skips ever.

The idea that the dark library works the same as the dark maze is also very intriguing. Maybe the final exit door is also located in a different room than the killer door? If so, maybe we could OOB and find the real final door? Maybe we have already been in the real final room, but we did not open the door, because we were testing something else and did not know that there are two different exit doors?

Thank you guys, reading this thread was so much fun. I guess I'm gonna play some AITD today...

Edit:

By skipping nightgaunts, we can now bring the mirrors with us. We should test using the mirrors everywhere. They might cause glitches.

LotBlind

Edit history:

LotBlind: 2015-08-15 02:28:05 pm

LotBlind: 2015-08-15 01:56:34 pm

LotBlind: 2015-08-15 01:31:50 pm

LotBlind: 2015-08-15 01:28:20 pm

2015-08-15 01:26:15 pm

Highly doubt that dark library is different from the library... or any other dark space. Also I don't think the jelly door is different, I think the exit trigger is either not in place yet or located under the jelly. I also have to express yet more doubt about using the mirrors causing glitches because objects in this game have a very limited use, they have to have been told separately what they ARE good for instead of being "told" what they AREN'T good for. Or do you have reason to think otherwise? I never thought about taking the mirrors away from the 3rd floor so that's good lateral thinking anyway.

To further expound on why I think dark/light maze are different: the light and dark mechanic is probably a little bit of a custom thing for that area. It has, essentially, 3 states: completely dark, lit with lantern and completely lit up, whereas the other spaces are just either dark or lit up.

BTW the notifications for the strategy guides only recently started to work so you've probably missed a few things edited directly (more or less) into the AitD guide.

EDIT: NHG is obviously Poirot and I'm clearly Holmes, so that must make you Miss Marple. BUURRRNNN!!!
EDIT EDIT: BTW I'm still taking screenshots with minimal horseplay. If you wanted something specific to try you could look for a way to OOB on the first floor (like using the stairs) and somehow getting to the front door and seeing if you still die mysteriously. I wrote something about this in the guide.

MORE EDIT: Another thing I don't have time to test is if you can use a monster (live or dying) to skip something, maybe in the tunnels. Maybe the white spider and the door leading to the maze...

MORE EDIT EDIT:

- you can activate jumping, then drink a potion, and while resetting the animation (so you're invulnerable) by pressing space, it also makes you jump. You can't rotate though. This allows you to at least survive the drop into the purple spider pit in the tunnels. I couldn't immediately find anything interesting down there (just some trivial clipping) but feel free to do a more thorough job.

Highly doubt that dark library is different from the library... or any other dark space. Also I don't think the jelly door is different, I think the exit trigger is either not in place yet or located under the jelly. I also have to express yet more doubt about using the mirrors causing glitches because objects in this game have a very limited use, they have to have been told separately what they ARE good for instead of being "told" what they AREN'T good for. Or do you have reason to think otherwise? I never thought about taking the mirrors away from the 3rd floor so that's good lateral thinking anyway.

To further expound on why I think dark/light maze are different: the light and dark mechanic is probably a little bit of a custom thing for that area. It has, essentially, 3 states: completely dark, lit with lantern and completely lit up, whereas the other spaces are just either dark or lit up.

BTW the notifications for the strategy guides only recently started to work so you've probably missed a few things edited directly (more or less) into the AitD guide.

EDIT: NHG is obviously Poirot and I'm clearly Holmes, so that must make you Miss Marple. BUURRRNNN!!!
EDIT EDIT: BTW I'm still taking screenshots with minimal horseplay. If you wanted something specific to try you could look for a way to OOB on the first floor (like using the stairs) and somehow getting to the front door and seeing if you still die mysteriously. I wrote something about this in the guide.

MORE EDIT: Another thing I don't have time to test is if you can use a monster (live or dying) to skip something, maybe in the tunnels. Maybe the white spider and the door leading to the maze...

MORE EDIT EDIT:

- you can activate jumping, then drink a potion, and while resetting the animation (so you're invulnerable) by pressing space, it also makes you jump. You can't rotate though. This allows you to at least survive the drop into the purple spider pit in the tunnels. I couldn't immediately find anything interesting down there (just some trivial clipping) but feel free to do a more thorough job.

Aqfaq

2015-08-15 11:00:22 pm

I sometimes get a circle of light in the library. It may be a bug, but it is the same kind of light circle you get in the dark maze with the lantern.

About the mirrors: There might be some property of the mirror item that is accidentally the same with some other item. Test putting the mirror on the place where you need to put the sword and throw the tree with a mirror and a broken mirror. It was surely never tested by the game developer, because the assumption is that the mirrors always stay upstairs. It depends on how the game is programmed, but something just might happen.

LotBlind

2015-08-17 10:10:26 am

The circle of light in the library: do you mean when you get hit by the vagabond or at other times too? You're right that effect does seem to be the same or similar...

Okay, maybe something can happen. It's not like I've personally tested the poker on everything and I'm just going by the assumption that it really never does anything, so why not the mirrors. I just don't feel it will in this game in particular.

Aqfaq

2015-08-18 10:20:16 am

Not sure whether this has been talked about, but it is quite strange. When entering some screen twice, different stuff is loaded.

If you enter, exit and then enter this room again, you can hear the boss firing fireballs:

Somehow the boss is loaded when entering the room twice.

One thing to test would be to enter, exit and enter all screens and THEN try OOB. Maybe different areas are loaded and different OOB areas reachable after entering screens twice?

LotBlind

2015-08-18 12:55:49 pm

I'm almost at that part in my screenshots playthrough (which inevitably is also something of a mess-around) so I'll make sure to try that.

I don't think entering the room twice is what does it, but the room you entered in-between. Something else is loaded into memory (like the nightgaunts upstairs) that doesn't get deleted when you return. Well, that's my theory. In that case it would still matter where you came from or at least where you've been to. Maybe if you OOBed onto the 3rd floor landing without ever having been there, especially if it's the right side view, there might not be nightgaunts. If you enter the other view, that might be what loads them into memory.

Aqfaq: could you be more specific about what you did? Did you first go to the boss room?

Aqfaq

2015-08-19 05:11:56 am

No, I had not visited the boss room. I just came into this screen normally, after pushing the boulder away. Then I leave the same way I came in. Then I come back. Now I hear the boss shooting fireballs.

LotBlind

2015-08-20 09:25:40 am

Which character, which way did you push the boulder, can we have a video maybe...?

Aqfaq

2015-08-21 02:59:12 am

It works with both characters. Just enter the screen repeatedly and it should happen. Here:

A funny little trick. I saved the game when the monster was entering through the window. Its Z-coordinate was reseted, so it fell to the ground outside. It is now trapped OOB and can't enter the house.

LotBlind

2015-08-21 12:34:58 pm

That last one: a-ha! That follows naturally from what was known before but still didn't see it coming! Sad that it doesn't have even a theoretical use in the current route.

Okay, I went back one more time, and finally got the fake boss fight to happen... Here's what I was trying to ask for, the full instructions:
- enter the square room beyond the boulder
- pass through into the next little area
- turn back and pass through the square room again
- now return to the square room one more time and you'll hear a fireball being fired and exploding on a wall

Hypothetical explanation: what's probably going on is entering the next room makes the boss spawn (it's pretty close after all), returning to the square room from the cavern side makes the game confused about your location for one frame, which is enough for the boss to see you as somewhere close by and fire a single fireball.

I found this weird thing: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B6VbXOZpnj6MLUpIeEVuS0REVlk/view?usp=sharing
NHG, could you upload that on your channel at some point? Actually it's probably the same trigger that you're already using. I can't see what to do with it, but why can't you clip through the right side of the door instead of left? Did you find that slower? It shouldn't be. Especially because I noticed you can turn around after falling during the recovery animation, so it shouldn't matter what direction you're facing. Also I just noticed you forgot to do the quick clip-through in your run although looks like maybe two steps are required anyway.

BTW I can explain what's happening there: the trigger for changing the room's "lit/unlit" state is slightly different from where the camera switch trigger is. So maybe we're wrong in thinking the lit maze is different from the unlit one. Dunno.

Aaaanndd you missed another optimization - execution is bad here but it shows you what I mean: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B6VbXOZpnj6MM3ZXSThyY1BhVW8/view?usp=sharing. I think you could probably do this much better, but it shows you don't have to go back to the maze at all. Maybe you knew about this but just missed it? You can also go further to the left first to get the view that shows you the corner much better, then the clip becomes easier but probably loses time.

Also after throwing the lantern, why do you turn around the way you do? Surely the other way is slightly faster.

Finally: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B6VbXOZpnj6MVnVFNTlHM084dFU/view?usp=sharing
Probably pointless but tells us you can sometimes be teleported out from the water.

That last one: a-ha! That follows naturally from what was known before but still didn't see it coming! Sad that it doesn't have even a theoretical use in the current route.

Okay, I went back one more time, and finally got the fake boss fight to happen... Here's what I was trying to ask for, the full instructions:
- enter the square room beyond the boulder
- pass through into the next little area
- turn back and pass through the square room again
- now return to the square room one more time and you'll hear a fireball being fired and exploding on a wall

Hypothetical explanation: what's probably going on is entering the next room makes the boss spawn (it's pretty close after all), returning to the square room from the cavern side makes the game confused about your location for one frame, which is enough for the boss to see you as somewhere close by and fire a single fireball.

I found this weird thing: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B6VbXOZpnj6MLUpIeEVuS0REVlk/view?usp=sharing
NHG, could you upload that on your channel at some point? Actually it's probably the same trigger that you're already using. I can't see what to do with it, but why can't you clip through the right side of the door instead of left? Did you find that slower? It shouldn't be. Especially because I noticed you can turn around after falling during the recovery animation, so it shouldn't matter what direction you're facing. Also I just noticed you forgot to do the quick clip-through in your run although looks like maybe two steps are required anyway.

BTW I can explain what's happening there: the trigger for changing the room's "lit/unlit" state is slightly different from where the camera switch trigger is. So maybe we're wrong in thinking the lit maze is different from the unlit one. Dunno.

Aaaanndd you missed another optimization - execution is bad here but it shows you what I mean: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B6VbXOZpnj6MM3ZXSThyY1BhVW8/view?usp=sharing. I think you could probably do this much better, but it shows you don't have to go back to the maze at all. Maybe you knew about this but just missed it? You can also go further to the left first to get the view that shows you the corner much better, then the clip becomes easier but probably loses time.

Also after throwing the lantern, why do you turn around the way you do? Surely the other way is slightly faster.

Finally: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B6VbXOZpnj6MVnVFNTlHM084dFU/view?usp=sharing
Probably pointless but tells us you can sometimes be teleported out from the water.

Aqfaq

Edit history:

Aqfaq: 2015-08-22 08:03:10 am

2015-08-22 08:02:17 am

Hah, nice finds LotBlind!

Quote from LotBlind:

- pass through into the next little area

This step is not required. The bug is a bit strange, indeed. Sometimes it doesn't happen. And you are correct, the boss seems to shoot only once. Oh, maybe the wrong sound effect is loaded? It should be dripping water, but it is boss shot instead? Oh, but that would not explain the sound of the boss projectile hitting a wall.

LotBlind

2015-08-22 12:36:07 pm

Hey, if you wanna find out more precisely when exactly it works and when not feel free, and then edit it into the guide okay? You put in some work.

lillbrorsan

2015-08-23 01:45:50 pm

Truljin @ Twitch

This sounds like a really fun game to run, is there a guide for Any% as of yet or is the route just not ready? Cheesy

LotBlind

Edit history:

LotBlind: 2015-08-24 09:13:18 am

2015-08-24 09:00:05 am

NHG: Told you you should write one! To be fair he might be doing that now, dunno what's up with him. He's the runner and he has the most detailed knowledge.

If you want to compete with him, of course you'll need access to all of that, but if you wanna do something of your own, a segmented run can do things SS can't. There's really no other % runs though.

Check out the strategy guide in the meanwhile. It has virtually everything you could know about what has been found so far.

EDIT: Well technically there COULD be a no OOB category. It's not difficult to define at all and does change routing quite a bit.

LotBlind

Edit history:

LotBlind: 2015-08-24 11:08:02 am

2015-08-24 11:07:17 am

I noticed that the maze has multiple loading triggers when you run through it (aside from camera transitions). I realized soon after it's probably because, as rooms, they're much bigger than average with lots of walls, so it's probably the memory issue. This means (and I believe I can confirm) that half of the walls aren't actually loaded in when you're walking around. I even noticed you can go running around the place doing the same OOB that's done in the run, and if you play your cards right (can't tell you exactly what steps I took because I was in when it was still dark), you'll access a part of the maze where it really feels like you've got noclip on.

Just to get that out there. Also made some little changes and additions to guide today. Including I tested whether you can hit P with the lantern if you're on a platform, but the trigger has limited height so it doesn't do anything if you do. It passes right through.

Aqfaq

2015-08-25 01:27:36 pm

Quote from LotBlind:

hit P with the lantern if you're on a platform

Nice idea. Did you try messing around with savegames to reset the lantern's Z-coordinate when it is above the tree?

By the way, thanks for all the great work you've done with the strategy guide.

NHG

2015-08-26 08:03:39 am

Shut up and go back to another earth

Oh god so much informations x/

I noticed about the random fireball but as it seemed impossible to OOb anywhere here I did not find this detail very useful so I did not talk about it ._. Sorry about that. But it just gave me an idea, I'm going to test it... I did. Doesn't work as I hoped but I explored the maze OOB and found several other ways to reach the boss room. Sadly I don't think it's faster, but I'll have to check that. About cliping through the other corner of the door, yup it's faster and even easier to be honnest. The reason why I used the "fast clip technic" lately during the process is because thanks to the shitty view I'm never sure I began my clip until I am really really into the wall. The other side gives a better angle, the cliping is shorter and it makes the path a little shorter too. Soooooo yeah, that's a thing to upgrade x) Somehow I was convinced that it was only possible to the other side.

About the moment when I come back to the boss room, I knew that to but I'm pretty sure I found a problem that makes me think it wasn't a good idea. Let me give some tries... Yeah Now I remember, due to bad camre angle it's impossible to be effectively accurate, and without that it misses most of the times: because it makes touch the maze zone anyway, because it makes you climb with a very bad angle, or even because sometimes you climb from a spot where you'll immediately fall everytime. I'm going to try more to see if I find a good way to execute it, but it was mostly the reasons why I chose to not use this path. In the same line, there's another trick. From the dark maze if I reach the boss room with a very precise angle, I can come back in directly into the water without needing to climb anything. The problem with this was that if you missed this really peculiar spot (I insist) you were stuck into the wall AND I also never found a effective way to dodge the water monster who blocked my way just after this anyway.

I confess I did not try so much to use OOB with entrance door because I really have the same feeling than LotBlind about it. Also when i said that maybe Library kinda worked the same as maze, I meant that there were two different libraries, one without the hidden room and the other with it. But I didn't mean it has something to do with the light. I was more into the theory that putting the book in place was the trigger. But I'm almost sure I already tried to OOB again into the library after putting the book and nothing changed so I guess the theory does not work anyway.

I don't want to ruin anything but I'm pretty sure it's impossible to bring mirrors with you downstairs as taking them'll trigger the monster so you'll miss the timing to escape the place (when you grab the vaze, saving/loading does not cancel the trigger). But I maybe have an idea about a way to do it anyway. I'm gonna try it too even if, as Lotblind said, I don't think it'll be useful... But who knows x)... Ok, it seems pretty impossible. I managed to grab the vase without entering the room but after that, the game considered that I took it as soon as I enter the room (even after saving/loading the game), wich means that I have approximatly 3 sec after being in the room before the arrival of the Zombi-chicken. It does not give me enough time to reach the stairs even with a fast half-turn. Oh wait, I'm gonna try something else... Ok definitely no, I tried everything, not enough time that's it !

I had the library circle too sometimes. If I remember well it happend when I clipped in the library and that I get hit by the vagabond. Can't remember if it happened in other situations.

Did I forgot something ? Oh wait, yes ! Why am I Hercule Poirot ? I can't even grow a moustache ! Errr... Guess it could be worse, I could be... I don't know... Vector from Chotix team :\

Oh god so much informations x/

I noticed about the random fireball but as it seemed impossible to OOb anywhere here I did not find this detail very useful so I did not talk about it ._. Sorry about that. But it just gave me an idea, I'm going to test it... I did. Doesn't work as I hoped but I explored the maze OOB and found several other ways to reach the boss room. Sadly I don't think it's faster, but I'll have to check that. About cliping through the other corner of the door, yup it's faster and even easier to be honnest. The reason why I used the "fast clip technic" lately during the process is because thanks to the shitty view I'm never sure I began my clip until I am really really into the wall. The other side gives a better angle, the cliping is shorter and it makes the path a little shorter too. Soooooo yeah, that's a thing to upgrade x) Somehow I was convinced that it was only possible to the other side.

About the moment when I come back to the boss room, I knew that to but I'm pretty sure I found a problem that makes me think it wasn't a good idea. Let me give some tries... Yeah Now I remember, due to bad camre angle it's impossible to be effectively accurate, and without that it misses most of the times: because it makes touch the maze zone anyway, because it makes you climb with a very bad angle, or even because sometimes you climb from a spot where you'll immediately fall everytime. I'm going to try more to see if I find a good way to execute it, but it was mostly the reasons why I chose to not use this path. In the same line, there's another trick. From the dark maze if I reach the boss room with a very precise angle, I can come back in directly into the water without needing to climb anything. The problem with this was that if you missed this really peculiar spot (I insist) you were stuck into the wall AND I also never found a effective way to dodge the water monster who blocked my way just after this anyway.

I confess I did not try so much to use OOB with entrance door because I really have the same feeling than LotBlind about it. Also when i said that maybe Library kinda worked the same as maze, I meant that there were two different libraries, one without the hidden room and the other with it. But I didn't mean it has something to do with the light. I was more into the theory that putting the book in place was the trigger. But I'm almost sure I already tried to OOB again into the library after putting the book and nothing changed so I guess the theory does not work anyway.

I don't want to ruin anything but I'm pretty sure it's impossible to bring mirrors with you downstairs as taking them'll trigger the monster so you'll miss the timing to escape the place (when you grab the vaze, saving/loading does not cancel the trigger). But I maybe have an idea about a way to do it anyway. I'm gonna try it too even if, as Lotblind said, I don't think it'll be useful... But who knows x)... Ok, it seems pretty impossible. I managed to grab the vase without entering the room but after that, the game considered that I took it as soon as I enter the room (even after saving/loading the game), wich means that I have approximatly 3 sec after being in the room before the arrival of the Zombi-chicken. It does not give me enough time to reach the stairs even with a fast half-turn. Oh wait, I'm gonna try something else... Ok definitely no, I tried everything, not enough time that's it !

I had the library circle too sometimes. If I remember well it happend when I clipped  in the library and that I get hit by the vagabond. Can't remember if it happened in other situations.

Did I forgot something ? Oh wait, yes ! Why am I Hercule Poirot ? I can't even grow a moustache ! Errr... Guess it could be worse, I could be... I don't know... Vector from Chotix team :\

Aqfaq

Edit history:

Aqfaq: 2015-08-26 08:33:45 am

2015-08-26 08:32:52 am

The mirrors can be taken after the nightgaunts are skipped. You can return upstairs and the nightgaunts won't appear again, they are gone. Then you can just get the mirrors and have no worries.

I just realized that you can also bring the unbroken vase with you. It is a unique item, and very expensive too, so if you escape the house with the intact vase you are awarded 1 million dollars. Or maybe not. Anyway, I want to throw the walking armor with the vase. And I also want to throw the vase at the final boss.

Aqfaq

Edit history:

Aqfaq: 2015-08-26 09:50:15 am

2015-08-26 09:49:36 am

Here's a funny thing. You can drop the wooden block and pick it up again. This triggers the barrel roll. By repeating this you can move the barrels OOB.

If you do it about 30 times the barrel coordinates overflow and the barrels reappear from the opposite direction.

It would be a good idea to test picking up the block in every screen. Maybe the magic wooden block moves other objects, too.

Are there any other triggers in the game that can be repeated over and over? I can't think of any right now.