Batman: Arkham Asylum

TheThrillness

2013-04-12 03:00:10 pm

thethrillness.blogspot.com

Quote from evilbobberino:

with our 360s and simple fact is that the walk and load times are faster on pc/Ps3

I'm guessing installing the game to the 360 hard drive does not help?

evilbobberino

2013-04-12 04:25:23 pm

faster, yet just as inebriated

It does make it faster but even with the large hdd and installed games there us a dramatic difference in many many places

DarthKnight

2013-04-12 06:19:55 pm

Yeah man that sucks. Pretty sure arkham city is the same way but in reverse and I tried to explain this on the forum. But its funny I think I'm the only one in the thread for that game that believes this so I failed miserably. It think it might be frowned upon here to make separate categories based on relatively small differences in loading times. Although I really feel your frustration. Honestly if I were you I'd just post a video to the forum and then admins or whoever can compare and decide if it should be a separate category. I also think its key for someone else running on the 360 to claim the same thing. No ps3 users for AC would back me up. If all else fails you could also just get a ps3 haha. The controls are actually way different tho imo. That's what I was going to do if I ever got back into running AC - just give up the fight and buy a damn 360.

evilbobberino

2013-04-12 06:51:26 pm

faster, yet just as inebriated

Yep. My buddy and i play batoffs alot. Also i find the timing for record a bit awkward, you time from the very beginning of the walk right?

DarthKnight

2013-04-12 07:02:15 pm

Timing starts when you first gain control of batman on the walk

UraniumAnchor

2013-04-12 07:46:11 pm

Not a walrus

If the only effective difference between 360 and PS3 is the loading times, then those are factored out when comparing run quality, but they'll stay in the same category.

PC is generally still its own category just because of mouse usage, though I don't know how much difference it makes in this game.

honorableJay

Edit history:

honorableJay: 2013-04-12 09:53:19 pm

honorableJay: 2013-04-12 09:53:00 pm

2013-04-12 09:52:34 pm

The Dork Knight himself.

UA: Actually, aside from the mouse (which makes a HUGE difference since you can freely move the camera without affecting your ability to fight at all) and the obvious load time differences, the KB has a big enough impact to put the PC version in it's own category. A good example is just opening up a grate: on the PC you can spam as fast as possible, but on XBox you have to press the button all the way in (gotta luv pressure sensitive buttons) or it won't be counted. Really weird mechanic but it makes opening grates that much harder compared to the PC. Not to mention that having instant direction change allows some tricks to be used on PC but next to impossible on XBox. I use a skip in the Underground Reservoir area (hopefully I remembered the name correctly, basically the sewer section where Batman has to go through to get to the water pumps) that involves running forward, then instantly going right to bypass a ledge and save about 3-ish seconds. Using an analog stick on the XBox/PS3 makes that skip incredibly difficult but for me it's really easy to pull off.

evilbobberino

2013-04-13 12:53:51 pm

faster, yet just as inebriated

So.... basically submit the xbox vid and see how the time gets broken down?

evilbobberino

2013-04-13 12:55:45 pm

faster, yet just as inebriated

Of course, that means convincing i need the netflix machine aka xbox and tv back for a few nights Roll Eyes

evilbobberino

2013-04-13 12:56:19 pm

faster, yet just as inebriated

Convincing the fiance i mean

TheThrillness

2013-04-13 03:01:03 pm

thethrillness.blogspot.com

If she doesn't give in easily you can just smash her over the head repeatedly with a shovel. It's worked wonders for me! Cheesy

honorableJay

2013-04-13 07:30:20 pm

The Dork Knight himself.

And that's why Thrillness streams from his cell Smiley

DarthKnight

2013-05-20 09:20:48 pm

Like I said in one of my last posts, I'd keep trying at that hard single segment when I got the motivation again. So this last week I did, and I literally played all day Saturday, and I think I finally got something submittable. And I ALMOST beat the old easy record. I was so damn close, got 2:08:23. This one definitely puts my other runs to shame. Can't wait to show you guys. I may still go for the sub 2:07:40 run, but its unlikely. It's just too damn frustrating. That's why I kept going on and off this project, for about 9 months now. But yeah probably gonna send out an email and submit this soon.

I still can't get over all the shit that happened during the runs before the submittable one. I had one run the day before where I would have gotten a slightly better time than 2:08:23, but for some reason at the very end of the game when you're going to the party, where all the dudes are clapping for you in the hallway and you can just skip them, my finger slipped and pressed the X button. So batman evades one guy, and then all the sudden I got 20 dudes all over me. Wasted like 5+ minutes. I didn't think I could live on after that one...

Like I said in one of my last posts, I'd keep trying at that hard single segment when I got the motivation again. So this last week I did, and I literally played all day Saturday, and I think I finally got something submittable. And I ALMOST beat the old easy record. I was so damn close, got 2:08:23. This one definitely puts my other runs to shame. Can't wait to show you guys. I may still go for the sub 2:07:40 run, but its unlikely. It's just too damn frustrating. That's why I kept going on and off this project, for about 9 months now. But yeah probably gonna send out an email and submit this soon.

I still can't get over all the shit that happened during the runs before the submittable one. I had one run the day before where I would have gotten a slightly better time than 2:08:23, but for some reason at the very end of the game when you're going to the party, where all the dudes are clapping for you in the hallway and you can just skip them, my finger slipped and pressed the X button. So batman evades one guy, and then all the sudden I got 20 dudes all over me. Wasted like 5+ minutes. I didn't think I could live on after that one...

honorableJay

2013-08-19 05:12:22 pm

The Dork Knight himself.

Ok, so this game might actually make it into the next AGDQ, HYPE!!!!!!!!!!

However, we're gonna have to run this on the PC version since a) I can't use a controller to save my life and b) the load times are way faster. Hopefully this little bit of info should help Robo get ready for the switch.

Controls:
Aside from having access to the mouse/kb as an alternative, the game is designed to use a Xbox 360 controller out of the box. From what I understand, that should make it play exactly like the 360 version. If you've played FPS games on a comp before and are used to the mouse/kb setup I highly recommend you make the switch for this game since the fights are so much easier to handle. Advanced tweaking of the controls can also be done outside of the game by directly editing the ini files, which helps with mouse sensitivity issues (by default it's waaaaaaaaaaaaay too high).

Graphics:
This is where the PC version either fails or shines. By default all of the extra physics details are disabled. This means no breaking walls and floating bricks during the Nightmare scenes, no flapping flags in the halls, etc etc. Overall it's pretty minor. Running the game on an i5 with integrated graphics (for practice anyway) will require downing the resolution pretty low and turning off all of the major effects.

Gameplay:
Luckily this is the one area where both versions are on even ground. From what I've seen, there is nothing different between the PC and 360 versions at all. Any trick that works in one version works in the other.

Saving:
You do need to sign into Windows Live to play the game normally, but luckily the login is the same as your Xbox Live account. I'm gonna test later, but I believe if you can't sign into your Live account then you can't save. How this affects checkpoints is what I'm worried about since that will make skipping Ivy impossible if checkpoints aren't saved.

Ok, so this game might actually make it into the next AGDQ, HYPE!!!!!!!!!!

However, we're gonna have to run this on the PC version since a) I can't use a controller to save my life and b) the load times are way faster. Hopefully this little bit of info should help Robo get ready for the switch.

Controls:
Aside from having access to the mouse/kb as an alternative, the game is designed to use a Xbox 360 controller out of the box. From what I understand, that should make it play exactly like the 360 version. If you've played FPS games on a comp before and are used to the mouse/kb setup I highly recommend you make the switch for this game since the fights are so much easier to handle. Advanced tweaking of the controls can also be done outside of the game by directly editing the ini files, which helps with mouse sensitivity issues (by default it's waaaaaaaaaaaaay too high).

Graphics:
This is where the PC version either fails or shines. By default all of the extra physics details are disabled. This means no breaking walls and floating bricks during the Nightmare scenes, no flapping flags in the halls, etc etc. Overall it's pretty minor. Running the game on an i5 with integrated graphics (for practice anyway) will require downing the resolution pretty low and turning off all of the major effects.

Gameplay:
Luckily this is the one area where both versions are on even ground. From what I've seen, there is nothing different between the PC and 360 versions at all. Any trick that works in one version works in the other.

Saving:
You do need to sign into Windows Live to play the game normally, but luckily the login is the same as your Xbox Live account. I'm gonna test later, but I believe if you can't sign into your Live account then you can't save. How this affects checkpoints is what I'm worried about since that will make skipping Ivy impossible if checkpoints aren't saved.

honorableJay

2013-08-19 10:53:24 pm

The Dork Knight himself.

Ok, so while we're at it, let's discuss some donation incentives. The main ones that I can think of are:

1) No-Punch Harley Challenge - During the Harley fight (with the electrified floors), take out all of the goons without using any ground pounds or knockout punches. This is mainly done by grappling enemies to the open areas of the pits and forcing them off into the abyss.

2) No-Punch Cave Titan Challenge - Same as the Harley fight, but since you can't actually take out the Titan without punching him, that's the only exception. All normal enemies have to be knocked into the electrified gates. Funny enough, this can turn out to be faster than actually fighting everyone normally.

Any other ideas?

RoboSparkle

2013-08-19 11:39:59 pm

Magical. Flying. Bathtub

Thanks Jay, a couple of other possibilities:

3) No Detective Mode. You have to scan a couple of clues but other than that it isn't necessary.

4) Party Pooper. Do the optional fight before the final area.

honorableJay

2013-08-20 12:00:24 am

The Dork Knight himself.

Rofl Party Pooper, that's a fun fight. No Detective Mode would probably hurt me in a few areas, but I could probably adjust. Aside from those and a donation incentive to do the Nightmare 1 wall skip (at least 3 tries or it wastes too long) I really can't think of any others (aside from the obvious hard/easy mode).

It seems that Mike might not want to have us race this due to a possible blowout (which could very well happen, I haven't played the game in 6 months but can still probably get a 2:20) so how do you want to handle it? If you still want to try to play it on PC I'll send you a copy over steam (just send me a PM) and maybe we can race one of these days to see just how close we are.

honorableJay

2013-09-01 10:40:24 pm

The Dork Knight himself.

Ok, so after some testing, I'm thinking Hard mode could be easily doable in a marathon without wasting too much extra time. I'm not sure how Darth is playing the game on Hard, but here are a few of the tweaks I've made to the Easy route to work for Hard:

1. Area Hazards - Electrified gates and pits can really speed up fights. If a fight has access to one of these, stand in front of it and do whatever it takes to knock someone into it. Cape stun, Batclaw, dodge, etc. The Cave Titan fight is a shining example: it's very easy to take down 4 enemies with 2 claws at one gate, then run to another and repeat the process. Most of the time you'll take out all of the goons before the Titan is ready to go down.

2. Ground Pounds - Unfortunately these are gonna have to be abused to the fullest, especially in fights that have at least 4 enemies. Taking someone out with 1 ground pound is a lot faster than knocking him down 3 to 4 times even with Combo Criticals.

3. Modified Predator strats - The Library predator strat we use on Easy can also work on Hard, but instead of funneling enemies down the left side of the hall, funnel them down the right side (keeps the shotgunners away for just long enough). The Botanical Gardens predator fight can be done really quick too. Start off with the left goon, batarang + pound him. Then spin right and claw the top goon off the railing. Run down the stairs and to the right side, turn and claw the upper left goon off the railing. From there the rest of the goons can just be pulled in and pounded with ease. Both visits to Intensive Treatment can be done exactly the same, no modifications required.

There are more tweaks to the strat but I can't remember them right now.

Ok, so after some testing, I'm thinking Hard mode could be easily doable in a marathon without wasting too much extra time. I'm not sure how Darth is playing the game on Hard, but here are a few of the tweaks I've made to the Easy route to work for Hard:

1. Area Hazards - Electrified gates and pits can really speed up fights. If a fight has access to one of these, stand in front of it and do whatever it takes to knock someone into it. Cape stun, Batclaw, dodge, etc. The Cave Titan fight is a shining example: it's very easy to take down 4 enemies with 2 claws at one gate, then run to another and repeat the process. Most of the time you'll take out all of the goons before the Titan is ready to go down.

2. Ground Pounds - Unfortunately these are gonna have to be abused to the fullest, especially in fights that have at least 4 enemies. Taking someone out with 1 ground pound is a lot faster than knocking him down 3 to 4 times even with Combo Criticals.

3. Modified Predator strats - The Library predator strat we use on Easy can also work on Hard, but instead of funneling enemies down the left side of the hall, funnel them down the right side (keeps the shotgunners away for just long enough). The Botanical Gardens predator fight can be done really quick too. Start off with the left goon, batarang + pound him. Then spin right and claw the top goon off the railing. Run down the stairs and to the right side, turn and claw the upper left goon off the railing. From there the rest of the goons can just be pulled in and pounded with ease. Both visits to Intensive Treatment can be done exactly the same, no modifications required.

There are more tweaks to the strat but I can't remember them right now.

honorableJay

2013-09-01 10:44:10 pm

The Dork Knight himself.

One other thing I forgot to mention: A couple months ago M$ decided to change the security of Live accounts to use a two-step verification system. If you set your account up for it, you'll have to create a device passcode (pretty sure you've seen this for your 360 at some point). The fun part is Windows Live (which Arkham Asylum uses) doesn't support the two-step verification, so you need to create a device passcode just to login on PC. Really stupid idea considering it's not a console and the software can easily be updated, but I guess it works.

DarthKnight

2013-09-06 01:01:24 am

Quote:

Modified Predator strats - The Library predator strat we use on Easy can also work on Hard, but instead of funneling enemies down the left side of the hall, funnel them down the right side (keeps the shotgunners away for just long enough). The Botanical Gardens predator fight can be done really quick too. Start off with the left goon, batarang + pound him. Then spin right and claw the top goon off the railing. Run down the stairs and to the right side, turn and claw the upper left goon off the railing. From there the rest of the goons can just be pulled in and pounded with ease. Both visits to Intensive Treatment can be done exactly the same, no modifications required.

There's a way to use the easy route in the library predator?? Wow I need to see this. I was pretty careful at that part. With the botanical gardens I claw guys off from the 2nd floor, but you're way sounds pretty good, maybe better. With the intensive treatment it could be done without changing anything, but man I know I died a lot trying. I never found a consistently fast and easy way to take out the 2nd wave in the first intensive treatment. And in the 2nd intensive treatment, it just felt so luck-based and risky on hard that I altered my strategy and took an extra 10 seconds or so.

The first two points were dead on though. It makes combat a lot more fun too. Pulling thugs off cliffs and into electric gates is just so satisfying.

[quote]Modified Predator strats - The Library predator strat we use on Easy can also work on Hard, but instead of funneling enemies down the left side of the hall, funnel them down the right side (keeps the shotgunners away for just long enough). The Botanical Gardens predator fight can be done really quick too. Start off with the left goon, batarang + pound him. Then spin right and claw the top goon off the railing. Run down the stairs and to the right side, turn and claw the upper left goon off the railing. From there the rest of the goons can just be pulled in and pounded with ease. Both visits to Intensive Treatment can be done exactly the same, no modifications required.[/quote]
There's a way to use the easy route in the library predator?? Wow I need to see this. I was pretty careful at that part. With the botanical gardens I claw guys off from the 2nd floor, but you're way sounds pretty good, maybe better. With the intensive treatment it could be done without changing anything, but man I know I died a lot trying. I never found a consistently fast and easy way to take out the 2nd wave in the first intensive treatment. And in the 2nd intensive treatment, it just felt so luck-based and risky on hard that I altered my strategy and took an extra 10 seconds or so.

The first two points were dead on though. It makes combat a lot more fun too. Pulling thugs off cliffs and into electric gates is just so satisfying.

honorableJay

2013-09-06 05:45:30 pm

The Dork Knight himself.

The easy strats work in the Library, BUT hard is a lot more random. I seem to have better results if I pause a sec and make sure when I yank the mook off the upper ledge at the start he comes off cleanly without getting flipped over the railing (so his body flies farther). If the first 2 responders come down the left side of the hall, I go into "backup strats" to finish things out. My backup is to climb the filing cabinets in the center of the hall, claw the far mook off the railing, then batarang + ground pound the rest of em. Even if I have to use the backup it doesn't waste too much time.

Intensive treatment has not given me any problems yet. The first time around if the left guy doesn't get knocked out while climbing the ladder, I just spam batarangs while running at him and he doesn't get a chance to hit me. The second time around I get the same results everytime: glide kick the first mook (ground pound for safety), zip to the stairs, hack and exit.

Another area I've changed is rescuing the guard+doctor right before nightmare 2. Rather than skipping the fight I actually take them out here since I have access to an electrified gate, which makes this fight way faster to finish than the alternative fight after finding Dr. Young.

Once I get a full stream of this I'll post it here.

The easy strats work in the Library, BUT hard is a lot more random. I seem to have better results if I pause a sec and make sure when I yank the mook off the upper ledge at the start he comes off cleanly without getting flipped over the railing (so his body flies farther). If the first 2 responders come down the left side of the hall, I go into "backup strats" to finish things out. My backup is to climb the filing cabinets in the center of the hall, claw the far mook off the railing, then batarang + ground pound the rest of em. Even if I have to use the backup it doesn't waste too much time.

Intensive treatment has not given me any problems yet. The first time around if the left guy doesn't get knocked out while climbing the ladder, I just spam batarangs while running at him and he doesn't get a chance to hit me. The second time around I get the same results everytime: glide kick the first mook (ground pound for safety), zip to the stairs, hack and exit.

Another area I've changed is rescuing the guard+doctor right before nightmare 2. Rather than skipping the fight I actually take them out here since I have access to an electrified gate, which makes this fight way faster to finish than the alternative fight after finding Dr. Young.

Once I get a full stream of this I'll post it here.

honorableJay

2013-09-07 06:26:57 pm

The Dork Knight himself.

Hard mode library with modified Easy strat
Hard mode finding the formula fight <--- it's quicker to fight them here rather than after Dr. Young.

RoboSparkle

2013-09-08 03:38:00 pm

Magical. Flying. Bathtub

By the way, the fact this has been cut out of AGDQ doesn't mean the live race isn't still happening, Jay. Although we will still have to find a fair way to allow for the time difference, shouldn't be too tough to figure out Smiley

honorableJay

2013-09-08 04:17:15 pm

The Dork Knight himself.

Check yer pms Robo Smiley

RoboSparkle

2013-11-17 05:29:28 pm

Magical. Flying. Bathtub

New skips found! Thanks to Diabuk we can now skip Scarecrow 2.

http://www.twitch.tv/diabuk/c/3257536

It's very tough to get positioning and the remote batarang handles like a wardrobe full of conkers on asylum, but you can enter the Mansion and immediately cut the bell down and skip straight to Zsasz.

Ollie found this too on the elevator climb.

http://www.twitch.tv/olliejs100/c/3257655

So remote batarang is now useful and the WR's can now be beaten with bad runs Tongue