My feelings on The Demon Rush
Game Page: http://speeddemosarchive.com/CastlevaniaCotM.html
Richard 'Belmont' Jasionowski's Magician mode run
Verifier Responses
Decision: Accept
Reason: It's a significant improvement over the old run (around 10 minutes).
Verifier 2: I actually agree with nearly everything you said, but this run is still a lot better than the current one (I wasn't a verifier, but I have played the game before).
To the runner:
1. Don't send .mp4 sources to nate, they're very hard to encode properly.
2. How to split up the first segment. Good points to split up the segment would be the save before the Necromancer (5:45ish), and either the save in the clock tower (8 minutes-ish), or the save in the chapel (12:30ish). I could be wrong about these saves, but you visit them anyways.
Richard 'Belmont' Jasionowski's Magician mode run
Verifier Responses
Quote:
Ok, finished watching. Time is 31:18, assuming I tallied them right.
Just to be sure:
1 - 12:45 (frames 4159 to 50010)
2 - 7:19 (994 to 27329)
3 - 1:16 (1013 to 5540)
4 - 9:58 (998 to 36849)
Tot - 31:18
4 seconds short of beating it by 10 minutes flat and matching the forbidden one's fighter run. Accept or join him in hell.
BTW - shouldn't the "real time" rule be noted on the game's page since we're not using the in-game timer. (Mike's note: This rule applies to any in-game timer that doesn't give you a final time, so I don't see any reason to)
Just to be sure:
1 - 12:45 (frames 4159 to 50010)
2 - 7:19 (994 to 27329)
3 - 1:16 (1013 to 5540)
4 - 9:58 (998 to 36849)
Tot - 31:18
4 seconds short of beating it by 10 minutes flat and matching the forbidden one's fighter run. Accept or join him in hell.
BTW - shouldn't the "real time" rule be noted on the game's page since we're not using the in-game timer. (Mike's note: This rule applies to any in-game timer that doesn't give you a final time, so I don't see any reason to)
Quote:
Audio and Video are fine, and I can't spot any cheating.
First thing I have to mention is a big route change. It is possible to get to Camilla through the back door of the Underground Waterway. By using a summon skill in the air, your vertical velocity is reset. By doing this repeatedly and holding a direction, in addition to wall jumping, it is possible to climb over that structure. Doing this eliminates not only going through most of the Waterway, but eliminates needing to go to the Chapel entirely. This TAS show the trick. Keep in mind, that run is on Vampire Killer Mode. Magician Mode has plenty of MP to pull the trick off.
I can only assume this trick wasn't used because the runner wasn't aware of it. I'm not exactly sure how well known the trick is, either. So for now, I won't hold this against the runner. But just a note for the future, this trick should most certainly be used in a Magician Mode run, and should be considered for a Vampire Killer Mode run as well.
Onto the run itself:
Segment 1 --
He went the wrong way twice before reaching the Catacombs. At the very beginning of the run, there's really no excuse for something like that. He ran off a platform accidentally not too long after getting the dash boots. At about 4 minutes, he misses a ledge. 4:35 has a missed jump. He misses jumping into the Outer Wall.
For the Necromancer, I would suggest trying to kill him with a bone. By using Diane+Griffin, he has to wait for the Necromancer to transform into the second form. A bone is a 1 hit kill. I understand the randomness involved, but that's why runs are segmented.
Nicely done in the Machine Tower. No mistakes with all that crazy platforming. However, the bone is a much better idea on the Iron Golem. Even not getting the big bone a few times would be faster than this. And you wouldn't run out of MP either.
Which again, if you're going to segment a run, why not manipulate a little luck? And why not segment more? It'll make sure you don't have embarassing mistakes in the run, like the missed jumps at 12:30 and 13:30, or the failed attempts at the wall jump shortcuts in the Chapel.
Segment 2 --
Again, if you're going to save right in front of Adramelech, why not try to bone him?
3:04-05 has 2 more missed jumps. So does 3:20. Everything else looks fine, though I'm not sure he handled Camilla properly.
Segment 3 --
I don't think having mistakes like the ones at 0:48 or 1:21 is wise in such a short segment.
Segment 4 --
The fall 36 seconds in is inexcusable. He had okay luck on Hugh, only missing 7 times. Jumping over the Devil would've been a better idea. His luck on Dracula's 1st form was terrible. The fight took nearly 2 minutes, partially thanks to all the extra pausing going on. It might be better to just try and get more big bones.
On the second form, he forgot about the pause trick at first. He gets 3 big bones for 450 before using the trick, getting the last bone for 900. To get the most out of that big bone, he should've switched after the second 450 bone. This is assuming pausing doesn't cost him more time. Second half was rough too. He fudged the summon command a lot. I really wish there was a better way to fight this thing, and asking him to use the bones is a little much.
I can't accept this run. It has a lot of sloppy points and strategies I don't agree with. Only having 4 segments is my biggest problem. If you really want to segment a run, you should take full advantage of it. But if you want to allow yourself more room for mistakes, go single segment. And if the route change I mentioned is well known, that seals this run's fate.
First thing I have to mention is a big route change. It is possible to get to Camilla through the back door of the Underground Waterway. By using a summon skill in the air, your vertical velocity is reset. By doing this repeatedly and holding a direction, in addition to wall jumping, it is possible to climb over that structure. Doing this eliminates not only going through most of the Waterway, but eliminates needing to go to the Chapel entirely. This TAS show the trick. Keep in mind, that run is on Vampire Killer Mode. Magician Mode has plenty of MP to pull the trick off.
I can only assume this trick wasn't used because the runner wasn't aware of it. I'm not exactly sure how well known the trick is, either. So for now, I won't hold this against the runner. But just a note for the future, this trick should most certainly be used in a Magician Mode run, and should be considered for a Vampire Killer Mode run as well.
Onto the run itself:
Segment 1 --
He went the wrong way twice before reaching the Catacombs. At the very beginning of the run, there's really no excuse for something like that. He ran off a platform accidentally not too long after getting the dash boots. At about 4 minutes, he misses a ledge. 4:35 has a missed jump. He misses jumping into the Outer Wall.
For the Necromancer, I would suggest trying to kill him with a bone. By using Diane+Griffin, he has to wait for the Necromancer to transform into the second form. A bone is a 1 hit kill. I understand the randomness involved, but that's why runs are segmented.
Nicely done in the Machine Tower. No mistakes with all that crazy platforming. However, the bone is a much better idea on the Iron Golem. Even not getting the big bone a few times would be faster than this. And you wouldn't run out of MP either.
Which again, if you're going to segment a run, why not manipulate a little luck? And why not segment more? It'll make sure you don't have embarassing mistakes in the run, like the missed jumps at 12:30 and 13:30, or the failed attempts at the wall jump shortcuts in the Chapel.
Segment 2 --
Again, if you're going to save right in front of Adramelech, why not try to bone him?
3:04-05 has 2 more missed jumps. So does 3:20. Everything else looks fine, though I'm not sure he handled Camilla properly.
Segment 3 --
I don't think having mistakes like the ones at 0:48 or 1:21 is wise in such a short segment.
Segment 4 --
The fall 36 seconds in is inexcusable. He had okay luck on Hugh, only missing 7 times. Jumping over the Devil would've been a better idea. His luck on Dracula's 1st form was terrible. The fight took nearly 2 minutes, partially thanks to all the extra pausing going on. It might be better to just try and get more big bones.
On the second form, he forgot about the pause trick at first. He gets 3 big bones for 450 before using the trick, getting the last bone for 900. To get the most out of that big bone, he should've switched after the second 450 bone. This is assuming pausing doesn't cost him more time. Second half was rough too. He fudged the summon command a lot. I really wish there was a better way to fight this thing, and asking him to use the bones is a little much.
I can't accept this run. It has a lot of sloppy points and strategies I don't agree with. Only having 4 segments is my biggest problem. If you really want to segment a run, you should take full advantage of it. But if you want to allow yourself more room for mistakes, go single segment. And if the route change I mentioned is well known, that seals this run's fate.
Quote:
Great speedrun of CoTM, I'd say. The route planning was good and executed well, the faster-run magic significantly helped the run. The only part that looked a little sloppy was the beginning of segment 1, but these things happen. Virtually everything after that looked extremely smooth, especially all the necessary dodging easily made up for some tiny mistakes. I myself can't think of any (safe) ways to defeat the bosses in a quicker way, or faster ways to get to them. Overall the use of DSS combos was clever and appropriate for a speedrun.
I couldn't find any cheating or abnormal gameplay. Furthermore I can't complain about the video and audio quality, no desynch to be found.
My verdict: Accepted!
I couldn't find any cheating or abnormal gameplay. Furthermore I can't complain about the video and audio quality, no desynch to be found.
My verdict: Accepted!
Quote:
Well in order for me to see the differences, I put this run and Persona's run side by side (not exactly side by side).
Segment 1:
I didn't see a point in the MP up (it could have made the Iron Golem fight faster than Persona's when waiting for the last attack) but it didn't seem
to help one bit with Adramelech (Persona's vid had HER kill Adramelech without the need to reactivate yet he needed to reactivate even with an MP up).
Segment 2 and 3:
didn't need any luck manipulation (other than the Carmilla fight which was basically at the end of seg 2) but had quite a number of
needless errors like missed jumps, getting hit, etc which is why I wonder why he didn't put more effort into it.
Segment 4:
Hugh battle was EXCELLENT. Very lucky with the bones.
Very good discovery about the giant bone's element, which I am pretty sure not many know of (maybe only the TASers?). I'm not 100% sure if Drac's 2nd form's
attacks are all random or he must do a particular move when he's low on HP but it seemed that alot of time was wasted with some of his attacks (I guess
needs better luck manipulation?). I'm pretty sure it was worth getting a better Drac fight over a better Hugh fight.
My overall opinion is that while the run was overall good, it could've been better. There were slight errors from the start of most segments which
makes me wonder why he didn't simply reset and try again instead of finish up the segment (the very beginning of segment 1 when going down and most
of seg 2 and 3 come to mind). While Persona didn't complete HER run, HER manuvering was much better overall (I wouldn't have noticed much errors from
this vid until I watched both). This run is MUCH better than the current run on the site and while Persona did not finish HER run, this is the one
and only complete run therefore my vote is: Acceptable. 7/10.
Segment 1:
I didn't see a point in the MP up (it could have made the Iron Golem fight faster than Persona's when waiting for the last attack) but it didn't seem
to help one bit with Adramelech (Persona's vid had HER kill Adramelech without the need to reactivate yet he needed to reactivate even with an MP up).
Segment 2 and 3:
didn't need any luck manipulation (other than the Carmilla fight which was basically at the end of seg 2) but had quite a number of
needless errors like missed jumps, getting hit, etc which is why I wonder why he didn't put more effort into it.
Segment 4:
Hugh battle was EXCELLENT. Very lucky with the bones.
Very good discovery about the giant bone's element, which I am pretty sure not many know of (maybe only the TASers?). I'm not 100% sure if Drac's 2nd form's
attacks are all random or he must do a particular move when he's low on HP but it seemed that alot of time was wasted with some of his attacks (I guess
needs better luck manipulation?). I'm pretty sure it was worth getting a better Drac fight over a better Hugh fight.
My overall opinion is that while the run was overall good, it could've been better. There were slight errors from the start of most segments which
makes me wonder why he didn't simply reset and try again instead of finish up the segment (the very beginning of segment 1 when going down and most
of seg 2 and 3 come to mind). While Persona didn't complete HER run, HER manuvering was much better overall (I wouldn't have noticed much errors from
this vid until I watched both). This run is MUCH better than the current run on the site and while Persona did not finish HER run, this is the one
and only complete run therefore my vote is: Acceptable. 7/10.
Quote:
Verifier: CotM is good, accept
Verifier: i kinda wish he would segment more, because the first segment is way too long, but he makes up for it with the ridiculous final segment he has to pull off
Verifier: there's just a few stupid mistakes in the beginning (and some at the end, but there isn't nearly as much he could do about those) that I think he could eliminate by splitting the first segment up into two-three segs, since he has to go to save rooms to refill health regardless
Verifier: even if he does have to reactivate his DSS cards, it'd be worth it
Verifier: video quality is fine, sound is desynched in seg 1
Verifier: but audio is otherwise fine
Verifier: i'd harp on him about a cautious dracula fight, but, as said, he does need ridiculous luck, and maybe thunderbird doesn't work as well as I think it does or something
Verifier: i kinda wish he would segment more, because the first segment is way too long, but he makes up for it with the ridiculous final segment he has to pull off
Verifier: there's just a few stupid mistakes in the beginning (and some at the end, but there isn't nearly as much he could do about those) that I think he could eliminate by splitting the first segment up into two-three segs, since he has to go to save rooms to refill health regardless
Verifier: even if he does have to reactivate his DSS cards, it'd be worth it
Verifier: video quality is fine, sound is desynched in seg 1
Verifier: but audio is otherwise fine
Verifier: i'd harp on him about a cautious dracula fight, but, as said, he does need ridiculous luck, and maybe thunderbird doesn't work as well as I think it does or something
Decision: Accept
Reason: It's a significant improvement over the old run (around 10 minutes).
Verifier 2: I actually agree with nearly everything you said, but this run is still a lot better than the current one (I wasn't a verifier, but I have played the game before).
To the runner:
1. Don't send .mp4 sources to nate, they're very hard to encode properly.
2. How to split up the first segment. Good points to split up the segment would be the save before the Necromancer (5:45ish), and either the save in the clock tower (8 minutes-ish), or the save in the chapel (12:30ish). I could be wrong about these saves, but you visit them anyways.
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