Crystals For Life 2014

Rayas

Edit history:

Rayas: 2013-11-27 12:55:14 am

Rayas: 2013-11-26 10:22:48 am

2013-11-26 12:17:45 am

Wonderprincess

Bad news for the french community concerning C4L: the biggest annual french fighting game/speedrun festival, the Stunfest, will be held from the 2th of May until the 4th... Just in the middle of C4L. While it also means MV, Kilaye and I have to make a choice (well, I'm coming to C4L for sure), it also means a big chunk of potential viewers AND commentators on a potential french restream will be there instead of focusing on C4L.

Right now, I'm trying to see if it's possible to actually have C4L shown there, or even commented in french by some folks... But that seems hardly possible, so we'll see. I want a decent solution for this.

Sir VG

2013-11-26 12:41:30 am

Fucking Weeaboo

Make the French surrender. We know they're good at that.

...I apologize right now for that lame poke at the French. Tongue

Alko

2013-11-26 08:50:14 am

Caution: This user contains Kana ^_^

Well I have heard some people say, the French flag of war be a white tank on a white background … :Þ
In all seriousness, though, the best of luck to you that they might stream C4L from there! Might it not actually be an additional boost, if during low times of that festival (early morning or very late night), one of you French showcases their game? Potentially creating even more hype?

magicfreak500

2013-11-26 09:21:03 am

That does sound bad you have to choose between the two, but if you can get C4L re-streamed on their end with French commentary that be great work you have gotten for C4L.

garik16

2013-11-26 01:08:48 pm

Quote from Rayas:

Bad news for the french community concerning C4L: the biggest annual french fighting game/speedrun festival, the Stunfest, will be held from the 2th of May until the 4th... Just in the middle of C4L. While it also means MV, Kilaye and I have to make a choice (well, I'm coming to C4L for sure), it also means a big chunk of potential viewers AND commentators on a potential french restream will be there instead on focusing on C4L.

Right now, I'm trying to see if it's possible to actually have C4L shown there, or even commented in french by some folks... But that seems hardly possible, so we'll see. I want a decent solution for this.

Ooh that sucks considering it overlaps with the finale.

But at least most of the marathon will still be un-overlapped.

Raelcun

2013-12-08 06:31:15 am

We require more minerals

So how many people are we waiting on for the review round? Have all of the reviews come in and are being, for a lack of a better word, reviewed? Or are we still waiting on responses? It seems to be long enough that if people still haven't responded that we might just assume they're not going to get around to it. Maybe try and get some extra people if you feel like there hasn't been enough input? Basically, I'm just curious where we're standing because it's been quite a while.

Alko

Edit history:

Alko: 2013-12-08 06:58:04 am

2013-12-08 06:57:11 am

Caution: This user contains Kana ^_^

Quote from Poxnor on the 20/11 at 20:45 UTC+1:

Sorry for the delay, everyone, in getting the Round Two results posted. It's all in my head; I just want to write a thoughtful and complete post about all of my decisions.
[…]
Will write thoughtful post on games later.

Cheers
--Ryan

Raelcun

Edit history:

Raelcun: 2013-12-08 06:59:28 am

2013-12-08 06:58:07 am

We require more minerals

I read that post... I should just not post until I'm done with these pain meds, apparently. I'll just go over into the corner now. T_T

magicfreak500

2013-12-08 03:28:57 pm

I believe we are still waiting but I so think there are a few things Poxnor needs to do before he posts

Highspirits

2013-12-08 04:14:45 pm

Looks like I'll be able to attend C4L. If you are still accepting commentators I'll gladly sit in for Lufia 2. I'll sit in for Wild arms 4 also if you need. Two of my favorite series of all time.

puwexil

Edit history:

puwexil: 2013-12-10 08:37:00 am

2013-12-10 12:57:37 am

Professional Second Banana

Quote from puwexil:

My PB so far at FF6 Glitchless Any% is 5:55:57, which is very improvable (especially if a new WoR route I'm testing that gets Shadow instead of Sabin proves to be faster). After talking to Nitrodon, I think that we could route Glitchless 100% if there's interest - would give an 8 hr estimate for that.

Nitrodon and I have finished routing Glitchless 100% (all characters/Espers). Based on how my testing/practice has gone I can definitely do it in under 8 hours (probably even under 7:30, though I'd want to keep the estimate at 8:00 for a marathon run), so that can be an incentive or bidding war if we want. 100% could also have some extra incentives on top of what I offered for Any%, like fighting some of the optional bosses not required for the 100% category (MagiMaster & Atma) or fighting Wrexsoul 'legit' (no True Edge), along with the Magitek ending (which is only possible in 100%).

Poxnor

Edit history:

Poxnor: 2013-12-15 04:42:23 am

2013-12-15 04:04:51 am

Moo! Flap! Hug!

Hello Everyone,

Sorry about the extended silence. I haven't been keeping up with all my responsibilities in real life lately, and C4L is one of the things that has slipped. Time to fix that. That's no excuse, and I'm really sorry for keeping everyone waiting. I've wanted to write something thoughtful about Round Two, and now is the time to do it.

First off, the dates for C4L! These dates are now fixed and final. These are the dates when the marathon is happening.

- Kickoff: late afternoon, Tuesday 29 April 2014
- Last game: evening, Sunday 4 May 2014
- Post-marathon fun: Monday and Tuesday, 5-6 May 2014

Post-marathon fun will involve one day checking out North America's biggest mall (complete with golf, swimming, tea, sea otters, and other bizarre stuff), and a one-day trip to the beautiful mountain-town of Jasper, AB.

There were a number of questions I put out for Round Two, and here is the collective reply:

Quote:

1) Should any space open back up (e.g., someone becoming unable to attend), which games would you prioritize to add back in, and why? [...]

The answers to this question, ultimately, are not important for the purposes of concluding Round Two.

Quote:

2) The "closest" decision for me, personally, was giving puwexil FF6 instead of KH2. [...]

The Round Two replies were fairly split on this decision. Given that a split decision generally means you're never going to make everyone happy, I'm going to leave this decision as-is, and have glitchless FF6 as a C4L run.

Quote:

3) I completely misinterpreted one of the Round One referee's comments regarding Potato Handle's Wonderboy run. [...] would you overrule my Round One decision and give Lost Odyssey to Potato Handle, or let it stand as-is with Wonderboy? [...]

Split decision, but with a fairly strong argument that Lost Odyssey is a better RPG. I'm changing my initial decision, and going with Lost Odyssey instead of Wonderboy.

Quote:

4) Is Brave Fencer Musashi an RPG [...]

Yes, it is.

Quote:

5) Is Skylanders Spyro's Adventure an RPG [...]

No, it is not. I'm sorry to have to do this. I've watched videos, and solicited feedback. However, in the end, Skylanders is not an RPG. It's far more comparable to Mario 64 than it is to anything that I would consider an RPG. For that reason, it has been cut.

Magicfreak500, you're still more than welcome to attend should you want to. But, I'm sorry, Skylanders is no RPG.

Quote:

6) Given that Lag.Com has the shortest game by a fairly significant margin, I personally think it would be fair to give him Ultima Underworld 2 (the sequel to the game he got, which is roughly the same length as the first) as well. [...]

Unanimous agreement.

Quote:

7) Perhaps the most controversial decision I made (though that's a bit of a multi-horse race) was giving Caracarn X2.

Unanimous agreement that I was a dumb-ass for giving X2. I honestly think X2 would have been a great marathon game. However, I appear to be the only person in the world who thinks as much Wink

So, I can admit when I was wrong, lol.

There was a pretty even split between whether FF7 or FFX should take its place. So, I'm going to step in and say that FF7-slots is the better choice. That said, if the new release of FFX has cutscene skips, I would reconsider.

Quote:

8) Are there any games currently on the games list that are simply untenable for an RPG marathon for reasons other than not being an RPG? Please provide as thorough an explanation as possible for each.

There were two other games that the Round Two reviewers made strong cases to cut, and which have been cut. Again, the runners are still more than welcome to attend should they want, but the following two games have been cut:

- The Genius of Sappheiros: the consensus was that this game is simply too long, too boring, and too obscure to work in a marathon; and,

- Persona: there are too many questions about the length of the run, and how watchable it is. I'd reconsider this game for a future year; but, for this year, I have to cut it.

Hello Everyone,

Sorry about the extended silence. I haven't been keeping up with all my responsibilities in real life lately, and C4L is one of the things that has slipped. Time to fix that. That's no excuse, and I'm really sorry for keeping everyone waiting. I've wanted to write something thoughtful about Round Two, and now is the time to do it.

First off, the dates for C4L!  These dates are now fixed and final.  These are the dates when the marathon is happening.

- Kickoff: late afternoon, Tuesday 29 April 2014
- Last game: evening, Sunday 4 May 2014
- Post-marathon fun: Monday and Tuesday, 5-6 May 2014

Post-marathon fun will involve one day checking out North America's biggest mall (complete with golf, swimming, tea, sea otters, and other bizarre stuff), and a one-day trip to the beautiful mountain-town of Jasper, AB.

There were a number of questions I put out for Round Two, and here is the collective reply:

[quote]
1) Should any space open back up (e.g., someone becoming unable to attend), which games would you prioritize to add back in, and why? [...]
[/quote]
The answers to this question, ultimately, are not important for the purposes of concluding Round Two.

[quote]
2) The "closest" decision for me, personally, was giving puwexil FF6 instead of KH2.  [...]
[/quote]
The Round Two replies were fairly split on this decision. Given that a split decision generally means you're never going to make everyone happy, I'm going to leave this decision as-is, and have glitchless FF6 as a C4L run.

[quote]
3) I completely misinterpreted one of the Round One referee's comments regarding Potato Handle's Wonderboy run.  [...]  would you overrule my Round One decision and give Lost Odyssey to Potato Handle, or let it stand as-is with Wonderboy?  [...]
[/quote]
Split decision, but with a fairly strong argument that Lost Odyssey is a better RPG.  I'm changing my initial decision, and going with Lost Odyssey instead of Wonderboy.

[quote]
4) Is Brave Fencer Musashi an RPG [...]
[/quote]
Yes, it is.

[quote]
5) Is Skylanders Spyro's Adventure an RPG [...]
[/quote]
No, it is not. I'm sorry to have to do this. I've watched videos, and solicited feedback. However, in the end, Skylanders is not an RPG. It's far more comparable to Mario 64 than it is to anything that I would consider an RPG. For that reason, it has been cut.

Magicfreak500, you're still more than welcome to attend should you want to. But, I'm sorry, Skylanders is no RPG.

[quote]
6) Given that Lag.Com has the shortest game by a fairly significant margin, I personally think it would be fair to give him Ultima Underworld 2 (the sequel to the game he got, which is roughly the same length as the first) as well. [...]
[/quote]
Unanimous agreement.

[quote]
7) Perhaps the most controversial decision I made (though that's a bit of a multi-horse race) was giving Caracarn X2.
[/quote]
Unanimous agreement that I was a dumb-ass for giving X2.  I honestly think X2 would have been a great marathon game.  However, I appear to be [i]the only person in the world[/i] who thinks as much ;)  So, I can admit when I was wrong, lol.

There was a pretty even split between whether FF7 or FFX should take its place. So, I'm going to step in and say that FF7-slots is the better choice. That said, if the new release of FFX has cutscene skips, I would reconsider.

[quote]
8) Are there any games currently on the games list that are simply untenable for an RPG marathon for reasons other than not being an RPG?  Please provide as thorough an explanation as possible for each.
[/quote]
There were two other games that the Round Two reviewers made strong cases to cut, and which have been cut.  Again, the runners are still more than welcome to attend should they want, but the following two games have been cut:

- The Genius of Sappheiros: the consensus was that this game is simply too long, too boring, and too obscure to work in a marathon; and,

- Persona: there are too many questions about the length of the run, and how watchable it is.  I'd reconsider this game for a future year; but, for this year, I have to cut it.

Poxnor

2013-12-15 04:21:20 am

Moo! Flap! Hug!

First post updated and hopefully everything is correct in it. If anyone sees any inconsistencies between the first post and what has been discussed in the thread, please let me know (that would be mistake and not intent).

I have no name

2013-12-15 06:48:55 am

Obscure games ftw

Quote from Poxnor:

- The Genius of Sappheiros: the consensus was that this game is simply too long, too boring, and too obscure to work in a marathon;

I was looking forward to this one...though I do understand I'm in the minority when it comes to that.

Poxnor

2013-12-15 12:14:10 pm

Moo! Flap! Hug!

One thing I should mention, which I did last year and will again this year:

If you're flying to Edmonton, you really, really want to fly to Edmonton International Airport (code YEG).

You will probably come across slightly cheaper flights to Calgary (code YYC). However, I can 99.9% certainly guarantee that they will save you neither time nor money. Calgary is almost 300 km south of Edmonton, and getting between them will require renting a car, bussing, etc., which will cost you more than you save on the flight.

So, yeah...YEG.

Rayas

2013-12-15 12:37:46 pm

Wonderprincess

Oh, we actually were planning to come to Calgary and rent a car from there. 3 hours~ drive is not a big deal...

FFgamer86

2013-12-15 12:43:49 pm

SDA Speedruns: 1

3 hours if your lucky, during the snowstorm last year it took us 5-6 lol.

AlecK47

2013-12-15 12:48:46 pm

Yeah, even if you plan on renting a car I'd definitely recommend YEG as well.

Poxnor

2013-12-15 12:56:03 pm

Moo! Flap! Hug!

Rayas: if you were actually planning to rent a car, then that's cool (I used to live in Calgary, so feel free to ask me if you need any suggestions of a good place to eat, or if you were planning to crash in Calgary for a night I can suggest a place to sleep). I just didn't want anyone caught off-guard, thinking that Calgary to Edmonton is just a quick little hop around the block. It is about a 2.5-3 hour drive (in normal May conditions).

Sir VG

2013-12-15 01:02:13 pm

Fucking Weeaboo

If I get a flight that arrives on the 29th (since it's much cheaper than a flight arriving on the 28th), it won't be a problem getting somebody to pick me up to get to the marathon? The flight I'll probably book arrives around 1:30pm.

Poxnor

2013-12-15 01:05:43 pm

Moo! Flap! Hug!

No problem at all Smiley

If I forget that you're arriving a little later when it comes time to make the schedule, just remind me (if I put your game earlier on the 29th, it will just have been an oversight on my part, not an attempt to screw you over).

Rayas

2013-12-15 01:06:04 pm

Wonderprincess

Well, as I'm depending on someone else to get the tickets, it seems to be the plan anyhow :p I'll get that cleared at christmas anyhow. Getting a car seemed like a good idea, as we wouldn't have to be dependant of other people to move around, and that we could maybe drive other people and be helpful about that.

Anyway, we'll soon see. Thanks!

mikwuyma

2013-12-15 02:20:48 pm

My feelings on The Demon Rush

Poxnor: Is there any chance we can actually see the responses to said questions? You mentioned earlier that want to be more accountable for this marathon so I'd like to see what people actually said. It shouldn't be too hard to post the responses while making them anonymous.

Poxnor

2013-12-15 02:29:55 pm

Moo! Flap! Hug!

Sure. One of the reviewers asked that they not be quoted directly, so I'll give the gist of what they said. Give me a while to gather up all the responses, anonymize them, and paraphrase the one that I won't quote.

Poxnor

2013-12-15 04:06:40 pm

Moo! Flap! Hug!

One thing I can say without having to dig through threads, Skype chats, Facebook messages, etc. is the dates. So, I'll post my reasons for choosing the dates I did while I dig up all that other stuff Smiley

Originally, I was thinking about a strong start date (Friday or Saturday). However, there were there major factors that led to me choosing the Tuesday start:

1. With the two post-marathon fun days, this choice of start date led to cheaper travel days for the people who want to attend the entire marathon plus the bonus days.

2. People made a very convincing case to me that it's more important to finish with a big audience (i.e., finish on a weekend) than it is to start strong. Reflecting on C4L 2013, and the experiences I am honoured to have had watching and participating in the *GDQs, I am in agreement with this argument. The donations really start to roll in at the end.

3. There is a selfish component to my choice. It made more sense for me, personally, to get time off work from my summer job at a Vancouver law firm if we started C4L earlier. I'm very grateful to the firm for giving me the time off to run C4L.

I'll post more about the Round Two reasoning later. Mike's request was a very reasonable one. It'll just take me a little while to cobble all the sources together Smiley

One thing I can say without having to dig through threads, Skype chats, Facebook messages, etc. is the dates. So, I'll post my reasons for choosing the dates I did while I dig up all that other stuff :)

Originally, I was thinking about a strong start date (Friday or Saturday). However, there were there major factors that led to me choosing the Tuesday start:

1. With the two post-marathon fun days, this choice of start date led to cheaper travel days for the people who want to attend the entire marathon plus the bonus days.

2. People made a very convincing case to me that it's more important to finish with a big audience (i.e., finish on a weekend) than it is to start strong. Reflecting on C4L 2013, and the experiences I am honoured to have had watching and participating in the *GDQs, I am in agreement with this argument. The donations really start to roll in at the end.

3. There is a selfish component to my choice. It made more sense for me, personally, to get time off work from my summer job at a Vancouver law firm if we started C4L earlier. I'm very grateful to the firm for giving me the time off to run C4L.

I'll post more about the Round Two reasoning later. Mike's request was a very reasonable one. It'll just take me a little while to cobble all the sources together :)