Ecco the Dolphin (Genesis)

2006-03-19 04:59:46 am

I love YaBB 1G - SP1!

Quote:

For whatever reason, this game used to feel quite eerie to me. There was something profound about the serenity and immersion the game seemed to emanate; I could scarcely play it for any sufficient period of time, and it was, indeed, notably difficult.

I agree, i played this game when i was younger, used to actually scare me. I went back and did the whole game not too long ago (using the no run out of air and live cheat) and the polt to the game is amazing. G'ole time travel.

Anyway, i'm new too all this, has anyone priviously done a run of this game? If so link me baby!

Smiley

BlueGlass

2006-03-19 05:00:17 am

Yep yep yep!

Made a small route change (again), probably the last one. Wow, there have been more pots to day than all the other days combined.

Quote:

also, i apologize if you've said this elsewhere, but how are you planning on recording, and what kind of time period are we talking about here? just curious, because i can be much more helpful to you come june.

The only way I have available for recording is VCR. I stated in my first post that I won't have a chance to record before June. But that doesn't mean Im just going to record at the first opportunity. Considering this, I probably will do the Asterite fight without invincibility, what with the several months between now and then. Three months is enough time to greatly improve my sucess rate at the Asterite, as well as the general quality of my run (avoiding walls/enemies)
Also, on a side note, looking back over the TAS, it's a 24 minute video, but about 8 minutes are taken up by Tube/Machine, 2 minutes by the ending, and another 2 by cutscenes (time travel and pterodactyls). That means only 12 minutes of perfect playing, which makes me think that a sub 30 minute run is quite possible, especially since my route is practically the same and actually slightly faster in one or two places because of tricks the TASer must not have known about.

A few questions I want to ask before I forget them:
When would timing start/end? I mean, would it start in the password/start game area or Home Bay, and would it end upon killing the Queen or after her death animation?
Very important: How do I hook up my Genesis to my VCR? It doesn't seem to have the right cords.
And I know there was another question, but I forgot it while typing the first two.

And Nate, the single level times is a really good idea, but I'm assumming that this is each level without the sonar abilities gained from rescuing dolphins, otherwise there would technically need to be three categories for each level after Lagoon. Also, something that would look really cool if that were done would be a no-shotcuts version of City of Forever, because watching a human being make all those insanely difficult jumps on the first try would be AWESOME.

Okay, I THINK that's everything I wanted to say.

Made a small route change (again), probably the last one.  Wow, there have been more pots to day than all the other days combined.

[quote]also, i apologize if you've said this elsewhere, but how are you planning on recording, and what kind of time period are we talking about here? just curious, because i can be much more helpful to you come june.[/quote]

The only way I have available for recording is VCR.  I stated in my first post that I won't have a chance to record before June.  But that doesn't mean Im just going to record at the first opportunity.  Considering this, I probably will do the Asterite fight without invincibility, what with the several months between now and then.  Three months is enough time to greatly improve my sucess rate at the Asterite, as well as the general quality of my run (avoiding walls/enemies)
Also, on a side note, looking back over the TAS, it's a 24 minute video, but about 8 minutes are taken up by Tube/Machine, 2 minutes by the ending, and another 2 by cutscenes (time travel and pterodactyls).  That means only 12 minutes of perfect playing, which makes me think that a sub 30 minute run is quite possible, especially since my route is practically the same and actually slightly faster in one or two places because of tricks the TASer must not have known about.

A few questions I want to ask before I forget them: 
When would timing start/end? I mean, would it start in the password/start game area or Home Bay, and would it end upon killing the Queen or after her death animation?
Very important: How do I hook up my Genesis to my VCR?  It doesn't seem to have the right cords.
And I know there was another question, but I forgot it while typing the first two.

And Nate, the single level times is a really good idea, but I'm assumming that this is each level without the sonar abilities gained from rescuing dolphins, otherwise there would technically need to be three categories for each level after Lagoon.  Also, something that would look really cool if that were done would be a no-shotcuts version of City of Forever, because watching a human being make all those insanely difficult jumps on the first try would be AWESOME.

Okay, I THINK that's everything I wanted to say.

nate

Edit history:

nate: 2006-03-20 02:14:39 am

2006-03-20 02:13:03 am

Quote:

When would timing start/end? I mean, would it start in the password/start game area or Home Bay, and would it end upon killing the Queen or after her death animation?

it's usually start of control to end of control. so first frame that the password/start area appears and last frame that you have control, i.e. the one when the final hit registers on the queen.

Quote:

Very important: How do I hook up my Genesis to my VCR? It doesn't seem to have the right cords.

you'll want to use composite video and stereo audio. how you do this will depend on what model genesis you have. a 1601 looks like this. other models pretty much all use the same cable, so just need to know whether it's a 1601 or something else.

Quote:

And Nate, the single level times is a really good idea, but I'm assumming that this is each level without the sonar abilities gained from rescuing dolphins, otherwise there would technically need to be three categories for each level after Lagoon. Also, something that would look really cool if that were done would be a no-shotcuts version of City of Forever, because watching a human being make all those insanely difficult jumps on the first try would be AWESOME.

sonar abilities = b+a sonar and what else? sorry, i can't think of the other right now. anyway, would that stuff really make a difference in every level? i would think that without those abilities would be the default category, then there would be the other categories only if the items somehow greatly sped things up.

[quote]When would timing start/end? I mean, would it start in the password/start game area or Home Bay, and would it end upon killing the Queen or after her death animation?[/quote]
it's usually start of control to end of control. so first frame that the password/start area appears and last frame that you have control, i.e. the one when the final hit registers on the queen.

[quote]Very important: How do I hook up my Genesis to my VCR?  It doesn't seem to have the right cords.[/quote]
you'll want to use composite video and stereo audio. how you do this will depend on what model genesis you have. a 1601 [url=http://www.protoman.com/genesisaudio/1601.jpg]looks like this[/url]. other models pretty much all use the same cable, so just need to know whether it's a 1601 or something else.

[quote]And Nate, the single level times is a really good idea, but I'm assumming that this is each level without the sonar abilities gained from rescuing dolphins, otherwise there would technically need to be three categories for each level after Lagoon.  Also, something that would look really cool if that were done would be a no-shotcuts version of City of Forever, because watching a human being make all those insanely difficult jumps on the first try would be AWESOME.[/quote]
sonar abilities = b+a sonar and what else? sorry, i can't think of the other right now. anyway, would that stuff really make a difference in every level? i would think that without those abilities would be the default category, then there would be the other categories only if the items somehow greatly sped things up.

BlueGlass

2006-03-21 05:14:35 am

Yep yep yep!

Quote:

you'll want to use composite video and stereo audio. how you do this will depend on what model genesis you have. a 1601 looks like this. other models pretty much all use the same cable, so just need to know whether it's a 1601 or something else.

Yup, I have a 1601. About the sonar abilities, the other one is what you gain for rescuing the Lagoon dolphins. It does practically nothing. The A+B sonar, however, can greatly speed up some parts of the game by killing enemies that would otherwise hit you, allowing you to keep moving qiuckly.

nate

Edit history:

nate: 2006-03-22 08:39:35 pm

2006-03-22 08:30:39 pm

don't you have to stop anyway to shoot at them though? it's not like what the asterite gives you iirc when you become so powerful for the end of the game.

anyway, with a 1601 you'll need a 1/8" miniplug to stereo rca adapter (genesis headphone port -> your vcr (red and white cables)) and then a commodore 64 a/v cable for the video. such cables can be found on ebay for cheap (you shouldn't pay more than $10). use the yellow cable from it for the video going into your vcr.

don't forget to turn the headphone port up all the way to get nice, loud audio. it will help boost the audio above the noise introduced by the vhs assembly.

BlueGlass

Edit history:

BlueGlass: 2006-03-23 08:01:06 am

2006-03-23 08:00:00 am

Yep yep yep!

Thanks again, Nate.

Quote:

don't you have to stop anyway to shoot at them though? it's not like what the asterite gives you iirc when you become so powerful for the end of the game.

If you time your button presses right (press A just after B), it is possible to maintain almost full speed.

I just finished a practice run in about forty minutes. Died once on Lagoon (btw, I've decided to forget about the extra dolphin: takes too long to get). Twice on Hard Water because of stupidity. Once in Trilobite Circle due to horrible luck and a few big mistakes. Six or seven times on Dark Water (only two of these were during the Asterite batte; the others were just suicides after horrible mistakes that cost me large chunks of health. I also died once on The Tube, because I got cocky and started going stupid things, instead of staying in the back like I should have.

Also, just now discovered a MUCH faster strategy for Vortex Queen:
destroy first vortex drone as late as possible, to prevent reinforcements
swim down right side, and charge Queenie's jaw from right to left
push against left wall during sucking, then turn and sonar left eye
charge jaw from left to right
avoid sucking against right wall, then sonar right eye
charge jaw right to left, then turn around and charge jaw again
when new jaw starts sucking, turn at an angle to get stuck in the jaw
charge until jaw falls off
swim around the room, charging the final jaw, trying to hit it twice each time it opens
see which direction Queenie is going (probably right) and get behind her
charge twice
sonar drones
charge three times

Thanks again, Nate.

[quote]don't you have to stop anyway to shoot at them though? it's not like what the asterite gives you iirc when you become so powerful for the end of the game.[/quote]

If you time your button presses right (press A just after B), it is possible to maintain almost full speed.

I just finished a practice run in about forty minutes.  Died once on Lagoon (btw, I've decided to forget about the extra dolphin: takes too long to get).  Twice on Hard Water because of stupidity.  Once in Trilobite Circle due to horrible luck and a few big mistakes.  Six or seven times on Dark Water (only two of these were during the Asterite batte; the others were just suicides after horrible mistakes that cost me large chunks of health.  I also died once on The Tube, because I got cocky and started going stupid things, instead of staying in the back like I should have.

Also, just now discovered a MUCH faster strategy for Vortex Queen:
destroy first vortex drone as late as possible, to prevent reinforcements
swim down right side, and charge Queenie's jaw from right to left
push against left wall during sucking, then turn and sonar left eye
charge jaw from left to right
avoid sucking against right wall, then sonar right eye
charge jaw right to left, then turn around and charge jaw again
when new jaw starts sucking, turn at an angle to get stuck in the jaw
charge until jaw falls off
swim around the room, charging the final jaw, trying to hit it twice each time it opens
see which direction Queenie is going (probably right) and get behind her
charge twice
sonar drones
charge three times

BlueGlass

Edit history:

BlueGlass: 2006-04-17 07:10:43 am

2006-04-09 04:28:20 am

Yep yep yep!

Just letting people know I'm still working on this. Also, never mind about recording via VCR. I now have a DVD recorder!

It might just be my imagination, but it seems that Ecco reaches full speed faster if you press C in a steady rythm (think swimming quickly in SM64) than if you just rapidly press the buttton

I'll take this opportunity to post a detailed version of my route, with a few revisions.

note: any place referred to simply as a tunnel is one of those areas where you can only swim in two directions

Home Bay
swim down-right
swim up-right
jump straight up
storm
swim right
swim down-right after passing rocks sticking up in middle of bay
swim straight right after passing dark spot on background

Medusa Bay
swim straight forward
jump over first two islands
swim down-right to floor
swim along floor
turn down-right immediately at end of floor
swim right at next bit of floor
continue swimming right to glyph
glitch through glyph
leave level

Undercaves
swim to key glyph
swim left to barrier glyph
swim up-left to ceiling after tunnel exit, ignoring jellyfish
swim left until current begins to slow Ecco down
charge down-left to pass through current
charge fish
swim to tunnel, charging jellyfish closest to entrance
swim to key glyph, charging through pufferfish tunnel
charge back down pufferfish tunnel, staying away from cening and floor
charge remaing two jellyfish at tunnel entrance
push shell right then down-right into wall
push (with C) shell into rocks
swim along top of cave, ignoring pufferfish and jellyfish
sonar barrier glyph
continue swimming right through cave
at octopus, align Ecco wuth left wall
glyph glitch
swim down then left through spikes ignoring pufferfish
charge to key glyph
charge back to barrier glyph
sonar barrier glyph and leave level

The Vents
swim right
large jump over first two islands
jump ove third island
swum ro rock
push rock down vent (hold C and charge repeatedly)
charge into exit path

The Lagoon
immediately turn up-left and charge to jump first island
jump second island then swim down-left to shell
push shell down, charging to kill jellyfish
swim through spike tunnel, then grab key glyph
swim to star ring
sonar star ring down-left once
sonar star ring left through wall to rock
swim through spike tunnel and out
charge jellyfish
swim up-right at point where ground slopes
charge fish on way to surface
jump over two islands
swim down along left wall
charge spikey shell
charge top pufferfish
swim down-right then rght through spike tunnel
sonar star ring up-left four times
sonar star ring left thirteen times
sonar star ring up eight times
charge along slant in ground to avoid octopus
sonar star ring right to rock
swim to barrier glyph
sonar barrier glyph and turn down
charge down tunnel
swim left along floor of cave
push shell left then down, avoiding crab
charge along cave floor until after second crab
swim through center of cave and turn into tunnel
swim just below tunnel ceiling to avoid crabs
get caught on ceiling just before end to slow down
swim up to air
swim to star ring
sonar star ring down-left nine times
sonar star ring left to rocks
swim to end of level and charge out

Ridge Water
charge to rock
charge rock left
charge rock down vent
push shell into rocks, charging just before reaching rocks
charge shell left in midair so that it clears second set of rocks
go up to key glyph
swim down current, charging crab
swim through rocks and to tunnel
swim to barrier glyph and sonar it
charge fish then charge up-right to star ring cave and right to star ring
sonar star ring left to air
refill air
sonar star ring left past end of cave
sonar star ring down then right to rocks
swim down-right to floor
swim right to end of floor
swim down right to tunnel entrance
swim right through tunnel
leave tunnel and go above tunnel with star ring, charging jellyfish
sonar star ring down four times
sonar star ring down-right into tunnel
enter tunnel and sonar star ring right into rocks
charge up-right then swim up to next tunnel
charge up short passage to open area
swim left to key glyph, going above the whale and below the ceiling
swim right out of cave
swim down-right to floor
swim right along floor
turn down-right at end of floor
sonar barrier glyph
swim right through passage
turn down-right to pass under sharks at end of level

Open Ocean
hold C upon entering water
swim down-right and turn right when when the highest part of the coral in the background is about equal in height to Ecco’s nose
swim right
get hit by shark then immediately charge and keep swimming right (unless I am very very lucky and the shark decides to miss me)
swim right to exit

Ice Zone
swim down-right to below chunk of ice
charge spider-crab-thing
line up with left wall of passage with glyph
glyph glitch
charge to exit

Hard Water
swim up-left and charge out of water
slide along ice
swim to left passage
charge between first ice cube and wall
swim down passage
swim to key glyph
swim up right passage
run into wall near hole in ice to slow down enough to turn before jumping
slide back across ice
swim down-right then down
charge between first ice cube and wall
swim past left sides of second and third ice cube
swim around edge of Big Field O’ Ice Cubes
sonar glyph and swim up passage

Cold Water
face downward
swim down then left, charging crab and shark
swim up center of passage, charging first jellyfish
jump left to key glyph
get key glyph
go right across ice to second hole in ice, jumping over spikes
charge to barrier glyph
sonar barrier glyph
take bottom path and grab key glyph
swim left to Big Blue
speed through text
charge right then take top pat, grabbing a fish
resonar barrier glyph and go up passage
swim back to surface, charging any enemies in way
jump to the right and slide across ice to hole
swim/charge down to end of level

Island Zone
swim down then left, charging shark
push rock over edge SLOWLY
follow rock down, then swim right
go to key glyph
swim back, avoiding falling rock
go to surface, charging fish
jump over first island
jump over second island
jump over third island
swim down then right through passage
swim down near left wall
turn down-left to avoid spikes
swim through small spike passage and charge past octopus
swim along top of passage after octo and to glyph
glyph glitch
charge down tunnel to bottom
charge left along tunnel to glyph
sonar glyph and exit

Deep Water
turn down-left then left
swim down when floor ends
turn right and then down again at passage
swim down passage about halfway between center and right wall
turn into bottom left passage
go through passages, chrging any enemies in way until spike-filled tunnel
swim along right side to avoid jellyfish
move just left of middle to miss spikes
get hit on final spike to slow down for turn
continue down to Asterite
skip through text
swim left to exit

The Marble Sea
immediately turn left
swim along ceiling toend of passage
swim up-left to avoid jellyfish and wall
swim left then up-left then left again to block
push block into current
follow block down charging jellyfish in way and two chains
go down passage, sonaring invincibility through wall
swim down passage
turn into first passage
swim right along passage
turn down to sonar glyph through wall
swim right along passage
line up with top of glyph
glyph glitch
exit level

The Library
turn left
swim left
swim down passage (NOT along right wall)
swim left into passage (along top of passage)
swim to block/invincibility
get invincibility
charge block right
wait half a second, then swim a screen away and return to glitch game and make block not fall into pit
repeat
repeat
charge block right, up slope
return to block and wait for it to break chains, charge spider-crab while waiting
swim/charge right through passage
turn up-right to avoid getting slowed down by moving pillars
swim/charge right through jellyfish
swim up passage, charging crystals
swim through tunnel, avoiding crystals and charging jellyfish
charge barrier
jump over short wall
exit

Deep City
turn left
charge left once
swim right and make big jump over wall
continue swimming right to rightmost passage
charge chain and swim down
turn right and go along top of passage
charge down to glyph
glyph glitch
sonar invincibility
continue through level, avoiding walls
after invincibility wears off, charge to second invincibility
sonar invincibility, push block into current, then re-sonar invincibility
follow block down current
swim left through passage
sonar glyph through wall
return to invincibility
re-sonar invincibility
swim left
charge left, then immediately switch to down-left and keep charging to avoid current
swim down-left through passage
on reaching current, charge down-left to avoid it
exit level

City of Forever
swim down-right then right to avoid jellyfish
charge through diagonal passage
swim to statue
sonar statue to open barrier
swim through barrier to teleport ring
swim into ring
swim to time machine
activate time machine

Just letting people know I'm still working on this.  Also, never mind about recording via VCR.  I now have a DVD recorder!

It might just be my imagination, but it seems that Ecco reaches full speed faster if you press C in a steady rythm (think swimming quickly in SM64) than if you just rapidly press the buttton

I'll take this opportunity to post a detailed version of my route, with a few revisions.

note: any place referred to simply as a tunnel is one of those areas where you can only swim in two directions

Home Bay
swim down-right
swim up-right
jump straight up
storm
swim right
swim down-right after passing rocks sticking up in middle of bay
swim straight right after passing dark spot on background

Medusa Bay
swim straight forward 
jump over first two islands
swim down-right to floor
swim along floor
turn down-right immediately at end of floor
swim right at next bit of floor
continue swimming right to glyph
glitch through glyph
leave level

Undercaves
swim to key glyph
swim left to barrier glyph
swim up-left to ceiling after tunnel exit, ignoring jellyfish
swim left until current begins to slow Ecco down
charge down-left to pass through current
charge fish
swim to tunnel, charging jellyfish closest to entrance
swim to key glyph, charging through pufferfish tunnel
charge back down pufferfish tunnel, staying away from cening and floor
charge remaing two jellyfish at tunnel entrance
push shell right then down-right into wall
push (with C) shell into rocks
swim along top of cave, ignoring pufferfish and jellyfish
sonar barrier glyph
continue swimming right through cave
at octopus, align Ecco wuth left wall
glyph glitch
swim down then left through spikes ignoring pufferfish
charge to key glyph
charge back to barrier glyph
sonar barrier glyph and leave level

The Vents
swim right
large jump over first two islands
jump ove third island
swum ro rock
push rock down vent (hold C and charge repeatedly)
charge into exit path

The Lagoon
immediately turn up-left and charge to jump first island
jump second island then swim down-left to shell
push shell down, charging to kill jellyfish
swim through spike tunnel, then grab key glyph
swim to star ring
sonar star ring down-left once
sonar star ring left through wall to rock
swim through spike tunnel and out
charge jellyfish
swim up-right at point where ground slopes
charge fish on way to surface
jump over two islands
swim down along left wall
charge spikey shell
charge top pufferfish
swim down-right then rght through spike tunnel
sonar star ring up-left four times
sonar star ring left thirteen times
sonar star ring up eight times
charge along slant in ground to avoid octopus
sonar star ring right to rock
swim to barrier glyph
sonar barrier glyph and turn down
charge down tunnel
swim left along floor of cave
push shell left then down, avoiding crab
charge along cave floor until after second crab
swim through center of cave and turn into tunnel
swim just below tunnel ceiling to avoid crabs
get caught on ceiling just before end to slow down
swim up to air
swim to star ring
sonar star ring down-left nine times
sonar star ring left to rocks
swim to end of level and charge out

Ridge Water
charge to rock
charge rock left
charge rock down vent
push shell into rocks, charging just before reaching rocks
charge shell left in midair so that it clears second set of rocks
go up to key glyph
swim down current, charging crab
swim through rocks and to tunnel
swim to barrier glyph and sonar it
charge fish then charge up-right to star ring cave and right to star ring
sonar star ring left to air
refill air
sonar star ring left past end of cave
sonar star ring down then right to rocks
swim down-right to floor
swim right to end of floor
swim down right to tunnel entrance
swim right through tunnel
leave tunnel and go above tunnel with star ring, charging jellyfish
sonar star ring down four times
sonar star ring down-right into tunnel
enter tunnel and sonar star ring right into rocks
charge up-right then swim up to next tunnel
charge up short passage to open area
swim left to key glyph, going above the whale and below the ceiling
swim right out of cave
swim down-right to floor
swim right along floor
turn down-right at end of floor
sonar barrier glyph
swim right through passage
turn down-right to pass under sharks at end of level

Open Ocean
hold C upon entering water
swim down-right and turn right when when the highest part of the coral in the background is about equal in height to Ecco’s nose
swim right
get hit by shark then immediately charge and keep swimming right (unless I am very very lucky and the shark decides to miss me)
swim right to exit

Ice Zone
swim down-right to below chunk of ice
charge spider-crab-thing
line up with left wall of passage with glyph
glyph glitch
charge to exit

Hard Water
swim up-left and charge out of water
slide along ice
swim to left passage
charge between first ice cube and wall
swim down passage
swim to key glyph
swim up right passage
run into wall near hole in ice to slow down enough to turn before jumping
slide back across ice
swim down-right then down
charge between first ice cube and wall
swim past left sides of second and third ice cube
swim around edge of Big Field O’ Ice Cubes
sonar glyph and swim up passage

Cold Water
face downward
swim down then left, charging crab and shark
swim up center of passage, charging first jellyfish
jump left to key glyph
get key glyph
go right across ice to second hole in ice, jumping over spikes
charge to barrier glyph
sonar barrier glyph
take bottom path and grab key glyph
swim left to Big Blue
speed through text
charge right then take top pat, grabbing a fish
resonar barrier glyph and go up passage
swim back to surface, charging any enemies in way
jump to the right and slide across ice to hole
swim/charge down to end of level

Island Zone
swim down then left, charging shark
push rock over edge SLOWLY
follow rock down, then swim right
go to key glyph
swim back, avoiding falling rock
go to surface, charging fish
jump over first island
jump over second island
jump over third island
swim down then right through passage
swim down near left wall
turn down-left to avoid spikes
swim through small spike passage and charge past octopus
swim along top of passage after octo and to glyph
glyph glitch
charge down tunnel to bottom
charge left along tunnel to glyph
sonar glyph and exit

Deep Water
turn down-left then left
swim down when floor ends
turn right and then down again at passage
swim down passage about halfway between center and right wall
turn into bottom left passage
go through passages, chrging any enemies in way until spike-filled tunnel
swim along right side to avoid jellyfish
move just left of middle to miss spikes
get hit on final spike to slow down for turn
continue down to Asterite
skip through text
swim left to exit

The Marble Sea
immediately turn left
swim along ceiling toend of passage
swim up-left to avoid jellyfish and wall
swim left then up-left then left again to block
push block into current
follow block down charging jellyfish in way and two chains
go down passage, sonaring invincibility through wall
swim down passage
turn into first passage
swim right along passage
turn down to sonar glyph through wall
swim right along passage
line up with top of glyph
glyph glitch
exit level

The Library
turn left
swim left
swim down passage (NOT along right wall)
swim left into passage (along top of passage)
swim to block/invincibility
get invincibility
charge block right
wait half a second, then swim a screen away and return to glitch game and make block not fall into pit
repeat
repeat
charge block right, up slope
return to block and wait for it to break chains, charge spider-crab while waiting
swim/charge right through passage
turn up-right to avoid getting slowed down by moving pillars
swim/charge right through jellyfish
swim up passage, charging crystals
swim through tunnel, avoiding crystals and charging jellyfish
charge barrier
jump over short wall
exit

Deep City
turn left
charge left once
swim right and make big jump over wall
continue swimming right to rightmost passage
charge chain and swim down
turn right and go along top of passage
charge down to glyph
glyph glitch
sonar invincibility
continue through level, avoiding walls
after invincibility wears off, charge to second invincibility
sonar invincibility, push block into current, then re-sonar invincibility
follow block down current
swim left through passage
sonar glyph through wall
return to invincibility
re-sonar invincibility
swim left
charge left, then immediately switch to down-left and keep charging to avoid current
swim down-left through passage
on reaching current, charge down-left to avoid it
exit level

City of Forever
swim down-right then right to avoid jellyfish
charge through diagonal passage
swim to statue
sonar statue to open barrier
swim through barrier to teleport ring
swim into ring
swim to time machine
activate time machine

BlueGlass

Edit history:

BlueGlass: 2006-04-17 07:16:00 am

2006-04-09 04:29:05 am

Yep yep yep!

Jurassic Beach
swim down-left, then immediately turn left
swim down-left after second prehistoric-version-of-shark-that-I-can’t-remember-the-proper-name-for-right-now
swim to pteradon glyph and sonar
swim to surface and right to pteradon
be facing down-right when Pteradon drops you and fall right into passage
swim right then through fake floor into tunnel
swim down tunnel to key glyph
swim up tunnel and left to other tunnel
swim down tunnel then right to barrier glyph
sonar glyph
swim/charge left to invincibility glyph, don't sonar
swim to next barrier glyph
line up with ceiling
glyph glitch
swim to exit, avoiding enemies

Pteradon Pond
turn around
swim up-left to surface, avoiding jellyfish
jump over island
swim along floor to pteradon glyph
sonar
swim to surface and right to pteradon
be facing down when pteradon drops you and swim down-left
swim down, then right to key glyph
swim down
swim down-left
swim down-right
swim down
swim right to glyph
line up against wall to right of glyph
glyph glitch
swim right to next glyph
repeat two steps before previous step
repeat last two steps
swim right
swim up-right
swim right
swim up-right
swim down to glyph
sonar glyph
swim to pteradon glyph
sonar
swim up path with current then through fake wall to surface
jump to pteradon
be facing down-left when pteradon drops you
swim along right wall
turn right to exit

Origin Beach
swim down-right then down to key glyph
swim up
swim up-right
jump over island
admire the most beautiful background ever while flying through the air
charge down passage to barrier glyph
sonar glyph
swim along top of cave
continue right then down-right to downward passage
charge down passage
swim along floor of next part
continue through level
swim up second passage and through fake rocks
swim left to end of level

Trilobite Circle
turn around
swim left and turn up just before carrot-enemies
swim up to surface, avoiding all enemies
jump to the right over island
swim down passage to diagonal passage
charge through passage
line up with ceiling in front of glyph
glyph glitch
swim left, then up to end of level

Dark Water
swim under first island and right to passage
charge down passage
charge shark-thing
swim down passage and turn into spike tunnel with strong current
charge past current
turn around and swim to glyph in fornt of Asterite’s area
glyph glitch
swim up to Asterite
charge four brown orbs (the most plentiful)
try to start by charging the two brown orbs in a row
don’t stay inside Asterite for very long
don’t stay in one area for too long
don’t charge any non-brown orbs

Deep Water
see above

City of Forever
see above

Home Bay
jump

The Tube
don’t die

Welcome to the Machine
don’t die
prevent slowdown

The Last Fight
sonar first drone as late as possible to stop reinforcements
swim down Queen’s right sde
charge to left, across jaw
swim against left wall to avoid suction
sonar left eye eight times
charge jaw again
avoid suction by swimming against right wall
sonar right eye eight times
charge jaw, then turn around and charge jaw again
swim around room, charging jaw as often as possible, and attempting to get stuck in jaw
when third jaw falls off get behind Queen (move so that she is floating away from Ecco)
charge twice
sonar drones
charge three times
swim up quickly to get the many,many sprites spewing from the Queen’s mouth offscreen to prevent slowdown
watch ending
congradulate self
shout in joy for finishing first speedrun

Jurassic Beach
swim down-left, then immediately turn left
swim down-left after second prehistoric-version-of-shark-that-I-can’t-remember-the-proper-name-for-right-now
swim to pteradon glyph and sonar
swim to surface and right to pteradon
be facing down-right when Pteradon drops you and fall right into passage
swim right then through fake floor into tunnel
swim down tunnel to key glyph
swim up tunnel and left to other tunnel
swim down tunnel then right to barrier glyph
sonar glyph
swim/charge left to invincibility glyph, don't sonar
swim to next barrier glyph
line up with ceiling
glyph glitch
swim to exit, avoiding enemies

Pteradon Pond
turn around
swim up-left to surface, avoiding jellyfish
jump over island
swim along floor to pteradon glyph
sonar
swim to surface and right to pteradon
be facing down when pteradon drops you and swim down-left
swim down, then right to key glyph
swim down
swim down-left
swim down-right
swim down
swim right to glyph
line up against wall to right of glyph
glyph glitch
swim right to next glyph
repeat two steps before previous step
repeat last two steps
swim right
swim up-right
swim right
swim up-right
swim down to glyph
sonar glyph
swim to pteradon glyph
sonar
swim up path with current then through fake wall to surface
jump to pteradon
be facing down-left when pteradon drops you
swim along right wall
turn right to exit

Origin Beach
swim down-right then down to key glyph
swim up
swim up-right
jump over island
admire the most beautiful background ever while flying through the air
charge down passage to barrier glyph
sonar glyph
swim along top of cave
continue right then down-right to downward passage
charge down passage
swim along floor of next part
continue through level
swim up second passage and through fake rocks
swim left to end of level

Trilobite Circle
turn around
swim left and turn up just before carrot-enemies
swim up to surface, avoiding all enemies
jump to the right over island
swim down passage to diagonal passage
charge through passage
line up with ceiling in front of glyph
glyph glitch
swim left, then up to end of level

Dark Water
swim under first island and right to passage
charge down passage
charge shark-thing
swim down passage and turn into spike tunnel with strong current
charge past current
turn around and swim to glyph in fornt of Asterite’s area
glyph glitch
swim up to Asterite
charge four brown orbs (the most plentiful)
try to start by charging the two brown orbs in a row
don’t stay inside Asterite for very long
don’t stay in one area for too long
don’t charge any non-brown orbs

Deep Water
see above

City of Forever
see above

Home Bay
jump

The Tube
don’t die

Welcome to the Machine
don’t die
prevent slowdown

The Last Fight
sonar first drone as late as possible to stop reinforcements
swim down Queen’s right sde
charge to left, across jaw
swim against left wall to avoid suction
sonar left eye eight times
charge jaw again
avoid suction by swimming against right wall
sonar right eye eight times
charge jaw, then turn around and charge jaw again
swim around room, charging jaw as often as possible, and attempting to get stuck in jaw
when third jaw falls off get behind Queen (move so that she is floating away from Ecco)
charge twice
sonar drones
charge three times
swim up quickly to get the many,many sprites spewing from the Queen’s mouth offscreen to prevent slowdown
watch ending
congradulate self
shout in joy for finishing first speedrun

KennyMan666

2006-04-09 04:58:25 pm

Precursor

Quote:

It might just be my imagination, but it seems that Ecco reaches full speed faster if you press C in a steady rythm (think swimming quickly in SM64) than if you just rapidly press the buttton

No, I think it's correct, I seem to remember nitsuja saying something about that when he submitted his TAS over at nesvideos.

nate

2006-04-17 04:49:15 am

holy shit. there is a god.

BlueGlass

2006-04-17 07:18:02 am

Yep yep yep!

Made a few corrections/modifications to my route.

And... What exactly are you referring to here, nate?

Quote:

holy shit. there is a god.

nate

2006-04-17 04:57:01 pm

it seems like you are really serious about this. i am honored to know you.

BlueGlass

2006-04-18 12:28:30 am

Yep yep yep!

Quote:

it seems like you are really serious about this. i am honored to know you.

Wow, thanks! After reading a bunch of your posts here and at M2K2, I have gained a large amount of respect for you as a human being, so your opinions mean a great deal to me.

Just so this post isn't entirely about my respect for Nate, I'm beginning to think that sub 30 minutes is not actually possible, because I have't yet managed to go far below 40.

Rattle

2006-04-18 04:38:09 pm

Looking forward to this Smiley

nate

2006-04-19 01:48:50 am

do we know what the tas was? not that a tas time should be compared to a real time, but that if the tas time is not sub 30, then it's pretty much guaranteed that what you said about sub 30 maybe not being possible is true. Wink

and what posts of mine have you been reading? it seems like some people upon reading my posts decide that i am a nazi and hate me, and others the opposite. so that's pretty confusing/amusing.

InsipidMuckyWater

Edit history:

InsipidMuckyWater: 2006-04-19 03:15:31 am

2006-04-19 03:14:58 am

Visit my profile to see my runs!

Quote:

After reading a bunch of your posts here and at M2K2, I have gained a large amount of respect for you as a human being, so your opinions mean a great deal to me.

Well, Nate, I'd have to agree with him. Wink

Most of your material is concise and insightful; you're thoroughly capable of supporting your reasoning, and you (selectively) demonstrate your knowledge in compact and condensed posts, quite effectively.

BlueGlass

2006-04-19 03:59:24 am

Yep yep yep!

Quote:

do we know what the tas was? not that a tas time should be compared to a real time, but that if the tas time is not sub 30, then it's pretty much guaranteed that what you said about sub 30 maybe not being possible is true. Wink

The TAS is 24:20, including the ending and title screen. I checked and the ending is approximately two minutes long, meaning the gameplay time is about 22 minutes. When I originally said sub 30, I was thinking about how Tube and Machine automatically add about 8 minutes, and I'm estimating the various parts where you have no control to be about 1.5 minutes, making the remaining 13.5 minutes the only part where the perfect playing affects the time. Unfortunately, 13.5 minutes of TAS playing doesn't seem to translate to 20.5 minutes of speedrun. As a refrence point, the TAS activates the time machine (the first time) just before 9 minutes. At that point, I'm swimming down to the Asterite on Deep Water (again, obviously the first time).

Arrow

2006-04-19 07:42:51 am

Now a hit show on the CW

I think the precision of the TAS for this game makes a huge difference compared to many other games... it would be very hard to come close to matching it. Just do the best you can do, and I think we'll all be impressed with the run.

BlueGlass

2006-05-02 05:14:05 am

Yep yep yep!

Okay. Forget what I said about sub 30 not being possible. Just did another practice run (in which I died twice and made several mistakes, costing about 1 min 30) in approximately 30 minutes 25 seconds! Woohoo! or, more appropriately, Wiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii!