Final Fantasy 1 - Segmented (Run Submitted!)

2010-05-20 10:08:22 pm

I see no point in skipping Black shirt, but as far as ProCape and Opal armor are concerned, I'm aware of their optionality. I wanted to count them into the test run because I'm still not sure about picking them up or not. It doesn't take much time, and it doesn't help much. The game can obviously be beaten without them and with the exact same strategy. There are however some cases where Kraken2 will OHKO one fighter just because he didn't have Opal armor. On the same note, it is not rare that monsters will bring one of my mages close to 0 hp in the ToFR, in which case ProCape makes the difference between having a mage for the Water and Air floors and not having one. Ultimately, I'm not forgetting that this *is* a speedrun, where things that save time should be sought. It's not a segmented run though; I really want to eliminate as much risk as possible in the ToFR, since it can ruin all the lucky shots I got through the rest of the game.

If I do pick up these optional pieces of armor and some verifiers think I shouldn't have, I promise I won't try another run again. Sorry if some verifiers happen to read this and recognize themselves, but running this game is NOT about pure speed. If you run 20 times and you get to pick the best of five successes, chances are that you'll have a few lucky shots in one of them. If you run 20 times and you just got one success because you were too eager to finish the game fast, then you're stuck with whatever poor luck that success contains. The more the game is random, the more time you can win by having more successes to pick from. Avoiding a 50% death effectively doubles the amount of successes to choose from, which lowers the statistical expectation of the run's duration. Say it lowers it by two minutes, and the extra precaution takes one minute, then it's NOT a loss of time! Otherwise we'd all be doing TAS! Ok, sorry for that. I just wanted to repeat these old explanations so that it be clear.

Nevertheless, your argumentation is very valid japanzaman: you're saying that I would be exposed to a very limited amount of extra chances of death, all the while I would save the 1:45 it took for picking up the Opal armor and the 1:00 it took for the ProCape. All I can answer is, well, I can't say if it's a worthy gamble. I don't have enough data to evaluate correctly whether this raises or lowers the statistical expectation of the run's duration. I almost never do in fact. That's why it's a question of judgement based on experience of the game. I do have a hard time calling this one. It's probably worth. I guess. I'll think again about it. But the verifiers shouldn't think they know better. If you do, please submit a run.

I see no point in skipping Black shirt, but as far as ProCape and Opal armor are concerned, I'm aware of their optionality. I wanted to count them into the test run because I'm still not sure about picking them up or not. It doesn't take much time, and it doesn't help much. The game can obviously be beaten without them and with the exact same strategy. There are however some cases where Kraken2 will OHKO one fighter just because he didn't have Opal armor. On the same note, it is not rare that monsters will bring one of my mages close to 0 hp in the ToFR, in which case ProCape makes the difference between having a mage for the Water and Air floors and not having one. Ultimately, I'm not forgetting that this *is* a speedrun, where things that save time should be sought. It's not a segmented run though; I really want to eliminate as much risk as possible in the ToFR, since it can ruin all the lucky shots I got through the rest of the game.

If I do pick up these optional pieces of armor and some verifiers think I shouldn't have, I promise I won't try another run again. Sorry if some verifiers happen to read this and recognize themselves, but running this game is NOT about pure speed. If you run 20 times and you get to pick the best of five successes, chances are that you'll have a few lucky shots in one of them. If you run 20 times and you just got one success because you were too eager to finish the game fast, then you're stuck with whatever poor luck that success contains. The more the game is random, the more time you can win by having more successes to pick from. Avoiding a 50% death effectively doubles the amount of successes to choose from, which lowers the statistical expectation of the run's duration. Say it lowers it by two minutes, and the extra precaution takes one minute, then it's NOT a loss of time! Otherwise we'd all be doing TAS! Ok, sorry for that. I just wanted to repeat these old explanations so that it be clear.

Nevertheless, your argumentation is very valid japanzaman: you're saying that I would be exposed to a very limited amount of extra chances of death, all the while I would save the 1:45 it took for picking up the Opal armor and the 1:00 it took for the ProCape. All I can answer is, well, I can't say if it's a worthy gamble. I don't have enough data to evaluate correctly whether this raises or lowers the statistical expectation of the run's duration. I almost never do in fact. That's why it's a question of judgement based on experience of the game. I do have a hard time calling this one. It's probably worth. I guess. I'll think again about it. But the verifiers shouldn't think they know better. If you do, please submit a run.

Lenophis

2010-05-20 11:57:29 pm

0-10

Personally, not picking up that armor is suicide, but nothing can be done if Kraken decides he wants to do a critical hit. In which case all I can say is White Shirt, Defender and pray. Tongue

japanzaman

2010-05-21 08:57:42 pm

Honestly, if you think you can clear the 4 hour mark AND still grab the armor, then I say do it. I've danced with Kraken2 at level 9 quite a few times, so I know exactly how dangerous he can be, even with decent gear. Looking back, grabbing the Blackshirt is probably a wise thing to do as it lets you dispose of waters more quickly.

From a pure speed standpoint, my gut says skip some of that armor as you aren't freakishly under-levelled and the risk reduction isn't that significant when the totality of the run is taken into context. However, your argument about increasing your overall successes is also valid. Seeing as you are doing the run and investing all the time and energy, I would accept whatever choice you choose as both are valid in different respects.

Good luck!

Winkwonle

2010-06-02 04:32:12 am

Wonderful news! I've got a successful run! It takes 3:50:12 if I counted the time correctly. It does contain some errors, and some amount of luck that would be hard to repeat. I'll give a lot more details in a later post in a day or two because I have a lot of work to catch up from the non-FF1 world. Also, I will not be uploading this run on YouTube before it is verified by SDA and hopefully approved by them. Ahh, I'm so glad!

By the way, thanks everyone for commenting, suggesting new ideas, being enthusiastic about this project of mine, and being supportive in general. I hope that I haven't completely alienated this thread that was supposed to be about multi-segment runs. I'd be very eager to see such a run, if WarMech is still around somewhere... Also, I have interest in doing one myself eventually, if no one else takes the task upon him or herself.

FionordeQuester

2010-06-02 07:35:16 am

Nope, I was considering one, but I've moved on to bigger prey. I'm going to try to speed run Dragon Warrior II. I've kind of lost interest in 7th Saga seeing as how it's now already got a competent runner (though interestingly enough, he doesn't seem willing to upload it to SDA. He streams it though).

Lenophis

2010-06-02 02:48:13 pm

0-10

Excellent news, here's hoping it gets approved so the long-standing wrong finally gets righted.

WarMech

2010-06-04 10:49:24 pm

More excellent news... I should have some time in the next month or so to finish my final test run and hopefully start the segmented run. I'll post the final route, projected time, and improvements when I'm done the test run. As an aside, I've very excited about the potential single segment run and love all the discussion even if it is the wrong thread. 8) It's about time we get both of these overdue runs on the site. I haven't given up!

FionordeQuester

2010-06-04 11:06:59 pm

Now, just to clarify, the F/F/W/M is the better team, but you're going with the F/F/F/R just to keep your sanity right?

Winkwonle

2010-06-05 12:42:01 am

Oh, yes! WarMech is back! A segmented run would be perfect, seriously, and so enjoyable to watch too. The potential for time saving is just huge compared to the single segment. I bet you can defeat Astos in less than 20 minutes. And I'm eager to hear about your route and choice of team.

By the way, I don't know about F/F/W/R for a segmented run, but I don't think it would be my first choice. I know you probably weren't even considering it; I'm just saying.

Good luck with practicing. Please keep us updated!

(Oh, and my run needs verifiers I think)

WarMech

2010-07-09 12:10:59 pm

Here's how cool I am: I took the last two days off from work to work on this bad boy. I had other plans too... no really. Roll Eyes

Anyway, the news continues to be good, and I'm sorry for not posing more updates (I've been engrossed in work, coaching, and of course awaiting Starcraft II).

I'm now exactly half way into my final test run and have beaten Lich about 6 minutes ahead my previous test run at this point in the game. There is now no question that this run will be under 3 hours, even if I don't save another minute for the rest of the test run. However, I'm almost certain that I can shave another 10 minutes off the second half of the game due to a number of changes I've made to the route, which came in large part with the discoveries and posts made in this thread. I've gotten the sense that there are a few doubters out there so here are the major changes over the route posted on page 5/6 of this thread:

1) Removed one of the early Kyzoku battles.
I begin the early "1 Zombull" farming with 2 short swords rather than 3, and I will pick up the last short sword in the Marsh Cave. Although this costs a minute amount of time in the Zombull fights, it saves 90 seconds due to needing one less batch of Kyzokus.

2) Visiting the Dwarf Cave BEFORE the "4 Zombull" farm.
Can't remember who suggested this, but it was pure genius. The cave contains a house which saves me a trip back to the inn in Pravoka, saving me over two minutes. It also contains a dragon sword, which is better than the short sword for the fighters who need all the help they can get against the Zombulls.

3) I'm hoping to keep the Zeus Gauntlet and Thor Hammer.
Not 100% sure how the money is going to work out, but this could save 30 seconds to a minute in some of the fights with 6+ enemies.

4) Killing off a fighter in the first visit to the Ice Cave.
I debated about this one for a while, but the time saved is huge. The third fighter really is useless from this point going forward in the game since the third fighter would always have the worst sword, worst armor, and no ribbon. This will save about 5 minutes in EYE leveling and an unknown amount of time in running from battles. As a result, I will be getting Life (along with Warp and Bane) for the Red Mage to revive a fighter in the TOFR since I have an extra Level 5 spell.

5) MUCH better power cycle manipulation.
This one is huge. Winkwonle's outline has been a great help, and I now have every segment mapped out to exactly where in the power cycle I need to be. This saves time in everything from eliminating fights where I cant run, to better travel throughout the map.

6) More segments.
I know some people will be annoyed by this, but this one is huge. I'm now allocating much more money towards tents and cabins and eliminating (or nearly eliminating) all overworld battles once I have the money to spare. This may not seem like a major thing, but each battle that I skip is about 10 seconds saved. A second penalty (or whatever it is) is a small price to pay. I'm hoping that maybe someone can create one file/video so people don't need to download the 80+/- segments, half of which will be < 30 seconds.

Any thoughts/opinions/support is always appreciated. By the time it's said and done, you all will have saved me about 30 minutes with your ideas considering my first timed test run clocked in at 3:13 and we're now looking at 2:45!

Here's how cool I am:  I took the last two days off from work to work on this bad boy.  I had other plans too... no really.   ::)

Anyway, the news continues to be good, and I'm sorry for not posing more updates (I've been engrossed in work, coaching, and of course awaiting Starcraft II).

I'm now exactly half way into my final test run and have beaten Lich about 6 minutes ahead my previous test run at this point in the game.  There is now no question that this run will be under 3 hours, even if I don't save another minute for the rest of the test run.  However, I'm almost certain that I can shave another 10 minutes off the second half of the game due to a number of changes I've made to the route, which came in large part with the discoveries and posts made in this thread.  I've gotten the sense that there are a few doubters out there so here are the major changes over the route posted on page 5/6 of this thread:

1) Removed one of the early Kyzoku battles.
I begin the early "1 Zombull" farming with 2 short swords rather than 3, and I will pick up the last short sword in the Marsh Cave.  Although this costs a minute amount of time in the Zombull fights, it saves 90 seconds due to needing one less batch of Kyzokus.

2) Visiting the Dwarf Cave BEFORE the "4 Zombull" farm.
Can't remember who suggested this, but it was pure genius.  The cave contains a house which saves me a trip back to the inn in Pravoka, saving me over two minutes.  It also contains a dragon sword, which is better than the short sword for the fighters who need all the help they can get against the Zombulls.

3) I'm hoping to keep the Zeus Gauntlet and Thor Hammer.  
Not 100% sure how the money is going to work out, but this could save 30 seconds to a minute in some of the fights with 6+ enemies.

4) Killing off a fighter in the first visit to the Ice Cave.  
I debated about this one for a while, but the time saved is huge.  The third fighter really is useless from this point going forward in the game since the third fighter would always have the worst sword, worst armor, and no ribbon.  This will save about 5 minutes in EYE leveling and an unknown amount of time in running from battles.  As a result, I will be getting Life (along with Warp and Bane) for the Red Mage to revive a fighter in the TOFR since I have an extra Level 5 spell.

5) MUCH better power cycle manipulation.
This one is huge.  Winkwonle's outline has been a great help, and I now have every segment mapped out to exactly where in the power cycle I need to be.  This saves time in everything from eliminating fights where I cant run, to better travel throughout the map.

6) More segments.
I know some people will be annoyed by this, but this one is huge.  I'm now allocating much more money towards tents and cabins and eliminating (or nearly eliminating) all overworld battles once I have the money to spare.  This may not seem like a major thing, but each battle that I skip is about 10 seconds saved.  A second penalty (or whatever it is) is a small price to pay.  I'm hoping that maybe someone can create one file/video so people don't need to download the 80+/- segments, half of which will be < 30 seconds.

Any thoughts/opinions/support is always appreciated.  By the time it's said and done, you all will have saved me about 30 minutes with your ideas considering my first timed test run clocked in at 3:13 and we're now looking at 2:45!

Lenophis

2010-07-09 01:45:16 pm

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Quote from WarMech:

I'm hoping that maybe someone can create one file/video so people don't need to download the 80+/- segments, half of which will be < 30 seconds.

When you give the discs/vobs to nate, you can tell him which segments you want spliced into 1 for easier downloading. I had planned on doing the same with my Origins run, since that was going to be upwards of 500 segments in the end. Trust me, nobody wants to download ~~350~~ 470 segments when they're all 9-12 seconds in length. Tongue

About the no ribbon thing, can you counter that with the Aegis Shield and Dragon Armor, or is that too far out of the way to utilize?

Winkwonle

2010-07-09 07:12:54 pm

You are indeed very cool. This is all good news. I didn't know about the segment merging. I was feeling a little uneasy about the idea of a hundred segments, but now this is great!

Just to be sure, you are still planning on doing the Ice cave two times, the second of which will be used for farming exp on the EYE, right? Have you tested how much time it would take with Agamas instead?

I like the idea that a level-8 third fighter will suddenly pop out of the blue in front of Chaos, barely reaching the 3-hit threshold and ready to use support items, just about as solid as his fellow level-16 red mage.

On my part, I'm still waiting for the verification to finish. I don't know how long it's supposed to be. Since WarMech is doing a good job planning the multi-segment run, I was thinking that when my run's verification is done, I might like to start a discussion about a low% run (multi-segment). That would be, minimum total exp, including skipping class change and facing 0 non-runnable battles in the ToFR. I'll create my own thread for that, don't worry.

Good luck again WarMech and thanks for giving us news!

You are indeed very cool. This is all good news. I didn't know about the segment merging. I was feeling a little uneasy about the idea of a hundred segments, but now this is great!

Just to be sure, you are still planning on doing the Ice cave two times, the second of which will be used for farming exp on the EYE, right? Have you tested how much time it would take with Agamas instead?

I like the idea that a level-8 third fighter will suddenly pop out of the blue in front of Chaos, barely reaching the 3-hit threshold and ready to use support items, just about as solid as his fellow level-16 red mage.

On my part, I'm still waiting for the verification to finish. I don't know how long it's supposed to be. Since WarMech is doing a good job planning the multi-segment run, I was thinking that when my run's verification is done, I might like to start a discussion about a low% run (multi-segment). That would be, minimum total exp, including skipping class change and facing 0 non-runnable battles in the ToFR. I'll create my own thread for that, don't worry.

Good luck again WarMech and thanks for giving us news!

Winkwonle

2010-08-02 10:52:04 pm

Just a little note to say: my run was accepted... !!! Cheesy

You're now alone on that boat, WarMech. Not that I won't worry about your run or offer you assistance. Of course I will.

I'm so happy! Hahahah!!

WarMech

2010-08-04 03:16:45 pm

Congrats Winkwonle!

Lenophis

2010-08-06 01:37:45 am

0-10

I hope WarMech doesn't mind me hijacking this, given there's 3 FF1 threads out there. I've made a segment I'm very angry with. Two times now I've had an extremely ugly looking battle, and they look bad. Unfortunately, those two times were also the only attempts that were keepable, because the game is very uncooperative.

I've already axed and deleted the first successful attempt, but I'm on the fence on this one. I know the video quality is barf, I had to do that to conserve on upload. The really bad battle is the Zombie Dragons, because I accidentally tried to run no thanks to input screwing me over, then the Red Mage compounds it by using the gauntlets on the lone surviving dragon.

I'm one the fence because it's a relatively short segment, but I'm hesitant to axe this one because it's a very frustrating segment to make, as I've learned. Any advice is helpful.

Winkwonle

2010-08-06 03:22:39 am

I'm not very versed in the multi-segment universe, but would it be normal that you keep the segment despite the unnecessary no-run encounter that it contains? (I'm talking about the 3 ZomBULLs.) Is it because you need the exp, or is it very rare to not get any of those maybe? I was also surprised that you confronted 2 Zombie D's, since it probably takes a lot more time to fight than just one. This is Origins on easy mode. What levels do you consider are required for the different steps of the game?

To me, the little running away error is most insignificant. However, SDA verifiers can sometimes disregard the big picture and put extreme focus on these aesthetic details, which seems unfair to me. I say, eliminate the no-run encounter and the double dragon, and you'll save perhaps a minute. Eliminate the control accident and you'll save at most 5 seconds. Submit both runs, and you'll receive an accept for the second, a refusal for the first. And people will enjoy watching the second one more too, I imagine. Where is this world going...

I'm not very versed in the multi-segment universe, but would it be normal that you keep the segment despite the unnecessary no-run encounter that it contains? (I'm talking about the 3 ZomBULLs.) Is it because you need the exp, or is it very rare to not get any of those maybe? I was also surprised that you confronted 2 Zombie D's, since it probably takes a lot more time to fight than just one. This is Origins on easy mode. What levels do you consider are required for the different steps of the game?

To me, the little running away error is most insignificant. However, SDA verifiers can sometimes disregard the big picture and put extreme focus on these aesthetic details, which seems unfair to me. I say, eliminate the no-run encounter and the double dragon, and you'll save perhaps a minute. Eliminate the control accident and you'll save at most 5 seconds. Submit both runs, and you'll receive an accept for the second, a refusal for the first. And people will enjoy watching the second one more too, I imagine. Where is this world going...

Lenophis

2010-08-06 01:21:25 pm

0-10

Quote from Winkwonle:

Is it because you need the exp, or is it very rare to not get any of those maybe?

The only problem was in the Zombie Dragon fight. Everything else went great, even both Mindflayer fights. Lips Sealed

Quote:

This is Origins on easy mode. What levels do you consider are required for the different steps of the game?

Well, if I'm fighting everything, somewhere in the 16-19 range. I'll be farming the evil eye some to make up for that.

Quote:

To me, the little running away error is most insignificant. However, SDA verifiers can sometimes disregard the big picture and put extreme focus on these aesthetic details, which seems unfair to me. I say, eliminate the no-run encounter and the double dragon, and you'll save perhaps a minute.

I'd prefer to fight the Necrotaurs, cause they give nice experience. I gained 2 levels in the place, which is great.

And before anyone says to get the gauntlets on the first floor: no. That's 2 forced encounters with golems, and that's slow.

Quote:

Eliminate the control accident and you'll save at most 5 seconds. Submit both runs, and you'll receive an accept for the second, a refusal for the first. And people will enjoy watching the second one more too, I imagine. Where is this world going...

I'm actually only going to save a few seconds, and I doubt it'll be 5. The other run that I already deleted was 5:14 in movie time (only 6 seconds faster than this one). I think that had some pre-loading flub so it was only about a second faster, maybe even.

[quote="Winkwonle"]Is it because you need the exp, or is it very rare to not get any of those maybe?[/quote]
The only problem was in the Zombie Dragon fight. Everything else went great, even both Mindflayer fights.  :-X

[quote]This is Origins on easy mode. What levels do you consider are required for the different steps of the game?[/quote]
Well, if I'm fighting everything, somewhere in the 16-19 range. I'll be farming the evil eye some to make up for that.

[quote]To me, the little running away error is most insignificant. However, SDA verifiers can sometimes disregard the big picture and put extreme focus on these aesthetic details, which seems unfair to me. I say, eliminate the no-run encounter and the double dragon, and you'll save perhaps a minute.[/quote]
I'd prefer to fight the Necrotaurs, cause they give nice experience. I gained 2 levels in the place, which is great.

And before anyone says to get the gauntlets on the first floor: no. That's 2 forced encounters with golems, and that's slow.

[quote]Eliminate the control accident and you'll save at most 5 seconds. Submit both runs, and you'll receive an accept for the second, a refusal for the first. And people will enjoy watching the second one more too, I imagine. Where is this world going...[/quote]
I'm actually only going to save a few seconds, and I doubt it'll be 5. The other run that I already deleted was 5:14 in movie time (only 6 seconds faster than this one). I think that had some pre-loading flub so it was only about a second faster, maybe even.

Winkwonle

2010-08-09 10:17:30 am

How much luck would it require to do the entire CoO without fighting any battle at all, and without getting insta-wiped by Mindflayers and such? If not so much, I'd like you to please reconsider my analysis.

This is a multi-segment run. It means you can do dungeons at a pretty low level without much encumbrance, right? I know Necrotaurs give nice experience, but is it comparable to what Eyes give? If Eyes give exp faster, then I imagine that you should really be avoiding no-run encounters like Necrotaurs whenever possible. It's just a suggestion. Still, if I was a judge, I'd give a lot of importance to your long-term game plans, such as exp-earning and spell repertoire.

Like you, I'm in favor of picking up the gauntlets on the top floor. Also, level 16-19 for Chaos seams reasonable.

Lenophis

Edit history:

Lenophis: 2010-08-13 03:26:25 am

2010-08-09 02:00:11 pm

0-10

Quote from Winkwonle:

How much luck would it require to do the entire CoO without fighting any battle at all,

Extremely good luck would be required. I've had 5 attempts all make it to the Nightmare trap getting into 0 battles, and all 5 never made it to the treasure chests on the left side of the room for various reasons. Two were ambushed by groups of 7 Horned Devils, ugh, 1 was ambushed by Mindflayers, 1 was ambushed by 5 Rakshahahashahshas, and the last didn't get past the first Nightmare fight because my group can't hit the broad side of a barn.

Regardless, I've redone the segment now, and I'm happy enough with it.

Quote:

This is a multi-segment run. It means you can do dungeons at a pretty low level without much encumbrance, right?

That's the theory.

Quote:

I know Necrotaurs give nice experience, but is it comparable to what Eyes give?

Necrotaur gives 1050, Evil Eye gives 3225. The problem is getting to the Eye.

Quote:

If Eyes give exp faster, then I imagine that you should really be avoiding no-run encounters like Necrotaurs whenever possible. It's just a suggestion. Still, if I was a judge, I'd give a lot of importance to your long-term game plans, such as exp-earning and spell repertoire.

I can want to avoid them all I want, but the game is never cooperative unless you catch it on a good day. The Ice Cave, for example, is the most evil dungeon of all time.

I think I'll just starting adding blooper reels to the mix, cause this is getting laughable. Tongue

The Ice Cave blooper reel:

[url=http://slickproductions.org/data/speed/ice cave blooper 00.avi]1
[url=http://slickproductions.org/data/speed/ice cave blooper 01.avi]2
[url=http://slickproductions.org/data/speed/ice cave blooper 02.avi]3

[quote="Winkwonle"]How much luck would it require to do the entire CoO without fighting any battle at all,[/quote]
[b]Extremely[/b] good luck would be required. I've had 5 attempts all make it to the Nightmare trap getting into 0 battles, and all 5 never made it to the treasure chests on the left side of the room for various reasons. Two were ambushed by groups of 7 Horned Devils, ugh, 1 was ambushed by Mindflayers, 1 was ambushed by 5 Rakshahahashahshas, and the last didn't get past the first Nightmare fight because my group can't hit the broad side of a barn.

Regardless, I've redone the segment now, and I'm happy enough with it.

[quote]This is a multi-segment run. It means you can do dungeons at a pretty low level without much encumbrance, right?[/quote]
That's the theory.

[quote]I know Necrotaurs give nice experience, but is it comparable to what Eyes give?[/quote]
Necrotaur gives 1050, Evil Eye gives 3225. The problem is [i]getting[/i] to the Eye.

[quote]If Eyes give exp faster, then I imagine that you should really be avoiding no-run encounters like Necrotaurs whenever possible. It's just a suggestion. Still, if I was a judge, I'd give a lot of importance to your long-term game plans, such as exp-earning and spell repertoire.[/quote]
I can want to avoid them all I want, but the game is never cooperative unless you catch it on a good day. The Ice Cave, for example, is [url=http://slickproductions.org/data/speed/I%20hate%20the%20ice%20cave.avi]the most evil dungeon of all time[/url].

[img]http://slickproductions.org/forum/Smileys/FF6/edit.gif[/img]

I think I'll just starting adding blooper reels to the mix, cause this is getting laughable. :P
[b]The Ice Cave blooper reel:[/b]
[list][li][url=http://slickproductions.org/data/speed/ice cave blooper 00.avi]1[/li]
[li][url=http://slickproductions.org/data/speed/ice cave blooper 01.avi]2[/li]
[li][url=http://slickproductions.org/data/speed/ice cave blooper 02.avi]3[/li][/list]

WarMech

2010-09-05 04:20:07 pm

Hey Strangers! I've picked up this run over the last week and am now sitting outside the submarine less than 2 hours into the run. I'm about 14 minutes ahead of my previous run and have been using extremely conservative estimates for segment times (rounding up to the nearest half minute) to make my estimate easier. With my shedule dying down this fall, it's not out of the question that I could have the test run done by the end of September and begin recording by October.

P.S. Where the heck is the SS run I've been dying to see for... oh... 5 years? Smiley

WarMech

2010-09-27 08:28:38 pm

MAJOR UPDATE:
I've uploaded my final route including a spreadsheet that details more information than anyone would ever want to know. The final time is 2 Hours and 50 minutes where each segment is rounded UP to the nearest 30 seconds since it was impossible to get an accurate time given the number of resets. Therefore, I'm going to estimate that the actual run will clock in the 2:46 - 2:47 range given that I'm not going to allow any imperfections through. I'll make another post given how the actual run is standing up to my targets. To summarize the major changes to my original route -

1) More segments. After 30 or so minutes into the run (en route to the Crown), I eliminate all over-world encounters. Completely.
2) Killing off a fighter. As someone mentioned back a year or two ago, the last fighter is completely useless in TofR. The single segment run makes use of this and so will I, as it saves minutes of leveling.
3) Better luck manipulation. As you can see from the spreadsheet, I know where in the power cycle I will begin every segment. I looked at every spot in the power cycle and believe my spots to be the fastest for the route I'm using.

There are other minor adjustments, but that accounts for 90% of the time saved.

The problem lies in obtaining a recording device because I'm nub with this stuff. I think I mentioned that I'm using an NES II (top-loader) with RF cables. Looks something like this picture I found on Google (http://atariace.com/images/atariace.com/nintendo/systems/images/nes-complete-top-loader-0100262.jpg). I have a Samsung HDTV but do not have cable... use an antenna and digital converter thing. Pardon the nub, but my questions are this:

-Which specific DVD Recorder model would work best for my setup?
-Are there any other cables or things I need to buy (other than DVD's, obviously)?
-How do I set everything up (with pictures if possible) avoiding as much plugging and unplugging as possible in between recording session?

WarMech

MAJOR UPDATE:
I've uploaded my final route including a spreadsheet that details more information than anyone would ever want to know.  The final time is 2 Hours and 50 minutes where each segment is rounded UP to the nearest 30 seconds since it was impossible to get an accurate time given the number of resets.  Therefore, I'm going to estimate that the actual run will clock in the 2:46 - 2:47 range given that I'm not going to allow any imperfections through.  I'll make another post given how the actual run is standing up to my targets.  To summarize the major changes to my original route -

1) More segments.  After 30 or so minutes into the run (en route to the Crown), I eliminate all over-world encounters.  Completely.
2) Killing off a fighter.  As someone mentioned back a year or two ago, the last fighter is completely useless in TofR.  The single segment run makes use of this and so will I, as it saves minutes of leveling.
3) Better luck manipulation.  As you can see from the spreadsheet, I know where in the power cycle I will begin every segment.  I looked at every spot in the power cycle and believe my spots to be the fastest for the route I'm using.

There are other minor adjustments, but that accounts for 90% of the time saved.

The problem lies in obtaining a recording device because I'm nub with this stuff.  I think I mentioned that I'm using an NES II (top-loader) with RF cables.  Looks something like this picture I found on Google (http://atariace.com/images/atariace.com/nintendo/systems/images/nes-complete-top-loader-0100262.jpg).  I have a Samsung HDTV but do not have cable... use an antenna and digital converter thing.  Pardon the nub, but my questions are this:

-Which specific DVD Recorder model would work best for my setup?
-Are there any other cables or things I need to buy (other than DVD's, obviously)?
-How do I set everything up (with pictures if possible) avoiding as much plugging and unplugging as possible in between recording session?

WarMech

Darkwing Duck

2010-09-27 08:58:54 pm

Highly Evolved

If your TV has composite cable inputs, just get any DVD recorder with AV IN (are there any that wouldn't be?) and do RF through the cable TV, video out of the TV into the DVD recorder, and do DVD recorder video out into AV in on the TV. You'll be able to record that way with no problems.

That's what I do with a toploader NES.

I have no name

2010-09-27 09:05:52 pm

Obscure games ftw

@WarMech, why do you lose EXP in segment 64?
Everything else looks meticulously planned out. Looking forward to seeing the run, even though I've never played the game.

Carcinogen

2010-09-28 04:14:22 am

Where's a link to this improved route? Couldn't find a website anywhere in the thread and I want to seeeeeeee.

I have no name

2010-09-28 09:01:19 am

Obscure games ftw

Quote from Carcinogen:

Where's a link to this improved route? Couldn't find a website anywhere in the thread and I want to seeeeeeee.

It's at the top of the first post.