Edit history:
Duke Bilgewater: 2015-03-06 11:24:30 am
Duke Bilgewater: 2014-04-12 08:18:09 pm
Duke Bilgewater: 2014-02-18 08:41:25 pm
Duke Bilgewater: 2014-02-18 08:37:49 pm
I've updated this thread with corrections and more current information about Hotline Miami.
Categories:
Any% NG+: RTA category that uses the Decadence and Neighbors skips and uses Save & Quit to skip intro sections after each level; uses Tony or Brandon throughout.
Any% NG: RTA category that uses the Decadence and Neighbors skips and uses Save & Quit to skip intro sections after each level; uses Richard until Tony is unlocked after No Talk.
All Levels NG+: Although this is slower than Any% NG & Any% NG+, this is the most competitive category in the game. As opposed to Any% NG & Any% NG+, All Levels NG+ is single segment and does not use the Decadence and Neighbors skips.
100%: All masks, all weapons, all secrets, and all endings. RTA category that uses Save & Quit to skip intro sections after each level; cannot use the Decadence and Neighbors skips because it is impossible to get enough points to get each levels' respective mask with them.
Tricks & Techniques:
Decadence and Neighbors Skip: It is possible to skip these two levels by clipping into loading zone inside of the car. To do this, lure an enemy to the bottom-right corner of the car and knock them down so that they are laying close to the car or slightly inside of it. If you do this correctly, when you press space to execute them, you will clip into the car and trigger the loading zone, completing the level. To bait enemies outside to do this, stab an enemy through the wall by pressing space and pick up the gun that they drop. The enemies that you will want to stab are:
- The patrol(s) in the top-left room of Decadence
- The roamer in the bathroom of Neighbors (you need to have him roam towards the bottom wall of the level)
Shooting the gun will bait one or more enemies out, letting you set up the trick. Neighbors skip is considered too random to hit consistently in runs, but you're welcome to try to get it. Decadence skip is much easier and quite consistent.
Richter Cycle Skip: On Assault, it is possible to punch Richter through the wall to allow you to grab the documents in the top room of the 3rd floor. This lets you skip picking up the jail cell key and opening it. If you are quick enough, it's possible to also skip one of Richter's back-and-forth walk cycles in his cell, saving roughly 7-9s. Skipping the cycle is hardest trick in the game, but is about 75% consistent with enough practice and precision.
Baiting AI: You can bait AI to follow you or come to your position with either line of sight or gunfire. A good example of line of sight baiting is on Metro, where you can run past the fourth enemy in the level without killing him to draw him towards you and save time; a good example of bating with gunfire is Tension, where you can fire a gun in the hallway to draw 5-6 enemies to your position and take them all out at once with little issue. Baiting with gunfire works based on the amount of shots fired, so automatic weapons are more reliable, and double barrel shotguns should be avoided.
Wall Clipping: You can teleport through walls be performing an execution on a downed enemy from the other side of the wall. The only place where this works consistently is on the 3rd floor of Deadline, but it can be applied elsewhere. Unfortunately, it needs to be setup in every other level which negates the time it saves.
Taking Hostages: Taking hostages increases your speed by quite a bit, so it's useful for moving through levels. You can take downed enemies hostage by executing them while holding a double barrel shotgun, uzi, or TMP - just mess around with the guns until you know which ones work. It's not super useful for killing enemies because it limits the rate at which you turn, and you're still susceptible to melee attacks. A good example of this trick can be seen on Clean Hit's 2nd floor, where it's used consistently.
Text / Cutscene Skips: Text can be skipped by either pressing left click or holding down right click for a second or two. Dialogue that is only 2 lines or less is faster to click through, while anything longer is faster to skip using right click. You can skip the intro cutscenes (the dark room with the three masked people) without initiating dialogue by just holding right click - just use the audio as a cue. You can also skip the phone in the first level in your apartment by grabbing the mask outside your door - this will allow you to proceed to the level without having to answer the phone.
The most important thing in the run, however, is good execution. You need to be fast, prescient, and adaptable because even with a set route, the RNG in this game will go out of it's way to kill you. Trying to route the game yourself is a good idea if you're interested in picking it up, as it'll give you a good feel for how it plays and how AI cycles work. There are three types of AI in the game, and knowing them is important for running the game:
Stationary AI: Enemies that will stand still, or are doing specific actions and not moving; some of them are unresponsive to noise, but can still be baited via LoS
Patrolling AI: Enemies that follow a patrol route
Roaming AI: Enemies that roam around the level, but start in a specific position every time. These are the ones you need to worry about, because they're capable of opening doors and leaving rooms on their own - which can fuck up your route
Runners:
http://www.twitch.tv/duke_bilgewater
http://www.twitch.tv/cfb
http://www.twitch.tv/dingodrole
http://www.twitch.tv/skeletn
http://www.twitch.tv/snowfats
http://www.twitch.tv/thebricktator
Categories:
Any% NG+: RTA category that uses the Decadence and Neighbors skips and uses Save & Quit to skip intro sections after each level; uses Tony or Brandon throughout.
Any% NG: RTA category that uses the Decadence and Neighbors skips and uses Save & Quit to skip intro sections after each level; uses Richard until Tony is unlocked after No Talk.
All Levels NG+: Although this is slower than Any% NG & Any% NG+, this is the most competitive category in the game. As opposed to Any% NG & Any% NG+, All Levels NG+ is single segment and does not use the Decadence and Neighbors skips.
100%: All masks, all weapons, all secrets, and all endings. RTA category that uses Save & Quit to skip intro sections after each level; cannot use the Decadence and Neighbors skips because it is impossible to get enough points to get each levels' respective mask with them.
Tricks & Techniques:
Decadence and Neighbors Skip: It is possible to skip these two levels by clipping into loading zone inside of the car. To do this, lure an enemy to the bottom-right corner of the car and knock them down so that they are laying close to the car or slightly inside of it. If you do this correctly, when you press space to execute them, you will clip into the car and trigger the loading zone, completing the level. To bait enemies outside to do this, stab an enemy through the wall by pressing space and pick up the gun that they drop. The enemies that you will want to stab are:
- The patrol(s) in the top-left room of Decadence
- The roamer in the bathroom of Neighbors (you need to have him roam towards the bottom wall of the level)
Shooting the gun will bait one or more enemies out, letting you set up the trick. Neighbors skip is considered too random to hit consistently in runs, but you're welcome to try to get it. Decadence skip is much easier and quite consistent.
Richter Cycle Skip: On Assault, it is possible to punch Richter through the wall to allow you to grab the documents in the top room of the 3rd floor. This lets you skip picking up the jail cell key and opening it. If you are quick enough, it's possible to also skip one of Richter's back-and-forth walk cycles in his cell, saving roughly 7-9s. Skipping the cycle is hardest trick in the game, but is about 75% consistent with enough practice and precision.
Baiting AI: You can bait AI to follow you or come to your position with either line of sight or gunfire. A good example of line of sight baiting is on Metro, where you can run past the fourth enemy in the level without killing him to draw him towards you and save time; a good example of bating with gunfire is Tension, where you can fire a gun in the hallway to draw 5-6 enemies to your position and take them all out at once with little issue. Baiting with gunfire works based on the amount of shots fired, so automatic weapons are more reliable, and double barrel shotguns should be avoided.
Wall Clipping: You can teleport through walls be performing an execution on a downed enemy from the other side of the wall. The only place where this works consistently is on the 3rd floor of Deadline, but it can be applied elsewhere. Unfortunately, it needs to be setup in every other level which negates the time it saves.
Taking Hostages: Taking hostages increases your speed by quite a bit, so it's useful for moving through levels. You can take downed enemies hostage by executing them while holding a double barrel shotgun, uzi, or TMP - just mess around with the guns until you know which ones work. It's not super useful for killing enemies because it limits the rate at which you turn, and you're still susceptible to melee attacks. A good example of this trick can be seen on Clean Hit's 2nd floor, where it's used consistently.
Text / Cutscene Skips: Text can be skipped by either pressing left click or holding down right click for a second or two. Dialogue that is only 2 lines or less is faster to click through, while anything longer is faster to skip using right click. You can skip the intro cutscenes (the dark room with the three masked people) without initiating dialogue by just holding right click - just use the audio as a cue. You can also skip the phone in the first level in your apartment by grabbing the mask outside your door - this will allow you to proceed to the level without having to answer the phone.
The most important thing in the run, however, is good execution. You need to be fast, prescient, and adaptable because even with a set route, the RNG in this game will go out of it's way to kill you. Trying to route the game yourself is a good idea if you're interested in picking it up, as it'll give you a good feel for how it plays and how AI cycles work. There are three types of AI in the game, and knowing them is important for running the game:
Stationary AI: Enemies that will stand still, or are doing specific actions and not moving; some of them are unresponsive to noise, but can still be baited via LoS
Patrolling AI: Enemies that follow a patrol route
Roaming AI: Enemies that roam around the level, but start in a specific position every time. These are the ones you need to worry about, because they're capable of opening doors and leaving rooms on their own - which can fuck up your route
Runners:
http://www.twitch.tv/duke_bilgewater
http://www.twitch.tv/cfb
http://www.twitch.tv/dingodrole
http://www.twitch.tv/skeletn
http://www.twitch.tv/snowfats
http://www.twitch.tv/thebricktator
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