Iji (freeware, metroid-esque)

Edit history:

Smops: 2008-10-28 08:09:55 am

2008-10-28 07:59:00 am

So, Iji. Very very awesome game, loads of secrets, skills, and a really nice story.

The game seems made to speedrun, it keeps track of time, and you can skip alot to finish faster, skills are a BIG part of this.

download link: http://www.remar.se/daniel/iji.php (HIGHLY recommended)

So, this will be my first attempt at a speedrun.

Plan of action: First play trough sector-by-sector, checking what skills are needed for the optimal route.

General things: Later on, you'll get pummeled a lot, so I guess I need some HP. I will be going pacifist, since that is the most quick way. I might make quick detours here and there to get extra XP. Only 3 notable boss-fights if you play your cards right: Krotera, Iosha and Tor.

Sector 1: No special skills needed, can just run trough.
Sector 2: Crack 3, skips a part at the end where normally you need to switch off a door, with Crack 3 you can skip that part.
Sector 3: No known yet. However, with Ko 3 + Crack 6, you can make the Hyper Pulse, and with that you can get a quick supercharge to get 1 pt extra. Youtube vid, from 0:25 to 2:20 shows how
==BOSS: Krotera== Straight-up fight, probably will need a strong weapon. If combined with the supercharge from sector 3, the pulse rifle is nice, about 20 seconds of sustained fire should kill him with At 1. Perhaps pump up At with spare points..
Sector 4: You can take a short detour at the beginning to gain an extra supercharge and an early devastator. Shown here.
Sector 5: There is a shortcut at the bottom of the shaft, the cracked floor can be busted open with spread rockets. Needs tasen 6 and crack 5. Added plus: There is a devastator right underneath, which is necessary to make the Nuke, which in turn is needed for Asha. Needs Tasen 10 and Crack 9. Shown here.
==BOSS: Asha== Nuke him, instantly done. Also nets you a supercharge.----------------------------------------------------------If I get the supercharge in sector 3, I need Ko3, Cr9, Ta10 until here, atleast. With the 2 supercharges, that brings me to level 20 here, with level 25 as the max. I reckon that's doable, perhaps with some quick kills along the way.----------------------------------------------------------
Sector 6: Unknown yet.
Sector 7: Unknown yet.
Sector 8: Unknown yet.
Sector 9: Unknown yet.
==BOSS: Iosha== Only one way to kill her, which is slow. Make sure she gets hits by ALL beams at once to kill her the fastest.
Sector X: Ta 10, Ko 10, Cr 10: combine the devastator and the best Ko gun to make the most lethal weapon of the game, shoots trough walls. This way, you can kill the reactor without fighting Asha, skips a large part of the level.
==BOSS: General Tor== Again, only one way to kill: reflect his own balls. Can be sped up by shooting him, could try, might save 1 or 2 rounds.

The minimum stat points needed for the quickest route are probably around 35-40.

Anyone else playing this totally awesome game?

Thread title:

So, Iji. Very very awesome game, loads of secrets, skills, and a really nice story.

The game seems made to speedrun, it keeps track of time, and you can skip alot to finish faster, skills are a BIG part of this.

download link: http://www.remar.se/daniel/iji.php (HIGHLY recommended)

So, this will be my first attempt at a speedrun.

Plan of action: First play trough sector-by-sector, checking what skills are needed for the optimal route.

General things: Later on, you'll get pummeled a lot, so I guess I need some HP. I will be going pacifist, since that is the most quick way. I might make quick detours here and there to get extra XP. Only 3 notable boss-fights if you play your cards right: Krotera, Iosha and Tor.

[list]
[*]Sector 1: No special skills needed, can just run trough.

[*]Sector 2: Crack 3, skips a part at the end where normally you need to switch off a door, with Crack 3 you can skip that part.

[*]Sector 3: No known yet. However, with Ko 3 + Crack 6, you can make the Hyper Pulse, and with that you can get a quick supercharge to get 1 pt extra. [url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CBzumDmPuIk&feature=related]Youtube vid, from 0:25 to 2:20 shows how[/url]

[*] ==BOSS: Krotera== Straight-up fight, probably will need a strong weapon. If combined with the supercharge from sector 3, the pulse rifle is nice, about 20 seconds of sustained fire should kill him with At 1. Perhaps pump up At with spare points..

[*]Sector 4: You can take a short detour at the beginning to gain an extra supercharge and an early devastator. [url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SVCechYoNmM&feature=related]Shown here.[/url]

[*]Sector 5: There is a shortcut at the bottom of the shaft, the cracked floor can be busted open with spread rockets. Needs tasen 6 and crack 5. Added plus: There is a devastator right underneath, which is necessary to make the Nuke, which in turn is needed for Asha. Needs Tasen 10 and Crack 9. [url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nk48unEMVqI&feature=related]Shown here.[/url]

[*] ==BOSS: Asha== Nuke him, instantly done. Also nets you a supercharge.

----------------------------------------------------------
If I get the supercharge in sector 3, I need Ko3, Cr9, Ta10 until here, atleast. With the 2 supercharges, that brings me to level 20 here, with level 25 as the max. I reckon that's doable, perhaps with some quick kills along the way.
----------------------------------------------------------

[*]Sector 6: Unknown yet.

[*]Sector 7: Unknown yet.

[*]Sector 8: Unknown yet.

[*]Sector 9: Unknown yet.

[*] ==BOSS: Iosha== Only one way to kill her, which is slow. Make sure she gets hits by ALL beams at once to kill her the fastest.

[*]Sector X: Ta 10, Ko 10, Cr 10: combine the devastator and the best Ko gun to make the most lethal weapon of the game, shoots trough walls. This way, you can kill the reactor without fighting Asha, skips a large part of the level.

[*] ==BOSS: General Tor== Again, only one way to kill: reflect his own balls. Can be sped up by shooting him, could try, might save 1 or 2 rounds.

[/list]

The minimum stat points needed for the quickest route are probably around 35-40.

Anyone else playing this totally awesome game?

LLCoolDave

2008-10-28 08:24:43 am

Sector 5, after using the spread rockets, shoot the devestator into the wall to rebound over to the jump upgrade. Can still do the minor detour to pick up Nano in the Refill Area to the right if necessary.

For Sector 10 taking the route by the poster is a few seconds faster than the normal route.

If the Sector Z Out of Bounds glitch has been fixed in the latest version the detour is not worth it. If it isn't you can get a lower ingame time by going through Sector Z with the additional benefit of being able to fully level and collect ammo in Sector 1 as time doesn't count there.

The Sector 3 Supercharge is a huge detour (at least by the time standards in this game), the Sector 4 one likely isn't worth it either (have to get off the glider), the one where you can just nuke the glass out while passing by is worth picking up, though, I think.

For Krotera I think combining the machinegun with the shotgun and pumping in 20 rounds is almost enough to kill him very fast.

For Iosa be sure to use Retribution, it deals a reasonable amount of damage. Just fire Spread Rockets as well. Should be able to skip two rounds, depending on ammunition. For Tor I have yet to be able to hit well with Retribution. Could easily skip a while round on its own with a proper hit.

The Ball Like Boss Enemy (forgot the name) is, according to the enemy guide you can unlock ingame, vulnerable to the final Komato Weapon which penetrates the armor. I have yet to test if this is actually reflected ingame and if that would speed up the fight. Using a Nuke almost right after the start of the fight will rebound the ball right into the right electricity field, after which you can kick it into the left. Hit it with one or two sets of spread rockets while reactivating the electricity (I think it's necesarry but I am not sure anymore. The Nuke and 4 stuns might be sufficient) for a fairly quick fight.

Be sure to remember you can reboot your stats. This will likely be required on the optimal route at least once, likely more frequently.

I'm not sure if there were any non obvious shortcuts on sectors 6 through 9 from the top of my head right now.

Sector 5, after using the spread rockets, shoot the devestator into the wall to rebound over to the jump upgrade. Can still do the minor detour to pick up Nano in the Refill Area to the right if necessary.

For Sector 10 taking the route by the poster is a few seconds faster than the normal route.

If the Sector Z Out of Bounds glitch has been fixed in the latest version the detour is not worth it. If it isn't you can get a lower ingame time by going through Sector Z with the additional benefit of being able to fully level and collect ammo in Sector 1 as time doesn't count there.

The Sector 3 Supercharge is a huge detour (at least by the time standards in this game), the Sector 4 one likely isn't worth it either (have to get off the glider), the one where you can just nuke the glass out while passing by is worth picking up, though, I think.

For Krotera I think combining the machinegun with the shotgun and pumping in 20 rounds is almost enough to kill him very fast.

For Iosa be sure to use Retribution, it deals a reasonable amount of damage. Just fire Spread Rockets as well. Should be able to skip two rounds, depending on ammunition. For Tor I have yet to be able to hit well with Retribution. Could easily skip a while round on its own with a proper hit.

The Ball Like Boss Enemy (forgot the name) is, according to the enemy guide you can unlock ingame, vulnerable to the final Komato Weapon which penetrates the armor. I have yet to test if this is actually reflected ingame and if that would speed up the fight. Using a Nuke almost right after the start of the fight will rebound the ball right into the right electricity field, after which you can kick it into the left. Hit it with one or two sets of spread rockets while reactivating the electricity (I think it's necesarry but I am not sure anymore. The Nuke and 4 stuns might be sufficient) for a fairly quick fight.

Be sure to remember you can reboot your stats. This will likely be required on the optimal route at least once, likely more frequently.

I'm not sure if there were any non obvious shortcuts on sectors 6 through 9 from the top of my head right now.

Smops

2008-10-28 08:39:53 am

Quote from LLCoolDave:

Sector 5, after using the spread rockets, shoot the devestator into the wall to rebound over to the jump upgrade. Can still do the minor detour to pick up Nano in the Refill Area to the right if necessary.

For Sector 10 taking the route by the poster is a few seconds faster than the normal route.

Good tips!

Quote:

If the Sector Z Out of Bounds glitch has been fixed in the latest version the detour is not worth it. If it isn't you can get a lower ingame time by going through Sector Z with the additional benefit of being able to fully level and collect ammo in Sector 1 as time doesn't count there.

Never heard about the glitch..

Quote:

The Sector 3 Supercharge is a huge detour (at least by the time standards in this game), the Sector 4 one likely isn't worth it either (have to get off the glider), the one where you can just nuke the glass out while passing by is worth picking up, though, I think.

True, but the one where you can nuke the glass out.. which sector is that? I can't recall that one.

Quote:

For Krotera I think combining the machinegun with the shotgun and pumping in 20 rounds is almost enough to kill him very fast.

Seems about right, I think At2 + As2 + Ta3 should be enough then, let's see how it fits in.

Quote:

For Iosa be sure to use Retribution, it deals a reasonable amount of damage. Just fire Spread Rockets as well. Should be able to skip two rounds, depending on ammunition. For Tor I have yet to be able to hit well with Retribution. Could easily skip a while round on its own with a proper hit.

The Ball Like Boss Enemy (forgot the name) is, according to the enemy guide you can unlock ingame, vulnerable to the final Komato Weapon which penetrates the armor. I have yet to test if this is actually reflected ingame and if that would speed up the fight. Using a Nuke almost right after the start of the fight will rebound the ball right into the right electricity field, after which you can kick it into the left. Hit it with one or two sets of spread rockets while reactivating the electricity (I think it's necesarry but I am not sure anymore. The Nuke and 4 stuns might be sufficient) for a fairly quick fight.

Will look into these when I get there Wink

Quote:

Be sure to remember you can reboot your stats. This will likely be required on the optimal route at least once, likely more frequently.

Yeah, probably. Would like to keep it to a minimum, since it does take some time. If its possible to do without, it's better.

[quote="LLCoolDave"]
Sector 5, after using the spread rockets, shoot the devestator into the wall to rebound over to the jump upgrade. Can still do the minor detour to pick up Nano in the Refill Area to the right if necessary.

For Sector 10 taking the route by the poster is a few seconds faster than the normal route.
[/quote]

Good tips!

[quote]
If the Sector Z Out of Bounds glitch has been fixed in the latest version the detour is not worth it. If it isn't you can get a lower ingame time by going through Sector Z with the additional benefit of being able to fully level and collect ammo in Sector 1 as time doesn't count there.
[/quote]
Never heard about the glitch..

[quote]
The Sector 3 Supercharge is a huge detour (at least by the time standards in this game), the Sector 4 one likely isn't worth it either (have to get off the glider), the one where you can just nuke the glass out while passing by is worth picking up, though, I think.
[/quote]

True, but the one where you can nuke the glass out.. which sector is that? I can't recall that one.

[quote]
For Krotera I think combining the machinegun with the shotgun and pumping in 20 rounds is almost enough to kill him very fast.
[/quote]

Seems about right, I think At2 + As2 + Ta3 should be enough then, let's see how it fits in.

[quote]
For Iosa be sure to use Retribution, it deals a reasonable amount of damage. Just fire Spread Rockets as well. Should be able to skip two rounds, depending on ammunition. For Tor I have yet to be able to hit well with Retribution. Could easily skip a while round on its own with a proper hit.

The Ball Like Boss Enemy (forgot the name) is, according to the enemy guide you can unlock ingame, vulnerable to the final Komato Weapon which penetrates the armor. I have yet to test if this is actually reflected ingame and if that would speed up the fight. Using a Nuke almost right after the start of the fight will rebound the ball right into the right electricity field, after which you can kick it into the left. Hit it with one or two sets of spread rockets while reactivating the electricity (I think it's necesarry but I am not sure anymore. The Nuke and 4 stuns might be sufficient) for a fairly quick fight.
[/quote]

Will look into these when I get there ;)

[quote]
Be sure to remember you can reboot your stats. This will likely be required on the optimal route at least once, likely more frequently.
[/quote]

Yeah, probably. Would like to keep it to a minimum, since it does take some time. If its possible to do without, it's better.

mobilisq

2008-10-28 10:24:30 am

WHAT

If a run of cave story wouldnt be accepted, would this?

Smops

2008-10-28 10:58:49 am

I don't want to submit it, just talk about it/do it. I reckon most people interested in running Iji visit here.

TheVoid

2008-10-28 12:06:47 pm

If you finish it, it could always be submitted to freewareruns.com Smiley

I'm looking forward to the run.

Smops

Edit history:

Smops: 2008-10-28 05:27:30 pm

2008-10-28 03:36:00 pm

Well, first sector is kinda too easy, but I got 1:23 according to the in game timer, finished at level 4.

Next up: checking how the in game timer measures up to real time.
EDIT: timing seems spot-on, except it pauses every time you loose control of Iji (dialogue). Since I'll be skipping that ASAP, of course, the in game timer should suffice.

EDIT2: Well, Krotera needs At3, As3 and a buster gun to kill ASAP. So, 30 rounds of buster fire @ At3. The points fit, hopefully enough left to get the shortcut with spread rockets and nuke before Asha. Finished the Krotera fight with At3 As3 Ta3 Cr3, and I need Cr9+Ta10 before Asha, so I guess that means a nanofield reboot! I think abusing the reboot will make things go faster in continuous play.

Apjjm

2008-10-28 09:02:03 pm

What?

I have to say i am amazed to see this game being run considering i have just downloaded and played it this morning, there is this topic which was posted on the gmc for those who didn't know. Which will probably have a good few shortcuts on it. When i first fought the end bos i only attacked him using weapons - and, i have to triple rockets and slot 4 combos worked wonders.

I did find a good few shortcuts when playing this (there is one spot where you can use the spread rockets to blow a hole in the floor and skip a good portion of the level).

Smops

Edit history:

Smops: 2008-10-29 10:18:54 am

2008-10-29 08:08:54 am

Quote from Apjjm:

I have to say i am amazed to see this game being run considering i have just downloaded and played it this morning, there is this topic which was posted on the gmc for those who didn't know. Which will probably have a good few shortcuts on it. When i first fought the end bos i only attacked him using weapons - and, i have to triple rockets and slot 4 combos worked wonders.

I did find a good few shortcuts when playing this (there is one spot where you can use the spread rockets to blow a hole in the floor and skip a good portion of the level).

Thanks for the link.

And the buster gun sure is the fastest way to cut down Krotera, pulse gun / rocket launcher don't come close in terms of dps.

EDIT: Oh hell, fallout 3 has been released. There goes all my time. Grin

Ultimortal

2009-01-22 03:12:56 am

Hi, creator of Iji here. I read in the rules that bumping a topic like this would be ok, so I hope it is.

In case there's any interest at all, I've put up a 4-part video of my 16-segment speedrun that resulted in the best Normal time, 28:54, displayed on the Records screen in version 1.3. In the boss rooms, I just restarted until I got a time I was satisfied with, meaning each boss was a segment. All boss rooms can be restarted with F4 even after the boss has been defeated, though sometimes not too long after that.

The run features the best route I could come up with during playtesting, although there are mistakes and unnecessary experience picked up etc. It's not meant to discourage others from finding the best route or speedrun the game in general, but inspire them. There's bound to be many people better than me. Well, I hope you enjoy it.

Speedrun times should not vary between the different versions of the game by the way, I made sure of that.

Hi, creator of Iji here. I read in the rules that bumping a topic like this would be ok, so I hope it is.

In case there's any interest at all, I've put up a 4-part [url=http://www.youtube.com/user/Ultimortal]video of my 16-segment speedrun[/url] that resulted in the best Normal time, 28:54, displayed on the Records screen in version 1.3. In the boss rooms, I just restarted until I got a time I was satisfied with, meaning each boss was a segment. All boss rooms can be restarted with F4 even after the boss has been defeated, though sometimes not too long after that.

The run features the best route I could come up with during playtesting, although there are mistakes and unnecessary experience picked up etc. It's not meant to discourage others from finding the best route or speedrun the game in general, but inspire them. There's bound to be many people better than me. Well, I hope you enjoy it.

Speedrun times should not vary between the different versions of the game by the way, I made sure of that.

getter77

2009-01-22 08:14:24 am

100% runs=great to watch

Excellent stuff Ultimortal, made for a nice watch this morning.

CannibalK9

2009-01-22 08:44:47 am

give me your eyes!!!

Great to see you on here Daniel, I didn't think I'd get the chance to thank you (sort of) in person. I've been playing Iji all week and completed it on ultimortal yesterday, one of the most enjoyable and rewarding gaming experiences I've ever had. The attention to detail (I particularly liked Asha's reaction after respawning), weapon versatility, pacing, map layout, enemy variation and secrets is astounding.

I wasn't considering playing for speed but I'll just have to now, let's see if I can get close.

LLCoolDave

2009-01-22 10:11:07 am

That run was awesome, except for the sentinel fight. You can Nuke that straight into an electrical outlet as the fight starts if it moves right.

Also, did you fix the timer advancing on boss restarting? I havn't played 1.3 yet, but in 1.2 the timer would advance by a single frame for every restart, ultimatively culimnating to a second or so if you restart too much.

TheVoid

2009-01-22 12:31:07 pm

That was indeed an awesome run, some nice and informative (And funny) text throughout, it was a great watch.

Ultimortal

2009-01-23 05:50:57 am

Thanks CannibalK9.

Quote:

That run was awesome, except for the sentinel fight. You can Nuke that straight into an electrical outlet as the fight starts if it moves right.

Thanks, I never tried that. I'm sure there's more to be found. The Iosa fight was unoptimal as well; I should have jumped into her and used Retribution right at the start. Other than that I couldn't find a faster way to defeat the bosses, except the luck-based one on Tor pointed out in the annotations.

Quote:

Also, did you fix the timer advancing on boss restarting? I havn't played 1.3 yet, but in 1.2 the timer would advance by a single frame for every restart, ultimatively culimnating to a second or so if you restart too much.

I don't recognize this, so it was probably not fixed for 1.3... sorry if that's the case. Sad

I'm actually not updating the game anymore, focusing on my next project instead, otherwise I would get stuck maintaining Iji forever.

The game still has some bugs like that. For instance, you lose a frame of forward movement everytime Iji lands from a jump or fall (30 unneccesary jumps makes a full second). The biggest problem when running this game is the enemy and boss randomness though, it had a higher priority for entertainment purposes than making the AI predictable for speedruns.

Thanks CannibalK9.

[quote]That run was awesome, except for the sentinel fight. You can Nuke that straight into an electrical outlet as the fight starts if it moves right.[/quote]
Thanks, I never tried that. I'm sure there's more to be found. The Iosa fight was unoptimal as well; I should have jumped into her and used Retribution right at the start. Other than that I couldn't find a faster way to defeat the bosses, except the luck-based one on Tor pointed out in the annotations.

[quote]Also, did you fix the timer advancing on boss restarting? I havn't played 1.3 yet, but in 1.2 the timer would advance by a single frame for every restart, ultimatively culimnating to a second or so if you restart too much.[/quote]
I don't recognize this, so it was probably not fixed for 1.3... sorry if that's the case. :( I'm actually not updating the game anymore, focusing on my next project instead, otherwise I would get stuck maintaining Iji forever.

The game still has some bugs like that. For instance, you lose a frame of forward movement everytime Iji lands from a jump or fall (30 unneccesary jumps makes a full second). The biggest problem when running this game is the enemy and boss randomness though, it had a higher priority for entertainment purposes than making the AI predictable for speedruns.

edman3d

2009-01-25 03:01:48 pm

ow

Ultimortal - Sweet game, thanks.

Also, anyone else feel weird that the creator is semi-glitching his own game (jump canceling etc.)? Not anything huge its just unnatural for SDA Tongue

Enhasa

2009-01-26 03:33:48 pm

everybody wanna tell you the meaning of music

That's pretty normal if the creator is a cool guy (often the case for freeware devs) and not some company like Retro that takes discovery of glitches as some sort of affront against their programming skills. Nifflas's speedrun for Within a Deep Forest exploited glitches too.

I really need to try out this game.

CannibalK9

2009-01-26 04:06:19 pm

give me your eyes!!!

Wow, trying to speedrun a game always makes me appreciate it more, your run for normal is virtually flawless. The handful of movement improvements I found could barely take a second off the first couple of levels and I've no chance with the parts requiring quick weapon selection since playing games with a keyboard still doesn't come naturally.

There's only one thing that might be a decent timesaver besides the floaty-death-orb fight; while waiting for the door to open you obtained ammo for several nukes, necessitating assimilate and possibly some ammo hunting. Could they be taken out in one-shot at the end or does killing them also increase the rate at which they teleport in?

Anyway, heaps or praise for the videos as well as the game, and the annotations were wonderfully cheesy!

Ultimortal

2009-01-27 07:35:46 pm

edman3D, I don't use any "glitches" in the run, but I do use techniques I implemented to improve the freedom and speed of movement, like canceling animations into others and "teching". I really like speedruns, both normal and TASed. Of course, as the maker of a game I want it to be as bugfree as possible for a better experience, but if there was something that only a few people found that doesn't harm normal gameplay in any way, and is highly improbable for the average player to find (like Prime's secret worlds) why not let them use it. It can increase a game's longevity, if only for a smaller audience.

There was a thing I did fix though, an accidental shortcut in Sector Z that I thought was so boring to a speedrunner (not to mention it messed up the level) that I fixed it in 1.1. Also, even if you somehow push Iji very deep into a wall, letting the ejection code push her outside a level, she gets warped back to the starting position and all lifts are reset. I've heard about the player being pushed out of the level only once since I started working on the game, and it was due to jumping at the ceiling while the rare "moving on a lift" bug occured. You can't do it on purpose unless someone figures out how the lift bug happens (I have no idea), but it doesn't help the player anyway. You can't exit a Sector from the "outside", you'll just end up back at the start.

quote author=CannibalK9 link=topic=9033.msg264066#msg264066 date=1233011179]
There's only one thing that might be a decent timesaver besides the floaty-death-orb fight; while waiting for the door to open you obtained ammo for several nukes, necessitating assimilate and possibly some ammo hunting. Could they be taken out in one-shot at the end or does killing them also increase the rate at which they teleport in?[/quote]
Yes. There's a delay between each spawn wave, but killing all enemies triggers the next wave immediately, and killing the final two Berserkers activates the lift quickly as well. Also, the Assimilate level and the ammo was nearly right in my path there. Maybe I should explain this in the annotations.

edman3D, I don't use any "glitches" in the run, but I do use techniques I implemented to improve the freedom and speed of movement, like canceling animations into others and "teching". I really like speedruns, both normal and TASed. Of course, as the maker of a game I want it to be as bugfree as possible for a better experience, but if there was something that only a few people found that doesn't harm normal gameplay in any way, and is highly improbable for the average player to find (like Prime's secret worlds) why not let them use it. It can increase a game's longevity, if only for a smaller audience.

There was a thing I did fix though, an accidental shortcut in Sector Z that I thought was so boring to a speedrunner (not to mention it messed up the level) that I fixed it in 1.1. Also, even if you somehow push Iji very deep into a wall, letting the ejection code push her outside a level, she gets warped back to the starting position and all lifts are reset. I've heard about the player being pushed out of the level only once since I started working on the game, and it was due to jumping at the ceiling while the rare "moving on a lift" bug occured. You can't do it on purpose unless someone figures out how the lift bug happens (I have no idea), but it doesn't help the player anyway. You can't exit a Sector from the "outside", you'll just end up back at the start.

quote author=CannibalK9 link=topic=9033.msg264066#msg264066 date=1233011179]
There's only one thing that might be a decent timesaver besides the floaty-death-orb fight; while waiting for the door to open you obtained ammo for several nukes, necessitating assimilate and possibly some ammo hunting. Could they be taken out in one-shot at the end or does killing them also increase the rate at which they teleport in?[/quote]
Yes. There's a delay between each spawn wave, but killing all enemies triggers the next wave immediately, and killing the final two Berserkers activates the lift quickly as well. Also, the Assimilate level and the ammo was nearly right in my path there. Maybe I should explain this in the annotations.

DoubleThink

2009-01-27 11:41:07 pm

There's a word for that

Hiya, rabid Iji fan here. Great run, very entertaining and well-planned. It's like you have intimate knowledge of the game or something! Cheesy

Since you're on the lookout for glitches, I'll mention something that happened in Sector... X I think it was? I was riding a lift up, and Iji was still locked in place as per usual but I think I must have jumped just as the lift stopped, so Iji jumped up and got stuck in the wall and the game went all "ohcrap glitch please report to Remar games". Sad

Perhaps there's one frame of movement where such glitches can occur, similar to one-frame discrepancies in other situations mentioned.

And oh yeah, thanks for spending like four years or whatever making this little gem, that was really nice.

Ultimortal

2009-01-28 05:54:08 am

You just described the bug I was talking about in my previous post. :p As of version 1.3 (where I may possibly have fixed it, but I'm not sure) the game no longer tells you to report the glitch when it warps you back inside, it just acknowledges what has happened. You should be playing 1.3 anyway, it's much better >_>

It was four years, but not at all of constant work. I took many month-long breaks or I wouldn't have had the strength to finish it.

Ultimortal

Edit history:

Ultimortal: 2009-09-22 01:37:18 pm

2009-09-22 11:36:44 am

Bump...

I'm doing a new Iji 1.5 Normal run for submitting to SDA. It's still in 16 segments, one for each level (Sector) and boss. I'm mainly doing this for stress relief, and after an hour of playing I feel that it's only mildly annoying rather than stressful to restart a segment. Smiley

I'm so used to the game that I know what I'm doing wrong.

Some reminders about this game:

some Sectors have a boss at the end, and if you restart the boss fight your time and stats are reset to what they were when you entered the boss room. However, you cannot save before the boss, only after the Sector and its boss have been beaten. This means I will only attempt to fight the boss if I get a good Sector time. My lack of planning in the game design comes back to bite me here
Even if the pause menu is disabled because you're reading a chat dialogue, you can hold F4 to restart any Sector or boss room. This lets me rerecord a boss even after beating it and seeing what time I get, but I can't do it if I continue all the way to the "Sector Clear" screen.
Iosa the Invincible is an exception to the above - when beating her first form and moving on to the second form, you cannot retry her first form. Therefore I'll wait to see what time I have right before landing the final blow on her first form - I do not want to retry the extremely difficult Sector 9 too much.
Another exception is Asha 2, who is a miniboss within a Sector, but I'm skipping him anyway.
The game rounds down the time to the closest second at the end of every Sector / boss room.

My goal is to use the same basic route as my previous run but improve on every segment except Krotera and Asha. I will use some specific improvements however, the most prominent being:

Start the Proxima fight with a Nuke to instantly fry it, as suggested by LLCoolDave. Don't accept a sloppy performance either.
Start the Iosa fight with a Retribution, restart segment if it didn't deal enough damage. Primarily use Spread rockets instead of the MPFB Devastator - the former does not knock you down while firing, saving time.
Do not accept less than 5 MPFB shots per round on Tor.

The run so far:
Improved Sector 1 from 1:23 to 1:22 (one well-placed jump did the trick)
Improved Sector 2 from 2:25 to 2:24 (better movement)
EDIT:
Improved Sector 3 from 1:54 to 1:52 (better movement)
Krotera is the same: 0:08
Improved Sector 4 from 2:20 to 2:10 (altered strategy, better movement)

You can get lower Sector 2 and 3 times by just running rather than picking up Nano, but you won't have enough levels to take Krotera down quickly with the Buster gun.

I somehow got a low 2:23 time on Sector 2, but FRAPS decided to start lagging like crazy so the video was ruined. I haven't been able to replicate it either... Roll Eyes

I'm also recording in windowed mode since it's so bothersome having to alt-tab out of fullscreen to remove the failed recorded videos. The gamma effects will be missing as a result but it's worth it.

Bump...

I'm doing a new Iji 1.5 Normal run for submitting to SDA. It's still in 16 segments, one for each level (Sector) and boss. I'm mainly doing this for stress relief, and after an hour of playing I feel that it's only mildly annoying rather than stressful to restart a segment. :) I'm so used to the game that I know what I'm doing wrong.

Some reminders about this game:
[list]
[li]some Sectors have a boss at the end, and if you restart the boss fight your time and stats are reset to what they were when you entered the boss room. However, you cannot save before the boss, only after the Sector [i]and[/i] its boss have been beaten. This means I will only attempt to fight the boss if I get a good Sector time. My lack of planning in the game design comes back to bite me here :([/li]
[li]Even if the pause menu is disabled because you're reading a chat dialogue, you can hold F4 to restart any Sector or boss room. This lets me rerecord a boss even after beating it and seeing what time I get, but I can't do it if I continue all the way to the "Sector Clear" screen.[/li]
[li]Iosa the Invincible is an exception to the above - when beating her first form and moving on to the second form, you cannot retry her first form. Therefore I'll wait to see what time I have right before landing the final blow on her first form - I do not want to retry the extremely difficult Sector 9 too much.[/li]
[li]Another exception is Asha 2, who is a miniboss within a Sector, but I'm skipping him anyway.[/li]
[li]The game rounds [i]down[/i] the time to the closest second at the end of every Sector / boss room.[/li]
[/list]

My goal is to use the same basic route as [url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lLzLxfe4Rrk&feature=channel_page]my previous run[/url] but improve on every segment except Krotera and Asha. I will use some specific improvements however, the most prominent being:
[list]
[li]Start the Proxima fight with a Nuke to instantly fry it, as suggested by LLCoolDave. Don't accept a sloppy performance either.[/li]
[li]Start the Iosa fight with a Retribution, restart segment if it didn't deal enough damage. Primarily use Spread rockets instead of the MPFB Devastator - the former does not knock you down while firing, saving time.[/li]
[li]Do not accept less than 5 MPFB shots per round on Tor.[/li]
[/list]

The run so far:
Improved Sector 1 from 1:23 to 1:22 (one well-placed jump did the trick)
Improved Sector 2 from 2:25 to 2:24 (better movement)
EDIT:
Improved Sector 3 from 1:54 to 1:52 (better movement)
Krotera is the same: 0:08
Improved Sector 4 from 2:20 to 2:10 (altered strategy, better movement)

You can get lower Sector 2 and 3 times by just running rather than picking up Nano, but you won't have enough levels to take Krotera down quickly with the Buster gun.

I somehow got a low 2:23 time on Sector 2, but FRAPS decided to start lagging like crazy so the video was ruined. I haven't been able to replicate it either... ::) I'm also recording in windowed mode since it's so bothersome having to alt-tab out of fullscreen to remove the failed recorded videos. The gamma effects will be missing as a result but it's worth it.

ExplodingCabbage

Edit history:

ExplodingCabbage: 2009-09-22 01:55:57 pm

2009-09-22 01:43:57 pm

I don't really have much to add here but I decided to go through the run and try to list every plausible improvement I can find that hasn't already been mentioned (times are from the youtube vids):

* If you're not already doing this, you can save time on collecting nano by finding opportunities to kill enemies without wasting any time and get their nano. Watching back through your videos on youtube, a couple of opportunities immediately come to mind on level 2: the soldier you first pass at 2:08 (you can probably have him blow himself up as you pass the first time, and grab his nano on your second pass) and the scout near the terminal at 2:48. There are doubtless more chances even in the early levels, and once you get the rocket launcher almost every room probably provides chances for free nano.

* On level 4 you should've performed the nanofield reboot earlier, and got the stats you need at 6:50. There's a health terminal and health pickup right in front of you at that point, so you can still take a rocket hit to get through the glass a moment later, and right after the health is a strength terminal to get the 6 strength you need for door kicking.
This would allow you to ride the shredder for longer later on.

* After not kicking the guard at 7:29, maybe swap to shotgun to shoot the glass here instead of kicking it?

* Pedantic, but on level 6 at 4:08 aren't there a couple of frames to be saved by holding right and x to immediately rocket yourself on the turret behind you after using the terminal? You seem to delay firing for a couple of frames for no reason.

* Maybe possible to jump instead of ducking the plasma cannon turrets on sector X at 1:48? It's definitely possible to jump and get knocked down but end up on the level above, but I didn't test jumping immediately.

Besides this, I think the only timesavers I can see, besides those already pointed out, are from faster cracking (possibly by just immediately going for either of the paths around the edge without pausing to look at where the blocks are, and restarting the level if you mess up, although that's a very harsh ratio of risk to gain) and from having better luck with enemies (i.e. not having to duck or wait for projectiles). Attacking enemies, especially with the Thor, may help in the last regard, as you pointed out.

I don't know whether there's anything in that list you hadn't already thought of.

I don't really have much to add here but I decided to go through the run and try to list every plausible improvement I can find that hasn't already been mentioned (times are from the youtube vids):

* If you're not already doing this, you can save time on collecting nano by finding opportunities to kill enemies without wasting any time and get their nano. Watching back through your videos on youtube, a couple of opportunities immediately come to mind on level 2: the soldier you first pass at 2:08 (you can probably have him blow himself up as you pass the first time, and grab his nano on your second pass) and the scout near the terminal at 2:48. There are doubtless more chances even in the early levels, and once you get the rocket launcher almost every room probably provides chances for free nano.

* On level 4 you should've performed the nanofield reboot earlier, and got the stats you need at 6:50. There's a health terminal and health pickup right in front of you at that point, so you can still take a rocket hit to get through the glass a moment later, and right after the health is a strength terminal to get the 6 strength you need for door kicking.
This would allow you to ride the shredder for longer later on.

* After not kicking the guard at 7:29, maybe swap to shotgun to shoot the glass here instead of kicking it?

* Pedantic, but on level 6 at 4:08 aren't there a couple of frames to be saved by holding right and x to immediately rocket yourself on the turret behind you after using the terminal? You seem to delay firing for a couple of frames for no reason.

* Maybe possible to jump instead of ducking the plasma cannon turrets on sector X at 1:48? It's definitely possible to jump and get knocked down but end up on the level above, but I didn't test jumping immediately.

Besides this, I think the only timesavers I can see, besides those already pointed out, are from faster cracking (possibly by just immediately going for either of the paths around the edge without pausing to look at where the blocks are, and restarting the level if you mess up, although that's a very harsh ratio of risk to gain) and from having better luck with enemies (i.e. not having to duck or wait for projectiles). Attacking enemies, especially with the Thor, may help in the last regard, as you pointed out.

I don't know whether there's anything in that list you hadn't already thought of.

Ultimortal

Edit history:

Ultimortal: 2009-09-22 04:40:25 pm

2009-09-22 02:19:40 pm

Thanks for the pointers! It's nice to get detailed feedback.

Quote from ExplodingCabbage:

* If you're not already doing this, you can save time on collecting nano by finding opportunities to kill enemies without wasting any time and get their nano. Watching back through your videos on youtube, a couple of opportunities immediately come to mind on level 2: the soldier you first pass at 2:08 (you can probably have him blow himself up as you pass the first time, and grab his nano on your second pass) and the scout near the terminal at 2:48. There are doubtless more chances even in the early levels, and once you get the rocket launcher almost every room probably provides chances for free nano.

The Scout and Soldier enemies take some time to kill without the rockets though, and only drop 2 and 4 Nano respectively - not enough for the amount of levels I'm getting. There's just enough free Nano lying around (mostly in packs of 8 and 16), and after passing Sector 5, it's all directly in my path. The only chokepoint after ~~Krotera~~ Sector 5 is at the end of Sector 9, where I must be able to afford the Velocithor.

Quote:

* On level 4 you should've performed the nanofield reboot earlier, and got the stats you need at 6:50. There's a health terminal and health pickup right in front of you at that point, so you can still take a rocket hit to get through the glass a moment later, and right after the health is a strength terminal to get the 6 strength you need for door kicking.
This would allow you to ride the shredder for longer later on.
* After not kicking the guard at 7:29, maybe swap to shotgun to shoot the glass here instead of kicking it?

Thanks, though I realized these since last time, which is what helped me save 10 seconds there. Well spotted. Smiley

After running through a Sector 20 times doing the exact same thing, it kind of starts playing on its own, swapping between the Shotgun and Resonance detonator before I get to the next obstacle.

Quote:

* Pedantic, but on level 6 at 4:08 aren't there a couple of frames to be saved by holding right and x to immediately rocket yourself on the turret behind you after using the terminal? You seem to delay firing for a couple of frames for no reason.

I remember wanting to avoid falling into the pit below, and in stead tried to land on the platform I was standing on - I half succeeded, since I landed on the ledge halfway down. I'll see what can be done there when I get to Sector 6. I'm way more of a perfectionist this time around since I'm submitting to SDA. Smiley

Quote:

Maybe possible to jump instead of ducking the plasma cannon turrets on sector X at 1:48? It's definitely possible to jump and get knocked down but end up on the level above, but I didn't test jumping immediately.

If it's possible to jump immediately, I'll have to try a few times first - I don't want to do a frame-perfect trick at the end of that horrible Sector. Tongue

If I need to crack something at the start of a level, I mash through it and restart until I get it, since restarting it easier this time. I tend to be careful further into the levels though, it costs more time to fail a crack than go slowly.

The run so far:
Improved Sector 1 from 1:23 to 1:22
Improved Sector 2 from 2:25 to 2:24
Improved Sector 3 from 1:54 to 1:52
Krotera is the same: 0:08
Improved Sector 4 from 2:20 to 2:10
Improved Sector 5 from 2:47 to 2:45 (this sector is ridiculous!)
Asha is the same: 0:03

EDIT: I realised my sound settings had too much bass, which ruined the sound whenever the Komato fired their Pulse cannons. Now I have to redo Sector 5 and use the new settings from here on. Yesz.

Thanks for the pointers! It's nice to get detailed feedback.

[quote="ExplodingCabbage"]
* If you're not already doing this, you can save time on collecting nano by finding opportunities to kill enemies without wasting any time and get their nano. Watching back through your videos on youtube, a couple of opportunities immediately come to mind on level 2: the soldier you first pass at 2:08 (you can probably have him blow himself up as you pass the first time, and grab his nano on your second pass) and the scout near the terminal at 2:48. There are doubtless more chances even in the early levels, and once you get the rocket launcher almost every room probably provides chances for free nano.[/quote]
The Scout and Soldier enemies take some time to kill without the rockets though, and only drop 2 and 4 Nano respectively - not enough for the amount of levels I'm getting. There's just enough free Nano lying around (mostly in packs of 8 and 16), and after passing Sector 5, it's all directly in my path. The only chokepoint after [s]Krotera[/s] Sector 5 is at the end of Sector 9, where I must be able to afford the Velocithor.

[quote]* On level 4 you should've performed the nanofield reboot earlier, and got the stats you need at 6:50. There's a health terminal and health pickup right in front of you at that point, so you can still take a rocket hit to get through the glass a moment later, and right after the health is a strength terminal to get the 6 strength you need for door kicking.
This would allow you to ride the shredder for longer later on.
* After not kicking the guard at 7:29, maybe swap to shotgun to shoot the glass here instead of kicking it?
[/quote]
Thanks, though I realized these since last time, which is what helped me save 10 seconds there. Well spotted. :) After running through a Sector 20 times doing the exact same thing, it kind of starts playing on its own, swapping between the Shotgun and Resonance detonator before I get to the next obstacle.

[quote]* Pedantic, but on level 6 at 4:08 aren't there a couple of frames to be saved by holding right and x to immediately rocket yourself on the turret behind you after using the terminal? You seem to delay firing for a couple of frames for no reason.[/quote]
I remember wanting to avoid falling into the pit below, and in stead tried to land on the platform I was standing on - I half succeeded, since I landed on the ledge halfway down. I'll see what can be done there when I get to Sector 6. I'm way more of a perfectionist this time around since I'm submitting to SDA. :)

[quote]Maybe possible to jump instead of ducking the plasma cannon turrets on sector X at 1:48? It's definitely possible to jump and get knocked down but end up on the level above, but I didn't test jumping immediately.[/quote]
If it's possible to jump immediately, I'll have to try a few times first - I don't want to do a frame-perfect trick at the end of that horrible Sector. :P

If I need to crack something at the start of a level, I mash through it and restart until I get it, since restarting it easier this time. I tend to be careful further into the levels though, it costs more time to fail a crack than go slowly.

The run so far:
Improved Sector 1 from 1:23 to 1:22
Improved Sector 2 from 2:25 to 2:24
Improved Sector 3 from 1:54 to 1:52
Krotera is the same: 0:08
Improved Sector 4 from 2:20 to 2:10
Improved Sector 5 from 2:47 to 2:45 (this sector is ridiculous!)
Asha is the same: 0:03

EDIT: I realised my sound settings had too much bass, which ruined the sound whenever the Komato fired their Pulse cannons. Now I have to redo Sector 5 and use the new settings from here on. Yesz.

ExplodingCabbage

Edit history:

ExplodingCabbage: 2009-09-22 06:02:21 pm

2009-09-22 05:30:33 pm

Quote from Ultimortal:

Thanks for the pointers! It's nice to get detailed feedback.

Quote from ExplodingCabbage:

* If you're not already doing this, you can save time on collecting nano by finding opportunities to kill enemies without wasting any time and get their nano. Watching back through your videos on youtube, a couple of opportunities immediately come to mind on level 2: the soldier you first pass at 2:08 (you can probably have him blow himself up as you pass the first time, and grab his nano on your second pass) and the scout near the terminal at 2:48. There are doubtless more chances even in the early levels, and once you get the rocket launcher almost every room probably provides chances for free nano.

The Scout and Soldier enemies take some time to kill without the rockets though, and only drop 2 and 4 Nano respectively - not enough for the amount of levels I'm getting. There's just enough free Nano lying around (mostly in packs of 8 and 16), and after passing Sector 5, it's all directly in my path. The only chokepoint after ~~Krotera~~ Sector 5 is at the end of Sector 9, where I must be able to afford the Velocithor.

Hmm. Well, assuming that the Sector 9 chokepoint will take care of itself, we need only worry about the Sector 5 one. You have 4 nano more than you need when you get there in the current run, which means that if you can gather 12 nano from enemies, you can skip getting one lot of 16 nano, which should easily let you save a second. I think that it should be comfortably possible to get ahold of an extra 12 nano just by killing enemies while on the run - I've found 10 nano worth of extra kills that are easily doable in this way in Sectors 1-4 alone, and in Sector 5 you have the rocket launcher.

Alternatively, if you can get ahold of just 4 extra nano from dead enemies (easy!), then you can skip the 8-nano pickup you jump for at 7:36 of the first video, which will save you over a second, or the slightly less bad one at 5:37 - assuming those pickups haven't already been revised out of your nano collection plan.

Quote:

* On level 4 you should've performed the nanofield reboot earlier, and got the stats you need at 6:50. There's a health terminal and health pickup right in front of you at that point, so you can still take a rocket hit to get through the glass a moment later, and right after the health is a strength terminal to get the 6 strength you need for door kicking.
This would allow you to ride the shredder for longer later on.
* After not kicking the guard at 7:29, maybe swap to shotgun to shoot the glass here instead of kicking it?

Thanks, though I realized these since last time, which is what helped me save 10 seconds there. Well spotted. Smiley

After running through a Sector 20 times doing the exact same thing, it kind of starts playing on its own, swapping between the Shotgun and Resonance detonator before I get to the next obstacle.

While we're on sector 4, I'm guessing you also spotted that you can jump the rocket at 7:02 instead of ducking, and that you can take the shredder over the square block instead of under it at 7:11. Wink

Quote:

* Pedantic, but on level 6 at 4:08 aren't there a couple of frames to be saved by holding right and x to immediately rocket yourself on the turret behind you after using the terminal? You seem to delay firing for a couple of frames for no reason.

I remember wanting to avoid falling into the pit below, and in stead tried to land on the platform I was standing on - I half succeeded, since I landed on the ledge halfway down. I'll see what can be done there when I get to Sector 6. I'm way more of a perfectionist this time around since I'm submitting to SDA. Smiley

Aha, that didn't occur to me at all. Well at any rate, it's still faster to go to the right after hitting the terminal, since you're closer to the turret there. Wink

And in case you don't already know this, I just found that if you run into one of the turrets and fire while clipping with it, the explosion will blow you forwards, letting you land not on the platform you're standing on but on the ledge you jumped to it from (with the teleporter on it), which I figure is just as good?

At the start of the same level, I'm pretty sure that just rocketing the explosive crate is about half a second faster than your fancy jump-and-tech method. But I'm stupid, so check. Wink

Quote:

The run so far:
Improved Sector 1 from 1:23 to 1:22
Improved Sector 2 from 2:25 to 2:24
Improved Sector 3 from 1:54 to 1:52
Krotera is the same: 0:08
Improved Sector 4 from 2:20 to 2:10
Improved Sector 5 from 2:47 to 2:45 (this sector is ridiculous!)
Asha is the same: 0:03

Crikey, talk about quick progress.

Edit: Aha, a new improvement. Sector 2, after getting the jump upgrade. I was able to save about a second by going back to the commander, letting him kill me, and taking the lift down from the respawn point, instead of just going to teleporter. Admittedly, I'd already let myself lose 1 health so I could be killed in a single swipe, and there is the momentary confusion in your video which costs another fraction of a second. On the other hand, I didn't have an optimal death - I landed way down on the floor instead of, say, up where the window was. And even more time may be savable by getting lucky and having the commander fire a rocket just as you approach, meaning no prep time to lose the first health point and time saved having to go all the way up to him and let him swipe at you. I think there's definitely a second or two to be saved here with optimal play.

[quote="Ultimortal"]
Thanks for the pointers! It's nice to get detailed feedback.

[quote="ExplodingCabbage"]* If you're not already doing this, you can save time on collecting nano by finding opportunities to kill enemies without wasting any time and get their nano. Watching back through your videos on youtube, a couple of opportunities immediately come to mind on level 2: the soldier you first pass at 2:08 (you can probably have him blow himself up as you pass the first time, and grab his nano on your second pass) and the scout near the terminal at 2:48. There are doubtless more chances even in the early levels, and once you get the rocket launcher almost every room probably provides chances for free nano.[/quote]
The Scout and Soldier enemies take some time to kill without the rockets though, and only drop 2 and 4 Nano respectively - not enough for the amount of levels I'm getting. There's just enough free Nano lying around (mostly in packs of 8 and 16), and after passing Sector 5, it's all directly in my path. The only chokepoint after [s]Krotera[/s] Sector 5 is at the end of Sector 9, where I must be able to afford the Velocithor.[/quote]

Hmm. Well, assuming that the Sector 9 chokepoint will take care of itself, we need only worry about the Sector 5 one. You have 4 nano more than you need when you get there in the current run, which means that if you can gather 12 nano from enemies, you can skip getting one lot of 16 nano, which should easily let you save a second. I think that it should be comfortably possible to get ahold of an extra 12 nano just by killing enemies while on the run - I've found 10 nano worth of extra kills that are easily doable in this way in Sectors 1-4 alone, and in Sector 5 you have the rocket launcher.

Alternatively, if you can get ahold of just 4 extra nano from dead enemies (easy!), then you can skip the 8-nano pickup you jump for at 7:36 of the first video, which will save you over a second, or the slightly less bad one at 5:37 - assuming those pickups haven't already been revised out of your nano collection plan.

[quote][quote]* On level 4 you should've performed the nanofield reboot earlier, and got the stats you need at 6:50. There's a health terminal and health pickup right in front of you at that point, so you can still take a rocket hit to get through the glass a moment later, and right after the health is a strength terminal to get the 6 strength you need for door kicking.
This would allow you to ride the shredder for longer later on.
* After not kicking the guard at 7:29, maybe swap to shotgun to shoot the glass here instead of kicking it?
[/quote]
Thanks, though I realized these since last time, which is what helped me save 10 seconds there. Well spotted. :) After running through a Sector 20 times doing the exact same thing, it kind of starts playing on its own, swapping between the Shotgun and Resonance detonator before I get to the next obstacle.[/quote]

While we're on sector 4, I'm guessing you also spotted that you can jump the rocket at 7:02 instead of ducking, and that you can take the shredder over the square block instead of under it at 7:11. ;)

[quote][quote]* Pedantic, but on level 6 at 4:08 aren't there a couple of frames to be saved by holding right and x to immediately rocket yourself on the turret behind you after using the terminal? You seem to delay firing for a couple of frames for no reason.[/quote]
I remember wanting to avoid falling into the pit below, and in stead tried to land on the platform I was standing on - I half succeeded, since I landed on the ledge halfway down. I'll see what can be done there when I get to Sector 6. I'm way more of a perfectionist this time around since I'm submitting to SDA. :)[/quote]

Aha, that didn't occur to me at all. Well at any rate, it's still faster to go to the right after hitting the terminal, since you're closer to the turret there. ;) And in case you don't already know this, I just found that if you run into one of the turrets and fire while clipping with it, the explosion will blow you [i]forwards[/i], letting you land not on the platform you're standing on but on the ledge you jumped to it from (with the teleporter on it), which I figure is just as good?

At the start of the same level, I'm pretty sure that just rocketing the explosive crate is about half a second faster than your fancy jump-and-tech method. But I'm stupid, so check. ;)

[quote]The run so far:
Improved Sector 1 from 1:23 to 1:22
Improved Sector 2 from 2:25 to 2:24
Improved Sector 3 from 1:54 to 1:52
Krotera is the same: 0:08
Improved Sector 4 from 2:20 to 2:10
Improved Sector 5 from 2:47 to 2:45 (this sector is ridiculous!)
Asha is the same: 0:03[/quote]

Crikey, talk about quick progress.

Edit: Aha, a new improvement. Sector 2, after getting the jump upgrade. I was able to save about a second by going back to the commander, letting him kill me, and taking the lift down from the respawn point, instead of just going to teleporter. Admittedly, I'd already let myself lose 1 health so I could be killed in a single swipe, and there is the momentary confusion in your video which costs another fraction of a second. On the other hand, I didn't have an optimal death - I landed way down on the floor instead of, say, up where the window was. And even more time may be savable by getting lucky and having the commander fire a rocket just as you approach, meaning no prep time to lose the first health point and time saved having to go all the way up to him and let him swipe at you. I think there's definitely a second or two to be saved here with optimal play.