Edit history:
Thinkshooter: 2014-08-02 07:34:09 am
Thinkshooter: 2011-02-26 06:12:59 am
Thinkshooter: 2011-02-26 06:12:20 am
Thinkshooter: 2011-02-26 06:10:37 am
Thinkshooter: 2011-02-26 06:07:38 am
Thinkshooter: 2011-02-26 06:05:08 am
Thinkshooter: 2010-08-12 07:10:46 pm
Runs: FCP, FC3, XWA, HD1-2, KotOR1-2
Hi all. It took a while but my KotOR II Done Quick speedrun has finally been released. Hope you'll find it worth the wait!
The speedrun was made on a PC on normal difficulty. You can watch it at the KotOR II Done Quick page on my Youtube channel. Also available on the KotOR II game page or the KotOR II speedrun watch / download page here on SDA. As before, if you want to be able to see every detail & read all text and scores, I recommend at least High Quality.
Thanks to the SDA crew and the verifiers for helping my run see the light of day!
Here's the science behind some of the weirdness you can see in the run:
Trigger line skipping
When the currently controlled character reaches trigger lines in the game, sequences such as cutscenes and fights are triggered. Under certain conditions, it's possible to send another party member beyond this line without tripping the trigger. You can then switch to him / her and continue and thus avoid the time consuming sequence.
I've found three ways to do this.
1) Go to solo mode, run close to the trigger line, kick a party member and then add him back to the team. If you approached the line the ideal way, sometimes the game places him just beyond the trigger line. Switch to him and continue past the line.
2) Leave a party member behind and go to solo mode. Stand close to the trigger line, turn around in an arc and deactivate solo mode. It helps if the other party member is far enough, or beyond an obstacle. But even if he isn't, he will often *teleport* (rather than run) to you. Sometimes he will teleport beyond the trigger line. Switch to him and continue.
3) Run close to a trigger line and quickly turn around. Other party members following you will sometimes "fling" past the trigger line.
You'll see an example of each of these methods in the run.
This trick may have some side effects. For example on Peragus, skipping the line that triggers the Kreia vs. Darth Sion duel leaves Kreia in the party.
Script breaking with save/load
Many cutscenes and some fights start just after a level load, or immediately after another cutscene or dialog. Right before this new cutscene kicks in and the game engine takes over, you sometimes have a split second to save the game. (The simplest is to quicksave.) After you reload this save, the game forgets about the cutscene or fight and you can continue on your way. The SDA rules page says cutscenes should be skipped if possible -- this is a very simple trick to do just that. By strategically placing segment boundaries at these points, I skipped some useless cutscenes and a few non-essential battles.
This trick may occasionally have side effects. On Korriban, saving/loading right after the Sith Academy level is loaded skips a cutscene with Darth Sion. But because I broke the sequence, Sion remains in the central room. (He is not in combat mode, although you could pick a fight by talking to him, which I obviously didn't do
).
Trayus Academy is similar. After I approach the entrance, I break the script with a save / load so there's no Mira vs. Hanharr fight, and, more importantly, a Darth Sion cutscene is skipped. Since "Cutscene Darth Sion" never plays his role, he remains in the room as an artifact after I kill the real Darth Sion 4 times.
On the Ravager, saving just after the level load and before the cutscene leaves you without your party. Visas, a mandatory companion on the Ravager, is missing. After I kill Darth Nihilus properly, his health goes to zero, but the death animation never kicks in because Visas would have a line there and the game is waiting for her to speak. I had to save/load after the fight with Nihilus to break out of this stuck sequence. Thankfully the game registers Nihilus' death (otherwise it wouldn't let me off the Ravager).
Freedon Nadd tomb skip
This trick is specific to this location. After the party enter the building, Visas can ask Xarga about the tomb. Normally she would have to go on, open the door and fight Sith enemies. Then Xarga would appear and when they talk again, Visas would ask "And what happened to K2DQ?" and then the story would continue at the hangar on Dxun.
If, after asking about the tomb, you are quick enough and immediately talk to Xarga again as he walks off, Visas can ask him what happened to K2DQ and the game will continue on Dxun, skipping the rest of the action in the tomb.
These are the tricks and glitches that I newly discovered. But I employed plenty of others that were found by other players or are standard KotOR II features. If something is not clear, ask away and I'll reply as my time allows. If you notice any missed shortcuts, I'd love to hear it!
Watch for another exciting KotOR II announcement in the near future.
The speedrun was made on a PC on normal difficulty. You can watch it at the KotOR II Done Quick page on my Youtube channel. Also available on the KotOR II game page or the KotOR II speedrun watch / download page here on SDA. As before, if you want to be able to see every detail & read all text and scores, I recommend at least High Quality.
Thanks to the SDA crew and the verifiers for helping my run see the light of day!
Here's the science behind some of the weirdness you can see in the run:
Trigger line skipping
When the currently controlled character reaches trigger lines in the game, sequences such as cutscenes and fights are triggered. Under certain conditions, it's possible to send another party member beyond this line without tripping the trigger. You can then switch to him / her and continue and thus avoid the time consuming sequence.
I've found three ways to do this.
1) Go to solo mode, run close to the trigger line, kick a party member and then add him back to the team. If you approached the line the ideal way, sometimes the game places him just beyond the trigger line. Switch to him and continue past the line.
2) Leave a party member behind and go to solo mode. Stand close to the trigger line, turn around in an arc and deactivate solo mode. It helps if the other party member is far enough, or beyond an obstacle. But even if he isn't, he will often *teleport* (rather than run) to you. Sometimes he will teleport beyond the trigger line. Switch to him and continue.
3) Run close to a trigger line and quickly turn around. Other party members following you will sometimes "fling" past the trigger line.
You'll see an example of each of these methods in the run.
This trick may have some side effects. For example on Peragus, skipping the line that triggers the Kreia vs. Darth Sion duel leaves Kreia in the party.
Script breaking with save/load
Many cutscenes and some fights start just after a level load, or immediately after another cutscene or dialog. Right before this new cutscene kicks in and the game engine takes over, you sometimes have a split second to save the game. (The simplest is to quicksave.) After you reload this save, the game forgets about the cutscene or fight and you can continue on your way. The SDA rules page says cutscenes should be skipped if possible -- this is a very simple trick to do just that. By strategically placing segment boundaries at these points, I skipped some useless cutscenes and a few non-essential battles.
This trick may occasionally have side effects. On Korriban, saving/loading right after the Sith Academy level is loaded skips a cutscene with Darth Sion. But because I broke the sequence, Sion remains in the central room. (He is not in combat mode, although you could pick a fight by talking to him, which I obviously didn't do
Trayus Academy is similar. After I approach the entrance, I break the script with a save / load so there's no Mira vs. Hanharr fight, and, more importantly, a Darth Sion cutscene is skipped. Since "Cutscene Darth Sion" never plays his role, he remains in the room as an artifact after I kill the real Darth Sion 4 times.
On the Ravager, saving just after the level load and before the cutscene leaves you without your party. Visas, a mandatory companion on the Ravager, is missing. After I kill Darth Nihilus properly, his health goes to zero, but the death animation never kicks in because Visas would have a line there and the game is waiting for her to speak. I had to save/load after the fight with Nihilus to break out of this stuck sequence. Thankfully the game registers Nihilus' death (otherwise it wouldn't let me off the Ravager).
Freedon Nadd tomb skip
This trick is specific to this location. After the party enter the building, Visas can ask Xarga about the tomb. Normally she would have to go on, open the door and fight Sith enemies. Then Xarga would appear and when they talk again, Visas would ask "And what happened to K2DQ?" and then the story would continue at the hangar on Dxun.
If, after asking about the tomb, you are quick enough and immediately talk to Xarga again as he walks off, Visas can ask him what happened to K2DQ and the game will continue on Dxun, skipping the rest of the action in the tomb.
These are the tricks and glitches that I newly discovered. But I employed plenty of others that were found by other players or are standard KotOR II features. If something is not clear, ask away and I'll reply as my time allows. If you notice any missed shortcuts, I'd love to hear it!
Watch for another exciting KotOR II announcement in the near future.
Thread title: