1-Up!
Game Page: http://speeddemosarchive.com/Mafia.html
Mafia (Any %) (Segmented)
Verifier Responses
IIRC, Steve0 canceled his submission post-verification.
Decision: Accept
Reason: Crazy as it can be sometimes, we'll allow as many segments as a runner chooses
Congratulations to 'Chris-X!'
Mafia (Any %) (Segmented)
Verifier Responses
Quote:
A/V: Fine, good brightness levels.
Cheating: none detected
Commentary: Maybe ask if you could use Steve0's comments (if he made any) or write something more about some of the more critical choices made throughout the run. How is it different from the last SDA run?
Timing: Do you time from when the runner gains control at the start of each segment to when the autosave occurs? That cuts off a few seconds off the beginning and end of most segments, but I won't do the maths yet until this is confirmed.
Since Steve0's run never was never uploaded, I'm using SmiLeeDe's run (found on Youtube) for comparison. I was looking for an improved time on right about everything. Was anyone verifying Steve0's submission? How does the runner compare to him? What's this about skipping the hotel keys?
From the most recent Mafia thread on SDA https://forum.speeddemosarchive.com/post/mafia_the_city_of_lost_heaven26.html, Goggen mentions a trick to cancel weapon reloading (rolling or just jumping from a standstill). Was this ever used in this run? Would it have saved time anywhere?
Overall it seems some of the cutscenes (even ones counted in the timing, i.e. in the middle of segments) are not skipped as fast as in SmiLeDee's run. Don't know if SmiLe edited his videos though. Shooting and driving are good.
Seg 11 - The arrival at the Hoboken restaurant isn't the smoothest, might have cost a couple seconds, but it's a long segment though.
Seg 14 Looked like you could've driven a little closer to the gate while Bobby opens it for you.
Seg 35-36 Couple of missed shots here and there, but it looks like you need luck not to get killed. Killing the police isn't all that efficient, but the next event is on a timer so it doesn't matter.
Seg 42-43 The airport part of Omerta: I'm not quite convinced the runner chose the right strategy here. It doesn't even look like perfect execution in SmiLee, but it's equally fast. SmiLee takes the Falconer parked next to where Frank gets manacled even if he needs to pick the lock first. It makes driving inside the airport faster.
From the start of the airport section to when Frank starts running from behind the counter, both runners are equally quick, however the submitter took more damage and had to get the medicine. It takes 1:05 to get from after the Frank running cutscene ends to the getting manacled cutscene. Lots of mobsters are left alive. Smilee took 1:07, but there were less gangsters left (which helps later?). Smilee took 1:02 to get to when you're asked to go get the tickets but that included picking the Falconer's lock. Submitter took 0:58. Smilee took 1:16 to deliver the tickets to them. Submitter took 1:22 even though he uses handbreaking to turn the truck around before stepping out. Getting out of the airport: Smilee 48s, submitter 51s, but the submitter has to run all the way across the parking lot to get to the Bolt-Thrower.
So these segments should be reviewed IMO. Second opinions? I think the first fight could go smoother and the old Falconer strat should be considered unless a clear advantage can be demonstrated using this one.
Seg 46-47 Probably not the best luck you could get but good enough.
Seg 50 Submitter and SmiLee had similar times for exiting the parking hall, but to me SmiLee's strategy of taking the stairs up and down seemed like it might have been faster as a strategy, because it attracts all the mobsters to you without having to go to them so much. SmiLee also has more efficient shooting. Just compare how quickly he manages to blow up the first few cars. SmiLee loses time to bad luck on the 2 guys inside the chicken wire cage and gets stuck on the blown-up cars afterwards. Was the grenade really needed? I think SmiLee even loses some time in the very end cause he thinks there's another guy somewhere on the bottom floor but can't find him. So this is another segment I feel could be done better.
Did anyone notice similar places elsewhere where the shooting was more accurate than necessary?
Seg 52 The trigger for the cutscene for arriving at Pepe's seems to vary quite a lot with the different videos I watched of playthroughs. The submitter gets an extra line of dialogue (and even has time to exit the car) before it enters the cutscene, whereas others (running various language versions) have that happen already as they're approaching the restaurant. Does anyone know what that's about?
Seg 55 Not the smoothest for such a short segment - missing a pump-action shot, but maybe getting the two guys with one shot compensates for that.
Seg 58 Succeeding with such a risky strategy makes this a highlight.
Seg 60 Starting the car early is a nice little detail.
Seg 70-71 I'm guessing it's not possible to kill Morello before exiting the city. This works out well.
Seg 77 Turns out his parking the getaway car was indeed where needed to be.
Seg 86 Looks like it's probably possible to get a fast car even quicker. At the door SmiLee 0:47, runner 1:01. What would probably be even faster is drive the car up, get out, knock (starts a 20-sec sequence to open the door), then turn the car around and leave it running. Looks like you might right about have the time to do that then get to the door right as it's opening. An unfortunate little crash at around 4:00, but by the time the runner reaches Paulie, he's gained about 20 seconds just in driving time, the car being faster. When they get to the bank it's another 17 or so seconds gained so looks like there's a net gain in going for a faster car.
Seg 87 Slightly bad luck with the guards near the vault, otherwise quite smooth.
Seg 88 Saved more time on routing/faster car. At this point I was certain Paulie was voiced by Hitler.
Seg 90 Getting the Lassiter again saves time though arriving at the museum involves a semi-crash.
Seg 91 Unfortunately the music messes up here (in-game).
All the segments I didn't list above I thought were as quick or quicker than SmiLeeDe's comparison run. I'm strongly leaning towards accepting this on the Mafia page, because the old run has moments where bad turns into hilarious (it's how my granpa would've run the game, in the most endearing sense possible Smiley ). I'd like to hear the runner's comments on the following though: Did he consult RevEn/see his [unfinished] run? How about SMC's old and new [unfinished] run? Apparently he saw Steve0's. Are the non-Bolt Thrower bits at least as fast in Steve0's run (unless ridiculous luck was involved somewhere)? The airport part of "Omerta" (see above, segments 42-43)? Segment 50? Segment 52, the trigger for the cutscene at the end, any ideas why it's like that in your run? What difficulty setting are you using anyway? Bull3t's post on the Mafia thread: "One question that comes to mind are the small differences between first loading a mission and then retrying a mission." Is there such a difference (in a car already running) and are you using it? How about using a wheel controller to drive like was it RevEn apparently suggested?
And again I don't personally need this run to be perfect, because it's still so much better than the old run. I'd just like this stuff to be cleared out for future runners' sake. Also there was some discussion about what language the game should be played in... I won't reject a run just cause it's in a "foreign" language, but perhaps the English version should be the default choice, because it's the original language and cause typically games have better voice acting in the original language they were published in... and most people know English.
So I'm eager to hear what other verifiers or the runner has to say about these things, but it won't affect my verdict.
Accept
Cheating: none detected
Commentary: Maybe ask if you could use Steve0's comments (if he made any) or write something more about some of the more critical choices made throughout the run. How is it different from the last SDA run?
Timing: Do you time from when the runner gains control at the start of each segment to when the autosave occurs? That cuts off a few seconds off the beginning and end of most segments, but I won't do the maths yet until this is confirmed.
Since Steve0's run never was never uploaded, I'm using SmiLeeDe's run (found on Youtube) for comparison. I was looking for an improved time on right about everything. Was anyone verifying Steve0's submission? How does the runner compare to him? What's this about skipping the hotel keys?
From the most recent Mafia thread on SDA https://forum.speeddemosarchive.com/post/mafia_the_city_of_lost_heaven26.html, Goggen mentions a trick to cancel weapon reloading (rolling or just jumping from a standstill). Was this ever used in this run? Would it have saved time anywhere?
Overall it seems some of the cutscenes (even ones counted in the timing, i.e. in the middle of segments) are not skipped as fast as in SmiLeDee's run. Don't know if SmiLe edited his videos though. Shooting and driving are good.
Seg 11 - The arrival at the Hoboken restaurant isn't the smoothest, might have cost a couple seconds, but it's a long segment though.
Seg 14 Looked like you could've driven a little closer to the gate while Bobby opens it for you.
Seg 35-36 Couple of missed shots here and there, but it looks like you need luck not to get killed. Killing the police isn't all that efficient, but the next event is on a timer so it doesn't matter.
Seg 42-43 The airport part of Omerta: I'm not quite convinced the runner chose the right strategy here. It doesn't even look like perfect execution in SmiLee, but it's equally fast. SmiLee takes the Falconer parked next to where Frank gets manacled even if he needs to pick the lock first. It makes driving inside the airport faster.
From the start of the airport section to when Frank starts running from behind the counter, both runners are equally quick, however the submitter took more damage and had to get the medicine. It takes 1:05 to get from after the Frank running cutscene ends to the getting manacled cutscene. Lots of mobsters are left alive. Smilee took 1:07, but there were less gangsters left (which helps later?). Smilee took 1:02 to get to when you're asked to go get the tickets but that included picking the Falconer's lock. Submitter took 0:58. Smilee took 1:16 to deliver the tickets to them. Submitter took 1:22 even though he uses handbreaking to turn the truck around before stepping out. Getting out of the airport: Smilee 48s, submitter 51s, but the submitter has to run all the way across the parking lot to get to the Bolt-Thrower.
So these segments should be reviewed IMO. Second opinions? I think the first fight could go smoother and the old Falconer strat should be considered unless a clear advantage can be demonstrated using this one.
Seg 46-47 Probably not the best luck you could get but good enough.
Seg 50 Submitter and SmiLee had similar times for exiting the parking hall, but to me SmiLee's strategy of taking the stairs up and down seemed like it might have been faster as a strategy, because it attracts all the mobsters to you without having to go to them so much. SmiLee also has more efficient shooting. Just compare how quickly he manages to blow up the first few cars. SmiLee loses time to bad luck on the 2 guys inside the chicken wire cage and gets stuck on the blown-up cars afterwards. Was the grenade really needed? I think SmiLee even loses some time in the very end cause he thinks there's another guy somewhere on the bottom floor but can't find him. So this is another segment I feel could be done better.
Did anyone notice similar places elsewhere where the shooting was more accurate than necessary?
Seg 52 The trigger for the cutscene for arriving at Pepe's seems to vary quite a lot with the different videos I watched of playthroughs. The submitter gets an extra line of dialogue (and even has time to exit the car) before it enters the cutscene, whereas others (running various language versions) have that happen already as they're approaching the restaurant. Does anyone know what that's about?
Seg 55 Not the smoothest for such a short segment - missing a pump-action shot, but maybe getting the two guys with one shot compensates for that.
Seg 58 Succeeding with such a risky strategy makes this a highlight.
Seg 60 Starting the car early is a nice little detail.
Seg 70-71 I'm guessing it's not possible to kill Morello before exiting the city. This works out well.
Seg 77 Turns out his parking the getaway car was indeed where needed to be.
Seg 86 Looks like it's probably possible to get a fast car even quicker. At the door SmiLee 0:47, runner 1:01. What would probably be even faster is drive the car up, get out, knock (starts a 20-sec sequence to open the door), then turn the car around and leave it running. Looks like you might right about have the time to do that then get to the door right as it's opening. An unfortunate little crash at around 4:00, but by the time the runner reaches Paulie, he's gained about 20 seconds just in driving time, the car being faster. When they get to the bank it's another 17 or so seconds gained so looks like there's a net gain in going for a faster car.
Seg 87 Slightly bad luck with the guards near the vault, otherwise quite smooth.
Seg 88 Saved more time on routing/faster car. At this point I was certain Paulie was voiced by Hitler.
Seg 90 Getting the Lassiter again saves time though arriving at the museum involves a semi-crash.
Seg 91 Unfortunately the music messes up here (in-game).
All the segments I didn't list above I thought were as quick or quicker than SmiLeeDe's comparison run. I'm strongly leaning towards accepting this on the Mafia page, because the old run has moments where bad turns into hilarious (it's how my granpa would've run the game, in the most endearing sense possible Smiley ). I'd like to hear the runner's comments on the following though: Did he consult RevEn/see his [unfinished] run? How about SMC's old and new [unfinished] run? Apparently he saw Steve0's. Are the non-Bolt Thrower bits at least as fast in Steve0's run (unless ridiculous luck was involved somewhere)? The airport part of "Omerta" (see above, segments 42-43)? Segment 50? Segment 52, the trigger for the cutscene at the end, any ideas why it's like that in your run? What difficulty setting are you using anyway? Bull3t's post on the Mafia thread: "One question that comes to mind are the small differences between first loading a mission and then retrying a mission." Is there such a difference (in a car already running) and are you using it? How about using a wheel controller to drive like was it RevEn apparently suggested?
And again I don't personally need this run to be perfect, because it's still so much better than the old run. I'd just like this stuff to be cleared out for future runners' sake. Also there was some discussion about what language the game should be played in... I won't reject a run just cause it's in a "foreign" language, but perhaps the English version should be the default choice, because it's the original language and cause typically games have better voice acting in the original language they were published in... and most people know English.
So I'm eager to hear what other verifiers or the runner has to say about these things, but it won't affect my verdict.
Accept
Quote:
I compared this run to SteveO's one which is already a strong base. (It got verified but didn't get released, lost in SDA limbo ?! it was 34mins faster than the current run on mafia page!).
The runner managed to save almost 11 more minutes ! They are mainly due to getting the hidden Bolt Thrower early in the game and neat driving.
This car is way faster than all the other cars used in the "normal" gameplay, especially in the early missions.
But the runner improved some other parts :
- Driving with the race car is faster (about 30s saved)
- Melee fight for Sarah (-20s)
- Car escape after church fight (about -40s)
- Farm Fight (about -15s)
- Last shooting party went very well in seg 91 (-25s !)
Some segments are equally fast, some are a little bit slower, the overall quality of execution is close to Steve0's.
This is a solid run, Accept.
The runner managed to save almost 11 more minutes ! They are mainly due to getting the hidden Bolt Thrower early in the game and neat driving.
This car is way faster than all the other cars used in the "normal" gameplay, especially in the early missions.
But the runner improved some other parts :
- Driving with the race car is faster (about 30s saved)
- Melee fight for Sarah (-20s)
- Car escape after church fight (about -40s)
- Farm Fight (about -15s)
- Last shooting party went very well in seg 91 (-25s !)
Some segments are equally fast, some are a little bit slower, the overall quality of execution is close to Steve0's.
This is a solid run, Accept.
IIRC, Steve0 canceled his submission post-verification.
Quote:
Video/audio: Quality is good overall, although my media player was never able to play the video in fullscreen for some reason.
Cheats: No
Pros:
- Over 10 minutes of improvements, albeit mostly due to Bolt Thrower
- First Mafia run under 3 hours
- Video quality
Cons:
- Excessive segmenting - is it really necessary to segment "safehouses", where there's very little that can go wrong? It makes the run quite annoying.
- Did not use steering wheel - I mentioned this in the Mafia thread. Since this game has a quite realistic driving model, I'm pretty sure that a steering wheel could save a nice chunk of time, probably even minutes. There are many occassions, where the runner loses speed going through a corner, because of the keyboard/gamepad that can't properly handle cars in this game. Also, I believe that in occassions, manual gearbox could be better than automatic.
- The run was rushed - The whole run feels like it was rushed. It feels like this: "Okay, I'll just do like 20 attempts of this segment and choose the fastest and the best looking one and be done with it". Segments are mostly short, yet nowhere near perfect, just "okay". Driving through corners needs to be more risky and less cautious.
- German version - Personally, I'd love to have a rule for PCs that every run must be in English if there ever was such version. It's really not a problem to "get" an English version elsewhere for free just for the run even if you legally own a different one.
Verdict: Accept, but with some reservations explained above.
Cheats: No
Pros:
- Over 10 minutes of improvements, albeit mostly due to Bolt Thrower
- First Mafia run under 3 hours
- Video quality
Cons:
- Excessive segmenting - is it really necessary to segment "safehouses", where there's very little that can go wrong? It makes the run quite annoying.
- Did not use steering wheel - I mentioned this in the Mafia thread. Since this game has a quite realistic driving model, I'm pretty sure that a steering wheel could save a nice chunk of time, probably even minutes. There are many occassions, where the runner loses speed going through a corner, because of the keyboard/gamepad that can't properly handle cars in this game. Also, I believe that in occassions, manual gearbox could be better than automatic.
- The run was rushed - The whole run feels like it was rushed. It feels like this: "Okay, I'll just do like 20 attempts of this segment and choose the fastest and the best looking one and be done with it". Segments are mostly short, yet nowhere near perfect, just "okay". Driving through corners needs to be more risky and less cautious.
- German version - Personally, I'd love to have a rule for PCs that every run must be in English if there ever was such version. It's really not a problem to "get" an English version elsewhere for free just for the run even if you legally own a different one.
Verdict: Accept, but with some reservations explained above.
Quote:
Alright, I'm going to make comments on each individual part. Although first, a couple of general comments.
- 92 parts is insane...I guess it's needed - but I'd honestly love to see a run with less parts! (One part is 17 seconds...Come on!) FOr this reason - I'm going to be ultra ULTRA nitpicky about this run. Sorry runner, but you brought this on yourself!
- Overall the run is very smooth. The addition of the "Bolt Thrower" appears to speed up the run. The runner claims 10 minutes...I wouldn't disagree!
Anyway - onto the part by part.
Part 1
- Getting rid of the rival gangster car is handled well and with no time loss incurred. A couple of the jumps maybe could have been taken slightly faster...but at the same time - the runner doesn't lose any time by going slower. It appears safer to go slow, and I can understand that.
- Plenty of shortcuts taken - of course that being a good thing.
Part 2
- The turn onto the bridge I feel could have been taken more sharply - to save a half second. In a run with less segments I wouldn't even mention this. But I feel that it should have been done.
Part 3
- Corner cutting is done very well here. a couple of places where the breaks were applied a little too much, but nothing too bad.
Part 4
- You'd think they wouldn't actually program this much random driving into the game...but still. Anyway, a couple of turns executed mildly poorly - but again, no time loss more than ~1 second - so I can't fault the runner.
Part 5
- They really love their taxi segments...My comments remain similar to those above. Very smooth, extremely minor errors. In reality, the errors are so minor they can't even be called errors! And again, I don't fault the runner here.
- The jumps off of the ledges seemed to work pretty well, I have never tried this particular method so I can't comment directly, however I feel that the jump that went awkward could have been done better. And if the segment is only 1min 52sec, a redo was in order.
Part 6
- Again, very smooth. Many tight turns executed well, a couple of turns I felt could have gone slightly better...more of the same really. Again, no fault of the runner.
Part 7
- Finally over...time to run! I remember this being virtually impossible as a kid - you just couldn't dodge all the bullets! But the runner here executes perfectly. I can't really see how this could be done any faster. There is one time where the runner gets shot and recoils, but I feel this was virtually unavoidable.
Part 8
- Runner here executes again, with great skill. A bump into a car very early on would be a reset for me in a run like this , but no significant time was lost.
- I am unsure as to the reasons for the actions performed on the bridge, as my knowledge of the tricks for this game are limited. But I think it's safe to assume there was a good reason for it!
- The Bolt Thrower is retrieved! Instantly one can see how fast this thing is, although the handling is extremely poor. I can see perfectly why it is worth acquiring this vehicle, as opposed to your default vehicles which are bleedin rubbish! (Which was my main complaint with the game as a whole! The slowness of the game...)
Part 9
- I enjoyed watching this. It was amusing. That's pretty much it.
- Bumping into a car, again I would have reset on that. It was only ~45 seconds in - thats not too far into a segment! Rest of the segment was executed extremely well though.
Part 10
- The fact you can't use the Bolt for this mission sucks - but it's understandable why.
- I feel that this segment is just redundant - one can easily continue this onwards, there was nothing hard here, just locomotion. This is just some serious over-segmentation...
Part 11
- Looking at the length of this segment now - I can understand why the previous section was done like thus - but still just don't agree.
- Major error bumping into the pole - 1 minute into the segment, that's just not cool.
- Running over old ladies in our spare time now I see?!
- The jumps off that ledge, again didn't go so well.
Part 12
- 17 Seconds...Nuff Said.
Part 13
- Another locomotion part. Again, I understand why it's being done...but please....
Part 14
- Bolt Thrower does most of the work here. And brilliantly too! Well executed part this one.
Part 15
- Another fast car to add to the arsenal. A couple of small things, but nothing significant.
Part 16
- Driving back...Same as before.
Part 17
- Another Bolt Thrower segment, well driven, smooth segment.
Part 18
- WHY IS THIS A SEGMENT? FOR GOD SAKES. You do not HAVE to segment every time the game autosaves!
Part 19
- This segment does NOT justify the previous segmentation. Just another stock standard driving stage. Well executed as usual - but still. Why was the previous segment that short? There was no reason.
Part 20
- This is a fun mission to play. The runner here takes his vehicle and pushes it to its limits. Very fun segment to watch. Also - the....shortcut...
- First lap was the worst - which puzzles me as to why the runner did not reset... Coming in at 0:59, the lap tme was a full 4 seconds off the next worst lap, 0:55. The total lap times coming to 0:59, 0:55, 0:54, 0:53 and 0:55. (The 0:53 a very exciting moment - considering that is smashed the runners old lap PB by a full second!)
Part 21
- Another standard driving segment. Nothing to see here, moving on.
Part 22
- Some major mistakes at the end of the run - but nothing too sour in between.
Part 23
- Plnety of fight here in the runner. I feel that some of it could have gone slightly better, especially in a segmented run. However I can't really fault the runner too much, as I cannot see how one could not get hit at all. (Bar TAS of course )
Part 24
- More locomotion. Get the gun, get the car...outta there.
Part 25
- Just some driving, talking to the guy...no justification here for the segmentation.
Part 26
- Another running scene. A couple of shots where just wasted, but no time loss, so no fault.
Part 27
- Very nice drive/shooting there. A solid stop to the bad guy's dasterdly affairs! Great execution of the mission.
Part 28
- More driving. Another where I felt the driving could have gone better - but I understand why the runner didn't reset in this segment.
Part 29
- This was brilliant...The greatest way to get the room key. Not very subtle - but effective.
- I'm also in love with the floating bad guy. That's just gold. Invincible while performing actions...so good.
Part 30
- Standard running segment - nothing to say here. Appropriate route was taken, no time wasted on things that didn't need to happen, etc etc.
Part 31
- I feel as if this could have been done better. A lot of shots seemed to be wasted and the like. The health probably could have been skipped with better optimisation. In a RTA run - I wouldn't mention this. But in a segmented run, it has to be said.
- To put this into context, the segment starts with 42 health. The HP pack returns the runner to 100, the segment ends with 78 health. This means that the runner only lost 22 health during the fight. Considering the segment was only a minute long - I feel this quite poor. The health pack took at least 2-3 seconds to take. Again, in a RTA I wouldn't even blink, consistency is important there. But here, the HP pack was unnecessary. Also again, I felt the shooting could have been better.
Part 32
- A chase scene! Pedal to the metal!
- This was taken really well by the runner. The police car ramming into them was unfortunate, but understandable. As far as I know, police spawns are random in the game, so nothing could be done about it. (Feel free to correct me there though)
Part 33
- Another intermission section. My comments from before remain relevant.
Part 34
- Just driving. The Bolt Thrower gets to show off a little here though, which is really fun to watch.
- A few corners could have easily been taken more aggresivly - but eh.
Part 35
- This shooting segment was better than the last, but still no where near perfect. A couple of shots were missed at point blanc range - which doesn't look good. But it's understandable as to why they were missed.
- After meeting Sam, the same applies., a couple of missed shots, but not as many. This section was better for sure. The runner got stuck on the boxes before and after getting the key (?) but it wasn't very severe.
- Picked up health pack - check next segment for comments
Part 36
- This is a great segment in my opinion. One shot with the pumpgun was missed in the barn, but it wasn't that bad. The stairs were a little hazy, but again, not too bad.
- THe fight against the police was pretty shady - I feel that health could have been saved with better pumpgun shooting. The plainclothes cop took his shots to the legs it appeared!
- RE Health packs - again, they really weren't needed. Only one was needed, but two were picked up - one in this part and one in the previous. I feel that none would be required if the runner played the police shootout a little better!
Part 37
- On rails shooter...*sigh* No way this could have been done faster or slower.
Part 38
- Driving segment - as always, nothing much to say.
Part 39
- More intermission...
Part 40
- With no shocks - just a driving segment. Standard fare here, nothing to see, moving along.
Part 41
- Driving again. Bolt Thrower really gets to shine here though, with the long country roads...well, kinda country.
Part 42
- The beginning of this was really hazy. This could have gone so much better. A good couple of shots were missed, which would have easily eliminated the need to pick up the health pack. After the initial bit though, it got better - so good segment overall.
Part 43
- This segment went really well. Shots were clean and on target, driving was good, so on and so forth.
Part 44
- Driving part 44 - the revenge, the return...erg...
Part 45
- Nice intermission you got there!
Part 46
- Driving was a little sketchy, but there are so many ways it could have gone worse, so no fault to the runner.
Part 47
- 36 second segment. Was it necessary to cut it so short...not really. It was a nice segment - although I feel the runner didn't have to crouch to shoot the first pumpgun guard. Yes it would have been less consistent, but it's a 36 second segment...
Part 48
- This was also a nice segment. This I understand why it needed to be short, it looked hard. The two guards in the doorway I feel could have been double-shotted, like the two guys outside who got shot like that. Still, great segment.
Part 49
- Back to the bar - nothing to say really...
Part 50
- This segment was probably the best shooting segment I've seen so far. A couple of things went a little awry, but nothing too major. Shooting the cars is a great strategy, the grenade worked well, although I feel the runner could have stepped back a little more to avoid getting knocked down...
- In summary, the segment wasn't perfect by any means, but it was damn good to say the least.
Part 51
- Driving around in this thing is just painful to watch in comparison to the Bolt Thrower. But still, good segment.
Part 52
- Good segment here. Looks pretty damn smooth.
Part 53
- The start of this segment is really good, but I feel the runner could have closed with the group of goons a lot more, and wasted less shots on missing. I can't fault the runner for the tommy gun recoil - it's insane! I can actually say that the runner takes the recoil very well. However simply running up may seems to me from my non-runner (of this game) perspective to be a good idea. I agree that would be risky...but it's a 36 second segment...
Part 54
- I'm unsure as to whether the train is RNG (as to whether it appears) or set. If RNG - then this segment should not have been submitted...itf it's set - then still - I'm sure it's possible to avoid being bumped at 0:23. Rest of the segment is pretty good.
Part 55
- 42 second segment...and the runner misses the first jump over the railing. Looking at the segment as a whole - this doesn't look intentional...It's too short to pass...it's stupid. Getting it first try doesn't seem like too much of an ask. (Love the double death though - hilarious)
Part 56
- Safehouse...rubbish...erg
Part 57
- Driving/locomotion segment. All seems pretty smooth though. Nothing too outstanding.
Part 58
- I don't know exactly what the trick/glitch is here, but I'm assuming that the runner is punching the guy he is supposed to kill through the door, then escaping. It seemed OK, I feel that less punches could have been used on the guy though...the escape's menu navigation could have been far faster...at least by a second.
Part 59
- SAFEHOUSE
Part 60
- Driving segment, the revenge...All seems good here, moving right along.
Part 61
- This part personifies why I hate the segmentation in this run. For the love of god, this didn't need to be a segment of its own. It could have easily been merged with the previous one...there's nothing that could cost time besides stupidity - which the runner displays none of. But seriously...this does NOT need to be a segment.
Part 62
- Driving again - nothing special.
Part 63
- Driving again...again. So much driving...
Part 64
- Oh look - more driving...GOD. THIS GAME!
Part 65
- Another driving segment. If this was me - I'd throw the damn game out the window right now. The entire game is driving.
Part 66
- Drive, release a train car...drive...get out...no comment.
Part 67
- That's brilliant...just run the guy over! With a car this bad I don't really see how this could have been done faster...so nice segment.
Part 68
- Back to the bar...so yeah - driving. A couple more hiccups than usual, but still, nothing stand-up.
Part 69
- The runner actually gets stuck on the wall in the beginning...oh please...The rest is just another safehouse segment...
Part 70
- More driving...but with the most hilarious out-of-car-shooting animations ever. I mean look at those guys! There's something wrong with their wrists!
Part 71
- Yep - kills the guy, turns around. Short, sharp and to the point.
Part 72
- Back to the bar again, no surprises here
Part 73
- Do that safehouse...
Part 74
- Drive - go into sewer...woop. Not exactly riveting.
Part 75
- This is a segment I can get down with! The shooty-actiony scene is played out brilliantly. The runner misses one shot which looks ugly - but the rest of it more than makes up for it. Personally, I would have re done the segment until I got a perfect sequence with NO missed shots. But, as I said, it's pretty good.
Part 76
- Great segment...it's so short...but still, smooth.
Part 77
- Back to the bar. The end seems a little poor - but still pretty good.
Part 78
- That safehouse segment...
Part 79
- This new car is pretty cool...Works well with this segment.
Part 80
- Some of the menu mashing could have been a little better - but still, a god segment overall.
Part 81
- Get in, load the boxes, get out. Seems good to me...
Part 82
- Drivin' the booze out to the thingy place...yeah, if you can't tell, the driving segments are wearing on me.
Part 83
- WHY DOES THIS SEGMENT EXIST
Part 84
- Oh my god - this 7 minute segment...this has to be the longest. Also - by god, these mechanics. This game just sucks when it comes down to flow...flow is not following a walking person for a couple of minutes, getting on the tram, and the entire thing lasting 7 minutes. No fault on the runner though - of course - perfect execution.
Part 85
- Not even anything to critique...
Part 86
- Pretty much just driving...pretty good, nothing amazingly wrong or right - just another driving segment. (Another long one though!)
Part 87
- This is another segment I can get behind. Near the end there was a bit of hesitation with some shots. But still, it was a really good segment, and it didn't LOOK bad, if that makes any sense.
Part 88
- Great segment with all the...talking...and driving. Nothing wrong here though.
Part 89
- Another stupidly short segment...
Part 90
- Driving to the destination. The...final destination if you will.
Part 91
- Nice trick with the grenade near the start. With the tommy gun comes power. With the pump gun comes efficiency.
- Some shots missed, plenty of hesitation. This is another one I feel could have been done better. I don't know why it wasn't.
- Overall though, it was a good segment, it's just the little things that grind my gear.
Part 92
- Seems pretty perfect here.
To conclude, this run is really good - but with this many segments, I feel that it could have been at least a minute faster. Another verifier said that a "few minutes" could be saved in the driving segments if the runner used a driving wheel. I personally disagree, but I do agree that a good chunk could be saved.
Most noteably - the shooting segments. With a couple of exceptions, there was always a missed shot or two, which just looks sloppy as hell when you're talking about a run 92 segments long. The run isn't like it's 10 hours. Average segment is about a minute and a half...some more and some less.
The segmentation also grinds my gears. The 20 second segments of just walking down stairs...the segmentation of the safehouses. I get that the runner is just segmenting every time the game quick saves...but it just looks stupid to ACTUALLY DO IT. You don't have to do so - I see no reason for many segmentations...this doesn't factor into my decision, but still, it's just mania to actually see this many segments. One day - perhaps someone could cut it down to 50 segments or less?
Either way, this is an ACCEPT from me. It's still a really smooth run, with exception to that noted above. It's a great run with great exception overall. I'd love to see the runner merge some segments and re-do most of the shooting segments. But again, overall, good run.
Edit: I forgot in all this excitement I forgot two very important things!
A/V quality was pretty damn good - no problems here.
No cheating perceived.
- 92 parts is insane...I guess it's needed - but I'd honestly love to see a run with less parts! (One part is 17 seconds...Come on!) FOr this reason - I'm going to be ultra ULTRA nitpicky about this run. Sorry runner, but you brought this on yourself!
- Overall the run is very smooth. The addition of the "Bolt Thrower" appears to speed up the run. The runner claims 10 minutes...I wouldn't disagree!
Anyway - onto the part by part.
Part 1
- Getting rid of the rival gangster car is handled well and with no time loss incurred. A couple of the jumps maybe could have been taken slightly faster...but at the same time - the runner doesn't lose any time by going slower. It appears safer to go slow, and I can understand that.
- Plenty of shortcuts taken - of course that being a good thing.
Part 2
- The turn onto the bridge I feel could have been taken more sharply - to save a half second. In a run with less segments I wouldn't even mention this. But I feel that it should have been done.
Part 3
- Corner cutting is done very well here. a couple of places where the breaks were applied a little too much, but nothing too bad.
Part 4
- You'd think they wouldn't actually program this much random driving into the game...but still. Anyway, a couple of turns executed mildly poorly - but again, no time loss more than ~1 second - so I can't fault the runner.
Part 5
- They really love their taxi segments...My comments remain similar to those above. Very smooth, extremely minor errors. In reality, the errors are so minor they can't even be called errors! And again, I don't fault the runner here.
- The jumps off of the ledges seemed to work pretty well, I have never tried this particular method so I can't comment directly, however I feel that the jump that went awkward could have been done better. And if the segment is only 1min 52sec, a redo was in order.
Part 6
- Again, very smooth. Many tight turns executed well, a couple of turns I felt could have gone slightly better...more of the same really. Again, no fault of the runner.
Part 7
- Finally over...time to run! I remember this being virtually impossible as a kid - you just couldn't dodge all the bullets! But the runner here executes perfectly. I can't really see how this could be done any faster. There is one time where the runner gets shot and recoils, but I feel this was virtually unavoidable.
Part 8
- Runner here executes again, with great skill. A bump into a car very early on would be a reset for me in a run like this , but no significant time was lost.
- I am unsure as to the reasons for the actions performed on the bridge, as my knowledge of the tricks for this game are limited. But I think it's safe to assume there was a good reason for it!
- The Bolt Thrower is retrieved! Instantly one can see how fast this thing is, although the handling is extremely poor. I can see perfectly why it is worth acquiring this vehicle, as opposed to your default vehicles which are bleedin rubbish! (Which was my main complaint with the game as a whole! The slowness of the game...)
Part 9
- I enjoyed watching this. It was amusing. That's pretty much it.
- Bumping into a car, again I would have reset on that. It was only ~45 seconds in - thats not too far into a segment! Rest of the segment was executed extremely well though.
Part 10
- The fact you can't use the Bolt for this mission sucks - but it's understandable why.
- I feel that this segment is just redundant - one can easily continue this onwards, there was nothing hard here, just locomotion. This is just some serious over-segmentation...
Part 11
- Looking at the length of this segment now - I can understand why the previous section was done like thus - but still just don't agree.
- Major error bumping into the pole - 1 minute into the segment, that's just not cool.
- Running over old ladies in our spare time now I see?!
- The jumps off that ledge, again didn't go so well.
Part 12
- 17 Seconds...Nuff Said.
Part 13
- Another locomotion part. Again, I understand why it's being done...but please....
Part 14
- Bolt Thrower does most of the work here. And brilliantly too! Well executed part this one.
Part 15
- Another fast car to add to the arsenal. A couple of small things, but nothing significant.
Part 16
- Driving back...Same as before.
Part 17
- Another Bolt Thrower segment, well driven, smooth segment.
Part 18
- WHY IS THIS A SEGMENT? FOR GOD SAKES. You do not HAVE to segment every time the game autosaves!
Part 19
- This segment does NOT justify the previous segmentation. Just another stock standard driving stage. Well executed as usual - but still. Why was the previous segment that short? There was no reason.
Part 20
- This is a fun mission to play. The runner here takes his vehicle and pushes it to its limits. Very fun segment to watch. Also - the....shortcut...
- First lap was the worst - which puzzles me as to why the runner did not reset... Coming in at 0:59, the lap tme was a full 4 seconds off the next worst lap, 0:55. The total lap times coming to 0:59, 0:55, 0:54, 0:53 and 0:55. (The 0:53 a very exciting moment - considering that is smashed the runners old lap PB by a full second!)
Part 21
- Another standard driving segment. Nothing to see here, moving on.
Part 22
- Some major mistakes at the end of the run - but nothing too sour in between.
Part 23
- Plnety of fight here in the runner. I feel that some of it could have gone slightly better, especially in a segmented run. However I can't really fault the runner too much, as I cannot see how one could not get hit at all. (Bar TAS of course
Part 24
- More locomotion. Get the gun, get the car...outta there.
Part 25
- Just some driving, talking to the guy...no justification here for the segmentation.
Part 26
- Another running scene. A couple of shots where just wasted, but no time loss, so no fault.
Part 27
- Very nice drive/shooting there. A solid stop to the bad guy's dasterdly affairs! Great execution of the mission.
Part 28
- More driving. Another where I felt the driving could have gone better - but I understand why the runner didn't reset in this segment.
Part 29
- This was brilliant...The greatest way to get the room key. Not very subtle - but effective.
- I'm also in love with the floating bad guy. That's just gold. Invincible while performing actions...so good.
Part 30
- Standard running segment - nothing to say here. Appropriate route was taken, no time wasted on things that didn't need to happen, etc etc.
Part 31
- I feel as if this could have been done better. A lot of shots seemed to be wasted and the like. The health probably could have been skipped with better optimisation. In a RTA run - I wouldn't mention this. But in a segmented run, it has to be said.
- To put this into context, the segment starts with 42 health. The HP pack returns the runner to 100, the segment ends with 78 health. This means that the runner only lost 22 health during the fight. Considering the segment was only a minute long - I feel this quite poor. The health pack took at least 2-3 seconds to take. Again, in a RTA I wouldn't even blink, consistency is important there. But here, the HP pack was unnecessary. Also again, I felt the shooting could have been better.
Part 32
- A chase scene! Pedal to the metal!
- This was taken really well by the runner. The police car ramming into them was unfortunate, but understandable. As far as I know, police spawns are random in the game, so nothing could be done about it. (Feel free to correct me there though)
Part 33
- Another intermission section. My comments from before remain relevant.
Part 34
- Just driving. The Bolt Thrower gets to show off a little here though, which is really fun to watch.
- A few corners could have easily been taken more aggresivly - but eh.
Part 35
- This shooting segment was better than the last, but still no where near perfect. A couple of shots were missed at point blanc range - which doesn't look good. But it's understandable as to why they were missed.
- After meeting Sam, the same applies., a couple of missed shots, but not as many. This section was better for sure. The runner got stuck on the boxes before and after getting the key (?) but it wasn't very severe.
- Picked up health pack - check next segment for comments
Part 36
- This is a great segment in my opinion. One shot with the pumpgun was missed in the barn, but it wasn't that bad. The stairs were a little hazy, but again, not too bad.
- THe fight against the police was pretty shady - I feel that health could have been saved with better pumpgun shooting. The plainclothes cop took his shots to the legs it appeared!
- RE Health packs - again, they really weren't needed. Only one was needed, but two were picked up - one in this part and one in the previous. I feel that none would be required if the runner played the police shootout a little better!
Part 37
- On rails shooter...*sigh* No way this could have been done faster or slower.
Part 38
- Driving segment - as always, nothing much to say.
Part 39
- More intermission...
Part 40
- With no shocks - just a driving segment. Standard fare here, nothing to see, moving along.
Part 41
- Driving again. Bolt Thrower really gets to shine here though, with the long country roads...well, kinda country.
Part 42
- The beginning of this was really hazy. This could have gone so much better. A good couple of shots were missed, which would have easily eliminated the need to pick up the health pack. After the initial bit though, it got better - so good segment overall.
Part 43
- This segment went really well. Shots were clean and on target, driving was good, so on and so forth.
Part 44
- Driving part 44 - the revenge, the return...erg...
Part 45
- Nice intermission you got there!
Part 46
- Driving was a little sketchy, but there are so many ways it could have gone worse, so no fault to the runner.
Part 47
- 36 second segment. Was it necessary to cut it so short...not really. It was a nice segment - although I feel the runner didn't have to crouch to shoot the first pumpgun guard. Yes it would have been less consistent, but it's a 36 second segment...
Part 48
- This was also a nice segment. This I understand why it needed to be short, it looked hard. The two guards in the doorway I feel could have been double-shotted, like the two guys outside who got shot like that. Still, great segment.
Part 49
- Back to the bar - nothing to say really...
Part 50
- This segment was probably the best shooting segment I've seen so far. A couple of things went a little awry, but nothing too major. Shooting the cars is a great strategy, the grenade worked well, although I feel the runner could have stepped back a little more to avoid getting knocked down...
- In summary, the segment wasn't perfect by any means, but it was damn good to say the least.
Part 51
- Driving around in this thing is just painful to watch in comparison to the Bolt Thrower. But still, good segment.
Part 52
- Good segment here. Looks pretty damn smooth.
Part 53
- The start of this segment is really good, but I feel the runner could have closed with the group of goons a lot more, and wasted less shots on missing. I can't fault the runner for the tommy gun recoil - it's insane! I can actually say that the runner takes the recoil very well. However simply running up may seems to me from my non-runner (of this game) perspective to be a good idea. I agree that would be risky...but it's a 36 second segment...
Part 54
- I'm unsure as to whether the train is RNG (as to whether it appears) or set. If RNG - then this segment should not have been submitted...itf it's set - then still - I'm sure it's possible to avoid being bumped at 0:23. Rest of the segment is pretty good.
Part 55
- 42 second segment...and the runner misses the first jump over the railing. Looking at the segment as a whole - this doesn't look intentional...It's too short to pass...it's stupid. Getting it first try doesn't seem like too much of an ask. (Love the double death though - hilarious)
Part 56
- Safehouse...rubbish...erg
Part 57
- Driving/locomotion segment. All seems pretty smooth though. Nothing too outstanding.
Part 58
- I don't know exactly what the trick/glitch is here, but I'm assuming that the runner is punching the guy he is supposed to kill through the door, then escaping. It seemed OK, I feel that less punches could have been used on the guy though...the escape's menu navigation could have been far faster...at least by a second.
Part 59
- SAFEHOUSE
Part 60
- Driving segment, the revenge...All seems good here, moving right along.
Part 61
- This part personifies why I hate the segmentation in this run. For the love of god, this didn't need to be a segment of its own. It could have easily been merged with the previous one...there's nothing that could cost time besides stupidity - which the runner displays none of. But seriously...this does NOT need to be a segment.
Part 62
- Driving again - nothing special.
Part 63
- Driving again...again. So much driving...
Part 64
- Oh look - more driving...GOD. THIS GAME!
Part 65
- Another driving segment. If this was me - I'd throw the damn game out the window right now. The entire game is driving.
Part 66
- Drive, release a train car...drive...get out...no comment.
Part 67
- That's brilliant...just run the guy over! With a car this bad I don't really see how this could have been done faster...so nice segment.
Part 68
- Back to the bar...so yeah - driving. A couple more hiccups than usual, but still, nothing stand-up.
Part 69
- The runner actually gets stuck on the wall in the beginning...oh please...The rest is just another safehouse segment...
Part 70
- More driving...but with the most hilarious out-of-car-shooting animations ever. I mean look at those guys! There's something wrong with their wrists!
Part 71
- Yep - kills the guy, turns around. Short, sharp and to the point.
Part 72
- Back to the bar again, no surprises here
Part 73
- Do that safehouse...
Part 74
- Drive - go into sewer...woop. Not exactly riveting.
Part 75
- This is a segment I can get down with! The shooty-actiony scene is played out brilliantly. The runner misses one shot which looks ugly - but the rest of it more than makes up for it. Personally, I would have re done the segment until I got a perfect sequence with NO missed shots. But, as I said, it's pretty good.
Part 76
- Great segment...it's so short...but still, smooth.
Part 77
- Back to the bar. The end seems a little poor - but still pretty good.
Part 78
- That safehouse segment...
Part 79
- This new car is pretty cool...Works well with this segment.
Part 80
- Some of the menu mashing could have been a little better - but still, a god segment overall.
Part 81
- Get in, load the boxes, get out. Seems good to me...
Part 82
- Drivin' the booze out to the thingy place...yeah, if you can't tell, the driving segments are wearing on me.
Part 83
- WHY DOES THIS SEGMENT EXIST
Part 84
- Oh my god - this 7 minute segment...this has to be the longest. Also - by god, these mechanics. This game just sucks when it comes down to flow...flow is not following a walking person for a couple of minutes, getting on the tram, and the entire thing lasting 7 minutes. No fault on the runner though - of course - perfect execution.
Part 85
- Not even anything to critique...
Part 86
- Pretty much just driving...pretty good, nothing amazingly wrong or right - just another driving segment. (Another long one though!)
Part 87
- This is another segment I can get behind. Near the end there was a bit of hesitation with some shots. But still, it was a really good segment, and it didn't LOOK bad, if that makes any sense.
Part 88
- Great segment with all the...talking...and driving. Nothing wrong here though.
Part 89
- Another stupidly short segment...
Part 90
- Driving to the destination. The...final destination if you will.
Part 91
- Nice trick with the grenade near the start. With the tommy gun comes power. With the pump gun comes efficiency.
- Some shots missed, plenty of hesitation. This is another one I feel could have been done better. I don't know why it wasn't.
- Overall though, it was a good segment, it's just the little things that grind my gear.
Part 92
- Seems pretty perfect here.
To conclude, this run is really good - but with this many segments, I feel that it could have been at least a minute faster. Another verifier said that a "few minutes" could be saved in the driving segments if the runner used a driving wheel. I personally disagree, but I do agree that a good chunk could be saved.
Most noteably - the shooting segments. With a couple of exceptions, there was always a missed shot or two, which just looks sloppy as hell when you're talking about a run 92 segments long. The run isn't like it's 10 hours. Average segment is about a minute and a half...some more and some less.
The segmentation also grinds my gears. The 20 second segments of just walking down stairs...the segmentation of the safehouses. I get that the runner is just segmenting every time the game quick saves...but it just looks stupid to ACTUALLY DO IT. You don't have to do so - I see no reason for many segmentations...this doesn't factor into my decision, but still, it's just mania to actually see this many segments. One day - perhaps someone could cut it down to 50 segments or less?
Either way, this is an ACCEPT from me. It's still a really smooth run, with exception to that noted above. It's a great run with great exception overall. I'd love to see the runner merge some segments and re-do most of the shooting segments. But again, overall, good run.
Edit: I forgot in all this excitement I forgot two very important things!
A/V quality was pretty damn good - no problems here.
No cheating perceived.
Quote:
Okay, after watching all of it and reading my fellow verifiers' comments, I think my general feeling is it's a good run and a worthy improvement, but still features some lack of polish that's a bit incongruous with its 92 segments. At that level of segmentation, the occasional lapses in driving and minor mistakes start to add up to minutes instead of seconds. It's still pretty fun to watch any given action segment, but there are hang-ups even in the good stuff (e.g. stumbling heading down from the attic after rescuing Sam in "A Trip to the Country" and several hang-ups in the bank robbery, part 87). There are flashes of awesome, such as parts 75 and 76, though, and really solid routing throughout. The lack of committed cornering in certain places, taking the turn just a little too slow, weighs the driving parts down heavily sometimes (part 60 is one where I noted it, for instance). I have no problem with segmenting heavily or using every auto-save, but I think most segments could be stronger when they're this short.
It's an accept, for sure, though if the runner (or anyone else) ever feels like improving it, I think many of the gunfights and a lot of the driving could be substantially improved.
Oh, and the A/V seems solid, don't see any cheating.
It's an accept, for sure, though if the runner (or anyone else) ever feels like improving it, I think many of the gunfights and a lot of the driving could be substantially improved.
Oh, and the A/V seems solid, don't see any cheating.
Decision: Accept
Reason: Crazy as it can be sometimes, we'll allow as many segments as a runner chooses
Congratulations to 'Chris-X!'
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