Neighbors From Hell (Almost done!)

superfly360

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2012-07-05 06:25:00 pm

In Flames We Trust

I am planning on doing a speedrun for Neighbors From Hell for the PC. It's available for the Xbox and GameCube as well, but the version I own is for the PC. This will be my first speedrun (I was planning on doing a Brutal Legend speedrun, but I currently have no means of recording it at the moment and I feel I should practice speedrunning on other games that are easier to speedrun) so hopefully it will go well. Smiley

Neighbors From Hell is a strategy game where you invade an annoying neighbor's house and play pranks on him in order to make his life a living hell. You can play small tricks such as using whoopee cushions and clogging a toilet, as well as some more humorous and cartoon-like tricks such as putting honey in his sunscreen near a beehive and placing a live wire in a puddle of water he steps on. Playing multiple tricks at once can cause the neighbor to go nuts and scream in anger. The game's theme is a TV show where you must earn a minimum approval rating, determined by the specific tricks you play and the amount of the aforementioned rages, in order to pass the mission. There is also an optional time limit to increase the difficulty. Here is a video of the game so you can somewhat understand what I'm talking about in this post if you haven't played the game. Watch some of the related videos if you want to learn more about the game.

The game is organized into seasons which contain several episodes each. This will likely be an individual-level speed run, as there are no unlockable skills or items, and the episodes can be done in any order (you have to complete a certain number of episodes to unlock the next season, but order does not matter as far as I know).

In every episode, the neighbor goes through a predetermined route and repeats it until the time runs out (if time limit is enabled), all tricks are completed, he catches you, or you end the episode. In some episodes, an event is only done once by his natural route and not repeated, such as when he brushes his teeth once at the beginning of a later episode. It is possible to change his route using tricks. There are numerous ways of doing this in many episodes, such as calling his house with a cell phone and making him run to the restroom after eating laxatives. This is usually required by the game in order to perform other tricks in the episode, but could possibly be used to make the episode end faster. Due to this route that he goes in, speedrunning this game seems to rely more on planning a route and executing it properly. Some of the later episodes may allow for intricately messing up the neighbor's route with tricks.

In some levels the neighbor has a pet - either a dog or a bird - that will alert him if you do not sneak past them. This will cause the neighbor to come running to the pet to see what's going on. If the neighbor does not catch you, he will yell at the pet and go back to whatever he was doing. Sneaking is a lot slower than normal walking, but simply walking past the pets and alerting them likely will not save very much time as the neighbor will have to run up to the pet and then go to whatever he had to do after his last task, rather than just going to that task normally. It is possible that in some levels he has to walk past the pet in order to get to another part of his routine, so I could alert the pet causing him to quickly run there rather than him simply walking. However, he has to yell at the pet, which takes some time, and he rarely ever has to actually walk 'past' the pet; he usually just walks into the room containing the pet and does some task. I will have to test this on specific levels to determine if this saves time.

When time limit is enabled, it will show how much time you have left after you complete the episode. Simply subtracting this from the starting time will give you the time it took to complete the episode (Duh!). However, the in-game timer also counts parts where you don't have control over your character, such as the beginning where the main character does an unpreventable animation. It also counts the few seconds of animation after choosing to end an episode. This should apply to everyone, and therefore shouldn't really be a problem. But I am unsure if this limitation is the same on different versions of the game. If not, the in-game timer could be used to time the runs.

In each episode, there is a minimum approval rating (percentage) you must obtain in order to pass. Each trick is worth a certain amount of percentage in each level, with some tricks earning more than others. Every time the neighbor rages, you receive an additional 3%, regardless of the episode you are in.

Tutorials:

First Steps ~0:15
Onwards and Upwards ~1:02
Here We Go! ~1:05

Season 1:

The First Trick        Required: 50%
4 Tricks:
Egg in microwave 16%
Glue on binoculars 30%
TV Antenna 20%
Whoopie Cushion 25%
Routes:
TV - Glue ~1:30
Whoopie - Glue ~1:30
Egg - Whoopie - TV ~1:10

TV Time        Required: 55%
6 Tricks:
Egg in Microwave 10%
Sawed Chair 25%
No Toilet Paper 10%
Clogged Toilet 10%
TV Antenna 15%
Laxatives 18%
Routes:
Egg - Laxatives - Toilet Paper - Toilet Fails
TV - Laxatives - Toilet Paper - Toilet ~1:50
Egg - TV - Laxatives - Toilet Paper ~2:00
Laxatives - Toilet Paper - Toilet - Chair ~2:20

Birthday Suprises        Required 60%
6 Tricks:
Clogged Toilet 10%
Firework Candle 25%
Mouse Trap 20%
Egg in Microwave 10%
Marker on Picture 10%
Soap 10%
Routes:
Soap - Egg - Candle - Mouse Trap ~2:10
Egg - Candle - Mouse Trap ~1:30
Mouse Trap - Picture - Toilet - Soap Fails

The Apple Pie        Required 65%
7 Tricks:
Marker on Picture 8%
Slip on Soap 8%
Clogged Toilet 8%
Glue in Aftershave 20%
Hair Restorer in Deoderant 15%
Shave Cream Pie 15%
Egg in Microwave 8%
Routes:
Picture - Soap - Toilet - Glue - Deoderant ~1:50
Egg - Pie - Picture - Soap - Toilet - Glue Nope
Pie - Picture - Glue - Deoderant Nope

The Old Spoilsport        Required 70%
8 Tricks:
Slip on Soap 7%
Clogged Toilet 7%
Rotten Cheese on Flower 13%
Marker on Painting 7%
Marker on Sheet Music 13%
Soccer Ball replaced by Bowling Ball 15%
Egg in Microwave 7%
Phone 10%
Routes:
Piano - Ball - Painting - Phone - Cheese Fails
Piano - Egg - Ball - Phone - Cheese Fails
Piano - Egg - Ball - Painting - Phone - Cheese Nope
Piano - Egg - Ball - Painting - Cheese - Toilet Nope
Piano - Egg - Ball - Painting - Cheese - Soap Nope
Ball - Painting - Phone - Sheet Music - Egg - Soap ~2:05

Bath Time          Required 75%
9 Tricks:
Egg in Microwave 7%
Bath Water Pudding 8%
Hair Restorer in Bath 12%
Bath Beads in Candy 8%
Slip on Soap 7%
Clogged Toilet 7%
Tar on Towel 12%
Marker on Picture 7%
Glue on Book 8%
Routes:
Glue - Egg - Picture - Soap - Toilet - Restorer - Towel Fails
Glue - Egg - Pudding - Picture - Soap - Toilet - Restorer - Towel Fails
Glue - Candy - Pudding - Picture - Soap - Toilet - Restorer - Towel Fails
Picture - Soap - Toilet - Restorer - Towel - Glue - Candy ~3:15
Egg - Soap - Picture - Toilet - Restorer - Towel - Glue Fails
Picture - Toilet - Restorer - Towel - Glue - Candy - Soap ~3:00
Glue - Candy - Soap - Toilet - Pudding - Picture - Towel - Restorer Fails
Egg - Picture - Soap - Toilet - Glue - Pudding - Towel - Restorer Fails
egg-picture-soap-glue-candy-pudding-restorer-towel 2:45
picture-soap-toilet-glue-candy-pudding-restorer-towel 2:50
egg-picture-glue-candy-soap-pudding-restorer-towel 2:45

Season 2:

A Work of Art        Required 60%
7 Tricks:
Wrench on Pottery Spinner 15%
Banana Peel 8%
Camera Powder 12%
Break Stool 15%
Tacks on Seat 10%
Stain Remover on Painting 12%
Set Bird Free 10%
Routes:
Stool - Banana - Bird - Painting - Camera ~1:50
Banana - Wrench - Stool - Bird - Painting ~1:45
Banana - Tacks - Wrench - Stool - Bird ~1:55
Banana - Tacks - Stool - Bird - Painting ~1:40
Banana - Tacks - Bird - Painting - Camera ~1:55

A Sunny Morning        Required 65%
6 Tricks:
Banana Peel 8%
Honey in Sunscreen/Bees 20%
Plant Poison 20%
Dirty Tooth Brush 15%
Dirt in Coffee 15%
Tacks on Chair 10%
Routes:
Tacks - Sunscreen - Banana - Poison Fails
Sunscreen - Coffee - Banana - Tooth Brush Fails
Tacks - Sunscreen - Coffee - Tooth Brush ~3:00
Coffee - Tooth Brush - Tacks - Sunscreen ~2:55
Coffee - Tacks - Sunscreen - Poison ~3:30

This Little Piggy        Required 70%
7 Tricks:
Cactus on Alarm Clock 13%
Hot Sauce in Dentures 15%
Banana Peel 7%
Spicy Crackers in Bird Treats 15%
Freed Pig 10%
Tacks on Bed 8%
Explosive Milk Bottle 20%
Routes:
Hot Sauce - Pig - Bottle - Banana - Crackers Fails
Pig - Bottle - Banana - Crackers - Tacks Fails
Hot Sauce - Bottle - Banana - Crackers - Tacks ~2:40

Barbecue Time        Required: 75%
6 Tricks:
Barbecue Fire 20%
Plant Food for Venus Fly Trap 15%
Banana Peel 10%
Vinegar in Wine 15%
Tacks on Chair 10%
Knotted Fire Extinguisher 15%
Routes:
Tacks - Banana - Fire - Extinguisher - Plant ~2:25
Fire - Extinguisher - Tacks - Wine - Banana Fails
Tacks - Wine - Fire - Extinguisher - Plant ~2:45
Wine - Banana - Fire - Extinguisher - Plant ~2:25

Season 3:

Fitness Frenzy Required: 65%
10 Tricks:
Knotted Jump Rope 7%
Marbles 7%
Steroid Fish Food 8%
Book of Knots 8%
Electric Wire 7%
Cut Barbell 8%
Elastic Chest Expander 8%
Rollerblade 8%
Wrenched Exercise Bike 8%
Trampoline 8%
Routes:
Tramp-marbles-bike-rollerblade-expander-wire-barbell Fails
marbles-bike-rollerblade-expander-wire-barbell-jumprope Fails
tramp-marbles-bike-rollerblade-expander-wire-rope 3:35
tramp-bike-rollerblade-expander-wire-rope-marbles 3:25

Home Improvement: Required: 70%
8 Tricks:
Marbles 8%
Modified Grinder 10%
Torture Book Instructions 10%
Replace Fuse 10%
Open Heating Valve 15%
Water Valve 12%
Electric Wire 8%
Modified Ladder 15%
Routes:
wire-marbles-heater-water valve-ladder-fuse 3:25
wire-marbles-heater-ladder-fuse-grinder Nope

Night of the Hunter Required: 75%
9 Tricks:
Marbles 7%
Electric Wire 7%
Balloon in Horn 8%
Black Trophy Polish 8%
Nail In Record Player 10%
Gunpowder Tobacco 10%
Loaded Shotgun 13%
Glued Hat 8%
Rat In Medal Box 8%
Routes:
marbles-tobacco-wire-shotgun-hat-rat-polish Fails
marbles-wire-shotgun-hat-rat-horn-polish-tobacco Fails
marbles-wire-shotgun-horn-rat-nail-tobacco 5:50
marbles-wire-shotgun-hat-rat-nail-tobacco 6:00
wire-shotgun-marbles-rat-polish-nail-tobacco 5:45

I italicized the routes that I believe are the fastest routes able to be accomplished in the level. Keep in mind that, due to the neighbor's routine and the time it takes to set up and perform the tricks, the fastest route may not use all of the highest percentage tricks, nor may it even use the minimum number of tricks for the required percentage. My goal is obviously to beat the episode as quickly as possible, so the percentage I get does not matter, as long as it is above the required percentage and it is obtained as soon as possible. The earlier episodes have less tricks and therefore a higher percentage for each individual trick, so the percentage obtained in the fastest route may be considerably higher in the fastest route.

The runs that have "Fails" typed after them are, you guessed it, runs that did not work. This could be due to a number of problems, depending on the route. I might have not been able to collect the required materials in time to activate the trick without wasting time letting the neighbor get by without being caught. I could also have had the same problem with setting up the tricks. Also, the route could have taken into account rages between certain tricks, which may have not occurred in testing and the run ended up with too little percentage.

The routes with "Nope" after them are routes that would require the neighbor to go through his routine more times than an already tested route does. Since the neighbor's routine in any given level can take more than a minute to complete, and the fastest routes are only a couple minutes each, these would logically be much slower routes than others.

As far as I know, there is no way to increase the walking speed of your character. As I continue to investigate this game, I will update this thread with details. There are 3 seasons total, and I will add my progress on those to this post as I progress. I would appreciate any feedback and help, so feel free to reply with tips. Since I have never speedran before, any tips on speedrunning in general would be greatly appreciated. thumbsup

Thread title:

I am planning on doing a speedrun for Neighbors From Hell for the PC. It's available for the Xbox and GameCube as well, but the version I own is for the PC. This will be my first speedrun (I was planning on doing a Brutal Legend speedrun, but I currently have no means of recording it at the moment and I feel I should practice speedrunning on other games that are easier to speedrun) so hopefully it will go well. :)

Neighbors From Hell is a strategy game where you invade an annoying neighbor's house and play pranks on him in order to make his life a living hell. You can play small tricks such as using whoopee cushions and clogging a toilet, as well as some more humorous and cartoon-like tricks such as putting honey in his sunscreen near a beehive and placing a live wire in a puddle of water he steps on. Playing multiple tricks at once can cause the neighbor to go nuts and scream in anger. The game's theme is a TV show where you must earn a minimum approval rating, determined by the specific tricks you play and the amount of the aforementioned rages, in order to pass the mission. There is also an optional time limit to increase the difficulty. Here is a video of the game so you can somewhat understand what I'm talking about in this post if you haven't played the game. Watch some of the related videos if you want to learn more about the game.
[url]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qb69793C0qw[/url]

The game is organized into seasons which contain several episodes each. This will likely be an individual-level speed run, as there are no unlockable skills or items, and the episodes can be done in any order (you have to complete a certain number of episodes to unlock the next season, but order does not matter as far as I know).

In every episode, the neighbor goes through a predetermined route and repeats it until the time runs out (if time limit is enabled), all tricks are completed, he catches you, or you end the episode. In some episodes, an event is only done once by his natural route and not repeated, such as when he brushes his teeth once at the beginning of a later episode. It is possible to change his route using tricks. There are numerous ways of doing this in many episodes, such as calling his house with a cell phone and making him run to the restroom after eating laxatives. This is usually required by the game in order to perform other tricks in the episode, but could possibly be used to make the episode end faster. Due to this route that he goes in, speedrunning this game seems to rely more on planning a route and executing it properly. Some of the later episodes may allow for intricately messing up the neighbor's route with tricks.

In some levels the neighbor has a pet - either a dog or a bird - that will alert him if you do not sneak past them. This will cause the neighbor to come running to the pet to see what's going on. If the neighbor does not catch you, he will yell at the pet and go back to whatever he was doing. Sneaking is a lot slower than normal walking, but simply walking past the pets and alerting them likely will not save very much time as the neighbor will have to run up to the pet and then go to whatever he had to do after his last task, rather than just going to that task normally. It is possible that in some levels he has to walk past the pet in order to get to another part of his routine, so I could alert the pet causing him to quickly run there rather than him simply walking. However, he has to yell at the pet, which takes some time, and he rarely ever has to actually walk 'past' the pet; he usually just walks into the room containing the pet and does some task. I will have to test this on specific levels to determine if this saves time.

When time limit is enabled, it will show how much time you have left after you complete the episode. Simply subtracting this from the starting time will give you the time it took to complete the episode (Duh!). However, the in-game timer also counts parts where you don't have control over your character, such as the beginning where the main character does an unpreventable animation. It also counts the few seconds of animation after choosing to end an episode. This should apply to everyone, and therefore shouldn't really be a problem. But I am unsure if this limitation is the same on different versions of the game. If not, the in-game timer could be used to time the runs.

In each episode, there is a minimum approval rating (percentage) you must obtain in order to pass. Each trick is worth a certain amount of percentage in each level, with some tricks earning more than others. Every time the neighbor rages, you receive an additional 3%, regardless of the episode you are in.

[b][u]Tutorials:[/u][/b]

First Steps ~0:15
Onwards and Upwards ~1:02
Here We Go! ~1:05

[u][b]Season 1:[/b][/u]

[b][u]The First Trick[/u][/b]	Required: 50%
[u]4 Tricks:[/u]	
Egg in microwave	16%
Glue on binoculars	30%
TV Antenna	20%
Whoopie Cushion	25%
[u]Routes:[/u]	
TV - Glue	~1:30
Whoopie - Glue	~1:30
[i]Egg - Whoopie - TV	~1:10[/i]

[u][b]TV Time[/b][/u]	Required: 55%
[u]6 Tricks:[/u]	
Egg in Microwave	10%
Sawed Chair	25%
No Toilet Paper	10%
Clogged Toilet	10%
TV Antenna	15%
Laxatives	18%
[u]Routes:[/u]	
Egg - Laxatives - Toilet Paper - Toilet    Fails
[i]TV - Laxatives - Toilet Paper - Toilet	~1:50[/i]
Egg - TV - Laxatives - Toilet Paper	~2:00
Laxatives - Toilet Paper - Toilet - Chair	~2:20

[u][b]Birthday Suprises[/b][/u]	Required 60%
[u]6 Tricks:[/u]	
Clogged Toilet	10%
Firework Candle	25%
Mouse Trap	20%
Egg in Microwave	10%
Marker on Picture	10%
Soap	10%
[u]Routes:[/u]	
Soap - Egg - Candle - Mouse Trap	~2:10
[i]Egg - Candle - Mouse Trap	~1:30[/i]
Mouse Trap - Picture - Toilet - Soap	  Fails

[u][b]The Apple Pie[/b][/u]	Required 65%
[u]7 Tricks:[/u]	
Marker on Picture	8%
Slip on Soap	8%
Clogged Toilet	8%
Glue in Aftershave	20%
Hair Restorer in Deoderant	15%
Shave Cream Pie	15%
Egg in Microwave	8%
[u]Routes:[/u]	
[i]Picture - Soap - Toilet - Glue - Deoderant	~1:50[/i]
Egg - Pie - Picture - Soap - Toilet - Glue    Nope
Pie - Picture - Glue - Deoderant    Nope

[b][u]The Old Spoilsport[/u][/b]	Required 70%
[u]8 Tricks:[/u]	
Slip on Soap	7%
Clogged Toilet	7%
Rotten Cheese on Flower	13%
Marker on Painting	7%
Marker on Sheet Music	13%
Soccer Ball replaced by Bowling Ball	15%
Egg in Microwave	7%
Phone	10%
[u]Routes:[/u]	
Piano - Ball - Painting - Phone - Cheese    Fails
Piano - Egg - Ball - Phone - Cheese    Fails
Piano - Egg - Ball - Painting - Phone - Cheese    Nope
Piano - Egg - Ball - Painting - Cheese - Toilet    Nope
Piano - Egg - Ball - Painting - Cheese - Soap    Nope
[i]Ball - Painting - Phone - Sheet Music - Egg - Soap	~2:05[/i]

[b][u]Bath Time[/u][/b]	   Required 75%
[u]9 Tricks:[/u]	
Egg in Microwave	7%
Bath Water Pudding	8%
Hair Restorer in Bath	12%
Bath Beads in Candy	8%
Slip on Soap	7%
Clogged Toilet	7%
Tar on Towel	12%
Marker on Picture	7%
Glue on Book	8%
[u]Routes:[/u]	
Glue - Egg - Picture - Soap - Toilet - Restorer - Towel    Fails
Glue - Egg - Pudding - Picture - Soap - Toilet - Restorer - Towel    Fails
Glue - Candy - Pudding - Picture - Soap - Toilet - Restorer - Towel    Fails
Picture - Soap - Toilet - Restorer - Towel - Glue - Candy	~3:15
Egg - Soap - Picture - Toilet - Restorer - Towel - Glue    Fails
Picture - Toilet - Restorer - Towel - Glue - Candy - Soap	~3:00
Glue - Candy - Soap - Toilet - Pudding - Picture - Towel - Restorer    Fails
Egg - Picture - Soap - Toilet - Glue - Pudding - Towel - Restorer    Fails
[i]egg-picture-soap-glue-candy-pudding-restorer-towel 2:45[/i]
picture-soap-toilet-glue-candy-pudding-restorer-towel 2:50
egg-picture-glue-candy-soap-pudding-restorer-towel 2:45

[u][b]Season 2:[/b][/u]

[u][b]A Work of Art[/b][/u]	Required 60%
[u]7 Tricks:[/u]
Wrench on Pottery Spinner	15%
Banana Peel	8%
Camera Powder	12%
Break Stool	15%
Tacks on Seat	10%
Stain Remover on Painting	12%
Set Bird Free	10%
[u]Routes:[/u]	
Stool - Banana - Bird - Painting - Camera	~1:50
Banana - Wrench - Stool - Bird - Painting	~1:45
Banana - Tacks - Wrench - Stool - Bird	~1:55
[i]Banana - Tacks - Stool - Bird - Painting	~1:40[/i]
Banana - Tacks - Bird - Painting - Camera	~1:55

[u][b]A Sunny Morning[/b][/u]	Required 65%
[u]6 Tricks:[/u]	
Banana Peel	8%
Honey in Sunscreen/Bees	20%
Plant Poison	20%
Dirty Tooth Brush	15%
Dirt in Coffee	15%
Tacks on Chair	10%
[u]Routes:[/u]	
Tacks - Sunscreen - Banana - Poison    Fails
Sunscreen - Coffee - Banana - Tooth Brush    Fails
Tacks - Sunscreen - Coffee - Tooth Brush	~3:00
[i]Coffee - Tooth Brush - Tacks - Sunscreen	~2:55[/i]
Coffee - Tacks - Sunscreen - Poison	~3:30

[u][b]This Little Piggy[/b][/u]	Required 70%
[u]7 Tricks:[/u]	
Cactus on Alarm Clock	13%
Hot Sauce in Dentures	15%
Banana Peel	7%
Spicy Crackers in Bird Treats	15%
Freed Pig	10%
Tacks on Bed	8%
Explosive Milk Bottle	20%
[u]Routes:[/u]
Hot Sauce - Pig - Bottle - Banana - Crackers    Fails
Pig - Bottle - Banana - Crackers - Tacks    Fails
[i]Hot Sauce - Bottle - Banana - Crackers - Tacks	~2:40[/i]

[u][b]Barbecue Time[/b][/u]	Required: 75%
[u]6 Tricks:[/u]	
Barbecue Fire	20%
Plant Food for Venus Fly Trap	15%
Banana Peel	10%
Vinegar in Wine	15%
Tacks on Chair	10%
Knotted Fire Extinguisher	15%
[u]Routes:[/u]	
Tacks - Banana - Fire - Extinguisher - Plant	~2:25
Fire - Extinguisher - Tacks - Wine - Banana    Fails
Tacks - Wine - Fire - Extinguisher - Plant	~2:45
Wine - Banana - Fire - Extinguisher - Plant	~2:25

[u][b]Season 3:[/b][/u]

[u][b]Fitness Frenzy[/b][/u] Required: 65%
[u]10 Tricks:[/u]
Knotted Jump Rope 7%
Marbles 7%
Steroid Fish Food 8%
Book of Knots 8%
Electric Wire 7%
Cut Barbell 8%
Elastic Chest Expander 8%
Rollerblade 8%
Wrenched Exercise Bike 8%
Trampoline 8%
[u]Routes:[/u]
Tramp-marbles-bike-rollerblade-expander-wire-barbell Fails
marbles-bike-rollerblade-expander-wire-barbell-jumprope Fails
tramp-marbles-bike-rollerblade-expander-wire-rope 3:35
[i]tramp-bike-rollerblade-expander-wire-rope-marbles 3:25[/i]

[b][u]Home Improvement:[/u][/b] Required: 70%
[u]8 Tricks:[/u]
Marbles 8%
Modified Grinder 10%
Torture Book Instructions 10%
Replace Fuse 10%
Open Heating Valve 15%
Water Valve 12%
Electric Wire 8%
Modified Ladder 15%
[u]Routes:[/u]
[i]wire-marbles-heater-water valve-ladder-fuse 3:25[/i]
wire-marbles-heater-ladder-fuse-grinder Nope

[b][u]Night of the Hunter[/u][/b] Required: 75%
9 Tricks:
Marbles 7%
Electric Wire 7%
Balloon in Horn 8%
Black Trophy Polish 8%
Nail In Record Player 10%
Gunpowder Tobacco 10%
Loaded Shotgun 13%
Glued Hat 8%
Rat In Medal Box 8%
[u]Routes:[/u]
marbles-tobacco-wire-shotgun-hat-rat-polish Fails
marbles-wire-shotgun-hat-rat-horn-polish-tobacco Fails
marbles-wire-shotgun-horn-rat-nail-tobacco 5:50
marbles-wire-shotgun-hat-rat-nail-tobacco 6:00
wire-shotgun-marbles-rat-polish-nail-tobacco 5:45

I italicized the routes that I believe are the fastest routes able to be accomplished in the level. Keep in mind that, due to the neighbor's routine and the time it takes to set up and perform the tricks, the fastest route may not use all of the highest percentage tricks, nor may it even use the minimum number of tricks for the required percentage. My goal is obviously to beat the episode as quickly as possible, so the percentage I get does not matter, as long as it is above the required percentage and it is obtained as soon as possible. The earlier episodes have less tricks and therefore a higher percentage for each individual trick, so the percentage obtained in the fastest route may be considerably higher in the fastest route.

The runs that have "Fails" typed after them are, you guessed it, runs that did not work. This could be due to a number of problems, depending on the route. I might have not been able to collect the required materials in time to activate the trick without wasting time letting the neighbor get by without being caught. I could also have had the same problem with setting up the tricks. Also, the route could have taken into account rages between certain tricks, which may have not occurred in testing and the run ended up with too little percentage.

The routes with "Nope" after them are routes that would require the neighbor to go through his routine more times than an already tested route does. Since the neighbor's routine in any given level can take more than a minute to complete, and the fastest routes are only a couple minutes each, these would logically be much slower routes than others.

As far as I know, there is no way to increase the walking speed of your character. As I continue to investigate this game, I will update this thread with details. There are 3 seasons total, and I will add my progress on those to this post as I progress. I would appreciate any feedback and help, so feel free to reply with tips. Since I have never speedran before, any tips on speedrunning in general would be greatly appreciated. :thumbsup:

Carcinogen

2012-07-06 01:24:13 am

This game wasn't well received, but I thought it was awesome because the main character has quite a mean streak. =D

I wish you luck in completing this run. =]

superfly360

2012-07-07 08:51:13 pm

In Flames We Trust

Quote from Carcinogen:

This game wasn't well received, but I thought it was awesome because the main character has quite a mean streak. =D

I wish you luck in completing this run. =]

Thanks! Yeah, this game never really got very popular. It's a good game, but it's incredibly short and has very little replay value after getting 100% on all episodes, unless you're speedrunning it like me. Wink

I've optimized my route for Bath Time some more. Basically, my first successful route had the neighbor hit all the tricks downstairs after he set up his bathtub. The last trick (bath beads in candy) causes him to run to the bathroom, which I did not take advantage of. In my new route, I place the soap in the bathroom after he goes upstairs to the glued book and bath beaded candy and then hide. After he eats the candy and runs to the bathroom he slips on the soap, giving me a passable score and saving me 15 seconds. I'm still not sure if this is the fastest possible time however, so I will continue to work on this level.

I also worked a bit on the first episode in season 2, A Work of Art. This is a pretty big level for how few tricks it has. Most of the tricks in the 2nd and 3rd season, including this episode, are more intricate and unique than in season 1. Some of the higher percentage tricks take a long time for the neighbor to animate through them, so it may be possible to not use them and still pass. This is why the routes that don't have me using the wrench on the pottery spinner take less time on this episode. Since I can only end an episode by exiting out the door on the first story of the house, I try to make it down there before the neighbor gets through all the tricks, so I can avoid wasting time walking. The last tricks in this episode are basically required to be the tricks on the top floor (painting and bird are likely needed to get the fastest time), and in order to do it in just one of the neighbor's routines, I must hide under the bed on the top floor and wait for him to go to the balcony with the painting. After he goes there, I can go back downstairs, but I have to sneak past the dog or else the neighbor will waste time running down to it. In my fastest routes on this level, I manage to get down to the door without wasting any time. I'm still not sure if I've found the fastest possible route though, so I will continue to investigate this episode.

[quote="Carcinogen"]This game wasn't well received, but I thought it was awesome because the main character has quite a mean streak. =D

I wish you luck in completing this run. =][/quote]
Thanks! Yeah, this game never really got very popular. It's a good game, but it's incredibly short and has very little replay value after getting 100% on all episodes, unless you're speedrunning it like me. ;)

I've optimized my route for Bath Time some more. Basically, my first successful route had the neighbor hit all the tricks downstairs after he set up his bathtub. The last trick (bath beads in candy) causes him to run to the bathroom, which I did not take advantage of. In my new route, I place the soap in the bathroom after he goes upstairs to the glued book and bath beaded candy and then hide. After he eats the candy and runs to the bathroom he slips on the soap, giving me a passable score and saving me 15 seconds. I'm still not sure if this is the fastest possible time however, so I will continue to work on this level.

I also worked a bit on the first episode in season 2, A Work of Art. This is a pretty big level for how few tricks it has. Most of the tricks in the 2nd and 3rd season, including this episode, are more intricate and unique than in season 1. Some of the higher percentage tricks take a long time for the neighbor to animate through them, so it may be possible to not use them and still pass. This is why the routes that don't have me using the wrench on the pottery spinner take less time on this episode. Since I can only end an episode by exiting out the door on the first story of the house, I try to make it down there before the neighbor gets through all the tricks, so I can avoid wasting time walking. The last tricks in this episode are basically required to be the tricks on the top floor (painting and bird are likely needed to get the fastest time), and in order to do it in just one of the neighbor's routines, I must hide under the bed on the top floor and wait for him to go to the balcony with the painting. After he goes there, I can go back downstairs, but I have to sneak past the dog or else the neighbor will waste time running down to it. In my fastest routes on this level, I manage to get down to the door without wasting any time. I'm still not sure if I've found the fastest possible route though, so I will continue to investigate this episode.

superfly360

2012-07-09 10:05:07 pm

In Flames We Trust

I tried working on Bath Time some more, but damn this episode is hard to make routes on. I'm trying to make the last tricks be the tar on towel and hair restorer in bath water, but I'm having trouble setting it up so I can get it on his first routine without getting caught. His routine basically goes: book/candy in living room - coffee in kitchen - bath in bathroom. On the first routine, he just turns on the water, and actually showers on the second routine, and repeats. This goes by very quickly compared to how many tricks there are and the required percentage, making it difficult to set up a route that only goes through the neighbor's routine once. Hopefully I will be able to think of a good route eventually. Any help would be appreciated.

I also started to work on the second episode in season 2, A Sunny Morning. This episode doesn't have many tricks, but they are quite spread out throughout the house, giving the neighbor a long routine and therefore a longer time to complete it. Putting dirt in his coffee will cause him to run to the bathroom to brush his teeth. This is the only way of getting him to use the dirty tooth brush, as it is impossible to switch the brushes at the very beginning without getting caught. Using the plant poison in this level seems to be impossible to do in just one of the neighbors routines as I must run upstairs to get the key, downstairs to get the poison from the locked medicine cabinet, and then back upstairs to put it in his plant waterer. There simply is no way I know of doing this before he gets to the waterer the first time. Though it does give a high percentage, I doubt it would be useful in speedrunning this episode. Something I learned at this point is that the banana peel is much more versatile than the bar of soap, as it can be placed in any room, unlike the soap which can only be placed on the tile floors in the kitchen and bathroom. This allows me to connect some tricks in close enough succession to add more rages and therefore more percentages. Unfortunately there is exactly one place the game allows me to place the banana in each room, which makes the neighbor not even slip on it depending on where he is going and where he came from to get to the room. For example, if his routine has him going from the upstairs bedroom to the living room and then the downstairs hallway, he will not slip because the banana is placed to the right of the doors he uses in the living room.

By the way if anyone has any suggestions of routes to take feel free to let me know. I'll be more than willing to try them out, as they may be faster than a run I thought of. thumbsup

I tried working on Bath Time some more, but damn this episode is hard to make routes on. I'm trying to make the last tricks be the tar on towel and hair restorer in bath water, but I'm having trouble setting it up so I can get it on his first routine without getting caught. His routine basically goes: book/candy in living room - coffee in kitchen - bath in bathroom. On the first routine, he just turns on the water, and actually showers on the second routine, and repeats. This goes by very quickly compared to how many tricks there are and the required percentage, making it difficult to set up a route that only goes through the neighbor's routine once. Hopefully I will be able to think of a good route eventually. Any help would be appreciated.

I also started to work on the second episode in season 2, A Sunny Morning. This episode doesn't have many tricks, but they are quite spread out throughout the house, giving the neighbor a long routine and therefore a longer time to complete it. Putting dirt in his coffee will cause him to run to the bathroom to brush his teeth. This is the only way of getting him to use the dirty tooth brush, as it is impossible to switch the brushes at the very beginning without getting caught. Using the plant poison in this level seems to be impossible to do in just one of the neighbors routines as I must run upstairs to get the key, downstairs to get the poison from the locked medicine cabinet, and then back upstairs to put it in his plant waterer. There simply is no way I know of doing this before he gets to the waterer the first time. Though it does give a high percentage, I doubt it would be useful in speedrunning this episode. Something I learned at this point is that the banana peel is much more versatile than the bar of soap, as it can be placed in any room, unlike the soap which can only be placed on the tile floors in the kitchen and bathroom. This allows me to connect some tricks in close enough succession to add more rages and therefore more percentages. Unfortunately there is exactly one place the game allows me to place the banana in each room, which makes the neighbor not even slip on it depending on where he is going and where he came from to get to the room. For example, if his routine has him going from the upstairs bedroom to the living room and then the downstairs hallway, he will not slip because the banana is placed to the right of the doors he uses in the living room.

By the way if anyone has any suggestions of routes to take feel free to let me know. I'll be more than willing to try them out, as they may be faster than a run I thought of. :thumbsup:

superfly360

2012-07-13 01:23:03 pm

In Flames We Trust

I made some progress on A Sunny Morning. I think I may have the fastest route now. I have determined that using the plant poison is basically worthless for speedrunning. I managed to set it up in just one of the neighbor's routines but I had to distract him with his dog several times in order to make the route work. This cost a bunch of time, making the route significantly slower than the other routes. I have discovered that performing the coffee and tooth brush tricks before the tacks and sunscreen is slightly faster than the other way around. This just barely gives me a passing score of 66%, so I can't replace one of the 10% tricks with the banana peel to see if it's faster that way, as the banana peel will only give me 8% and a final score of 64%. Due to this and the uselessness of the poison, I believe I have found the fastest possible route on this episode.

I don't know if I should include the tutorials in the speedrun, but I went through them anyway. There are no routes to take, as they are completely linear, and it's either impossible to get less than 100%, or getting any less takes a lot longer. It simply requires quickly giving commands to get the fastest times. By the way, the tutorials do not have the in game timer featured in all other episodes, so manual timing will be required for these if they need to be speedran. I just used a stopwatch to get the times I typed in the first post.

I made some progress on A Sunny Morning. I think I may have the fastest route now. I have determined that using the plant poison is basically worthless for speedrunning. I managed to set it up in just one of the neighbor's routines but I had to distract him with his dog several times in order to make the route work. This cost a bunch of time, making the route significantly slower than the other routes. I have discovered that performing the coffee and tooth brush tricks before the tacks and sunscreen is slightly faster than the other way around. This just barely gives me a passing score of 66%, so I can't replace one of the 10% tricks with the banana peel to see if it's faster that way, as the banana peel will only give me 8% and a final score of 64%. Due to this and the uselessness of the poison, I believe I have found the fastest possible route on this episode.

I don't know if I should include the tutorials in the speedrun, but I went through them anyway. There are no routes to take, as they are completely linear, and it's either impossible to get less than 100%, or getting any less takes a lot longer. It simply requires quickly giving commands to get the fastest times. By the way, the tutorials do not have the in game timer featured in all other episodes, so manual timing will be required for these if they need to be speedran. I just used a stopwatch to get the times I typed in the first post.

superfly360

2012-07-14 05:41:14 pm

In Flames We Trust

I started routing another episode, This Little Piggy. In this episode, the neighbor takes periodic naps as part of his routine. Since he starts the episode by taking a nap, two of the tricks (cactus on alarm clock and freed pig) could not be used without requiring the neighbor to go through another routine which would take much more time than getting it all in one of his routines. This leaves me with just 5 tricks able to be used, and all 5 must be used to get a passing percentage. Conveniently, there seems to only be one way to set it up in just one of the neighbor's routines, which is the successful route in the original post. I must first run to the kitchen to get the hot sauce and put it in his dentures before he wakes up. Then I get the explosive chemical out of the chemistry kit in the living room and put it in the milk bottle in the kitchen. While there, I get the banana peel out of the trash can and go to the hall downstairs to collect the tacks from the bulletin board. After that, I go to the living room again to get the spicy crackers from the bag and place them in the bird treat container, placing a banana peel on the floor directly afterwards. After this I run upstairs to place the tacks on his bed. I then run downstairs and wait until he activates all the tricks.

There doesn't seem to be any other way to organize a faster route. I must do the hot sauce trick first, otherwise the neighbor will have to take another nap taking up much more time. The rest of the tricks simply follow his route in chronological order, with the banana peel placed in the only spot that would connect the tricks close enough to give enough rages to give me a passing percentage.

I started routing another episode, This Little Piggy. In this episode, the neighbor takes periodic naps as part of his routine. Since he starts the episode by taking a nap, two of the tricks (cactus on alarm clock and freed pig) could not be used without requiring the neighbor to go through another routine which would take much more time than getting it all in one of his routines. This leaves me with just 5 tricks able to be used, and all 5 must be used to get a passing percentage. Conveniently, there seems to only be one way to set it up in just one of the neighbor's routines, which is the successful route in the original post. I must first run to the kitchen to get the hot sauce and put it in his dentures before he wakes up. Then I get the explosive chemical out of the chemistry kit in the living room and put it in the milk bottle in the kitchen. While there, I get the banana peel out of the trash can and go to the hall downstairs to collect the tacks from the bulletin board. After that, I go to the living room again to get the spicy crackers from the bag and place them in the bird treat container, placing a banana peel on the floor directly afterwards. After this I run upstairs to place the tacks on his bed. I then run downstairs and wait until he activates all the tricks.

There doesn't seem to be any other way to organize a faster route. I must do the hot sauce trick first, otherwise the neighbor will have to take another nap taking up much more time. The rest of the tricks simply follow his route in chronological order, with the banana peel placed in the only spot that would connect the tricks close enough to give enough rages to give me a passing percentage.

superfly360

2012-07-17 11:26:24 pm

In Flames We Trust

I began working on the last episode in season 2, Barbecue Time. There are only 6 tricks in this episode, and a very high passing percentage of 75%, requiring at least 5/6 tricks just to pass. None of the tricks in particular require me to go out of my way. I must go in the kitchen to get either the banana peel or the vinegar, or both. I must also go to the bathroom to get the plant food and rubbing alcohol (who the hell puts plant food in their bathroom???). There isn't enough time to get even one item out of the kitchen before the neighbor gets there for the first time, but I must go in there to get at least on item. The routes for this episode are essentially the same, just swapping a few tricks to see which ones are faster.

This speedrun seems to be going pretty well so far. The next season may be hell though. These episodes are huge and have a lot more tricks than the first two seasons. Routing them may take a while. Undecided

ZenicReverie

2012-07-18 12:00:39 am

Waiting hurts my soul...

Seems like a clever game. Never played it myself. In the 100% video you posted, would it save any time to do egg, tv, whoopie, glue? Not sure what kind of a timer his actions are on, but it seems like that might be faster.

superfly360

2012-07-18 12:24:04 pm

In Flames We Trust

Well, the neighbor has a routine he always goes in, and he continues it after he's hits a trick. For example, in the episode in the video, he watches tv in the living room and then goes to the window in the far right of the kitchen, and then goes back to the living room to watch tv, and so on. On his way to the window in the kitchen, he passes by the microwave which is where you put the egg. The order of tricks pretty much must go like this to get 100%: egg - glue (neighbor goes back to living room) - TV - whoopie OR TV - whoopie - egg - glue. The route you suggested would require him to go to the kitchen twice, rather than just once. The video isn't mine so it may not reflect how I'd play and it doesn't seem to be a speedrun. But the 100% route doesn't really matter for the speedrun, as I am simply going for completing the episode as quickly as possible (I guess that makes this an any% run?). I don't think I'll even try to do a 100% speedrun as there doesn't seem to be very many different routes to take in the episodes to get 100%, so speedrunning would boil down to setting them up as soon as possible which isn't really that hard, and essentially makes it more of a walkthrough than a speedrun.

In any episode, you must set up the tricks in such a way that he walks through them while going through his routine. Hitting a trick simply makes him get mad and clean up the trick, but he continues like nothing happened afterwards (unless the trick makes him run somewhere, such as if he eats something gross and runs to the bathroom to throw up). Tricks are activated by him passing by or using an affected object, or by entering a room containing the trick; it just depends on the trick. It seems like he always spends the exact same amount of time performing everything in his routines, including the tricks themselves. The game is pretty simple in this regard. I.E. he will always watch TV in the episode in the video for X amount of time every time unless something gets his attention, such as using the cell phone to call his house or alerting his dog (neither of which can happen in that episode).

In addition to that, it is necessary to set up the tricks so the neighbor hits them all (or most of them) in close enough succession to make the neighbor rage, giving you an additional 3% for each rage. It may be faster, for instance, to set up one trick right away, but it may cost you a rage if you can't set up the other tricks around it fast enough.

Sorry if this is a bit confusing, but it's a bit hard to explain if you haven't played it. This game is pretty unique. Thanks for the reply though. thumbsup

Well, the neighbor has a routine he always goes in, and he continues it after he's hits a trick. For example, in the episode in the video, he watches tv in the living room and then goes to the window in the far right of the kitchen, and then goes back to the living room to watch tv, and so on. On his way to the window in the kitchen, he passes by the microwave which is where you put the egg. The order of tricks pretty much must go like this to get 100%: egg - glue (neighbor goes back to living room) - TV - whoopie OR TV - whoopie - egg - glue. The route you suggested would require him to go to the kitchen twice, rather than just once. The video isn't mine so it may not reflect how I'd play and it doesn't seem to be a speedrun. But the 100% route doesn't really matter for the speedrun, as I am simply going for completing the episode as quickly as possible (I guess that makes this an any% run?). I don't think I'll even try to do a 100% speedrun as there doesn't seem to be very many different routes to take in the episodes to get 100%, so speedrunning would boil down to setting them up as soon as possible which isn't really that hard, and essentially makes it more of a walkthrough than a speedrun.

In any episode, you must set up the tricks in such a way that he walks through them while going through his routine. Hitting a trick simply makes him get mad and clean up the trick, but he continues like nothing happened afterwards (unless the trick makes him run somewhere, such as if he eats something gross and runs to the bathroom to throw up). Tricks are activated by him passing by or using an affected object, or by entering a room containing the trick; it just depends on the trick. It seems like he always spends the exact same amount of time performing everything in his routines, including the tricks themselves. The game is pretty simple in this regard. I.E. he will always watch TV in the episode in the video for X amount of time every time unless something gets his attention, such as using the cell phone to call his house or alerting his dog (neither of which can happen in that episode).

In addition to that, it is necessary to set up the tricks so the neighbor hits them all (or most of them) in close enough succession to make the neighbor rage, giving you an additional 3% for each rage. It may be faster, for instance, to set up one trick right away, but it may cost you a rage if you can't set up the other tricks around it fast enough.

Sorry if this is a bit confusing, but it's a bit hard to explain if you haven't played it. This game is pretty unique. Thanks for the reply though. :thumbsup:

ZenicReverie

2012-07-18 09:28:46 pm

Waiting hurts my soul...

Ah, my suggestion seems it would cut into the rage bonus then. I wasn't aware of that.

superfly360

2013-01-05 12:42:21 pm

In Flames We Trust

I was finally able to find a good screen recorder that didn't lag, recorded good quality, and didn't make multi-gigabyte files. So now I can show my progress on the speedrun, rather than just writing about it.

Here's my run of The First Trick:

I kind of quit trying to speedrun this game a while ago, as I could not find a screen capturing program that worked on my PC. But now I have, although it displays the logo on the recordings of the trial version. I'll work this out if I manage to complete the speedrun. thumbsup

superfly360

2013-01-07 04:59:44 pm

In Flames We Trust

And here's TV Time:

I'm fairly certain that these are the fastest routes possible for these 2 levels, as they are rather simple and short. The later levels will have much more variability in the routing of tricks.

superfly360

2013-07-22 05:03:43 pm

In Flames We Trust

I might start working on this speedrun again. I'm currently starting to route the third season, which will probably be the toughest due to the larger areas to cover, high required percentages, and numerous tricks and resulting routes.

The minimum time for Barbecue Time seems to be 2:25, as I have been getting it for several different routes. I guess it's something to do with the neighbor's routes and animation times being similar for different tricks. So what I might do is just choose the most entertaining one for the speedrun if I can't improve the time. One I've come up with involves breaking the neighbor's route by alerting his dog twice, which gives just barely enough time to activate tricks and hide. It's a pretty risky route and does require pretty good timing. It takes me a few tries to do it correctly.

Also, I have a new laptop for when I start college, and it has a screen recording program. I have not checked it's quality, but if it's good enough I might use it to record the run, which won't cost me any money. If not, I might try some other recording program on my laptop, since my older computer can't handle recording programs and games at the same time without a bunch of lag.

I might start working on this speedrun again. I'm currently starting to route the third season, which will probably be the toughest due to the larger areas to cover, high required percentages, and numerous tricks and resulting routes.

The minimum time for Barbecue Time seems to be 2:25, as I have been getting it for several different routes. I guess it's something to do with the neighbor's routes and animation times being similar for different tricks. So what I might do is just choose the most entertaining one for the speedrun if I can't improve the time. One I've come up with involves breaking the neighbor's route by alerting his dog twice, which gives just barely enough time to activate tricks and hide. It's a pretty risky route and does require pretty good timing. It takes me a few tries to do it correctly.

Also, I have a new laptop for when I start college, and it has a screen recording program. I have not checked it's quality, but if it's good enough I might use it to record the run, which won't cost me any money. If not, I might try some other recording program on my laptop, since my older computer can't handle recording programs and games at the same time without a bunch of lag.

superfly360

2013-08-10 11:12:54 pm

In Flames We Trust

Here's a new video showing my route for Birthday Surprises. It's pretty much guaranteed to be the fastest route; all other options require the neighbor to go through another routine. One thing with this level that should be taken into account is when you can exit the level without getting caught as quickly as possible. This may save a second or two, which is significant in a ~1:30 segment.

superfly360

2013-08-13 09:04:36 pm

In Flames We Trust

I'm currently attempting routes on one of the last levels, Fitness Frenzy. This episode has 10 tricks, more than any other episode. The minimum percentage is moderate at 65%, but the tricks are only worth 7-8% each. I was expecting their to be many possible routes to take in the later levels, but now I'm not so sure. Some of the tricks require an object that's hard to get quickly due to the neighbor's routine in the episode, so it may be quicker to do other tricks instead of letting him go through his routine again. Plus, most of the tricks must be done in order to reach the required percentage, and following the neighbors route won't give you many options, and will give you rage bonuses as well. There is still room for variation with some tricks that change his route, along with taking advantage of his pets.

I'm actually not too far away from completing this speedrun honestly. I still have to start getting data for I think 3 levels, and come up with the fastest route for a few others including those. I need to find a good way to record as well. I hope there will be verifiers if I complete this speedrun. thumbsup

I'm currently attempting routes on one of the last levels, Fitness Frenzy. This episode has 10 tricks, more than any other episode. The minimum percentage is moderate at 65%, but the tricks are only worth 7-8% each. I was expecting their to be many possible routes to take in the later levels, but now I'm not so sure. Some of the tricks require an object that's hard to get quickly due to the neighbor's routine in the episode, so it may be quicker to do other tricks instead of letting him go through his routine again. Plus, most of the tricks must be done in order to reach the required percentage, and following the neighbors route won't give you many options, and will give you rage bonuses as well. There is still room for variation with some tricks that change his route, along with taking advantage of his pets.

I'm actually not too far away from completing this speedrun honestly. I still have to start getting data for I think 3 levels, and come up with the fastest route for a few others including those. I need to find a good way to record as well. I hope there will be verifiers if I complete this speedrun. :thumbsup:

superfly360

2013-08-14 05:42:17 pm

In Flames We Trust

I'm pretty sure I've found the quickest route for Fitness Frenzy. I can save around 10 seconds just by placing the marbles in a different room, as it eliminates an unnecessary rage bonus. I will check this in other episodes I've routed, since items like soap bars, banana peels, and marbles can be placed in several rooms.

I've begun routing Home Improvement, another one of the last episodes. This level and Fitness Frenzy seem to have the same problem: some tricks are clearly out of the question when it comes to speedrun routing. In Fitness Frenzy, the neighbor starts in a room where he collects a yoga book and feeds his fish, requiring the player to wait until he begins his routine to do two of the 10 tricks. There also isn't nearly enough time to run to the top floor to get the saw and back down to the bottom floor to cut the barbell, without the neighbor starting another routine. This leaves me with 7 tricks, which gives me just enough to pass the level, and the placement of marbles is the only variable. In Home Improvement, the neighbor begins by working on his chair in the living room and then going upstairs to use a grinder. I obviously cannot replace his instructions with the torture book, since he begins in the room with the instructions, and the structure of the house prevents me from going upstairs before he does without getting caught. This leaves me with 6 tricks out of 8 to work with before he begins another long routine. One issue with this level is that doing the heating valve trick and water valve trick will cause him to run downstairs twice, which takes a lot of time. There's not much I can do about that though, since it still takes less time than letting him start another routine. I have extra percentage left over with my current route, so positioning the marbles in such a way as to avoid a rage bonus is worth looking into.

I'll update the first post with my current progress with routing at some point. thumbsup

I'm pretty sure I've found the quickest route for Fitness Frenzy. I can save around 10 seconds just by placing the marbles in a different room, as it eliminates an unnecessary rage bonus. I will check this in other episodes I've routed, since items like soap bars, banana peels, and marbles can be placed in several rooms.

I've begun routing Home Improvement, another one of the last episodes. This level and Fitness Frenzy seem to have the same problem: some tricks are clearly out of the question when it comes to speedrun routing. In Fitness Frenzy, the neighbor starts in a room where he collects a yoga book and feeds his fish, requiring the player to wait until he begins his routine to do two of the 10 tricks. There also isn't nearly enough time to run to the top floor to get the saw and back down to the bottom floor to cut the barbell, without the neighbor starting another routine. This leaves me with 7 tricks, which gives me just enough to pass the level, and the placement of marbles is the only variable. In Home Improvement, the neighbor begins by working on his chair in the living room and then going upstairs to use a grinder. I obviously cannot replace his instructions with the torture book, since he begins in the room with the instructions, and the structure of the house prevents me from going upstairs before he does without getting caught. This leaves me with 6 tricks out of 8 to work with before he begins another long routine. One issue with this level is that doing the heating valve trick and water valve trick will cause him to run downstairs twice, which takes a lot of time. There's not much I can do about that though, since it still takes less time than letting him start another routine. I have extra percentage left over with my current route, so positioning the marbles in such a way as to avoid a rage bonus is worth looking into.

I'll update the first post with my current progress with routing at some point. :thumbsup:

superfly360

2013-08-17 08:01:35 pm

In Flames We Trust

I've begun routing the final episode, Night of the Hunter. It's a very tough episode to route. It has a high percentage of 75% with only 8 tricks. It is one of the few levels where the neighbor must actually start a 2nd routine to gain the minimum percentage. Two of the tricks are basically required: Nail In Record Player and Gunpowder Tobacco. This is because they are close enough in proximity that it wouldn't make sense to use just one of them, and not using either wouldn't give enough percentage to win the episode. Basically, the logical routes to take will look rather complex on video, but are actually rather simple. Using marbles, the wire, and the shotgun is essential, since they can be used in close proximity and waste no time. The hat, rat, and horn tricks seem to offer the most variation, since they are all worth the same percentage and only 2 are required. So whichever two have the quickest animations will be chosen. The rat trick is probably going to be one of them, since the animation is very fast and the neighbor doesn't rage or get angry for some reason.

The path for this level is ridiculous. I must first run up to the top floor just ahead of the neighbor, and sneak under his bed. Once he enters the next room, I sneak and get shotgun shells, and run downstairs to get glue out of the bathroom and marbles out of the cabinet. I then go to the kitchen and get the cork and wire out of the trash, and plug the wire in the basement and plug/load the shotgun. I then place the marbles in the hall and go to the kitchen. After the neighbor goes downstairs, I go upstairs and do two of the three tricks on the top floor (Rat In Medal Box, Balloon In Horn, or Glued Hat). I then get the gunpowder and dog whistle out of the upstairs drawer, and go to the hall. I then must wait a little while for him to polish his trophies, and once he places down his tobacco can and opens the record player cabinet, I blow the whistle to make him run upstairs. I then set up the two tricks in the room he left and wait by the exit for him to complete them.

There are several areas where I could save time in this level:

Exploiting Dog Whistle: After messing around with his gun on the bottom floor, the neighbor walks to the top floor. If I blow the dog whistle, he will run upstairs faster than normal. This could save time, but the neighbor also spends time walking to his dog and yelling at it, so the time it saves on the way up may be wasted by this.

Timing the Dog Whistle Before Setting Up Nail and Tobacco Tricks: Before I can set up these tricks, the neighbor must first place his pipe and then open up the record player cabinet. After opening the cabinet, he walks to the other side of the room to get a record to put in the player. I could try blowing the whistle after he picks up a record, so he doesn't have to backtrack once he gets back to the room. This could save a few seconds. Using the dog whistle at the perfect moment could save a second or two as well.

Black Shoe Polish Maybe?: I didn't work with this trick very much, since there weren't many ways to get a needed rage bonus, unlike the other tricks on the top floor. But maybe I could use the marbles with it, since I don't believe I got a rage bonus with the marbles in my other routes.

I'm almost done planning routes for this speedrun. I have some data written down for the first episode in Season 3, Laundry Day, but I haven't routed it yet. There are still a few other levels I need to find the best route for, and I plan on going back to the levels that have objects that can be used in multiple rooms, in order to see if I can find the optimal room to use them in. I also need to look into a good recording program, since I don't think my labtop records SDA quality videos, especially in regards to sound.

I've begun routing the final episode, Night of the Hunter. It's a very tough episode to route. It has a high percentage of 75% with only 8 tricks. It is one of the few levels where the neighbor must actually start a 2nd routine to gain the minimum percentage. Two of the tricks are basically required: Nail In Record Player and Gunpowder Tobacco. This is because they are close enough in proximity that it wouldn't make sense to use just one of them, and not using either wouldn't give enough percentage to win the episode. Basically, the logical routes to take will look rather complex on video, but are actually rather simple. Using marbles, the wire, and the shotgun is essential, since they can be used in close proximity and waste no time. The hat, rat, and horn tricks seem to offer the most variation, since they are all worth the same percentage and only 2 are required. So whichever two have the quickest animations will be chosen. The rat trick is probably going to be one of them, since the animation is very fast and the neighbor doesn't rage or get angry for some reason.

The path for this level is ridiculous. I must first run up to the top floor just ahead of the neighbor, and sneak under his bed. Once he enters the next room, I sneak and get shotgun shells, and run downstairs to get glue out of the bathroom and marbles out of the cabinet. I then go to the kitchen and get the cork and wire out of the trash, and plug the wire in the basement and plug/load the shotgun. I then place the marbles in the hall and go to the kitchen. After the neighbor goes downstairs, I go upstairs and do two of the three tricks on the top floor (Rat In Medal Box, Balloon In Horn, or Glued Hat). I then get the gunpowder and dog whistle out of the upstairs drawer, and go to the hall. I then must wait a little while for him to polish his trophies, and once he places down his tobacco can and opens the record player cabinet, I blow the whistle to make him run upstairs. I then set up the two tricks in the room he left and wait by the exit for him to complete them.

There are several areas where I could save time in this level:

[b]Exploiting Dog Whistle:[/b] After messing around with his gun on the bottom floor, the neighbor walks to the top floor. If I blow the dog whistle, he will run upstairs faster than normal. This could save time, but the neighbor also spends time walking to his dog and yelling at it, so the time it saves on the way up may be wasted by this.

[b]Timing the Dog Whistle Before Setting Up Nail and Tobacco Tricks:[/b] Before I can set up these tricks, the neighbor must first place his pipe and then open up the record player cabinet. After opening the cabinet, he walks to the other side of the room to get a record to put in the player. I could try blowing the whistle after he picks up a record, so he doesn't have to backtrack once he gets back to the room. This could save a few seconds. Using the dog whistle at the perfect moment could save a second or two as well.

[b]Black Shoe Polish Maybe?:[/b] I didn't work with this trick very much, since there weren't many ways to get a needed rage bonus, unlike the other tricks on the top floor. But maybe I could use the marbles with it, since I don't believe I got a rage bonus with the marbles in my other routes.

I'm almost done planning routes for this speedrun. I have some data written down for the first episode in Season 3, Laundry Day, but I haven't routed it yet. There are still a few other levels I need to find the best route for, and I plan on going back to the levels that have objects that can be used in multiple rooms, in order to see if I can find the optimal room to use them in. I also need to look into a good recording program, since I don't think my labtop records SDA quality videos, especially in regards to sound.

superfly360

2013-08-18 09:46:14 pm

In Flames We Trust

I'm having a bit of trouble recording, and could use a bit of help. I have very little experience with screen capturing, and the program that came with my laptop isn't very high quality. So I've looked into Virtualdub and it looks promising, but I can't figure out how to record in full screen, which is the only way I can play Neighbors From Hell. I would try Fraps but I don't really have a budget for this. Any tips?

superfly360

2013-08-21 08:57:22 pm

In Flames We Trust

I've found a slightly faster route for Night of the Hunter. It goes: wire-shotgun-marbles-rat-polish-nail-tobacco. I follow the same basic route as the other routes, but I put the shoe polish in the trophy polish when I get the wire and corks out of the kitchen trashcan, and I don't set up the glued hat and balloon trumpet tricks. I put the marbles in the hall after the neighbor goes to the basement, which gives just barely enough time to connect the tricks before and after it to get 2 rage bonuses, both of which are absolutely necessary in this route. Blowing the dog whistle seems to waste more time than it saves in this route, but I may test it to be certain. The time for this particular route is around 5:45, which is ~5 seconds faster than my previous routes.

Also, if anyone has any tips for recording I'd appreciate it, even if you have no knowledge of this game.

KingdomNerdia

2013-08-21 09:51:37 pm

OLV

For recording, my best luck has been with OBS. It handles screen capture or direct game capture, streams, and also does recording directly to hard drive. Versatile, and very lightweight to save graphics power for games.

The game looks really fun, and I enjoyed watching your videos a lot. Quick question: what precisely defines ending a stage? I saw you only used 3/6 tricks in the birthday cake run.

superfly360

Edit history:

superfly360: 2013-08-22 08:47:31 pm

2013-08-22 07:53:31 pm

In Flames We Trust

Quote from KingdomNerdia:

For recording, my best luck has been with OBS. It handles screen capture or direct game capture, streams, and also does recording directly to hard drive. Versatile, and very lightweight to save graphics power for games.

The game looks really fun, and I enjoyed watching your videos a lot. Quick question: what precisely defines ending a stage? I saw you only used 3/6 tricks in the birthday cake run.

I tried OBS and after some playing around it works great! Thanks! I also figured out how to make Neighbors From Hell windowed. I just go to a text file in the games folder and change "screen fullscreen = 'true'" to "screen fullscreen = 'false'". Though I'm not sure how SDA feels about changes to the game like that. This made recording a bit easier.

As for what defines ending a stage, from what I understand about the game, there is a minimum percentage that must be gained in order to pass the stage. Getting a high percentage (90%+ I believe) gives a special icon to whatever episodes the high percentage was obtained. Getting the high percentage for each episode in a season will get you a trophy, and getting 100% on all episodes will give you an additional trophy. But if you don't get a high percentage for all episodes in a season, but still get at least the minimum %, you will get a screen telling you that you passed, but you didn't get an award because your ratings weren't high enough. So it's kind of like a "bad" ending. Getting the minimum percentage rarely (if ever) requires doing all of the tricks. I guess it could be compared to Tony Hawk Pro Skater runs where all of the goals are not completed and golds aren't won for all competitions, but the game is still beaten.

Here's a video of my route for The Apple Pie using OBS:

EDIT: As you can see, there is a big black area on the right of the video. I will look into fixing this. Also, I messed up a little in the video, where I clicked on the wrong item for the glue trick. It didn't cost any time, but I will still redo the run for the final submission to make it look as flawless as possible.

[quote="KingdomNerdia"]For recording, my best luck has been with [url=http://obsproject.com/]OBS[/url].  It handles screen capture or direct game capture, streams, and also does recording directly to hard drive.  Versatile, and very lightweight to save graphics power for games.

The game looks really fun, and I enjoyed watching your videos a lot.  Quick question: what precisely defines ending a stage?  I saw you only used 3/6 tricks in the birthday cake run.[/quote]
I tried OBS and after some playing around it works great! Thanks! I also figured out how to make Neighbors From Hell windowed. I just go to a text file in the games folder and change "screen fullscreen = 'true'" to "screen fullscreen = 'false'". Though I'm not sure how SDA feels about changes to the game like that. This made recording a bit easier.

As for what defines ending a stage, from what I understand about the game, there is a minimum percentage that must be gained in order to pass the stage. Getting a high percentage (90%+ I believe) gives a special icon to whatever episodes the high percentage was obtained. Getting the high percentage for each episode in a season will get you a trophy, and getting 100% on all episodes will give you an additional trophy. But if you don't get a high percentage for all episodes in a season, but still get at least the minimum %, you will get a screen telling you that you passed, but you didn't get an award because your ratings weren't high enough. So it's kind of like a "bad" ending. Getting the minimum percentage rarely (if ever) requires doing all of the tricks. I guess it could be compared to Tony Hawk Pro Skater runs where all of the goals are not completed and golds aren't won for all competitions, but the game is still beaten.

Here's a video of my route for The Apple Pie using OBS: [spoiler]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dRBF556oEAA[/spoiler]

EDIT: As you can see, there is a big black area on the right of the video. I will look into fixing this. Also, I messed up a little in the video, where I clicked on the wrong item for the glue trick. It didn't cost any time, but I will still redo the run for the final submission to make it look as flawless as possible.

KingdomNerdia

2013-08-22 09:01:33 pm

OLV

There aren't any mentions in the rules about fullscreen vs. windowed mode. My experience with other games shows that, for PC, windowed mode is usually better for recording, and since you need to record to speed run, this makes the most sense.

superfly360

2013-08-27 07:35:50 pm

In Flames We Trust

I assumed there wouldn't be any problems with it, but the way I've made it windowed isn't really an "official" way of doing it haha.

I believe I've found the fastest route for Bath Time, which is a relief since this level is a pain to speedrun. I've got the time down to 2:45, and I only have 2 options with my placement of the soap, and neither places save time since they offer the same rage bonuses. I've chosen the first route since it seems more interesting. In this one, I run upstairs immediately and get the egg out of the fridge, putting it in the microwave right away. I then run downstairs and get the items out of the drawer in the hall, and draw on the picture with the marker. I then run to the bathroom and get the soap and hair restorer, and put the soap on the bathroom floor. I then run upstairs and glue the book and put bath beads in the candy. I then go to the kitchen again to get the empty bottle out of the trash can, and hide in the hall closet when the neighbor goes in the bathroom. Once he goes upstairs, I go to the bathroom and put the tar on the towel and hair restorer in the bathtub. I then wait for him to do all the tricks and exit the level.

I still have one or two episodes to route, and I want to return to some that have marbles or soap and attempt to shorten them with more strategic placement of tricks.

I assumed there wouldn't be any problems with it, but the way I've made it windowed isn't really an "official" way of doing it haha.

I believe I've found the fastest route for Bath Time, which is a relief since this level is a pain to speedrun. I've got the time down to 2:45, and I only have 2 options with my placement of the soap, and neither places save time since they offer the same rage bonuses. I've chosen the first route since it seems more interesting. In this one, I run upstairs immediately and get the egg out of the fridge, putting it in the microwave right away. I then run downstairs and get the items out of the drawer in the hall, and draw on the picture with the marker. I then run to the bathroom and get the soap and hair restorer, and put the soap on the bathroom floor. I then run upstairs and glue the book and put bath beads in the candy. I then go to the kitchen again to get the empty bottle out of the trash can, and hide in the hall closet when the neighbor goes in the bathroom. Once he goes upstairs, I go to the bathroom and put the tar on the towel and hair restorer in the bathtub. I then wait for him to do all the tricks and exit the level.

I still have one or two episodes to route, and I want to return to some that have marbles or soap and attempt to shorten them with more strategic placement of tricks.

MUGG

2017-01-30 04:20:16 pm

TASer

I did season 1 IL 100%