Possible speedrun of Claw?

2005-12-04 11:01:33 pm

Never give up!

Alright. So while going through older PC games, I rediscovered an incredibly challenging, yet well-made platformer called Claw. After playing through a great deal of it (and experiencing the frustrating mid-game areas firsthand), I realized this would probably be a great game to speedrun.

Unfortunately, I am in no position to speedrun this game for two reasons. One, I have to finish the runs I have in progress first. Two, I still lack the insane skill required for a GOOD speedrun of this game.

Has anyone else heard of this game? I'd like to figure out how popular it is before discussing any speedrun tactics.

Thread title:

RandomEngy

2005-12-05 02:32:12 am

A Crab

I played it some back when it came out. I was never able to beat it; I pretty much got frustrated at the first boss that started shooting at you. I would be interested in watching a run of this.

AquaTiger

Edit history:

AquaTiger: 2005-12-05 02:36:45 am

2005-12-05 02:36:28 am

Never give up!

First boss that started shooting at you?

If you mean Wolvington (the boss of the sixth level), I actually had a strategy for beating him. Simply crouch near enough to hit him once and keep attacking. His uppercut can't hit you when you're crouching, and he won't use his ranged attack as far as I've seen with this strategy.

I myself have yet to beat this game either - I'm on the eighth level, the Shipyards.

RandomEngy

2005-12-05 02:48:56 am

A Crab

Yeah that's the one. It's been a while since I've played it. Plus I don't even have the CD around anymore.

AquaTiger

Edit history:

AquaTiger: 2005-12-05 03:25:38 am

2005-12-05 03:09:25 am

Never give up!

Quote:

Yeah that's the one. It's been a while since I've played it. Plus I don't even have the CD around anymore.

Are you familiar with the site 'Home of the Underdogs'? They have this game listed there, and Monolith (the company that made the game... if they sound familiar, they also helped make Blood, and heck, the same person voices the main character of both games) has apparently allowed that site to provide the full version of the game as a download.

Anyway, back to the topic of speedrunning it. I had to use automatic saves (and new games starting from individual levels) to make it past level 4 so far, but I'll continue playing the game and see what I can do. Heck, I might put in serious practice over winter break.

Here's some things I do know:
-For some reason, Captain Claw (hereafter referred to as 'Claw') can't run and attack at the same time. It's a little understandable with the explosives, but not with the pistol, magic attack, or melee attack. How to fix this? Jump and attack.
-I find that pistol ammo is kinda scarce for how useful it can be in a speedrun. Magic claw ammo is extremely rare, as well. Dynamite seems to be far less useful.
-Now that I figured out what the catnip item is supposed to do (double Claw's melee attack power and improve his jumping height and running speed), I can say that's a powerup to have in effect whenever you can find it.

Edit: Okay, the farthest I've officially made it (through starting a new game on the latest level I have available and using the saves from that) is the fight with Gabriel, the eighth level's boss. I know you have to hit the button farther up the ship, but I've never survived that long. Will practice more later.

[quote]Yeah that's the one.  It's been a while since I've played it.  Plus I don't even have the CD around anymore.[/quote]

Are you familiar with the site 'Home of the Underdogs'?  They have this game listed there, and Monolith (the company that made the game... if they sound familiar, they also helped make Blood, and heck, the same person voices the main character of both games) has apparently allowed that site to provide the full version of the game as a download.

Anyway, back to the topic of speedrunning it.  I had to use automatic saves (and new games starting from individual levels) to make it past level 4 so far, but I'll continue playing the game and see what I can do.  Heck, I might put in serious practice over winter break.

Here's some things I do know:
-For some reason, Captain Claw (hereafter referred to as 'Claw') can't run and attack at the same time.  It's a little understandable with the explosives, but not with the pistol, magic attack, or melee attack.  How to fix this?  Jump and attack.
-I find that pistol ammo is kinda scarce for how useful it can be in a speedrun.  Magic claw ammo is extremely rare, as well.  Dynamite seems to be far less useful.
-Now that I figured out what the catnip item is supposed to do (double Claw's melee attack power and improve his jumping height and running speed), I can say that's a powerup to have in effect whenever you can find it.

Edit: Okay, the farthest I've officially made it (through starting a new game on the latest level I have available and using the saves from that) is the fight with Gabriel, the eighth level's boss.  I know you have to hit the button farther up the ship, but I've never survived that long.  Will practice more later.

RandomEngy

2005-12-05 05:58:25 am

A Crab

Hmm I'm not sure if that's legal. The official claw website has "BUY CLAW NOW" in big letters on the main page, plus it only lets you download the demo. Where does it say they allowed the site to do it?

AquaTiger

Edit history:

AquaTiger: 2005-12-05 12:12:22 pm

2005-12-05 11:15:51 am

Never give up!

Well, there's the problem.

First, the Monolith store doesn't sell their games directly anymore. (The 'order' thing is probably a lack of updates, plus nothing on the official forum says anything about this issue.) And I have never seen Claw sold in any local retailers around this area. The fact that it's available the way it is on Underdogs (and it's not specified as freeware) tells me it's abandonware - you decide if that's legal, okay? I don't want to get into that debate (I have trouble effectively participating in debates). The 'Monolith allowed' thing was a complete guess - what I do know is that if Monolith had informed the Underdogs site that the game was still being sold, Underdogs would have removed the download pretty quickly (it's actually happened before with other companies and their games, yes).

I haven't been able to get more practice on the game just yet.

Blublu

2005-12-07 01:58:21 am

...

That would be pretty nice. The game was released commercially, so I don't see any reason why it wouldn't be accepted. Unless abandonware is unacceptable.

There are two possible tun types: 100% and pure speed. 100% would mean getting all the treasures, which is VERY difficult in this game.

You can start playing any level from the main menu, this gives you something like 10 bullets and some lives. I guess this means each level can be run individually, which is very nice indeed.

By the way, the version they have for download at the-underdogs.org doesn't have any sound or movies. I have the full version of the game (it's not hard to find) but I'm not sure about the legality of it. Did they just strip the sound/movies to save space, or is it some sort of special free internet only version?

AquaTiger

Edit history:

AquaTiger: 2005-12-07 02:21:21 am

2005-12-07 02:14:05 am

Never give up!

Sound? I somehow think you meant music.

Anyway, I think they stripped the music and movies to save space. It's usually what happens.

Also, I'm pretty sure abandonware in and of itself can still be accepted for speedrunning, assuming the game was released commercially at some point, although the game itself would have to be in its original form. And since Claw was indeed released commercially, it's viable.

Speaking of commercial, the price people are asking for this game is quite insane. Oh well, I guess that's what happens with the really good older games.

Blublu

2005-12-07 03:02:25 am

...

Oh well, the sounds didn't work for me at all in the stripped down version, but when I tried the full version everything was perfect.

Yeah, I just realized most NES and SNES games are basically abandonware, so that was a stupid thought. 8) Anyway, good luck to whoever who's going to run this game, and if you're going for all treasures, may the video game gods have mercy on your soul.

RandomEngy

2005-12-07 06:20:21 am

A Crab

If the Revolution delivers the online goods, a lot of NES and SNES games won't be abandonware anymore; you'll be able to download and play them for a small fee.

Blublu

2005-12-11 04:23:30 pm

...

So has anyone found a good way to capture this game? I tried Camtasia, but the colors come out completely messed up. Sad