Sonic Xs - November 24, 2021

Edit history:

SDAVerification: 2021-11-24 12:59:22 am

SDAVerification: 2021-11-24 12:40:44 am

2021-10-16 08:02:30 am

Game Page: Doesn't exist yet

Sonic Xs () (pc) [Any %] [Single Segment]

Decision: Reject

Reason: The provided video is not recorded at the game's native framerate (video is 20fps, while the game runs at 30fps). For a short game like this, the run is expected to look essentially flawless (no visible mistakes or obvious ways to improve the route). While very minor, imperfections in the route have been pointed out in the replies (and later confirmed to produce a faster run).

https://queue.speeddemosarchive.com/verificationfiles/2372/

This run will be available for a month. After that these link(s) will no longer work.

Thread title:

SDAVerification

2021-10-16 08:02:30 am

Run Information

Sonic Xs () (pc) [Any %] [Single Segment]

Verification Files

http://v.speeddemosarchive.com/sonicxs-20211014/Sonic%20Xs%20_%204Kids%20Entertainment%20_%202021-10-14%2013-53-36.mp4

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LotBlind

2021-10-21 11:42:14 am

Some questions...

1) What's the difference between "web" and "PC" here exactly?

2) Is the technique of throwing a coin to get a new jump difficult to do or not really?

3) Is the only reason you go towards the right instead of straight up and spend some time not jumping because there isn't a more straight vertical path available that ends at the left side of the exit instead of the right?

4) Is the score based on exact frame count you finished in or also the coins you collected? Did you try to check how it's calculated?

Connor Marini

(user is banned)

2021-10-21 01:55:03 pm

1.I don't really know the difference between web and PC.
2.The technique of throwing a ring to get a new jump isn't really difficult.
3.The reason I go towards the right instead of straight up and spend some time not jumping is because there isn't a more straight vertical path available that ends at the left side of the exit instead of the right.
4.The score is based on exact frame count I finished in, rings lower the score. I did check how it's calculated.

LotBlind

2021-10-22 12:54:21 pm

3) At 7 seconds in, it looks like you should start jumping again sooner. Why do you have to go on the right side of the several small platforms that have rings on top of them instead of the left side? You seem to be losing time since the lower right lip of the platform with the robot on it (one above you at 7 seconds) is the bottleneck there.

4) Oh, so rings LOWER the score. Is a lower score better? I guess not since it says the faster you are the higher the score. So how much would your score be if you finished instantaneously and picked up no rings? How much is the score increased/decreased per ring collected? If we know that we can use the score as an in-game timer for this game (but then every runner must show it in case there's ever more runs).

Connor Marini

(user is banned)

2021-10-22 01:14:58 pm

3.The right side is much faster than the left side. I tested the left side and found out that I would lose a few seconds before I settled on the right.
4.I don't really know if a lower score is really better or not. If I finished instantaneously and picked up no rings it would be a big increase in score.

LotBlind

2021-10-23 02:58:33 pm

I attached a picture to make sure we're talking about the same thing. Red is what you're doing. Green is what looks visually fastest.

Attachment:

SonicX.png

Connor Marini

(user is banned)

2021-10-23 03:25:56 pm

I kept doing that many times and only got 9 instead of 8.

ktwo

2021-10-24 02:34:30 am

If you've taken the green route in Lotblind's screenshot "many" times, could you do it once more and also record it? It's a bit difficult to accept without proof that what's clearly a detour would end up being faster.

Connor Marini

(user is banned)

2021-10-24 07:03:44 am

Here's the proof

Attachment:

Sonic Xs _ 4Kids Entertainment _ Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming _ Internet Archive - Google Chrome 2021-10-24 08-59-10.mp4

ktwo

Edit history:

ktwo: 2021-10-24 10:44:36 am

ktwo: 2021-10-24 10:43:55 am

ktwo: 2021-10-24 10:42:52 am

2021-10-24 10:36:20 am

Thanks for the video showing the green route!
I should also say congrats to the record. This looks to be two frames faster than the 5 year old record in this game.

I've compared the two videos frame by frame. By comparing the vertical positions, the green route should be up to maybe 0.3s faster than the red route. There are three reasons I can see for the video of the green route being slower:
1. The exit is much more optimized in the video of the red route. The video of the green route continues jumping vertically more than necessary.
2. There are a few "immobility" frames in the video of the green route. See e.g. frames 189 and 190. I can't tell if this is random, some kind of corner effect from being close to a platform, lag or something else.
3. It looks like you could jump a few frames earlier with the green route, which should translate to a corresponding gain of vertical height over the red route. I understand jumping too early could risk ending up bumping the head into the platform above, so the right spot to aim for will ultimately be up to the player based on what's acceptable from a risk-reward perspective.

I think it's pretty unlikely that the immobility frames are related to the choice of route. If it's not too hard to get to this point, a few more tries should reveal if time is always lost in the same spots. Then timing the exit correctly is probably not evident, but that's not related to the route choice. "Just" requires good execution.

As far as the video quality goes, it's recorded at 20 fps, but the game runs at 30 fps. So the submitted video is technically not acceptable for an SDA-submission. Maybe that's another incentive to try and squeeze out a bit more time by exploring the green route some more?

Thanks for the video showing the green route!
I should also say congrats to the record. This looks to be two frames faster than the 5 year old record in this game.

I've compared the two videos frame by frame. By comparing the vertical positions, the green route should be up to maybe 0.3s faster than the red route. There are three reasons I can see for the video of the green route being slower:
1. The exit is much more optimized in the video of the red route. The video of the green route continues jumping vertically more than necessary.
2. There are a few "immobility" frames in the video of the green route. See e.g. frames 189 and 190. I can't tell if this is random, some kind of corner effect from being close to a platform, lag or something else.
3. It looks like you could jump a few frames earlier with the green route, which should translate to a corresponding gain of vertical height over the red route. I understand jumping too early could risk ending up bumping the head into the platform above, so the right spot to aim for will ultimately be up to the player based on what's acceptable from a risk-reward perspective.

I think it's pretty unlikely that the immobility frames are related to the choice of route. If it's not too hard to get to this point, a few more tries should reveal if time is always lost in the same spots. Then timing the exit correctly is probably not evident, but that's not related to the route choice. "Just" requires good execution.

As far as the video quality goes, it's recorded at 20 fps, but the game runs at 30 fps. So the submitted video is technically not acceptable for an SDA-submission. Maybe that's another incentive to try and squeeze out a bit more time by exploring the green route some more?

LotBlind

2021-10-24 02:19:41 pm

Yeah, I don't see a reason how red could possibly be faster when the sheer geometry of it suggests green is faster. It can be more difficult to pull off for some reason but...

SDAVerification

2021-11-24 12:40:45 am

Decision posted.