The Final Fantasy Marathon Thread [locked]

2012-11-10 09:21:02 pm

I only have one thing in that list, the headphones, but they're a doozie pair:

http://www.gradolabs.com/page_headphones.php?item=ae1595b5da20749abdc0f2ea66eb593f

Pornosaurus Rex

2012-11-11 09:36:56 am

So, I'll be sending out a package tomorrow, hopefully, with Final Fantasy Anthology and Final Fantasy Tactics. Also, assuming I can get them resurfaced, Final Fantasy 7 and Final Fantasy 9, as I have decided that I can't sell the extra copies I have (no one seems to want them when I post in the trading forum) so I'll donate them. I don't need 3 copies or 4 copies, respectively. I won't be able to play test them, but last I knew they played all the way through.

Driscollad

2012-11-11 10:57:47 pm

Update...

Just learning the points of the run where FFGamer would break off for 100% instead of any%, to highlight exactly what is added if the 100% incentive is met. Otherwise the route is learned well for any%, equipment attributes noted. Adding points of interest, including odd trivia, glitch explanations, etc.

Poxnor

2012-11-12 03:58:28 am

Moo! Flap! Hug!

rinimt: The saving of people sounds like a good donation incentive, but I haven't played CC -- is it fairly entertaining or enjoyable to watch (i.e., would someone donate for it)? Saving vs. not saving is not a good incentive. Actually, I'm going to add to the "Rules For Runners" (next time I update the first post) that runners should save at least roughly every 30 minutes. Even if your route is perfectly safe, human error happens ("No! I just unlocked Item!"). Even if no human error happens, electrical outages happen (hopefully not during this marathon, but there's precedent from a previous marathon, lol). Now, I know that a power outage shouldn't be an issue for a PSP game; but, someone walking by you, bumping you, and causing you to drop the PSP -- which lands on its power button and shuts off -- could be an issue. Marathons have a way of inducing the phrase, "That's never happened before..."

Lenophis: Streaming is just a way of...hmm, how shall I put it...encouraging all of us to practice, and getting rapid feedback and suggestions. If you don't have much chance to stream, that's no problem. In that case, I'd just ask that you write practice updates every once in a while in this thread, and become active (if you aren't already) in the FF1/PSP thread (to make sure that you're up to date on the latest route stuff).

Zoning: That's great that you could fill the FF13 gap. If you'd like to come and play, we'd love to have you here. Just post a sign-up if you decide you want to come. As for FF13-2, obviously it would be a great addition to the marathon (I think it's a really enjoyable little watch, and costumes are a cute donation incentive). I'd encourage you to run it; but, if you don't enjoy running it, don't feel like you're required to.

Rex: Awesome, thank you so much for the generous prize donations. Could you send me (email/PM) a list of any prizes you've sent that aren't already in the first post. I've gotten a little lost about the complete list of awesome prizes you're sending.

Driscollad: Great work on learning MQ. And, if you could bring those headphones, that would (?) be great. The "?" is because I'm still not sure what all the different equipment listed for AGDQ is actually *used for* (if anyone can provide any insight to what the different things do, that would be a great help). Also, could you let me know your real name for the sign-up. If you don't want it made public, feel free to PM or email me; but, I want to know who's coming into my place Smiley

Metasigma: You talked about your friend from Edmonton coming over for a little while, but I lost any details that you gave me. Sorry! Could you fire me off an email/PM with her name, how long she'd be over for, etc. (plus anything else you think is relevant).

rinimt: The saving of people sounds like a good donation incentive, but I haven't played CC -- is it fairly entertaining or enjoyable to watch (i.e., would someone donate for it)?  Saving vs. not saving is not a good incentive.  Actually, I'm going to add to the "Rules For Runners" (next time I update the first post) that runners should save at least roughly every 30 minutes.  Even if your route is perfectly safe, human error happens ("No!  I just unlocked Item!").  Even if no human error happens, electrical outages happen (hopefully not during this marathon, but there's precedent from a previous marathon, lol).  Now, I know that a power outage shouldn't be an issue for a PSP game; but, someone walking by you, bumping you, and causing you to drop the PSP -- which lands on its power button and shuts off -- could be an issue.  Marathons have a way of inducing the phrase, "That's never happened before..."

Lenophis: Streaming is just a way of...hmm, how shall I put it...encouraging all of us to practice, and getting rapid feedback and suggestions.  If you don't have much chance to stream, that's no problem.  In that case, I'd just ask that you write practice updates every once in a while in this thread, and become active (if you aren't already) in the FF1/PSP thread (to make sure that you're up to date on the latest route stuff).

Zoning: That's great that you could fill the FF13 gap.  If you'd like to come and play, we'd love to have you here.  Just post a sign-up if you decide you want to come.  As for FF13-2, obviously it would be a great addition to the marathon (I think it's a really enjoyable little watch, and costumes are a cute donation incentive).  I'd encourage you to run it; but, if you don't enjoy running it, don't feel like you're required to.

Rex: Awesome, thank you so much for the generous prize donations.  Could you send me (email/PM) a list of any prizes you've sent that aren't already in the first post.  I've gotten a little lost about the complete list of awesome prizes you're sending.

Driscollad: Great work on learning MQ.  And, if you could bring those headphones, that would (?) be great.  The "?" is because I'm still not sure what all the different equipment listed for AGDQ is actually *used for* (if anyone can provide any insight to what the different things do, that would be a great help).  Also, could you let me know your real name for the sign-up.  If you don't want it made public, feel free to PM or email me; but, I want to know who's coming into my place :)

Metasigma: You talked about your friend from Edmonton coming over for a little while, but I lost any details that you gave me.  Sorry!  Could you fire me off an email/PM with her name, how long she'd be over for, etc. (plus anything else you think is relevant).

Terribleno

2012-11-12 10:14:55 am

Quote:

Lenophis: Streaming is just a way of...hmm, how shall I put it...encouraging all of us to practice

Oh, I know. Unfortunately, starting on April 1 I went from 2 shifts a week to 6, and that continued until the middle of October. I think I streamed twice during that entire span. I was barely able to play SM or MMX, and my MMX tech has severely dropped (can barely cut 45 minutes on 100% right now). At least I'm still where I was with SM (within 1 minute of my personal best, 100% and RBO). Granted, these are two very execution-heavy games, so that's to be expected.

The gag at work right now is that with both of them taking scaling back, I'll be getting all of their hours while everyone else gets the same. That would put me roughly at 60 hours a week while everyone else gets about 25 max. I know this extreme won't happen, but if I get scheduled a bunch, I can't really turn it down (believe it or not my boss would let me), because making sure I can afford life is more important.

[quote]Lenophis: Streaming is just a way of...hmm, how shall I put it...encouraging all of us to practice[/quote]
Oh, I know. Unfortunately, starting on April 1 I went from 2 shifts a week to 6, and that continued until the middle of October. I think I streamed twice during that entire span. I was barely able to play SM or MMX, and my MMX tech has severely dropped (can barely cut 45 minutes on 100% right now). At least I'm still where I was with SM (within 1 minute of my personal best, 100% and RBO). Granted, these are two very execution-heavy games, so that's to be expected.

The gag at work right now is that with both of them taking scaling back, I'll be getting all of their hours while everyone else gets the same. That would put me roughly at 60 hours a week while everyone else gets about 25 max. I know this extreme won't happen, but if I get scheduled a bunch, I can't really turn it down (believe it or not my boss would let me), because making sure I can afford life is more important.

rinimt

2012-11-12 03:03:00 pm

Kupo!

Quote from Poxnor:

Even if no human error happens, electrical outages happen (hopefully not during this marathon, but there's precedent from a previous marathon, lol). Now, I know that a power outage shouldn't be an issue for a PSP game; but, someone walking by you, bumping you, and causing you to drop the PSP -- which lands on its power button and shuts off -- could be an issue. Marathons have a way of inducing the phrase, "That's never happened before..."

There's one awesome magical thing about the PSP: it's more a "save state" when you hit the power switch (unless it gets held for a certain amount of time I believe). I think the worst that could happen if somehow getting the battery knocked out of it, though I haven't tested this for sure (especially if it's on a charger, which I'm hoping to have it on one during the full CC run).

Anyways, as for how entertaining the incentive is, I'd have to do some tests with some people and see what they think (and to not just slam through the text like I normally would, because well... It's actually not voiced dialogue for a change). Basically it involves this:

Shinra building gets attacked. Zack, go to the entrance! Zack's elevator makes a short stop on Floor 49 (the SOLDIER floor). "Hmm, maybe I should check this out." Finds a scientist being chased by robots and kills the robots. Finds out there's more people here. In the training room, some employees who shouldn't be there are being attacked by robots. Save them, promise not to tell anyone and get 5000 gil (the biggest reward for me during this as it means more ethers, which would mainly be for safety). Find some SOLDIER 3rd (or 2nd, I forget off the top of my head) laying on the ground. Get attacked by more robots, tell the SOLDIER to not think of himself so poorly.

Fast forward through a couple storyline battles and you are on the streets of Midgar. There's some civilians there getting attacked by some larger robots. Save them from being attacked, get told of how this "nice lady came by" and then end incentive.

I can understand if you don't want to include it though. XD

Also, as for streaming (I know it was more towards Leno but...), I know I've been pretty bad about it lately, but I'm hoping to get in some streams for both CC/Dissidia(/Duodecim) this week (at least 1 CC run if not 2 using marathon strats). I'll also be testing Ch.2 to see if it can be done as well, since I got Ch. 1 done in 24 minutes (also need to find out if this can be a consistent time or if it was a fluke).

[quote="Poxnor"]Even if no human error happens, electrical outages happen (hopefully not during this marathon, but there's precedent from a previous marathon, lol).  Now, I know that a power outage shouldn't be an issue for a PSP game; but, someone walking by you, bumping you, and causing you to drop the PSP -- which lands on its power button and shuts off -- could be an issue.  Marathons have a way of inducing the phrase, "That's never happened before..."[/quote]

There's one awesome magical thing about the PSP: it's more a "save state" when you hit the power switch (unless it gets held for a certain amount of time I believe). I think the worst that could happen if somehow getting the battery knocked out of it, though I haven't tested this for sure (especially if it's on a charger, which I'm hoping to have it on one during the full CC run).

Anyways, as for how entertaining the incentive is, I'd have to do some tests with some people and see what they think (and to not just slam through the text like I normally would, because well... It's actually not voiced dialogue for a change). Basically it involves this:

Shinra building gets attacked. Zack, go to the entrance! Zack's elevator makes a short stop on Floor 49 (the SOLDIER floor). "Hmm, maybe I should check this out." Finds a scientist being chased by robots and kills the robots. Finds out there's more people here. In the training room, some employees who shouldn't be there are being attacked by robots. Save them, promise not to tell anyone and get 5000 gil (the biggest reward for me during this as it means more ethers, which would mainly be for safety). Find some SOLDIER 3rd (or 2nd, I forget off the top of my head) laying on the ground. Get attacked by more robots, tell the SOLDIER to not think of himself so poorly.

Fast forward through a couple storyline battles and you are on the streets of Midgar. There's some civilians there getting attacked by some larger robots. Save them from being attacked, get told of how this "nice lady came by" and then end incentive.

I can understand if you don't want to include it though. XD

Also, as for streaming (I know it was more towards Leno but...), I know I've been pretty bad about it lately, but I'm hoping to get in some streams for both CC/Dissidia(/Duodecim) this week (at least 1 CC run if not 2 using marathon strats). I'll also be testing Ch.2 to see if it can be done as well, since I got Ch. 1 done in 24 minutes (also need to find out if this can be a consistent time or if it was a fluke).

Poxnor

2012-11-12 03:19:12 pm

Moo! Flap! Hug!

I wasn't saying I didn't want to include it as an incentive, rin Tongue

That's a perfect length for a bonus-content incentive. I just wanted to make sure that it would be enjoyable, i.e., you're not beating up on some enemies that are weak as all heck (which is why, among other reasons, Brothers won't be an incentive in FF8). I'm only asking because I don't know CC at all, so I just needed some context for what the incentive is. Anytime I ask you any question about CC, just mentally append, "...because Pox knows nothing about CC" to the end of the question.

And, if streaming isn't convenient, just post some practice updates every once in a while, like I said to Lenophis. I want people practicing, but don't feel like you have to stream every minute of your day Tongue

Also, I have a question about Dissidia and Duodecim. You said that, in order to play whichever story was donated for, you'd have to play through a fairly boring introduction before getting to select the story. I wanted to throw a different idea out there and see what you think. You could, instead, create a save file in advance for both games that has played through the introduction. Then, we could have two bidding wars: one for a story in Dissidia, and one for a story in Duodecim. We'd lose the filename as a donation incentive, but then both games would be included. Do you think that would make a better watch than playing the introduction and one story in one of the games? (Also, as a follow-up question, how different are the mechanics in Dissidia and Duodecim? I've played Dissidia, and I heard they introduced a bunch of new stuff in Duodecim, but I haven't really played Duodecim.)

I wasn't saying I didn't want to include it as an incentive, rin :P  That's a perfect length for a bonus-content incentive.  I just wanted to make sure that it would be enjoyable, i.e., you're not beating up on some enemies that are weak as all heck (which is why, among other reasons, Brothers won't be an incentive in FF8).  I'm only asking because I don't know CC at all, so I just needed some context for what the incentive is.  Anytime I ask you any question about CC, just mentally append, "...because Pox knows nothing about CC" to the end of the question.

And, if streaming isn't convenient, just post some practice updates every once in a while, like I said to Lenophis.  I want people practicing, but don't feel like you have to stream every minute of your day :P

Also, I have a question about Dissidia and Duodecim.  You said that, in order to play whichever story was donated for, you'd have to play through a fairly boring introduction before getting to select the story.  I wanted to throw a different idea out there and see what you think.  You could, instead, create a save file in advance for both games that has played through the introduction.  Then, we could have two bidding wars: one for a story in Dissidia, and one for a story in Duodecim.  We'd lose the filename as a donation incentive, but then both games would be included.  Do you think that would make a better watch than playing the introduction and one story in one of the games?  (Also, as a follow-up question, how different are the mechanics in Dissidia and Duodecim?  I've played Dissidia, and I heard they introduced a bunch of new stuff in Duodecim, but I haven't really played Duodecim.)

rinimt

2012-11-12 03:34:18 pm

Kupo!

Quote from Poxnor:

Also, I have a question about Dissidia and Duodecim. You said that, in order to play whichever story was donated for, you'd have to play through a fairly boring introduction before getting to select the story. I wanted to throw a different idea out there and see what you think. You could, instead, create a save file in advance for both games that has played through the introduction. Then, we could have two bidding wars: one for a story in Dissidia, and one for a story in Duodecim. We'd lose the filename as a donation incentive, but then both games would be included. Do you think that would make a better watch than playing the introduction and one story in one of the games? (Also, as a follow-up question, how different are the mechanics in Dissidia and Duodecim? I've played Dissidia, and I heard they introduced a bunch of new stuff in Duodecim, but I haven't really played Duodecim.)

They are essentially the same game. Main changes in Duodecim:

-Addition of a "world map" (which is, honestly, not that impressive)
-Addition of "Assists" which you can call out to either break free of your opponents attack (typically my strat), or to attack your opponent as well

Smaller Duodecim changes:

-MUCH faster to go through dungeons (can move multiple spaces at once instead of just 1 at a time)

Changes that wouldn't even affect the marathon run:
-More balanced characters (which you wouldn't see since we'd just be seeing the new people)
-Dissidia's gameplay reworked into Duodecim's gameplay (see note about world map above)

As for the intro, it really isn't THAT long (I can get Dissidia's down in about 10 minutes, Duodecim's in 6). I personally would rather see them included and then do the winning story (or chapter). We could also potentially show the ACTUAL intro to the game, though this would be up to you. Duodecim's is about 3 1/2 minutes longand I haven't watched Dissidia's at anytime recently to see how long it is (it'd be slightly shorter than Duodecim's though, as Duodecim's is Dissidia's but extended to show the 5 new characters).

[quote="Poxnor"]Also, I have a question about Dissidia and Duodecim.  You said that, in order to play whichever story was donated for, you'd have to play through a fairly boring introduction before getting to select the story.  I wanted to throw a different idea out there and see what you think.  You could, instead, create a save file in advance for both games that has played through the introduction.  Then, we could have two bidding wars: one for a story in Dissidia, and one for a story in Duodecim.  We'd lose the filename as a donation incentive, but then both games would be included.  Do you think that would make a better watch than playing the introduction and one story in one of the games?  (Also, as a follow-up question, how different are the mechanics in Dissidia and Duodecim?  I've played Dissidia, and I heard they introduced a bunch of new stuff in Duodecim, but I haven't really played Duodecim.)[/quote]

They are essentially the same game. Main changes in Duodecim:

-Addition of a "world map" (which is, honestly, not that impressive)
-Addition of "Assists" which you can call out to either break free of your opponents attack (typically my strat), or to attack your opponent as well

Smaller Duodecim changes:

-MUCH faster to go through dungeons (can move multiple spaces at once instead of just 1 at a time)

Changes that wouldn't even affect the marathon run:
-More balanced characters (which you wouldn't see since we'd just be seeing the new people)
-Dissidia's gameplay reworked into Duodecim's gameplay (see note about world map above)

As for the intro, it really isn't THAT long (I can get Dissidia's down in about 10 minutes, Duodecim's in 6). I personally would rather see them included and then do the winning story (or chapter). We could also potentially show the ACTUAL intro to the game, though this would be up to you. Duodecim's is about 3 1/2 minutes longand I haven't watched Dissidia's at anytime recently to see how long it is (it'd be slightly shorter than Duodecim's though, as Duodecim's is Dissidia's but extended to show the 5 new characters).

Poxnor

2012-11-12 03:35:34 pm

Moo! Flap! Hug!

Quote from rinimt:

I personally would rather see them included and then do the winning story (or chapter).

Sounds good Smiley

Driscollad

2012-11-13 12:03:53 am

Real name: Loren Le Rouzic (pronounced Lorne Le Rose-Ick)
Preferred time of day - Whenever FFGamer runs, but I know he leans towards night shift, so whenever.

FFgamer86

2012-11-13 12:06:42 am

SDA Speedruns: 1

Quote from Driscollad:

Real name: Loren Le Rouzic (pronounced Lorne Le Rose-Ick)
Preferred time of day - Whenever FFGamer runs, but I know he leans towards night shift, so whenever.

I like this Answer

AlecK47

2012-11-13 10:02:30 pm

I just tested out the first Demon Wall in XII, and I think it would be a good donation incentive. Because I know you apparently haven't played XII, Poxnor, it's on the way - normally you'd run from the fight - and the fight itself takes about 30 seconds to a minute. There is a strong possibility (who am I kidding, it's a certainty) that a retreat to a save crystal would be necessary afterwards, but that would only add about another two minutes tops. I'm pretty confident in this one because I just had an absolute worst case fight and still pulled it off with surprisingly little trouble.

FFgamer86

2012-11-16 12:29:50 am

SDA Speedruns: 1

Quote from AlecK47:

I just tested out the first Demon Wall in XII, and I think it would be a good donation incentive. Because I know you apparently haven't played XII, Poxnor, it's on the way - normally you'd run from the fight - and the fight itself takes about 30 seconds to a minute. There is a strong possibility (who am I kidding, it's a certainty) that a retreat to a save crystal would be necessary afterwards, but that would only add about another two minutes tops. I'm pretty confident in this one because I just had an absolute worst case fight and still pulled it off with surprisingly little trouble.

Assuming absolutely worst case is a game over. Getting a Game Over and still pulling it off is something I wanna see.

Terribleno

2012-11-16 12:38:21 am

Welp, had two FF1 attempts end in disaster on me now this week. One got an 8-zombie ambush, followed by 10 minutes of slow death (may have mentioned this one already), then tonight I was going to safety save on floor 2 of the ice cave because the place is dangerous...only to get a game over on the first floor. I'm still hammering out how often I need to safety save (apparently everywhere!). Was on pace to set a new personal best, though.

Dissidia - Haven't practiced with all 10 characters yet, still hammering out the route for some (Cecil's story needs a bunch of testing), although I feel the times with two characters are pretty much set (won't say whose at the moment, for fear of donation rigging, I'll send you an email about it Pox).
Duodecim - Haven't really touched it yet, still working on hamming Dissidia out. Got two days off so lots of practice is to be had!

Poxnor

Edit history:

Poxnor: 2012-11-16 01:09:53 am

2012-11-16 01:02:50 am

Moo! Flap! Hug!

So, I've been thinking a lot (agonizing?) about what to charge as the sign-up fee for attendees to the marathon. I've been looking at the charge to upgrade our Internet, the price of food, how much it costs to ship prizes, etc. I've also tried to take a cue from SGDQ 2012, since the concept of a (literal) in-house marathon is quite similar. My goal has always been to keep the fee as low as possible, especially since I know that a lot of the attendees are already facing large costs to get here, e.g., international flights, passports (I forget that some people don't have those Tongue

), gas for driving, etc.

After a lot of looking at costs and talking it through, Stef and I have come to a decision. The marathon will be free to attend for anyone participating (i.e., playing a game or commentating).

If people want to help us cover some of the costs, we wouldn't complain if you slipped us a little cash while you were here. But please, do not slip us any more than $150 (approximately the sign-up fee for SGDQ) -- if you really want to hand over more cash than that, please give it to the charity. And, I want to make abundantly clear that choosing to slip us any cash is completely, 100% optional. I know a lot of people are saving every last penny just to make it here; so, if you can't afford anything, or if you can only slip us a $20 bill, don't worry: you won't be judged in the slightest, nor will you be forced to sleep in the pit in the back room of our basement. When I say that the marathon is free to all participants, I mean that. (In fact, I'd prefer that anyone who would like to slip us any cash do so discretely, so that there's no feeling of pressure on other participants to do so.)

I've also been asked about an entrance fee for people who are just coming to hang out for a day, but not participate (just soak it in live for a little while). Simply in the interest of not turning our house into Animal House, I'm going to impose a small entrance fee on non-participants. If you're staying for the better part of a day and/or eating meals, it will be $20. If you're only coming over for, e.g., a few hours in the middle of the afternoon, it will be $10.

I hope this setup will work well for everyone.

So, I've been thinking a lot (agonizing?) about what to charge as the sign-up fee for attendees to the marathon.  I've been looking at the charge to upgrade our Internet, the price of food, how much it costs to ship prizes, etc.  I've also tried to take a cue from SGDQ 2012, since the concept of a (literal) in-house marathon is quite similar.  My goal has always been to keep the fee as low as possible, especially since I know that a lot of the attendees are already facing large costs to get here, e.g., international flights, passports (I forget that some people don't have those :P ), gas for driving, etc.

After a lot of looking at costs and talking it through, Stef and I have come to a decision.  The marathon will be free to attend for anyone participating (i.e., playing a game or commentating).

If people [i]want[/i] to help us cover some of the costs, we wouldn't complain if you slipped us a little cash while you were here.  But please, do not slip us any more than $150 (approximately the sign-up fee for SGDQ) -- if you really want to hand over more cash than that, please give it to the charity.  And, I want to make [i]abundantly clear[/i] that choosing to slip us any cash is completely, 100% optional.  I know a lot of people are saving every last penny just to make it here; so, if you can't afford anything, or if you can only slip us a $20 bill, don't worry: you won't be judged in the slightest, nor will you be forced to sleep in the pit in the back room of our basement.  When I say that the marathon is free to all participants, I mean that.  (In fact, I'd prefer that anyone who would like to slip us any cash do so discretely, so that there's no feeling of pressure on other participants to do so.)

I've also been asked about an entrance fee for people who are just coming to hang out for a day, but not participate (just soak it in live for a little while).  Simply in the interest of not turning our house into Animal House, I'm going to impose a small entrance fee on non-participants.  If you're staying for the better part of a day and/or eating meals, it will be $20.  If you're only coming over for, e.g., a few hours in the middle of the afternoon, it will be $10.

I hope this setup will work well for everyone.

AlecK47

Edit history:

AlecK47: 2012-11-16 08:36:49 pm

2012-11-16 08:36:25 pm

Quote from FFgamer86:

Assuming absolutely worst case is a game over. Getting a Game Over and still pulling it off is something I wanna see.

Yeah, that would be impressive, but I wasn't rubbing suggestively against the Demon Wall with my gambits off, so I didn't get a chance to try. Wink

In all honesty, I started off by casting the wrong spell (forgot to change gambits), got blinded - so no damage from Vossler - then had one of my two high DPS characters X-Zoned and still won easily. It's not a hard fight at all with Reflect strats, but a lot of people probably had trouble with it, so it should bring in some donations. Smiley

That's very generous of you, Poxnor. Works nicely for my broke ass... though I should be able to contribute something.

Nitrodon

2012-11-16 10:30:24 pm

Putting the FF12 donation incentives in context for Poxnor:

Vaan shouting: Basically a required minigame, in which Vaan spreads the word about Basch's survival by shouting things like "Basch lives!", "I'm Captain Basch fon Ronsenburg of Dalmasca!", and "Don't listen to Ondore's Lies!". The lines are fairly well known to anyone who's played the game, which I suppose is why AlecK suggested shouting along with him as a donation incentive. Cost: none, since this event is required. Time: about 2:20 into the run.

Demon Wall 1: An optional boss in Raithwall's Tomb. You basically get trapped between two Demon Walls in separate rooms (they reset whenever you switch rooms), and only the second one is required to proceed with the game. The battle is easy with our setup, but the boss's reputation more than makes up for that. In other words, it's the Jumbo Cactuar of FF12 donation incentives. Cost: maybe a minute; I haven't tested him at all. Time: about 2:50 into the run.

Elder Wyrm: A boss which is "required" to go through the Golmore Jungle in normal play, but can be bypassed by going through the Feywood (a high-level area). Speedruns generally do the latter. He has a well-deserved reputation for being difficult, but unlike Demon Wall 1, he actually requires some strategy in a speedrun setup. If he does his fire attack immediately after Sporefall, it's probably game over. Cost: about 2 minutes, more if I game over. At least there's a save point right before him. Time: about 4:15 into the run.

King Bomb: An optional boss found in the Salikawood. He must be defeated in order to access the Necrohol of Nabudis and the Nabreus Deadlands, but neither location would be visited in current speedrun routes. The infamous Zodiac Spear is located in the Necrohol of Nabudis, but I'm not sure if we could reach it safely, nor am I sure whether that part would even make a good donation incentive. As for the boss himself, he likes to move all over the place, call for help, and heal himself, so I guess that qualifies as some sort of reputation at least. Like Elder Wyrm, he has a chance of trolling (this time by healing himself), and I'm not sure I can recover from that. Cost: see Elder Wyrm. Time: about 5:00 into the run.

Times are estimated based on my second full attempt. The 45 minutes I lost in that attempt were after all of these incentives.

Putting the FF12 donation incentives in context for Poxnor:

Vaan shouting: Basically a required minigame, in which Vaan spreads the word about Basch's survival by shouting things like "Basch lives!", "I'm Captain Basch fon Ronsenburg of Dalmasca!", and "Don't listen to Ondore's Lies!".  The lines are fairly well known to anyone who's played the game, which I suppose is why AlecK suggested shouting along with him as a donation incentive.  Cost: none, since this event is required.  Time: about 2:20 into the run.

Demon Wall 1: An optional boss in Raithwall's Tomb.  You basically get trapped between two Demon Walls in separate rooms (they reset whenever you switch rooms), and only the second one is required to proceed with the game.  The battle is easy with our setup, but the boss's reputation more than makes up for that.  In other words, it's the Jumbo Cactuar of FF12 donation incentives.  Cost: maybe a minute; I haven't tested him at all.  Time: about 2:50 into the run.

Elder Wyrm: A boss which is "required" to go through the Golmore Jungle in normal play, but can be bypassed by going through the Feywood (a high-level area).  Speedruns generally do the latter.  He has a well-deserved reputation for being difficult, but unlike Demon Wall 1, he actually requires some strategy in a speedrun setup.  If he does his fire attack immediately after Sporefall, it's probably game over.  Cost: about 2 minutes, more if I game over.  At least there's a save point right before him.  Time: about 4:15 into the run.

King Bomb: An optional boss found in the Salikawood.  He must be defeated in order to access the Necrohol of Nabudis and the Nabreus Deadlands, but neither location would be visited in current speedrun routes.  The infamous Zodiac Spear is located in the Necrohol of Nabudis, but I'm not sure if we could reach it safely, nor am I sure whether that part would even make a good donation incentive.  As for the boss himself, he likes to move all over the place, call for help, and heal himself, so I guess that qualifies as some sort of reputation at least.  Like Elder Wyrm, he has a chance of trolling (this time by healing himself), and I'm not sure I can recover from that.  Cost: see Elder Wyrm.  Time: about 5:00 into the run.

Times are estimated based on my second full attempt.  The 45 minutes I lost in that attempt were after all of these incentives.

AlecK47

2012-11-16 11:59:25 pm

I suppose it would be possible to get to the Zodiac Spear, but it would require waaaay too much setup, especially for an item we don't use, and it would be removed anyway because of the chest in Nalbina Dungeon, so that's a moot point.

Melodia

2012-11-17 12:02:54 am

You can kill King Bomb's renew with something....silence wasn't it? I know the niho works (but obviously you can't get that in a speedrun).

AlecK47

Edit history:

AlecK47: 2012-11-17 12:20:07 am

AlecK47: 2012-11-17 12:08:29 am

2012-11-17 12:05:50 am

Silence doesn't actually stop his Renew because its an "Ability" rather than a "Spell." It does stop his Call for Help ability, however.

Edit: Silence would be applied via either the spell, or the tank using the Mage Masher (assuming that it was acquired and hasn't been sold).

rinimt

Edit history:

rinimt: 2012-11-17 08:56:33 pm

2012-11-17 08:17:32 pm

Kupo!

Okay, looking over it, I'm actually going to just cut the floor 49/citizens thing from Crisis Core. Thinking it over in my head it wouldn't be TOO interesting as a watch (at least compared to other things I can do). Also, my recent headaches finally cooperated enough to do another run and I just got SUPER trolled in it (plus rust had semi kicked in). 6:53:40 at final boss kill and I didn't do any donation incentives. When I say super trolled, I mean super trolled. Though it didn't help I was a bit distracted by chat/sleepiness.

-Lost Phoenix Down 1 to Genesis 1 (didn't block Dark Orb)
-Lost Phoenix Down 2 to forced A-Griffon fight right after (Don't Dark Thundaga him, he gets really mean with Fira)
-Lost Phoenix Down 3 and then game overed to Angeal Penance cause I didn't keep an eye on my MBarrier and was failing to dodge the Lightning Attacks (granted I went more my SS starts vs possible marathon strats here, but if I dodge enough I REALLY shouldn't need a Lightning Armlet. Second fight I didn't even have to worry about him casting Wall... Was crazy. Also didn't grab Dispel (which was another possible marathon strat to deal with said Wall he can potentially cast)).
-Sephiroth 1 went Teleport happy, causing me to use more Ethers than normal as I was missing a lot of Thundaga's
-Not really a troll but I forgot to equip the Curse Ring for the Hollander fight and had to do a quick reset as I was getting a lot of DMW's
-Lost Phoenix Down 3 again to G Regicide
-Game overed to Genesis Avatar after an extremely trolly fight
-I was underleveled nearly the entire run (ended at 22 instead of my average 24-27 and a lot of my materia wasn't leveling up (Thundaga stayed at level 1 the whole run, costing me 1k-1.6k+ damage per cast on some fights!)

I also forgot various other things (like leaving the Shinra Alpha on until Hollander instead of equipping before Guard Scorpion), but I'll attribute stuff like that to rust from not playing for nearly 2 weeks.

Overall I was something like 32 1/2 minutes behind my PB (6:19:45) though said PB doesn't do said marathon safety strats, lol.

Just my quick update (though this was mainly to mention pulling the floor 49 incentive).

I'll do some more Dissidia runs tomorrow when I'm not half asleep (I'm trying to fix my sleep schedule currently). I'll message you Poxnor regarding times on this after I do a practice run through all 11 again (hopefully tomorrow pending no headache)

Okay, looking over it, I'm actually going to just cut the floor 49/citizens thing from Crisis Core. Thinking it over in my head it wouldn't be TOO interesting as a watch (at least compared to other things I can do). Also, my recent headaches finally cooperated enough to do another run and I just got SUPER trolled in it (plus rust had semi kicked in). 6:53:40 at final boss kill and I didn't do any donation incentives. When I say super trolled, I mean super trolled. Though it didn't help I was a bit distracted by chat/sleepiness.

-Lost Phoenix Down 1 to Genesis 1 (didn't block Dark Orb)
-Lost Phoenix Down 2 to forced A-Griffon fight right after (Don't Dark Thundaga him, he gets really mean with Fira)
-Lost Phoenix Down 3 and then game overed to Angeal Penance cause I didn't keep an eye on my MBarrier and was failing to dodge the Lightning Attacks (granted I went more my SS starts vs possible marathon strats here, but if I dodge enough I REALLY shouldn't need a Lightning Armlet. Second fight I didn't even have to worry about him casting Wall... Was crazy. Also didn't grab Dispel (which was another possible marathon strat to deal with said Wall he can potentially cast)).
-Sephiroth 1 went Teleport happy, causing me to use more Ethers than normal as I was missing a lot of Thundaga's
-Not really a troll but I forgot to equip the Curse Ring for the Hollander fight and had to do a quick reset as I was getting a lot of DMW's
-Lost Phoenix Down 3 again to G Regicide
-Game overed to Genesis Avatar after an extremely trolly fight
-I was underleveled nearly the entire run (ended at 22 instead of my average 24-27 and a lot of my materia wasn't leveling up (Thundaga stayed at level 1 the whole run, costing me 1k-1.6k+ damage per cast on some fights!)

I also forgot various other things (like leaving the Shinra Alpha on until Hollander instead of equipping before Guard Scorpion), but I'll attribute stuff like that to rust from not playing for nearly 2 weeks.

Overall I was something like 32 1/2 minutes behind my PB (6:19:45) though said PB doesn't do said marathon safety strats, lol.

Just my quick update (though this was mainly to mention pulling the floor 49 incentive).

I'll do some more Dissidia runs tomorrow when I'm not half asleep (I'm trying to fix my sleep schedule currently). I'll message you Poxnor regarding times on this after I do a practice run through all 11 again (hopefully tomorrow pending no headache)

Nitrodon

2012-11-18 01:16:42 am

I just noticed some question marks in the donation incentive list. FF4's name limit is 6 letters, and FFMQ's is 8 letters.

Poxnor

Edit history:

Poxnor: 2012-11-18 02:20:27 pm

2012-11-18 02:19:46 pm

Moo! Flap! Hug!

Alright, I've updated the first post. Everything should be up to date now, so if I missed something, please let me know (it's easy to miss things in a thread this dense).

lizzie241: I received FF1+FF2 PSP, FF6 SNES, FF5 GBA, and the Super Gameboy. Thank you very much for such a generous set of prizes!

Nitrodon and Alec: I've added the Demon Wall to the FF12 donation incentives.

Nitrodon: Thanks for the context on the incentives, and for filling in some of those question marks.

rini: Okay, I removed the 49/citizens donation incentive (well, actually, I never got around to adding it...now I just won't. Procrastination for the win again Tongue

).

I've started an equipment section in the first thread, just to track what we have / need. I'm still hoping that someone can give me some context regarding what the different pieces of sound equipment are used for.

puwexil suggested that instead of using the CrystalsForLife Twitch channel, we use the the channel of the attendee with the most followers, since that could help us get partner status with Twitch. I've left the call for artwork up anyhow, just because I can find a way to use any nice art on our site.

Finally, a quick practice update from me. I got a new PB (and, to the best of my knowledge, WR) on FFL3 at 2:30:42. However, I don't expect to get that kind of luck at a marathon. I can pretty consistently get sub-3:00, so I might trim a tiny bit from my marathon estimate (currently 3:15). I'll decide on that after some more practice runs.

Alright, I've updated the first post.  Everything should be up to date now, so if I missed something, please let me know (it's easy to miss things in a thread this dense).

lizzie241: I received FF1+FF2 PSP, FF6 SNES, FF5 GBA, and the Super Gameboy.  Thank you very much for such a generous set of prizes!

Nitrodon and Alec: I've added the Demon Wall to the FF12 donation incentives.

Nitrodon: Thanks for the context on the incentives, and for filling in some of those question marks.

rini: Okay, I removed the 49/citizens donation incentive (well, actually, I never got around to adding it...now I just won't.  Procrastination for the win again :P ).

I've started an equipment section in the first thread, just to track what we have / need.  I'm still hoping that someone can give me some context regarding what the different pieces of sound equipment are used for.

puwexil suggested that instead of using the CrystalsForLife Twitch channel, we use the the channel of the attendee with the most followers, since that could help us get partner status with Twitch.  I've left the call for artwork up anyhow, just because I can find a way to use any nice art on our site.

Finally, a quick practice update from me.  I got a new PB (and, to the best of my knowledge, WR) on FFL3 at 2:30:42.  However, I don't expect to get that kind of luck at a marathon.  I can pretty consistently get sub-3:00, so I might trim a tiny bit from my marathon estimate (currently 3:15).  I'll decide on that after some more practice runs.

rinimt

Edit history:

rinimt: 2012-11-18 05:37:44 pm

2012-11-18 05:33:07 pm

Kupo!

More practice run updates:

Crisis Core - Got a 6:21:29 with marathon strats so I guess I'm back to doing regular runs for a couple runs, haha. That's within 2 minutes of my PB (which is the WR afaik). This was with half the run fighting between red/green splits (Angeal Penance on). I would've likely tied my PB had I not forgotten to equip the Curse Ring for Hollander... Again. Three major mistakes in this run too, said Curse Ring thing, accidentally fusing away MBarrier, and dying for getting overconfident on a battle I know I shouldn't get overconfident on.

Duodecim: 19 minute Ch. 1, lol. Duodecim allows for auto scene skip the whole game unlike Dissidia. Also testing between some other options, though I'm not sure if they help much (namely battle voices off to see if it gets rid of some of the startup time for battles. Definitely doesn't for bosses, still unsure for regular fights). That's the main Dissidia update I'll do here, I'll PM you the rest Poxnor once I get through the Dissidia 10 again.

Streaming update: So before I had an issue where my capture cards output signals would freeze and I'd have to close/reopen Amarec and unplug/replug it to get it to work again. However it lasted my entire CC run today after I made a single change - closing Skype. So I might actually be able to stream my regular runs again, pending this change actually fixing it (aka I didn't just have a fluke and get no freezes, though considering yesterday I got two and I haven't rebooted my computer in the span on this weekend...)

More practice run updates:

Crisis Core - Got a 6:21:29 with marathon strats so I guess I'm back to doing regular runs for a couple runs, haha. That's within 2 minutes of my PB (which is the WR afaik). This was with half the run fighting between red/green splits (Angeal Penance on). I would've likely tied my PB had I not forgotten to equip the Curse Ring for Hollander... Again. Three major mistakes in this run too, said Curse Ring thing, accidentally fusing away MBarrier, and dying for getting overconfident on a battle I know I shouldn't get overconfident on.

Duodecim: 19 minute Ch. 1, lol. Duodecim allows for auto scene skip the whole game unlike Dissidia. Also testing between some other options, though I'm not sure if they help much (namely battle voices off to see if it gets rid of some of the startup time for battles. Definitely doesn't for bosses, still unsure for regular fights). That's the main Dissidia update I'll do here, I'll PM you the rest Poxnor once I get through the Dissidia 10 again.

Streaming update: So before I had an issue where my capture cards output signals would freeze and I'd have to close/reopen Amarec and unplug/replug it to get it to work again. However it lasted my entire CC run today after I made a single change - closing Skype. So I might actually be able to stream my regular runs again, pending this change actually fixing it (aka I didn't just have a fluke and get no freezes, though considering yesterday I got two and I haven't rebooted my computer in the span on this weekend...)

Terribleno

2012-11-18 08:06:23 pm

Quote:

I've started an equipment section in the first thread, just to track what we have / need.

I will be bringing the following (mostly to serve as backups):
FF1 (PSP version)
Crisis Core
FF6 (SNES version, could bring Anthology version too if we really want to experience pain)
FF7
FF8
FF9
FF10
FF10-2 (only if a runner for it comes forward)
FF12 (yay Collector's Edition, should I bring the strategy guide too?)
Dissidia
Duodecim
3000 Model PSP and AV cable (we're still using rin's)
My streaming laptop (it has my splits and other notes handy)
Dazzle (it's the white one)
My extra stack of DVD+RWs (10), or possibly my DVD+Rs (50), or all of them. :p

Could also bring:
24" CRT (maybe it's a 23"?), don't remember if it has S-video support and it's positioned in such a way that I can't check easily right now, will get back to you.
4-way multi-input switch, it's not powered, but does have component and S-video support.
DVD recorder (would prefer not to, it doesn't have a drive so there's input lag, and I'd need the switch + the 3 Y-adapters), it does NOT have S-video support, only AV in.
SNES+AC/AV
PS2+AC/AV

You know what they say, better to have it and not need it than need it and not have it. Wink

Also a practice update:
FF1: I was on track to destroy my PB, which included letting the dog out and in at the beginning of the run, an argument with my roommate, a reset at the Ice Cave because of menu fail, encounter troll for half the game, and then it all falls apart because Chaos decided to troll. I died to Chaos because he very strategically picked off the party. It would've been sub-2 hours though. If it wasn't for all of the odd fail, it would've been submission-worthy. Shame I won't get this kind of luck again, but at least the strats are better off now. No, I did not do the donation-incentive class change in this run, because I wanted to complete one after failing the previous two.

[quote]I've started an equipment section in the first thread, just to track what we have / need.[/quote]
I will be bringing the following (mostly to serve as backups):
FF1 (PSP version)
Crisis Core
FF6 (SNES version, could bring Anthology version too if we really want to experience pain)
FF7
FF8
FF9
FF10
FF10-2 (only if a runner for it comes forward)
FF12 (yay Collector's Edition, should I bring the strategy guide too?)
Dissidia
Duodecim
3000 Model PSP and AV cable (we're still using rin's)
My streaming laptop (it has my splits and other notes handy)
Dazzle (it's the white one)
My extra stack of DVD+RWs (10), or possibly my DVD+Rs (50), or all of them. :p

Could also bring:
24" CRT (maybe it's a 23"?), don't remember if it has S-video support and it's positioned in such a way that I can't check easily right now, will get back to you.
4-way multi-input switch, it's not powered, but does have component and S-video support.
DVD recorder (would prefer not to, it doesn't have a drive so there's input lag, and I'd need the switch + the 3 Y-adapters), it does NOT have S-video support, only AV in.
SNES+AC/AV
PS2+AC/AV

You know what they say, better to have it and not need it than need it and not have it. ;)

Also a practice update:
FF1: I was on track to destroy my PB, which included letting the dog out and in at the beginning of the run, an argument with my roommate, a reset at the Ice Cave because of menu fail, encounter troll for half the game, and then it all falls apart because Chaos decided to troll. I died to Chaos because he very strategically picked off the party. [url=http://www.twitch.tv/lenophis/c/1739946]It would've been sub-2 hours though[/url]. If it wasn't for all of the odd fail, it would've been submission-worthy. Shame I won't get this kind of luck again, but at least the strats are better off now. No, I did not do the donation-incentive class change in this run, because I wanted to complete one after failing the previous two.