Thomas Was Alone

jymotion

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^{Some info via Tovargent:}

Restart Level

At the end of some levels, a short animation plays after you get all characters to their portal. Going into the menu and choosing 'restart level' skips this animation and takes you straight to the next level.

Low Settings

Thomas Was Alone has various graphics quality settings to choose from. Using the 'fastest', 'faster', or 'simple' settings (low) unlocks the framerate and makes some aspects of the game faster. It also makes jumps easier to control and makes characters feel less sluggish.

leaderboards: http://speedrun.com/twa

Thread title:

BaronHaynes

2013-05-21 07:13:02 pm

Strange days, incredible days

I saw this on The Sunday Sequence Break and thought it looked really interesting, I'll have to check it out. I'll probably pick it up during the next Steam sale. Good luck on sub-58 and beyond!

jymotion

2013-05-28 06:06:13 pm

Quote from Aaron_Haynes:

I saw this on The Sunday Sequence Break and thought it looked really interesting, I'll have to check it out. I'll probably pick it up during the next Steam sale. Good luck on sub-58 and beyond!

It's in the new humble bundle, go pick it up! and thanks for the encouragement Smiley

If anyone ends up becoming interested in running it after this sale, let me know if you have any questions or ever want to race!

Laquendi

2013-05-29 10:51:56 am

Hi first time poster here!

Just got the game off Humble Bundle today. I completed it twice, but I'll probably need some more practice before doing full runs. I feel like there is a lot of possible little optimizations in this game.
I could be up for some races possibly the day after tomorrow or so.

jymotion

Edit history:

jymotion: 2013-05-29 11:38:10 am

jymotion: 2013-05-29 11:36:31 am

jymotion: 2013-05-29 11:34:43 am

2013-05-29 11:01:41 am

Quote from Laquendi:

I completed it twice, but I'll probably need some more practice before doing full runs. I feel like there is a lot of possible little optimizations in this game.
I could be up for some races possibly the day after tomorrow or so.

Awesome! Now that I'm not the only one running it, I'll try to get a list together of tips and tricks. I'll edit it into this post by the end of the day probably.

Bugs
3.9 is the most well-known bug. You actually ruin your run if you do the level as quickly as you can. If you push either of the buttons too quickly, the water won't rise and you'll be stuck. Here is an example of the time you have to waste to be safe.
9.6 is an incredibly frustrating bug, considering how late in the run it is. Basically, your character becomes skinnier when jumping, which allows it to get stuck between blocks. No real strat for this, just be mindful of the risk.
This bug on 4.5 happens occasionally. For whatever reason, you become stuck to the floor, which results in your death. I'm not sure why, but you can just check by trying to jump before you need to. If you realize you are unable to jump, move to the right to either find a place where you can jump, or kill yourself quicker.
Horay! A bug that benefits us! It is possible to get through 9.1 with only having 4 of the 5 pieces in place. This stems from an otherwise annoying bug where non-bouncy things become bouncy. It's great in this situation, but bad when you bounce to your death.
General bugs: weird bounciness. Also, moving platforms behave very strangely. If you touch the side of a platform moving horizontally, you will get stuck to it until it is finished moving. If you are on top of a platform moving upwards, you may not be able to jump.

From the short list, you can see that bugs and exploits aren't a huge part of the run. It's mainly routing and planning. When you get to the point where you can get through every level without pausing to remember how to do it, you begin with the little optimizations. See where you can save time by putting slower blocks on top of faster blocks (keep in mind you cannot jump while other blocks are on top of you). It wasn't until late that I realized it was sometime possible to jump with Claire (in the water) without losing the blocks on top.

Also, I really recommend playing with a PS3 controller if you have one. I set R1 and L1 to switching between characters, X to jump, and Square to Menu Select (mash to skip the level intros)

[quote="Laquendi"]I completed it twice, but I'll probably need some more practice before doing full runs. I feel like there is a lot of possible little optimizations in this game.
I could be up for some races possibly the day after tomorrow or so.[/quote]

Awesome!  Now that I'm not the only one running it, I'll try to get a list together of tips and tricks.  I'll edit it into this post by the end of the day probably.

[u]Bugs[/u]
[url="http://www.twitch.tv/jymotion/c/1932108"]3.9[/url] is the most well-known bug.  You actually ruin your run if you do the level as quickly as you can.  If you push either of the buttons too quickly, the water won't rise and you'll be stuck.  [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=Ti6CGXgHMsk#t=1022s"]Here[/url] is an example of the time you have to waste to be safe.
[url="http://www.twitch.tv/jymotion/c/1951831"]9.6[/url] is an incredibly frustrating bug, considering how late in the run it is.  Basically, your character becomes skinnier when jumping, which allows it to get stuck between blocks.  No real strat for this, just be mindful of the risk.
[url="http://www.twitch.tv/jymotion/c/2148181"]This bug on 4.5[/url] happens occasionally.  For whatever reason, you become stuck to the floor, which results in your death.  I'm not sure why, but you can just check by trying to jump before you need to.  If you realize you are unable to jump, move to the right to either find a place where you can jump, or kill yourself quicker.
[url="http://www.twitch.tv/jymotion/c/1975966"]Horay!  A bug that benefits us![/url]  It is possible to get through 9.1 with only having 4 of the 5 pieces in place.  This stems from an otherwise annoying bug where non-bouncy things become bouncy.  It's great in this situation, but bad when you bounce to your death.
General bugs: weird bounciness.  Also, moving platforms behave very strangely.  If you touch the side of a platform moving horizontally, you will get stuck to it until it is finished moving.  If you are on top of a platform moving upwards, you may not be able to jump.

From the short list, you can see that bugs and exploits aren't a huge part of the run.  It's mainly routing and planning.  When you get to the point where you can get through every level without pausing to remember how to do it, you begin with the little optimizations.  See where you can save time by putting slower blocks on top of faster blocks (keep in mind you cannot jump while other blocks are on top of you).  It wasn't until late that I realized it was sometime possible to jump with Claire (in the water) [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=Ti6CGXgHMsk#t=1436s"]without losing the blocks on top[/url].

Also, I really recommend playing with a PS3 controller if you have one.  I set R1 and L1 to switching between characters, X to jump, and Square to Menu Select (mash to skip the level intros)

Laquendi

2013-05-31 03:51:40 am

Good stuff. Hopefully this game will get more runners. It's pretty fast to learn but fun.

I probably won't have time to practice today and I still haven't done a full run with timer. I took a quick look at your 58:40 run and saw that we do quite a few levels very differently. I haven't really had time to do comparison between single level times but I think at least some of my strats are faster. Final time might be sub 57.

I'll start recording/streaming when I'm satisfied with my skill level. It might take a while...

Sir VG

2013-05-31 04:01:11 am

Fucking Weeaboo

I enjoyed playing the game and can't wait to see a run of it.

I've gotten stuck worse on 9.6. I actually got wedged with the long block in a spot that's impossible to get out of and unbelievably possible to get into. I don't have a screenshot/video of it actually happening, but I circled the spot where it occurred.

Attachment:

bad spot for tall blocks.png

jymotion

Edit history:

jymotion: 2013-05-31 01:01:52 pm

jymotion: 2013-05-31 08:59:47 am

2013-05-31 08:59:34 am

Quote from Laquendi:

I took a quick look at your 58:40 run and saw that we do quite a few levels very differently. I haven't really had time to do comparison between single level times but I think at least some of my strats are faster. Final time might be sub 57.

Great to hear. Any chance you could give me a few level numbers so I can look them over? Feel free to add me on steam if you'd like to chat or race at any point.

Quote from Sir VG:

I actually got wedged with the long block in a spot that's impossible to get out of and unbelievably possible to get into.

haha, I was lucky/unlucky enough to make the same mistake in one of my first runs. couldn't believe it.

Laquendi

2013-05-31 02:39:09 pm

Quote from jymotion:

Quote from Laquendi:

I took a quick look at your 58:40 run and saw that we do quite a few levels very differently. I haven't really had time to do comparison between single level times but I think at least some of my strats are faster. Final time might be sub 57.

Great to hear. Any chance you could give me a few level numbers so I can look them over?

Well for example I think perfect world 5 should be around 3:30-3:45. But I'm sure there is seconds to gain in many places. World 5 is just the one I enjoy playing the most so I have practiced it more than the others. Actually now that I look at that time it seems like sub 57 should be real easy with a decent run.

jymotion

Edit history:

jymotion: 2013-05-31 04:46:29 pm

2013-05-31 04:20:30 pm

Quote from Laquendi:

Well for example I think perfect world 5 should be around 3:30-3:45. But I'm sure there is seconds to gain in many places. World 5 is just the one I enjoy playing the most so I have practiced it more than the others. Actually now that I look at that time it seems like sub 57 should be real easy with a decent run.

Well, the deaths in world 5 obviously lost me time, but I don't see any ways to improve upon the strats. Could you share your differences?

Laquendi

2013-06-05 10:32:51 am

It has been a busy week for me. I haven't had much time for this game. But since I can do runs today I though I might as well stream them. My twitch channel is http://www.twitch.tv/laquendi . The runs will most likely be bad since I haven't practiced, but at least you can watch my strats if you are interested.

Onin

2013-06-05 11:24:14 am

I played through TWA recently, and for some reason I had 9.6 complete for me without all blocks being in their portals. At least one of the Team Jump blocks wasn't in position yet. I guess it's the same bug as you found in 9.1?

jymotion

2013-06-05 11:32:11 am

Quote from Onin:

I played through TWA recently, and for some reason I had 9.6 complete for me without all blocks being in their portals. At least one of the Team Jump blocks wasn't in position yet. I guess it's the same bug as you found in 9.1?

Was it like this? http://www.twitch.tv/jymotion/c/1975956

I haven't been able to replicate it since.

Onin

2013-06-05 11:34:33 am

Similar. I only got it when getting Grey to his portal, with that one Team Jump block left. The order of blocks was the same though.

Laquendi

2013-06-05 02:06:07 pm

New record 57:38 http://www.twitch.tv/laquendi/c/2383103
Learned a lot of new strats today. There is still much to improve.

jymotion

Edit history:

jymotion: 2013-06-07 02:27:38 am

jymotion: 2013-06-07 02:27:07 am

jymotion: 2013-06-07 02:26:57 am

2013-06-05 05:35:32 pm

Quote from Laquendi:

New record 57:38 http://www.twitch.tv/laquendi/c/2383103
Learned a lot of new strats today. There is still much to improve.

at the 36 minute mark, are you doing any inputs to get Claire and Thomas to bounce higher? I'm unable to get them to reach their platforms without stacking Laura on top of another block. The same applies for level 3.4 where you are able to get Chris to his portal just by bouncing. Are you doing anything other than jumping onto Laura and moving in a direction?

edit: I was able to put together a 0:56:30 tonight. No major mistakes, so it may take me a while to improve upon that.

Laquendi

2013-06-07 07:56:45 am

Nice time!

I don't give any input to make those jumps. I have no idea what could cause that. Maybe you could try different video settings or something?

jymotion

Edit history:

jymotion: 2013-07-13 01:20:00 pm

2013-07-12 07:44:31 pm

Quote from Laquendi:

I don't give any input to make those jumps. I have no idea what could cause that. Maybe you could try different video settings or something?

So I played the DRM-free version for the first time and found that blocks simply bounce higher.
There is also a difference on level 4.5. In the DRM-free version, Claire starts out bouncing on Laura. In the Steam version, Laura is to the left of Claire and you have to jump Claire over.

Based on that, there is definitely a benefit to playing the DRM-free version. Unfortunately for me, it does not have gamepad support :/

edit: got a response from Mike Bithel on twitter: "short answer: drm free is a slightly older build, and will be updated to match steam version pretty soon"

NiNJa_OwNeD

2014-02-14 10:58:53 am

I am thinking of running this game as it is quite fun and definitely has potential for improvements. Unfortunately my time is only at 1:21:xx after my first day trying Sad

Just wondering if there were any tips you could give me to get the time down? Is it just a case of learning how to complete each level then try and reduce the mistakes?

jymotion

2014-02-14 11:51:48 am

Quote from NiNJa_OwNeD:

I am thinking of running this game as it is quite fun and definitely has potential for improvements. Unfortunately my time is only at 1:21:xx after my first day trying Sad

Just wondering if there were any tips you could give me to get the time down? Is it just a case of learning how to complete each level then try and reduce the mistakes?

Hey, welcome. I'd be glad to help you out.
The game doesn't have many elements to it (basic platformer) and so there isn't many things to exploit as far as glitches go. In that sense, yes, getting your time down is mostly a matter of knowing the quickest route for each level and avoiding over/under-jumping anything. There are several levels where you can save time by stacking and moving blocks together, if you weren't incorporating that already. Get to know the bugs and how to avoid them: http://redd.it/1jckb0

My PB in the first post was only 30 seconds slower than my sum of best splits, so it's relatively optimized for the route I used. Use that as a resource, but be sure to test those strats with your own, since you may have thought up something faster.

[quote="NiNJa_OwNeD"]I am thinking of running this game as it is quite fun and definitely has potential for improvements. Unfortunately my time is only at 1:21:xx after my first day trying :( Just wondering if there were any tips you could give me to get the time down? Is it just a case of learning how to complete each level then try and reduce the mistakes?[/quote]

Hey, welcome.  I'd be glad to help you out.
The game doesn't have many elements to it (basic platformer) and so there isn't many things to exploit as far as glitches go.  In that sense, yes, getting your time down is mostly a matter of knowing the quickest route for each level and avoiding over/under-jumping anything.  There are several levels where you can save time by stacking and moving blocks together, if you weren't incorporating that already.  Get to know the bugs and how to avoid them: http://redd.it/1jckb0

My PB in the first post was only 30 seconds slower than my sum of best splits, so it's relatively optimized for the route I used.  Use that as a resource, but be sure to test those strats with your own, since you may have thought up something faster.

NiNJa_OwNeD

2014-02-14 12:09:19 pm

Quote from jymotion:

Hey, welcome. I'd be glad to help you out.
The game doesn't have many elements to it (basic platformer) and so there isn't many things to exploit as far as glitches go. In that sense, yes, getting your time down is mostly a matter of knowing the quickest route for each level and avoiding over/under-jumping anything. There are several levels where you can save time by stacking and moving blocks together, if you weren't incorporating that already. Get to know the bugs and how to avoid them: http://redd.it/1jckb0

My PB in the first post was only 30 seconds slower than my sum of best splits, so it's relatively optimized for the route I used. Use that as a resource, but be sure to test those strats with your own, since you may have thought up something faster.

I have already used the 9.1 glitch to speed things up. The only problem I have is that I am inconsistent a lot of the time. For example will do well in a certain world one run then the next lose a load of time.

[quote="jymotion"]

Hey, welcome.  I'd be glad to help you out.
The game doesn't have many elements to it (basic platformer) and so there isn't many things to exploit as far as glitches go.  In that sense, yes, getting your time down is mostly a matter of knowing the quickest route for each level and avoiding over/under-jumping anything.  There are several levels where you can save time by stacking and moving blocks together, if you weren't incorporating that already.  Get to know the bugs and how to avoid them: http://redd.it/1jckb0

My PB in the first post was only 30 seconds slower than my sum of best splits, so it's relatively optimized for the route I used.  Use that as a resource, but be sure to test those strats with your own, since you may have thought up something faster.[/quote]

I have already used the 9.1 glitch to speed things up. The only problem I have is that I am inconsistent a lot of the time. For example will do well in a certain world one run then the next lose a load of time.

NiNJa_OwNeD

2014-02-14 12:36:45 pm

Also I'm not sure if this was just luck but I found a way to save a few seconds on 3.8, also I haven't done it more than once so it probably was luck. Basically after you activate the platform to carry the characters to the portals the platform came down and squashed Laura into the floor she was on, this caused her to fly up, high enough so I could direct her to her portal without having to wait for the platform to go up. So this could possibly be a clue that collision detection/clipping through objects could be used to our advantage in some places on certain levels?

jymotion

2014-02-14 01:01:56 pm

Quote from NiNJa_OwNeD:

I have already used the 9.1 glitch to speed things up. The only problem I have is that I am inconsistent a lot of the time. For example will do well in a certain world one run then the next lose a load of time.

Yeah that's just a matter of practice and getting comfortable with the characters. There aren't really "backup strats", you just kinda have to get a feeling for who can reach what platforms by themselves.

As for the glitch, I've had it occur before as well but couldn't get consistent results either. The moving platforms are pretty wonky in general andare the most likely place for a glitch, but iI wasn't able to find anything useful. Even in 3.8, you still have to wait for the platform to come back down to make your next move.

NiNJa_OwNeD

2014-02-14 02:26:16 pm

Quote from jymotion:

As for the glitch, I've had it occur before as well but couldn't get consistent results either. The moving platforms are pretty wonky in general andare the most likely place for a glitch, but iI wasn't able to find anything useful. Even in 3.8, you still have to wait for the platform to come back down to make your next move.

Yeah I didn't think of that, but I think it does show good signs of what could be possible. Till then I'd rather get the consistency sorted and getting my time down a lot.

NiNJa_OwNeD

Edit history:

NiNJa_OwNeD: 2014-02-15 04:17:46 am

2014-02-15 02:50:12 am

I got my time down to 1:12:24 just by reducing the amount of mistakes and I still made quite a few so a could easily get 1:05 to 1:10 then I need to work on each world individually to get better times. These first few tries is just me going through the whole game so I can pick out where I need to improve the most and seeing how fast I can run the game already with my current strats.