Verification Guidelines

VorpalEdge

ktwo

Edit history:

ktwo: 2015-12-01 02:14:44 pm

VorpalEdge: 2012-12-04 10:28:26 pm

VorpalEdge: 2012-12-04 10:07:34 pm

2012-12-04 09:51:53 pm

welcome to the machine

https://kb.speeddemosarchive.com/Verification_Guidelines

If you have any general questions or comments regarding the SDA verification, you can post in this thread or pm ktwo.

Thread title:

TheUnicornSid

2018-04-11 10:41:41 am

the perfect is the enemy of the good

I have a question, I want to submit a game but every time I go to the submission section (link) it never works. I have contacted one mod threw twitch but he never came back to me (maybe weeks) and now I dont know what to do. Im sorry if i am at the wrong place to ask this.

SDAVerification

2018-04-11 11:38:11 am

If https://queue.speeddemosarchive.com/submission/ doesn't work, you can pm the account 'SDAVerification' (so the same account as this post was sent from).

Bryon

Edit history:

Bryon: 2020-05-19 06:44:10 pm

Bryon: 2020-05-19 06:39:35 pm

Bryon: 2020-05-19 06:22:50 pm

2020-05-19 06:21:12 pm

Hello,

I've always loved Trevor's glitchless speedrun on this site. It's always been one of my favorites. Must've been 8 years old when I first saw it. It always blew my mind, even with the faster times today. Since then, I've always hoped to see a speedrun with zip and pause glitches utilized.

However, I think I can be the one to do it. However, I wanted to ask some questions. I was a little quick to send a submission form, so I wanted to take a step back first and make sure I'm doing what I'm supposed to do.

Question Time!

I do not hold the WR for the Mega Man 1 category I plan to submit to SDA. "Coolkid" has an 18:14, while I have a 20:16 (20:13 SDA). However, that doesn't mean my run is bad, in fact my 20:13 is very clean. To help you visualize, I'm using the boss order route and strategies used in Seth Glass's 20:22 former WR run (which is no longer on the internet, sadly). On and off for years, this has been the route I would take in the game. Slowly pushing my time down. I was able to cut his time two nights ago with this route. I will continue to play this until May 29th to improve it even more, if I can. My Sum of Best is 19:54, but I have a semi-free 5 seconds in Wily 4 to save, because Bomb-Man screwed me on the pattern to make the boss refight skip to work. However the run up until then was incredible, especially with my insane performance in the notorious Wily 2, with the difficult refights skips in that stage. Additionally, my very clean robot master stages.

In short, I do not utilize all the strategies the top times use, but my fastest times contain very few mistakes, as I'm barely 20 seconds behind my Sum of Best

So, the question here is, are slower strategies okay as long as my run performance is strong and smooth?

Thanks,
~B.W.B.

Hello,

I've always loved Trevor's glitchless speedrun on this site. It's always been one of my favorites. Must've been 8 years old when I first saw it. It always blew my mind, even with the faster times today. Since then, I've always hoped to see a speedrun with zip and pause glitches utilized.

However, I think I can be the one to do it. However, I wanted to ask some questions. I was a little quick to send a submission form, so I wanted to take a step back first and make sure I'm doing what I'm supposed to do.

[i][u]Question Time[/u]![/i]

I do not hold the WR for the Mega Man 1 category I plan to submit to SDA. "Coolkid" has an 18:14, while I have a 20:16 (20:13 SDA). However, that doesn't mean my run is bad, in fact my 20:13 is very clean. To help you visualize, I'm using the boss order route and strategies used in Seth Glass's 20:22 former WR run (which is no longer on the internet, sadly). On and off for years, this has been the route I would take in the game. Slowly pushing my time down. I was able to cut his time two nights ago with this route. I will continue to play this until May 29th to improve it even more, if I can. My Sum of Best is 19:54, but I have a semi-free 5 seconds in Wily 4 to save, because Bomb-Man screwed me on the pattern to make the boss refight skip to work. However the run up until then was incredible, especially with my insane performance in the notorious Wily 2, with the difficult refights skips in that stage. Additionally, my very clean robot master stages.

In short, I do not utilize all the strategies the top times use, but my fastest times contain very few mistakes, as I'm barely 20 seconds behind my Sum of Best

So, the question here is, are slower strategies okay as long as my run performance is strong and smooth?

Thanks,
~B.W.B.

ktwo

2020-05-20 01:08:21 pm

First of all, congrats. It sounds like you're making good progress and already have achieved some impressive stuff. And I agree, Trevor's run is pretty cool looking, as long as one keeps in mind that it was done in a different era.

About your question. Without having seen your run, I can already now say that it wouldn't pass verification. A run doesn't have to be the record to be accepted, but it has to be roughly on par with the fastest run (assuming the record is a good benchmark, and I think we can all agree that coolkid's run is extremely well done).

For a both technical and competitive game with many skilled runners like Mega Man, it's going to take a lot of dedication to get close to the top times. It's normal that you have to work the time-savers into the run little by little with lots of practice and attempts. Even though it's too early for a submission, you're always welcome to post a link to your run here in the forum and discuss strategies. However, it sounds like you're already pretty well aware of the next steps that are required to push the time down, so I understand if that's not what you're primarily after.

First of all, congrats. It sounds like you're making good progress and already have achieved some impressive stuff. And I agree, Trevor's run is pretty cool looking, as long as one keeps in mind that it was done in a different era.

About your question. Without having seen your run, I can already now say that it wouldn't pass verification. A run doesn't have to be the record to be accepted, but it has to be roughly on par with the fastest run (assuming the record is a good benchmark, and I think we can all agree that coolkid's run is extremely well done).

For a both technical and competitive game with many skilled runners like Mega Man, it's going to take a lot of dedication to get close to the top times. It's normal that you have to work the time-savers into the run little by little with lots of practice and attempts. Even though it's too early for a submission, you're always welcome to post a link to your run here in the forum and discuss strategies. However, it sounds like you're already pretty well aware of the next steps that are required to push the time down, so I understand if that's not what you're primarily after.

Bryon

2020-05-20 01:23:36 pm

Okay

Thank you for being so kind as to answer my question, it really means a lot. Maybe my time isn't on par quite yet, but with my lower time with a more simple route, I'm excited to see what I can do when I play more like the more recent WR runs. I look forward to submitting a run in the future, and now I know what I need to do in order to fulfill that goal.

Thank you,
~B.W.B.

SDAVerification

2021-08-03 02:17:23 pm

A submission was recently rejected post-verification due to a/v issues (https://forum.speeddemosarchive.com/post/sonic_riders_zero_gravity__may_12_2021.html). As a reminder, here is a quick checklist of things to check before writing "a/v: ok" in the verification reply:

Audio
* Is the sound coming from both speakers?
* No overlay commentary
* Are there interruptions, crackles or similar?
* Is the sound desynched (ahead or behind the video)?
* Does the audio "sound" correct (and not overly distorted or similar)?

Video
* Is the run recorded at the game's native framerate? This is not always self-explanatory as different games for the same platform can run at different framerates and the same game can run at different framerates for different platforms. Sometimes a simple internet search can provide the answer, sometimes the information is less obvious. If in doubt, don't hesitate to point it out.
* Is the run recorded at the game's native aspect ratio? Same considerations as for the framerate.
* Ensure there are no interlacing artifacts (https://kb.speeddemosarchive.com/AviSynth#Part_5:_Deinterlacing_.2F_Full_framerate_video)
* Is the video sharp enough and not too blurry? Pause the video at a few different places with a lot of movement and see if the picture is sharp and not blurried with everything mixed together.
* No overlay of the gameplay area (timer, self-camera etc). Custom in-game timers can be acceptable on a case-by-case basis. Please point out in the verification reply if an in-game timer appears to be added.

A submission was recently rejected post-verification due to a/v issues (https://forum.speeddemosarchive.com/post/sonic_riders_zero_gravity__may_12_2021.html). As a reminder, here is a quick checklist of things to check before writing "a/v: ok" in the verification reply:

[u]Audio[/u]
* Is the sound coming from both speakers?
* No overlay commentary
* Are there interruptions, crackles or similar?
* Is the sound desynched (ahead or behind the video)?
* Does the audio "sound" correct (and not overly distorted or similar)?

[u]Video[/u]
* Is the run recorded at the game's native framerate? This is not always self-explanatory as different games for the same platform can run at different framerates and the same game can run at different framerates for different platforms. Sometimes a simple internet search can provide the answer, sometimes the information is less obvious. If in doubt, don't hesitate to point it out.
* Is the run recorded at the game's native aspect ratio? Same considerations as for the framerate.
* Ensure there are no interlacing artifacts (https://kb.speeddemosarchive.com/AviSynth#Part_5:_Deinterlacing_.2F_Full_framerate_video)
* Is the video sharp enough and not too blurry? Pause the video at a few different places with a lot of movement and see if the picture is sharp and not blurried with everything mixed together.
* No overlay of the gameplay area (timer, self-camera etc). Custom in-game timers can be acceptable on a case-by-case basis. Please point out in the verification reply if an in-game timer appears to be added.

Lum

2022-11-28 08:06:48 am

For the run upload, I have an option to upload "verification files". I can't find anything in the KB as to what this consists of. Is it required or optional?

Only thing I can think of to prove the run is a legit is an upload of the Twitch stream as this includes a hand-cam showing that I am indeed running on real 1980s hardware

ktwo

2022-11-28 09:48:08 am

There is a description of the different steps in the submission process, including the different file types, here: https://speeddemosarchive.com/lang/submit_en.html

Unless a speedrun is performed in a fully controlled environment, which is hardly ever the case, there is usually an element of trust in the achievement. A live recording is not a guarantee, but it adds a layer of legitimacy and reduces some possibilities of foul play. Providing proof in the form of a live recording is not necessary on SDA, but it's appreciated when it is.