DAY 1 - TOURNAMENT REPORTI'm playing both events for this team today, and I made it clear that I was busting out Camtasia to record every match I play in, so in addition to being able to handle disputed claims, I would also be able to review all my matches. Just as I'm doing now. It's only natural that I report on them.
EVENT 1: EMERALD HILLThe first event of the first-ever Sonic Olympics. Our team and the organizer's team (SCD) are in the first match. What else would you want in a start? Maybe a coherent 2P strategy...given that's something we don't specialize in at TSC. Getting the most resources in 5 categories in each stage, with an opponent who's depleting those resources at the same time, requires a different game plan than what most of us are used to.
MATCH 1 - VS. SCD (Playing as Tails)My plan for Emerald Hill is, for the most part, stick to the top route. Lots of rings there. If I think I have enough stats that my opponent can't catch up in 61 seconds, head for the finish; otherwise let them cross the line so I know what I have to beat.
This match starts off with a spectator that won't let the game begin, and a disconnect. Eventually the game is recreated and it can start.
In Act 1, I get an early item box (for 10 rings) and the opponent takes a hit. I gather up rings, then fight Sonic over another box. I get this one for speed shoes but run into a fish, and as I try to hit the spring to get back to the top not only do I miss, but I take another hit from the fish and fall down to the bottom path! Sonic bops a few enemies for points, but gets Eggman from the box in the tunnel, so rings are back to 0-0. Now we're both on the bottom, with Sonic a bit ahead. He gets another item box, this one also containing Eggman, and still at 0 rings, but the hit came at the very end of the flashing period after the previous hit so no kill was caused. I get enough speed from a ramp to fly up to the top path and get some rings from a corkscrew (taking a 13-6 lead there), but the item box is a 1-up for Sonic!
If you didn't already know, Eggman takes your rings but you do get the item box point for it. But hitting a 1-up for the other player causes THEM to get an item box point, while you receive nothing.
Furthermore, after getting the 1-up I go after a fish for points but can't rebound high enough and I get stuck on the bottom path again. Sonic's already taken all the rings down here.
Then I try to head back to the top (particularly because of a row of 3 boxes) but can't make it. Sonic enters a tunnel, gets a 1-up for himself and a shield, and crosses the finish line at 0:58. Once one player crosses finish, the other has 61 seconds to collect whatever they can before the act is forced to a close.
I have 13 rings, and the number to beat is 39. I head for the spring path above the loops and to the top, since there are rings there. I get to the top with 42 seconds left, hit the spring for a quick 4, then head through the loop and into the corkscrew. Rings get tied at 39 coming out of the corkscrew, but I hit the spring and get bounced back for 5 more and the lead. After popping an enemy, I just decide to go for the finish...is it enough?
ACT 1 RESULTSScore 700-400
Time 0:58:75-1:39:01
Ring 39-44
Total Ring 62-72
Item Box 5-3
SONIC WINS 3-2
No good. If the 1-up for Sonic that I hit had been something else, then the act would be tied; or if I managed to make it up to the 3 boxes, then it would be a win unless one of those was a Sonic 1-up. But I wasn't coming anywhere close to those 3 boxes when I tried, and I would need to reach them in no more than 20 seconds, so it's a loss. On to Act 2.
Both characters start act 2 going the same path, but Sonic's head start means a 5-0 lead on rings. Sonic heads into the spring, but I jump before it, which leads directly into the monkey robot for 100 points...but it throws a coconut at the same time, so that's a kill.
Sonic takes a hit soon afterwards, and follows it up by popping 2 fish in combo for 300 points. We both arrive at item boxes at the same time...I get shield, he gets a 1-up for me! Up 2-0 there!
Then a period of futility. I jump too far over a gap and land on spikes, Sonic jump up into spikes on the ceiling, Sonic goes through a tunnel and gets Eggman from the item box and follows that up by getting hit by a coconut for the kill, and I hit another box but get sprung back into spikes again.
I take the opportunity to move up to the top route, getting a bunch of rings from loops and corkscrews to go to 50. Then I decide to go backward, seeing if I can enter the tunnel for more rings and a box...but I land directly on the spikes that pop out from the floor! Sonic pops Eggman from a box immediately afterward, so that's back to even. I head backwards to fill up on rings, but Sonic just decides to claim the time victory and head for the goal. Only 9 rings are needed for me.
I go to the red spring underneath the corkscrew for an item box and a bunch of rings, but overshoot what I'm aiming for. I do land near some rings and get 6. Heading backwards again, this time I make sure not to land on the spikes. The tunnel is still sealed off, but I remember: Sonic hasn't gone here yet! There are still groups of 2 rings if I continue further left! This brings me to 12. There is an item box if I continue left, but I'd rather not risk everything to Eggman again. Along the way to the goal I spot some missing rings below be, so I get those for a total of 20 (just in case they're needed for a Total Ring win after all those hits by both players) and pop an enemy for an extra 100 points. There's no real need to cross the goal now, but it doesn't hurt, and I finally get there with 2 seconds left on the timer.
ACT 2 RESULTSScore 600-300
Time 1:25:87-2:24:47
Ring 9-20
Total Ring 76-94
Item Box 2-3
TAILS WINS 2-3
Indeed, there was nothing to gain from hitting that item box, and Eggman or 1-up for Sonic would have lost the zone for me. The acts are split, so it's on to...SPECIAL STAGE #2!
Of course the player that's in front has a big edge during the special stage, and Sonic starts out with that advantage. The key is to time your jumps from behind so that when the opponent jumps, you'll be on the ground long enough to get the most rings unopposed. I go ahead to let Sonic take over, then both players exchange jumps and I take a 13-3 lead. Sonic jumps back and I let him have a formation of 4, then jump again so that he's completely in the air during a 10 formation, lead of 16. Sonic cuts into that lead with two formations on the left, then the war for the front sends both players out of the way for the formation at right. I'm in front, but I try to stay as far away as possible so that Sonic might not know to jump back in front. After Tails moves directly in front of Sonic to get rings, that will no longer work and Sonic gets the rings from the last formation, but it's not enough.
Sonic takes the front for part 2, but my jump isn't timed well and Sonic goes back in front. Having a section of rings that goes around the tube doesn't help; from the back I can't find out where I can go to get unopposed rings until it's too late. I can't get anything in, and after the sets of 4 going from left to right, Sonic leads by 29. This section is lost. I do jump in front briefly, but can't get anything from it and it sets me up for hitting mines at the end.
In Part 3 we exchange jumps, and I start out in front as the first rings come but have to jump again to keep that position. Sonic leads 7-2 but blows that lead by hitting mines. Tails gets most of the rings in the next section, but Sonic jumps for the front at the end, and my jump to take it back lands on a mine, so I'm back to a 4-2 deficit. I don't know this part of the stage, so I move to the right and hit mines along the way (4-0) and find out that just staying still would have put me into the next formation of rings. Sonic moves away allowing Tails to strike at the next formation, and I get him to jump over the last set of rings for the win.
SPECIAL STAGE RESULTSPart 1: 25-30
Part 2: 41-2
Part 3: 5-14
TAILS WINS 1-2
TAILS WINS THE ZONE
We win the first match of the tournament!
After stopping Camtasia in order to save my recording of the first match, I get disconnected from the Sonic Olympics server. The window isn't responding to a request for closure, so I have to bring up the Task Manager to force Gens to a halt. But before that window comes up...OH NO! IT'S THE BLUE SCREEN OF DEATH! Furthermore, it's ordering a core dump! I'd rather not have to wait for that to finish, so I just unplug the computer and start back up again.
MATCH 2 - VS. TSF (Playing as Sonic)The official Sonic Olympics ruling as that a player with ping over 110ms is disqualified. TSF's entrant here comes in just under that limit, at 107ms, which means I'll have to play the match but that it will be plagued by lag.
Tails takes the early ring lead. I jump over a box I was trying to hit, which wastes time, while Tails goes into a silly tunnel for a few rings. Then lag strikes: I try to make a jump that sticks to the high path, but the lag interprets that as an early button release so I don't jump far enough to clear the gap, and end up on the bottom path. We both go for boxes and I take a hit. After another enemy wiped out be me, I try to use the launch ramp to get back to the high path. This works but yields a bunch of wasted time, while Tails is using the high path at the end for quick rings. Within a second of each other, Tails runs into a fish and I hit an Eggman box, so back to 0-0 (but of course there's still Total Ring to deal with). Tails finishes off a ring collection, then after passing the point of no return, just stands still for a few seconds (why? All this does is give me more time to catch up) before crossing the finish.
The ring count to beat is 20. I spend some time getting into the secret tunnel with rings and an item box, going to 21...but will that take care of Total Ring? Probably not, and there are more of those to get. Successive item boxes give Invincibility and Speed Shoes (GO GO SUPER SONIC!), allowing me to go to 34 rings. A futile trip back to the top reveals that there are no more rings to be had there, so after getting my last 100 points, I head for the finish and arrive less than a second before the timer would run out. It doesn't gain anything for me by actually crossing, but there was nothing else to do. Was it enough?
ACT 1 RESULTSScore: 800-1000
Time: 2:14:06-1:13:67
Ring: 34-20
Total Ring: 55-91
Item Box: 5-1
TAILS WINS 2-3
Early on in Act 2, I get confused which character I'm playing, and take 2 hits from a fish while focusing on the Tails half of the screen. Tails hits a teleport box, followed by a 1-up for me. After getting another box in a tunnel and springing back out (without hitting spikes this time), lag strikes again: In attempting to jump on the spring, it takes 6 tries to get it right and advance. Tails does nothing at all except crouch for a few seconds (presumably failure to respond to a spindash, also due to lag) but is stuck on the bottom route, while I get to use the top (but not before taking a hit after a jump into an enemy falls short, from lag, and I take a hit from it). Tails already has a big head start and is en route to the second corkscrew in my path, so I race there as quickly as I can. Tails gets there first, but drops out of the corkscrew for some reason, and after I arrive there it's 53-66 on rings. I know there are 8 more down there to bring me to 61, but a wasp bullet is fired at just the wrong time so that I walk into it. I briefly consider heading straight for the goal in order to cash in on one category, since I won't be able to get to 66 rings now, but item boxes and score are still up for grabs and I don't want to send the clear signal "You get 61 seconds where all you have to do is focus on these categories...go beat me!" This act (and zone) seems lost either way. Since Tails is close to the end, my best chance is to hope he goes straight for it and gives me time to ensure victory on Total Ring, Score, and Item Box. Sure enough, I go back for the 8 rings and that's exactly what happens.
I stumble in looking for unclaimed spots on the map, and even take a hit on spikes, but that doesn't affect Total Ring and I obviously won't win Ring so it doesn't matter. I know of 3 more item boxes left to take, so I head left over the many waterfalls (picking up score along the way) and pop an invincibility box. From there it's a short trip to the red spring, and I land on top of the loop with 14 seconds left. Another box...1-up for Tails? Hurry up and spring to the next platform, with 4 monkeys, 15 rings, and a box. I almost fall off the platform, but the first two monkeys and the box go down. I throw myself into the rings and get 14 of them, then jump into the left. Invincibility has worn off, so I just have a shield which is promptly lost with a hit. 2 seconds left. Which do I go for...monkey or rings? Which is most likely to make a difference? That would be score, so I jump left again and get a 100-point kill just one frame before the timer runs out.
ACT 2 RESULTSScore: 900-400
Time: 2:24:67-1:23:67
Ring: 21-66
Total Ring: 114-66
Item Box: 5-2
SONIC WINS 3-2
So once Tails hit the post, I already had Total Ring and Item Box locked up, but it was all those points in the final minute that proved decisive. On to the special stage!
With the TSF team playing Tails, they just want to get to the front whenever possible. I see an early "jump from the ceiling so that you land quicker" tactic. But once the rings start coming, the collection patterns are virtually identical to last match. I go up 25-9; certainly not secure, but I'll take it. Tails then jumps ahead to get first crack at the rings, and blocks me from getting any, but can't get enough to overtake me.
Part 2 starts with Tails in front, but a mine puts me back in that position...except as soon as the mine hit, the game just stopped. It won't start up again for 15 seconds due to lag. When it does, the characters do take opposite paths around the chute and the match remains close until Tails hits a mine. I lead by 11, but Tails jumps in front for the sets of 4 and wipes out that lead. It's a dead tie entering the field of rings and mines. The unmistakable sounds of lag are at work, and while we each get 1 more ring, I head right too quickly and lose 10 to a mine. So that means that in both matches, I lost act 1, won act 1, won SS1, and lost SS2. SS3 is the deciding factor yet again!
In Part 3, Tails matches me jump for jump. It's a bad start for me, with Tails going up 12-0 and then 25-2; a Tails jump into a mine reduces that lead by 10, and then both players hit mines for a 5-0 score. But Tails is in front for the upcoming rings, and there's no way I can take over this late in. 1-1 record.
SPECIAL STAGE RESULTSPart 1: 31-27
Part 2: 6-16
Part 3: 4-17
TAILS WINS 1-2
TAILS WINS THE ZONE
This time stopping the recording still caused Gens to disconnect, but no blue screen this time. From now on I just leave the task manager open to kill Gens after each round.
MATCH 3 - VS. TSS (Playing as Sonic)Hopefully ping and lag won't be an issue this time. My ping is 18, hers is 7.
I get off to a good start with some rings and invincibility from a box, then pop two fish for points. Once again my opponent willfully goes down the low path, and again I fall down there with a mistimed bounce off a spring.
At 0:15 Tails comes across a box...and jumps over it completely? It's too early in the match to rationalize not taking a box for fear of Eggman or opponent's 1-up, and I'm up 1-0 in boxes anyway. What was the point of that? Not long after that Tails runs into a fish, and when I claim the abandoned box (it was a 1-up for Tails), Tails comes across another box, and intentionally dodges that too! No wonder TSS is winless so far. When I come to the box, it's another 1-up for Tails! Without my opponent contributing anything, I'm down 2-1 in boxes.
Both of us hit speed shoes from boxes at the same time, and Tails rushes to the finish in 49 seconds with 5 rings. I head left through the corkscrew knowing there's more than 5 rings there (as well as 2 item boxes beyond that to get me a 4-3 lead there...I already lead on score). It takes 2 tries to use the jump ramp go get back up top, and a bunch of failed jumps over the spring due to the slope, but I get the first item box (shield). Then I spring back to the top of the loop, and get Super Shoes with 28 seconds left. This should win the game as long as nothing dumb happens. Due to the increased speed, I was able to fly up to the set of 3 boxes. All I kept track of was that I hit multiple 1-ups for Tails, so I wasn't able to pinpoint the 4-3 lead and that I didn't need them. I bounced off two in one jump, and...DOUBLE EGGMAN??? Fortunately only one of them caused a hit, and I had a shield. Despite all that bad luck, I still decided to hit that last box (it wouldn't have any negative impact...1-up for Tails would still leave me with a 6-4 lead, and if I hit a third Eggman to lose rings, there were still 18 seconds left so I could go right and use the loop and corkscrew at the top). It was a Speed Shoe (which would trigger DD, if that's how this game worked). I went to the top anyway, and despite being bounced back by the spring after the corkscrew twice, I still crossed finish with 1 second left.
ACT 1 RESULTSScore: 600-600
Time: 1:48:97-0:49:32
Ring: 50-5
Total Ring: 59-69
Item Box: 7-3
TIED 2-2
Okay, so maybe I needed to bash another enemy's head in. But now a win by either player on act 2 will dodge a special stage. It's down to a 1-act level...who wins?
In Act 2, the opponent spends some time typing a message at the start, giving me a free second. I jump for some rings, and Tails walks right into the first fish for a kill. After I rack up 300 points and clear the path, Tails gets some rings and is in a line for more but I steal them with a teleporter. That head start leads me into another box, and I can go up to the top route while Tails runs into a monkey. I'm at 40 rings and about to rack up a lot more. Tails comes to another box, and once again ignores it! Then when spikes pop out of the ground and block the way, rather than wait for them to fall, Tails jumps into another set of spikes on the ceiling to die again! Then the exact same thing happens again! And again! I go up to 89 rings, and Tails is just being dumb, so I stake out my time victory (my first one of the match). Because of the two enemy 1-ups I hit in act 1, Tails started at 5 lives and is now down to 1. But right after I cross, Tails does what he does best: jumping into spikes! Tails wastes 4 lives in a single spot, and the game over ends the act.
ACT 2 RESULTSScore: 400-200
Time: 0:59:57-1:01:72
Ring: 89-0
Total Ring: 94-28
Item Box: 2-0
SONIC WINS 5-0
SONIC WINS THE ZONE
The TSS player claimed they weren't intentionally trying to lose. I'm not buying it. That player finished without a single win.
MATCH 4 - VS. SOAH (Playing as Tails)At this point, there were 4 teams all with 7 points. The likely scenario would be the winners of the last two matches in a playoff for gold, and the losers in a playoff for bronze (unless one of the matches was drawn).
I get the early ring lead, and we fight over the first box with Sonic eventually getting it. This time I actually succeed in getting to the high path, but hit an Eggman box along the way. Through the loop and corkscrew, and that box is also Eggman! I actually make a simple jump up to the row of 3 boxes this time, but 2 of those are 1-ups for Sonic and the opponent hits a 1-up for himself at the same time. That's no good. Fortunately Sonic also hits a 1-up for me, then crosses the finish.
Ring count to beat is 48. I have 35 coming out of the corkscrew, but lag hits just as I bounce off the spring and I don't know what direction to push. I only get a small bounce and land directly on a monkey. There goes any prospect of winning rings. Total rings are locked up, and I can't keep track of boxes with all those 1-ups for the wrong player. I go make sure score is mine by bonking a few heads in the remaining time, but can't track down the two wasps at the top and time runs out.
ACT 1 RESULTSScore: 500-1400
Time: 0:58:37-1:59:37
Ring: 48-8
Total Ring: 58-89
Item Box: 5-6
TAILS WINS 2-3
In Act 2, Sonic doesn't move for 2 seconds. I hit an Eggman box and then an invincibility box, see Sonic taking the top path so I stick to the bottom to get what I can, then see that my opponent has dropped the game! What's more, my opponent is declaring victory!
What's going on?
It turns out they were caught believing that time is the only factor that counts, and only act 1 matters. Um...no. The entire match has to be rerun.
REPLAY ACT 1Sonic gets the early ring lead this time. I get a smooth roll into a teleport box, and it looks like I'll be able to take the top path again. We both hit boxes: he gets Eggman, then I get Teleport. The Teleport came late enough that I don't take the hit, but rather I get to pick up Sonic's lost rings. Sonic heads back to the bottom path. After my attempt to launch up top fails, I go right. Just as Sonic comes up to my position, I hit the box, and it's another Teleport. Wow...that did surprisingly little.
Sonic beats me to the rings up ahead, but can't get enough momentum to climb out of the pit. I get out, then head left for the box...it's Eggman, which throws me back in the pit. So I get out again, bop the monkey overhead, but briefly clip the ground on the way down which leaves me in a walking position as I run into the fish for a kill. Meanwhile, Sonic gets 2 more boxes (though one of them is a 1-up for me). Just as my character reappears, Sonic crosses the finish line.
I now have 61 seconds to catch up (Sonic finished with 42 rings), but I have to work from the very start of the level which is depleted by now. I can still get some resources on the top path (but I do hit a 1-up for Sonic). Up to 28 rings now, but after taking out the fish that caused the kill, I just fall down the pit again. 33 seconds left.
Too risky to go for the 3 boxes after climbing out of the pit. I need 15 rings, and the bottom path doesn't have that many. Through the loops, into the diagonal springs...one, two. 15 seconds left. All I have to do is go through this loop and the corkscrew...now 50 rings. I don't jump in time, and get thrown back by the spring. All I have to do is avoid landing on an enemy, and the win should be secured. Would I do it?
No point taking any more risks, so just let the clock run down.
ACT 1 RESULTS (and they count this time!)Score: 600-800
Time: 0:56:96-1:57:96
Ring: 42-61
Total Ring: 57-80
Item Box: 3-5
TAILS WINS 1-4
So...when only time mattered, I won 2-3, but when the opponent knew to aim for the other factors, I win 1-4?
Anyway, on to act 2. Sonic takes an early hit, but after I hit a Teleport with Sonic set to run into a fish, I don't duck in time and take a hit as well. No opponent ever goes after the item box just below the moving platform, but it's a 1-up for Sonic so it's worthless to me. I hit a Teleport in the tunnel, springing Sonic back potentially into spikes, but Sonic was pressing right and was about to jump, so that normal course of action ends up dodging the spikes. But it doesn't dodge the falling coconut. I don't fare much better, running off a cliff and landing on spikes.
A quick jump off the ramp is timed perfectly for me; I soar above the red spring and land on the upper path. A spindash left picks up 10 rings, but Sonic's about to come down this same path, so I race right to beat him to the corkscrews. Sonic comes from behind and shows no signs of stopping...and barrels through the finish at 1:07.
I finish off with the rings around here to go to 71, then wander around for a few seconds. Unable to think of what I'm really going for, I head back right, minimizing risk and just crossing finish.
ACT 2 RESULTSScore: 200-200
Time: 1:07:18-1:31:94
Ring: 10-71
Total Ring: 38-95
Item Box: 1-2
TAILS WINS 1-3
TAILS WINS THE ZONE
3-1 record, 10 points. But another team finished with the same record, so...PLAYOFF FOR THE GOLD!
MATCH 5: VS. SCD (Playing as Tails)Both characters start down the same path, so Sonic beats me to the first rings and the box (which contains more rings). But an ill-timed jump sends him into a fish. Because both players' movements have been identical so far, I forget which character I'm playing, and Tails just pushes into the side of a spring for 2 seconds as I stare at Sonic's screen. Then when it looks like Sonic needs to jump, I press jump to go down a pit. A few seconds later, Tails jumps into spikes, and Sonic pops an Eggman box. I STILL don't know which side I'm supposed to be on! After I push left and Sonic moves right, I realize that I'm looking at the wrong screen. Sonic builds up a big ring lead from the corkscrew, then both players hit Eggman boxes again. I shoot to the top, then try to chase down the box on top of the loop, but a few tries yield no results, and Sonic's approaching the end, so I abandon that and start progressing. A good spindash and bounce off a monkey sends me right down the path to 3 boxes, but the jump to get there falls short and I land on a coconut. Sonic milks the end of the stage for rings and finishes with 62.
Going to the top and hitting the loop and corkscrew brings me to 24 rings. On the route to the top of that loop there are 32, which would bring me to 56 and capable of finishing off with the bottom path, but one of the platforms to get there is absent in 2P mode so that area is inaccessible. What else is there...hope for a bunch of rings from the remaining boxes? A trip down the pit reveals an Eggman box...so much for that. This act is lost. Since there's still time left, I head up to the three boxes...all three contain invincibility. That won't win the game. The final seconds count down...
ACT 1 RESULTSScore: 300-700
Time: 1:15:55-2:16:55
Ring: 62-8
Total Ring: 104-49
Item Box: 5-5
SONIC WINS 3-1
Now I need wins in act 2 and the special stage to get gold. Again both players take identical paths, and Sonic gets a 14-0 ring lead to start. I land underneath an item box, so I jump up and just bounce off its bottom, and land on a wasp's bullet for a kill. After respawning, I go get the box (Invincibility), then the next one I hit gives Eggman but is harmless. With Sonic dominating the top path, I have to take the bottom to have a chance. Sonic crosses the finish in 39 seconds, and with 89 rings. Ouch. I have 33 at that time, so any hit will certainly shut out my hopes of winning.I jump into the monkey without getting hit by it, then roll under two wasps and get a needed 10-ring bonus from a box. Continue right through the groups of two. That makes 53. The tunnel is blocked off...how about I double-check it? Or even triple-check it (coming dangerously close to hitting spikes that last time)? Nothing. 40 seconds left. Time to move ahead and get the rings under the corkscrew. That makes 67.
The red spring under the really long corkscrew leads to the top of a loop, with an item box. That loop has another spring, leading to a platform with 15 rings, 4 enemies, and another box. Walk off that platform to get to one with 6 rings and a checkpoint. That's 21, bringing me to 88...one ring short. Maybe there are some rings on the middle path? I spindash left through the corkscrew, then if I can jump and get up to the top path...That jump missed. 19 seconds left. Manual jump back up, stop, spindash left. Jump out of the corkscrew. Oh look, I did miss some! Spindash up the slope to get 6 more, and move left...not far enough. I do hit the spring on my second try, but there are only three seconds left. I get a perfect landing on the top of the loop, rolling through an item box (invincibility), but I just can't make it to the stash in time. Silly time-wasting blunders...
ACT 2 RESULTSScore: 200-800
Time: 0:39:38-1:40:38
Ring: 89-73
Total Ring: 89-73
Item Box: 0-4
SONIC WINS 3-2
SONIC WINS THE ZONE
TSC comes out of the tiebreaker with silver, for 2 medal points...
EVENT 2: CASINO NIGHTThis is where I had so many plans for dirty tricks (though I checked beforehand, subtly, to make sure that nothing I was doing could result in disqualification). Now they would become known to the rest of the world, but not until their use resulted in points for me and the team...
MATCH 1: VS. SCD (Playing as Sonic)The SCD player felt the need to use strange symbols that looked like letters in his username. What is that supposed to mean?
Tails starts out with the advantage, with a spindash jump into rings and onto the box (a 1-up for himself). He proceeded on to the slots and won 10 rings. I fall down and contemplate jumping into the slots myself (after noticing that the 800-point engine next to it was removed for 2P), but not now. Tails is getting ahead! I head down the corridor, and narrowly jump out of getting crushed. I land on spikes and follow up with an Eggman box (Tails also hits Eggman shortly after that), and wind up going down a path with no resources.
Tails lands in an 800-point engine, grabs the rings ahead of me, and thwarts my evil plan by launching from a spring just before I can catch up. I'm trapped on an empty path, 5 seconds behind. Tails has easy access to the slots, but doesn't risk it and just finishes. I go down in rings 31-5. Launching from the final plunger puts me at 19, and from there I can make the flipper shoot left. This brings me within range the slots, where I go up to 82 rings, but rings alone aren't going to cut it here. There are no meaningful point opportunities within reach that can offset the 800, and act 1 is lost.
ACT 1 RESULTSScore: 120-1620
Time: 2:31:62-1:30:62
Ring: 82-31
Total Ring: 92-57
Item Box: 2-2
TIED 2-2
That was unexpected, but I'll take it. Now I just have to win act 2 and not dabble in special stages.
At the start of act 2, Tails goes low and I go high. I hit a 10-ring box along the way. Tails tries to leech the slots, but I have something different in mind. I'll lock down points by going flipper->flipper->conveyor belt->roof to get to three 800-point engines in a row. Once I get out of that, though, Tails locks up a triple Jackpot in slots. I pad my points lead with another trip to the 2400, then Tails leaves the slot area so I no longer have to worry about that. But one bad jump and I get crushed between a moving block and the ceiling. I have to restart, and Tails heads forward through the level milking every slot machine in sight. I have to sidetrack to find a path with any resources, and Tails finishes the level...with 294 rings. That's no good. Time is locked up, and with wins on Ring and Total Ring there's nothing I can do. After bumbling around, I get back to the main path and a slot machine with 33 seconds to go. Even if I get double jackpot, there might not be enough time left to pay all those rings, so this is a certain zone loss. My luck in the slots is fruitless, and I get Eggman on the final shot just to rub it in.
ACT 2 RESULTSScore: 4850-100
Time: 3:18:74-2:17:74
Ring: 0-294
Total Ring: 69-294
Item Box: 5-2
TAILS WINS 2-3
TAILS WINS THE ZONE
MATCH 2 - VS. TSF (Playing as Tails)Yes, it's a rematch with Mr. "My Ping is 0.002 Seconds Away From Getting Me Disqualified". Indeed, you can hear lag in the game sounds from the very beginning, and 3 seconds into act 1, the game just freezes. It doesn't unfreeze for 30 full seconds. Then the game continues for 4 seconds, and another stop...this one lasting 28 seconds. Again it only plays for 2 seconds, then stops for 10. There was talk of killing the game and starting over.
I finally hit the first item box and landed smoothly in the slots, but got Eggman, and invincibility doesn't protect against that. Both players proceeded down the corridor at the same time, but my invincibility allowed me to land safely on spikes, pick up the rings Sonic dropped there, and use the momentum edge to get a Speed Shoe. I took a 5-second lead up the lift, but gave it all away by hitting Teleport at the top. Sonic was running up the walls of one of the halfpipes, seemingly without a clue what to do, which allowed me to come from behind and go through the hole in the wall, snagging a 1-up for myself. I figure I might be able to use the 3-colored bumpers for points while Sonic's in the pipe, but that idea was cut short after he went through the wall as well. I failed to land in the 800-point engine, and got bounced onto the charging spring. Sonic did land for 800, but little did he know it would be futile.
I entered the spring at 1:23 and just didn't move, knowing that Sonic had no choice but to follow me in eventually. Silly hedgehog, not knowing how bad of a choice that is.
At 1:35, Sonic landed in the spring, and it began charging. Then when it was fully charged...nothing happened?
This was my master trap. Get both players in the same charged spring, then either one of them can hold down A, B, or C and neither one can go anywhere until they let go.
The opponent had no idea what was going on. After a few minutes, other TSC members revealed that, in fact, they knew exactly what I was doing and why I was doing it.
And, of course, this long wait would be plagued by game stops due to lag. Around the 8:00 mark, the opponent tried to disguise pausing as a game stop, but just pressing Start would disprove that, every time. The trap began at 1:35...I wouldn't release it until the timer got to 8:53. In retrospect, I could have safely held it about 30 seconds longer.
There wasn't much anyone could do now except race to the finish. Sonic got there first with 21 rings, but I had 19 and there were still 20 rings in the sky. Just grab enough and finish.
ACT 1 RESULTSScore: 840-230
Time: 9:24:10-9:28:75
Ring: 21-27
Total Ring: 28-40
Item Box: 0-4
TAILS WINS 2-3
There is only one reliable spring trap in act 2, and it's right at the start. This means no player can build any safe lead going into it. I was considering, after an act 1 victory, simply trapping the opponent here and not releasing until the time over, which would skip the results screen entirely, but I never got a ruling back on whether that would be a win for me or a tie, so I didn't risk it.
Instead I took the high road, and beat Sonic to the box on top of the loop. Figuring that points are less noticable than time, I stop at the 2400 station first, which Sonic heads for the slots and gets Eggman. After a couple lousy slot attempts of my own, I head to the bottom to get some of the items. All I find is a Teleport, which brings Sonic up a lift and back to a point he already went to. Then we fight over the slots, and I proceed forward after Sonic finds Eggman a second time. I keep overshooting the next slot machine station, and it wastes enough time that Sonic catches up to me yet again. He finds his own image in the slots for 30, while I'm busy knocking out the 3-colored bumpers underneath and scoring that 500 bonus for the last hit. No sooner do I do that than Sonic spins the third Eggman loss of the act. I break ahead first in the bumper-guarded pipes, but spend time getting rings (to get a Total Ring lead) so Sonic can burst ahead and beat me up the lifts and to the box. I exit the lifts at the middle exit rather than the top, for the extra rings, and when Sonic just plays around in the flippers, I conclude he can't do much more and I go ahead to claim time.
ACT 2 RESULTSScore: 270-3970
Time: 4:33:40-4:21:59
Ring: 11-54
Total Ring: 113-54
Item Box: 4-1
TAILS WINS 2-3
TAILS WINS THE ZONE
So indeed, getting to the end first is what wrapped up the win, and allowed me to stop the recording after 19 minutes 35 seconds.
In between these matches, one of the players announced he wouldn't be able to continue for his team. The ruling had already been issued that a team couldn't switch its representative player in the middle of an event, and everyone was in chaos. Eventually it was changed so that a team could switch, but would lose 2 points in the match standings for doing so. Three teams would eventually switch this way.
MATCH 3 - VS. TSS (Playing as Sonic)I get the opening ring edge, and break the first box for more rings. I try taking the top route, but that fails and I decide to pass on the slots for now. Tails is ahead position-wise...until he gets stuck in a pit, and can't jump out from death beneath a moving block...SQUISH. I proceed ahead, hitting Speed Shoes and another ring box. Because of the added speed, I can't guide myself into one of the 800-point engines properly. Then I get into the charged spring, but Tails is way behind and I'd rather not give him free rein to scalp up resources, assuming he knows what the spring trap is capable of doing (which is quite likely after the disclosures made during my previous match). So I go ahead and launch it, with plans to backtrack later.
Except that I get launched into a field of bumpers with no resources, and at the end of that is a lift. Furthermore, if I go backwards, I don't carry enough momentum to go through the loop so I can't land back on the spring. What should I do?
Tails is approaching, so I'd better decide quick...aha! Hurry to the lift! Bounce, bounce, bounce...yes! Got there a second before Tails! So NOW what should I do?
How's this for something to do: Absolutely nothing.
Yes, it's another trap. As long as I stay at the top of a lift, it won't go back down and Tails won't be able to go anywhere. And unlike other lifts, you can't backtrack from this one in order to throw yourself onto spikes or something and try again using a different path. Furthermore, unlike the spring trap which requires you to hold A, B, or C, the lift trap requires absolutely no input from you! Go ahead and leave your keyboard if you want!
I finally move off the lift and send it down to Tails at 9:13. I lead in rings 52-4, and I have a big positional head start, so this match is a lock. Just head down to the finish and cross first.
ACT 1 RESULTSScore: 30-930
Time: 9:25:06-9:34:92
Ring: 70-10
Total Ring: 70-29
Item Box: 3-1
SONIC WINS 4-1
Again, I'd rather not spring trap in act 2 because it might keep me out of a win due to undecided rules. I stick with the high path to get a shield. Tails doesn't even bother with slots here, so one trip to the 2400 station should lock up score for me. Tails takes the bottom path for boxes, while I head for the next slot station. Tails eventually tries to fight for it, but gets locked out as I win 10 and then 30.
Now Tails just wants to advance in the level, while I go through a hidden passage in the wall. A quick stop in the slots for him ends up with Eggman, as I come across a box. I may as well wait before hitting the box, just in case it's a Teleport, and...it is!
As I take care of the 3-colored bumper set for 580, Tails seems to think he's been lift trapped again. He spends a full 10 seconds standing still and jumping up the shaft, even though that lift is never coming down again. The proper way to advance here is by moving left.
That's eventually what happens, and I can't get through the bumper-guarded pipes. Tails eventually comes out of the passage in the wall before I can get through, and goes up the lift. He appears to try the lift trap on me, but is down in rings and score, and the trap is broken after 5 seconds. Tails takes a hit at the top of the lift to go down to 0 rings, and for some reason instead of using the middle lift exit I go to the top as well. We're both in the final field of flippers, and Tails flips directly into the slot machine. What more convenient time for a jackpot? While the 150 is paying out, I land on the ground, and inexplicably decide to spindash...TO THE LEFT. There was really no point in that. The three extra rings weren't going to make a difference compared to 150. I got some unnecessary hangtime, stuck to the bottom of the flipper. And now the payout is finished and Tails is landing.
With Tails now sure to win Rings and Total Rings, I would need to take Time to have a chance. Tails runs to the right. I finally fall off the flipper, and now it's time to go back to the right. Tails has a lead on the final stretch. Forunately, spinning down a curve provides me with more speed than running can give. Sonic's catching up...I try to jump into the ceiling in an attempt to keep the speed of rolling without any slowdown...but I jumped too late...there is no ceiling here...Tails wins...
ACT 2 RESULTSScore: 3130-970
Time: 3:42:77-3:42:54
Ring: 67-160
Total Ring: 67-233
Item Box: 3-2
TAILS WINS 2-3
I haven't played much S2 1v1, admittedly. But I don't think matches can get much closer than that. It truly was a race to the finish in the end, and no turning back for the loser. But the match isn't over yet...off we go to Special Stage 4!
In part 1, Tails makes an unusually late 1st jump. Furthermore, he moves off to the left while landing, so the first formation puts me up 12-0. My jump back to the front causes a split in the next formation. Tails takes too long getting to the right, so I get some unopposed rings, then there's a large triangle where I don't mind who's in front. After I score big on another formation, Tails' next jump lands on a mine, and a split on the last triangle leaves me with a big win.
There's a big jump fight at the start of part 2. I get the only rings in the first formation, but blow them on a mine, and the next formation puts Tails up 3-1. With minefields in the center and ring formations occasionally popping up on the sides, both players are slow in getting to the rings, and I hit 2 more mines. Just one formation of being in front brings me back within 2, and when Tails runs into a mine and I somehow jump over a bar of mines without landing in the center, I get the lead again. We split the last formation to conclude a low-scoring round.
Because I won parts 1 and 2, there's no need at all to play part 3. I shift the screen focus away from Gens to type out my victory notice, and just stand still in the game. After enduring the Lift Trap for almost 8 minutes, the opponent does deserve a chance to get some moment of fun, however irrelevant it may be.
SPECIAL STAGE RESULTSPart 1: 33-5
Part 2: 11-4
Part 3: 3-23
SONIC WINS 2-1
SONIC WINS THE ZONE
7 match points with 1 match to go. Team SCD is also at 7. A win by both teams in their final two matches forces yet another tiebreaker for first. A win for us and a loss for SCD means there's a tie for 2nd with 8 points; both teams losing would cause a 3-way tie. If their representative chooses to run the spring trap or the lift trap until time over, they have no worse than second place outright (they might tie for 1st if we also draw our match, or take 1st without tiebreaker if we lose).
Our team has to play match 9 before they do match 10, so I don't have the opportunity to react to a team SCD loss with an intentional draw for the win.
MATCH 4 - VS. SOAH (Playing as Tails)Sonic starts out ahead, grabbing the first rings and boxes. Again I shoot for the top path and fail, but manage to catch up to Sonic during the cycle of moving boxes. My jump lands directly on an Eggman box, but it's still a box point for me and I only lose 3 rings. After springing up, my attempt to clear the gap...fails? I hit another Eggman box, take a lift down, and hit 1-up for Sonic...not very good luck with these.
While Sonic's taking the standard path, the one that's susceptible to both kinds of traps, that won't be happening. I'm too far behind, and as a charged spring leads into another spring, I know where this is leading. It's a place that's a pain to get out of, even more so in 2P.
Sonic milks the 800-point engine. He goes through the spring and the lifts without problems. With a 25-17 ring lead, and no signs of me going anywhere, maybe just shooting for the end now would be the best idea. But instead, he figures "I have plenty of time, why not? After a bunch of tries, he manages to shoot from the low flippers into the spring that leads to the last slot station. And the very first spin in the slots? What else...Eggman.
Right at that same time, with 2:04 on the clock, after being stuck there for 78 seconds, I manage to escape from the Bumper-Coated Room of Hell. It leads into the usual pipe with the hole in the wall. I don't enter the hole at first, preferring instead to look for a way into the 800-point engine to even out the score. Meanwhile, Sonic spins another Eggman.
And then I give up on the points and head into the wall. That item box is still intact, and it reveals...Teleport.
Now it's my turn to play slots. Sonic picks up from my position and gets 800 more points, which don't matter. I get 30 rings in the slots, then make a run for the goal. Sonic gets another good flip up to the top with 44 seconds left, with easy access to the slots. But instead, he decides to spindash into the bumper-wielding enemy. Of course that fails to destroy it, and the kickback knocks him off that high platform and down to the bottom. Getting to the slots from here is much harder, so apparently the opponent just gave up and crossed the line just to get the act over with (after hearing that my previous matches went 19 and 16 minutes, not wanting to be forced into something that long is understandable).
ACT 1 RESULTSScore: 2480-90
Time: 3:47:67-3:01:40
Ring: 1-63
Total Ring: 60-70
Item Box: 2-3
TAILS WINS 1-4
In act 2, I start at the top again for the free box. No match would be complete without the 2400pt grab, even though it takes a long time to get there. Sonic picks up 10 in a different slot machine, then I go back to the first one to win 20. Now Sonic just wants to get to the end and put me on a clock. I spend what appears, while watching it, to be entirely too long in slots after hitting an Eggman box. Even after Sonic crosses the finish, I keep spinning. I have 43 rings when I finally decide to quit, then I go for the hole in the wall. Sonic finished with 23 rings, so do I have enough already? Might as well make sure. Go down the lift and get the item...Speed Shoes. 36 seconds left. Down another lift...and I walk right into the enemy, losing 51 rings. The attempt to destroy it fails, and a bumper hits me into it again, losing the 4 rings I recovered. 26 seconds left. NOW it's crunch time. Over to the right, I see rings. Lots of them. But I missed most of them, so I have to move back to the left. I get 14, then hit the enemy again. 17 seconds left. Certainly there aren't 21 more rings to get here, so it's a lost cause...on to the special stage. But I can't even go forward without being bumped into the same enemy a fourth time for the kill. I did hit a checkpoint before dying. The warning sound's playing--11 left. Maybe the new position might give me access to more rings? Going down there now. Nope...the rings here are already taken. I have to charge the spring to get anywhere. Not enough time. Just get to the stats screen...
ACT 2 RESULTSScore: 650-2470
Time: 2:22:75-3:23:75
Ring: 23-0
Total Ring: 94-96
Item Box: 2-3
TAILS WINS 2-3
TAILS WINS THE ZONE
I did NOT see this coming. The 14 rings, thought to be not enough and then lost by a hit anyway, serving to push me over the top by 2 in total rings? Even if I didn't dabble in that secret passage at all, I would lose Total Ring but not take any hits and retain the Ring category, while Item Boxes would be 2-2 making the overall act a tie. This would combine with my Act 1 win to give me the zone anyway, so it didn't matter. But since I
did decide to head down there, the pickup does receive plenty of after-the-fact importance.
So TSC's team was locked in with 10 points, good for no worse than a tie for first (thanks to SCD employing a player switch that cost them 2 points). After the news broke that SCD lost I was relieved that I wouldn't have to play, record, or report on a tenth match. But since they now play a tiebreaker for 2nd, a win there would tie us atop the medal points board with 5 each. On the other hand, if TSF beat them for 2nd, the other teams' scores would be more diluted, we'd stand alone in the lead, and overall a TSC win would be more likely.
And sure enough, SCD got stuck with 3rd. I finish off my portion of the Olympics with a 6-3 match record, which is somehow enough for sole possession of the lead.
Yay for a LONG report.
