[Spinballwizard]

So this is more or less going to be my little blog thing where I document my TAing for the day because I'm cool like that. X)

If you're looking for strats, you might not get any just because that's for CC. Or even PM. Or something. That and most of my strats aren't really worth getting because in most cases people have better ones.

Anyways you're free to comment or have pity on me or whatnot for my suckage.

Date: 27 March 2006
Game(s): Sonic Adventure 2 (B), Sonic Advance 2
Division(s): Mission Street 1/3/5, Weapons Bed 1/3, Egg Utopia 1 Sonic

MS1 (Daily Best: 3:03:57) - In reality, 4. But they're fundamentally the same anyways. Based on my old comment, I did manage to get a successful hover in. On the other hand, though, I took a hit in mid-hover, which cost a few seconds. I'm relatively sure I can get under 3 some time soon, but I'm more concentrated on M3's at the moment. I just did the M4 for the hell of it. (Besides, I wanted to do M5, but ended up not having enough time to get a finishing run in before going to work.)

MS3 (Daily Best: 2:29:19) - For some reason, even though it's not the case, I thought my time was barely in reach of an A. Guess I was wrong. Not too much to say though. Got hit by the same robot as in M4 though. Damn, that guy pisses me off.

MS5 (Daily Best: DNF - Game Over) - Not finished, so no time. Ended up game overing. And much to my embarassment, I guess the Mystic Melody "shortcut" in M1-4 isn't really a shortcut heh.

WB1 (Daily Best: 1:54:67) - Again, an M4. Can't remember much of the run, sadly. I know I made a mistake somewhere though. (Obviously. I got a 'D' rank.)

WB3 (Daily Best: 1:55:05) - I'm not sure what I did that puts this tome greater than my M1 time. I'll have to make another run through it. Expect me to report on that some time.

EU1S (Daily Best: 1:26:00) - This'll be the most detailed of today's not only because it's the most recent but it's something I've done extensively. Whereas in SA2B I haven't done much so my times are more or less what happens when I go with what works.

This has been pissing me off for some time now. Every time I try douglas' strat, I end up getting to the area around the check slower (because if you know the strat, which you can get from watching the vid, you don't actually touch the check). I actually have 2 uncontrollable urges on this level. The first is to use my variation of the strat around 33 seconds (in the vid), where I spindash into the spring and hit the rail as opposed to running, going over the lower spring, and hitting the hill. This cuts a couple seconds off the record strat.

The other urge I get is to roll down the slope betweent he two loops in his. This costs me boost mode, which more or less costs the level.

I had a great run working today at work (on my lunch, you bozos) where I was sure to get second from Taco (NintenDan, for the uninformed/stupid/both). I was dashing on the last slope at about 1:20, and I was sure I'd get a low 1:24. I finished reffing my spindash as soon as the platform hit the ramp and launched, hoping to get a jump/airdash maneuver in, which I hoped would give me some speed. Wasn't fast enough on the jump, so I rolled off the platform onto the ground below. This didn't really worry me; I'd still have running speed and room for an air dash or two to the finish. Then the inevitable happens.

Sonic Advance 2, while being arguably the fastest (in terms of speed; completion goes to Chaos) game in the series, has one major speed trap that isn't even an obstacle; it's more or less embedded in the game physics. If you are falling from a great distance (such as dropping from a higher platform to lower ground, as in my IP2 strat) while spinning (either from a roll, dash, or jump), there is a chance, which I assume is based on the landing angle, that you will come to a DEAD STOP upon landing. This happened to me in this particular run. As I dashed off the moving platform, I landed at a steep enough angle that I just came to a dead stop. I recovered with my own spin dash paired with a couple of air dashes, but the time was already lost. Ended up with a 1:27:xx on that run.

So yeah. Tomorrow I'm probably going to do more EU1, though I should consider improving Sky Canyon 1 as well. Need to go for yellowless. X) (If only the SC1 vid wasn't put on SWedge's space...)

[Taco]

bah...I gotta re-upload all those vids

and ya, I hate all those damn glitches in advance 2.

There haev also been a few locations where sonic will actually just come to a stop from just running...ya...just running, and BAM, he'll run into an invisible obstacle...only happens at a few places, and apparently, only at certain times...

The only place I can recall off the top of my head is right in the middle of music plant act 2 (before the steep upward slope with the checkpoint at the top)

[yse]

If you are falling from a great distance (such as dropping from a higher platform to lower ground, as in my IP2 strat) while spinning (either from a roll, dash, or jump), there is a chance, which I assume is based on the landing angle, that you will come to a DEAD STOP upon landing.

Sounds a lot like Sonic Advance 3... you'd have thought they'd fix that. XD

[Rolken]

I am thumbsup this concept.

[douglas]

Ah, dead stop, gotta love it.  The end of EU1's particularly bad for it; the trick (found so I ould stop smashing things in frustration ;) is to come off as close as possible to the point where you automatically jump off the platform without doing it - my marker is that  light strip of parallaxed background that's in about the centre of the screen at the end.  Release the spindash just above that and you should keep the angle shallow enough (I think it's the angle of travel at the point of contact with the floor that determines it, most likely combined with your speed).

The bit that drove me nuts is about 57 seconds in - that rail you can't air dash off of if you want to make the gravity-switch jump onto the television to keep boost going.  Takes me 5 or 6 goes to stop doing that every time I play that level.  I'm also forever falling down the hole at 1:05 for some reason.  Still, it's a cool level :)

[Spinballwizard]

I'm almost certain it's the angle. The idea I've been trying is, as I said, jumping and airdashing as soon as I release down. It's worked once, but I screwed up elsewhere in the run. (I think that was the 1:26 I got.)

...They have that in Advance 3 as well? Didn't notice. >_>
('Course, haven't really put too much effort into that yet. Only got marginal effort on OB1 and CT1.)

I actually found a similar glitch to what Taco brought up in EU1 as well. Only this one isn't as much running into nothing. I'm sure you're all familiar with the large block about 15 seconds into EU1. Well, I'm not sure if it's timing, but if I get there just early enough (Somewhere after the point where you fly over it or into it), there are times where I'll fly under it when it's just barely off the ground. This either results in A) death or B) (less often) going through it. I haven't worked out the exact timing of it though. (If it's in the TAS, I haven't seen it.) My ruined run from before is where I actually went through it. :o

Rolk: You better mean the topic and not the glitch. :(

Anyways, since I didn't bring my DS with me (left it sitting next to my Genesis for some odd reason), I'm more or less done today.

I'll actually blog tonight though. Forthcoming:
SA2(B): MHb 1SR/3, MSt 5, WB5

EDIT: Eh, forgot one mission I did. Meh.

Here's today's blog entry!

Date: 28 March 2006
Game(s): Sonic Adventure 2 (B)
Division(s): Metal Harbor 1SR/3, Mission Street 5, Weapons Bed 3/5

MHb1S (Best Score: DNF) - I tried for an A. I really did. Except I never could make it all the way up the damn missile. I ought to watch one of the vids again. I don't have RocketDarkness', though I do have the one made by Dreadknux *SHOT* -- What? It's an A-Rank and that's what I'm playing for. Besides, I can implement the TSC timesaving shortcuts I know of. Heck, I can finally spindash jump through the second-to-last loop the one after the two somersault ascents.

MHb1R (Best Ring: DNF) - Tried going for the ring record; figured it can't be too hard, as long as I'm careful going through the final chute after the missile. Going slow enough (such as in SM's low score vid, only hitting the capsules as opposed to missing them), I should be able to do that no problem. Except there's only one reason I have a DNF.

I forgot about the light dash chain on the upper part of the missile.

You know, the one on the ascent I can't hit in my score runs.

I need to practice that. I like Metal Harbor. >_>

MSt5 (Best Time: 3:10:32) - Finished the run from yesterday. Definitely can be improved (well DURH); my ascents are rather slow on this level. I ought to watch a vid to see where I can improve... oddly I seem to be doing good at the Tails/Robotnik levels. (For those in the dark, I refuse to call him "Eggman.")

WB3 (Best Time: 1:50:05) - It's better than my old time, though I have an odd feeling that it could still be better based on my current strat. I think part of it was that I went into the wrong compartment when going for the Melody statue. Yeah, stupid, I know. Shut up.

WB5 (Best Time: 2:06:24) - Other than my recent typical M5 shock, I can't say too much about this run yet. Could be better, obviously. Many deaths, too, including one hover I found particularly frustrating.

Join me tomorrow when I try to do more M3's (hopefully) and head back into Advance 2.

---

Edit 2: I hate double posting you arsehats.

Instead of going through every one, I'll only comment on the ones I had stuff to say things about. Levels with commentary are underlined.

Date: 29 March 2006
Game(s): Sonic Adventure 2 (B), Sonic Advance 2
Division(s) Played: City Escape 5, Metal Harbor 1RS, Aquatic Mine 3, Pyramid Cave 1(4)/3/5, Death Chamber 3, Finalhazard, Egg Utopia 1

MHb1R (Best Ring: 173) - Pissed me off, plain and simple. I hate missing one farking ring. Of course, the record's 194, which probably involves mass check abuse somewhere along the line. Maybe I'll try for it some time but the ingame perfect is satisfactory for me. And I didn't get it. :(

MHb1S (Best Score: 19800) - Another piss-offer. Finally am able to get to the top of the missile, but I suck at hitting the final capsules in the boarding tunnel afterwards. Only explanation I can offer. (I can't remember if I hit the one beetle off to the side in the beginning though, which could get me SOME points.) Give this one a couple days and I'll probably A this.

PC3 (Best Time: 3:58:30) - Greater than my M4, wtf. Had a horrible time near the end though, as my timing was horrible. Also for some odd reason when I'd go back to the check before the melody, I'd hit the first one for a light dash and somehow overshoot the pulley. I call glitch. Not to mention that I hate that second key in PC. Takes so frickin' long...

DC3 (Best Time: DNF) - Alright, this pissed me off. In fact, I'm getting the vid right now; (At the risk of being called retarded) I just can't figure it out. Downloading the vid might help me. (Most cases, it usually helps to an extent.)

EU1S (Best Time: 1:29:xx) - Ugh... shitty run. Only one I got finished on my break. Could've been 1:26, but I missed jumping over the cannon at 1:05 and lost 4 seconds aiming. Damn thing points up first instead of down. MUCH easier to jump over. (Easier to keep boost mode, but I've mastered keeping the boost when getting into the cannon.) I'm bringing my DS with me to school though so I should get something quality tomorrow.

EDIT 3: Damnit don't make me double post. :(

Quick one today because I didn't really do much.

Date: 30 March 2006
Game(s): Sonic Advance 2, Sonic the Hedgehog (Gen/MD)
Division(s): Egg Utopia 1 Sonic, Green Hill 1

EU1S (Best time: 1:25:58) - Yay, but not yay. On the one hand, I've got the second-place sweep of EU1 now. On the other hand, it's not first. :(

I've still got a bit of a ways to go to catch douglas on this one. I might take a small break because supposedly Taco's got his vids going up, so I can get some quality in other levels that I desparately need. On my own chopping block would be (in their likely order): SC1, LF2, MP2, IP1, MP1. Aiming for yellowless ftw. (TB1/2 Amy are simply due to not enough rankings, but I'll get to those in due time. SC2 Knux is just bad and I can improve on it when I'm not lazy.)

GH1 (Best time: 0:30) - Several quick runs for SCD's little emerald thing. Because RPG can't be the only source of TSC pwnage on this new SCD thing. X)

The run has several seconds' worth of errors (more like 5 lol), most notably (since I have it vidded) around the loop where I jump at just the wrong spot and don't roll right away, and I have to waste a couple seconds regaining my speed. And I didn't roll out of the chute jump either. Ought to try it on a console.

[yse]

*arbitrary post so SBW doesn't have to double post again*

I mean seriously I just saw those now. And they've been up there for days. :(

[Spinballwizard]

Hey it's not my fault I have this inclination not to double post.

Okay maybe it is.

But shut up. :(

Date: 31 March 2006 (Actually did em past midnight, but stfu n00bs)
Game(s): Shadow the Hedgehog
Division(s): The ARK Dark, The Last Way, Devil Doom, GUN Fortress Challenge

ARK-D (Best Time: 4:08:48) - Don't ask me why I decided to play Shadow. I'm completely UNaccustomed to my PS2 now, not to mention that each of our controllers has some problem associated with each of them. One randomly pushes the left stick right, one randomly moves right/presses O, the wireless' X button jams on occasion, and the one I ended up using has a sticky right stick. I blame siblings. Like my brother going insane playing Madden in his dorm. Or my sister slamming one down after getting pissed at Babylon Garden. Or two that just randomly weirded out.

Anyways, the main problem with this run was that I somehow didn't destroy the 3rd defense system. I'd taken several shots at it from the hawk or whatever it is, but I guess I didn't shoot enough before I said "Oh shit I passed it." Oh well. Cut almost a minute and a half from my old time. :/

TLW (Best Time: 7:34:48) - Ew. Just ew. I hate TLW. I SERIOUSLY want to know how you get under 2. Or even 3. Hell, 4 would work. But 7:30 only beats ROLKEN. :(

DD (Best Time: 4:49:38) - Hey, a green! I'm beginning to get the hang of it, too. Maybe I'll do some more later, but I think I just wanted to play a different game for a change. I still say Shadow's too slow in every respect but running. :(

GF-Chal (Best Time: ~1:08) - In case anyone's confused... this is the challenge RPG came up with yesterday. In GUN Fortress, there's an armored car right at the beginning. The objective is to take it as far as you can in the fastest time; this ends at a set of blue lasers a little more than a minute into the level (using this method). In my best run of the ~5 or so I attempted (which averaged ~1:11), I managed to only graze one solid object. Maybe I'll try more, maybe I won't. Meh.

[Rolken]

7:30 only beats ROLKEN. :(

buttmunch. I pwn u.

[Bilan]

TLW (Best Time: 7:34:48) - Ew. Just ew. I hate TLW. I SERIOUSLY want 2 no how u get under 2. Or even 3. Hell, 4 would work. But 7:30 only beats ROLKEN. :(

GF-Chal (Best Time: ~1:08) - In case anyone's confused... this is teh challenge RPG came up with yesterday. In GUN Fortress, there's an armored car right @ teh beginning. teh objective is 2 take it as far as u can in teh fastest time; this ends @ a set of blue lasers a little more than a minute into teh level (using this method). In my best run of teh ~5 or so I attempted (which averaged ~1:11), I managed 2 only graze one solid object. Maybe I'll try more, maybe I won't. Meh.

[snapback]11281[/snapback]

Get teh keys and use teh Key Door for a mad time in TLW. I meant 2 do this actually.

Also in my GF Challenge, I do declare PsyBorg also got 1:08 but I own u both with my mad driving skills with a mad high 1:05 :D

[Spinballwizard]

Well, now that the site's fixed I can post again. >_>

And I would've tried for 1:05 had I not gotten lazy and bored.

Anyways... on to today's blog!

Date: 01 April 2006 (No, these stats aren't a joke. :()
Game(s): Sonic Adventure 2 (B)
Division(s): Hidden Base 1/2, Death Chamber 3, Eternal Engine 1/3/5

HB1 (Best Time: 2:21:57) - Decided to do a TA of it. I'm kinda pissed at it; I'm relatively certain I could red this with little practice. I'll probably have another go tomorrow. Ran into a couple doors as well.

HB2 (Best Time: 1:33:35) - I got an earlier run today of 1:38:xx, which had I gotten the last rings in a decent time could've been under 1:30. This was the best I had time for. Similarly to the M1 hijinks, I ran into a few doors before they could be shot down.

DC3 (Best Time: 2:35:05) - Haven't tried a vid-copying run, if only because I don't know if the glitches in the vid are DC(er... Dreamcast. Not Death Chamber.)-only. (Version Differences guide has nothing on DC3; only DC5.) Main reason the time's up there is also because of the fact that I had to go back, while under water, to the hourglass TWICE in order to get to the underwater tunnel leading to the Chao Room. I really need to work on my timing there if that's a Dreamcast-only glitch.

EE1 (Best Time: 4:14:79; Best Score: 38280) - Two separate runs here. Time was for M4 actually. Nothing I can really say about it. Score attack has some obvious errors; a few of the missile-bots (or whatever you want to call them) only got 1-2 locks as opposed to the maximum 7, so I lost roughly 400 (or more, in some instances) points in several instances. That said, I was just playing for A.

EE3 (Best Time: 1:51:80) - No real comments. I got pissed off in the process of getting this because I lost a total of 3-4 lives just trying to land on or near the statue. Ended up hovering into the wall, which as we all know causes one to only fall faster. (I dare somebody to explain the physics in that.) Definitely improvable.

EE5 (Best Time: 5:13:39) - End is somewhat conservative because I was on my last life. I'll work on this one later.

[Bilan]

DC3 (Best Time: 2:35:05) - Haven't tried a vid-copying run, if only because I don't know if the glitches in the vid are DC(er... Dreamcast. Not Death Chamber.)-only. (Version Differences guide has nothing on DC3; only DC5.)

[snapback]11332[/snapback]

Its not version specific, you can do it on either, hence why SS has a mad low tiem and he only plays n GC :P

I have both but I did it on DC anyway, for some reason I have less trouble copying SM's strats on DC >_>

[Spinballwizard]

Might this be because it's on DC? *SHOT*

No entry for today or maybe the next couple of days. I did a single complete run of EU1 today which sucked, and I'm going to be very busy in the next couple of days.

[Spinballwizard]

Double post ftl. :(

EDIT: Tacking on to today.

Date: 3 April 2006
Game(s): Sonic Adventure 2 (B), Sonic Advance 3, Sonic 3
Division(s): Hidden Base 1, Route 99 Boss, Sunset Hill Boss, Ocean Base Boss, Twinkle Snow Boss, Carnival Night 2 Knuckles

HB1 - Without a doubt the best run of the set. Decided to take that time down a bit, and I must say I did well. (Well, well enough to get to the target I'd set for myself anyways.) I really need work on my door shooting though; that first set of 3 doors (15-20 seconds in) is always the death of me; I can't get better than a 28 check. :(

That said, I could red this without too much difficulty.

R99B/SHB/OBB/TSB - I was going to say something witty like "Univision ftw" but except for R99B, they're all still like ew. That said, I'll be doing some more experimenting in the near future, since I'm bored of Adv2 for the moment. That and my SAdva3 stats REALLY need work. :(

CaN2K (Best Time: 0:52) - Should be 50, could be much better. Highlights of my many runs include: Spindash jumps-in-place, landing on a bat on ~35% of my runs, monitor delays aplenty, and the occasional good run. :(

---

EDIT: Dammit I WILL NOT TRIPLE POST. BLASPHEMY I SAY! BLASPHEMY! *shot*

Date: 4 April 2006
Game(s): Sonic Rush, Sonic Advance 3
Division(s): Huge Crisis 1 Sonic, Altitude Limit 1 (Sonic/Blaze)/2 (Sonic/Blaze), Route 99 Boss, Sunset Hill Boss, Ocean Base Boss

HC1S (Best Time: DNF) - Not much to say here. Would've finished, but I quit when my timer hit 2:40 and it was looking like I'd finish with over 3 minutes. I ought to look over the guide I think is up.

AL1S/B (Best times: Sonic 2:39:37, Blaze 2:36:91) - Similar runs, though I'm unsure  why Sonic is faster than Blaze on the records. I mean, on my route, I save roughly 2-5 seconds with Blaze's tricks. So either I'm missing something with Sonic, or I'm not using the right route at this point.

Both utilize the famous "takes damage to save time" thing. One thing I hate about Altitude Limit is those parachute parts. though those have better commentary in my Act 2 runs. Found an interesting glitch thing in one of my Blaze runs for this act; at one of the rail intersections (the one right before the glider), I was jumping down to help save time when I PASSED THROUGH THE RAIL. Run ended up as a DNF (I think I died somewhere around the end stupidly).

AL2S/B (Best times: Sonic DNF, Blaze 2:44:76) - More Blaze trickage here; easy quick way up to that first very long set of rails. More damage to save time here, which is one reason why my Sonic is DNF. At one drop near the end, I landed my parachute on the spikes, then jumped down. Landed on a couple enemies (just so I could help see my landing spot, since I haven't digested the timing of the platforms at the bottom and haven't been able to completely skip said platforms yet). Now with Blaze, the rest is easy. Hover down onto the last platform, or (I believe, if you're lucky) onto the main "ground" with the spring. Sonic requires a jump dash and stop to just get onto the platform. Needless to say, I missed the platform. Then class started.

R99B (Best Time: 1:10:05) - ZOMG YELLOW! CreamKnux ftw. Could've been better, since I actually took a couple hits in the process, and I might be able to do Gemel faster (though don't take my word on that. I don't know where beating him at 22 puts me.)

SHB (Best Time: 0:44:60) - Another Cream/Knux. I was most proud of this one, but also most pissed. On the one hand, I really tried on this. Took hits left and right, exercised Cheese's default (spinning) position and attacks (particularly on the first hit), and ran around chasing Robotnik like a lunatic. Yet I CAN'T STAND the LAG you get while he's exploding.

On this particular run I tried to fly into the exit so I could dash for the goal ring, but hit ceiling and lost a couple seconds. Could easily be yellow, if not orange.

OBB (Best Time: 1:06:57) - Tails ftw. Still sucks though; I'd like to see what mike does with this one. (I didn't use Amy, but still.)

I might have an idea, but I didn't feel like executing it.

[Spinballwizard]

At the risk of being called a douche again... (Mike will pay for that.)

...I triple post. *Universe implodes*

Date: 6 April 2006
Game(s): Sonic Rush
Division(s): Huge Crisis 1(Sonic/Blaze)/2(Sonic/Blaze)

HC1S (Best Time: 2:04:33) - This annoyed me to hell. Plain and simple. I read SkyLights' guide on TSC for the run, which I more or less thought I was following to the letter, only until my breaks today I didn't realize I had to jump over this one gap. :x

I also was slow in a few parts, so I could almost definitely sub-2 this.

HC1B (Best Time: 2:08:86) - See Sonic for the most part, though Blaze gets the trick advantages, so there's a little less crane luck. That said, I still missed parts. :(

HC2S (Best Time: 2:05:64) - Quicker than my Blaze run (see below), and possibly better; I was a bit faster in the enemy parts as Sonic, particularly the last one. I can improve it, mostly because I was playing in broad daylight and outside so I could hardly see some of the darker parts of the level. Enough to play, but not really enough to time. Luckily, I know most of the bottom's layout.

Another part here was using the lower route at one location instead of the higher one. May contain pistons and a quick enemy room, but it is faster.

HC2B (Best Time: 2:17:72) - Like Sonic, only slower. I did this first, though, and it's the last blue time I eliminated. (I ought to do X2-Blaze so I can be completely blueless in time-related divisions. And then I'll score attack maybe.) I was awfully slow around this one rush jump; I think I hovered too much, since I hit the opposite wall. I was also slow on enemies, as well as my worst 2 favorite parts of HC2.

My worst favorite part comes shortly after the first checkpoint. I have no trouble with that first piston. It's the second one. Until very recently (read: my Sonic run) I've become very slow at jumping there, and often get bombed, making me have to wait for the piston to come back down (a good couple seconds). In addition, I don't always jump on the first one in time. If I get both, I'm good. Miss them, I'm screwed. Next is the other piston ascent later in the act, though my timing's much better on that part.

I'll improve Blaze later tonight or tomorrow.

[Spinballwizard]

QUADRUPLE ftl. :(

Arbitrary Rush-at-work TA.

Date: 7 April 2006
Game(s): Sonic Rush
Division(s): Huge Crisis 2 Blaze, X-2 Sonic/Blaze

HC2B (Best Time: 2:08:89) - Finally got that betterized run, after a multitude of 2:16's and 2:17's. I think part of it is my timing at the first piston; if I can get a good jump, I can easily finish the ascent at 26-27, 3-4 seconds better than my typical 2:17 run. I was a little slower around the second ascent; maybe I'll be bothered enough to orange this. (Match my Sonic time and I have.)

X2B (Best Time: 0:50:55) - Wanted to unblue this, and I discovered something I could try as Sonic; problem is, with this new method, Sonic's much faster. Involves skipping the first rail ENTIRELY. (No doubt the really good Rush TA TAers will tell me I'm doing something wrong though.) Good enough for yellow though.

X2S (Best Time: 0:47:91) - See above. Again, good enough for yellow, which I like. If I could get all 9-ish-second laps, I could do a lot better, but I got a couple of 10's here. Dunno how long it'll be before I play this again though.

[yse]

I think it's fair to assume that all 9s is better than half 9s half 10s. >_>

Also C-C-C-C-COMBO BREAKER!

[Spinballwizard]

Whee.

Would've played Riders, but then I got lazy. Maybe tomorrow.

Considering more SADX soon too. :o

Date: 8 April 2006
Game(s): Sonic Rush
Division(s): X-1 Sonic/Blaze

X1B (Best Time: 33:79) - I more or less :O'd at this. After discovering a little trick that helped my strat a bit, I managed to get all upper sixes on my individual laps. Yay, yellow. Could probably improve, considering how I slow down after the third loop. I tried something similar with Sonic...

X1S (Best Time: 35:33) - ...but couldn't quite get it to work the same way. Got a few high sixes, but a couple low sevens as well. I'm satisfied for the moment though. Lost a couple fractions by having to detour down (since hover > jump dash) onto the springy-thing, making sure I hit the corner of it for maximum height and horizontal trick. Shouldn't take me too long to 34 this.

[Spinballwizard]

...Shut up. So I didn't play Riders. But I did play SADX, Rush, and Pokémon FireRed! *shot for last one*

Date: 9 April 2006
Game(s): Sonic Adventure (DX), Sonic Rush
Division(s): Emerald Coast Gamma, Windy Valley Gamma, Casinopolis Sonic, Casinopolis Tails, (Twinkle Park Sonic), Water Palace Boss Sonic/Blaze

ECG (Best Time: 3:05:18) - Yellow. Decent. But what I was impressed with here was the SCORE. 6970 was good for RED. Could this mean some score attacking in the near future? ...Maybe.

WVG (Best Time: 5:21:41) - Not that great. Though on those large worm things, I had a couple of bad locks (I call loose trigger finger), so I probably lost, oh, maybe a minute? Perhaps I'll do this again sometime when I have time.

CPS (Best Time: 8:36:76) - Ew, with a capital E. While it beats the pants off of my old 13:58, it still just plain sucks. I hate Casinopolis as Sonic, especially since I get no glitch.

CPT (Best Time: 0:49:26) - Decent. Though IIRC, DX has a wall glitch version for Tails. Eh, still decent. And yellow. Yay.

WPB Both (2:17:47 Sonic, 2:13:47 Blaze) - Lol at both ending in 47. For a second I thought I'd tied them when I finished Sonic's run. They were alright, but improvable. And not blue.

Next comes Altitude Limit boss, which I did a few runs of earlier today. And man, do I hate it.

Altitude Limit is a beautiful zone. I love TAing it; did quite a bit of that before my Huge Crisis attempts. However, I hate the boss with a passion. All of my times get ruined by a hit or bad luck (or both). I did runs as both earlier today; never got more than 6 hits before death/restart. (I restarted whenever I got pinned or missed.) So much crap taken on that boss it isn't funny.

Probably explains why my day at work was so suck. :( (Well that and the fact that work itself sucks.)

[F-Man]

For Gamma stages that have checkpoints (particulary WV), restart at checkpoints ftw. Enemies reappear. :D

Also, for Sonic CP, there is a glitch you can do on GameCube, just watch Marth's vid. It's really hard to do though, so if you take the long way, I highly suggest going down the sewers.

These are my approximate casino times without using any glitch/shortcut, you can aim for them if you want. X)
Sonic: 2:17
Tails: 0:35

[Spinballwizard]

Effy, I did. Only I'm still trying to figure out the best way to get to the sewers with enough rings to only do one run through them. :(

Oh snap, I like missed a day. D:

So you get double duty today. X)

Date: 10/11 April 2006
Game(s): Sonic Rush, Sonic Advance 2
Division(s): Altitude Limit Boss Sonic/Blaze, Leaf Storm 1 Sonic Score, Leaf Storm 2 Blaze Ring, Water Palace 1 Sonic Score, Water Palace Boss Blaze Score, Huge Crisis 1 Sonic/Blaze Score/Rings, Leaf Forest 2 All

LF1SS, WP1SS, WPBBS, SAdva2 Tails IP1 and later, SAdva2 Knux LF1-TB1 (Too many stats not worth showing) - Arbitrary score (Advance 2 also ring) runs. Advance 2 ones are/were part of my worthless attempt at maybe making the top 10. But I still have ~450p left and a tough schedule in the next couple days. So it's probably not gonna happen. :(

ALBS/B (Best Times: 2:01:25, 2:25:87) - Sonic put me in shock. I was like ZOMG ORANGE. Couldn't get Blaze to match though. Luck just wasn't on my side I guess. But it isn't blue either. So it's cool. X)

HC1S/B(S/R) (Best Scores: 118480, 118400. Best Rings: 348, 340) - Whee, records! Read: w00t. Followed the same strat I used for time, only comedy throwing tricks in. Luckily, I got like all the max bonuses (other than Ring, of course). I didn't know if they were records or not until after I submitted and checked them myself. Might see some Rush score attacking from me soon. :o

[Bilan]

^^About 90 rings should do it when you hit the sewers, then go up the left path at the first fan room and the path in front of you at the second. Just dont miss any rings and you _should_ hit the 400 mark. If not, just grab some rings from the showers or the machines outside :D

[Spinballwizard]

So I've basically given up my chances at the periodic top 10 for now.

Date: 12 April 2006
Game(s): Sonic Rush
Division(s): Leaf Storm 2 Sonic Score/Rings, Night Carnival 1 Sonic Score

Yeah, not much today.

LS2SS/R (Score: 94150, Ring: 315) - Still can't S this for shit. 'Nuff said. ('Course, I can't play Leaf Storm that well either.)

NC1SS (Best Score: 106710) - Much-needed improvement and S. I could probably do better. I think I'm going to TA this level though; I finished my score run in 2:05, and my PR is 2:01. The 2:05 has a lot of tricking, so I could easily chop several seconds off of it. :O

[Spinballwizard]

Oh. Snap.

Date: 13 April 2006
Game(s): Sonic Rush
Division(s): Night Carnival 1 Sonic, Night Carnival 1 Blaze Time/Score

(Best Times: Sonic - 1:47:42. Blaze - 1:50:77. Blaze Score: 105000) - Score would've been so much better had I not hit one of those bat things on my way up at the end.

...Twice. :(

As in I probably would've had 107xxx or somesuch.

That said, the times were pwn, and I could easily chop a few more seconds off once I figure out some of these time-saving shortcuts I can visibly see. Problem being I still have to work on my timing. (Making a jump right after loops while at blazing speed and not landing somewhere that'll cause me to fall to either a less-than-strategic piece of ground or my death, both of which constitute restart.) Originally my Sonic run was at 1:54 or somesuch and my Blaze trick shenanigans gave me a better time (much like Altitude Limit 1). Then I remembered the rush jump, which caused me to save lots of time on those moving light platforms (more like skipping them completely for the most part lol). Would probably be cooler if I were able to rush jump all the way from this one loop to the first checkpoint, but I'm not sure if I have enough in my boost meter to get me there in time without falling to some naughty platform.

I'll be running through it some more maybe tomorrow at work.

[Spinballwizard]

Long time, no post. Because most of my TAing has been arbitrary minor improvements. I'll only comment on today's shenanigans, but if you're interested you can check out my latest work here. Nothing too impressive there; in S3 I dropped a couple of my Ice Cap 1 times through screenwrap glitches. I got a few SADX improvements, most notably Emerald Coast Sonic and Final Egg Amy (though Windy Valley Gamma wasn't too bad either). Did quite a bit of Rush work too, mostly in Night Carnival. Finally got under 3 with Blaze.

And now for today's.

Date: 19 April 2006
Game(s): Sonic Rush
Division(s): Dead Line 2 Sonic/Blaze

DL2S (Best Time: 2:33:93) - Didn't gain a single position. But what I did gain was a slight strat improvement. All this time I was taking this one way upward (a series of 3 cannons), and skipping them chopped off about 10-15 seconds. I ought to do more. :D

DL2B (Best Time: 2:45:55) - I need to do this again, maybe before one of my exams tomorrow. I was going through said set of cannons, trying to Up+R myself to skip 'em. Due to a gravity switch somewhere along the way, this "backfired." In the middle of my upward boost, I hit the switch, turned around, then passed the switch again near my max height. Ended up on the lower route, which I found to be much faster (considering I'd beaten my old Sonic PR). Did Sonic and got better than this by a lot, so I need to redo it.

[Spinballwizard]

ZOMFG Quadruple post. :(

I've only TAed twice since my last entry though. >_>

First was just improvements on the last one, so I'm not documenting that. Instead, I'll just do today's work.

Date: 24 April 2006
Game(s): Sonic Advance 2
Division(s): Egg Hammertank II Sonic, Egg Saucer Sonic.

Yes, I played Advance 2 again. And got a couple of improvements. :D

EH2S (Best Time: 0:13:30) - Just an arbitrary run, really. Was running out of time on a break and I decided to play it. 1+ second improvement always helps. :D

ESS (Best Time: 0:50:93) - It's funny how I always avoided this boss before due to my hate for it (mostly out of fear), and now I almost like it. :o

Anyways, based on my current strat, this could easily get close to 40 if the timing were better. Actually, probably much better if I could get 2 hits on each of my jumps. Well, each is probably a bad statement. But I could probably get something like:

AD-AD-Hit-Jump-Hit-Hide-Jump-Hit-Hit-Hide-Jump-Hit-Hit-Hide-Hit

in pretty good time, if my timing and luck (read: h4x) worked out. (Note: Each of the jumps comes at a ramp. "Hide" only refers to avoiding pwnage by the hand of d00m while the cockpit is out of reach.)

Most annoying part is the first hit though, since if my positioning/timing is bad, I die right after the first hit from the spikes on the bottom of the cockpit. And my timing is horrible on those next couple jumps; I've never hit the first one above, and the next two I maybe hit 25% of the time each. On this run in particular, I ended up with:

AD-AD-Hit-Hide-Jump-Hit-Hit-Hide-Jump-Hit-Hide-Hit-Hide-Hit-Hide-Hit-Hide-Hit

or something like that. I know I only hit one of said jumps.

[Spinballwizard]

Meh screw the format. Quintuple posts don't deserve it. :(

But I was mighty pissed today. First I get on and find out that I LOST MY 4TH PLACE IN ADVANCE 2 to QUARTZ. I knew he was getting close already and greatly improved my Music Plant 2 times, but when I found that he was a few points ahead of me, I went into overdrive. I started to SERIOUSLY ring attack.

And after completing all of Leaf Forest in RA mode, I have the record for Knux on act 2! :D

But that wasn't all. Douglas came back with a vengeance, with an improved IP2. He "blew" past my 45:12 with his own 45:00, which I swear he could improve given he used a couple of easy time/speed savers. But I digress. Because I blew past his with my own 44:83! I knew sub-45 was possible considering I vaguely remember screwing up something in my 45:12 run, and this proves it. Tis pretty good; I'm not sure how much better it can get sans TAS.

[douglas]

Meh screw the format. Quintuple posts don't deserve it. :(

But I was mighty pissed today. First I get on and find out that I LOST MY 4TH PLACE IN ADVANCE 2 to QUARTZ. I knew he was getting close already and greatly improved my Music Plant 2 times, but when I found that he was a few points ahead of me, I went into overdrive. I started to SERIOUSLY ring attack.

And after completing all of Leaf Forest in RA mode, I have the record for Knux on act 2! :D

But that wasn't all. Douglas came back with a vengeance, with an improved IP2. He "blew" past my 45:12 with his own 45:00, which I swear he could improve given he used a couple of easy time/speed savers. But I digress. Because I blew past his with my own 44:83! I knew sub-45 was possible considering I vaguely remember screwing up something in my 45:12 run, and this proves it. Tis pretty good; I'm not sure how much better it can get sans TAS.

Damn you, I wanted to be the first to break the 45 second barrier.  Well played though, must've been a sweet run.

Don't think it's over yet though :)

[Taillow]

Well... I kinda regained that 4th with my new records...  *Hides*

Anyhow, good luck on re-obtaining EGR with Cream.  As I said, it can be cut a few split-seconds.

I'd kill for some of these times and scores, though.  Like Sonic Rush.