[Donna]

Okay, so, maybe I kind of fail, since this isn't addressed in the competition rules for Shadow, but...

when competing for rings, do checkpoints count, or do you need to avoid them?

[Parax]

Checkpoints are central to Shadow rings... not only do they count but if you want the best ring counts you'll need to manipulate them so you get as many as possible. There's some guides on the site that can explain them in more detail if you need it.

[Donna]

But of course. :) I know that some of TSC's rules on rings and ring accumulation are... interesting. So I figured it would be worth checking before doing ring runs.

...I also need to figure out how to capture my stuff on my digital camera, because as an English major I am obsessed with documentation. :)

But thank you! That's a relief.

[EngiNerd]

This should be a good reference for you:
http://www.soniccenter.org/forum/index.php?action=post;topic=3913.0;num_replies=2
Big trademarks of Shadow ring attacks here.  General process is, get just enough rings to start the checkpoint bonuses, then get through the entire level with just these, and hit all checkpoints.  On the last checkpoint, lose some rings to get the bonus again (note that too many rings results in a different bonus), use the egg vacuum to retrieve them, warp to first checkpoint, and egg vacuum extensively to get all of the rings left.
The two things that really differentiate Shadow ring attacks from others are (1) not all rings are lost on a hit, allowing for that bit at the last checkpoint, and (2) you can warp between checkpoints.  A similar ring attack in Sonic Adventure 2, which gives checkpoint bonuses but doesn't have checkpoint warps, can be more difficult because you get all the checkpoints, and BACKTRACK TO THE BEGINNING OF THE LEVEL.
Oh, and welcome!

[Donna]

That's a good point. Because Shadow doesn't save highest ring stats, I hadn't really given any thought to how to achieve ring attacks (I'm too forgetful to log my scores without a site like this in front of me :p), so I knew most of these mechanics, but hadn't thought about applying them that way. That's nifty. I'll have to give it a shot over winter break.

And thanks. :3

[EngiNerd]

I know the feeling.  I hope to GET Shadow over winter break.  Because I honestly think that, as bad of a rap it gets, I will enjoy it.  Hey, people complain about Sonic the Disaster more, and what little of that I've played, I liked.  And it has one of the best soundtracks in the series.  Not only does it greatly improve upon the rock music of SA2, it has Lost Impact.  Any game with Lost Impact has an amazing soundtrack.

[Selphos]

Because Shadow doesn't save highest ring stats, I hadn't really given any thought to how to achieve ring attacks (I'm too forgetful to log my scores without a site like this in front of me :p)

Auriman made a totally awesome archiving workbook for practically everything on TSC, so you could check that out.

Long-sentence hyperlinking ftw.

[Donna]

Auriman made a totally awesome archiving workbook for practically everything on TSC, so you could check that out.

Long-sentence hyperlinking ftw.

Ooh. I love spreadsheets... but lacking excell, I have to use Works Spreadsheet, which doesn't get along with xls. And I hate open office. :( Still, I'll look into it.

[EngiNerd]

And I hate open office. :(

And you're an English major?  SOMETHING DOESN'T COMPUTE

[Donna]

And you're an English major?  SOMETHING DOESN'T COMPUTE

But I spent my formative years writing crappy mary sue fanfiction on Microsoft Word. And took classes on it. And open office likes to glitch out and not save things properly on my computer for some reason. And then there's compatibility worries now that my university has gone over to Office 2007, which ruins everything and is made of epic fail and keeps me from helping my friends with papers.

The thing about being an English major is you have to worry about compatibility/convenience. When you live on campus at a school that has Microsoft-serve on its nose, if you don't use MS Office, you're kinda out of luck with everything. :(

(Yes, I'm aware that open office supposedly does everything. In my experience, it doesn't do it as well as I need it to.)

[EngiNerd]

Just throwing this out there: As of, what, a month and a half ago, Open Office now fully supports MSOffice 2007 files and formats.  Meaning it can load AND save in those formats.  I somehow doubt that Works can do that.

[Donna]

Full 07 support? Then I'll have to look into it for my upcoming fieldwork semester.

I don't concern myself with this stuff all that much because I never end up doing a lot of power points, and MS Word 03 stuff can be opened in 07, and 07 can open in 03 if you aren't an idiot when you save it. But with that news I'll have to check it out over break.  Thanks. :D