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1
News and Updates / Huge "Get Yourself Speedrunning" Sonic 2 race on SRL on Saturday 31/1!
« on: January 29, 2015, 08:24:33 pm »
Since AGDQ, SpeedRunsLive have been doing a series of introductory races to get new players interested in speedrunning. The third and final of these races is taking place on Saturday January 31, and is a full-game race of Sonic 2. Details here, but the relevant part is posted below:
The last two races in this series had 140 and 300 racers respectively, so this is probably going to be the biggest race of any Sonic game we've ever seen. Come and join in! You just have to be in the SpeedRunsLive IRC (server irc.speedrunslive.com, #speedrunslive) to join on race day.
See you there!
Quote
Game: Sonic 2
Goal: Beat the game
When: Jan. 31st, 2pm EST / 7pm GMT
Goal clarification: Start on title screen, .done on screen fade to black after final boss.
Rules: No S&K cart. Zips allowed. Stage select allowed to return to your last stage.
Stage select: At the title screen, select Options. Highlight Sound Test then play the following music and sounds: 19, 65, 09 and 17. You will hear a ring-collecting sound for correct code entry. Then press START to return to the title screen. Highlight 1-Player, hold the A Button and press START.
The last two races in this series had 140 and 300 racers respectively, so this is probably going to be the biggest race of any Sonic game we've ever seen. Come and join in! You just have to be in the SpeedRunsLive IRC (server irc.speedrunslive.com, #speedrunslive) to join on race day.
See you there!
2
Information Kiosk / Re: Future feature additions - version differences, proof, chart filtering
« on: April 14, 2014, 10:30:01 pm »
Wow, I wasn't even aware Gerbil was working on the site any more. The copyright notice (2003-2011) suggests the code hasn't been worked on in three years. :P
Obviously I think all of these proposed features are fantastic, but I'd suggest one more: that the rules for any given chart are displayed on the chart's page. I don't remember if the rules page is coded this way - I remember you could set rules on the division level, but I don't remember for individual charts. But you could have volunteers filter out rules specific to certain charts of course.
Obviously I think all of these proposed features are fantastic, but I'd suggest one more: that the rules for any given chart are displayed on the chart's page. I don't remember if the rules page is coded this way - I remember you could set rules on the division level, but I don't remember for individual charts. But you could have volunteers filter out rules specific to certain charts of course.
3
TSC Race Night / Re: Special Race: Sonic 1-3&K Marathon
« on: June 20, 2013, 02:43:18 am »
Whoa, just realised this is on the Sunday. I might actually be able to do this!
Toss in another totally unneeded vote for 1 and 3. Is there an agreed start time?
Toss in another totally unneeded vote for 1 and 3. Is there an agreed start time?
4
Marathon Planning / Re: Schedule (First Draft)
« on: February 14, 2013, 08:23:46 am »
OK, early starts are -really- bad for me. 2pm in EST will be 4am where I am... If that means I drop off Sonic 2 and 3, so be it, I've played those games plenty at marathons and don't need to again.
Sonic Spinball should not take more than 25 minutes, and will not take more than 30.
Sonic Spinball should not take more than 25 minutes, and will not take more than 30.
5
Marathon Planning / Re: Games List and Volunteers
« on: February 09, 2013, 07:06:02 am »
You guys know what I can do by now.
Can volunteer for: Sonic 2, Sonic 3 & Knuckles, Sonic Spinball, Sonic Advance 3. Caveats:
- TimpZ mentioned HDL might be interested in playing S3K, in which case I would of course concede to him.
- Advance 3: I would prefer 100%, but could learn any%. I'd have to practice for either.
Thorn, we talked about this at AGDQ too! What happened to keeping me in the loop? D:
Can volunteer for: Sonic 2, Sonic 3 & Knuckles, Sonic Spinball, Sonic Advance 3. Caveats:
- TimpZ mentioned HDL might be interested in playing S3K, in which case I would of course concede to him.
- Advance 3: I would prefer 100%, but could learn any%. I'd have to practice for either.
Thorn, we talked about this at AGDQ too! What happened to keeping me in the loop? D:
6
News and Updates / Re: The Return of TSC Race Night!
« on: September 13, 2012, 10:12:40 am »
That's OK, you don't know the S3 part of the game either. ZING~
7
General Sonic / Re: Sonic 3 Full zone zip
« on: September 08, 2012, 09:11:39 am »
You guys have read it completely wrong. Sonicboom is asking whether starting in act 1 and ending at act 2's boss is acceptable for act 1, which my understanding is that it is (but it's slower).
8
News and Updates / Re: Where We Go From Here
« on: September 07, 2012, 05:15:55 pm »puts more restrictions on competition
Perhaps, but look at all the other major record-keeping sites. They all require proof of record times, and it means that you can trust that those records were legitimately obtained. They also serve as learning tools for new players! Consider also that the top players are typically recording or streaming most of their gameplay anyway. I'm confident the positives outweigh the negatives on this one.
I don't think we actually have a problem with records being fake
This example is admittedly old, but the "system which has worked so well for the last 9 years" allowed one certain smizzla to rise to the top of the rankings before being questioned at all, and subsequently banned. Do you think that's acceptable?
and we've always allowed people to keep strats to themselves. It's part of competition.
Is it really, though? It's part of what TSC has come to know as competition, but I don't see that as competition. Suppose someone claimed to have perfected a new running technique that could shave half a second off the 100m record in athletics, nobody's going to take their word for it, he would have to prove it in competition with other athletes. Kind of a long bow, but you see what I'm getting at.
Especially when you get to consoles that are more difficult to record. It would be a really really bad idea to require video proof of every Generations 3DS record.
Yeah, I'll grant you that one. Requiring it for DS/3DS would be too much.
9
News and Updates / Re: Where We Go From Here
« on: September 07, 2012, 04:54:31 pm »
Yeah, sorry, I realised I didn't actually make a suggestion. :P Edited it in.
10
News and Updates / Re: Where We Go From Here
« on: September 07, 2012, 04:33:13 pm »
Paraxade mentioning the site is "outdated" is something I agree with, but in a slightly different context...
While I'm not really active in the site any more, I'm still obviously interested in the site prospering, since more people playing Sonic is always a good thing. But me being external to the site for a couple of years now has led to me getting more exposure to an outsider's perspective of TSC. And as far as I can tell, it doesn't hold nearly as much credibility as any of the other major ones we link to on the front page.
It basically comes down to, there's no requirement to prove top times (/rings/scores). Providing proof is easier than ever before, and in this day and age if you're submitting records there's really no excuse. When nobody is aware of the best strategies, and people are simultaneously being removed from the rankings elsewhere, how can you, as an outsider, assume that the rankings have any credibility? Therefore I propose that new record submissions should be accompanied with video proof, whether that be an emulator video or a Youtube video or whatever.
The only thing I'd be unsure about is whether to apply such a change retroactively - I would lean against doing that, but it'd still be nice to see proof of record times in the spirit of friendly competition.
While I'm not really active in the site any more, I'm still obviously interested in the site prospering, since more people playing Sonic is always a good thing. But me being external to the site for a couple of years now has led to me getting more exposure to an outsider's perspective of TSC. And as far as I can tell, it doesn't hold nearly as much credibility as any of the other major ones we link to on the front page.
It basically comes down to, there's no requirement to prove top times (/rings/scores). Providing proof is easier than ever before, and in this day and age if you're submitting records there's really no excuse. When nobody is aware of the best strategies, and people are simultaneously being removed from the rankings elsewhere, how can you, as an outsider, assume that the rankings have any credibility? Therefore I propose that new record submissions should be accompanied with video proof, whether that be an emulator video or a Youtube video or whatever.
The only thing I'd be unsure about is whether to apply such a change retroactively - I would lean against doing that, but it'd still be nice to see proof of record times in the spirit of friendly competition.
11
News and Updates / Re: TSC Marathoning Shenanigans - Early Planning Stages
« on: January 21, 2012, 11:24:21 am »
Just thought I'd note that I'm officially withdrawing my services (though it looks like Thorn has already edited me out of the preliminary schedule). If you really need to know why, find me on SDA and PM me.
12
Gaming and Grazing / SDA presents Awesome Games Done Quick 2012!
« on: December 28, 2011, 09:22:01 pm »
Well, you guys must be used to this from me by now but in just a few days time my buddies at Speed Demos Archive are, once again, bringing in the New Year in style, with speedruns!
Awesome Games Done Quick 2012 will, as always, be streamed on SDA's front page. It's going to extend from the 4th of January through to the 9th, and feature over 100 speedruns, including a few from some familiar faces!
Most relevantly to you guys, Thursday night is going to feature plenty of Sonic action, where I'll be running Sonic 2 and 3, followed by a race between yoshifan and Psyknux on Sonic Adventure 2! I'm also going to be running Pokemon Red or Blue on Sunday morning, and yoshifan will be running Mario Galaxy on Sunday night.
During the event we'll be collecting donations for the Prevent Cancer Foundation, a nonprofit organization that saves lives through cancer research, education and community outreach. By donating as little as $5 you can get yourself in the running to win some really awesome prizes, such as hand-knitted plushes, perlers, artwork, games, and other great stuff like a Sonic comic collection and Super Meat Boy-themed meat tenderizer!
See you there, starting January 4!
Awesome Games Done Quick 2012 will, as always, be streamed on SDA's front page. It's going to extend from the 4th of January through to the 9th, and feature over 100 speedruns, including a few from some familiar faces!
Most relevantly to you guys, Thursday night is going to feature plenty of Sonic action, where I'll be running Sonic 2 and 3, followed by a race between yoshifan and Psyknux on Sonic Adventure 2! I'm also going to be running Pokemon Red or Blue on Sunday morning, and yoshifan will be running Mario Galaxy on Sunday night.
During the event we'll be collecting donations for the Prevent Cancer Foundation, a nonprofit organization that saves lives through cancer research, education and community outreach. By donating as little as $5 you can get yourself in the running to win some really awesome prizes, such as hand-knitted plushes, perlers, artwork, games, and other great stuff like a Sonic comic collection and Super Meat Boy-themed meat tenderizer!
See you there, starting January 4!
13
News and Updates / Re: Return of "TSC Marathoning Shenanigans - Very Very Early Planning Stages"
« on: December 21, 2011, 05:54:21 pm »
Just posting to say that I'm definitely interested and will put my hand up to run games that I know well for the cause. :)
FF offered to co-op S3&K with me, so that would be really fun I think (I'm going to be in England all of next year, for the uninitiated).
Having been involved with the planning of a number of the SDA marathons now (which reminds me, I really should make my post advertising that soon...) I have a number of suggestions regarding how to get the most viewers and donations possible, but this idea isn't yet well formed enough to think about that just yet.
FF offered to co-op S3&K with me, so that would be really fun I think (I'm going to be in England all of next year, for the uninitiated).
Having been involved with the planning of a number of the SDA marathons now (which reminds me, I really should make my post advertising that soon...) I have a number of suggestions regarding how to get the most viewers and donations possible, but this idea isn't yet well formed enough to think about that just yet.
14
Gaming and Grazing / SDA presents Japan Relief Done Quick
« on: April 04, 2011, 01:11:07 am »
Japan Relief Done Quick - April 7-10
This marathon isn't as well organised as the previous two, we've only put it together in a couple of weeks. As such it's not going to be everyone physically getting together, but a bunch of people streaming from their homes. So commentary on the runs will be set up differently, but don't worry, the runs will still be awesome!
The group we're supporting is Doctors Without Borders, a humanitarian organisation dedicated to supporting relief efforts in times of disaster, such as the recent events in Japan. 100% of your donations go to this cause!
TSC representation is huge this time! We've got:
* Miles (Sonic 1, Metroid Prime, Metroid Prime 2)
* Paraxade (Metroid Prime, Sonic 06, Sonic 4)
* yoshifan (Super Mario Galaxy)
Check out the schedule to see when your favourite games are on (Sonic series is late Thursday into Friday) and come support a good cause!
This marathon isn't as well organised as the previous two, we've only put it together in a couple of weeks. As such it's not going to be everyone physically getting together, but a bunch of people streaming from their homes. So commentary on the runs will be set up differently, but don't worry, the runs will still be awesome!
The group we're supporting is Doctors Without Borders, a humanitarian organisation dedicated to supporting relief efforts in times of disaster, such as the recent events in Japan. 100% of your donations go to this cause!
TSC representation is huge this time! We've got:
* Miles (Sonic 1, Metroid Prime, Metroid Prime 2)
* Paraxade (Metroid Prime, Sonic 06, Sonic 4)
* yoshifan (Super Mario Galaxy)
Check out the schedule to see when your favourite games are on (Sonic series is late Thursday into Friday) and come support a good cause!
15
Gaming and Grazing / SDA presents Awesome Games Done Quick
« on: January 05, 2011, 09:08:35 am »
Most of you already know about this but starting tomorrow SDA is hosting their second annual charity marathon, Awesome Games Done Quick. As the name suggests, it's going to be 100 awesome games done over the space of about 100 hours.
As for TSC representation, stanski's going to be there blitzing through Sonic 2 and Altered Beast, and I'm going to be streaming one third of the Rocket Knight Adventures race from off-site. Those start from about 1:30 EST on Sunday, but after last year we know how far away from the schedule we can get, so just keep watching the marathon to stay up to date!
As for TSC representation, stanski's going to be there blitzing through Sonic 2 and Altered Beast, and I'm going to be streaming one third of the Rocket Knight Adventures race from off-site. Those start from about 1:30 EST on Sunday, but after last year we know how far away from the schedule we can get, so just keep watching the marathon to stay up to date!
16
Competition Central / Re: NTSC and PAL times should be seperate when there is a speed difference
« on: December 28, 2010, 05:54:09 am »You do realise, the only difference in playing a PAL game on a PAL console, and an NTSC game on an NTSC console, is just the game's display refresh rate right? It has nothing to do with gameplay speed.
*bzzt* Try again!
PAL games were actually so poorly programmed back in the day that they literally did run slower than their NTSC counterparts. This is a non-issue in today's games but everything before at least the N64 has this problem.
Why it doesn't make a difference for timing Sonic games is because the in-game timer is linked to the frame count, so 1 second = 60 frames, even if 60 frames does not equal 1 second. Of course special stages are different, I have no idea how that works. I guess they were aware of the issue and attempted to fix it... but screwed the timer in the other direction? (See also: PAL Sonic Chaos)
I actually think there is merit in tracking the charts that way (like how the Mario Kart site does it), but sadly TSC has done very little in the way of maintaining charts for quite some time now. :( The other thing is that of course, the difference only really matters at the very top end of skilled play, and there just aren't enough highly skilled players to justify the time investment.
17
Competition Central / Re: ITT THE BEST IDEA TSC HAS HAD IN YEARS
« on: October 13, 2010, 11:02:15 pm »
I swear I suggested this years ago. YOU KNOW IT TO BE TRUE
18
Rules Revisions / Re: Sonic Heroes Team Battle Rule
« on: June 30, 2010, 07:53:55 am »
That's a stupid idea if it's completely inconsistent with other rules. The relevant rule that it needs to be the same as is the Sonic Adventure 2 rule regarding restarting after completing a mission objective, because IIRC that's how you trigger it to occur.
19
Competition Central / Re: The Random .giz Topic
« on: June 27, 2010, 06:46:57 am »
The same trick applied to CP2 (for fuzzerd):
20
Board Games / Re: Image Wars
« on: June 05, 2010, 06:02:12 am »
This game sucks and is now over.
WHAT NOW BITCHES
WHAT NOW BITCHES
21
Board Games / Re: Image Wars
« on: June 05, 2010, 05:56:51 am »
And what do you do when they RUST?!
22
Board Games / Re: Image Wars
« on: June 05, 2010, 05:30:42 am »
In Advance Wars, bombers beat tanks!
ONE HIT KILL MOTHERFUCKERS
ONE HIT KILL MOTHERFUCKERS
23
Wikkity! / Re: Rocket Knight is awesome!
« on: May 28, 2010, 08:19:55 pm »
I love it as well. The only thing that really got me, at least on the first playthrough, is that the default difficulty is -really- easy, but the unlockable difficulty definitely fixes that.
So in short, as long as you don't expect it to be exactly like Rocket Knight Adventures, it's a really good game in its own right.
BTW if either of you have the 360 version I'm InsigniaTSC on the leaderboards. At present my Arcade time is second (38:34), and I don't think I hold any level records any more either :(
So in short, as long as you don't expect it to be exactly like Rocket Knight Adventures, it's a really good game in its own right.
BTW if either of you have the 360 version I'm InsigniaTSC on the leaderboards. At present my Arcade time is second (38:34), and I don't think I hold any level records any more either :(
24
Hiya Folks / Re: Hey everyone!
« on: May 23, 2010, 06:03:27 am »
I think I've seen your Sonic 3 run on Youtube. Given some of the other videos I've seen on Youtube claiming to be "speedruns", seeing one that came in under an hour made a refreshing change. :)
25
Gaming and Grazing / 72 Hour Sonic the Hedgehog Marathon
« on: May 22, 2010, 04:33:05 am »
Those of you who frequent SDA will already know this but the Bonus Stage Marathons group who had a pretty successful Dragon Quest marathon recently (they raised at least $1500, triple their goal!) are taking on the Sonic series from July 8-11. I've already linked them to here but I'll be consulting with them right up until they start, making sure they put on a good show for everyone. Check them out!
The charity this is in support of is the Baltimore Humane Society. A bit of information on their mission:
From their site, this is the game list that they're tackling:
Sonic 1
Sonic 2
Sonic 3 and Knuckles
Sonic CD
Sonic Adventure
Sonic Adventure 2
Sonic Heroes
Shadow the Hedgehog
Sonic 06
Sonic Unleashed
Sonic Advanced 1
Sonic Advanced 2
Sonic Advanced 3
Sonic 1 Game Gear
Sonic 2 Game Gear
Sonic Triple Trouble (Game Gear)
Tails Adventure
Sonic Spinball
The charity this is in support of is the Baltimore Humane Society. A bit of information on their mission:
Quote
Since its founding in 1927 by Elsie Seeger Barton, the Humane Society of Baltimore County has provided for the care of suffering and homeless animals. Situated on 365 acres of land held in trust for the Humane Society, it operates an animal shelter, a spay/neuter center, a memorial park, and a wildlife sanctuary. The Humane Society is dependent on donations from individuals, corporations, and foundations, and income from fundraising events to support animal care operations.
From their site, this is the game list that they're tackling:
Sonic 1
Sonic 2
Sonic 3 and Knuckles
Sonic CD
Sonic Adventure
Sonic Adventure 2
Sonic Heroes
Shadow the Hedgehog
Sonic 06
Sonic Unleashed
Sonic Advanced 1
Sonic Advanced 2
Sonic Advanced 3
Sonic 1 Game Gear
Sonic 2 Game Gear
Sonic Triple Trouble (Game Gear)
Tails Adventure
Sonic Spinball
26
Competition Central / Re: Why does like no one compete in Sonic 3?
« on: May 05, 2010, 08:39:46 am »
Well I can hit it pretty consistently now (using werster's strategy for getting around the block, and my own neat little trick for getting into the wall that avoids the requirement to spindash) and just got 44. I think it's consistent enough that I'm going to add it to the SS route. :D
27
Competition Central / Re: The Official Top Tens Topic
« on: April 23, 2010, 08:20:10 pm »Clearly mike does not like it when we mention the fact that he has never held the SA2(B) championship, which naturally means I'll mention that mike, unlike myself, has never held the SA2(B) championship.
>:O >:O
28
Competition Central / Re: The Official Top Tens Topic
« on: April 01, 2010, 07:56:15 pm »
Hah! That's a good one Zeph. I almost thought there'd be Top Tens this time.
29
Wikkity! / Re: Post your face!
« on: February 09, 2010, 08:37:02 am »
Long awaited pictures!
Should be self explanatory from the file names but: First picture is me and CF, second is me and FF (<3), third is me and RPG and the last is RPG and his girlfriend, Kerry. :)
Should be self explanatory from the file names but: First picture is me and CF, second is me and FF (<3), third is me and RPG and the last is RPG and his girlfriend, Kerry. :)
30
Competition Central / Re: The Random .giz Topic
« on: January 29, 2010, 12:56:13 pm »
FF and I have been working on this for a couple of days, and today it is completed. It's a proof-of-concept run for S3K with two players, with pretty much all the tricks that werster and I will be using.
WHAT THIS RUN INCLUDES
HC2 death-glitch
MG2 level skip
IC1 level skip
LB1 level skip (new method, through the spikes, not the flybot method)
FB1/2 slope glitch
SO1 Knuckles path (2 player glitch)
LR1 path through the floor
HP quick kill
DE2 2 player glitch
WHAT THIS RUN DOES NOT INCLUDE
CN1 gravity skip (only saves ten seconds, couldn't work it out)
An optimal IC1 level skip - I ended up in Knuckles' boss, so I guess this shows that the run is not dead if you end up there
The Leap of Faith ;_;
Either of the LR2 skips
I deliberately didn't optimise it, to simulate not having perfect luck in a speedrun. I did leave lots of cool things in there though :)
Total time: 37:58 (that's 12 minutes faster than the current SDA run!)
EDIT: would kinda help to add the file >_>
WHAT THIS RUN INCLUDES
HC2 death-glitch
MG2 level skip
IC1 level skip
LB1 level skip (new method, through the spikes, not the flybot method)
FB1/2 slope glitch
SO1 Knuckles path (2 player glitch)
LR1 path through the floor
HP quick kill
DE2 2 player glitch
WHAT THIS RUN DOES NOT INCLUDE
CN1 gravity skip (only saves ten seconds, couldn't work it out)
An optimal IC1 level skip - I ended up in Knuckles' boss, so I guess this shows that the run is not dead if you end up there
The Leap of Faith ;_;
Either of the LR2 skips
I deliberately didn't optimise it, to simulate not having perfect luck in a speedrun. I did leave lots of cool things in there though :)
Total time: 37:58 (that's 12 minutes faster than the current SDA run!)
EDIT: would kinda help to add the file >_>
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