A short list of things I learned about using 2D controls during casual playing on PS2.

1. Analog is very good to use for the most part using this system. It allows you to cut angles that simply are not possible using a digital input method.

2. When loading in many areas. The initial orientation of your controls is random. This means you could be holding Up during a load and initially be moving Right or Down until you adjust. This can be "fixed" by rotating your joystick at least 90 degrees during the end of a load in to an area. (Thanks to SuperGamer for this tip off to me)

3. There are 3 types of camera movement that will impact your inputs while running. A Camera Snap that will immediately change the position of a camera with no movement inbetween. A Camera Pan is when the camera moves smoothly from one angle to another such as when you move from the middle of a street to the sidewalk. The last I don't know how to name or define as it tends to pop up and I haven't found a true trigger for it. This particular camera movement complicates movement more than the first 2 methods.

4. During Camera Snaps, you can hold the direction you were holding in the previous camera angle to continue running along that line in the new orientation. You can even adjust your line during this run using the NEW orientation. (Test this to find thresholds and verify the adjustment. I think it is up to 90 degrees?)

5. During a Camera Pan, your controls change with the movement of the camera. This can greatly complicate movement, particularly on the streets of Silent Hill. You can use this to your advantage with some clever work as well though.

6. The third camera movement doesn't seem to follow the rules of the other two. I have no solid information on this form of camera.

7. You can't strafe or use the strafe buttons to quickturn while using 2D controls. Simple enough.

8. The stairs running up to the final boss cause James to stutter and walk up them often for no reason seemingly. SuperGamer has suggested switching back to 3D controls to combat this, but it might only be viable on PC. I have run into a situation where I was able to run against walls of the staircase slightly an entire section. It is slower than a straight run or strafe but needs no pausing or strafing. Unfortunately, I have been unable to consistently duplicate it with minor effort.

9. Due to Camera Pans, it might be favorable to run in the middle of the streets in Silent Hill so the camera is straight for James. This would promote straighter line running in an open environment with no obstacles. I am skeptical this is correct, but it could be something to consider given how much your movement can vary during the numerous Camera Pans on the sidewalks.

Is UFO typically run on Easy/Easy or some version of Beginner? (EDIT: Beginner is used.)

Does anyone have a firm understanding of how exactly Sexy Beam deals its damage? Enemies seem to take vastly varying amounts of shots to kill with the homing version. Do enemies just have varying health pools? I-Frames? Some combination?

Also curious as to the damage stats of the two components of the homing beam and the stats on eye beams.

Basically, any information about the mechanics surrounding Sexy Beam properties would be appreciated.

UPDATE: I did find some information on Silent Hill Heaven about possible damage and life values. Will try to test it out a bit to see if they make any sense.

Sexy Beam (Information from http://silenthillforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=22311 )

Homing Attack: 200 (odd considering Heather Beam has damage per projectile on the same page.) Eye Beams: Otherworldly (?) capable of dealing 1,000 damage in about one second.

Enemies (Easy HP Totals for relevant UFO enemies. Information from http://silenthillforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=22292 )

Closers: 1150-1250 Numb Body: 294-343, 420-490, 504-588 Pendulum: 200-400, 300-500 Doublehead: 570-630 Slurper (Copper): 560-640

I am interested in doing a SH game for a 12 hour but would like to snowball that into other categories that may require multiple clears on the same file.

Am I allowed to run Any% using a clear file as long as I don't pick up NG+ content or am I required to start from a fresh save/New Game option?

I wanted to know if there was a consensus on what visual mods are allowed for PC Versions of SH2,3,4. Specifically if forcing windowed mode is fine and if using the HD mods to change the screen aspect ratio / visual quality, etc. are allowed.

Does the aspect ratio change cause any issues running the game?