Victoria, AustraliaOur game just got approved, and we've finished setting up all the categories and rules, but runs aren't appearing on the leaderboard after being verified.
Game: https://www.speedrun.com/archvale
Example run: https://www.speedrun.com/archvale/run/mr6q484m
#Introduction
Timing without loads is an important part of keeping speedruns fair for modern games where people are playing with different hardware that loads individual levels faster or slower than others.
So it's therefore important to determine when exactly Squadrons is or isn't loading, so we can determine which sections of a speedrun can be influenced by the specs of the user's system, such as with a HDD vs. SSD, and cut those sections out of our times.
#Autosplitting with Memory Addresses
Because of the game's anti-cheat, using conventional methods of determining when the game is loading—such as using Cheat Engine to scan the game's memory addresses—are out of the question unless there exists a suitable alternative.
But, even if we were able to create such an autosplitter, that doesn't mean it will always work.
Battlefront II (2017) ran into the problem of their memory-based autosplitter becoming obsolete with every minor update the game received. Every new update broke the autosplitter and eventually, they gave up on it due to the time and effort required to keep it updated.
#Splitting/Autosplitting with Gameplay and Imagery
Another common means of determining when to split/autosplit is based on the pixels on the screen, and using key frames to determine when certain things are happening. For example, this icon in the bottom-right corner denotes that Squadrons is currently loading:
The problem is that even this loading icon seems unreliable, if not confusing. All of the examples below are screenshots from my benchmark speedrun, which can be found here.
So, for example: this is clearly a loading screen, but the icon is not there. It has disappeared for a short time and will reappear shortly.
Sometimes the game will outright tell you that it's loading, because you tried to skip a cutscene before it was ready, and the loading icon won't be visible then, either.
Sometimes the loading icon appears, or remains on screen after the gameplay has already started, which inexplicably suggests that the game is loading something—though it's not clear what exactly.
And sometimes the loading icon will appear during cutscenes as well, some of which transition out of gameplay seamlessly, blurring the very line between gameplay, cutscenes, and loading screens.
And, most egregious of all, the loading icon can also appear in the middle of levels, when there is no cutscene or loading screen or scene transition at all. This may be tied to the tutorial popups.
#Conclusion
This is just a long-winded way of saying that I think this is a very complicated game with a lot of moving parts we don't understand, and I have no idea how to time it without loads.
Even if we just ignored everything between missions and only timed the actual gameplay itself, it still looks like there may be some loading mid-level (and therefore, potential for faster PCs/consoles to beat out slower ones).
If anyone has any ideas or suggestions, I am very much interested in hearing them.
Star Wars: Squadrons has Easy Anticheat, which is notoriously unfriendly towards Cheat Engine. Even having it open at the same time as a game with EAC installed is apparently a quick way to get yourself banned from the game.
Cheat Engine is, of course, the primary tool most people use to find the memory addresses necessary to determine when a game is or isn't currently loading, in order to make autosplitters for LiveSplit.
Star Wars: Squadrons' single-player campaign has a lot of loading that needs to be cut out of times, and an autosplitter is by-far the best and most user-friendly way to do it.
So, does anyone know of a way that we can create an autosplitter for this game, to time it without loads, without getting ourselves banned?
Muting the dialogue audio from the game settings causes voicelines to not play. It is not a case of them simply being muted—they're not triggered at all.
This causes other triggers, such as the end of certain levels, to occur faster than they would if the voicelines had to run first. For anyone wondering, this is what I observed four years ago when I achieved an unrecorded 0:17 Rescue on Kessel while practicing, so that question is now resolved.
As of writing this post, this "technique," so to speak, reduces the completion time of Defection at Corellia and Rescue on Kessel on both PC and N64.
It is currently unknown if this allows for faster completion of any other levels. If you find anything interesting, be sure to leave a comment.
Greetings Rogues,
The nature of autoscrollers in Rogue Squadron has always been a point of discussion, and will likely be a point of discussion again in the future.
The way the IL leaderboard is set up currently—with no Rendezvous on Barkhesh or Escape from Fest, but with Search for the Nonnah and Liberation of Gerrard V—is the way I first created the leaderboards in 2015, based on my knowledge of the game at the time.
With the recent growth of the community, new opinions have been made known, and for the first time, a vote will be taken on what to do with these levels. Below is a description of the levels and what makes them a point of contention, a list of potential changes to make to the leaderboard, and finally, a page to take a vote.
If you believe I have missed anything, leave a comment below.
Please do make yourself completely familiar with the pros and cons of every potential change before voting.
#The Levels up for Consideration
#Rendezvous on Barkhesh (RoB) and Escape from Fest (EFF)
These two levels are a prime example of an autoscroller. The levels are both 'escort missions' that end when the escort has arrived safely. Unless a means of speeding up the NPC convoy vehicles in RoB or the AT-PTs in EFF are discovered, these levels cannot be completed faster than 5:19 and 5:28, respectively.
But more specifically, 5:19 and 5:28 are also the expected completion times of new players, even on a first-time playthrough. RoB is certainly easier than EFF for a number of reasons, but without losing friendlies, it's also impossible to delay the end of the level; even then, it's only a small delay. EFF, on the other hand, can be delayed, because there are other objectives in the level besides simply escorting the AT-PTs, namely destroying the shield generator and research facility.
But while a 5:19 on RoB is much easier than a 5:28 on EFF, they both fit the same category of a true autoscroller, and any first-time player could get either of these times either deliberately or accidentally.
#Liberation of Gerrard V (LoGV)
When the leaderboards on SRC were created in 2015, the nature of this level was still somewhat unknown. Today we understand that the level is also a true autoscroller, but with much less reliability. Unless the player is using a Y-Wing, the player is reliant on the NPC Y-Wings to disable the yachts to complete the level, a 3:49 is the 'perfect' time, when the NPC Y-Wings never fail to disable a yacht and progress the level as fast as has ever been observed.
What makes LoGV different to RoB and EFF is the fact that the Y-Wings can miss the yachts and be destroyed, meaning that a 3:49 is not a guaranteed time. Worst of all, the community does not currently know of any strategies to make a 3:49 more or less reliable, so the time one achieves at the end of the level is partially categorized as RNG (random).
Still, it is not unlikely that a first-time player could get a 3:49 in this level on their first playthrough.
#The Search for the Nonnah (SftN)
The Search for the Nonnah is a pseudo-autoscroller. What this means is that the level does not progress at a set pace throughout: certain player interactions are required to complete the level, and the level will never end without these player interactions.
But with the right player actions (and the necessary RNG), the level can be reduced to the point where the level completes as fast as possible (3:29), according to the programming of the NPCs, and no way to complete the level faster than this has yet been determined. At the time of writing, a 3:29 has been achieved with all vehicles except the Speeder and Y-Wing, the two slowest vehicles.
It is unlikely that a first-time player will achieve this time on a casual playthrough, but anyone interested in speedrunning could certainly get this time on their first attempt, given the appropriate RNG and a good knowledge of the route.
#The Options for Voting
Below are the four options for consideration. The pros and cons have been collated from discussions held by a number of Rogues in the Rogue Squadron Speedrunning Discord server. The pros and cons are not necessarily of equal value, and it is important that voters should carefully consider how important they consider each one to be, rather than considering the total number of pros and cons.
#Adding Rendezvous on Barkhesh and Escape from Fest
This option would add the two levels to the IL leaderboards and allow for players to submit runs in any category. They are the only levels absent from the leaderboards currently. The two levels, fitting the same category, come as a pair.
Pros:
• Adding these levels would make the IL leaderboards 'complete'—every level would be equally represented. This is also intuitive for new runners who are unfamiliar with the 'scrolling' nature of the levels. • This is a "neutral" stance towards autoscrollers, wherein the community does not draw any lines, arbitrary or not, over which levels can or cannot be considered for speedrunning. • This creates a very low barrier of entry for new speedrunners, and a very easy first goal for new speedrunners. • These level fit a similar category to LoGV, and there is little reason to have that level on the leaderboard but not these two.
Cons:
• The two levels are not currently competitive—it is likely every run submitted will be the same tied WR.
#Removing non-Y-Wing Liberation of Gerrard V
This option would see the deletion of all times for the level other than those with a Y-Wing, until such a future time when a 3:49 is no longer the fastest time achieved with other vehicles. Runs of this level with a vehicle other than the Y-Wing will be rejected.
Pros:
• The level is not currently competitive—it is relatively easy, given enough patience to endure the RNG, to achieve a tied WR. • The level fits a similar category to RoB and EFF, and there is little reason to have this level on the leaderboard but not the others.
Cons:
• It is unintuitive to have only Y-Wing times on the leaderboard when the level can be completed with any vehicle.
#Removing non-Y-Wing Liberation of Gerrard V and non-Y-Wing / Speeder The Search for the Nonnah
This option is the same as the above, but with the addition of also removing times for SftN for X-Wing, A-Wing, V-Wing, Millennium Falcon, TIE Interceptor, and Naboo Starfighter. All the pros and cons above apply here, in addition to those below.
Pros:
• This ensures that all the WR times on the leaderboard are of a relatively high level of skill. • This ensures that all of the currently "solved" level times are not on the leaderboard. • The level is currently only marginally competitive—it is relatively easy to achieve a tied WR, with certain vehicles being easier than others.
Cons:
• This determines whether or not a level is worthy of being speedran by its level of difficulty, which is a subjective measurement that is subject to change based on future tricks and glitches. • "Solving" levels with perfect times may happen to other levels and categories in the future, and this change sets a precedent for future actions being taken as well. • It is unintuitive to have only Y-Wing and Speeder times on the leaderboard when the level can be completed with any vehicle.
#Making no changes
This is simply the action of inaction, and making no changes to the IL leaderboard. The pros and cons of this decision are mostly determined by the pros and cons of the other actions, but one additional con to be aware of is that this may end up kicking the problem down the road, and this same discussion may happen again in the future.
If you think that none of the other three options are the best, but you agree that changes need to be made, please vote for this option and leave a comment below with your alternative idea.
#Voting Link
You can go here to vote for the changes to be made. Voting will conclude ~72 hours from the publishing of this post, at which point, the change will be made.
I think All Loves would be a nice category to add. It might be too similar to All Hamchats, but it would end at the long cutscene when Harmony congratulates Hamtaro and Bijou, which is a really nice spot to end a run.
I was also wondering what people thought would be good 100% requirements. I was thinking all loves, all hamchats, all songs, all gems, all accessories, and all costumes. Thoughts?
I've set up a Discord server for Rogue Squadron Speedrunning. If anyone has any questions about anything related to the game at all, Discord is the best way to get some answers, or even just meet the other runners.
I'm getting this notification when I attempt to change the abbreviation of Star Wars: Rebel Leader from "rsrl" to "rogue2": (Short for Rogue Squadron II)
Warning: rename(themes/rsrl,themes/rogue2): Directory not empty in /home/speedrun/www/editgame.php on line 598
