It just means that, so far, I haven't found any reliable indicators that could be helpful for human speedruns. It is on the simple global timer, but nothing before it in the level is on that timer. There is an extensive rework of the TAS in progress, mostly to theorycraft waterfall and to study Energy Zone and Hangars timers. I will certainly share anything I learn with the community. :)

The first pause buffer on the long flame really isn't predicable as of yet. There is no good "tell" that I can really give you yet, as I'm still studying the level. When I find any way to tell I will certainly spread the word. But I can tell you that each one is frame perfect. I have seen runners use a single pause buffer in runs, so it is humanly possible. But for the sake of your sanity, lets just say that four of them probably isn't.

I am re-working the TAS to theorycraft Waterfall, so hopefully in future versions, the pause buffers will disappear.

In almost all cases, cell phone emulators are inaccurate to the point of being unable to verify accurately.

Specific cases are, of course, grounds for individual case study.

I start my timer from the audio cue when the level starts. After the second set of 4 notes and before the third. It seems to be the most accurate way due to the unpredictable nature of the start screen sometimes.

The 9:34 TAS I posted this morning was flagged before it was finished processing. They're on the ball, but they aren't interfering with anything I'm doing. Unless I somehow become internet famous, I don't think it'll be an issue.

If you're doing a season run and Gault gets hurt (he really does more often than I expected), Sam Graddy can do exactly what Willie Gault does for this run. His speeds are identical, which is strange for a WR4. With him in reserve, there is really no other team than the Raiders to make these kinds of runs

Energy Zone gives everyone problems. The 3-Frame "Exo" section and the 2-Frame "Leap of Faith" right after it are just absurd on their own. The level itself is hard too, just in construction. Once you find comfort with it, you'll be okay. It just takes the work. :) There are several in-depth walkthroughs of what you can do and what to expect. Lanks is a wonderful person to learn from, as he is open with all of his knowledge in spite of holding the record tight.

It really just begged me to do the run I did. Thank you for the new category. I hope others will take it on and beat my time. :)

Sure thing boss. I know it wasn't a huge issue, but accuracy is important to me, and I believe to you all as well.

Many thanks! :)

I've been working Contra steadily for the last 3 months. The hardest part to get over, for me, was the fear of instant death and making mistakes. Once I got comfortable with every level, I "loosened up" some and the game started to come to me, rather than the opposite. I'm sure if you keep at it, you'll hit your goals. Contra is a monster all its own, and I still feel that anyone who can beat the game in under 15 minutes should still feel proud of it. The boss that always ganks me up the most is JJ (Energy Zone). The best strategy is to just walk up and pulverize him, but he literally chooses what to do on the fly, so he often doesn't cooperate.

I've been thinking about trying the yards run with other combinations of players. I think Jerry Rice/John Taylor (JT's actually better than any SF RB's for the task) and Barry Sanders/Mel Grey (Detroit) could potentially hit 1500, but not with the same ease that Bo Jackson with Willie Gault or Sam Graddy (seriously, look at his RB stats carefully) can. The only reason I'd consider using either of them would be them both, but most especially SF, having really good special teams and often recover onsides better than the Raiders. Even Drew Hill/Earnest Givens (Houston) has that potential, but you'd have to be a masochist to try for 1500 with anyone under 69 base MS.

As for the timed run, well, I think the best run would work like...

You Kick -> Tackle Inside 3 -> Safety -> Bo Runs once, end of Q1 -> Bo Runs again, end of Q2 You Recieve -> Bo Runs a Third time, end of Q3, Bo Runs for the fourth and last time, end of game.

Sounds easy...but I can't even do the showboat run well enough (without Good or Excellent condition) to do it once. :o But if anyone can do the above, that record will probably stand. At least I think so. But it won't be me, as I don't like playing it that way. I think you could do it though. :D

If I lay the controller in my lap (which will cause me to die if I have to move - tested - lol), I can hit 7.8 with the same "vibration" using Down+B. But there's no way I can incorporate that into gameplay yet. I've always been an "average" or slightly above masher. Most of my "gaming power" comes from timing and flexible thinking, so all of this mashing smashing practice I've been doing with Contra and NG are really bearing fruit.

Anyone that can even single button at 13+ is a boss. Arcus is in a place of his own for the Down+B and for Ninja Gaiden in general, but one has to wonder how much actual practice his skill reflects. I think if the controller is still legit, and yours is even more legit than mine carrying an actual Nintendo Liscence with it (Wii), I doubt it will be an issue with Ninja Gaiden due to the Down+B mash required and how difficult it is to do anyway. Unless you can button map the controller from itself (Like the old InterAct ProgramPad - SNES), or the rules specifically state otherwise, I see no problem.

Most of us have to change hardware constantly anyway. :D

I did try your Twitch channel but it tells me that "Unless I have a time machine, this content isn't available." :o

I can put up a solid 100% start in Zelda II, but I need a lot of practice with the end of the game. I still can't hit the Healer Glitch yet, so any% is out of the question until I can, but I've never been fond of those kinds of runs anyway. Eventually I'll get one on the board. Hopefully sooner rather than later.

I've been working Contra really hard lately. I even TAS'd the fastest US version run I know to exist at 9:42.96 recently, but my personal best is still only 11:05. I hope to hit 10:30, but as an "average masher", I don't think I can get to sub-10 without massive "mash training". I think MashyMashy is the only game that is more focused on single-button mashing than Contra. :p

I might come back to take other swings at TSB. It is the game I probably played the most as a kid, but most of the fun categories would be more for High Scores than for time. If they don't change it soon they'll force me to at least beat your 3rd place spot. Liquid_Husband called his 1418 "The Run", but I think 1500 is possible if you don't get blitzed on 2nd or 4th downs and you get the ball first in OT. But, as usual, that's easier said than done, yeah?

Honestly, I don't really intend to run that again, which is why I posted the thread. Pushing Contra under 11 minutes and working on Zelda II runs have been my focus. I actually did this and Baseball Stars runs to take a break. I don't have a Zelda II run yet though. Still working on a lot of the strats and making it through the end of the game without getting pulverized. :)

I actually followed you a week or so ago and subscribed to your YouTube channel after you landed on the Contra page and I realized that we both chose the two hardest games in all creation to speedrun. :p

I just posted a MashyMashy video on my page. I don't want to videobomb the forum (My Bad).

I've already found many problems with my current mash style. Mostly losing control of the D-Pad section with how light the controllers are. I've had almost no success with my current mash style with Down+B because my mash is trained for the single button only. I have to learn a new way with the Down+B required in Ninja Gaiden. I think my current best Down+B is like 4.9 or something weak.

I didn't notice it until today or I would have said something sooner. I just wanted to see what everyone else had ever done, and I was pretty surprised to see your 1351 pop up in 4th. This is an odd category, due to it not being a time, but rather more like a High Score.

They will get to it when they can, I'm sure. But I did want to make the error known. Accuracy is important to me. :)

Can I ask what mash style you use? I know from personal experience that heavier controllers help me because I use a "rattle" or "vibrating" mash style. Added weight makes the job easier because they are larger with better grips than NES and SNES controllers. My mash speed on a PS4 controller is almost 1.5/s better because of the shape, grips, and weight of it over the NES controller, but I use the suicidal "vibrating" mash style that most agree isn't worth the work.

I've been using NNNesterJ until recently. The Contra rules pushed me to FCEUX and I'm still learning its functionality. This is good to know, as I have two knockoff SNES controllers myself that do one thing better than the other. But here is where the line gets blurry for us Emulator guys. I'm all about fair. If I can't do it with the core hardware, I won't do it with the emulator in any run I actually post for time. For Fun and Games, I'll have a blast with some of this, I'm certain. :D

Thanks for the tips. There are a few games I've wanted to try some janky stuff with. :D

The board currently has me in third at 1324. But if you show Obsolete Runs, it has Reidood ahead of me at 1351 that is somehow obsoleted by his 1218. While I do love shiny trophies, I'd prefer to earn them squarely, and I request that this error be fixed to display the truth.

Thank You For Your Time

This is a part of the "Instant Gratification" problem, pretty much entirely. Most of us do this for different reasons than just stroking our egos, and the moderators largely do a very good job. But they are human beings, and unless you are running a hotly contested game (Current Example would be Ninja Gaiden), you simply can't expect the mods to leap on it. Verifying a run is a bit more in-depth than simply watching a video and liking it.

If you don't want to post runs here, that is your decision. But if you think the "I'm taking my ball and going home" hissy fit strategy is going to net you any weight, you're in for a surprise. For the record, that doesn't fly in the real world, and I sincerely doubt it'll fly here.

My beliefs are pretty simple on this one.

If the controllers are valid and allowed (non-turbo, not modified, ect), and you can pull this off during a run, then you've earned it. This is something you simply can't do on an emulator, and doing so during a live run on real hardware is a risk all to itself. Tug or push to hard and you'll "crash" the game, among other hazards.

So if you can pull it off, and your controllers aren't cheap, then you've earned it, brother/sister. I'll never have a problem with it unless swapping controllers produces something absurd as a result.

I would like to propose a "Single Game - Custom Teams" run. It would basically be "how fast can you hit the slaughter rule", but it is a much faster run.

In turn, I would like to have "No Custom Teams or Players Allowed" added to the rules of the current Single Game category. If it isn't expressly listed, it is begging to be abused, and it is very easy to 10-0 a scrubbed team with a monster very quickly.