Basics of Speedrunning

Robocop is a challenging game, but in terms of speedrunning, made infinitely more difficult due to the limitations of the programming. - Sprites are critical, and practically everything is a sprite; Robocop, enemies, boxes, elevators, breakable doors, and even bullets (yours and enemies).

Why is this a problem though? Well, if you rush through a level without killing a sufficient number of enemies (despawning their sprites) things which you require to appear later in the level, such as elevators, may not occur. And yes, this can lead to a LOT of potential for soft-lock situations.

In order to help anyone potentially considering speedrunning this game, however, please first note that either the Atari ST or Amiga version is accepted in this category. Both games are practically identical and through the use of the in-game timer, having solid comparisons between the two isn't just possible, but removes the problem of RTA timing due to inconsistent emulator performance/settings.

So, what do you need to do? Well, here's a few pointers I can offer in terms of advice based on my current best knowledge and strategies:

Level 1 - Walk right. Try and ignore as many enemies behind you as possible. The key to speedrunning this level is to just keep moving while attempting to minimise damage. The enemies which spawn in the windows are the biggest problem as you can only shoot them when at a 45-degree angle and their firing patterns are COMPLETELY random. They may fire nothing, they may spray you with 8 bullets. My advice is to keep shooting to try and keep the sprite limit on the higher side. Does it work? Meh, probably not.

About halfway through you can pick up a spread shot (bottom of two crates). My advice is to break the top one, jump over, and leave it alone. This isn't Contra and I promise you that spread shot in Robocop is a TERRIBLE weapon.

Once you get to ED-209, to kill him you MUST jump and fire. Shots to his legs do NOTHING! - In terms of speedrunning, try and get as far right as possible as the timer doesn't stop until he exits the screen.

IDEAL TIME - 43-47 SECONDS (THE BEST I'VE ACHIEVED IS 42)

Minigame 1 - Hit the targets. Nothing but practice and memory here. Ideally, you want to destroy around 25 targets for the maximum health bonus. - If you're tackling the next level with anything less than 3/4 health, just reset. In terms of speedrunning this ain't happening.

IDEAL TIME - 30 SECONDS (NOTHING YOU CAN DO ABOUT THIS)

Level 2 - Kill the three enemies at the start, and remember what I said earlier about sprites? Well, make sure you (as quickly as possible) jump up and take out that annoying guy in the window behind you. Fortunately, you can jump and fire backwards to quickly dispatch him. From this point, walk left. Kill enemies behind you to keep your health reasonably high. When you get to the door, hit it once and then turn around and dispatch the two blue guys. Break the door and clear the next areas as quickly as possible. - Drop down, walk right and break the door. Again, there is a safety health to the left, but only take this if you're struggling or want to see the later levels. Once experienced, you can ignore ALL safety health pick-ups.

Walk right, and pick up the spread gun (yes, you want it here). Use it smartly to quickly kill enemies and eventually you'll get onto the boss.

TRUCK BOSS - Kill the two enemies on the top and, by proxy, the truck itself. At this point, however, you're in the hands of the programming gods. An additional 4 enemies spawn when the truck is defeated. These may appear instantly (all going well), and they may take up to 30 seconds to appear. If it's the latter and you're attempting a genuine run, reset.

IDEAL TIME - 54-60 SECONDS (CAN VARY HUGELY DEPENDING ON THOSE LAST 4 ENEMIES AFTER THE BOSS)

Minigame 2 - Match the pictures. Just needs accuracy and attention. - Note though that once you're satisfied the images match (you typically end on ears) press the fire button. If you're correct the mini-game should end instantly halting the timer.

IDEAL TIME - 10-15 SECONDS (MY BEST IS 7)

Level 3 - Ignore the first 2 enemies and just walk/jump right. If you're quick enough you can make the first cycle of the 'crushing magnet'. - Be ready to have to walk left to slow down on the travelator as if you keep going forward another crushing magnet will ruin your health. Presuming you get the timing right here though, you should emerge relatively unscathed and can even hit the first cycle of the two upcoming 'slicers'.

You will have to wait for the second, but after this point, it's mostly down to hitting enemies (remembering where they spawn) and tackling the end-level boss. There is a 'safety' health crate, but it does require going up the elevator and turning back left. This is a BIG time loss, but worth it if you need the practice in later levels.

When the boss spawns (you'll notice the screen 'locks' into place immediately prior) you want to turn around and fire right. You should have the 'state of the art bang bang' making this pretty easy work. About 8 shots should do it, and, with confidence, you'll want to inch slightly left to get them to despawn faster allowing you to shoot quicker.

IDEAL TIME - 60-65 SECONDS (MY BEST IS 59)

Minigame 3 - Hostage situation. Shoot the bad guy. Shooting the girl reduces your health. Pretty simple, but his movement is TOTALLY RNG, so be prepared to be annoyed.

IDEAL TIME - 3-5 SECONDS (MY BEST IS 2)

LEVEL 4 - Probably the biggest hurdle and particularly so if your health is low. Progress right, up, left, and up. - Take a huge amount of care to kill everything while clearly trying to move as efficiently as possible. This level is softlock hell due to the sprite issue.

At the drop-down platform, wait a couple seconds and land behind Mr 'state of the art bang bang' and destroy him from behind. It's a little time loss, but the most efficient for you and your health.

BOSS TIME - Tricky one here as you need to jump to hit him, but have to also not get smushed. The trick is to jump back, turn and fire (while maintaining rear momentum), and repeat.

IDEAL TIME - 80-90 SECONDS (VARIES DEPENDING ON HOW CAREFUL YOU'RE MANAGING YOUR HEALTH)

Minigame 4 - Repeat of minigame 1.

IDEAL TIME - 30 SECONDS - AGAIN, NO CHOICE HERE.

LEVEL 5 - Probably the easiest level here. Just walk right and try and minimise time wastage firing backwards. You can actually be a little risky with the sprite situation here by killing 'most' enemies while continuing to walk forwards. - Ignore the state-of-the-art bang bang, it's a time waste as you'll lose the weapon within about 15 seconds of grabbing it. - Make sure you get close to the steps before jumping. It can be very easy to not catch the first step losing time. - Good news though, there are 2 health drops in this level (one right before the boss) meaning that you should end this with 90%+ HP.

BOSS TIME - Dollar Store ED-209. Same as the original ED-209 in level 1, jump and fire into the main body. Should be downed within 3-5 seconds at the most!

IDEAL TIME - 50-60 seconds (depends how quickly and smoothly you move right)

Minigame 5 - A repeat of the image matching expect this time its thermals. Easier? Debatable, but you know what you're doing. It's the same, but different.

IDEAL TIME - 10-15 SECONDS

Level 6 - Last level and undoubtedly the longest. The only real advice I can offer here is to not waste too much time shooting the turrets above you. Kill enemies to despawn them for sure, but otherwise, right, up, left, up, and repeat.

Ignore (jump over) the spread gun as you go up an elevator on the right. It's a garbage weapon and you're better off using what's level of your state-of-the-art bang bang and then just your standard pistol.

BOSS TIME - Another dollar store ED-209. Repeat tactics as above. Dies about as quickly as the last one you encountered.

TIME - 130-140 SECONDS (EFFICIENCY IN MOVEMENT IS KEY)

Minigame 6 - Repeat of minigame 3. For reasons unclear, Dick Jones seems SLIGHTLY less prone to moving around, but nail your shots and you've beat the game.

IDEAL TIME - 3-5 SECONDS (2 IS MY TYPICAL BEST)

____________________________

About the best I can do as a LOT of the tactics behind this speedrun is simply memory in enemy spawn locations. These tactics details, however, have easily seen my original time drop from around 9m 20s to the current circa 8m 25s record.

howlin_mad_mike

Robocop (Atari ST)

Amiga

Atari ST

EUR / PAL

Upon the advice of the overarching admin, I've taken the decision to split the ST and Amiga categories.

One group for both, two separate categories to submit a run to.

It's just simpler this way.