I remember a while back people with cars mentioned the idea of runs between the train station and Insomnia. Is that happening at all? I plan on arriving by train on Friday at like midday or some time around then, but I'm not really sure how I'd get to the event from the station. If this isn't happening then I'll just look into alternatives.

Also, I just noticed on the schedule that half the runs are marked with region. I'll be playing Spyro 2 on a PAL PS2 if that needs to be noted or something.

Thank you for your last post, Flicky. Answered a few questions I had but didn't ask because I figured you were posting a response soon anyway. A few confirmations I would like though:

1. As runners who are taking part in this, we aren't required to pay anything and this gives us access to our own speedrun area from 10am-6pm each day, right?
2. I see that Mango's post kind of covers this, but what else are we permitted/not permitted access to if we aren't paying for tickets?

Thanks.

Hi, I'm not sure if we have a say in the schedule but if it's possible then I'd prefer for my Spyro 2 run to be in the evening. I mean any time of day would be fine really but I would like to start between 5-8pm or sometime that's US friendly. Thanks.

Thanks for the info, Planks! So what I've gathered is that anyone taking part or even just attending the speedrun section will get free entry (which I assume we'll have to sort out when we arrive) and also that we need to bring anything and everything that we can in terms of equipment for runners to use. I hope that's right.

I was planning on bringing my PS2 gear anyway since that's what my game runs on, but I guess I can also bring my Dazzle if that's of any use for SD game capture. I'd be happy to bring a TV along with me but I play on a 26" LCD and that's not going to be easy transporting on a train. :P

Hi Flicky. I sent you an email a few days ago about my interest in running for this but I'm not sure if you've gotten around to it yet. Anyway, with regards to entrance fees how is that working? The Insomnia site has all the tickets with their respective prices but in your original message you say "Free entry and camping spot for attendees".

Does that mean anyone attending the speedrun event gets free entry and camping? Is it just runners who get free entry and camping? What exactly is the case here?

Nice, this is actually happening. Needless to say that I'm down for Spro 2 hundo. I'd also be happy to race 117%, but I think we'd rather let good people do that.

Since I made the original post here, I’ve discussed this topic a number of times with many people. I wish that I’d made this post sooner (or even updated my original post) but I guess that I needed those discussions for me to realise my thoughts for this post. Anyway: better late than never, right?

First of all, I wanted to say that my view on the topic is that Spyro 2 100% runs should end at Ripto. In my personal opinion: the idea of a 100% speedrun is to achieve 100% and then "beat the game" - in that order. Of course that's not entirely feasible in every game ever made - since some games require you to fight the final boss before you can collect everything necessary for 100% completion - but in a game like Spyro 2 where you're free to leave the final boss until last, I think that you should leave it until last so that you can end your run as you "end the game" rather than ending the run in some random spot in a random level.

I understand that this is where the controversy lies (and at least a few people want to cry over this idea, since it isn't as fast as humanly possible by their side of the argument) but I just wanted to share my opinion as others have shared theirs - and both sides of the argument are equally valid.

With that being said (about my view on the topic): in my quest to make the original post as unbiased toward my own opinion, others have pointed out to me that I may have actually gone too far and made the post biased toward the other side of the argument (not ending the run on Ripto). I’m not sure how many people will read this thread now that the topic is pretty much resolved, but I felt like this was something I wanted to make a note of.

Anyway: the poll has ended now, and with a pretty even split for and against ending the run at Ripto. After discussing the issue further as a community, to satisfy both sides we have decided that ending a 100% run elsewhere than Ripto will be allowed as long as a sorting feature is implemented on the leaderboards so that runs not ending at Ripto can be filtered out (for those that wish runs to continue ending at Ripto as they always have done). It might take some time before this change is implemented, since the sorting features are still under development across the whole site, but this is our plan.

Thanks again to everyone who voted and participated in this month’s episode of Twitch drama. ;)

Okay. At the end of this post is a poll that you can vote on to have your say on the definition and timing of the 100% category for Spyro 2: Ripto’s Rage (which I will refer to as Spyro 2). This post aims to give you all the information you would possibly need to know so that you can make an informed decision on said poll.

Up until this point, our definition of 100% for Spyro 2 has been the following:

• Timing starts upon gaining control in Glimmer.
• Collect all 14 talismans.
• Collect all 64 orbs.
• Collect all 10,000 gems.
• Defeat all 3 bosses (Crush, Gulp, and Ripto).
• Timing ends upon dealing the last hit to Ripto (the final boss).

However, a valid point has been brought up recently that suggests there is no need to end on the Ripto fight and instead we should be allowed to fight Ripto earlier in the run and end elsewhere once the last gem, orb, etc is collected since that is still 100% game completion. In short: ending a 100% run on Ripto is not an in-game requirement, but a rule that we as a community have set in place.

“Why fight Ripto earlier?” you might ask. Once Ripto is defeated:

• Sparx’s gem collecting range is increased.
• Spyro is granted the swim, climb, and headbash abilities even if you did not buy them.
• All 8 instances of Moneybags throughout the game are automatically paid for, at no cost to you.

Theoretically, defeating Ripto earlier will save time in a 100% speedrun because of the above-mentioned points, as well as the fact that you will cut out a few load screens since you won’t have to revisit Winter Tundra or exit whichever level you choose to finish in.

In the context of speedrunning 100% categories: if a game has an alternate ending that is only triggered upon 100% completion, then the run must end at that point. There are many games that follow this concept, but I feel that Crash Bandicoot: Warped (which I will refer to as Crash 3) is a good example since many Spyro players are likely familiar with the Crash Bandicoot series.

In a 105% run of Crash 3, the Cortex fight is the final boss. When Cortex is defeated, you are rewarded with the running shoes which counts for 1% of your total. It is entirely possible to fight Cortex before you have the other 104%, but it is defined in the category that, if you do fight Cortex early, you MUST fight Cortex a second time at the end of the run. This is because defeating Cortex with 105% gives an alternate ending cutscene than defeating Cortex at any other point in the game.

This brings us back to Spyro 2. Defeating Ripto with 100% game completion presents absolutely nothing different compared to defeating Ripto with minimal game completion. Defeating Ripto at the end of a 2 hour 100% run is absolutely no different than defeating Ripto at the end of a 10 minute any% run. And this is what stems the question “Why do we need to end a 100% run at Ripto?”.

With the current definition of Spyro 2 100%, if a player chooses to fight Ripto earlier in the run then they must fight Ripto a second time at the end of their run - despite the fact that nothing different happens. If the community decides that ending at Ripto is unnecessary however, then players are free to defeat Ripto at any point in the run and end their timer upon collecting the final gem, orb, etc in whichever level they choose to finish in.

Hopefully I didn't go too overboard, but I feel as if I covered all the necessary points in good detail. If you have any questions or remarks, feel free to respond. Thank you for reading.

“Should a Spyro 2 100% run HAVE to end at Ripto?”: http://strawpoll.me/3695597