Tips on continuously getting better in Vice City.
8 years ago
Michigan, USA

Hey! I've been learning the tricks/glitches for Vice City in the U.S. version(I am aware that the JPN version is the better one). Now that I learned them, do you have any tips on how I can continuously get better at the game. No new strats have been released for the game yet, and players are improving their time consistantly. I would like to know how. Thanks!

Do runs is the obvious answer, practice a lot, over time you'll just get better at the game.

MH has been playing the game for a couple of years now and started around the same time as me, he obviously wasn't the best at the game but he practised a lot to get to where he is now.

I think you have to understand as well, US is much slower and harder, it isn't too late to learn the japanese strats for the game as it is easier and faster.

Once you get to a level where you think "I can't improve", watch the WR, compare what the WR does over you and think "ok I'll practice this segment", have realistic goals in mind.

If you have any specific questions, I'm sure I or something else will be able to answer.

Sophisticated likes this
Germany

There is a consistent Molotov rampage strat for the first dupe. IIRC, from then on, there are no big problems with the japanese version.

I do not intend to argue with you. I just want to make sure your decision is informed by that strat.

Michigan, USA

@Odyssic I like watching both MH, and KZ_FREW. Both are great players. And been wondering how that gotten so good. I guess practice makes perfect. I guess I'll set goals for myself and see where I go. Thanks for your advice. I'll keep practicing to improve myself. That will be my goal for now. I will get the JPN version whenever I have the time. Good luck on your future runs.

Watch a lot of videos... a lot

Every chance you get, just watch top runners (doesn't always have to be World Record holder) and obviously practice. Start small by doing no-reset runs and gradually start grinding for good runs. But remember to "..use any tactic that works, never to limit [your]self to one style, to keep an open mind!"

ezpz

[small][small]cool points to whoever knows where that quote is from[/small] [/small]

Sophisticated likes this
Massachusetts, USA

Starting off, I'd just finish a bunch of runs, yeah.

There were points where I hit a sort of "wall" and thought that I couldn't do better though, like my 1:05 when WR was 59 minutes. In those moments, when doing more runs didn't help much, I kinda analyzed my PBs and tried to figure out how I could do some things faster, and then focused on those. After a while it came down to minor optimizations in driving and stuff, and then to the point where fast consistency isn't even something to try doing, it's just something I do.

Sophisticated likes this
Michigan, USA

@Mhmd_FVC Glad to hear your thoughts on this. Congrats on the WR.

Friesland, Netherlands

I like the use of the word walls. There are a lot of steps that one must overcome in speedrunning.

  1. Finishing a category casually. Knowing what the game is is the first step in learning. Speedruns that haven't done this step are blind runs. Joshimuz shows that you don't get a very good time when you do runs without learning this step.
  2. Learn a route. Routeless runs are fun, I personally did a lot of them (including GTA 100% runs), but in order to get better times, one must figure out a route. You can look up a route from others, or make one yourself. If you don't have a route, your run probably won't be any better than Aces_High's 100% run. He shows though that great knowledge of the game goes a long way in getting you close to a decent time, but to get better times, a more thought out route is required.
  3. Learn not to fail. Having a route is nice, but if you fuck up every trick in the run you're not going anywhere. S. demonstrates that with minimal failure, a very low time is possible already. But there is a limit.
  4. Become fast. To become even faster, one must start grinding. This is also partially a routing step: Is going to left of the pole faster than going to the left of it? Which turns do I use the handbrake in and which ones do I not? Which trees/walls/poles can be used as a reference point for slight bends in the road, making look-behind-strats possible? Nobody has ever applied this step to 100% Vice City, but it is a step already done a lot by quite a few any% runners.
  5. Grind for that RNG and get the good times. Also never done in 100%, but the any% WR is a good example of this.
  6. Get the god run. Very few games get the honor of having runs like this. Super Mario Bros maybe?

Personally, I usually lose interest in my speedruns after (nearly) completing step 3.

It is important to know what your next step in becoming a good speedgamer is. There's no point in grinding runs if you don't have a route. Of course you need to maintain it all too; routes constantly update, so that driving route you practised really hard may become useless soon. You will also forget how to do things, commonly referred to as rust. As an example: I have plotted most of my games on a chart, allowing myself to see what work needs to be done first on all my speedgames in the event I were to pick them back up. http://i.imgur.com/ZeTIilw.png Most of the dxhr/hl2/portal route has changed since I last ran it, but I still have a good general idea of what to do so I'd just have to learn the route again. On the other side, for GTA4 I'd be better off if I played the game casually some more first. HL2ep2 I know the route and am fairly competent at performing it, I just need to do some runs where I don't mess it up.

Know where YOU are on the chart, and you too will soon become better!

zoton2, Sophisticated, and guywith like this
Michigan, USA

I'm happy you took the time to reply. Thanks. You made some good points.

[quote]6) Get the god run. Very few games get the honor of having runs like this. Super Mario Bros maybe?[/quote] this is a god run

Game stats
Followers
1,750
Runs
3,959
Players
559
Latest news
Y-Sens Fix is now officially allowed in speedruns

VC Enthusiasts, good news!

The VC Mod Team has decided to allow users to access a y-sens fix for mouse issues. This can be used legally in speedruns from today onwards, with only one rule.

This script w

10 months ago
Latest threads
Posted 2 years ago
0 replies
Posted 3 years ago
36 replies
Posted 3 years ago
0 replies
Posted 4 years ago
0 replies
Posted 2 months ago
2 replies