Pause buffering shouldn't be allowed (as long as the leaderboard uses IGT)
2 years ago

This is in response to Nurufu's recent any% run, in which he used several pauses to increase his chances of getting through the first section of the 5th-sword cave in a single cycle. As the title suggests, I don't think this should be allowed.

My primary objection is that this strat is essentially just a way of manipulating the timer to play in slow motion. If we went with RTA, that strat would always be slower than just playing normally—losing a cycle there would've cost less time* than the pauses did. The only reason it's viable is because the clock isn't running while he lines things up.

Even if the timer is perfectly calibrated so the player doesn't get any free frames of movement, which is always a concern with IGT (especially as Nurufu now has the record by .01), it's still kind of nonsensical to allow someone to pause the clock so they can take extra time to work through a tough maneuver. The clock should always be running while the play is in action.

*In RTA, Nurufu's new run would be 2:54.767, whereas Kocoa's current pb would be 2:52.100.

Scotland
skyesthelimit
She/Her, They/Them
2 years ago

Should make a community poll for this

Bretagne, France

Nah it should be allowed, pausing and unpausing actually loses time in the in game timer, i don't see this as a problem

@otakaria I don't think that's the case, and if it is, the difference is negligible. Did a quick test, just holding right on 5th sword at start of level (i.e. no swinging, just let it drag): no pauses 7 pauses vid

It also doesn't answer the primary objection, that people shouldn't be allowed to line up their actions without the clock running. A substantial part of the challenge in this game is reacting and judging distance in real time; I don't like the idea of people using pauses to cheese their way through the harder parts unless the timing method is switched to RTA.

Bretagne, France

ok now i agree with you

Oregon, USA

Puase Buffering Should Not Be Allowed..

skyesthelimit likes this
Arizona, USA

The leaderboards have always been based off of IN GAME TIMERS for a reason, I used to use pause strats in my runs however I would lose ~100 ms and it didn't help me that much. However, the rules have said in game timer for a reason, and pausing has never been against the rules.

LaBumidang likes this
United States

Thats why it goes by IGT, i dont see a problem at all because its essentially a setup anyone would do. In mario 64 blindfolded runs they use sounds so make sure they setup the trick correctly, with the run in question pausing only provides an easier way to get setup correctly. Yea sure i can do 1000 runs without pausing and try to get the pixel perfect place to start walking or i can master pausing to assist me in landing. Its high risk high reward in my eyes cause if you mess up the pausing or accidentally hold to late you fall and thats it no new pb.

Scotland
skyesthelimit
She/Her, They/Them
2 years ago

@Xirbie SM64 is ran in RTA, this game is IGT. For SM64 the timer doesn't stop when the game is paused whereas in Deepest Sword it does. It's in the rules for SM64 blindfolded runs here ( https://imgur.com/a/lyVItNG )

Edited by the author 2 years ago
Bretagne, France

I think it takes away the skill and grinding needed for the run so i'm against it

England

I dont think there should be pause buffering because it makes it more easy and it takes away skill and its not hard and most speed run tricks are hard so thats my opion

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