So as the title says, I am not sure how to get started running. I want to start running Shovel Knight. It's still fairly current, especially considering other games, and I enjoy the hell out of it. Plus, more characters to try and speed with once I feel competent with Shovel Knight as a character in runs. I got some speedrunning software, LiveSplit specifically, and I have finished the game through once with more minimal stats than as much health and magic as possible, but still with plenty. Watched a few videos to help get a feel for special movements, such as shovel cancels, backhop, how to shovel ground objects mid air, etc.
All that being said, finally starting to try and speedrun it is incredibly daunting. I am prepared to replay levels, but I don't know anything about how to start a speedrun, in Shovel Knight or otherwise. I have no idea how to train effectively (aside from running the levels til the game is over, eventually remembering all 10 stages at a time, which feels very inefficient after a very short amount of time) I can watch speedruns all day long, and I basically have, but aside from trying to remember all worlds in 40+ minutes, I don't know how to proceed.
Any and all advice would be very appreciated, specific to shovel knight or otherwise.
I think the biggest piece of advice that helped me is try to fight that urge to perfect every nitty-gritty detail right off the bat. Learn the basics/essential pieces for each part of the run and try to get a completed run under your belt as soon as you can. It can help you keep momentum and motivation for learning the game because you're actually achieving something and seeing a bit of a pay-off for your hard work. Having that base time to work down from makes spending time on the details much more rewarding, IMO. Now I'm not familiar with the intricacies of running Shovel Knight but if there are any strats that aren't absolutely essential to simply finishing the run I would say to wait and come back to those after you have the basics of each stage down.
Obviously each person is different with different learning styles so this may not be the best advice for all, but it does seem to be a somewhat common hint that I can say helped me tremendously. Hope this is helpful and GL on all of your future speedrunning endeavors!
- Play the game a lot. Not everyone has the same method for practicing, and everyone has different methods that work for them. If you play and speedrun enough, you'll realise what works for you. I like to split the games into smaller chunks and practice those chunks.
- Write some notes if you're struggling to remember the route.
- There isn't a time like the present to start running a game. You'll make mistakes on your first run, but everyone does. Just learn them and try to avoid it next time.
(posting on mobile, sorry for any terrible errors)
UnrealCroissant I will certainly be breaking stages down 1 at a time. its pretty core mega man, platform stages, boss at the end, so making saves to practice shouldnt be too hard. But one thing i am struggling with is understanding the strats. a term i keep hearing is (and its specific to shovel knight, but im sure someone has had a similar experience) "im doing chaos orb strat" or "im going ohase locket" but i havnt been able to find a solid explanation of what that is. Chaos orb is an item, same as the locket, but routes and such dont seem to link up at times. i am also not catching onto the 'speedrun lingo' if you will. anything i should be looking out for to figure out what everyone is talking about with these strats? or a better ppace to pin down why these are 2 pinned down strats as oppose to any other(aside from time)?
Klashik i will most likely be breaking the games levels down a bit with saves, if i understand you correctly. I dont have a lot of time most days to just attempt a run that, for my first playthru, took 5 hrs (a fun ride, speed was not the goal, but even that took a week+)
I am sure i can set aside a 2 hour block eventually, but how would you suggest i go about semi-forming a run without being able to do it in 1 sitting with any consistency?
Maybe try to break the game up into segments or levels that you can practice and get better at. That way when you string together a full run you might complete it faster than a blind first full run or something like that.
If you're confused about terminology, it's worth finding a stream of a popular runner on Twitch and asking questions, they might be able to help out directly.
I might have a good example for that. I want to eventually speedrun Saints Row 3, which will probably take 4-5 hours when I eventually get to it. The game has story arcs which are, for the most part, about an hour long. I just practice those arcs individually, and when I feel like it, I'll set aside 5 hours for a full run. I don't really want to spend upwards of 6 hours on a speedrun, so practicing these sections instead will reduce that first run's time. As well as that, I want to remember how the route fits together and the transitions, so I'm not practicing individual missions instead.
16bitkiller i have been combing through those forums a bit. using them to look at things like where splits should be, what a decent time to aim for might be, where to start run wise (any, low, etc). Its just the specific "locket or orb" that i am not fully understanding strat wise for any.
16bitkiller i have been combing through those forums a bit. using them to look at things like where splits should be, what a decent time to aim for might be, where to start run wise (any, low, etc). Its just the specific "locket or orb" that i am not fully understanding strat wise for any.
As far as Shovel Knight specific things, I would join the Discord server if you haven't already. That can be a wonderful place for asking questions, getting clarification on terminology or even just having someone point you toward a particularly helpful resource.
As @Quivico said, another great way to learn is to ask current runners questions in chat while they stream. Even if the runners themselves don't/won't answer chances are there are other people in chat who run the game and will help you out.