Hey, it's me again.

Just wondering if there would be any interest in having a New Game Plus category, as the Switch's mode swapping feature behaves in most ways like a NG+ mode.

I am currently using that to learn the routing and gain muscle memory in terms of maneuvering the character through the map and dungeons. I'm aware there are quite a few games, such as Chrono Trigger, that are having a NG+ board, so I thought I'd bring that here. It could also serve as a "noob-friendly" misc category to run before getting in the "big leagues", if you will. :)

Thoughts?

I'd like to point out a possible way of exploiting one of the switch version's features, namely the 2D/3D switching.

Basically, this allows you to switch between modes, by taking your current exp, items, gold, and casino tokens, and transferring those to any of the other mode's checkpoints prior to the current one. It's basically a New Game Plus that doesn't require the game to be finished.

So for instance, one could play the game until the final dungeon is available, get the Nebula Sword, Evac, save, switch back and forth between modes and restart at the final dungeon checkpoint. This would effectively reset the treasure chests that were taken, and would allow to dupe the Nebula Sword. Do that 6 more times, and you've got an overpowered party of Eleven, Erik, Silv, and [Mystery 8th party member] dual-wielding "Disk 1 infinity minus" swords (with Eleven still rocking the Sword of Light).

I'm sure other creative uses of this duping method could be found to further break runs.

Now would that be allowed, or should the rules be amended to state that mode switching is forbidden? On one hand, this is not the way it's intended to be played, but on the other hand, you're using an in-game mechanic that's readily available to achieve this, which is in line with what any% is all about from a general standpoint. I'd personally be fine with the verdict on this either way.

Just thought I'd put that out there before someone tries that out in an actual run.

Hi!

I'm MarthSR, your new moderator for this game.

Over the past months, there were a few things that I noticed, and felt like they needed to be addressed. As such, T3tsuya graciously accepted my offer to help out.

One thing that got brought up is the fact that several (if not most) runs were done with more than one coin, despite the fact that there was a 1cc rule in effect. While 1cc runs are fun challenges, they also gate speedrunning of this game for no valid reason. Therefore, the 1cc rule has been revoked. If there is demand for a 1cc category, I will gladly add that category alongside the existing ones. Plus, there's nothing preventing a 1cc run from being posted in the regular categories if your time is better. 2 for 1 deals are fun! :D

Furthermore, I've also added subcategories for coop runs, as it wouldn't be fair to have 2 player runs compete against 3 player runs. So the two now have separate leaderboards.

That's it for now. Feel free to post in the forums should you have further suggestions.

Please be advised that the "Arcade Archives" version has its own leaderboard as the game is emulated differently than on MAME (noticeable by how the music is interpreted by AA's emulator), and runs faster than the original.

Therefore, it wouldn't be fair to rank it against runs made on accurate emulators (such as MAME, WolfMAME, GroovyMAME), or the original hardware for that matter. Thus why these versions now have their own leaderboards.

Go!

Hello all,

As the newest firmware revision of the Everdrive now allows to use save states with Pin Bot, I was wondering if the moderating team would allow usage of a save state that skips most of the intro right after a power-on.

Now rule of thumb disallows usage of save states as in some games, as it would open the way for RNG manipulation normally not possible via original hardware. However, in the case of Pin Bot, it appears that no interaction with the game is at all possible until the intro is done with, which most likely means that there would be no RNG manipulation possible from that save state, as long as the state is taken BEFORE the game allows inputs.

Now I'm not all that well-versed in how the game's memory and RNG works, but if this could be looked into, it would be great. If we can save ourselves the hassle of waiting 20 seconds after every hard reset, it would make running the game all that more enjoyable.

Thanks!

Hey guys,

Quick question here. The rules for "All levels" state at the end:

"Timing ends on loss of control on the 16th stage after covering all the tiles -or- collecting your 3rd warp balloon."

Now what I was wondering if what exactly does the 3rd warp balloon have that is so special that it would end this run. I was under the impression that warp balloons' destinations were dependant on the level you're taking the third one from.

If this could be clarified, it would be great. Thanks!

Hello,

If I may suggest, it would be nice having "Time trial mode" categories. Basically, there are three stage groups (ie: Big Apple 3AM, Alleycat Blues, and Prehistoric Turtlesaurus), each containing 6 short fight sequences you have to clear as fast as possible with only one life. Strats would most likely gravitate towards efficiently clearing mob packs while taking as little damage as possible. There is an in-game timer for that mode, so that could be used as well as the main timing method.

I, for one, most certainly will be running those. If anyone else would be down for that, please respond. Thanks!

[EDIT: From what I could observe, the Time trial mode seems to have its own single difficulty setting, as nothing changes when switching difficulty in options.]

Hello,

I was wondering if a jailbroken PS3, which can play PSP games, would be allowed. I do not know yet for sure if it has an impact on load times, but I suspect it does. Based on that, I thought I'd ask beforehand.

Thanks!

I have added a 200,000 points category to the leaderboard. This would require much different strats, especially when it comes to kill management with the "bowling balls". Also, warping to the "basement" (as I like to call it) could potentially be a better route as a result.

There have been mentions of a 2-loop category, but I would have to know if there is anything that would set a potential 2-loop category apart from the 1-loop category, or if it would be "more of the same" with increased artificial AI as with several arcade games of the 80's. I haven't explored that personally, so if anyone has feedback on that matter, please let me know. :)

Hello.

First of, before you tell me to go to the game's own forum, hear me out, as the current situation makes that endeavor... a bit impossible at the moment.

The situation is as follows: The game "Hydro Thunder" seems to have two different game entries on speedrun.com (one for the N64 version and one for the PSX version), when they are essentially ports of the same arcade game, similarly to San Francisco Rush 2049 for instance. This makes the "inquire with the game's forum" solution a bit intricate, as that specific title has been "split in two" for all intents and purposes.

Now the thing is, there are more than just two ports of that game. There's also a PC port, a Dreamcast port, along with all the other systems on which "Midway Arcade Treasures 3" (based on the DC port) has been released (Ergo: PlayStation 2, Gamecube, Xbox). That's a lot of ports, if you ask me!

Now what should be done about this? Should the two game entries be merged into one that would include all the other ports? I'm ultimately asking this because I plan on running that game on the PS2, but there's no game entry that seems to fit this. I don't think requesting a new game entry for each port would be an adequate solution. Rather, I believe this title could be better managed under one single game entry for all its ports.

Note: Hydro Thunder Hurricane is an entirely different game, by the way, and should not be a part of this.

Any thoughts?

Hey guys! First time runner that started today.

On that run, I encountered a Patra that behaved... a bit strangely, to say the least. At least, from my perspective. I don't remember Patras going out of bounds like that, so I wondered if that was something that happened to any of you.

Footage:

Just looked at the new WR, and it seems like Link built up his solar value from previous games to about 2.1M in order to get a huge near-5M bonus when switching stages during multiball (which has a 2x multiplier applied to everything durung that period of time).

Now, my question is: do we really want to allow solar value buildup from previous games? I mean, the time spent to build solar value isn't taken into account in the run, so technically, it would be possible to just build up solar value to about 4.8 mil prior to the run, and then just aim to switch stages during multiball.

Just wanted to point out that this isn't criticism pointed towards the new WR. It's quite the creative strat, and I like that. However, I could see future runners questioning the usage/abuse of previous games to get to the target score. The same way, for instance, that jRPG runs should start on a clean SRAM when possible.

Personally, I'd be fine either way, to be quite honest; I simply thought this was a question that HAD to be looked into.

Got two questions here:

1- Would runs made on the fan-translated version be accepted? I know there's more text scrolling, but quite frankly, that would be my own prerogative if this hinders my run. Unless there's another reason for not accepting that version?

2- Is the Hitoshikonomi trick allowed? Basically, if you SOLELY have those items in your hero's inventory, all unequipped...

Cypress stick Sharpened bone Hat of happiness Oaken club Saw blade Cloak of evasion

...then all your hits will be crits, and monster recruiting will work 100% of the time. This seems to either be an easter egg of the game, or some leftover debugging trick they had.

If you could let me know about those two topics, it would be much appreciated. Thanks in advance.

Hello,

I've recently heard of a so-called "meme" DW run that has been ran in the past, called the "threesome%" run. Basically, it comes down to getting to the Dragonlord with the princess in your arms, and accept his offer, which triggers the bad ending.

Here's an example of the run: &

I'll run this one offline as my main rig's board got killed, and my backup PC is a toaster that would explode if I tried streaming with it. I'll try to record the attempt, however possible that may be. Meanwhile, I thought it would be a cool category to add, as it presents a different challenge, different routing options as the goal vastly differs from the main game (ie: defeating the dragonlord vs merely getting to him to "exchange services").

Please let me know if you'd be willing to add the category. Thanks!

Hello,

I was wondering if there were any plans to add a following features for runners. For instance, if I'd like to have the site show me all of, for example, Arcus87's latest runs, I could follow him and have those presented in a way similar to the games' follow system on the front page.

I'm well aware this isn't something that would get implemented overnight, and was merely wondering if the idea's been pitched before.

Thanks!

Hello. Me again. :D

I've noticed we haven't got a definitive set of rules for the game. As a result, it seems like the timing conventions vary from one runner to another, which seems hardly fair.

For instance, I time my runs from the moment I have control to the moment my last shot hits the last shadow dude, and this seems to be the modus operandi of many runners. However, some people wait until the win celebration (like beadle111's last run), while others could wait until the beginning of the picture scene.

I believe there is merit in clarifying those.

Hello,

I was wondering if I could be made moderator of this game. I believe my knowledge of this game is something that the mod team, along with the game's community, could benefit from.

Thanks!

Hey guys,

I'd like to have your opinions on the matter here.

I'm a super mod on a game I've submitted a few weeks ago, and I'm also a runner of this game. One of the tops.

Now, another runner submitted a run in which he claims to have beaten my record, but has no actual timing on screen of it. It's an arcade game, and it's being played on the player's MAMEcade cab. We're at a point where the times are so low that millisecond timing is required.

At first sight, he seemed to have beaten my WR, so I allowed it. However, I thought about it and implemented a rule in which times below a certain threshold would be subject to time verifications, starting from the first frame the game starts until the first visible frame of the end-game victory. As the rules originally stated in terms of timing. So no goalposts moving here: simply a frame-perfect enforcement of this rule. That made sense as we're at a level where optimal runs have time differences in milliseconds.

Throughout this exercise, I found out that my previous run was still faster than his submitted run (said run was actually almost a half-second slower than claimed).

Given that I'm a supermod AND a top runner of this game, do you guys see any conflict of interest or ethics issue in the fact that I edited the runs to reflect the time verifications, as this would grant me the WR on the game? I also provided video evidence of those time verifications, to be on the safe side. Do you see any foul play in this at all? I believe there's none, but I wouldn't wanna be an asshole about it either.