An optimal comprehensive speedrun guide

Many sections in this game are RNG based, but some others are very formulaic and easy to do. I will be listing some strategies I follow when completing my runs (the complete run of this game must be completed on Difficulty 3). When you first install the game and start a section, they will all be defaulted to Difficulty 1 unless you have completed it at Difficulty 3 prior to your current run (basically, play through all sections at Difficulty 3, then you won't have to waste time changing it from Difficulty 1). 

- Finding James: ***For a more in-depth guide on this section, visit: https://www.speedrun.com/thomas_and_friends_trouble_on_the_tracks/guide/1jgho *** This section is heavily reliant on RNG (There's no tactic I've found so far, but I will update this if I find a reliable way to find James), so my typical rule of thumb is when you start, follow the direction of the closest track, and adjust accordingly to where Tiger Moth the Biplane tells you to go. This section also has very small deadzones between each direction, so try not to linger in them for too long. Once you find James and can't move anymore, you can click Thomas to proceed.
 
- Lorry at the Quarry: This section is the same every time, so there shouldn't be too much trouble learning the pattern. One difficult part is the 8th and 7th loads. The 8th load is easy to get, and if you immediately move to the far left, you can catch the load before it falls (just don't hit the shovel in the middle as you move over). Once the last batch of coal has been received and the conveyers stop moving, click Thomas to proceed to the next section. 

- Fix the Broken Breakdown Crane: The most success I've had with this section is if you start going left to right, finding which cog fits the one to the left of it. This section can be done very fast if you don't mess any cogs up and hit the red button after they're all in. Once you hit the red button and the crane starts moving in the background, click Thomas to proceed to the next section. 

- Find a Whistle for James: I tend to play this section memorizing which whistle belongs to which engine based on what they look like, not their sound. A guide image on which whistles go with which engines can be found here: https://imgur.com/a/piQKLAq
This section also seems to have slight deadzones near the bottoms of the whistles, so try clicking them around the top-half. You can click Thomas to proceed to the next section once you click James' whistle and it sounds. 

- Dockside Trouble: This section (in my opinion) is the worst of them all. It's a slow section, and there's one RNG element that can lose you a lot of time. When first starting this game, this part may seem a bit confusing, but each of the box's weight correlates to the size of the blue dot on them, not the size of the actual box. There are light boxes, normal boxes, and heavy boxes. There are also 2 types of troublesome trucks: small ones and normal ones. Small trucks can carry either 2 light boxes or one normal box, not any number of heavy boxes. Normal trucks can carry either 2 normal boxes, or one light and one heavy box. The RNG element comes in when you have to switch from truck to truck, as sometimes the trucks will be troublesome and either not move at all, or move 1 too many. It is all based on luck if you switch the next car or if you don't, so there's not much you do about that. Once the last box is placed in the trucks, all the trucks are filled, and you confirm that each weight for each truck is green, then you can click Thomas to proceed to the next section (you don't have to go back at the end and check them each individually, just check each time you finish a truck and make sure the last one hits green before you proceed). 

- Find a New Lamp for James: This section is pretty easy, just find the lamps' matching silhouette, and place it there. Once James' lamp gets placed into the box, you may click Thomas to proceed to the next section (send me a request if you would like me to make a lamp guide, but I believe it is pretty self explanatory). 

- Repair James: This part is pretty self-explanatory: put the parts where they're supposed to go. You can find a parts guide here: https://imgur.com/a/xbtJJFw
A few things to note: It may be hard to spot the wheel at first, but it's to the right of the table on the left. Once you attach all the parts, grab the oil can, line up the end of the nozzle with three dots that appear in the center of each wheel, and left click, then you can click anywhere to put it back. Only then can you put the coupling rod on (the thing that goes across all three wheels). Then you can use the wrench on the center of the three wheels. Once that is done, you must paint James. When you first grab the brushes, they will flip around (sometimes), but the paint source never moves (Example: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0qnEYPpUvOc&t=818s), so try your best to paint as fast as possible. Once both paints have been applied and you return the brush to it's paint can, you can click Thomas to proceed to the next section. 

- Get James Ready: This section has one set difficulty, so don't bother worrying about it. Start by opening James' filler cap (if you start pumping water first, it will play a lengthy animation), then pull the red lever at the top 3 times. You can actually interrupt the lever pulling animation with another lever pull, saving time. Once you've pulled the lever 3 times, close James' filler cap and he will move backwards. Then pull the coal ring on the right side 3 times (which you can also cancel with another ring pull). The game will then transition into James' cab, where you will pick up the shovel and put 3 loads of coal into the firebox. Next, pull James' whistle chain in the top left corner of the cab, then release the break in the center-right of the cab. Finally, open the throttle in the center of the cab (try and click closer to the yellow part of the throttle, as the red part of the handle has a slight deadzone). Once the throttle is opened, you can end the run (or hit the Splits hotkey).

Hope this helped, and good luck with your runs!

- Lumacosy

How to run the actual game

When I wanted to do a run of this game, I had a lot of trouble actually figuring out how to run it (as my computer doesn't have a disk drive). Here I will be giving a step-by-step guide on how to run this game at full speed, with or without a drive. 

1. (If you have a disk drive and the game disk, skip to step 4) Find the game ISO file online and download it (I do not condone piracy of video games online). 

2. Download a disk ISO mounting program. I use VirtualCloneDrive, but any program should work as long as it can mount ISOs to a virtual disk drive. VirtualCloneDrive can be found here: 
https://virtual-clonedrive.en.softonic.com/#:~:text=The%20program%20also%20adds%20a%20sheep%20icon%20to,number%20of%20virtual%20drives%20from%208%20to%2015

3. Once you have the 2 listed above, mount the ISO file onto the virtual drive

4. Open the disk and run "Setup.exe" and install the game in your preferred location (keep the disk inserted as you need it to run the game). Also ensure you install the DirectX it prompts you to after installing the full game. 

5. Right click both "InstallCheck.exe" and "Trouble.exe", go to the Compatibility tab, and make sure the mode is set to either Windows 10, or Windows XP Service Pack 2 or 3 (both modes work to my knowledge, but Windows 10 compatibility was the only one that allowed me to use Splits hotkeys at the same time)

After that, you *should* be able to run the game at full speed, and can start it from either "Trouble.exe" or "InstallCheck.exe" (the game cannot run in windowed mode however. You cannot Shift-Tab out of it without either locking up your computer or crashing the game, and forcing it into windowed mode with programs such as DxWnd will crash your computer. To close out of the game, just use the in-game exit button, and you should have no problem). Contact me if you need any more assistance getting the game to run! 

- Lumacosy

What is going on in Finding James?

***COMING SOON***

I'm still working on data analysis, which should hopefully be done soon (maybe a bit earlier if I can find the time).

- Lumacosy

Name	Author
An optimal comprehensive speedrun guide	Lumacosy 4 years ago
How to run the actual game	Lumacosy 4 years ago
What is going on in Finding James?	Lumacosy 4 years ago