hello !
would it be possible to be added to a new game board, Total War: SHOGUN 2 ? the creator made a category, submitted a run, and seems to have vanished since. I submitted a run a day or two after his, but still awaiting verification (3 weeks ago).
so far he has not responded to twitch whisper. I spoke to a series mod on twitch, he was kind enough to check earlier today but said he didn't have access to that one unfortunately (I'm not sure if meant the run or the board). at the moment I have no way to have my run verified or request new categories / rules.
hello again !
that is a lot of information, and I appreciate the dilemma.
I can only comment as someone coming in, seeing the board for the first time. it is a little confusing as it is, and a bit daunting. I made a short run the other day, had a choice of 3 categories to choose from, and probably still chose the wrong one !
keep in mind I am still new to the EU4 board, so my impressions may not be entirely accurate. but, while there are issues with all 3 timing methods (time creep in RTA and so on), IGT does appear the one that stands out the most.
with IGT (even without saving and loading), and this is just a simple scenario, how can going afk for an hour mid-run produce a better result than someone taking 10 minutes in one sitting ? doesn't it become a playthrough category with incomparable times (that also need deciphering as they use a non-standard format) ? it tackles the speed 5 issue, enables super-long runs, but creates many others.
I agree it's a murky area, but at the moment it's enabled for all challenges, 10 minutes to 10 hours. there is a case for it in world conquest, possibly hre and similar as mentioned, but it still seems to go against the grain of the site.
also, if RTA-NS5 was created as an experiment, an effective if not trouble-free method of running the game fairly, and RTA remains, where is the incentive to play NS5 if RTA exists ?
as a suggestion, why not limit some of the smaller challenges (mughal empire/unite japan etc) to a single method ? it cleans up the rules for them, focuses the leaderboard, removes duplicate runs, encourages new players. if IGT was meant for longer runs, and the argument against NS5 was that it lengthened runs, for sub 1 hour runs that increase in length is going to be reduced anyway. you also have this more competitive, fair leaderboard you were looking to create.
I think the danger is people may feel unwelcome because you're trying to cover every base, with the rules, with the categories, rightly or wrongly with the best of intentions, and you end up not appealing to as many as you could.
there are some nice challenges on the board, fun to try in-game, and comparing times is big part of that. but it is being let down a bit with these issues.
these are just observations though. it looks like all 3 categories will remain and I hope it works out. at least there is some transparency, and people can appreciate the processes involved.
thanks for the feedback, hopefully I've given a fresh perspective :)
hello !
would it be possible to finalize the rta/rta-ns5/igt issue, and perhaps tidy up the rules just a little ?
at the moment it's very confusing to know which category to submit to. it's also encouraging lots of duplicate runs, which are never nice to see.
can we remove rta, and set default to rta-ns5 for each category, igt as the second option ?
also, should igt (that is, eu4 igt) really be used ? it does seem to create more issues than it solves.
hopefully some of this will get resolved soon ! :)
Recent runs have raised some issues about the current category and rules for SC4. Here are some suggestions:
Subcategory for Loans, without Loans -loans are a normal part of the game, but they do trivialise part of the run when using them. Alternatively, a loan cap.
Disallow neighbor deals / connections -as these play a role, the existing region may affect the run without the runner realising.
100k+ Category -it's clear there's room for an additional category. 50k will remain, but there's scope for more creativity and challenge.
At the moment, the first 2 areas will be ignored, runners have the choice. Multi-tiles may be used, but the run must show them being made.
*the behind-the-scenes numbers (even with non-neighbor tiles) are not well-defined, plus areas off-screen cannot be verified easily on the region map, so this may change.
Will be adding a new category shortly.
while most of the 8-bit versions tend to use the same formula, there are still differences between them. will list some of the main ones for those interested in running.
All Versions--- The game uses 4 main maps, split into 2 sections.. those before the bridge on each map (midpoint) and after. Most versions recycle this 4 map idea infinitely, slightly altering the sections (eg. jungle to marshland) giving 8 unique maps.
C64--- The fastest of the versions, possibly the shortest. The original version had 3 maps instead of 4, recycled with fewer differences also. Some sprite issues when multiple bullets and sprites are present. the 2015 Nostalgia version reworked this to 4, matching most other versions, improving sprite issues and adding gfx.
Spectrum--- Another popular version, no music with only sound effects, limited palette, quite fast but considerable slowdowns at the end of maps, grenade throwers more common and hazardous. An unofficial 128k version had music included, although rare.
Arcade--- Where it all began. Notoriously difficult, very little time to react to bullets and enemies make this perhaps the hardest. Few region differences, other than initial loading screen.
Atari 2600--- The most radically different, does have its charm and does well with the hardware. Not to be confused with the Atari 7800 version.
Amiga / Atari ST--- While having better arcade-like graphics being 16-bit, both suffer from the vertical resolution, grenade reach is very short, bullets survive longer, fewer sprite issues when action is intense.
NES--- Deviates slightly from the 4 map x 2 formula offering 16 areas (although similar recycling occurs), includes unique features such as underground bunkers and item pickups (other than grenades), slower gameplay and a continue option, many sprite issues. the NES version has its own board here: https://www.speedrun.com/commando
If there is a version you would like included, post it below !
Twitch doesn't like certain songs on the in-game radio, these can be disabled on the main menu however. Youtube doesn't appear to have any issues. Will add as necessary.
- By the Bay
a little late to the party, thought I'd mention some extra details about win and dos :)
krayzar mentioned game speeds, not only does win have an extra setting, the others are completely out of sync (cheetah is far slower on win ironically than dos). this is probably why they added the extra one.
there are also navigation shortcuts, bond selection, window popups, general use is noticeably different between the two, on a short run these do add up.
the win run is more 'on edge' as you can zone and navigate those popups quicker. but you also have zero opportunity to recover from lazy terraforming / zoning in the final phase.
on dos, because of the slower speed, you can still make changes during the final phase to save a run, and zoning can be more intricate. both are valid and offer a different experience.
game logic / sim behavior also feels different, they do seem more picky on dos, but this could be speed differences playing tricks.
the dos version is easier to set up, win may require some messing around.
@Krayzar great run, sub 1:00 has set the bar !
@Lizstar can I suggest we have a separate category for the Windows and DOS versions, if you get a chance ?
been running both this week, the differences are quite significant. krayzar created a thread about specific differences, might make a post there later :)
not super critical though.
no, it's such an old game we'll be lucky if we get another run even with the single category.
simply make a recommendation on the rules : eg. Recommended Emulator - xx / Model - xx / Game Version - xx
I'll include settings on my next run, if rng doesn't get the better of me !
was still using the skip ;) I'll just add a new run next few days for simplicity, it's ok
