Baden-Württemberg, GermanyFeel free to add the category. Sorry, I've been absent for a while now and didn't realize people were playing this game so actively. Back when ScanSom released we were like 3 people who did runs for a couple of months max. Good to see people are still interested in this indie gem :)
With the starting time added below I'd still consider it "valid" although, arguably, quite inconvenient. That said, we aren't that competitive that we really need to care about form as much as the content is complete
Btw what's the purpose of limiting the starting option for Ireland? As the official achievement does not set such limit and I believe 867 start would be the faster starting option due to more CBs available.
Can we get a "Crusader Kings" series for https://www.speedrun.com/ck2 & https://www.speedrun.com/ck3 please?
The rules are directly ported from CK2 leaderboards due to how the dynamic of CK speedrunning works. Way way way back we decided we wouldn't want to measure who can click the fastest and has the best gaming PC but rather who can be the most efficient in terms of ingame time spent to achieve goals, as that is a factor that requires the most skill and allows for the best optimization.
Regarding specific starting restrictions, we also believe, as Yummier said, that allowing a broader starting variety will allow for more testing of various strategies. Once a certain starting county etc. has been found, most people will flock to that anyways. But I wouldn't want to restrict usage of different strategies. If you look at how CK2's King of Ireland has changed, there used to be at least 5 different approaches before one was found that has been universally the most efficient. And yet some of the others are still valid.
Speedrunning doesn't need to be streamlined. There is no need for that. CK2 is not a game that supports your "start -> end" beat-the-game any% speedrunning that relies on timers etc. and hence the rule set.
Glitches are generally allowed in Speedruns, especially when recreateable. I don't think we are competitive enough to worry about these kind of events, I'd say that's a lucky occurance but potentially something that can be recreated under certain conditions. Similar to amassing large amounts of golds or CBs as a tribal nomad in earlier versions of the game.
I am adding a MP category for world conquest.
As much as I am unsure if this is a legitimate request, I'll have to deny this based on the fact that charinfo would be required to verify the legitimacy of a child. You could propose that gaining the inbred trait could be a goal but I see that more of a meme/misc category. Unless I am missing something, there seems to be no true mechanical difference to the already existing heritage focused misc categories that we have on the leaderboards other than the seduction target.
The original Standford categories were based on the available categories of the game.
Tech-wise what we use is spamming "PrintScreen" to lag the game and get insane speeds while in the air (combine with jumping). The terrain glitching is pretty straight forward, just spam jump or lag the game with printscreen held down while buffering jump inputs. The boss fight is then just spamming your attacks until he dies (mostly from the NPC dealing damage). You just respawn each time you wipe since the stat point loss has no big effect on the minimal damage you deal. That's pretty much it.
What would 100% entail? I can sese glitchless, but since the game itself does not have a progression tracker I don't know what you would want to have included.
4th ESA for me. I'll try to focus on mainly improvements and downgrades from last year as I've given my opinion on the relocation in the previous year's feedback thread and it was overly positive.
Where this year has definitely improved was in the overall palette of things to do. The event is now so much more than just a charity event. It truely felt like a gathering of nerds, with full utilization of the event floor(s). Further, I loved how welcoming the hotel was yet again. I really do enjoy the hotel and the location and Hyllie seems to grow and hopefully also provide further late-night options in the near future. The organisation of things was pretty smooth for the most part, too. I saw small improvements in terms of all around planning, chain of reporting for volunteers and on-site feedback / request responses. The diversity of runs was exceptional. Scheduling team did a great job on initial planning.
Well, that's where the improvements end but that doesn't mean everything else was worse. Many things have stayed on an equally high level as previous years. Hosting seniors were incredibly dedicated, layouts were fine, the event felt very comfy and the board room, arcade and other activities were just as good as last year.
The PCs and especially monitors were great, but the lack of machines was a big downsite for many runners and visitors alike. While I still don't get how people can go to these events and play auto-chess and league, often in groups, occupying 2-4 PCs at times, the enforcement of kicking these people off worked mostly fine. PC room overall felt very crowded at all times, ignoring the fact that the additional chairs etc could also be a minor escape route hazard...
Moving the arcades downstairs might be a plus in terms of noise pollution and added a very neat feeling of having a more secluded area, in a positive way. But moving 2nd stream into the main room area plus generally rotating and moving the event space around with the overall audio for the audience did make for a very loud streaming area. Having both streams in the same location is bad. Stream 2 was pushed to be less of an "alternative" stream and has been given more high-profile runs while more of the "meme" games were moved to Stream 1. This may have also been an attempt to make schedule corrections less of a punishment to the runners that had their run moved from 1 to 2 and also an attempt to make stream 2 more "included" but neither was needed. And I hope it wasn't a reaction to specific runners who complained having had their run on stream 2 next to these "meme" games (Me and you both know what I refer to) because honestly, everyone BUT those people enjoy being on stream 2. It's less pressure, more comfy, less streamlined. It allows for even more diverse commentary at times too. Stream 2 being in the side room was a big plus personally and for most other runners I spoke to. Speaking of Stream 2, Liva did a heck of a great job again. I know that volunteer numbers were low and as such, having a dedicated donation reader + host on stream 2 would have been harder than during previous years. It's fine but a human reader would have been prefered, obviously.
Which brings me to the uglier things, most stuff that comes to being both runner and volunteer for this year. First, I wanna say, I appreciate compensation as a volunteer. As the title says, volunteer work does not get paid. At the same time, the vouchers were... unsatisfying? to say the least. I liked having had cheaper tickets in the past but I didnt mind paying full price for alternative compensation. What would have been cool instead of barely useable vouchers would have been: Volunteer swag. Special shirts, caps or whatever. Special badges too. It's a small incentive but pulls in a lot more people that do want to have their (voluntary) work honored. Further, a voucher for the ESA merch or for upcoming events would be great too. I do not want to go into detail as to how much compensation each individual got but as someone with four donation reading shifts, three of which were either at unfornate times (4-8 am) or during hectic blocks, AND being told that donation readers were being compensated higher than hosts for having to be around during the entire runs and not just intermissions made me think that the overall compensation would be more individualized. I was told that it went by hours but then other factors must not have been included and even then I do not want to know what people with half my time have received for compensation...
Another thing that bothered me was the setup of tech this year. Tech was completely removed from eye contact to runners and donation readers, the two main receipients that have to know when a run goes live. Sometimes you were still reading a donation or a partner message to fill the setup time and suddenly the run was already live. I wish that the feedback from the last three years would have been implemented here to IMPROVE communication between stations and not hinder it further. As a donation reader, the option to open up an audio channel on my headphones to listen in to runner/tech mics during setup would have been nice. But even as a runner, you were often in the dark about if tech was ready or not. If you spoke into mics you were often ignored, probably because they were solving things or whatever but because you didnt see tech station, you were not able to tell if they are busy or just not actually there.
Runners, Donation Readers and Tech should at all times be able to have eye contact to each other if needed. Hosts can sit off the side but should also at least be able to communicate with the donation reader and preferably tech as well.
The stream should be moved as it was last year again. Stream one into the big room, better audio for the audience, more even to be seen on the webcam, more hype. Stream two should be the comfy stream again. TVs and other setups in the main area should be moved in the back again, with more couches and general hang out area.
I think that other than that, the event was very enjoyable once again. I can't wait for next year!
Gonna keep it shorter than previously:
- The venue. Holy heck, what a nice venue. The size of the floor is perfect for the setup. Great use of all the side rooms as well. Anything less would have been an issue but you guys truely made the most out of what we got and it showed.
- The location. Just perfect. Food close, trains close, activities nearby.
- The hotel. Compared to the service at the previous years this was such a huge improvement. The hotel staff was amazing! Big shoutouts to them + the services they provided (free ice cream, coffee, popcorn, water,...). It also wasn't too pricey afterall.
- The schedule. Of course, I might be biased. But the schedule felt so much nicer and more balanced than the previous years.
- The overall viewing experience. Almost perfect, with only the lack of a comfy couch in first row for both streams.
- The community. No hostility, so much room to connect with people. There were basically no stream monsters, everyone was a fan and dedicated to the community. A lot of positivity and support for the charity as well. It made this event feel even more connecting and the group of people around felt like family to me.
- Broken ACs and very small beds were a bummer. Next year I might just book a single for myself to avoid this issue. Still, the only thing that was nicer at Scandic compared to QHV were the beds imo.
- Security + Badge controls should have been enforced from day one the way they were enforced on the last day. I guess it was a learning experience from everyone involved and the situation was handled very well by everyone but next year a dedicated badge / security team might be needed.
- Hosting signups were a bit... inconclusive. I've talked to hosts and host organizers to hear both sides of the story and I understand both sides. The 4x 4h initial requirement was a bit off-putting for people that had several runs / commentaries or only stayed a limited amount of days. I understand that a lot was done to accommendate for those people and that scheduling is hard, but a more communicative approach for hosts during signups (giving preferences for time slots/days or mix between hosting + dono reading and also maybe a reduction to 2x4h for a smaller discount and a bigger discount for dedicated hosts of 4x4h would be nice).
- Additionally, while the timeslots were a lot better than run specific hosting, alterations and adaptions should be made beforehand for especially long games. Also, hosts should be given the option to also declare donation reading if they feel up to the task.
I hate to give negative feedback as well but a single incident in regards to chat moderation was sort of souring my personal experience, even though I havent been involved. While the situation was handled on site from what I heard, some people should maybe cut down on their egos and try to not overstep their boundaries. Overall, the entire organisational team felt super connected to the participants and the volunteers and it did feel like a close family, hence probably why negative appearances by certain people became so much more noticeable and impactful.
I had an incredible week and I was blown away by the improvements. Having been to both GDQs and ESAs as well as smaller events in the past, this has been the single best marathon experience for me so far. So much love for all the volunteers, organizers and runners. <3
I think I am allowing limiting to 30 FPS (as VSync could cause that naturally, at worst) in the "main" category. It seems to me that it gets the bounces consistently but not in a game-breaking manner. It's still an advantage, but nothing that people with a slow gpu and 60hz monitor wouldnt experience naturally anyways. So yeah.
