Comments
thread: Sonic R
Georgia, USAPrismaticBlack5 years ago

I will talk to someone about this. I'm sorry I'm not always available to verify runs.

misterLO472 likes this
thread: Sonic R
Georgia, USAPrismaticBlack6 years ago

Generally in speedrunning, modifying the game itself is disallowed. There are exceptions with certain games, of course. I would strongly discourage editing the .ini file, but the truth is, it may go unnoticed by a moderator. We aren't perfect, and we still know little about the PC version, as it is one of the more uncommon platforms for this game.

NOTE: This is my opinion, and my opinion on this is unofficial, since the moderators haven't really discussed this in detail. I will say this: If the differences between the unedited and edited game variants are just resolutions or other visual changes, then it probably won't cause you an issue. What we really scrutinize in PC and emulator runs are unfamiliar out-of-bounds clips, abnormal game/character speeds, or any alteration to the game that presents a clear advantage to the runner. Just be aware that if your run displays any of these or similar characteristics, it may likely be rejected.

misterLO472 likes this
thread: Sonic R
Georgia, USAPrismaticBlack7 years ago

OoB vs. No OoB:

OoB stands for "Out of Bounds". As you may have discovered on your own, whether intentionally or unintentionally, Sonic R has a ton of edges that can be clipped out of. This can make the game incredibly frustrating, because there are times when you can clip through a track simply by brushing up against it. This may be disadvantageous, as some clips can throw you back to an earlier part of the track.

Other times, these clips are intentionally used to make races faster. I recommend watching an OoB run (Any% and 100%) if you have not yet.

So what do we count as OoB? Well, you may have noticed in the Any% No OoB category that there is a trick performed by Knuckles on Radiant Emerald that skips a large portion of the track. To do it, you have to jump at a specific part of the track and glide over to the the overhanging path. You can then clip into the wall and continue finishing the lap. A few people have asked why this trick is allowed in the category, while clipping in other places is not. The truth is, clipping IS allowed in No OoB. However, clipping outside of the track boundaries is not. You never actually leave the boundaries of the level in Radiant Emerald when using the Knuckles glide strat. Instead, you clip into a later part of the track.

So next time you accidentally clip out of a track, you don't need to assume that your run is void. As long as it is an in-bounds clip, it doesn't violate the rules of No-OoB. I'm sure there are many other useful clips that are left undiscovered, so if you fancy yourself a glitch-hunter, then there are plenty of opportunities for discovering new strats.

thread: Sonic R
Georgia, USAPrismaticBlack7 years ago

CALCULATING IGT:

Someone was asking about how to locate in-game time. When you complete a race, the timer freezes for a few frames before the screen fades to black. This final time for the race is what we use to calculate IGT. It's a bit of a crude method, since quality of the recording can have an adverse effect on the clarity of the timer, but no such issue has arisen yet. We add together all of these times throughout the run to get the total IGT,

We don't necessarily require IGT anymore. For a while the boards were ranked by IGT, so a lot of older runs had IGT calculated after submission. For now, if you want your IGT calculated, you can submit your run with both your real time and your IGT (calculated by using the above method) and a moderator can double-check its accuracy for you. It is still optional in the RTA categories, though.

If you wish to submit an IL (Individual Level) run, you will need to have proof of IGT. It is a good idea to include the results screen, as it will clearly display the time. Otherwise, we just use the same method as mentioned previously.

thread: Sonic R
Georgia, USAPrismaticBlack7 years ago

We will be using this forum to ask and answer any specific questions people may have about the game. Feel free to post questions below. Anyone can ask and anyone can answer.

thread: Sonic R
Georgia, USAPrismaticBlack7 years ago

I have decided to remove characters as a subcategory, and instead the times will be defaulted as "Any", with the fastest overall time being listed on the "view all" board page.

This gets rid of the clunky character selection blocks, and the times can be filtered by character to better represent specific character ILs. Ideally, it would be split by character like it was previously, and the fastest overall runs would be displayed on the main IL page listing all of the categories and levels, but unfortunately with the way it was before, it would only list the best times for the "Default Character" (which was Sonic) on the main page. Subcategories cannot exist without a default, so that's kinda lame.

Oh well. Seems like this is the best option.

daily likes this
thread: Sonic R
Georgia, USAPrismaticBlack7 years ago

Alright. I redid the boards. Here is what I did:

  1. For Level Selection, I added Grand Prix, Time Attack/Special Modes, and Reverse.
  • Balloon and Tag are submitted under "<Level> Time Attack/Special with "Special" Category, and "Get 5 Balloons" or "Tag" as the "<Level> Special Mode". You can test out the submission form if you are interested in seeing how it works.
  • Moderators will fix incorrect submissions.
  • Whichever is fastest between "Get 5 Balloons" and "Tag" will be displayed as the best time for the "Special" Category on the complete board view. However, when you click the "Special" board itself, you can switch between those two categories.Sorry that I can't really fix this, but otherwise Tag and Balloon would be on the same board. You can sort by character and mode on the Special board.
  1. We have Full Race (No OoB and OoB Permitted) as well as Best Lap (No OoB and OoB Permitted) for Grand Prix, Time Trial/Special, and Reverse categories.
  • Special is designated for Time Trial/Special because from what I see, it only adds more blank boards in the Full Race and Best Lap categories if I make a specific "<Level> - Special" in the level selection menu. It seems to not be an issue, but I won't be surprised if I have missed something by doing all this.
  • OoB and No OoB haven't been specified as designated categories for Special Modes, but honestly I don't see how going Out of Bounds would be faster for these modes anyway. Please correct me if I am wrong.
  1. I can't seem to format the character menu for the boards. So the character select menu is still kinda bulky. As times fill the board, this may not be an issue. I don't expect them to be too full, but I may start adding times from various other sites onto these boards.

I think that is everything. Please let me know if something is wrong. You guys have been very helpful. Thanks.

thread: Sonic R
Georgia, USAPrismaticBlack7 years ago

Obviously you are welcome to make changes yourself if you want.

thread: Sonic R
Georgia, USAPrismaticBlack7 years ago

I'll add GP when I get home then. I misunderstood what Daily meant I think. I didn't consider all that stuff. Didn't know the weather was fixed either. I figured you two would know way more about what to do. I just had people ask about ILs.

thread: Sonic R
Georgia, USAPrismaticBlack7 years ago
  1. I'm not quite sure what all the major differences in Time Trial are. Is it items enabled and possibly boosting off characters in GP mode? I guess we can consider adding both if it makes a huge difference that warrants separate categories. There were a few things I didn't consider at first when making the boards, but we can gradually add stuff. I can add GP mode if we want. So many categories! Personally I see Tag and Balloon fitting in as Misc categories, and possibly even Reverse. I dunno what you guys think on that though. It would probably get a little crowded on here. TSC doesn't require video evidence, and I've found the interface to be really confusing to navigate personally. I do prefer the more user friendly interface of SRC, and the inclusion of RTA boards with ILs.

  2. Yeah. Since that video does have a legible time on the results screen, I probably would allow it. I suppose I should make a note to include the results screen, and also to make sure that the time on the results screen is legible in the case that someone owns a camera incapable of capturing the game. Likely won't be a big issue these days.

  3. Also, my definition of out-of-bounds is to actually leave the track itself and run in an area that would otherwise not be accessible without clipping. So hopping to another part of the stage from one part of the stage seems to be valid for No OoB. I can agree on that, but if anyone else has an opinion on the matter, then please share it. This is also why separating by character is a good idea to me, because not every character can make some of these jumps.

thread: Sonic R
Georgia, USAPrismaticBlack7 years ago

I can add that to the rules.

thread: Sonic R
Georgia, USAPrismaticBlack7 years ago

I have no idea why it formats like that. I can try to figure it out though.

thread: Sonic R
Georgia, USAPrismaticBlack7 years ago

Added Metal Knuckles. I'll fix the console and platform issue when I get home.

Emulators are largely untested. As far as I can tell IGT seems to be accurate by level, and RTA saves time via loads. I'd like more testing, but I never use emulators, to be honest.

As for Reverse, Balloon, etc. I may add them as miscellaneous categories. Some may be fit for the main LBs, but I think I can definitely add them as misc if they are wanted.

thread: Sonic R
Georgia, USAPrismaticBlack7 years ago

Hello to all the runners.

We now have IL leaderboards in the "Level Leaderboard" dropdown tab under the game menu.

The IL leaderboards are not sorted by console because they will be using IGT, to which console will have no effect. Instead, this is the basic layout:

<Level Name> --- <Category> --- <Character>

You will still have to select the console, but it will have no effect on your submission ranking. I think separating by character is beneficial, as each character has a unique play style. You only need to submit the IGT of the level, and you must provide proof. Moderators will correct this if needed.

If you have any suggestions on how to improve this system, you may post them here.

thread: Sonic R
Georgia, USAPrismaticBlack7 years ago

Hey Daily,

There is a high likelihood that I will be creating an IL system soon. Once I have time to make a ruleset, I will post it on a forum for people to make suggestions.

daily likes this
thread: Sonic R
Georgia, USAPrismaticBlack7 years ago

The initial reason for separating the boards was because of the PC version having virtually no load times. As it is an official version of the game, we could not flat out ban it. We separated emulator into it's own category as a result of splitting everything else up mainly because it was unnecessary at that point to scrap all of the current emulator runs, as they were only being compared to other emulator runs.

Emulators run differently depending on hardware, computer capabilities, etc. Gamecube emulation is also very unstable/inaccurate. Technically, and in most cases, they would be banned from leaderboards like this, and the only way they will remain is if they are in their own category. Not to mention, if the game emulates slower (even if it is more accurate to the original game) with newer versions, most (not all) people will submit runs on more obsolete emulators to save time.

Short answer: It has to remain in it's own category.

misterLO472 likes this
thread: Sonic R
Georgia, USAPrismaticBlack7 years ago

For anyone interested in doing an RTA run with this format, this will likely be one of the "SRL specific categories" for this game. That, or you could keep it confined to a personal YT channel or Twitch page. If you are interested in ILs, check out http://www.soniccenter.org/ as it is a site specifically designed for IL time posts and leaderboards.

The problem with this ultimately comes down to the universal rules across this board (and many others) where you must start a run with a new file. If there was a way to start a "New Game +" file in this particular game, I would consider making a category for Any% NG+ or 100% NG+. The fact is that the game must be completed 100% in order to unlock Super Sonic, and I feel that any run category that does not start with a new file doesn't belong on this particular board, as these are the current "official" RTA boards for Sonic R.

If you are interested in this enough, you are more than welcome to make a misc category post on the forum and compile all those runs in a Google Document, or spreadsheet. My opinion on the matter remains that it will not be considered an official category, and at most, it may be a considered a miscellaneous category. I speak on behalf of just myself. Other moderators will probably post on here as well, so I won't count their opinions out.

thread: Sonic R
Georgia, USAPrismaticBlack8 years ago

Yes. Exciting news for a lot of people. You no longer have to calculate IGT for your runs, but you are certainly welcome to if you wish.

This switch back to RTA timing is accompanied by a new leaderboard layout, in which you must submit under the console that your run was played with. Be sure to submit to the correct console, or else your run will be rejected and will need to be resubmitted. Also, Emulator gets its own category, so keep that in mind when submitting.

Sorry for all the confusion over the past few months, but these changes will likely be here to stay.

misterLO472 likes this
thread: Sonic R
Georgia, USAPrismaticBlack8 years ago

Thanks. Are you okay with continuing to accept Emulator? It is still slightly faster, but none of the times are really super competitive at this point. Just want to bring it up in case it were to become an issue somewhere down the line.

thread: Sonic R
Georgia, USAPrismaticBlack8 years ago

Yeah. I agree with this. A lot of Emu runs were beating console runs for load time differences as well. Not by as much as PC was, but it was definitely something that would warrant and emulator ban. Banning emulator would remove a lot of times, but we could at the very least document them in a Google doc just for safety. SS emulator may as well go along with those since I'm pretty sure no runs have used an SS emulator, and I've honestly never seen or used one myself.

Definitely not dead set on banning PC on the topic of load times alone. Although, seeing how commonly the inconsistencies are brought up by pretty much everyone, that is a point that could be argued if a ban were made. I think there could probably be more things that would justify a ban, so if anyone wants to bring all of them up we can discuss that. I know Daily has looked into PC a good bit, so maybe he can list all that stuff out.

It's really just preference, but I personally would like to have all consoles on one board, and for this reason: GC version is the most common, cheapest, and fastest of the versions. PS2 version is EU and JP only, making it less common, and as far as I know it loads a decent bit slower than GC. SS is the slowest version, and also a lot less common. I think the last SS run was from over 2 years ago. GC is already the go-to version for console runners. PC and emu are pretty much the only other easily accessible versions of the game that people would see viable to run. Removing those would make GCN version the sole priority for speed on the console board, which is great because of it's availability.

Separating the consoles is not a huge deal for me though. If that is what the overwhelming majority agrees to be most favorable, then I have no qualms with it. I just figured since it would basically put GCN with a massive amount of times and SS and PS2 with only one or two by giving those two consoles their own leaderboard, it may not hurt to just group the consoles together. I do see the organizational value in splitting all of the consoles though, since PC will have its own board.

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