blade done quick 1.0

[cieply]

I started to run game in so to speak standard mode - pretty much can be done by everyone, is totally glitchless and doesn't even use any tricks like what had been called by some (equivalent of) "advanced running" (in Quake), which I consider a glitching which is a reason to avoid them.

I managed to record first few maps and am doing next which gives me little headache.
whole run is here

My times so far are:
00. start
01. city of Marakamda: 04:42.366
02. fortress of Tell Halaf: 02:59.766
03. mines of Kelbegen: 09:25.033
04. tombs of Ephyra: 07:08.666
05. island of Karum: 04:59.866
06. Shalatuwar fortress: 04:17.333
07. gorge of Orlok: 02:26.200
08. fortress of Nemrut: 06:52.033
09. oasis of Nejeb 06:10.033
10. temple of Al Farum 10:44.366
11. forge of Xshathra 04:17.433
12. temple of Ianna 07:23.666
13. tower of Dal Gurak 10:48.200
14. the Abyss 11:48.200/13:47.400

[ed] All in all I hope to get below 1 hour 45 minutes - it looks doable.

Finally, all done in 1h35m31s, much, much better than expected and I'm really pleased with the result
watch, share and enjoy.

[cieply]

City of Marakamda.

I have 3 routes:
1. one is 'standard', and is as it is 4:42.366
2. Hitchcock style, when I use some trick I discovered by accident and then run with 1 (rarely manage to have 2 ) life through the map - most funny IMO (~ 3:30)
3. most effective - around 2:30, not as spectacular as previous one but fastest.

the 2:30 version will be included in boddq-2.0 (might be not totally glitchless but certainly without physics glitches ) L)

ps.
I would really like to see that 2:12, how did you, Fynjy do that?

[cieply]

1'st, you don't have to apologise. I recorded 4 maps already, was working on 5'th and decided to record again from second...
That was... good few months ago. Now I have some personal issues and it happened to me to live in eurabia so I don't have time really.
My route is different but utilises same principle of jumping on that wall on top of pyramid.

There is one thing you have to take into consideration - because it's meant to be part of bigger picture it's around 2:30 now because you have to, according to rules (>>timing<<), include everything in time, from start to end.
You also have to kill the orc with bow on the way back on pyramid @ 0:00:59 on your film. It's absolutely necessary for third map because you must have full life before you go into lava before rune in Mines of Kelbegen and there is no place later to get such potion (unless I'm wrong here but you must obtain it somehow before third map).

There are good news as well - it can be improved:
- you can skip demonio's cutscene completely from the beginning, you don't have to wait till she will go on stairs
- you can improve your route by going straight for the bow after jumping down from roof (new route from the roof , // for some reason attachment doesn't work)

I will try to use your route and check which is faster - it seems that yours has bigger potential but I didn't manage to jump on that first wall yet :¬)

[cieply]

Beautifully done, your skills with all these wall/slope jumping/walking are great.

I just tested it and went along your route, saved before demonio and then fun started. It's pretty impossible to kill him with zatoichi (and I checked Miles' video for inspiration). I didn't manage to do it once and huge part of the problem is not only that zatoichi has very short "throwing range" but also amount of life you have for the fight - running there requires to face demonio with less than 17 life which makes you get fried or chopped at once (Miles got hit twice and was very lucky with them, these hits are not usually this gentle).
For the time being the bow route is the way and zatoichi is only an option, at least for me. It's very tempting to save one minute but also looks like mission impossible.

[cieply]

Glitchless, single segment speedrun of first (Amazon) map in 03:19.

As this is obsolete already because new, more efficient route had been discovered I issue this one as the most dramatic of all when running whole run with 1 life ;-}

It's meant to be part of whole run - that's why those liches are killed and 500-life potion taken.

Idea of climbing on the beam overhead struck me by accident when I actually climbed on it walking on the top of pyramid and didn't immediately fall. Then many improvements had been done to it but the biggest trouble of all was the fall in well. It's real headache - it can take between 37 to 43 damage and after roof window fall you end up with 38-41 life. Believe or not it is the most annoying moment because 80% of the time you end up dead on the bottom of the well. Then you restart and try again... That's why despite obvious flaws I taken this one because it has the best time of all - maybe better looking, smoother but less efficient and after hundreds of tries I fed up and have to decide which one of those few decent runs to choose. My choice had also other reason - to show game quirks like at 0:00:23 (when I fall on wall's edge in mid air) , at 0:00:39 (jump on the wall), 0:01:54 (when I stumble on crypt even if avoided from distance), at 0:03:00 (when I avoid game crash - it's well known bug where the game crashes if you passes temple door forward, just going backwards through the door prevents that and lets you play normally)

[cieply]

In speedrun like this it's very important (especially on first few character levels and maps) to know your enemies and their stats so you don't have to guess or experiment with them and assume how much experience you can get for killing certain monster, what are his weaknesses (resistances) and how much life they have so you can optimise attacks.
I committed small html table which includes all enemies and their stats - it's generated from Stats/CharData.py , it's very clear and if you want to see icons (that are missing in html file due to its nature) put the unzipped html file (from attachment) in $Blade_of_Darkness/Stats directory.

[cieply]

I just saw that in the comments to my video with Zatoichi route, a guy suggested this neat trick: you don't actually have to throw the Zatoichi. You can still use it as a weapon (yes, at level 1!). Do an attack and then immediately press jump. The amazon will perform a quick stab forward.

I tried it a few times and managed to stab him successfully once before a decapitation. But it's much faster (and easier!) than executing a throw.

I knew about attack cancelling feature / glitch (call it as you want), but I had no idea that you can perform energy-limited attacks this way. Pretty neat (does this constitute a glitch for you?)

Whether it is glitch or not it depends on the nature of the attack but in my opinion it is glitch like with attack cancelling, like you call it (I mean one performed with jump). Fact that it's bug results from the fact that it doesn't cost energy. There is something which I would call attack aborting executed with block which stops attack in the middle but the difference is that when you block and abort you still "pay price" of energy required to do the attack - this is, I guess, intended by designers (at least I would do). For the same reason stabbing is in my opinion bug because you don't pay the price and still do the stab (note that game says "You need more energy for this attack").

At least that's my view on the subject.
[ed] Maybe someone who knows the programming side of subject (like Prospero, Sir Random and few other not mentioned in this forum) could arbitrate. I'm not that proficient in programming and am not professional but when I hear "then immediately press jump" I immediately see attack cancelling glitch which in my eyes disqualifies that. That's why it would be preferable and desirable to get opinion from pros.

[cieply]

I uploaded first two maps (done 5 already) and will be uploading them systematically as I run them

updated links are in first post of the subject - so enjoy and happy new year

[cieply]

Thanks for great concept. I didn't know about that and I thought I checked every possible corner of every map ;P
As I said in description to the run there are not only no glitches and bug abuse but also no large skips. You may consider it as a flaw but I wanted to show that going practically designed route you can do it quickly. And apart from that I'm in temple of Ianna now and Al-Farum and Xshathra took me so much time that I'm not going back.

Apparently I'm an idiot and I don't remember the maps very well.

maybe yes, maybe not - you see in Miles' run he does that and survives the fall (maybe that alluded you that you can do it and then - crash with hard reality) - how did he do that - simply, a knight can, amazon can't.
There is exactly 13.750 m height and despite the fact that instant death height is supposed to be 14.000 m for amazon everything over 13.500 m is fatal.

[cieply]

I will include it in version 2 of run, promise, and there will be tricks no one knows, I vow that as well.
it just needs more time than first as there are tricks that are way more difficult.

if we talk about that already - how exactly you do this walk on the steep wall in Mines of Kelbegen (after first jump over a pit)? I thought about including this but have no idea how to pull it off, it works like once in 50 times and only with console in normal fullscreen it's mission impossible.

[cieply]

I almost did it... almost
maybe it's doable after all

[cieply]

I finally finished the run. Took me some time...

As said it's glitchless and therefore the question: I have two 'candidate' runs of last map and the better one can be questionable at some point when I kill Meskalamdug (great demon) which is absolutely passive - he does nothing; the fight takes ~10s when normally it's ~15-16.

The question to you guys is: is it following glitchless category or not?
Please check linked (https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B5v15n ... sp=sharing , ) video and assess yourself. I'll appreciate decision, it's important as it's time to release this run as it lays on my drive for too long already.

PS.2. in case this cloud was kind of slow I put it in youtube as nonpublic (https://youtu.be/IrPVClwSS1Q)

[Bud Bud]

Today was the first day playing BoD on Win10. I tried to repeat the glitch in Marakamda. I jumped directly to the graveyard, grabbed the bow, pulled the lever but the stone door won't open. Could someone check it out if you're getting through the door? ty.

just realized: if you're going first for the key and then to the sarcophagus you can jump through the three metal rods who are blocking the stairs.

[cieply]

I tried to repeat the glitch in Marakamda

What (glitch) exactly do you mean? As far as I'm concerned you don't have any useful glitches - it can be beaten without using glitches within ~3:20 or even ~2:30 depending route you choose (there are few). Record it and show then I can tell you what you want to know; at the moment you gave too little information.

[Bud Bud]

I tried to repeat the glitch in Marakamda

What (glitch) exactly do you mean? As far as I'm concerned you don't have any useful glitches - it can be beaten without using glitches within ~3:20 or even ~2:30 depending route you choose (there are few). Record it and show then I can tell you what you want to know; at the moment you gave too little information.

IIRC Fynjy posted a clip where he jumped from a balustrade to the graveyard and then through the door with the sarcophagus to the endboss. Unfortunately his acc seems to be deleted, he also made the clip private in his youtube acc: https://www.youtube.com/user/cjfynjy/videos
Direct link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wuXibOya1GE

I made a vid on my own: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H4mLs0H6uTs

Maybe I'm wrong and forgot something or did he go through the gate up to an other pyramide an jumped from there to the room with the boss key?

Then this clip would be an alternative route: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cwp0G6Ljnuc

Do you remember Fynjy's route with the glitch?