This thread is mostly just to make official the fact that an IL section of this game has been created. Have fun illing !

Of course, this remains open so you can ask questions about it, report issues or suggest ideas, changes.

Had to make a couple technical changes and updates. Namely, extra 3 doesn't have any gems in it, so it can be considered like a normal stage. I created two sub-categories for extra 1, each with their own timing methods. Rules have also been updated to accomodate for this.

I've also realized that every boss and extra 3 have the 100% tab available. I do not know of a way to limit this, as it probably is a limitation of the website as a whole.

Small (small ?) change post.

I’ve just done a small revamp of the way the ILs of extra 1 and 3 were handled. Originally, they had two categories depending on if you wanted to play RTA or IGT. But looking at the system back, I felt that it was extremely unneeded, as both categories basically amount to the same, and nobody is gonna play RTA just for that.

Instead, I made it so you can submit both the RTA (first) and IGT. The latter is a variable, and you write the time you got.

Because runs can and will become obsolete, if you want to see the fastest IGT time, go to the filters and see the shortest IGT time. Yea, it’s a bit stupid as well… but at least we cover both timing styles handily.

Oh, and don’t forget that pausing during gameplay (unless exceptions) will prohibit verification of your IGT time.

If that happens to you, select the “pause” variable. This is so that even if your run stops being eligible for IGT because of a pause, it can still be submitted for RTA.

It took me a while to retime the extra 1 runs, because they were under some weird inconsistent framerate of 46-47 frames per second.

The best way to record your run footage is if you strictly record at 60 fps (the native framerate). If you don’t, it can make the final time trickier to time, and might make your runs not exactly comparable to runs with different framerate (when you look at the millisecond count, the frame increments might not coincide).

It’s not so much of a deal that we should enforce 60 fps on runs. But it does mean that you probably don’t want to care too deeply about making one-frame improvements.

We should be doing the same pretty soon with the opening of DCT's extra ILs.

Hey. Umm... this is awkward.

In the ILs of this game, we happened to include the autoscroller stages (X-6, of which there are five)... but these are in reality very bare-bones for speedrunning.

We need to distinguish between two autoscroller stage types : right or upwards scrolling.

This first kind of stage (1-6, 3-6, 4-6) is subject to a massive issue : it’s possible to match the TAS time, even when collecting everything. And perhaps… too “’possible”.

The fastest way to clear these levels is to enter the room transitions / cannon at the earliest point possible… which is made easy by the slow autoscrolling you can catch up with.

And although having ILs that have confirmed “ceiling” times isn’t necessarily a problem, what’s the point of adding an IL for a stage that’s not only “solved”, but also not difficult to match in the slightest ?

I like to take the example of the Glass Joe fight IL from Mike Tyson’s Punch Out. It’s a fight whose “ceiling” time was immediately found upon release. And recently, the moderators straight up removed the IL because matching the fastest time was incredibly easy literally anyone could do it, and way too many people submitted runs for it.

I know we’re not gonna get this kind of activity anytime soon. But still, let’s avoid the hassle altogether.

The second kind of stage (2-6, 5-6) are significantly harder to optimize.

While holding the right screen is very easy, catching up to vertical scrolling in an optimal fashion is a different story. You can’t catch up to it like you could when the screen was going right.

Rather, stepping on the path that leads to the loading-zone/cannon right as the screen allows you to is the goal. But not only would this require frame-perfect movement, as it turns out, these stages happen to be built in a way where you practically can’t reach them optimally to begin with.

As an exhibit, just look at the movement you need to do at the end of 5-6 for 100% : here

As you can see, despite the crazy movement, we're still very far from reaching the cannon early.

In this autoscroller type, these levels would be worthy of being ran. As even if the TAS time could get matched, it would be incredibly difficult. Matching these would be an actual mark of pride, as opposed to the right autoscrollers, which are a peace of cake in comparison.

So, I propose that we remove 1-6, 3-6 and 4-6; and keep 2-6 and 5-6.

As it turns out, there already is one run submitted for 1-6, by @Doomtune. He said he was fine with the run being removed if this decision gets through. So, yea.

In the end, we don't have to delete the levels. So I kept them, and instead simply changed their name to reflect the fact that submissions aren’t allowed for them (+ small rules update). At least it keeps the IL board clear, and old runs aren't being deleted.

Case closed.