Placing this into a separate thread to keep the topic name relevant. Now that the PC Version has come out, I'll say how I think it should be handled leaderboard-wise. This discussion will obviously go over the new content and endings that have been added into the PC Version, so I'd recommend going and playing through it first before reading further.

SPOILERS BELOW

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There are 4 endings to the game now, which are:

1. The bad ending, where you leave through the green portal in 'Wheel of Eight' after obtaining 10 crowns.
2. The Secret Ending, where you leave through the red portal in 'Escape'.
3. The challenge level ending, where you finish Challenge Level 8. This follows on from the 'Escape' level, as with the secret ending, which can only be reached after obtaining 32 crowns.
4. The true ending, which you get by going through the blue portal in 'Afterparty'. The portal to 'Afterparty' unlocks after obtaining 290 bytes, and the portal to the ending unlocks after obtaining all 100 crowns and 300 bytes.

The following things are noteworthy from this:

• The bad ending and true ending pretty much replace the any% and 100% categories respectively
• The true ending doesn't entirely encompass 100%, since you wouldn't need to get all portals for the true ending to become accessible.
• The secret ending is effectively a shorter version of the Challenge Level ending. I'm not sure I would run it if it was a category.

I think the best way we can handle this is by setting categories as platforms, and then subcategories for the endings. So now you have two categories, 3DS and PC, with the 3DS having any% and 100% subcategories while the PC category has subcategories for whichever endings get leaderboards. I'm not sure how you'd handle this for IL's, but the PC version does have a time attack mode which would support it so I think it's worth keeping them around.

Read my thoughts almost entirely!

I agree that the secret ending feels redundant as a category. It's basically just the first 60% of the Challenge Level Ending route with no changes (which I've been calling the Doughnut ending, but Challenge Level Ending is more explanatory), so yeah.

Also, I've started compiling some resources to make running the game easier. The biggest one is a level flowchart of the game to make routing easier (still a WIP, but usable at this point), and otherwise I've found a small bit of movement tech I wanted to share. Plan was to make a new forum for tips/tricks that people could add onto with their own discoveries- would y'all be okay with that format, or do you have any other ideas for how we could organize that?

The only other comment I have is that I still think the PC game is essentially totally different from the 3DS one- to me, it basically feels like big reimagining of the game, if not just an entirely new Harold experience. It would feel marginally weird to put the games' speedruns together, but it's not a big deal at all, especially if it's only me who feels that way. Besides, putting them together could potentially ignite more competition on the 3DS boards, which would be nice!

I'll start doing some runs soon, and then submit 'em whenever we get more infrastructure on here. :)

Bro lol how did we have the same thought with the flowchart. Here's mine for what it's worth. Figuring out how to make the gas station-bridges stretch not look like a mess was troubling.

I agree with making a thread for compiling every trick or shortcut we find. And I do actually agree with you that the PC version is different enough to warrant it being its own game on here entirely. Seeing as we already have this leaderboard website mods would probably give further advice if they think that's unecessary. You can list games as "related" on here, so we can just have the 3DS and PC versions point to eachother through that instead of having to keep them attached.

Oh my gosh that's hilarious. I actually had already drafted a message similar to your initial one (partially hence the "read my thoughts"), only to find that I'd been beat :P

Here's my flowchart! Internet be slow right now, and I'm not sure that speedrun.com will let me upload a photo, so here's a drive link to be safe: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1zt_gA-eR_0GiA9oQ5C4Yir3tnkdKMl4l/view?usp=sharing

Still a WIP like I said; I'll fact check my work with yours, and complete it for the sake of completeness.

If you're good with it, I'll try to submit a run for a new speedrun board soon. If we end up not needing it, we can just delete it. And I like your idea of linking games, that seems like a good compromise between the two approaches!

Oh wow yours is so much better. I was just looking to list crown numbers/firewalls but that actually shows what's in each level and isn't awful on the eyes. And yeah I'll let you get on with submitting for a new board, would assume you're the one who did it for this one too so it makes sense.

Thanks! I actually think yours is a little cleaner to read; I'll eventually try to edit my flowchart to make it cleaner and combine our approaches, but yeah.

And no, I didn't make it! I only publicly joined the community late. Sounds like a plan though!

I have submitted a support ticket to create the new speedrun board. Again, we do not have to use it if we do not want to, but I think it's good to get the submission process started sooner rather than later.

Here is what I described the game and proposed rules as, just to keep you all on the same page:

This is a PC re-release of the 3DS game of the same name; however, it has so much additional content and so many changes that the Harold community has decided to request a separate board for the PC version. An identifier that differentiates it is (PC, 2024) .

Some PC changes include:

-3x as many stages as the original game

-New physics, as well as removing the old moon jump glitch that was used in speedruns

-A brand new ending to go for, which we intend to make a category

-Much more!

We will start with 3 categories, all based on different endings of the game. The first one will be the Bad Ending; this is the quickest to get and will basically work as an Any% category.

The second one will be the Challenge Ending; this requires playing through a lot of PC exclusive content, and would act as an in-between for Any% and 100%.

The final one will be the True Ending; this requires getting every collectable in the game, and functions as a 100% category.

For all categories, time will begin when the first level starts loading, and will end when you desired ending starts loading. We are planning to use loading specifically as it is easy to visually identify.

I suggested the loading rule as I thought it'd make it easier to time/retime runs. If you disagree with that, though, feel free to let me know and we can change it!

Yeah it's the same way I do the timing for Automaton Lung, going off the first frame the game reacts to you starting a save or killing the final boss. There are tools which will automatically frame count youtube videos for you so it won't be hard to do at all either.

Oh neat! I didn't realise that's how you timed Lung- given how many times we've had the same idea, there's a non-zero chance we may just be the same person at this point lol

I should try to speedrun Lung at some point; I'd be no good at it (at least at first) but it seems fun. :] (Your runs are super impressive btw!)

Oh neat! I didn't realise that's how you timed Lung- given how many times we've had the same idea, there's a non-zero chance we may just be the same person at this point lol

I should try to speedrun Lung at some point; I'd be no good at it (at least at first) but it seems fun. :] (Your runs are super impressive btw!)

Great minds think alike, birds of a feather blah blah blah

I think if you are interested in speedrunning Lung, going for 100% is definitely the way. Running any% in it is just kind of balls now, since if you want wr it's at the point where you'd reset over things like taking a corner slightly too wide. 100% is nowhere near as long as I thought it would be prior to running it (good runs should be around the low 50s), and you get a lot more leniency with making minor screwups. It also helps that the only run I have of it up right now is super beatable. I reckon there'll be about 2 weeks until HW PC gets approved so it could give you something to do in the meantime.

My request for a new board was reviewed, and denied because I just put the title as Harold's Walk instead of something unique. I'll resubmit later with a changed title, but before I do, do you have any preference what I call it? Currently thinking just Harold's Walk (PC)

Harold's Walk (PC) is fine

Board is up now! I've gotta set it up a bit more before it's fully done, but it should be functional right now: https://www.speedrun.com/Harolds_Walk_PC?h=challenge-doughnut-ending&x=xd1p1q8d

Please let me know if there are any issues with it!

The character designs are quirky and endearing, and the environments are rich with detail and variety. From lush forests to eerie caves, each level feels distinct and lovingly crafted. The soundtrack complements the visuals perfectly, with catchy tunes that evoke a sense of adventure and whimsy geometry dash breeze.

Edit: I posted this response before the comment above me had a hyperlink. I now suspect that the person above me is a bot account that thought it would be lovely to post an advert in the Harold's Walk forum. (I have no proof of that, it just reads like a bot comment lol).

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Indeed, well stated! :)