I put speedrun in quotes because I'm not that fast with it. Anyway, I got 10:22.99 with my cheesy timer (unrecorded). I'll probably do a few streams just so it's recorded. My goal for now is just sub 10 minutes. Having watched a few runs that are actually fast, I think I have a good handle on what to do. I don't have the motivation nor the time to be a serious speed runner.

I actually think this game makes for a pretty interesting speed run. It has built-in suspense with running around and all the near-misses from tacklers, getting that onside kick back, etc.

If a turnover in downs lead to a safety, I wonder if that would save time. It might be a tall order, though.

Yes -- I've found that safeties have the shortest animation time (the fewest frames), so while it could be faster I'd consider it even less reliable than going for an onside kick. A worthwhile option for SingleGame%, but it would require you to kick it deep and get a sack on the first (or maaaybe 2nd) play in order to save any time in an optimal run. Whereas with the onside, you can just reset as soon as you fail to recover.

Totally agree on TSB's viability as a speedgame, it's pretty intense. Would love to see some more runners join the ranks, for sure.

In any event, glad to see you're taking on the challenge! Hope to see you post some times ;)

Ok, here's a link:

I'm not exactly sure what the process is to submit a speedrun, so hopefully this'll do. I was using GeForce Experience to record and then I used Lightworks free version to crop and trim and whatever. I have 9:52 on the timer. If anything is amiss, feel free to bring down the ax, it's basically a learning experience at this point. Thanks. I'm pretty sure I can do better than this time without a great deal of time/effort. Just setting a benchmark at this point.

You know, it would probably help if I read the rules before setting up my timer. I was four seconds and change into the timer when I selected the second team, so it should be 9:48.

Ahh, there is a big button that says "submit a run". How about I go that route :D

Ok, sub 9 on the board. I know there is a lot of time to save, but my thumbs and/or my controller are having a hard time. I tried a game that takes a lot of precision, Adventures of Lolo, and I found that my 8bitdo usb controller is pretty sloppy, or I just don't know how to use a d-pad, not sure which. I think it's a combination of both. Any recommendations on hardware? I'm thinking an actual NES and actual original controllers might be good, although that takes a bit of an investment. I have the cartridge, though.

Just saw your new PB, congrats!!

Sorry I haven’t been too active, but I’ll try to answer things in order:

-While I think it’s allowed to submit someone else’s run, I think the mods generally prefer you to submit your own when possible. I also didn’t know what the rules were for YouTube vs a livestream (Twitch), but it looks like that wasn’t an issue. Generally, the mods are kind enough to re-time the VOD if there’s an inaccuracy (I know Toad22484 did for me, which I was quite grateful for). Glad to see you got verified 🙂

-I suspect actual NES is probably considerably advantageous. I also use an 8bitdo (NES30 Pro) but there is most certainly some input delay compared to real controller/console. I have the opposite problem: my old NES works just fine but I lost my TSB cartridge some years back (still have Tecmo Bowl classic though)😂.

-If I might ask, what emulator (/version) did you use for your run?

Yeah, it was nice when I discovered that "submit run" button :D

Thanks, and you may indeed ask. I used Mesen. As per the link in the rules, it is considered one of the preferred emulators, hopefully that is still the case.

I actually DQ'd my own previous run of 8:46 since I was using a save state to jump back to the front of the game and subsequently learned that's not allowed. Now I always just use the reset and no save states while streaming/recording. They're indispensable for practicing so I figure that's fine.

For frame counting, I'm using this method: https://mattbraddock.com/yt-frame-timer/

Hopefully that's sufficiently accurate. I'll download a stream and upload it to youtube without modification (when Twitch's highlight functionality works, anyway) and that seems close enough. I haven't been in a fraction of a second situation yet. I'd love to know if there is a better way to do it, though.

I suppose I should append my comment about save states. They are very helpful with many other games. With this game, not really. Every run is practice for the next run so I stopped using them altogether.

You asked about the version, it's Mesen 0.9.9.