First of all, if you're new here I'd like to introduce myself.
I am BrofessorScales, as of writing this forum post I am a new Sound Shapes Speedrunner and Current mod of /Sound_Shapes. I Have been speedrunning on my free time for the past 2 years. I also run Leo's Fortune and Outlast.
So if you are new you might be having trouble keeping up with Ellie's times (Mine are far too easy TBH) here are 10 tips
1.) Menus - Each menu takes up time in Album & All album runs. to make your run quicker you will have to know the menus. A set order of your levels are required to make your level faster. In all albums run it is recommended to do all albums in forward order (Starting from Hello, World) or Reverse order (Cities). After each level the results screen can take a while. so after all the levels hold “X” to speed up the counting for your notes on the results screen.
2.) Do IL Runs - Just like any game, IL runs make you faster as a speedrunner. in sound shapes however they are almost imperative. each level has different physics exploits that you have to take advantage of. each level has different cycles to keep an eye for and knowing all of them will make you better and faster as a result.
3.) Rounded platforms - Rounded platforms are the center-piece of most of the physics exploits. Since Sound Shapes is physics based to an extent your momentum carries a huge role in your speed. to increase your momentum always try jumping on the outer edge of a rounded platform. even though sometimes difficult, the technique makes for faster runs. Another technique that makes itself useful on many occasions is flinging. flinging is the acts of jumping from the bottom of the rounded platform up to the top. It could be used while climbing or speeding up jumps that would otherwise require a lift or climb of it’s own.
4.) Bouncy Platforms - These platforms are hard to predict but when you can predict them, they make great boosters. These towers could include bouncy enemies from “Hello, world” or Antenna towers from “Cities”. some of these bouncy platforms can bounce you sideways. when this happens you get a massive boost of speed. Even though some platforms (Like the Chimneys from Spiral Staircase) Can’t launch you sideways, they still provide a faster alternative to climbing a sticky surface. Great levels to try this on are “Cities”,”Invaderoids”,”Galaxanoids” and “Touch the People”.
5.) Vehicles - Even though rare, vehicles for the most part can be slow. The slow your descent, make some sections slower, and even makes you more likely to die. In some sections leaving your vehicle is the better option. In the any % run of DLC level “Hard Drive” you leave your vehicle 7 or 8 times. Leaving your vehicle can speed you up with momentum, Make descending parts like in “Spiral staircase” Faster, and can add a level of control that would better your time. but when you’re not dismounting your vehicle you still need to know how to go fast in all of them. For example. the “UFO” can go fast when you boost at an angle. the cloud from spiral staircase goes faster when you don’t hit anything, and the two DLC Vehicles are faster when you hold Square.
6.) Rhythm - This game is heavily rhythm based. it helps to feel the rhythm and use it for your timing cues. The audio cues are really important for good times and general timing of jumps, climbs and other general movement. Tapping your foot or bobbing your head might help with this if you have trouble feeling the rhythm.
7.) Cycles - Some levels like “Hills n’ Spills” Are heavily cycle based. cycles are a set motion that occurs repeatedly with specific timing windows. and getting the correct cycles are crucial for IL runs. You could miss important timing cues and certain corner jumps just by having the wrong cycle.
8.) Staying alive - this might seem obvious but dying wastes time. so practice the levels and learn how not to die during difficult parts. This is especially useful for albums like beyonder and D-Cade.
9.) Communication - Talking to other runners is an amazing thing to do because you can share strats, give tips and make friends whist beating their records. This could make Sound Shapes a really competitive game to speedrun in the future.
10.) Get used to resetting - With the cycle heavy nature and the easiness to mess up. Resetting in IL and Album runs are a given. some runs will take more that 100 Resets. (Ellie’s run of hills n’ spills took about 200 resets, my any% run of spiral staircase took about 300). Some levels are more cycle dependent than other. some have more red deaths clips. and some are so long that losing time is the easiest thing about that level. No matter the reason Resetting is the best way to temporarily rid yourself of all complications of the current run and try again.
GLOSSARY IL - Individual Level Any% - A type of speedrun that has the least restrictions. any strats are usable. strats - Strategies. Often used in context of a certain part of a speedrun. D-Cade - Pure Pain
Another seemingly obvious tip that both I and Mr. Scales, Ph.Bro still occasionally forget is to make sure you're signed in before attempting full album runs so you won't get prompts between levels.
Also, I feel it apt to provide a justification for not allowing resets within full album runs, which also is a small tip for shaving them precious milliseconds for IL runs: Resetting on the first screen of some levels doesn't reset the platform cycles. This can be used to manipulate the position of platforms and enemies to favor you. For example, on the starting screen of Rowdy Cloudy, you can let a couple platforms spawn so there's no waiting around for the first moving platform to spawn. These time saves are also far too minute to be useful for full album runs, since they are timed in RL (Real Life, i.e. the actual time that passes) and not in-game time.
