Thank you for taking the time out to do this. This video is a good example :)

On the 20th Anniversary Edition of this game you have 3 different difficulties to choose from. Easy, Normal and Hard. I've seen some great runs on the leaderboards and wondered why some didn't have better times. Then it occurred to me today when testing every difficulty. Easy and Normal mode run slower than Hard. A good example is when Lester is swinging the cage after he is captured to break loose. After timing all 3 difficulties. Easy = 44 seconds, Normal = 42 Seconds, Hard = 38. I started the timer at the beginning of the cutscene with Lester and Buddy in the cage and stopped it after Buddy points and talks. This was timed on PS4 so with PC differences it may be slightly faster but will have a similar gap between difficulty time. For Any% runners the only thing I noticed that was tough on hard was the wall glitch at the beginning when Lester doesn't have his gun due to the Aliens laser gun fire being way more accurate but just by the difference in speed alone you can easily get that time back doing the standard strat. You can still perform the strat either way on hard but it may take some time or a new strat to confuse the Enemy AI a bit to buy you enough time to glitch through the wall without getting shot. Also for me personally the Slugs at the beginning are much easier to dodge on hard. So try it out for yourselves guys and enjoy the golds you'll be getting in future runs. :)

If it seems everything is a bit all over the place, you've gotta remember that the game itself is all over the place when it comes to different ports, versions, speed etc lol. Putting them together would maybe seem logical but the PC 20th and Console 20th are different when it comes to load times and speed. I put XBOX with PS4 because they are exactly the same.

Also I'm letting you guys know now that if you plan on playing the 20th anniversary edition play it on hard because not only does it run faster than Easy and Normal but the jumping slug strat dodge is way more consistent on Hard. A good example is when Lester is swinging the cage after he is captured to break loose. After timing all 3 difficulties. Easy = 44 seconds, Normal = 42 Seconds, Hard = 38. Only thing I noticed that was tough on hard was the wall glitch at the beginning when Lester doesn't have his gun due to the Aliens laser gun fire being way more accurate but just by the difference in speed alone you can easily get that time back doing the standard strat. You can still perform the strat either way on hard but it may take some time or a new strat to confuse the Alien AI a bit to buy you enough time to glitch through the wall without getting shot. I'll post this in a new thread as well.

Edit - I'll go ahead and change PS4/Xbox One to Console - 20th anniversary. I'm almost certain all 20th console ports are the same in load times and speed and we don't have to create anything else for the 20th. Save that space for 3DO and SNES lol :b

When it comes to that category it seems 100% suits it best I guess? In terms of defining a 100% I feel every game has it's own unique way of doing it. I suppose once the timer starts you are viewing every cutscene possible, Knocking out all the breaker boxes, Shooting the green lamp. Even tho no objectives are listed in the game you are realistically completing every possible thing in the run by the time Lester gets beamed up to safety. I did go back and read some of the comments again on here and I'd like to say this was never about keeping a World Record or having the best time. This was about fairness and making sure the community is fully happy with the leaderboards or at least accepts it for what it is. To answer a good question that some seem to ask is "Would I ever consider this category if I could do all the skips?" and the answer is absolutely. I learned the skips a long time ago but I suppose it never appealed to me as much as a full completed run but it seems a lot of the community feels the same since there runs are very similar. That was a big reason why I felt some sort of category needed to be made for those runs because the popularity of running it that way. It almost doesn't seem right to put a run like that in a category where they are not even attempting at least one skip or even thinking about doing it. As for the Any% Category. I practiced yesterday and every skip is possible on PS4 so to say it's harder on console was wrong on my part. It's really personal preference really on what you are most comfortable running on port wise and strats may be slightly different as well due to speed or AI but it can all be done. As for my comment N.H.G about giving out tips. That wasn't directed towards Timmy. It was some random person on the forum that doesn't even run the game or maybe he does and doesn't have any of his runs listed? I know I'm not the best but there's no doubt I put a lot of hardwork and dedication into this game and I feel I have enough knowledge to give out tips on strats if people ask. That's pretty much it on my end. I just had to get some stuff off my chest and I hope it helps any runner or person on the forums have a better understanding on what I'm trying to do here.

Also to answer your question NHG. Yeah let's talk on Discord :) Not sure if you want me to add you as a friend or?

Regardless the discussion is important and this is the time that the game finally gets organised the way it should be not only for us but all runners. To come to agreement on what we think is best and what makes the most sense. I'm not upset or angry that any of this happened. I'm happy it did to be honest. We got some of the top runners involved and people that generally care deeply about this game.

Edit - I messed around wth the leaderboards a bit and to me it looks good and well organized and filled in. I think this may be the best way to go considering a lot of old runs did do the 100% run with the window cutscene.

Tbh going into the game I didn't quite understand 100% until I realised what it was all about - a full playthrough which involves Lester knocking out all the breaker boxes, knocking the big man out with the green lamp, and the window cutscene, which is a bit silly to some but it was an example of a full completion of 100% of the game because you are viewing every cutscene and completing every objective that was intended for it. Not only are you doing a full playthrough, which I personally think is 100%, but it's also not touching the talent and hardwork that was put into the Any% category. So to me it's separated in it's own unique way.

I think 100% may have been a better way to define the category now that I'm thinking about it, but of course I want your guys opinion on it as well?

Also I've always been on board with organisation. I sorted a lot of things out. Let me know what you think. I've added most of the common categories and if anyone submits anything that hasn't been listed I'll make sure to add it when I or someone else verifies that run. I added PS4 and XBOX ONE 20th together because I've ran both and there is no difference in time. Also Timmy if you don't mind resubmitting your "No Skips" Run again I'll approve it. I think it may have gotten lost in the mix : (

You know I respect you NHG and you were the completing piece to this forum to be honest. You seen what I'm capable of. You have to understand I am a bit stressed about this whole thing especially with GDQ coming up but I want everyone to just be happy with what's going on as a community and your say is important to me just like everyone else in this community is. I feel this game is starting to grow. Weekly I have new runners asking me about the game and at least 3 new submissions a month. I'd love for you to be apart of it like I said in the past and work with me to organise this the best as possible and hell even give me pointers if something doesn't feel right. Still this game for me should be played two different ways "No Skips" and "Skips" because it adds more variety for all runners of this game allowing it to grow not only for people that prefer it but also for beginners just starting out. I hope you understand and I also apologise if I was a bit nasty to anyone. I never look for easy or free WR's I bust my ass as a speedrunner in general to do the best I can. It just depends what triggers my interest the most on how the game is ran.

Yeah I'll organise stuff now but Timmy it seems your glitch is allowed from the community so you're good on that. As for the "No Skips" category. It seems to be the most ran and popular so that will stay. Anything involving that category if it is discussed anymore will be if the name "No Skips" suits the category name which I think it does. As for organising different sections for different ports that does seem like it makes sense because time differences. I wasn't sure if it may look a bit cluttered but it will help with organisation. I've been wanting to run the 3DO and Sega CD Version for fun so it works out. Thanks for the discussion :)

lol When I run the game at GDQ I'll do fine and I will run the game full playthrough as fast as possible. Not only does it seem more appealing to the audience but obviously the runners as well. I've done some of these skips before but this is the way I honestly like to play the game and it seems like others do too. The question I bring up when I showcase this game is will there be a donation like last time this game was ran at GDQ saying "Come on Brando, I want you to beat my world record" When I'm not even attempting the same run as you? Don't worry tho buddy you don't even have to donate for that I'll still shout your run out and give you the attention you deserve <3

The problem with Ectoplasmus is he has no knowledge of the game so he's trying to get involved because he has nothing better to do. Take a look at the categories and see how many people run the "No Skips" Category. Tbh ever since the page cleaned itself up. Not only are more people running it, The game itself is getting a lot more attention. Not to mention it also got into GDQ. So quit being a little man and focus more on your own speedruns. :,) If you need any tips on this game or you plan to start running it feel free to message me and I'll help ya out <3

I see some points as well but realistically "No Skips" does make sense because again it may not be a huge difference in time but most runners as you can see prefer not to do the skips and to be honest I run a lot of games. Learning these skips can take time and as for the "Water Skip" that would simply be ran in "Skips" RNG or not once you decide to do that run it's up to you if you want to go balls deep and just go for it until you get it lol. As for your glitch at the beginning. The only way I agree with that is if you hit that trigger for the next checkpoint and you force suicide. Not only are you staying in game but you would return rightfully to where you hit that trigger checkpoint and have your weapon on you manipulating the game to think you picked it up earlier. We talk about time difference but option differences plays a huge role as well. If I'm not mistaken if you do this glitch let's say on the 3DO, Genesis, SNES port is there anyway to quit out or continue? I'm pretty sure for it to make sense for any port is to force suicide because unlocking that checkpoint can work on any version unlike quitting out and continuing like you would on the 15th or reloading a checkpoint like the 20th.

Alright thank you for your opinions. Xander you do a have a point so I changed it to Any% adding a subcategory for Skips and No Skips which I do think is best. Timmy I hope you understand this change because as you can tell by the leaderboards most people do run No Skips. Not only is it easier for console runners but PC runners as well if they are just starting out. I'm not trying to contradict myself from what I said earlier about it being easier to perform these skips on PC. Still took time to learn the strats and it's never going to be fully consistent and if it is for some? Water skip will never be. NintendoHardGamer said himself it's solely based off of RNG. It's just whether or not you get the correct beam blast through the wall and you have enough time to get past it before it hits you. I hope everyone is happy with this change. Like I said, I want to represent the game the best I can at AGDQ and this seems like the best way to go about it.

I think for me everyone's opinion is important. I feel that's a good reason why this game got accepted into GDQ. So I want to represent it the best I can and also want this community to always have a say on what they think is best to where we can come to a agreement.

I see your point. Maybe 100% wasn't such a bad category name after all if you think about it. The only issue I really saw in that was the window cutscene. 100% does define it well because you are doing everything that is intended like blasting the breaker boxes, shooting the lamp like you would in a complete playthrough. I'm pretty sure some of these skips are damn near impossible if you ran for example the sega genesis version or SNES so it does overall suit it and it seems that this category should stay because that's how most runners do play the game realistically. Also being limited for some runners on console I think it suits well. I don't know it just seems right because again, you are doing every single objective that the games intended for you to do. It's up to the community really.

Any% No Skips would be a better name to classify it?

For me personally there needed to be a Glitchless category or no Major Glitches.. Skips whatever you want to call it because to perform these skips on console is very rough compared to PC. The input is much faster in the PC port. I know this because I've messed around with both. Taking up to 10 - 15 tries to get certain skips while PC they were much easier using a controller or keyboard. Didn't matter. I simply changed the 100% to Glitchless because it seemed to make more sense because window scene is pointless. As for the gun glitch. It seems it's alright for the peeps in the community even tho you literally quit out the game without the gun only to come back and have your gun even tho you never picked it up to begin with. My point being. I'm trying to make a attempt to clean this game up as best as possible. I think having this category is important because as you can see on the leaderboards. It's the most ran and easiest for runners especially if they are beginners. Maybe a category name change is in order? Not sure.

After hard work and dedication they finally accepted my run which I'm super excited about. I mainly want to talk about the 15th anniversary edition. Mine came in the mail today and it's a bit different than the 20th port. There's a speed boost option you can turn on and off so obviously that's a no no when it comes to this port when enabling it because Lester runs unbelievably fast. Also I've noticed TimmyAkmed's run he glitches through a wall after escaping with buddy. It seems fine until he exits to the games main menu and presses continue to hit the next check point. He does that because it seems he can only glitch through the wall by doing a crouch animation that requires him not to use his gun. So basically from what I've seen he doesn't pick up his gun, glitches through the wall quits to the games main menu and continues during the next checkpoint so he's able to have his gun on him that he never picked up to begin with. If Timmy wants to explain this from his point of view I'd like to hear his side. From what I see right now he's using a unlocked checkpoint that already starts with the gun he never picked up.

I get the whole 100% thing but is there really any point of looking out the window? I know we see all other cutscenes but technically we skip the whole laboratory scene because our timer starts as soon as the desk appears in the water and Lester is active for us to control. I've always felt there should be a Any% and a Any% Glitchless category instead. Meaning no zips, skips, glitches etc. I guess I look out that window and question it everytime lol.