Half-Life Speedrun Sets Amazing New Record

[thom_cat_]

I can't stand reading these threads, some people just really don't understand how speedrunning works or what kind of speedrun this is. It's a segmented scripted oOB any% run.
http://speedrunslive.com/faq/glossary/

It looks like a TAS run and should be labelled as so if it is, but heck, it's still a speed run if it is.

It's the fastest run of HL1 in its category. If you don't like it, watch a single-segment non-scripted in-bounds run. It's not hard.

Something is screwy with that speed run. There were several points where the player fell a ridiculous distance and took no fall damage. In fact, they should have died several times but didn't. I dunno how they did that.

There are many glitches that allow for falling from any height to not take damage, some are due to the angle of the surface you fall onto, others are to do with falling directly onto edges.
There's also a bug where you can crouch-jump right above a surface and you don't take fall damage.

Here's 3 hours of them explaining the run:
http://www.twitch.tv/dabigbooi/c/4067025

 

[Athinira]

I was with it up until they went outside the map. I don't care what glitches you use as long as the speedrun doesn't go outside the map.

When doing speedruns, participants (and judges, if present) cannot be allowed to end up in a situation where they enter an argument about what is 'intended' or 'unintended' by the game designers.

That's why the rule of speedruns is that if the game designers failed to design the maps properly or fix glitches, then that is completely legit way to complete the speedrun. That way, you will never have any arguments inside the speedrunning-community about what is and was isn't legit in a particular game. It keeps things objective, rather than aving people chimmering in with their opinions about what is and isn't allowed.

Is this one of those bullshit speedruns where the player just glitches the game?

*checks*

Ayup.

Hint: The entire idea behind a speedrun is to see how far you can push the boundaries of a game.

Although a speedrun like this is gonna end up in a seperate category because it uses scripting (keybinding), using map and game glitches is not bullshit and is, in fact, the entire idea.

 

[Areloch]

I would love for the people that are saying it's not legit because it uses glitches to tell me they've never, at any point in time, exploited some glitchy AI behavior, or enemies getting stuck behind level geometry, or any other mundane glitch.

By this logic, no one has ever completed any Bethesda game legitimately because I can guarantee you there was glitchy behavior in the AI or gameplay that you used to your advantage. Or did you guys wait patiently for the AI to un-stick themselves from the level geometry before mowing them down?

 

[Johnny Novgorod]

Is this one of those bullshit speedruns where the player just glitches the game?

*checks*

Ayup.

Hint: The entire idea behind a speedrun is to see how far you can push the boundaries of a game.

Although a speedrun like this is gonna end up in a seperate category because it uses scripting (keybinding), using map and game glitches is not bullshit and is, in fact, the entire idea.

It'd be more impressive if they didn't use cheats.

 

[Zefar]

Sigh, the times when games were 20-40 hours long and speedruns under one hour.

Now the game is 4 hours long and speedrun is 3:50 because most of the gameplay are cinematics and scripts forcing you to walk.

Half-Life is actually a pretty short game and so was most older FPS titles as well. It might only have taken long in the first place because you where a kid back then.


Anyway I love these types of Speedruns that glitch the hell out of the game to do the most impressive feats that Gordon can pull off.

But as long as they don't use cheats like God mode and infinitive ammo and such things it's fine. Scripts are fine for me.

 

[Adeptus Aspartem]

I'm usually all in the "Play the game straight"-camp. And i really enjoy glitchless speedruns.

But that vid was just brilliant. I understand that these runs are just there to bend the game over and let it beg for mercy. Holy naga tits i'm amazed.

 

[Trude]

... why would you count it if it includes different segments? The individual pieces do make up that whole, but whats the point if you can do the run five hundred times and take the best bits of every segment of the game? Might as well count noclips in speedruns and aimbots in marksman challeges if you're going to do that much.

Because it's still within the realm of possibility and human ability. That's what segmented runs revolve around: polishing something to a mirror shine. Compare it to writing and re-writing an essay. Your first draft likely looks like shit compared to the final product.
And why do people insist on a non-categorical system for everything? You're not going to compare this run to a non-segmented one because that's just dumb. You don't give the same gold medal for weight lifting and acrobatics because they both require strength and dexterity.

 

[AgedGrunt]

Multiple runners. Heavily segmented. Heavily "scripted" (inhuman optimization).

Eh, it's an amazing watch but as far as "records" go a humanly impossible speed-porn run spliced together for technical perfection. Awesome runners, but, need some huge asterisks on that time.

 

[UNHchabo]

Something is screwy with that speed run. There were several points where the player fell a ridiculous distance and took no fall damage. In fact, they should have died several times but didn't. I dunno how they did that.

There are many glitches that allow for falling from any height to not take damage, some are due to the angle of the surface you fall onto, others are to do with falling directly onto edges.
There's also a bug where you can crouch-jump right above a surface and you don't take fall damage.

Here's 3 hours of them explaining the run:
http://www.twitch.tv/dabigbooi/c/4067025

I haven't watched the explanation video, but in many cases they're just barely landing on ladders. Most notably the one at the six-minute-mark. The only damage he takes there is from the grenade.

 

[Skeleon]

@UNHchabo

Why do you allow glitches but disallow cheat codes and tricks like crooked cartridge?
Using glitches is simply trying to use whatever is within the rules of the game to your advantage. When you use a cheat device or outside alteration, then you're breaking the game's rules. As for cheat codes and debug codes, they differ from glitches in being intentionally programmed, so they are naturally outside the rules of the game as defined by the designers.

I suppose that definition works, although I find it hard to consider scripts that take over some of the controls for you under those rules. A script that bunnyhops for you or whatever is an "outside alteration" as far as I'm concerned.

 

[Zefar]

First time I played HL was when I was 18. Half-Life takes most people 15-20 hours to finish, that was never short by shooter standards. In fact I remember how just 2-3 years later, games like Max Payne and Voyager Elite Force were massively criticized for their 6-hour long gameplay.

Sure, just last week I finished KOTOR with 70 hours, but that's a different genre.

Play it again. It's shorter than you think. It won't get you 10 hours. Not by a mile.

 

[Techno Squidgy]

Wow. This is a hell of a run. Serious kudos to the team behind it. They didn't just beat the previous record, they obliterated it.

And now to sit back and watch the Escapist forum shit all over this run; decreeing it 'illegitimate' because it "wasn't done in the spirit of the game" or some such bullshit.

Anyone want some popcorn?

I do! I can't be arsed to argue with people about speed runs again, but I'll happily observe the Turd Typhoon currently ripping through this thread.

Regarding the run:
Holy shit. That was incredible. The gldsrc engine must have been screaming for mercy. Clearly those years of planning were well spent because those 20 minutes and 41 seconds were perhaps some of the most entertaining gameplay footage I've ever seen. Man, I thought I was so clever when I worked out how to bunnyhop and tau jump all those years ago...

For those who think this is some kind of scam or otherwise not legit:
For what it is, it's nothing short of amazing. I have my opinion, you have yours and we both know that we're not going to change each others minds.

 

[UNHchabo]

@UNHchabo

Why do you allow glitches but disallow cheat codes and tricks like crooked cartridge?
Using glitches is simply trying to use whatever is within the rules of the game to your advantage. When you use a cheat device or outside alteration, then you're breaking the game's rules. As for cheat codes and debug codes, they differ from glitches in being intentionally programmed, so they are naturally outside the rules of the game as defined by the designers.

I suppose that definition works, although I find it hard to consider scripts that take over some of the controls for you under those rules. A script that bunnyhops for you or whatever is an "outside alteration" as far as I'm concerned.

Actually reading through, it looks like SDA may not allow scripts. Take a look at this run, which is still the current single-segment record-holder at SDA:

Spoiler

 

[Merlark]

how is this considered a speed run, its pretty much cheating. mine as well turn god mode on and clipping off while your at it. I say no but it was fun to watch so for that, cool.

 

[Mutie]

Looks like Dr. Freeman had a bit too much coffee on the train ride :/

 

[gmaverick019_v1legacy]

Half-Life is actually a pretty short game and so was most older FPS titles as well. It might only have taken long in the first place because you where a kid back then.

First time I played HL was when I was 18. Half-Life takes most people 15-20 hours to finish, that was never short by shooter standards. In fact I remember how just 2-3 years later, games like Max Payne and Voyager Elite Force were massively criticized for their 6-hour long gameplay.

Sure, just last week I finished KOTOR with 70 hours, but that's a different genre.

70 hours? holy shit son. As a highly advanced kotor player, that is a fuckton of hours to put into that game. I've done literally everything on multiple playthroughs (and thensome, considering how many hundreds of mods I've had installed on that game over the years) and never come close to 70 hours in one playthrough, even doing malak glitches and other malarkey.

 

[thom_cat_]

Something is screwy with that speed run. There were several points where the player fell a ridiculous distance and took no fall damage. In fact, they should have died several times but didn't. I dunno how they did that.

There are many glitches that allow for falling from any height to not take damage, some are due to the angle of the surface you fall onto, others are to do with falling directly onto edges.
There's also a bug where you can crouch-jump right above a surface and you don't take fall damage.

Here's 3 hours of them explaining the run:
http://www.twitch.tv/dabigbooi/c/4067025

I haven't watched the explanation video, but in many cases they're just barely landing on ladders. Most notably the one at the six-minute-mark. The only damage he takes there is from the grenade.

As I said, there is a jump bug where if you crouch and jump correctly between 0 and 4 units above the floor as you are falling it nullifies the fall.