So the thing about Thalassophobia secret is that, if you didn't take a death in the level, for some reason, those spikes won't touch you. Any death in the level makes them deadly like they're supposed to be, though.
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It'sa me, Kaizo Mario!
- Thread starter MCBanjoMike
- Start date
There's actually a bug with layer 2 that places the entire layer like 1 pixel too high on your first life in a given section. It turns out, that single pixel is the difference between life and death on those spikes. As soon as you die, the layer 2 positions itself properly, at which point you have to bop the fish to get through there. Speedrunners typically don't die in that section, so they can usually use the cheese strat, but I've definitely seen stew and slop_core do it the "real" way after taking a death there.
I don't know why my browser didn't load the two posts after you made this but I went to all the effort of typing this out, so I'm not erasing it =p
Yeah, I really enjoyed it too! Not too tough, but very creative and a little different from a lot of the other hacks I've played. Rock Gym also took me about an hour, so clearly your average level of play is equivalent to me at my best! If things line up properly, I will start up Sweet'n'Sour tonight. Though I read in the description that it apparently features a lot of shell tricks? Dunno about that...
I'm glad you did, because you were able to fill in what the bug actually is. Not a wasted effort by any means!
Good news everyone, Waterworld is coming out on May 15th! I'm actually interested in playing this one, not kidding.
Stew just took the GPW2 Bad Ending world record in a run with a ton of deaths. With that, he's got the world record in all three categories (with plenty of room for improvement in that last one). I turned off the stream to go to bed, but when I left he was firing up another run to get the time down. It is truly an awe-inspiring feat.
I'm five exits into Sweet'n'Sour and so far it's working for me. The stages are challenging and they're getting me to do things outside of my comfort zone, which is what I want right now. Levels have taken me between 30 minutes and 2 hours to beat - the one that I got stuck on during my stream was the longest by far. I wound up looking it up and it required a move that I didn't know you could even do, then it took me another 30 minutes to actually pull it off after that. I don't know if this is going to end up being one of my favorite hacks of all time, but it's pushing me to grow without being too frustrating, so that feels like a win. There are 27 exits, so I expect it will take a bit of time to clear them all out. I also expect that kaizo time will be greatly diminished when Subnautica Below Zero comes out in a week or so. I've been watching Barb stream a super difficult Subnautica mod lately and I'm super jonesing to dive back into the alien oceans.
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I played through the first two exits of Sweet 'n Sour last night too, even though I told myself I was going to rest my thumb. It's alright so far! That section I saw you get stuck on was definitely tricky.
I'm jonesing to get back to GPW2, but I really do need to give my thumb a break for at least another day. The SNES controller just isn't working out for me, I'm afraid. I did finally get the replacement button pads for the SN30 Pro+, but I haven't swapped them in yet. I'm a little worried that going wireless will add some amount of lag, but if my choice is between lag and further damage to my hand, it's not really a choice at all.
I'm jonesing to get back to GPW2, but I really do need to give my thumb a break for at least another day. The SNES controller just isn't working out for me, I'm afraid. I did finally get the replacement button pads for the SN30 Pro+, but I haven't swapped them in yet. I'm a little worried that going wireless will add some amount of lag, but if my choice is between lag and further damage to my hand, it's not really a choice at all.
NeptuneNeon just released a hack called Crossfire (not yet moderated) and it looks pretty good. The levels are more open than most kaizo with a lot of free space, and the platforming looks smooth and fairly creative. If there's one obvious issue, it's that you can't sight-read things very well because a lot of the jumps go off screen and there aren't always indicators. But it seems like it would be doable for us, difficulty-wise, and the flow of the platforming looks pretty fun to me.
My roommate happened to buy a pair of compression gloves for unrelated reasons this week, so I tried playing with one today and I think it helped! It didn't make my thumb pain instantly go away, but it did keep the pain from getting worse. I have to admit that I was skeptical of compression gloves as a gaming accessory for a while, but I'm probably going to get a pair now.
Anyway, I made it to the checkpoint of Mount Moon faster than I expected (an hour and 20, when I was thinking it would be easily two hours). Having gone through it, it was actually a lot easier than I'd guessed. I think the first room was honestly the hardest. The only other tricky thing was figuring out the timing in the third room. Hopefully the skull rafts won't take too long either...then I get to bang my head against Toasty Coals for a while.
Anyway, I made it to the checkpoint of Mount Moon faster than I expected (an hour and 20, when I was thinking it would be easily two hours). Having gone through it, it was actually a lot easier than I'd guessed. I think the first room was honestly the hardest. The only other tricky thing was figuring out the timing in the third room. Hopefully the skull rafts won't take too long either...then I get to bang my head against Toasty Coals for a while.
SGDQ games list is out! Superben got in with Storks and MightyMouse will be running Let’s Give Up, which will be super fun to watch. Also, in kaizo-adjacent news, frozenflygone got in with a Celeste mod whose name escapes me right now. Should be a good year for kaizo!
After 10,000 years (or two hours for the second half), I'm finally free of Toasty Coals! I died at the exit pipe three times, but never again!
The direction-reversing water was terrible, but I was able to figure out a reasonably consistent strat for the climb. I died way more times just trying to get back there than I did in the water itself. Holy crap I am happy to be done with that level.
I think I'm going to do Yacht Club Castle and Arrakis before I move on to Sunset Breeze; might as well get both branches of the any% path out of the way before they meet up again. I have to say, even though the second half of Toasty Coals was rough, I've really been having a good time in the last handful of levels. Hoping to keep it that way.
Some clear times just for my own record-keeping:
Thalassophobia normal exit: lost track of this one, I want to say the second half went down in half an hour
Mount Moon second half: 50 minutes
Toasty Coals first half: 50 minutes
The direction-reversing water was terrible, but I was able to figure out a reasonably consistent strat for the climb. I died way more times just trying to get back there than I did in the water itself. Holy crap I am happy to be done with that level.
I think I'm going to do Yacht Club Castle and Arrakis before I move on to Sunset Breeze; might as well get both branches of the any% path out of the way before they meet up again. I have to say, even though the second half of Toasty Coals was rough, I've really been having a good time in the last handful of levels. Hoping to keep it that way.
Some clear times just for my own record-keeping:
Thalassophobia normal exit: lost track of this one, I want to say the second half went down in half an hour
Mount Moon second half: 50 minutes
Toasty Coals first half: 50 minutes
Yacht Club Castle was fun, fast, and easy! Beat the entire thing in 35 minutes, which is probably the fastest I'll do any level in this game.
Arrakis is, uh, none of those things. The first half took me two hours and 40 minutes, most of which I spent dying to the part where you have to stall on a Pokey while a red shell knocks parts of it away until you can do a regrab through a gap to move on. I was never able to consistently do the intended method there, so eventually I switched to Stew's speed strat there (where you do a single big bounce off the Pokey and then use the shell to get yourself through the gap) and finished the section on my second attempt after that.
Also, a big fuck you to the Pokey you have to ride at the end of the section for randomly turning around on me after the third disco shell, multiple times. I'm glad you die.
I know a lot of people say the second half is supposed to be harder, so...not super excited about that! But I will be very excited to be out of this level, eventually.
Arrakis is, uh, none of those things. The first half took me two hours and 40 minutes, most of which I spent dying to the part where you have to stall on a Pokey while a red shell knocks parts of it away until you can do a regrab through a gap to move on. I was never able to consistently do the intended method there, so eventually I switched to Stew's speed strat there (where you do a single big bounce off the Pokey and then use the shell to get yourself through the gap) and finished the section on my second attempt after that.
Also, a big fuck you to the Pokey you have to ride at the end of the section for randomly turning around on me after the third disco shell, multiple times. I'm glad you die.
I know a lot of people say the second half is supposed to be harder, so...not super excited about that! But I will be very excited to be out of this level, eventually.
I just beat the second half of Arrakis in 45 minutes and I'm so happy I'm not even gonna spoil my clear time, sorry Mike. Would you believe that I even had fun doing it? I was expecting it to be so much worse than it was -- the first half was definitely harder by far. At least I can say I was able to put my hard-earned knowledge of Pokey movement to good use.
10 exits in, nearly halfway through! I didn't think I'd be enjoying this as much as I am. I'm glad I decided to start playing this hack.
10 exits in, nearly halfway through! I didn't think I'd be enjoying this as much as I am. I'm glad I decided to start playing this hack.
I don't think you need to spoiler your clear times any more, since our times haven't really lined up for this game. Congrats on the clear! You were certainly in a pretty...thorny situation there.
Apparently there's a new Morsel hack that's actually a group of previously-unreleased levels? It's called Don't Spare the Horses and it's pretty fun watching the various kaizo streamers react to its existence. I'd say 2/3 of the people I've seen don't want to touch it with a 10 foot pole.
Apparently there's a new Morsel hack that's actually a group of previously-unreleased levels? It's called Don't Spare the Horses and it's pretty fun watching the various kaizo streamers react to its existence. I'd say 2/3 of the people I've seen don't want to touch it with a 10 foot pole.
I watched Linkdead moderating the new Morsel hack yesterday for a few minutes, and he was in a miserable-seeming P-balloon level. Much later, before I went to bed, I saw Grimm was playing it so I clicked in for a peek -- he was in the same level. As with every other Morsel hack I've seen, thanks but no thanks.
So I went back to that disco shell switch palace that I was playing in Sweet’n’Sour. I finally managed to get in the up pipe at the end and do you know what your reward is? A jump off a falling disco shell that kills you if you fail it. I got there twice and miffed it both times; at this point I think I’m ready to put this hack down forever. Bring on Waterworld!
That's some hot bullshit if I ever heard of any.
On the plus side, I saw a few minutes of Jon M playing the last level of Waterworld today, and it had some really cool ideas. I still probably don't want to play it, but I do want to watch you do that instead! Unless you're just playing Subnautica forever since they both come out on Friday, which, y'know, fair.
No kaizo for me today because work was pretty grueling. Maybe not tomorrow either, I may be celebrating my full vaccination by getting (take-out) dinner with my best friend who I haven't seen in over a year. I don't want to lose too much GPW2 momentum, but some things are worth pausing for.
On the plus side, I saw a few minutes of Jon M playing the last level of Waterworld today, and it had some really cool ideas. I still probably don't want to play it, but I do want to watch you do that instead! Unless you're just playing Subnautica forever since they both come out on Friday, which, y'know, fair.
No kaizo for me today because work was pretty grueling. Maybe not tomorrow either, I may be celebrating my full vaccination by getting (take-out) dinner with my best friend who I haven't seen in over a year. I don't want to lose too much GPW2 momentum, but some things are worth pausing for.
Scheduling didn't work out with my friend, so I beat Sunset Breeze instead. Man, that level was a real emotional rollercoaster. I never actually knew that you controlled your height while on the propellers by pressing down, I thought (okay, assumed) it was done by holding jump. It took me a good 10 minutes just to get used to the mechanic. My gut reaction was to hate it right off the bat, but once I started to become more comfortable things got a little better. Then I relaxed a bit, until the ending of the second half made me panic. Ultimately it wasn't as bad as I'd feared, since you can pretty much just go for the pipe right away and you'll make it.
I think Barb knew that people might dislike the gimmick in this one, because this felt like the shortest level I've played yet. After I got used to the propellers it wasn't really that bad as GPW2 levels go, and certainly has to be one of the easier ones in the hack. The first half took 30 minutes, second half 25. Not sure if I'm gonna go back for Sen's Fortress after dinner.
I think Barb knew that people might dislike the gimmick in this one, because this felt like the shortest level I've played yet. After I got used to the propellers it wasn't really that bad as GPW2 levels go, and certainly has to be one of the easier ones in the hack. The first half took 30 minutes, second half 25. Not sure if I'm gonna go back for Sen's Fortress after dinner.
Good luck with Sen's! It seems like a pretty neat level, though obviously not an easy one.
I've been having some pain in my left middle finger, due to the way I hold my controller. I'm going to try to play without using it to support the controller, but that will take some getting used to. I don't want to start any new hacks right now, since Subnautica comes out tomorrow and Waterworld the day after, so I'm going to see if I can't finish that stupid switch palace level in Sweet'n'Sour tonight to at least get that off my conscience. Wish me luck, I've spent like two solid hours on it so far.
UPDATE: I finally got it, I think it took me another three times through the pipe to get a good bounce off the disco shell. And even then, I couldn't tell you HOW I did it, so I won't want to run this game back any time soon. I also went back and played the regular exit of the level that leads to the switch palace, which was a lot longer and more difficult than the secret exit I played on stream. Second half gave me Invictus flashbacks - parabeetles anyone? Anyway, now that I'm past that one terrible bit in the switch palace I don't hate the game any more, so maybe I'll keep picking away at it - but only when I don't have something I'm more excited about.
AKO 2 1.1 UPDATE: I caught MegaScott in zanian's stream and asked him if the 1.1 update would be out soon. He said he was going to have it ready for GDQ because MightyMouse has Ako 2 listed as a backup run, so hopefully we'll be seeing it soon! The update is finished, but he's waiting on a tester for feedback. Not sure exactly when I'll get to it, but it's high on my list of things to play.
I've been having some pain in my left middle finger, due to the way I hold my controller. I'm going to try to play without using it to support the controller, but that will take some getting used to. I don't want to start any new hacks right now, since Subnautica comes out tomorrow and Waterworld the day after, so I'm going to see if I can't finish that stupid switch palace level in Sweet'n'Sour tonight to at least get that off my conscience. Wish me luck, I've spent like two solid hours on it so far.
UPDATE: I finally got it, I think it took me another three times through the pipe to get a good bounce off the disco shell. And even then, I couldn't tell you HOW I did it, so I won't want to run this game back any time soon. I also went back and played the regular exit of the level that leads to the switch palace, which was a lot longer and more difficult than the secret exit I played on stream. Second half gave me Invictus flashbacks - parabeetles anyone? Anyway, now that I'm past that one terrible bit in the switch palace I don't hate the game any more, so maybe I'll keep picking away at it - but only when I don't have something I'm more excited about.
AKO 2 1.1 UPDATE: I caught MegaScott in zanian's stream and asked him if the 1.1 update would be out soon. He said he was going to have it ready for GDQ because MightyMouse has Ako 2 listed as a backup run, so hopefully we'll be seeing it soon! The update is finished, but he's waiting on a tester for feedback. Not sure exactly when I'll get to it, but it's high on my list of things to play.
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Got through Sen's Fortress in one sitting, which was maybe a mistake because it took me almost 4 hours. (1:35 for the first half, 1:10 for the second, and exactly an hour for the boss.) It felt like the kind of level where no individual obstacle was too tough, but doing all of them in a row is where the difficulty arises. The second half really wasn't that bad, but I spent too much time trying to get through the ball-and-chain section there in one motion when it's so much easier to just take it slow. I did make it into the final door on my first attempt!
The boss was one of those weird fights where I got close to the end about 10 minutes in, and from that point on I could've won at any time if the RNG went in my favor. Most attempts ended when he called in the flying Koopas, which just put way too many things on screen to deal with at once. When I finally won, I somehow managed to get the first 8 hits in one single jump without touching the ground in between. I don't know how I did it but I felt like a goddamn TAS when it happened. I was even able to get enough height off a Koopa to get up to the safe ledge after the final hit, so I could just breathe for a few seconds while he ran around and eventually blew up.
I'm 12 exits in now, which is officially over the halfway point. Unfortunately, Deuce Lair is up next. I'm definitely going to do the secret exit first, but after that I think I'll just have to play the level proper. Can't put it off forever!
The boss was one of those weird fights where I got close to the end about 10 minutes in, and from that point on I could've won at any time if the RNG went in my favor. Most attempts ended when he called in the flying Koopas, which just put way too many things on screen to deal with at once. When I finally won, I somehow managed to get the first 8 hits in one single jump without touching the ground in between. I don't know how I did it but I felt like a goddamn TAS when it happened. I was even able to get enough height off a Koopa to get up to the safe ledge after the final hit, so I could just breathe for a few seconds while he ran around and eventually blew up.
I'm 12 exits in now, which is officially over the halfway point. Unfortunately, Deuce Lair is up next. I'm definitely going to do the secret exit first, but after that I think I'll just have to play the level proper. Can't put it off forever!
Deuce Lair is really difficult, but it's also incredibly fun, at least in my view. And you're making good progress!
Haven't played much kaizo lately because of real life stuff, but I managed to sit down and get through 7 exits of Goblin's Quest, putting me at 18/24. There's so much creativity and personality in this hack, it's incredible. There's a shmup level even! I'm learning how fugu sprites move more in depth! And one of the levels includes probably the cleverest secret exit in any hack I've played. It involves this monstrosity:
Little touches like when you chose the exit choice in the retry box, it plays a voice sample singing "Game Over yeaaaaahhhh". Also, all of the castles are supermarkets and when you beat one, the music from Mario Goes to the Grocery Store in YUMP 2 plays. I'm having a blast with this hack. Once it's done, I'm probably going to jump over to Waterworld, because obvious hype.
Haven't played much kaizo lately because of real life stuff, but I managed to sit down and get through 7 exits of Goblin's Quest, putting me at 18/24. There's so much creativity and personality in this hack, it's incredible. There's a shmup level even! I'm learning how fugu sprites move more in depth! And one of the levels includes probably the cleverest secret exit in any hack I've played. It involves this monstrosity:
Little touches like when you chose the exit choice in the retry box, it plays a voice sample singing "Game Over yeaaaaahhhh". Also, all of the castles are supermarkets and when you beat one, the music from Mario Goes to the Grocery Store in YUMP 2 plays. I'm having a blast with this hack. Once it's done, I'm probably going to jump over to Waterworld, because obvious hype.
I love that Game Over Yeaaahhhhh sound clip, it makes me sad that Barb got to it before I could. Goblin looks to be a pretty innovative hack in a lot of ways, and I certainly wasn't expecting it to be so big. Seems pretty hard, too, from what I've seen? Anyway, that's some solid progress you're making and also what the hell is that thing on the screen there.
Great work on Sen's, linc! And good luck with what comes next...
I've been living that SUBNAUTICA LIFE, but after playing like 11 hours over the weekend, I would definitely like to return to kaizo tonight. If I have the energy, that is - I've been a little tired since I got my second shot, though I don't know if it's from the vaccine or just general life stuff. But I'll try to be on tonight to play that other underwater game that all the kaizo people seem excited about.
Great work on Sen's, linc! And good luck with what comes next...
I've been living that SUBNAUTICA LIFE, but after playing like 11 hours over the weekend, I would definitely like to return to kaizo tonight. If I have the energy, that is - I've been a little tired since I got my second shot, though I don't know if it's from the vaccine or just general life stuff. But I'll try to be on tonight to play that other underwater game that all the kaizo people seem excited about.
More progress today! I cleared the Deuce Lair secret exit (which was fun!) and the Laughter House (which was...mostly fun, I think?). The screen wrap secret was a relatively quick 40 minutes, but Laughter House took an hour and 45. I even died in the room with the switch because I didn't realize the Mechakoopa wakes up almost immediately after you jump on him.
I am a little sad that the switch palaces apparently don't count as exits in this game. I did all that work, at least let me see a number go up!
Nothing left to do except Deuce Lair now. The only way out is through.
I am a little sad that the switch palaces apparently don't count as exits in this game. I did all that work, at least let me see a number go up!
Nothing left to do except Deuce Lair now. The only way out is through.
Finished all exits in Goblin's Quest, that hack is a delight. So creative, with a nice bite to its difficulty. Definitely up there in terms of hacks I've played.
I also started Waterworld! It's super cool! I'm 1.5 exits in and everything feels good. The aesthetics are on point, and the game makes swimming tricks feel badass. I'm definitely going to keep playing this.
I also started Waterworld! It's super cool! I'm 1.5 exits in and everything feels good. The aesthetics are on point, and the game makes swimming tricks feel badass. I'm definitely going to keep playing this.
We can be Waterworld buddies! Haven't played it since Monday night, but I'm keen to get back to it. Did you start with the level I did or the other one?
Other one, so once you get there, I'll be playing what you've already played!
Well, I beat the first half of Deuce Lair in just under an hour (55 minutes!), but after two and a half hours of the second half, I am getting my ass kicked. There are two big roadblocks for me: the jump very early on where a koopa kicks a shell and you have to bounce off it while falling, and the backshots towards the end.
The koopa part is especially frustrating, because it's one of the first real obstacles in the section and after all that time I still don't really have a solid grasp on how to do it consistently. I feel like I only vaguely understand it, and get through maybe 60% of the time. The backshots I actually do understand, but I so rarely make it to that point that I haven't been able to practice it enough to get comfortable. I made it through there twice so far, but the first time I died to the kaizo block (did you guys know there was a kaizo block? I didn't) and the second time I didn't know what to do after the block so I waited too long and the layer 2 water got too low for me to make it out of the buckets.
Pretty frustrating way to end my night. I really hope I get through this tomorrow, I don't want to stay in this level much longer.
The koopa part is especially frustrating, because it's one of the first real obstacles in the section and after all that time I still don't really have a solid grasp on how to do it consistently. I feel like I only vaguely understand it, and get through maybe 60% of the time. The backshots I actually do understand, but I so rarely make it to that point that I haven't been able to practice it enough to get comfortable. I made it through there twice so far, but the first time I died to the kaizo block (did you guys know there was a kaizo block? I didn't) and the second time I didn't know what to do after the block so I waited too long and the layer 2 water got too low for me to make it out of the buckets.
Pretty frustrating way to end my night. I really hope I get through this tomorrow, I don't want to stay in this level much longer.
Came back strong and finished the level in another 40 minutes today. I even made it into the up-pipe on my first attempt! Man, what a hell of a level. It's absolutely tough as nails, but it feels so good to execute once you know what you're doing. Probably going to leave it there for tonight to let my hands chill out since I had a couple of really grindy days this week already.
Still feeling great about the game overall! I was prepared for this one to take a long time, so being in the right headspace from the start has really helped me keep up the enthusiasm. I think if I'd realized Invictus was going to be the same way when I was starting that hack, I would've enjoyed the early levels more. I'll probably replay it at some point after finishing GPW2; I didn't really appreciate Invictus until I got up to the second half of Die-Tree or so, but I think that appreciation will only grow experiencing it again as a better player.
Still feeling great about the game overall! I was prepared for this one to take a long time, so being in the right headspace from the start has really helped me keep up the enthusiasm. I think if I'd realized Invictus was going to be the same way when I was starting that hack, I would've enjoyed the early levels more. I'll probably replay it at some point after finishing GPW2; I didn't really appreciate Invictus until I got up to the second half of Die-Tree or so, but I think that appreciation will only grow experiencing it again as a better player.