Suggestions on TR2-5 speedruns

xtimz · 01-10-23, 13:22

https://youtu.be/IgtjGANQ0QY
Currently, it's all about glitchless speedrun.

TR2, Ice Palace. Shooting of the last bell.
It can be hit without being directly visible.
Discovered by another Chinese player. The literal meaning of his usual ID is "I love billiards JH".

Can be used in glitchless run.

TR3, RX-Tech Mines. Secret 1-2.
This is the famous shortcut we always talked about in the old days. It's just no one did a secret glitchless speedrun at that time. To use the shortcut, we need to go to the middle level first, open the gate to the secret, then go to the lower level.
Discovered by rr_carroll. (I can find the link if it's needed.)

TR4, Valley Of The Kings. Fight at the beginning.

There're 7 enemies, divided into 2 groups: Group A (A1-A4) and Group B (B1-B3). Initially, A1 and B1 are triggered. The death of an enemy will trigger the next one in the same group. B3 holds the key, so the fastest way is to kill B1, B2 and B3.
Can be used in glitchless run.

TR4, Guardian Of Semerkhet. Timed run.
The best way to deal with such descending doors is to roll. We only need to pull the lever 4 times if we roll.
Can be used in glitchless run.

TR4, Guardian Of Semerkhet. Secret 2.
Discovered by rr_carroll in 2009.08.17.
Can be used in secret glitchless run.

TR4, Catacombs. Spirits.
The spirits can be scared away by shooting at them. It's a bit random. All are only suggestions, especially this.
Can be used in glitchless run.

TR4, City Of The Dead. Shortcut.
We only need to go through the underwater part once. Trigger the two spirits in the first go.
Can be used in glitchless run.

xtimz · 13-10-23, 10:15

TR4, Citadel Gate, Shortcut.
https://youtu.be/TNlTilqLbq8
Can be used in secret glitchless run.
I found this when I prepare for a survey of No-Scratch play. This is a shortcut that skips the coffin puzzle, where we will encounter the locusts twice. But I think this is also useful in a secret glitchless speedrun.
BTW: Both cut scenes in this area can be skipped by the Look button.

xtimz · 04-07-24, 15:40

TR4, KV5
Current glitched way: Embed Lara into the wall at the beginning of the level.
Current glitchless way: Drive the jeep normally.
I measure the time of these 2 approaches. It seems the glitchless approach is much faster. The details are as follows.
Glitched run by Footi: 1:28.200
Glitched TAS run by Woops: 1:21.612
Glitchless run by Footi: 1:15.233
So I think all runs should use the glitchless way.

TR4, Great Hypostyle Hall
I was inspired by the TAS run by Woops. The beginning part can be done this way:
https://youtu.be/Z8lvko7y5BU
It's very difficult, so I think it's only viable in TAS runs. The video is a bit misleading: It seems there is only one turn during the jump, but no, there are 2 turns. Hold Left when sliding down the slope. After pressing Jump, immediately release Left. That's the first turn, which is almost unnoticeable. So, it requires 3 things to be accurate:

The time to press Jump.
The time to release Left immediately after pressing Jump.
The time to hold Left again.

xtimz · 10-01-25, 21:20

TR3 Gold, Reunion, Kill Sophia
I recently watched the max% speedrun of TR3 Gold, where we need to kill Sophia efficiently. TR3 Gold did not change the code of TR3, but implemented everything through clever level designs. It means Sophia is still killed by Lara shooting an electric box, as in TR3. You can see that Lara's body is surrounded by electric waves when Sophia dies, just as in TR3. The electric box is hidden and invisible. I strongly recommend to read the first post of my old thread, especially the 2 videos there, which shows the position of the hidden electric box.

I also prepared a new video: https://youtu.be/3rhOyA9DBu8
The starting point is the same as the max% speedrun by TrexOfTerror. It shows how to shoot the hidden electric box by every weapon, except the harpoon gun and the grenade launcher. I deliberately slowed down to show that Sophia is dead when the electric box is destroyed. I think the most efficient weapon is the Uzis:

We don't need to aim, because the Uzis fire consecutively.
We have a lot of Uzi ammo, because it's useless elsewhere.

The video also shows the case if Sophia gets to the top. I think the most efficient way is to load the game, but if we have to kill her when she is at the top, here are some suggestions.

I prefer using the shotgun, because its bullets are scattered, which suits our purpose.
The most important thing is where Lara stands. Lara must be somewhere that can see the hidden electric box, for example the top platform on the opposite side of Sophia's.
The rocket launcher needs to wait for Sophia to charge, but the shotgun does not need to wait.

Finally, I should say that the above approach does not work in the remastered version.

01-10-23, 13:22	#1
xtimz Member Joined: Apr 2010 Posts: 1,467	Suggestions on TR2-5 speedruns https://youtu.be/IgtjGANQ0QY Currently, it's all about glitchless speedrun. TR2, Ice Palace. Shooting of the last bell. It can be hit without being directly visible. Discovered by another Chinese player. The literal meaning of his usual ID is "I love billiards JH". Can be used in glitchless run. TR3, RX-Tech Mines. Secret 1-2. This is the famous shortcut we always talked about in the old days. It's just no one did a secret glitchless speedrun at that time. To use the shortcut, we need to go to the middle level first, open the gate to the secret, then go to the lower level. Discovered by rr_carroll. (I can find the link if it's needed.) TR4, Valley Of The Kings. Fight at the beginning. There're 7 enemies, divided into 2 groups: Group A (A1-A4) and Group B (B1-B3). Initially, A1 and B1 are triggered. The death of an enemy will trigger the next one in the same group. B3 holds the key, so the fastest way is to kill B1, B2 and B3. Can be used in glitchless run. TR4, Guardian Of Semerkhet. Timed run. The best way to deal with such descending doors is to roll. We only need to pull the lever 4 times if we roll. Can be used in glitchless run. TR4, Guardian Of Semerkhet. Secret 2. Discovered by rr_carroll in 2009.08.17. Can be used in secret glitchless run. TR4, Catacombs. Spirits. The spirits can be scared away by shooting at them. It's a bit random. All are only suggestions, especially this. Can be used in glitchless run. TR4, City Of The Dead. Shortcut. We only need to go through the underwater part once. Trigger the two spirits in the first go. Can be used in glitchless run.

04-07-24, 15:40	#3
xtimz Member Joined: Apr 2010 Posts: 1,467	TR4, KV5 Current glitched way: Embed Lara into the wall at the beginning of the level. Current glitchless way: Drive the jeep normally. I measure the time of these 2 approaches. It seems the glitchless approach is much faster. The details are as follows. Glitched run by Footi: 1:28.200 Glitched TAS run by Woops: 1:21.612 Glitchless run by Footi: 1:15.233 So I think all runs should use the glitchless way. TR4, Great Hypostyle Hall I was inspired by the TAS run by Woops. The beginning part can be done this way: https://youtu.be/Z8lvko7y5BU It's very difficult, so I think it's only viable in TAS runs. The video is a bit misleading: It seems there is only one turn during the jump, but no, there are 2 turns. Hold Left when sliding down the slope. After pressing Jump, immediately release Left. That's the first turn, which is almost unnoticeable. So, it requires 3 things to be accurate: The time to press Jump. The time to release Left immediately after pressing Jump. The time to hold Left again.

10-01-25, 21:20	#4
xtimz Member Joined: Apr 2010 Posts: 1,467	TR3 Gold, Reunion, Kill Sophia I recently watched the max% speedrun of TR3 Gold, where we need to kill Sophia efficiently. TR3 Gold did not change the code of TR3, but implemented everything through clever level designs. It means Sophia is still killed by Lara shooting an electric box, as in TR3. You can see that Lara's body is surrounded by electric waves when Sophia dies, just as in TR3. The electric box is hidden and invisible. I strongly recommend to read the first post of my old thread, especially the 2 videos there, which shows the position of the hidden electric box. I also prepared a new video: https://youtu.be/3rhOyA9DBu8 The starting point is the same as the max% speedrun by TrexOfTerror. It shows how to shoot the hidden electric box by every weapon, except the harpoon gun and the grenade launcher. I deliberately slowed down to show that Sophia is dead when the electric box is destroyed. I think the most efficient weapon is the Uzis: We don't need to aim, because the Uzis fire consecutively. We have a lot of Uzi ammo, because it's useless elsewhere. The video also shows the case if Sophia gets to the top. I think the most efficient way is to load the game, but if we have to kill her when she is at the top, here are some suggestions. I prefer using the shotgun, because its bullets are scattered, which suits our purpose. The most important thing is where Lara stands. Lara must be somewhere that can see the hidden electric box, for example the top platform on the opposite side of Sophia's. The rocket launcher needs to wait for Sophia to charge, but the shotgun does not need to wait. Finally, I should say that the above approach does not work in the remastered version.

13-10-23, 10:15	#2
xtimz Member Joined: Apr 2010 Posts: 1,467	TR4, Citadel Gate, Shortcut. https://youtu.be/TNlTilqLbq8 Can be used in secret glitchless run. I found this when I prepare for a survey of No-Scratch play. This is a shortcut that skips the coffin puzzle, where we will encounter the locusts twice. But I think this is also useful in a secret glitchless speedrun. BTW: Both cut scenes in this area can be skipped by the Look button.