Verification Guidelines

2013-05-29T23:54:41Z

Eedis: /* Cheating */

Congratulations on being chosen to verify a speed run. Verifying is an important part of SDA and helps us maintain the site's high standards.

==Confidentiality==
Please do not give anyone the link to the run or the video files themselves. Furthermore, if the information has not already been made public by the runner, do not tell anyone the final time, what tricks were used, or any other information about the run. Some people prefer not to be spoiled. Finally, do not tell anyone who is not a verifier you are verifying the run -- not even the runner. This ensures that your opinions are not swayed by anyone else.

==Cheating==
Be sure you are up to date on the [http://speeddemosarchive.com/lang/rules_en.html official rules], and report anything suspicious you see to Flip immediately, either by email, SDA PM, or IRC. The runner will be given the opportunity to explain the situation.

==Quality (Capture)==
The verification copies of the runs do not usually represent the quality of the final product. However, if you notice any serious problems with the video or audio quality (such as the picture going completely blank or the audio on only one channel, sounding overpeaked, or completely missing), or if you notice a missing segment/mismatched segments, please report it to Flip immediately. Also, if there are failed attempts in the video, please tell Flip when the run actually starts and ends.

==Quality (Gameplay)==
SDA gameplay standards are high, but mistakes do happen. If you feel that the run does not meet SDA standards, then tell Flip. The reputation of the site cannot be maintained if sub-par runs are posted. Also, if the run is 100% or low%, make sure it actually meets the definition.

Do not feel ashamed if you are rejecting a run. Ask yourself whether people would really want to see this run. Sometimes people submit sub-par runs just so they can get their name on SDA.

If you are not sure what is considered reject-worthy, here is a small list of reject-worthy mistakes:

*A death that costs a significant amount of time.
*A poor, inefficient route and bad planning.
*Using the wrong weapon against enemies or bosses.
*Failing to use the fastest method of movement when it could have easily been used.
*Numerous sloppy minor mistakes (missed jumps, whiffed attacks, failing to perform a shortcut) that cost a significant amount of time (significant depends on the run length).

==Timing==
If you are asked to help decide how a run will be timed, give this information to Mike via email or SDA Forum private message (mikwuyma on the forums). Nate has no responsibilities as far as timing goes. If the game needs to be manually timed, please tell us when character control starts and ends. Unless if you are using VirtualDub (or another program that counts frames) to check specific start and end frames, DO NOT time the run yourself. If you are using VirtualDub to time the run, then please tell Mike the start and end frames. If you want to help time a run, but don't know how to use VirtualDub, just ask. Mike likes it when people help time runs, he just wants it done correctly.

==The Importance of Verification==
Verification is what separates SDA from YouTube. In the past, there have been very few cases of a run being taken down after being posted due to verifiers missing something, and we'd like to keep that number as low as possible. Thus, we remind you that verifying is a serious task. If you're just looking to watch the newest runs before they're posted, verifying is not for you. When you volunteer to verify, you agree to commit your fullest energy to making sure that when a run is posted, it meets SDA's standards 100%. When a viewer sees the label "VERIFIED: NO CHEATING" at the beginning of a run, we want them to be able to rest easy in the knowledge that it is the truth.

Return to the [[Main Page|front page]].

TAS

2013-05-29T22:59:31Z

Eedis: /* What is TAS (tool-assisted superplay/speedrunning)? */

==What is TAS (tool-assisted superplay/speedrunning)?==

Not all speed runs you see on the Internet are made with the same rules in mind. Here at SDA, we have [http://speeddemosarchive.com/lang/rules_en.html clear and concise rules] to keep in mind when making speed runs for submission to this site. One of those rules bans most forms of emulation.

Emulation means playing a game inside of a program called an emulator. For example, if you have a NES emulator, you can play NES games on a PC, a PSP, or other systems. Thus, you can play the original Super Mario Bros., which has never been released by Nintendo for the PC, on your PC, assuming you can get ahold of the emulator software and a ROM image of the game.

Unfortunately, that last part (getting ahold of a ROM) is usually considered illegal in most parts of the world. The reason for this is obvious: Nintendo won't make any money if you download Super Mario Bros. off of the Internet, versus paying to play the game on the Wii Virtual Console, for example. This is one reason why we don't let you use most emulators to record your speed runs here at SDA (it's usually illegal, and SDA as a whole could get in trouble for it).

Sometimes emulation doesn't work very well, and the game you're emulating will play more slowly or more quickly than it's supposed to. It didn't take long for people to figure out that it's possible to record yourself playing a game at a slower speed than intended, then speed up the resulting video to make it look like you're a better player than you really are. Emulation makes this very easy to do. Of course, if you are competing with someone else who isn't using emulation tools, this is clearly considered cheating, and this is the major reason why we don't let you use emulators to record your speed runs here at SDA.

==Advantages of TAS==

It turns out that slowing down the game like this and recording a video of a "perfect" playthrough can sometimes be beneficial even to people who have no interest in doing such a thing themselves. There are a couple reasons for this.

First of all, people are fascinated by what it looks like when the human limits of skill and reaction time are removed from speed running. A TAS video, then, is not meant to demonstrate skill at playing a game, but instead to demonstrate what could be possible in the very same game, minus the element of human error.

A second reason TAS can be useful is that sometimes new techniques or gameplay glitches come out during the vigorous testing of a game's engine that occurs when a TAS video of that game is being made. These discoveries can be useful even when making "normal" speed runs that will be accepted to SDA (speed runs not made using emulators). There are many runs on this site that have been made using techniques that first appeared in TAS videos. Some highly successful speed runners even say that watching TAS is essential to understanding the game you are attempting to speed run.

==Disadvantages of TAS==

Of course, there are downsides to TAS. Watching such extreme videos can have an emotional effect on people. After all, there is probably no hope of a human ever achieving what is shown in TAS. Some people think that they are so good at a game that nothing could ever beat them, and this is simply not true: every person has limits to their skill, and TAS makes these human limits obvious.

There have also been many occasions when TAS videos have "escaped" and been posted on sites like Youtube and Google Video without an appropriate explanation of what they are. Without seeing a disclaimer, people assume that these videos are made by people playing the game normally, and then they think that legitimate speed runs (as seen here on SDA) are horrible in comparison. If you've been following this document so far, then you understand why speed runs as seen on SDA and TAS videos should never be compared in this way.

==Conclusion==

You should work hard to educate your friends about the differences between speed runs as seen on SDA and TAS videos as seen elsewhere.

If you are interested in seeing TAS videos, you should check out the largest TAS site, [http://tasvideos.org/ TASvideos (formerly NESvideos)]. If you are interested in seeing speed runs done by SDA's rules, you can find a list of games [http://speeddemosarchive.com/gamelist.html right here on SDA].

==Swedish FAQ==

'''Skillnaden på speedruns och TAS''' -
En vanlig speedrun är nog ganska självklart för de flesta vad det är, någon klarar ett spel så snabbt man kan och spelar eventuellt in denna run för att visa för andra, detta utan att använda saker som turbokontroller eller annat som klassas som fusk i speedrunning. Det som är det luriga med TAS (Tool-assisted speedrun) är att man inte ser verktygen som runnern använder. Först av allt så spelas de in på en emulator, redan där klassas runnen som ogiltig (och de flesta sätt att skaffa ROMs på är dessutom olagligt, något vi försöker undvika här), vidare använder de diverse funktioner i emulatorn som normalt inte finns i spelet som slowdown och rerecords.

'''Vad är slowdown?''' -
Som namnet antyder så saktar spelet ner, en sorts slowmotion-effekt vilket ger spelaren mer tid att utföra svåra manövrar och gör det busenkelt att till exempel skjuta 30 skott i sekunden. Tack vare detta verktyg kan en TAS göras med pixelprecision som inte är möjligt för en människa, inte ens om denna person har världens snabbaste reflexer. Vissa emulatorer tillåter spelaren att slöa ner spelet så pass mycket att man manuellt stegar fram spelet bild för bild.

'''Vad är rerecords?''' -
Det är när man använder savestates för att spara filmen, detta kan göras var som helst i spelet och det är därför en TAS inte brukar använda spelets sparfunktion. Vad som är intressant är att emulatorn sparar filmen som knapptryckningar och vilken bild (frame) de är gjorda, när man spelar upp denna film så härmar emulatorn bara knapptryckningar efter vilken frame de är gjorda och det är här det luriga ligger. Eftersom det bara är knapptryckningar som härmas så kan man spela spelet i bild för bild-läge och spela om ett hopp hur många gånger som helst tills man uppnått det optimala resultatet och sedan spela upp filmen i normal hastighet utan att varken slowdown eller rerecords syns. Varje gång man laddar en savestate så raderas alla knapptryckningar gjorda efter att man sparat och ersätts med nya. Resultatet är en run med övermänskliga reflexer och knapptryckarskills.

'''Emu-only glitchar''' -
Många TAS:er utnyttjar diverse buggar/glitchar som inte går att utföra på en vanlig konsol, t.ex att trycka in upp+ner på styrkorset samtidigt för att gå rakt igenom en vägg. Ibland kan det också hända att emulatorn inte kan emulera spelet perfekt, vilket leder till skillnader från hur spelet körs i vanliga fall.

'''Slutsats''' -
Alltså, när man gör en TAS så tar man bort mer eller mindre all gaming skill som behövs för att göra en regelrätt speedrun, så tänk på det nästa gång ni kollar på en TAS.

Return to the [[Main Page|front page]].

SDA Knowledge Base - User contributions [en]

Verification Guidelines

TAS