Verification Guidelines - Revision history

LotBlind: /* Public vs private verification */

2017-12-28T15:41:08Z

‎Public vs private verification

LotBlind: /* Quality (Capture) */

2017-12-28T15:36:23Z

‎Quality (Capture)

LotBlind: /* Quality (Gameplay) */

2017-12-28T15:34:58Z

‎Quality (Gameplay)

LotBlind: /* Quality (Gameplay) */

2017-12-28T15:25:24Z

‎Quality (Gameplay)

Ktwo at 11:57, 22 May 2016

2016-05-22T11:57:05Z

Ktwo: /* Public vs private verification */

2015-12-07T21:20:58Z

‎Public vs private verification

Ktwo: /* Quality (Gameplay) */

2015-12-07T21:16:33Z

‎Quality (Gameplay)

Ktwo at 21:32, 29 November 2015

2015-11-29T21:32:09Z

Moooh: /* Cheating */

2013-12-21T14:47:05Z

‎Cheating

Eedis: /* Cheating */

2013-05-29T23:54:41Z

‎Cheating

@@ Line 52: / Line 52: @@
 SDA runs two verification systems in parallel, private and public verification.
-Private verifications are performed in a private pm thread by verifiers having signed up through the ”Runs Needing Verifiers” thread in the verification section of the forum, https://forum.speeddemosarchive.com/board/speedrun_verification2.html. Verifiers having signed up for a run that ends up in private verification are expected to have specific knowledge about the game. It can for example be from having played through the game, having helped with the planning of speedrunning the game or simply by having gained an understanding of the game from watching speedruns of the game.
+Private verifications are performed in a private PM thread by verifiers having signed up through the ”[https://forum.speeddemosarchive.com/board/speedrun_verification2.html Runs Needing Verifiers]” thread in the verification section of the forum. Verifiers having signed up for a run that ends up in private verification are expected to have specific knowledge about the game. It can for example be from having played through the game, having helped with the planning of speedrunning the game or simply by having gained an understanding of the game from watching speedruns of the game.
-Public verifications are posted in an open section of the forum, https://forum.speeddemosarchive.com/board/public_verification.html. You don't need any previous experience from the game to verify a run in public verification. It's always a good idea to state in your reply if you have any relevant experience with the game though. This quickly limits what can actually be verified. It's obvious that you'll not be able to evaluate complex puzzle solutions, what is rng and not or know what triggers what in the game. Just base the verification on what you can verify and be open about what you can't check. Here are some examples of what you often can check:
+Public verifications are posted in an [https://forum.speeddemosarchive.com/board/public_verification.html open section of the forum]. You don't need any previous experience from the game to verify a run in public verification. It's always a good idea to state in your reply if you have any relevant experience with the game though. You might not be able to evaluate complex puzzle solutions, the routes used, what is RNG and not or know what triggers what in the game. Just base the verification on what you can verify and be open about what you can't check. Here are some examples of what you often can check:
 * Is the movement good?
 * Does the runner seem to know what they're doing or are there many hesitations?
@@ Line 61: / Line 61: @@
 * Do the run comments explain non-obvious things going on (provided they seem reliable)?
 If you are in doubt about something in the run, feel free to ask. Many runners check the verification thread of their run regularly and are often happy to answer questions.
 ==Final words of advice==

@@ Line 35: / Line 35: @@
 * There are skips in the video. It can't be expected that recordings are always perfect, so minor skips are acceptable. It's always good to point them out though to be sure.
 * There are failed attempts in the video
-* The recording was not a direct feed and contains overlays such as splits, webcam etc
+* The recording was not a direct feed and contains overlays such as splits, webcam etc. obscuring the game itself.
 * An unofficial emulator was used
 For additional audio and video requirements, please consult [[Ways_to_get_your_run_rejected_for_video_quality|Ways to get your run rejected for_video_quality]]. Finally, it's not expected that you have to be a professional a/v specialist to verify runs for SDA. Just point out things to the best of your ability.
 ==Cheating==

@@ Line 4: / Line 4: @@
 ==Quality (Gameplay)==
-While, the speedrun community is ever evolving and runs will eventually become outdated, the standards can be controlled at the time of acceptance to the site. Objectively, the ”high quality” criteria for the gameplay can be translated into:
+While strategies are ever evolving and runs will eventually become outdated, the standards can be controlled at the time of acceptance to the site. Objectively, the ”high quality” criteria for the gameplay can be translated into:
 * On par with the fastest runs on the internet for the category
 * On par with the fastest runs on the internet for comparable games and categories
-This can both mean that some ”world records” should be rejected (typically for games that haven't been optimized enough by the community) and that some ”non-world records” should be accepted (typically for highly competitive games).
+This can both mean that some World Records should be rejected (typically for games that haven't been optimized enough by the community) and that some non-World Records should be accepted (typically for highly competitive games).
-If you are not sure what is considered reject-worthy, here is a small list of reject-worthy mistakes:
+If you are not sure what is considered reject-worthy, here are some examples:
 * 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).
+* 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 and diffculty).
 * Bad RNG costing a significant amount of time
 * Not skipping skippable cutscenes (unless the in-game timer is used and not running during cutscenes - it's still very much encouraged to skip cutscenes in this case as well though)
 Overall, imagine you were in the shoes of the runner. If you think you would have told yourself after the run:<br />
-”''Wow, that went really well. There were only a few mistakes, bosses were behaving well and the rng was mostly favorable – this time will be hard for me to beat without a considerable effort.''”<br />
+”''Wow, that went really well. There were only a few mistakes, bosses were behaving well and the RNG was mostly favorable – this time will be hard for me to beat without a considerable effort''”,<br />
-Then it's probably a good fit for SDA!
+then it's probably a good fit for SDA!
-A special case worth mentioning is when a submitted run is faster than a run that is currently on the site and yet considerably slower than the fastest runs on the internet (and not submitted to SDA). In this case, the same general rules above apply. That means that improvements are not accepted by default.
+Improvements on existing SDA runs still have to meet the same general criteria, and are thus not given an automatic accept.
 ==Quality (Capture)==

@@ Line 16: / Line 16: @@
 * 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).
-* Bad rng costing a significant amount of time
+* Bad RNG costing a significant amount of time
 * Not skipping skippable cutscenes (unless the in-game timer is used and not running during cutscenes - it's still very much encouraged to skip cutscenes in this case as well though)
@@ Line 24: / Line 24: @@
 A special case worth mentioning is when a submitted run is faster than a run that is currently on the site and yet considerably slower than the fastest runs on the internet (and not submitted to SDA). In this case, the same general rules above apply. That means that improvements are not accepted by default.
 ==Quality (Capture)==

@@ Line 19: / Line 19: @@
 * Not skipping skippable cutscenes (unless the in-game timer is used and not running during cutscenes - it's still very much encouraged to skip cutscenes in this case as well though)
-Overall, imagine you were in the shoes of the runner. If you think you would have told yourself after the run ”Wow, that went really well. There were only a few mistakes, bosses were behaving well and the rng was mostly favorable – this time will be hard for me to beat without a considerable effort.”, then it's probably a good fit for SDA!
+Overall, imagine you were in the shoes of the runner. If you think you would have told yourself after the run:<br />
 A special case worth mentioning is when a submitted run is faster than a run that is currently on the site and yet considerably slower than the fastest runs on the internet (and not submitted to SDA). In this case, the same general rules above apply. That means that improvements are not accepted by default.
 ==Quality (Capture)==
@@ Line 60: / Line 63: @@
 * Do the run comments explain non-obvious things going on (provided they seem reliable)?
 If you are in doubt about something in the run, feel free to ask. Many runners check the verification thread of their run regularly and are often happy to answer questions.
 ==Final words of advice==

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
-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.
+==General==
-==Cheating==
+==Quality (Gameplay)==
-Be sure you are up to date on the [http://speeddemosarchive.com/lang/rules_en.html official rules], and report anything suspicious you may see to the verification PM. The runner will be given the opportunity to explain the situation.
+While, the speedrun community is ever evolving and runs will eventually become outdated, the standards can be controlled at the time of acceptance to the site. Objectively, the ”high quality” criteria for the gameplay can be translated into:
 ==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.
+If you notice any serious problems with the video or audio quality, describe the issue and when it occurs in your verification reply (segment and time stamp). Here is a list of some common problems with the audio and video to look out for:
-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.
+==Public vs private verification==
-If you are not sure what is considered reject-worthy, here is a small list of reject-worthy mistakes:
+Private verifications are performed in a private pm thread by verifiers having signed up through the ”Runs Needing Verifiers” thread in the verification section of the forum, https://forum.speeddemosarchive.com/board/speedrun_verification2.html. Verifiers having signed up for a run that ends up in private verification are expected to have specific knowledge about the game. It can for example be from having played through the game, having helped with the planning of speedrunning the game or simply by having gained an understanding of the game from watching speedruns of the game.
-*A death that costs a significant amount of time.
+Public verifications are posted in an open section of the forum, https://forum.speeddemosarchive.com/board/public_verification.html. You don't need any previous experience from the game to verify a run in public verification. It's always a good idea to state in your reply if you have any relevant experience with the game though. This quickly limits what can actually be verified. It's obvious that you'll not be able to evaluate complex puzzle solutions, what is rng and not or know what triggers what in the game. Just base the verification on what you can verify and be open about what you can't check. Here are some examples of what you often can check:
-*A poor, inefficient route and bad planning.
+* Is the movement good?
-*Using the wrong weapon against enemies or bosses.
+* Does the runner seem to know what they're doing or are there many hesitations?
-*Failing to use the fastest method of movement when it could have easily been used.
+* How is the menuing?
-*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).
+* Google [game name] + speedrun and see how the submitted run compares to other runs on the internet (if you know of leaderboards for the game, check them as well)
-==The Importance of Verification==
+==Final words of advice==
-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.
+While SDA-verification has a clear purpose, please also keep in mind that this is just a hobby and that we're dealing with people on the other end. Keep criticism constructive and don't hesitate to give credit to the runner when credit is due. SDA has been hosting speedruns since 2005 and there is only a handful of examples where verifications got a bit heated before things got sorted out. The vast majority of rejections are taken very well by the runners and in many cases even motivate the runners to come back with an even better run. Let's keep the atmosphere positive also in the future!
 Return to the [[Main Page|front page]].

@@ Line 5: / Line 5: @@
 ==Cheating==
-Be sure you are up to date on the [http://speeddemosarchive.com/rules.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.
+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)==