Revision as of 13:33, 1 September 2009

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To be done: transfer all the info from here: http://scratchpad.wikia.com/wiki/BioShock_Speed_Run ... to this wiki. Sections marked with a * require updating to the latest techniques.

Tricks/Glitches

Radio Skipping

Some events are triggered when a radio message stops playing. Instead of waiting for them to finish normally, you can stop them playing by selecting another message from the message archive and this will trigger the event. ("radio skip")

If you have several radio messages queued up, you can speed the queue up by playing a shorter one than the one currently playing. Then the next message will play as soon as the shorter message finishes.

Diary Skipping

Some triggers wait just until there isn't a radio message playing to fire. If you start an Audio Diary playing, these triggers will be able to fire as if all your queued radio messages had finished. ("diary skip")

Diary skipping is generally better, if you can pull it off. Triggered radio messages important to the plot will interrupt any diary message. The only time you don't want to do a diary skip is when it's the last message and you'd have to wait for the diary to finish for the next trigger. Diaries tend to take a long time.

Note I didn't want to take the bit above out yet because perhaps I'm mistaken, or perhaps there's a console/pc version difference, but as far as I can see, every single trigger in the game fires normally when a diary is playing. The only time when you want to use a radio skip instead of a diary skip is when you need to START a radio message playing (because it needs to play to fire a trigger), which is ALREADY in the radio queue (that is, the backlog of radio messages which have ALREADY been triggered. If there's a sequence of radio messages, they probably won't all be in the queue at once, because each one's completion or cancellation will trigger the next). This is because QUEUED radio messages WON'T interrupt a playing message, but NEWLY TRIGGERED radio messages WILL interrupt a playing audio diary when triggered (but not, usually, a playing radio message).

Notes

"I suspect you'll have to identify the shortest radio message there is on each level (there might even be levels where you'll want to go out of your way to acquire a really short message, though I doubt it) and then when you get a big dialogue build up, start that short message playing every time a new message starts. That way, the next message in the queue will only have to wait for a short message to finish before playing, rather than for the (long) message that was in the queue before it.

Alternatively, I haven't checked whether radio messages that get queued up are added to the message archive before they start to play. If they are, you might be able to manually select a trigger message to start it playing and fire its trigger instead of waiting for it to play automatically. This too warrants research.

I also think - I'm not sure about this - that when you start an audio diary playing manually, it will finish before radio messages that are already queued start to play, BUT any new radio message will interrupt it. This means that when you have a long queue of radio messages but really need to play one that you're just about to get, you could interrupt the queue by starting a diary playing and then trigger the radio message you need, and because it interrupts the diary it will automatically skip the radio queue. If my observations are right." - ExplodingCabbage [1]

Another Theory

I *think* each event and audio message is marked with flags. These flags can say stuff like:

• Trigger when the player steps in an area, or looks at an entity.
• Wait for any radio messages to complete (eg the "Ah, That's Better" Cohen speech and the "Find the Quadtych" goal completion in Fort Frolic)
• Go to the top/back of the queue.
• Run X seconds after this other event.
• Wait for these other events to start/complete.
• Clear the event queue, first.

Fort Frolic, for example, is just a very complicated arrangement of these flags on events. Certain events will queue up; certain events get triggered at the end of other events; certain other events will clear the queue; certain radio events take forever. Speed running it is just a matter of knowing the graph of trigger relationships, what triggers what, when a clearing event is coming up, and when something's gonna wait for everything to play.

An Explanation of Letting the Radio Queue Play

Every instance of "Wait for all radio messages" I've seen so far has been a situation where the player is between two major events, the player is trapped, anyhow, and the player must experience both events in order to know what to do:

• The "Ah, that's better" speech which introduces you to Cohen is preceded by Atlas' message that gets jammed (explaining why you don't hear from him later). You're trapped in the metro for that time.
• The "Find the quadtych" goal is preceded by Cohen explaining how you fit in to his quadtych plan. You're trapped in the Atrium.
• The two speeches by Atlas/Fontaine at the end of Rapture Central Control are critical. They even hold up leaving the level if the second one isn't done. You're trapped in Ryan's office.
• Tenenbaum's "Go to Suchong's flat" tells you what you're doing that level, and the little girl demonstrates the special doors so you won't be surprised when you see them later. You're trapped in the safe house.

It's all by careful design. The game designers know, plot-wise, the player must hear these two messages, so they trap the player and make the messages hard to interrupt. I think the only reason we *can* interrupt the messages is that the UI would be frustrating otherwise - accessible one moment, inaccessible the next.

Death Warping

Reasoning

"Of course for a speed run you'll be doing a lot of death warps. The Vita Chambers make it way too easy to skip so much content on return trips. Kill yourself when you need to go back to Fountaine's Fisheries after getting the camera, you'll end up right outside Peach's door. Goad the Big Daddy to kill you outside Langhorn's office in Arcadia you'll end up waaaaaaay back at the Gatherer's Garden outside Rolling Hills. Lots of potential in that regard. " -- Psychochild

Since death brings almost no penalty in BioShock, and death teleports you to the nearest active Vita-Chamber, it's sometimes faster to die than to run a given path.

It also lets you skip cut scenes and triggers (eg in the Medical Pavilion).

Preferred Suicide Methods

TODO: Check accuracy

In order from fastest to slowest.

• Falling Damage (very rarely an option)
• Fragmentation Grenades and/or Heat Seeking Rockets (reload canceled)
• Trap Bolts (reload canceled)
• Proximity Mines (reload canceled), triggered with a pistol round
• Electrobolt in water
• Standing in fire

(On Hard, you also go down pretty quickly against a Big Daddy.)

Trigger Avoidance

Floor Triggers

A lot of events are triggered when the player walks on a certain area of floor. In rare occasions, you can avoid those triggers by walking in exactly the right spot.

Look Triggers

BioShock has a few enemies that activate when you look at them - eg Hector Rodriguez and Dr. Steinman (in his first appearance). You can avoid activating them by not looking, which can be handy.

It seems like it acts roughly like taking a picture. You have to have them somewhat centered and close for it to trigger. I'd say it's like a "C" picture.

Melting Ice

Ice is used to block the player at several points. You're supposed to use Incinerate or napalm to melt it, but there are other methods.

You can use exploding buck. This is particularly handy after the Peach battle, because there's some on a corpse in the spider slicer's lair right outside Peach's.

You can also use ordinary fire. This can be transferred from standing flames, flames caused by explosions, or something already alight. But the flames from nitro splicer's, turret's, and security bot's deaths aren't real - they're just graphical.

There's a difficult way of using ordinary fire to melt the ice in the Medical basement. This avoids having to get Incinerate.

Hacking Tricks

We tend to use autohacks and buyouts a lot, but when you absolutely must hack:

"I've just read the thread and are watching the run as far as I got myself. I haven't read it here and it's not used in your run, but you can increase the flow speed while hacking by simply right clicking which should shave off a few frames. If you need to hack later, it might add up." -- xeen

Don't forget to freeze the thing you're hacking, too, if you can

Weapon Tricks

"there's a trick to shoot the crossbow and the grenade launcher faster: shoot, switch to plasmids to skip the reloading/recoil animation and then just switch back to weapons and shoot again." - tri-Ace_Fanboy

Works on the shotgun, too - Marty81

Boosted Jumping

"I've been looking for glitches in the demo of this game and I've found a pretty cool glitch that I'm almost 100% positive will be useful to a speed run of this game.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i44GNWq6ERw

It's kind of like the Pressure Jump with the baby stroller glitch: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sgsFyiYv9RY "

-- fluffy kitten

Horizontal Jumps

They're easier.

Put an ashtray flush - and I do mean *flush* - against a flat wall. Jump onto the middle of the ashtray. You'll get a huge horizontal impulse in the direction you jumped.

Note that it doesn't give a vertical impulse, only horizontal. You're gonna hit the ground again real soon unless the ground falls away from there.

Vertical Jumps

Haven't been able to replicate the video's.

Level by Level

The Crash Site

Normal Progression

Swim towards the stairs.

You can go right through the fire.  You will not be damaged, because you 
have no health bar.  You will sound damaged tho.

Enter the Lighthouse.

You can still move even tho the lights are off (of course).

Descend towards the bathysphere and board it.

It's slightly faster taking the right (counterclockwise) stairs down to the 
bathysphere, because you don't have to clear the door.

Watch the video, see Rapture go by, listen to Johnny and Atlas talk. These are all ambient audio, not radio messages, so you can't skip them.

Notes

This is technically a different level than "Welcome to Rapture" - different saved game names, different load screen (though the load screen calls it "BioShock" where the saved game calls it "The Crash Site").

Not much to do here.

Welcome to Rapture*

Vita-chambers

1. Right outside the Bathysphere
2. First room after Electro Bolt
3. Right outside the Footlight Theater
4. In the lobby/trap between Medical and Neptune's Bounty

Normal Progression

The Bathysphere to Kashmir Restaurant

Leave the bathysphere, listen to Atlas' directions, watch the spider get chased off, pick up the wrench.

* "Move to higher ground" - let play
* "Smile for the camera" - let play
* "Draw her out" - let play
* "Smile for the camera" - let play (short)
* "Find a weapon" - radio skip with "Smile for the camera" (*slightly* 
  faster if you're quick, I think)

Stand between the debris and the wrench, then spin quickly once you pick up the 
wrench to save a half a second.

Kill the thuggish splicer, go up and get Electrobolt 1, watch the cut scenes.

You have to kill that first splicer; otherwise the debris blocks you from 
going up and getting Electrobolt 1.

TODO: Any tricky way to skip the cut scenes? :)

Zap the door, pass the plane wreckage, and battle the two thuggish splicers.

The first splicer is triggered when you descent the small staircase to the 
right and look back up into the hallway.  Then he respawns in the room opposite.
So, enter, back down the stairs to the right until he's triggered, and head 
back towards the other room.  Once he's dead, the 2nd one spawns at the door 
out.  It might be fastest just to zap and move around him (if you angle it 
right). (Side note: these dudes stay zapped for a VERY long time.)

See flaming dude, use the elevator, listen to Atlas spin a tale about his family, see the momma splicer.

TODO: any way to use that neat jumping trick to skip the elevator ride here?

Ignore the flaming dude and the momma splicer - just grab the gun on the way 
by.  

But have the wrench equipped going into the Footlight so you can knock the 
lock off that much faster.

Footlight Theater to Medical

Drop down to Footlight, watch the "cut scene".

360 only: * "Lower Weapon" - let play.* "Little Sisters" - radio skip with any message as soon as you drop down the broken stair.The splicer will come out as soon as you begin playing the new message.* Watch the splicer get pwned (waits for "Little Sisters")* "Big Daddy" - let playNote: Tremalkinger was unable to replicate this on the PC version. The map won't come up once Atlas asks you to lower your weapon.

Make you way to the lobby between Medical and Neptune's, trigger the trap, fight the 5 splicers.

You must kill the splicers before Atlas will open the gate out of the trap.  This includes one that spawns near the bathrooms and two waves of Leadheads and Thugs.  Immediately after triggering the trap, run back toward the middle of the room and look into the far bathroom.  You should reach it just in time to watch the splicer spawn.  Kill that one then just zap the two waves of splicers as they land in the water, standing as far under the balcony as possible where you can still see the water so the non-spawning splicers don't shoot you while you wait.

Listen Atlas' speech, head to Medical.

You can skip Ryan's and Atlas's speeches by avoiding the trigger in that room.  The non-trigger path is along the far wall as you enter (the one with the closed gate on it).  The area of the floor between the gates is clear, so feel free to waltz right across the room to the closed gate.  The tightestspot is the door frame of the closed gate, which you must hug, or you'll hit the trigger.  Make the first step, and you're in. (It warrants some practice.)You could also skip Atlas's "Andrew Ryan" with "Electro Bolt in Water", butthere's no point. Ryan's speech is unskippable and long.  Use the non-triggerpath instead.

Useful Death Warps

None. All the Vita-Chambers are placed "upstream" from where you want to go.

Note that you're invincible between getting Electrobolt 1 and the battle with the 2 thuggish splicers.

Notes

Atlas' message ANDREW RYAN, which controls the trigger to open the gate to the Medical Pavilion, does not get affected by the Radio Skip trick. (TODO: diary skip, tho?)

Cauldrath's notes on his first run: [2]

Medical Pavilion *

Vita-chambers

1. As soon as you enter, on your left.
2. In the room with the shotgun on the floor.
3. In the room where the sign is blown up.

Normal Progression

Grab the first aid kit and machine gun ammo on the desk before running past the splicers, letting them fight each other, and hit the first switch.

Shoot the window out on your way to the second switch. Pull it, and jump out the window.

Trigger ghost.

After ghost is finished, push button to open door.

Go along the left side of the area ahead through the archway with a torch above it, grabbing the EVE Hypo on the ground as you go. Let the splicer at the door blow up, then run past the Nitro Splicer, up the stairs. Crawl into the hole to get Incinerate, turn around and run back out to the arch with the torch.

Can be skipped by using a flaming object instead.

It is possible to grab Doctor Steinmann's grenade that he tosses to destroy the 
sign, although it doesn't stop the sign from exploding. This saves the trouble 
of grabbing a grenade from a Nitro Splicer, but using Steinmann's grenade seems 
very difficult. It only worked about 10% of the time during Tremalkinger's 
attempts, but without any real detectable correlation between time waited or 
angle.

Melt ice downstairs.

Collect Telekinesis.

Use Telekinesis to catch a Nitro Splicer's explosive, then use it on the sign.

Ignoring this guy, going through the closer door, and jumping the counter may
be faster

Run back to the stairs you went down to get here and go through the door up there that is between them, catching an explosive from a Nitro Splicer along the way. Blow up the sign with it.

Pick up the corpse on the ground, not in the chair, and loot it as you run up to the gate, then launch it at the flying bot as soon as the gate opens. Zap the turret as you run forward. Run up to Steinman's window, wait until he starts talking, then loot the room.

Kill Steinman and collect his key. (Telekinesis on propane tanks is advised. Headshots do increase telekenisis damage like anything else)

Optional: Go through break in tunnel to cutscene with Little Sister, rescue or harvest the Little Sister. Select the Gatherer's Garden to open the exit.Pros: You gain 80 or 160 ADAM, as well as random loot. Usually includes bandages, 2 First Aid Kits and an EVE hypo plus some pistol bullets.Cons: You lose about one minute and fifty seconds.If you chose to skip the cutscene, either die against the far door to spawn down in Dandy Dentals, or deactivate a bot in the doorway to prop the door open.

Return to the first switch and activate it.

Exit via bathysphere.

Useful Death Warps

If you are skipping the sequence with the Little Sister, go all the way down the broken tunnel and drag some splicers with you. You need to be pressed into the corner of the door on the right side, if you are facing the door. Another possibility is to throw remaining propane tanks at yourself, or electrocute yourself in the water.

If you are not skipping the sequence with the Little Sister, warp as soon as you get Steinman's key. There are propane tanks in that room and one down in the pool of water, not to mention the pool of water itself. You will come out in the room where you blew up the sign and the swarm of splicers won't spawn.

Skipping Incinerate!

Melting the ice at the entrance to Dandy Dentals is necessary, so must be done using normal fire to skip Incinerate! The only sources of normal fire in the level are the Eternal Flame sign, the fire at the entrance to Eternal Flame, the burning body of a splicer who is killed in a scripted sequence when you approach Eternal Flame, and any body killed by an exploding fire extinguisher. The fastest method of melting the ice that is known to be possible is to set a small object (such as a nearby ashtray or the nearby bucket) alight using the burning splicer at Eternal Flame, then to quickly move that object to the ice that needs to be melted by attacking it with weapons or electrobolt.

ExplodingCabbage's notes on it: [3] [4]

Skipping Telekinesis

So far a way has not been found to skip Telekinesis.

The splicer who blows up the sign can not be killed.

The opening under the sign before it is blown up is an invisible barrier.

Explosives that have not been handled with Telekinesis will not blow up the sign.

Skipping Telekinesis is of VERY questionable value, considering how useful it is later on.

Audio Skips

None, surprisingly enough. Every audio message that plays either isn't holding anything up, or is ambient and unskippable. The only two messages worth skipping (at the end of the little Harvest/Rescue drama) are avoided by the death warp.

Notes

"Ran to the bot stuck in the door and hacked it. You can't blow it up - I tried. " - Cauldrath

Cauldrath's notes on his first run: [5]

ExplodingCabbage's notes on propping open a door or two: [6]

Neptune's Bounty

Smuggler's Hideout

Arcadia 1

Farmer's Market

Arcadia 2

Fort Frolic

Hephaestus

Rapture Central Control

Olympic Heights

Apollo Square

Point Prometheus

Proving Grounds

Fontaine

Misc

PC vs 360

Known Differences

• The 360 doesn't let you crouch at full speed. It was though that you couldn't use the Smugglers Hideout skip on the 360 because of this, but you still can.
• Audio skipping is much faster on the 360 controller, just because of the UI controls.
• The rules for accessing radio messages are different. In the PC version, you can't during certain scenes. While on the 360, you can. (eg the Footlight Theater.) This means the 360 can radio skip things the PC can't.

Suspected Differences

It seems like looting is faster on the 360. Maybe that's just me.

Plasmids and Tonics Analysis

Must Haves

• Telekinesis - far too useful
• Sportboost & Sportboost2 - this is a speed run, right? Equip both.
• Electro Bolt - impossible to avoid? And handy for turrets and doors and such.
• Security Bullseye - Reportedly extremely helpful for taking down high hitpoint targets such as the required Big Daddy kills during Hephestus, as well as Fontaine himself. Very easy to obtain, since it is directly on the route back to the Fisheries.

Potentially Interesting

If not for the cost in time of obtaining ADAM...

• Target Dummy (Reduces fire on you, and allows for the hacking of turrets without Electrobolt. High EVE cost is a drawback.)
• Cyclone Trap

Potentially Skippable

• Incinerate - Not required, since there are other methods to melt ice. Some people feel it isn't worth the time to obtain, since the damage is somewhat slow.

Others disagree. While it is not useful against an enemy charging or chasing you, it is still fairly effective against targets when it has time to work. Enemies that aren't actively attacking you, such as when you manage to surprise a splicer, or when you hit spider splicers crawling along the ceiling.

Unobtainable

• Hypnotize Big Daddy (1 & 2), Safecracker, Prolific Inventor, Armored Shell 2 - too much time taken by rescues
• Natural Camouflage, Scrounger, Extra Nutrition 3, Security Expert 2, Photographer's Eye 2, Static Discharge 2, Wrench Jockey 2 - all tonics gained by research; there's no time for non-essentials.

Notes

See here for a detailed list of the tonics: [7]

Are we 100% sure the time it takes getting Sportboost & Sportboost 2 will be made up in saved running time? It certainly seems like it...

Links

• The Speed Demo Archive forums, [8] and [9]
• Tremalkinger's older runs, on YouTube: [10]
• Cauldrath's runs: [11]