Example Replays Challenge

[Kitoko]

I have no idea who did the default example replays, but I decided to take it upon myself to make some new ones. Not only that, they are themed based on difficulty. There are even replays for you to watch or beat on SuperTux mode, should you ever happen to earn that difficulty. Be forewarned that SuperTux replays shed no mercy.

https://puu.sh/t5WxY/b00b7e2216.zip

[hiker]

Hi Kitoko,

I have no idea who did the default example replays, but I decided to take it upon myself to make some new ones. Not only that, they are themed based on difficulty. There are even replays for you to watch or beat on SuperTux mode, should you ever happen to earn that difficulty. Be forewarned that SuperTux replays shed no mercy.

Thanks a lot for that. To be honest, at the moment we are not entirely sure what to do about those files - e.g. are we adding them to the existing ones, replacing some of ours? Or should we perhaps go as far as support downloading ghosts from our addon server (though tbh I can't see us having time for that)? Or support players exchanging ghost files directly (again a problem of time)?

So a few questions Arthur is going to have a look at the replays, and we will take it from there.

Thanks a lot for your contribution!
Joerg

[Arthur]

Hi, I've done reviewing the ones recorded for novice difficulty. Here are my notes so far:

olivermath_novice.replay:
no intentional crashing, no bonus speed usage, decently optimal driving: half a lap in front
intentional crashing, no bonus speed usage, not very optimal driving: half a lap behind
verdict: possible inclusion, especially considering the track. Starts a bit fast, slows down later and seems to not be ureasonably hard unless crashing much

hacienda_novice.replay:
no intentional crashing, no bonus speed usage, decently optimal driving: 5 seconds behind
verdict: keep current replay

bovine_barnyard.replay:
no intentional crashing but run-over by haybale once, no bonus speed uage, decently optimal driving: a second behind
verdict: keep current replay

city_novice.replay:
no intentional crashing, no bonus speed usage, decently optimal driving: 5 seconds before
intentional crashing, no bonus speed usage, not very optimal driving: 5 seconds behind
verdict: possible inclusion, track not novice friendly

abyss_novice.replay:
no intentional crashing, no bonus speed usage, decently optimal driving: 3 seconds before
intentional crashing, no bonus speed usage, not very optimal driving: 7 seconds behind
verdict: possible inclusion, might be a bit challenging

Of these my gut feeling is that olivermath_novice.replay is the best one to include, though I am happy to discuss it if you think I did not drive as a novice would (quite hard to know for sure, especially since there are many different levels of novice, e.g. are they able to use the controls etc). I'll post the other reviews in the coming days.

[Arthur]

Here are my results for the intermediate replays.

volcano_island_intermediate.replay:
no intentional crashing, zippers used, some nitro used, no skidding: a second before
verdict: possible inclusion, a little unsure about the difficulty, does not feel unreasonably difficult though

snowtuxpeak_intermediate.replay:
no intentional crashing, zippers used, nitro used, no skidding: a second before
verdict: a bit difficult however the current replay is a bit too easy, there's 8 seconds difference between the two so something in the middle might be a better fit in the end

sandtrack_intermediate.replay:
no intentional crashing, zippers used, some nitro used, some skidding: a second before
verdict: possible inclusion, probably okay difficulty

mansion_intermediate.replay:
no intentional crashing, zippers used, some nitro used, no skidding: a second behind
verdict: probably a bit too difficult for intermediate

gran_paradiso_island_intermediate.replay:
no intentional crashing, zippers used, some nitro used, some skidding: same time
verdict: possible inclusion, probably okay difficulty

cocoa_temple_intermediate.replay:
no intentional crashing, zippers used, nitro used, no skidding: a second before
verdict: possible inclusion, probably okay difficulty

So there's four possible candidates, however all will probably not be included so will have to revisit them for a (semi)-final decision.

[Arthur]

Expert replays:

zengarden_expert.replay:
verdict: actually a bit too difficult, tried quite a few times now but always a second behind or more. In addition to not crashing ever, using zippers and nitro effectively and skidding as well, you need to drive very optimally and as such fits more with what I believe a SuperTux replay should be

snowmountain_expert.replay:
verdict: possible inclusion, not too difficult but might even be a tad too easy but in that case only a couple seconds

scotland_expert.replay:
verdict: possible inclusion, maybe a little difficult but perfectly doable

lighthouse_expert.replay:
verdict: also too difficult, 3 seconds or more behind. Would be perfect as a SuperTux replay but can't be retro-fitted since Expert and SuperTux have different speed so it would probably become too easy

greenvalley_expert.replay:
verdict: possible inclusion. Difficult, possibly a bit too difficult, but doable

Most likely candidates are snowmountain and scotland in my opinion.

[Arthur]

And here's the last batch, with SuperTux difficulty:

xr591_supertux.replay:
verdict: possible inclusion, very difficult

stk_enterprise_supertux.replay:
verdict: possible inclusion

mines_supertux.replay:
verdict: possible inclusion

fortmagma_supertux.replay:
verdict: possible inclusion

However in the end I decided to add the following replays:
olivermath_novice.replay
volcano_island_intermediate.replay
scotland_expert.replay
snowmountain_expert.replay
mines_supertux.replay
stk_enterprise_supertux.replay
xr591_supertux.replay

Thanks!

[Alayan]

Thoughts on the supertux replays :

XR591 is fine ; I got to beat it by 1 second after several tries. You simply need to watch the ghost using the shortcut and do the same and it won't be too hard.

Mines is fine also ; it was not easy to do a perfect run to beat it (the mines'cart hurt you if you are 2-3 seconds faster after 2-3 laps...) but I got 6 seconds better in the end (I would propose it for inclusion if I wasn't sure it would be deemed too difficult).

STK Enterprise : I thought it was too difficult, honestly. I always made errors, got into parachutes and the one try I finished was 9 seconds behind. Then I seen you didn't deemed it very difficult ; tried again until I made no error in the first half-lap and from then, avoiding major mistakes ; got to beat the replay by 10,07 seconds. All in all, seems fine.

Question : would other replays be interesting for STK ? Does the game intend to ship one for each race and each difficulty ?

I have a 84 seconds supertux difficulty math class 6 laps replay and a 73 seconds 3 laps lighthouse replay which are beatable but not too easily.

[Arthur]

Question : would other replays be interesting for STK ? Does the game intend to ship one for each race and each difficulty ?

No, we only aim to provide a few per difficulty as examples so people know how they work without having to record one first. A long-term goal is that people are able to share replays via the game, perhaps even creating a global rank system. However the latter will need a lot of carefully thought out work.