Arcesius' Pursuit of Completion

[Arcesius]

15 minutes ago, Baker said:

Congrats!
 

I’ve ‘seen’ you playing it for such a long time I thought that this game must be extremely difficult. The more I look into SMBF myself the more I want to play it too. It actually seems like a lot of fun.

 

I’m starting Dirt Rally 2.0 in 3 weeks because of the Dirt Rally server shutdown. I don’t want to take any chances and get the online trophies out of way asap. Want to join in on the fun?

 

Thanks! 

 

Yeah, I definitely pushed the last couple of weeks... Didn't have much time, and was even about to start something else... But I knew that I was almost done and decided to just give it my all and try to finish...  

The funny thing is... Whenever I was frustrated with the game, I would maybe watch a video of it and would think to myself: "Well, that really does look fun..."... But playing the game was a different story ? Who knows, maybe auto-runners in general are not for me.. Can't really say for sure, this one was the first one for me! 

 

As for Dirt Rally 2.0.. Yeah, I understand, and I'm worried as well.. Especially since I really want to get to this one (I had the first game as well, but the second game seems to be a lot better in every aspect). Only... there is a DLC trophy that you can only get with a specific car that you can only unlock on the account that bought the DLC... which in my case is my Swiss account. I bought the complete edition on that account not knowing that there is account-bound content, so currently I can't 100% the game on my main. I guess it would suffice to buy that specific DLC only a second time, but I'm not entirely sure. In any case, I'm still pissed about that ?

 

But yeah, I'll see how I feel about this game in a couple of weeks, might be worth starting rather sooner than later! Though I really wanna play A Pixel Story next, that one I think is pretty much fixed. 

[Destructor-8]

3 hours ago, Arcesius said:

Super Meat Boy Forever

What an experience... I think this is the first game that has this combination of enjoyment / challenge rating. And it's mainly that discrepancy that made this one feel... like torture at times.

 

Was it worth it? Well yes, yes it was. You can't imagine my elation after each completed run. Ask @Mori and @Exhuman1988, I was in party chat with them when I finished what I would say was the hardest run, and I almost left them deaf from my victory scream ?

 

Congrats! I saw you were on it in recent days so it's good you came back to get it done. It's interesting reading the differences between this & the first one as after watching videos of this one, it looks like it requires more in order to do it. I don't know when I will try to do the first one but it won't be for awhile. I want to eventually do it & it's probably something where the more time I spend on it, the more I will want to get it done. I'll try to do what I can though. Nice going again, glad you did it!

 

52 minutes ago, Baker said:

I’m starting Dirt Rally 2.0 in 3 weeks because of the Dirt Rally server shutdown. I don’t want to take any chances and get the online trophies out of way asap. Want to join in on the fun?

 

The main online trophy to be aware of when you do it is the "Fire Up That Car Again" since it usually appeared every few weeks & will depend on what track you get. I kept messing it up when I did it as I went into it with a "fuck it, let's try this one" & that never worked out well as I would get a flat tire right at the start lol. It was probably worth putting in some practice just to know the track at least but also it's worth noting that you can upgrade you car before going for it. The good thing is every online trophy will be alright so it's just that one.

 

29 minutes ago, Arcesius said:

As for Dirt Rally 2.0.. Yeah, I understand, and I'm worried as well.. Especially since I really want to get to this one (I had the first game as well, but the second game seems to be a lot better in every aspect). Only... there is a DLC trophy that you can only get with a specific car that you can only unlock on the account that bought the DLC... which in my case is my Swiss account. I bought the complete edition on that account not knowing that there is account-bound content, so currently I can't 100% the game on my main. I guess it would suffice to buy that specific DLC only a second time, but I'm not entirely sure. In any case, I'm still pissed about that ?

 

I think I had the same thing as that so that's annoying since you need the correct livery as well. The first one was great but this one is absolutely amazing & I'm sure @Mori has mentioned how good it is. It feels really good & once you get going on it, there's a lot of fun to be had with it. It's one of those really fun experience which is also really stressful lol. I know @Mori will know more about that though. I'm still yet to get back to it.

Edited October 1, 2022 by Destructor-8

[FontenelIe]

On 10/1/2022 at 1:24 PM, Arcesius said:

Is Super Meat Boy Forever harder to 100% than the original? 

 

For me, personally, the answer is a very clear yes, quite significantly. But maybe not for the reasons you think.

 

Wow, congrats on the platinum. I just finished Super Meat Boy platinum yesterday, and really enjoyed the challenge, it's super hard, but fun to do and the difficult is fair. This is not the first time I read negative experiences about SMB Forever, which is really a shame. I was looking forward to play it, but the fact it's a auto-runner just puts me off. Even worse going to the platinum, since it will require close to 100 hours of gameplay I'd imagine.

 

If you don't mind I have some questions related to the difficulty you mention:

 

You say it's significantly harder than the original, but the reasons seems to be subjective. If someone straight up use your seed for the no-death runs, you would still consider more difficult than the original SMB ?

 

About seeds, I'm surprised there aren't many discussions about the easier seeds and strategies in general, after so many years I'd imagine people would have digged everything about the game. Guess this game isn't that popular. Would you consider your seed in the easier side ?

[Arcesius]

8 hours ago, FontenelIe said:

Wow, congrats on the platinum. I just finished Super Meat Boy platinum yesterday, and really enjoyed the challenge, it's super hard, but fun to do and the difficult is fair. This is not the first time I read negative experiences about SMB Forever, which is really a shame. I was looking forward to play it, but the fact it's a auto-runner just puts me off. Even worse going to the platinum, since it will require close to 100 hours of gameplay I'd imagine.

 

If you don't mind I have some questions related to the difficulty you mention:

 

You say it's significantly harder than the original, but the reasons seems to be subjective. If someone straight up use your seed for the no-death runs, you would still consider more difficult than the original SMB ?

 

About seeds, I'm surprised there aren't many discussions about the easier seeds and strategies in general, after so many years I'd imagine people would have digged everything about the game. Guess this game isn't that popular. Would you consider your seed in the easier side ?

 

Well, first of all, congrats on finishing SMB!  I agree, it's a challenging plat, but it's fair. And since you are in control at all times, it's difficult to blame the game when you do indeed make a mistake and lose a run. 

 

in SMBF, your reactions are much more limited due to the auto-runner aspect, I really think that's the main reason I didn't enjoy the game quite as much. I'd have to play more auto-runners to really know though, this was my first experience with one.

 

So, as for my seed... Forget the light worlds, let's talk about the dark worlds and 0xDEADBEEF... Those are the 6 runs that will give you a run for your money. On my initial seed, I spent close to 15 hours practicing for Teak Girl, and even got a 1-death run at some point, but my levels were absolute shit, with multiple levels having far too tight jumps to really come up with an acceptable level order. I got burned out and left the game for months. 

 

When I came back, I made sure to look up seeds that looked manageable to me. If you watch my videos, you'll notice that I did those 6 runs on 3 different seeds... I would say that I indeed managed to track down some "easy-ish" seeds, although it's difficult to make comparisons... A run might look very easy, and then when you are trying it yourself you only then notice how much precision is needed for specific parts, or everything that can go wrong, etc.. But yes, I think my runs are probably on the easier side. That's what I was looking for. 

 

Still... In the original SMB, you have a pretty much linear increase in difficulty. Most deathless runs are fairly easy, at least until you get to the final three. In SMBF, the light worlds are a joke to complete deathless... and the dark worlds are all a fucking pain. There is no smooth difficulty curve here, all runs are comparable to at least Girl / Zombie Boy I'd say, and they can come close or even surpass Impossible Boy, depending on the seed. And because there are 6 of those runs, it makes this game feel more draining (paired with all gameplay issues I mentioned). 

 

As for why there is no discussion about easy seeds... (Real) Consoles and PC / Switch (?) don't share seeds... Most speedrunners play on PC, so even if they would hunt down the easy seeds, you would not be able to use them on PS. And as you can see on this very site, the game is not very popular on consoles...

 

If you decide to go for the game, I hope you'll have more fun with it than I did!  

[Dauersack]

Man, congratulations. I have not even completed the normal Super Meat Boy yet, I am likely not even capable of it given my lack of progress when I was still trying, and then my plan to complete the sequel in order to at least call one Meat Boy platinum my own gets killed in its crib by a much more skilled player describing it as more difficult and more annoying than the first one. Not gonna lie, that stings, though in some way it also kinda tempts me to get it anyway, especially with that platinum name. I have no doubt that you are able to beat other notorious platform challenges like VVVVV or Nuclear Throne, not sure why you would want to though, they often get described as rather unfun to 100% even by hardened platform players.

I guess the only game that can really make a player like you despair is Necrodancer.

[Arcesius]

8 hours ago, Dauersack said:

Man, congratulations. I have not even completed the normal Super Meat Boy yet, I am likely not even capable of it given my lack of progress when I was still trying, and then my plan to complete the sequel in order to at least call one Meat Boy platinum my own gets killed in its crib by a much more skilled player describing it as more difficult and more annoying than the first one. Not gonna lie, that stings, though in some way it also kinda tempts me to get it anyway, especially with that platinum name. I have no doubt that you are able to beat other notorious platform challenges like VVVVV or Nuclear Throne, not sure why you would want to though, they often get described as rather unfun to 100% even by hardened platform players.

I guess the only game that can really make a player like you despair is Necrodancer.

 

Haha, well, sorry... ? The platinum name is definitely the best thing about this game ? I think the game is doable overall, and I definitely completed objectively harder games... But this one gave me the most grief and provided the greatest amount of frustration. If you enjoy auto-runners, it might not be as bad for you. I know that for example @Joe Dubz, who wrote the guide, enjoyed this game a ton (even if he also agrees that it's harder than SMB). So take my opinion with a metric ton of salt. 

 

As for the other games you mentioned... I own both of them, and have currently VVVVVV installed on my PS5 ? I'm probably not going to start either any time soon, since I have other games I want to get to first that will take quite a bit of time (my estimation at least), but I will definitely get to them at one point! 

 

VVVVVV I think I'll enjoy... With Nuclear Throne, I'm not so sure. It's a game that always calls me, that I want to like and play... But I'm a bit afraid to start it since I didn't really like Enter the Gungeon (or rather my one and only hour with Enter the Gungeon.. Luckily I didn't unlock any trophies during that time) and it's a massive, massive grind... So I hope to at least like it, otherwise that grind will be a massive headache. 

Crypt of the Necrodancer on the other hand... I think I could get another ~6 trophies with a reasonable amount of practice (2 of them are free.. I could get them within 5 minutes but I want to leave some easy trophies open for some reason ?), but getting it to 100% is currently not realistic.. not with my current private situation and amount of gaming time. Maybe at some point though... 

 

If I understood your plan correctly, you'll get your account back to almost 100% and re-attempt SMB when it's the only game left for your #100 plat milestone, right? I think that's a good plan and you should have plenty of motivation to tackle the one run you have left by that time  

[Joe Dubz]

Huzzah my dude, a very hearty congratulations to you Arc!!! I know we had been discussing it here and there on PSN. But regardless man, I knew it would only be a matter of time before you popped that bad boy! Glad the suffering can end ? I'm glad you have that list of videos too with your "easier" seeds/runs. In case I ever have anyone complaining on the guide or whatever, I'm gonna direct them to said videos ?

 

In unrelated news, I'm thinking about starting up The End is Nigh sometime here soon! IIRC, you were a big fan of that one, correct??!

[Arcesius]

1 hour ago, Joe Dubz said:

Huzzah my dude, a very hearty congratulations to you Arc!!! I know we had been discussing it here and there on PSN. But regardless man, I knew it would only be a matter of time before you popped that bad boy! Glad the suffering can end  I'm glad you have that list of videos too with your "easier" seeds/runs. In case I ever have anyone complaining on the guide or whatever, I'm gonna direct them to said videos 

 

In unrelated news, I'm thinking about starting up The End is Nigh sometime here soon! IIRC, you were a big fan of that one, correct??!

 

Thanks man! I just wished I could have seen it through together with you back when you also went for this one... If anything, I really have to compliment you on sticking to your own seed.. I initially wanted to do so as well, but fuck me, I wasn't going to suffer more than necessary ?

 

So, The End is Nigh... Undoubtedly the best platformer I've ever played. No exaggeration from my part, just a sublime game... Go for it, you won't be disappointed (and if you are.. feel free to unfriend me on PSN ?). A game where Edmund still had his hands in the level design, as he did with SMB... And not SMBF, I still think that's one of the main reasons why that game didn't resonate with me. 

 

Looking forward to discussing that game with you! I hope you have the same great time I did  

[Dauersack]

4 hours ago, Arcesius said:

Crypt of the Necrodancer on the other hand... I think I could get another ~6 trophies with a reasonable amount of practice (2 of them are free.. I could get them within 5 minutes but I want to leave some easy trophies open for some reason ), but getting it to 100% is currently not realistic.. not with my current private situation and amount of gaming time. Maybe at some point though...

Yeah when even some of the most skilled players on the platform describe the hardest trophies of it as several hundred hour long torments then it is definitely not reasonable to accomplish it without having a lot of free time and a clear head, any distractions are likely to make it impossible.

 

4 hours ago, Arcesius said:

If I understood your plan correctly, you'll get your account back to almost 100% and re-attempt SMB when it's the only game left for your #100 plat milestone, right? I think that's a good plan and you should have plenty of motivation to tackle the one run you have left by that time  

That was indeed the plan a while ago, though the more I think about it the less I actually think that it is a good approach. Sure, Super Meat Boy plat is many years in the making, longer than any other plat on my account, but only one trophy is still missing, a disgusting one to be sure but still just one, seems a bit anticlimactic to go for the leftovers as a 100th milestone project. Currently I am entertaining the idea of getting Super Meat Boy as 75th platinum instead, and actually subject myself to Super Meat Boy Forever as a 100th plat in order to have a full challenge for this massive milestone as well as a plat with a better name, and really sticking it to this series, though I can't say your review of the game filled me with too much confidence. I have not yet fully decided on it.

 

I have plenty of other tough games that you have already completed on my extended to do list after the road to 100 plats has been finished, aside from two on that list you seem to have every single one of them completed already, which is pretty humbling to look at ?

[AJ_Radio]

Unfortunately @Arcesius two trophies are unobtainable for Resogun, the ones for creating a custom ship and publishing it. 
 

If you don’t mind unfinished games, Resogun is really fun, since you have a knack for challenging shmups. The graphics are better on the PS5 and it runs at a seamless 60 FPS. 
 

Hopefully Commando Mode will challenge you.