Sunday, 3rd August by dex & Co.
420 coop erryday - 23:28
Saturday, 19th July by dex
"Small" update - 3:35
Finally, something budged in the Quake speedrunning world. I am very pleasantly surprised to have to do an update mere 10 days after the last one. The update is also filled with coop stuff, which seems to be the normal thing these days.
Let's start with Single Player demos. There are only five of them, and two belong to our gibberish spouting master Basil de Vries. Both are made on the lovely dazsp2c map. Basil decided to take both 100% records from Nolan Pflug, and his Easy 100% is 5 seconds faster than the old record - 1:20. Not content with taking down a bunch of monsters on Easy, he changed the skill variable to a more demanding '3', and then did a Nightmare 100% in one hundred and twelve seconds, whopping 20 seconds faster than Nolan. Nicely done, Orbs.
Another of the SP demos is a creation by the gibberish apprentice, Rutger Baks. His map and category of choice was the Easy 100% on dm1m2. Killing every enemy and finding every secret there took him 1:36, which is 3 seconds faster than Justin Fleck. However, it still wasn't good enough for him, and surely enough he improved it further, by 2 seconds, to achieve the final time of 1:34. Quite a great run!
The last SP demo is a courtesy of Laurent Mertens. He did a Nightmare 100% on ssnw, which took him 1 minute and 17 seconds. It's a self-improvement by 6 seconds, and a good watch as well.
That ends the 'lonely' production of this update; the rest of it is coops. And I'm very happy to announce that they aren't entirely done by the 'old crew'. We have a newbie on board, his name is Mikko Ylätalo and he's Nahk's buddy. I tell you, it's a great thing to get a new, fresh runner these days, and it's an even better thing to have such a good player enter the show. His demos show a lot of skill and potential, and I hope he stays for a while. If an old saying is to be believed, a picture is worth a thousand words. So, here comes a huge collection of 72000 words per second, by Jaakko Alakopsa and Mikko Ylätalo:
That was some good running, right? Let's hope Mikko sticks around, because he's great!
The next two demos are a creation by the team consisting of Rutger Baks and Basil de Vries. This duo decided to beat two de Mestre coops. The first one is a deja 2-player Easy 100% in 0:53, which is 4 seconds faster than the old run by Pif and Luc. The second demo is also a 2-player Easy 100%, this time on the sewer map ssnw. They finish in 0:32, which is 14 seconds faster than the coop by Pif and Luc.
A few days before doing those they decided to let Laurent Mertens tag along for the ride. Still on ssnw, the team consisting of Basil, Rutger and Laurent did a 3-player Easy 100% tablefiller in 0:33. Turned out to be beaten by the 2-player run-through later, which is a shame. :)
As an icing on the cake, here comes the maddest of madcoops. This is not only because of the number of people involved - an impressive 5 players - but also because of the people involved themselves. It's hard to find a group less mentally stable than the collective of Jaakko Alakopsa, Basil de Vries, Rutger Baks, Michael Hudson and Me. We also wanted Mikko for this one, but unfortunately technical problems made him drop out :(. Still, this 5-player Easy 100% on Wind Tunnels in 45 seconds is the first madcoop done by over 4 runners since 2006. It's also a tablefiller - the 3-player time is 0:49.
And with that, I bid you good night. Keep the inbox full.
Wednesday, 9th July by NahkahiiR
Coop overflow - 23:21
Important matters first, Thomas Stubgaard seems to be the only human recording iD single player demos these days. At least he knows how to be entertaining and amazes us with a 4 second improvement to his own Nightmare 100% record on Satan's Dark Delight. The new time stands at 1:20. MUST DOWNLOAD!!!
The mad Dane didn't stop there. He tightens the grip of his Total Ownage of The Haunted Halls by recording a Nightmare Run through the hellish corridors filled by bloody ogres. Skipping the fiend he saves 4 seconds again to get a 0:48. MUST DOWNLOAD!!!
The only episode run of this update was done by Basil de Vries. He knows the depths of dm2sp like his own pockets and finished the Nightmare 100% in 1:01, beating himself by 14 seconds.
Laurent Mertens set a new record time on cjhsp1. The Easy 100% was an empty hole in the tables until Laurent came to challenge all the monsters with a 8:28. For a time, that was good. Then I decided to submit my older but faster demo that wasn't even meant to end up here. Cleaning the map of monsters took 7 minutes, beating Laurent by 88 seconds. The time doesn't seem optimal as both of us had trouble finding the silver door. :)
The other one of active Dutchies, Rutger Baks found a way to Run fast through czg_moon. It wasn't such a Nightmare to him because the time he got is 5 seconds faster than what Daniel Andersson spent long time ago. 0:32 stands as the new record.
Then we got almost ancient demo from Flavio Quadros. He saw that Rutger had conquered the Nightmare Run of deja. Flavio fought back with a 0:31, beating Rutger by 1 second.
Nightmare Runs have been popular recently. Rutger does another one of them in good style on elden1 in 0:13, beating Fabian Kollakowski's almost 9 years old record by 1 second.
Last month a drunken Pole filled the Nightmare 100% hole of sm135_ankh. Some time later another - but sober Pole, Damian Kulot shaved 36 seconds off of Karol Urbanski's demo to get a 1:27. That wasn't the end of action on Damian's map. Basil gave monsters a thorough beating and exited the level in 1:02, 25 seconds faster than Damian.
Laurent thought his own Nightmare 100% of ssnw wasn't good enough so he went and recorded a better demo - 1:23, 22 seconds faster than himself.
Monday, 23rd June by Aspokala
Little pack of demos - 21:32
The "Demo Machine" title of this update goes to Dmitry Demetjev with 4 demos! Great rocket launcher usage in all of them:
Nothing can separate Poles and beer in the summer. Karol Urbanski knew that while exploring Sm135_Ankh after many many beers. The Nightmare 100% endeavour was finished in 123 seconds, new to the tables. Holy cow, that was entertaining.
The last single player demo in this update belongs to Laurent Mertens. The commando came to irc, acquired the info of empty holes, quit irc and recorded a Nightmare 100% on Ssnw. 1:45 later he became the proud owner of the new (and crappy) tablefiller.
One coop was done and it's an id coop by two Scandinavians: Thomas Stubgaard and Mathias Thore. After a little drink in Mandel's end, The Haunted Halls didn't feel too frightening so it was time to record the Easy Run in 0:38, beating Thomas & Mads-Peter Stubgaard by 1 second.
That's all now, thanks for sending demos and keep them coming.
Friday, 30th May by dex
Ordinary routine - 0:15
8th July 2034, inside an APC, on the surface of the newly colonised planet LB-223, 0200 GMT:
A commander speaks to a bunch of marine soldiers:
- Alright, bastards. Since the ETA at the disembark place is less than a quarter of an hour, I think it's a good moment to fill you in with the details of our mission. We're gonna perform a pretty routine assignment. We have to find and deal with a certain individual. It would be the best if we get him alive.
- And who exactly is that 'certain individual', sir?
- The quite famous thief going by the name Thomas Stubgaard, who lately...
- What, him?! I thought he disappeared, stopped doing heists!
- So did most people, soldier. He was inactive for a long time. A bunch of time ago he broke into the 'Azure Agony' bank on LB, just yesterday he went for a bigger haul: The Underearth bank!
- The man has more balls than brains. How the hell did he manage to escape?
- He got out of the bank in quite a record time, going through the tunnels. That day was quite a Nightmare for the guards, like 100% of them were killed while he was escaping. Apparently it took him just 2:17 to get the heist done completely alone, the last time he needed 22 seconds more.
- He is quite insane, I thought the bank would make the defences better after his last spectacular heist. Why doesn't the police deal with it, though?
- They almost apprehended him, but he probably had a few friends with him, and thanks to that he destroyed the entire police force in the area. That's why police requested help from the military.
- So, what's the rough plan?
- They were last seen departing south, into the mostly uncharted jungle. We'll get as far as we can with an APC, and then we'll pursue Stubgaard and his buddies on foot from there. We should stick close, that will help us avoid surprises in unknown terrain.
- Any dangers other than the gang we're looking for?
- Maybe a bit of fauna, but that's it.
- Sir, are you sure? I heard stories about some demons in the souther...
- Don't let those silly stories get to you, they are just a load of wash! We're facing a purely human threat here, so don't worry. And please, don't call me 'sir'. Now, let's rock & roll!
And so, the marine team disembarks from the APC and starts the search for the elusive Stubgaard's gang.
- I think I heard something!
- Loose formation, team! From where, Collins?
- Around there - said Collins, as he pointed towards extensive foliage a few metres away from them. And then, the marines saw a figure quickly running away! The commander instantly recognised the threat - it was a wanted criminal, Tom Nguyen. He started escaping frantically, going into the little known parts of the jungle...
The place he chose for his escape was called cjhsp1. To the horror of his pursuers, the place was filled with demonic monsters. It seemed as if the superstitions of the folk were true in the end. However, Tom didn't really mind monsters, in fact they helped him get away faster. It was quite an Easy Run for him, and in 1:47 he was already too far away for the marines to catch him. The commander seemed to recall info about a great adventurer Laurent Mertens exploring this place as much as 44 seconds longer. Without any trace of 'sshplur' to be found, the commander decided to continue on with the mission.
Minutes later, they noticed yet another shadowy figure in the dark. Without much consideration, they started pursuing Rutger Baks, known for his fast legs and quick escape routes. This time, his route of choice was in a place very familiar to everyone, filling the marine commander with a feeling of deja vu. The place was literally crawling with monster spawns straight from Nightmares, but Rutger Ran without any regard for that. In as little as 0:32 (8 seconds faster than Laurent the Adventurer), he entered a weird temple. Upon entering it and noticing the floor is above his head, the commander recognised he was inside Ogitrev temple. Rutger again Ran away and avoided all kinds of Nightmare demons, being the first person to come through the temple unscathed, in 0:39. After this display of skill, he entered a drained sewer called ssnw. He Ran the same exact way, evading Nightmares all the time. After 0:23, he lost the marine team chasing him. (Laurent explored the place 1 second slower)
The commander wanted to divide his team into search parties. However, before he could even start, he saw another man running in the same place, the same way as Rutger earlier. This man was none other than Jaakko Alakopsa, the criminal who made running away his artform. Rutger did not stand the comparison with him - Jaakko managed to run through that sewer in 0:20, 3 seconds faster. The path lead him to another complex sewer called sewage. He decided to play around this place extensively. He finished the Easy Run-away in as little as 1:53. Then he again Ran as fast as possible, except with more monsters around! 2:40 was the amount of time this took him. Then, he decided to kill each and every one of those Nightmares, 100% of them. After 5:28, the sewer seemed clear, and yet enemies appeared again, in smaller quantities. Killing 100% of them was way too Easy for Jaakko, who did it in 3:44 (3, 7, 56 and 10 seconds faster than another known explorer, Thomas Bergendorff).
The marine team was clearly not up to par with him, and only the commander and Collins were still on Jaakko's track. He was just too fast for them, and he got bored with running around in dirty sewage, so he decided to move on to classier environment. aow was the place he picked for his endeavours. First he did a bit of Nightmare Running there, and was the first known individual to survive that! It took him just 15 seconds. He liked it so much he actually risked getting caught, and got through it again, this time killing 100% of the Easy to kill monsters, in 0:44.
So close to getting caught, he decided it was time to move on. First, he went through desout place, hoping he could shake off the pursuers there. However, he got a bit carried away and killed each and every one of the Nightmarish monsters, which took him 1:41, 6 seconds faster than the last individual to cross here, Marlo Galinski. This wasn't nearly enough to leave Collins and his commander behind. Jaakko moved on through the already visited cjhsp1. Again, he took time killing all the monsters as hard to beat as in Nightmares, thinking that the two people chasing him didn't know the place. In 9:01, the monsters were eradicated, but to Jaakko's surprise his enemies were still on his tail. So, he crossed the land of xnq1002. The enemies here were very Easy to kill, so Jaakko again decided to kill all of them, and check all of the secrets out. 18 seconds faster than the great explorer Laurent Mertens, he finished in 3:12. He still failed to shake off his enemies.
He then entered a very weird temple, and both the pursuers had a feeling that they saw this place today already. Deja vu. Jaakko killed all the monsters from Nightmares on his way, and it seemed as if his 2:10 would be unbeatable, and his pursuers would have to accept defeat...
Then, Collins spoke: - He's making fun of us!
- I'm going after him alone! - the commander replied.
- You have no hope of catching him in your old age, sir!
- I hate official titles, I told you! Call me Richard Skidmore, damnit!
The commander then started a frantic chase, killing all the monsters that mysteriously reappeared in the meantime. And, to both Jaakko's and Collins' amazement, he was insanely fast: 2:02, 8 seconds faster. Thanks to that, he managed to catch the master of running away, Jaakko Alakopsa!
Now, he just needs to transport Jaakko to prison...
Wednesday, 14h May by Aspokala
Stolen flock of sheep - 11:24
This is a story of a squatter. Today he will go to the pastureland with his sheep as he does every day. It's a sunny, beatiful morning. The sun had just risen above the mountains and now he's standing next to a pine watching the flock eating grass on hilly terrain. He didn't have enough of sleep last night so he lays down under the tree and takes a short nap. The sheep won't go anywhere, he believes...
Zzzz... for half an hour.
*YAAAWNNN* "Oh where am I, oh yeah, I fell asleep for a while. But... where are the sheep?!! I shouldn't have fallen asleep! I must go look where they could have gone." He sees somebody sitting on a bridge nearby and decides to go ask him. When he approaches the bridge, he's startled to see that the fellow is not human. It is a big, old gnome. He asks carefully: "Excuse me, have you seen any sheep wandering nearby? I fell asleep under a tree and when I woke up, all of them were gone." The gnome looked at him and replied: "I stole them! I need to sacrifice to the gods and those sheep were good for that purpose." The farmer was shocked but pulled himself together and asked: "Is there anything else that you could sacrifice? These sheep are my life." The gnome sank into its thoughts, sighed and said: "There is one other way, the magical herbs that grow in distant parts of this land. I am too old to travel and fight against monsters that eat those herbs. I give you one day to find them before I have to do the sacrifice."
The farmer started thinking: "I could help that gnome to find herbs. I will people from town for some monster hunting!"
He found the gang of seven brave runners: Michael Hudson, Jaakko Alakopsa, Laurent Mertens, Rutger Baks, Karol Urbanski, Pif de Mestre and Luc de Mestre.
The bunch arrives to a strange cave, called Zer1m7. The first herbalist Michael Hudson takes the job and Runs straight to the Nightmarish fortress ahead from the cave. He finds a rocket laucher and does precise boosts across large open areas, finishing in 2:26 (beating himself by 16 seconds). The herb Michael found is a catnip.
The second place they pass is Bast, a church filled with ugly monsters. Jaakko Alakopsa jumps into the water, waits for zombies to walk away from the church roof and does an Easy 100% through the place. He finds a basilica from the back of the church but monsters gather around him. He has to run a Nightmare 100%. All that running back and forth makes him tired, and this second run takes much longer. His times are 3:11 and 6:35 (beating Thomas Stubgaard by 19 seconds and -98 seconds).
They approach a large mansion called Cjhsp1. Laurent Mertens shows up and Easily Runs performing nice grenade & rocket jumps inside the huge place. At 2:31 (tablefiller) he jumps through an exit and finds himself from a hidden place: Deja. It looks familiar and without problems Laurent does a Nightmare Run in 40 seconds! (tablefiller). He walks back with some cinnamon.
Still near mountains, the group sees a high tower: Ftfs100b. Jaakko finds the tower familiar and cleans the tower of monsters. The Nightmare 100% is completed in 1:16 (beating himself by 16 seconds). From the top he brings a bag of black pepper.
As Rutger Baks can't wait for others and does Easy and Nightmare Runs through Hellvill, boosting around with grenades in fast style - 0:24 and 0:25 (beating Thomas Bergendorff by 1 second in both runs).
After the mountain has been crossed, they see some kind of research center, Ogitrev, which appears to study gravity. Karol Urbanski likes the idea of low gravity and goes flying like a bird, meanwhile doing an Easy 100% in 1:21 (tablefiller). Once all monsters are down or gibbed, he catches some chamomile from the ground and runs back to his friends.
In the same facility there seems to be a torrid sewage system, "Ssnw" where a nettle is having foothold. Laurent finds a rocket launcher from the bottom of the sewage and fights his way through the area with many rocket jumps finishing in 24 seconds (tablefiller). The road from that place leads to another canyon, better known as Xnq1002. It is said that a strong guardian protects a blue lotus flower which has magical powers. Laurent did not have enough of running around in the sewage system so he goes and completes an Easy 100%, killing the guardian and capturing the herb in 3:30 (beating himself by 26 seconds).
It's almost time for going back to the gnome but there are still two places that must be visited. The first one of them is D6, where chamomile grows in large quantities. While others are already tired - Pif de Mestre and Luc de Mestre - the famous brothers team up to do an Easy 100% and Pif takes a long time collecting chamomile at the exit of the area and finally finishes in 1:37 (tablefiller, single player time 2:11). The last monster hiding place is Watrways where Pif and Luc continue their teamwork. First they do an Easy 100% thinking that the journey is finally over and while looking for the herb of this place, monsters organize again but that's a futile attempt trying to destroy de Mestre clan so they run back to the action and do a Nightmare 100%. Co-operation resulted as very quick clearings of the area: 17 and 26 seconds (tablefillers, single player times 0:25 and 0:33)! Finally they find the last herb - peppermint.
The group of brave runners and the farmer return to the bridge where the gnome is waiting. "You were so quick" says the gnome and continues "Thank you for the herbs. Our gods prefer them instead of sheep but as I am so old, I can't travel that far and your sheep were so easy to steal for the sacrifice. Come to my house, I reward you with lots of wine that you humans praise so much." The group of tired runners accepted the reward and started drinking and singing so loud that the sheep ran away scared of the noise and the farmer had hard time bringing them back home.