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MBD Madness!

Posted: 2016.07.21 (09:25)
by ska
Highscores contests have been a staple of this forum since its inception. However, I don't think there has ever been a contest purely for manually created runs. I, like many of you, enjoy seeing N being pushed to its limits, and I've decided to set a weekly challenge level that will concentrate mostly on the original 00–99 episodes.

Rules: Anyone can enter, and you can just participate using standard FBF methods if you choose. To prevent people stealing your routes/ideas, please PM me your userlevel data; I will not share your demo data until the round is complete.

Scoring: Although I'm not expecting a lot of competitors for this, I have implemented a scoring system to help incentivise competition. This means that if a level doesn't appeal to you specifically, you won't feel pressured into creating a run. Scores will be given as follows:

One point will be rewarded for every frame saved off the current legitimate 0th. For example, for the first week's level, 85-3, a score of 181.125 would yield 13 points. For rounds where less frames are involved, I may double or even triple the value of each frame, since shaving a frame on a level such as 60-2 is more impressive than shaving off a frame on a level like 91-4. After an indefinite amount of rounds (which will be determined in part by the competition's popularity), a winner will be decided. Please state your method of creating your run when submitting; for example, if you used FBF or MBD techniques—or a combination of both. There's no reward of penalty for using either; it's just a matter of interest. For those interested in learning how to create MBDs, please consult the wiki on the subject; the N Demo Code Generator can be downloaded here.

Round 1 is 85-3. The deadline is Thursday, 28 July 2016 at 11:59:59 PM (AEST) (Multiple submissions are allowed; however, only your last submission before the deadline can be accepted.)

"Dodging Bullets" (by SquidgY) is a level that is special to me because it was my first 0th. Over the years, the level has been cleaned to a fairly high degree, with Eddy's time of 180.800 being 10.5 seconds faster than the 0th of less than ten years ago. Another reason for selecting this level to MBD is due to the chimney section, the almost RNG nature of the chainguns, the potential for interesting corner jumps, and the fact that it currently hasn't received the MBD treatment yet.

Please post to show your interest!

Re: MBD Madness!

Posted: 2016.07.21 (18:22)
by EddyMataGallos
Lovely idea!

I'm not sure how much participation this will get, seeing as history has only seen a handful of people actually handcrafting these things, but I'll try to compete in some rounds (I'll be out on vacation some of them, but that won't be a problem).

People remember you might as well use FBF or underclock if you don't have the patience to MBD.
ska wrote:One point will be rewarded for every frame saved off the current legitimate 0th.
Well thought out scoring system, I like it ;)

Re: MBD Madness!

Posted: 2016.07.23 (16:15)
by ska
EddyMataGallos wrote:Lovely idea!

I'm not sure how much participation this will get, seeing as history has only seen a handful of people actually handcrafting these things, but I'll try to compete in some rounds (I'll be out on vacation some of them, but that won't be a problem).

People remember you might as well use FBF or underclock if you don't have the patience to MBD.
No problem. I might even extend the deadline depending on activity. FBF, underclock, MBD, whatever; it doesn't matter, just as long you PM me the data.
EddyMataGallos wrote:
ska wrote:One point will be rewarded for every frame saved off the current legitimate 0th.
Well thought out scoring system, I like it ;)
Thanks! I wanted to keep the scoring system simple but effective. Actually, if you could pin this thread, that'd be awesome. I've already PM'd the usual suspects, but so far you're the only person to respond yet... :(

Re: MBD Madness!

Posted: 2016.07.24 (11:46)
by zapkt
Hey,

I'll try to build some tools to help MBDing, but I'm not sure I'll find the time or if what I want to do is possible.
I don't really like the idea of a competition and would rather have more collaboration on such topic, but eh, that's a highscore-related forum

Re: MBD Madness!

Posted: 2016.07.24 (16:15)
by EddyMataGallos
zapkt wrote:Hey,

I'll try to build some tools to help MBDing, but I'm not sure I'll find the time or if what I want to do is possible.
I don't really like the idea of a competition and would rather have more collaboration on such topic, but eh, that's a highscore-related forum
This is something I also thought about, like, the community helping craft an MBD, although the problem with that is that when you edit anything in a run it's most likely you'll have to reedit the rest of the run as well.
ska wrote:Actually, if you could pin this thread, that'd be awesome. I've already PM'd the usual suspects, but so far you're the only person to respond yet... :(
I'm not sure pinning individual contests is a good idea though, looks a bit favoritistic.

Re: MBD Madness!

Posted: 2016.07.26 (11:59)
by ska
EddyMataGallos wrote:
zapkt wrote:Hey,

I'll try to build some tools to help MBDing, but I'm not sure I'll find the time or if what I want to do is possible.
I don't really like the idea of a competition and would rather have more collaboration on such topic, but eh, that's a highscore-related forum
This is something I also thought about, like, the community helping craft an MBD, although the problem with that is that when you edit anything in a run it's most likely you'll have to reedit the rest of the run as well.
ska wrote:Actually, if you could pin this thread, that'd be awesome. I've already PM'd the usual suspects, but so far you're the only person to respond yet... :(
I'm not sure pinning individual contests is a good idea though, looks a bit favoritistic.
Eddy coining English words now; I love it! Yeah, no problem. Guess the contest is dead in the water. Can't say I'm surprised, to be honest. A collaborative MBD would be good, but you've already pointed out a potential pitfall.