Max Payne - Single-segment (DoA) [Attempting]

[ridd3r.]

So I found a big skip in p2c3 to save 40+ seconds on Dead on Arrival! I just put the video up on youtube here The skip looks awesome, at least I think so .I tested NYM as well and it only saves about 2 seconds there. Its really annoying but the 3-4 things I have found from the DoA practising now mean my NYM run could be max 10s faster due to some route changes on a couple of levels. I guess it could be a lot worse, doing a run off the back of a major discovery like the super jump means thats bound to happen I guess.

Current estimated time: 1:03:XX

Unless about 2.5-3 minutes more of improvements are found I don't see how sub 1hr would be possible for a SS. The levels are pretty much maxed out now I think. I'v been through every level carefully and I can't see anymore skips.

However, I am just one person (with the help of honorableJay) so I have uploaded my practise run to filefront. There are other files such as a .txt file of the improvements I already decided to include. If a sub 1 hour run is to be made possible I will need other people's view points and ideas. I know there is a fair following of Max Payne runs so if you can, please help me out! It should be fairly obvious which levels are maxed out and which are not, also bear in mind this is a SS run. I have even gone to the effort of uploading save files for every level (all DoA difficulty) so you can instantly try out any level. Plenty of other games have loads of people who look for skips so why not this game?

All relevant files, including practise run -> http://www.filefront.com/user/Ridd3r

tl;dr: Help me find skips! If none can be found then fine, the run is optimal, but I don't want to miss anything.

[Inexistence]

Wow, amazing skip. As I've said before, I've never played the games myself, but I always read up on your thread, since I enjoy watching the runs. Great job, and keep going till you get the time you want!

[Rogston]

After a quick look at the practice video I made a log of possible improvements.

map1
-Why get the shotgun?
map2
-skip mobsters and shoot them down at the stairs?
map3
-the first group , bullet time the first shot? *it seems that the first shots that you took in bullet time killed the target more often.
map4
-door event , getting better angle and try to finish off the mobsters without bullet time?
map5
-
map6
-
map7
-better timed jump on the train
map8
-
map9
-
map10
-
map11
-
map12
-
map13
-
map14
-
map15
-
map16
-
map17
- skip all mobsters at the end?
map18
_
map19
-
map20
-
map21
-
map22
-
map23
-skip mobsters in the end event?
map24
-
map25
-

Looks like I need to reinstall my Max Payne and go hunt for more skips 

[Silmaranza]

Hey ridd3r, I can't help you finding any new skips, I just wanted to say that you made your run of this game so much more amusing using them. I watched your original run without the superjumps and got bored after a while because it was just running through the game fast but with all these glitch skips in it, it's a lot more interesting to watch. Just thought I'd mention it, good stuff.

[ridd3r.]

Thanks, yeah it will be much more entertaining to watch and people who have not played the game should enjoy it as well.

Rogston shame on you for uninstalling it D: !  Check out my improvements.txt file (in the .rar with the saves) as that contains some changes, as for the ones you already noted:

pro1: I need it for the super jump, you need 2 weapons to switch between.
p1c1: Killing them there is quicker than rolling past them (which I would have to do to skip them).
p1c2: Yeah, I may do its just sometimes I can get the kill without bullet time there which is obviously faster.
p1c3: Possibly but that shotgunner is so dangerous if I try that, it would only save about a second.
p1c6: Yeah I will get the jump quicker for the actual run.
p2c5: Unless you kill them, you can't enter the cut scene and so can't end the level.
p3c6: I really tried to find a way to just roll past them all as its a hard fight but I could find no way of consistently doing so without getting killed, if you can find a way then let me know!

[ridd3r.]

Double post :[

So I found yet another skip, on p2c2. Basically its like in my practise run but a good 15 seconds quicker due to me skipping a bit earlier on as well. I really thought I had found everything but then stuff like this pops up. Its such an obvious skip as well, I can't believe I missed it.

I am going to request, one more time, that people could check my route. All the killing is irrelevant, I can optimise that myself and have to really, because I know exactly how much risk I can afford at which stages. The only thing I need help with is the route itself. It would not have taken long for someone to have seen that skip I just found, maybe that is the last one but it would be good if someone else could have a look to make sure. Just mess around super jumping in certain levels, that's how I tend to find them. Your time won't be wasted as you should know I follow through when I set my mind on a run, so this run will get done.

Finally, a quick update as far as attempts go. I have started attempting, so far I have not got past p1c6, before that my best is p1c4 where I keep getting killed at the start. I'v done 303 attempts (I am keeping an official count this time). Part 1 I tend to find the hardest and so once I manage to get that done in a SS, maybe half the work is done. Part 2 should be easy in comparison with parts 1 and 3 with all the skips. I am finding the early levels very hard, just the run itself is very hard to do with no deaths let alone do it fast. Anyway I am taking attempts pretty easy, no rush. The next update will either be when I do a SS of part 1 (indicating I am making very good progress and that completion is not so far away), or if someone finds a skip for me to use.

[Inexistence]

Great skip man. Like I've always said before, sorry I don't have the game and can't look for skips with you. Know I'm always checking this topic to see what you're up to and looking forward to the run when it's finished!

[honorableJay]

Hmmm, I actually found that skip a while back but didn't think it was useful since at the time I thought it went too far out of the way (and didn't provide a straight line to the exit (like the jump on the other side of the map).

[ridd3r.]

After spending the better part of this afternoon working on p3c5, I finally worked out how to do the p3c5 super jump consistently. The success rate when I was just doing super jumps with no real method to it could be anything from 0-50% (that is attempting until death or my bullet time meter runs out, not the success rate of getting it first time!!) and so would be a very nasty run killer, at a very late point in the game. If it were not for the fact that the jump saves up to 1 minute I might have gone the safe route but its just too big a skip to miss.

I originally thought it was about height and so it was crucial to jump in the right spot length ways. It turns out this is not correct; there is actually about a pixel (maybe 2 ) where you have to land and can then jump over the banister. It is pretty much dead centre along the railing and so I line myself up using 3 points (2 on the floor and a point to aim at on the wall) and then super jump and I land in this sweet spot every time. I have to line myself up perfectly though or else it will miss and I will lose health and time very quickly. Anyway I was very pleased to find this to say the least, it is now up to me rather than just blind luck, which is was it was before.

For those of you who could'nt care less about the technical details, I will now say bit about my progress. I have done single-segments of part 1 and 2 now and so I am working on a single-segment of part 3. Then I will go back to attempting the whole game. I just find that if I can single-segment each part that is invaluable when it comes to running the whole game. A SS of part 3 should be done in a week and then, if history is anything to go by, it won't take much longer to get a SS of the whole game . I am however, aiming for a very high level of gameplay as I am aiming for a 1:02:xx which is a minute faster than the practise run (granted there is about 40-50 seconds saved due to better skips). Anyway, stand by!

EDIT: Done a single-segment of part 3 twice now and I am up to speed (actually faster than the practise run). So a 1:02:xx is definitely looking feasible and within my grasp. I am going to spend tomorrow doing part 3 and then its back to attempting the whole run.

EDIT2: Did a single-segment of part 2 twice yesterday and found 28s worth of more skips meaning 1:01:XX is now my new target. The new skips are basically adding risk, nothing I had not thought of before so I have the final final route now. Really don't see how to be faster for a SS, my practise run is now quite out of date, the run has a fair few more skips implemented now. I am practising part 3 a bit more today then attempting tomorrow.

[honorableJay]

Did I miss a few shortcuts in part 2 or are these ones you've decided to add into the run?

[IsraeliRD]

Does this mean a new segmented run? The last one was great, I had to watch again quite a few bits of it because it was so good and surprising as well.

[ridd3r.]

Did I miss a few shortcuts in part 2 or are these ones you've decided to add into the run?

I added a modified version of the p1c8 super jump onto the backdrops and some weapon changes and some more enemy skipping. Since that p2c2 skip I haven't found any new super jump skips so no as far as I know you haven't missed anything.

Does this mean a new segmented run? The last one was great, I had to watch again quite a few bits of it because it was so good and surprising as well.

Glad you enjoyed it Adding in the things I have found would only result in about 15s of an improvement (I have checked it properly) as these skips don't affect the NYM timer as they do real time. It took intense play to do that run and its quite a different play style to DoA. I really don't think its worth months of effort for the sake of 15s. Who knows, maybe some time in the future if I really take my time with it but for now I want to get a top notch DoA run which is, in my opinion, the definitive run for Max Payne.

I start attempting properly now, the p3c5 super jump is unfortunately going to decide a lot. Its not 100% first try sadly but I can guarantee to do it in 2-3 tries which means it won't kill a run, but it may affect the final time significantly, setting up perfectly isn't a guarantee . A 1:02:XX is definitely within my reach, a 1:01:XX may be too ambitious but if I persist it would certainly be something special.

----------
Edit: Just updating to vent my frustration! I am getting completely owned by the game at the moment. Take earlier today, I had 5 failed attempts in a row on p1c1, 3 of them bullshit instant kills that I have to try and luck manipulate. I got one to p1c7 and missed the roll over the wall in the boss fight, which is a failed run  ... (It certainly is when you try and jump down and get shot in mid air with a shotgun and die from full health). I died recently on p1c8 with an instant shotgun shot that has never happened before. This leaves me having to constantly evolve my run strategies in order to make it through (which I guess is to be expected). I had a run where I got to p1c3 with 7 painkillers, barely got out of the level with 1....When the game wants you dead no one can survive, you just keep picking up stray bullets and because your health is so pitiful you die. I will complete any run that gets past part 1 regardless of whether I die or not 1. for the practise and 2. so I at least have a run. However, no run has as of yet (since my route updates). All I will say is that this run will be much better than the practise run, both in standard and strategy.
I have been taking a few days off so when I start doing it everyday again I should be able to get out of part 1 with some sort of consistency (once every 2 or so days of attempts) then I should get a deathless run before long as parts 2 and 3 are easier. This time though part 1 is much harder and overall the run is harder.
Attempt count is nearing 600 now...

[ridd3r.]

1:04:58 2 deaths

This time is subtracting the time I lost due to the deaths (as my run will be deathless). The run was deathless up until p3c7, right at the end of it.... Then I died in p3c8, right at the end of that as well. Anyway, it's not like I would have accepted that run, even without deaths, anyway. I was a bit rusty on p2 and p3 given I haven't actually played them for 2 weeks, being stuck on p1 and all. Anyway, I have finally nailed p1 which is the main thing and I should start to get a lot of runs out of part 1.

I worked out how much time was lost due to big mistakes, which I won't accept in my final run, and reckon 1:02:xx would actually be a very good time. I mean, I will just watch it and decide when I have it, but it will probably be a decent 1:02:xx. The time is pretty meaningless, it's the quality of the run that matters.

Anyway, at least I have started to get runs done which is big progress really, stand by!

[Fyourics]

Red leader, standing by!
Good luck! Can't wait to see a perfect ss.