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Outcast is an action-adventure computer game by Belgian developer Appeal, released in 1999 by publisher Infogrames. It was named the "Adventure Game of the Year" by GameSpot the same year. Praised for its great AI, it throws the player into an alien world to save the world from a black hole.

 

Best time: 1:12:14 by 'atomicJo' on 2010-01-21, done in 9 segments.

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Author's comments:

Ok let's start with the reasons why I made this run :
- this is a very good and immersive game, I liked it a lot
- it's a french/belgian game (and so am I ^^)
- I found a couple of glitches, although some aren't useful in the run

Tech:
- I had some problems due to the old age of the game. It doesn't use hardware acceleration and modern processors can cause speed problems such as rendering the player character unable to run on certain surface (mud in shamazaar world) or with Twon-ha (mount). One solution to prevent those glitches is to artifially slow down your processor, and that's exactly what Fraps does while recording! I used a specific version of Fraps : version 2.9.6 build 7639. I had a terribly low framerate with other versions.
- Due to random CD accesses during game, there are some minors lags in the video (the biggest at 1:05:04)
- There's no difficulty choice.
- Almost every cinematics are skippable excepted those where Cutter talk to Marion (event quests). I don't skip the end cinematic.
- Dialogs can be accelerated by clicking each speaker's sentences.
- Outcast uses a unique way to save games, integrated with the game world. You have to equip an item called Gaamsav and "squeeze" it, making it glow and emit a sound. The sound can be heard by enemies and they will investigate, so that the player must take the situation into account before saving a game. After 13 seconds, the game pauses and a menu overlay appears. Saving process takes about 15s, this is quite long that's why I tried to finish the game in few segments. This video show the saving process : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4v0XcDweK10

Glitches and moves :
- jumping from high places : there is a simple way to avoid damages when jumping from high places : crawl while falling ^^
- Wall climbing while in the water : you can climb every wall / vertical surface which has its base in the water, simply go in the water, switch to the subjective view, look along the wall ( and/or turn yourself back on it),strafe into it while moving the view (you can press jump key too) -> you're "teleported" at the top ^^ This move is used several times in the run.
- wall climbing (outside of water) : this is another way to climb at the top of a wall (no height limitation) but outside of water, you just need an object / or a piece of stone that you can catch with your hands, if you manage to place your head inside the wall during the climbing animation, you're teleported at the top by pressing jump key! This move isn't used in this run.
Those 2 glitches are shown in this video : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FTZFYLy2PHE
- teleporter glitch : you can go trough some doors using a teleporter, you just have to drop it inside the door while being stuck to it in subjective view (don't equip it before being stuck), then run in the direction of the wall/door and use the teleporter. This also can be used to climb any wall because when you leave a teleporter inside a wall, it is "teleported" at its top (you can see it at 22:02)

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Run comments on each segment :

The main difficulty in running Outcast is the route planning. The game makes you travel through 4 main worlds in which you have to accomplish quests to get a special item called a "mon", so there are lots of "back and forth" through these worlds. In parallel of this big quest, several narrative videos (conversations with Cutter) appears and add event quests which must be completed to finish the game. I don't know exactly how those event cinematics trigger, it looks like there is a part of randomness (as you'll see in the 7th segment), however there are some required conditions to get them triggered. When you get a Mon and finish the nex event quest (in no particular order), a timer starts. When time is up, the event cinematic activates, but only when you are in a wide open space, and there are no soldiers around. Also you can't be in the world where the event takes place. Finally some fights aren't skippable and the first weapon you get in the game is very poor : not powerful and of low cadency but I don't lose time buying another one, well placed dynamites can be very powerful !
- segment 1 : you awake in a little world called Ranzaar, this is a kind of training level. You must accomplish 4 events before the chief Zokrym open the daoka (teleportation gate) which leads to the other worlds. Ian gives you the 4 events to do but for 3 of them (jar shooting, jump, swimming) you don't actually need to talk to him to pass them. You have to talk to Ian for the last one (sneaking) which I complete without hiding, just a matter of good timing! Then I ask Zokrym the permission to leave, pick up some ammo and medikit and go for the real big one quest. You appear in Shamazaar world but in order to finish the game as fast possible you must get the first Mon as soon as possible (since a timer starts from this point and so on) that's why I'm going to get the Okaar Mon first. Actually the teleporter glitch is useful to get it very quickly, however I need a teleporter to do so that's why I head toward the Shamaz Keb village in Shamazaar, pick up the 3 teleporters, speak to him for the later Shamazaar Mon quest, pick up a key, bind hotkeys to the 2 frequently used teleporters (it saves time spent in the inventory to equip them) and leave the square teleporter for a future coming back.
Then I get access to the center island temple using wall climbing glitch, go to Okasankaar world trough a daoka and run to the Okaar daoka. While in Okaar I leave a teleporter close to the daoka to be able to leave rapidly once I get the Mon. Then I head toward the the soldier camp, cross the walls using teleporter glitch and go through the door of Mon room using the same glitch! In the classical way you have to find 2 keys to open that door which would have taken 10-15 minutes! Once I get the Mon I go to Motazaar world, then I cross the little mountain to the right (little shortcut, plus I avoid some guards), take 2 dynamites and save the game.

- segment 2 : I start by dropping a well placed dynamite in a soldier camp for a later fight in this segment. The reason why I didn't do this in the end of the first segment is that the efficiency of this technique his quite random so I tried this segment lots of times to get the perfect fight speed. Then I break the bridge engine, leave a dynamite for the next fight, talk to the chief of talans about the bridge and he send me to the engineer Zoran. I kill the 3 guards who are after him thanks to the dynamite. After being yelled at by Zoran he send me to his assistant, his friend has been killed by some gamors (sort of lions) and he was the one who had the machine part for Zoran's repairing. After picking up that part I go back to the assistant near the Talanzaar's daoka (by teleporter) and head toward the camp where I first drop a dynamite. I must get the Shamaz's cell key which is in possession of 3 elite soldiers (those in red) who appear when I picked up the machine part in previous segment. I've been very lucky for this fight because the 3 elite soldiers were very close to the previously planted dynamite and the guard chief fired them by mistake which result in a big killer blast! Once I pick up the key I go to the bridge and the first event quest triggers. I found a way to cross the canyon without getting the bridge repaired by Zoran which is a long process. You must jump and catch the bridge moving part, then there is a corner that you can catch to climb on the metal arm and cross the canyon easily !
Then 4 tests must be passed to gain access to the Shamaz's cell :
- the maze : I found little shortcuts (jump and catch)
- the rolling stones : just cross the area without being touched, if so you must have taken high adrenaline plants no to get killed
- the lava moving stones : just keep jumping as fast as possible
- the lava : keep running trying to avoid lava blow
Then I use the key to free the Shamaz who gives me the second mon in the video and I go back to Talanzaar daoka.

- segment 3 : I'm now in Talanzaar to save Marion (first event quest), she is on the other side of Fae Rhan temple (soldier boss) but teleporter glitch let me cross it easily. While in the temple I take time to plant dynamites for the final fight of the game, good thing that the engine keep all the objects in memory during all the game!
In order to free Marion there are several things to do, speak to the Shamaz, then speak to Zelb using teleporters and finally kill some guards in front of the house where she's locked. I used a well planted dynamite as usual. Then I go to Okasankaar by daoka just after picking up some useful stuff around. In Okasankaar I head toward the Darosham to save the game, on my way I kill the water snake called zeedog to take its gland which will be useful later.

- segment 4 : The mon of Okasankaar is the longest to get. To resume you have to convince a talan called Oru to fight a creature called the Gorgor, this creature live on the mon's island, rather unlucky isn't it? In order to convince him you have to bring him back : 5 daguerach (kind of mushrooms), his weapon and 5 other plants (called booyats), all those are obviously scattered all other the (big) map! It is good to know that you can pick up some of them before having talk to Oru.
First thing I do, pick up 3 daguerach in the temple of the flame (Darosham), to disable it you must shoot the 4 icons on the rotating circle, it opens access for about 25 seconds which is enough to pick up all I need. Then I plant several dynamites for the next big fight against Kroax and his guards in front of the Darosham.
I head to an immersed ruins where lays Oru's weapon, in the classical way you need to ask the Shamaz about it, then ask for help from a talan to open the ruins thanks to a 2 persons mechanism. I manage to pick up the weapon performing wall-climbing to enter and to exit the ruins. You must kill all city guards to be able to talk to the Shamaz and unlock mon quest, I did it quite fast regarding the poor weapon I've been given at the beginning of the game! I head to Oru's island by boat because of deadly sharks in the water, the gland I took before is useful here to help the sailor repair his boat. I take 5 booyats on the neighboor island then go back to talk to Oru using a PPS (invisible item) to avoid several dangerous Zeedogs. The 4th daguerach is in possession of a talan made prisoner in Zokatraz prison in the middle of water. I don't use the second sailor to get there cause it's a very slow way, I found an alternative way, difficult to perform because of randomness that's why I save at this point.

- segment 5 : the trick is that you can swim a short distance in water without being killed by sharks, that distance depends on the random spawn of those sharks. I chose the closest land to prison and manage to cross the small portion of water, once you're close enough to the wall, sharks don't attack you anymore. Then I perform a wall-climbing to climb on the platform, I kill the keyholder guard and unlock the cell where stands the talan who gives me the 4th daguerach. I save before the crossing back.

- segment 6 : after a successful crossing, the second event quest video triggers, Marion needs help in Shamazaar (pff) but I'll do it after getting Okasankaar Mon. I come back to Cyana (the city) to talk to Zele who told me where I can find the last daguerach. It can be bought to a merchant called Zafar for 270 zorkins. Then I go back to Oru and get ready for THE big fight, the gorgor is actually a tyranosaur^^ After the funny video where Oru get stupidly killed (video that I skip) I killed the gorgor thanks to Oru's weapon and my poor little gun and eventually get the third mon. I use teleporters to get back rapidly to Shamazaar and rescue Marion, finally I save near my next objective for Shamazaar Mon quest.

- segment 7 :
In Shamazaar world, you have to steal 3 essence idols in 3 different warehouses, place them in 3 different temples to activate stairs which leads to the mon, then get the last idol from a talan called Naarn to disable the flame and gain secure access to the mon!
You need to talk to Ilott about Naarn's location, but he's near a group of guards who are quite scattered and who wander all over the place. For these reasons I don't waste time killing them, I manage to talk to Ilott without being seen. Then teleportation back to Zeb (with square teleporter) to ask him to heal Ilott. I noticed I had to follow him at the beginning of his way otherwise he stopped running. Anyway since Zeb runs quite slow I go to the warehouse close to Ilott and pick up the first essence idol in the meantime. Then I talk again to Ilott about Naarn's location and head to the second riss warehouse. Here is a major mistake that could be interpreted as a huge amount of lost time ( trying to get out of water without stairs) BUT actually it is way better than a segment without that mistake because the next event quest triggers much faster. As a matter of fact during my numerous attempts for this segment I noticed that running the whole route without major mistakes, getting the Mon and teleporting to a safe place didn't get the next event quest triggered faster (it was even quite slower). After getting this second essence idol I go to Shamaz Mazum who needs a magwa (a sort of fruit) to recover and to finally give me Naarn's location. You must ask an ordinary talan where such a fruit can be found, then you have to talk to Logar who sells you one for 130 zorkins (local money). Logar's location being close to a temple, that's the perfect occasion to place the first essence idol in it. For this first temple which is blocked I find a way to gain access to the mechanism without having to blow the blocking stones, you can run on the low wall along the stairs and jump to catch upper wall. In Outcast there is only one key to perform actions, its effect depends on things you're looking at (jump if nothing forward, speak if somebody is in front you etc.). This system has the advantage to be easily memorized but there is a drawback, you can't jump while being close to a npc! To prevent this to happen with the talans who clear the blocking stones I manage to be spotted by ennemies who open fire, the talans automatically hide and so aren't a problem anymore cause they can't be spoken to in this position. Unfortunately they "awake" too son in this segment...
Then I place the second essence idol in the next temple and take the last one in the next wharehouse. Teleportation back to Shamaz Mazum, I give him the magwa, talk to him about Naarn, and place the last essence idol in the temple. I use the previous teleporter to get back to the central island where the access to the mon as been made possible. The one last thing to do is to take Naarn's idol to put out the flame in which the mon lays. I kill him as soon as he appears through one of the 2 daokas of the center island temple (to take his idol), then go pick the mon up. Finally I teleport to a safez place and immediatly get the next event quest triggered. I head to the Darosham in Okasankaar where Ian has been captured.

- segment 8 : I kill every guards and Kroax in one shot by detonating all the dynamites (Hollywood style inside ^^), then speak to Ian. Now I have the 4 mons and there is still one event quest to trigger, a 10-12 minutes timer start at this point. The To fill this time I do some actions for the last narative event in which I'll have to travel between Ranzaar and Okaar. I manage to do the whole route with 4 teleporters (thanks to 2 more teleporters bought in Talazaar) and to plant dynamites in Okaar camp where the next fight happens (teleporter glitch once again). After waiting one minute the last event quest triggers, I go to Ranzaar, use a Ubik-0a to make a diversion for Gamors, speak to Ian and then go to Okaar very quickly using the teleporter route I've done before.

- segment 9 : after the video I skip, you appear alone in a basement with only a small gun (the first you get), 30 ammos and about 10 guards to kill! But thanks to pre-planted it's just a matter of seconds! I shot a dynamite to trigger a huge deadly explosion. For the final battle in Fae Rhan temple you have to kill every guards before shooting at Kroax, I use a detonator to instantly kill them all with pre-planted dynamites. I use one last dynamite and a few bulet to kill Kroax. Now enjoy the end of the game, you can see my quest pourcentage accomplishment at 1:22:27.

I think the time of 1 hour 12 minutes can hardly be improved, as a matter of fact even if some glitches are found and help getting the 4 mons faster, you'll still have to wait for narrative videos to trigger and it doesn't seem to have a way to accelerate that, excepted tries and re-ties to get lucky and have fast triggered videos. Maybe if source code was available there would be a way to force those event quests to trigger.

I would like to thank ioncloud2012 for his helpful and deep knowledge of the game.

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