Descent Vignettes speedruns? (insane-max)
Moderator: AceCombat
Descent Vignettes speedruns? (insane-max)
Hi,
I recently played some Descent Vignettes levels. I tried to go fast to make it worth of watchnig. Not as fast as my original D1 runs, that would take ages for me to do it, since the dificulty is quite high and you need very lucky RNG at some points to be really fast (like hoping for cloacked lifter and his cloak drop at random robot matcen etc.). I play it with same rules as "first strike", that means insane difficulty, cold start, no deaths, saving hostages, destroying all robots except from matcen and collecting all extra lives.
L1: I tried to be as fast as possible here, since it is easy level. Hardest part was making that red door cycle without being killed or blocked by matcen guys from behind.
L2: Also easy level, but quite random. Some robots often don't chase you, so you can't destroy them quickly. In this run it went well.
L3: This one is tricky. I used brown hulks as a help at most of the places. Like half of all robots were killed by them. Btw if you are curious how I know if all robots were killed (for example at start area), I use kill counter tool to know it.
L4: It is getting harder.. The reactor room is dangerous here, I had to train it a bit before making the run. Btw if you are confused by the end, I will explain. You are supposed to enter red door and stay there (door can't be opened from inside. I stayed outside and after destroying reactor I took exit from other side - part of the level is also part of exit tunnel (I had no idea something like that is possible before). Then I simply went back to enter exit from correct side.
L5: This one is hard! Whole level is dangerous. Also cloak is a must for the end. That means you need cloacked lifter in matcen. Fortunatelly, that matcen is activated early and you face that place later, so all robots are already spawned - that makes your chances for fast cloak higher. Anyway, reactor room is really dangerous even with cloak. A lot of possible splash damage.
L6: Really short level. I like the idea of it, also music. It fits well! About the level - start is really random, some robots usually don't cooperate well. This time it went fine. End is a bit scary here. I was a bit fortunate in this run, brown hulk from matcen in end nearly got me. Also if you wonder why I entered energy center room and immediately went out - it triggers closed wall infront of exit.
L7: Hard one. Annoying gophers can cause a lot of damage at start. But worst are those 2 corridors you need take for opening doors. You need to be really lucky to not be smashed hard by brown hulks. Also I didn't know how to deal with red mech at energy center. Maybe there is a better way, but I don't know.. Reactor room is also dangerous. That cloacked lifter is hard to see, it is annoying. And if matcen spawns rocket mechs, things are hard, if you want be fast. I lost some tries there..
L8: Another hard one. Fortunatelly I found out driller infront of red door can be shooted before facing red mech, that is a big help. Still scary level. Also you can run out of energy at the end. And you need cloak from matcen for the end! In my run I was surprised by blocking robots at red door, so I stupidly bumped into them, fortunatelly it wasn't fatal mistake.
L9: Probably easier than 2 previous levels, but not easy at all. Reactor room is very dangerous, also trap with drillers sometimes goes really wrong, trap with red mech is also scary - he often starts second volley before dying.
L10: Interesting one. Gophers can be annoying here. You can loose a lot of time chasing them, also they (and platform robots aswell) can block your ideal path while dealing with red mech. But most scary are cloaked drillers here. They tend to leave their start possition, so that is problematic.
L11: Oh, finally some fusion:).
Secret L1: Easy level, but thanks God for brown hulk at start . Without him it would be problematic, because of lack of energy center.
I recently played some Descent Vignettes levels. I tried to go fast to make it worth of watchnig. Not as fast as my original D1 runs, that would take ages for me to do it, since the dificulty is quite high and you need very lucky RNG at some points to be really fast (like hoping for cloacked lifter and his cloak drop at random robot matcen etc.). I play it with same rules as "first strike", that means insane difficulty, cold start, no deaths, saving hostages, destroying all robots except from matcen and collecting all extra lives.
L1: I tried to be as fast as possible here, since it is easy level. Hardest part was making that red door cycle without being killed or blocked by matcen guys from behind.
L2: Also easy level, but quite random. Some robots often don't chase you, so you can't destroy them quickly. In this run it went well.
L3: This one is tricky. I used brown hulks as a help at most of the places. Like half of all robots were killed by them. Btw if you are curious how I know if all robots were killed (for example at start area), I use kill counter tool to know it.
L4: It is getting harder.. The reactor room is dangerous here, I had to train it a bit before making the run. Btw if you are confused by the end, I will explain. You are supposed to enter red door and stay there (door can't be opened from inside. I stayed outside and after destroying reactor I took exit from other side - part of the level is also part of exit tunnel (I had no idea something like that is possible before). Then I simply went back to enter exit from correct side.
L5: This one is hard! Whole level is dangerous. Also cloak is a must for the end. That means you need cloacked lifter in matcen. Fortunatelly, that matcen is activated early and you face that place later, so all robots are already spawned - that makes your chances for fast cloak higher. Anyway, reactor room is really dangerous even with cloak. A lot of possible splash damage.
L6: Really short level. I like the idea of it, also music. It fits well! About the level - start is really random, some robots usually don't cooperate well. This time it went fine. End is a bit scary here. I was a bit fortunate in this run, brown hulk from matcen in end nearly got me. Also if you wonder why I entered energy center room and immediately went out - it triggers closed wall infront of exit.
L7: Hard one. Annoying gophers can cause a lot of damage at start. But worst are those 2 corridors you need take for opening doors. You need to be really lucky to not be smashed hard by brown hulks. Also I didn't know how to deal with red mech at energy center. Maybe there is a better way, but I don't know.. Reactor room is also dangerous. That cloacked lifter is hard to see, it is annoying. And if matcen spawns rocket mechs, things are hard, if you want be fast. I lost some tries there..
L8: Another hard one. Fortunatelly I found out driller infront of red door can be shooted before facing red mech, that is a big help. Still scary level. Also you can run out of energy at the end. And you need cloak from matcen for the end! In my run I was surprised by blocking robots at red door, so I stupidly bumped into them, fortunatelly it wasn't fatal mistake.
L9: Probably easier than 2 previous levels, but not easy at all. Reactor room is very dangerous, also trap with drillers sometimes goes really wrong, trap with red mech is also scary - he often starts second volley before dying.
L10: Interesting one. Gophers can be annoying here. You can loose a lot of time chasing them, also they (and platform robots aswell) can block your ideal path while dealing with red mech. But most scary are cloaked drillers here. They tend to leave their start possition, so that is problematic.
L11: Oh, finally some fusion:).
Secret L1: Easy level, but thanks God for brown hulk at start . Without him it would be problematic, because of lack of energy center.
Re: Descent Vignettes speedruns? (insane-max)
Ha, these are fun. I was just thinking about designing some vignettes-style levels last night.
Re: Descent Vignettes speedruns? (insane-max)
If you have Overload and its level editor, OCP1 (linked in my signature) only has 4 levels right now.
Whatever I just said, I hope you understood it correctly. Understood what I meant, I mean.
#AllLivesMatter
#AllLivesMatter
Re: Descent Vignettes speedruns? (insane-max)
L12. I like that level!
Re: Descent Vignettes speedruns? (insane-max)
I played level 15 today. Why DarkFlameWolf, why? Why did you do that? That level makes no sense. So many bad placed rocket mechs, damn..
Re: Descent Vignettes speedruns? (insane-max)
L13: Start is quite annoying, rest it not that hard.
Re: Descent Vignettes speedruns? (insane-max)
L14: Easy one. I like that Boss idea!
Re: Descent Vignettes speedruns? (insane-max)
L15: Hardest level so far. Just taking blue key cost me 66 shields. It is possible to do it even without loosing anything there, but you have to be really lucky. You can also easily lost a lot of shields or die nearly at any point of the level.
- AlexanderBorisov
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Re: Descent Vignettes speedruns? (insane-max)
L15 in D2 version has even more dangerous mechs, but not so bad if taken slowly. IMO the level design is very cool and even those cramped corridors in the central rock are fun. But not if you speedrun it of course, and probably some of the D2 robots are easier to corner snipe. How you dealt with red hulks without a cloak is impressive anyway... In D2 version (Enemy Vignettes) L12 is undoubtedly hardest (probably not even possible to cold start on Insane), and the last secret level (with TEW L25 boss)
Re: Descent Vignettes speedruns? (insane-max)
I agree about level design, it is really cool. The symetry of inside structure of the center rock is great.
Re: Descent Vignettes speedruns? (insane-max)
L16: Much easier than previous level.
L17: For some reason, enemies can't shoot through the corridor, otherwise it would probably be a nightmare. When you leave that safety corridor, 4 matcens are activated. These matcens are also triggered when red key is taken, so it is much better to take it immediately and skip second wave by that. Smart missile shot at the end is big lottery. There are 2 light drillers and blobs from smart missile often hit a corridor wall.
L17: For some reason, enemies can't shoot through the corridor, otherwise it would probably be a nightmare. When you leave that safety corridor, 4 matcens are activated. These matcens are also triggered when red key is taken, so it is much better to take it immediately and skip second wave by that. Smart missile shot at the end is big lottery. There are 2 light drillers and blobs from smart missile often hit a corridor wall.
Re: Descent Vignettes speedruns? (insane-max)
The reason they can't shoot into the start corridors is because the other side of those walls are solid (which was the point of the level btw).
Whatever I just said, I hope you understood it correctly. Understood what I meant, I mean.
#AllLivesMatter
#AllLivesMatter
Re: Descent Vignettes speedruns? (insane-max)
Thanks for info.
Level 21 is crazy. The start reminds me secret level 3 of original descent, but this is even worse. I like the music tho, it fits well to the brutality of that level.
Level 21 is crazy. The start reminds me secret level 3 of original descent, but this is even worse. I like the music tho, it fits well to the brutality of that level.
Re: Descent Vignettes speedruns? (insane-max)
L18:
Not hardest, but not easy at all. Brown hulks and platform robots are dangerous here. I did nearly fatal mistake in end, but I somehow survived with 0 shield. Oh:D.
L19:
Now it's getting serious. This level is really hard. A lot of dangerous places here from start to finish.
Not hardest, but not easy at all. Brown hulks and platform robots are dangerous here. I did nearly fatal mistake in end, but I somehow survived with 0 shield. Oh:D.
L19:
Now it's getting serious. This level is really hard. A lot of dangerous places here from start to finish.
Re: Descent Vignettes speedruns? (insane-max)
Level 22 is not the hardest, but it does have a notable problem involving static shield boosts that can leave survival up to RNG. You'll find out soon enough.
Yes I know I'm a bit early, but wanted to mention while I'm thinking about it.
Yes I know I'm a bit early, but wanted to mention while I'm thinking about it.
Whatever I just said, I hope you understood it correctly. Understood what I meant, I mean.
#AllLivesMatter
#AllLivesMatter
Re: Descent Vignettes speedruns? (insane-max)
22 is actualy very easy. One of the easiest of the level set in term of fast playing.
Re: Descent Vignettes speedruns? (insane-max)
Secret level 2:
This level is hard. You can easily run out of energy. 2 megas help a lot at start. I use one for red hulk, otherwise I just can't go to blue door, another mega is for gophers. Maybe I will try this level again with killing gophers with guys from matcen while going back to reactor room, for now I don't know how it would work, but sounds like a good idea for me.
Level 20:
Short level, but hard. Both matcens are extremely dangerous and make this level little nightmare, if you want play it without wasting time.
This level is hard. You can easily run out of energy. 2 megas help a lot at start. I use one for red hulk, otherwise I just can't go to blue door, another mega is for gophers. Maybe I will try this level again with killing gophers with guys from matcen while going back to reactor room, for now I don't know how it would work, but sounds like a good idea for me.
Level 20:
Short level, but hard. Both matcens are extremely dangerous and make this level little nightmare, if you want play it without wasting time.
Re: Descent Vignettes speedruns? (insane-max)
It worked. I mean that secret level 2 idea. I will update vid soon:)
Re: Descent Vignettes speedruns? (insane-max)
Secret Level 2:
It felt easier now. Probably because I had some experience with this level from few days ago. But to be honest, I was lucky here at some point. I didn't see that heavy driller from matcen in the end. Fortunatelly he was killed by smart missile just in time, I had 2 shields left:). Btw I had 5 shields while exiting the level, which is same amount of shileds as in my previous run of this level:).
More runs are coming soon, I'm already at last level!
It felt easier now. Probably because I had some experience with this level from few days ago. But to be honest, I was lucky here at some point. I didn't see that heavy driller from matcen in the end. Fortunatelly he was killed by smart missile just in time, I had 2 shields left:). Btw I had 5 shields while exiting the level, which is same amount of shileds as in my previous run of this level:).
More runs are coming soon, I'm already at last level!
Re: Descent Vignettes speedruns? (insane-max)
Level 21:
Hardest level from the set. Most of the tries ended just while taking the cloak at start, sometimes even before taking it. Hope you will forgive me quite safety end, I could do it better, but I already spent quite a lot of time playing this level and I wanted make sure I will finish it.
Level 22:
Such a relief after previous level. This one is easy. And I figured out you can avoid triggering matcen if you take keys carefully. That makes this level even easier.
Level 23:
Harder than 22, but not hard at all because of 2 cloaks and even one invuln - that is quite rare in this level set and it hleps a lot here. Start is still dangerous tho.
Hardest level from the set. Most of the tries ended just while taking the cloak at start, sometimes even before taking it. Hope you will forgive me quite safety end, I could do it better, but I already spent quite a lot of time playing this level and I wanted make sure I will finish it.
Level 22:
Such a relief after previous level. This one is easy. And I figured out you can avoid triggering matcen if you take keys carefully. That makes this level even easier.
Level 23:
Harder than 22, but not hard at all because of 2 cloaks and even one invuln - that is quite rare in this level set and it hleps a lot here. Start is still dangerous tho.
Re: Descent Vignettes speedruns? (insane-max)
Level 24:
I like that level. So much freedom fighting. But I had to plan it well, because of energy.
Btw I replayed level 21 and was succesfull with much faster run. I will upload soon.
I like that level. So much freedom fighting. But I had to plan it well, because of energy.
Btw I replayed level 21 and was succesfull with much faster run. I will upload soon.
Re: Descent Vignettes speedruns? (insane-max)
I see I didn't post last level (and new level 21 run), althought I did it more than half year ago. So there it is, in a case, someone is interested.
Level 21:
Level 25:
Level 21:
Level 25:
- DarkFlameWolf
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Re: Descent Vignettes speedruns? (insane-max)
Wow, guess I missed this whole conversation, huh? lol
Re: Descent Vignettes speedruns? (insane-max)
Lol. Anyway, hope you enjoyed it, it wasn't easy to do:).DarkFlameWolf wrote: ↑Thu Jan 16, 2020 3:06 pm Wow, guess I missed this whole conversation, huh? lol
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Re: Descent Vignettes speedruns? (insane-max)
I bet! I'm always impressed when people trounce my levels and make it look easy. It is the type of stuff level designers love to see, at least I do. I plop down a challenge, that is the level set and I go: "Let's see what you can do." And you showed me exactly what you can do and it was fantastic.
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Re: Descent Vignettes speedruns? (insane-max)
Bit of a shame that this open, multi-enemy dogfight style is not quite tenable in D2, seeing as how they can predict where you'll bee when they shoot, so at the very least simple circle-strafing doesn't cut it anymore.
Since we have all the necessary assets now, Vignettes could easily be ported to D2 without losing hardly anything (palette, weapon strength, sounds, even exit sequences) - I wonder what that would do for the difficulty of these grand, open-space dogfights.
Since we have all the necessary assets now, Vignettes could easily be ported to D2 without losing hardly anything (palette, weapon strength, sounds, even exit sequences) - I wonder what that would do for the difficulty of these grand, open-space dogfights.
Descent 1,5: Level layouts done: 52/54 Secret level layouts done: 1/6
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Re: Descent Vignettes speedruns? (insane-max)
If I got time this week, I may just rewatch the series and provide comments if I haven't already.