edit: Visual help for this post:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/pub?key=0AqMjARkWFsmedFJKNVhOV3piS05pRUZKbGZucVF5akE&single=true&gid=0&output=html
Please don't forget that that's why I wrote down the possible list of "ending points" because all of them is "crucial" in some way.
Let me list it again and detail them each to understand what I'm talking about with examples from my and twistedeye's run (or technically: from the game):
0. Input length: very obvious, this is the point when you don't need to do anything to make the game end. this is the point you stand up and make a coffee or roll a cigarette. This can't be seen by the casual viewer (without noticing them).
1. Killing the last enemy that required to obtain the core : In my submitted run, I obtain the last core faster. This means, this is the point when anybody who watched the movie
AND KNOWS THE GAME, will understand that this final hit was the last step I needed to end the game. That's why I've targeted this type of ending in my submitted run. The reason it's slower is because you have to wait for the fade out of the fight.
2. Obtaining the last core (either by standing on it or when the enemy dies on that square) : Anyone who
KNOWS the game will know, that when it kills the last enemy, the game will be victory. TwistedEye's (and my WIP4) didn't obtained the last core by killing the enemy (they fight first and than make a "I will win if I obtain the last core" move later). This means, that my WIP3 (not uploaded) actually shows that last step you need to win the game, while in TwistedEye's and WIP4 you have to wait to make the lazy move, which with the game knowledge, you already know that this situation will be victory when he killed the last enemy earlier.
3. When you see the cores are obtained by dark side on the table : This is the point, that you can see, the table's cores are acquired by the dark side. It's ended, it won't be changed. Still needed "game knowledge" to understand it's over.
4. Whe you see "The game is ended..." : The "official" clarification about the winner. EVERYBODY understand that the game is ended.
5. Pressing a button to start the credits at next nolag frame : This is only added to the comparison movies I've linked of my WIP4 and TwistedEye's.
6. When the credits automatically starts without input : The reason I'm totally against this, is because it's timed with something like "number of seconds elapsed since the table is shown". It means, you need an improvement of 100~300 frames to make the ending credits appear faster. And of course be slower to make the game wait more... And really. Who doesn't understand the game is over when the game says: The game is ended? I think it's pretty obvious.
Sorry for too much text, I tried to make it as obvious as it can, for 2 reasons. First is to help Nahoc to judge and others to aid some feedback, secondly because I'm curious what will you say, because my Battletoads TAS can be improved.
Because...
If I understanded what people wrote is that the "game is ended when ending credits is showed". And what happens when the ending credits is a set of different cutscenes and you can trigger the "1st scene" later but making a longer input to activate only the last scene? I've already made a version of that for Dylax's and DjtZ run, and I see big similarites in this case between the two games/runs
