Introduction
Welcome to my first ever TAS. I completed this on November 14, 2021.
2xtreme is a PS1 extreme sports racing game where you skate, cycle, snowboard and rollerblade around the world against other racers.
Emulator used:
BizHawk 2.6.2 Windows (x64)
Game mode:
Race mode - New Season
Difficulty - Extreme
Fighting - On
Speedrunning time rules:
Since no one has ever (as far as I can find) speedrun this game I came up with the timing rules from scratch. There are two possible start times in this run:
A. When I enter my initials to start the first race (Frame 4460)
B. When I make the first input of the first race (Frame 5593)
Both of which end when I reach the finish line of the last (12th) race (Frame 135215). I need the judges to decide on this because I have no clue whatsoever tbh.
Game Objectives and strats:
The objective of the game is simple: Finish every race the fastest. These are the methods that I use:
1. Go through every speed gate and activate the speed powerup – With the speed powerup not only can you get to maximum speed quicker you can also do things that would normally slow you down without slowing down. These are things like clipping the side of moving objects, turning, going on sidewalks (briefly) and making jumps you wouldn’t normally make. The speed powerup is usually activated on the first frame you can do it, the only exceptions to this are when jumping (because you can’t activate it during the jump), when about to jump and and when you need to save it in order to get through a later section that would slow you down so much that it’s impossible to clear a traffic intersection (see the level “Los Angeles 3”).
2. Minimise airtime – Airtime in this game slows you down. That’s why I spend most of the game jumping up hills to prevent as much airtime as possible (granted with some hills that’s not always an option).
3. Keeping straight as possible while turning as late as possible – Turning at normal times is much slower than turning at the latest times due to my top speed and acceleration stats being maxed out. The time it takes to accelerate in a straight line is a lot faster than the times it takes to decelerate by turning. So, if you turn as late as possible you can build up more speed.
4. If you have no choice but to hit a moving object then clip its side, anything else stops your character completely. Note: By clip its side I mean both the clipping animation and clipping sound playing out, it is possible to activate the clipping sound without activating the clipping animation (which is the closest you can get to a moving object without slowing down).
Notes:
The thing where I activate 2 powerups in rapid succession is just for fun. It doesn’t slow down or speed up anything, it just plays both powerup sounds at once.
Could whoever makes the description on the site please include this: “A big thanks to all my friends who’ve been nothing but supportive since the first time I told them about this. Your encouragement helped me push through making this and I can’t thank you enough. I love you.”
Re-record count: 31613
Samsara: Wait, you mean I'm not the only person who's played this game? Well I'll be danged. Judging!
Samsara: I've removed the branch, as we don't normally include game options in it, and Season mode is our only currently acceptable mode.
Honestly, I wasn't expecting this kind of nostalgia trip, the one that makes me pine for the days where I was an idiot kid sitting there in front of a CRT TV, wondering why a shouty man was demanding that I "GET SOME AIR" before saying numbers at me, but I'm glad that I was able to get that nostalgia trip. I remember this game being pretty frustrating to play, actually, though I could also chalk that up to being an idiot kid when I last played it or even remembered it existed, so there's an added benefit in this run for me personally in watching it be absolutely demolished by perfect play. It looks so good that it almost misrepresents what the game is. I wouldn't be surprised if people seeing this game for the first time thought it was just a pure autoscroller. That's one of the stranger compliments I've ever given to a TAS, but it fits here.
Accepting! Publishers, make sure to include the author's message in the publication description.
