A longtime favorite game of mine and what I would consider one of the finest console shooters of the 6th gen, TSFP has long been deserving a full length TAS. I first started working on this project way back in 2016 when I was still green at TAS, abandoning it before too long. (I have however in the last few years made and published a few FT100 FFA-DM TAS on my YouTube). I sought to make the most entertaining playthrough possible while pacing beyond RTA, showcasing the creativity possible with ingame physics, AI abuse and community found level exploits. However, I also desired to feature each level in their fullest, out of my love for the games excellent design, as well as to ensure maximum viewer entertainment; therefore, I skipped out on using 2 known OOB skips (which will be detailed further in the submission), which, while losing time, let's the viewer see as much of the game as possible (there's also a single level intro cutscene gag that I decided to keep in for laughs). All bosses were fought as well (2 can be skipped), for the same reasons. Despite these purposeful handicaps, this run manages to beat the WR's set on the game played on Easy Difficulty (this game is typically clocked using the ingame timer, which it beats as well). The re-record count is probably 2-3x higher than what's listed, do to going back a few times to cleanup missions or redo work after finding a softlock.
It should be noted, this is played on the US 60hz version. It has been discovered that the PAL version in 50hz actually saves time in many spots because internal logic runs quicker (I think is the reason anyway). This was unknown to me prior to finishing the movie, but with the extreme pace of the TAS I do not think this is an issue of concern. (Also, less than 72 hours after this movie was completed, SpoYer (a TS runner and well known in the community)found a new exploit on the 2nd level which saves 30 seconds, by way of highly precise prop physics manipulation to bypass a cutscene.) I will note any skips used/not-used in each level summary as needed. Times posted alongside the level names are the ingame time shown on the stats screen that is used as the primary timer in the community. The final ingame time is 1:08:40.6.
Startup - I used my YT alias 'nelson!' as my name, which I did for obvious reasons despite wasting a few frames. Aside from that, we change a few options for QOL and gameplay purposes (auto aim and lookahead off, mode and crouch set to toggle, weapon swap off, sensitivity turned up a bit) and then head straight into the first level.
Time to Split (3:21.3) - Cortez busts his ass and then it's time to start the game. We shoot some blasts and walk around some little geometry on the ground as we make our way through the first enemies. We cut down more baddies and get to the first cutscene. We lose Miller, then continue moving forward to the machinegun. We kill spawning in Timesplitters as soon as we can land shots on them and then proceed through to the final bit of the level. We kill Timesplitters as fast as possible until we hit the set amount and make our way to the door just as the automatic opening starts, completing the level.
Scotland the Brave (5:19.6) - We start off by running our way up the road to the castle, dispatching whatever baddies we come across. We get inside and get to the crane, killing the gunner on the first frame without actually lifting him out of the submarine. We run out and get to the truck. We don't need to wait for Captain Ash as he just sorta materializes once we hit the gate. We get to the drawbridge, kill the guard and lower it down. On the tight turns coming up, there is a skip that is possible wherein the player angles the truck and hops out at the right spot, falling through the ground and onto an unloaded portion of the level. You can then skywalk to the end level boss and bypass everything. This OOB was not performed in this run. We blow through the gate and get into the wine cellar. We give Ash a drink and continue on our way. We collect some grenades for the upcoming Tank boss fight. We then collect the SMG grenades. We rescue the Jungle Lady, play a piano and run out to face the boss. Though I had tried, you cannot use the explosive barrels lining the arena to damage the Tank. After demolishing the boss, we ride the sloooooooow elevator down and watch Ash n' Lady fly off to safety as we complete the level.
The Russian Connection (6:39.8) - Meeting Tipper, we kill the first few guards to avoid a time wasting alarm being set off, then push Tipper down into the ditch to save time on him walking. (I have tried to skip the guards and just push Tipper down but the game will softlock) We kill some more guards, flip a switch and get moving in the truck. (there is a skip here where you can bypass the sniper section and clothes change cutscenes, by going through the electric gate in the truck, but it will softlock the game at the very end of the mission. This wasted me a few hours of work time.) We get through the sniper section and warehouse as fast as possible, then change clothes with Tipper. Completing all the steps to open the door as fast as we can, we steal a jeep so we can perform the 'Blast Door Skip' and save us 30~ seconds from having to go and get some TNT. The positioning is very precise on this trick, as the viewer can tell by Cortez's driving. We kill a few more enemies, then complete the mission with a smile.
The Khallos Express (3:51.0) - Running through the train as quickly as we can, we get to the first Chopper fight. We shoot at Future Cortez so he skips his reload animation. Then it's our turn firing rockets during the second Chopper fight. Dispatching it without a problem, we continue forward. We stop for single frame at the slot machine to give it a spin (try as a might I could not manipulate a jackpot without wasting seconds on the clock) and go upstairs to find Khallos and his Green Gas (the worst kind). Sadly we don't have time to stroke Strudel and play the hidden Robo-Pussy Racing "minigame" (driving the robot cat around bumping into enemies), so we continue to the nuke. Breezing through the pipe puzzle, we go topside one final time to showdown and quickly blast apart Khallos, turning off the train engine and completing the level.
Mansion of Madness (6:16.4) - The one and only cutscene kept in the run, for a single gag which does waste a few seconds. This was intentional on my part. We run inside and grab the flamethrower, getting into the top corner so we can kill all the ghosts as they spawn outside the map with it's wide AOE, then head to the corridor. Killing the worms as fast as we can, we go back inside to fight raining zombies (the zombies have canned animations that we have to wait through and fall on timers). There is a possible skip here, using the revolver to shoot Jo-Beth or skipping the trigger with a chair prop, but this was not used, so we can fight the boss. The moose is loose! Finishing off Deerhaunter, we head upstairs to burn some bugs. We have to kill 'all' the bugs, or else we cannot open the next door, so Cortez is forced to stand still for a couple of seconds and perform pest control. We taunt a ghost and get a quick cameo from SpoYer, then it's on to fight Princess. We perform a trick that lets us walk behind the falling rubble and hide safely out of the boss's reach, letting us kill her quickly and skip waiting for Jo-Beth to perform a minute long animation moving some rocks and opening a door for us. We re-kill some carrion (we have to wait for 2 of them to wake up on a timer, which is why Cortez stands still looking at one for a moment) and then it's level completed!
What Lies Below (6:00.4) - Sadly, again, we cannot stay for the wine, and run through the cellar. There is another major OOB skip here that saves 4+ minutes and bypasses essentially the entire level, by precisely positioning 2 boxes against a broken piece of level geometry, sending you through the ground to the end section of the level. This was not performed. We behead the undead and move forward after Jo-Beth untangles herself. We fiddle around for a moment as Jo-Beth makes her way to the computer to begin the wave segment. Getting out as fast as possible, we steal a leg from Ozzy Mr. Crowley and ride the minecart. The next segment is an auto-scroller with Future Cortez where we have to kill undead (and survive being attacked by invisible ghosts that can only be harmed by non-Ghost-Gun's within a few vulnerability frames). Then it's our turn with the gun. We put down Princess before she even has a chance to start her first cycle, then it's off to the races, escaping the lab with 1:38 left on the 2-minute timer.
Breaking and Entering (5:20.1) Joanna Dark eat your heart out. We make our way past rooftop security and into the building, using the autoturret to kill enemies during another autoscroller segment. This part is noticeably quicker on PAL 50hz We start an office fire with the help of a cleaning robot, kill some goons and make our way to Amy. After another wave of badguys, we ride the elevator to another office where we repeat the process, riding the elevator out of the level.
You Genius, U-GENIX (5:21.3) We make our way into the complex, killing some droids (I turn around and walk back a few steps to kill one, this does not waste time as the door is on a timer after walking into that room, so I kill the last bot to prevent Amy getting stuck), getting a red card (that is not a physics object and can't be grabbed with the physgun, which would save time) and go upstairs, using a trashcan to trip a cutscene trigger and bypass changing clothes. We hit 2 triggers inside the room and head out. (The trashcan is bumped to trip the trigger again) We do a checkpoint reset to bring Amy to us and sterilize Cortez after dropping a trashcan on a scientist. We perform another checkpoint reset to warp Amy, continuing forward, waiting for a goon to open a locked door, warping Amy again with another reset. We kill some mutants (one mutant does not explode when hit with the injector and has to be filled with bullets) and then it's on to the paradox passwords. The pipe puzzles come easy enough, as do the spider drones, however the ceiling turrets have broken hitboxes and do not register hits all time. Try as I might, the turrets each took multiple hits to kill. (This problem is not unique to the TAS and can be seen in WR) We get to the Crow boss-fight, kill his drones within a few seconds and it's mission over!
Machine Wars (8:26.6) The longest level in the game! We head forward, with no need to turn around to go pickup the secret 2x Sci-Fi Pistol. We blast some bots and get to the first tank section. We speed down the highway until making it to the gate, then it's through the tunnel on foot to kill more robots. We wait for our comrades and perform a checkpoint reset to avoid a softlock. Cortez gets an implant shoved in his brain, then we make our way through the next series of robot baddies to get to the next tank section. We kill some drones and get chased by a rogue homing missile, exiting the tank and through a blown apart building to a jeep, where R-110 warps into the ride shotgun. We takeover control of the nearby GOLIATH for another autoscroller, then it's level complete!
Something to Crow About (7:47.2) After another slow elevator ride, we bash some robert cops with crates, so R-110 can... unlock the door. We go through some waves of baddies to make it to the Sphere. Performing a precise grenade throw into the weak spot before the Sphere can rise, we skip an entire wave section and head down, running to separate triggers around the arena to spawn the next GOLIATH. Following an anti-climatic boss fight with the combat mech, we fight our way to the Timesplitter cloning chambers, killing whoever we run across as they spawn in, then run the catwalks to spawn in the power core. Destroying it, we make our way to Timesplitter Crow through his palace. There is a skip here, where skipping the cutscene at a precise time will spawn the boss with 1HP, letting you kill him in 1 hit. I consider this a boss skip and as such it was not performed in this run. Blowing apart each piece of crows armor, we finish the level! Onto the home stretch!
You Take the High Road (5:28.6) Back to 1924, we are greeted with a fabulous dance and an even more fabulous portrait of Cortez. We kill the first badguys (with a smile) and run upstairs, waiting a moment for the stairs to trigger so the lever that controls the next door can be pulled. R-110 falls down a pipe and we make our way to the underground city. We have to wait for one moment and turn around to fire a harpoon at a single badguy who spawns in behind a door and is meant to ambush you, but because of our TAS speed, he is left behind. If we do not wait to kill him now, we will have to burn 15~ seconds as he runs slowly across the entire corridor to us, since the next door requires him and other badguys to be killed. Turning on the power in each generator room, we meet a drunkard and ride another slow elevator to the center of the island, completing the level.
The Hooded Man (2:58.4) Ignoring the opportunity to watch the opening of the game play out from another angle, we immediately make our way to the first overhang and kill some Time Assassins. We have to take a moment to wait for one to run out so he can be killed, otherwise we will softlock the game with Past Cortez getting stuck running against a wall. We get on the turret and hold down the shoot button until the boss dies. We toss some nades to kill the spawning in Timesplitters to prevent a softlock, then get to the elevator to continue forward. We kill some more Timesplitters and Past Cortez runs to the exit, completing the level.
Future Perfect (1:49.1) It's time to kill Crow (again) and erase the entire TimeSplitters game franchise timeline from ever happening! We kill a couple of baddies to get them out of the way for the boss fight, collecting the Time Crystal. Timesplitter Crow is back, but we take him out of his first cycle in a few seconds using SMG grenades. We wait for the cutscene to trigger so we can continue damaging him, killing him in under a minute. With the final boss defeated and the universe saved, we spend the last few seconds of our TAS beating the hell out of Paradox Cortez. We skip past the final character unlock screen... and that's it! Game over!
I hope everyone gets a kick out of this TAS, whether they're fans of the franchise or not. I would like to possibly branch this movie into a 100% completion movie in the future, starting from where this one ends and heading straight into Arcade Leagues and Challenge Mode. This movie was a labor of love from August 2023-April 2024.
May you all move move move move move like a monkey.
eien86: Half-Life meets Dr. Who meets Halo meets Portal meets Blood. This is an... interesting FPS. Here the author goes through all the game stages and bosses, killing droves of enemies in his path.
The movie looks to my uninformed eye rather optimized and contains plenty of entertaining inputs (friendly fire being the most frequent). User lapogne36, current
'Story mode' WR holder on the 'Easy' and 'Hard' difficulties has
commented on some potential improvements that could be made to this TAS. Although the author made some
improvements, the comments from lapogne36 remain largely unaddressed.
Although in TASVideos.org we strive for perfection, we do understand that it comes with time and perseverance. It is therefore not to be expected that a first TAS contains all tricks and skips, even if they are already known by the RTA community. This is especially true given the fact this movie is, in spite of the aforementioned, faster than the
fastest equivalent RTA run. It will be in the hands of the author (or others) to pick up lapogne36's comments and produce an improved movie in the future
Regarding categorization, I believe 'Hard' should be the default difficulty and there is no need to specify it. Any movie choosing the 'Easy' or 'Medium' difficulties will have to be explicitly marked as so. I also don't think 'no OOB' must be indicated. As explained by the author, this trick only applies to a couple places so a movie that uses them will not be fundamentally different. The author not using this trick can be considered an entertainment/speed tradeoff. Same applies with the 'All bosses' goal, where two of them could actually be skipped. Any movie choosing to implement these optimizations is slated to replace this one.
Accepting to Standard
Encoder: The author has indicated that there is plenty of entertainment left after the last input, including ending cutscenes and a 5-minute Disco-dancing section. I believe including these in the final encode will add to the entertainment factor.
