LET'S.PLAY BIT.TRIP.RUNNER

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Video Games > Let's Play! > LET'S.PLAY BIT.TRIP.RUNNER

Wugga: Oct 30, 2006; I BEAT MEAT

WHAT.IS.THIS.GAME?

BIT.TRIP.RUNNER is the fourth installment of the BIT.TRIP rhythm games by Gaijin games, released in 2010 for Wiiware and for other platforms the next year. It's an autoscrolling platformer where you enter inputs to the beat of the game and it gained something of a reputation for being a pretty difficult game. I can't resist that crap.

HOW.ARE.YOU.DOING.THIS.LP?

This is pretty much an exercise in trying to remain quiet. I'll explain the game mechanics as they come along and discuss some of the elements and things the game throws your way, but seeing how it's a music game, I'm not going to talk too much. If you still find it too intrusive and want to immerse yourself in the music, I suggest you go watch a subtitled LP of the BIT.TRIP series by Ambisagrus.

Furthermore, unlike the aforementioned LP, this is a 100% run. I'll be playing on Perfect difficulty, which forces you to get every collectible.

ANYTHING.ELSE?

Just enjoy! Also feel free to discuss anything BIT.TRIP related and don't worry about spoilers.

If you like the music, here's the soundtrack!

VIDEOS

PART 1 (Baldurdash | Youtube | Download)
PART 2 (Baldurdash | Youtube | Download)

Wugga fucked around with this message at 19:44 on Jan 17, 2016

# ¿ Jul 5, 2015 23:05

Adbot: ADBOT LOVES YOU

# ¿ Apr 27, 2024 05:48

Wugga: Oct 30, 2006; I BEAT MEAT

Reserved for possible use in the future!

# ¿ Jul 5, 2015 23:08

Wugga: Oct 30, 2006; I BEAT MEAT

UPDATE!

(Baldurdash | Youtube | Download)

At the time of posting this Youtube is still in the middle of processing, so if you want to view this in its full 1080p 60fps glory (which you should), go to Baldurdash or download it. I'm leaving town for a few days but I just wanted to post this before I left.

Aaaanyway, that does it for Zone 1, thank goodness. I was stuck in Odyssey for ages my first time through and got real tired of the gray colour scheme. I still don't like it. Thankfully Zone 2 is easier on the eyes and has a lot more going for it.

# ¿ Jul 8, 2015 12:27

Wugga: Oct 30, 2006; I BEAT MEAT

I never actually paid any attention to the score myself. It's completely redundant because if everything gives you a fixed amount of points, everyone with a perfect ends up getting the exact same amount. As far as I know, there are no penalties for dying or anything so it's just an entirely pointless statistic. And I think there's actually a leaderboard in the main menu, too. What's the point of that?

Still, getting half a billion points for just one thing is hilariously over the top.

# ¿ Jul 8, 2015 22:06

Wugga: Oct 30, 2006; I BEAT MEAT

Dr. Fetus posted:

I think the 2nd world is the only world in which its impossible to get a Perfect without getting a perfect score. There's a couple of breakable objects you can miss in the 1st world, and you can duck under the beats in the 3rd one.

Also, good luck with 3-2's challenge level. That's the only challenge stage that I could never get a Perfect on. There's way too many pixel perfect jumps in that one. At least the actual level is one of the shortest stages in the game.

Oh right, good point. There's also a couple springboards you don't need to activate.

And yeah I'm already a little afraid of the 3rd Zone because I only have a perfect in a few levels right now. Zone 2 is already recorded but it's a lot tamer than the final one. So it's definitely going to get interesting. And frustrating. I have a feeling I might need a new controller before this is over.

# ¿ Jul 8, 2015 22:36

Wugga: Oct 30, 2006; I BEAT MEAT

Simply Simon posted:

Also, I don't like how there is no music there. Super Meat Boy had great 8-bit style tunes for its retro levels, I guess bit.trip is already 8 bit (?), but complete silence is jarring in what's supposedly a rhythm game...
You could fill it with commentary .

The silence bums me out too. I mean there's the rhythm from the gold pieces, but it's just one note. Initially I was planning on making my own tunes to fill the silence, but my recording equipment is broken/scattered about in boxes so that won't fly. I'll try to think of more stuff to say in future episodes.

GKirby posted:

Nice save, by the way.

Haha, nice. I hoped someone would notice it!

# ¿ Jul 10, 2015 14:09

Wugga: Oct 30, 2006; I BEAT MEAT

Discendo Vox posted:

Two notes and a question:

1. What was that you highlighted in the background at one point? I couldn't understand what you said.

2. The reason kick was removed in retro is probably because it's silent- if its length is timed to the rhythm, you won't have the same sort of barometer for it.

3. The devs appear to have applied a subtle effect to the screen on retro that causes subtle flickering and burned in areas to simulate pixel burn and other old screen effects- that's probably what's causing it.

I'm really looking forward to this LP, even as I become curious about the rest of the series- it's all way beyond my ability, though.

1. It's Junior Melchkin, apparently a playable character in BIT.TRIP.FATE and also the name of the level in which he appears. I admit that was a bit cryptic.

2. Oddly enough, the kick actually makes a sound in the retro challenges, even though it isn't used. I think I show it in Zone 2.

3. Yes, the middle of the screen flickers. Initially I thought there was something wrong with my recording/encoding but it's definitely a part of the game.

# ¿ Jul 18, 2015 22:44

Wugga: Oct 30, 2006; I BEAT MEAT

DoublePLayer posted:

Junior Melchkin is only a temporary power-up in BIT.TRIP FATE. The only game with multiple playable characters in the series is BIT.TRIP RUNNER 2, though Junior Melchkin isn't one of them.

Right, thanks for clearing that up. I never played FATE, or any other BIT.TRIP game so my knowledge is a bit limited. I bought Runner 2 yeaterday, though. I only beat the first world, but it definitely feels more polished than this one.

Oh, and here's an update. We're already half-way through the LP!

TENACITY PART 1 (Baldurdash | Youtube | Download)

As I stated in the video, Zone 2 is where the game gets interesting. The input sequences are getting more complex, but it's only a good thing. Zone 1 suffers from slow levels and preys on your boredom, which is why I was stuck in it for so long. Once I finally got to Zone 2, I beat the game in a few sessions, even though the game definitely gets harder. Tenacity is also a lot more pleasing to the eye, which is why I probably didn't get tired of it so quickly.

The levels are all a complete mess in my head, but iirc the game gets harder from this point onwards, with more and more complex and precise inputs.

# ¿ Jul 20, 2015 13:18

Wugga: Oct 30, 2006; I BEAT MEAT

(Baldurdash | Youtube | Download)

This is where the game gets more interesting. Slobbering Falls marks the point where the actual levels themselves start to incorporate more difficult patterns and it makes the game soooo much more enjoyable. The rest of the levels aren't that bad in comparison, but that may be just me. The retro levels also continue to be more difficult than the actual levels, but they're still easy compared to what we'll see in Zone 3. The difficulty curve is much more noticeable in the actual levels.

I may be overstating the fact that Zone 2 is the way the game should've started, but it's just incredibly more engaging than the bland Zone 1. I get that the player needs to be settled in for the gameplay, but Zone 1 just killed the mood for me: it was too easy. It's a whole other deal collecting all the gold and getting a perfect score but personally I think the game should've taken a turn for more difficult patterns a lot quicker.

Then again, Zone 3 is so ruthless I may take all this back when we get to the next video.

# ¿ Aug 4, 2015 01:39

Wugga: Oct 30, 2006; I BEAT MEAT

Valgaav posted:

So, here's a question: Can you, in a non-Perfect run, get all the Gold without hitting max Level? If so, do you get the bonus stage, and is your trail different?

Also (Final Stage Spoilers) Will you be showing off how it's possible to Game Over?

I actually had to test this, but yes you can reach the retro level by just collecting all gold pieces and leaving the Core pieces alone. The trail is still the "Extra" Rainbow Trail in the retro level though.

And regarding your spoiler: yes, I will. It's already recorded.

Discendo Vox posted:

Wugga, I think you might be underestimating the degree to which your skillz differentiate you from other players of this game. I really think the simplicity of the early levels(even odyssey) is necessary for neophyte superspeedytwitchmemoriperfectionists.

Well, I pretty consider myself a neophyte noob as well because I've owned this game since 2011 yet never beat the game until recently, because I was stuck in aforementioned early levels (particularly Odyssey). I can't speak for other gamers, of course, but Zone 1 drags on for too long in my book. But maybe it's just me.

# ¿ Aug 4, 2015 03:01

Wugga: Oct 30, 2006; I BEAT MEAT

unpronounceable posted:

Even with a bad interface though, I think it fundamentally fails as a rhythm game because it demands the player be off sync with the music and sound cues. Whenever you collect, jump over, slide under, or kick something, it plays a sound cue to make some kind of melody with the background track. The problem is that you can't jump, slide, or kick to that rhythm because if you do, you're already done for. So instead, you play trying to keep the tempo in mind, but needing to deliberately ignore the "intended" timing.

So, I tried to play it as an endless runner, and I really didn't like it. According to Steam, I spent about two hours on zone one before giving up on Odyssey. I'm sloppy and inconsistent, so it was an easy place to just drop the game. Maybe I'd have enjoyed it more if I could play some of the zone 2 levels, but it just never clicked with me like Super Meat Boy or VVVVVV.

I have to say though, I'm a little disappointed you haven't tapped your own rhythm in the empty stretches of levels.

I was planning on talking about this at some point, but the "off-beat" problem was also my main gripe with the game for a very long time. It always rubbed me wrong that the beat is created by the obstacles, not by the player hitting a button. It's kind of like trying to record an instrument for a backing track, but there's a short latency that creates the sound slightly off-time. It's an absolute horror for a musician. Once I completely ignored that I started to enjoy the game more. But I fully agree it doesn't really work as a rhythm game, per se. It's refreshing to see someone else noticing this, whenever I've brought it up people just looked at me weird and I thought it was a sync problem with my computer.

And man I somehow totally forgot about using the arrow keys to create your own melody, that was a missed opportunity right there, dammit.

It would've been a good way to break the tedium for the early levels. But since I've already recorded everything I'll just have to cut my losses and move on. It also apparently stops working when you get all powerups, which is silly.

Wugga fucked around with this message at 10:46 on Aug 4, 2015

# ¿ Aug 4, 2015 10:26

Wugga: Oct 30, 2006; I BEAT MEAT

^ Haha oh man I'm so including that in an extra video.

TRIUMPH PART 1 (Baldurdash | Youtube | Download)

I really didn't mean to sound so irate in this video, but 3-2 just did it for me. Holy poo poo Dr. Fetus you weren't kidding when you said that retro challenge is hard. I get it, this game is hard. But that level is beyond difficult, it's romhack level bullshit. I tried a number of strategies for it, jumping a bit later, doing a bit of hovering after 1 jump, after 2 jumps, after 3 jumps... nothing worked. What finally got me through that was tenacity. Hell, they should've named that one retro level tenacity instead of the whole of Zone 2. Because that's all it takes, just playing it dozens of times, hoping you'll get it right at some point. It took me 3 separate recording sessions to finally get it right. There are difficult retro levels after that, but once I beat this one I knew I could beat the rest of them with a little bit of effort.

Look at me, here I am ranting even more.

I actually like Triumph. Zone 2 is what finally got me into this game, but that was just the game getting you accustomed to more complex patterns. Zone 3 is where it puts all your skills to the test and despite being hard, it still manages to be fun. I said in the video that all the levels kind of blend in and I still think that, but as far as interesting level design goes, this is as good as it gets with this game.

Next time: an interlude.

# ¿ Aug 18, 2015 00:03

Wugga: Oct 30, 2006; I BEAT MEAT

Dr. Fetus posted:

Yeah the retro challenges were handled terribly. The fact that you can only get another shot at them by ~~completing~~ perfecting the stage again was a terrible decision. Runner 2 handled those a lot better. Retro stages have to be found in a level, and there's only 5 of them. And despite the fact that you have "lives", you can actually try again as much as you want, without having to waste time by playing through a stage. Though Runner 2 has a minigame (shoot a cannon at a target.) that you can only play by perfecting a stage, but the minigame is simple and Runner 2 actually has checkpoints.

Runner 2 fixed many of the issues of the first game and is the better game of the two by miles. It still suffers from the same issue of beat created by the obstacles and not the inputs, but at least those are timed correctly. It's also a lot longer, yet I managed to Triple Perfect+ all stages in about the same time it took me to record this LP. It's like the first game was just a testing ground and Runner 2 is the actual end product.

K-ParAdoX posted:

Resident music and future Grammy nominee here to criticize the musical aspects of this game. While I enjoy the compositions themselves, it's issues lie almost entirely in the arrangement. To expand on what Unpronounceable stated earlier, lot of the pickups and actions in this game are not only offbeat, but off time completely. I noticed this the most in the Zone 2 boss. The fireball sound effects were off time, and then avoiding them was also off time. This is just poor planning. The lack of music in the retro levels is bothersome and leaves me kind of bored when the video gets to those levels, as well, though this is no fault to you, Wugga. Furthermore, the zones themselves don't have enough variance between soundtracks. They are just far too similar.

Some of the offbeat sections seem to be related to framerate hiccups: if Fraps decides to go from 60fps to 59fps for a small while, it affects the timing of some of the notes. Occasionally the game also seems to adjust the tune if it's offbeat because I've heard a short pause in the soundtrack. So maybe there are flags in place to start the music from a specific point. I'm just guessing here, but it would be a pretty weird solution.

If the arrangement resulting from the powerups ticks you off, try the actual soundtrack. The music is way more enjoyable like that.

# ¿ Aug 18, 2015 10:09

Wugga: Oct 30, 2006; I BEAT MEAT

Apologies for leaving this LP unattended for so long. I've been going through a rough patch, and as a result I haven't had any motivation to open Premiere for a good while now.

It sucks that this should happen with just 2 videos left to go, but it's not in me to leave things unfinished. So I'll finish this once I can, hopefully sooner than later.

# ¿ Sep 27, 2015 12:25

Wugga: Oct 30, 2006; I BEAT MEAT

The rumours of my death something something confucius.

This is just a little extra video before the final levels. I recorded it way back before my hiatus so I had some difficulty remembering what I missed but what the hell. I wanted to show some stuff off before finishing the game so here's me rambling on about music stuff. If I use some terms wrong then you can tell me what a big idiot I am.

I wanted to post this last year, but I was too busy drinking and having fun on new year's eve. Anyway, next video just needs editing and commentary, so my new year's promise for 2016 is to finish this LP before 2017.

(Baldurdash | Youtube | Download)

# ¿ Jan 2, 2016 16:31

Wugga: Oct 30, 2006; I BEAT MEAT

Well look at that, a second page. Here's the new vid in case someone missed it:

(Baldurdash | Youtube | Download)

Alexeythegreat posted:

I was wondering when you would resume the LP

So was I. The latter half of last year was incredibly lovely for me and making game videos was the last thing on my mind. But yeah, this LP will be finished soon. I have a few weeks of free time so it won't be an issue.

# ¿ Jan 2, 2016 17:16

Wugga: Oct 30, 2006; I BEAT MEAT

(Baldurdash | Youtube | Download)

Took me longer than I'd planned, but at least it's done now. I haven't played this game since recording those final levels, which means since August or so. Don't really see myself going back to it, either. It was a fun little project (that got postponed way more than I initially intended), but after it's all said and done, it's not a game you're dying to go back to. It's been said many times, but the sequel is really where it's at. Unless you're nuts for challenge, I'd suggest going straight to that one and giving this one a wide berth.

Thanks for watching, folks. LP's over, go home.

# ¿ Jan 17, 2016 19:43

Adbot: ADBOT LOVES YOU

# ¿ Apr 27, 2024 05:48

Wugga: Oct 30, 2006; I BEAT MEAT

Just letting everyone know that this LP has now been archived. Props to baldurk, as usual!

Thanks to everyone for watching, commenting etc.

# ¿ Feb 8, 2016 22:40

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Video Games > Let's Play! > LET'S.PLAY BIT.TRIP.RUNNER