iMacmatician's videos

audio = loss

Marble Playground (36.38)

I was aiming for a high 37 (PR = 37.99) but I suddenly got a 37.2x (I think). However, that run had an extra bounce right after the last gyro, so I thought I could do faster than that. Shortly after, I got this 36.38.

Very creative, especially the ending!

Jump jump jump (2.38 TT catch)

I knew my internal clock was awesome. Got this today while messing with this level.

iShowU HD is really laggy on my computer (since I have a bunch of apps open) and so I didn't click No.

Notes:
I hit the right side of the pole and I tried to save the run by wall-hitting to get the second from bottom TT but the time restarted.

Nice job!

cool.

Gauntlet (9.25)

Story:

Last week I tried the Gauntlet edge hit. The particular angle I was using was a simple one, press forward all the way to the edge. While I got some sort of edge hit every 3 or so minutes, only a few were enough to get to a platform halfway up (so Super Jump to the finish) and none made it all the way up.

I tried for several days but only got 12-13 seconds. Then I realized that hitting the edge while using diagonal movement could help increase the height of the edge hit, so I tried both diagonal left and diagonal right.

This successful run was done after 5 minutes yesterday, so I was very lucky.

P.S. Got Fraps and it works quite well. I'll be using Fraps for short videos and keep with CamStudio for longer ones.

Amazing double edge hit!

sexy shot

Marble Blast: One Gem (Three Fold Maze and Escher's Race)

One Gem: A mode in between regular and no gems that opens up new paths for existing levels.

Three-Fold Maze (9.54, 11.93, 14.85)
Escher's Race (10.62, 12.74, 15.00, 15.72, 14.02)

Notes:
Escher's Race (gem 2): Getting that gem was harder than I thought
Escher's Race (gem 3): This path was more annoying than I thought
Escher's Race (gem 4 and 5): I hit a relatively high part of the yellow ramp, and therefore the arrow of the Gravity Modifier (rather than the planet), to prevent overshoot after the gravity change

Song: Beverley Knight - No More (with Roni Size and Dynamite)

Tube Treasure (28.28) and Will o’ Wisp (16.50)

Tube Treasure:
Details: I combined the existing 29 second path with the tweak around the 3rd gem that is used in the 24 second (WR) path. So in effect, it's an existing path, existing tweaks, but a new combination.
A wall-hit and tube loop exit around and after the 7th gem, like in the 24 second path but on the left side instead of the right, may save additional time.
Time saved from first successful attempt while recording: 1.75 seconds
Additional time that could be saved: 0.5 second

Will o' Wisp:
Details: I took a different first Time Travel because it was faster than the old WR path and I had problems with making the jump to get the first Time Travel for the WR path. The time restarts at the end which is because I have to go for a gem while using the Gyrocopter.
I spent almost three hours on this level, got 16.50 about halfway through, and couldn't do a successful run with a better time.
Time saved from first successful attempt while recording: ~1 second?
Additional time that could be saved: 0.6 second (best TT catch was 15.5x, shortest TT restart was ~0.3 second)

insane tt vid

Wow! Amazing!

Darwin's Dilemma (15.48)

Details: I used an alternate path that has an overall structure like the WR path but with easier routes to the 5th gem and the finish.
It is also possible to jump after the 4th gem and let the blocker hit the marble so it bounces on the grey block with the fan. That was the route I originally used although it's a somewhat annoying to get on the platform where the 5th gem is.
History: I had a 16.3x PR without an edge hit. While I was recording, I unexpectedly did an edge hit and managed to get a 16.03, although the ending was slow. Unfortunately, that recording messed up. I tried again and got another unexpected edge hit, but I messed up afterwards. So I decided to shoot for an edge hit, which was a bit difficult to do. Eventually I got a 15.48 recording, which unfortunately messed up again (yes, I was mad)! The good news was that after I restarted MBP, the recording worked fine! (That happened a few times for my No Gems compilation, I think it has something to do with using different resolutions for recording and playback.)
Time saved from first successful recording: 0.55 second
Additional time that could be saved: 0.10 second, 3 seconds if I get the group of two TTs earlier

Song: Crazy Loop - Crazy Loop

great pathway, makes ends alot easier

nicely done as always

A pleasure to watch.

Mountaintop Retreat (9.90, 9.17 [B3])

Note: Created and uploaded in 1728x1080 (game resolution 1440x900) for YouTube's new 1080p HD feature. It's coming next week but if you want to see it now go here: mike.thedt.net/ytsubs/ytsubs.php

History: In January 2009, I hit an unexpected 10.32 on Mountaintop Retreat, about two thirds of a second faster than my best time until then. That personal record stayed for the next ten months (although I got a tie). In the last few days, that was beaten with an 10.06 and today I was able to hit a 9.90.

Details:
9.90: I got two bounces on the slope after the edge hit. Many times the second bounce landed on the flat surface following it and so I went out of bounds. A previous attempt got 9.89 TM catch but barely fell off the back of the TM platform. This one barely didn't fall off the side of that platform.
9.17 [B3]: This run has an unexpected tweak after the edge hit, the marble only bounces once on the slope after the edge hit and somehow makes it up to the third flat slope. I think that saved me time since I was going for a mid-9. I did get 9.14 on the TMs but I fell off since I was moving too fast, typical of low TM catches. I also used the Speed Boost to make sure I didn't fall off the back of the platform (I somehow missed the SB on the 9.89 run).

Possible improvements:
9.90: 0.05-0.1 second

Trivia: My previous recordings that were planned for this video but I improved on were 10.06 and 9.67 [B3]. On both runs, I missed the Jump Boost (yes, even with the big marble!) and went back for it (no loss in time).

Song: Journey - Don't Stop Believin' EDIT: Where did the song go????

great runs with unbelievable quality

Amazing!

Short levels 1

Overview:
A kind of sequel to my Marble Blast Levels 2 video, but most levels are different.

Learning to Roll (3.08): After watching awengrockss video of this level I decided to try out his start jump pattern and I found that it is faster than the pattern I was using. I believe I tried out that pattern months ago but at that time I couldnt get better than 3.12-3.13 (which was my PR using the other path).
Possible improvement: 0.02

Jump Training (4.51): I find this path to be easier and faster than the edge hit path, since I cant go sub-4.50 using the EH path as Pascal can. Normally, I jump on the ramp then the far wall, but in this video I unexpectedly jumped on both walls. I went faster than normal to the finish and I nearly didnt make it to the top platform. I turned the camera to make sure the marble hit the platform but I did it too late for it to have an effect, and all it did was lose time.
Notes: Ive tried the edge hit path and I got 5.0x.
Other record: 4.58 (ramp + wall path)
Possible improvement: 0.10

Platform Training (5.84): I read on the SDA forums that Pascal supposedly found a new path for this level. I wonder if this is the path he found.
Personal records: 5.81 (regular path, end edge hit), 5.82 (this path)
Possible improvement: 0.02

Air Movement (3.72): I managed to change direction at the right time for a quick finish.
Possible improvement: 0.04

Bumper Training (2.73): Similar to Learning to Rolls path in purpose, which is to be a more directed, therefore easier, path than the (previous) WR path. This path is harder than Learning to Rolls because it requires a significant camera turn at the right time for the right bumper hit.
Personal records: 2.67 (old WR path, I pulled off this time months ago but cant be bothered to try and beat it), 2.71 (this path)
Possible improvement: 0.04

Marbletris (5.92): About 0.05 better than expected.

Jump Tutorial (2.51): Another path in the line of Learning to Rolls and Bumper Trainings. Here I use the delayed start that I have used in a few other levels.

Gravity Knot (5.75)
Possible improvement: 0.10

Mini Mountain (5.87): I was aiming for 6.0x when I got this out of nowhere.
Possible improvement: 0.05-0.10

Song: Zombie Nation - Kernkraft 400 (Sport Chant Stadium Remix)
Audio's gone again…don't know how to fix this…

great vid. left a comment

Fun to watch

I didn't find the new path for Platform Training.

Ian did (Valentinoian on LBs).

Gym (1:13.71) and Skill Zone (59.34)

History: So not too long ago I decided to improve my skills on longer levels (≥ 30 seconds real time), as I was usually bad at them (one notable exception is Skyscraper). I also decided to spend more time on Marble Blast Platinum, as my times in MBP levels were generally worse than my times in MBG levels.

This video is the first of at least 5 videos that focus on MBP levels (medium to long), long levels, and long MBP levels.

Details:

Gym: I pretty much had a generic path before, but while recording I incorporated some tweaks (some of them I thought of myself, others are from Pascal's video): Wall hit (4th gem), getting the 10th and 11th gems together instead of separately, getting the 12th gem 12th instead of 7th, getting the 14th gem 14th instead of 18th (which also led to going through that hole after the 19th gem and subsequent wall-hit), the slope jump to get the 17th gem, jumping at the 19th gem for better success rate on nuke area, going side-to-side to get the 21st through 23rd gems, and going through that hole after the 23rd gem. Those plus the practice from recording brought my time down from above 1:30 (first recording) to 1:13.71.
Possible improvement: 1.5 seconds

Skill Zone: This level pissed me off so much! Using those Speed Boosts to get those 4 start gems was hard to do right, and most of my runs failed there. After at least an hour (I think) I got my first finish of 59.34.
Possible improvement: 3 seconds

Song: Owl City - Fireflies

Well done!

Great job! Great path for Gym.

Nice run on Gym! If done properly, you can grab all five floating gems (above the bouncy floor in front of the start) with the Speed Booster. It's hard, though.

Possible improvement isn't 3 seconds IMO for Skill Zone. I did exactly the same path a while ago (not at breakneck speed, either), and grabbed 53.xx. But yeah, I wouldn't want to spend all that time perfecting a video run on that level, either. Good job!

thought I commented here but...

Good job on both runs, Gym was epic pwn coz most ppl can't break 1:20 but Skill Zone coulda been better.

Skill Zone is quite tough at the start, its all where it counts. If you can do the first 6 gems flawlessly the remainder of the run is rather easy (though the ice part killed more runs than I wanted). Gym's pretty damn good, I loved the skip at the end for the gravity. One of the 4 sides allows you to enter it faster than the rest (thus easier exit) so I'd suggest looking it up since its a huge time saver not many people are aware of.