iMacmatician's videos

Wow insane stuff there!

Darwin's Dilemma (25.37) and (23.06) [alternate paths]

tykwondo35 requested a video of Darwin's Dilemma because he wanted to lower his time of 34.98 by 5 seconds. From his time I inferred that he was using the full path while collecting all Time Travels. So I replaced the standard ending with the ending I used in my Darwin's Dilemma videos, which saves 9 seconds. I then found another ending that saved 2 more seconds.

Notes (25.37): I paused for a bit before jumping down near the end to allow the moving platform to move out of the way. Waiting longer gives a clearer view of the grey block that you rebound on.

Amazing!

Great job!

Very Nice

Good job, I was asked for it too but couldn't be bothered

Escher's Race (31.48) [alternate path] and Three-Fold Maze (22.46) [alternate path]

Levels like these are gold mines for alternate paths of various forms. Here are two of them…

Escher's Race:
A long time ago I saw gekarani's Escher's Race video. While the run was not remarkable in terms of speed, the first 20 seconds caught my attention. I hadn't seen that particular move before, and I immediately drew parallels between it and the first part of the MBU WR path (both 26 second and 24 second paths). With my skills, 20 seconds dropped to around 10, and I found I could do the 2nd half of the level similar to the 26 second MBU path, but the final time would be 5-6 seconds higher. Only recently did I decide to make a recording.
The run is somewhat sloppy, but that's because the parts after the gyro activate are surprisingly annoying to do. There's an easier variant after the gyro where you get the 4th and 5th gems in reverse order, but that adds ~0.5 second. I also tried to hit the slope of the start pad after GMing down to it, so there is less rebound (I may have missed the slope by a bit in this run).
Possible improvement: 1.0

Three-Fold Race:
I figured that if I had an alternate path for Escher's Race I should make an alternate path for Three-Fold Maze. This one was the gems collected in the order of the MBU WR path (1st and 2nd gems switched), so it bears resemblances to the MBU WR path. I purposely wall-hit near the end because that's easier than curving in like the MBU WR path.
Possible improvement: 0.3

Nice runs!

Marble Blast: No Jumping 4

Thrill Ride (4.09): A combination of the two paths I use to get 3.4x (with jumping)
Possible improvement: 0.03

Obstacle Course (9.82): Some experimentation on this level yielded this path, that gives a consistent 9.8x-9.9x. This is the best time I got.
Possible improvement: 0.03
… (9.79): While attempting this level I screwed up and did some form of edge hit on an edge parallel to the direction of movement. The marble went higher as a result and missed the wall where I was supposed to do the edge hit. It then edge hit a blocker.

A-Maze-ing (7.17): Going all the way to the back wall isn't necessary to get up on the side wall
Possible improvement: 0.05

Avoiding Hazards (4.95): A low edge hit gives the best time, and since turning on ice is very slow, camera curvature is necessary before hitting it
Possible improvement: 0.2
… (4.98): A more linear path that I thought would get a lower time (it did until I improved my run on the other path from 5.2x to 4.95), but some slowdown is needed to hit the trim (which doesn't happen on the other path), giving a nearly identical time. I knew I could go lower but I had trouble doing it.
Possible improvement: 0.3 with skill?

Downhill Racing (2.21): This just needs good curvature to catch the TM fast. The rest of the level is similar to doing it with jumping since jumping isn't actually needed.
Possible improvement: 0.03

Gap Aimer (22.29): A way to use two Helicopters to get to the finish. Since jumping isn't possible, another way is needed to get over that large gap between the start and middle platforms. A well angled edge hit may get to the finish without having to land on the middle platform, but that's hard.
Possible improvement: ~1 (more with EH)
… (16.85): I nearly fell off the arch but I kept pressing forward and stayed on since I still had the Helicopter for a little while after first landing on the arch. The launch to the end is all about timing.
Possible improvement: 0.5

Song: Trans-Siberian Orchestra - Beethovan

That was amazing. I never intended the Gap Aimer arches to be used like that!

Loved them all; great job!

Very good pathways.

Omg unbelievable creative path for Gap Aimer with the two helicopters

Survival of the Fittest Double Fail

…the title is self-explanatory.

Notes:
I missed a 7.4 or so not long before this video. That was part of a few close misses but I wasn't able to hit the finish (hence my PR is still 10.32).

Song: B.o.B ft. Eminem & Hayley Williams - Airplanes part 2

Better luck next time.

Yuck, imagine had you actually finished

Marble Blast Levels 8

Message to my viewers:

College starts for me next month, so except during breaks I will have significantly less time to play Marble Blast (even less time to record). Therefore, I probably won't be uploading many videos of a few minutes' duration or longer for at least this coming school year.

I currently have a backlog of videos to upload, they are: Marble Blast Levels 8 (this video), Marble Blast: No Jumping 5, Marble Blast Levels 9, Jump Jump Jump (2.389) [end screen], and To the Moon (3.899) [end screen] (the last two are 7 months old, never bothered to upload them yet). They will be uploaded over the next month or so.

I have one other video, it's currently in progress, and that's Marble Blast Levels X. That video is planned to be the last of my Marble Blast Levels series, as well as the last video of this composition (over 2 minutes long, many levels), for many months at least. However, Marble Blast Levels X is shaping up to be what I think is the best of my Marble Blast Levels videos. I promise you all: you won't be disappointed!

I may have one or two side videos alongside MBLX.

As for the videos I'll make after MBLX, you'll just have to wait and see... I will say that they will be significantly different from most videos I've uploaded so far.

Ok, now for this video.

Plumber's Portal (19.17): I hit a specific part of the tube when I first entered to make the marble follow that trajectory for a low 19.
Possible improvement: 0.25 (ending could have been better)

Under Construction (2.87): After years of doing the edge hit by just moving straight instead of diagonal (easier, gives 3.7x-3.8x as top time, my PR was 3.9x I think), I decided to do the diagonal method for sub-3. It was about as easy as I thought it would be.
I also found that a gimped version of the MBU/Dushine's path can get me 3.2 or 3.4 or so, but it was hard because a lot of marble control was needed after the EH.
Possible improvement: 0.12 (missed a number of 2.7x's)

Ground Zero (2.00): Easy way to get 1.9x-2.0x. I didn't attempt this level much on .rec since it crashes MBP every two times it loads.
Possible improvement: 0.05

Magnet Training (5.75): I remember the second time I got the edge hit, way back in 2008 or early 2009 (the first time was a 8.xx by sheer luck). It was a 6.91 (I think) and I moved so far back from the start that I went all the way to the edge and I started to fall off! Thankfully I wasn't over enough to actually fall off, half a second of movement pushed the marble back up the edge.
Nothing silly happened in this recording though, giving me a 5.75.
Possible improvement: 0.15

Learn the Edge Hit (7.23): I did an edge hit after the 2nd TM instead of jumping straight to the other side because I couldn't seem to get the necessary movement to get me there by jumping.
Possible improvement: 0.3? (ending can be improved)

Triple Decker (22.89): I had 24.38 before I saw the edge hit and Jump Boost tweaks. The jump boost usage here is actually accidental, I was trying Pascal's version but I kept messing up, then I messed up again here but I hit the purple thing then the Jump Boost, which nicely sent me up to the next diamond.
Possible improvement: 0.5

Gap Aimer (9.23): Start pad trick thing done so I could keep jumping all the way to the Helicopter.
Possible improvement: 0.04

Treachery (10.37): I did the landing on the platform with the 5th gem better than usual. I like this level, I just don't like messing up on it.
Possible improvement: 0.25

Slippery Steps (12.68): I tried to not overshoot the 1st diamond catch while still having the necessary speed to go over the diagonal ice stuff during the subsequent jump. The ending messed me up a surprising number of times.
Possible improvement: 0.2

Newton Knew Best (9.84): I tried to take advantage of the collision boundaries (like Ramps Reloaded) for a faster and smoother run. (This was slightly less successful than Ramps Reloaded though.)
Possible improvement: 0.1

Awesome job!

Awesome job on all, fav was Under Construction, (for some reason, I could never finish that level with that double edge hit path) but you pulled it off pretty smoothly

Amazing!

What college are you going to? (If you want to say.)

Awesome runs as always!

Great job dude! I remember that song.

Nice!

Love your videos; you just get better and better!!

Marble Blast: No Jumping 5

Fifth No Jumping compilation…probably my last one for a while, although I'll have a few standalone videos here and there.

Grand Finale (41.65):
The gyrocopter landing was a little bit tricky (early this year when I first did this path for 42.xx, it was really annoying, now it's easy), since the gyrocopter ends midway during the flight down and you need quite a bit of movement to rebound to the next platform.
Possible improvement: 0.75 (2nd gem catch could be better (this was a crappy one), ending gyrocopter could be lower)

Daedalus (22.46):
Mud = somewhat annoying. Space is only a bit worse just because there isn't much of it. I had to have the right speed while going up slopes since I could easily either go too far and fall off or not make it up.
Possible improvement: 1.5 (ending was slow)

Darwin's Dilemma (25.53):
Unique run on an otherwise mundane path because of the edge hit near the end of the level. Few runs have one that far in the level.
I tried a traplaunch out of those blockers after the 4th gem but for some reason couldn't seem to get the trap. Anyone want to try it?
Possible improvement: 0.3

Battlecube (18.57):
Specifically used collision boundaries to my advantage. My 1st TM catch was .3 better than my average good run on this level, so I was a bit cautious after that (see 10th gem), so I ended up around .3 better than my previous PR. I was lucky on the 16th gem, didn't think I got it (until I did).
Possible improvement: 0.2

Bumpy Highway (21.35) [forgot to change level name on video]:
I always liked the reverse path for this level, and I realized with No Jumping, it would actually be a good path. Added the path extension to get the TM because 1. it's cool, 2. it's probably the only way to get the TM, and 3. it's the only easy way to get to the 3rd gem. Two parts of the path require a large amount of direct marble movement: the leap before the 3rd gem and the leap to the finish. Surprisingly enough the marble has enough speed to cross the gaps, and they aren't too hard to do.
Possible improvement: 0.3

Diamond Round-Up (20.60):
I'm not supposed to hit the slope on the start pad, but the slope on the platform before it. I didn't waste time though (that tweak probably saves time). The hit the slope on the platform before path was from when I didn't get the TM before (getting the TM requires a hit on the ≈45º slope instead of the ice, giving higher height).

Song: Red Hot Chili Peppers - Dani California

Marble Blast Levels 9

At around the end of last year, I made videos for some levels (including Escher's Race, Siege, King of the Mountain, and Daedal Helix). At that time I didn't upload them because I thought I could do better (many weren't PRs), and planned to redo them. I ran out of time so they were never redone on .rec. I included Escher's Race and Siege in this video because Escher's Race took me a long time and Siege is still PR.

Grand Finale (32.78): The gyrocopter part was the most difficult part, as the height had to be perfect when getting the 2nd gem so that the next gem and Jump Boost can be caught during the subsequent drop. The time surprised me, I was going for 0.5-1.0 seconds slower.
Possible improvement: 0.25

Monster Speedway (10.68): Is it just me or is there an extra Speed Boost in this level? I made sure I slowed down properly before the 11th gem for a swift left turn.
Possible improvement: 0.25 (slowdown before 11th gem and the ending can be improved)

Escher's Race (28.90) [note .rec shows 28.89]: I tweaked the Gyrocopter part of the path for a possible better time, and I also used my path tweak to the Gravity Modifier so the marble isn't falling when it hits the GM. This time took me 4 hours to pull off; for the first 3 hours I did the edge hit while going diagonal right, the last 1 hour I changed to just straight so it was easier.
Possible improvement: 1.0 (painful messup after the Gyrocopter ended, but oh well…)
Personal record: 28.49 (that one took 1 hour at most)

Siege (29.36): I had a much higher time before attempting this level again, and I found that I was able to use a modified version of the WR path to go sub-30. There's mistake after mistake from the 7th to 9th gems, but that always happens to me and I don't usually get to the finish in 29 seconds (without going too high).
The start jump pattern allows me to always get launched up to the 1st TM for a low 6 catch. With a high 5 catch (and no bouncing off the sign), I wonder if it's possible to get to the next TMs at 6.xx and therefore the next launcher at 1 launch earlier than WR path.
Possible improvement: 2-2.5

Diagonal Training (19.68): What I had to watch out for was the jumps near the end so I could get the last gem while still maintaining speed.
Possible improvement: 0.2

Double LoopLoop (23.81): I tried to use as much diagonal movement as possible, and I kept the Speed Boost to use at the end.
Possible improvement: 0.25 (I really like the loop exit and finish, but I think it could go down a bit)

Fighting Slopes (28.70): The carpet ramp was always hard for me, I used to do it diagonal right because that camera angle worked better for me. I realized I had to do it diagonal left to get a lower time. So I tried it.
By the way, is a sign hit possible on any of the signs?
Possible improvement: ≈0.3

Beach Party (24.87): Occasionally I do levels I wasn't able to do before for videos, and Beach Party is one of them. The main reason why I wasn't able to do this level before is because I'd always mess up on the catwalks + TMs + OOB zone part. Fortunately, there's a way round it, and that's what I took.
Sometimes I stay too long on the final OOB and so I end up restarting instead of
actually finishing.
Possible improvement: 0.4

Ring Stunts (31.64): Another level I couldn't do before. It wasn't as hard as I thought (but still a bit of a challenge), since the rings are much easier now than they were 1-2 years ago.
Possible improvement: 1.0

Stamina (27.75): I didn't get the TM but the low trap made up for it. I also got the last diamond much better than I did in my 28.93.
Possible improvement: 3-4

Mini Marble Golf (25.00): Directly recorded on CamStudio since the level crashes MBP if I play it more than maybe twice. It wasn't too tricky, just some bits annoyed me, like that TM catch after the Jump Boost, I didn't quite get the spin to go straight in the hole afterward (although I probably could).
Possible improvement: 2 (if I get in the hole after the rebound)

Stairmaster (46.37): Yep, another one that I first finished while recording for this compilation. This took me at 2-3 hours, sorta surprisingly. Upside-down finish, I kinda wanted to slide down and wall-hit to it, but if I tried that I'd go too fast, so I had to slow down and bounce several times.
Possible improvement: 2-3 (more if I did an edge hit which is possible in several places, I tried the one on the pink steps but I just kept messing up everywhere else so I didn't bother)
I like the large collision boundary for the 2nd diamond.

Songs: Nightwish - Amaranth and Sonata Arctica - The Cage

Good job!

Awesome! Great paths in Beach Party, I had never intended those.

Great path in Stairmaster.

Monster Speedway was just to sped up
I always miss up a gem if I try to go that fast, but you pulled it off quite smoothly