Max Dirt Bike 1:59 breakdown

the first ever sub 2 minute time, finally, after eight 2m0s times that weren't uploaded because we knew the 1m 59s was on the horizon.

This was done on the Flashpoint version of the game, which is the closest to actual Flash.

a long time coming, once thought to be impossible, the 1m 59s time has been achieved. I plan to make a full video essay one day about the journey to sub 2 minutes, an interesting story with some lore and new discoveries, but for now, here is a brief breakdown of each level of this run.

RED LEVELS [1-5]
Level 1
a perfect beginner level, old YouTube comments used to claim that 3s was impossible, but this is a good test for new players since reaching that 3s barrier is not easy, a good example of how simply holding the acceleration is not optimal, and finessing the right height as well as the smooth landing is key.
Level 2
While going for WR, most runs end here unfortunately. however, after warming up it's not uncommon to see multiple 3s times on lvl2 in a row, what used to be a rare time is now very commonplace and marks the beginning of an actual run.
Level 3
straightforward level that is almost always an easy 3 seconds
Level 4
somewhat strict timing but should be relatively easy to perform, messing up at all likely means missing the 4 second barrier
Level 5
3 seconds is possible on lvl5, but I've only ever achieved maybe 7 times, and I've only had 2 or 3 16 second paces after the Red Levels. There's an invisible hump before the final ramp.

BLUE LEVELS
Level 6
used to be a pain, however, just buffer and hold the up arrow and nothing else and you have a free 3 second time.
Level 7
3s is possible but rare and requires not only a nice/direct ramp glitch boost, but you also have to not die on the landing, this glitch is still not understood but I'm working on it. 4 seconds is typical but not guaranteed, somewhat leniant but messing up too hard can cost a second.
Level 8
one of the more memorable levels that sees runners crashing frequently at the big dip, especially their first go. braking to the right speed to avoid the crash and also not launching off the ramps after the dip CAN result in a 9s time if you do it almost perfectly but 10s is par for the course which is what I got on this run
Level 9
A good run/pace will usually have a 5 second time on lvl9 and head into level 10 with an overall time of 00:39 but I missed it here, many runs die here but going for the 5 second time, but here I just settled for the 6s and took the 00:40 into level 10, the worst pace worth continuing at this point
Level 10
Longest level, usually a 13 second time with some strict timing, messing up the ramp at all loses a second, despite many different strategies/attempts, have not been able to make 12s possible, although I think either TAS or a new strat at the end could make it in time.

GREEN LEVELS
Level 11
8 seconds is par but I got the 7s birdie here, landing at the end can be janky because it's a bunch of circle surfaces (check the level images for more details) 7s is still hit or miss, but coming out of lvl11 with a 1:00 isn't bad, 00:59 pace has been seen a ton of times, 00:58 less than 10 times ever probably, 1 or 2 57s
Level 12
love/hate relationship with this level, one of the more difficult, but very satisfying to get a good time, (usually best is 8s although I think 7s is possible, don't think it's ever been achieved though) perhaps the most frustrating to lose on, and many good paced runs have crashed and burned here.
Level 13
A tight execution test where you can only lose time. Do it right and make the 6s barrier, mess up at all and 7s, my first 2:04 untied WR actually had the same 1:08 pace as this 1:59 run but managed to lose 2 full seconds on this level.. gotta be ready to go out the gate
Level 14
the closest thing to a freebie since lvl6, simply hold accelerate at the start, and hold right arrow as you land to climb circle surface quickly, avoid clipping the back wheel on the landing ramp if you can, but timing is pretty lenient and you can afford to mess up and still reach the 4s barrier, 3s is almost certainly not possible.
**This level is a good test to see if the emulator/.swf file you're using is emulating the game correctly, holding up key and only up key should always result in clearing the 2nd circle- some versions of Max Dirt Bike will result in the back wheel clipping the 2nd circle (which can actually help) but has inconsistent ramp jumps, making the game non-deterministic.
Level 15
barely clipping the last stair of the stair case can result in a faster clearing of the circle but 11s is usually the best possible, 9s was achieved on the ported version of the game with crazy speed boosts but idk if 10s has even ever been on normal flash.

Ideally want to exit the Green Levels on 1:30 pace, 1:31 is seen a lot, 1:29 is good, 1:28 maybe seen once or twice. (Taking 1:29 into Yellow and getting par on each Yellow Level results in a time of 2:00)

YELLOW LEVELS
These last 4 levels can either make or break your run, all very fun because executing them perfectly results in saving a full second, executing them normally results in in times of 7s, 8s, 8s, + 8s respectively (these are probably the most common times achieved on each), and executing them sloppily can result in losing a full second.
Level 16
Not easy, but definitely the easiest and most common "birdie" of the Yellow Levels, requires not only getting the perfect bounce off of the first little bump, but also a reasonably fast climb over the 2nd bump. Pro tip: Once in the darkness of the finish pop a wheelie in order to finish a couple frames sooner, which on this stage, those few frames commonly determine whether it's a 6 or a 7. I've been getting more consistent with the 6s strat recently and I showed that in this run.
Level 17
7s on lvl17 is pretty rare and almost always just barely miss the 7s barrier, executing near perfectly results in the 7s birdie but is basically never expected, need flawless beginning and a good bounce before the climb, even good driving usually results in the standard 8s time which I got here.
Level 18
The 2nd most common Yellow birdie, a really fast run will get 7s, which has been done many times, but is definitely not a common timesave and difficult to achieve.
Level 19
I've only been able to get 7s on lvl19 twice ever, and tbh a little over half of runs will crash at the final jump here because we lacked the speed necessary to land on the 1st floating circle, (or land too perfectly on the circle which splits the tires and contacts the bottom of the bike resulting in a crash) this is actually due to 2 "grip points" on each of the tires not lining up, making it appear almost RNG although it can be potentially be accounted for, I'll probably make a separate write up/video about this phenomenon as it's only recently been discovered with the help of 2Darray

Still time to be saved if the stars align. And as previously mentioned, I intend on making a long comprehensive video essay about this one day