Sonic 2 2013 Best Ending FAQ

 Sonic 2 2013 Best Ending FAQ

Q: What is Best Ending?
A: It means getting all the Chaos Emeralds and beating the game, which triggers the "Best Ending" to play after the credits.

Q: What does 2013 mean?
A: It refers to the year this remake was released, to distinguish from the original version.

Q: What is different about this version?
A: A fair bit. The engine is slightly different, so mechanically there are slight difference everywhere. For the less keen observer; all the zips are such from the original no longer work, Tails can now carry you as he flies, speedcap can be turned off, and elemental shields from S3K can be added into the game.

Q: What are you playing on?
A: I'm playing on decompilation that allows you to play the game natively on PC.
You can find it here: https://github.com/Rubberduckycooly/Sonic-1-2-2013-Decompilation/releases/tag/v1.1.2.1

Q: Why does this category use Real Time? I thought 2D Sonic generally uses IGT?
A: First and foremost, because Special Stages are a large part of this run, and they don't have an In-Game Timer. While it's true that they are autoscrollers that are (mostly) the same, it'd be silly to not have a real penalty for failing one, and be entirely comical to have the run that does all the special stages be a "lower" time simply by not counting the special stages (and saving time with Super Sonic)

Q: Why pure RTA and not RTA-TB?
A: RTA-TB (Real Time Attack minus Time Bonus) is a timing method that only works when the run is a straight line to the finish. Time bonus is removed from the timing because it doesn't make sense for a run that finishes a stage in 29 seconds to be considered slower than 30 seconds, so the time bonus being removed makes sense.
However this run ISN'T a straight line to the finish. In this run, using that time in order to get rings and enter a special stage and make that time spent a *routing difference* rather than just "going slower". For example in this run, I get a Chaos Emerald in AR1, because its faster to use the time in AR1 to do so. Under RTA-TB method, this routing would just be "ignored", which is silly.

Not to mention the added factor of the "continue" jingle, which is often also subtracted in RTA-TB timing. Wherein whenever you get 10K points or more, you get a continue, which flashes for just over 2 seconds. This again is a key routing element that shouldn't be ignored in a real time setting - for example in stages like Metro 1 where you ideally finish in just under a minute (get 5K time bonus), it means you want to finish with less than 50 rings to avoid this jingle. This actually means doing the stage differently, I deliberately don't get the lightning shield to get less rings specifically for this reason. Ignoring these routing factors in a real time category would be silly.

There are still issues of course with pure RTA, the time bonus still exists and there are some stages where waiting for 30 sec is the better option as a result (notably CN1), but in the end every timing method has some amount of silliness, and so in that case it makes sense to just use pure RTA for the simple and instinctive nature of just beating the game as fast as possible.

Q: What is the World Record?
A: No one else runs this so, See: Splits

Q: What's your goal time?
A: Sub 37 would be good.

Q: What stages do you get the Chaos Emeralds in?
A: EH2, AR1, AR2, CN2, HT1, HT2, and MC1

Q: Do you use Super Sonic at all in this run?
A: Yes, Super is used in 6 stages. Those are: MC2, OO1, Met1, Met2, Met3, and WF.

Q: Are there glitches in this run?
A: No useful glitches, but there are a couple of boss skips in Hilltop and Oil Ocean (where you simply just fly over the top of them)

Q: What is with those split icons? What does A and B mean?
A: This is a grading system for all of my splits. I'm sure you are familiar with grades, A+ being the best then going down from there. So the idea is, if the split has an A+ next to it, my time there was really good and would be very difficult to beat. If it's a C though for example, it was quite poor, and I should be able to save time there pretty easily.

This way, everyone watching has more accurate information on where I can save time, and where I should be making up time. Also that all time loss is not equal, as losing time vs an A+ split isn't really that bad, whereas losing time vs a C split is really bad. It'll probably take a while for a lot of people watching to pick up the meaning so I will appreciate everyone who explains how this works (correctly) in chat to new people.