About "Time Challenge" Times

Okay, I've beaten every time challenge besides the one for The Final Fight. I've written down my times, and I have to say, that for the most part the times used in the beta 3 are tight but fine.

1º Number= Time Limit

2º Number= Personal Time

3º Number= Recommended Time (in case Time Limit seems too tight)

Green Groove

Act 1 0:30 0:27 0:30

Act 2 0:50 0.48 0:50

Boss 0:40 0:33 0:40

Rusty Ruin

Act 1 1:00 0:57 1:05 (I find it quite tight, probably one of the hardest challenges)

Act 2 1:10 1:01 1:10 (Doable... Although platforms can be incredibly annoying)

Boss 0:45 0:38 0:45 (As long as you can get back to the paws a couple times, you can do it)

Spring Staidum

Act 1 1:05 1:03 1:10 (Maybe 1:05 is fine, I don't know)

Act 2 1:40 1:35 1:40

Boss 1:20 0:50 1:20 (I took 1:19 without taking advantage of the springs, use them!)

Diamond Dust

Act 1 1:20 1:17 1:20 (Can be slightly finicky)

Act 2 1:10 1:06 1:10

Boss 1:00 0:54 1:00 (Don't go too far away from Robotnik so he drops faster)

Volcano Valley

Act 1 1:20 1:17 1:20

Act 2 0:55 0:50 0:55 (Take advantage of the Fire Shield near the beginning!)

Boss 0:30 0:22 0:30 (Kinda luck-based with how small the "walkable" parts are, if you ask me)

Gene Gadget

Act 1 1:20 1:09 1:15 (I find it easier than most other levels, myself)

Act 2 0:40 0:33 0:40 (Again, this stage is quite easy, even with the low time).

Boss 1:30 1:17 1:30 (As Robotnik's hitbox is a bit wonky, use the shadows to aim)

Panic Puppet

Act 1 1:10 1:07 1:10

Act 2 1:40 1:29 1:40 (Not too bad, actually)

Boss 2:20 2:05 2:20 (Be calm and just try to hit the weak points as soon as you can)

Thus I find most time challenges to be, at least, well timed for a general skill level.

Edit: I've beaten The Final Fight's Time Challenge, 3:59, just one second less than the limit. That was close, woah.

In green grove zone

Act 1: 0:28

Act 2: 1:00

Act 3: 1:15

Certainly, I think Sonic 3D Blast DX, being an overall improvement / expansion of the original game, should not aim at "perfect runs" when looking at time challenges, Adding a bit of a leeway would avoid lots of frustration for people that don't master this particular title, but at the same time I think challenge should be there.

One example is Rusty Ruins Act 1. It needs to be beaten in less than a minute, but that's a bit too exact. I managed to do it in 0:59 seconds after a couple dozen tries. One simple mistake removes all chance to make it. .It can be getting hit by the spiked balls or enemies, but you could get screwed too by bouncing a bit too strongly while spinning and sending yourself to an obstacle, at that point you take damage and you would need to go back and start spinning again, but of course, if you need to do that, you already lost.

The worst part of clearing it was, funny enough, that you can lose while you're going through the final ring, as time still goes down for part of the animation. Many of my failed attempts were like that.

So yeah, I agree with adding around 5 seconds to the times. After all, those who like to do time trials always end up challenging their own times or try to beat friends' times, which is usually from where the fun comes, not just beating the original time,

All that said, I thank Jon for the creation of this hack (pretty much a little dream come true), and also for adding a way to quickly restart time challenges (pause the game, press A+B+C and you automatically fail, sending you to the stage select screen), very useful.

@Sledgex3:

Yes, totally agree.

5 extra seconds would be great for a player who knows its way around 3D Blast just enough to know their way to the end point while still having some lease to take a couple of hits. 10 seconds would be too much extra time but it would still be fairly decent for a challenge for casual players, but 5 seconds is okay for both hardcore and players who have gone through the game once before.

To ShadowOne333 :

Yes. I agree about adding for about 5 extra seconds in case of getting hit. It still might be a bit too hardcore and stressful for regular players when the counter almost reaches 0 near the goal. Especially with later longer levels, which requires trial n' error and even more practice.

As for the bosses, it's a different story. In order to get to shortest time, it's all about manipulating Robotnik's AI to do his actions as fast as possible. But that would be too tricky for normal players, which might be a problem to set a good challenge.

I say the list provided by Sledgex3 seems about right...

If you do a flawless run without getting hurt at all in the stage.

I'd say to add 5 to 10 seconds to those times to take into account possible hits with an enemy, a couple hits at best. Taking Green Grove Act 1 as an example, if you get hit only once (like with the exploding bomb in the bridge before the last ring), you end up not making it in time, and if you make it to the end without getting hit, you end up with barely 2-3 seconds of spare time.

So yep, those times are okay for flawless time challenge runs, but I would suggest adding at least 5 additional seconds to those times to make it not as aggravating to achieve.

Sledgex is right. The times need to be precise for there to be any challenge and replayability. I think we should wait about a week and see what kind of records people make, and then add a few seconds to them and use that for the time challenge.

I think that the time challenge times should also consider the skill level of amateur players. My suggestion, for at least the first half of the levels, excluding Green Grove act 1, should be around four minutes, based on what I was seeing on the livestream earlier today.

Maybe people need to test it out and tell their best time on each level to find a proper balance. For example here's mine:

Green Grove Zone

Act 1 - 0:30

Act 2 - 0:50

Act 3 - 0:30

Rusty Ruin Zone

Act 1 - 1:00

Act 2 - 1:10

Act 3 - 0:20

Spring Stadium Zone

Act 1 - 1:10

Act 2 - 1:50

Act 3 - 1:20

Diamond Dust Zone

Act 1 - 1:20

Act 2 - 1:10

Act 3 - 0:50

Volcano Valley Zone

Act 1 - 1:20

Act 2 - 1:00

Act 3 - 0:20

Gene Gadget Zone

Act 1 - 1:00

Act 2 - 0:40

Act 3 - 1:20

Panic Puppet Zone

Act 1 - 0:50

Act 2 - 1:10

Act 3 - 2:00

2 minutes = early stages

5-6 minutes = later stages

It's a bit hard to know since without the flickies the gameplay will be significantly altered, maybe this should be determined as a competition on the beta? The time trials need to be a bit of a challenge, so the time limit has to be precise, so it's just doable but requires some mastering of the level.

Depends if Super Sonic will be able to break through the pillars from Rusty Ruins Zone.

I was thinking about three minutes for the earlier stages and considering the later and more difficult stages, maybe five to seven minutes