FAQ & Rules

What is a Speedrun?

Speedruns are a way of giving an otherwise forgotten game a new lease of life. One would think that after countless playthroughs and 100% completion reached, that there is no value left in playing any more. By aiming to finish the game as quickly as possible, using as many clever tricks and shortcuts as you can find, old games are revitalised and shine in a different way.

Can you show me one?

Sure! Click on 'Games' on the small menu above and choose one. We realise that freeware games are not as recognisable as big commercial releases, so just pick a game at random if you don't see any that you know. The page will give a brief description of the game and some information about it, then a list of speedruns submitted here. To download the videos, click on the time for that run and choose your mirror from the next screen.

I can beat that!

You reckon? Everyone is welcome to try and beat the records featured on this site. If you're serious about speedrunning and want to give it a try, register on our forums and start a topic about the game you are targeting.

I have a freeware game here I want to run...

That's fine too! Again, start a topic about the game and provide us with a link to download it. That way we can work together to discover strategies for quickest completion.

So who does these, anyway?

Quite a few people do. For a list of all members who have submitted speedruns, click the 'Players' link at the top.

I don't think I can do this game all in one go.

Don't worry; the practice of breaking the game up into sizeable chunks so that they may be run at your leisure is called segmenting, and is a standard technique for speedrunners. As long as the game has a good save system, you are free to take as many segments as you like to complete your run.

Alright, I'm ready to run. What now?

Well, this part can be tricky. Once all the planning is done, you need some way of capturing your run. If the game has demo recording built in, you are free to use this if the demo file plays back reliably. Most of the time, this isn't the case.

The majority of Windows games that use OpenGL or Direct3D can be captured using a program such as FRAPS or Camtasia. You may need a powerful computer to be able to play the game at a reasonable speed whilst capturing video. Record your movie at the highest quality settings available; you can cut the file size down later by encoding it.

An alternative method (if either your game or PC is too old) is to use a video capture card. Unfortunately, unlike SDA we possess no technology for transferring video from VHS tapes. You are free to send us DVDs though.

For more information on submitting, PM LLCoolDave or Lag.Com on the forum.

You haven't answered my question.

If you can't be bothered to register on our forums, at least drop either one of us an e-mail so that we can help you.

Addresses: LLCoolDave - Lag.Com