Would it desync if the record file were edited so that the level end screens were dismissed faster?
I just tested it and it did not desync for me (for this particular movie), although, personally, I prefer being able to see the actual level time for a level completed. I support standardizing the length of the intermission screens but making them instant somewhat hurts the aesthetic of a run for me. I suppose, specifically for submission to this site, it wouldn't be too hard to edit out all the intermission screens for demos that do not desync, though I would never make any of my Doom TASes have instant intermission screens otherwise.
I have a question about RamboBones' Doom 2 WR TAS. Which command/tool did he use as he was killing monsters while runstrafing without any turns? Was he turning extremely fast (I didn't notice this in the encode)? If it's not a cheat, why do it isn't used in the run?
Your run is great! Yes vote.
RamboBones used DRE to turn instantly for shooting like that (a modified version of it was used in this run). DRE allows for frame-by-frame editing of TASes (also known as building). Akse prefers to use smooth turns and only partially uses building in his runs.
Are the intermission screens supposed to be that slow? I can't tell what source port you're using, but I would expect the intermission screen to immediately show the stats and move on just as fast.
EDIT: Oh, it would help if I read the submission text. Never used GLBoom, but the question still stands. Should source ports even be used instead of "Vanilla Doom"?
I also agree with firing the last rocket at the Cyberdemon at close quarters since you win no matter if you are alive or not. Furthermore, the frame where you fire that rocket should be the last input. You do a short sprint after you fire the last rocket that should be cut out.
PrBoom+ maintains very high compatibility with vanilla, and PrBoom+ (as well as tools based on PrBoom like DRE and XDRE) offer the most TAS features for Doom, which is why they are generally used for TAS.
That is not true about E2M8 ending, if you die after the cyber dies, you don't finish the level, same for E3M8 (unlike the Icon of Sin for Doom 2). Also, any inputs afterwards make no difference on the final time, so I don't see why they would have to be cut out.
Regarding the cyber kill, it's very likely the better option to start with a plasma gun because that does a lot more damage to cybers.
Well, you would fire the same amount of rockets, switch weapons, and finish by firing your cells.
I'm not certain how that would make much of a difference, since he'd still be firing the same number of shots.
Because rockets move slower (slower than the player's movement in fact), you could potentially start firing them earlier and have the cyberdemon walk into them. Plasma projectiles are so fast that you have to run up and get the cyberdemon in your line of sight before firing. That's the theory anyway. It doesn't necessarily save time in practice here.
By the way, if the final rocket does much more damage than necessary to get the kill, you could skip the last 2-3 shots with the plasma gun. Again a very minor thing, and something that Akse already appears to have accounted for, based on his comment.
Possibly, although it doesn't seem like the cyber has much time to make it around the corner in this demo. It does seem like it might have been possible to wake the cyber up earlier.
Regarding the cyber kill, it's very likely the better option to start with a plasma gun because that does a lot more damage to cybers.
Well, you would fire the same amount of rockets, switch weapons, and finish by firing your cells.
I'm not certain how that would make much of a difference, since he'd still be firing the same number of shots.
The improvements that seem most likely to me is some of the maps have are pretty close to 1 sec improvements (particularly E2M4 in 36.37 and E2M5 in 25.23), and the E2M6 void switch hit seems a bit slow.
Regarding the cyber kill, it's very likely the better option to start with a plasma gun because that does a lot more damage to cybers. As for moving in closer, it might help slightly, but likely not enough to take the time down from 25 seconds to 24. He doesn't have much health to take the hit; also, I don't know if this is the case in this run, but he may have been at that distance to manipulate damage RNG.
As for NM runs, I wouldn't go as far as saying it's treated as a joke-difficulty, but UV is the standard for competition, which is why most TAS runs for Doom is UV-Speed.