Difference between revisions of "3148: 100% All Achievements"
(Added detail to better explain why tool-assisted speedruns exist, and why cueball would want to prove his isn’t one.) |
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==Explanation== | ==Explanation== | ||
| − | + | 100% All Achievements is a category of {{w|Speedrunning|video game speedruns}} where the goal is to do everything possible in the game, as fast as possible. Many games have a progress bar to track completion of the game, making the "100%" criterion officially defined. "Achievements," also known as "trophies" for games on Sony-branded consoles, are another way to track accomplishments, either tracked within the game itself or through the storefront used to purchase the game such as the Microsoft Store. In some cases (particularly if external achievements are also tracked within the game itself) a 100% speedrun requires the player to collect every achievement. Sometimes, however, achievements are tracked separately from in-game completion, and thus are irrelevant to a 100% run. Some games include external achievements for spending a given amount of time playing the game (eg. An achievement for playing the game for 100 hours) which, if required, would defeat the point of trying to complete the game quickly. The phrasing here implies that Cueball’s university is not one such example, and that any external achievements must be completed for Cueball to consider his run complete. | |
| − | 100% All Achievements is a category of {{w|Speedrunning|video game speedruns}} where the goal is to do everything possible in the game, as fast as possible. Many games have a progress bar to track completion of the game, making the "100%" criterion officially defined. "Achievements," also known as "trophies" for games on Sony-branded consoles, are another way to track accomplishments, either tracked within the game itself or through the storefront used to purchase the game such as the Microsoft Store. | ||
| − | [[Cueball]] is attempting a 100% All Achievements run for his university, which is a ridiculous pursuit for several reasons. Even though 100% runs for video games can take very long (up to [https://www.speedrun.com/baten_kaitos_eternal_wings_and_the_lost_ocean?h=100&x=mke7v926 two weeks]), they don't even come close to the amount of time needed to complete a single university major, let alone every class. This would be prohibitively expensive for most people due to the high cost of university attendance. Moreover, "All Achievements" is vaguely defined in this scenario, | + | [[Cueball]] is attempting a 100% All Achievements run for his university, which is a ridiculous pursuit for several reasons. Even though 100% runs for video games can take very long (up to [https://www.speedrun.com/baten_kaitos_eternal_wings_and_the_lost_ocean?h=100&x=mke7v926 two weeks]), they don't even come close to the amount of time needed to complete a single university major, let alone every class. This would be prohibitively expensive for most people due to the high cost of university attendance. Moreover, "All Achievements" is vaguely defined in this scenario, and the "achievements" possible at a university will change as courses, academic tracks, and degrees offered change. In contrast, even if the possible achievements in a video game change as updates and downloadable content are released, it is possible to specify a particular version of the game used for the speedrun. The university is clearly upset with this choice of action, and demands that he stop it and graduate. This may be because they doubt his ability to retain this information, perhaps because they simply cannot get as much tuition from one man, or possibly because they feel he is making a mockery of the institution. |
| − | + | “All achievements” could simply refer to completing all courses and degree programs, but achievements in video games often involve optional paths or accomplishments unrelated to the main game progress. The equivalent for a university speedrun may mean Cueball also must participate in extracurricular activities such as clubs and other university-associated events, even if they do not directly contribute to his eventual graduation requirements. Depending on how involved the university is, this may add significant challenge and time to the speedrun. If the speedrun requires Cueball to participate in, say, several university sporting leagues at once, the time and effort spent over the course of training, practice, recovery, and event matches (possibly requiring significant travel) may even outweigh his already Herculean academic efforts. | |
| + | |||
| + | While this might sound ludicrous, "{{w|perpetual students}}" are people who spend long periods at a university. {{w|Michael Nicholson (academic)|Michael Nicholson}}, the world record holder, completed 30 majors between before 1964 and 2016. | ||
Gen-ed, which Cueball says he had completed all of in 2010, refers to {{w|Curriculum#Core_curriculum|general education courses}}. This usually means either: | Gen-ed, which Cueball says he had completed all of in 2010, refers to {{w|Curriculum#Core_curriculum|general education courses}}. This usually means either: | ||
(1) a set of classes, or at least categories of classes (such as literature, history, science, foreign language, etc.), that must be taken by all students, regardless of major; or | (1) a set of classes, or at least categories of classes (such as literature, history, science, foreign language, etc.), that must be taken by all students, regardless of major; or | ||
| − | (2) classes that have few prerequisites, intended to be taken by students in other disciplines or by people not in university programs at all, to broaden their education (for example, a course in general science for arts students). It is common for a university program to require a student to take several courses that are somewhat related to their nominal preferred specialty in their first year, to provide a foundation for later studies and to permit some flexibility if the student's interests change. In | + | (2) classes that have few prerequisites, intended to be taken by students in other disciplines or by people not in university programs at all, to broaden their education (for example, a course in general science for arts students). It is common for a university program to require a student to take several courses that are somewhat related to their nominal preferred specialty in their first year, to provide a foundation for later studies and to permit some flexibility if the student's interests change. In some countries, some gen-ed courses are also included in programs of study so that students get at least a bit of exposure to unrelated disciplines. Many students aim to get these courses out of the way within their first one or two years, though some universities have more specific or long-term requirements (eg: requiring all students to take at least one lower-division and at least one upper-division humanities course) to ensure breadth through a student's undergrad career. |
| − | Classes at a university typically receive a code that combines the name of the field/discipline being taught with a two- or three-digit number (e.g., a course in anthropology might be ANTH 209). The leading digit typically provides information about how advanced a class is: lower division work might receive a 0 or 1, while upper division and graduate courses will receive higher numbers. Although there is no standardization across universities for which specific numbers equate to which course levels, the generally accepted baseline education given in any specific subject is usually associated with the number {{w|101 (number)#In_education|101}}, while classes in the 400s | + | Classes at a university typically receive a code that combines the name of the field/discipline being taught with a two- or three-digit number (e.g., a course in anthropology might be ANTH 209). The leading digit typically provides information about how advanced a class is: lower division work might receive a 0 or 1, while upper division and graduate courses will receive higher numbers. Although there is no standardization across universities for which specific numbers equate to which course levels, the generally accepted baseline education given in any specific subject is usually associated with the number {{w|101 (number)#In_education|101}}, while classes in the 400s are usually taken in the 4th year of undergrad at most universities, and may provide credit towards graduate-level degrees. |
| − | In traditional speedrunning, a {{w|tool-assisted speedrun}} (mentioned in the title text) is one done with software such as a {{w|video game console emulator|video game emulator}} to record and then play back incredibly precise movements. These are typically used to show the theoretical upper limit of how quickly a game can be completed, even if the required techniques are beyond human capabilities. Particularly exceptional speedruns may rouse suspicion that they weren’t truly performed by a human, which is what Cueball is trying to quell. | + | In traditional speedrunning, a {{w|tool-assisted speedrun}} (mentioned in the title text) is one done with software such as a {{w|video game console emulator|video game emulator}} to record and then play back incredibly precise movements. These are typically used to show the theoretical upper limit of how quickly a game can be completed, even if the required techniques are beyond human capabilities (i.e. performing a long chain of optimal actions, flawlessly, without the need to replay or restart any stage). Particularly exceptional speedruns may rouse suspicion that they weren’t truly performed by a human, which is what Cueball is trying to quell. It is unclear how such tools might be applied to the pursuit of education, but Cueball may have meant using artificial intelligence or similar "cheats" to illegitimately complete his work. Unassisted speedruns are typically reviewed in full by a moderator of the speedrunning community for that game to ensure there truly were no tools involved. There is no known community for university speedrunning,{{Citation needed}} so no moderators will be able to review the years of footage to determine whether the speedrun was legitimate. |
| − | Most video-sharing services limit the length of uploaded videos, either by size or length, for a variety of reasons. A decade-long video file is almost certainly too big for any service: an hour of 720p-resolution video is about one gigabyte [[https://www.overcasthq.com/blog/how-big-are-video-files/ Overcast]], so a decade would be about 100 terabytes. | + | Most video-sharing services limit the length of uploaded videos, either by size or length, for a variety of reasons. A decade-long video file is almost certainly too big for any service: an hour of 720p-resolution video is about one gigabyte [[https://www.overcasthq.com/blog/how-big-are-video-files/ Overcast]], so a decade would be about 100 terabytes. The longest video ever to be hosted on YouTube is just under 25 days [[https://www.imdb.com/title/tt12095652/trivia/ IMDB]], under 1% of what Cueball wants. Such a video would require significant infrastructure support by the service for it to be allowed, not to mention presenting challenges to recording and storing it in the first place. Also, the moderators would spend much of their time watching the video. Assuming they watch 8 hours every day and there are 10 moderators splitting the video, we can calculate the days needed assuming it is about a decade. (10*365*24)/8/10 =87,600/8/10 = 1095. So, they need 1095 days, or about 3 years. |
==Transcript== | ==Transcript== | ||
| − | |||
:[Cueball, arms outstretched, is talking to White Hat.] | :[Cueball, arms outstretched, is talking to White Hat.] | ||
:Cueball: I finished all the gen-ed back in 2010, and I'm up to the 400-level courses in most departments. | :Cueball: I finished all the gen-ed back in 2010, and I'm up to the 400-level courses in most departments. | ||
Latest revision as of 06:04, 19 November 2025
| 100% All Achievements |
 Title text: I'm trying to share my footage of the full run to prove it's not tool-assisted, but the uploader has problems with video lengths of more than a decade. |
Explanation[edit]
100% All Achievements is a category of video game speedruns where the goal is to do everything possible in the game, as fast as possible. Many games have a progress bar to track completion of the game, making the "100%" criterion officially defined. "Achievements," also known as "trophies" for games on Sony-branded consoles, are another way to track accomplishments, either tracked within the game itself or through the storefront used to purchase the game such as the Microsoft Store. In some cases (particularly if external achievements are also tracked within the game itself) a 100% speedrun requires the player to collect every achievement. Sometimes, however, achievements are tracked separately from in-game completion, and thus are irrelevant to a 100% run. Some games include external achievements for spending a given amount of time playing the game (eg. An achievement for playing the game for 100 hours) which, if required, would defeat the point of trying to complete the game quickly. The phrasing here implies that Cueball’s university is not one such example, and that any external achievements must be completed for Cueball to consider his run complete.
Cueball is attempting a 100% All Achievements run for his university, which is a ridiculous pursuit for several reasons. Even though 100% runs for video games can take very long (up to two weeks), they don't even come close to the amount of time needed to complete a single university major, let alone every class. This would be prohibitively expensive for most people due to the high cost of university attendance. Moreover, "All Achievements" is vaguely defined in this scenario, and the "achievements" possible at a university will change as courses, academic tracks, and degrees offered change. In contrast, even if the possible achievements in a video game change as updates and downloadable content are released, it is possible to specify a particular version of the game used for the speedrun. The university is clearly upset with this choice of action, and demands that he stop it and graduate. This may be because they doubt his ability to retain this information, perhaps because they simply cannot get as much tuition from one man, or possibly because they feel he is making a mockery of the institution.
“All achievements” could simply refer to completing all courses and degree programs, but achievements in video games often involve optional paths or accomplishments unrelated to the main game progress. The equivalent for a university speedrun may mean Cueball also must participate in extracurricular activities such as clubs and other university-associated events, even if they do not directly contribute to his eventual graduation requirements. Depending on how involved the university is, this may add significant challenge and time to the speedrun. If the speedrun requires Cueball to participate in, say, several university sporting leagues at once, the time and effort spent over the course of training, practice, recovery, and event matches (possibly requiring significant travel) may even outweigh his already Herculean academic efforts.
While this might sound ludicrous, "perpetual students" are people who spend long periods at a university. Michael Nicholson, the world record holder, completed 30 majors between before 1964 and 2016.
Gen-ed, which Cueball says he had completed all of in 2010, refers to general education courses. This usually means either: (1) a set of classes, or at least categories of classes (such as literature, history, science, foreign language, etc.), that must be taken by all students, regardless of major; or (2) classes that have few prerequisites, intended to be taken by students in other disciplines or by people not in university programs at all, to broaden their education (for example, a course in general science for arts students). It is common for a university program to require a student to take several courses that are somewhat related to their nominal preferred specialty in their first year, to provide a foundation for later studies and to permit some flexibility if the student's interests change. In some countries, some gen-ed courses are also included in programs of study so that students get at least a bit of exposure to unrelated disciplines. Many students aim to get these courses out of the way within their first one or two years, though some universities have more specific or long-term requirements (eg: requiring all students to take at least one lower-division and at least one upper-division humanities course) to ensure breadth through a student's undergrad career.
Classes at a university typically receive a code that combines the name of the field/discipline being taught with a two- or three-digit number (e.g., a course in anthropology might be ANTH 209). The leading digit typically provides information about how advanced a class is: lower division work might receive a 0 or 1, while upper division and graduate courses will receive higher numbers. Although there is no standardization across universities for which specific numbers equate to which course levels, the generally accepted baseline education given in any specific subject is usually associated with the number 101, while classes in the 400s are usually taken in the 4th year of undergrad at most universities, and may provide credit towards graduate-level degrees.
In traditional speedrunning, a tool-assisted speedrun (mentioned in the title text) is one done with software such as a video game emulator to record and then play back incredibly precise movements. These are typically used to show the theoretical upper limit of how quickly a game can be completed, even if the required techniques are beyond human capabilities (i.e. performing a long chain of optimal actions, flawlessly, without the need to replay or restart any stage). Particularly exceptional speedruns may rouse suspicion that they weren’t truly performed by a human, which is what Cueball is trying to quell. It is unclear how such tools might be applied to the pursuit of education, but Cueball may have meant using artificial intelligence or similar "cheats" to illegitimately complete his work. Unassisted speedruns are typically reviewed in full by a moderator of the speedrunning community for that game to ensure there truly were no tools involved. There is no known community for university speedrunning,[citation needed] so no moderators will be able to review the years of footage to determine whether the speedrun was legitimate.
Most video-sharing services limit the length of uploaded videos, either by size or length, for a variety of reasons. A decade-long video file is almost certainly too big for any service: an hour of 720p-resolution video is about one gigabyte [Overcast], so a decade would be about 100 terabytes. The longest video ever to be hosted on YouTube is just under 25 days [IMDB], under 1% of what Cueball wants. Such a video would require significant infrastructure support by the service for it to be allowed, not to mention presenting challenges to recording and storing it in the first place. Also, the moderators would spend much of their time watching the video. Assuming they watch 8 hours every day and there are 10 moderators splitting the video, we can calculate the days needed assuming it is about a decade. (10*365*24)/8/10 =87,600/8/10 = 1095. So, they need 1095 days, or about 3 years.
Transcript[edit]
- [Cueball, arms outstretched, is talking to White Hat.]
- Cueball: I finished all the gen-ed back in 2010, and I'm up to the 400-level courses in most departments.
- Cueball: But now one of my advisors is saying I "can't have more than 20 majors" and "need to graduate next year."
- Cueball: It's outrageous!
- [Caption below the panel:]
- My university is making it really hard to finish a 100% all achievements speedrun.
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... Bruh I wanted to see the explanation but there wasn't one lol TheTrainsKid (talk) 03:36, 30 September 2025 (UTC)
- I was going to make it, but by the time i finished, it said it couldn't be published - someone had made a better one while i was making it. who'd've thought. --2.50.0.22 05:32, 30 September 2025 (UTC)
Could someone explain what “gen-ed” is? 2A02:586:D41D:9400:409C:F47E:C1DD:24B2 07:09, 30 September 2025 (UTC)
- I guess it stands for "general education"? --194.57.216.9 09:14, 30 September 2025 (UTC)
Isn't this what grad school is for? Gorcq (talk) 11:41, 30 September 2025 (UTC)
Background? I do wonder if the idea for this came from Roger Zelazny's book "Doorways in the Sand"? Jmbryant (talk) 11:56, 30 September 2025 (UTC)
Someone should explain what "gen-ed" and 400 mean to non-US readers. --85.159.196.174 14:23, 30 September 2025 (UTC)
- "Gen-ed" is general education. It probably refers to classes that satisfy the "core requirements" that everyone graduating from the institution must pass, regardless of major. Typically these will include English composition (basically, how to write a paper), some first- and maybe second-year humanities classes, some first- and maybe second-year science or engineering classes, and some first- and maybe second-year math. These days, many US students graduate high school with college credit for some of these classes through dual-enrollment classes, Advanced Placement classes (and the required test), or similar programs (it's not unheard of to start university as a "third year student" - or "Junior" in US education lingo). "400" means 4th-year classes (individual classes will be numbered 401, 402, etc.), which are typically only available to students majoring in that topic or a related topic. Fun fact: In some graduate schools, students are allowed to take a limited number of "400" classes to meet their graduate degree requirements. 64.201.132.210 19:02, 30 September 2025 (UTC)
- From a UK perspective, in this course scheme are we talking about "college" (Further Education, next level up from Secondary, variously known as Tertiary or "6th Form" in some cases) rather than "university" (Higher Education)?
- University 'academic careers', UKwise, are probably somewhat flexible (gap/sandwich years, leave of absence for personal reasons, etc), but I don't know of anyone who just 'kept reattending' to add more things. (I, myself, changed department, mid-way, but it was in context of which sub-part of the university was the primary focus of my already established multidiscaplinary Combined Science degree, and didn't change the effective year-group or classes I attended.) Also, I don't think we had "Underwater Basket-Weaving 101"-type optional/compulsary parallel prerequesit courses as 'minors', just automatically scheduled in sub-subject intro lectures for (e.g.) the specific applied-physics types of maths that the physics course used, to drag us up from the A-Level/HND/whatever proficiency that we'd previously gained to qualify us for our offered university place.
- College (Tertiary/6th Form/etc, optional followup to the compulsary Secondary-level education) was basically two years of whatever schedule you were willing and able to pack together from the offered courses... possibly could extend to three years (I had that option with a subject not taught at Secondary level... one-year of the Secondary course, then do the two-year Tertiary-level one starting in the second year of my other Tertiary-level subjects, but I abbreviated it) if it needed to be. Together with those completely resitting failed subjects, and those (mostly adult-education) signing up for a 'post-education education' as much as their time of life (and funding) allowed, no doubt there'd be opportunity to be nigh on an 'eternal student'. But you don't "Graduate" that level of education, in the UK. You might pass a course or two (or more, I personally had five separate qualifications on the go at the same time, though just the three 'main' ones) but it's not 'packaged' like undergrad university attendance.
- At least it wasn't for me. Maybe things have changed. They're apparently having end-of-year Proms all across the various school-year cohorts, these days, as an imported concept from the US. The most I ever had (not that I'm complaining, though I was never a good dancer) was the Christmas Disco. After the last School Assembly of the year (attendance awards and sporting triumphs may be noted and feted, but all prior to any actual exam results known) were a few days of "getting ready for Summer" with possibly a very much relaxed tailed-off 'curriculum' and being allowed to bring in board games on the last day of the school year (for those not bunking off entirely). Then... see you September! (Or not, if moving on to the "next school" or maybe that first proper full-time job as an adult.) 82.132.184.204 02:06, 1 October 2025 (UTC)
- American here who went to college (university) in the US who has raised kids in the UK and just sent the last one off to university. We don't narrow down our studies in the States like in the UK. In most places (there are exceptions) all the way through to the end of high school (12th grade/year 13) we're still taking Math, English, some sort of History/Geography, and some science classes. Maybe even P.E. Then when you go to university, you don't necessarily have to declare a major. In the UK, you have already spent the last two years just focused on 3-4 subjects for A-levels (or B-tech?), (everyone across the country takes the same exams at the exact same time) and when you leave for uni it might be just one subject. I was shocked when I found out that my husband's degree in Math(s) meant that he only took classes related to that! Because we don't narrow things down, and because we don't have the same level of standardization in testing as the UK, the US approach of general studies fits with our overall education model. It does take most people 4 years to complete a degree as opposed to the UK's 3, but our GenEd courses at university aren't the equivalelent of UK college (which you can start at 16) or A-levels. 2A0A:EF40:125:E901:9860:5F0C:6834:B46F 11:35, 2 October 2025 (UTC)
I think "speedrun University" can also implies someone trying to finish university ahead time interval (4 years, usually). I know people who have enough AP credits and do enough over-loading and summer classes trying to finish university within 2 years (the minimum time required to get a degree for most university). On the other hand, I believe this comic hint the people trying to complete all major's requirement inside the University to get "100% achievement". Most of university do not allow anything above double-count (count one class for more then 2 major requirements). If the people in comic have complete more then 20 major requirement within 15 years, that translate to the people have take enough class to complete at least 10 major's class/graduation requirements under the no triple count rule. in average, complete 1 major per 1.5 years, which in some sense, is amazing, also count as "speed-run". --(Someone recently been bitten by University's major tracking sheets) 130.215.10.247 14:41, 30 September 2025 (UTC)
The MP4 format can contain a video of up to 2^32 time units. The normal timebase is 90,000 ticks per second, resulting in 13.25 hours. But if you used a timebase of 1 tick per second, you could record 136 years in one video. The MKV format can support virtually unlimited duration. Of course, the title text here is talking about the video uploader's limitations, not the video container format. 170.85.73.15 15:02, 30 September 2025 (UTC)
I went for the Bachelors of Science and % run. Didn't do too badly. 2600:6C48:6D7F:DBD0:B921:39F0:E1FB:A74D 19:49, 30 September 2025 (UTC)
This feels like a continuation of 1052. REwhite (talk) 21:46, 30 September 2025 (UTC)
- Heh, he realized there wasn't any one good major out there, so he tried to get them all instead? New headcannon right there. Willintendo (talk) 21:27, 1 October 2025 (UTC)
- I can't tell if the reference to 1401 there is intentional or not.
StapleFreeBatteries (talk) 04:38, 5 November 2025 (UTC)
The "eternal student" was a thing when I went to college ("uni" for our UK friends) because tuition was nominal at most state affiliated universities. The optimal path if your parents weren't giving your money was to get a job as a Resident Advisor in one of the dormitories where most first year students lived as that would cover your room and board. Most school have responded to this by instituting some sort of cap on the number of courses and years you could take before they would force you to graduate. The dedicated eternal student would then apply to graduate school. 2600:1700:b39:3010:70ea:4d8d:1888:b6b8 (talk) 18:17, 3 October 2025 (UTC) (please sign your comments with ~~~~)
I second Jmbryant's suggestion that this could be inspired by Doorways in the Sand by Roger Zelazny. The comic immediately made me think of the central character.2601:600:837F:B130:D9D9:FE08:EC42:5A55 03:11, 5 October 2025 (UTC)
Is it true that, as asserted, most students finish the gen-ed courses in their first year or even first term? In my B.Sc. program, first-year students were expected to take 3 full-year credits of sciences, 2 half-credits in math (1 per term), and 1 full-year arts credit. A second credit of arts was required to complete the degree requirements, but that was generally taken in a later year. I did things a bit differently: 2 full credits in math in my first year along with the 3 science credits, and I did my arts requirements in my 3rd and 4th years. BunsenH (talk) 14:37, 6 October 2025 (UTC)
- Yeah, that claim was way off, at least for US universities. I edited it to be more accurate.
StapleFreeBatteries (talk) 15:39, 10 October 2025 (UTC)
Maybe this is a nitpick, but I don't like how this explanation conflates 100% speedruns and getting all achievements. What "100%" means varies from game to game, but it's generally unrelated to external "achievement" trackers. It's quite common for achievements to be awarded for things the community considers irrelevant to finishing the game, such as failing under particularly silly circumstances or winning the game while deliberately avoiding certain mechanics; there might even be achievements which are incompatible and must be achieved in separate runs! "100%" != "all achievements," usually. GreatWyrmGold (talk) 12:27, 25 October 2025 (UTC)
- I wouldn’t call that a nitpick at all. In fact, I think it’s a good point that a 100% run and an all achievements run would likely be very different for a university. While you could say that completion of a university only necessitates academic achievements, there’s definitely a lot more that you COULD do at a university. Clubs, sports, events, etc. That optional content wouldn’t be optional if the speedrun was truly all-achievements. I’ve added a paragraph about the implications of a speedrun that requires EVERYTHING possible to achieve at the university. KelOfTheStars! (talk) 19:51, 3 November 2025 (UTC)
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