says it all really

Poll: How many times did you die… (21 member(s) have cast votes)
…the first time you completed the single-player mission?
0 (yeah, right)
(2 votes [9.52%])
Percentage of vote: 9.52%
1
(0 votes [0.00%])
Percentage of vote: 0.00%
2
(0 votes [0.00%])
Percentage of vote: 0.00%
3
(0 votes [0.00%])
Percentage of vote: 0.00%
4
(0 votes [0.00%])
Percentage of vote: 0.00%
5
(0 votes [0.00%])
Percentage of vote: 0.00%
6-7
(0 votes [0.00%])
Percentage of vote: 0.00%
8-10
(2 votes [9.52%])
Percentage of vote: 9.52%
11-15
(0 votes [0.00%])
Percentage of vote: 0.00%
16-25
(0 votes [0.00%])
Percentage of vote: 0.00%
26-40
(1 votes [4.76%])
Percentage of vote: 4.76%
41-60
(3 votes [14.29%])
Percentage of vote: 14.29%
61-100
(2 votes [9.52%])
Percentage of vote: 9.52%
101-150
(2 votes [9.52%])
Percentage of vote: 9.52%
151-200
(0 votes [0.00%])
Percentage of vote: 0.00%
201-300
(2 votes [9.52%])
Percentage of vote: 9.52%
301+
(1 votes [4.76%])
Percentage of vote: 4.76%
I don't vote in polls
(6 votes [28.57%])
Percentage of vote: 28.57%

As suggested by Veritus Dartarion, but never actually done (and because we have too many topics about levels and level design, not that I mind but there should be some balance), the number of deaths poll! There are three categories: for the first time you completed the game (which is necessarily in normal mode unless you did that on a computer where someone has alraedy beaten it and you're crazy and go directly for hard), for the number of deaths of the time you ended up with the least deaths, and for the number of times in an average attempt (one you just play without paying particular care, you just go on, as you would normally). If you don't really know just put your best guess, the possibilities aren't all that accurate themselves, it's just to get a rough idea of how many people die; for the average attempt, if you really have no idea, just do a single-player run right now and post the number of deaths you get.

You may notice that I abstained in the first category: the shipping game you all know and love ended up having a few differences from the first betas that I played, not to mention that in the first beta completing the game was only possible through circumventing the reg limit by going through the lava field with the first ship (don't try, that hole has been plugged for eons), which meant you could die quite a lot, and of course completing the game more normally after that in later betas wasn't the first time anymore.

However, my vote in the second category is simple: 0. If you're good (and careful), IronMan runs are very possible, though they do take a bit more time for me to do.

On average, I tend to die around 4 times in what I consider to be a "normal" game for me: a normal difficulty single-player mission where I take all items and don't try to go particularly fast; generally zero to one, perhaps two, death is at the hands of the Forest Boss, one to three at the hands of the final battle, and sometimes one or two random deaths anywhere in the mission (like getting stupidly surrounded by big flickers or running into mines or some other such thing)

This post has been edited by Zacha Pedro : 24 April 2007 - 04:01 PM
Reason for edit: BB tags in poll questions don't work

The average run, for me, is an attempt to beat my previous speed records. As such, I die a lot. I have completed the IronMan challenge, so my best game is 0 deaths. I never want to do that again. Let us not speak of it. My first game, I died something on the order of 70 times.

xander

I believe I died 30 something times on my first go, and I think I've only ever completed it all the way through once after that. However, I've started many games after those that I never got around to finishing, and I believe my average deaths is somewhere around 20 when I'm almost at the End Zone.

Apart from the Ice Cave and Final Bosses, what gets me most are those cleverly positioned Mines and Spike Bombs. I don't think I've ever played a game where I didn't fly headlong into the Race Track entrance for example. (Awful, awful mines...)

Somewhere a bit over a hundred deaths on my first run through, and I'm going to avoid voting for at least a few more days because the &$!@#@! Pen managed to kill me five times before I got it on my Iron Man run (next time, I'll try to clean out my running programs enough that the game won't freeze for exactly the wrong fraction of a second during that battle). An average run would probably be on the order of 10 deaths, all but one or two at the hands of the Pen. This last bit is just guessing, however, as I've only completed the built-in scenario three times.

Edwards

I VOTED FOR DINOSAURS.

Well not really. I've only played through SP once, so I only voted in the first two polls.

haha, I was just about to point out that I'd thought of this poll.

And as I feared, I'm pretty high on the relative deaths scale. My first time was 200ish, and while my best was a bit below 100, my average was certainly above it.

I still haven't gotten past the second boss. I hate the damn red dots that attack you.

Hehe... looks like I'm ahead on the First Time Round poll, and about average on the Average Attempt one.

On an average attempt, I usually die about 45-52 times, and my worst run ever (also my first time to play) was about 85 times. I have completed the game once with under 40 deaths, but I attribute this more to luck than to anything else.

--Flurrie

This post has been edited by Flurrie : 19 July 2007 - 08:04 PM