Originally Posted by Nirs

Hello all.
I wrote this about half year ago and posted in our ru-forum.
Very thanks to Odlov for translating.

I hope this article can to be useful for sp-newbies.

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Recently I’ve noticed a new trend: everyone suddenly got into single player. Poor Uke is being remorselessly tortured in every replay.

So, what must a replay have in order to be deemed awesome?

First things first: at the beginning you must note what replays not to make (and if you have already made such, not to show them to anyone). For examples, open the toribash replays folder and look through those that came with the game. Don’t EVER make such replays. This assembly has been put together more than a year ago, and almost everything in there is not cool or original by today’s standards. Posting such stuff nowadays will get you nothing but a few cynical laughs.

SP (single player) players evolve continually and the bar is raised every week.

* * *

Today, to make a successful replay you need:
1. Standard settings (classic or sambo mod, with 100 dt)
2. Good, original, interesting opener. Opener in SP does not necessarily serve the same purpose as one in multiplayer: while you don’t have to worry about defensive side of it, you must make sure it is aesthetically pleasing (containing interesting and intriguing movements) to make a worthy intro to the ‘ownage’.
3. Crisp and thought-out objectives.
No unneeded movements or purposeless strikes. Whether it be a madman or just fancy decap replay is not important, as long as it looks good.
4. Interesting ending.
This is where many fail. After you have done your bloody deed and Uke is RIP (resting in pieces) you need to make a pretty final. Basically it either has to be some interesting pose (best if perfectly balanced) or some sort of victory dance.

These are the four CRUCIAL rules. Generally if you are missing even one of those elements, your replay won’t be considered 10/10 by tori-community.

* * *

Points are also taken off for the following:
1. Lots of hold.
Generally the more relaxed you are in the replay, the better.
2. Symmetry.
It’s next to impossible to make a symmetrical replay and not look like a complete noob, so you probably shouldn’t do it unless it’s for your own viewing.
3. Pauses in your rhythm.
Replays are like music: sudden pauses and purposeless jerking movements ruin the impression. It’s best you either try to complete whole replay on one speed OR start slowly with the opener, then gradually increase speed during the “action part” only to slow down again during closing.
4. Low dismemberment threshold.
100 dt is a standard in sp replays, and lowering it to make dismembering easier is a bad idea.
If you make a madman with 50 dt you will be lucky to impress a few yellow belts.
5. Self-dismemberment.
You should avoid any sort of self-injury in a replay unless it was its sole purpose.
6. Un-crisp and bundled strikes.
Many newer players desperately try to dismember Uke as fast as they can, by any means possible. They’ll be content if they get dismemberment by accidentally hitting Uke with their chest or shoulder. Alas, watching such replay will immediately give away that those dms were accidental, and give the impression that the maker wasn’t in control of the situation.

* * *

Of course, there are also some things for which you can get bonus points.
1. Realism.
This one is very difficult, but it’s also valued the most nowadays. The more accurately you can simulate actual human movements the more respect you will get from your tori-peers.
2. Originality.
Well, duh. There are certain concepts that have been done to death, like jumping a long distance to Uke and decapitating him, or self-splitting. Those have been done a million times and don’t impress anyone anymore. Same goes for some openers.
3. Length.
This is pretty simple. The more frames you can keep replay exciting and interesting, the more it will be valued. So generally, a fun 1000 frame replay > a fun 500 frame replay.
4. Plot.
If you are not just destroying Uke in your replay but also acting out some interesting scene, then you naturally get more awesome points.

* * *

In order to bring this all to life, you need to keep these tips in mind:
1. Turn frames during making of a replay should generally be set to 5-8 frames. However, this doesn’t mean that you have to move some joints every turn.
2. “E” button is your friend. Basically, it’s how replays are made.
3. Save often. It’s quite possible that on frame 300 you realize that the path you chose on frame 150 sucked, so you’ll need to go back and edit it over.

* * *

Lastly, in order to ease the effect of this wall of text I’ll give you links to different 10/10 replays from various authors. Some are madmans, some scenes, and some simply good replays. Watch and learn.
http://forum.toribash.com/attachment...1&d=1221859284
http://forum.toribash.com/attachment...4&d=1222265304
http://forum.toribash.com/attachment...7&d=1224885449
http://forum.toribash.com/attachment...0&d=1224759726
http://forum.toribash.com/attachment...5&d=1219334953
http://www.box.net/shared/f14hrpka0t

Originally Posted by War_Hero

I would add excessive grabbing to the list of don'ts. But other than that, great list!