Hydro Thunder(PC) All Tracks Speedrun Compilation

I decided it's finally time to give this version some proper attention. These were worked on between 8/12/21 and 8/24/21. This is one of my largest scale speedrun endeavors to date, and i'm really happy with how it turned out. I love this game, have for over 20 years, and will never stop playing it. No doubt, practically all of the runs in this video will be improved later down the line, but as it stands, I don't see myself going after most of them for a good while.


Tech used in these runs(Not all boats can do all of this. Blowfish is the best all-rounder. Cutthroat is used in Greek Isles for it's superior ability to build overspeed with the PC version lacking a big speed boost during the big downhill.):

Super Start: An intended trick where you come off the starting line with 4 seconds of boost. Vital for all tracks, and is done by holding reverse by the time 3 comes on screen, switching to gas when 3 starts shrinking, back to reverse at the shrinking 2, and back to gas at the shrinking 1. I later finally found out the method for the faster super start on this version after the runs for this compilation were recorded. It's the same as above, except at the shrinking 2, you use analog reverse and put it on about halfway, with the final gas going as normal. There is not a known way to do this on keyboard/digital throttle.

Overspeed: Any speed higher than your boat's top speed on the water. Can be achieved under several conditions, whether it was built up from a chain of jumps, or caused by a ramp. A huge timesave in many places is to keep overspeed as much as possible.

Boost Management: Blowfish(and Rad Hazard) does not require the boost button to be held down at all times to keep top speed. Used effectively, you will have boost for the whole track and keep top speed for much of it. The speedometer is watched as much as possible to ensure only just enough boost is used to maintain top speed on the water.

Jumping: The Hydro Jump is the link that makes practically everything in this speedrun work like it does. Press brake then press the boost button(Contrary to what some online guides may say, in most home ports of this game, including this one, you do not have to let go of the gas. On the PC version however, this doesn't seem to apply if you use the analog throttle). Using it, you can keep overspeed for much longer than intended, and with good steering, can even go around wide turns while barely touching the water(Caution must be taken however, as if you angle yourself too sharply, your steering will lock up and you can't jump unless you're turned almost 180 degrees around. Getting the steering and/or jump lock is needed for some things.). By boosting in the air, starting from your normal top speed, you can build up quite a bit of overspeed, as the top speed cap on the water does not apply in the air. Chaining jumps is most optimally done by performing the jump inputs, but not letting go of either brake or boost, pressing and holding them shortly before you hit the water until the next jump. You'll know when this is done correctly, as no water splash sound will play, under most circumstances that is.

Drag Reduction: By keeping within a small angle range to the left or right, water drag is reduced, ranging from a bit less speed loss, to almost no speed loss when angled even more precisely. This means that on the water, you can maintain top speed while using very little boost, except in turns that force you to turn sharply enough to cause slowdown. Jumping while in this range reduces the speed loss from jumping, up to none if done properly.

Shift Boosting: When within the drag reduction angle range, particularly as Blowfish and Rad Hazard, turning very sharply in the same direction as you're angled will give you a speed boost. A jump, cliff, or a ramp must directly follow the shift in order to reap the benefits. On the PC version, pulling off a jump after the shift is rather tight.

Redirect: By being angled too far away from the direction you're intended to go, the game turns you back in the way you're supposed to go. During this process which lasts about a second or so, the game locks your speed, regardless of any collision that may happen, or the sharpness at which you are turned. Exploiting this allows for taking many turns at a much higher speed than intended.


If you're interested, there is a community server for this game that covers both general play and speedrunning.   / discord  


Timestamps:
0:00 - Thunder Park

1:41 - Lost Island
3:14 - Arctic Circle
4:40 - Greek Isles
6:17 - Lake Powell
8:00 - The Far East
9:37 - Ship Graveyard
11:15 - Venice Canals
12:43 - New York Disaster
14:24 - Catacomb
16:23 - Castle Von Dandy
18:05 - Hydro Speedway
19:47 - Nile Adventure


The sum total of the track times is 19:39.35. Total playtime spent on this compilation is around 24 hours.