History
Depot Agent 0:26 was first untied by Peter Osterland on a legendary run (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c_aM8xjuV2s) on October 4th, 2002. Quickly matched the very next day by GoldenEye legend and champion at the time, Wouter Jansen, the time stood as POWJ for a few months before slowly and surely racking up dozens of ties over the course of the next several years.
The rankings shortly after 0:26 was untied. (https://web.archive.org/web/20021014032557/http://www.the-elite.net/GE/elite.htm)
The time soon became one of the first WR's that aspiring GoldenEye players would go for to prove that they could get a record under their belt. By 2010, the record had become tied with Runway Agent 0:23 for most tied record in the history of GE at 59 total ties (https://rankings.the-elite.net/goldeneye/past/2010/06/25). (If someone can back me up on this I *think* it's correct.)
0:26 was not set to last forever, which can be said of every time achieved in 2002. Upon the advent of the 2.X control style in late 2009 and 2010, Surface 2 became the first target, swiftly followed by Depot after the rediscovery of an old strategy used by Mouser and Alex Anderson to shoot out the screen during a specific cinema (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MOAKd6LxnJw).
According to an old website post (https://web.archive.org/web/20100722002204/http://www.the-elite.net/) by Vitor, in some chat room Goose and Ace had discussed the possibility of 0:25 and what it would take to achieve it. In accordance with the natural law of the universe that states Ace must achieve untieds, shortly after he untied 0:25 using 2.X (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lGlXY4HT_9s). This was shortly followed by Clemens achieving his own 0:25, and a dozen more players would tie the 0:25 over the next 5 years, eventually reaching 15 total ties.
However, after Squrpion one day passed through (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wGW8GIrfj7A) a infinitesimally small gap in the depot roller door on console and without turbo mode (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j-M_5LmpPKc), the level would never be the same again.
Ryan Koch would untie 0:24 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IzbDV-5CFpo) later that same day, and Philip Bezgoubov would bring back the Osterland-style train shot (https://youtu.be/c_aM8xjuV2s?t=18) from the original 0:26 two days later to achieve his own 0:23 untied (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iwsJ4o6YK4U).
The Aftermath
Today, July 14th, 2020, nearly 18 years after 0:26 was first achieved, 0:26 is worth 10 points.
Several classic players still have 0:26 as their personal best, and 12 players have 0:26 as their only time worth points.
Notable players who still have 0:26 as a PR include Peter Osterland, Wouter Jansen, Adam Moore, Matthijs ten Ham, Dan Cervone, Greg Lewis, Patrik Nilsson, and Leonardo Santos.
Relatively recently, many notable times have been passed away through the communities efforts over the course of many years.
Dam 0:54, Runway 0:23, Bunker 1 0:18, Archives 0:17, and most recently Bunker 2 0:25 are all very notable victims of the modernization of the rankings.
As such, Depot Agent 0:26 stands to be the next to fall, and I would personally argue that it will be the biggest time to ever lose point value entirely.
The Call to Action
It's time to pass away Depot Agent 0:26. It has been slowly creeping towards its inevitable death for years, and I say it is time we strive to put it out of its misery.
I unfortunately do not currently have the means to offer any sort of monetary incentive for players to achieve 0:25 or lower. If anyone would like to help, feel free to let me know.
But now is the chance to be a part of history! Be one of the players that help pass away this most historic of times!
Following is a list (put together with the help of Eric P.) containing many players who can most certainly achieve 0:25 or lower (shoot for 0:24!) and have not already done so.
I updated it, so it is now your name as it appears on the GE ranks. (Colors too! yay)
Nick Rotmeyer
Austin P.
James Dalziel
Craig McGrath
Randy Chapman
Harry Coupe
James W.
Henry Rodriguez
Lance Mudryk
Eric Bergmann
Michael Soucy
Kev B.
Nikolaj Sørensen
Roger Cantley
Cal Brabham
Joe F.
Michael Antle
Steve Dudick
Samuel Scholten
James Greening
Mathieu de Carufel
Jacob Hall
Leo Perna
Robert Sizemore
Blake Carroll
Josh Thomson
Dan O'Grady
Corey Doherty
Daniel Mahoney
Steve Rigney
Diara Palmer
Evan Cloutier
Ben Downing
Mason C.
John Reading
Wouter Jansen
Huzaifa P.
Paul M.
Thomas Andrews
Oskari Strandman
Carl-Magnus Wall
Mael Robic
Jacob Ezell
Tyler P.
Cory May
Brian Rose
If you feel slighted that your name isn't on the list, get 0:24, coward! :nesquik:
I also highly encourage anyone stuck on 0:25 to go for 0:24, as 0:25 isn't too far behind 0:26 in terms of being passed away.
*cough cough* Glover (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lN4zlY6DX3Y) *cough cough*
I will update this post regularly and make a poll once it is sitting at 2-3 points. Cheers to all, and best of luck with the warps!
Resources
Mop's 23/24 Tutorial (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pt896yiUpjk)
Grav's Example Failed Warp (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fJABofdxL4E)
Henrik vid discussing warp (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6M-qTvqapus)
for players going for your first warp and sub 26/25 - just go for the trainshot and give yourself a chance to skip to 23. the trainshot should be a 1/3 or so thing so you have a 33% chance to skip straight to 23, a nice WR.
-It's something to do besides drool into a cup on such a repetitive and easy level, and helps keep your focus.
-It can be very helpful to use the train shot in setting up your line.
-If you ever want to go for 23 later, you'll need to relearn the setup from scratch if you don't incorporate this very basic strat.
-23 is an initialed WR despite being one of the 2 or 3 least skill intensive WRs, and it's likely this one won't be untied further.
-There is going to be a very big point difference between 23 and 24 within 1-2 years.
-If you get 23 now you'll be a pioneer, if you wait until 24 is below 50 points you'll barely get any credit since you dragged your feet.
-Shockingly few players have had the belief in the warp itself to even attempt train shots, something I consider a needlessly toxic mindset. The level should be taken seriously by all players.
-So many players quit after getting a single warp despite the fact that the first is by far the hardest to get.
-People play it as if they don't believe it will work and believe a train shot will hurt somehow, despite all evidence to the contrary.
-Don't listen to the cowards with no 23s.
-Joris got 23 on his first warp.
-Irie got it on his second (and first to use train shot).
-I got it on my 5th including quitting out on my first which was sure to be 23, a healthy 21 quitout with instant TS reaction.
-Though the first 2 players are certainly top tier, the same cannot be said for myself which proves anyone with the slightest skill can pull it off. I am the lowest ranked player who holds a WR; it's not close.
-If you get 23 you never have to whine about the level to others, as so many players do.
-Other scrubs are going to start caking this time as more go for it and the better players will feel more and more shame at being bopped by the masses.
-It will bop such household names as Ace, Illu, Marc, Boss, Jimbo, Birdie, Goose, Wouter and many others.
-It will soon be requisite for Depot leaderboards, and by far the easiest WR to get. Currently only Goose has 24 or higher.
Now that you're convinced, below is a brief collection of tips and analysis of example runs, to add to the information at the disposal of players. Some good information and tutorials are out there but many players including myself have felt poorly informed when attempting warps; there are various methods to set up the warp itself but ultimately it comes down to consistency once you find something you like. I only give a brief summary about the actual warp but more detail about stuff that will help for 23, mainly doing the train shot and ending optimally.
Spoiler
I never liked the advice to let go of the stick during the attempt, it's clear that many players are definitely using inputs on it as they hit the wall. I basically set my angle, press A about when I hit the small ramp in front of the door, and did a subtle turn to the right as I hit the wall. The turn to the right was held for a moment at a slow rate rather than a quick movement. I was trying to use no stick input from the shot until I hit the wall, and I let go when I expected to get through, my angle was usually good to grab the armor and open the roller door without any adjustment post warp. If my line to the warp was slightly off I'd try and start turning a tiny bit earlier if I was too far left, but if I was too far right I'd try and trust it. I lined up parts of the door on the left edge of the screen and tried to set my line a tiny bit left of the crack if anything so I'd never have to adjust the other way. My angle would vary a bit, and I was able to hit warps from barely having any of the door frame visible on the left of the screen to having a tiny bit of the yellow arrow visible as I made my approach. This was in wide screen and my TV cut off a small bit of the captured video (this can vary among various TVs so be aware of your overscan when comparing it to captured footage). Basically there's more than one setup that works but this is the best I can describe what I was doing.
I believe in the "near warp", if you feel a pronounced lag spike and it seems like you've gotten to a deeper position you can't normally strafe into it's probably a good sign. When I was playing well I'd see them fairly often even though actual warps were an average of every 2 hours once I had my first. I also took note of them before I had a warp and they tended to happen when I was doing what was ultimately successful. I'd take them as a good sign if you're still trying to hit your first warp. Unless there's someone in your stream helping you this strat can be frustrating due to the lack of feedback over several hours at a time, so take these as a form of validation at first.
Forget about the 21 quitout. It's possible to get a 21 quitout on any run by quitting out early enough; I also had one on a successful warp. Quitting out for pace is a bad habit on this level. I was seeing basically all 22s during my grind but my pace was never in any danger, it's all about the warp itself and ending. I made a conscious choice to keep my finger on B and off start until I was certain the run was failed. The grind can be brainless but having the extra second of patience is crucial.
Many runners have made it an accepted practice to grind with Bond's back against the 2 walls of the central building before making their approach to the train shot on 26 attempts. While you can definitely get away with this since 26 is very forgiving to pace, I recommend taking good lines and not taking either turn too early. For one thing you're not going as wide around the graffiti wall so the benefit of setting your angle early is essentially gone. I have played a lot of Depot and I think it loses time; I don't do it on any difficulty since I got my first 26. It's a guaranteed way to piss away a tenth or two and it's sloppy; though it won't matter for 24 in all likelihood it will certainly require a much better run for 23.
Possible techniques for the train shot include the Clemens/Irie shot, where you keep a fairly tight line and do a small "flick" to land the shot, as well as in my run where I do a single roughly 90 degree turn slightly later and set my line at the same time, which some may find easier. There's also the option of using the standard 26 train shot, as some players have done, but none have achieved 23 with it (though it definitely seems viable, see MR's 24).
So many of us are used to just taking aim at the front of the train from straight on going for 26 or playing SA/00, but the target profile differs a fair bit for the Osterland style shot. It's important to shoot right of the train door, and you want to hit between the door and the left half of the front or so, often the right part of the front of the train won't work.
If doing the (Osterland) shot from past the wall, your angle should be slightly above planar unlike the standard (Sterling) train shot which is roughly planar; there is a small ramp putting you at a lower height as you pass the wall. For the standard shot it's necessary to keep fairly tight lines and adjust quickly to clear the wall, but the Osterland shot requires you to keep a bit of space from the wall and carry on left of it slightly to present a better target.
In terms of the guard's reactions it doesn't matter much but you want neither the fastest or slowest reactions. Killing one is ok, missing both but alerting them is ok, not getting the thigh shot or gun is ok since they only need to react and open the train door in about 5 seconds. In fact many WR runs just barely have a fast enough reaction to get the train door open as you come through without the guards leaving; this can be considered ideal as there's no way they can troll you if they don't leave the train. In any case even with an ultra fast reaction you'll be opening the roller door yourself and waiting for it.
I did a lot of analysis on the existing WRs during my attempts and here are some good example 23 runs (though I haven't watched all 24s by any means):
Spoiler
-Clemens and Paracusia (his was a 24) had the least time spent warping, getting through far faster than most. (.2 seconds to get through after hitting the wall) Clemens's run had a less than ideal ending but a great number of the 23s spent 2 or 3 times as much time against the wall. This may not seem to be something one can directly control but many players use a technique of sliding against the roller door or wall to set up the warp. Though highly touted by a number of runners, there is .2-.4 time loss here even in many 23s compared to these 2 runs. (Giving up time at the warp will also potentially give the guards more time to cook up some unthinkable RNG and troll you.)
-See Ace's or Jimmy Bauer's 24 for an example of a poor line immediately after the warp, correcting to the right on too direct a line towards the near corner of the roller door. Going on a roughly parallel to slightly inward line to the door is recommended for the high margin for error, as many of the successful runs posted tend to do. Angling too far inwards tends to make timing the B press semi blind, difficult, and can result in catastrophic double presses or at the least a delay in opening the door. Being angled more to the right of the door will logically require you to be farther into the room before you can activate it than being angled relatively more left. I believe I made this mistake on my 3rd successful warp attempt as well, causing me to get a late door press. Obviously neither player lost 24 as a result since they both handled it well, but in the chaos and panic that follows one's first warp it's best to prepare to take the simplest approach. Remember that you have a couple seconds after opening the roller door to reposition yourself and hold speed, and you can also practice this line on occasion just to get a plan in place.
-Irie and Mop had the best endings, pay good attention to their line to the roller door immediately post warp not being as tight. Irie and Mop also got favorable guard RNG/reactions but both had very good timing getting through the roller door and cleanly into the train. Getting stuck on the train's invisible protruding hitbox on the right edge of its door has been known to be a sneaky time loss. See Irie's run, he times the door nicely and sets a perfect angle, only adjusting at the final moment to enter the train. Mop set his angle a couple frames early but had a good position to slide along the door so that he had some margin for error, both players popped out at about the same place and time and were within a frame of one another.
-Marc's 24 was an extremely low decimal and had a horrendous ending, triggering the fade very late due to the stuck on the guard (If the guard was 1 inch deeper into the train it would likely have been 23). His pace up to the warp was plenty fast enough for a 23 if things worked out a bit better. He used essentially the standard train shot for 26 and I believe lost roughly a half second post warp, and was still within a tenth of 23 so I believe this strat to be 100% viable as well. This run is in typical Rutzou vision however, there may be dropped frames though it seems to pace out similar to other runs.
*I'd say I was hitting around 2/3 of my shots by the time I was settled on my strategy, if your goal is 23 I'd shoot for at least 50% success but even if you struggle to land the shots it's likely they'll help you. I do have vastly more practice shooting said train than most.
**I believe getting 23 without train shot is possible, though it would be very tight in terms of strafing and require not only a fairly fast warp but also a very optimal ending which isn't easy to clutch or practice in general.
***Also I believe the lag spike from Obj A could potentially help you warp, as it appeared on screen the frame I got through on my first successful attempt. There's no real way to confirm this on emulator and I still switched weapons but it seems possible it could make your chances of hitting a warp higher.
Pretty much any of the 23s are worth watching as there is a fair bit of variance post trainshot. They all handle the door presses and guard animations fairly well.