Lone Echo Speedrunning Guide

This is a guide to the techniques and routing used in Lone Echo speedrunning. The walkthrough guide is for the only current category - Any%. Current leaderboards can be found at https://www.speedrun.com/lone_echo.

Major Glitches/Tech

Crabbing/Xenomorphing

All this refers to is the act of crawling along sections of wall instead of using your boosters. For short distances, this is often the fastest way to move.

Head Bash Item Clipping

Tenka discovered that you can consistently clip some items through doors. This can be performed by placing the object against the door, and pressing your head against the object until it pushes through. I find it’s a bit easier to perform if you move your head slightly back and forth. Alternatively, you can do a headbutt motion, but the item flies quickly through the door and you cannot grab it. Not all objects are clippable however. Objects that are too large, or are rounded in such a way that they roll when you press your head against them, will not clip through doors.

Item Pull Clipping

You can clip yourself easily through some doors and walls. This can only be done while you are holding onto an object that is on the opposite side or if there is some surface to push the item against while pushing yourself through the door. Hold the object against the door while holding it with both hands, and then move your arms back and forth. The object should essentially “pull” you through the door. In conjunction with Item Clipping, you can effectively clip an object through a door, and then use it to get you to the other side.

Kronos II Out of Bounds

(Currently useless for a speedrun) - After getting through the first door headings towards the cargo bay, Liv throws up a piece of cargo onto an overhead compartment. If you go into that compartment holding the Furi Transport model(or any long object that fits), and then put yourself against the suitcase that was already up there, you can do a forward rolling motion with the object in your hand to squeeze yourself in between the suitcase and the ceiling, and it will clip you out of the map.

Headbutt Boosting

Whenever you need to travel more than a few meters in a direction, it is fastest (faster than crabbing/xenomorphing and EVA boosting) to take any item and use it to boost. Almost any floating item will do, up to a pretty large size (even the loose cargo). Just hold the item in front of your face, then let go, move your head forward to bang into it, and grab it again, all in quick succession. Grabbing it again is optional, but it allows you to repeat the process to achieve extra speed. Moving your hand is not necessary, as the speed boost you get is determined by the speed of your head as it hits the item. Sometimes, it is advantageous to forego regrabbing the item and try to get a speedier boost by bashing your head more exuberantly. This strat gives you a sore neck.

Fury Respawn Warping

In several locations, right after telling the Fury to navigate to the next waypoint, you can just fly away and leave the area. When you respawn, you will be at the final destination of the Fury.

Smoothturn Boosting

If you push off of a surface while holding any object in your other hand while in the process of rotating using smooth turn, your push speed is not capped. You can do this with any object or even the tablet (including the dialog tablet). This is the fastest way to get around if you don't have the red booster. You can combine this technique with headbutt boosting to get even more speed, since you generally already have an object in your hand.

Tips

1. You don’t need to wait for the batteries to fully charge. Any amount will count as full.

Walkthrough

Kronos II

Control Room/Start area

This section is quite straightforward. Make sure you are in optimal position for each dialogue/story queue, and complete the tutorials as quickly as you can.

The first tutorial can be easily completed quicker by keeping one hand in a fist and the other with the index finger pointing. The disc can be thrown quicker by throwing in an arc.

Once that tutorial completes go through the motions of the game, there’s not a lot of time to save here. Make sure you are in position for the day-cycle button press, and talk to Liv and tell her to hurry up. Make sure you are looking at the anomaly as quickly as you can, and then head straight to the holo table. After the scanner tutorial, Liv is essentially on a cycle/cutscene, so you’re going to have to wait for her in your start room until she shows up and you can talk to her.

On-Ship Repairs

(Beginning of this section remains untested, need to see if it's necessary to clip through door or if it's equally fast to just wait on Liv)

As you wait for Liv to begin each repair, make sure you are throwing cargo over to the cargo bay so when you get to that part you are already nearly done.

1. Oxygen Garden

File:Oxy garden controls.png

Oxygen Controls

Go ahead and do the tutorial and cut your way through the panel normally. Identify the panel for Liv and then fly to the power control. You will do each panel from Left to Right,starting with the flow control pump, then O2 controls and ending with the power transformer

The flow control pump can be done without ever cutting the bolts, by sticking your hand through and grabbing it blindly.

Next the O2 controls. They can be done easily by using the exact formation in the picture to the right. Make sure you don’t forget to turn the bottom knob all the way to the right

The power transformer can be completed easily and normally. After this, go straight to Liv and wait for her to tell you to pull the switch

2. Core Containment

Now you have to wait on Liv for another minute or so. While waiting, make sure you continue plugging cargo in.

Once Liv is done talking open the core containment door just enough to fit your head through, and then close it immediately. Now you'll do the Radiation tutorial. Make sure to position yourself in front of the numpad console before the tutorial, you will always teleport back where you were once the tutorial is over.

The radiation tutorial can be completed extremely fast. Pull out your scanner and just scan the radiated area over and over until the lock handle finally comes down. Then, Xeno across the right wall as quickly as you can, pull the conduit, and voila. You've done a speedy radiation tutorial. I'm proud of you.

You can do all of these numpad sections BEFORE Liv ever gives you the numbers. As soon as you're back in the core containment immediately type 5826 into the numpad, and then fly up to the TOP RIGHTHAND core. Scan the core repeatedly until Liv says she is going to open the IO port. Scan the port the moment it opens, and then identify the radiated core (RNG as far as we can tell). As soon as the core is identified fly down and type in 6102, fly back grab it and dispose of it.

Rinse and repeat this process for the middle core on the lefthand side, except this time type in 7641.

As soon as you pull the handle to get rid of the core, fly back to the numpad and immediately type in 5826. Wait for Liv to tell you to manual shutdown yourself and then voila, the section is over.

3. Cargo Bay

So at this point the cargo bay section should already be nearly completed once you get to it. Make sure all the cargo is already in place, and then wait for Hera to unlock the fuse. Pull out the dead fuse and then Xeno over to the drawer with the fuses before Liv. You can grab the fuse and bring it back somewhat faster than Liv can hand it to you. Immediately just slightly grab all of the loose cargo so it attaches to the maglocks, and the flip the switch.

Airlock Skip

File:Lone echo comsat model.png

Comsat Model

FINALLY. We've reached the first major skip of the game. Go through the same passage you threw the Satellite model into earlier, grab the model and bring it with you to the door that leads to the airlock. You don't have to high five Liv or respond to any dialogue, at this point you can just ignore her.

This is where the speedrun gets a little tricky,and you should definitely practice this outside of a run.

Take the satellite model and use it to clip through the door.

Once the model is through the door, grab onto it with both hands and slowly pull it towards you. Your visuals will go nuts for a bit. Eventually, you will clip through the door. It's important to know that the metal part of the door has softer clip properties than the glass.

Once you're through, immediately grab the EVA pack and attach it to your back. The EVA tutorial should start automatically. Before it starts, position yourself so that you can press the depressurization button immediately after the tutorial ends.

It is possible to clip out of the door with a sticky-note, but you can’t leave the area yet, as that causes a softlock. Wait just outside the door until the area is loaded, then leave, allowing you to save a few seconds.

Outdoor Repairs

Travel to Vomit Comet

After escaping the airlock, go up and turn about 170 deg to the left to head directly to the little red booster (Vomit Comet). The anomaly should pulse on your way over there. If you clipped out of the airlock and left before the outside area finished loading, it may not. We need to explore the possible routes when this happens.

Cargo Containers

File:Vlcsnap-2018-05-04-18h28m14s773 LI.jpg

Use the red booster to travel to the irradiated container in the cargo area (the red arrow on the right). Extend the scanner and position your hand so that it is pointing at the space in front of the booster so that you can scan the container as you fly by. After scanning the container, release the Fury Transport shown by the left red arrow. After some waiting, break the maglocks and head to the processing line.

Processing Line

File:Vlcsnap-2018-05-04-18h35m03s522 LI.jpg

Travel to the place indicated with the red arrow. There is a gap in the ceiling where you can slip in. First release all the trapped robot parts, then head back and flip the lever and leave the way you came. Remember to use headbutt boosting with the parts you pull out. On the way back, you can pick up a lot of speed, so you will probably lose the item you are holding. Just bash your head against items you pass by, and you will speed up even more.

Primary Dig Site

First head to the Fury Transport and pick up the battery in the back. You can use it to boost, but be careful not to lose it. Replace the broken battery and turn the radiation damper on just below the battery. From here on the intended strats are used, just with a lot of quick crawling. Before the Fury with robot parts arrives, bring over the red booster so that you can leave immediately.

Depleted Dig Site

Once again mostly intended strats are used here. Just park the red booster near the first button you need to press, and make sure you fetch the fresh fuse while you are waiting for the scan so that you are prepared when it breaks. We still need to investigate whether it is necessary to delay before heading to Liv, or if you just have to hit some trigger for her to spawn. The current strat is to wait at the Fury until Liv calls out that she needs help. As soon as the anomaly pulses while you are LASERing the panel, head float away from the anomaly to prompt a respawn. (is this even necessary?)

When you respawn inside the ship, grab an item and clip out the door to your right. Head outside and wait until the Fury Transport loads. (ideally wait right where it is going to spawn) Ride the Fury to the Comsat.

Comsat Repair

Bring the battery to the left end of the comsat and replace the old one. As far as I can tell, it is necessary to do three of the following four things. I’m not sure if some of them are required.

• Visual inspection (look at the biomass and use the dialog option)
• Scan the biomass
• Touch the inactive biomass (there is some inactive material high up to the right)
• Cut open the panel and flip the switch

Once Hera finds signs of Liv, you are done. Head to the Fury and activate it. From now on, whenever you need to ride the Fury, use Fury Respawn Warping to travel more quickly.

Astrea

Entering Astrea OOB

File:Astraya oob entrance.jpg

OOB sections are difficult because the level disappears when you are outside the intended volume. Often it is safer to stay near the level so that you can see where to go, but as you get more comfortable, you can cut more corners and go more blindly.

After a few respawn warps with the Fury, you will arrive at Liv’s Fury. You don’t need to activate the radiation damper. Simply head to the crevice marked on the image. You can slip in by putting your head sideways. Crawl a few meters to the left until the ceiling is gone, then head up and over the right side. Wait at the end of the airlock for the level to load, then head up and to the right to the next visible surface. Fly along the right of the tunnel with the biomass until you reach the pipe/bar shown in the image (Placeholder for image). After the pipe, just keep flying straight through the empty space on the same trajectory that took you along the tunnel until you hit the next area. You can use the fog as reference when the level disappears. Go to the left end of the tunnel and wait until the massive interior region loads. Head left and fly along the “glass” wall to the other side of the interior region. Turn 90 deg right as soon as you reach the end and keep flying close to the wall until you see the tunnel door spawn off to your left. As soon as it spawns, fly directly towards it. It may be helpful to stop right before heading there so that you don’t have any unintended lateral motion, as you are flying blind. Once you reach the tunnel door, press the button and move into the level shortly so that the tunnel loads. This is the shorter oob. Alternatively, you can remain oob until the Apollo door. This is a bit more advanced and has more of a chance of death by biomass. Check the videos for now. (https://drive.google.com/file/d/1ZGrwSxuCQULZX4Wahz9KOPB5bvjPAt0h/view)

On the way to Apollo (skipped by longer oob above)

From here the intended route is used. Remember to grab some metal scraps and use headbutt boosting. If you are moving at a decent speed, you can fly right past the cysts as long as you aren’t very close. For any door that looks like the the one in the image, you can clip through if you have an item. (Placeholder for image) Just put the item in the pocket at the bottom middle and pull yourself through.

Apollo clip (skipped by longer oob above)

Once you reach the large room where you would normally meet Apollo, fly to the large door and use an item to clip through at the points indicated on the image. (Placeholder for image)

Alternate Route (https://youtu.be/nI5Nt0x6Nt0) - Use an item to clip out of bounds on the floor to the left of the door. Then head to the next door, where you can just slide in the “pocket” at the bottom.

On the way to the Crew chamber

Nothing special, just fly fast and headbutt whenever possible.

Getting the Generator back online

[[ [[|thumb|Clipping from the crew quarters to the generator room]] ]] As soon as you get to the stasis pods/crew chamber, find an item (or bring one with you) and clip through a gap along the glass floor to the Generator room (seen in image). Since the rooms are directly above each other, you don’t have to go through the tunnels with the biomass. Leave the item wedged in the gap, so that you can use it to clip back up.

In the Crew Chamber

Lower one set of crew pods with the terminal, then one of the pods with the slider. Immediately go and lower another set of crew pods and open only one of the pods there. After opening one pod in each set, go back to the first set and open another pod and scan the id on the chest of the occupant. If the logo with vertical bars appears, you are finished and can go back to the Tac-Com station.

Heading To Liv

Once in the Tac-Com station and you have reprogrammed the core, you can clip through the door with an item nearby to the right. You have to wait for the dialog to end, but soon after the Fury Transport comes flies into view, you can fly to it (headbutting for speed). As soon as you reach the Fury, tell it to fly to the next waypoint and fly far away into a corner to trigger a respawn. Once you respawn, wait at the ship for a certain amount of time for the next section to load. (You will have to do some testing on your computer. Mine was 10-15 sec on a fast SSD.) Then fly on the normal route until you reach the tunnel where you meet Liv. If Liv doesn’t spawn, you didn’t wait long enough and have softlocked. You will have to reload a save and lose about 4-5 min. Once you reach the room with Liv, go to her and activate the dialog by going close to her, then head back to the tunnel and close the door so you don’t have to do it later.

Reactivating Antimatter Reactor

Non-OOB Route: After reprogramming the core in the room with Liv, clip into the tunnel through the door by hooking an item onto the handles beside the door. Then the route to and from the reactor is just the intended route (but with more headbutting and clipping through doors instead of waiting for them to open).

OOB Route (currently saves around 1 min): After reprogramming the core in the room with Liv, clip out of the room to the left of the tunnel entrance that you would normally leave through. Fly along the short tunnel, and fly under the larger perpendicular tunnel area. Keep going until you hit the next tunnel area, then fly about 15deg to the left below the area. You are looking for an arrow that appears above you (placeholder for image), leading to the long tunnel full of biomass. Fly along the tunnel, remaining close enough to load the next sections of the tunnel. Once you get close to the end of the tunnel, stay close to the inbounds area as possible and look to the left. The lasers in the reactor room should appear. As soon as they do, fly directly towards them. The objective is to get into the reactor room before it fully loads. The spawning of the lasers marks the start of that loading, since you can’t go there directly without hitting the load point.Once in the reactor room, recharge the generators like normal.

It is possible to clip out of the reactor entrance area through a gap in the floor, but getting all the way back to the room with Liv is not yet consistent. The long biomass-tunnel has the benefit of not being active if you are oob, but the rest of the level is active.

Oxygen

When you get back to the room with Liv, close the door behind you and go to the terminal to activate the oxygen. As soon as you do this, go back to the tunnel you came from and clip out to the left of it (just like the oob above). Fly underneath the room towards the large door that will open after they give up with the oxygen. After a tiny bit, fly down and out of the mission area to respawn. You want to remain up long enough to hit a checkpoint that is near that large door (rather than heading down right away). You should respawn outside the large door. First, open the door with the lock on the outside, then open it again with the lock on the inside. This should call the Fury. Go to the Fury and enter the destination. Now go back and activate the lock on the outside. After a short bit, Liv should say “... let’s go,” at which point you can fly out of the mission area to respawn.

Heading to the Bridge

After respawning, go to Liv and try to touch her until she turns solid. Once she does, head into the airlock and clip through the door. Move a meter or two beyond the door to hit a checkpoint, then wait at the lock on the other side of the door until it activates. As soon as the door opens, go to Liv and touch her. Do the same for the next door into the bridge, but this time you’ll have to choose a dialog option as well as touching her.

In the Bridge

The bridge events are mostly intended strats. Don’t choose any dialog options except for “Morning sunshine” when Liv awakes, “Look outside” after time traveling, and “Improvise” at the very end (the other options works as well). Time ends at that last dialog selection.