Uploaded March 2013 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
The Morph Pounce lets you do a few time-saving tricks on this level, but unfortunately the sequence can't be broken seriously to complete it faster.
Morph Pounce: [ youtube.com/watch?v=4EqND43sh4M ]
On level 16 (almost right after getting the Stealth form back), the stealth tracks let you avoid the various Pounce Nubs and platforms you typically have to traverse. Getting on one of the anvil-shaped platforms in the first section lets you make leap to the platform and access the switch that deactivates the barrier.
For the second part, you can't reach the platform immediately, but Morph Pouncing on one of the anvils lets you reach a Pounce Nub. This requires you to jump and morph back to the Stealth form mid-jump, then press Pounce again to attach to the Nub.
Unfortunately, while it's possible to bypass the second barrier entirely, the second switch must be activated or the level becomes unbeatable. When the second switch is activated, Kess zips from one floating platform to the final, which allows the last cutscenes to play out properly. When you skip this second switch, Kess isn't in position for the next one. This is important because Kess knocks Nevin off of the last platform and reactivates the switch, but she's not even there to do this if you skip the second, causing nothing to happen in the cutscene. This means the entire level breaks.
Still, the other two little shortcuts -- while tricky -- are useful.
The Morph Pounce lets you do a few time-saving tricks on this level, but unfortunately the sequence can't be broken seriously to complete it faster.
Morph Pounce: [ youtube.com/watch?v=4EqND43sh4M ]
On level 16 (almost right after getting the Stealth form back), the stealth tracks let you avoid the various Pounce Nubs and platforms you typically have to traverse. Getting on one of the anvil-shaped platforms in the first section lets you make leap to the platform and access the switch that deactivates the barrier.
For the second part, you can't reach the platform immediately, but Morph Pouncing on one of the anvils lets you reach a Pounce Nub. This requires you to jump and morph back to the Stealth form mid-jump, then press Pounce again to attach to the Nub.
Unfortunately, while it's possible to bypass the second barrier entirely, the second switch must be activated or the level becomes unbeatable. When the second switch is activated, Kess zips from one floating platform to the final, which allows the last cutscenes to play out properly. When you skip this second switch, Kess isn't in position for the next one. This is important because Kess knocks Nevin off of the last platform and reactivates the switch, but she's not even there to do this if you skip the second, causing nothing to happen in the cutscene. This means the entire level breaks.
Still, the other two little shortcuts -- while tricky -- are useful.
![Lift Drift [glitch] - RAGE](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/XB14hY64H_Y/mqdefault.jpg "Lift Drift [glitch] - RAGE
Theres a lift in the atrium of the Gearhead Vault that suffers from an amusing problem when you activate it twice. It mostly involves falling through it or getting stuck in it.
After you progress through a chunk of the Gearhead Vault, youll arrive back at the central plaza through a convenient elevator. Youll notice, though, the elevator lever can be pulled twice if done quickly, resulting in the lift moving slightly further than it should. If you pull it twice at the top of the lift, youll go lower and sink into the floor; if you pull it twice at the bottom of the lift, youll go higher and pass into the ceiling.
You can get permanently stuck by taking the lift higher, since the ceiling wont automatically kill you as you move into it it will simply keep trying until you unobstruct its pathway with your body. (Note that you can still die in numerous ways around certain elements, such as the ropes holding the elevator.) When you push the lift into the floor, its quite easy to reach a point where you can just crouch, pushing you beneath the ground and onto the elevator floor, and then walk off underneath the map to your death.
Theres also a variety of weird problems I show off, such as falling through the elevator floor, getting lifted up with the elevator by the head, and ending up stuck in position. Although I havent tested it much yet, I believe these specific problems are caused by the elevator lever having collision, and when its pulled, it can actually push your character with it.
All told, this is the game accidentally forcing the lift to perform the same action twice because the lever doesnt cut off player interaction immediately after the first pull. With the first activation, the lift begins moving, followed by another activation that thinks the lift is stopped. The second activation then pulls the lift for its entire distance as well, unaware that its not settling in the place it expected.
This is interesting because the lift has a pre-programmed speed and distance it moves instead of a mandated destination. In other words, theres no interpolation from the start and stop of the elevator. If there was, activating the switch twice would be meaningless. I imagine this was to prevent unexpected physics glitches like you might see in other games, though I imagine its more time-consuming to put together.
Obviously, this is largely an out-of-bounds trick that (as far as I can tell) serves no practical purpose. That being said, this is the only elevator Ive tested it on and there may be a few others with similar issues that use the same lever system, such as inside the Power Plant. Ive experimented with one or two other elevators, such as the one in the garage of Subway Town that leads to Marshall and Elizabeth, and Ive found they seem to have a few oversights. So far, nothing serious, though.
Check out the game on Steam: [ http://store.steampowered.com/app/9200/ ]")
![Crawlphin Dive [glitch] - Dark Storm VR Missions](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/XRDkF8LnaII/mqdefault.jpg "Crawlphin Dive [glitch] - Dark Storm VR Missions
By interrupting your Dolphine Dive, you can place yourself in a crawling position while gaining three times your standard crawling speed.
Any place where you have space to run, sprint forward and perform a Dolphine Dive (Ctrl). Before the dive finishes, perform a combat roll (space bar) to blend the two actions together. Youll land in a prone state, but youll move as if you were standing up and walking.
What likely happens here is that both actions finish and combine their effects together for this fast crawl: the Dolphine Dive places you in a prone position, but the combat roll places you in a standing position. Since the Dolphine Dive likely sets you in prone near the beginning of the animation, the combat roll momentarily interrupts it, but applies its own characteristics to the process, including standard walking speed.
This faster crawl is extremely useful, but also somewhat limited. While you still make the same noise as if you were walking. your profile is lower and youre harder to see. I could see this being used in specific sections of a speedrun since its a snap to perform.
Here are the results of the speedtest I only showed a selection of in the video:
1st: Running - 4:04
2nd (tie): Walking/Fast Crawl - 8:18
3rd: Crouch - 14:28
4th: Crawl - 21:22
These clips were recorded in Prototype 0.6.7.
Despite the video, I actually enjoy this game a lot even in this pretty glitchy state, and Id love to see it finished. If it looks interesting to you, be sure to check out the Kickstarter or download the demo on Steam and try it yourself.
Kickstarter: [ https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1201252455/dark-storm-ascension ]
Steam: [ http://store.steampowered.com/app/395150/ ]")
