Originally posted on reddit https://old.reddit.com/r/PlatformRacing2...series_by/. Also posting here cause it might be relevant

The Platform Racing series were a series of multiplayer Flash platformers made by Jacob “Jiggmin” Grahn.

Platform racing 1 was released in 2007 and had around 15 maps. You could play a level in groups of 4 with online multiplayer and use items from item boxes to get ahead. You could also goomba stomp on other players and stun them. Due to bad netcode, you could stomp on someone and they wouldn’t get stunned. If you fell off the level, you got teleported back to the last safe location. It was interesting but didn’t have staying power. The levels were made of blocks on a grid. Many blocks had unique properties such as moving you left or right, making it impossible to jump (you can still hold down to charge a super jump), making you jump at all times, or breaking when you hit them with your head.

Platform racing 2 was released in 2008 and had 9 campaign maps. However, it also had a level editor which was the main feature. People created lots of levels, most bad, some good. The “all time today” tab was very popular. At its peak in 2008 and 2009, there were 2000+ players online (Source: Me. I was there). Each server had a cap of 200 players. You had to repeatedly connect to a server and hope someone logged off at the same time you logged on. Good times. Before the rise of mobile gaming, Flash games were the most popular form of casual games. Although no accurate stats are available, PR2 was probably the most popular multiplayer flash game on Kongregate, and one of the most popular multiplayer flash games worldwide. It was also playable on Armor Games and Newgrounds, as well as Jiggmin’s own site.

It also introduced new blocks like move blocks that moved in a random direction every few seconds (you could see where a second before they moved), push blocks that players could push, crumble blocks that would break after being collided with a few times, and vanish blocks that vanished a second after contact, but would come back after a few seconds.

The netcode was still as bad as PR1, as it was entirely client side with significant latency. We tolerated it. In PR2, you could level up your character and gain stats on level up (speed, acceleration, and jump) and redistribute as you saw fit. You could redistribute stats anytime when you weren’t in-game and there was no cost. This made veteran players objectively more powerful than new players. Back then, no one, not even the developer, knew it was bad game design. We were having too much fun. You could also get hats to give you gameplay bonuses like slowing your fall, being immune to weapons and mines, or freezing the blocks you walked on. If you took damage your hat fell off and other players could steal it.

My PR2 username was first Ugly Mcstick. I stole it from another player in Stick Arena, another multiplayer Flash game, but I got phished and I created a new account called !X!

I made some levels. They’re ok, but nothing worth writing about.

Platform racing 3 was released in 2010 and had around 30 campaign maps, as well as a level editor. Jiggmin had made a deal with a site called Sparkworkz to make PR3 exclusive to them. Because of this, the only way to discover it was to play PR2, get involved in the Jiggmin community (there was a forum), and from there find PR3. This made it very difficult for new players to discover PR3. At its peak, PR3 had 260 players (source: Me. I was there). PR3 was outshone by PR2 for the entirety of PR3’s lifetime (more on that later).
The netcode was still as bad as PR1.

PR3 had new features. The biggest was custom blocks. You could make a block with custom art and behavior. For example, an item block that gave you an item if you walked on top, but hurt you if you touched it anywhere else, or a one-way barrier. There were also Change Blocks which would change block type randomly every few seconds.

PR3 also had new level types like:
Deathmatch: Exactly what you think.
Coin rush: Break blocks to get coins. Attacking other players doesn’t let you steal coins from them, so it was mainly done just to antagonize people.
Hat collect (damage other players to knock their hat off, hold all hats at the time time to win)

After some updates, Jiggmin added custom move blocks and change blocks. You could specify exactly what pattern move blocks and change blocks moved and changed in, as well as how often they moved/changed. Custom move blocks could be used to create harmful projectiles, or moving platforms. Custom change blocks could be used to create unique obstacles, such as blocks that alternated between being a normal block and a harmful block.

There was an exploit where you could have 9 players in a level instead of 4. It was fixed, but the official ability to have 8 players in a level was added. Maybe because 9 looked broken in the UI, or Jiggmin wanted to remind everyone who’s in charge.

My PR3 username was ~~!X!~~

Some of my levels:

Fort Gunfight: A deathmatch level with forts. Players inside could block off entrances to make it harder for enemies to get in, but each fort had at least one entrance that was always open. There were 2 forts on the sides, 1 sky fort, and 1 underground bunker.

Gold Dig: A coin frenzy level where you went underground to break blocks and get coins. You also could use weapons found throughout the level to kill enemies for coins, or attack other players.

Choose your own adventure: what it says on the tin

The Factory: Traditional race level with lots of hazards like timed electrocution fields, conveyor belts, and mines. Very thematic.

Long traps: A “trap” type level, where failure meant you got softlocked. However, if someone beat the part where you got trapped they could free you. These level types were popular in PR2 and PR3 because they raised the stakes. This one had 20 sections, and 4 themed areas.

Metal traps: A thematic metal themed level. Like literal metal, not metal music. This one had 20 sections but each section was shorter than in Long Traps.

Both my trap levels had unique platforming like ledge jumps, indestructible bomb jumps where you had land in the center so you wouldn’t get knocked off, and moving platforms.

Climber (forgot real name): Like the flash game Avalanche, you had to jump on top of move blocks that continuously fell and not get buried. It was janky but it worked.

The playerbase of PR3 declined over the years. The most popular period was in 2010 right after launch.
In 2015, Sparkworkz shut down, taking PR3 with it. Everything was lost. Every account, character, private message, custom block, and user made level. There was no official way to download levels, and no one figured out an unofficial way.

Back to PR2

Despite the death of PR3, PR2 was still going. It was still being regularly updated, but players continued to dwindle. This part is less accurate because I left the Platform Racing series in 2011, only stopping by to check on the Platform Racing series occasionally and wasn’t as involved with the community.
As flash games fell out of popularity, PR2’s playerbase declined. It was showing its age. Things that never seemed like a problem before were suddenly noticeable. For example, 30 FPS cap, 4:3 aspect ratio, bad netcode, and as mentioned before, veteran players having objectively more powerful characters.
Sometime, Jiggmin abandoned the game and it was picked up by the dedicated fans. The transfer was orderly and all data was maintained, so players didn’t lose anything.

Sometime later (or maybe earlier) Kongregate, one of the sites it was hosted on, introduced a pay to win update, where players could pay real money for “Kreds”, and pay Kreds for temporary stat boosts that only lasted one day. No one was outraged. This was because the game was nearly dead, so there was no one to buy the stat boosts, and no one to complain about it.

The PR2 playerbase took note of PR3’s demise, and someone downloaded all the PR2 custom levels. They are about 6 Gigabytes in a zip file.

Around 2015 after PR3’s shutdown, someone got access to PR3, and created Platform Racing 3 Reborn.
It was dead every time I checked on it, except once when I 1v1’d someone in a deathmatch. It had an average of 2 players online whenever I checked.
There is still no way to download levels in PR3. When the fan hosted servers inevitably shut down, everything will be lost again.

After the Flash shutdown in December 2020, PR2 is still alive, but barely. You can download the SWF file (or a .exe or something) and play. All the user accounts are preserved and you can log in with your old account and play all the levels.

As of March 2021, there are about 40 players online in PR2, and 1 in PR3 Reborn. PR2 is still being regularly updated. Who is updating the game? Who’s paying to host the servers? Why? I dunno. Some tournaments and events are held in PR3 Reborn as well, so it’s still kicking.

Welcome to Speedrunner of the Week, a contest tailored for the fastest players in Platform Racing 2! We have the racers, the fast racers, and those who are above them all: Speedrunners. Do you have what it takes to become a Speedrunner?

• Each week a new level is given a target time and expert time for contestants to beat. If you complete the target time you get 1 point added onto your total score. If you are super speedy and also manage to complete the expert time you will gain 1 extra point, bringing your total to 2 just from beating the set times.
  
  
• You can also gain points if you place in a podium spot against your competitors: if you set the fastest time that week you will gain 3 points, if you come in with the second fastest time you will get 2 points, and if you set the third fastest time you will get 1 extra point. Make note however, you will only be granted these podium points if you have beaten the target time.
  
  
• Submissions will close on Sunday 12:00AM EDT. Be sure to convert this time into your own timezone if necessary to avoid any late submissions!
  

• Any runs that have been posted after the submission date will not be counted for that week. Please note that Sunday 12:00AM EDT is your deadline and not when I post the "submission's closed" comment on the thread.
  
  
• You are allowed to submit as many runs as necessary; you are not just limited to one.
  
  
• You are not allowed to use any form of hacks or TAS in your submitted run, doing so will get you banned from participating in any further SOTW events.
  
  
• Any form of glitching which wasn't intended by the creator of the level will not be allowed. If you are unsure whether a glitch is allowed or not, feel free to ask me in a thread post or through Discord.
  
  
• You are not allowed to involve multiple players in your speedrun. however, you are allowed to have someone spectate you for any assistance purposes such as recording runs.
  
  
• In the event of a level with 'Super Flying Cowboy Mode' (SFCM): unless the level uses this mode as a hat remover or if the level specifically requires the use of SFCM, all runs that have this mode enabled must be reset. Any runs that have this mode enabled when it's prohibited will be voided.
  
  
• You are only allowed to use up to 195 stat points (Rank 45).
  
  
• You are not allowed to use any hats which may affect the time of the speedrun. Hats which you are allowed to use include: Exp Hat, Kong Hat, Party Hat, Jigg Hat, Thief Hat and the Jellyfish Hat.
  
  
• You are allowed to get the stat advantages from any of the stat blocks around the level.
  
  
• Regarding video submissions, only video submissions which have been posted on this thread will be allowed. I will not be accepting any downloadable files as submissions. Please make sure that in your video you are also showing your in-game stats, as well as a clear video on your ending time.
  

• 10 Points - Crocodile Set (+Epic Upgrades)
  
  
• 20 Points - Epic Blobfish Head
  
  
• 30 Points - 5,000,000 Experience
  
  
• 40 Points - Bat Set (+Epic Upgrades)
  
  
• 50 Points - 10,000,000 Experience
  

uh, i was already on here, i just jumped accounts because i didn't like the name on my old one lol

my old account was coolest, btw

Welcome to Speedrunner of the Week, a contest tailored for the fastest players in Platform Racing 2! We have the racers, the fast racers, and those who are above them all: Speedrunners. Do you have what it takes to become a Speedrunner?

• Each week a new level is given a target time and expert time for contestants to beat. If you complete the target time you get 1 point added onto your total score. If you are super speedy and also manage to complete the expert time you will gain 1 extra point, bringing your total to 2 just from beating the set times.
  
  
• You can also gain points if you place in a podium spot against your competitors: if you set the fastest time that week you will gain 3 points, if you come in with the second fastest time you will get 2 points, and if you set the third fastest time you will get 1 extra point. Make note however, you will only be granted these podium points if you have beaten the target time.
  
  
• Submissions will close on Sunday 12:00AM EDT. Be sure to convert this time into your own timezone if necessary to avoid any late submissions!
  

• Any runs that have been posted after the submission date will not be counted for that week. Please note that Sunday 12:00AM EDT is your deadline and not when I post the "submission's closed" comment on the thread.
  
  
• You are allowed to submit as many runs as necessary; you are not just limited to one.
  
  
• You are not allowed to use any form of hacks or TAS in your submitted run, doing so will get you banned from participating in any further SOTW events.
  
  
• Any form of glitching which wasn't intended by the creator of the level will not be allowed. If you are unsure whether a glitch is allowed or not, feel free to ask me in a thread post or through Discord.
  
  
• You are not allowed to involve multiple players in your speedrun. however, you are allowed to have someone spectate you for any assistance purposes such as recording runs.
  
  
• In the event of a level with 'Super Flying Cowboy Mode' (SFCM): unless the level uses this mode as a hat remover or if the level specifically requires the use of SFCM, all runs that have this mode enabled must be reset. Any runs that have this mode enabled when it's prohibited will be voided.
  
  
• You are only allowed to use up to 195 stat points (Rank 45).
  
  
• You are not allowed to use any hats which may affect the time of the speedrun. Hats which you are allowed to use include: Exp Hat, Kong Hat, Party Hat, Jigg Hat, Thief Hat and the Jellyfish Hat.
  
  
• You are allowed to get the stat advantages from any of the stat blocks around the level.
  
  
• Regarding video submissions, only video submissions which have been posted on this thread will be allowed. I will not be accepting any downloadable files as submissions. Please make sure that in your video you are also showing your in-game stats, as well as a clear video on your ending time.
  

• 10 Points - Crocodile Set (+Epic Upgrades)
  
  
• 20 Points - Epic Blobfish Head
  
  
• 30 Points - 5,000,000 Experience
  
  
• 40 Points - Bat Set (+Epic Upgrades)
  
  
• 50 Points - 10,000,000 Experience
  

• Always keep an eye out for your competitors- If you're in the lead and you actually give a damn about being #1, then one of the smartest things that you can do is to keep an eye out for your competitors to see if they're catching up too fast, or staying consistent with the ranking process.
  

• DTA... Don't trust anybody!- Anyone who's offering to help you stay in the lead (including your friends) could be setting you up for failure behind your back. Some people are extremely jealous of your success and will do anything, and I mean ANYTHING, to prohibit you from staying in the lead. IDGAF how much of a smooth talker that person is... DO NOT TRUST THEM! Chances are, they want something in return!
  
  Really it's every man for themselves because sooner or later, that person is going to make sure that your Pr2 career is terminated long enough for them to surpass you. No one is bullet proof, so don't think that someone will not try and catch you in the crosshairs, eventually! Unless you REALLY trust your friend (which is probably a mistake), then I suggest you ride solo on this one.
  

• Keep a 3 Rank minimum distance away from the player who's in 2nd place- Now why do I say this, you asked? It's because a 3 rank minimum distance (depending on how high of a rank you are) forces your competitor to work a little harder to catch up to you. Anything less than 3, and they're not that far from you, which means that you'll be anxious, knowing that they're right behind your trail! Don't even allow them to get close to you!
  

• Always continue to stay up-to-date with the latest news or information in regards to updates on Pr2- Staying informed and active on JV will ensure that you are prepared for the worst and prepared for any surprises. Failure to do this will lead towards you kissing your #1 spot, goodbye ✌️Because your competitors will spot this mistake within you and take advantage of it in a hurry!
  

• Collect everything in the game- Anything that's offering extra permanent rank tokens or more exp points, take advantage of that sh*t because chances are, it'll help you stay ahead of your competitors because they're considered powerups to help you maintain a far distance away from the guy in 2nd place. Folding, Happy Hours, New Hats, whatever the hell it is. Take full advantage of it because your competitors might be ?
  

• NEVER GET BANNED... EVER!- I don't care how much of a beef that you have with this online crackhead or assh**e, don't let them get to you; it's just not worth it! They could be trying to push the wrong buttons on you which could cause you to become irascible, very fast.
  
  You never know who's watching you or recording you! Always follow the rules on Pr2! If you get banned on Pr2 for 2-3 years because you decided to do something idiotic such as instructing someone how to hack Pr2 and they report a video of you doing so, you're f*cked because that gives them enough time to catch up to you. You see what I mean?
  

• DON'T SLOW DOWN!- Unless you're at least 3-4 ranks ahead of your 2nd place competitors, don't take any breaks from macroing unless you really have to.
  

• Create your own Private Server- The reason I say this is because a lot of times, people like to block you from macroing/simming your accounts because they're dicks and the personification of pure evil. Just imagine if they had a special software that allows them to locate where you're simming?! You see what I mean? Especially if you're constantly spamming happy hours and you don't want to share them with anyone.
  

• SPAM HAPPY HOURS- While this may seem like an insane idea, it's actually smart because it shows that you're willing to grind and do whatever it takes to catch up to the leader. Yes, this will cost you a lot of money, but it will also get you to the top, faster.
  

• Rank up your Alt's- You're going to at least need an average of 1k per round to help speed up the process because the last thing that you want is to be averaging anything below at least 1k per round. Spend some time calculating the amount of experience points earned after defeating 3 other players with exp hats, and then decide just how high you'll need to rank them. The fastest way to rank up your alt's is by OBJECTIVE MACROING.
  

• NEVER GIVE UP!- While this may seem obvious, I'm going to remind you anyway. You might be a long distance behind the big dog, but if you stay consistent and grind every single day, eventually you'll catch up to him! As soon as you give up, the big dog will be enjoying a nice cold ? knowing that his work is done. Don't let that sh*t happen!
  

• Don't join any guilds- Why waste time dealing with people who like to block you when you can stay private and keep all the happy hours to yourself. Stay private! You don't want to draw a crowd!
  

• Collect everything in the game (same thing as above)!- If the leader is taking advantage of this, you should be too. Failure to do so will create delays in the process of how long it takes for you to outrank the leader.
  

• Take good care of your CPU- Your CPU is just like a child with digital components. The minute you abuse it, the minute it abuses you. What do I mean? Don't macro 24/7/365 because you could potentially overheat your CPU and eventually that's going to lead to some more problems, so give it a break from time to time.
  

• MACRO. DON'T SIM- Simming is a huge waste of time because I can assure you that the big dog is not going to be simming to stay in the lead, so don't make the mistake of sitting in front of a computer with infinite mouse-clicks, thinking that. Try to search for a useful macro program like "AutoHotKey" because chances are, you're going to grow extremely tired of sitting in front of a computer all day long and cramp your damn hands up.
  

• Keep an eye on the big dog- whatever the big dog isn't doing to stay ahead, make note of that, as this could be an advantage for you and a weakness for them. What goes up, must come down! Eventually the big dog WILL RETIRE SOMEDAY, leaving you a fresh opening to steal his #1 spot!
  

wow hatz are cool

There's nothing more disgusting than trying to watch an HD video on Youtube, only to be converted to a lower quality because your monitor can't even handle the capabilities! In general, if you're a Windows user and you're trying to watch a 4k video, then you should have options to watch a video higher than a 1080p resolution at your disposal, on any of the recommended Windows web browsers.

But if you're a Mac user, then you can forget about it because unless you have some type of converter or if you use a different web browser, you won't be picking up anything higher than 1080p on a safari. This link has options that may help you watch videos that'll tolerate 4k quality on Safari:

https://hazeover.com/4ktube.html

Generally not everyone can afford to watch or stream videos on Youtube that are of an advanced HD quality other than 720p or 1080p, and that's usually because their monitor is either trash, or their internet speeds aren't exactly the best out there. If you can afford it, then it's usually a good idea to run internet speeds up to 5.0GHZ and at least 5MPS to be able to successfully record, stream, or watch HD videos higher than 720p.

Anything less than that and you can forget about streaming, recording, or watching HD videos. But doesn't it annoy the living shit out of you that you may not be able to watch your favorite Youtube videos in possibly 1080p+ because of your internet speeds, monitor, Wifi, etc? Even if you're recording your gameplay on your PS5/xbox one, you could still suffer lag issues from poor internet speeds.

The higher your internet speeds are, the greater the chances are of you being able to watch HD videos, if you have the tools at your disposal. Spectrum usually has a 200MPS option, which is great for 4k/8k video streaming. If you're looking for a damn good, HD camera, and you can afford to climb a really high financial ladder, than check these guys out:

https://top10cameras.net/8k/

But what happens when you try to climb the ladder that's too high for you to climb? Well here's what happens:

• Lag issues
  
• Buffering
  
• Frozen screen
  
• Glitchy screen
  
• Video Quality decreased
  

Damn that sucks! The level of disgusting, split into five, video resolution killers! ??

Not to say that I'm the one who's affected by this, but to see if any of you guys are having any problems where you'll try to watch, record, or stream an HD video, only to suffer some of the problems listed above. Or better yet, even if you're one of those people who'll try and convert videos to 2k/4k, only to find out that your internet may be the problem; you've wasted your money buying a converter in the first place.

As for gamers, you know you want that sweet, 60FPS when streaming and recording! ??

Wouldn't you like to have this option, smirk ?

• FULL UHD 8k: 7680 x 4320
  
• ULTRA HD 4k: 3840 x 2160
  
• QUAD HD 2k: 2560 x 1440
  
• FULL HD 1080p: 1920 x 1080
  
• Standard HD 720p: 1280 x 720
  
• Standard Definition (SD) 480p: 720 x 480
  
• Borderline 360p: 640 x 360
  
• Unacceptable 240p: 426 x 240
  
• TRASH 144p: 256 x 144