Stalemate Redux

Not to be confused with Stalemate by Nox.

Stalemate Redux is a 2.0/2.1 Extreme Demon collaboration created by TheTactiq and TheFrozenTide, and verified by Zephal. As its name suggests, it is an extremely difficult remake of Stalemate by Nox. It is currently #14 on the Official Geometry Dash Demon List, above Artificial Ascent (#15) and below Digital Descent (#13).

History
The first trace of Stalemate Redux can be traced all the way back to Update 2.0, when TheTactiq uploaded a full layout of Stalemate Redux, showing the gameplay for his part on his YouTube channel. At that time, Stalemate Redux hasn't officially begun, but Tactiq eventually started to work on Stalemate Redux during Update 2.1 and released previews of Stalemate Redux, showcasing the color themes and decorations.

The first preview, released on March 11, 2017, mainly showcased the color themes and was more of a layout, as it wasn't really decorated. In the second preview, Tactiq showed the level somewhat decorated with the original Stalemate colors. In the third preview, Tactiq showed off more of the decorated parts, indicating he is getting closer to finishing creating his part. In the fourth preview, Tactiq indicated that the drop was pretty much done and he would host either a mega-collaboration or a creator contest to fill in the rest of Stalemate Redux.

Eventually, Tactiq decided on a creator contest, using similar rules as the Yatagarasu creator contest, which was hosted by Viprin. After almost a month, Tactiq decided to choose TheFrozenTide's part, which started from 76% to 100%. undefinedAnother month later, Tactiq had finished adding TheFrozenTide's part and decorating his own part.

Now the level was ready for a verifier. Tactiq chose Zephal, a good friend of him and a fairly skilled Geometry Dash player who had recently beaten Allegiance[9] and other Top 100 Demons.[10] Zephal started making progress quickly, completing a start position run of 54-100% right away.[11] Zephal then got a record of 56% just 2 days after the 54-100% run, which was very quick progress seeing as Stalemate Redux was harder than even Subsonic or Sakupen Hell.[12] Zephal then got even closer, getting a record of 62% and a 30-100% start position run, an amazing achievement in such a short time.[13] Afterwards, Zephal got a record of 78%, which made it clear that Zephal was going to verify this challenge fairly quickly.[14]

About a month later, Zephal verified one of the hardest levels in Geometry Dash history, after 17,304 attempts. undefinedStalemate Redux was rated a little while after it was uploaded and several players beat it afterwards, including Sunix,[15]Wooshi999,[16] and DiamondSplash.[17]

Gameplay

 * 0-75% (TheTactiq): Tactiq's part starts off with a ship sequence that features narrow passages, tricky gravity changes, and size changes which require a lot of precision. The player then enters a wave section with very narrow paths and sudden gravity and size changes with a small memory area, just like the original Stalemate. Then, it ends with dual cube possessing two triple spikes, where we also see a tab of chess and the text "There is no Escape." Then, the drop begins with a triple speed Mini UFO segment which has closed roads with fair jumps, a lot of hard and precise timings, sudden gravity changes with orbs and portals, and variations in size. The player then continues to a mini ship section with a lot of straight flying, jump orbs, sudden changes of gravity, and size changes.


 * 76-100% (TheFrozenTide): FrozenTide's part starts with a normal speed ball section, where the player must have a lot of memory, as in this sequence, there are many portals of gravity and size, many false paths with orbs that should not be touched, and flashes with very distracting color changes. Next, the player transitions into a mini dual ship sequence, which features inconsistent amounts of straight flying, followed by a few variations of gravity by multiple jump orbs and portals, and culminates with a section with Clever Blocks that needs to be pressed while changing gravity constantly, and ends with a short straight flying section to finish the level with the appearance of the text "Stalemate Redux."

Fails

 * EndLevel crashed at 95%.
 * Zephal crashed at 86%.

Trivia

 * While verifying the level, Zephal completed the level, but missed the only coin of the level, therefore making the run invalid for uploading (It is also worth mentioning that the coin was free). He had no interest of completing the level once again, so he removed the coin and no-clipped the level in order to verify and upload the level.
 * Stalemate Redux was once #1 on the Official Geometry Dash Demon List, due to Zephal himself saying that it was harder than Yatagarasu.
 * In Chess, Stalemate means a position counting as a draw, in which a player is not in check but cannot move except into check.