Yet another contra submission. This time I have done the gameboy version, Operation C. It improves ventuz's currently published movie by 8.8 sec (527 frames).
For this run, I used vbxwatch.exe - a memory watching program made by gocha. This allowed me to detect any lag and remove/minimize it. It also helped me monitor enemy HP values to optimize boss/mini-boss fights.
Improvements
Level 1 - 12 frames
Some slight lag reduction was done for a few frames. The big change is that I get the homing weapon instead of the firebal. This allows me to destroy the boss a few frames faster and make one less jump (jumping costs 2 frames). The big payoff from this change will come in level 2.
Level 2 - 91 frames
This is where the homing missles pay off. One shot of homing missles can do 3 damage on a boss if positioned perfectly as opposed to the 2hp that a F blast does. I use this to save some time on every tank in this level.
Level 3 - 284 frames
The homing gun allows me to minimize lag in the first half of the level. I get the F weapon here in preparation for the final boss fight. I was able to destroy the final form of the boss before he became invulnerable the first time. This saved the largest portion of the savings of this level.
Level 4 - 72 frames
Lag reduction, and a better boss fight account for the savings here.
Level 5 - 68 frames
Again, the usual recipe of lag reduction and better boss fighting.
Characteristics of Operation C
- No fast shooting! In most games you can fire every other frame. In this game you can only fire every 8 frames! This affect a lot of boss strategy and weapon choice
- Jumping costs 2 frames
- In overhead view levels (lv2 & 4), moving diagonal is the same speed as moving straight.
- There are 3 weapon upgrades, spread, firebal, and homing.
- Firebal does 2 damage per shot.
- Spread is basically useless since shooting every 8 frames keeps me from doing the single stream of bullet technique like was done in contra. Also, if 2 or more bullets hit an enemy at the same time, it only registers 1 hit.
- Homing is potentially the best weapon to use. Each blast is a set of 3 bullets that follow a target. If used properly you can get 2 of the bullets to arc toward a target so that each of the 3 hit for 3 damage. This means a blast of 3 hp per shot instead of 2 of the F. It is a big pain to optimize, however. Comparable to optimizing the spread gun in contra.
- Vertical scrolling levels have an up+down glitch. You can use this to move through solid objects. This was used to save a lot of time in levels 2 & 4 (ventuz used it as well as hero of the day in his test run). It is also used to shorten the level end cutscene. By having the character off screen, the game will immediately go to the next level without even playing the level complete music. This saves about 5 seconds on each level.
Special Thanks
- Gocha for making his awesome memory watch program compatible with GB/GBC games :D I wouldn't have been able to do a run of this quality without it :)
- Ventuz for his previous run.
- Hero of the Day for his test run and motivation.
adelikat: Canceling this run due to known improvements.