This run is 1050 frames (21 seconds in PAL speed) faster than the published movie. A lot of the time saved come from better routes on 3-2 and 4-2, but there are many minor optimizations on all levels.
Aglar's comments
I began TASing this mostly to relax with a really simple game compared to the last games I've been involved in. I think we did a really good job with it although not spending extremely much time on it. The game's simple but of course not trivial which is indicated by the amount of time we managed to save, and I personally enjoyed those micro optimizations which the biggest part of the process was about. Overall, while not being the most interesting game in itself, it was very enjoyable to TAS.
Randil's comments
I've been pretty interested in this game lately. On one hand, it's a simple game and seemingly not that hard too TAS, but on the other hand, this game has many elements that makes it fun and challenging to TAS: lag reduction, enemy manipulation, tricky maneuvers and health management. I had fun working with Aglar, he was very motivated which motivated me too, resulting in a quite fast TASing pace. We often did separate versions of the levels and then compared them (though I will admit that Aglar contributed more than me). This way, we could often squeeze those last frames out of a level! I hope you enjoy watching this.
General comments:
- There is only an E version of this game.
- Attacking on ground will stop your movement, which can be used if you need to change direction quickly.
- There are only two jump heights in this game, low jump and high jump.
- The enemies' behaviour can be manipulated by losing a pixel or so before the enemy appear in the game's memeory.
- Lag can be reduced in the basic way - minimize movement and the number of sprites on screen. In particular, you want to watch our for thrown stuff, as they can follow you a long way, stacking up and causing lots of lag.
- You don't regain health between levels, and since it takes some time to get health refills(those white wings), health management needs to be carefully planned.
- After performing an attack in mid-air, you slow down. This means that you want to perform the attack just before you land, and then perform a jump as soon as possible to regain top speed.
- 50 stars give you an extra life, similar to 100 coins in Super Mario Bros.
Thanks to:
- nitrogenesis for his published run.
- TimmyAkmed, for his first run of this game, which sprung our interest.
feos:YouTube module added.
DarkKobold: Boy was I wrong about minor improvements. Judging.
DarkKobold: A big improvement, and quick! Accepting.
GabCM: Off to publish this.