This TAS completes all 120 exits of Super Demo World in 2:08:02 (460901 frames), 48.6 seconds (2918 frames) faster than the previous TAS. As a bonus, it ends with 99 lives, 99 stars, and 99 coins.
Uses SNES9x v4.3+ v9. Emulator settings:
- Use WIP1 Timing
- Allow Left+Right / Up+Down
Before moving on to the main submission text, I would like to thank the following users:
- Many thanks to jimsfriend for giving me several new tricks and ideas, and for making the previous run (it was a great reference while I was working on my version). I was actually halfway through a new SDW 120 TAS before I found out that jimsfriend was making his own version (it ended up being faster than mine), but it all worked out in the end because I got a chance to beat his times later with this version :)
- Thanks to JXQ for sending me a spreadsheet to keep track of my level times. This TAS would have taken much longer to make without it, and I would highly reccommend it to any future authors of SDW TASes.
- Thanks to skamastaG, Fabian, DK_64_MASTER, and Tompa (and anybody else I might have missed) for encouraging feedback and comments during the run.
Tricks Used in this TAS
All of the tricks listed on Super Mario World tricks are used. A few new tricks are performed in this TAS:
- "Turnaround" trick, or "stutter-run". When accelerating from a stop, Mario's speed increases in this sequence: 0 1 3 4 6 7 9 and continues. If you go the opposite direction first (for 1 frame), Mario's speed increases in this sequence instead: 0 -2 3 5 6 8 9 and continues (this is because Mario decelerates faster than he accelerates, so the "extra" deceleration pushes Mario forward a little bit). The second sequence sometimes saves a frame (but not always). This trick can be performed any time you need to accelerate from a stop, except in icy levels.
- “Item Throw” trick. When Mario cape-spins or spinjumps with an item, the item spins with Mario. Normally, if you throw the item away during this spinning, it will be sent away from Mario from whichever side it happened to be during the throw. However, there is one frame where the item will be sent in the wrong direction, e.g. the item will start on the left side of Mario but will be thrown to the right. This turns out to be extremely convenient because you can then jump or bounce off the item without having to alter Mario’s horizontal speed. This is one of my favorite tricks because it looks cool and has great utility at the same time.
- Cape-stalling. Right after pressing backwards to do a cape swoop, you can press forwards for a frame to cancel the swoop. This changes Mario’s horizontal speed away from the optimal value, but it halts Mario’s vertical speed briefly, slowing down Mario’s descent. This is useful for places where I need to approach a narrow passageway at a shallower angle than usual, but it’s usually better to approach in a different way without losing speed. I also perform several cape-stalls in a row during autoscrollers for fun in order to make the cape sound stack on itself repeatedly.
A note about random lag
There are two basic types of lag in this game, and I dealt with each separately.
- "Fadeout lag". This lag when the circle (or keyhole) is closing around Mario at the end of levels, and seems to be dependent on Mario's score (a more detailed description is given in Super Mario World tricks). This kind of lag is completely ignored in this run, because manipulating Mario's score for one particular level might ruin the setup for the next level, so the score would have to be planned out for the entire TAS. This is a nearly impossible task for a run of this length, and time has shown that new tricks, rather than fadeout lag reduction, tend to be the reason for time saved in long Mario World TAS's.
- "In-level lag". This is lag that generally occurs when too many sprites are on the screen at once, so the game slows down. Unlike fadeout lag, the amount of lag is dependant on many factors, including the frame you enter a level, score, and actions such as cape-spinning. This kind of lag can usually be reduced by taking different actions during a level, but sometimes there will be extra lag simply because you entered the level on a different frame. As a result, I have aimed to reduce in-level lag as much as possible, ignoring the component caused by score and entrance time.
Individual Level Descriptions
Here I will describe the improvements (or anything interesting) in each exit. I've also tried to explain some of the tricks/tactics used instead of just listing where I saved time.
The number in each heading is the number of frames saved compared to the previous TAS. If a level has two exits, I will represent the exit completed with an “a” (for the normal exit) or a “b” (for the secret exit).
Misty Island 1 (2)
I optimized the sliding trick to get 47 speed instead of 46 speed at the start (Note: there is a faster strategy, see the “Known Improvements” section). It’s possible (and actually quite easy) to glitch into the enemy-only blocks here, but you either get trapped forever or just forced into the floor, so I wasn’t able to show this off.
Misty Island 2 (2)
I saved a couple of frames by manipulating the speed when grabbing the shell at the start. The shell bounce over the pipe is a result of dropping the shell when Mario’s oscillating speed is at its lowest value (47) and catching up to it with 49 speed. This lets Mario bump the shell and bounce off.
Misty Island 3 (2)
Again, the shell grab at the start was optimized. This level is fun because it’s a rare chance to see Fire Mario in action. I tried to shoot fireballs and hit the enemies with perfect timing.
Misty Island 4b (0)
There isn’t much to see in this level, besides the fact that it’s a remake of the first SMB3 level (complete with the pass-through white block). I basically just get to the block as quickly as possible and finish the level “behind the scenes”, so to speak.
Misty Island 4a (3)
The cape-grab at the beginning was really hard to optimize, but it turned out well. This is one of my favorite early levels to watch because I managed to do some playaround without wasting time.
Misty Castle b (15)
I used the “Keep flight through doors/pipes” trick to save some time when getting to the key, the reason for the seemingly useless jump before the upper door. Otherwise, this level is basically the same as in the previous TAS.
Misty Castle a (21)
The “keep flight” trick is used again to get flight in the room before the boss without having to build up running speed. Also, I show off how far Mario can get into the lava without dying (he can be up to his neck in lava and still be alive).
Salty Isle (4)
Following jimsfriend’s advice, I avoided bouncing on one of the flying koopas, saving 2 frames of lag. I also used the “item throw” trick for the first time here to bounce up to the platform with the goomba.
Desert World 1 (5)
A very typical desert level. I tried to toss the shyguys around in interesting ways as I hopped through the level. The time saved here is from slight lag reduction towards the end.
Desert World 2b (9)
The simultaneous key-springboard pickup was optimized to save a few frames. As in the previous TAS, I used the springboard to glitch through the blocks surrounding the keyhole, but I optimized it to gain a few more frames.
Desert Pyramid b (34)
This was one of the most challenging levels to make. I made a number of optimizations here, including a more smooth grab of the p-switch (both times) and keeping flight after coming back from the lower area. Some frames were lost because I had to drop the key in a worse position than before, but the gain from the flight trick exceeds that lost from this positioning.
Yellow Switch Palace (16)
The “keep flight” trick saved a lot of time in the second area. Also, I jump off the big switch exactly on the “corner” so that Mario rises straight up instead of bouncing forward.
Desert Pyramid a (22)
This level is almost identical to the previous TAS, although I optimized the Reznor battle at the end. Note that there is a faster strategy for Reznors that I discovered when I was well past this point.
Desert Castle b (58)
I use a new strategy to get to the area with the key: walljump up the wall instead of activating the vine. Thanks to jimsfriend for finding this trick! I later discovered that it is possible to ascend a single wall 3 blocks at a time with a cape, so only two walljumps would be necessary.
Desert Secret (-1)
This is the best time to get a shell for Water World 1, since it’s on the way back to Desert World 2.
Desert World 2a (7)
I used the “keep flight” trick again to start flying right after entering the first pipe. It's possible to glitch through the moving platform using the springboard, but it's too far out of the way to save any time.
Desert World 3 (1)
This is another level remade from SMB3. It's very short and not very interesting because I have to hop above the screen several times to reduce lag.
Desert World 4 (2)
Mario shows how he can just fly under any obstacle he encounters! Near the middle of the level, I force a koopa shell through a set of blocks. Dropping the p-switch and jumping off it without losing any speed was quite difficult, but I suspect that it would have been much easier if I had known the item-throwing trick at the time.
Desert Castle a (30)
There's a lot going on in this level. In the first room, I abuse flight invincibility to reach the pipe in a way that sets up the “keep flight” trick for the next room. Before the boss door, I found a way to keep 51 speed without slowing down (it required very precise positioning to work), and I walljumped to the door instead of bouncing off the thwomp, which saved a lot of time.
Water World 1a (1)
This level, unfortunately, had to be a copy of the previous version because I couldn't find any better strategy. This level (and every other water level) can be improved by a fair amount using the 1/1 swimming trick. The feather trick at the end didn't cost any time.
Water World 2 (24)
I wasted a little time at the start to kill the big puffer fish, but eliminating him reduces lag significantly throughout this level.
Desert Secret (0)
This is the best time to get a second shell for the secret exit of Water World 1.
Water World 1b (0)
This is an exact copy of my previous run through the level (using hex-editing) except for the end. For some reason, I lost a frame from random lag during one of the pipe transitions.
Water World 4b (249)
Swimming through the slope at the beginning saved a lot of time, since it allowed me to pick up the key without having to backtrack with it.
Water Secret (29)
This level is basically a huge ascent to the very top. When getting Yoshi, I used a new method that allows for flight much sooner. I also optimized the regrabbing of the blue shell by dropping it as early as possible and having Yoshi eat it again at the earliest possible moment.
Water World 4a (254)
Just like in the previous time through this level, I swim through the first slope to save some backtracking. Switching the key with the p-switch didn't waste any time. It's funny how the p-switch turns into a feather at the goal tape, but it just slowly floats away instead of being collected by Mario...
Water World 3 (-1)
The first of two autoscrolling water levels. I tried to make this level entertaining by swimming as close to the jellyfish as possible and swimming in time with the music (I may have even overdone it a bit...).
Ship Graveyard (189)
Hopping through most of the first area saved lag frames. In the underwater part, I swam through the stairs to get to the p-switch more quickly. By the way, how does Mario walk on spikes during the fadeout sequence without getting killed?
Water Castle b (21)
The time saved was mostly from underwater cornerboosting, and from clipping ledges before dropping into the water sections. For some reason, Mario will fall farther into patches of water if you clip a ledge right before entering the water.
Water Castle a (-3)
I used cornerboosting throughout, again, but some time was lost due to bad in-level lag. I had some fun with the boss by walljumping several times and eventually getting Mario's head stuck in the ceiling at the end of the fight.
Crystal Cavern 1a (1)
This level is almost identical to the previous version, except in the area right after the first pipe, where I perform a new trick. Explanation: The screen-scrolling SMB3 pipes are programmed to put Mario in his “victory salute” pose when passing through them. By pressing the jump button and down at the same time, Mario's sprite is locked into this pose without actually entering the pipe. I have to wait for the piranha plant to retract before I can enter the pipe anyway, so no time is lost by performing this trick.
Vacant Ghost House a (0)
The strategy here is to enter certain doors at the correct time in order to reach the exit. Otherwise, this level is pretty barren... it's a vacant ghost house, after all.
Crystal Cavern 2 (-10)
This level has exactly the same strategy as the previous TAS, but random lag increased made me lose time no matter what I did. This was the best result I could get (other attempts had 20 or more frames lost due to lag). I also tested whether hopping to the end was faster than re-building running speed, but it turned out to be a little slower.
Crystal Cavern 3 (86)
Here, I found a way to keep flight for the last part of the level (by using the 6/5 trick, and flight invincibility at strategic points), which let me skip having to wait for the mole to carry Mario to the end.
Crystal Cavern 1b (2)
This level is essentially identical to the previous TAS, although the lag was slightly better in my case.
Crystal Cavern Secret (2)
Here I need to pick up Yoshi and a springboard to perform some major tricks in Crystal Cavern 5. I saved two frames here by optimizing Mario's running speed. By the way, in this TAS, Yoshi is no longer evil, because it only took me 664 frames to get him ;)
Vacant Ghost House b (1)
The 3rd shortest exit in the game!
Crystal Cavern 3 (26)
Yoshi flight used briefly at the beginning of the level to get to 51 speed, but it's necessary to drop to 50 speed soon after to eat an enemy in my way. Time was saved because I ate as many enemies as possible, reducing lag. Yoshi is basically a bottomless pit that Mario conveniently uses for transportation.
Crystal Cavern 5 (875)
This level had the biggest improvement in the game. There were lots of small optimizations and tricks, but I'll just describe the major improvements here. I had discovered long ago that entering the waterfalls doesn't slow Mario to 0 speed if you enter them while moving upward; I do this on all but one waterfall (the positioning made it impossible) to prevent my horizontal speed from being canceled. Also, I found out that it's possible to do the second Yoshi-springboard glitch much earlier than before. Mario can get a block into the ceiling while riding Yoshi and hitting the springboard at the right spot, and this gave enough extra height to make the Yoshi-springboard glitch possible. Mario actually ends up standing one block into the floor when he stops rising. Finally, I hit the silver p-switch earlier to reduce lag at the end. All in all, I was really happy how this level turned out.
Crystal Castle b (8)
Nothing was really changed in this level compared to the previous TAS, except that I optimized the part above the screen (right before getting to the keyhole).
Crystal Castle a (10)
The first part is exactly the same as the first time through this level. When Mario hits a p-switch, he stands on it for one frame before it depresses; during that frame, it's possible to do things like jump off or enter doors. I used this trick at the boss door to enter without having to wait for the door to rise up (I also landed on the switch earlier, which saved some time).
Sky World 1 (-4)
This level is quite a change from the small passageways of crystal cavern. I play around with the enemies in interesting ways while traversing the level. A few frames were lost due to bad lag patterns.
Sky World 2b (7)
Pressing left+right while in a cloud will make the cloud move much faster than usual, in addition to allowing Mario to charge his p-meter. It's also possible to glitch through walls without being killed, as I show at the end of the level. The time saved was from using a slightly faster strategy flight sooner at the start.
Sky Secret (2)
Here, I'm picking up a shell for a major timesaver in Pipe World 2 (much later).
Sky World 2a (8)
I was able to use an even faster strategy for the start of the level because I don't need to keep the cloud around for the end. Unfortunately, some of this improvement was negated by unfavorable lag during the level.
Sky World 3b (3)
I saved some frames by optimizing the running at the start. This exit is well-hidden because people are so used to moving right at all times in platformers.
Sky Castle b (3)
Like jimsfriend, I did this exit earlier so that I wouldn't have to visit this level twice in a row. The door I enter at the end is invisible (and only indicated by an up arrow placed on the wall).
Sky World 3a (7)
There's not much going on in this level, besides Mario's enemy-tossing antics :) I saved some frames from lag reduction about halfway through.
Sky World 4 (0)
Most of the inner areas are skipped by just flying over everything. When grabbing the p-switch, I tested whether it was faster to keep flight instead of just hopping back, but it turned out to be slower.
Sky World 5 (1)
Another autoscroller! Since jimsfriend already made this level look really cool in his version, I decided to aim for a different goal: Kill as many flying koopas as possible. I ultimately succeeded, except for two at the end which would have wasted too much time to kill. I think the level turned out really well, since I'm doing something different from the previous run. The frame saved was probably from slight lag reduction, since I'm actively killing as many things as possible.
Sky World 6b (39)
This level is basically a giant maze where pipes lead to slightly different versions of the same area. I made a lot of small optimizations, including better positioning and lag reduction. I deliberately wasted a little time when entering the pipes with the key to show off some interesting graphical glitches. The crazy colors at the end are a result of activating the keyhole when it's at a certain position above the screen (glitching the colors adds a lot of lag (probably 20 frames or more), but I thought it was worth it to perform this glitch at least once).
Green Switch Palace (-2)
This is just a simple flight to the switch. Sometimes I wish the authors of Super Demo World had actually made a puzzle level or something for the switch palaces.
Sky World 6a (1)
Mario demonstrates more expert handling of koopa shells. Hopping in the cloud briefly allows Mario to reach 52 speed, which is faster than normally possible from flight alone.
Sky Castle a (0)
Once again, what we have here is a near-copy of the previous run through the level, since I had already optimized the tactics last time :)
Ice World 1 (7)
I killed some of the lakitus in the second part, since they cause a lot of lag when they start popping up behind the background. You should take the time to enjoy the nice Yoshi's Island graphics, by the way.
Ice World 2b (1)
Backwards flight is a lot of fun, and doesn't waste any time at all. The icicles near the key are very glitchy; they can sometimes push Mario through the floor for no apparent reason.
Blue Switch Palace (-3)
I wasted 3 frames here to toss the p-switch strategically at the end.
Ice World 2a (0)
I had to fly high over several parts of the level to avoid “seeing” enemies and increasing lag. At the end, losing flight helped reduce the massive lag caused by all the enemies nearby.
Ice World 3 (1)
I optimized the flight at the end of the level (right before the last pipe) to save a frame. Once again, flying over all the obstacles ends up being the best solution to this level.
Ice World 4 (2)
Yay for having exactly the same strategy as in the previous TAS! Every improvement idea I though of for this level ended up not working for various reasons, so I just copied the route.
Ice Castle a (9)
The normal exit is taken instead of the secret one because it's faster to get the secret exit when returning to Ice World (to get Yoshi for an improvement in Pipe World 4). Getting through the wall of bricks without losing any speed was one of the hardest tricks in this TAS, since I would either be hit by the koopa shell or stopped altogether by the blocks in all of my attempts.
Pipe World 1a (1)
It was necessary to fly above the screen for a large portion of the level because I have to clear several tall obstacles. At the most convenient opportunity, I switch to flying under every obstacle instead.
Pipe World 2 (7)
Using the shell to enter the upper pipe saves a lot of extra travel through pipes. I optimized the pipe entry, saving some frames and making everything look a bit smoother. At the end, I glitch through the blocks by spin-jumping in the 1-space wide passageway, forcing Mario into the blocks and allowing him to enter the pipe.
Pipe World 1b (23)
Going under the screen as soon as possible turned out to be much faster than doing it later in the level. I also optimized the keyjump at the end to save some more frames.
Ice World 1b (-2)
There's more lag this time around because I couldn't just fly above everything. I hop through to the end to make the exit a bit more entertaining.
Ice World 5 (52)
I discovered that the lag in this level is significantly reduced when Mario is as far below the screen as possible. Sometimes it was faster to do the “catch less air” trick because it kept Mario farther below the screen, but most of the time the extra cape-spinning negated any gain I would get.
Ice Igloo b (41)
I took a new route through this level (flying below several passageways) to avoid having to slow down and build up running speed at the part with the piranha plants. As in the previous TAS, I briefly glitch into the floor when getting to the upper passage because the floor forces Mario forward at faster-than-normal running speed.
Ice Secret (0)
This is the most convenient time to get a Yoshi (necessary for the major timesaver in Pipe World 4).
Ice Igloo a (0)
I wasn't able to fly under the floor with Yoshi because I to stop flying early on (Mario on Yoshi can't fit through the passageways without landing). At the end is some obvious Yoshi flight with Mario and Yoshi flying stuck to the ceiling.
Ice Castle b (8)
Once again, getting through the brick wall without losing speed was extremely difficult. However, I found a way to lose less speed when going through the second time, so some time was saved there.
Pipe World 3 (0)
This level is all about keeping flight in strategic places. I also learned that the SMB3 pipes occasionally stop Mario for a couple of frames before pulling him in, so it was sometimes beneficial to wait one frame before entering to take advantage of the faster entry.
Pipe World 4 (-7)
Glitching through the floor is done by dropping the springboard off the pipe edge and letting Mario “land” on it, pulling him into and below the pipe. I wasted a few frames so that I could keep Yoshi until the very last frame of the level, where I threw him into the pit. You should imagine Mario saying “Yoshi, die in a fire! ” when watching this.
Pipe Fortress (22)
I discovered a new strategy for Reznor battles which ended up being about 20 frames faster. I later tested and found that this specific method requires some luck because the first Reznor's platform has to be in exactly the right place.
Pipe World 5b (93)
At the start, I found a way to get running speed much sooner, so I didn't have to run back and forth so many times. In the underground part, Mario survives running on the plants because of flight invincibility abuse (I also optimized this part to save a few frames). The 3-up moon at the end cheated me – I exited the area so quickly, it only gave me two of its promised three extra lives.
Pipe Secret (-1)
Here I'm getting the vine for the Pipe Castle secret exit.
Pipe World 5a (120)
I used the faster p-meter charging trick again at the start. Also, because I left the first area sooner, the plants were on a different cycle, letting me perform the keep flight trick a bit sooner.
Pipe Castle b (11)
The vine from Pipe Castle is necessary for this exit, since enemy-only blocks are in the way (the vine conveniently eats through them). I saved some frames by manipulating Mario's speed better when going up the vine at the end.
Pipe Secret (0)
Back here again? This time, the vine is for a timesaver in Bowser's Star World.
Pipe Castle a (7)
The keep flight trick is used to swoop up to the first pipe in the second room. I tried an alternate strategy where I swooped once and walljumped to the pipe, but the walljump doesn't give enough height to reach the pipe. I suspect that bringing a shell here and shelljumping is possible, but I'm not sure if it would save time or not (I didn't test it).
Bowser's World 1 (-1)
I hopped through most of the level because I thought it would be much more entertaining. When I bounce on note blocks, you might hear some weird sounds; to avoid losing speed on note blocks, it's necessary to jump every frame (Mario sticks to the note block until it bounces him upward), so what you're hearing is Mario jump extremely rapidly.
Bowser's World 2b (-16)
Cape randomness meant that I had to pick up a green koopa instead of the red once at the end, which caused some extra lag. The rest of the lag is random, and I couldn't find a way to reduce it.
Red Switch Palace (5)
I don't know where I picked up these extra frames... maybe I was more efficient when picking up the star at the beginning.
Bowser's World 2a (-8)
Lag ended up being a problem here, again, so I had to console myself by getting some 1-ups (now pointless because I have 99 lives).
Bowser's World 3 (36)
Since I didn't do any fancy shell juggling in Sky World 5, I decided to do some here during the autoscrolling part. I didn't bring the shell with me to the inside part because a) it causes a lot of extra lag right before going inside, and b) I have to wait for the flames anyway, so the shell was unnecessary.
Reznor's Fortress b (17)
I found a better strategy for scaling the big wall at the beginning (walljumping twice instead of just once).
Reznor's Fortress a (66)
The same tactics as before were used at the wall. In the inside area, I optimized everything I could (but it was still necessary to wait for the walls at once part). I also used the new Reznor strategy to save a lot of time.
Bowser's Castle b (43)
I carefully planned out where the best places to keep flight would be, and used the 6/5 trick elsewhere. This level was a constant game of numbers; I would lose 10 frames in one room in order to gain 20 in the next, lose 8 frames in another room to gain 15 in the next, etc.
Bowser's Castle a (19)
It's the same story as Bowser's Castle b: Lose time in one room, to gain time in the next. Getting into the floor at the end is helpful because Mario is forced forward faster than he normally runs.
Bowser's Star World a (1)
It's normally impossible to fly over the huge lava hills, since the passageway doesn't technically exist when it's too far offscreen, but using the vine here lets me scroll the screen up just enough to get over the lava. It's a great trick, since it lets Mario just fly over the whole level instead of having to ride the raft most of the way. The frame saved was either due to the turnaround trick at the start, or because I climbed one pixel less than jimsfriend.
Backdoor Star World a (7)
Actually, over 40 frames were saved in this level, but terrible in-level lag meant that most of it was canceled out. First of all, the pipe at the beginning of the level seems to be unique in that Mario's speed isn't set to zero, so Mario gets a running start out of the pipe. This let me use the keep flight trick and save a lot of time. In the main area, I used the cape-stall trick to fly under one of the giant spikes (I would have flown under both, but it caused a lot more lag). The positioning had to be extremely precise to keep Mario from touching the lava or the spike, and it looks really cool.
Secret Star World a (5)
Horay for hundreds of coins! There isn't really much in this level besides flying through everything and collecting tons of coins. I saved a little time at the end by flying through the bricks at a slightly earlier point.
Misty Star World a (39)
This is one of the coolest levels in the entire TAS. It's a very long autoscroller, so there's lot's of time to do crazy tricks and show off Mario's skills. Believe it or not, I deliberately held back somewhat so that I could have an even more entertaining run through when I came back here the second time! I think most of the time saved here was from lag reduction when bouncing off the chain of koopas.
Desert Star World a (14)
Unfavorable lag in the level caused the time loss here. I couldn't find anything better than the old strategy, so this is just a copy of the previous run's tactics.
Water Star World a (5)
This is probably the least interesting exit in the game. 1/1 swimming with Yoshi is interesting... the game tries to send Yoshi's tongue out every frame, so the animation gets stopped with Mario just raising his fist above Yoshi's head. Mario's probably saying “I'm warning you, Yoshi! I'm warning you, Yoshi! ”, but we can't hear it because of all the water.
Crystal Star World a (24)
To save programming space, certain question blocks contain different items depending on their horizontal position in a level. Since it's possible to clone blocks sideways, you can get different items out of one block with perfect timing and positioning. Here, I get Yoshi wings out of a block that normally contains a key, since that question block is programmed to contain different contents (a key, Yoshi wings, a shell, or a balloon) depending on its horizontal position. Some lag frames were saved by having Yoshi eat the swooper before falling to the lower area. Note that there is a much faster strategy for this level that I missed (see the “known improvements” section).
Sky Star World a (-3)
I hop in the cloud briefly to get 52 speed. Other than that, it's just a quick fly to the finish.
Ice Star World a (54)
Flying under everything reduces lag significantly. Unlike in Ice World 5, this time more lag was reduced by “catching less air” while below the screen. Mario has no fear of bottomless pits!
Pipe Star World a (4)
This is still the fastest strategy for the level, so I kept it and optimized it a bit more. This level can be improved slightly by duck-jumping into vertical pipes (since Mario will start a little farther into the pipe).
...? a (6)
This level is creepy because it's empty... so eerily empty... I saved a few frames by clipping the secret passageway to enter it sooner. The next area is interesting because it's unnecessary to get the star; Mario can just float between the masses of boos.
...? b (18)
The new strategy for getting the p-switch (grabbing it from the right instead of from the left) saved some time. Halfway through the first area, you can see the “item throw” trick very clearly as I toss and hop off the p-switch in midair without slowing down. In the crazy “glitched” area, I toss a goomba at the one guy to show that he's solid.
Big Boo's Star World a (1)
The secret exit here is a trap; if you collect it, the star warp activates, and it's impossible to access the rest of Big Boo's World. Naturally, it's wise to leave that exit until you've unlocked all the levels in Big Boo's World.
Big Boo's World 1a (4)
This is exactly the same as Pipe Fortress, except with enemies. Also, the Reznors have been replaced by an exit tape.
Big Boo's World 2a (8)
Most of this level required very precise placement of Mario when flying around all the obstacles. The mini-piranhas that rise on a cycle are incredibly touchy, so I had to be very careful around them.
Big Boo's World 3a (4)
Flying under everything saves the most time in terms of lag. I hit the blocks with the vine and p-switch just for fun.
Big Boo's World 4a (46)
I worked out a new strategy for the start so that Mario can get running speed sooner. It was very difficult to get working, but I eventually got it. At the end, I avoid bouncing off most of the koopas above the screen because it causes a lot of extra lag.
Big Boo's World 5a (3)
Most of the objects in this level are really boos in disguise. I wasn't able to show this off at all because I had to fly to the upper area early on.
Big Boo's World 6a (7)
There's no animation for cape-spinning when Mario's running up a wall, so it looks like Mario activates all those item blocks with his feet. When flying, I found a way to get over the first boo without slowing down.
Big Boo's Tower
This level was probably the hardest one to TAS in the game. Here's a breakdown of the areas in the tower:
- Floors 1-25 (28): I made a number of small optimizations that usually gained a single frame each. Basically, everything was more precise.
- Floors 26-50 (24): There was more lag because my score wasn't as optimal as jimsfriend's. On floor 40, I used a new strategy: instead of 2nd-frame walljump, hit the floor for a frame to start the screen scrolling and do a regular walljump. As a result, I didn't have to climb the chain (leading to floor 40) as high since I just needed to reach the lower platforms. Finally, I improved the area with the fire flower by taking a more direct route to the door (although I had to waste a few frames doing an extra jump).
- Floors 51-75 (16): In the pipe area, I carefully positioned Mario to get the optimal pipe entry each time. I saved some time by conserving Mario's p-meter better at certain spots.
- Floors 76-80 (5): The lights turn off soon after entering this level (turn transparency effects off (the 9 key is the default for this) when watching this on an emulator to better see what's going on). At floor 99, I force Mario through the floor so he doesn't have to walk to the hole a few squares forward. I also made many other minor optimizations, but they were again canceled by lag.
- Boss (3): I tried killing some of the boos in addition to the fireballs, but I couldn't manipulate them to get low enough to the ground.
Big Boo's Secret a (-1)
If the background looks weird, you probably forgot to turn transparency effects on again ;) I agree with jimsfriend; select spam is fun (except when it starts to cause extra lag).
Big Boo's Star World b (0)
The shortest exit in the game! (Only 4.2 seconds from the start of the level to hitting the keyhole).
Pipe Star World b (-16)
The exact same strategy is used again, except I get the key instead. Time was lost while going through the last pipe because of extra random lag.
Ice Star World b (-11)
There was extra lag in this level for some reason, and I couldn't seem to reduce it, so I moved on.
Sky Star World b (2)
It's quite hard to use the key from the item box; it's actually lethal to Mario if he collides with it (flight invincibility lets Mario collect the key safely). I optimized the approach to the keyhole, saving a couple of frames.
Crystal Star World b (22)
Falling down at the start was faster than flying because it retained more of the p-meter. I also hopped off the p-switch as early as possible to reduce lag.
Water Star World b (-4)
This water autoscroller is more entertaining than last time because I don't have to keep Yoshi around. I had some fun cloning stars and getting two out of the same block (sometimes you'll see Mario collect a star without it disappearing; this is because it's actually two stars, with the two sprites overlapping perfectly).
Desert Star World b (9)
I used the same strategy as in the last TAS, except that I flew farther under the screen at the end to eliminate lag.
Misty Star World b (10)
If you only watch one level out of this entire TAS, this is the one you should see. I worked as hard as I could to pack many tricks into this level, doing crazy stunts and item juggling. This is probably the most entertaining level in the game, so don't miss it!
Secret Star World b (18)
I decided to hop at the end because it's never been done in this level before. I'm not sure where the time was saved, but I probably optimized the key grab at the start. It was about this time that I started planning out the number of coins I should collect.
Big Boo's Secret b (6)
A relatively simple secret exit. It's also a great time to pick up an extra key for Big Boo's World 3.
Big Boo's World 6b (0)
I wanted to do some crazier things with the shells, but most of my ideas turned out to cause too much lag. This level should still be entertaining, though. Also note that I'm actively avoiding coins in this level (to set up the final coin count at the end of the game).
Big Boo's World 5b (0)
I do the “crazy colors” glitch at the keyhole again. I chose the green color scheme because it made everything look really odd. I could have done the rapidly-shifting crazy colors glitch, but since I already did it in Sky World 6 (and because it wastes some time), I decided to skip it this time.
Big Boo's World 4b (24)
I did the faster p-meter trick at the start again, but some of the gain was canceled by lag later in the level. Picking up the key offscreen without losing speed was quite difficult.
Big Boo's World 3b (51)
I used the “item throw” trick to bounce off the silver p-switch and over the wall without losing speed at all, which saved a lot of time. In the area with all the keys and keyholes, only the keyhole under the message block is real. It's much faster to use the key in Mario's item box here than to grab the key from later in the level.
Big Boo's World 2b (0)
Mario has to be small to enter the pipes in this level. At the end, I hit the message block, but get to the keyhole before the message can show up.
Big Boo's World 1b (19)
This level is a nice change because it's fastest to do it small (coming back as caped Mario takes too much time). When scaling the wall to get to the key, I walljumped one block higher to save some time.
Big Boo's Secret (1)
I saved a frame by pressing start+select at the same time instead of one after another.
Bowser's Star World b (8)
The second shortest exit in the game! It was fastest to conserve as much p-meter as possible so that Mario could get to running speed on the way to the keyhole.
Backdoor Star World b (49)
I used the “running start” property of the pipe again to gain some time and keep flight in the next area (just like last time). For once, I got lucky with lag, so a lot of time was saved in the main room.
Bowser's Back Door (-44)
Unfortunately, the statue at the beginning of the level made it impossible to use the old strategy for this room (I would have had to wait 60 frames or more on the overworld to get the correct situation). So, I had to use a different strategy (44 frames slower) to avoid being hit by the fireball. Also, here's where I collect the final coin in the game, for a total of 99 at the end.
Bowser (19)
I decided not to juggle mushrooms during the fight so that I could do other things like glitch into Bowser's clown copter and dance to the music. I also found a way to end movie input much earlier than before.
Known Improvements
These are mostly estimates, although I have directly tested a few of them.
- The turaround trick was only discovered when I was up to Pipe World 5, so about 60 or 70 frames could be saved by using it in all previous levels.
- It's possible to glitch into blocks by intersecting their right corner with 51 speed and perfect placement. (This trick was discovered when I was almost finished with the TAS, so I wasn't able to implement it anywhere). Can be used to save many seconds in Desert World 2b, Sky World 3, and several other exits that I'm missing.
- Misty Island 1: Get running speed at the start instead of using the sliding trick (25 frames)
- Desert Pyramid a: Use faster method for Reznor battle (20 frames)
- Desert Pyramid b: When climbing the chains with the p-switch and key simultaneously, optimize the ascent and item toss (10 frames)
- Desert Castle b: Walljump three squares up the wall instead of two to get to the upper area, saving a walljump (20 frames)
- Any water level: Use 1/1 swimming (10-20 frames depending on the level)
- Crystal Star World a: When dropping Yoshi to the lower area, get hit instead so Yoshi ends up closer to the cloned wings (80 frames)
This run was challenging to make, frustrating at times, but was overall a very fun project. I'll add to this submission text if I forgot anything.
adelikat: Accepting as an improvement to the published movie.
Chaosv1: Encoding...