Just today I decided to give this game a go. Despite being a pretty much total newbie to actually using the TAS tools, I decided to try a 2 player run on Hard mode - 2 players because I'm 99% sure it's faster, and Hard mode because I think it affects more than just boss health (which it definitely affects).
Here's the first area of the first stage:
http://dehacked.2y.net/microstorage.php/info/989295027/FtD_WildGuns_2P_Hard.smv (switched to microstorage so it stays up longer)
Fair warning: parts of the video are probably going to be boring. I tried to focus on speed with this one and didn't bother to worry about entertainment, something I figure I can add in a later version - the idea I have for that is using the aiming reticles to spell things out when waiting.
The one thing I focused on was trying to take as much advantage of the two-player mechanic as I knew I could do. (Is it less than what 2 players can possibly do in theory? Likely.) Some of my shots are also deliberately early as a demonstration of how long the shots last (most noticeable near the end when Clint has the machinegun). Getting that consistently is another matter, probably something for a redo (which I definitely intend after I get feedback).
Other notes (edited in after my original post, so if you read what I had before, there's definitely more info here):
It takes 4 frames from the time you hit the fire button to when you actually fire, and 8 frames for a shot to reach the enemy. So to hit the enemy as early as possible, you have to shoot 12 frames ahead of time. The grenade gun and, as hinted above, the machinegun can be shot sooner and still get enough hits to kill some enemies.
Weapon manipulation seems to be frame-dependent, rather than action-dependent (an example of action-dependent would be Aria of Sorrow, I think), which ought to ease things a little.
To me, it seems the shotgun is most useful for shooting the weakest enemies - clusters of them hopefully, with its wider shot. The power of the shot depends on how much actually hits, but I think the maximum on large enemies is five hits and the max on smaller enemies is two. The grenade gun is the strongest collectable weapon, shot for shot, but I think the machinegun deals its damage faster.
I skip bonuses for two reasons:
1. They add to the time taken after the stage for the points tally.
2. I've been able to use them to help me with my action timing. This will become less necessary as I learn proper frame timing technique, but until then I take what I can get.
If there is enough demand I'll go after bonuses, but probably at the last frame possible in most cases.
Also, is it just me or do knife enemies go after the player that's farther from the edge of the screen?
What I want to know is whether that area's boss is actually vulnerable in midair - listening from the audio cues when Randil fired at him in his most recent WIP, it sounds like he's invulnerable in mid-jump. I was going to bomb him because of the approaching shots, but then I discovered that I was killing him before the shots even reached me so I stuck with this.
I don't know if I even NEED the second bomb that's available (one of the enemies in the last wave that I let the timer take care of), because Clint and Annie EACH start with three, but I see two uses for bombs:
1. The fighting of those guys in the blue suits
2. Bullet removal/enemy killing if we decide we need the Vulcan Cannon in a certain spot and we're too close to getting it early
What I'd like to know is if I'm even going in the right direction. Also I'd like to know some improvements, especially non-obvious ones.