For the most part, any of the 6 stars can be collected regardless of which star was selected.
Edit: mr_roberts_z beat me to it.
Personally, I'd prefer to see the stars done in order so I know what star is about to be collected beforehand. Some people might say that it is more fun to be surprised but I think it is more fun to be able to think to yourself "I know he is going to collect star 2. Why is he heading in that direction?", etc.
It takes frames to switch stars but that's irrelevant since many stars can be done when another is selected.
For DDD, 1 is the sub, 2 is the chests, 3 is red coins + 100c, 4 is the five rings jet stream, 5 is manta ray, 6 is the one that needs invisibility. So the order to not have a laggy-ass second area when not necessary would be:
231456
And the order for not caring about lag because it's so much faster to enter the level before it moves would be:
234615
Also, personally I think randomness is kind of arbitrary (hurr), and I think most viewers would prefer a reason for order when speed isn't a factor. Either to keep the most stylish/impressive stars till the end or to keep the order consistent makes the most sense.
Edit: whoa two new posts in the time it took me to write one.
See order above. no need to make the level entrance farther away when you don't have to. star 2 isn't lagged by the sub.
See order above. no need to make the level entrance farther away when you don't have to. star 2 isn't lagged by the sub.[/quote]
Ah, this is true.
Orderwise...
Shortest to longest? Longest to shortest? Coolest to most boring? As the game orders it, except when it could be faster? I think we need somewhat of a consensus here...I don't really mind anything.
I've said it many times and I'll say it again: Please go in numerical order unless absolutely necessary to save time. This goes for both courses numbered 1-15 as well as stars. Please, none of this "stylistic" crap. Most viewers aren't fanatics and may not even remember every star, and thus, the so-called "surprise element" in random star selection doesn't add anything to the run. Going in order makes it all the easier to keep track of and follow, too.
Yes, please! mwl has done a good job outlining the reasons why, but I should add that viewers less familiar with the game (or even TASing in general) tend to get confused easily with things like that. I know I had to spend quite a while explaining the 16 star run even at non-glitch sections to friends of mine who like the videos but aren't interested enough to download appropriate emulators.
(minor format edit)
Check out the response on my vid to see Azorae's new improvement, it's 1.2 seconds faster... Myn was rushed just to show the strategy, while Azorae took his time. :)
Stomp on the Thwomp 23.76
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T4YL2OAi_fo
Too bad that's the 100 coin star partner, but the same general strategy can be used with Timed Jumps on Moving Bars.
If you've seen the current WIP you'd know that it pretty much does/will.
Questions:
1) No matter how much you improve that star, it will still be the one in that level to be paired with 100-coin since it's the farthest from starting position, right?
2) how much progress has been made since the last m64 was posted?
This gives me an idea. Imagine, for each star, everyone that has experience TASing this game fiercely competed against each other to see who could find the fastest route to collect that star. Imagine how amazing the resulting 120-star TAS would be.
Isn't it just simply to make a page with the fastest times for each star? That has been done with like tons of games and doesn't seem any difficult to put together. The only problem would be updating it but as long as poeple submit their times and provide a video of it only thing needed is someone willing to do it.
Someone should wrote how to calculate the number of frame, and if it can be verified with ram watch or something (if possible) Like the calculation start when you press Start and finish when you touch the star.
There are complicating factors, though. For example, after touching a star, Mario falls, which takes time. That's why they try to hit the bottom of stars, which can take more time. So, it should be from the start button to when Mario leaves the level.