This Tasproj was created using BizHawk 1.11.9
In this WIP of my R.C. Pro-Am TAS I aim to finish all 24 tracks, or 1 loop, as fast as possible while also finishing 1st place on each track. This is not a redundant goal as making use of the orange car's speedup mechanic and allowing it to finish first would technically be a faster goal, and one I plan to work on once this one is complete. For those wondering, once you shoot 10 cars, the orange car immediately speeds up to max speed (127 mph) for the remainder of the track, so carrying over 9 shots on the shot counter and shooting the green or blue car as the next track begins will automatically trigger the orange car's speed boost for that track.
For this goal though, I aim to achieve a 1st place finish on all 24 tracks as quickly as possible, by use of picking up all power-ups, hitting all zips, and cutting all corners as closely as possible. Turning corners in the game is the real challenge for frame saves, as sometimes the angle at which you approach and your current speed will influence multiple turns going forward.
This is my first attempt at a TAS of this game using this goal, and although it came out well, I would guess there may be upwards of 100-200 or so frames to save, so I plan to redo this (possibly with help) and touch up on troublesome areas. Some turns were done differently from one lap to the next because they ended up using an equal number of frames, while the majority of them I kept in for the purpose of studying them later to find the fastest route.
Most tracks are straightforward and don't need an explanation, so the ones that do are listed below:
Track 2: Hitting the oil slick and spinning into the power up item saved frames over going around the slick. One key thing to know is when you hit an oil slick you maintain whatever speed you were at for the duration of the spin-out.
Track 3: On lap 2, bumping the wall in between the two zips slowed me down but allowed to get a better angle set up for the next couple of turns. I kept it in the movie because I'm not 100% certain which strat is faster yet.
Track 5: On the last lap you see me bump the wall while avoiding the rain cloud. The choices at that juncture were to 1) bump the wall, 2) clip the cloud, 3) slow down and avoid the cloud, or 4) go around it. I chose the option in the moment that ended up saving more frames but I feel this situation may be able to be avoided with a more optimal setup leading to that point.
Track 11: I feel that maybe leaving 1 of the first 2 power-ups to be picked up on lap #2 may have been faster. Would also like to test not bumping the wall after the tire pickup vs. what was done here.
Track 12: Whoa we lapped everybody!
Track 13: There are some really precise turns that are frame perfect and only at certain angles and speeds that I believe can be slightly better optimized. Overall this was the hardest track to TAS. The last lap of it can most certainly be improved but I grew weary trying and wanted to move on.
Track 14: Some spin-out swag at the end shaves a few frames and wasn't used in the previous lap due to setup concerns going forward.
Track 17: Very fun track, I used some oil slick spin-out tricks to save frames on the turn. I had a hard time finding a setup for track 2 and wound up clipping the water up ahead, so some frames can be saved there.
Track 18: This one came out really nice.
Track 19: For the first two laps you see me make use of the oil slick spin-outs to get a better angle at the next turn. On the third lap I decided to take the lower route and see how many frames slower it was. I believe 10 was the final result but this game isn't as straight forward as others so it's a bit tricky to judge.
Track 21: Graceful beauty. My favorite track.
Track 22: More oil slick abuse goodness.
Track 24: Long and boring, the only concern here are the tight turns 3/4 through each lap.
I wanted to upload this WIP now because I don't know when I will get back to working on it, so if someone else wants to take a stab I welcome any help I can get.