Flower Cup test run by Drew Weatherton, done first week of April, 2007:
Comments:
Once again, I chose Toad so that I could get the maximum hops off of cpu players in case it was necessary (and CM shows that it probably is). In general this test run has sub-optimal MT's and some avoidable wall-hits, this sort of thing (obviously) would not be present in the final product. The goal of this test run was just to go through the levels and try out several strategies as a proof-of-concept.
Toad's Turnpike:
Used the regular Time Trials SC strat, this uses the "Lakitu Effect" to be able to jump off the overpass. The Lakitu Effect occurs in the moments after Lakitu puts you down when you can drive on polygons that Lakitu normally considers out of bounds, I get placed about as far away from the overpass as I can before the effect would wear off. Please keep in mind that for the 2nd and 3rd SC's to work, I need to be sure not to cut this first jump too much and end up going over the water. If that happens, for some reason the later SC's will not work properly and you will be placed back right where you jumped off.
Item usage: I made sure that every item I picked up was a ghost and then manipulated a shroom with that ghost. From my testing, you can only manipulate items you could usually get in first place and what item you get depends on button input. When you press Z the random item generator is seeded and gives a result. In one spot in this race I had a difficult time manipulating a shroom and was in a tight spot, so I gave up (this is a test run after all and I made the whole thing in a couple days). Also, please note that it is likely not possible to receive two items during a single pit stop area. There is less than 30 frames between the first box and the last so it seems unlikely one could manipulate a shroom from the first, use it and then grab the last one (at least not at top speed).
Frappe Snowland:
Unfortunately, no shrooms = slower than the WR no matter what we do. I used the standard 3-lap strategy with "going left." I have since discovered that the fastest way to turn around is actually: 127 left or right and 120 down (as opposed to 127 for both). So, this is one place to save time. Also, I should have let go of B as soon as I was on the snow and the shroom had worn off. I didn't spend much time with it but I think my spin out may have been faster than going around the section of snow that Lakitu would normally grab you on. Also, on the second part of lap 2, I use the tree to bump me over for a shorter path. I go to a different spot on this lap so that I can be placed in front of the bridge. This should be compared to ensure that it is faster but I just wanted to demonstrate that it was possible. I'd bet there is over .5 seconds to be saved on the final product but it will never break the WR. By the way, the flap strategy would be slower to use in a three lap even in a TAS; the setup takes too long. Besides, it would require a shroom.
Choco Mountain:
Now this is a fun level. So many options, instead of describing what I did, I will describe what I think the optimum path will be.
Start off the first lap as normal, manipulate a shroom and as soon as you exit the tunnel, run into the wall on the left (or possibly right). AB spin and shroom back into the tunnel at a heavyweight (DK or Wario might work but it may end up requiring Bowser). May need to do a left facing slide when shrooming to get the right angle and enough speed. Nail a huge jump similar to what I do on lap 3 in the test run but after passing the finish line (must be a few kart lengths inside of the pole) get stuck up on a polygon that tricks Lakitu into putting you down below the finish line in the tunnel (there are several of these a bit beyond where I hit in lap 3).
From tunnel, do race as normal, do perfect regular SC (probably have to do it without a shroom so that the last lap can be done) and follow the same strat as my lap 2 to finish lap and end up in the tunnel underneath. AB spin shroom back into the tunnel at a heavyweight character to finish similarly to how I did in the test run (hopefully a cpu is nearby to do this). Of course, the strat will depend heavily on where the heavyweight cpus are. It may be possible to get up to the road with a middleweight but, based on my experiences, I doubt a lightweight would be sufficient. If only a lightweight is accessible, it may be possible to hit the polygon to the left as you exit the tunnel that would cause Lakitu to put you up near the finish line. Of course, Lakitu warps waste a lot of time if they can be skipped.
Mario Raceway: This course was completely experimental, no laps used the fastest strategy. However, I captured several potential pieces to the puzzle. To start things off, the cpu jump over the wall was something I had planned for some time now. However, I had not thought about where the item boxes are in this level until I got to it and cleared the wall. Turns out, clearing the wall like this means skipping the first set of item boxes. It also, as a result, means I don’t have a shroom to perform the main SC. No matter, I managed to do what many thought impossible and cleared the wall (on the faster side of the T) shroomless. The problem here is that, without a shroom, the trip across the grass takes a while. I decided to go for the item boxes and grab a shroom but, as it turns out, that was probably not worth it.
So, lap 1 on Mario Raceway actually ends up being significantly slower than the next two laps. This should not happen on this course as the shroom boost at the start lets players cut the first corner better than on the next two laps, usually resulting in the fastest lap in a Time Trials 3lap. It may be that going for the item box after the start killed a lot of time. I don’t know, but it also might mean that the regular SC strategy (and picking up the item box on the first turn) is faster. More testing will be needed. Also, please note, a SC like lap 3 of LR is likely possible on this course. Whether this is faster will depend on cpu positioning as it does not appear to be possible on lap 1.
Laps 2 and 3 were uneventful compared to the regular SC strategy (and, in fact were quite sub-optimally executed but remember this is intended as a strategy search, not a submission). The only notable part was on lap 2, on the last corner, I use the shroom and manage to capture a “sticky shroom” on .m64. The cause of this has been a mystery to the Mario Kart 64 community until now. As you can see, it results from bumping off of the steep polygon near the corner and staying closer to the ground as a result. Of course, Michael Fried, upon watching this .m64, says that the turn he makes in his Time Trials TAS is faster. Still, perhaps more experimentation is warranted.
Current Project:
- Mario Kart 64
