This is a run I started about half a year ago, though I think it only took a month or so of actual work. The rest is just some good ol' procrastination. The improvement is of 2109 frames over mmbossman's currently published run.
Details
- Made on Gens 11a
- Aims for fastest time
- Takes damage to save time
- Manipulates luck
- Plays on the hardest level
Stage comments
- Day 1 - 35 frames saved
Not much to say here, the level is quite straight forward so there isn't much of a change from the old run. A little time where saved on the way to the boss, mostly through lag reduction (sometimes at the cost of an ingame frame). Then 10-12 where saved by landing in a better spot before the boss appears (after I land the screen has to scroll for a bit so I made sure to minimize the amount). The rest comes from the boss, minor tweaking in positioning and movement during the fight made it possible to shoot it at a higher frequency when it moved to the sides.
- Day 2 - 18 frames saved (53 total)
This is pure lag reduction. I managed to cut 23 frames of lag at the cost of 5 ingame frames.
- Day 3 - 199 frames saved (252 total)
Besides some small movement optimizations all of the improvement comes from handling the the platforms with the turrets (possibly the most annoying enemies throughout the whole run) differently. Generally I found it to be faster to either slow down a little, or first land in the water, in order to be put in a position where I could kill them without first landing on the platforms.
- Day 4 - 219 frames saved (471 total)
mmbossman missed an opening in the roof where you could jump up to the next level a bit earlier, which saved some good time. Most of the saving comes from being more efficient with the boost damage on the two bosses though.
- Day 5 - 56 frames saved (527 total)
Normally I have to shoot once diagonally upwards when I land after a jump to avoid losing a bit of my speed (this is used throughout both mine and mmbossman's run, though I sometimes skip out on it because of lag), but I noticed that for some weird reason that is not true in this specific level. Due to this I was able to save some time by being allowed to jump a frame earlier without losing more speed, and there is also less lag since I don't shoot as much.
- Day 6 - 351 frames saved (878 total)
The big brownish enemies in this level where quite annoying, as it is pretty random when they will shoot (and to my knowledge this was not changeable in any non time-wasting way), that made me lose some time in a few placed, but gain some in others as well. Overall nothing was really changed up to the boss, but I still save a bunch of time by doing everything a little cleaner. The boss at the end is easily the most boring part of the run. I have to keep him of screen and basically move as little as possible to not cause massive lag, and he has a really long invincibility time. I think I saved over 200 frames on lag reduction on him though.
- Day 7 - 157 frames saved (1035 total)
One of the most pathetic bosses in any game ever. I noticed that I could shoot every frame here by alternating A and B, it usually isn't possible but it was in this level. Because of this, as soon as he lands I can kill him before he has time to move again.
- Day 8 - 63 frames saved (1098 total)
Very straight forward level, only small optimizations in movement and lag management here.
- Day 9 - 62 frames saved (1160 total)
Same here, there wasn't much to do differently. Some jumps are changed slightly for better results but overall it looks the same. I managed to do more damage with the first boost on the boss at the end, so he died quicker from the second boost.
- Day 10 - 42 frames saved (1202 total)
Very little of notice here, the most significant thing is probably that I managed to break the TV with the jetpack while avoiding the little flying bug.
- Day 11 - 112 frames saved (1314 total)
Similarly to Day 7 I was allowed to shoot every frame here, and thus I was able to kill the boss before he moved his weak spot. I also think I reached him a tiny bit faster.
- Day 12 - 97 frames saved (1411 total)
I think the only change besides small optimizations here was at the part with two robots close to each other where I killed the second one (which I could not boost through) more efficiently, and avoided taking damage.
- Day 13 - 43 frames saved (1454 total)
Quite a simple level, and thus it ended up pretty much the same.
- Day 14 - 113 frames saved (1567 total)
On the way down I did some of the jumps a bit differently, and I cut some corners better on the way down (which at a point made me need to shoot downwards to slow me down less times). A lot of the time saved comes from activating the 2nd of the 3 bosses faster. After I killed the first one the second does not activate until I reach its blueprint, so I made sure to be positioned as best as I could when the first one died.
- Day 15 - 483 frames saved (2050 total)
The biggest thing here is that I picked up a jetpack near the start, which probably saved be 250-300 frames. I also managed to improve the first elevator segment, by twice managing to catch an earlier platform. Other than that it is a pretty long level so the small optimizations piled up as well.
- Day 16 - 59 frames saved (2109 total)
Just lag reduction really, by not shooting a bunch of stuff on the way up. The boss doesn't put up much of a fight, and dies quickly to the power of my rocket boots.
Thanks to
Big thanks to mmbossman for his old run which provided me with a solid comparison and some tricky strategies. Thanks to mike89 as well for pointing out some good possible optimizations and new strategies (like the jetpack on Day 15).
mmbossman: Wow, I'm amazed there was so much time to save over my previous run. You have put my 20062007 TASing skill to shame sir, and I'm exceptionally happy to accept this for publication!
sgrunt: Processing... (hopefully)