I should've visited this thread a while ago...
I've been working on a TAS (testrun) of this as well (any% no OOB). Movie file
here (goes up to Boos 4/5 in the Ball Room/Storage Room) using the Japanese version,
this memory card, and
this build by Masterjun. Hopefully it'll sync for you so you can compare directly; if it doesn't sync (and for convenience), I have it uploaded to YouTube:
Area 1,
start of Area 2
I don't really have any in-depth understanding with the technical mechanics of this game, but hopefully some of these notes will be helpful to you:
- Nice job with reducing the ghost catching periods! (For reference, the fastest I've been able to catch a single ghost without the assistance of a wall is 21 frames (first frame being when the HP counter disappears and the last frame being when it pops into the vacuum).)
- When grabbing a key, you'll want to grab it at the very edge, closer to the direction you'll be heading in afterward. You also have 2 frames of possible movement, 1 before the pose animation begins and 1 right after putting away the key.
- For doubles, try to get the ghosts to head directly toward each other as much as possible before sucking them up. (It might also be even faster if, as soon as they're close enough, you face toward one and then the other quickly (like you've already been doing) instead of waiting to shine both on the same frame.)
- In the Wardrobe Room, instead of going for a double, the first ghost that automatically spawns should be caught as early as possible, since it's what causes the next two ghosts to spawn.
- When shooting a ball at Chauncey, first hold L before releasing R to shoot and then press R again to start vacuuming him. This lets you keep the vacuum out, meaning you don't have to go through the animation of pulling out the vacuum again.
- During Chauncey's body slam phase, you can push him further through his path by getting underneath him at the right position whenever he's about to land. Where you're positioned affects how much he's pushed forward by.
- After the battle, Luigi automatically takes out his flashlight. Maybe you could hold L/R beforehand to get the vacuum out (no animation stall) and let go once you're positioned to glitch into floor 1.5 to skip a second pulling-out-the-vacuum/flashlight animation and save a few frames.
Some ideas:
- Maybe try to manipulate the ghosts toward walls so you can reduce the catching period? (Example
here) It doesn't seem easy to manipulate their movement, though...
- It might be possible to get Chauncey to start his body slam phase at a certain position (so he's already further in the path when he starts) by releasing him (after the first 50 HP draining) at the right spot. I didn't test this idea much, but it may be worth looking into.
I think that should be it... I don't know anything about the skew glitch and how it works, but Veman should be able to cover everything else (and anything I probably missed) for you; he's a really cool guy. =) Good luck on this!
