I'm not sure, but I think I remember Alex Penev once saying that the warp glitch saves time (of course it does in a normal speed run but I think he was talking about a 100% speed run). I don't remember what the level looks like too well since I haven't played the game recently, but maybe by using the glitch you can save distance by being closer to something than you would be by starting from the beginning.
Edit:
Regardless, I only have 15 more levels to optimize, so expect my run to show up sometime soon. :)
Don't forget that even after you get all the levels optimized, you still have to get a good run through all the levels without messing up, and also beat Snapdragon's time. I don't know exactly how good you are so this may or may not be easy for you, but if you can get something like 48 minutes without saving you'll be pretty famous in the video game world, and I guarantee it'll be a front page story at TG.
You'd have to complete the game to even get to the second area, since it shoots you in to the middle of Orangutan Gang.
I believe this glitch also works between levels 1 and 2 of the first area. It should send you to a different barrel cannon near where the other one warps you. I definitely know it was before the one mentioned above.
You'd have to complete the game to even get to the second area, since it shoots you in to the middle of Orangutan Gang.
You could just get up to Orangutan Gang normally and then go back and warp to it using the glitch. Don't forget that the timer doesn't run on the map screen.
I don't see how the glitch would make a 101% run any faster since you'd still have to go back and do the previous levels again unless the game counts the skipped levels as being 100% complete. Anyway, I have the last two worlds to do, which take almost as long as the first four worlds combined. I played up to Gorilla Glacier without making any mistakes last night; I estimate about two more weeks until completion (maybe one if I get some more free time).
you'd still have to go back and do the previous levels again
Why would you have to do the previous levels again? Just get up to Orangutan Gang without warping, and then go back and take the warp so you can start in the middle of the level.
and then go back and take the warp so you can start in the middle of the level.
ok, I see what you mean now. But after you warp, you'll need to remember get the bonus rooms at the start of the orangutan gang level as well. This means you'll have to get the last three bonus rooms, beat the level, re-enter the level, get the first couple of bonus rooms, and then start-select exit. If going by the game timer, it saves around 10 seconds.
Check out the Riverside Race video at SDA:
http://planetquake.com/sda/other/dkc3.html
Throughout the race, there are many times when he rolls and then jumps in order to save time. Do you know if this would save time in DKC? I had already thought of this idea, but I just assumed it didn't save time since Snapdragon didn't do it in his video, but now that I saw it done in DKC3, maybe it's worth a try in DKC.
Edit: Btw, how many more levels do you still need to practice, and what do you think the time of your speed run will be?
Throughout the race, there are many times when he rolls and then jumps in order to save time. Do you know if this would save time in DKC?
I haven't timed it to the millesecond, but roll jumping is slightly faster than running. There are few places in DKC where it will save you considerable time roll-jumping instead of running though, and in order to work the roll shouldn't be too long or too short otherwise running is faster (works best on flat surfaces). In many cases, rolling alone is faster than roll jumping. I abuse the roll a lot in my run and use it to clear segments of levels quickly; in Orangutan Gang, Snapdragon didn't use the roll down slopes which gives you a boost of speed. Roll jumping works best over pitfalls and is almost always better than standard jumping.
Btw, how many more levels do you still need to practice, and what do you think the time of your speed run will be?
I just finished Blackout Basement today and am able to play it in complete darkness. I have about 5 more levels to practice before I can make test runs of the whole game. So far, I can do every level faster than SnapDragon except for the pre-set speed ones like Trick Track Trek. Yesterday, I found a way to shave off another 15-20 seconds in Oil Drum Alley. In the least, I'll be able to pull of a 49 minute run, but my goal is to get a hitless 48 run. SnapDragon's time is very difficult to beat which is why I assume it has remained unchallenged for so long. I'll be ready to record my run by as early as next week.
Edit: I just found a trick to save time in Poison Pond that involves getting hit. Looks like this can't be a hitless run, but one where "I don't lose any Kongs."
it's with Enguarde, getting hit in a way that allows me to pass the last mincer quickly and get Enguarde right back again a couple seconds later. It's hard to tell I did it on purpose, looks more like I made a mistake.
glad you asked. I've been really busy this week with university course selection, but I've still managed to push in some DKC time. I'm pretty much done every level at this point, and I'll be home on monday so I can do a full run then. Wish me luck. :)
I did a no-save test run of the whole game at my friend's house on her ZSNES (unfortunately she doesn't have the SNES console) and here was the result:
overall, this run went very good; I only got hit once at Vulture Culture trying to get past the last set of zingers (which is mostly a matter of luck). I'm still not satisfied, however, because I believe that if I work at it some more I could pull off a 00:47 run. It's back to planning for me...
here are some ideas I've come up recently with that may help me reach the faster time:
-staying on the ground instead of using the trees in Jungle Hijinx.
-not using Winky in Winky's Walkway.
-using the Necky in Tree Top Town instead of Gnawty to get to the first bonus barrel. (use the boost from roll-attacking the Gnawty to make Necky appear sooner.)
-avoiding getting Expresso in the beginning of Ice Age Alley.
-skipping the first bonus room in Elevator Antics then getting it later using the start-select method; also could work in Snow Barrel Blast. I'm sure the start-select trick could be abused more.
-purposely getting hit by the last mincer in Poison Pond.
-using Donkey Kong against Queen B. and Dumb Drum instead of Diddy.
-using only Diddy in Platform Perils.
any comments or suggestions?
I don't have any experience speed running this game, but since Penev got 46 minutes with save states he might know some good time saving tricks. Should I ask him to post here about any tricks or strategies that he knows?
I'd be interested in hearing what Penev would have to say about this game. I've never tried a save-state run yet, but 46 minutes is a decent time.
Wouldn't it be a good idea to try out a tool-assisted run once your non-assisted run is finished? Would be great on this site!
I'd like to see a tool-assisted run of this game. I'm moving straight to ALttP once my run is finished so I don't know yet if it'll be me who'll be making it. I have this game pretty much memorized so I would gladly help out in its production in any way I can.
Edit: I would also like to see a time attack of the Espresso, Rambi, Enguard, and Winky bonus levels getting 999 as fast as possible.
alright, after doing about a half-dozen runs of the entire game on the SNES console, I've come to the conclusion that something like 00:48 or 00:49 is already pretty much unbeatable. It takes an amazing amount of skill just to get through the game without getting hit at all. Here's a summary of my runs:
50:00 (July 12)
48:00 (July 9)
51:00 (July 9)
57:00 (July 8)
50:00 (July 7)
49:00 (July 5)
48:00 (July 3)
In my latest run, I died about three times and still managed to get 50. In fact, the only way I can pull of 48 minutes is if I don't get hit at all and play through the whole thing perfectly, which has only happened a couple of times. So yes, I'm confident that 48 is unbeatable, and unless I can pull of a 47 minute run any time soon, I'll just go ahead with that.
overall, this run went very good; I only got hit once at Vulture Culture trying to get past the last set of zingers (which is mostly a matter of luck). I'm still not satisfied, however, because I believe that if I work at it some more I could pull off a 00:47 run. It's back to planning for me...