That might be the case for MM but in OoT sidehops are the same speed thoughtout apart from when you land and it drops for a short period. Normally sidehopping is 8.5 but it drops to 7.5 when Link lands. On a flat surface Link lands on the ground every 21 frames on steep slopes Link lands on the ground every 9 frames.
Hello, 1rst post here :-)
This discussion on Link's speed had been ongoing literally for year ! This is quite embarrassing given the fact that 1. we have access to the instant speed value in memory and 2. character speed is one of the the most important aspect of a game, if not the most !!!
We saw some scientific attempt to do a complete list of Link's speed in every possible situation (chaosv1 for example), but what's really needed, since the speed is not constant during a given motion is an INTEGRATION of that speed over time (while also taking into account the linear displacement if physics engine is not accurate or if sliding occurs. Otherwise, integration of instantaneous speed over frames should be sufficient on it's own to calculate the accurate average speed)
The best solution would be to have access to memory values corresponding to XYZ coordinates of Link's position to make an accurate estimation, especially for Z, but landmarks could also be used to calibrate the measurements.
So, what's really needed (and actually a bit painfull to do) is:
- Select a completely horizontal area (relatively large)
- Select 2-3 areas with different slopes (again sufficiently large and flat)
- Backwalk and sidehop through these areas between 2 lanmarks (uphill & downhill, kid & adult)
(or between 2 positions defined by their coordinates)
- Record instant speed value on every frame and calculate the average speed (in voxels per frame ? Link's foot size per second ?)
That should give at last the ultimate answer regarding the fastest way to travel in OOT (hopefully :-)
Of course, things are a bit complicated by motion initiation (sidehopping starting faster than backwalking ?) and turning time & angles. This is less important for average to long distances, but then you can add the superslide factor and things gets a little messy :-) Well, at least all this would become more easily testable with true average speed values...especially if you know beforehand the distance you have to travel.
I hope that this does not sound too authoritarian for a 1rst post ! I may try to do this if I find some time before someone else does...