Here are three different techniques at the end of the Bombman level.
Image 0 -
FCM
-
0 magnet beams
- 1037 frames
Image 1 -
FCM
-
4 magnet beams
- 953 frames PLUS some distance to Bombman
- Weapon switch added, length is 1000 frames.
Image 2 -
FCM
-
5 magnet beams (1 in pit)
- 963 frames PLUS some distance to Bombman
- Weapon switch added, length is 1010 frames.
The animations are synchronized from their beginnings, making it easy to see the difference in their length.
(The script created for creating this mosaic animation can be found
here.)
Using 1 beam in the pit (instead of 0 or 2) is a mistake - it merely slows down falling, which is why it's slowest. 2 is fastest. I estimate it would have been about 943 frames long (990 after weapon switch compensation).
However, I think the total gain of this technique is too small to justify the big number of beams used. The gain is approximately equivalent to the gain of a 3 block wide zipping.
EDIT: I also tested the 1-beam way, former "S" route. It would be 997 frames (1044 after weapons switch compensation). It's the slowest of all, because the zipping is so minimal and it prevents doing weapon switching in the tunnel while dropping (the beam is still active).