Advice for improving time

2014-07-09 05:44:54 am

I currently have a time of 33:18 single segment, and I feel like I could drop that to 31:30 if I practice my late game more and have an amazing run. I use the same routes as seen on some of the fastest runs, and can manage most if not all the tricks (consistency is an issue with some, more practice I guess).

My goal is to try to get sub 30 times, and maybe sub 29 if I can.

What are some good general spots to practice? Obviously practising difficult tricks such as AWS and charge beam boss quick kill is going to be a good idea. Is it more efficient to just keep playing through the game for practice, or is there an area that has enough tricky platforming to help practice optimizing your jumps.

I'm going to try recording a run and watching it over to see if that helps me find areas where I'm losing time as well. Probably compare with some of the fastest runs as well.

Thread title:

kirbymastah

2014-07-09 11:17:46 am

If you think your run is decent, then chances are, you're losing minutes just from minor mistakes and just optimizatoin all around. I recommend just watching faster runs (not just the current record, but 3-4 runs that are considerably faster), compare what they do to what you do, and practice room strategies for consistency.

Quietus

2014-07-09 11:32:12 am

Super Secret Area - Dead Ahead!

It's always worth emulating the game, so that you can create a save state as you enter a room, then drill it over and over until it becomes automatic. That, and consistency with bosses should eradicate most of those seconds that are being lost.

kirbymastah

2014-07-09 11:59:22 am

Quote from Quietus:

It's always worth emulating the game, so that you can create a save state as you enter a room, then drill it over and over until it becomes automatic. That, and consistency with bosses should eradicate most of those seconds that are being lost.

lol bosses in any%

anywys, save states are fine. just be aware that there could be execution differences between emulator and console (there's like 1-2 extra frames of input lag for me when on emulator, so i avoid practicing on it). So just using console saves should suffice; there are enough saves throughout zero mission to do so before important sections.

MetaEdge

2014-07-09 05:47:41 pm

Thanks very much for the advice.

I run the game on a PSP emulator so save states are natural. I may need to switch over to computer emulator so I can start recording my runs though.

I may need to defeat Charlie a few hundred times, I'm nowhere near consistent with him. Not to mention Tourian and all of gravity suit phase.

samthedigital

Edit history:

samthedigital: 2014-07-09 06:34:57 pm

2014-07-09 06:33:32 pm

The only tricks that matter in a run are acid worm skip and brinstar super (I guess escape spark counts as a trick, but it's really just a longer shinespark, other things are like this). Things like 2 round beamst or the quick imago cocoon strat are very secondary. The most important things in a run are room strats and good platforming, and they are likely the difference between your run and a sub 30 run. If you want to learn what it takes to have good platforming I guess you could try Brinstar Super (the old strategy is probably the best example of this) or beating the ripper in the first climb, but a lot of practice is on a room to room basis.

MetaEdge

2014-07-10 03:45:20 am

I'm assuming when you're talking about brinstar super you're referring to the tricky shinespark that starts at the save room and ends with a ball spark to the super, as opposed to the easier method of building the spark in the charge beam area then ball sparking twice. I've never actually bothered learning this trick. I suspected it was extremely difficult and because I'm running ridley first any percent I just go with the 4 supers I get before fighting ridley. Then of course the quick super after getting gravity to make an even 6. I didn't realize any percent runs even got this super. How much time does it save?

Mobiusman

2014-07-10 05:11:25 am

It doesn't really save a measurable amount of time, since the first super missile in chozodia is faster to get. However, having 6 supers for tourian instead of 4 will make tourian *on average* faster and reduce the number of runs you lose to bad drop luck.

My only advice for improving times is to play the game more. I don't think it matters too much whether you're practising rooms or doing runs, just play the game regularly and be patient. There isn't a thing you learn that makes you go from getting 35s to getting 27s, it's a gradual process and a natural outcome of playing the game a lot.

MetaEdge

2014-07-10 05:04:45 pm

Is it possible to do a triple hit on King Worm RTA? I can do the double consistently.

I watched a video and it looks like the trick is to hit A and B either on the same frame or a frame or two apart as you fall. Well the gun facing up but without holding up on the d-pad. All this on the correct frame of your fall. This allows you to shoot a missile as close to the ground as possible. Then immediately press up and shoot a missile as soon as possible, then jump missile with a normal double missile timing.

Pause buffering doesn't seem to allow you to shoot out of the pause by holding B during the fade out, so this may be impossible.

Has anyone else attempted this?

ArXyn

2014-07-10 05:30:53 pm

Triples are not really feasible. You could try, but doubles are pretty much the best you'll get.

samthedigital

2014-07-10 06:34:00 pm

Quote:

Is it possible to do a triple hit on King Worm RTA? I can do the double consistently.

It's possible, but not really feasible, and you should worry about other things if you care about improving quickly =P. Doubles really aren't *that* important.

MetaEdge

2014-07-10 07:57:27 pm

Fair enough. I just think the double missile is so cool, and it would be awesome if someone managed triple in a RTA run.

samthedigital

2014-07-10 07:58:53 pm

I might try in a segmented run, but there's no reason to bother trying in a single segment as it won't be consistent like doubles can be.