I've watched the streams of many new runners and see that they are extremely uninformed about how the game works. I decided to type this up to help point them in the right direction. Any constructive comments welcome.
Table of Contents
1) Movement
1a) Understanding Movement
1b) How to Improve
2) Finding an Interest
2a) Acting on your Interests
3) Practicing
3a) Importance
3b) How-To
Q & A
1) Movement
What is movement? Movement is how you move from room to room. It is the the most important aspect of running this game and should not be taken lightly. This is a good read
1a) Understanding Movement
As stated above, movement is how you move. First, you need to understand how rooms work. In every room, there are load triggers, and those triggers load the respective room. Your goal is NOT to shoot the door as quickly as possible; it is NOT to reach the door as quickly as possible; it IS to touch the trigger as quickly as possible. Now, you don't always have to worry about hitting the trigger quickly as the room loads instantly, but it definitely something you need to keep in mind. Rooms that are a dead end (one exit) do not have load triggers for the previous room (exception for Life Grove / Life Grove Tunnel).
Most rooms have enemies in them, and those enemies play a keen role in how you move throughout it; wether it be their position when you dash off of them, or for a damage boost. Good examples include all of the Lower portion of the Phazon Mines. Metroid position is always the same, so planning ahead for their placement is very important.
On a similar note, some rooms have "cycles" (such as rooms with pistons in Chozo Ruins) and it is important to find a good cycle (with the least amount of waiting involved).
1b) How to Improve
There are a few simple steps you can follow to improve your movement.
Step 1: Find the area where you move sluggishly. You can't fix a problem if you don't know what it is, right?
Step 2: Find what about your current strategy is slow. This is a great resource.
Step 3: Make it faster. This is a little broad, but there is no specific way to make a faster strategy. It is best to experiment on your own and find what works.
2) Finding an Interest
There are so many ways to play the game. A good first step is to learn how to Dash Jump and collect Space Jump first. This breaks the game wide open and creates a mass amount of opportunities. Experiment with this ability. Maybe try skipping the Hive Mecha fight? If you want a challenge, don't pick up Space Jump at all! There is a plethora of possibilities. Have fun!
2a) Acting on your Interest
Now that you know how to move, and have found a base interest, it is time to expand your knowledge and act upon your interest. If you want to speedrun, it would be a good time to choose a category that appeals most to you.
Any% - Anything goes. You run the game how you want to.
21% - For the minimalists.
100% - For the completionists.
3) Practicing
YOU HAVE TO DO IT TO GET BETTER. THERE ISN'T A WAY AROUND IT. THERE ISN'T A WAY TO MAKE IT EASIER.
3a) Importance
Don't expect to get very far if you don't practice. I can not stress this enough. PRACTICE!
3b) How to Practice
Alright, so maybe I got the message across. Now you need to now how to practice.
- Something big to note: if your practice looks good starting out, then you aren't practicing the right thing! Now this isn't necessarily the case all of the time, if your practice looks good then you are making progress.
- Don't practice a specific trick, either. You want to practice the whole room as it would occur in a run! This is crucial, as the circumstances under the trick are different in a run rather in practice.
- Keep practicing.
Question & Answer
Q: I feel like I can't improve after this run! How can I get better than THAT?
A: Practice. Learn newer and faster strategies.
Q: I suck at this trick...how do I get better at it?
A: Practice. Ask other runners what they do, then practice some more.
--------------------
Thanks for reading! I hope to see some constructive criticism.
Table of Contents
1) Movement
1a) Understanding Movement
1b) How to Improve
2) Finding an Interest
2a) Acting on your Interests
3) Practicing
3a) Importance
3b) How-To
Q & A
1) Movement
What is movement? Movement is how you move from room to room. It is the the most important aspect of running this game and should not be taken lightly. This is a good read
1a) Understanding Movement
As stated above, movement is how you move. First, you need to understand how rooms work. In every room, there are load triggers, and those triggers load the respective room. Your goal is NOT to shoot the door as quickly as possible; it is NOT to reach the door as quickly as possible; it IS to touch the trigger as quickly as possible. Now, you don't always have to worry about hitting the trigger quickly as the room loads instantly, but it definitely something you need to keep in mind. Rooms that are a dead end (one exit) do not have load triggers for the previous room (exception for Life Grove / Life Grove Tunnel).
Most rooms have enemies in them, and those enemies play a keen role in how you move throughout it; wether it be their position when you dash off of them, or for a damage boost. Good examples include all of the Lower portion of the Phazon Mines. Metroid position is always the same, so planning ahead for their placement is very important.
On a similar note, some rooms have "cycles" (such as rooms with pistons in Chozo Ruins) and it is important to find a good cycle (with the least amount of waiting involved).
1b) How to Improve
There are a few simple steps you can follow to improve your movement.
Step 1: Find the area where you move sluggishly. You can't fix a problem if you don't know what it is, right?
Step 2: Find what about your current strategy is slow. This is a great resource
Step 3: Make it faster. This is a little broad, but there is no specific way to make a faster strategy. It is best to experiment on your own and find what works.
2) Finding an Interest
There are so many ways to play the game. A good first step is to learn how to Dash Jump and collect Space Jump first. This breaks the game wide open and creates a mass amount of opportunities. Experiment with this ability. Maybe try skipping the Hive Mecha fight? If you want a challenge, don't pick up Space Jump at all! There is a plethora of possibilities. Have fun!
2a) Acting on your Interest
Now that you know how to move, and have found a base interest, it is time to expand your knowledge and act upon your interest. If you want to speedrun, it would be a good time to choose a category that appeals most to you.
Any% - Anything goes. You run the game how you want to.
21% - For the minimalists.
100% - For the completionists.
3) Practicing
YOU HAVE TO DO IT TO GET BETTER. THERE ISN'T A WAY AROUND IT. THERE ISN'T A WAY TO MAKE IT EASIER.
3a) Importance
Don't expect to get very far if you don't practice. I can not stress this enough. PRACTICE!
3b) How to Practice
Alright, so maybe I got the message across. Now you need to now how to practice.
- Something big to note: if your practice looks good starting out, then you aren't practicing the right thing! Now this isn't necessarily the case all of the time, if your practice looks good then you are making progress.
- Don't practice a specific trick, either. You want to practice the whole room as it would occur in a run! This is crucial, as the circumstances under the trick are different in a run rather in practice.
- Keep practicing.
Question & Answer
Q: I feel like I can't improve after this run! How can I get better than THAT?
A: Practice. Learn newer and faster strategies.
Q: I suck at this trick...how do I get better at it?
A: Practice. Ask other runners what they do, then practice some more.
--------------------
Thanks for reading! I hope to see some constructive criticism.
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