[disclaimer: this is as much a notepad for myself as it is a discussion on how I should proceed]
This run needs to be done, and I'd like it do be done right. Meaning a perfect route, and metroid fight optimization. As such, I've decided I'm going to split this run up into a few more sections. The original 3 save stations from the sub-hour run will stay, but I'm also going to add a few more if I can afford them (i.e., on the way and just prior to randomness).
The main problem I'm having right now is figuring out how to handle ruins 2 for a 100% run now. For any-%, the optimal route is to get the spring ball first by bump-jumping up from the right side. This is possible because you don't have to come back this way due to skipping the missile expansion that's on the way.
That missile poses quite a bit more of a problem for 100%, where it needs to be picked up. I think the optimal route is still to get spring ball first, but instead of immediately bump jumping from the floater into the spikey guys, use the spider ball for the longer way up to the little alcove with the missile, then bump-jump the rest of the way.
The other problem with this route is the missile in the far upper-left corner, which is also skipped in any-%. Normally, it's taken on the way to the alpha above it, but coming from the right side, it's not nearly as fast, considering how much the route needs to change to accommodate it.
Basically, here's 3 routes I'm stuck trying to decide between:
Route 1: old-skool style
Upon reaching the ruins, travel straight through the building to the other side via the save path, bump-jump up to the high-jump/missile collection, drop down to the varia, take care of the metroid tunnels, go up to kill the last alpha, collect the spring ball, and exit the ruins
Route 2: new-skool style, option 1
Upon reaching the ruins, bump jump and collect the missile-in-a-wall, continue up to collect the spring ball, take out the alpha metroid, drop down to the high-jump/missile collection, go collect the out-of-the-way missile, take care of the metroid tunnels, collect the varia, and exit the ruins via the save path
Route 3: new-skool style, option 2
Same as Route 2, except after the high-jump/missile collection, drop down to collect the varia suit, take care of the metroid tunnels, go up to collect the out-of-the-way missile, drop down and exit the ruins via the save path
I have a sneaking suspicion that route 3 will be the fastest (probably by a very slight margin over route 1, with route 2 being the slowest by a larger margin), but I'm going to have to actually do a splice-test to make absolutely sure. What I'm really wondering is if there's any alternative route that I've completely overlooked that might be even better. Any feedback on this would be invaluable.
I should also mention that the segmentation of the run would also depend on which route is chosen. If I stick with the original route 1, then I'd be saving the game at the left save pillar upon first entering the ruins. If I go with any other route which doesn't do the save path first, then I won't be saving for this area. The time saved from optimizing all the metroid fights here can save several seconds, but if I can save maybe 20 seconds from a route change, then I'm going with the route change.
After this, it's pretty much straightforward as to the overall route and where I want to save. The main question I have right now is whether I should attempt to skip the missile refill in ruins 3 or not. I'm leaning towards skipping it, especially since I'll be saving before tackling the metroids underneath ruins 3, but I want to make sure it's even possible before attempting it.
As of right now, here's my intended route, with the exception of ruins 2:
Ship
-> alpha 1
[earthquake]
-> ruins 1
-> bombs
[missile 1]
-> [E-Tank 1]
-> [missiles 2,3,4]
-> [spider ball] (use alter's trick on exit)
-> alpha 2
-> [missiles 5,6]
-> exit ruins 1
-> alpha 3,4,5
[earthquake]
-> exit tunnels, take energy if necessary for ruins 2 (i.e. bump-jump to spring ball)
-> alpha 6
-> ruins 2
[do ruins 2 stuff here:
>>>>>SAVE (if applicable)
missiles 7,8,9,10,11,12,13,14; E-Tank 2; High-jump boots; Varia; Spring-ball
alpha 7,8,9,10,11
gamma 1,2]
[earthquake]
-> exit ruins 2
-> ruins 3
-> [space jump]
-> enter building
>>>>>SAVE
-> [missiles 15 (next to save station***),16 (ceiling of gamma 3)]
-> gamma 3,4
-> [missile 17]
-> alpha 12
-> [E-Tank 3]
-> exit building
-> [E-Tank 4]
-> [missile 18]
-> gamma 5
-> exit main ruins 3
-> ruins 3 tunnels entrance
>>>>>SAVE
-> gamma 6
-> alpha 13
-> gamma 7 (lots-o-vines)
-> gamma 8 (lots-o-platforms)
-> gamma 9 (up through metroid shell)
-> gamma 10
[earthquake]
-> acid dip
-> alpha 14, health refill
[earthquake]
-> gamma 11, missile refill (210)
-> gamma 12 (octoroll offshoot)
-> gamma 13
-> ruins 4
-> [missile 19]
>>>>>SAVE
-> zeta 1
-> gamma 14
-> [plasma, spazer, wave, and ice beams]
-> [missile 20] (dark)
-> [E-Tank 5]
-> [missile 21], [E-Tank 6]
-> gamma 15
-> zeta 2
-> [Screw Attack]
-> missile refill (240)
-> gamma 16
-> [missile 22]
-> zeta 3
[earthquake]
-> exit ruins 4
-> lots and lots of tunnels
-> alpha 15
-> omega 1
[earthquake]
>>>>>SAVE
-> omega 2,3,4
-> tunnels
-> gigantor-room (skip health/missile refill)
-> metroids 1-8
-> queen
-> see 0:58 game time
*** I'm kind of leaning toward picking this missile up after completing the inside portion, just because of the memory dump that happens which respawns the left-most column of shoot-blocks when you go to exit after you get the missile. It'd be easier to go up rather than left when this happens, and initially skipping the missile is no slower than the exit if it was picked up first. Looks like I've talked my way into it -- missile gets picked on way out.
So, it looks like this will be split into either 5 or 6 sections depending on ruins 2. Quite a bit more manageable, but it means I have to be able to make up those 5 seconds per save with the optimization in order to make it count. The tunnels underneath ruins 3 should benefit the most from this, and the omega fights should be able to benefit enough from it to make the save count (and even if they don't, then all the platforming and spider throwing would probably be enough to tip the scales).
My goal for this run is 1:03:xx, which would make this 1-2 minutes faster than my single-segment 100% run. This is most likely going to be a very high 1:03:xx if it actually happens, and I'd expect a 1:02:xx run would require near perfection (especially when you consider this would be only 3 minutes slower than the any-% time).
Btw, I know it's kinda silly to mention, but these vids are going to be much higher quality than my old vids, thanks to my new capture device, and the fact that I can deinterlace it into the original 59.94 fps. Yay.
Any comments are highly encouraged.
This run needs to be done, and I'd like it do be done right. Meaning a perfect route, and metroid fight optimization. As such, I've decided I'm going to split this run up into a few more sections. The original 3 save stations from the sub-hour run will stay, but I'm also going to add a few more if I can afford them (i.e., on the way and just prior to randomness).
The main problem I'm having right now is figuring out how to handle ruins 2 for a 100% run now. For any-%, the optimal route is to get the spring ball first by bump-jumping up from the right side. This is possible because you don't have to come back this way due to skipping the missile expansion that's on the way.
That missile poses quite a bit more of a problem for 100%, where it needs to be picked up. I think the optimal route is still to get spring ball first, but instead of immediately bump jumping from the floater into the spikey guys, use the spider ball for the longer way up to the little alcove with the missile, then bump-jump the rest of the way.
The other problem with this route is the missile in the far upper-left corner, which is also skipped in any-%. Normally, it's taken on the way to the alpha above it, but coming from the right side, it's not nearly as fast, considering how much the route needs to change to accommodate it.
Basically, here's 3 routes I'm stuck trying to decide between:
Route 1: old-skool style
Upon reaching the ruins, travel straight through the building to the other side via the save path, bump-jump up to the high-jump/missile collection, drop down to the varia, take care of the metroid tunnels, go up to kill the last alpha, collect the spring ball, and exit the ruins
Route 2: new-skool style, option 1
Upon reaching the ruins, bump jump and collect the missile-in-a-wall, continue up to collect the spring ball, take out the alpha metroid, drop down to the high-jump/missile collection, go collect the out-of-the-way missile, take care of the metroid tunnels, collect the varia, and exit the ruins via the save path
Route 3: new-skool style, option 2
Same as Route 2, except after the high-jump/missile collection, drop down to collect the varia suit, take care of the metroid tunnels, go up to collect the out-of-the-way missile, drop down and exit the ruins via the save path
I have a sneaking suspicion that route 3 will be the fastest (probably by a very slight margin over route 1, with route 2 being the slowest by a larger margin), but I'm going to have to actually do a splice-test to make absolutely sure. What I'm really wondering is if there's any alternative route that I've completely overlooked that might be even better. Any feedback on this would be invaluable.
I should also mention that the segmentation of the run would also depend on which route is chosen. If I stick with the original route 1, then I'd be saving the game at the left save pillar upon first entering the ruins. If I go with any other route which doesn't do the save path first, then I won't be saving for this area. The time saved from optimizing all the metroid fights here can save several seconds, but if I can save maybe 20 seconds from a route change, then I'm going with the route change.
After this, it's pretty much straightforward as to the overall route and where I want to save. The main question I have right now is whether I should attempt to skip the missile refill in ruins 3 or not. I'm leaning towards skipping it, especially since I'll be saving before tackling the metroids underneath ruins 3, but I want to make sure it's even possible before attempting it.
As of right now, here's my intended route, with the exception of ruins 2:
Ship
-> alpha 1
[earthquake]
-> ruins 1
-> bombs
[missile 1]
-> [E-Tank 1]
-> [missiles 2,3,4]
-> [spider ball] (use alter's trick on exit)
-> alpha 2
-> [missiles 5,6]
-> exit ruins 1
-> alpha 3,4,5
[earthquake]
-> exit tunnels, take energy if necessary for ruins 2 (i.e. bump-jump to spring ball)
-> alpha 6
-> ruins 2
[do ruins 2 stuff here:
>>>>>SAVE (if applicable)
missiles 7,8,9,10,11,12,13,14; E-Tank 2; High-jump boots; Varia; Spring-ball
alpha 7,8,9,10,11
gamma 1,2]
[earthquake]
-> exit ruins 2
-> ruins 3
-> [space jump]
-> enter building
>>>>>SAVE
-> [missiles 15 (next to save station***),16 (ceiling of gamma 3)]
-> gamma 3,4
-> [missile 17]
-> alpha 12
-> [E-Tank 3]
-> exit building
-> [E-Tank 4]
-> [missile 18]
-> gamma 5
-> exit main ruins 3
-> ruins 3 tunnels entrance
>>>>>SAVE
-> gamma 6
-> alpha 13
-> gamma 7 (lots-o-vines)
-> gamma 8 (lots-o-platforms)
-> gamma 9 (up through metroid shell)
-> gamma 10
[earthquake]
-> acid dip
-> alpha 14, health refill
[earthquake]
-> gamma 11, missile refill (210)
-> gamma 12 (octoroll offshoot)
-> gamma 13
-> ruins 4
-> [missile 19]
>>>>>SAVE
-> zeta 1
-> gamma 14
-> [plasma, spazer, wave, and ice beams]
-> [missile 20] (dark)
-> [E-Tank 5]
-> [missile 21], [E-Tank 6]
-> gamma 15
-> zeta 2
-> [Screw Attack]
-> missile refill (240)
-> gamma 16
-> [missile 22]
-> zeta 3
[earthquake]
-> exit ruins 4
-> lots and lots of tunnels
-> alpha 15
-> omega 1
[earthquake]
>>>>>SAVE
-> omega 2,3,4
-> tunnels
-> gigantor-room (skip health/missile refill)
-> metroids 1-8
-> queen
-> see 0:58 game time
*** I'm kind of leaning toward picking this missile up after completing the inside portion, just because of the memory dump that happens which respawns the left-most column of shoot-blocks when you go to exit after you get the missile. It'd be easier to go up rather than left when this happens, and initially skipping the missile is no slower than the exit if it was picked up first. Looks like I've talked my way into it -- missile gets picked on way out.
So, it looks like this will be split into either 5 or 6 sections depending on ruins 2. Quite a bit more manageable, but it means I have to be able to make up those 5 seconds per save with the optimization in order to make it count. The tunnels underneath ruins 3 should benefit the most from this, and the omega fights should be able to benefit enough from it to make the save count (and even if they don't, then all the platforming and spider throwing would probably be enough to tip the scales).
My goal for this run is 1:03:xx, which would make this 1-2 minutes faster than my single-segment 100% run. This is most likely going to be a very high 1:03:xx if it actually happens, and I'd expect a 1:02:xx run would require near perfection (especially when you consider this would be only 3 minutes slower than the any-% time).
Btw, I know it's kinda silly to mention, but these vids are going to be much higher quality than my old vids, thanks to my new capture device, and the fact that I can deinterlace it into the original 59.94 fps. Yay.
Any comments are highly encouraged.
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