giraffe pen optimizations

-The normal walking speed, according to the in-game memory addresses, is 435. I can only increase that speed through tobogganing and damage boosting so the goal of most of this run was to preseve max speed (435) as much as possible.

-For the first 2 jumps, I want to spend as little time in the air before landing in order to be most optimal. When jumping there are short hops and full hops. holding A for 1-6 frames executes a short hop holding A for 12+ frames executes a full hop. Any amount inbetween executes a range of hights between a short hop and a full hop. In this case I hold A for 10 frames both times.

-For the next 3 jumps I don't have to worry about when I land because I can maintain 435 speed without having to gain additional vertical height.

-Whenever you normally land from a jump, fall, etc. you lose a little bit of horizontal speed (409,434) for 2 frames. Individually this landing lag does not lose a whole frame but multiple landings added together can eventually lose time. I can avoid the speed loss by landing in toboggan mode, which is why I use toboggan mode during these jumps.

-Climbing on pipes is really slow (256 speed as opposed to the normal 435) but I have to wait for the correct cycle of the spider
so I jump onto the pipe a little early to account for this. there is a damage boost you can use to skip climbing on the pipes entirely but it actually wastes more time to setup the trick than just using the pipes.

-Because pipes are so slow, I want to jump off the pipes as soon as possible. Here I use toboggan mode to be able to release the pipes a little earlier. unfortunatly this means I have to get out of toboggan mode before I start losing speed. the fastest way to get out of toboggan mode is to jump and untoboggan but if I do this immediatly, I will jump back onto the pipes (losing all my speed). I have to delay my jump until I can bump against the breakable ceiling next to them losing minimal speed.

-I enter toboggan mode on the first frame possible here to start gaining speed as soon as possible.

-Speed when sliding down a hill in toboggan mode works strangely. Speed increases gradually every frame like you would expect but instead of hitting a max speed and capping, the speed hits 875 speed and starts oscillating between 869-877. Basically, I only want to jump when my speed is at max speed (877) which only occurs every 6 frames, limiting my options for this tobbogan.

-Waiting until the 4th rep of 877 ends up leading to the most optimal toboggan here.

-While in the air during toboggan mode, your speed is completely preserved. If you jump on the first frame possible while you have a speed higher than 435 you can jump again without losing any speed. Jump any frame later and ou will start losing speed. Using this I am able to get pretty much as far as I can while maintaining max speed.

-Jumping while in the tunnel ends up giving you a frame of lag but because of the speed presevation it still ends up being faster.

-Holding A for 7-11 frames yields different heights, however there is actually a significant difference between the height of an 11 frame hop and a full hop. In order to jump at the heights in this gap, I enter toboggan mode in the middle of my jump to give it a little boost in height (A>L). In this case, holding A for 8 frames and then hitting L is optimal.however, In order for this to be optimal I need my horizontal speed to be 0 so I can do a regular jump immediatly afterwards. So, for the first jump I do a jump attack into a toboggan (A>B>L) into the wall which causes me to lose all my speed instantly, then I do 2 AL jumps in order to save the most time. Doing an ABL jump only loses a frame over the AL jump so it ends up being the better option at the start.

-Climbing on pipes is slow so I want to avoid the pipes as much as possible. I toboggan and then untoboggan to increase my vertical downward speed heading of the ledge in order to hit the bounce pad down below. in order to hit the bounce pad as late as possible I also retoboggan and turn around. In this way I can hit the bounce pad down below as late as possible and without losing any speed. Entering toboggan mode just before hitting pipes delays latching onto the pipes by a bit as well allowing me to spend a little less time on the pipes.

-Again I use toboggan mode to release the pipes a little sooner. This time, I have to wait a little longer before I can untoboggan meaning that I end up losing more speed (383) in the process. I use an ABL jump in order to untoboggan sooner and reduce speed loss. Even with the loss in speed, it still ends up saving a frame over landing in normal mode.

-At the beginning of a new area, the game actually pops you up in the air for a few frames (don't ask me why) so you can actually lose speed immediatly at the start here without doing anything. To avoid this, I enter toboggan just before landing which also happens to transition perfectly into the next toboggan.

-The toboggan here works pretty much the same as the first one. Jumping on the 7th rep of 877 is optimal here.

-You unfortunatly can't maintain your speed perfectly when tobogganing up slopes but by jumping on the first frame possible, I end up losing only 10 speed per jump

-This toboggan is actually pretty miraculous because not only am I able to completely jump over this pool (something pretty much impossible to do in RTA) but I also never have to lose speed or delay any of my jumps in order to do it.

-ABL jumps give you a little less height than a regular toboggan jump which allows me to jump up these platforms without losing speed

-I want to untobbogan here for the upcoming platforms and I also need to kill this bird to avoid getting hit backwards so I use an AB jump here to untoboggan. If you land while in the middle of the attacking animation, you lose a frame of movement so I want to press B as soon as possible here.

-I use a full hop for the first jump, AL jump for the next, and an AB jump for the last. Because I'm moving ever so slightly forward here, I can't automatically jump out of an AL jump in normal mode but an AB jump here actually ties an AL jump so it ends up being optimal.

-This pipe is to high of the platform for me to AL jump into it but doing a 11 frame jump here saves a few frames over a full hop.

-I use toboggan again here to get off the pipes a little early. In this case, doing an ABL jump as soon as possible here pops me out of toboggan mode instantly.

-I delay one frame before holding forward after popping out of toboggan in order to avoid the high platforms here. This allows me to set up for the final toboggan optimally.

-I want to go through the entire attacking animation here in order to avoid the frame of landing lag on the ground. To do this, I need to do a short hop to give me more air time.

-For this toboggan, there is not enough space to get to max speed so what I aim for is enough speed to just barely hit the end of the first bounce pad (747), giving me just enough air time to cross the pool. Then I retoboggan in midair in order to conserve my speed all the way to the goal post

-Ending the level is as simple as walking up to melman and pressing start on the first frame possible.