HAMTAS Notes

HAMTAS Notes
============
The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past
Any% (No Major Glitches, No Save & Quit)
Theory TAS Notes - Last Updated: August 12th, 2018

Videos
------
Optimal with Commentary: https://youtu.be/2izvQ1vZInw
Optimal with Game Audio: https://youtu.be/9chl-DYUwmw
RTA with Commentary: https://youtu.be/Rifktu_gQeg
RTA with Game Audio: https://youtu.be/9OVJ9kqekhc

What is this?
-------------
With the creation of the StratHub for ALttP [https://strats.alttp.run/], and inspired by BluntBunny's GodSplice [https://pastebin.com/aPWmL5G2], I wanted to start recording all of my best roomtimes. I started with Ganon's Tower (obviously) and when I finished, I decided to splice it together to see what it would look like. Then I wanted to see what a more reasonable version would look like, with the strats I use in realtime runs, so I made that. At this point I figured, "Why not just do endgame?", which snowballed into the two completed versions of Theory TASes I have made.  Note: the "optimal" version simply means what was optimal for me to do, not necessarily what is the absolute fastest method for others.


Why? What's the point?
----------------------
Primarily, education. I learned SO. MUCH. And I hope others did/will too. I also wanted to see just how much time my RTA strats lose over risky ones and where. My goal with the optimal version was not to beat GodSplice or GT5 or make it as realistic as possible, just to make it entertaining and fast. With the RTA version, I wanted a more realistic feel and not every room has the absolute best RNG possible.


How did you do it?
------------------
Each room was played on console, on the ALttP Practice Hack [https://milde.no/lttp/], recorded with OBS, then spliced together in Shotcut. The cutscenes are taken from my gold segments as the practice hack is known to have some timing differences. I did not maintain savestates, so some rooms will have less lag due to loading from a preset.


Why did your (framecount/rupees/bombs/arrows/magic) change on that screen?
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
To avoid some potential headaches in the process, I did not maintain the previous roomtime or inventory to the next. This means you may see some numbers change from time-to-time and they won't necessarily be accurate to what is really in the inventory. My main focus was on the execution of each room, not the item routing.


Some Stats
----------
Started in early June (5th), finished August 9th.
2,838 raw recordings, 135GB, 121hrs of footage.


Optimal Version Splits
----------------------
0:05:45.90 Escape  ----- 5:45.90
0:10:36.18 Eastern ----- 4:50.28
0:16:31.25 Desert ------ 5:55.07
0:21:41.87 Hera -------- 5:10.62
0:26:40.17 ATower ------ 4:58.30
0:28:06.73 Light World - 1:26.57 (6:24.87 Combined)
0:34:04.78 PoD --------- 5:58.05
0:41:01.08 Thieves ----- 6:56.30
0:46:13.25 Skull ------- 5:12.17
0:52:17.48 Ice --------- 6:04.23
0:58:51.53 Swamp ------- 6:34.05
1:05:40.27 Mire -------- 6:48.73
1:12:24.77 TRock ------- 6:44.50
1:18:59.17 GTower ------ 6:34.40
1:20:38.72 End --------- 1:39.55

Final Time: 01:20:38.72

RTA Version Splits
------------------
0:05:48.17 Escape  ----- 5:48.17
0:10:43.02 Eastern ----- 4:54.85
0:16:40.07 Desert ------ 5:57.05
0:21:54.35 Hera -------- 5:14.28
0:26:54.58 ATower ------ 5:00.23
0:28:21.15 Light World - 1:26.57 (6:26.80 Combined)
0:34:20.18 PoD --------- 5:59.03
0:41:18.30 Thieves ----- 6:58.12
0:46:33.13 Skull ------- 5:14.83
0:52:40.17 Ice --------- 6:07.03
0:59:20.42 Swamp ------- 6:40.25
1:06:13.45 Mire -------- 6:53.03
1:13:01.15 TRock ------- 6:47.70
1:19:46.97 GTower ------ 6:45.82
1:21:26.52 End --------- 1:39.55

Final Time: 01:21:26.52

Segment Comparisons
-------------------

ESCAPE
Opt: 5:45.90
RTA: 5:48.17 (+2.27)

RTA Differences:
- Pumpless Castle Lobby
- Pumpless SW Room (1)
- Upspin on 1st Keyguard
- No early spin on green guard
- 1pot+pokespin+2slash on BnC (shoutouts to JoeDamillio)
- Pumpless B1-Pit1-Upper
- No perfect snake RNG
- No snake gamble on sewer key chest
- Safety slash in Behind Sanc 1

EASTERN
Opt: 4:50.28
RTA: 4:54.85 (+4.57)

RTA Differences:
- Grabs sanc heart (with a chestturn, at least)
- Grabs safety arrows
- No diag boom in dark potkey
- Pumpless eyegore floor switch
- Pumpless Suite Onion


DESERT
Opt: 5:55.07
RTA: 5:57.05 (+1.98)

RTA Differences:
- No spinspeed otw to Library
- Safer pathing post-Library through South Grove
- No risky desert 1 strat
- Right-to-left poke on antlion
- No chestturn on Big Key :'(
- Pumpless Compass Room (2)
- Pumpless East Wing (2)
- No dashes post-CoP (2)
- No D2 spinspeed
- Pumpless D2 entrance
- Safer strat in beamos hall

HERA
Opt: 5:10.62
RTA: 5:14.28 (+3.66)

RTA Differences:
- Safe desert exit
- Safer beach pathing
- Keep sword out after cutting bush for FF
- No arrow on pre-DM pickle
- No ledgehop after bunny link
- Pumpless Lobby (1)
- Boomless Lobby (2) + Tile Room + 3Mold
- Pumpless BK Door
- Pumpless Safety Switch
- No EBJ


A-TOWER
Opt: 6:24.87
RTA: 6:26.80 (+1.93)

RTA Differences:
- Safe tree rupees (no birddash + pickle arrow)
- Left-side dash in Castle Lobby
- Pumpless First Dark Room (4F)
- No keydash in archer key
- No arrow kill on last alert guard (uses beams)

POD
Opt: 5:58.05
RTA: 5:59.03 (+0.98)

RTA Differences:
- No dash up in entrance
- Shows off bad RNG strat for left-side jelly in Junction (2)
- No dash up to keychest or ledgehop in Beetle Room (1)
- 1 bomb pickup for hammeryump
- No dash up to keychest or ledgehop in Beetle Room (2)
- Walk after shooting eyegore statue
- Walk and slash in turtle hallway (no keydash)


THIEVES
Opt: 6:56.30
RTA: 6:58.12 (+1.82)

RTA Differences:
- No early dash on peg bridge
- No dash down SE of Fluteboy
- Hammer pot+switch in spikeroom (1)
- Grabs bomb in conveyor toilet (1)
- No prison dashes
- Walks to pot in conveyor toilet (2)

SKULL
Opt: 5:12.17
RTA: 5:14.83 (+2.66)

RTA Differences:
- (VoO1 should slash and dash left after throwing bomb, but I forgot)
- Walk down after 300 hut
- 2nd rock talk to cursed dwarf
- Bad RNG on mobins before SW Entrance
- No EBJ
- No left-side lighting on Part II entrance
- Pick up left pot in the pits
- JoeDamillio strat in mummy hellway
- Slash minimold in vine room
- No dash after mummy key


ICE
Opt: 6:04.23
RTA: 6:07.03 (+2.8)

RTA Differences:
- Walk into bird
- Safer dash on castle quick warp
- Grabs dark cuckoo rock from top
- No early rock throw on Quake
- Spin on Penguins1
- No dboost in bombable floor
- End lonely firebar with a dash instead of slash
- Block push with hammering pot
- Statue room with hammering both pots (vs picking up)
- 6-slash Kholdstare


SWAMP
Opt: 6:34.05
RTA: 6:40.25 (+6.2)

RTA Differences:
- Walk into bird
- No hammerdash post-warp
- No quickwarps outside Swamp
- Walk to keypots + hammer
- No hammerdashes through Pool 2
- Safe strat after getting hookshot
- Grabs bomb in restock
- No firerod QK on Arrghus

MIRE
Opt: 6:48.73
RTA: 6:53.03 (+4.3)

RTA Differences:
- Hybrid DM (swordclimb on 2nd stairs only)
- No quickhop to ether
- Different spot for menu to flute
- Walk into bird
- Lights last torch from bottom
- Sparkgamble with menu
- Dash off the jadinledge
- Hook to wizzpot
- No roddash on spooky 1
- Walk in spooky 2
- Walk in spooky 3
- No dash to pit pre-vitty
- Menu to arrows in Vitty fight

TROCK
Opt: 6:44.50
RTA: 6:47.70 (+3.2)

RTA Differences:
- No quakedash for superspeed (uses it for 1st frame ledgehop)
- Menu in dungeon entrance
- Drops last bomb in torches for free menu to firerod
- No keydash in pokey0
- Block'n'beam strat in chomps should probably change to 2x block... too sexy though
- Probably should have grabbed arrows in 1st Tunnels room
- No canedash exiting pokey1
- Laserskip with cane block
- Set up for keydash on helmabridge (2)
- Walks + grabs bomb in switch puzzle
- Grabs magic in restock

GTOWER
Opt: 6:34.40
RTA: 6:45.82 (+11.42)

RTA Differences:
- no stairclimb on entry (+12f)
- get torchkey (+133f)
- no spikeskip (+18f)
- double crystalswitch (+20f)
- firesnake bonk (+48f)
- walk straight down in warp tile2 (+6f)
- menu buffer in warp tile skip (+75f)
- no menu buffer in false floor (-65f)
- 3-2-1 ice armos (+19f)
- blunt mimics2 (+34f)
- above pot in spiketrap (+25f)
- walk gbz (+84f)
- move right first on foosdabridge (+10f)
- safe torches2 (+10f)
- damageless bombwall (+22f)
- safe premold2 (-129f)
- kill mold2 (+437f)
- safe helma hallway (+13f)

Total RTA Delta: +47.80

GANON
No difference.


Shoutouts
---------
BluntBunny -- for the roomsheet, for godsplice, for knowledgedumps, for keeping me humble with your times
JoshRTA -- for always pushing me to get that last frame and sharing your incredible wealth of knowledge about the game
poor_little_pinkus -- for being DA BEST, ty for the prachack and strathub and sharing your wisdom
Jake57689 -- for being a near-constant presence in my chat, with support, encouragement, and an unparalleled knowledge of Gifted-with-Greenies
TM9001 -- dude... sick times
fsg112 -- for making sure I maxed out swag in all the appropriate places
jadin -- G O D T A S

Shoutouts to my other ALttP idols: JoeDamillio, timmon, miketheviewer, superSKUJ, and waffle42. Thanks for all the strats, knowledge, and inspiration.

Shoutouts to anyone who dropped by ForeverGrind.fm and my nerds for keeping it comfy. There are way too many of you to list, but I love you all.

BaconHeart

Escape doesn't matter.

*micdrop*