SMB3 Warpless/All Forts New TAS Routes

Some new routes were found for SMB3 warpless and SMB3 All Forts recently. If a TAS of these categories is going to be made, it should implement the new routes that were discovered.

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SMB3 warpless:

The published TAS ends 2-F1 on frame 19668 to manipulate the early hammer. The problem is that there was bad luck manipulating the hammer brothers without losing a lot of time, so the published run worked around that by saving an extra P-Wing. The published TAS grabs the leaf from 2-2 and plays 2-F1 with the regular leaf.

If you end the level on frame 19454, you will get an early hammer. However, the HB with the hammer will be at the top instead of the bottom. This costs six extra map movements and two extra HB movements, so overall, you will only save about 50 frames. It has been determined that it is possible to reach this pattern with very tight optimizations.

World 3 requires another complex hammer brother path in order to get the HB with the hammer to cross the bridge below 3-6 before Mario, which keeps it open. The published run delays about 50 frames in order to get the necessary HB movement after 3-4, ending the level on frame 37992. Fortunately, with the faster early hammer, it is possible to get the same pattern by ending 3-4 on frame 37827 (95 frames faster). While this requires decent RNG luck in World 3, it is worth remembering that there are small improvements to the published warpless TAS in 2-Airship and 3-1 that may help.

While it does save about 20 frames in World 4 to use a P-Wing in 4-4, it's better to use the P-Wing that we get from the end of World 1 in 2-F1 instead of 4-4.

You have a star from the World 1 HB. While it can be used to save about 50 frames against the boomerang bro, it is necessary later on because the lack of one P-Wing would otherwise result in losing about a second over the published run in World 6.

In World 6, you want to have the fire flower for 6-F3 and 6-Airship bosses as well as 7-2. The published run did this by getting the fire flower from 6-10 instead of using a walljump to skip 6-9. However, 6-10 is about 6.75 seconds slower than 6-9. It turns out that waiting for the moving platform to keep the fire flower is only about 6.3 seconds slower in 6-F1. Note that when using this strategy in 6-F1, it is faster to defeat Boom-Boom with the fire flower instead of the star. Additionally, the use of the 6-6 skip allows for an entirely different strategy to be used for 6-F2. You can use the fire flower and the star in your inventory to save about 40 frames over using a P-Wing in 6-F2. You also save about 15 frames by having fire flower for the second World 6 HB fight and about 30 frames by not having to take damage in 6-8. All of this setup makes it possible to play 6-9 instead of 6-10. Overall, I have this route calculated at about 1.9 seconds faster for World 6.

World 7 and 8 are similar to the published run. Use one of the P-Wings in 7-4. This route does have an unused P-Wing. Perhaps the last P-Wing could be used in an unexpected level like 7-F1, although the savings will be more negligible.

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SMB3 All Forts:

This popular category at GDQ events was routed for TASing. It has some interesting deviations from the RTA record of the game. The lack of items in the inventory makes planning this category more challenging.

World 1 should be played similarly to the warps and game end glitch TASes. After you get both warp whistles, use a warp whistle to reach World 2.

The next four levels required some careful strategic planning. Damage boost in 2-1 because the leaf is considerably slower for that level. However, after beating 2-1, grab the leaf in 2-2. Grabbing the leaf may cost time in 2-2, but it saves time in 2-F1 due to a much faster route possibility. Since we need an extra warp whistle, we do not need to manipulate an early hammer.

After beating 2-F1, 2-3 should be played similarly to the published 100% TASes. You should battle the boomerang bro with the hammer either after 2-Quicksand or 2-4. After all three of those things are done, use the hammer to break the rock to reach the fire bros. This will give you the final whistle, which is necessary for skipping some long autoscrollers later on. Be sure that the HB with the music box is avoided, there are only two movements of two in World 2, and the fire bro is fought closest to the broken rock as possible.

World 3 has an interesting strategy, and the following strategy is only faster because it cuts down on HB movements in this World. In this World, manipulate the HB with the hammer (below 3-F1) to move right after 3-2. Keep that HB moving in the two squares between 3-F1 and 3-4/3-5 and battle that HB after completing 3-F1. After using the cloud in 3-6, play 3-7 and collect the cloud from the coin heaven in this level. Proceed by completing the rest of World 3. This cloud will be used on 4-3 in World 4.

The published warpless TAS avoids fighting both HBs with a complex manipulation. While a modified version of this manipulation could be done to cross the bridge avoiding the HB with the star, it ultimately takes 14 HB movements. By playing 3-7, there is no need to worry about getting an HB to cross the bridge, so World 3 can be completed with 11 HB movements instead of 14.

Compared to 4-3, 3-7 is about 10 frames slower, but the three fewer movements combined with one fewer HB movement in World 4 ultimately lets this strategy save time. World 4 is similar to the published warpless TAS after using the cloud in 4-3, but there was a faster strategy found in 4-4 that saves time and enters the pipe with 285 on the timer. After beating 4-F2, use a warp whistle to reach World 5. *

The princess letter gives a music box after World 3, so there's no need to get one from 5-1. World 5 for the most part is very similar to the published warpless TAS.

Due to a lack of items, World 6 must be slower than the published warpless TAS. You must start 6-F1 with a fire flower instead of a P-Wing because none are available, remembering to take damage only once on the spikes. 6-5 must be played instead of 6-6 due to the unavailability of a P-Wing for 6-F2. A fast leaf grab strategy in 6-5 was found recently, and in 6-F2, the P-Meter end counter needs to be manipulated and monitored to avoid slowdowns due to leaf speed losses. Note that the improved route for warpless will not work for World 6 because you don't have a star from the World 1 HB.

Since playing all of the forts is a requirement of this category, the two clouds that would normally be used in 7-F2 and 8-F are now used in 7-2 and 8-2 because those are long levels. Use the one and only P-Wing to clip through the ceiling in 7-4. While 7-9 is longer than both 7-2 and 8-2, it must be played because grabbing the fire flower in that level saves time in 7-F2 and 8-T. After beating 7-F2, use a warp whistle to reach World 8 and play through it to finish the goal in mind.

* It is theoretically possible to save time by performing a wrong warp in 4-F2 to World 5, but it is debatable whether this counts as completing the fortress or not. The whistle that would normally be used after 4-F2 would be used in World 5 instead to skip both 5-8 and 5-Airship. You can also use a wrong warp in 7-1 to warp to World 8, which coincidentally allows you to skip 8-Tank. That means a warp whistle could be used to skip 6-Airship, but the use of ACE in this category is controversial and should be discussed.