Sonic CD - Any% Addendum Notes

Sonic CD Any% Addendum Notes - Aug 20th 2020 - by Xandre69

This short guide is an add-on to the current Any% Notes from Werster entailing new strats that were discovered after his 2016
PB run and Horou's 2018 run to a lesser extent. I will also explain other new strats that I've implemented in my Aug 14, 2020 PB that save time, as well as strats that I feel could use more explanation and clarity. I will be updating this every now and then if I feel I forgot to mention something or just want to add/edit new stuff. Someday, I'll make actual videos based off of these notes (maybe whenever I stream runs of this category or whatever). These are good enough for now though.

If you need to ask me about anything feel free to DM me on Discord: Xandre69#4692 or my Twitter: Xandre_SM

Lastly, some of these strats have already been implemented in AGF but haven't been used in Any% for a good while until recently
in my PB run. This includes strats that I have already explained in my AGF notes. I will mark every single strat that falls under these
conditions with '(used in PB, already mentioned in AGF notes)', respectively.

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Quick resetting:
*The discovery of this feature to be proven useful for runs was done by Joey on November 26, 2020.*
There is an in-built function in the game recently discovered by Joey that you can take advantage of known as quick resetting. This function allows you to *quickly* reset the level done through pausing as soon as the IGT timer starts then executing a button combination (after the title card animation that plays out each time when a level is loaded for the first time). It can also be used if the runner flubs the beginning of a level (the best example being messing up the quick level wrap strat in CC2 Any%), and they do not have to resort to either dying as fast as possible or doing any alternative/backup strats.

The combination differs depending on the region of the game you're playing:
	On JP/PAL(EU), press A+B+C at the exact same time. *This can take a few tries to get since this is a tight combination.*
	On US, press one of the three jump buttons.
	*In ILs done through Time Attack mode regardless of region, the US combination works. The game will take you back to the Time
	Attack menu on the level you were just on instead however.*
Quick resetting allows you to manipulate cycles in the level since it completely skips the title card animation that plays out at the beginning of each level, Sonic can start moving immediately as soon as the screen fades back in. You have to wait otherwise for this to end before you can start moving (a ~3 second in-game wait).
*MM2 is the most notable example of where this function can be taken advantage of to save IGT. Other levels in the game that can benefit from this for this category are not known yet (as of November 27, 2020), but I will be sure to update this guide constantly whenever new things are found regarding this.**
It's also worth noting that quick resetting will always take you back to the beginning of the level regardless of hitting any checkpoints, however the level layout (Past, Present, or Bad Future) stays changed.

To illustrate the utilization of this feature through video, here is MM2 done through Any%...
With: https://youtu.be/MJlKaae4BNI?t=1103 (a 37), and
Without: https://youtu.be/tZS1TT9WfBg?t=1088 (a 34).

The reasoning regarding why quick resetting being allowed is due to the fact that you do not need to input any cheat codes or have anything external enabled such as level select/debug mode in order for it to work. Doing a simple hard reset of the console then choosing either 'New Game' or 'Continue' through the game's main menu will not affect how it works (which in this case for full runs you would only choose 'New Game' and not anything else really), so therefore it is a completely vanilla feature that can be taken advantage of in a speedrun context (much similar to the premise of the insta-Mach exploit in Mania's special stages for All Emeralds runs being allowed).

**Time travel is shortened to TT for the sake of readability.**

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CC2:

(Used in PB, already mentioned in AGF notes) *Saves around a bit less than half a second?*
Instead of rolling through the tunnel near the end of the level, slow down once Sonic goes off the last ceiling prior to this section.
Go neutral for a tad, then tap left to land on small piece of grass ground.
Full jump onto another piece of ground a short way to the right to get ready for an MPO.
Leave some space to MPO (up + left), once Sonic fully crosses the beginning part of the wall (marked by the yellow texture) hold left to zip to the right. Go neutral as soon as Sonic is outside the wall to launch at highest speed possible towards the end.

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TT2:

After falling down large pit and entering second opening, do a small jump holding right to quickly build up speed.
The next few inputs ensure you go through an upcoming moving block cycle smoothly.
	Roll down when Sonic aligns with left side of coral: (https://imgur.com/y5xtCVE)
	Full jump when Sonic aligns with middle of 2nd ring down the slope: (https://imgur.com/mnhlJs5)
	Full jump when sonic aligns with right side of pillar: (https://imgur.com/rWimuCl)
*There is a pretty small chance that even if you do these inputs right, you'll land onto a small piece of block which loses about 3 seconds. Not really much you can do about it from what I know.*

(Used in PB, already mentioned in AGF notes) *Saves about 2 seconds*
When reaching the last wall of level, stop in front of it and start an MPO (up + left).
Zip to the right ending the level.

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TT3:

(Used in PB)
After the second MPO (or the first if you get double zip), once Sonic does final zip to the right leading to the boss room,
pay attention to a specific circle marking on the wall: (https://imgur.com/C0a3ZFa).
As soon as symbol goes halfway (or completely) off screen, quickly jump.
Within the first few frames of the jump, quickly switch from holding left to right.
If done correctly, Sonic will not abruptly hit a wall on the floor and instead will end up pretty close to the boss.

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QQ1:

(Used in PB)
Nail the two-frame window at the beginning of the level ("38 or "40).
Once launched off into the air with great speed from the ramp, prepare for a full jump at a specific point to gain the most speed and
cancel the TT from a prior Future post.
Full jump around here: (https://imgur.com/alsul2A), then go neutral for almost the entire jump until right before you land.
Hold right then proceed to cross a small bridge then roll into enemy, TT will cancel just about here.

If TT isn't canceled around at this point, then once you get to the outside section of the level stop on an upcoming upwards long treadmill to cancel it. Then peelout.
*You only lose about a second.*

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QQ2:

*Saves about a second if normal way is done right, about almost another second if fast way is done right*
If you manage to get the right speed along with the last ceiling bop at the beginning just right, you can cut down a bit of time by getting more out of the speed built from the initial peelout.
        Normal: (https://youtu.be/xVBEph_NqRQ) (Used in PB)
        Fast: (https://youtu.be/-b0mTgabX14)
The fast version is risky however because even if you manage to get the ceiling bop, if you don't have the right speed you will just bop the yellow spring shortly afterwards on the piece of ground you land on after the jump making you bop into a wall and lose time. Only do this if you really have to make up lost time in prior levels.

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QQ3:

(Used in PB, already mentioned in AGF notes) *Doesn't save time, but easier to execute*
"After going through first treadmill and upon landing, full charge MPO (up) through the floor, release when positioned in-between the shield monitor and an invisible spike wall in the floor.
Wait a bit to ensure no accidental zip jumps of any kind occur then jump out of ground, peelout towards the boss room."

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WW1:

There are two new ways to do this level, the first way grants you a low 27 if done perfectly and the other granting a low 25. *Each one saves 2 or 4 seconds respectively*

Low 27: (https://youtu.be/jJUCf0AVXvs)
Do first half of level as normal until section with boost launcher.
Instead of waiting until IGT is 17"60 or above, immediately enter launcher.
Full jump around here (when Sonic aligns with third ring of 3rd set): (https://imgur.com/KpbalKL).
Prepare for a tight piano roll mid-high jump onto an upcoming yellow platform. Jump when Sonic is aligned with the bottom of caution texture in the background: (https://imgur.com/54TRlh7).
If done right, Sonic will be launched towards front of generator room door.
Face left to do an MPO (up + left) inside the wall opposite to the room, then once in wall switch to up + right.
Wait about .3 seconds to charge the MPO, pause and switch to down + right. Unpause at this point to move forward a bit.
Pause again and switch to up + left to continue forward to get ready for a zip towards the end of the level.
Let go of up but still holding left around here (pauseless): (https://imgur.com/xpBPLPF). You will initiate a zip if done right (don't time this too early, since Sonic will just a bump a wall to the right losing MPO properties).
Pay attention to this piece of background pattern: (https://imgur.com/zf4FelL). Red highlights the overall pattern and the green highlights the dark center that will serve as a visual cue to stop holding left and jump out of the floor towards the elevation where the goal post is at the end.
Let 3 full patterns pass, but once getting to the 4th one get ready for a 2-frame pausing window. This is where the black bar in the center will help.
First frame: (https://imgur.com/hihMDqD)
Second frame: (https://imgur.com/Bxy2ptp)
Once getting either frame, release left and stay neutral for a small tad to ensure horizontal speed is completely canceled to avoid any accidental zip jumps.
Proceed to do a series of full jumps until goal post triggers, ending the level. *There is a low chance that Sonic won't exactly be in-line to just do neutral full jumps since he might be placed right under a ceiling, if this happens do a very small tap or two to the right first to see if Sonic goes up (tapping right is preferred first for a special reason I'll mention in a bit at the end). If not, then do a few taps of left and see if that works.*
        If you pause too early, release left then do a tap or two of left to zip to the right a bit.
        If you pause too late, release left then do a tap or two of right to zip to the left a bit.
*Important: You want to avoid holding left for too long above all else because if Sonic is placed in an X-coordinate above the max of the level itself, you will not be able to come back which results in a softlock.*

(Used in PB)
Low 25: (https://youtu.be/MdJbxYNUas8)
*Utilizes the IL route where you go through the bottom of the level instead of the top. If you take this route, I consider this to be the hardest level in Any% to pull off perfectly. What I detail below is what worked for me and will very likely not work for others, it will take a lot of practice to get a feeling for this route. Don't go for this unless you really have to such as aiming for a top time such as a sub 11 etc.*
Do first 3 seconds of level as normal up until reaching long flat piece of ground.
Attempt to stop around here: (https://imgur.com/Bd3t0So) and do a peelout, wait a small bit to ensure it is completely charged then immediately full jump to land on top of first yellow platform.
Do another full jump almost immediately right after landing on the yellow platform to land onto a second higher one.
When Sonic is 1/3 aligned with the left edge of this platform, hold right then down immediately after to roll to destroy an upcoming enemy, then switch back to holding right.
Sonic will land onto a sideways-moving purple platform and then onto a second one right after.
Almost immediately after landing on this platform, piano roll a full jump off of it to land onto a third one.
Once landing on this platform, piano roll a mid-jump off of it to land onto the first snake-like block platform.
Before landing on this one, hold left for a tad (just enough to avoid bumping into the second). Then full jump over the second platform and land onto the third one if done right. Keep holding right until bumping a wall, Sonic will land onto an upcoming purple platform right after.
Charge a peelout then release immediately, then piano roll a mid-jump. Once Sonic is around this position: (https://imgur.com/q90GpY2), hold right to activate speedcap.
        If you get to this section of the level too early: You'll miss landing onto the purple platform entirely or you'll barely land
        on the right edge of it and Sonic will enter his teeter animation. You can't peelout if he's in this state.
        If you get to this section of the level too late: You'll land onto a rotating platform a bit later on that has lowered enough
        to catch you: (https://imgur.com/aOuBtTD).
Still holding right, you will then begin to head towards a bumper floor that will be deactivated (ideal) or activated. For both cases, there is a way to proceed on leading to the familiar boost launcher section. *The activated scenario occurs if you get to the bumper floor pretty fast, meanwhile the deactivated one happens otherwise.*
        If deactivated: Align Sonic here with the wall as shown here: (https://imgur.com/WbkpkII), then do a mid-high jump right into
        launcher.
        If activated: Sonic will be launched up towards a nearby ceiling then shortly land onto a purple platform. As soon as Sonic
        lands on this platform, piano roll a small jump then drop down right into the launcher. *If you barely scrap by the nearby
        rotating platform just mentioned above, expect the bumper floor to be activated*. (https://youtu.be/pF0qPBULGQE)
Proceed with the rest of the level as described in WW1 27 notes above.

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WW2:

*This is already mentioned in Werster's notes, but I thought a video showing each possibility would be helpful.*
There are 3 different possibilities that can happen when you get a frame perfect pause zipping out of the wall that happens a bit after TT'ing to the Future.
        1. The most ideal: (https://youtu.be/i8HFppUufcg) (Used in PB, but subpixels were bad)
        *Sometimes the subpixels aren't ideal here where you won't be able to just hold left and do 2 small zips towards underneath the
        room with the ring monitor, negating the 2 second timesave of this possibility compared to the next two.*
        2. Second most ideal: (https://youtu.be/hzvZxHHd7c8)
        3. Normal: (https://youtu.be/zvRh3-HDTcA)

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SS1:
(Used in PB, already mentioned in AGF notes)
*Loses about 1 second compared to perfect normal SS1, but is very luck based. Much better to go for this.*
Video: (https://youtu.be/a0dEcaVs7aU)
"Peelout and neutral to ensure slopes work, hold down to roll once getting on top of first downhill slope.
Keep holding down until Sonic reaches the second platform (there will be a Past post here), then switch to neutral.
Once Sonic reaches the beginning of third platform, mid jump then quickly hold right to activate speedcap to go towards a
downward slope.
Before reaching the downwards area of the slope, release right and go neutral to ensure TT does not get canceled.
Once on the slope, switch to holding right again a bit, switch to holding down to roll then quickly jump off the slope.
Once landed on next platform hold right and TT will start."

Stay neutral before TT sequence ends, to ensure speedcap isn't activated by accident. Sonic will then land on platform,
hold right again at this point.
Prepare for an upcoming red spring you'll want to land onto w/ a small jump. The visual cue to small jump: (https://imgur.com/uIB2PW7).
Around halfway between the point of landing on spring and bopping ceiling above, switch from holding right to down.
Sonic will go through a small tunnel and then a path leading to a speed booster followed shortly after by a long upwards slope.
*Whether you go up the slope smoothly or not is dependent on subpixels, the inputs I do around this point of the level seem to give the best consistency.*
Switch from holding down back to holding right at another specific visual cue: (https://imgur.com/kNL18N0) *The booster moves to the left when Sonic makes contact
with it, so it is off position from where it sits prior.*
If done right, will smoothly go up towards slope where a speedshoes box is placed.
As soon as speedshoes monitor breaks, go neutral since there is a pit right after that can trigger speedcap by accident if you're not careful.
Can either opt for the loop skip or not straight after.
Once coming across another open gap in the floor, full jump as soon as Sonic makes contact with platform to the right to take a downwards alternate path.
Roll down slope, then do a full jump at around this spot: (https://imgur.com/kNL18N0).
*There is a chance that there will be a gray bug enemy that will spawn in an unideal spot that will kill your speed alongside jump height. Jump at the visual cue to
prevent this completely.*
Keep going right, there will be an an upcoming area with two paths made up of winding up and down slopes. There is an area however where you'll either stay onto the path you're on and
go down or you'll be subpixeled onto the other path.
	If the former happens, do a full jump about midway the next upper flat piece of ground. Full jump again over spike ball to
        reach end of level.
	If the latter happens, then do a small jump at the beginning of upcoming flat piece of ground. Do a full jump up an upcoming
        upwards steep slope that Sonic will bump into rather than go up.
Then small jump over spike ball towards the end of the level.

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SS3:

(Used in PB) *Saves about a second*
At the end of race, stand at a certain spot, peelout, then release around when Metal Sonic is right behind you: (https://imgur.com/z5sULJr).
*This triggers Eggman's rubberband AI to arrive towards the end faster. This is called fast laser. Only go for this however if you didn't mess
up at all prior since you won't have enough time to properly set up.*
Before the screen unlocks, tap left a bit to charge a peelout facing right.
Once screen unlocks, jump then hold right activate speedcap to free Amy.
Go all the way to left to finish level as fast as possible.

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MM2:
(Added November 27, 2020, found by Joey)
As soon as the IGT timer starts at the beginning of the level, pause then do a quick reset.
Doing the quick reset will allow you to skip the title card and start moving right away, letting you cut down a cycle for the
double cylinders just up ahead (saves about 2-3 seconds).

Instead of working your way through loop-de-loops on the bottom then mid-path of the level to get to the upper path, land on top of a nearby vertical moving cylinder. This is shortly after bopping the first red spring on the right side (otherwise will bop the cylinder from the bottom, which is just about placed directly above the spring).
Charge a peelout, release, then go neutral the whole time. If done correctly you will land on top of another red spring carrying a lot of horizontal speed.
Shortly afterwards the red spring bop, hold left for about close to half a second to slow down for an upcoming piano rolled jump.
Sonic will land on top of the left platform of a 2-platform set of small blocks here, this is where you want to jump as early as possible upon landing.
If done right, you will go upwards a crumbling platform just above.
Proceed with the rest of the level as normal.

(Used in PB, already mentioned in AGF notes) *Saves about 5.5 seconds*
"Once you get to the falling spike platform room just before the end of level: There are two different ways to make your way up and out: [...]
	The faster, harder way is to hold right towards the wall and bop it. Fully look up 3 times, then start holding left.
	Hold left for around close to half a second, then full jump and Sonic should barely touch the bottom spikes, then land on top
        of the upcoming spike platform.
	Quickly jump onto the higher ground from here.
Make your way to the end of the level doing a peelout."
Video: (https://youtu.be/D6Zve96xXWA)

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MM3:

(Used in PB, already mentioned in AGF notes) *Saves about 2 seconds*
Peelout, release then quick neutral full jump and once Sonic bops ceiling, hold right to activate speedcap.
Once landed on ground, jump onto piece of ground to the right adjacent to thin wall.
Leave space in front to MPO (up + left). Once Sonic zips to the right, prepare to hold right at a specific position (https://imgur.com/R9cojso).
Quickly full jump to go over upcoming falling crusher. Proceed onwards with rest of level.

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In total, the new strats alone (not optimizations) which are: CC2 ending (gains half a second), TT2 ending (gains 2 seconds), TT3 tight end zip (gains 1.5 seconds), both WW1 strats (gains 2 to 4 seconds), SS1 (loses 1 second), SS3 (gains 1 second), MM2 (gains 5.5 seconds), and MM3 (gains 2 seconds) save about 14-17 seconds compared to the old ones.