How TP Retro Generally Works

How Twitch Plays Retro Usually Ends Up Working for Platformers

This is NOT a rule, but is generally how it ends up working out.  Chat generally ends up cycling their save slots.  It basically works out as though chat is attempting to TAS the game segment-by-segment via trial-and-error.

At the start of a stage (or boss battle), chat usually saves all 3 available slots to ensure a clean slate to work with.

Each time a set of actions must be scripted and experimented with (each time a "segment" starts):

1) One of the slots is loaded from.  (Whichever one chat deemed as savable progress from the last set - whichever "won" last round, and is the current segment's starting point.)

From whichever slot is chat's currently-designated "load from here" state, chat attempts to come up with a set of actions that can be deemed "savable progress."  (Several failed attempts generally happen before this, allowing for chat to load one state over and over again, trying different action scripts, until something works to chat's satisfaction.)

2) The other two save slots (possible branches/potential successes) are used whenever chat:
---> Finds a suboptimal solution that they *might* want to keep (a "just in case" save).
---> Finds a good, solid solution they can agree is properly-savable progress.

3) Either way, once chat determines savable progress has been made:
---> If totally safe, they wait to ensure they're really safe, then save.
---> If the situation will become unsafe soon, they tack a save onto the end of a confirmed-successful string.

That state then becomes the new "load from here" slot, with the other two now acting as the branches.