Notes on the No Damage TAS

SM. No Damage TAS: (unfinished notes)

https://www.twitch.tv/wildanaconda69/v/48878192

Neither Underflow nor G-/R-Mode or sparks can be used for this branch, and Gravity is needed before going to Lower Norfair.

It is questionable if it should be allowed to get health drops in the same frame in which actual damage would be taken (such that for every frame, the health value doesn´t decrease, but "within frames, Samus would lose health potentially at some points in time".

At references to any% TASes, the latest any% TASes (Taco+Kriole´s https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0JsGQiFxq6g and Taco´s WIP https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TumwaWUdNhU and Sniq´s 13% TAS) are meant (with different routes).

Minor optimizations like finding the right number of frames for timing actions or delaying them (or using Right+Left for inverse walljump-checks during spinjumps to the right to normalize Samus´ x sub-pixel value for free gained distance), and right inputs for actions/poses that reduce lag, and sound processing minimization for faster door transitions, and minor RNG manipulation tricks is not mentioned below.

Optimization ideas/suggestions for the given route:

He could have turned on Moonwalk at the beginning to speed up Ridley (and maybe MB fight and Ceres Ridley) and possibly few other places.

For the inputs up to Ceres Ridley, the any% TAS inputs could be used.

At Ceres Ridley, the first projectile should have been shot as early as possible such that it still hits, and the last projectile from point blank range (and due to the natural cooldown time, turnarounds and spinjumps to reposition Samus and manipulate Ridley could be used to keep a steady optimal fire rate, and if needed, one could have manipulated Ridley to only use the fireball attack and swoops but not direct body attacks.

Outside of a different lag and steam patterns, the Ceres escape inputs from the any% TAS could be used, but would need to either be adapted to the steam, or delayed for better steam patterns.

In general, for many rooms, the any% TAS inputs could be used to improve strategies.

The any% TAS inputs from Landing Site up to going back up the Blue Brinstar elevator after the first Missiles could be used. For the Old Mother Brain room with the pirates, for the upper right pirate, one could have stayed on ground for as long as possible, spinjump and immediately break out of spin to fire upwards as far left as possible to hit the right most pirate and continue the jump onto the first blue platform´s right edge as soon as possible while shooting the pirates to the left (if needed via Missiles and getting Missile drops back from them) to prevent them from shooting and building up running speed (possibly with only as many armpumps on the platform as possible as long as Samus can keep the same speed that she would build up by running on this platform without any armpumps).

Or instead of staying on ground longer, one could have walljump-checked the left door to the Old Mother Brain room with right+left during a spinjump and breaking out of it at the same time to keep leftwards dash speed and then continue with shooting the pirates and landing and building up running speed aswell possibly onto the longer 2nd blue platform from the right while trying to preferably shoot projectiles early on to the left so they hit pirates so one doesn´t need to break out of spin to do so. Since one especially at the beginning of the room will be busy shooting pirates, it is unlikely to implement some time-saving, successful CWJ in there early on, and one should probably jump from one to the next blue platform´s right edge, with maybe the exception of the last platform where one maybe could CWJ off of the bottom pole to its right and bounceball from the left most pole to the left most higher up ground while unmorphing. And one would probably want to end up landing on the far right edge of the left most higher ground from where running speed can be built up again.

For the Climb room, the any% TAS inputs (modulo RNG manipulation by killing more or less enemies, and lag) could be used again until past the Terminator room up to unmorphing after the mockball.

Then probably unmorph as soon as possible (or get a corner boost from unmorphing aswell), shooting the first pirate and probably get its drop (even though it would effectively only add 1 ammunition, but 3 Missile drops will anyways be needed to fill them up to 5 before the red shell to the early Super Missiles, since shooting the 5 green pirates should generally be faster than trying to kill them with bombs or avoiding them with jumps into Morphingball after rather manipulating them to duck and shoot by shooting them instead of waiting for their AI to detect Samus, if possible) and jumping around the platforms as if the pirates weren´t there (and killing them on the way down), and preparing some faster running jump at the last one to collect his Missile drop and probably fall in spinning pose to the left, then continueing with inputs adapted to the any% TAS strategy for the Kago room afterwards, and down the first Brinstar room, except delaying the jump a bit or wiggling around the corner at the drop and then collect it a bit later, and avoiding the red ripper by probably going a bit further to the left.

Then adapting to the any% TAS inputs again (with proper door transition), and landing as quick as possible on the long upper floor after the gates and shoot the off-screen moving Wavers if/when they are in the way, and preferably not letting the screen scroll up so far that the non-off-screen moving enemies will start being active while running to the left for SUper Missiles (or in case they get active, then left the sidehoppers jump high enough into the off-screen area again).

Then any% TAS inputs again after Super Missiles until before Dachora´s room, and either jumping to fix the transition, then land quickly in Dachora´s room for a short and small running jump (potentially with stunned/killed first Rio), or running into the door for the same strategy (but the first Rio could possibly also be killed with a Super Missile if one would getsuch drop back again), and then continue with the any% TAS inputs up to falling down in Charge room, where one probably would go to the left already on the red refill bug´s platform and use some small running jump down there to continue with the any% TAS inputs from there up to Green Hills, and instead of doing a CWJ at the first ledge, just jumping high enough to get past it and start mockballing as soon as possible to bounceball later on, unmorph beneath the sidehopper, land on the next lower platform as soon as possible with some spinjump and stationary pose to kill the next sidehopper with a charged shot and doing a running jump for a short mockball on the pole (like the any% TAS does) before the gate and unmorphing to open it, and then charging the beam to shoot the first sidehopper, or wasting a Missile otherwise (if no drop can be gotten from that sidehopper in this case).

Then continuing with any% TAS inputs once again up to the top of Red Tower.

Then probably a running jump to the right into a CWJ (using right+left like for the any% TAS Old Mother Brain room CWJ) with some shot beforehand to get rid of the in midair spawning Geemer and possibly get its drop, and build up running speed for another jump to the right.

Then the any% TAS strategy in the room before early Powerbombs, and optimizing Wildanaconda69´s bounceball strategy on the way to the item, and on the way back aswell, except that on the way back it might be an option to do another inverse CWJ inbetween the first pair of solid blocks and get over the right pair of enemies that way.

Then any% TAS strategies again up to exiting Phantoon´s room, and then in pre-Phantoon room one would optimize Wildanaconda69´s strategy (possibly with a downwards or diagonal-down-left-wards shot to the robot when Samus is partially past it to let it move to the right so one can land earlier).

Then any% TAS strategies up to (shortly before) collecting the left WS Super Missile, and then probably a spinjump (instead of a jump in stationary pose) back to the right-most platform.

Then the any% TAS strategies again until the Attic (and, if necessary, charging the beam to shoot the Atomic beneath the WS-Clip blocks on the way so it cannot interact with Samus for 1 frame of its invulnerability phase, so one can run past it and doesn´t need to jump), where one couldn´t do the damage-boost but would do a short hop/spinjump over the bottom spark and continue with a running jump to the left and kill the Atomic in a similar way and could continue similarly to the TAS (but probably the double-kill with the last Super Missile in the Attic might not be doable anymore) until right before the Bowling Statue room where one would apply Wildanaconda69´s strategy, but possibly via a running spinjump started before that room to get a low and far CWJ to start the HIBJ-sinking which is switched with fast DIBJ upwards multiple times, and finally jump into the Bowling Statue´s hand.

Then the any% TAS inputs up to Gravity, and one would spinjump out to land at the right edge of the 2nd platform from the right among the upper most platforms, then continue with platform-connecting running jumps to the left, a mockball onto the last platform and falling on the ground (and maybe set up slopekiller there).

Then any% TAS inputs again up to the nom-nom-plants room, where one would probably use a running spinjump to CWJ in between the 2 platforms with the right-most Geemers to land on the platform between the left-most Geemers, then possibly fall and ledge-grab onto the next platform and spinjump to the door´s ground (while opening the door and killing enemies to farm or when they are in the way).

Then inputs as in Taco´s any% TAS WIP would be used for Red Tower, followed by optimizing Wildanaconda69´s CWJ strategy for the next room.

At the door-check into pre-Spazer room, one maybe could have landed inside the shell to start wall-climbing from a bit higher, and at the tunnel, one could have fired a shot from crouch further left and done mockball through the tunnel, and run into Spazer´s room instead of mockballing.

Entering the GlassTube room, one could have jumped and midair morphed higher up so that the powerbomb hits the PLM earlier. The inputs from Taco´s any% TAS WIP could be used when Norfair is entered, up to climbing up the elevator room after HighJump, except that one would need to avoid the Nova to not get damaged by it.

At the Ice-Gates, morphing isn´t required at the 2nd gate, but facing down during a stationary posed jump works aswell. At the post-Ice-Gates room CWJ, one would want to break out of spin later, potentially, to keep the spinning pose´s momentum longer, and one could just walk through the green platform enemy instead of mockballing and unmorphing.

In pre-Ice room after the tunnel, one could have used a Downback, and at grabbing Ice, one would want to land as soon as possible after the walljump-check. After Ice, in pre-Ice room, a mockball should be possible through the tunnel with the running speed from Ice room.

On the way back, in the room before reaching Ice-Gates room, one probably would want to freeze the first green platform enemy immediately so it stays further to the right, for more running space, and freeze the 2nd enemy after the CWJ as soon as it would allow to continue running from it onto the higher ground, and then shoot the door open.

At the jump in the elevator room after Ice-Gates room, one maybe could have applied a pseudo-shot to kill the Nova and shoot the door with 1 action, and keep the spinning pose longer, or one could have done what WildAnaconda69 does, except freezing and kagoing (without morphing but simply moving/falling) through the Nova instead of using a Missile to kill it.

Then Taco´s any% TAS WIP inputs could be used again (and adapted for the Desgeegas and the Nova) until right before entering the lava rise room.

Then Taco´s any% TAS WIP inputs again for climbing Bubble Mountain, except killing the Cacattack on top and continueing with a CWJ and landing early.

Then Wildanaconda69´s strategy for the bat cave, except for the last part where the screen scrolling is fixed at the door by setting up slopekiller, continuing with Taco´s any% TAS WIP inputs up to exiting bat cave to the left, except of skipping the damage-boost and spinjumping instead, and not damage-boosting off of the Multiviola but spinjumping down past the ledges, and skipping the grey Ripper damage-boost by jumping past the spikes as Wildanaconda69 does, up to the room beneath pre-Wave room, where Wildanaconda69´s strategy with the CWJ is used to avoid spikes.

On the way down into the lavapit, one could have kept the spinning animation longer, and at the bottom of the lavapit, one could have either started the IBJ from the right side diagonally up-left-wards or at the left side but with a kept 2-bombs rhythm for vertical, diagonal and sideways shifted bombjumps.

Then from the 2nd Lower Norfair room on, the inputs continue according to Taco+Kriole´s any% TAS up to breaking the last bomb block pillar, and then jumping past the last bomb-block.

For WRITG, one could immediately damage the left yelow pirate with Missiles and Supers and delay the initial high jump to charge the beam during this jump to freeze the left pirate and lay the powerbomb, then land on it and prepare for the jump past the bomb-blocks, or one could take variations of Wildanaconda69´s strategy (maybe with IBJ) that reach the top faster in relation to when the ceiling opens up.

A jump into Amphitheatre would allow to shift the screen up for a better transition and to start falling earlier (and the jump into Amphitheatre maybe should be done as it happens in Taco+Kriole´s Any% TAS with a walljump to the right if the yellow pirate instead of landing on its platform).

At the first mid-air platform in Amphitheatre, after the walljump off of it, a ledge-grab to land and jump off the platform could be used, and after the last pirate, maybe slopekiller can be applied, with a spinjump at the end just high enough to satisfy the door transition and getting through the hole in the next room, instead of breaking out of spin early on, and then continue like in Taco and Kriole's any% TAS up to entering pre-Ninja-Pirates room.

For the jump over the fire-steam in Wasteland with the Desgeegas, one either would want to land further left on the top of the statue or use WildAnaconda69's approach with a running jump from further right, in an optimized way, and for rolling in the tunnel, one would want to roll from a distance to have the momentum built up when going past the bomb blocks.

The part in Wasteland after the tunnel could be done similarly to Sniq's 13% TAS, and then one would want to shift the screen down each time quickly to let the spikeplatforms move earlier.

And when rolling past the first spikeplatform, bombs could possibly have been used to knock the ball faster to the side to start falling earlier, or one could have layed a bomb on the spikeplatform and run into it from the right for rightwards backwards knockback with kept dash-speed to mockball quickly past the rising first spikeplatform. And at the 2nd spikeplatform, one could have positioned Samus barely onto the enemy at the far right to let it drag Samus through the spike-wall and running to the left while it is sinking, without taking damage to gain more dash-speed, and maybe slopekiller on top of the spikeplatforms can do something while they are sinking.

Then one would want to trigger the Ninja-Pirate jumps as soon as possible, probably similar to Taco and Kriole's any% TAS, except without the short charge, and if possible, one would want to hit both pirates with projectiles, and possibly starting to fire as soon as possible by firing from far away (for a doppler effect), similarly to WildAnaconda69's strategy, except additionally abusing the short frame-window during the Ninja-Pirates' arm-throw animations to hit them with projectiles during that. Then continue with a running jump with echoes , late break out of spin and bounceball, and possibly landing in such a way that one can build up running speed for a further CWJ (and if needed, killing enemies that are in the way, maybe with Super Missiles, or freezing them, or hitting them to either pass through them during 1 frame without getting hit or to stun them shortly).

Routing ideas/questions/suggestions:

Individually, are Ice, Spazer, HighJump worth taking? Is it faster for TAS to take HighJump before Ice?