United StatesYou probably just entered the wrong framerule offset. In the pellsson rom, a framerule offset of 0 corresponds to starting 1-1 on framerule 0009. So if you remember what framerule you started 1-1 on, subtract 9 from that and use that as your offset.
If it's not listed in the rules as being allowed, then it's not allowed.
It's because the game gives you more acceleration when you have "running speed". But this "running speed" isn't directly related to your current speed, but rather it comes from running on the ground with 28 or more speed. When you do the usual Sockfolder FPG setup, you jump off of the stairs with 26 speed, so you never get this "running speed" before you touch the flagpole. But if you land on top of the stairs and then run for a frame, you'll get the "running speed" and that makes you accelerate slightly faster when dismounting the flagpole, saving a couple of frames.
Incidentally, I also noticed this phenomenon back in 2019: But I was told back then that it was already known to TASers well before that.
This is the farthest you can scroll the screen for the wrong warp to still work:
If the screen ever scrolls past this point (including while you are going down the pipe), then it won't work and you'll be taken to the underground coin room.
A 376 pipe entry basically guarantees the framerule provided you don't totally botch the warp zone movement. Even a high 375 can still get the framerule, so yeah you don't even need to look at the remainder to know that you got it.
To do a fast (enough) accel, make sure you're holding B at the start...
There are some podoboo patterns that look pretty low but if you jump late and do a smaller jump then you can squeeze under it
I tested this for a few minutes but kept dying to the plant when landing on the pipe. It seems that some additional step is needed to make this strat consistent? (Maybe slowing down a bit beforehand to let the plant lower a bit?)
It is possible to get 132 xpos with that method (133 is technically possible), but it's not faster than the other methods for getting lightning 4-2. Actually, I'm not sure how easy it is for a human to even get lightning 4-2 with this method (it might be slightly too slow to get the framerule?).
Here's a TAS comparison of 4-2 wrong warp methods I made a while back:
I also started out using fire Mario, and switched to small-only strats after getting this run:
My Game & Watch runs slightly faster than a normal NES, so I think it makes sense to not allow it for the leaderboard.
Looking forward to the new version! Any words on what else going to be added/updated in the next version?
The moderators aren't bots that are programmed to follow the exact text of the rules. They're obviously not going to accept a run that starts in World 8 (or World 4 or wherever that's not 1-1), regardless of whether the rules say anything about it.
The TAS with L+R gets 244 but doesn't do FPG (it can't do FPG without getting 243), and this is the same framerule as high 242 with FPG.
If you mash start to start on the first framerule after resetting the game, then it would be -3.27 from the point of the reset (or from selecting the game, if using a multi-game cartridge). Starting the timer from the start press will be inaccurate because of framerules—the game can only start every 21 frames which means that the time between pressing start and the start of the run can vary by up to 20 frames depending on exactly when you push start (it'll be anywhere between -2.59 and -2.92). So, I don't recommend starting the timer that way.
If you're playing on emulator (FCEUX, Nestopia, or Mesen), you may consider enabling the autosplitter from the Edit Splits window. Then the timer will automatically start and split for you, so you don't have to worry about it.
There is a filter function if you want to see only the times that were played on a particular platform
You can use your phone to record it, just make sure that the footage is clear enough that we can see what's going on.
In general, we don't accept runs of unofficial ports/releases of the game. If you want to play on your DSi, feel free to run the DSi version by Nicalis and submit that to the Cave Story+ leaderboard (https://www.speedrun.com/cave_story_plus).
