Awesome job! Like Kyle said, this confirmed some of the theories we had about getting certain items, so our strategies for spinning the wheel in midair while performing a skip, or waiting for lap 3 to get a Jump, were right all along.

I'll definitely start thinking about ways to work this info into our routes. And if you wouldn't mind putting anything you have on Github, I might be interested in taking a look as well.

Fantastic work, Lazycurler! It's really helpful to know that lap skip is just a calculation, and not dependent on the physical locations of the finish line/checkpoints. We might be able to make adjustments to Toon Island's lap skip to make it slightly easier/faster, as well as look for ways to make Village or other tracks work in a run.

Since you've clearly got the technical knowledge, and it sounds like you're decompiling the code, I would just reiterate that another thing we've always wondered is how the item randomization works. Clearly there's a list of predefined wheels that it gives you at different rates based on various conditions like track position, but we don't know enough about it to manipulate the items as much as we want. If you could offer any insights into the item wheel logic, that could be a game changer for making runs more consistent.

Major Update - LAP SKIP / RESPAWN WARP

We have determined that it is possible to abuse the respawn mechanic to traverse larger distances than previously thought.

When you die and the car is reset, the game will respawn you to pre-defined locations around the track based on what area of the track you last touched. This way, if the game determines you went way off track and died somewhere weird, it will put you back to where it thinks your last "in-bounds" location was.

However, it appears that some of the respawn points are near the "end" of the sector of track you can die in. For example, you can fall off at the dragon S-bend section in Haunted Castle and be respawned slightly forward, at the start of the lava area. These respawns usually won't save time over driving normally, but we may find opportunities in the future to use "respawn warping" to skip slow sections of track.

In addition to the small dragon respawn warp, a couple others we currently know of include a possible warp to the finish line in Haunted Castle when falling during a Corkscrew Jump, and another warp in Toon Village where dying during "Bridge Skip Plus" can warp you near the finish line.

LAP SKIP !!!

With the knowledge of respawn warping, DeoChomp was able to find a significant skip in Toon Island that skips about half the course. We are referring to this as Lap Skip, and it is possible to get a double or triple lap skip in a race to save more time.

By leaving the track near the start/finish line and driving off-course, it is possible to drive a large part of the track while "off-course", thereby causing the game to remember your last on-course position as the start/finish straight.

It has been determined that in order for a lap to be considered "complete", you must cross a checkpoint at about the halfway point of each track.

Therefore, if you go "off-course" at the start/finish line, drive the first half of the lap without touching the track, and die immediately after crossing the mid-lap checkpoint, you will be respawn warped all the way to the finish line, and the lap will count as complete.

For Island, this means driving off the left side of the track, driving over the mountain ridge (without falling left into the void or right onto the track), and using a Jump at the midpoint of the lap to jump over the track and die by hitting the waterfall. This will send you straight to the end of the lap, where you can repeat the process, saving a total of about 20 seconds over the old strat.

It is unknown at this time if lap skips will work on the other tracks. For example, it seems possible to drive on the railings in Coaster to be considered off-course, but this would be such a precise trick that it may only work in a TAS.

Outline of current strats from recent top runs:

RAPTOR & RAPTOR strats (Dilly method) - We have begun focusing on Raptor as our vehicle of choice for several reasons. Because of Raptor's hover characteristics, it is possible to drive off-road without penalty, opening up the possibility for new shortcuts. Raptor also is unaffected by oil slicks and obstacles like the roulette table in Gulliver. Also, Raptor has better steering and braking control in air, making jump shortcuts easier and faster. However, Raptor's top speed is faster in Reverse than driving forward, so it is important to turn around at the start of each race to save the most time. This also stops boost pads from working.

ITEM MANIPULATION - As mentioned in Booskop's post above, we are able to select items we want from the wheel with precise timing. This is crucial for optimizing our route. Jump and Dynamite are the main items to go for in order to perform several skips. Powerup is useful if you can get it first lap for a race-long speed boost, but only if it does not interfere with getting Jumps. Super Shield is a useful speed boost if you don't need the items above. Tiny provides a small speed boost, if you get bad RNG on the other items. Turbo gives a small boost at first, but then slows you down while driving in reverse, so be careful about when you use it, or save it for just before crossing the finish line.

DRAFTING- The rectangle in the middle of the speedometer is a draft indicator (blue -> red -> yellow). Getting a yellow draft by driving directly behind enemy cars gives a moderate speed boost, especially on straights. However, we don't spend much of the run around other cars, so time save is small overall.

TOON ISLAND - Lots of places to drive off-road with Raptor. Cut corners where possible.

Turn left into the mountain after the first "tunnel", jump over the track, and then drive across the yellow path to skip straight to the end of the lap near the waterfalls. Aim between the balloons and the mountain to line up the gap.

Also, the yellow path to the right of the start/finish straight is a minor shortcut if you can avoid the walls and Jump back onto the track when it turns right.

TOON VILLAGE - Several possible skips, but very reliant on getting Jump items.

Drive up the hill toward the windmill for a small off-road shortcut. When the fence to the right ends, cut through the trees to avoid getting stuck in the small river.

Get onto the train tracks and jump around the mountain to skip a large part of the hairpin (we call this Deo Express). You can line this up by aiming along the boost arrow before the train, bump the train and it will line you up with the train track, and then Jump hard right when the track curves away from under you.

If you miss the setup for Deo Express, you can use a Jump or Dynamite to get over the fence at the bottom of the hill as a backup.

Drive through/behind the buildings at the 90-degree corners to save time. Or you can stay on track if you need a coin.

Jump between the buildings to the right of the bridge at the roundabout late in the lap for a big skip. You can also use a Dynamite on the right side of the base of the bridge to jump up to the track above, as a backup.

CRAZY COASTER - Major skips, but definitely needs Jump items.

On the first lap, use a Jump to skip the S-bend a little ways into the lap, and immediately get another Jump item ready.

Just before the track goes transparent and dips down, Jump to the left onto the other section of track to skip the entire transparent track section. On lap 1, make sure you use a Coin while in the air before landing the skip to get another Jump item. Once the game knows you're in 1st, it is very hard to get another Jump for lap 2. Then use all your coins to get a Jump for lap 3.

GULLIVER HOUSE - Only a couple skips here, but important to execute them well to save time.

Hang a left and drive over the roulette wheel to cut the corner and maintain speed.

Use a Jump or Dynamite before the hairpin to skip a long section of track. Best to slow down and do the skip close to where the banister divider ends.

Drive over the base of the martini glass at the end of the lap to cut the last turn. Don't go too far right; aim for the second or third colored polygon over.

HAUNTED CASTLE - Hardest skips to pull off, but necessary to save time as Raptor. There are only a few coins on the track, so use them as early as possible and just go for Jumps.

Going up the hill toward the chicane by the dragons, Jump left and aim straight for the blue dragon head to line up for the skinny bridge toward the skull. Try to get this skip all three laps if possible.

If you have a spare Jump, for example on lap 3, you can Jump hard left at the corkscrew section at the end of the lap to save some time. Don't jump too early because there is an invisible wall on the left at the start of this section. Once the track starts to descend, you should be clear of the wall and can make the sharp jump to the bottom.