Hey all, currently doing some testing to get back into any% and found some interesting stuff about the level 'day of infamy', specifically the end section where you're topside and have to shoot at planes.
I used to just sit in the corner and do nothing because eventually the level just ends automatically. I assumed that the player doesn't have to do anything and the section is basically on a timer. I timed it again and the section is complete in about 1:30-1:35 seconds.
Next I timed myself running around shooting as many planes as possible and it actually cause the level to stall even longer. I got some inconsistent times but averaged 1:40-1:50. I read a walkthrough that mentioned shooting the torpedos can vastly increase how long that section takes but I guess that can include the planes too
Now here's the interesting part: I used the out of bounds glitch right when I got topside and navigated back to the starting area. Doing this gave a very consistent time of 1:04. Big difference. Here's a link to JtpG's video showing off the glitch:
So now I'm scratching my head: what exactly triggers the end of the level? Its not time, nor enemy planes downed... its gotta be something else? Does anyone have any ideas or anecdotes about this section? It could really help out
Could lag have made a difference with the first test? If you're sitting in a corner on the ship, it would make sense that you would get less lag than you would if you were shooting down the planes. But there's gotta be something else that made the level end in 1:04 when you get out of bounds. Could it be that the planes aren't spawning anymore if you get too far away?
So i just streamed a bit while I was testing this level and got some good footage and info.
This link is the ending where I discover a few things: torpedoes seem to be the main thing that signals the end of the level. There are 3 waves of torpedoes, 3 torps each. So the level is on a cycle. If you let them all hit, the level ends a few seconds after wave 3. This is very consistent and takes the same amount of time no matter what. I'm beginning to think the ship has invisible health, and when it goes out, the levels over. Now, when I do the out of bounds glitch, the level ends after TWO waves of torps, not 3. So it saves 30 seconds or so over just sitting on topside waiting for the waves to finish. This also explains why it doesn't seem to matter if I fail the glitch setup a couple of times since I'm still on the same cycle. If it takes me 10 seconds longer to get out of bounds, it actually doesn't make me lose time.
Why does this happen? I have a couple guesses but I'm leaning towards the game accidentally loading two waves at the same time, which leads to a cycle skip. During the stream, I got this super weird segment where I basically finished the level after one wave of torps. I saw the screen rumbled 3 times, then I did the glitch, and then it was just over. Single cycle. I haven't been able to recreate this:
Any thoughts on this?
I noticed that there is spawn point for pearl harbor in day of infamy and white box is under map
Day of infamy skip is found! this spot in water is where you fly after ship explodes, going there early ends level
