Cutscene: Difference between revisions

* '''SequenceTimer''': Sends messages to other script objects with precise timing. Introduced in Echoes.

{{#ev:youtube|https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vGfX4brD8Nk||right|Comparison showing the timeloss that happens by skipping the Artifact of Wild cutscene.}}

In [[Metroid Prime]], whether or not you can skip a cutscene is dependent on the cutscene itself. Cutscenes are hand crafted by chaining together relays, timers, etc. This applies to both the cutscenes, and also the cutscene skips. Whatever state the cutscene was in had to be manually cleaned up before gameplay could resume. As such, not all cutscenes are skippable.

 

There are certain applications for skipping cutscenes in a speedrun setting. For example, in Echoes, when going through one of the Controller Access rooms (such as [[Controller Access (Torvus Bog)|Torvus Controller Access]]), it is faster to skip the cutscene just as it's about to end. This allows for the room to fully load while still in the cutscene, saving a small amount of in-game time. There are also situations where ''not'' skipping a cutscene is faster. In Prime 1, in the room [[Sunchamber]], when getting the Artifact of Wild, it loses over half a second to skip the cutscene, due to the fact that Samus is not able to move immediately as the cutscene ends. If the cutscene plays out naturally, it saves over half a second because Samus will be able to move immediately when it ends. Some cutscenes like [[Phendrana Shorelines]] in Prime 1 will reposition you, but only if you watch the full cutscene without skipping.  

There are some situations where it's possible to get cutscenes to overlap with each other. In some cases, it is possible to achieve this with [[Infinite Speed]]. This is usually achieved by triggering two separate events at once, such as in [[Sunchamber]] by grabbing the artifact at the same time the cutscene that occurs after killing the [[Chozo Ghosts]] plays. In Prime 1, this can let you skip an unskippable cutscene by overlapping a skippable cutscene onto one. Doing so can allow Samus to regain control during a cutscene playing. Most notably, this can be seen in [[Chapel of the Elders]] when overlapping the [[Wave Beam]] cutscene with the fight starting, and skipping immediately.

 

By interrupting a cutscene mid-script, it is possible to stop any cutscene during any sequence. This has strange effects such as leaving the '''PlayerActor''' visible and still animated as the sequence that would ordinarily hide it is skipped by ending the cutscene early. Ordinarily the method of doing this is by using [[Infinite Speed]] to overlap a skippable cutscene onto a non-skippable cutscene. This lets you skip the normally unskippable cutscene anywhere in its sequence. This is only possible in Prime 1 before the introduction of the '''SequenceTimer''', which will automatically run through the entire sequence properly before exiting.

To interrupt a cutscene mid-script in Echoes or beyond, only one method is currently known. To interrupt the '''SequenceTimer''', it has to be unloaded. This poses a problem as unloading it ends the cutscene altogether, not allowing any interesting effects within Prime 1. To get around this, it is required to unload a cutscene on the frame you get repositioned elsewhere. Samus cannot move during cutscenes however, and so the only way to accomplish this is through proximity unloading. By being in the [[Out of Bounds|Aether]] out of bounds, Samus will continue to slowly float upwards during a cutscene. By keeping the game on the wrong room and timing the proximity unload to occur the same frame the game repositions you, it is possible to interrupt the cutscene mid script. This has extremely odd effects. The game is stuck trying to reload the room and will place you wherever your repositioned to with the cutscene having stopped on that frame. This can let you access cutscene only layers of bosses and other rooms where cutscenes are much more complicated and interesting. Because this can only be done on the frame you reposition, interrupting cutscenes is very limited in its scope. Applications of this have yet to be explored much as a result.

While technically RTA viable, this bug allows for small amounts of time mainly to be saved for [[Tool-Assisted Speedruns]] across the entire game. Time save comes from being able to move during the cutscenes themselves and the ability to switch immediately to the Ice and Plasma Beams during their pickup cutscenes.