Main Research
| Connecting Rooms | ||
| Central Area Transport West Staging Area Torvus Transport Access Transit Station |
Main Research is a room located in the Sanctuary Fortress region of Metroid Prime 2: Echoes. It is the room where the Caretaker Class Drone fight takes place, which locks access to Central Area Transport West. It also has a missile expansion and a Secret World.
General Information
| Room Layer Information |
|---|
| 1st Pass Enemies 2nd Pass Enemies Echo Puzzle Actor Arms Contraption AFTER BEFORE Column Spiderball DEBUG Post Contraption |
In the standard route, this is one of the first places where Echo Visor is used following the Dark Samus 2 boss fight. There are three echo locks that, when shot, will lower the door that blocks access to the dark portal leading to Staging Area. This will lead the player into the cylindrical tube where the Caretaker Drone fight takes place. Once the fight is over, the player is lead into a Morph Ball tunnel that leads to a trigger that unlocks the door to Central Area Transport West. It is important to not leave the room once any of the echo locks are shot, as upon reloading the room it will be impossible to progress normally from there, as the dark portal will now be inaccessible.
On the bottom level of the room, where the dark portal resides, there are also two Quads, a door to Torvus Transport Access that requires a Power Bomb to open, and the start of the optional section of the room leading to the missile expansion. Spider Ball tracks lead to both the expansion and the door connecting to Transit Station. Under certain conditions, the collision of the Quads can overlap with the hook, which can get them stuck. It's even possible to get both Quads to overlap with eachother, though this has no known practical uses.
Central Area Transport West Trigger
The door to Central Area Transport West is locked by default, meaning that it's impossible to load the room or transition it while wallcrawling without having first dealt with the fight. There are actually two triggers involved in unlocking the door: the first is "[TriggerEllipsoid] Leave Between Rings" which is located inside the tube where the Caretaker Drone fight takes place. Once this trigger is activated, the door can be unlocked via the second trigger "[Trigger] Exited Column (End Contraption)" which is located near the exit of the morph ball tunnel leading to Central Area Transport West. Once the "Leave Between Rings" trigger is activated, morphing will permanently lock Samus in Morph Ball mode until the "Exited Column" trigger is activated.
Caretaker Skip
Knowing the triggers that need to be activated in order to advance to Central Area Transport West, we can use these triggers to our advantage to skip the fight. There are two methods of Caretaker Skip, one involving Infinite Speed and the other using a more elaborate method.
Infinite Speed Method
This method entails going out of bounds and getting Infinite Speed in Torvus Temple Access, then heading back into Main Research and doing a small boost. This will activate both of the triggers. Once this is done, the player needs to get rid of Infinite Speed. The nearest spot to do this is in Transport to Torvus Bog, using the elevator.
Non-IS Method
Just like the other method, this method requires getting out of bounds. However, here the player must first transition into Main Research to make the room visible, then transition back into Torvus Transport Access. Using a visual cue, the player can find a spot that allows for the trigger to be activated while the game is able to position Samus in bounds. Once the visual cue has been found, Samus must back up to unload the room, and immediately hold forward soon after. Using Load Delay, it is possible to find the precise position needed to successfully activate the trigger. Once the trigger is activated the player should be put back in-bounds. After transitioning back into Main Research, the player must navigate to the end of the morph ball tunnel, and then carefully morph to activate the trigger that unlocks the door. If successful, the door to Central Area Transport West will instantly unlock.
Transit Station Door Without Spider Ball
It's possible to get from the bottom of the room to Transit Station by abusing the collision of the obstacles leading to the missile expansion. These objects are standable, enabling Samus to reach the door with just the Space Jump Boots.
Early Missile Expansion
There are two methods of getting the missile expansion without Spider Ball.
Screw Attack Method
This method is very simple. Just aim towards the missile expansion and perform a Screw Attack in its direction. This is the method used in 100% speedruns.
Space Jump Method
It is possible to climb to the missile expansion using the standable collision of the various obstacles. Some of the Spider Ball tracks are also standable.
Secret World
By performing a Screw Attack into the end of the morph ball tunnel near Central Area Transport West, it is possible to get out of bounds.
TODO: Video