Honey Skip (Exact Setup Reference)

The exact setup is calibrated for maximum chances of honey skip succeeding. It can be done averaging ~28.50s on IL timing, and is hard to do faster, but nonetheless serves as a good reference to calibrate even a faster honey skip setup that cuts some corners.

Outline

Honey skip requires hovering forwards (negative Z direction) and then sidestepping left (negative X direction) thru a death plane to enter a loading zone. The frame of death (D) and frame of loading-zone entry (L) are related as:

The boundary of the loading zone is circular and to the forward-left (Z-, X-) of Mario. You control:

Optimal Values

→ perfect demo

Since duration is sensitive to input lag, pay attention to the exact definitions. A cycle on FLUDD HUD is defined here as a single 8f oscillation of the hover nozzle graphic, which starts with FLUDD at the bottom (frame 0) and oscillates with FLUDD peaking at frame 4. Ignore the first cycle since FLUDD stays stuck to the bottom an extra frame. After 3 cycles, count individual frames (bottom = frame 0); the HUD should behave as:

Note the correct input technique: holding R and then pressing X, then L, then holding ←. The timings are for the X-press; you never let go of R.

Error Margins

At the optimal initial X- and Z-position, honey skip will work with ±4f leniency on the timing of the X-press (and ±5f might work depending on the exact decimal co-ords). Hovering has a steady-state speed of ~3 (units/frame), meaning each extra frame of hover will change the final Z-position by ~3.

At the optimal initial X- position, honey skip will work with final Z-position between -6058 and -6089, so around -6073±15. The end of the death zone is in the region of Z=-6057, so below that is a guaranteed failure (via cutscene trigger).

Adjustment: Approximately speaking (since the loading zone boundary is curved and the death zone is bounded):

Cues

→ visual cues
→ perfect demo

For accuracy (rather than speed), I recommend hitting the exact visual cues and never adjusting the timing.

Camera must be fully zoomed in for all visuals.

Initial Z-Position

Screen bottom border cuts middle of white blob on floor tile. The blob is marked by a dark semicircle on the left.

Thus, being in this region guarantees 2f of error to fit in the 4f of error you have available.

Note that Mario’s shadow becomes visible in the region of Z=-6015 (= at the perfect position), so using this as a cue will bias you forwards. You pop out of the building at Z=-5950 and into the death zone at Z=-6057.

Initial X-Position

Building wall cuts middle of inter-brick white line in background wall. From the darkest brick, go up-left (medium brick), then left (light brick), then it’s the white line separating this brick from the next one left.

Thus, being in this region guarantees 2f of error to fit in the 4f of error you have available. This position is a lot more sensitive than the initial Z-position so more worth the time to get right.

You pop out of the building at X=-5050, so very close to the ideal zone.

Hover Duration

To hit 3 cycles + 6 frames visually, taking into account input lag of around 3f, you should aim for 3 cycles + 3 frames. The best technique for this IMO is to react to the FLUDD HUD starting to bounce, and count along with a beat for every bounce off the bottom, starting at 0 for its initial position. Then, count a triplet (3 equally-spaced subdivisions) after beat 3, so:

*bouncing starts* 1! … 2! … 3–and–a–4!

Input X on the “and”, then L on the “a”, then hold ← on the “4” (note: you don’t let go of R). It’s a very fast rhythm so you go off intuition, but I hit the exact frame more often than not like this in the lab.

Don’t start counting from when you hold R, since you have to wait out the ~3f input lag for the HUD to start moving; react to the HUD to catch the beat.

You can learn to count triplets using Swimming Pools (Drank), which is at 148bpm (honey skip is at 225bpm). Play it at 50% or 75% to learn it.