Goldeneye 007 Tutorial: Bunker 1 A16 Tips

I put in a lot of effort into this grind recently, more than I have for probably any other IL run, and so I thought I should write something while it's still fresh in my head.

Word of warning, this time is COMPLETELY about timer luck, you don't need a super amazing run at all, the game literally just needs to like you. A mediocre 3 booster is good enough, so always finish those. (To be clear, when I'm talking about boost count in this post I'm never counting the final paused boost to the exit, that one is implied)

Anyway here's the tips:

1) Do not obsess about getting a non-stuck through the door at the start. On JP you can QP insanely fast while the intro fade is happening, and that will cause you to bump into the door sometimes if you quit out of the cutscene at such a timing that Bond is the furthest forward he can go and you turn while doing the QP. So don't start resetting over a frame or two stuck here, it happens because you did the beginning well

2) For the 2 QP strat, go as far left on the double door as possible. This will make the "quality" of your first QP matter much less since you're waiting on the door anyway, and it will help you with the next tip:

3) After the double door QP, scoot out a little into the corridor before the cam pause. This is better than frame perfect pauses here because A) it guarantees never getting stuck on the box, improving consistency (remember, we don't need a great run), AND it makes it possible for a super boost to happen. It will only happen with the 2 QP strat and if you scoot out a bit. This superboost will take you further than I went in my run, and it definitely makes better time than a normal triple boost start. The normal triple boost will only happen if you get a shitty 1st and 2nd boost, so you end up covering less distance than this superboost. That said, this superboost is quite rare and I think it only happens if you go a bit further to the right on the door and scoot out a bit more than you'd normally like, so it probably saves a little less than it seems at first glance

4) If you're doing right strafe right after double door (which honestly I'm not convinced saves any time, but I like the feel of it), you will sometimes have been boosted all the way into the wall before you start start turning after the double door. In these cases I think it's good to do just a frame or two of left strafe before switching to right strafe. Sounds slow, but this in combination with the angle of the 2nd boost which will hit you right as you switch to right strafe in this situation will help you eat less shit running into the wall as you turn.

5) The stairs boost from this run is secretly one of the best ones you can get, and it's not hard to react to from audio cue. If you hear the guard shoot early, get ready for the boost and overturn to the left. It's about as good as the table-glass boost, no kidding.

6) Your goal is to consistently complete decent runs, i.e. 3-4 boosts, then boost to the door as you switch to 2.4. They don't have to be great for 16, at all. So for this consistency, don't be afraid of taking a slightly worse line to the table in order to avoid the constant late klobb guard boost bullshit (the one in the corner to the left right after going down the stairs). After going down the big stairs, you can instead of a direct line run along the side of the small stairs for a few frames and then turn towards the table you'll be much less likely to be hit by this. This will also give you a smaller angle to turn towards the glass door, so doing this also helps a lot in consistently setting up a good approach to the table that will let you get a perfect line to the boxes. Definitely pay special attention to this part.

7 Here's the most important advice: DO NOT GRIND THIS INDIVIDUALLY. Treat it as if you're buying a lottery ticket instead and just make it something you put maybe an hour or so into in between grinding other levels. If you make it something you commit to you will probably end up like me and spend nearly half a year getting 16-worthy runs, only for you to end up finally getting the 16 on one of your worst completes for no apparent reason. A mediocre 3 booster can do it if you fluke out on the timer, trust me. A hundred great 4 boosters could fail it. I've even completed a couple of 5 boosters without stucks, seemingly identical lag and better lines than my 16, and somehow despite all of that the game can just say "no".

(I didn't explore late alarms that much but you can injure the first guard and get some extra wonky timings on it which /does/ help sometimes, but because how inconsistent the damage animation/timing delay is it's just not worth going for. Again, this level is just about getting lucky with the timer, so I would err on the side of consistency)

-- 15 PO on door should be basically all your runs that didn't get stuck or had bad lines -- 13 PO on glass guards is good pace, should be a solid 3 booster if you do it after failed warp/angle adjustment. You will see it on 2 boosters as well if you don't really attempt to get through

Tips by O_Circles