#oweg

[lowadrmg]

OWEG in LowAD

Following the OWEG discussion, fsg posted a new routing idea for LowAD on May 28. Skipping the back of Escape with OWEG would allow us to save its small key for later. This key could be stolen from Hera with a bomb clip, and we could use it to unlock Swamp, collecting the Hookshot early. The route would then avoid the Mire double dip and save "800 years."

MichaelK brought up a consequence in item collection: the route would add the Shield but drop the Lamp. To arm EG, we would need to talk to Link's Uncle for a Save & Quit point, but the Sword and Shield would be picked up as a result. That said, the Lamp would no longer be required because it is normally needed to push the ornamental shelf, which no longer needs to be pushed. Michael spelled out the potential new branches with Tree Warp and OWEG allowed:

MichaelK__ (He/Him) — 05/28/2019 2:59 PM with OWEG allowed we'd be at 9 lowad routes btw :derp2: Lamp + (Pearl / Mirror / Bottle / Tree), Shield + (Pearl / Mirror / Bottle / Tree) and Tempered (can't do oweg for escape skip) fsg — 05/28/2019 3:00 PM the more the merrier we are now really competing with sm in terms of low% solutions MichaelK__ (He/Him) — 05/28/2019 3:01 PM LPLOWAD, LMLOWAD, LBLOWAD, LTLOWAD, SPLOWAD, SMLOWAD, SBLOWAD, STLOWAD and SLTLOWAD :derp2:

[lowadrmg]

Overworld EG

Overworld EG, or OWEG, was a question mark for No EG/DG/WW speedruns in 2019.

Why was OWEG a consideration in a "No EG" category? One reason is that it acts quite differently than Underworld EG. Essentially, EG is layer manipulation and typically involves walking freely underneath the upper layer. However, layers in the overworld are less meaningful because walls will block Link regardless of layer. The only way OWEG was known to be helpful was to bypass sprites. Therefore, EG is overpowered in the underworld but mostly harmless in the overworld.

On Apr 30, fsg tested an OWEG route that was only 10-15s slower than the known AD route:

If OWEG were allowed, we could walk past the gold guards on the top of Hyrule Castle, allowing us to escape Escape.

After fsg posted his video, Blank shared a discovery about Lonk (a.k.a. Lunk). Lonk is a glitch that puts Link in a bunny-like state in which the player cannot use A or B but can use Y (the opposite of Super Bunny), and he can take knock-back damage from Agahnim's barrier but not zap damage. Blank showed that Lonk could be used in combination with armed EG to activate OWEG on top of Hyrule Castle.

Another idea was to use the Magic Mirror to skip the back half of Escape. However, the game places technical obstacles in the way of collecting the Mirror. The Old Mountain Man will walk infinitely into space unless Link visits Armos Knights first, and he does not appear at all if Zelda text is following you. Lonk, OWEG, and Early Mirror could be useful, but they were tabled for now.

On May 24, JoshRTA asked if anyone ever tested an alternate route for All Dungeons. Glan responded:

Glan — 05/24/2019 10:54 AM This is pretty :CosmicBrain: but hear me out Go to uncle and oweg escape castle Then eastern I guess Then get mirror Then rescue zelda

This theoretical route would eventually become the main starter for all categories in No EG/DG/WW (later known as Restricted Major Glitches), but it was not timed until Blank re-routed Any% in 2020.

At this point, it appeared that OWEG was not saving time in AD. However, its relevance for LowAD was potentially more significant.