Supergliding

Supergliding is an external velocity exploit used to increase speed. It currently has one known use for Nintendo tracks due to its reliance on slow-ramp-abuse, and is only possible on bikes.

History

Despite supergliding being a 2023 discovery, a fundamental part of it was found over a decade prior (see: history of slow-ramp abuse).

Slow-ramp-abuse was first popularised by the 2011 custom track Calidae Desert, which included a large slope on the last turn with slow-ramp properties. This enabled players to easily enter a strange grounded gliding state characterised by limited control of the vehicle's travelling direction, as can be seen here. This would later be proven reproducible on Nintendo tracks, as demonstrated by Reo in his 2014 Mushroom Gorge TAF, through the use of the ramp inside the cave. Alongside Mushroom Gorge, it was shown possible on GBA Bowser Castle 3 and SNES Ghost Valley 2.

Besides the impressive spectacle of the glitch, it remained useless for time trials until Februrary 2, 2023, when Ejay B accidentally entered the state on SNES Ghost Valley 2 whilst trying to optimise the last ramp for a TAS. Wishing to complete an entire lap of the course in this state for fun, he utilised the properties of the grey blocks to pinball the vehicle around. In the process, Ejay discovered that specific manipulation of bike roll and joystick inputs whilst in this state could build-up XZ speed. He navigated to the last turn and found a setup which allowed for the exploit to carry speed into the following lap. After some optimisation, the next lap could be entered with enough speed to make it faster than a standard miniturbo entry. As it stands, supergliding allows for a 117.1 XZ lap entry saving ~0.250 over no glitch flaps.

Technical description

The exact inputs used to fully optimise the setup of a superglide are not fully understood as of now. Below is a rough explanation.

After slow-ramp-abuse has been performed, the player must turn the vehicle so that the facing direction is perpendicular to the travelling direction. The player must then turn for a short time in the opposite direction to their travel, making the bike lean. Then, the opposite direction to that must be held until the bike's roll is approximately neutral. At this point, the joystick must be repeatedly alternated in a pattern of 0, ±2 (the direction of the 2nd input being in the direction of travel). Inputs greater in magnitude than 2 can be used, but will result in inefficient speed-building. The same goes for not adhering to frame-perfect joystick alternations, and instead turning, e.g., once every three frames.

The imprecision of supergliding, unlike most other external velocity exploits, means that it is viable for use in real-time human runs.

If airtime is achieved during a superglide, the superglide will end on the frame that the vehicle touches the ground after being airborne. The internal velocity lock will be removed, and external velocity will quickly dissipate.

Relevant code

For Vabold and other programmers.

TAS BKTs

Applicable categories:

	Unrestricted	No Ultra SC	No Glitch/SC
3laps	No	No	Banned
Flaps	No	Yes	Banned

Runs:
SNES Ghost Valley 2 Flap (No Ultra SC) - 15.766 by Ejay and Citrinitas.

Trivia

• Despite slow ramp collision being present in GBA Shy Guy Beach and Moonview Highway, slow-ramp-abuse — and hence supergliding — can't be performed on them (due to the shape of the ramp in GBA Shy Guy Beach, and the tops of cars/trucks being entirely surrounded by air in Moonview Highway).