NEW DISCOVERIES:
Quadruple Jump (QJ) - If you return an item to your inventory while you're ascending, then immediately press Jump again, your jump counter will reset and you can perform another double jump. This is huge, as it allows us to gain a lot more height and reach places we were never supposed to reach. It's fairly easy to do and it works with any item, so we'll be using it extensively throughout the run.
(It's also possible to jump indefinitely by opening the Map screen and withdrawing the item again, but it's very tricky to pull off, and it has a tendency to crash the game, so don't expect to see much of that.)
SUMMARY:
5:12 - Instead of placing lettuce to lure the sheep off of the elevator, you can just use the lettuce to QJ up and grab the sheep. I didn't use the fastest route here, but this trick saves time regardless of which route you use.
6:25 - Instead of using the elevator, it's slightly faster to grab some lettuce and use it to QJ up to the mailbox.
7:17 - The route for Level 4 has changed pretty dramatically thanks to the QJ. If you order the flute, you can use it to jump out of bounds. The river's hitbox extends into the void, so it's possible to swim over to Sam's area. Then you can QJ up to the mailbox to order the fan, easy peasy.
9:13 - I missed the respawn warp and had to try again.
13:58 - Now that we can QJ, we no longer need to use Daffy's crane to get on top of the terrain. This makes it a lot safer to grab the lettuce before going to Sam's area instead of after, since there's much less risk of failing the jump and missing the vortex.
17:56 - I used ‪@47mvp89‬'s new Level 9 route in my last run, but it's still cool and new and deserves to be pointed out.
23:11 - Level 11 has a whole new route. Thanks to the QJ, we no longer need to collect the fishing rod. We can just QJ over the wall and into Sam's area.
23:29 - We can also use it to jump from Sam's area up to the ledge overhead, which means we no longer have to race Sam's FOV to reach the button in time. Instead, we can just move the sheep into button range and then QJ back up.
23:57 - A QJ here...
24:12 - A QJ there...
24:57 - Instead of trying to position the platforms for a risky double-jump over the void, we'll now position the sheep next to the solid ground, go back to retrieve the lettuce, and QJ up to the sheep. (You can also QJ directly from the platform, but it's only a bit faster and carries the risk of falling into the void if you miss the timing.)
25:13 - Instead of using the robot to press the button here, we can QJ up and place some lettuce in the goal, then drop down and press the button ourselves. All it takes is a couple more QJs to get back up. (You can save a couple of seconds by jumping directly from the button, but if you miss the timing, you'll fall into the void.)
This new Level 11 route cuts out the fishing rod and the robot, and saves nearly a minute over the old route.
26:20 - We can use QJs to improve upon the already amazing new Level 12 route. Here, we'll QJ to get on top of the maze.
26:28 - A QJ here makes this jump a lot less dangerous.
27:23 - Previously, it was dangerous to run back to the maze. There was a risk of falling down into the end of the maze, which would essentially force a reset. Now that we can just QJ back out of the maze, running has actually become a bit safer than jumping.
29:43 - I turned too early like an idiot and exploded like an idiot.
31:48 - I missed the sheep placement and had to wait to try again. Lost a good chunk of time in this level.
32:50 - This damn rock almost got me again. I just barely made it in time to catch the train. I don't know why this part is suddenly giving me trouble, I must be overthinking it after what happened last time.
I should also note that there are new routes for Level 0, Level 2, Level 8, and Planet X that I decided not to use in this run. They save a bit of time overall (mostly in Planet X), but it's going to take more practice before I'm able to perform those routes safely. All together, the theoretical best possible run is now in 35:XX territory, which means we've taken over ten minutes off the route in the past couple of years. Crazy times. This is the first sub-40 run, and sub-35 is looking more and more possible every day.
As always, huge thanks to ‪@ast6r‬, ‪@47mvp89‬, ‪@ZeddikSpeedrun‬, ‪@Lu9.2‬, and everyone else in the Sheep Raider discord who helped bring the time down this far.
If you're interested in the game, check out our Discord server! / discord