Yeah, I've been way too burnt out lately but the first 3 levels of Episode 3 are done. In a couple weeks I'll have way more time to work on it and will pick it up again.
As DOSBox-X core is now implemented in BizHawk, this largely lowers the entrance bar for DOS TASing.
I'd like to bring the topic of Spear of Destiny. It's the same game, on the same engine, but instead of 6 episodes, this one consists of 19 continuous levels (2 secret maps aren't needed for any%).
I have tried it and, what I can tell is, it's very difficult to optimize the movement. Even though I read the game resource article, topic posts and all 6 slamo's submission texts, it's still not clear if I've done it correctly, despite the fact that it looks super-fast in the real time.
It also takes some brute-forcing to figure if turning and run-strafing is faster than run-strafing alone when the distance to cover is not long.
Combat RNG is complicated. Even though the table and index address are known, in the end, it's still a matter of trial and error to see if you one-shot an enemy.
Here is a TAS which beats Floor 1 (Tunnels 1) on the hardest difficulty with the full game TAS in mind:
Verification movie bk2, the game ROM is documented.
TAS bk2Link to video
Here, there are 2 guards (top and bottom) standing near the door 2. For some reason, I can't squeeze between them to open the door, or reach it without killing one. The bottom guard has "Deaf guard" flag, but I make full stop if I come anywhere near him. I tried using minor mouse input for 1 frame - it doesn't help. Maybe enemies' hitboxes are larger than the player's.
The route isn't fully planned yet. Just surface analysis.
Gatling Gun may be collected on Level 3, because there you don't need to reveal secrets and wait for walls to get out of your way. However, the place has high enemy density and an SS guard standing behind the room you need to clear.
Seems to be no new door tricks besides those shown in speedruns.
The minimap script isn't ported to BizHawk. That's a problem too
TASing is like making a film: only the best takes are shown in the final movie.
Another observation. I noticed that memory addresses have different locations depending on preset selection in DOSBox-X configuration.
User movie #638982291118542376
Wolfenstein 3D with 1994 preset. At least, the discovered addresses are located around the same place as specified in the game resource page, if you convert the addresses from decimal to HEX format.
User movie #638982296279547575
Wolfenstein 3D with 1997 preset. Here, the set of useful addresses is located in a different place due to different memory allocation.
User movie #638982299483150572
Spear of Destiny with 1997 preset.
BTW, that's the preset I'm using to TAS Spear of Destiny for stable 70 fps.
TASing is like making a film: only the best takes are shown in the final movie.
