The remaining CTRL+O presses can be done during the first Las Vegas tournament during table matches.
Wouldn't this put us past the 2nd July (pro tournament date), if Ctrl+O always advances a week? If so, this would be a good reason to try the casino that I forgot to test before. Winning big is unlikely but the more money you have, the more you can win (it doesn't seem to have jackpots or anything).
It seems like the value you can win changes every frame, other than the delay while the room and map first load in (after loading the file). You can wait both in your aunt's house and on the map to change RNG differently. Not sure if waiting earlier (like on the file select screen) could work for luck manipulation too. It still might be slower overall than doing chores, but we could visit the casino at least twice for smaller wins, before or after the amateur tournament, or all in one go if the win lines up.
I didn't manage to improve the fastest match I got (596 frames from starting to charge the cue until the "you win" message).
Wouldn't this put us past the 2nd July (pro tournament date), if Ctrl+O always advances a week? If so, this would be a good reason to try the casino that I forgot to test before. Winning big is unlikely but the more money you have, the more you can win (it doesn't seem to have jackpots or anything).
I stand corrected again. Yes, we should test going to the casino twice instead of clicking the bed twice (casino advances by 1 day each time).
And compare that against simply doing chores beforehand and clicking on the calendar 11 times to go to June 27th, like before.
Is there a pattern behind sinking the 9 ball on first hit (the break shot)? When I tested it last week in the starting town's tournament, I managed to get several in a row, but they all required different frame waits. I couldn't find a pattern, so it was just trial and error. Maybe I'm just new to pool.
Looks like wasting frames in different places changes RNG differently at the casino. From only waiting on the map:
Franes 213–252 (during loading the room/map graphics) give a win of $19 (+$19).
253–283 (waiting only on the map) is a loss of $17 (-$17). I don't know why it's the same value for so long here.
284 starts the different values each frame. Here it's -$18.
285 is -$8.
286 is +$36, but it takes too long to get here. Earlier frame delays would be needed to reach a similar value.
314 is +$50, or double the $50 we put in, though it also takes too long to get here. ignore how I did my mouse, I like your way better.
Actually, whether we wait in the room or on the map, it's still a wait until the first frame being able to try the casino, so we might have to waste frames on the title screen instead. If we really can't win more than $50 at a time, we'll visit it twice like you said, since we can't do any more chores without the calendar route. We could also do fewer chores if we can get a big payout twice in a row quickly (changing up RNG even more).
Is there a pattern behind sinking the 9 ball on first hit (the break shot)? When I tested it last week in the starting town's tournament, I managed to get several in a row, but they all required different frame waits. I couldn't find a pattern, so it was just trial and error. Maybe I'm just new to pool.
I basicly do trial and error as well. Shots will be somewhat random and it will not be possible to repeat the same shot each table. I guess the game takes the player's stats (power, accuracy) and adds some arbitrary values on top of that.
When charging the cue, the further to the right it moves on the charge meter, the more power it will have.
And when it moves to the left, the more to the left, the better the precision (i.e. the ball will move at the angle you envisioned).
If you charge and click so the cue stops in the right half of the charge meter, it will have terrible precision and the ball will be shot at a very bad angle. It is possible to compensate for this by envisioning an off angle in the first place.
I would like to get the 9 ball to sink with a bit less power so the other balls stop earlier but I have not managed to do it yet. Might be possible to save about 1 second. Once we optimize the first table for a good time, we will know what time to aim for in the upcoming tables.
Yes, sometimes the same result will happen regardless if you waited 1 or 2 or 3 frames. But I don't really have more insights for now.
Looks like wasting frames in different places changes RNG differently at the casino. From only waiting on the map:
Maybe RNG rolls more often in some places than others. Waiting on the map doesn't work out, but maybe it is possible to do the delays elsewhere as you said.
We could also do fewer chores if we can get a big payout twice in a row quickly (changing up RNG even more).
Fewer chores means the date will be wrong and we don't want to visit the casino AND manage the calendar.
Let me know if you find out anything. The part up until actually starting table matches is kinda tricky.
Btw, I did try the "do chores on the title screen right away and save that, have 0 stats" route but it looks slower than entering a new game and then going back to the title screen.
Fewer chores means the date will be wrong and we don't want to visit the casino AND manage the calendar.
I stand corrected. Ingame date can be hard to keep track of sometimes.
Waiting 1 frame before booting Windows, before the first input in the game, and before selecting the created save file (H.gam) all don't affect the two first-frame casino winnings, which are still +$19 and -$57. I think the RNG is too limited (maybe even frozen) right after loading a save, and we can just worry about the casino after doing the amateur tournament. We'll have more days that need to pass then, giving more opportunities to manipulate 2-3 favorable outcomes. (We'll have only $30 to gamble, but only need to get to $100 instead of $120.)
I like the idea of shooting at a bad angle to save time, once shot power is set, although like you said it'll take extra planning to compensate.
I notice you press W and P before shooting. What does the W key do here? Also what does Push Out do?
You can also click the graphic of the cue ball above the shot meter to add some spin, then move the mouse off of it on the next frame and shoot as normal. So adds 2 frames, but if we really can't line up a one-shot win, this can make the difference. I used this in the pool hall testing I did before.
W and P are just my frame advance and pause hotkeys and I didn't clear those keys in the controller settings yet.
Spin will be interesting, haven't thought of that.
Link to videobk2
Fixed the problems with the chores.
Now I'm getting 370$ again and managing the calendar.
I kinda gave up on the casino and I would not want to rely on it after the first tournament.
I tried spins briefly but it didn't make any big difference in my favor.
Just did a bunch of trial and error for hours until I got this outcome.
533 frames from starting charging to the "you win" message.
If it's possible to read onscreen pixel hex values, to detect that the "you win" message is showing up, I could probably write a script that automates the trial and error.
Since I don't want to spend 5 hours on each of the 43 remaining tables...
Sorry I never got back to you. I haven't been motivated to do the trial and error since practicing it last week way too much.
MUGG wrote:
I kinda gave up on the casino and I would not want to rely on it after the first tournament.
I don't blame you for the small amount of time casino may save, while a bad casino result would invalidate your many hours of trial and error optimal pool games.
MUGG wrote:
Just did a bunch of trial and error for hours until I got this outcome.
Looks good! I hope you can finish more with the low power and precision like that to save time.
I also had the idea to bot it, but didn't get far. Your onscreen pixel idea is interesting, though it might be easier to read a RAM address that changes when the message appears. Here are some ideas. Then you could write a script to watch that value like you said, or start from an existing base.
