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Posted: 8/28/2026 4:17 PM
Samtastic
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I've been doing some more tests of Abe's Oddysee in Windows 98 in Dosbox and the only way I can get it to work is to run the game from a disc image. However, when I load the original 1997 retail version of any language, there's a slowdown at the main menu. My finished run I optimize it for IGT timing and the RTA timing should be udner the 10:50 mark, but I notice it runs slower. I tried copying the files to the drive but it crashes. Here's my latest test result https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gDlgr5d0nqc
Enjoys speedrunning, playing and TASing Oddworld games! Has TASed: Oddworld: Abe's Oddysee in 12.06.13 (with Dooty) Oddworld: Adventures II in 20.03.78 (with Dooty) Oddworld: Abe's Exoddus 100% in 2:08:28.4 (with Dooty) Oddworld: Abe's Oddysee 100% in 1:05:01.65 Oddworld: Abe's Exoddus in 37:18 Oddworld: Abe's Exoddus in 37:15 Oddworld: Abe's Exoddus 100% in 2:!5.44.12 Oddworld: Abe's Oddysee any% in 13:01.3 Oddworld: Abe's Oddysee any% in 12:59.95 Oddworld: Abe's Oddysee 100% in 1:04:16.27 Oddworld: Abe's Oddysee 100% in 1:04:01.07 Currently working on: Waiting for Windows TAS Tools to work so I can TAS PC version of Exoddus.
Posted: 9/1/2026 9:28 AM
(Edited: 23 days ago)
CoolKirby
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Exotic platforms TASer of 2014 NES TAS of 2013
I watched the video but don't know how fast the main menu is supposed to animate. Do you mean frames are added in the menu (making the TAS slower), or the game just runs slower on your computer in that menu (external performance)? For the former, you can try using a .conf and changing cputype to something like pentium_ii_slow or pentium_iii_slow. For the latter, see if core=dynamic_x86 smooths over the performance hiccup. Both tips are sourced from Dimon's OP.
Posted: 9/1/2026 2:48 PM
(Edited: 9/1/2026 3:46 PM)
Samtastic
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CoolKirby wrote:
I watched the video but don't know how fast the main menu is supposed to animate. Do you mean frames are added in the menu (making the TAS slower), or the game just runs slower on your computer in that menu (external performance)? For the former, you can try using a .conf and changing cputype to something like pentium_iii_prefetch or pentium_iii_slow. For the latter, see if core=dynamic_x86 smooths over the performance hiccup. Both tips are sourced from Dimon's OP.
It briefly stops at the main menu when Abe’s face shows up before he says “Hello”. Compare to Namesoom’s WR run the RTA timing should br around under 10:50 but loads slower and gives an extra 12 seconds https://youtu.be/yIlP_Ys8beU?is=IE3UMzGZ7-IVctLs Even the DOS version can get better load times but the ending cinematics don’t have sound https://youtu.be/RZkFgGpolx8?is=8PKzbKseCPXQA6Ws
Enjoys speedrunning, playing and TASing Oddworld games! Has TASed: Oddworld: Abe's Oddysee in 12.06.13 (with Dooty) Oddworld: Adventures II in 20.03.78 (with Dooty) Oddworld: Abe's Exoddus 100% in 2:08:28.4 (with Dooty) Oddworld: Abe's Oddysee 100% in 1:05:01.65 Oddworld: Abe's Exoddus in 37:18 Oddworld: Abe's Exoddus in 37:15 Oddworld: Abe's Exoddus 100% in 2:!5.44.12 Oddworld: Abe's Oddysee any% in 13:01.3 Oddworld: Abe's Oddysee any% in 12:59.95 Oddworld: Abe's Oddysee 100% in 1:04:16.27 Oddworld: Abe's Oddysee 100% in 1:04:01.07 Currently working on: Waiting for Windows TAS Tools to work so I can TAS PC version of Exoddus.
Posted: 9/1/2026 10:25 PM
(Edited: 9/3/2026 4:22 AM)
CoolKirby
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I see, that would be a problem when aiming for RTA timing. You could try my cputype suggestion and/or set cycles=fixed 700000 for example, and see if those skip over the pre-Hello pause. Add them in a .conf in your XML/multi-disk bundle that looks like: 
[cpu]
cputype=pentium_iii_slow
cycles=fixed 700000
core=dynamic_x86
Even higher cycle values might work better but will slow down the game's emulation (run slower on your computer, but the TAS will be faster, shown as shorter loading times and less lag.) Of course, you can also go lower than 700000 if it's just emulating too slowly. Play around with it and find the right value for the game and to be comfortable TASing with.
Posted: 9/2/2026 2:47 PM
(Edited: 9/2/2026 4:48 PM)
Dimon12321
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NES TAS of 2024
CoolKirby wrote:
For the former, you can try using a .conf and changing cputype to something like pentium_iii_prefetch or pentium_iii_slow.
I'm sorry. This is obsoleted information! I had a conversation with Deadcode in TASVideos Discord chat some day and he proofed DOSBox-X rolls back to `auto` because these variants of pentium_iii don't exist.
TASing is like making a film: only the best takes are shown in the premier. https://xkcd.com/3246/
Posted: 9/2/2026 3:40 PM
(Edited: 9/2/2026 6:31 PM)
Samtastic
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Posts: 804
Here's what happens at 700000 cycles. The DOS version works much faster and I can get times under 11:00 TAS timing. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aqgQy9MbU-s&feature=youtu.be Udpate: Here's Oddysee running on normal DosboxX https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1zwup6hZSqQ&feature=youtu.be
Enjoys speedrunning, playing and TASing Oddworld games! Has TASed: Oddworld: Abe's Oddysee in 12.06.13 (with Dooty) Oddworld: Adventures II in 20.03.78 (with Dooty) Oddworld: Abe's Exoddus 100% in 2:08:28.4 (with Dooty) Oddworld: Abe's Oddysee 100% in 1:05:01.65 Oddworld: Abe's Exoddus in 37:18 Oddworld: Abe's Exoddus in 37:15 Oddworld: Abe's Exoddus 100% in 2:!5.44.12 Oddworld: Abe's Oddysee any% in 13:01.3 Oddworld: Abe's Oddysee any% in 12:59.95 Oddworld: Abe's Oddysee 100% in 1:04:16.27 Oddworld: Abe's Oddysee 100% in 1:04:01.07 Currently working on: Waiting for Windows TAS Tools to work so I can TAS PC version of Exoddus.
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