Posts for zidanax

1 2
7 8 9
14 15
Posted: 8/10/2009 6:56 AM
Quote
zidanax
Experienced Forum User, Published Author, Player (215)
Joined: 2/12/2006
Posts: 373
Location: Oregon
I didn't spend much time optimizing the boss fight because it's especially difficult to get good stardust patterns for that boss, and my luck might be different when I do the final run of that level (as was the case with the Bloodpool Act 2 boss, although that was a matter of spawning positions). Expect a faster boss fight in the final version.
Posted: 8/10/2009 2:41 AM
Quote
zidanax
Experienced Forum User, Published Author, Player (215)
Joined: 2/12/2006
Posts: 373
Location: Oregon
I have wanted to mess around with uploading vids on Youtube anyway, so I put up the WIP: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=05_7LtjWqJo
Posted: 8/9/2009 6:46 AM
Quote
zidanax
Experienced Forum User, Published Author, Player (215)
Joined: 2/12/2006
Posts: 373
Location: Oregon
I recall checking the delay for getting the Aitos Source of Magic before, but I wasn't smart enough to note the exact delay. 380 frames sounds about right. And you've been great with the Sim stuff, so I'll trust that figure. As for the magic scroll in Kasandora Act 2, there's actually a trick so that you don't have to wait (look at my WIP towards the bottom of page 11), but nevertheless I pick it up (and I see a possible improvement there that would still pick up that scroll...).
Posted: 8/2/2009 6:42 AM
Quote
zidanax
Experienced Forum User, Published Author, Player (215)
Joined: 2/12/2006
Posts: 373
Location: Oregon
Awesome! Your patience in testing out all these different paths puts mine to shame. And again, your monster killing speed is impressive. As for the Source of Magic in Aitos, I'm not so sure anymore that the delays involved will be worth it, but now that I have have a better idea of what kind of Stardust patterns I'll end up getting in each boss battle (thanks to the WIPs I made), and can somewhat better manipulate stardust thanks to lua, I'll run tests again at some point to see if getting the SOM would really be worth it.
Posted: 7/27/2009 3:57 PM
Quote
zidanax
Experienced Forum User, Published Author, Player (215)
Joined: 2/12/2006
Posts: 373
Location: Oregon
This run is not dead. It's just hibernating, because I've been waiting for an SMV from Dunnius for Kasandora. If Dunnius doesn't put up something, I may try myself to get 24 souls before the first construction phase. Now I can look at Dunnius's runs of Fillmore and Bloodpool to try to figure out exactly how Dunnius killed so many monsters within the first few phases. But that probably won't come until sometime during August, since I'm taking classes right now. Once Kasandora is finished, the other sims should be a piece of cake. So should most of the acts for that matter, since I've already made test runs for them.
Posted: 6/19/2009 11:16 PM
Quote
zidanax
Experienced Forum User, Published Author, Player (215)
Joined: 2/12/2006
Posts: 373
Location: Oregon
The lua script is, at least for now, just to test whether or not I'm calculating attack damage correctly. I've also figured out Artea's Dread spell. However, I do have two lua scripts which actually go through the Gades battle, and vary how long they wait before entering the battle since that affects the outcome. With the first one, I have each character do what I would consider a sane action. Maxim and Guy attack, Artea casts Dread at first, then Trick on Maxim or Guy or both (I can easily change it in the script), and Selan casts Thunder. The script keeps track of how long each battle took (taking wait time into consideration, of course) then reloads the savestate for the quickest one. That yields some good battle times, but it doesn't take into account that actions characters take affect later actions. So it might be possible, for example, that using Defend in the right places will cause more critical hits, thus actually yielding a faster time. But I'm not sure exactly how past actions affect future ones yet. So my other script has the characters take random actions (from a limited set for now) until they either win the battle or die. This is done many times for each possible amount of waiting. Actually, I kind of know how actions affect future actions since I can calculate how much 7E149E is incremented for some actions, but I don't know how the location for critical hits is affected, so I'll want to analyze that. If I manage to write a full battle simulator, that should be way faster than having a lua script try stuff out. Even if that doesn't work out, it's interesting to peek into how the battle system works :)
Posted: 6/13/2009 1:31 AM
Quote
zidanax
Experienced Forum User, Published Author, Player (215)
Joined: 2/12/2006
Posts: 373
Location: Oregon
Awesome! You never fail to amaze with your soul-gathering abilities! With 6 structures in the 1st phase, we should be able to save a few hundred frames in Marahna. We will still have to build towards the NW and SW lairs at the same time, but now we can get away with 1 less phase of doing that and still beat Marahna in the minimum number of phases. Things are shaping up rather well :). How are things going for you? I've been rather busy thanks to it being the end of Spring term here. But now finals are over for me, so I'd like to see what you've done so far for Kasandora if possible.
Posted: 6/12/2009 1:49 AM
Post subject: Lufia & the Fortress of Doom
Quote
zidanax
Experienced Forum User, Published Author, Player (215)
Joined: 2/12/2006
Posts: 373
Location: Oregon
I'm surprised that nobody's started a topic for this game yet. Would anybody else be interested in seeing a TAS for this game? I've been messing around with lua scripts to luck-manipulate battles, and also done some work reverse-engineering how attacks work, which I seem to have succeeded in doing for the Sinistral battles at the beginning. I've now got a C++ program that can calculate attacks based on some data fed to it via a lua script that runs until just before the actual calculations are done. Not too surprisingly, the random number system is pretty much identical to Lufia II. i.e., there's a location(7E149E) that can point to one of 55 values, and it increments in a certain pattern depending on the circumstances. Once it reaches 55, the values it can point at are XORed with each other in a certain pattern, then it's reset to 0.
Posted: 5/18/2009 4:46 AM
Quote
zidanax
Experienced Forum User, Published Author, Player (215)
Joined: 2/12/2006
Posts: 373
Location: Oregon
Co-authoring. Dunnius is better than I am at maximizing the number of monsters killed in the beginning of sims than I am and came up with interesting strategies for Fillmore and Bloodpool. Unfortunately, the alternate strategy for Bloodpool didn't work out (though it was an interesting idea), so he basically went with mine. I've done a whole bunch of planning for the sims, too, which I believe Dunnius has looked at, but the final input for the Bloodpool and Fillmore sims is Dunnius's. I do the action sequences. The SMVs I've put out recently are me sticking my action sequences onto the sim Dunnius just finished, since Dunnius said he'd rather leave the action sequences to me.
Posted: 5/17/2009 8:09 PM
Quote
zidanax
Experienced Forum User, Published Author, Player (215)
Joined: 2/12/2006
Posts: 373
Location: Oregon
How's it going Dunnius? I can imagine Kasandora is difficult to optimize, since you have to go out your way to build enough roads to get all the growth needed up to the end of Marahna.
Posted: 5/10/2009 5:57 AM
Quote
zidanax
Experienced Forum User, Published Author, Player (215)
Joined: 2/12/2006
Posts: 373
Location: Oregon
I did a quick and dirty test of everything up to just before Marahna Act 2 based off of the latest WIP. To simulate managing to get 6 structures in the first phase of the Kasandora sim I used a cheat code to hard code the soul counter to 24 for the first phase (then turned off the cheat). It looks like if we do manage to get a 6th structure in Kasandora thanks to the two bombs, we won't have to do quite as much pointer movement in Marahna. That's because we'll still be able to reach 1900 people in the same phase as my 3rd sim test even if we reach one of the last two lairs one turn before the other instead of on the same turn. In fact, when I gained a level the population was exactly 1900 (!!!). If we can't manage to get 6 structures, then we can use the same strategy as my last sim test (move the construction pointer back and forth such that the last two lairs are reached on the same turn). EDIT: When I reached a population of 1900, Kasandora and Aitos had populations of 510 and 402, respectively. That gives us a guide for how many roads need to be built in each place.
Posted: 5/9/2009 9:23 AM
Quote
zidanax
Experienced Forum User, Published Author, Player (215)
Joined: 2/12/2006
Posts: 373
Location: Oregon
I've inserted Bloodpool Act 2 and Kasandora Act 1. I redid Kasandora Act 1 and managed to shave off 22 frames. End of Kasandora Act 1
Posted: 5/5/2009 8:32 AM
Quote
zidanax
Experienced Forum User, Published Author, Player (215)
Joined: 2/12/2006
Posts: 373
Location: Oregon
I took a quick glance at the WIP and it looks pretty good. At some point, I'll stick in Bloodpool Act 2 and Kasandora Act 1 for you, but I want to do one more WIP of Kasandora Act 1, and I have several tests this week, so I may not do that until Friday or Saturday.
Posted: 5/4/2009 9:07 AM
Quote
zidanax
Experienced Forum User, Published Author, Player (215)
Joined: 2/12/2006
Posts: 373
Location: Oregon
I haven't played this game and I was entertained, so I imagine that somebody who's actually played this game might really like this TAS.
Posted: 4/26/2009 8:08 AM
Quote
zidanax
Experienced Forum User, Published Author, Player (215)
Joined: 2/12/2006
Posts: 373
Location: Oregon
That was a great idea with building two bridges; I didn't think of that. It's too bad that it didn't work out with the longer construction phases and all. I'd like to say that I am really impressed that you managed to pull off getting not 9, but 10 structures in the first two phases without using a bomb! I really do appreciate you perfecting the sims, especially gathering souls at the beginning of these sims, since that's the one part of the run I loathe doing. I agree that building a road to Fillmore will be unnecessary. As you said, having two bombs in Kasandora instead of just one will very likely allow us to get more houses in the beginning. You can use both bombs in Kasandora as needed because we won't need any in either Aitos or Marahna. Aitos and Marahna should both be easier because it's easy to get 24 souls in the first phase of each(it only takes one phase to reach the first lair in each), and of course we don't really care about population in Northwall. So hang in there :).
Posted: 4/19/2009 6:56 AM
Quote
zidanax
Experienced Forum User, Published Author, Player (215)
Joined: 2/12/2006
Posts: 373
Location: Oregon
For SNES at least, GoodTools isn't the gold standard anymore. GoodSNES hasn't been updated in about 4 and a half years, and a fair number of new dumps and, more importantly for most people, verifications have come out since then. If you ever try to catalog your ROMs, I would strongly suggest using either NSRT, which can be had at http://snesemu.black-ship.net/index.php?page=tools, or the No-Intro SNES database. NSRT would probably be your best bet, because not only is its database not quite as out of date (more like a little under two years), but it gives more information about your ROMS than GoodSNES, doesn't include stuff like bad dumps and overdumps, and can manipulate your ROMs in more ways (e.g., it can fix some known bad dumps and has better overdump detection). No-Intro's database is even more up-to-date, but you'll have to set up either clrmamepro or Romcenter to use it.
Posted: 4/17/2009 11:35 PM
Quote
zidanax
Experienced Forum User, Published Author, Player (215)
Joined: 2/12/2006
Posts: 373
Location: Oregon
Any progress? I'd like to see an SMV of what you have so far, even if it isn't complete (I'd like to see how you managed to get 21 souls before the first construction phase without getting a bomb).
Posted: 4/17/2009 10:55 PM
Quote
zidanax
Experienced Forum User, Published Author, Player (215)
Joined: 2/12/2006
Posts: 373
Location: Oregon
Seems to work nicely. Thanks!
Posted: 4/15/2009 6:00 PM
Post subject: mednafen-rr Memory Watching
Quote
zidanax
Experienced Forum User, Published Author, Player (215)
Joined: 2/12/2006
Posts: 373
Location: Oregon
Sorry if I missed a mention in the documentation, but is it supported? I know it's possible to make cheats, but is there a way to display the value of memory locations onscreen as you play?
Posted: 4/12/2009 9:38 PM
Quote
zidanax
Experienced Forum User, Published Author, Player (215)
Joined: 2/12/2006
Posts: 373
Location: Oregon
Very nice! How many souls do you have at the very beginning of phase 2 (when the timer starts incrementing again)?
Posted: 4/11/2009 6:22 AM
Quote
zidanax
Experienced Forum User, Published Author, Player (215)
Joined: 2/12/2006
Posts: 373
Location: Oregon
In preparation for when the Bloodpool sim is finished, I did another version of Bloodpool Act 2. This'll be my final one, I think. I used the idea of using a boost jump before entering a door to save frames, and how to fall off the edge of a platform slightly faster. And the tiniest amount of lag reduction (no more than 3 frames, I can't recall the exact amount). But most importantly, I got really lucky this time. I went into the boss's room and got a bad pattern like before, but when I used a boost jump to enter the room, I got a pattern where he starts on the low platforms, then the second ones up! So I've saved 175 frames total, mostly from the lucky boss fight. Bloodpool Act 2
Posted: 4/8/2009 7:46 PM
Quote
zidanax
Experienced Forum User, Published Author, Player (215)
Joined: 2/12/2006
Posts: 373
Location: Oregon
YAHOO! Well, I didn't think it would happen, but I managed to reduce the total number of phases to reach level 10 (and thus be able to enter Northwall) by 1. I was able to get out of Kasandora in the same number of turns as before, thanks to manipulation of when they build what stuff, though I had to pick up and use an extra wheat to do it. Aitos was the same as usual, but unfortunately, I had to wait an extra phase to reach level 8. Thus I entered Marahna on phase 34, as in my second sim test, but this time with a higher total population. This time I built towards both the NW and SW lairs at the same time. I barely managed to get to level 10 in one less phase--my population was 1902 and the requirement is 1900! I can say with confidence now that there is no way you'd be able to reach level 10 in less phases than this barring unknown glitches/cheats. The amount of timer stoppage involved with manipulation of food and the extra cursor movement may actually be enough to make this method slightly longer than taking one more phase to get out of Marahna and not doing all this food manipulation/extra pointer movement, but it's so cool to clear Marahana (and, by extension, Northwall since there's no minimum population to leave it) in what I'm darn sure is the minimum number of phases that I don't care quite as much. Here's my WIP. Note that parts not essential to getting the population growth patterns I want are rough as sandpaper; this is a quick and dirty test. Note to Dunnius though: if you can manage to get 10 structures in the first two phases of Bloodpool, or get 9 without using a bomb (preferably the second choice), and without delaying the timer more, that would still be nice because that may be enough to eliminate the need for manipulation of how people in Kasandora build. And thank you so much for your Fillmore strategy/ managing to get more souls in Fillmore without delaying the timer. This most likely wouldn't have happened without you. EDIT: A minor timesaver: I didn't notice this before, but casting earthquake in Marahna to create a bridge to the NW lair actually adds 22 to the soul counter. No need to use any bombs or angel arrows. I could just kill two monsters in the first turn and then do nothing and still get 6 structures!
Posted: 4/8/2009 5:12 PM
Quote
zidanax
Experienced Forum User, Published Author, Player (215)
Joined: 2/12/2006
Posts: 373
Location: Oregon
Also, there are some Metal Slug games on the Neo Geo Pocket Color.
Posted: 4/7/2009 9:59 PM
Quote
zidanax
Experienced Forum User, Published Author, Player (215)
Joined: 2/12/2006
Posts: 373
Location: Oregon
Looks like it is possible to leave Bloodpool in 7 growths. I had to build bridges over both river tiles in the south, and manually turn the first field (corn) into wheat in order to get enough food. I ended up delaying building of bridges in the south until the NW bat lair was sealed, and put off converting the corn field to wheat until just before the critical growth that lets us leave Bloodpool. Here's an example of how this could be done. See if you can find any optimizations in there, Dunnius. I'm going to, based off of that WIP, (which has the essential part of leaving Bloodpool in 7 growths instead of 8) see what happens in Kasandora, Aitos, and Marahna. EDIT: If you can't manage to get enough souls for 10 structures (fields/buildings), then see if you can manage to get enough for 9 without using a bomb. That bomb could come in handy in Kasandora. Also, you'll want to build over to Fillmore so that their fields are converted to wheat. If you do that, then at the end of Kasandora their population will be 8 higher than it would've been otherwise. That may not seem like much, but I can tell that however we manage to get out of Kasandora in the same number of phases as I did in my second sim test, it's going to be a close shave, so every single house helps. 9260 frames (about 2 and a half minutes) total saved up to the beginning of Bloodpool Act 2 with this WIP.
Posted: 4/7/2009 12:24 AM
Quote
zidanax
Experienced Forum User, Published Author, Player (215)
Joined: 2/12/2006
Posts: 373
Location: Oregon
Very impressive. Having tried to do so myself, I can imagine that getting enough souls by the end of the second turn must've been a pain. I looked over the WIP, and I couldn't see any obvious errors. Stay tuned for an edit, because I'm going to splice in my Fillmore Act 2 and Bloodpool Act 1 runs. I should also mention that looking at my growth charts, we may actually be able to get to level 4 (and therefore leave Bloodpool) one turn earlier if you can somehow manage to get one more house (or maybe field?) in the first two turns of Bloodpool than I did in my latest sim test (I got 8 houses total). That could be a real pain to do without resorting to things that delay the timer like drying more marshes. If you can't mange to do it, we'll leave it as is, but if you could do it and it actually works, that would be fantastic. Two extra would be even better because it might be useful later. EDIT: Here's the current WIP. 7678 frames saved over Ogreslayer's TAS up to the end of Bloodpool Act 1, though we will lose some of that time in the Bloodpool sim unless we can manage to get enough houses/fields early on in Bloodpool. EDIT#2: I played around in Bloodpool some. Looks like it is possible to get another set of 4 souls in the first 2 turns, but they ended up building a field instead of a 9th house. That encourages people to build more houses later. However they decided that on the turn I want them to build more houses in order to get out of Bloodpool (The 7th time the town grows), they'll instead dedicate two people to fields,when they could've just built one field and dedicated the other person to a house, which would've given me barely enough people to leave Bloodpool right there. They would've gotten close to the limit of what the food supply could support, but it would've been possible. Maybe there's a way to manipulate them by, for example, changing the time when we build the bridge to the bottom lair, to make them build houses at the time we want them to build them. Note that we'll probably want to build bridges over both exposed river tiles in the south, since bridges actually provide 32 food. It may also be necessary to manually convert the first corn field to wheat in order to get this to work.
1 2
7 8 9
14 15