Posted: 9/28/2012 1:07 PM
Post subject: Ken's Labyrinth
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GipFace
Joined: 9/20/2012
Posts: 9
Hi, I'm starting a TAS on this game, since I feel it's a good choice due to its variety of level and enemy design over contemporaries like Blake Stone and Wolfenstein 3D, the sheer movement speed, and of course, the unique music for each level. I'm using labfull.zip available at the official site here. Files deleted for the img file: helpme.doc, hints.txt, ken.exe, readme.txt, sav*.dat. hiscore.dat can be deleted but the game will skip the high score screen at the end of each level, which is against the rules. ken.exe is deleted because kensbfix.exe doesn't crash with digital sound. That said, I have a few issues/questions. - The game runs OK in 320x200 mode. However, there is a 360x240 mode that I would like to use, but it has minor graphic glitching at the top of the screen. If I can't fix that, should I just do the run in 320x200? - Early in level 1, there is a slot machine. It is possible to manipulate this and win the jackpot (1 coin -> 200 coins), though it is very difficult (1 in 4096, so I'll give up if it can't be forced). Payout is given 1 coin at a time, and it keeps going even if you complete the level before the payout finishes. If going for fastest time on the boss levels, I will need 6 ammo (more ammo = faster firing rate). However, the jackpot payout sound becomes annoying after a while because it takes about 1 minute to complete the payout. If going for winning the jackpot 3 times in a row, the viewer will hear "ding ding" for 3 minutes, which may ruin entertainment value. Should I just avoid the slot machines altogether? Example of the "ding ding" here. - You can purchase cloaks at the vending machines for 5 coins, which grant invulnerability for 30 seconds. These stack. When combined with a slot machine win, I could purchase many of them at once and make most enemies trivial. (only holes and walking holes can kill you when you have a cloak) As you can go through enemies in this game, invulnerability would drastically shorten level completion time. Should I do this, or would it ruin entertainment value? Lastly, this link states that the latest version is r11.2. However, the repository has an r11.7. I tried compiling this on my own and got errors. Could someone create a Windows binary for me and update that resource page? Thanks!
Posted: 9/28/2012 3:12 PM
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creaothceann
He/Him
Editor
Joined: 4/7/2005
Posts: 1874
Location: Germany
- What kind of glitching? If that area can be copied from previous or following frames then fixing it is relatively easy. - It's very annoying. I'd say just avoid it. - You could create a second run that uses it, but it's probably not as entertaining.
Posted: 9/28/2012 3:13 PM
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hegyak
Editor
Joined: 3/31/2010
Posts: 1466
Location: Not playing Puyo Tetris
I would rather see Blake Stone then this game. This game feels like someone tried to make a more friendly version of Wolfenstien 3D. That being said, I don't know if this kind of game (2 1/2D FPS) should be attempted.
When TAS does Quake 1, SDA will declare war. The Prince doth arrive he doth please.
Posted: 9/28/2012 3:49 PM
Post subject: Re: Ken's Labyrinth
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Ilari
Emulator Coder, Skilled player (1114)
Joined: 5/1/2010
Posts: 1217
Rookie of 2010 New systems TASer of 2010 New systems TAS of 2010
Ken's Labyrinth... Ah, I once tried this game... Got so far as to find the position addresses, angle address and coin address. Of course, DOS memory addresses tend to differ between runs based on very subtle differences in setup... So I would have to see the movie file if I was even to try to to find memory addresses... Some bootup hints: - Put the game onto hard disk and put the hard disk to slot D. This avoids a timeout from BIOS. - Hit enter after seeing the prompt about boot menu. This cuts about 2.5 seconds wait time. - Skip autoexec.bat... There is nothing needed there, only some stuff that will mess up things. - The keyboard is buffered, so before entering the actual game, you can hit keys before the computer is ready (up to certain limits).
GipFace wrote:
- The game runs OK in 320x200 mode. However, there is a 360x240 mode that I would like to use, but it has minor graphic glitching at the top of the screen. If I can't fix that, should I just do the run in 320x200?
The glitching is also present in DOSBox, so I guess it is not an emulation error. As for music, use Adlib, NOT MPU-401 (even if the latter works) or some encoder is going to have a quite bad day...
GipFace wrote:
- Early in level 1, there is a slot machine. It is possible to manipulate this and win the jackpot (1 coin -> 200 coins), though it is very difficult (1 in 4096, so I'll give up if it can't be forced).
At odds like that, would be useful to find the RNG address and find out what numbers give the jackpot. Much too slow to just try blindly.
GipFace wrote:
Lastly, this link states that the latest version is r11.2. However, the repository has an r11.7. I tried compiling this on my own and got errors. Could someone create a Windows binary for me and update that resource page? Thanks!
http://www.elisanet.fi/ilari_l/jpcrr-r11.7-precompiled.zip
Posted: 9/28/2012 5:50 PM
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GipFace
Joined: 9/20/2012
Posts: 9
Thanks for all the help, everyone! Re Blake Stone: I might try Blake Stone afterwards, but I personally think its level design is inferior to that of Ken's Labyrinth. There are swaths of rooms with nothing but bonus point items, which ultimately do nothing, the enemies aren't as endearing, and every level looks too similar. (Most of the levels look like they could've been made through a random level generator) Also, I've only played episode 1 extensively, so I'm not the ideal person to attempt it yet. It's a much larger game, too: 66 levels, 54 of which are played normally. Re Startup: Thanks, I did all that. With the help of the keyboard buffer, the setup program can be configured in just 2 frames. Adlib was chosen because Ken said that would provide the best quality music. SET BLASTER isn't required. I'll play a little bit before making a verdict on 320x200 vs. 360x240. Re Gameplay: I'll skip the slot machines and vending machines, then. The boss levels will take significantly longer, but thankfully there are only three of them. However, cloaks I pick up are fair game! (Floor 3-7 is nothing but a power-up level)
Posted: 9/28/2012 8:54 PM
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henke37
Editor
Joined: 3/10/2010
Posts: 899
Location: Sweden
I say, just make a custom bootable hd image and preemptively cut out all the useless parts, like entering the command to start the game and any boot menus.
Posted: 9/30/2012 2:08 PM
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GipFace
Joined: 9/20/2012
Posts: 9
Bootup + setup.exe takes under a second, so there's not much of a point in further tuning bootup unless a frame war is happening. Decided on 360x240 despite the occasional graphic glitching, which seems to be in the game itself. The extra viewing area makes it more eye-pleasing as a whole. Playdump can't playback in realtime, so I need to convert to a WIP encode. For some reason, dumpconvert (r11.2) is crashing whenever I try to use it. I'm using the settings in the info page and it's not working. Please help? Thanks!
Posted: 9/30/2012 6:40 PM
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Ilari
Emulator Coder, Skilled player (1114)
Joined: 5/1/2010
Posts: 1217
Rookie of 2010 New systems TASer of 2010 New systems TAS of 2010
GipFace wrote:
Playdump can't playback in realtime, so I need to convert to a WIP encode. For some reason, dumpconvert (r11.2) is crashing whenever I try to use it. I'm using the settings in the info page and it's not working.
I just built a new version: http://www.elisanet.fi/ilari_l/streamtools-r11.7a.7z (complete with fixes to some known bugs). As to quick and dirty encoding, something like the following might work: > dumpconvert --video-width=720 --video-height=480 --video-framerate=60 --output-wav=audio.wav --output-x264=video.mkv,crf=15 dump.jmd > mkvmerge --aspect-ratio=1:4/3 -o wipencode.mkv video.mkv audio.wav (The framerate is not quite 60fps, but very close).
Posted: 10/1/2012 7:31 PM
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GipFace
Joined: 9/20/2012
Posts: 9
Thanks, though for that second line, it's --aspect-ratio 0:4/3 to get it to work. Link to video WIP file: http://privatepaste.com/cdc1febc7b I'm going to have to redo this -- I didn't realize pressing SPACE too early near the door triggers the buzzer noise. Also, I didn't try straferunning yet because I just wanted to get the emulator working before going into hardcore re-record mode. General notes: - You can go through enemies, but you'll take damage, it'll slow you down during the go-through, and you'll veer slightly off-course. I'll need to take damage later because the harder enemies require more than 1 shot to kill. (the robot at the end of board 1 requires 2 shots) It's faster to go through them than to kill them. - There's no mouselook. Those turns into doors are at maximum turn speed. - Strafing is slower, so for most of the run UP is held. This is where JPC-rr's sticky keys are a good thing. ^.^ - Straferunning (holding UP while strafing) does work, but it's of limited use in this game because there's no mouselook, and it's a toggle key, so I can't turn while doing it. A bit of it may save some time in certain areas. Later on, using the missile weapon, which is heat-seeking, may alleviate this issue. - When firing while turning, your shot will not align to center. It'll be off slightly opposite in the direction you're turning. - You can't fire while running, but you can work around this by releasing L-SHIFT (run), then fire for 1 frame, then running again. Sometimes it needs 2 frames; I don't know why. Board 1 notes: - I approached the gold key from a wide turn in order to minimize the time I'm bumped into the wall. It's faster to do this than to approach it head on and turn 180 degrees. - The last turn into the exit was a real pain to do, because the turn has to be precise in order to avoid touching the robot. - I should probably straferun the corridors to shave off a second or two. By the way, the loading startup is the game decompressing all the data. What if I were to increase CPU speed, thus shortening the startup? Is that valid?
Posted: 10/2/2012 3:34 PM
(Edited: 10/2/2012 3:47 PM)
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GipFace
Joined: 9/20/2012
Posts: 9
Okay, I redid level 1 with straferunning. Trimmed down the time from 11.19 to 9.40! Link to video Destroyed the phantom at point blank. I had to wait on that third door to open. Couldn't get it to open any faster because I approached it too fast from a sharp angle. If everyone's happy with this then I'll do the rest of the run this way.
Posted: 10/2/2012 3:38 PM
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creaothceann
He/Him
Editor
Joined: 4/7/2005
Posts: 1874
Location: Germany
The first one looks more natural, but I guess that's not useful for a TAS. And this one looks more like Doom TASes (iirc). :)
Posted: 10/5/2012 3:45 PM
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GipFace
Joined: 9/20/2012
Posts: 9
Yeah. Most early FPS games have the straferun glitch, including Doom. In Ken's Labyrinth, the default keys for run and strafe are on the opposite ends of the keyboard, so it was certainly never intended. Finished board 2 last night. 2 down, 28 to go. Link to video Board 1: - Further reduced time to 8.99s. Stopping and doing a 90 degree turn after picking up the key is faster than running into the wall. I'm happy with this time, so this will be in the final submission. Board 2: - The wide turn at 6s is necessary because there's a table in the way, as well as a bat. - The slight slowdown from shooting the bat at 20s is OK because the jelly weapon needs to cooldown to shoot the spider in the room. I could probably just take the extra damage if I want to save an extra .1s, but shooting it down is cooler. - I take damage at 23s because the cooldown time of the jelly weapon is too long. (The cooldown time is reduced as you get more jellies) It's faster to simply run through everything. That's OK, because at the end I heal the slight life loss with two apples. Boards 3, 4, 7, 12, and 16 have additional jellies, so I'll go out of my way to grab them instead of going for fastest time. This will greatly reduce the clear times of boards 10, 20, and 30, as well as allowing me to shoot more enemies.