Active player (285)
Joined: 9/1/2008
Posts: 900
I tried your suggestion. With my present knowledge of game mechanics, it's impossible. Without a sword, I'm basically screwed against the enemies in the cave of Troy (the eyes, the bats, the red jellies...). They are much to quick for me to avoid, so I need a sword to have them deviate. http://dehacked.2y.net/microstorage.php/info/1651282805/Sword%20of%20Vermilion.gmv Back from Bremen's cave nearly 1000 frames earlier. Entering/exiting towns and avoid early fights is still a problem
ars4326
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Experienced player (777)
Joined: 12/8/2012
Posts: 706
Location: Missouri, USA
Ah, that's a shame, but at least we now know it's impossible at the moment. I appreciate you taking the time to look into it. The run is really looking polished. I'm liking how you kill off a few enemies each time you flee a battle in order to steadily gain XP (maybe this can be improved upon further?). Didn't AxeMan say that he was looking into a lua program to help maximize the 20-step encounter rule? edit: I also seem to remember Inaudios being a rather good spell to ward off encounters. I think it also supersedes the 20-step encounter rule. It's worth testing.
"But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him." - 1 Corinthians 2:9
Active player (285)
Joined: 9/1/2008
Posts: 900
ars4326
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Experienced player (777)
Joined: 12/8/2012
Posts: 706
Location: Missouri, USA
Funny how the demon girl beat you back to town even after death-warping :D
"But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him." - 1 Corinthians 2:9
Active player (285)
Joined: 9/1/2008
Posts: 900
Active player (285)
Joined: 9/1/2008
Posts: 900
is there a way to force enemies to drop items? I'm trying to have silver jellies drop at least one gnome stone so I can save on that trip before Sanguios Cave
ars4326
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Experienced player (777)
Joined: 12/8/2012
Posts: 706
Location: Missouri, USA
From my experience TASing RPGs, I've been able to manipulate drops by initiating an action (attack, magic) on a specific frame. Have you tried any of the following?
    Beginning the finishing strike on a monster during a specific frame? Having the battle end on a specific frame? Manipulating a battle to begin on a specific frame?
In case you haven't yet, you could also record in real-time and experiment with the battles. If you happen to get one with an item drop, you can play back from the beginning and narrow down what caused it.
"But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him." - 1 Corinthians 2:9
Joined: 7/10/2008
Posts: 44
Been a while, any more progress janus? Looks like things were clicking along there pretty good. Main reason for posting, though, is I'm looking for some help. Friend of mine and I recently played through this game and were going through it again using the super strength trick. Doing the trick was no problem, but questions came up regarding some of the limitations and "what if we...?" We weren't able to really find any documentation other than how to do the trick itself. So, we started testing a few things. No RAM watching or anything fancy, just trial and error and seeing what the results were. You can see some of our results here: http://www.gamefaqs.com/boards/586515-sword-of-vermilion/72071087 G_T has since found that equipping a better sword after doing the trick with the silver sword dropped her strength to 150 or so, which is below what it would normally be (she was level 18 or 19 when she tried the Mirage Sword). So, we're hoping some of the folks here that get into the nuts and bolts of games can help with figuring out what makes the trick tick, why the Bronze Sword will lock your strength in at 1500, but a better sword will keep your strength at 2700+ and go up at level ups, that sort of thing. I'll also mention, though it's prolly already known: when you're poisoned and it kills you/your HP drops below 0, briefly you can see your hit points read 5800+. A second later, you're back at the church missing half your gold. Obviously, this is the same thing that happens with the super strength/ultra strength/ultra AC tricks, just without the effect sticking around. Anybody looked into a way to keep the extra HP, exploiting this bug? Obviously, in a TAS, you're avoiding enemies, avoiding most damage, so hit points aren't a real concern, but looking into it might lead to other discoveries. Anyway, any thoughts or help would be appreciated. Thank you.
Active player (285)
Joined: 9/1/2008
Posts: 900
I've restarted the run on BizHawk. After Parma, I've saved about 5 seconds (real time), but I've fought so much less in comparison to the latest test run: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oL_aFxJ8600
Active player (285)
Joined: 9/1/2008
Posts: 900
At Deepdale. I was able to get a silver jelly to drop a gnome stone, so I won,t have to pick that chest on my way to Sanguios Cave
Active player (285)
Joined: 9/1/2008
Posts: 900
On my way to Malaga. I saved frames by avoiding unecessary dialogues (talking to the king after the first girl demon). I also got quite a few zombies (blue skeletons), worth 700 kims EACH.
Active player (285)
Joined: 9/1/2008
Posts: 900
Just found out that black jellies drop banshee powder (death warp without losing money). A possible game changer
Active player (285)
Joined: 9/1/2008
Posts: 900
YUUUUUUUUUGE news: Inaudios freezes the step counter. This means I will need a rerun since I can buy all my books (Inaudios, Aries and possibly Extrios) at the same place and not buy as many gnome stones
Active player (285)
Joined: 9/1/2008
Posts: 900
I got all the crystals... but I forgot to drop by Barrow to buy my pass to Cartathena. But I think I have enough; Inaudios doesn't work inside dungeons, but nothing stops me from casting it before entering them. I might try to get that item that imitates inaudios too.
Active player (285)
Joined: 9/1/2008
Posts: 900
After much hardship, I was FINALLY able to redo my run with acceptable times. Now about 600 frames ahead after Parma, AND my death warp allows me 20 steps
Active player (285)
Joined: 9/1/2008
Posts: 900
My planning has paid out. I abuse item drops (banshee powder, and even money chests), and saved 1800 frames after my first fight with the girl demon. I won't have to shop for other items. If only I could find Griffin wings drops...
Active player (285)
Joined: 9/1/2008
Posts: 900
On my way to Excalabria, again. Casting spells takes WAY too much time; I've fallen behind the previous test run. Extrios is definitely out; I will test banshee powder warps later
Active player (285)
Joined: 9/1/2008
Posts: 900
This is it! 1h36. But a quick check (you can freely travel the world and shop after defeating Tsarkon) showed me that the banshee powder warps are too long, at least before Swaffehn. Extrios is definitely a plus in the Cave of Thule to cast Inaudios. You won,t believe how quickly I defeated Tsarkon, and with barely a scratch
Active player (285)
Joined: 9/1/2008
Posts: 900
Item drops are overrated. I've restarted and saved nearly 1200 frames after the first girl demon fight.
Active player (285)
Joined: 9/1/2008
Posts: 900
Now 3274 frames ahead after the crystals of Swaffehn. Thanks to more intense manipulation, I've obtained the 20-steps battle EVERY single time and optimized soldiers' movements in Swaffen (except once). I MIGHT try a rerun after that to see if dropping superfluous magic (Sanguia) and items (alarm clock, dungeon key) will make such a difference
Active player (285)
Joined: 9/1/2008
Posts: 900
New completed run, nearly 9500 frames shorter than the preceding one. The Raphael Stick is definitely a must, but I need to plan my fight better so I gain a level on my way to Excalabria instead of shopping for MP-restoring jewels. Anything else I should look for also?
Active player (285)
Joined: 9/1/2008
Posts: 900
I finished again and saved another 1500 frames. However, I think I can still squeeze a few more frames by arriving in Carthatena with 110k experience, therefore gaining a level after the dragon fight AND not needing to shop at all.[/img]
Active player (285)
Joined: 9/1/2008
Posts: 900
Down another 600 frames. Let's now see if I can get better outcomes aroundf Parma (and I might rework Tsarkon; I've never seem him wait that long to lower his head)