United StatesI'd be fine with that. Would prefer having at least one run for a category before adding though. (Just don't want to have a bunch of empty misc categories)
The PS3 is faster RTA due to faster loading, but we go by IGT since the IGT stops whenever the game is loading. This allows all platforms to be able to compete with each other.
(There's small differences between how fast each platform saves the game, and I need to look at it a bit more closely, but it's not enough of a difference to warrant platform separation)
Hi cmdrsho. We have added an MSX category after reviewing your submissions.
Also, I messaged you here on speedrun.com about your NES submission.
I can't say that I've ever run into any of this. Sounds like a hell of a glitch, though.
Might be irrelevant, but what were you playing this on emulator or console (and if on console, on original cart or PowerPak/Everdrive)?
So, this glitch has actually been known about for quite some time. I don't remember who discovered it, but it was brought up in my stream back when I was doing runs.
As for the category, because of the setup required from a previous save file, I'd argue that any% should remain as is, the new category should be NewGame+, since it's similar to how other game's NG+ categories work.
So, I just noticed that my run was added here (which is fine).
However, I notice the rules state that timing starts when you hit "start game" on the car select screen, which is not how I timed my runs. I always waited until the screen where you can select the option "I know enough, onward to Omek Prime!"
This was done so runners could have a chance to decide whether they wanted to restart due to not getting the main objectives they were looking for (Some are much better/faster than others) without having to stop/restart their timer every single time.
In addition, stopping the timer was always done when the final dialog screen pops up after the final boss dies, rather than having to click through both dialog boxes before stopping it.
That was an issue with the transfer to from Twitch to YouTube.
For reference, here's the original broadcast:
(I should probably just switch the video link to the twitch VOD...)
OK, I created the Crazy category, with Any%, All Bosses, and 100% as options. Feel free to submit you run.
I'm fine with adding All Bosses as a category.
For right now, I'll just add it for Leon, but if you finish runs as other characters, let me know and I can add them when a run is available.
If you're interested in doing a @crazy mode run, by all means go for it. I'm fine with adding the category as long as there's a run to put up.
@LLSKILL, however, is not allowed in any of the current categories.
From what I can tell, the RNG is frame based, at least when concerning combat rolls (To-Hit, Damage, Evasion).
It probably functions like that everywhere, if I had to guess.
Your findings pretty much line up with this guide over on GameFAQs. https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/nes/587676-swords-and-serpents/faqs/21153
The one difference being the Red Staff on floor 4, which they have listed as treasure class D, which shouldn't be available until floor 6. Entirely possible that they either put Red Staff in the wrong group, or if it really is rare they just never saw it there.
To-Hit means accuracy.
Strength and Deadeye do not stack on top of themselves. Casting the spell on the same character beyond the first cast has no apparent effect (except maybe refreshing duration...though I've never had a combat last long enough to see it wear off, so I don't know if it even has a duration)
The only thing we know about drops is from the first FAQ listed on GameFAQs, which describes each enemy as being able to drop from a certain treasure class. From what they have listed, Death Daggers can drop on floor 5. Silver Swords aren't available until floor 4, and Red Staves until floor 6. Whether their list is accurate is unknown, but as of right now it seems to be a decent approximation, if nothing else.
The Efficiency of a weapon is actually pretty misleading. Efficiency is simply the weapon's Initiative + To-Hit. Why they wanted to combine them, I don't know, but I'm guessing most people would think that Efficiency = Accuracy.
To illustrate this, let's take the starting weapons (Staff for Magician, Dagger for Thief, Sword for Fighter). Staff and Dagger both have Efficiency of 11, Sword has Efficiency of 10. All have Damage Class of 4. The Staff actually has a To-Hit of 4, and Initiative of 7. It's damage is 2d2, or 2-4 damage. The Dagger has a To-Hit of 3, and Initiative of 8. It's damage is 1d4, or 1-4 damage. The Sword has a To-Hit of 4, and Initiative of 6. It's damage is 2d2, or 2-4 damage.
Sadly, the game doesn't tell you any of this. I found an old post on Speed Demos Archive that was able to gather a lot of good info from, and using that was able to find where all the equipment data was stored in RAM so I could make a list of everything. Some weapons are...much worse than they appear.
I made a post in the other thread you made pertaining to stats and combat formulas and stuff.
I'll post my spreadsheet here once I get a chance to clean it up and make it readable to people who aren't me ;)
STR adds additional damage on top of the damage rolls from your weapon. 2-11 STR adds nothing, 12-15 STR adds 1, 16-19 STR adds 2, and 20 STR adds 3. Beyond that the Strength spell adds +4 damage on the receiving character.
INT only seems to affect Initiative and Magician's starting MP.
AGI affects To-Hit, Evasion, and Initiative.
The full explanation of how Initiative works: Each of your characters has a starting initiative = random[0,9] + agility + intelligence + weapon initiative + currentHP - maxHP.
Monsters have a simpler formula replacing the non-random components with a value in the monster record.
The current turn is based on the highest initiative. In case of ties, monsters (in their order 1, 2, ...) go first followed by player characters (in their order).
Taking a turn drops your initiative by 5 (set to 0 if you had a positive score but less than 5 points left). When everyone's initiative reaches 0, the initiative round is over and the numbers are all rerolled. Monsters can choose to pass their turn which deducts from initiative without taking an action.
There are 2 major bugs with how initiative works.
The first bug is the initiative underflow glitch. This is a really good bug. You'll notice that your initiative is penalized by the amount of damage you've taken. If all of the other factors are bad you can underflow to 255 initiative. Since each turn costs 5 initiative this often gives you 30+ turns of action in a row before anyone else gets to go. Unfortunately your bad stats will make the character suck so it requires careful building. The best way to exploit it is using a warrior at 2 intelligence with a low-initiative weapon that has high to-hit (luckily the Ruby Sword fits this) and with as much agility as you can get away with safely.
The second bug is the zombie attack glitch. This is a really bad bug. When a monster gets killed, it's initiative gets set to 0 to take it out of combat. Monster HP is never checked again so when the initiative round ends dead monsters get a new initiative value just like everyone else. This lets all of the dead monsters rejoin combat and start attacking again. Since they're already dead there's no way to kill them again to stop it from happening.
For party members the basic combat formulas are:
To-Hit = random[0,9] + agility + weapon to-hit Evade = agility + AC
Your attack is successful if player to-hit >= monster's evade. The other way around it's monster to-hit roll > player's evade.
When calculating to-hit monsters roll a random[2,12] choice.
If 2 <= random < 11 then to-hit = random + monster base to-hit if random >= 11 then to-hit = 128 + monster base to-hit
You are correct that INT and AGI affect Initiative. The exact formula is: AGI + INT + Weapon Initiative + random[0,9] Monsters just use their initiative stat + random[0,9]
So you can still get screwed by RNG on turn order even with the best stats.
In addition, anywhere from 12-14 STR does the exact same thing. There's not another change until 16 STR.
As for using passwords: I don't think that's a can of worms we want to open. -Starting at the temple is already a no from me, since that's a time advantage you otherwise wouldn't have. -If character creation counted for time I might be a little more open to this, but as much as it sucks to have to roll the characters up every time, it's the only way to legitimately start a new game, and you have to consciously make the choice of whether to sacrifice a few points of stats to get a run started a bit sooner.
Less serious things: -Not everyone wants to use those 4 names. -If anyone wants to experiment with other parties, they still have to roll the characters themselves. Then we have the issue of whether their passwords are legit.
Added Best Ending, under the name A Ending. Also added B Ending, and renamed any% to C Ending.
Anyone wanting to learn the game, go ahead and join the discord server.
Are you talking about just hitting continue instead of naming your character, or the trick where you skip it by holding down after entering your name?
The latter, yes, but let me get an exact frame count on what you'd need to set your timer to start at. The former, no.
