How to calculate IGT using the frame counter

This guide is for moderator use only, however any runner may also use this to cross-reference the moderator's calculations.

This guide applies to:

- Prince of Persia: The Fallen King
- Prince of Persia: The Forgotten Sands (DS)
- Battles of Prince of Persia

In the event that the in-game time cannot be determined via the LiveSplit plugin (e.g. because LiveSplit crashed during the run), this can be calculated manually using the frame counter, as shown in the top-left corner here:

![](/static/blob/3nv1kgpn.png)

The frame counter shows how many frames have elapsed since the ROM has been opened. Therefore, the in-game time can be calculated by the following formula: (endingFrame - startingFrame) / framerate.

startingFrame and endingFrame are obtained by reading from the frame counter, while the framerate is a constant value of exactly 59.82609828808082. *(This value corresponds to the framerate of a native Nintendo DS console, which is what is being emulated here. This is **not** the framerate of the submission video.)*

***Note:*** The starting and ending frames for IGT timing are **not** the same as the starting and ending frames for RTA timing, although they are very close. Starting and ending frames for RTA are defined in the rules, while starting and ending frames for IGT are defined by the LiveSplit script. If the LiveSplit script isn't used, then the IGT starting and ending frames should be obtained by observing another run which did use the LiveSplit script.

**Example 1:**

- Frame counter at run start shows 503.
- Frame counter at run end shows 14396.

Then the in-game time calculation is as follows:

= (14396 - 503) / 59.82609828808082

= 13893 / 59.82609828808082

= 232.223 seconds

= 3 minutes 52 seconds 223 milliseconds

However, if the emulator is closed at any point during the run then the calculation becomes more complicated. In-game time is not counted while the emulator is closed, and when the emulator reopens the frame counter goes back to 0 again. Therefore if the emulator is closed, the in-game time has to be calculated individually for each continuous segment of the emulator being open, and then all values should be added together at the end.

**Example 2:**

- Frame counter at run start shows 497.
- The emulator is closed when the frame counter shows 12391.
- When the emulator is reopened, the frame counter shows 0 again.
- The emulator is closed again when the frame counter shows 7204.
- When the emulator is reopened, the frame counter shows 0 again.
- Frame counter at run end shows 2901.

Then the in-game time calculation is as follows:

= [(12391 - 497) + 7204 + 2901] / 59.82609828808082

= [11894 + 7204 + 2901] / 59.82609828808082

= 21999 / 59.82609828808082

= 367.715 seconds

= 6 minutes 7 seconds 715 milliseconds

How to play PoP DS games on PC

This guide applies to:

- Prince of Persia: The Fallen King
- Prince of Persia: The Forgotten Sands (DS)
- Battles of Prince of Persia

To play a PoP DS game on PC, you will need to install an emulator. Currently, the only emulator that is allowed in the rules is [DeSmuME 0.9.9 x64](https://sourceforge.net/projects/desmume/files/desmume/0.9.9/). From this link you should download the file titled *desmume-0.9.9-win64.zip*.

Once you've installed the emulator, as is required by the rules, you **must** enable the frame counter by clicking on "View" -> "HUD" and ensuring that "Display Frame Counter" is *checked*. If you did this correctly, you will see a number in the top-left corner continually going up, next to the words "no movie", as shown here:![](/static/blob/qnypdogn.png)

Also as required by the rules, you **must** enable *VSync* if it is not already enabled. Do this by clicking on "Config", "Display Method", and ensuring that "VSync" is checked.

To play the game simply open "DeSmuME_x64.exe", then click "File", "Open ROM" and select your ROM.

To customise your controls press "Config" then "Control Config". You may use whatever controls you like. For The Fallen King, my controls are all the defaults, except "B" is set to *Space*.

I would also recommend that you go into "Config" -> "Hotkey Config" and disable every hotkey (including the ones in the other categories (i.e. not "Main")) to ensure that you do not accidentally (for example) press "=" and make the game go faster which would invalidate the run.

Some known lag-related issues and fixes:

- Setting the sound interpolation option to "None (harsh, most accurate to NDS)" is known to help reduce lag
- In 3D settings, setting the renderer to "OpenGL" may improve performance slightly (and also has better graphics). NOTE: This is not recommended for Battles of Prince of Persia as it causes buggy visuals.

Note that since nowadays we use the in-game timer your final time will **not** be affected by any of the above lag issues, however you may still want to reduce them to make the game run smoother.

If you have any issues with obtaining/installing the emulator/ROM, or starting up the game in general, DM smathlax on Discord.

Playlist of known strats

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLZawIL4qSegrn72KUcnQMecn5pKZtyc7c

Setting Up the In-Game Timer/Autosplitter for Emulator

This guide is made by GMP and Smathlax. Please contact us if you have any issues setting this up, or if you discover a bug.

This guide applies to:

- Prince of Persia: The Fallen King
- Prince of Persia: The Forgotten Sands (DS)
- Battles of Prince of Persia

1.) Setup Livesplit: http://livesplit.org/downloads/

2.) [Optional] Right click anywhere in Livesplit and choose Open Splits -> From File...
![](/static/blob/5e1or4z0.png)

3.) [Optional] Choose your splits file. (Check the Resources tab for the game that you are running.)

4.) Right click anywhere in Livesplit and choose Edit Splits
![](/static/blob/oeo9p0eg.png)

5.) If it's not there already, type the exact name of your game, i.e. one of:

- Prince of Persia: The Fallen King
- Prince of Persia: The Forgotten Sands (DS)
- Battles of Prince of Persia

![](/static/blob/5e14pd6e.png)

**[The Fallen King only]** For your run to be considered an IL (individual level), the *Run Category* must contain a colon, e.g. "1-3: Any%". Otherwise the timer will be set up for full-game runs. For the other two games the category name doesn't matter as the script is the same for both level and full-game runs.

6.) Underneath the Attempts box ensure that the Activate button is clicked.

7.) Click Settings and ensure that "Start" and "Split" are checked, as this is mandatory in the rules. You should not change the script path.

![](/static/blob/kzwrxl2e.png)

8.) Right-click on LiveSplit and compare against game time.

![](/static/blob/oeog2okn.png)

# Notes:

For each game, a split occurs any time you exit a level - whether it's by completing it, quitting via the menu, or restarting the game altogether. In particular, this means that if you exit a level unintentionally (or enter the wrong level and then exit it immediately), a false split will occur, so you will have to undo that split.

The name of each split is unimportant. If making your own splits, you need to ensure you have the number of splits the script is expecting.

Updating the IGT Script (Pull Requests)

1. First step, make a github.com account.

2. Find the asl script you want to update. (This should be listed in Resources here on src).

3. Click on the edit pencil seen here:
![](/static/blob/xz0p68el.webp)

4. Add your desired changes and click Commit Changes.

5. Now travel to the Pull Request tab and click "New pull request"
![](/static/blob/kzw02qeq.webp)

6. Click "Create pull request" to send your changes to the owner for review.

In the event a script owner leaves the community, upload your script to your own github account. Copy a link to the raw file and make a pull request of the autosplitters code, placing your raw link where the former script owner's used to be.
https://github.com/LiveSplit/LiveSplit.AutoSplitters/blob/master/LiveSplit.AutoSplitters.xml

Smathlax

Prince of Persia: The Fallen King

Nintendo DS

Emulator

Console

Platform Type

Platform (legacy)

@GMP has made a Tool-Assisted Speedrun of this game!

You can find all the details in this thread: https://www.speedrun.com/pop_tfk/thread/f69so

Nombre	Autor
How to calculate IGT using the frame counter	Smathlax 9 months ago
How to play PoP DS games on PC	Smathlax 9 months ago
Playlist of known strats	Smathlax 5 years ago
Setting Up the In-Game Timer/Autosplitter for Emulator	GMP 9 months ago
Updating the IGT Script (Pull Requests)	GMP 5 years ago