Updated 7/15/2020

Fastest Version:

This game was released in 3 different versions: 1.000 (Interpreter version 1.001.054) is the floppy release. 1.000.00G (Interpreter version l.cfs.158) is the CD release for Dos, the one we play on. 1.034 (Interpreter version 1.001.069) is the Windows CD release.

As we of course do not have original hardware (and I wouldn't recommend it), we play the game in the DosBox emulator.

Technically speaking, any version of the CD-dos release played in DosBox should be the fastest version for this run.

Most runners use the GOG version run in DosBox. This version no longer comes bundled with DosBox, so you'll have to download it separately. The SCUMMVM emulator does not allow for zips, so it is much slower to run the game in. You can purchase this version at https://www.gog.com/game/kings_quest_4_5_6 It's usually about $10. You can get DosBox at https://www.dosbox.com/ for free.

The CD-dos version is a bit unstable but because of a fast walking glitch called a "zip" on some screens when CPU is at max cycles, it is much faster than any other available versions I have tested.

It used to be that this instability in the game caused a regular crash halfway through the run. Thanks to the work of UrQuan this crash has been fixed! If you look at older runs from before 8/2018 they will have a save/quit/restart in them to avoid the crash which is no longer necessary.

TO FIX THIS CRASH YOU MUST CHANGE ONE KEY PART OF THE CONFIGURATION FILE: Direct quote from UrQuan: "UrQuan08/29/2018 @everyone The verdict is in: The crash is fixed! Set ems=false in the DOSBox config file." And that's all you have to do.

Route:

Any% Route: https://pastebin.com/A8KjFZGd 100% Route: https://pastebin.com/cVCrVQAG 100% Simplified Route: https://pastebin.com/xSn2ik0k

Time starts at: Selecting "Play" on the title screen

Time ends at: Last input, which is the sword on Abdul Alhazred

Keyboard shortcuts:

Some controls in the game are faster with keyboard shortcuts than with the mouse, some are much slower. A map of all the keyboard shortcuts for the GOG DosBox version is available here: http://pastebin.com/McZc9Vw7

The best keyboard shortcut is ENTER: it has the same function as left click. In the run it's best used to mash text and climb the Cliffs of Logic. For best use, hold it down to mash automatically.

The second best is INSERT: it automatically changes the cursor to the "walk" symbol. However, if the cursor is already on "walk", it will put it on "talk". Use to quickly gain the walk symbol for moving screens.

The third best is DELETE: it will place your cursor on the menu bar, pausing the game. Mashing delete will buffer one frame at a time. If you have your config file for your DosBox set correctly, holding delete will quickly mash the button automatically (and holding any button).

Another good one is ESC which closes the inventory. Most keyboards put ESC really far away from INS and DEL though, so you should rebind your ESC key to a much closer key to INSERT and ENTER. I like to rebind my "END" key to ESC, for example. The community did decide that key rebinding is OK, so no worries.

Mashing text:

For text mashing, left click will mash one text box at a time, and right click will clear an entire conversation at a time (several text boxes/lines of dialogue). However, right click also scrolls the icons through the carousel (walk, hand, eye, talk), so overmashing can place your cursor on an undesirable icon, so be careful not to overmash.

Best way to do it is by holding the ENTER key. It will automatically mash text very quickly and will not scroll your carousel. However, some dialogue is better skipped by using right click, depends on the type of dialogue.

If you're using DosBox ECE (our current as of 2020 preferred emulator), there is a very slight delay in holding enter to mash select. It is best to both mash left click and ENTER when you want to skip text or select something quickly, the left click helps to bypass that initial delay, and holding ENTER will mash select from there on.

Tips:

This run is all about predicting the next 10 things you're about to do. It's best to always be thinking about what the next input will be and to prepare for that. For example, when entering the pawn shop for the first time, you need to click "hand" on the door. Then you need to "talk" to the pawn shop owner, then give him your insignia ring. To optimize these inputs, you can click hand on the door, then while Alex is walking to the door you can rotate the carousel with right click to the talk symbol to prepare it for the next screen. Talk to the owner, then while you're mashing away his text, move your mouse cursor close to the menu bar where the inventory icon is. That way when you're ready to grab that ring, you're already even closer! For the fastest gameplay, you'll need to think like this for the entire run.

A couple good things to memorize are: -The active pixel on each cursor icon that is what's actually selecting something. For example, on the walk icon, the active pixel is the back of the foot to the left. For hand, it's the tip of the pointer finger, for talk it's the point of the talk balloon, and eye is the white pixel in the pupil -The pixels on each screen in the Cliffs of Logic that correspond to the following screen's first block you want to step on. Here is a picture guide: https://imgur.com/a/ycm09Rd -The route (of course!): especially important in this run since you're always thinking 10 steps ahead. -The path through the catacombs -The copyright protection puzzles in the cliffs of logic -The floor maze in the catacombs -Where in your bag certain items will be at certain times of the run (especially for the gnomes) -The pixels on any beach screen that correspond to where you want to travel to with the magic map active. That way you can start mashing before the map even shows up.

You can run the game in either text only or speech only, it doesn't matter much. After timing, text is minimally faster. I prefer speech because I react faster to mashing away sounds than the text boxes, but either is fine. Plus, speech is funnier for streams: e.g. "Ale..Alex...Al...Alexan..Alexander" Perfect text mashing will hear no speech or see any text boxes at all. Apparently there are some glitches that are text only, where the text box does not disappear as it should and kills your run. So, I'm going to stick with speech.

Be sure the first thing you do is set the DETAIL to the lowest setting and the SPEED to the highest setting in any run. Do this from the title page before hitting play, press DELETE and click on settings on the top right to change these settings before you start the run. Setting the detail to the lowest setting apparently doesn't do much to affect the run, but I still do it for good luck.

Pressing Control + F10 releases your mouse from the game window.

Close your inventory every time with ESC

Hardware tips: Turning up the sensitivity on your mouse helps, but you gotta get used to that quick movement! I personally keep it on the medium setting. A good mouse is very helpful for smooth, controlled movement. It goes without saying that a powerful computer is not necessary to do this run. It's from 1992 and runs in Dos.

Config file tips: Running the game in a window is best for those quick mouse movements across the screen. You can get the game to open in windowed mode by going into the config file and changing fullscreen from true to false Be sure CPU cycles are set at max Make memsize at least 16 (which is far more than the game needs anyway!) Set ems=false to prevent crashes Set autofire=true to be able to mash ENTER and other keys