Dosbox cycles
6 years ago
Texas, USA

Fighter 100% is empty at-the-moment and it's clearly because of Swordy Lordy. I experimented a bit and found that he's impossible with my dosbox cycles at 10000, but easily beatable at 1000-2000 (max stats, I haven't experimented with lesser stats yet but figure weapon use is the main one).

So... tweaking cpu cycles mid-run feels like cheating, but running the entire game at 2000 feels like pain. Anyone have opinions on which way should be done?

misterprmiller likes this
Pennsylvania, USA

I agree; doing the entire game at 2,000 cycles doesn't just sound like a pain, but it sounds downright boring to play, and rough to watch. This may sound strange, but have you tried dropping all of your equipment except for the sword/shield? You can pick them up through the item screen afterwards. Try that at 10,000 cycles.

Pennsylvania, USA

I also read the info on your submission. I've been timing my runs based on SDA rules, i.e., timing begins when the Sheriff says "Good luck" and ends when you lose control of your character. In Any%, you lose control when your character successfully connects with the door to leave, and in 100%, when Baba Yaga casts her spell on the mirror.

I clicked to Follow you on Twitch. I'll be keeping an eye on you.

Pennsylvania, USA

I also hate to say it, but it's possible: https://drive.google.com/open?id=0Bz8PB20oNMfrNzVOYVU3TXQ1QUU

It also wasn't easy. After some testing, I've discovered it's not just Weapon Skill; it seems as though EVERY skill is taken into account. I was more successful after increasing Dodge and Parry through CheatEngine. I was more successful after increasing Intelligence, funny enough. There seems to be this OVERLY complicated formula. I'm going to check the game's code and see if I can't figure out what's most important.

Pennsylvania, USA

Further research - The Weapon Master has skill sets! This is copied from the code: strength 40, intell 45, agil 45, vit 35, luck 45, weap 50, parry 50, dodge 40

Now that we know this, the numbers don't seem to matter one flying crap, but it did give me a hint as to what stats are taken into account when fighting the Weapon Master. And the answer is... these ones. And the magic number seems to be 75+ when it gets easier. It is POSSIBLE at 75 skill to win at 10,000 cycles (I did it), but it's hard. At 80, victory was a certainty, but admittedly my clicking finger hurts. Mapping left-mouse to a keyboard key seems wise.

I also tried lowering my Intelligence down to 20 with the other stats at 80, and suddenly, I couldn't win anymore. So even Intelligence plays a part in fighting the Weapon Master. A further test might be to see if it is a particular numerical combination of stats...

I also lowered the cycles to 1000-2000, and didn't notice any difference in difficulty, which seemed strange to me. :/ Could you send me a copy of your save file so I can look into a little bit more? My screen name at gmail is my email address. I'm interested to see your stats and other info so I can compare notes.

Edited by the author 6 years ago
Texas, USA

Sent you the saves.

All of that actually seems to make a big difference - I haven't had time to test it more, but my intelligence was 10/11 and everything else was 100.

The other thing I'd note is that I don't appear to be using the same version of dosbox; I was using SVN-daum for the MT-32 emulation.

Pennsylvania, USA

Yeah, but that shouldn't make TOO much difference, from my understanding. I'm obviously using the GOG versions, but installed MUNT as well to get the MT32.

I just tried your save and yes, it's just as you said, it's unwinnable at 10,000 cycles, and fairly manageable at 2,000 cycles. :/ As it stands right now, I'm at a loss as to what to do about this route. I'm going to look into some other forums and see if I can find a solution. Be back in a bit.

Pennsylvania, USA

I can also confirm that he was pretty easy even with 11 intelligence once I dropped all of your food and the chainmail. Carry weight does play a role in this calculation, and to my knowledge, this is the only place in the entire game where it does make a significant difference. Give it a try and let me know.

Texas, USA

I'm actually much less worried if intelligence makes a difference. If that gives me a way to beat the game at 10k cycles, I'll stick to 10k and just figure out how to do an efficient grind.

Pennsylvania, USA

I seriously can't wait to see it. The Fighter was the one I was really interested in. Let me know if you plan on streaming it.

Texas, USA

2 week vacation coming up soon though, it's going to be a while before I get around to it.

misterprmiller likes this
Pennsylvania, USA

"Fighter 100% is empty at-the-moment and it's clearly because of Swordy Lordy." - I just noticed that. Actually, it's empty at the moment because you and I are really the only ones actively running QFG1VGA. lol

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