I can give you the autosplitter if you want to test it and see if it is a good timing method

Yeah I run at max cycles too, it works nice for some games (we accept max in Hocus Pocus, another DOS game).

I think the game gets max speed around 10000 cycles, so that could be a reasonable number to follow. Max cycles can get insanely higher than that with a good pc, but some DOS games don't speed up after a certain threshold (I think I got the same speed here with 50000 cycles, but I haven't timed transitions yet).

In any case both max and set cycles are pc dependent, max cycles will go slower with a slow pc, and fixed high cycles will cause lag and sound glitches in slow pc's.

Also I think it's important to set a DosBox version (I've seen various inconsistencies with some special builds). DosBox 0.74 It's the most stable version in my experience with DOS games.

I just made an autosplitter that starts the timer as soon as mario appears on the screen on level 1 and splits as soon as you take the last pipe of every level. It uses a "Level Clear" memory address that turns 1 when you beat a level and goes back to 0 when the next level starts.

I noticed there's no rules for this game. I saw some different timing methods on the LB's runs.

I would be nice to have some rules on when to start and finish the timer.

hey everyone! do you have specific rules or suggestions for dolphin version and/or configuration?

Yeah, we currently have emulators banned. But I personally think that allowing them (or at least doing a separate category) will help the community grow since the game might not be that easy to get.

This is kind of an old question in the community. I personally have nothing against Emulators, but if we allow them there has to be an standardized config and version.

I recommend you to hop into the Discord channel to discuss this =x (a lot of people don't read the forum) https://discord.gg/dmXtbxJ

Just to be clear about rules, when do we stop the timer for Individual Levels?

• When we reach the first "fade to black screen" after completing the chapter (losing control of the character) (this option allows you to leave the final cutscene in the run if you want)

• Or after we skip the final cutscene using Start

I hand't run the game yet so I really don't have an specific opinion.

In any case, by my experience in other games, I think you should stick to RTA or IGT depending on which one is more comfortable and fun to play with. Then in the future is there's a good amount of runners that want the other method, a new category can be implemented for that (considering they'll be super different and not fair to compare against).

woow that page is an amazing discovery!

Maybe it should be on guides or resources so it doesn't get lost

It worked perfectly, with lem-fix and all that.

Thanks!

Hello there!

question for the MS-DOS runners: where can I find a ROM for DOSBox? I've only found shareware versions that don't include all the levels.

Thanks!

update:

I uploaded the version of DOSBox that most runners use to speedrun Hocus to the resources (0.74). Instead of an external link, the download now is a folder with a README full of instructions to have an easy setup.

The instructions worked for me in a friend's computer. It would be nice if anyone else can test them.

Hello everyone. In my latest upload of the autosplitter I made, I included a feature that allows Livesplit to measure In-Game Time in Hocus Pocus. With that, I corroborated that I've always been "losing" real time due to different loading times (which depends on the computer).

I added an In Game Time column to the leaderboards if anyone else wants to use it. The places will still be ordered by Real Time since the autosplitter is pretty new, most runs are on RTA, and I don't know if people would like to change to IGT.

On the next weeks I'll try to get the static addresses of the steam version and maybe other DOSBox versions so the autosplitter can be more accesible.

Pandora~

I agree with Mel. Allowing controller keymap only for arrow keys, shooting and jumping seems like a good middle ground.

I still think we need more opinions to decide whether we'll allow key-mapping or not (controller is a particular instance of keymapping).

here are my insights about this:

So, as some of you might know, DOSBox has an option for key mapping. This allows players to change the native key configuration (controls for moving, shooting, jumping, etc) to either any key on your keyboard or even to a controller plugged into your PC.

While this option can be more comfortable for playing, it also allows the player to do unfairly easier setups for bonus glitches (in both keyboard and controller).

On the other hand, one can also do "instant" bonus glitches setups using macros, which it's also super broken.

My opinion on this is to ban both macros and key-mapping. I think that's the healthy option otherwise using macros would be a standart to get top times, then just adding more unnecessary stuff for newer players.

I want more opinions before making the desicion though.

Pandora.

btw, the other day I found the actual sprites ripped from the game itself. I post the website in the resourses.

You mean for PSX? I thought that version didn't have special moves (correct me if I'm wrong tho).

In any case, I can create different categories to allow cheats, but I preffer to maintain "Any%" without cheats/special moves.