Tower of Doom was originally set to be the third AD&D title on the Intellivision with the working title "Advanced Dungeons & Dragons: Tower of Mystery". The game was only half complete when Mattel Electronics folded in 1984. INTV Corp resumed work on the game in 1986. Not wanting to pay for a renewed D&D license, the game was released under the new name, "Tower of Doom". Even if Tower of Doom is outside the Dungeons & Dragons license, it has more D&D elements than its two predecessors.
Objectives
- Heavy luck manipulation
- Genre: RPG
Resources
What makes this TAS unique compared to the three existing branches?
- Each Tower adventure has a different set of predetermined dungeon layouts from the next. This means the 20-Level Tower adventure will have all the same dungeon layouts each time you play, but does not share the same first 8 dungeon layouts as the 8-Level Tower adventure, nor the first 12 dungeon layouts as the 12-Level Tower adventure.
- This run selects a different character from the other three branches, the Friar, and he's actually the fastest character for this adventure.
- The above two bullets combined allow for a large number of 2x speed potions to be used in this run.
Character Selection
The Friar was selected because he comes pre-equipped with a Rosary of Potion Mastery, which makes some harmful potions grant a 2x speed boost instead. The affected potions are:
- Potion Bottle of Blindness (pink): Normally makes walls and the minimap invisible for a while
- Potion Flask of Paralysis (pink): Normally freezes the character for a while
- Potion Flask of Confusion (lavender): Normally scrambles directional inputs for a while
This adventure happens to have a lot of these potions strewn about the levels. However, after careful and meticulous routing, I found that it was optimal to collect and use three Potion Bottles of Blindness and one Potion Bottle of Haste (the brown one which normally grants 2x speed), for a total of four uses—more than any other TAS thus far. They were used on Levels 3, 7, 12, and 20.
RNG
While the dungeon layouts for each Tower adventure plus the the Novice adventure are all predetermined, the exact locations of enemies, items, and traps within each room are random and can be altered by entering the room on different frames or by throwing items (with each throw on average advancing RNG by 1). These types of manipulation are done extensively in the run to get the teleporter and/or stairs in optimal locations, as well as control the teleporter destinations. Note that object locations in the first room of a level cannot be manipulated.
You cannot simply throw weapons all the time though, as there is a random chance the weapon will downgrade to a lower color. If the weapon downgrades enough times, you will lose it. We can't lose the bow due to its usefulness in changing RNG—that is until the last level where it is OK to use it till it breaks.
New Optimization Found
If a teleporter warps you directly onto the stairs, you can actually start the inventory movement to take the stairs before the teleporter even warps you. The hand in the inventory window will become invisible but it is still tangible and can still select to descend the stairs. This was used on Levels 10 and 14 and only saves a few frames.
Possible Improvements
In this run, I only downgraded the brown bow a single time into an orange bow. After this, two downgrades are left before the weapon breaks—blue then gray—but I did not find any places where risking additional weapon downgrades would save a significant amount of time. An improvement may be found if you go back to Level 16 at the latest and incorporate a couple extra weapon throws, allowing for downgrades to occur, and potentially advance RNG faster. However, even that is a lot of work for what might save 6 frames at best, or lose frames at worst; so I will not be doing that.
I also tested using a speed potion on Level 17 instead of Level 20 but this ended up being 20 frames slower, so there is probably no potential improvement there.
Using the Friar to potentially expand the number of 2x speed potions used is a brand-new concept introduced in this run. Using this character would appear to be slower for the published "Novice" and "The Fortress" runs. But for any adventure with randomized dungeon layouts, including the published "Grail Quest" run, I would imagine the Friar is actually the fastest character to use, as long as you can find a seed that has a lot of potions which can be used for 2x speed.
Maps
Objects shown in the upper-left corner of a room note that their location within the room is random.
Suggested Publication Notes
Explore winding corridors! Collect magical treasures! Battle vile monsters! Escape perilous traps! You are about to face the greatest challenge any mortal has ever known -- the Tower of Doom. Surviving the Tower of Doom requires quick reflexes and quicker wits. You must learn for yourself how to use many of the items you will find. You must decide when to fight a monster, and when to trade treasure for your life. You must maintain your strength, increase your stamina, and develop your diplomatic skills.
Winslinator beats the 20-Level "Tower" adventure with the Friar in a record time of under 3 minutes.
nymx: Claiming for judging.
nymx: I've become a fan of your Intellivsion submissions for a quite a while now, so naturally...I had to claim this one quickly.
After reviewing the instruction booklet...this category follows suit, in the same manner as your others choices...where it provides another mode for a different challenge. In addition, you do complete all the levels this adventure has to offer, which I see is necessary. In regards to the game, I can't argue with your game-play. It parallels similar strategies from the other categories. If this game's RNG/AI was manipulated in the same fashion as "Venture", then I certainly can see the effort in getting these results. Heck, the re-record count really shows that!
Accepting!
despoa: Processing...