Post subject: Shining in the Darkness
Skilled player (1512)
Joined: 4/28/2005
Posts: 240
Location: Finland
My try was 114 minutes long. Someone should make a serious run. In my run Kaiser Crab was killed in some 15:30 but it can be done under 8:00 at fourth level and with a short sword [tested]. First level up is probably fastest if you can surprise Dark Jelly and Slimy Ooze three times in a row. Sure you could get xp faster from 2x2 Dark Jelly, but they would hit you badly once in a fight. Few herbs should be collected from chests or steal from Slimy Oozes. One angel feather from Man-Ape is also a must. I tried to get something from RAMsearch but couldn't understand how to manipulate monsters and attacks.
Projects: Warlock, Ren & Stimpy (impr) / Generations Lost (impr.)
Skilled player (1652)
Joined: 11/15/2004
Posts: 2202
Location: Killjoy
I don't know this game at all, but I may be able to help with the luck manipulation, if you want to try again. I don't know how popular this game ever was, or how interesting a time attack would really be.
Sage advice from a friend of Jim: So put your tinfoil hat back in the closet, open your eyes to the truth, and realize that the government is in fact causing austismal cancer with it's 9/11 fluoride vaccinations of your water supply.
Joined: 8/2/2007
Posts: 8
Location: Toronto, ON
It's an RPG except the entire game is played going through a single dungeon. You explore the dungeon from a first-person perspective, kind of like those nifty dungeons in Phantasy Star on the SMS. You eventually get 2 other characters and I can't tell you much else because I never beat it. I had maps drawn on graph paper and everything too... In my opinion, if the luck isn't manipulated greatly, it would be a very boring video.
Skilled player (1652)
Joined: 11/15/2004
Posts: 2202
Location: Killjoy
00:1192 3E 39 MOVE.w ($00FF2008),D7 00:1198 CE FC MULU.W #$000D,D7 00:119C 06 47 ADDI.W #$0007,D7 00:11A0 33 C7 MOVE.w D7,($00FF2008) 00:11A6 02 87 ANDI.L #$0000FFFF,D7 00:11AC CE C6 MULU.W D6,D7 00:11AE 48 47 SWAP.w D7 Here is something new and different I've never ever ever seen before in my entire life. /MASSIVE STINKING SARCASM TAG So, the RNG is the same as SF1 and SF2.
Sage advice from a friend of Jim: So put your tinfoil hat back in the closet, open your eyes to the truth, and realize that the government is in fact causing austismal cancer with it's 9/11 fluoride vaccinations of your water supply.
Joined: 3/16/2006
Posts: 289
Really? That's kinda....weird. Or lazy.
I am just a silhouette, a silhouette of a memory of a solitary night .. nothing more.
Player (73)
Joined: 12/20/2006
Posts: 154
Seeing as though SF1 and SF2 are the "sequels" to this game/in the same family and came after this game, its not lazy at all.
Joined: 3/16/2006
Posts: 289
Well, it's effcient. Just out of curiosity, are the RNGs for the Final Fantasys different?
I am just a silhouette, a silhouette of a memory of a solitary night .. nothing more.
Active player (287)
Joined: 3/4/2006
Posts: 341
I'm not sure it belongs in this topic, but to partially answer your question, the RNGs for all three SNES Final Fantasy games involve a counter from 0 to 255 which indexes a table of 256 random numbers (the numbers 0-255 in a scrambled order) in ROM. Some of the RNGs (such as the one that determines random encounters) will additionally add another value, which is increased by a constant every time the index value loops to 0.
Skilled player (1652)
Joined: 11/15/2004
Posts: 2202
Location: Killjoy
Just so you know, I'm working on this run at the same time as SF2. I've managed to determine how to get the jump on an enemy. Now I just need to determine how to get the enemy I want. Additionally, Criticals and misses seem to be very complex. The RNG is fairly difficult to manipulate, since 80% of the frames in this game do not accept input.
Sage advice from a friend of Jim: So put your tinfoil hat back in the closet, open your eyes to the truth, and realize that the government is in fact causing austismal cancer with it's 9/11 fluoride vaccinations of your water supply.
Joined: 8/2/2007
Posts: 8
Location: Toronto, ON
Ouch, I was really hoping the randomness could be heavily exploited. I don't know how many levels there are to the dungeon.. I think I got to the cave of wisdom? I remember it had the same tileset as the previous cave (wooden beams and rock) which had already got old. I want to see the end of this game but I still think the result is going to be quite boring. I'd love to be proven wrong. =)
Skilled player (1652)
Joined: 11/15/2004
Posts: 2202
Location: Killjoy
http://dehacked.2y.net/microstorage.php/info/976191682/Shining%20in%20the%20Darkness%20%28U%29%20%5B%21%5D.gmv I sell my armor, and pick up a decent weapon. I'd like to fight Kaiser Krab on level 3 with no armor. So, I've broken into the first two part of code - the one that decides battles and the one that decides drops. Next step is misses, battle order, and level-ups! It is a lot of fun decompiling a game again, especially given its similarities to the sequel. However, I'm going to abandon this run most likely, since it is bound to be extremely boring.
Sage advice from a friend of Jim: So put your tinfoil hat back in the closet, open your eyes to the truth, and realize that the government is in fact causing austismal cancer with it's 9/11 fluoride vaccinations of your water supply.
Skilled player (1512)
Joined: 4/28/2005
Posts: 240
Location: Finland
DK I watched your "promo-video". I wonder if it's slower to exp with low defense since multienemy fights hurt really bad. 1. You can't get KaiserKrab to miss with lousy defense. 2. You can't attack before KK without having more speed 3. You won't do enough damage with two criticals at lvl 3 to kill KK, so it rips you to pieces. Therefore it would be pointless to fight KK at lvl 3
Projects: Warlock, Ren & Stimpy (impr) / Generations Lost (impr.)
Skilled player (1652)
Joined: 11/15/2004
Posts: 2202
Location: Killjoy
maTO - you were right, fighting Kaiser Krab at Level 3 was definitely not the way to go. However, this should still be entertaining. http://dehacked.2y.net/microstorage.php/info/364801196/Shining%20in%20the%20Darkness%20(U)%20%5B!%5D.gmv
Sage advice from a friend of Jim: So put your tinfoil hat back in the closet, open your eyes to the truth, and realize that the government is in fact causing austismal cancer with it's 9/11 fluoride vaccinations of your water supply.
Skilled player (1512)
Joined: 4/28/2005
Posts: 240
Location: Finland
Wow, I liked it much :) It would be not very entertaining until Tortolyde in 2nd cave, though. Maybe you could beat Tortolyde at 6th lvl if you manipulate it to attack only you. First cave is probably a walk-through and then surprise fights against two to three-enemy-groups before Tortolyde to reach lvl 6.
Projects: Warlock, Ren & Stimpy (impr) / Generations Lost (impr.)
Skilled player (1652)
Joined: 11/15/2004
Posts: 2202
Location: Killjoy
This game is pretty easy to manipulate via brute forcing. Here is up to GrimWall- you were sort of right about level 6. http://dehacked.2y.net/microstorage.php/info/99860035/Shining%20in%20the%20Darkness%20(U)%20%5B!%5D.gmv Also, I think Kaiser could go down in 5 minutes, with a revised strategy. Option 1: No Short Sword 2 Pit worms/Bronze Knife (2Exp) Sell off all, buy Fur Robe/Gauntlet Return to Labrinyth, get Bronze Knife in Chest Pick up (4??) Angel Wings (for later) (10Exp) Level up to 2 Fighting 2x DarkOozes (16Exp) Fight 2x DarkBat, get HERB. (22Exp) Fight 2x and 1x KillerBee, level reaches 3 (34Exp) Pluses: No need for extra Herb in battle. Less Defense going in. Option 2: No Short Sword 4 Pitworms/Bronze Knife (4 Exp) Sell off all, buy Fur Robe/Leather Shield Return to Labrinyth, get Bronze Knife in Chest Pick up 3 Angel Wings (for later) (10Exp) Fight 1x Dark Ooze, Level 2. Fight 2 1x DarkBat/HERBs Possibly the fastest... but will Kasier go down with only a bronze knife? (Need to deal at least 14 damage to a 42 Hp Krab)
Sage advice from a friend of Jim: So put your tinfoil hat back in the closet, open your eyes to the truth, and realize that the government is in fact causing austismal cancer with it's 9/11 fluoride vaccinations of your water supply.
Post subject: I'd like to...
Zucca
He/Him
Joined: 8/22/2008
Posts: 118
Location: KUUSANKOSKI, Finland
I'd really like to see this TAS. Can someone export those short demos to youtube for example?
trazz wrote:
Killing the skeletons sooner or letting the skeletons live (unlive?) won't affect that at all.
Post subject: Item drops
Zucca
He/Him
Joined: 8/22/2008
Posts: 118
Location: KUUSANKOSKI, Finland
I hope this helps, here's a list of items dropped by monsters:
Shining in/and the Darkness - Item drops from monsters (uncomplete)
v0.1

By: Zucca, zuccavondille@gmail.com
IRC: Zucca @ IRCnet, Zucca @ Freenode
ICQ: 66768853

For *NIX geeks:
List formatted with: sed -e 's/=/@=@/' | column -ts '@'
Can be unformatted with: sed -e 's/ *= */ = /'

BILDBLOK       =   MITHRIL ARMOR
BLACKBONE      =   MITHRIL AXE (Best one-attack-per-turn weapon for Milo)
BRIMSTONE      =   DREAM BLADE (The most powerful weapon for hero. If used casts MUDDLE level 1. Unfortunately this is too good to be true... Yes. It's cursed. Makes wearer to be under affect of MUDDLE level 2.)
CENTAURIAN     =   STEEL ARMOR
CERBERUS       =   DOOMSTAFF (Very good staff for Pyra. Cursed. If used casts BLAZE level 4 on EVERYONE.)
CHIMERA        =   FROST ARMOR (Quite a good armor for hero. May give some resistance to cold, ie. against to FREEZE. But when you meet this nasty creature you should already found one...)
COLOSSUS       =   MITHRIL ORE (Material needed to forge mithril euipment.)
DEADHEAD       =   LONGSWORD
DEATHBRINGER   =   MIRACLE HERB (If used casts REVIVE level 2.)
DEATHMASK      =   DOOMBLADE (One of the best weapons for Hero. If equipped, does instant kills randomly. It is semi-cursed. It can assasinate enemies even if you don't actually attack. It "steals" hero's turn and kills an enemy.)
DEATHPAW       =   MAGIC MIRROR
DEATHSERPENT   =   IRON ARMOR
DEMI-WIGHT     =   WORN ROBE (The worst armor in the game and it's even cursed ;|)
DEMONESK       =   HERBWATER
DEMONIKA       =   ICE SABER
DRAGONSPAWN    =   IRON LANCE
DREAM PUFF     =   LEATHER ROBE
GARGOYLE       =   DARKROBE (Propably the best armor for Milo and Pyra but cursed.)
GHOUL          =   DARK SCIMITAR
GOLLUM         =   SUPER FLAIL (Propably the best weapon for Milo. Makes attack THREE times a turn. Great weapon when combined with BOOST level 1)
GRAVEROC       =   STEEL LANCE
GRIMWALL       =   HEALERFRUIT
GRYPHON        =   STEELWHIP (The best non cursed whip for Pyra)
GUARDIAN       =   LIGHTROBE (Why is MAGIC MAIL better than this? Does this have some special abilities? Magic resistance?)
HELLHOUND      =   HOLY WATER
HOBGOBLIN      =   BATTLE HAMMER
KALIUM         =   HERBWATER
KRUSHER        =   DARK BLOCK (Trader can forge cursed euipment from theese.)
LANCEROT       =   STORM SWORD
LIVING ARMOR   =   BROADSWORD
LOKJAW         =   MAGIC RING
MANDAGORA      =   BARRIER RING (!!! Gives defence and magic resistance. If used casts QUICK level 2.)
MANDRAKE       =   HEALERFRUIT
MEAT ZOMBIE    =   DEMON STAFF (Poor weapon for Pyra. If used casts muddle level 2 to EVERYONE with 100% success rate, except for some special kind of enemies. Cannot be broken. Note: When muddled [lvl 2], monsters give away their treasures sometimes.)
NECROMANCER    =   MERCY STAFF (Quite a good weapon, being a staff, for Pyra. When used casts HEAL level 3!)
RAGNAROCK      =   MAGIC MAIL
RAMIUM         =   SUM ARMOR (Armor for hero. May give resistance to heat.)
REAPER         =   BATTLE AXE
SCIZZAR        =   MITHRIL HOOD
SEA STALLION   =   MADU
SERPI          =   FORBIDDEN BOX (The most exciting toy EVER.)
SLIMY OOZE     =   HERB
SORCEROR       =   STEELPLATE
TROGLODYTE     =   STEEL SHIELD
VYPER          =   DARK BLOCK (Trader can forge cursed euipment from theese.)
WARBIRD        =   HEX WHIP (Best whip for Pyra, unfortunately also cursed.)
WARHORSE       =   MAGIC ROBE (Armor for Milo and Pyra. May give magic resistance.)
trazz wrote:
Killing the skeletons sooner or letting the skeletons live (unlive?) won't affect that at all.
Skilled player (1512)
Joined: 4/28/2005
Posts: 240
Location: Finland
DarkKobold wrote:
This game is pretty easy to manipulate via brute forcing. Here is up to GrimWall- you were sort of right about level 6. http://dehacked.2y.net/microstorage.php/info/99860035/Shining%20in%20the%20Darkness%20(U)%20%5B!%5D.gmv
Awesome Gila+FireStaff tactics, "Wachunga!" \O/ What if you saved Milo to be sacrificed to GrimWall? Is Pyra-Gila duo going to handle the rest of the game? This is like watching a good TV series, only much more entertaining.
Projects: Warlock, Ren & Stimpy (impr) / Generations Lost (impr.)
Skilled player (1652)
Joined: 11/15/2004
Posts: 2202
Location: Killjoy
Here is another iteration. This run takes you all the way to the Dark Knight, in 34 minutes. Unfortunately, in my current state, he is far too impossible to beat. I may have developed a strategy to take him down, but it will require a redo of the last 'section' of the game, or more. He is completely invulnerable to status effects, he starts with around 1K Hp (the previous boss only had 400), and he gains a fixed 100 Hp back per round, which maxes at 1K Hp. This means I need to do greater than 100 Hp per round to even have the ability to Oops! Sorry, here it is A few notes: I did alter parts of the strategy for the KK take down, but not much. It turns out getting the jump on the Pit Worms was slower than just confronting them. Also, Z with the Bronze Knife takes 5 rounds of hits to take KK down, which means too many herbs to make it worthwhile. It is down to 6:01 now, however. Pyra needs to hit level 4, but beyond that she is sort of useless compared to Z. She also needs to hit 50+ Hp by Floor 3 of the Labrynith. Whether to level her or Z in the Trials will be a big decision. (Also, why the two characters level different will be apparent when watching the current test run) The 2nd firestaff may be totally useless. All the bosses pre-Dark Knight can be killed with a single staff, and a little extra manipulation for Doppler. There is a TON of walking in this run, which will make mmbossman cry. Also, I figure the run time is going to be closer to 40 minutes at the same point, given the amount of extra prep DarkKnight will take. Also, WangChung is pinnacle to this run. He's required some interesting Lua coding to manipulate his appearance.
Sage advice from a friend of Jim: So put your tinfoil hat back in the closet, open your eyes to the truth, and realize that the government is in fact causing austismal cancer with it's 9/11 fluoride vaccinations of your water supply.
Experienced player (590)
Joined: 1/11/2007
Posts: 103
This game badly needs a minimap. Here's a primitive design:
local address = {
	facing = 0xff000f,
	X = 0xff0010,
	Y = 0xff0011,
	dungeonID = 0xff0017,
	indungeon = 0xff2f29
}

local mapX,mapY,mapsize = 0,0x30,0x1f
local coordX,coordY = 0,0x58
local compassX,compassY = 0,0x60

local dir = {}
dir[0] = "N"
dir[1] = "E"
dir[2] = "S"
dir[3] = "W"

local name = {}
name[0] = "Labyrinth L1"
name[1] = "Labyrinth L2"
name[5] = "Wisdom L1"
name[6] = "Wisdom L2"
name[8] = "Truth"
name[9] = "Strength L1"
name[10] = "Courage L2"
name[11] = "Courage L1"

gui.register( function ()
	if memory.readbyte(address.indungeon) == 2 then
		local dungeon = memory.readbyte(address.dungeonID)
		local X,Y = memory.readbyte(address.X),memory.readbyte(address.Y)
		gui.text(mapX,mapY+mapsize,name[dungeon],"blue")
		gui.text(coordX,coordY,"("..X..","..Y..")")
		gui.text(compassX,compassY,"Facing "..dir[memory.readbyte(address.facing)])
		gui.drawbox(mapX,mapY,mapX+mapsize,mapY+mapsize)
		gui.drawpixel(mapX+X,mapY+Y,"red")
	end
end)
Still needs the actual dungeon shapes, otherwise you just get a dot in a box. Keep up the good work.
Joined: 3/7/2006
Posts: 720
Location: UK
Here's some maps to sort you out. They are adapted from the ones on gamefaqs so I can't guarantee accuracy.
Voted NO for NO reason
Skilled player (1512)
Joined: 4/28/2005
Posts: 240
Location: Finland
I didn't know Blackbone could be skipped (end of Lab 3). And I was also surprised to see you rushing straight to Lab level 4. So, Z needs to get hp+def to withstand one hit from Dark Knight without defending and Milo be alive to heal Z (with healerfruits)? Also, isn't Light Blade needed from Lab 4. It doesn't take much time. Frost Armor could be the fastest armor to grab from a chest.
Projects: Warlock, Ren & Stimpy (impr) / Generations Lost (impr.)
Skilled player (1652)
Joined: 11/15/2004
Posts: 2202
Location: Killjoy
maTO wrote:
I didn't know Blackbone could be skipped (end of Lab 3). And I was also surprised to see you rushing straight to Lab level 4. So, Z needs to get hp+def to withstand one hit from Dark Knight without defending and Milo be alive to heal Z (with healerfruits)? Also, isn't Light Blade needed from Lab 4. It doesn't take much time. Frost Armor could be the fastest armor to grab from a chest.
You read my mind. Creepy. A few changes - Light Helm also isn't far off the route. Also, the Healing Ring is right next to the Frost Armor. My last attempt has me getting the Sword from the unavoidable KromeBall. This weapon is far too weak to effectively kill Dark Knight. (It would be doable, but I estimate it will take more time than picking up Light Blade would, even with the extra fight required.) Also, he probably needs to survive 2 hits. I have no idea how I'm going to take down Darksol. Demon Breath will kill the entire party in one cast.
Sage advice from a friend of Jim: So put your tinfoil hat back in the closet, open your eyes to the truth, and realize that the government is in fact causing austismal cancer with it's 9/11 fluoride vaccinations of your water supply.
Zucca
He/Him
Joined: 8/22/2008
Posts: 118
Location: KUUSANKOSKI, Finland
DarkKobold wrote:
I have no idea how I'm going to take down Darksol. Demon Breath will kill the entire party in one cast.
Darksol casts it every round after both hands have been defeated. Right? Also I'd like to know if you guys use any of the insta-kill items and does Milo get Super Flail at any point?
trazz wrote:
Killing the skeletons sooner or letting the skeletons live (unlive?) won't affect that at all.
Skilled player (1512)
Joined: 4/28/2005
Posts: 240
Location: Finland
DarkKobold wrote:
Also, he probably needs to survive 2 hits.
Dark Knight in two turns? Z does perhaps 250 (a number from hat) with critical. Pyra does 64 with FireStaff and Gila whoops for 75. That's barely in three turns if DK regenerates for 100 / turn.
DarkKobold wrote:
I have no idea how I'm going to take down Darksol. Demon Breath will kill the entire party in one cast.
-Crystal Ooze level ups. Get Forbidden Box from Serpi and manipulate instakill for 8 Crystal Oozes. -Magic Ring (Lokjaw) abuse. I don't know if Magic Ring has limited amount of charges or is the breaking based on luck.
Projects: Warlock, Ren & Stimpy (impr) / Generations Lost (impr.)