I did some updates to the forum yesterday (the default theme is slightly different now). Somehow, all file uploading got disabled, even images, which had been working. I've re-enabled image uploads and turned on generic file uploading for registered users.

cythera_test.txt

P.S. @453 you can surround text with three backtick marks before and after to denote code blocks, like ```. You probably tried that, but I wasn't completely sure. I was also toying around with plugins that would allow collapsible and expandable blocks. Some of the plugins which add spoiler tags claim to do this, but I can't get any of them to work. Some of them are fairly old, so maybe they're not compatible with the new version yet.

The event has been saved to YouTube: https://youtu.be/gLCl7elzN-s. We ended up completing the full game in a somewhat leisurely speedrun, with frequent interjections to look at things like side quests and characters, bug fixes, and hacks/mods.

Thanks for getting this started, @Pallas-Athene! It was a lot of fun.

Glenn Andreas did join us in the text chat, and he offered some interesting points for discussion. I feel satisfied that most of the technical details and leftover in-game content have been addressed, with the most cryptic responses relating to things that would tie into a Cythera sequel. Who knows, maybe we'll see that one day?

Just a reminder that the livestream is coming up tomorrow night. There's a possibility of Glenn Andreas and/or Richard Moss stopping by!

@Buzzzzy said in Cythera Speedruns:

Music and fading have never worked on my SheepShaver build for some reason.

This is a symptom of pre-2013 Sheepshaver builds which lack support for the gamma ramp functions frequently used for fade effects. The main indicator is the screen being visible instead of black during sleep (you can see how the time & location pane updates live). Those older builds were also more likely to stumble over audio, and a number of games like EV Nova and Ferazel’s Wand will crash.

E-Maculation’s forum has a nice collection of recent builds if you’re looking to update. 🙂

Wait, so if I had just been standing in the doorway, that might have worked?? I'm both frustrated and thrilled to know that!

@453

Here's the relevant portion from Ake's dialogue script: (I've added a few comments denoted by semicolons)

ConvNext0580:
    conversation_response "more" else ConvNext0808 
    if_not
        call_resource 0xF02
            arg Arg30
            byte 1
        end 
    then Conditional05B1 ;if not talked about Comana, branch down to 05B1
    '"You know, House Comana..."' ;else fall through to this response
    branch Branch0805
    Conditional05B1:
    if_not 
        sys IsInParty
            short 30 ;Milcom
        end 
        sys IsInParty
            short 35 ;Hebe
        end 
        or 
    then Conditional060E ;if Milcom & Hebe not "IsInParty", jump to 060E
    'She looks around nervously...*"Ah, I don\'t know what you\'re talking about."' ;else fall through
    branch Branch0805 ;branch away if fell through
    Conditional060E: ;Milcom & Hebe not around?
    '"I can\'t speak of that now - meet me in our @garden after dark - wait until after my husband goes to bed"'
    call_resource Resources.SetCharacterFlag ;check if character has Persuasion
        arg Arg30
        byte 2
    end 
    if_not 
        sys GetSkill
            global Globals.PlayerCharacter
            short 203
        end 
    then Branch0805
    sys TalkParticipant
        short 1
        byte 2
    end 
    '"I understand your reluctance, but I\'m not sure if I can make that meeting."*'
    sys TalkParticipant
        arg Arg30
        byte 0
    end 
    call_resource 0xF01
        arg Arg30
        byte 2
    end 
    call_resource Resources.SetCharacterFlag
        arg Arg30
        byte 1
    end 
    'Ake lowers her voice to a whisper, glancing nervously around.*"Well, this might just be a rumor, but I\'ve heard that House Comana was behind Ariadne\'s kidnapping."*"I can\'t say anymore, but seek out Halos of House Strymon in Cademia"'
    sys AddQuest
        byte 10
        word 0x021A[0]
        byte 10
        add 
    end 
    '*"Please, I\'ve said too much..."'
    Branch0805:
    branch Conditional01CF

What DDASM labels as "IsInParty" is a call to function #188 in Delver byte code. I'm sure it does some checking for in party, but it looks like it's doing something else as well. If I had to guess, it's being used here to get a distance measure of some kind?

Whatever the case, it looks like you only have to make sure neither Hebe nor Milcom is around to get her to speak with you, which is good to know. Bryce really has equipped us with a powerful set of tools with delvmod! 😁

@Pallas-Athene said in Cythera Speedruns:

I don’t think that a “False (Hacks)” category is interesting.

I agree with that for the most part (although, who wouldn't want to see a chicken rogue run? 😛). I guess that's why I liked the idea of a third category; many of the exploits are interesting but could otherwise be buried under much shorter False times.

It''s a moot point now though. The running madness of new videos every few hours has slowed way down!

The any% rating is a nice idea. It could be a little tricky to measure because of Cythera's huge amount of optional content, but I can imagine many variations on that. Actually, I think BW's play style is a 100% speed run if you just click through the dialogues quickly.

@Pallas-Athene

What do you think about broadening the classification from True / False over to True / False (Exploits) / False (Hacks)? Despite my original uncertainty, after reviewing the latest speed runs, I agree that the ones using no exploits should remain separate. But I think using minor bugs and exploits should also be separate from outright hacking. Character hacking will entail very different mechanisms to save time; plus this breakdown would give a nice 30min/20min/???min summary for the best times.

@453

As far as I can tell, Ake will talk to you as long as no other NPC is on the screen. I've had her tell me everything through the window if the other NPCs are out of sight, but it's definitely easier to go into the house.

You're right about Ayrit vs. simply using the tunnel. I'm afraid to wander around in the tunnels because of ooze and moss — both of which have caused me trouble in these speed runs. I like how Ayrit gets me away from danger, but it does waste precious time.

Crabs are glitchy. I believe its in the failed video that they started to take on human sound effects for being hit and killed, and yes, they started being treated as blood at one point!

Charax has given me a lot of grief. What I've learned from all this is to let sleeping mages lie...

@Buzzzzy said in Cythera Speedruns:

You might be able to talk to Stentor through the window and then head back into the sewers, though (eliminating the need to bash/bomb the door).

I was really amused by this mental image: Stentor and Bellerophon shouting at each other through the window from across the screen.

@Buzzzzy, I've accidentally triggered the engine's time counter a couple times, but I don't know what key it actually is. How do you get that prompt to appear? (The message with total time played, number of times launched, engine version, etc.)

I feel like we've really honed in some great speed running strategies in this thread. At this point, I'd say if you want to play the game as fully intended, you're looking at about a 30min run. If you don't mind using a few minor exploits here and there, you can trim it down to about 20min. So the main question left is an outright hacking speed run: ghosts, teleporters, starting with key items in your inventory, etc.

@Troyen said in Frozen Heart:

I wanted to tag it "The Retsy Chronicles" as that's the name of the series, but there's a 15-character limit.

There is a way to change it, so I put it up to 25 chars. I'm betting you can edit the tags in your post and have it update. Not sure though.