Dungeon Keeper

2007-10-07 08:21:26 am

Omfg finally.
On a high-res (and thus un-frapsable) run, I got a time of 724 - a little over 12 minutes in the game's time, so 12min is possible.

The difference between that run and this?
I took the time to dig out an extra treasure room up north near the gold veins. That must've taken 30 seconds off this time. The run was SLOW, as I had 5 warlocks in my initial 6 creatures and thus the archers took a while to go down.

So here's the plan:
Tag left, tag right, summon, slap, tag out West gold.
Pick up reinforcers, drop at gold, tag Northwest gold (2nd treasury goes here). Slap, tag out dungeon.
Build treasury and summon 5 imps when next to dirt, build dungeon, and from there it's the tried-and-tested combat route above.

Note to other runners: You -can- trigger only one of the action points in the left rooms.

Enigma_Nova

Edit history:

Enigma_Nova: 2007-10-07 09:03:26 am

2007-10-07 08:33:30 am

And another time of 648, under 11 minutes by the in-game timer. Right, now to load up the low-res and make a fraps of it.

Okay, we got

[u]12:02 for Flowerhat[/u]
Screw the commentary, it was enough hell getting the playtime down to 12 mins.
The annoying thing, at the end?
Those heroes aren't meant to engage you until you've come close to their spawn. They come right at me anyway. I waste a LOT of time, because I can't drop my creatures close enough to engage the dungeon heart, and my imps refuse to claim tiles with enemies nearby, unless the enemies are distracted.
On the plus side, the Knight takes a detour around his dungeon back to my dungeon heart, so I don't have to face him. This is NOT intended; if the heroes would spawn when I get -close- to the dungeon heart I'd drop my 20 creatures straight in their faces and the knight would be gone.

Will post .wmv when it uploads.

Enigma_Nova

Edit history:

Enigma_Nova: 2007-10-07 10:44:32 am

2007-10-07 09:39:13 am

[u]12:02 for Flowerhat[/u]
http://files.filefront.com/DK1+Enigma+Map4wmv/;8735968;/fileinfo.html

[u]2:29 for Lushmeadow-on-Down[/u]
http://files.filefront.com/DK1+Enigma+Map5wmv/;8736013;/fileinfo.html
Lushmeadow on Down has the distinction of being THE fastest level in the entire run, given that it's a dig-n-spank endavour with a level 8 spider transferred.
0:03:
Leet Avi cut n paste. The blue imps occasionally get to their portal before your imp does. While not lethal, this sends an annoying swarm of flies which distract your monsters. A Save-load and simple repeated imp digging solves this problem.
0:11:
No, it'll be destroyed by the time the imps realise you've tagged it. Simply going at it with a possessed imp is faster.
0:28:
Oops, didn't mean to pick the spider up. Drop the 3 imps there to occupy the portal and prevent blue from claiming it.
0:52:
Park the spider there so it kills the imps. Bring up a 2nd spider in the meantime.
1:15:
The level 2 spider takes care of imp distractions while I pummel away at the enemy's dungeon heart.
2:25:
Good game. Lol, he didn't get the chance to attract -one- monster or put down -one- room tile. Speedrunning takes no prisoners.

[u]2:26 for Snuggledell[/u]
http://files.filefront.com/DK1+Enigma+Map6wmv/;8736241;/fileinfo.html
Oops. Guess this level is the fastest now. ^^
There is a transfer creature special in the water, but I don't take it - the next level has a fixed timer before the knight shows up, so transferring will NOT save more time than it takes to get the special.
0:26:
You can't see it, but I just claimed 3 dark mistresses. They're what kills the fairies.
0:48:
After digging my way to the enemy dungeon, I ferry the dark mistresses across. All in all, the blue keeper digs -three- tiles and claims -one-. He didn't have a snowball's chance in hell.
1:31:
Play it in fast forward and you can -see- the dungeon heart shrink.
2:21:
And game.

Here's a tip to those playing Dungeon Keeper: You can drop imps on dirt, even if that tile is dug by an -enemy- imp. You can see the tiles around an enemy portal. If you want to be truly annoying:
Summon as many imps as you can
Drop them all once your enemy digs 1 tile of dirt out near the portal.
Pull them back to your dungeon heart for them to rest and regain full HP while the enemy's imps' hp dwindles through combat.
It's very annoying, and very effective. :-)

[b][u]12:02 for Flowerhat[/b][/u]
http://files.filefront.com/DK1+Enigma+Map4wmv/;8735968;/fileinfo.html

[b][u]2:29 for Lushmeadow-on-Down[/b][/u]
http://files.filefront.com/DK1+Enigma+Map5wmv/;8736013;/fileinfo.html
[i]Lushmeadow on Down has the distinction of being THE fastest level in the entire run, given that it's a dig-n-spank endavour with a level 8 spider transferred.[/i]
[u]0:03:[/u]
[i]Leet Avi cut n paste. The blue imps occasionally get to their portal before your imp does. While not lethal, this sends an annoying swarm of flies which distract your monsters. A Save-load and simple repeated imp digging solves this problem.[/i]
[u]0:11:[/u]
[i]No, it'll be destroyed by the time the imps realise you've tagged it. Simply going at it with a possessed imp is faster.[/i]
[u]0:28:[/u]
[i]Oops, didn't mean to pick the spider up. Drop the 3 imps there to occupy the portal and prevent blue from claiming it.[/i]
[u]0:52:[/u]
[i]Park the spider there so it kills the imps. Bring up a 2nd spider in the meantime.[/i]
[u]1:15:[/u]
[i]The level 2 spider takes care of imp distractions while I pummel away at the enemy's dungeon heart.[/i]
[u]2:25:[/u]
[i]Good game. Lol, he didn't get the chance to attract -one- monster or put down -one- room tile. Speedrunning takes no prisoners.[/i]

[b][u]2:26 for Snuggledell[/b][/u]
http://files.filefront.com/DK1+Enigma+Map6wmv/;8736241;/fileinfo.html
[i]Oops. Guess this level is the fastest now. ^^
There is a transfer creature special in the water, but I don't take it - the next level has a fixed timer before the knight shows up, so transferring will NOT save more time than it takes to get the special.[/i]
[u]0:26:[/u]
[i]You can't see it, but I just claimed 3 dark mistresses. They're what kills the fairies.[/i]
[u]0:48:[/u]
[i]After digging my way to the enemy dungeon, I ferry the dark mistresses across. All in all, the blue keeper digs -three- tiles and claims -one-. He didn't have a snowball's chance in hell.[/i]
[u]1:31:[/u]
[i]Play it in fast forward and you can -see- the dungeon heart shrink.[/i]
[u]2:21:[/u]
[i]And game.[/i]

[i]Here's a tip to those playing Dungeon Keeper: You can drop imps on dirt, even if that tile is dug by an -enemy- imp. You can see the tiles around an enemy portal. If you want to be truly annoying:
Summon as many imps as you can
Drop them all once your enemy digs 1 tile of dirt out near the portal.
Pull them back to your dungeon heart for them to rest and regain full HP while the enemy's imps' hp dwindles through combat.
It's very annoying, and very effective. :-)[/i]

zoonel

Edit history:

zoonel: 2007-10-07 05:16:03 pm

2007-10-07 05:15:15 pm

Go play spacechem !

Great job, i'm happy that you find a way to record that game! now i can enjoy watching the runs and remember the greatness of ancient video games Cheesy

Don't know if it can help for speedrunning the game, but i remember when i played the game that i claimed the portal very late, when my layout was complete, so annoying creatures dont rejoin me like beetles, flies, ... but only the good ones (haaaa those bile demons :heartbeat: , very effective at trap creating and enemy slaying)

TheVoid

2007-10-07 07:22:23 pm

Good job on the levels so far, it's a pleasure to watch them Smiley

I don't really have much more to add but I just wanted to say that. Keep them coming!

NONOCE

2007-10-07 09:42:32 pm

I love YaBB 1G - SP1!

Delicious.

Wahoo

2007-10-08 07:01:05 pm

very good runs so far Smiley

Even though the knight for level 7 is on a timer, you still get to wipe out the enemy keeper, which is still something fun to do Smiley

Raven75

2007-10-09 12:24:38 pm

It's-a me, Raven!

Seeing this thread and the speedrun WMVs made me hunger for the game all over again. Took me a while to update it, get the D3D patch, and get that running on XP, but it works. Too bad the scolling speed is off on the main map - and the achievements window. God, I hate the Dutch version.

Stage 10 was hella-hard, and stage 11 is impossible for somene with my skill, even with a lvl 7 Dragon transfer. GAH!!!

I Love stages where you can dig yourselves in and have a gem or two to exploit - lets you researh everything and train all your units to lvl 10. Lvl 3 Imps rock.

Best of luck; you're doing great!

Raven75

Edit history:

Raven75: 2007-10-09 07:01:04 pm

2007-10-09 06:57:37 pm

It's-a me, Raven!

Don't ask me how, but after a long while (and about twelve attempts) I've finished level 11. I can't wait to see you speedrun 10 and 11 (not that 11 is a matter of speed; it's timer-based spawns iirc)...

Imma start playing the REGULAR DK, not the D3D version - D3D screws up my mouse...

Kabuto

2007-10-10 08:31:05 am

I've created a screen recording tool for recording Dungeon Keeper. Due to lacking features the current version isn't really usable for recording speed runs but at least it demonstrates that recording of Dungeon Keeper in full (640 x 400) resolution is possible.

Anyone with C++ experience can try to help me fix the remaining issues; if you leave this up to me it might take a while until this gets usable. (Anyone willing to help with this should send PM or start another thread).

http://taskabuto.googlepages.com/dkrecorder

Raven75

2007-10-13 05:34:00 pm

It's-a me, Raven!

1) Bump! We demand more ;-)
2) Does anyone know how to get DK multiplayer going?

Wahoo

2007-10-14 12:49:31 pm

you add something to the command line when launching the game I think, can't remember what it is, you should be able to google it.

Raven75

2007-10-14 10:50:54 pm

It's-a me, Raven!

I've been doing some research on multiplayer mode. Since the game only supports IPX (read: LAN) games, TCP/IP (read: internet) isn't an option - directly. You can use an IPX Tunnel program to fake an IPX connection over TCP/IP, but it's quite a hasstle. Didn't get it running personally due to my router.
Indeed, adjusting the shortcut by adding 1-player to the command line (outside the quotation marks) makes the 1-Player multiplayer mode available. Still doesn't let you play against other people over the internet - which was my goal.

I'm eagerly awaiting levels 7 and up...

Lord_Booga

2007-10-15 08:19:56 pm

I love YaBB 1G - SP1!

Try Hamachi - that should do the trick.

Enigma_Nova

2007-10-16 10:23:52 am

Sorry about that, guys. Had exams.

Wahoo

2007-10-16 06:50:46 pm

why are you sorry? Exams ALWAYS come first.

Raven75

2007-10-17 10:30:01 am

It's-a me, Raven!

I second that - exams are more important. Now, if those are out of the way, get crackin' - I can't wait to see the rest of it!

Enigma_Nova

Edit history:

Enigma_Nova: 2007-10-18 12:05:46 am

2007-10-17 10:54:51 am

7's done, but it'll take 2 hours to upload. I'll do that while I sleep and get to work on 9.
8's straightforward, but 9 is the freakin' pain in the arse level.

[u]21:04 for Wishvale[/u]
http://files.filefront.com/DK1+Enigma+Map7wmv/;8819466;/fileinfo.html
This level is timed, up to the appearance of the knight. Thus, there's little rush here. I aim to get a level 9 orc transferred, and I do this.

Wahoo

2007-10-18 07:12:36 pm

how come you didn't quite finish your hatchery on lvl 7? (unless you did and I missed it)

ZenicReverie

2007-10-18 08:03:27 pm

Waiting hurts my soul...

Good job getting past that point. I look forward to watching this once it's posted.

NONOCE

2007-10-18 08:38:13 pm

I love YaBB 1G - SP1!

I think I saw a missing case too ^^

Enigma_Nova

2007-10-19 09:35:38 am

Quote:

how come you didn't quite finish your hatchery on lvl 7? (unless you did and I missed it)

25 tiles = bile demon
So, I keep the hatchery at 24 tiles. Bdemons train slow, get no intrinsic speed, and tend to fart on your other creatures in combat.

krael

2007-10-19 11:52:30 am

Verified verifier and hangaround :)

That be smart thinking.

I look forward to see how you pass level 9.

krael

2007-10-19 02:19:55 pm

Verified verifier and hangaround :)

nvm, I managed to pass it quite easily.

I transferred a level 10 vampire, made him immediately research up to bridge, bridged down, attack, killed, looted and profited.

Enigma_Nova

2007-10-20 01:05:32 pm

9 involves turning on the computer assistant, possessing the level 9 orc I transfer and owning the crap out of everything.

There's also digging for gold, claiming the transfer creature special, and getting the horned reaper trained up (speed monster, go). This all needs to be done fairly quickly.
There's 2 increase level specials in the upper left. I aim to transfer a level 7 reaper, though 8 is fine too.