Dungeon Siege (breaking a classic) (!!COMPLETED!!)

Edit history:

Spinach: 2012-08-05 04:05:40 am

Spinach: 2012-06-25 02:59:55 am

2012-06-25 02:47:33 am

Greetings, all! I have been a lurker here for a while and really enjoy all the effort that has gone into this site.

Now, after years of taking, I want to give something back.

I am planning a run of Dungeon Siege: Legends of Aranna on the original (Kingdom Ehb) map. This run was inspired by LightningX's run (which I found on SDA), except for the following points:
-It uses the LoA expansion (and many of the spells that came with it)
-I'm going as a Combat Mage
-I'm going to beat his time

My goal is 2:30 by the in-game timer (about 2:18 in length, as the game timer includes the time of the cut scenes, even if they are skipped). You might ask: how will I do this? Well, I have chosen to go as a Combat Mage so I can make use of a few extremely important spells:
-Haste and Group Haste. These make running through the game even faster.
-Zorkon's Bonecrusher. The most imbalanced spell in the game.
-Summon Clone. The Glitchiest spell in the game. (One specific shortcut this allows will make your jaw drop.)
-Also, I am going to rely on a little bit of luck manipulation to get good drops from certain enemies and really good spawns at shops.

I did a half-hearted attempt a couple days ago and managed a time of 3:02. This does not even approach the standing time of 2:38, but I know many places where I can trim off time. I am half-way through another attempt that might accomplish a time of 2:40. (I will let you know what I get as soon as I finish). When I have my strategy perfected, I will start recording.

I do have 2 questions that you may be able to help me with:

1. This game has an in-game timer that you can display by pressing ";" However, every time I reload, I have to press ";" again. This gets incredibly annoying when I'm repeating a short segment over and over and over. Does anyone know how to keep the game timer on the screen?

2. What game-recording software is best for an old computer?

Thanks everyone!

Thread title:

Greetings, all! I have been a lurker here for a while and really enjoy all the effort that has gone into this site.

Now, after years of taking, I want to give something back.

I am planning a run of Dungeon Siege: Legends of Aranna on the original (Kingdom Ehb) map. This run was inspired by LightningX's run (which I found on SDA), except for the following points:
-It uses the LoA expansion (and many of the spells that came with it)
-I'm going as a Combat Mage
-I'm going to beat his time

My goal is 2:30 by the in-game timer (about 2:18 in length, as the game timer includes the time of the cut scenes, even if they are skipped). You might ask: how will I do this? Well, I have chosen to go as a Combat Mage so I can make use of a few extremely important spells:
-Haste and Group Haste. These make running through the game even faster.
-Zorkon's Bonecrusher. The most imbalanced spell in the game.
-Summon Clone. The Glitchiest spell in the game. (One specific shortcut this allows will make your jaw drop.)
-Also, I am going to rely on a little bit of luck manipulation to get good drops from certain enemies and really good spawns at shops.

I did a half-hearted attempt a couple days ago and managed a time of 3:02. This does not even approach the standing time of 2:38, but I know many places where I can trim off time. I am half-way through another attempt that might accomplish a time of 2:40. (I will let you know what I get as soon as I finish). When I have my strategy perfected, I will start recording.

I do have 2 questions that you may be able to help me with:

1. This game has an in-game timer that you can display by pressing ";" However, every time I reload, I have to press ";" again. This gets incredibly annoying when I'm repeating a short segment over and over and over. Does anyone know how to keep the game timer on the screen?

2. What game-recording software is best for an old computer?

Thanks everyone!

Freezard

2012-06-25 09:21:33 am

Nice to see you attempting to beat the current run Smiley

Not sure if it will replace the run or be a new category because of LoA, but good luck either way!

FRAPS is a good recording software, 30 FPS should be enough for this game so it shouldn't be too demanding.

AdHoc

Edit history:

AdHoc: 2012-06-25 09:41:53 am

2012-06-25 09:40:04 am

I've always only played this game with LoA, so I'll be following this closely. Good luck, keep us posted!

Spinach

2012-06-25 02:45:12 pm

2nd practice run: 2:42

I think I can cut out 12 more minutes, but I'm going to give it another practice run or two before I start recording.

Spinach

2012-06-26 05:38:09 pm

Okay, finished 3rd practice run.

Time: 2:34

That's right, I already BEAT the current time! And there's still more shortcuts I am experimenting with!

This is gunna be good.

TheVoid

2012-06-26 11:40:47 pm

Cool dude! Looking forward to it.

Onin

2012-06-27 10:21:27 am

Don't be a tease, show off some of your skips! :3

AdHoc

2012-06-27 10:21:34 pm

Is it possible to finish it faster using tricks only possible in multiplayer?

A cooperation run would be somewhat exciting and possibly unlock some awesome timesavers...

Spinach

Edit history:

Spinach: 2012-06-28 03:09:08 am

2012-06-28 02:51:22 am

Final practice run: 2:28 (beating the current time by 10 minutes)

I'm done with practice runs. This is mostly because I am sick and tired of walking into Glacern over and over and over until I get the perfect spawn of items from the shop there. (And some of the other shops are almost as bad.)

All I need now is the recording software. Are you sure fraps is the best for an old computer? I mean, I can barely run Starcraft 2 on the lowest possible settings.

@ Onin - Here's one example: The Goblin Factory is an infamously difficult leg of the game. In fact, LightningX had to get 5 characters up to level ~20 just to survive it. However, using a single spell (Invisibility), I am able to get 1 character at level 12 through with no difficulty whatsoever. (The boss takes some time to kill, but it's a trade-off). Using spells like this and using a bunch of items that add to Combat Magic allow me to spend an absolutely minimal time leveling.

@Adhoc - I don't know. By definition, a multiplayer run would have to be single segment (right?) and the drops in this game are way too random for me to consider such a thing.

PS. Does anyone know how to keep the game timer on the screen?

Final practice run: 2:28 (beating the current time by 10 minutes)

I'm done with practice runs. This is mostly because I am sick and tired of walking into Glacern over and over and over until I get the perfect spawn of items from the shop there. (And some of the other shops are almost as bad.)

All I need now is the recording software. Are you sure fraps is the best for an old computer? I mean, I can [i]barely[/i] run Starcraft 2 on the lowest possible settings.

@ Onin - Here's one example: The Goblin Factory is an infamously difficult leg of the game. In fact, LightningX had to get 5 characters up to level ~20 just to survive it. However, using a single spell (Invisibility), I am able to get 1 character at level 12 through with no difficulty whatsoever. (The boss takes some time to kill, but it's a trade-off). Using spells like this and using a bunch of items that add to Combat Magic allow me to spend an absolutely minimal time leveling.

@Adhoc - I don't know. By definition, a multiplayer run would have to be single segment (right?) and the drops in this game are way too random for me to consider such a thing.

PS. Does anyone know how to keep the game timer on the screen?

Onin

2012-06-28 10:07:44 am

If Fraps isn't running smooth enough just reduce your resolution, it makes a huge difference.

AdHoc

2012-06-30 01:27:33 am

A multiplayer run wouldn't have to be a SS I think, you can save. But you're probably right to do it this way, keep us posted Smiley

Spinach

2012-07-01 02:29:47 am

Slight update: I am going to be extremely busy the next couple days, so recording probably won't start until July 4 or thereabouts.

Any other questions/concerns before then?

Spinach

2012-07-07 08:22:58 am

Currently recording run!

I just squished the giant spider at the end of Wesrin Cross. At this point, I am 5 minutes ahead of my fastest practice run.

I'm aiming to beat the standing record by 20 minutes.

AdHoc

2012-07-07 10:33:07 pm

Nice! Keep it up Smiley

LeWoVoc

2012-07-14 04:17:33 pm

Awesome. Can't wait to see this run. Do you plan on uploading it to another mirror, or just waiting for it to be published on SDA?

Spinach

2012-07-15 01:26:18 am

It's been going a little slow recently... due mostly to a research internship I am engaged in at the moment.

I finished two of the most difficult segments today. Now I am at the travelers camp in the dark forest. Oh yeah, and I'm 10 minutes ahead of my previous best time.

The next segment (the travelers camp) requires a lot of luck manipulation, so I expect this one will come close to driving me nuts.

Finally, I haven't decided if I want to upload to youtube or not. My computer and internet connection are not very strong, so the uploading would probably take forever. I will consider it.

Spinach

2012-07-15 01:35:32 am

PS. I now think it will be easy to beat the previous time by 20 minutes. I am aiming for 25 now, with a possibility of approaching 30. That means I could beat the game (excluding cutscenes) in UNDER TWO HOURS.

We'll see if I can do it.

Spinach

2012-07-16 12:46:06 am

Update: Just beat the goblin boss. Now 12 minutes ahead of my best previous time.

In killing the goblin boss, I just got one of the best runs of luck imaginable. He dropped a GODLY item that I had not planned on finding anywhere. The problem is that I now have 100K gold less than I had planned on. So I'm going to need to find a good stack of gold somewhere between the goblin boss and Gresh.

Let's see if I can figure this out.

AdHoc

2012-07-16 08:36:08 pm

Good luck man, keep us posted Wink

Spinach

2012-07-27 02:29:53 am

Okay, beat Gresh today. He was actually laughably easy. I am currently 11 minutes ahead of my previous time (Yes, I lost 1 minute by glitching the game. Don't worry, I will make it back.)

And yes, it has been going very slowly, but after this point most of the game is a sprint until I reach Gom. That should make everything a bit easier.

My goal is still sub-2 hours.

Spinach

2012-07-29 02:39:57 am

Another update:

I just finished the ABSOLUTE WORST segment EVER. It was Fortress Kroth and I was looking for a specific set of spells to buy. I didn't think I was asking too much...

It took 293 resets to get the right spawn of items.

Now I need a nap.

Qoix

2012-08-03 09:27:40 pm

-- snip here --

Sounds fun. Smiley

Spinach

2012-08-05 03:47:51 am

Your sarcasm is noted.

Spinach

2012-08-05 04:05:06 am

UPDATE:

Beat the game today. Prepare for the most pathetic Gom battle you've ever seen.

Final Time:

2:10 by the in-game timer. Subtract cut scenes and it becomes 1:58 actual play time. That's right. I broke 2 hours! In all, I beat the standing time by 28 minutes.

Next step is to consolidate the 47 segments to a single video. Should I do that on my own, or will SDA do that for me? (I also have a small collection of bloopers I would like to include on the end of the video...)

Oh, and I need to write out my comments. I think it'll end up being a novela.

So tell me where to go from here. In the meantime, I'm going to bed.

Onin

2012-08-05 12:12:14 pm

http://speeddemosarchive.com/lang/submit_en.html

There's a bunch of hints and guides for encoding your run on the SDA Wiki.