Is switching in-game speed settings acceptable?

2014-01-13 11:06:54 pm

I'm planning a run of Police Quest 1 (the original AGI version), which has an in-game speed setting. This setting affects animation speed (i.e., how fast a character walks across a room) but not timed event triggers. It can be changed at any time, without exiting to a menu (come to think of it, it can ONLY be changed during gameplay, after the game has already begun).

Part of my speedrun strategy is to switch in-game speeds at strategic points. I don't see why this would be a problem, but I just want to make sure before I record the run. To reiterate, there is no cheating or modding going on; it's a legitimate, in-game setting that can be (and often is) changed during the course of normal gameplay.

Thanks!

Thread title:

Manocheese

2014-01-13 11:14:07 pm

Yes, a cucco riding the ground.

That sounds fine.

Joshkaz

2014-01-14 12:07:17 am

King Wabasami

If its a game setting then its fine.

dunnius

2014-01-14 02:04:06 am

Intruding N313 and F014

That sounds like it is the same as Hydlide, which changes the game speed. So yeah, it is allowed.

Ash

2014-01-14 12:19:28 pm

Thanks! That puts my mind at ease.

Melodia

2014-01-14 04:06:10 pm

Anything in game is fine and in fact SHOULD be done. A lot of games do stuff like that -- FFIX for instance changes the ATB speed at a few points IIRC.

General Vagueness

2014-01-18 03:44:21 pm

Faster than the speed of love

I'm curious, why wouldn't you just set it to the fastest setting and leave it there?

UraniumAnchor

2014-01-18 04:07:55 pm

Not a walrus

RPGs and Starcraft come to mind as games that fiddle with the speeds during gameplay so it's probably fine. How do you actually set the speed?

Patashu

2014-01-18 08:19:22 pm

As long as you don't use a speed like, 'run as fast as your computer possibly can'.

Ash

2014-01-18 09:03:45 pm

Quote from General Vagueness:

I'm curious, why wouldn't you just set it to the fastest setting and leave it there?

At the fastest speed, some parts of the game become unplayable. E.g., walking around is pretty safe, but driving a car is suicidal.

Quote from UraniumAnchor:

RPGs and Starcraft come to mind as games that fiddle with the speeds during gameplay so it's probably fine. How do you actually set the speed?

You can set the speed by typing a command, just like any other action in the game. (You can also use the menu, but that's slower.)

Quote from Patashu:

As long as you don't use a speed like, 'run as fast as your computer possibly can'.

If I correctly understand SDA's DOSBox guidelines, "default" or "max" settings should be used unless they cause problems with the game. I've been running it at the default DOSBox setting (3000 cycles).

LotBlind

Edit history:

LotBlind: 2014-01-19 09:58:13 am

2014-01-19 09:57:05 am

What Patashu is referring to is some games have the "unbound" speed.

Jetpack, the platformer, also has an in-game speed slider that goes from 0 to 8 with 9 being unbound.

Ash

2014-01-19 06:57:21 pm

Quote from LotBlind:

What Patashu is referring to is some games have the "unbound" speed.

Am I to understand that unbound speed is unacceptable? I think the fastest speed in PQ1 is unbound.

Ash

Edit history:

Ash: 2014-01-19 07:02:54 pm

2014-01-19 07:02:29 pm

(However, it is bound by the DOSBox setting.)