Bug - Fixed writingDesksDefeated off by 1

ckb

Minion
Staff member
In my last run, and one before that, my writingDesksDefeated was off by 1.
This is hard to know why, because I do not know it until I get the necklace with writingDesksDefeated=4

I think it has to do with fighting a wandering/digitized writing desk in The Deep Machine Tunnels (where it does not take a turn).
 

lostcalpolydude

Developer
Staff member
Maybe it's worth just setting that to 5 when you get the necklace? That won't actually help anything meaningful though, since at that point there's other stuff available to track quest progress.

I don't understand why it's 4 for you and not 1.
 

ckb

Minion
Staff member
Here is what seems to be happening.
I tend to script my runs, so timing of things is critical. On day 1, I fight a painted writing desk, and digitize it. After fighting 3 more (when writingDesksDefeated==4), I digitize something else. Then on day 2, I fight the 5th writing desk through the chateau and finish the manor 2nd floor quests.
If writingDesksDefeated is incorrect, then my automation does not work.

Right now, if I end up encountering a writing desk in The Deep Machine Tunnels, the writingDesksDefeated counter does not increment, so it is off by 1.
If this is something unfixable, I will just add a check for a writing desk during my Machine Tunnel fights and increment writingDesksDefeated manually if I encounter one.
 

lostcalpolydude

Developer
Staff member
You are correct about the cause. Any text parsing is ruined by being in DMT, which probably affects hundreds of things.
 
And meanwhile, image parsing gets ruined by (some of) the OCRS random monster modifiers, so that's not THE solution either. I remember some bugs due to that during my last aftercore, but I don't remember the specifics. On top of that, the hilarious modifier can mess with text too. Yay, more complications.
 

ckb

Minion
Staff member
From my session log:

Code:
[29] The Deep Machine Tunnels
Encounter: writing desk
Round 0: ckb1 wins initiative!
Round 1: ckb1 executes a macro!
Round 1: ckb1 tries to steal an item!
You acquire an item: disintegrating quill pen
Round 2: ckb1 casts SUMMON LOVE MOSQUITO!
Round 3: You gain 1 or more hit points
Round 3: ckb1 uses the Time-Spinner!
Round 4: ckb1 casts COWBOY KICK!
Round 5: ckb1 casts SUMMON LOVE GNATS!
Round 6: ckb1 casts SUMMON LOVE STINKBUG!
Round 7: ckb1 attacks!
Round 8: ckb1 wins the fight!
After Battle: You gain 3 Strongness
After Battle: ck-Brainchild clucks his tongue and time starts passing again. This makes you realize that no time had passed while you were fighting that weird monster.
You acquire an item: inkwell
You acquire an item: snifter of thoroughly aged brandy
After Battle: You gain 3 Beefiness
You gain a Muscle point!
You gain a Moxie point!

Mafia knows it is fighting a writing desk, and knows it has won. Is there anything else required to advance the writingDesksDefeated counter? I understand little to nothing about how the inner workings operate.
 

lostcalpolydude

Developer
Staff member
The quest has to be started.

And I imagine it's actually possible to properly track the 100 other things that currently won't work in DMT.
 

ckb

Minion
Staff member
The quest has to be started.

And I imagine it's actually possible to properly track the 100 other things that currently won't work in DMT.

ok.
It is easy enough to work around for this and add an increment to my own script in the DMT. Now I wonder what else might break there that I have yet to discover...
 

lostcalpolydude

Developer
Staff member
17926 probably fixes this one thing in DMT. Untested, and the old text-checking logic is removed, so it could just be wrong.

Given that adventuring in DMT is about as bad as running around with salad modifier, it shouldn't be too long until the next bug report comes along.
 

lostcalpolydude

Developer
Staff member
Also, your script probably could have worked well enough without proper tracking of writingDesksDefeated, by checking quest progress and inventory state as mafia is doing to update the setting anyway.
 

ckb

Minion
Staff member
Also, your script probably could have worked well enough without proper tracking of writingDesksDefeated, by checking quest progress and inventory state as mafia is doing to update the setting anyway.

I don't understand how quest checking solves my problem. AFAIK, the quest only indicates that you need to defeat writing desks and find the necklace, but not how many are left (which I need to know if I can digitize something else day 1 and finish the quest with a single desk day 2).
 

Bale

Minion
I'd like to make an off topic, and probably unwanted commentary. This has been bugging me ever since the thread was first posted.

I understand the thinking about fighting a writing desk in the DMT. You figure that that by making it a 0 turn combat you are saving a turn, but this is completely false. You do not save a turn instead you lose an opportunity.

If you use that writing desk to burn delay in Cobb's Knob or The Spooky Forest, your turn count is exactly the same. You need to spend 10 turns in the knob and 5 turns in the forest. If you fight 4 writing desks in those zones, it is just as good as their being 0 turn combats in the accounting of your final turncount.

However, by fighting the writing desk in the DMT you lose the opportunity to get abstractions to drop and you lose the chance to convert abstractions to a higher level. Additionally, you are blocking a scaling monster's experience points.

Essentially, the issue here is that you can choose for your writing desk to override useless low exp monsters in the knob and forest or you can override useful, scaling monsters in the DMT. Either way, you are simply replacing one of those monsters so total turn count does not change.
 

lostcalpolydude

Developer
Staff member
I'd like to make an off topic, and probably unwanted commentary. This has been bugging me ever since the thread was first posted.

I understand the thinking about fighting a writing desk in the DMT. You figure that that by making it a 0 turn combat you are saving a turn, but this is completely false. You do not save a turn instead you lose an opportunity.

If you use that writing desk to burn delay in Cobb's Knob or The Spooky Forest, your turn count is exactly the same. You need to spend 10 turns in the knob and 5 turns in the forest. If you fight 4 writing desks in those zones, it is just as good as their being 0 turn combats in the accounting of your final turncount.

However, by fighting the writing desk in the DMT you lose the opportunity to get abstractions to drop and you lose the chance to convert abstractions to a higher level. Additionally, you are blocking a scaling monster's experience points.

Essentially, the issue here is that you can choose for your writing desk to override useless low exp monsters in the knob and forest or you can override useful, scaling monsters in the DMT. Either way, you are simply replacing one of those monsters so total turn count does not change.

If ckb is using turkey blasters, then Cobb's Knob and The Spooky Forest are possibly the only solid uses for them on day 1, getting 5, 4, and 4.something turns out of them.
 

lostcalpolydude

Developer
Staff member
Though the math gets a lot more complicated when you consider that wandering monsters still need to show up somewhere (and 5 DMT turns isn't enough, plus you want witchess wanderers to go elsewhere).
 

Bale

Minion
I don't really recommend harvesting the Thanksgarden until day 2, because if he does harvest it on day 1, it means he'll have at most 5 cashews which means no more than 1 turkey blaster. That leaves 9 turns of delay to burn.
 

lostcalpolydude

Developer
Staff member
I don't really recommend harvesting the Thanksgarden until day 2, because if he does harvest it on day 1, it means he'll have at most 5 cashews which means no more than 1 turkey blaster. That leaves 9 turns of delay to burn.

But it's softcore, where turkey blasters can be pulled. Or cornucopias, but that's some really weird math (Ezandora has a tool for it).
 

Bale

Minion
::Sigh:: You're right. I never remember about softcore at times like this.

Ezandora has a tool for figuring out cashew output from cornucopia's based on path,day,etc and number of cornucopias used this run? I've got to find that!
 

ckb

Minion
Staff member
To clarify, this is a HC run. And because these runs are scripted, and I don't (yet) account for digitized counters, I fight whatever digitized monster is copied whenever it shows up rather than make use of them to burn delay or get that extra DMT fight. I realize this is sub-optimal, but I am ok with that. And as all my runs have hit the leaderboard so far, it can't be all that bad. :p
 
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