New Content - Implemented Parse GameInformPowerDailyPro walkthru

[Bale]

This does require an enthusiastic dev, but it would be very helpful if mafia parsed out relevant information from the GameInformPowerDailyPro walkthru and saved it to preferences when it is read so that it can be used later.

The most important would be if the answers to the puzzles was saved so that mafia can add a "Solve" button to the Riddles, Mazes, etc. For instance,

The final challenge of The Breakmountain will be a maze. It's not a long one, fortunately, but pay attention! You will start out facing east. You should go south, west, north, north, east, and then, assuming you haven't messed up somewhere, you'll be out of the maze, and out of The Breakmountain! Congratulations!

Aside from the names and directions, that sentence always the same. It would help a lot if mafia knew that the correct answer is right, right, right, forward, right. There are less complicated, but also important answers to other puzzles which I wish mafia would remember for me.


Of less significance, mafia could parse out the names of the monsters on each level and the drops for the monsters on each level. This would be very neat, but much less important.

 

[lostcalpolydude]

It isn't always a maze, sometimes you have to pick a door instead.

 

[Bale]

As I said, Riddles, Mazes, etc. The Maze is just the most complicated of them. According to the wiki there are 6 possibilities:

1. At the end of the level, you'll encounter a terrifying sphinx, with a terrifying riddle! (Okay, the riddle isn't particularly terrifying I guess.)
2. At the end of the level, you'll find your progress is blocked by a huge lake. How are you going to get past it?
3. At the end of the level, you'll face the first real challenge of the game: Doubledark Gorge. This is a platform-jumping sequence, and the last few platforms move, so watch out!
4. Locked door
5. Library
6. Maze

 

[Bale]

At the end of the level, you'll face the first real challenge of the game: Canyonwinder Gorge. This is a platform-jumping sequence, and the last few platforms move, so watch out! The trick for clearing that first real tricky jump is to jump when the platform you're jumping to is moving away from you, and the one you're on is right at its maximum elevation.

At the end of the level, you'll encounter a terrifying sphinx, with a terrifying riddle! (Okay, the riddle isn't particularly terrifying I guess.) The answer is "a mirror".

 

[mstieler]

Could this somewhat work with a script that would scan your GameInformPowerDailyPro Walkthru for the puzzles, and set the appropriate choices for those choice adventures? Or is that essentially what Bale's asking for, just baked in to Mafia?

For instance, in your sphinx bit above, it would see that, then set Choice Adventure #661 to pick #2 as the "automatic" option. I could see the maze one being slightly more complicated, but still possible (maybe? I dunno the limits of scripting).

 

[fronobulax]

Having just discovered that scaling monsters really means scaling monsters and seeing my stats per adventure balloon by a factor of 10, I am now very interested in automation for the games. I'm not sure what is feasible given my time and skills, but I think I am about to become one of the "enthusiastic devs". If we can break this down into small pieces then I might actually accomplish something.

For example, it sounds like the first step is just recognizing the choice adventures and allowing scripts to set them.

 

[Bale]

Having just discovered that scaling monsters really means scaling monsters and seeing my stats per adventure balloon by a factor of 10.

Is this superior to the Hamburglaris Shield Generator in some way?

 

[Darzil]

Is this superior to the Hamburglaris Shield Generator in some way?

Scales to 10k rather than 5k.

 

[Bale]

Oh WOW!

 

[xKiv]

Also, if I understand it correctly, choosing the wrong option at the end-of-level choice (unless you have miniboss) lets you get more scaling monsters without having to spend a transponder every 30 adventures (which still isn't meat-positive at current mall prices, unless you are spending 600 adventures per day)?

 

[Bale]

Also, if I understand it correctly, choosing the wrong option at the end-of-level choice (unless you have miniboss) lets you get more scaling monsters without having to spend a transponder every 30 adventures (which still isn't meat-positive at current mall prices, unless you are spending 600 adventures per day)?

You understand correctly. So, mafia should have two options: Choose correctly and choose incorrectly.

That makes me think. If the walkthru is parsed, a single preference for all Video Game dungeons would suffice since you either want to solve all possible choices or you don't want to solve it.

 

[lostcalpolydude]

Also, if I understand it correctly, choosing the wrong option at the end-of-level choice (unless you have miniboss) lets you get more scaling monsters without having to spend a transponder every 30 adventures (which still isn't meat-positive at current mall prices, unless you are spending 600 adventures per day)?

It doesn't go away at rollover.

 

[Bale]

Heh. Yeah, I missed that misconception. That's another a big advantage over Hamburglaris. You only need to purchase one walkthru and then you can power-level until the day that you might possibly ascend.

 

[Erich]

I didn't know that the FAQ had a maze walkthrough, and did the maze by hand my first 3 days. The thing is, it never gave me more scaling monsters when I got it wrong, I just kept getting the maze (save for 1 time). I know the riddles gave me more when I got them wrong, but I have a theory that after a while, after a certain number of scaling monsters, you only get the challenges. I think it could be similar to how ninja assassins work.

Again, only a theory, and I'm not going to test it in run.

 

[Bale]

Thanks for the info Erich. I didn't try to get a maze wrong, only a locked door. I assumed they'd all work that way. It would be interesting to know if they worked like ninja assassins.

 

[GValko]

It isn't always a maze, sometimes you have to pick a door instead.

I think you're pretty much guaranteed to have a maze in a dungeon.

I ran it about 20 or so times, and I had one every time.

Another consideration for parsing is that the boss has a special randomized attribute. It's always the 2nd fact about it.

 

[Erich]

Thanks for the info Erich. I didn't try to get a maze wrong, only a locked door. I assumed they'd all work that way. It would be interesting to know if they worked like ninja assassins.

Yeah, it's not letting me get past the 3 locked doors on lvl 2. I'm stuck here till I answer it right and go to lvl 3. So I guess there is a "cap", so to speak, on the monsters.

edit: I got the maze at the end of lvl 3, then had to fight 1 minion before I got to the boss. I'm going to hazard a guess and say that if I failed the maze I would have fought that minion before getting the maze again.

 

[fronobulax]

The first time I tried I failed the maze because I did not realize that I was facing West and adjust accordingly. I am 99.44% sure that I could not do anything but try and resolve the maze. i.e. no minion fight. I will try again tomorrow which guarantees I will get something besides a maze, right?

 

[lostcalpolydude]

For everything besides the maze, checking for certain phrases and setting the choiceAdventureXXX setting to the value for success shouldn't be too difficult. I've never really looked into the code for multi-part choice adventures, and I don't think the maze can really work like those, but maybe the 6 directions can be saved to the choiceAdventure setting and be compared 2 at a time as needed.

 

[Bale]

I've never really looked into the code for multi-part choice adventures, and I don't think the maze can really work like those, but maybe the 6 directions can be saved to the choiceAdventure setting and be compared 2 at a time as needed.

What do you mean compared 2 at a time? I'd convert the directions into 1 (left), 2 (forward) and 3 (right) then save it as a preference . Then when the maze is encountered, read walkthruMaze and make those choices in order. You can use a list of 1,2,2,3,1 pretty cleanly for navigating the choice adventure, right?