31
Tech & Research / Re: Non-glitch tricks
« on: April 21, 2013, 05:14:59 PM »ssam1221 on youtube showed me.
You should message him and ask. (-:
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You should message him and ask. (-:
32
General Discussion / Re: Lemmings Forums on Youtube
« on: April 18, 2013, 04:21:27 PM »I'd like to gather up some channel links in this post, so we can find your stuff!
All my Lemmings videos are currently located here:
http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLafu32KJbp9WdKEBiVK6mOeL0oWk5FbmS
Technical advice is welcome too. What hardware and software do you need, how do you set it up, how do you make your videos look nice (if at all)?
I've historically used DosBox for capture, then Avisynth for editing. The result is generally upsampled to some HD size (mainly to retain audio quality on YouTube) and encoded to MP4. I also capture videos from console systems using a typical capture device, often with some fancy deinterlacing (QTGMC is slow, but gee whiz is it good). I oughtta get an HD capture device and say goodbye to deinterlacing forever...
33
General Discussion / Re: Logic Puzzles
« on: April 15, 2013, 02:42:11 PM »
Another correct answer! In case you're wondering why I'm using math questions, it's because there are many real-world situations that you'll need to know how to solve. Often times, this means math. It doesn't matter how clever you may be; sometimes the only way to know something is to calculate it.
Here's one I came up with last night, and this one I don't already know the answer to, so surprise me!
I'm currently working on hacking the GBA Pokémon games and a brief statistical curiosity comes to mind. Within the data structure for individual Pokémon is an encrypted 48-byte section comprised of four 12-byte chunks. The order of the chunks is determined by examining another value in the data structure, which is entirely random.
Let's call the four data chunks A, B, C and D. They can appear in any order, such as ABCD, ABDC, ACBD, ACDB, ADBC, etc. There are 24 such combinations. The order is determined by taking that randomly-generated field from elsewhere in the data structure, and taking the remainder of its division by 24. Or "modulus 24", despite that actually being the wrong word for the operation. (-: Since the value that determines the chunk order is entirely random and generated when a Pokémon is encountered in the wild, there's effectively a 1/24 chance of a Pokémon having any particular chunk order. (This isn't entirely true, because the randomized value is 32 bits and 4294967296 doesn't divide evenly by 24, but let's just pretend that it does)
As part of my practical testing, I'm going to go into the game and keep catching Pokémon until I have at least one with every one of those 24 chunk orderings. The problem in its simplest form is that I have a 1-in-X chance of getting something, and I want to get X of them. Pretending I could start out with 0 Pokémon and begin catching from there, about how many would I have to encounter to get all 24 orders? Let's use a 99% likelihood as the target.
Here's one I came up with last night, and this one I don't already know the answer to, so surprise me!
I'm currently working on hacking the GBA Pokémon games and a brief statistical curiosity comes to mind. Within the data structure for individual Pokémon is an encrypted 48-byte section comprised of four 12-byte chunks. The order of the chunks is determined by examining another value in the data structure, which is entirely random.
Let's call the four data chunks A, B, C and D. They can appear in any order, such as ABCD, ABDC, ACBD, ACDB, ADBC, etc. There are 24 such combinations. The order is determined by taking that randomly-generated field from elsewhere in the data structure, and taking the remainder of its division by 24. Or "modulus 24", despite that actually being the wrong word for the operation. (-: Since the value that determines the chunk order is entirely random and generated when a Pokémon is encountered in the wild, there's effectively a 1/24 chance of a Pokémon having any particular chunk order. (This isn't entirely true, because the randomized value is 32 bits and 4294967296 doesn't divide evenly by 24, but let's just pretend that it does)
As part of my practical testing, I'm going to go into the game and keep catching Pokémon until I have at least one with every one of those 24 chunk orderings. The problem in its simplest form is that I have a 1-in-X chance of getting something, and I want to get X of them. Pretending I could start out with 0 Pokémon and begin catching from there, about how many would I have to encounter to get all 24 orders? Let's use a 99% likelihood as the target.
34
General Discussion / Re: Logic Puzzles
« on: April 13, 2013, 08:24:27 PM »
Okay, Mr. Mathy Pants. (-:
Let's say that I wanted to have a less than 1% chance of leaving that dungeon empty-handed. How many Starman Supers would that take?
Let's say that I wanted to have a less than 1% chance of leaving that dungeon empty-handed. How many Starman Supers would that take?
35
General Discussion / Re: Logic Puzzles
« on: April 13, 2013, 01:54:13 PM »
Along those statistics lines...
The game Earthbound (aka Mother 2) has a few rare items that have a 1/128 chance to drop after defeating particular enemies. Heck, it has some common items that are also that likely to drop from certain enemies. But the most notorious of these items is the Sword of Kings, the only weapon Poo can equip that won't lower his stats.
The Sword of Kings can be found only by defeating an enemy called Starman Super, and at a 1/128 rate at that. Starman Super only appears in one dungeon in the game, and they're gone forever after you complete that dungeon. So, unsurprisingly, people spend a lot of time in that dungeon to get that sword.
Last time I played the game, I counted how many Starman Supers I defeated. I went through exactly 256 of them and did NOT get my Sword of Kings. What is the likelihood, as a percentage, of that happening?
The game Earthbound (aka Mother 2) has a few rare items that have a 1/128 chance to drop after defeating particular enemies. Heck, it has some common items that are also that likely to drop from certain enemies. But the most notorious of these items is the Sword of Kings, the only weapon Poo can equip that won't lower his stats.
The Sword of Kings can be found only by defeating an enemy called Starman Super, and at a 1/128 rate at that. Starman Super only appears in one dungeon in the game, and they're gone forever after you complete that dungeon. So, unsurprisingly, people spend a lot of time in that dungeon to get that sword.
Last time I played the game, I counted how many Starman Supers I defeated. I went through exactly 256 of them and did NOT get my Sword of Kings. What is the likelihood, as a percentage, of that happening?
36
Challenges / Re: Which levels can be beaten without assigning skills to more than one lemming?
« on: April 12, 2013, 08:39:39 PM »
Awesome. Your solution for Space 2 is ingenious. You win a cookie!
I've gone back and edited my posts to contain links to yours as well as your solutions on YouTube. Here are the videos:
Classic 5: http://youtu.be/c--SBf7qWxg
Classic 6: http://youtu.be/QidkFZ0KN30
Classic 10: http://youtu.be/lEt8fOfK7O0
Space 2: http://youtu.be/5hF1i7aYdh0
Space 10: http://youtu.be/9SN0Vji_uEY
In future videos, do me a favor... Make sure the entire fade-in and fade-out make it into the recording. (-:
I've gone back and edited my posts to contain links to yours as well as your solutions on YouTube. Here are the videos:
Classic 5: http://youtu.be/c--SBf7qWxg
Classic 6: http://youtu.be/QidkFZ0KN30
Classic 10: http://youtu.be/lEt8fOfK7O0
Space 2: http://youtu.be/5hF1i7aYdh0
Space 10: http://youtu.be/9SN0Vji_uEY
In future videos, do me a favor... Make sure the entire fade-in and fade-out make it into the recording. (-:
37
Challenges / Re: Which levels can be beaten without assigning skills to more than one lemming?
« on: April 10, 2013, 05:38:23 PM »
Nicely done! I've edited the video and put it up on YouTube:
http://youtu.be/VLQcFUvspac
I think at 1:04 you technically used the Jumper on the wrong Lemming. The one that did the platforming would have been farther to the right than where the cursor was. Either way, that's just a technicality, and it doesn't make your solution any less valid.
Also, there was an unusually long pause at 1:36. I took the liberty of shortening that. (-:
http://youtu.be/VLQcFUvspac
I think at 1:04 you technically used the Jumper on the wrong Lemming. The one that did the platforming would have been farther to the right than where the cursor was. Either way, that's just a technicality, and it doesn't make your solution any less valid.
Also, there was an unusually long pause at 1:36. I took the liberty of shortening that. (-:
38
Tech & Research / Re: 3D Lemmings file formats
« on: April 10, 2013, 06:37:18 AM »I'm going to get some of these printed up as standees, I think, hehe...
*Imagines a desk littered with assassinated Lemmings*
On an unrelated note, Rasputin was always the name of my Bulbasaur. I am not joking.
39
Challenges / Re: Which levels can be beaten without assigning skills to more than one lemming?
« on: April 10, 2013, 12:59:28 AM »
Lemmings 2 - Classic
Level 1: Do You Remember?
Possible: Yes
Video: http://youtu.be/IZoT5YTLllM
Level 2: Mr Lemmy Lives Next Door
Possible: Yes
Video: http://youtu.be/jHBX0Qfm2WY
Level 3: LEMTRIS
Possible: Yes
Video: http://youtu.be/c8BQZFwq_pY
Level 4: Tension Sheet, Good Idea
Possible: Yes
Video: http://youtu.be/rdtCwTbY9XA
Level 5: The Magnificent Severn
Possible: Yes (See this post)
Video: http://youtu.be/c--SBf7qWxg
Level 6: The Starry Threshold
Possible: Yes (See this post)
Video: http://youtu.be/QidkFZ0KN30
Level 7: So close but so far away
Possible: No
Level 8: The Secret Of LEMH
Possible: No
Level 9: Flying The Mad Pursuit
Possible: Good lordy no
Level 10: What's it like up there?
Possible: Yes (See this post)
Video: http://youtu.be/lEt8fOfK7O0
Level 1: Do You Remember?
Possible: Yes
Video: http://youtu.be/IZoT5YTLllM
Level 2: Mr Lemmy Lives Next Door
Possible: Yes
Video: http://youtu.be/jHBX0Qfm2WY
Level 3: LEMTRIS
Possible: Yes
Video: http://youtu.be/c8BQZFwq_pY
Level 4: Tension Sheet, Good Idea
Possible: Yes
Video: http://youtu.be/rdtCwTbY9XA
Level 5: The Magnificent Severn
Possible: Yes (See this post)
Video: http://youtu.be/c--SBf7qWxg
Level 6: The Starry Threshold
Possible: Yes (See this post)
Video: http://youtu.be/QidkFZ0KN30
Level 7: So close but so far away
Possible: No
Level 8: The Secret Of LEMH
Possible: No
Level 9: Flying The Mad Pursuit
Possible: Good lordy no
Level 10: What's it like up there?
Possible: Yes (See this post)
Video: http://youtu.be/lEt8fOfK7O0
40
Tech & Research / Re: 3D Lemmings file formats
« on: April 09, 2013, 04:45:52 PM »
Thanks, though I'm a step ahead of you. I forgot I had the disc image on my hard drive still because I missed it when backing everything up to DVD archives. (-:
Your earlier work was a good start. I've figured out the remainder of the file. The format is as follows:
Attached to this post are ZIP files containing every sprite from both the 64 and 128 pixel files. For the rest of you, some sample rips:
Your earlier work was a good start. I've figured out the remainder of the file. The format is as follows:
Code: [Select]
File
===============================================================================
Manifest Entry[568] Cell manifest (0x08E0 bytes)
CellData Byte[] Cell data
===============================================================================
Entry
===============================================================================
Animation Byte The animation this cell belongs to
Flags Byte For 128px cells, 0x80 means "last cell in animation"
Offset UInt16 The location in CellData of the Cell structure
===============================================================================
Offset is stored as a 16-bit value to save space. To resolve the actual
address, first add 0x08E0 (for the manifest), then add Animation * 0x4000 to
resolve the actual offset of the cell in the file.
Cell
===============================================================================
LineOffsets UInt16[] Offsets relative to the Cell structure per Scanline
LineData Byte[] Scanline data
===============================================================================
The LineOffsets are relative to the beginning of the Cell structure, not the
beginning of LineData.
The number of elements in LineOffsets depends on the file being processed.
For LEMM.MHC, it's 64, and for LEMM128.MHC, it's 128.
Scanline
===============================================================================
Lead Byte Number of transparent pixels on the left side of the line
Trail Byte Number of transparent pixels on the right side of the line
Pixels Byte[] Width - Lead - Trail bytes of pixel data for the line
===============================================================================
Pixel values represent palette indexes.Attached to this post are ZIP files containing every sprite from both the 64 and 128 pixel files. For the rest of you, some sample rips:
41
Tech & Research / Re: 3D Lemmings file formats
« on: April 09, 2013, 02:58:09 PM »
Attach that file (or a zipped copy) and I'll take a whack at it. Cracking data formats is my cutie mark. (-:
42
Challenges / Re: Which levels can be beaten without assigning skills to more than one lemming?
« on: April 09, 2013, 02:06:06 AM »
Lemmings 2 - Space
Level 1: HIT THE SPACEBAR
Possible: Yes
Video: http://youtu.be/1jMiI66ci20
Level 2: Perpetual Motion
Possible: Yes (See this post)
Video: http://youtu.be/5hF1i7aYdh0
Level 3: THE LEMMINGS HAVE LANDED
Possible: Yes
Video: http://youtu.be/USSZEKwSzuQ
Level 4: The Vortex
Possible: Yes. The Attractor is not necessary, so it's just a matter of using the same Lemming to perform every task.
Video: This one is difficult to perform perfectly on video.
Level 5: The Stainless Steel Lem
Possible: Yes
Video: http://youtu.be/KBKNI1Yy-R8
Level 6: The Lunar Olympics
Possible: No
Level 7: GoSh It'S fUlL oF lEmMs
Possible: Yes
Video: http://youtu.be/qN85QrJIlm8
Level 8: Odyssey
Possible: Yes
Video: http://youtu.be/aAfSvmlIEOQ
Level 9: Inside The Steel Box
Possible: Yes
Video: http://youtu.be/HvAiDJDTyNg
Level 10: Frontier of surreality
Possible: Yes (See this post)
Video: http://youtu.be/9SN0Vji_uEY
Level 1: HIT THE SPACEBAR
Possible: Yes
Video: http://youtu.be/1jMiI66ci20
Level 2: Perpetual Motion
Possible: Yes (See this post)
Video: http://youtu.be/5hF1i7aYdh0
Level 3: THE LEMMINGS HAVE LANDED
Possible: Yes
Video: http://youtu.be/USSZEKwSzuQ
Level 4: The Vortex
Possible: Yes. The Attractor is not necessary, so it's just a matter of using the same Lemming to perform every task.
Video: This one is difficult to perform perfectly on video.
Level 5: The Stainless Steel Lem
Possible: Yes
Video: http://youtu.be/KBKNI1Yy-R8
Level 6: The Lunar Olympics
Possible: No
Level 7: GoSh It'S fUlL oF lEmMs
Possible: Yes
Video: http://youtu.be/qN85QrJIlm8
Level 8: Odyssey
Possible: Yes
Video: http://youtu.be/aAfSvmlIEOQ
Level 9: Inside The Steel Box
Possible: Yes
Video: http://youtu.be/HvAiDJDTyNg
Level 10: Frontier of surreality
Possible: Yes (See this post)
Video: http://youtu.be/9SN0Vji_uEY
43
Tech & Research / Re: 3D Lemmings file formats
« on: April 08, 2013, 10:39:47 PM »
This is awesome! I love the technical expertise we have in this community.
44
Challenges / Re: Which levels can be beaten without assigning skills to more than one lemming?
« on: April 08, 2013, 02:51:55 PM »If you feel up to doing all the post-production editing, I guess I can just start doing and posting "one-take" videos (perhaps on top of doing screenshots as well) for all my future attempts, and people can do as they please with the videos.
Absolutely. I can set up my connection here so you can upload directly to my computer. Since the DosBox capture is lossless, you can use the resulting clips for pixel-perfect screenshots as well. I can show you how to do that.
You may want to record with sound effects on, but music off. I personally have been exiting and re-entering the level each take so the music would restart at the beginning of the video, but if that's too tedious for your liking you can just disable music and I can put it back in after the fact.
45
Challenges / Re: Which levels can be beaten without assigning skills to more than one lemming?
« on: April 07, 2013, 04:09:27 PM »
Ooo, shiny. Any chance I could get you to record some DosBox videos so I can do some editing and upload them to YouTube?
DosBox has its own capture codec which is lossless and really slashes the file size because it mimics drawing commands rather than image captures.
DosBox has its own capture codec which is lossless and really slashes the file size because it mimics drawing commands rather than image captures.