popot.org

[Norbert]

Regarding the search function, remove "3D" from "PoP Version". There are no level edits for PoP3D and there never will be any in the future. There have been texture edits, though.

Good point, I've removed it from the drop-down list.

[poirot]

I have to fix it, but I have no time

What stuff is in butcher's offline version that online version doesn't have? We should ask butcher to share his cracks with the community as he is using some cracks from the community as well.

[mk1995]

Trying to name some from the top of my head...

With his version, you can edit the potion level messages, as well as the amount of additional HP a guard gets depending on the skill level. There may be more, but I don't know.

[Norbert]

Added two mods: Kid of Persia and SNES-PC-set
(I'm using the same numbering as PoP1 Total Pack v2.06.)
This weekend I'll have time to code the voting/commenting thing.

[Norbert]

Added two mods: Pirates of Persia and PoP: Tournament.

[Norbert]

I've been experimenting with DOSBox and ffmpeg2theora to create proper videos for the "Walkthroughs" section. A 1.5 minute recording by DOSBox is about 16MB. I've converted the AVI to OGV with ffmpeg2theora.

Code: Select all

ffmpeg2theora -v 5 -F 12 -c 1 prince_000.avi

The result is an OGV file of about 800kB. It looks very acceptable. This way I can host almost all playthroughs, including 10+ minute videos (bandwidth / traffic / disk space isn't really an issue). I can use the HTML5 <video> tag to add the OGV videos to the webpage. At twice the recording size (from 320x200 to 640x400) it fits nicely in the website's right content section. I'll record a playthrough of the first level of Veke's Kid of Persia tomorrow, and will add it to the website and post a link to it on this forum.

(It will also be possible to add links to YouTube videos in the "Walkthroughs" section, for those who prefer that option. Also, that section will start with a clear warning that watching any of the videos or looking at any of the images might spoil the fun of exploring the custom levels by yourself.)

[mk1995]

What? Why are you taking it on yourself to do the video walkthroughs of the mods and levelsets? I'd suggest you leave that to the modmakers, unless they give you their permission or aren't active members on the board.

Whatever the case, I'll do the video walkthroughs of my mods myself.

[Norbert]

What? Why are you taking it on yourself to do the video walkthroughs of the mods and levelsets?

No, just this one. I don't have enough time to make more of them.
This one is/was to test the re-encoding and embedding in the website.

Anyways, I've created the recording and added it to the website. See:
http://www.popot.org/walkthroughs.php
(Remember all, it uses the HTML5 <video> tag, so you need to use a proper browser.)

Whatever the case, I'll do the video walkthroughs of my mods myself.

Cool. Will be a lot of work though, since you created quite a few of them. However, there's no need to rush things. Of course, if - hypothetically speaking - someone else would be proud of a speedrun (instead of a playthrough) of one of your mods or a level thereof, I hope you agree it's okay to also add that video to the website. Or things like variations, for example if someone tries to do one without killing any enemies.

[mk1995]

Hey, the thing about speedruns isn't such a bad idea. Maybe, if the walkthrough list starts to become more flooded, you could do another branch with one leading to "Normal Walkthroughs" and the other to "Speedrun Walkthroughs" or something like that.

And I've got another idea for the "Custom Levels" section for each and every mod: How about adding a Hall of Fame? People could use a form below each mod's HoF section where they're asked to enter the link to a HoF screenshot straight from the game that depicts their time left. And in order for the time to be considered legit, it may not stray too far from the average times, unless it's specifically slated as a speedrun time, but then further proof is required. Also, of course, the HoF embedded in the page may only hold so many scores as the one in-game. I don't know how many that can hold, though.

[Norbert]

Maybe, if the walkthrough list starts to become more flooded, you could do another branch with one leading to "Normal Walkthroughs" and the other to "Speedrun Walkthroughs" or something like that.

Sounds good. I'll keep it in mind and if the list becomes too long, I'll split it in two.

How about adding a Hall of Fame?

It's complicated because people could still use the Prince Hall of Fame editor. (Although it seems to give me a "Runtime error 002 at 0000:0562." in DOSBox.) The list at tammo80.nl is proof that some people will always try to mess these things up. I like the idea of adding a HoF to each mod, but what would be the best way to do this...

[Edit: Oh, it seems the HoF editor does work, but it requires PRINCE.HOF to already exist.]

[mk1995]

Well, that's easy. As I was saying, you're being asked to enter the link to a screenshot of the HoF (as in, the link you get when you upload a picture to Tinypic etc.). And then it goes straight to you so you can check the time and deem it legit or not. If you deem it legit, you can add it simply by editing the HoF. As for the thing itself, the best way to do this would be to use a simple table.

And besides, you can also edit the HoF screenshot with good ol' Paint. No need for a HoF-editor. That's especially why I stated that method.

[Norbert]

And then it goes straight to you so you can check the time and deem it legit or not.

I understood what you had in mind, but I think you overestimate my ability to figure out what are and are not legit times for all the mods. I could maybe add an additional e-mail address, like hof@popot.org, set it to automatically forward all e-mails to you (or whoever wants to help) and add anything you approve?

In other news... Thanks to Shattered, I've been able to add the Making Prince of Persia 3D video to the website:
http://www.popot.org/get_the_games.php? ... P3D_making
This weekend I will try to finish the whole commenting/voting thing.

[mk1995]

I understood what you had in mind, but I think you overestimate my ability to figure out what are and are not legit times for all the mods. I could maybe add an additional e-mail address, like hof@popot.org, set it to automatically forward all e-mails to you (or whoever wants to help) and add anything you approve?

Well, since your confidence in that is lacking you could ask the modmakers how much time they took going through their own mod when knowing exactly where to go. That should give you a base time.

[Norbert]

It's now possible to comment on the mods in the "Custom Levels" section. Note that adding comments (and soon: voting) is only possible after logging in. Maybe that's a somewhat controversial choice on my part, but registering an account is barely any work and allowing anonymous visitors to add content to websites/forums isn't common practice these days anyways. For an example of a comment, see:
http://www.popot.org/custom_levels.php?mod=0000002
Note: you may have to (Ctrl/Shift-)reload the page to make sure the new JavaScript code works properly.

[...] you could ask the modmakers how much time they took going through their own mod when knowing exactly where to go. That should give you a base time.

However, a lot of mod authors are Missing In Action, and it would still be quite easy to edit a HoF image and claim to be 2 seconds faster than the current #1 player of a mod. I simply don't want to take on the responsibility of deciding what is and what is not legit. However, if someone else who thinks it is doable is willing to help me out, I'm willing to update whatever scores they pass me. (Or, I could give them admin privileges and create code that would allow them to update the HoF lists themselves.)

[Norbert]

Okay, it is now also possible to vote on the mods (enjoyment and difficulty). For an example of votes, see:
http://www.popot.org/custom_levels.php?mod=0000002
Note that, for now, you have to scroll down a bit to view the difficulty score.