Prince of Persia

hi all,

I am new here, probably posting in the wrong section....

Can anyone suggest a reliable software that records keystrokes? I tried Pulover but it does not work well. The intention is to record and replay PoP levels (I assume there is no randomness in the guard's behaviour, I may be wrong).

thanks!

dronno wrote: ↑June 27th, 2020, 1:58 pm hi all,

I am new here, probably posting in the wrong section....

Can anyone suggest a reliable software that records keystrokes? I tried Pulover but it does not work well. The intention is to record and replay PoP levels (I assume there is no randomness in the guard's behaviour, I may be wrong).

thanks!

Please use DOSBox. If you need record PoP levels, use CTRL + ALT + F5. It's very simple to open replay PoP levels in folder Screenshots and Recording. For SDLPoP, press CTRL + TAB for start or stop recording. If you need Pulover: it's simple to download again: https://sourceforge.net/projects/pulove ... o-creator/

thank you! How do I access "Screenshots and Recording" in DOSBox?

dronno wrote: ↑June 27th, 2020, 2:16 pm thank you! How do I access "Screenshots and Recording" in DOSBox?

Please see this:
https://www.dosbox.com/wiki/Recording_Video
I used DOSBox version 0.65

dronno wrote: ↑June 27th, 2020, 2:16 pm thank you! How do I access "Screenshots and Recording" in DOSBox?

Click "Screenshots & Recordings.bat" and you will land into that folder.

I see. This seems to be capturing a video.

However, I want to capture the keystrokes and reuse them where appropriate.

Example. Suppose I am playing a fan-made version of POP, and suppose that the author has decided to make Level 5 exactly the same as the Level 5 of the original POP. I want to be able to open my previously created "recording" of level 5, based on the original game, to play the level 5 within the new game exactly the same way.

The problem I had with Pulover is that it does not record well, so that when I replay the game the outcome is different.

thanks )

UPDATE: I tried another software, https://www.jitbit.com/macro-recorder/k ... -recorder/

It seems to work a bit better but still does not replicate the game 100%. I am still unsure whether this is due to the precision of keystroke recording or there is some inbuilt randomness in POP (for example with respect to the guards' behaviour). Does anybody have an idea?

You can use SDLPoP and record P1R files using CTRL + TAB. However, start the recording and use CTRL + A. Then play the same way. After that change the SDLPoP.ini to use the fan-made mod. And then you can press TAB to run the P1R file. You may need to do some research before you can achieve this, so keep searching through the forum and keep trying it. If you get stuck somewhere, let us know and we are here to help you out

Also, I guess you can check the Tool Assisted Speedrun (TAS) software. I haven't tried that, so I won't be able to guide you. However, maybe if Norbert has used that, he would definitely guide you.

atrueprincefanfrom18 wrote: ↑June 27th, 2020, 3:32 pmYou can use SDLPoP [...]

Yes, SDLPoP should be able to deliver what dronno is looking for.

atrueprincefanfrom18 wrote: ↑June 27th, 2020, 3:32 pm You can use SDLPoP and record P1R files using CTRL + TAB. However, start the recording and use CTRL + A. Then play the same way. After that change the SDLPoP.ini to use the fan-made mod. And then you can press TAB to run the P1R file. You may need to do some research before you can achieve this, so keep searching through the forum and keep trying it. If you get stuck somewhere, let us know and we are here to help you out

thanks.

In my experience this recording still behaves as a video. After successfully recording the P1R file, the only way to open it (if I am not mistaken) is to press TAB from the start screen. This suggests that I cannot invoke something like "level5.p1r" mid-game.

Also, after I load my recording by pressing TAB, it does not really ask me which recording to play, it just opens the latest saved one. Finally, and most importantly, once the replay is done, it does not allow me to resume the game from that point...

Do I really need the TAS approach instead?

dronno wrote: ↑June 27th, 2020, 4:34 pm it does not allow me to resume the game from that point...

Yes, it just replays it, but it's actually replicating the moves I guess. It won't allow you to start from that point.

dronno wrote: ↑June 27th, 2020, 4:34 pm Do I really need the TAS approach instead?

I am really not sure if this can help you, also I don't have time to learn about it right now. So, you can try if it works and don't forget to share your experiences here. All the best!

dronno wrote: ↑June 27th, 2020, 4:34 pmIn my experience [...]

Because of its open source nature, what you want should be possible with SDLPoP.
Including the ability to take control of the character at any moment, such as after the replay.
You could ask Falcury what modifications would be necessary to make it all possible.
Possibly it would require changes of the p1r format.