Robotics Facility Ice traction glitch.

[ANDY]

As some of you may be aware, in the robotics facility there is a nasty glitch that makes you lose all traction while on the ice and get stuck. The simple solution is to grab the ice cleats as soon as possible, but the bug itself apparently has something to do with the default cycle value in DOSbox. What I'm wondering is if anyone tried changing the value, and what worked best for Dark Forces? It's a pretty sensitive process since an incorrect value can screw up the game speed among other things.

[tazamiga]

Just try it on auto instead and core on auto as well.

[Frungi]

cycles=40000

works for me.

Originally posted by tazamiga:

Just try it on auto instead and core on auto as well.

I went to Google for a solution because I’m playing on auto. After finding this post and playing with the value a bit, it seems like the problem is our computers are too fast for this game. I hate having to play on an artificially slow computer, but values of 40,000 and below seem to work best. I still get stuck at 50,000, but only momentarily. At auto, it’s just broken.

[Blackbird]

Yeah can confirm setting cycles to 40000 does help. Guess my i7 is just too fast haha.

[Peahatche]

Originally posted by Blackbird:

Yeah can confirm setting cycles to 40000 does help. Guess my i7 is just too fast haha.

a pentium 2 was too fast - been there done that

[PooPuck]

Originally posted by ANDY:

but the bug itself apparently has something to do with the default cycle value in DOSbox.

This happens to me on my Win95 actual hardware that I am currently playing on. It's a Pentium II 400Mhz.

[sonderkraftfahrzeug]

This is a DosBox bug. It was fixed in The Force Engine https://theforceengine.github.io/

[Frungi]

Originally posted by sonderkraftfahrzeug:

This is a DosBox bug.

No, it’s not. It’s an engine bug that was known back in the late ’90s before DOSBox existed, a consequence of tying video game physics to processor speed. DOSBox allows for a workaround.

[sonderkraftfahrzeug]

Originally posted by Frungi:

Originally posted by sonderkraftfahrzeug:

This is a DosBox bug.

No, it’s not. It’s an engine bug that was known back in the late ’90s before DOSBox existed, a consequence of tying video game physics to processor speed. DOSBox allows for a workaround.

Right, I should be more clearer it's a bug that manifests within DosBox that wasn't much of an issue in the 90s. What workaround are you talking about ? CPU cycle changes?

[Frungi]

Originally posted by sonderkraftfahrzeug:

Originally posted by Frungi:

DOSBox allows for a workaround.

What workaround are you talking about ? CPU cycle changes?

Yep, limiting the emulator to sub-physics-breaking speeds, like I talked about here (linked to make it easier to find). Pretty simple fix that still keeps you as close to the authentic experience as possible.

Not that authentically retro should always be preferable, of course. (I’m not sure I’ll ever manage to play through the original System Shock, for instance.)