Difference between revisions of "Damage Number Data Collecting Guide"

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Introduction

Hello, this is Autofire. I've submitted some damage numbers to the wiki before, and it does feel nice to contribute, so I felt I should contribute a guide to teach how to contribute numbers correctly. It may help to start with what damage numbers are and how are they used. Damage numbers(Will abbreviate to DNs from now on) are the amounts that a weapon damage things. When having properly recorded and stored DNs, players may make informed choices on which weapon is the best. Here is an example of what the end result should look like from the Protosword:

When you have read all the way through this guide, you will have (hopefully) learned the following:

• How to prepare for the DN collecting expedition.
• Things to remember during your expedition.
• Harvesting the numbers for usage.
• Formatting your DNs in a damage table on the wiki.

How to use this guide

To be completed at the end of this guide.

Preparation

Before you ever start, you must prepare some, lest you risk having a, if not several, errors.

Out of game

First off, you need to decide how to collect your DNs that you find. I have found the following methods, each with their own pluses and minuses:

When ever I mention a text file from now on, you could also use a spread sheet.

Numbers straight to the wiki or to a text file

I personally wouldn't do this, as it is too error prone. This method is the simplest, but the hardest. The DN harvester must strike an enemy, then record that directly to the wiki or the a text file and then record that to the wiki when he is done. The downfall of this method is when you go to put the number down, you must leave the SK window, and you're vulnerable during this time. The other is when you are typing it out, you may be hurrying to return, so you may put the number in the wrong place, or change that number some. If you kill all the monsters in the area, you may have forgotten something in the time it took to clear the room, and may put an error then also. If you have a great memory, and if you can stay very calm, you may be able to use this method with success, but you might want to double check your DNs.

With a friend(in person)

If you have a friend who is handy, he may be able to record for you, either to paper or to a text file on a laptop/tablet/etc. Even though I have never tried it, it should work very well, except that both of you need to be there at the same time and at the same place.

With another knight(over the internet)

Like with a friend in person, but you don't need to be there at the same time. The issue with this is in order for the other knight to see your DNs, he needs to be dead. Because he needs to be dead and on the same level, he needs to pay energy (unless he has an elevator pass.) to stay on your same level. The monsters also grow stronger, so they have greater HP values, (not in defense, so the DNs will stay the same. please verify) and this will make it harder to kill them, especially if you are getting the DNs of under tier weapons.

Taking screen shots

For this, you need the least setup of all of them. I use this when my screen capture program isn't working. (See below) For this one, you need to take screen shots as you beat/shoot/blow up the data out of them. I recommend mapping the screenshot key to something you can reach easily, because you'll be taking a lot of 'em. The drawback of doing this is that when you are going over the images over again is that it can be tricky to know what attack the picture is of.

Using a screen capture(movie, not still) or camera

This is the method I use and prefer, as I find it very easy. The DN gatherer must simply start up his recording device, and start playing. Before starting, though, it is a good idea to test your device to make sure it works so that you don't start a level (or go through a whole run!) when you aren't even recording at all. If you are using a camera, it is best to use a tripod or another kind of stand so you don't need to be holding the camera. Also, make sure your camera angle won't allow for a glare. A screen capture is more convenient, but you will need a powerful computer if you want to keep your FPS up, because they use a lot of resources to run. Once you're done, you can watch the video at your own leisure, getting the numbers from that when you can. If you lag when using this method, try the following:

• Use a lower resolution. You might need to use windowed mode for this.
• Turn down the quality of SK. Compatibility Mode doesn't seem to count, but you could try it anyway.
• Set your screen capture program down. Remember, you aren't putting it out on the net, (unless you want to) so you can turn the quality down quite a bit, as this needs the most processing power. The quality only needs to be good enough so that you can read the numbers.
• Close as many other programs as you can.
• This is a little related, but if you are low on space, you can pause the recording whenever there is a long space of no enemies, such as a long hall or a loading screen. Just don't forget to play it again. This ended in disaster when I first tried it.

You can use your favorite capture program. If you don't know of any, I have a few here:

• [1] This is the one I use.
• [2] I think this one is popular, but my brother said it slows things too much.
• [3] This has a list of em.

In game

Once you got everything ready and decided, you can now setup the game. You need to get armor that doesn't effect the weapon(s) you are getting DNs from. In a beginner's case, you can't wear a cyclopes cap or a fencing jacket, because they buff your weapons, and you can't put a buffed weapon's DNs up on the wiki. Same goes for trinkets. You must make sure that all your weapons you are getting data from are at level 10. Because of this, it might be a good idea to get the DNs from one weapon, while taking another to heat it up so you can get its DNs later. When deciding which weapon to use, check the page, Pages with empty damage entries. You also must chose a gate to gather info from. I recommend some gate with that has status stratus that don't correspond with the status(es) that your weapon(s) might deal. I especially recommend this if you are using a non-normal weapon. If the first and last depth of a stratum is clockworks/arena, it is a good stratum, because it has varied enemy types. And on one last note: The only good numbers are from the first and last depth of a stratum.

Expedition

No matter what you use to record, or what weapon you are using, there are some things you should remember.

• Use all your different attacks and weapons on each new enemy you encounter, or at least each time you encounter a new resistance to your weapon. If you have several weapons and/or if you have a weapon possessing the weakness of the target, you might need more than one of that type of enemy. Menders and Silkwings are very useful, because you can use all of your different attacks on that enemy while the healer keeps the target's HP up.
• Only get the damage numbers from the first level and the last level of a stratum. Those ones are the only ones you'll need.
  • Because of this, don't go to boss stratus. Not only do bosses always have just one enemy type, (excluding Vanaduke) but bosses also usually have different resistance values.
  • Also, try to get your damage numbers from clockworks levels and arenas, as these usually have several types of enemies.
• Avoid getting damage numbers from Alpha Wolvers. They tend to have higher resistance than most enemies, because they tend to come from harder, deeper levels, therefor giving them upped defenses.
• Avoid danger rooms. (Wave fight arenas with an energy gate blocking them.) Usually these have enemies from the next stratum or even the next tier. This will throw of the numbers because their defenses are so much higher.
• If you're weapon deals Freeze, freeze an enemy. After that, keep it in your view so you can see how much damage the freeze thaw will deal, because it counts too!
• If you have Fire, it is harder to calculate, even though it is easy to find how much each tick does. You must also see how many ticks are done after dealing the status once. To do this, you need to make sure you only deal the status once, (it doesn't get re-dealt as the fire goes on. This makes something like the Pepperbox tricky.) and then count how many times the fire hits. If the enemy dies to the fire, you need to start again. Don't worry, this only needs to be done once per weapon, as the fire tick count stays the same across all types. (But not all tiers.)
• Shock is the hardest, because of its elemental damage. Repeat what needs to be done with fire when counting the ticks, but you need the see how much damage needs to be dealt to each type of resistance.

Saving and Formatting

Once you are done, you will need to place the DNs you gained on the wiki. Your DNs are useless unless others can see them, and they give wrong information if an error has slipped through your fingers.

Saving

Either you will be keeping your DNs on a txt file(or your friend might), or to a video file, or directly to the wiki. If the latter, you can skip to the next section. Otherwise, you will be wanting to keep your information somehow.

Text file(.txt) or Spreadsheet

It is simple to keep them like this. If using a text file, the result could look like this: (Note that these aren't real numbers, but estimates based from the Proto sword damage table)

Proto sword
    Slash1-2  Slash3  Charge
D1:   20        25      35
D2:   23        29      40
D3:   26        33      48
Robo wrecker
    Slash1-2  Slash3  Charge
etc etc etc

If you are using a spreadsheet, you can record this in any way you like that is similar to this.

Image file(.PNG)

Simple: take the numbers from the images and slap them on the wiki. Just make sure you know the attack you are using in the image, because it can look confusing.

Video file(.avi, .mp4, etc.)

When looking at a video file, you must watch closely to ensure that you are recording the right number. You can place your findings directly on the wiki, or to a text file if you are offline at the time of watching it, to save time when you get your internet back.

Note: this is a draft I have saved in case of a crash, and I may be working on the guide as you are reading this!