This project is a configurable autosplitter for Dark Souls: Prepare To Die edition on PC. It does not work with the Remastered version. The autosplitter is designed to be usable for any Dark Souls speedrun, with a variety of split options available. In addition, the autosplitter can optionally serve as a full replacement for the existing IGT tool commonly used by the community to accurately display in-game time.
Created by @Grimelios. Feel free to ping me on Twitter or Discord (Grimelios#2045) with any questions, concerns, or feedback. Big shoutout to the work done by existing Souls community members in tracking down memory locations, many of which I used in this project.
The autosplitter is a LiveSplit component (a DLL file). To install, download the latest release from the Releases section and place the DLL in your LiveSplit/Components folder (you should see a bunch of DLLs in there already). From there, simply launch LiveSplit, edit your layout, and add the autosplitter (under the Control category).
Once the DLL is in place (and added to your layout), you'll be prompted with any updates automatically each time you launch LiveSplit.
Once you've added the autosplitter to your layout, double-click on the autosplitter to open its configuration tab. The tool was designed to be as intuitive as possible, but I'll run through the options anyway, starting from the top.
The first two checkboxes here re-implement behavior from the existing IGT tool. "Use game time" causes the LiveSplit timer to be updated based on the game's internal IGT counter (meaning the timer will pause automatically on quitouts). Make sure your LiveSplit timer is set to display Game Time (rather than Real Time) for this to work. "Reset equipment indexes" does exactly what it describes, by resetting equipment index values to their default state when the LiveSplit timer resets. Without enabling this, your menuing can change unexpectedly on consecutive runs.
The third checkbox allows the timer to start automatically when you begin a new game. Specifically, the timer autostarts after the opening cinematic (as the camera begins to crawl through the asylum).
The next two buttons are pretty self-explanatory. "Add Split" appends a new, empty split to the bottom of your current list. "Clear Splits" empties the list following a confirmation prompt (note that the prompt doesn't appear when there's only one split in total). As you add and remove splits, the split count is updated and displayed beside these buttons. There's also a second count of unfinished splits (i.e. splits that require additional values to be set in order to allow the autosplitter to properly function).
Next up is the splits themselves. There are currently seven split types available. Each line is split into "Type" (a single dropdown) and "Details" (a collection of controls that update based on the chosen split type). As these controls change, they're tinted with a red background when the control is unfinished and requires attention. If you save your layout with unfinished splits, everything will save correctly, but all unfinished splits are treated as manual during an actual run (so if you notice that an expected autosplit fails to trigger, check this first).
You can delete individual splits by clicking the red X on the right side of the split. Splits can be re-ordered by clicking and dragging on the left side.
Select the target bonfire, then select split criteria. "On rest" is self-explanatory. "On leave" is the opposite (split when you leave the target bonfire). Bonfire states (lit or kindled to various levels) split when the target bonfire reaches that state (rather than already being in that state). Finally, "On warp" splits when you warp from the target bonfire (not to it).
Select the target boss, then select split criteria. "On victory message" splits when that message appears (not on final hit). "On quitout" and "On warp" follow the usual timing rules (detailed below).
Select the target covenant, then select split criteria. "On join" splits when your covenant is changed to the target one (rather than already being in that covenant). "Discovery" refers to viewing the yes/no menu box prompting the player to join. "On trigger" splits immediately when selected covenant action occurs. "On quitout" and "On warp" follow the usual timing rules (detailed below).
Select the target event, then select split criteria (if enabled). The events chosen for this list are somewhat arbitrary, but are meant to represent major world events. The "first" bell is the one past the Gargoyles, while the "second" bell is past Quelaag. Selecting either enables the criteria box. "On ring" splits immediately following the bell cutscene. "On quitout" and "On warp" follow the usual warp timing rules (detailed below).
The remaining two options are endings. Both endings split when the credits appear (since IGT keeps ticking during the cutscene).
Enter the target flag (a numeric ID), then select split criteria. In the context of Dark Souls, a "flag" refers to a boolean (true or false) value representing the state of a specific in-game event. Although some flags are already accounted for in other split types (such as bosses), this split type is meant to be a catch-all for other, more obscure events not otherwise tracked by the autosplitter UI (such as advancing NPC quest lines or dispersing individual fog gates). See https://goo.gl/kyNCD6 for a list of available flags. There are likely more valid flags than that list, but it should be a good start. Also note that the ID you enter isn't validated (apart from verifying that you've entered something).
As for timing, "On trigger" splits the moment the target flag becomes true. "On quitout" and "On warp" follow the usual timing rules (detailed below).
Item splits are the most complex by far (since there are lots of items in Dark Souls). Start by selecting an item type (which refreshes the item list beside it), then select the target item. Based on the item selected, the two upgrade dropdowns ("Infusions" and "Reinforcement") become enabled or disabled, and are refreshed with values appropriate to that item. For example, a plain Longsword can receive any infusion, but the maximum reinforcement level is dependent on which infusion you choose. Some items (like armor) can be reinforced, but not infused (which results in the Infusions list changing to "Locked" instead). Some items (like the Crystal Straight Sword) can't be infused or reinforced. Infusions must match exactly in order for an autosplit to occur, but reinforcements function on an at least basis (e.g. acquiring a +6 Divine Battle Axe would also satisfy a +5 split).
Note that the Estus Flask (under Consumables) can also be reinforced.
The small textbox to the right of the Reinforcement list is item count. Count defaults to one, but can be set to any value up to 999 inclusive. Similar to reinforcement, item count is considered satisfied if you've acquired at least that number of the target item (rather than exactly that amount).
Selecting "On acquisition" from the timing box splits immediately when you acquire the target item(s) (assuming the infusion, reinforcement, and count have also been met). "On quitout" and "On warp" follow the usual timing rules (detailed below), but with the added restriction that the target item(s) must still be in your inventory at that time.
Finally, a note about the Bottomless Box: from the perspective of the autosplitter, the Bottomless Box is treated exactly the same as the main inventory. In other words, having an item in storage will trigger splits as if you had picked up the item normally. The primary reason for this design is to accomodate item duplication through quantity storage.
No settings to configure here. This split is manual. Useful for cases when you've added splits that can't be triggered automatically by the autosplitter.
Enter the number of quitout's required before the autosplit occurs (or leave it at the default value of one). Nothing else to configure. As with quitout variations on other split types, the split occurs on reload.
Select the target zone. That's it. In this context, "zone" refers to a named area of the world that acts as an entrance or exit between larger, interconnected chunks of the world. For example, the player is dropped into Firelink Shrine when you exit the Undead Asylum, but these areas aren't physically connected. Similarly, touching the painting in Anor Londo warps the player to the Painted World (another zone physically disconnected from the rest of Lordran).
This split type, then, can be useful for detecting those transitions (which would otherwise be difficult to track). Note that zone splits only occur when the player moves between physically disconnected areas (rather than simply being within the target zone already). For example, an "Anor Londo" split won't trigger when running backwards from the Duke's Archives. It will only occur when landing in Anor Londo via a cutscene warp (i.e. being carried by gargoyles from the top of Sen's Fortress or falling out of the Painted World). The split is triggered following the cutscene.
Many splits mentioned above have associated timing options. These options generally fall into three categories:
- Immediate. The specific wording here can change as appropriate (such as "On trigger" for flags or "On ring" for bells), but the idea is the same (split immediately when an event occur).
- On quitout. This splits on the first quitout following the relevant criteria being satisfied. Note that the split occurs during the loading screen after reloading your file (rather than on the loading screen immediately following the quitout). This is done to ensure that IGT is accurate at split time.
- On warp (see the paragraph below)
Warping is a bit more complicated than the others, and warrants its own quick paragraph. Apart from bonfires, all "On warp" splits behave the same way (by triggering the split after a player has warped away from an objective, rather than when the objective itself is completed). The following types of warps are accounted for:
- Using a homeward bone or the darksign
- Warping from a bonfire
- Dying (assuming you didn't perform a successful fall control quitout)
In all cases, the actual split occurs when the loading screen appears (following the fadeout to black). This behavior is intended to mimic the way many current Dark Souls runners split manually. The goal in implementing warp splits in this way is that, if you choose to adopt this autosplitter, you shouldn't have to remake your splits (since the autosplitter will be quite accurate to what you were already doing).
That's it! My contact information is above (both Twitter and Discord) if you have any questions or concerns. I've tested extensively myself, but of course feel free to reach out if you encounter any bugs or missing features. Otherwise, enjoy your runs and good luck! :)