Defying the invisible barrier

[Shaddy]

Heya guys. Since life around here is getting pretty.. well.. absent.. i thought i'd give the PK community here (or what's left of it anyway) a topic that may not be discussed too much so far.

The invisible walls. Every other guy that's played PK at least a couple of times has probably encountered them. Consequently, more devouted players (like myself :D) have certainly tried to go around them and explore the not-seen-at-first-look parts of the Painkiller levels.
So, gather, my fellow PKers and share the places no ordinary demon foot has been at, that you have conquered :D

Just to start this thread (i hope), here's my accomplishment from yesterday's playing around in BooH - Orphanage :)

http://img139.imageshack.us/img139/7230/shot0009fb9.th.jpg (http://img139.imageshack.us/my.php?image=shot0009fb9.jpg)
http://img530.imageshack.us/img530/9469/shot0010tr5.th.jpg (http://img530.imageshack.us/my.php?image=shot0010tr5.jpg)
http://img257.imageshack.us/img257/6964/shot0011ql6.th.jpg (http://img257.imageshack.us/my.php?image=shot0011ql6.jpg)
http://img530.imageshack.us/img530/322/shot0013hr9.th.jpg (http://img530.imageshack.us/my.php?image=shot0013hr9.jpg)
http://img257.imageshack.us/img257/1012/shot0014an2.th.jpg (http://img257.imageshack.us/my.php?image=shot0014an2.jpg)
http://img411.imageshack.us/img411/6651/shot0015au9.th.jpg (http://img411.imageshack.us/my.php?image=shot0015au9.jpg)
http://img442.imageshack.us/img442/1577/shot0016de6.th.jpg (http://img442.imageshack.us/my.php?image=shot0016de6.jpg)

[kalme]

Powermad Overdose has a feature that removes all invisible walls from the game. This would also work in Painkiller/BOOH. If you're interested, I'll post what you have to do or something.

[Artas1984]

So why have not you released a new version of powermad for Painkiller 1.64 with this feature?

If this would be applied to original game, it might bring a new replay value.

[Shaddy]

Yes, kalme, i know about PM OD's "pmfreedom" command, but i think that makes things too easy, doesn't it? I mean everyone can get everywhere if the invisible walls aren't there, the idea is not to remove them, but to figure out ways around them when they're still there. In my opinion that's what makes it so much.. hardcore ;)

Oh btw, yesterday while playing here on my friend's really high-end PC (oh my lord how sweet the warp effects are) i found a "little" shortcut on Snowy Bridge, will try and record a video sometime today :)

Oh and yeah, a new update to PK's original PM with "pmfreedom" would be nice indeed :)

Cheers :)

[pool]

Oh and yeah, a new update to PK's original PM with "pmfreedom" would be nice indeed :)

Agreed. + command to turn off/on text lines on screen while slow/speed game time in original game. It was discassed some time ago. :)

[Artas1984]

Shaddy, before you post anything that you think it's "new", be 100 % sure, because most ways for shortcuts and secrets have been found and simply are forgotten..

[Shaddy]

Shaddy, before you post anything that you think it's "new", be 100 % sure, because most ways for shortcuts and secrets have been found and simply are forgotten..

Ok, the thing is a bit tricky anyway, so i'll just post it here instead of making a video.

The shortcut itself is not that short actually, but it's worth the detour, as it goes around pretty much half of the level. It starts with the shortcut that was first discovered by Frag Maniac i think, riding down the top cable to the bridge and using the invisible wall to skip the entire battle on the bridge itself. Since i don't have the patience to do video editing at my friend's place here are pics to better explain things:

http://img179.imageshack.us/img179/9158/painkiller2008030216491jh3.th.jpg (http://img179.imageshack.us/my.php?image=painkiller2008030216491jh3.jpg)
Ride the cable from here down and take Frag's shortcut

http://img519.imageshack.us/img519/3765/painkiller2008030216495ui0.th.jpg (http://img519.imageshack.us/my.php?image=painkiller2008030216495ui0.jpg)
You should end up here

http://img505.imageshack.us/img505/7862/painkiller2008030216500ur3.th.jpg (http://img505.imageshack.us/my.php?image=painkiller2008030216500ur3.jpg)
But here instead of going down like the original shortcut is, turn around, this is what you should see

http://img204.imageshack.us/img204/2830/painkiller2008030216501in0.th.jpg (http://img204.imageshack.us/my.php?image=painkiller2008030216501in0.jpg)
Climb the mountain and take the left

http://img257.imageshack.us/img257/937/painkiller2008030216502mk3.th.jpg (http://img257.imageshack.us/my.php?image=painkiller2008030216502mk3.jpg)
Down there is where you want to be. You can see that the wall ends there, go under it and climb a little back up on the other side

http://img257.imageshack.us/img257/6738/painkiller2008030216513jp8.th.jpg (http://img257.imageshack.us/my.php?image=painkiller2008030216513jp8.jpg)
Here's where you have to be. Get down there

http://img299.imageshack.us/img299/1294/painkiller2008030216520gf6.th.jpg (http://img299.imageshack.us/my.php?image=painkiller2008030216520gf6.jpg)
When you're down, if you turn around you can see the cart's tunnel that you're generally supposed to be if you play by the rules :D

http://img505.imageshack.us/img505/9360/painkiller2008030216521fk0.th.jpg (http://img505.imageshack.us/my.php?image=painkiller2008030216521fk0.jpg)
Turn back around and follow the legde, jumping around these walls

http://img204.imageshack.us/img204/3627/painkiller2008030216530id5.th.jpg (http://img204.imageshack.us/my.php?image=painkiller2008030216530id5.jpg)
When you get to the corner you'll see the air tunnel in the distance ahead

http://img179.imageshack.us/img179/4740/painkiller2008030216533vp7.th.jpg (http://img179.imageshack.us/my.php?image=painkiller2008030216533vp7.jpg)
And this is where you should be after a looot of jumping. This black.. area is where you have to jump to, this is the hardest part, the invisible legde that you step on is really narrow so it's gonna be a real pain for you to get to the end of the tunnel, but it's possible

http://img519.imageshack.us/img519/7203/painkiller2008030216544cj4.th.jpg (http://img519.imageshack.us/my.php?image=painkiller2008030216544cj4.jpg)
You can try dexter-jumping, or keeping your crosshair pointed at the edge itself while you jump. It's tricky, but keep your balance and you'll get to the end

http://img505.imageshack.us/img505/3608/painkiller2008030216551tt1.th.jpg (http://img505.imageshack.us/my.php?image=painkiller2008030216551tt1.jpg)
The ladder on the right (the one you use to get the secret holy item under the lift car) is where you need to be, follow the legde and then jump on the support beams to reach it

http://img204.imageshack.us/img204/6521/painkiller2008030216552vv1.th.jpg (http://img204.imageshack.us/my.php?image=painkiller2008030216552vv1.jpg)
If you fall down, don't worry, at the bottom is another really thin legde that you can hold on to, but it's harder. Just get to the ladder and you're ok

http://img257.imageshack.us/img257/7138/painkiller2008030216553zs0.th.jpg (http://img257.imageshack.us/my.php?image=painkiller2008030216553zs0.jpg)
Now here's the luck part. Sometimes you'll get it, sometimes you won't. Basically you just use the ladder to give you speed as you go up, and eventually the PK engine goes crazy and spits you out right under the lift car

http://img257.imageshack.us/img257/9671/painkiller2008030216584xe5.th.jpg (http://img257.imageshack.us/my.php?image=painkiller2008030216584xe5.jpg)
Pretty much around here

http://img299.imageshack.us/img299/2198/painkiller2008030216590ht6.th.jpg (http://img299.imageshack.us/my.php?image=painkiller2008030216590ht6.jpg)
So yea, there you go, no triggers activated and many many enemies skipped, you can take the ladder up and ride the lift car to the observatory and the end of the level

I should note that while this "shortcut" indeed saves you time as opposed to playing the level normally, it should only be attempted with fast machines, i don't even want to begin to imagine how hard it would be on a weaker PC (so in that case you're most probably better off following the right way)

.. Maan that was a long post O.o

[Artas1984]

OMG, can't wait to test this!



Excellent find! Can't wait for a new PC too, it's awile since i am on a dirty laptop with a 8 MB VGA..

Shaddy, video is requested majorly, i mean you must make a video, because it looks so confusing and also inventible. I know sys and rj19 will "owe" your discovery, i bet sys is going to start playing PK per new for the "xx" time just to test this, he has a habit to replay big time even when miscelanious things are discovered.

However what's up with time?

The standart speedrun time for this level with Frag Maniac's shortcut is 5 minutes. With your one it should be like 4? Well?....

[Shaddy]

Well man.. huh.. thanks for the kind words, but in terms of time i have no idea what the frame would be. Over the last months every time i've started Painkiller has ended up with me killing everything that moves in seconds so i can wander around the level undisturbed and look for ways to get somewhere "forbidden" :P And this part of the Snowy Bridge always fascinated me because of it's size (i'm talking about that HUGE silo, inside and outside), so a while ago i started trying to figure out ways to somehow find a path through there or anything .. "forbidden" :P and it was only now, 2 days ago when i went there again (actually then it was only to show my friend the l337-ness of PK and make him addicted like i am :D) and discovered this path.

I would try and record a video now, but in less than 30 minutes i'll have to get gone from his place so i don't promise anything. Nevertheless if i don't succeed here i may try doing it on my own machine, but i don't know yet, guess i'll get into it. And as for the time frame again.. i don't know, really, but it seems to me that this path indeed saves you a little more time than just taking Frag's shortcut, but of course this will have to be tested some more.

I'm starting PK right now :) Hope i can do it in one run for the video P:

[Shaddy]

(Dаmn, no edit function..) Ok, i managed to record it in three separate clips after a gazillion tries, when i put it all together i'll post it here P: Gosh.. It really is a LOT harder when recording :

[pool]

Nice find! :)

[kalme]

Wow, Shaddy, that was an excellent post!

[Shaddy]

Um, by the way, i think speedrun-wise you're better off taking Frag's shortcut only (and the one with the ladder after it of course), than using mine. I did a quick test, and of course this may just be me sucking at speedruns, but with my shortcut and the effort to beat the level as fast as i can i scored 5:30 (and as i saw somewhere in the speedrun thread the fastest time ever achieved was 4:41 or something close to that). From this point on you guys (yes, you - the speedrun freaks lurking around here :D) are on your own in finding out if this detour is actually usable in speedruns. :) I myself actually use it only because i really dislike Snowy Bridge as a whole :}}

Anyway, this thread isn't necessarily ONLY about this damned shortcut :) Come on, somebody else post something, i'm sure you've been to places that haven't been discovered too P: Just remembering kalme's (it was your discovery, right?) Loony Park "0 kills" extreme "going-out-of-the-map" pwnage makes me shiver in respect to the power of the almighty PK engine and the PK veterans here who have found out ways to screw with it..

Cheers :P

[SYS]

...a voice from the darkness.....

Nice find Shaddy, thanks for sharing this discovery! ;) Four years old game, still there are new things to find... :D

[Shaddy]

Well.. here (http://files.filefront.com/13851016)'s the video of Snowy's shortcut i promised ages ago.

Better late than never right?

[Undead_Warrior]

Nice to see it :P

[Artas1984]

The shortcut looks like a pain in the arse. Nice job..
But as you said, this is not the way to speedrun the level...

[Shaddy]

Yeah, i gave it a few quick tests and best case scenario i got to the exit at around the 5-minute mark (give or take a few seconds). To my knowlege the best times achieved are around 4:30, so no, this is pretty much useless as far as speedrunning goes. But it's fun to take nonetheless : )

[Artas1984]

The Snowy Bridge speedrun scenario done by RJ19 never worked for me..

RJ19 PK SPEEDRUN VIDEOS (http://personal.inet.fi/cool/allaboutpainkiller/speedruns.html)

In his video of Snowy Bridge, when the tank of gasoline explodes after you get the electro, you don't need to kill all the guys in the tunnel and the tunnel doors open...

Well that never worked for me, i am wondering mayby Shady's way is the way to go, i will check that out.

Shaddy, go ahead and try speedrun the level like RJ19 - tell me does it work the same way for you?

[Shaddy]

Actually, it doesn't. My guess is it has something to do with the killcount, then again, it could simply be hooked to the ninjas on the containers.. But the door didn't open for me, even though i took care to follow pretty much the same killcount up to that area. It only opened once i took out the guys above.

And btw i think taking the tram to the observatory is actually faster than walking on the cables. I recall taking interest in this and my (really rough) eye-observations were as such.

[Shaddy]

I looked at the scripts and from what i could make out it seems that the door opens once you waste 12 monsters after triggering the ambush. I think it's not hooked to any specific monsters. So i can't understand why it was open in RJ's video.

[Undead_Warrior]

I tried it too. The door opens after you kill all the monsters. I can't understand why in RJ's video the door opens earlier. I hope he will give an explanation :D
Maybe some fixes, older version that have this bug?

[SYS]

...a voice from the darkness.....

Nice find, gg. When I saw the beginning, that was already known, but the rest... :eek: Very well done!

[Undead_Warrior]

The rest was pain in the *** when we tried to record it the first time

[SYS]

...a voice from the darkness.....

Haha, I can imagine that! :D

[Shaddy]

Btw.. there's no way to remove the barriers from the actual level, is there? I know they're entities fixed in the .mpk itself and can't be deleted, but maybe there's a workaround?..

Gosh, where are kalme & PetjA when i need 'em..