livesplit_asl_mgs2

A LiveSplit autosplitter for Metal Gear Solid 2 Substance on PC

Right now...

• Instant split mode does not respect your settings for boss areas, so if enabled it will always split for all bosses (except Guard Rush)
• In Boss Survival, instant split mode does not function for Olga, Guard Rush and Tengus (those splits will appear when the next battle begins), and in regular split mode there is no split after Solidus. It's recommended to use instant split mode.
• The Best Codename ASLVV variable incorrectly shows the rank Doberman instead of "Perfect Stats" in Snake Tales

Features

• Automatic splitting for Tanker, Plant, Snake Tales, Boss Survival, and VR Missions
• Split in every area, or only on bosses
• Instant splitting when you defeat a boss or collect a dog tag
• ASL Var Viewer support for room names, game stats, live information including boss health, and your current codename rank
• "Strategy Testing" mode allowing you to compare strategies more easily when testing

Versions

• MetalGearSolid2Substance.asl is the main splitter. It has all of the features mentioned on this page, but can be complicated to configure.
• MetalGearSolid2Substance-Lite.asl is a lightweight splitter. It can only split at major points in the game, but is very easy to set up and may run better on your system.
• The two versions use different methods to determine when to split, and so will split at different times.
• MetalGearSolid2Substance-GameTimeOnly.asl provides the in-game time (IGT), but has no other functionality.

Room Splitting vs Major Splits Only

• Room splitting is provided by the main autosplitter only. It splits whenever you go from one area to another.
  • This provides very fine detail about how well you're doing, but it can be difficult to organise so much data in your layout, and it's easy to have your splits go out of sync if you (for example) leave and reenter a room.
  • See Layout Guide for some suggestions on how to organise room splits in your layout.
• Major splits only is provided by both autosplitters. It splits only on beating bosses, and in a few other major locations.
  • On the main autosplitter, enable the Major Splits only setting, and ensure none of those split locations are disabled elsewhere in the settings. Use a split file that includes "Major Splits" in the name.
  • On the lite autosplitter, this is the only mode available. Use a split file that includes "Lite" in the name.

Other Notes

• The LSS files included here will work with the default split location settings. See the mouseover tooltips on each split-related setting in Advanced Options for advice on what to add or remove from your splits.
  • If you want to categorise splits in your LiveSplit layout: open a "subsplits" LSL file, and use a Subsplits component and select "Always Hide Subsplits".
    • See the Layout Guide for some layout variants you can use that take advantage of subsplits.
  • You can freely rename splits, or change which splits are section headers and which are subsplits (by adding/removing the hyphen symbol from the name).
  • The "Easy-Normal" files exit Aft Deck to Deck-B, and go clockwise (starting at Strut D) for the early bomb hunt. The "Very Easy" file also goes directly from Strut E to Shell 1 Core.
  • The "Hard-EuEx" files exit Aft Deck to Deck-A, and go anticlockwise (starting at Strut B) for the early bomb hunt.
• There are two modes for boss splits. If you would like to use the simpler mode that splits on fadeout, disable the autosplitter setting for it.
• The in-game timer for Boss Survival is not the same as the timer shown on screen - the IGT adds a little time at the start of each battle, continues during cutscenes, and continues while you have a menu open.
• Strategy Testing can be enabled and customised in the settings.
  • You can disable the regular autosplitter behaviour, and enable splits on every area code change, every screen load (e.g. after a continue), or when pressing the START (pausing/unpausing) and/or R3 (on-the-fly) buttons.
  • This mode works best with a large throwaway set of unnamed splits (see Split Files/MGS2 - Strategy Testing.lss), on a layout that displays the time between splits, and does not show deltas.

ASL Var Viewer

The following variables are available in the Variables category:

Analysis:

• ASL_CodeNameStatus Shows the best possible codename, and, if you've already missed the top rank, the reason(s) for that. This can be used to keep track of Perfect Stats/Big Boss runs, or your major stats in general.
• ASL_Info Shows info relevant to your current situation, including boss health values and grip/O2/chaff/caution info. Which info is shown can be customised in settings. Can also be set to show your location (as ASL_CurrentRoom) when no contextual info is available.

Other stats:

• ASL_Alerts Number of Alerts
• ASL_AmesLocation Ames' randomised location in Shell 1 Core B1 Hall (appears after you find him)
• ASL_Cartwheels Number of rolls/cartwheels done
• ASL_Character The current player character
• ASL_ClearingEscapes Number of Clearing Escapes
• ASL_CodeName The best possible Codename from the current game state
• ASL_Continues Number of Continues
• ASL_CurrentRoom The current game location
• ASL_CurrentRoomCode The game's internal code for the current location
• ASL_DamageTaken Amount of Damage taken More info
• ASL_Difficulty The name of the current difficulty, from Very Easy to European Extreme
• ASL_DogTags, ASL_DogTags_Snake, ASL_DogTags_Raiden Number of dog tags collected (overall, or for each character)
• ASL_Kills Number of people Killed
• ASL_LastDamage Amount of Damage taken from the most recent damage event
• ASL_Level The current area (Tanker or Plant), and whether you're playing Tanker-Plant (main game only)
• ASL_MechsDestroyed Number of mechs (Cyphers, etc.) destroyed. This was previously thought to contribute to your codename, but is not actually relevant.
• ASL_Mode The game's internal code for the current character
• ASL_Rations Number of Rations used
• ASL_RoomTimer The number of frames (60/sec) spent in the current room. This can be used to aid in strategy finding.
• ASL_Saves Number of Saves
• ASL_Shots Number of Shots fired
• ASL_Strength Your current character's Arm Strength. Grip Up occurs at 100 and 200.
• ASL_VRMission The name of the current VR Mission, and the score for the current attempt.