basic strats

=1= Routing

Know what items to take in which order in which screens

=2= Skipping NPCs' Dialogues (basic Menu trick)

In most of the cases, it's quicker to save, quit and reload the game than going through a whole dialogue
BUT the game has to be glitched to proceed.

To do so, while in game, open the Main Menu (scroll icon). The menu takes half a second to appear, during which time you can quickly click on an NPC to trigger dialogue. This gives you a limited amount of time to save and quit before the game crashes. If a "srcipt error, continue ?" pop-up window shows up, just answer "yes".
You can then reload the game, and you just tricked it into believing you actually had that dialogue.
(note : to quit and reload the game with ease, I've done it all through the Windows taskbar and a pinned shorcut)

Sometimes it may be hard to click on an NPC because it's too far away from the Menu icon. You can also use the Option Menu (trumpet), which is more in the middle of the screen. Open it, click on NPC, close it, open Main Menu, save, quit. 

The save/quit/reload maneuver takes 17s in average, 23s with the trumpet. Some dialogues are shorter than that and not worth being skipped. 


=3= Skipping NPCs' Dialogues (using Sakar)

Sometimes you have to give certain items to NPCs to trigger the right dialogue. Dropping the item on the NPC isn't possible within the little time before Menu opens. But you can use Sakar (or Sybille too I think).

The game switches to another screen when (1) you asked for it by clicking on a side of a previous screen and (2) when all the characters have hit the screen border. But Sakar (which is a falcon) is faster than Tristan (who's not a falcon). Except that he takes forever to land !! (or to take off)
So if you ask the game for a screen change, it will trigger Sakar's fly animation, during which time you can drop an item on an NPC (example: when you give a Rose to Sybille)

This skip takes 27s in average.

=4= Skipping NPCs' dialogue (with spacebar)

Sometimes you are in the same situation than =3= but Sakar is not there. Either use Sybille, or prefer this other trick. 
After having asked for a screen change, you can avoid it, by closing then opening the game menu (blue strip) on the screen change frame. Once you gave the thing to NPC (the Bishop in particular), it closes the menu, so the game switches to next screen, BUT you had triggered the dialogue in the previous screen. You have now a few second fractions to re-open the menu automaticcaly closed, which you can use ! (that was the point) and save and quit and reload.

This trick is also used to prevent wasting a minute to the Fields rendered cutscene, triggered upon going to the Fields after having been warned about the Demon by the Bishop. Just don't go to the Fields ; freeze the game just before the screen changes, and teleport somewhere else while you have acces to the map.

=5= Dialogues you shouldnt skip :

- Guard telling you to get an escort with Templars 
- Templars when you show them the Sword and Courtly Love Treatise

- Alchemist when you show him the Bones
- Alchemist when you tell him you arranged the bones into a skeleton.

- Queen when you give her the Tunic
- Alchemist when you tell him about making color pigments
- Cleric when you show him the Full Color Palette (this one is about a minutee long, but if you skip it you also skip the cutscene loading the rest of the game (the Bishop disappear for instance))

- Guard (in port) saying he's watching for rogues
- Cleric when you give him the Scroll
- Queen when she tells you to hurry with the remedy
- Queen when you give her the remedy (because it skips the last cutscene too - or could we discuss this ? what defines the end of the game ?)
 
One more question : should we get rid of loading times ? pause the chrono or delete the intro cutscene or throw the game in an emulator or leave it as it is ?