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| Acmlm's Board - I3 Archive - - Posts by Guy Perfect |
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Guy Perfect                  Since: 11-18-05 Last post: 6314 days Last view: 6313 days |
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| Clearly .NET is the most intuitive suite of programming languages. It's a shame they're more-or-less interperated ROMs like a "Microsoft Java" | |||
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Guy Perfect Since: 11-18-05 Last post: 6314 days Last view: 6313 days |
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| I ended up making a whole new second draft of the "Normal Track" generator because frankly, it kept growing. The code will shortly accomodate the "Normal Track," "High-Walls" and "No Walls" types of track segments.
To hold you over, here's a cool wireframie picture of a fully-high-walled Mute City full of colors and the image is 100 pixels wider than usual!  Old post, since no one posted and last-posters can't repost... kinda stuff: I never thought polygons would be this much fun. I took a different approach to the vertex coordinates this time than I had the previous two attempts at and editor, and I must say this one's working just dandiful. There's a super-special deal today! I'll be posting two images!  As you can see, the "Normal Track" stuff is just about done. The green and black splotch in the background there is actually a placeholder for "High Walls" segments, which aren't programmed in yet. The course is fully shaped and fully textured, leaving a result that looks nearly identical to the game's graphics. In the editor, limitations can be put on the track drawing engine in order to make the scene easier to draw on behalf of the graphics processor.  That's a peculiar one, huh? Turns out that there's special coding in the game specifically for the two rainbow textures that can be used from the Big Blue venue track texture set. They have a longer period before repeating and, as can be seen in the picture, the textures don't reset their starting points each time a new track segment begins like all the other textures in the game do. This means that you can have one big contiguous rainbow throughout the entire track. This picture isn't what the game shows, but I forced the texturing stuff on the course for debugging purposes. I liked the look of it so much I thought I'd share it with you. (-: |
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Guy Perfect Since: 11-18-05 Last post: 6314 days Last view: 6313 days |
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 In case it's not apparent in the picture, here, I've completed the tunnel generator. Notice how this shot only shows the inside. The editor will feature an option as to whether or not to draw the extierior and, if desired, to what opacity. After all, an exterior won't do you much good if it blocks the view from any Pit Area/Traps/Dash Plates/etc. you may have on the inside of said tunnel.  Well, the "Normal Track" generator got its long-awaited overhaul and is now a "Normal Track, High-Wall and No Walls" generator. All end-segments sloping has been applied (which will actually scare away many attempters of this feat) and many of the courses can now be rendered in their entirety. Next up, the next part. |
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Guy Perfect Since: 11-18-05 Last post: 6314 days Last view: 6313 days |
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Ha. Now you're all jealous that you didn't think to save that image when it magically appeared in your browsers. I saved that rainbowy "LOL" from the Happy Hour a few days ago, too. I swear, that thing is going to be the death of us all. |
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Guy Perfect Since: 11-18-05 Last post: 6314 days Last view: 6313 days |
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| I just ran a test and you'll be happy to know that Sappy 2005 does in fact work on Windows 2003 Server. | |||
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Guy Perfect Since: 11-18-05 Last post: 6314 days Last view: 6313 days |
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| I've done some further testing.
On Windows 2000 Professional, I get that "XP Styles not supported error," which we're still wondering how is being displayed. Well, I think I have the answer. While using a real operating system (Debian GNU/Linux 3.1) running Wine, and copying the needed OCX's to the run directory, I get this error: 
As-is, Wine only comes with standard DLLs built-in and the XP styles business is likely being called from that OCX. The only difference is that using a real operating system gave us some useful debugging information. (-: |
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Guy Perfect Since: 11-18-05 Last post: 6314 days Last view: 6313 days |
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| Took most of the day off from programming today. But one thing I did get done was configure the tunnel exterior engine and give it some cosmetic makeovers.
As I said before, a tunnel exterior won't do much good if it blocks the view from seeing what kinds of goods you've got on the track INSIDE the tunnel, so you can configure the editor to either not display the tunnel exterior, draw it in all its glory or, as this picture shows, draw it with partial transparency:  |
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Guy Perfect Since: 11-18-05 Last post: 6314 days Last view: 6313 days |
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| My vote for Ocarina of Time as well. | |||
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Guy Perfect Since: 11-18-05 Last post: 6314 days Last view: 6313 days |
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| You can go ahead and do that. Odball games that no one's really heard of don't tend to be well documented.
So go look up some formats for Brain Bender and Quarth while you're at it. |
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Guy Perfect Since: 11-18-05 Last post: 6314 days Last view: 6313 days |
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| 01/07/2006: 19:41 CST
Track surface generator completed. Bleh. A whole week has gone by, and it took a while, but here it is... A fully-functional, complete course surface polygon generator! Take a look at these polylicious thumbnails! Oh, and if you want to see a larger version, click one:    
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Guy Perfect Since: 11-18-05 Last post: 6314 days Last view: 6313 days |
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| Typing will be an option. For coordinates, there will also be sliders available so the user can just drag to the location he wants, or optionally type the number manually into the box. For segment properties, there will be a simple interface with drop-down boxes for each choice, like... The "Left Side" box would have the options of "Pit Area," "Dart Zone" and "Slip Zone."
It will all be organized in an MDI (if you know what that is) container with roll-ups very similar to the various palette windows used in Adobe softwares. One box is for control point properties, one for segment properties, one for whole-track properties (name, music, venue, etc), etc... All versatile and configurable, and hopefully as user-friendly as possible. |
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Guy Perfect Since: 11-18-05 Last post: 6314 days Last view: 6313 days |
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| Off-topic, but um... Tweaker, did Stealth give you his permission to plagiarize his post in its entirety and bring it here? If not, then just make a link to the person's post next time. If they want to post something, let them do it themselves. | |||
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Guy Perfect Since: 11-18-05 Last post: 6314 days Last view: 6313 days |
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| What about Geiger's Snes9x Debugger? [Screenshot] | |||
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Guy Perfect Since: 11-18-05 Last post: 6314 days Last view: 6313 days |
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| It only requires a PCM channel capable of playing buffers sequentially without breaks. Just like any other computer would do it. I don't know if the SPC-700 can do that or not, but I'd be willing to bet it could.
Of course, since there's no hardware support for PCM files, some kind of sotfware codec would be needed as an intermediary between the OGG/MP3 file and the SPC-700 chip. Oh, and OGG Vorbis can do CD quality audio at about 775 KB/min, FYI. (edited by BGNG on 01-13-06 09:01 PM) |
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Guy Perfect Since: 11-18-05 Last post: 6314 days Last view: 6313 days |
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| Yeah, but it's written for GameCube. | |||
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Guy Perfect Since: 11-18-05 Last post: 6314 days Last view: 6313 days |
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| Introduction
In a recently closed topic, the idea was brought up of a level editor that did not require a ROM for use. While no names or specific incedents will be cited, at least five individuals ridiculed the thread's creator as they saw the concept to be utter nonsense. A few of the ideas put forth by some users include the following, in no particular order: • Without any source ROM data, there will be no way to "edit" it • Absense of a ROM would require ROM data to be stored in the editor • No one will ever make an editor of the sort • It is not possible to create a ROM-less editor I object to these remarks, for the editor that I am creating for F-Zero X will not require the user to have a ROM at hand in order to create levels, nor will it require the presence of any of the original ROM data. Allow me to explain... Plan of Action Before I begin, keep in mind that F-Zero X is one application where this can be done, but many games will not be able to have a practical implementation of a ROM-less editor. • F-Zero X tracks are organized entirely by a sequence of control points, where each control point has properties. The simplistic nature of this format enables a vast selection of options when handling the data. The editor that I'm making will include an option to import and export tracks as ASCII text files as well as a proprietary format that can be easily patched to the ROM with minimal processing. • The polygon generator in my project was coded entirely by hand and uses no code from the game itself. Likewise, the decorations and widgets that can be added to the course will be hand-coded as well. This ensures that the tracks in their entirety can be represented without any ROM data present. • Graphical data is the only real catch in this application. I can't include, even with decoded versions, the textures from the ROM since they are still protected under copyright. Instead, I will create by hand low-quality, highly-compressable substitutions for each of the textures in the game for use with the editor when no original data can be used. The user will also have the option of dumping the specific portions of the ROM that contain the texture data into a single file such that full ROM data need not be stored on his computer. This will save file space. The data is still protected, however, so while distributing the texture dump is possible, it is illegal and I do not encourage doing so. • With these implementations, the F-Zero X editor will be fully-operational out-of-the-box and users need not have a ROM on hand to use it. This has a number of useful applications, such as making a track while at work and playing it when you get home, or for users with the actual F-Zero X Expansion Kit to share their courses with others without the need of downloading the ROM. Vision and Purpose The whole purpose of this project is to allow F-Zero fans to create their own courses for play. This has been an issue of concen in the past, as Nintendo created an expansion for F-Zero X for the N64DD (Japan only) and F-Zero Climax (also Japan only) for GBA includes a track creator built-in. I've had discussions with the players at MFO and we all seem to agree that with players creating courses both with the rare Expansion Kit and with a ROM editor that there should be some standardization as far as transferring courses between each other over the internet is concerned. There's no reason to force users of the Expansion Kit to download a ROM just to swap tracks with other players. Final Words So for the reasons above and using the techniques I described, it certainly is a reasonable idea to create a ROM-less level editor. Also, as I said before, this cannot necessarily be done with all ROMs in any practical manner. Lower-end games like Super Mario Bros. and Metroid could easily represent the course "chunks" in user-editable text files, but more sophisticated games like Donkey Kong Country or Super Mario 64 simply would be too cumbersome to act with ROM-less capabilities. (edited by BGNG on 01-17-06 03:16 PM) |
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Guy Perfect Since: 11-18-05 Last post: 6314 days Last view: 6313 days |
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| Making the ROM-less support will be minimal effort. Just stick in some graphical resources to use when no ROM is present. That won't take a lot of time.
And, of course, anyone with a ROM will be able to use that for loading data. |
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Guy Perfect Since: 11-18-05 Last post: 6314 days Last view: 6313 days |
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| Further comments on the F-Zero X editor that do not pertain specifically to ROM-less editing should go in this thread | |||
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Guy Perfect Since: 11-18-05 Last post: 6314 days Last view: 6313 days |
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| The forum seems to have some coding problems. The title of this thread should be the following:
"Hack" - What's in a Name? Disclaimer This topic is controversial, I'll say that right now. I'm 82% sure that this will degenerate into a pointless bickering of opinionated minds, but the other 18% of me wants to know the truth and I don't know of any better way to go about finding it. If this degeneration occurs, then please send me a Private Message with your ideas (since under such circumstances the thread would likely be closed). I would like to strongy clarify that this is not a poll. My purpose for inquiring about the proceeding information is to gain a greater understanding of the ROM hacking community as a whole and not to ask people for their opinion. Any replies to this thread should provide some observable evidence as rationalle. Introduction The term "to hack a ROM" in this community is used bilaterally and typically applied to describe either or both of the following things: • Making sense of a game's mechanics and data formats • Modifying a game to create an original fan work I strongly support both of these activities, for researching, engineering and creativity all play a large role in the realm of unofficial game development. I highly approve of each of the actions listed above. A personal dilema of mine, however, also plagues the minds of several people out there in the world. After a discussion with Matt Green of Press The Buttons, I find myself in a quandary as to the definition of "hack" and whether or not it is approperiate to use the term for both of the activities listed earlier. The concept, from what I have observed, seems to be split into three sections and each are equally valid arguments. This is what I have seen... 1 - Cracking Yields Hacking Anyone who takes a look into unfamiliar ROM data and discovers how it works is, as far as most people are concerned, hacking. Synthesis and reverse engineering are both ways to accomplish this feat, and anyone who partakes in these activities are certainly considered to be hacking. Dictionaries seem to be unreliable, as they define "hacking" as perhaps "to alter (a computer program)" or "to gain access to (a computer file or network) illegally or without authorization." The above description of a "ROM hacker" does not fit either of those descriptions, and the reference cited does not include any alternate definitions which would be fitting. (This paragraph assumes any ROM hackers are using legitimate archival copies of their games) If we were to go by the book and define everything exactly as it is documented, then the dedicated individuals who open up game ROMs and crack their code would not be defined as hackers. I feel entirely confident that I can safely say that most, if not all, of us in this community consider the discovery of significance in ROM data to be truely characteristic of "hacking." Therefore, it is apparent that any formal, documented definitions of "to hack a ROM" aren't necessarily adequate, for they are not applicable to the issue at hand. The Conundrum If cracking ROM data is considered hacking, then what is to become of the act of game modification? Game modding is clearly a very different concept than data cracking, as I'm sure we all agree. Nonetheless, both activities are referred to as "hacking" in this community. 2 - Argument for Modding During specific real-life wars, the defeat of one party occurred as the result of a communications encryption being figured out by the opposing party. Intercepted messages were able to be decoded and critical mission information was made available to the enemy, thusly enabling them to set up operations that would prove to define the outcome of the final battle. This scenario is only possible if two conditions are met: • The encryption format of enemy messages is figured out • The method is used to decode messages sent by the enemy At the end of the day, it's not those who cracked the format who won the war, but those who applied the format to learn the enemy's thoughts and devise a plan of action who won the war. Those who cracked the format are simply an invaluable resource towards the cause. Likewise, the same can be said for ROM hacking. While those who find out what makes the ROM tick are required components of the equation, what they find isn't useful unless someone uses it. Documentation on the enemy's encryption doesn't do much good unless it's used to decode enemy messages, just as documentation on ROM data doesn't do much good unless it's used to make changes to the data at hand. While the argument exists that the documentation of some data can be used to discover the workings of data in other games (such as the MIO0 compression algorithm in some N64 games), the concept continues to fall short as using documentation of one game's data to document another game's data will still only result in documented game data. What use will any of this be unless the data is changed in at least one specific game? These thoughts support the idea that ROM hacking is a two-part process involving the cracking of data and the application of that knowledge. 3 - Argument against Modding While the observations in the previous section may be true, they may be overgeneralized. In the war analogy, the strategists who used information discovered by decrypting messages are simply beneficiaries of the work performed by the encryption crackers. Those who cracked the encryption may not have any further interaction with it once their findings get to the hands of the strategists. In like manner, those who crack game data and share their findings release their grip of the knowledge and may not have any knowledge of what ever becomes of it. For example, there's an untold number of Metroid modifications made with SnowBro's MetEdit, many (if not most) of which he has no knowledge of whatsoever. Once he made the editor, his participation in the creation of fan modifications ended. (This is excluding any personal modifications he may have made to the game with his editor) If a game cracker never makes any mods, does that mean he's not a hacker? Is it required to make a game mod to be considered a hacker? Most would disagree with both statements. Under these observations, it's apparent that it's not a matter of application that creates ROM hacking, but a matter of discovery. These thoughts support the idea that ROM hacking is limited to cracking game data and that game modding is a seperate activity altogether. The Question At Hand All of this contemplation boils down to the following thesis: Is ROM hacking limited to cracking game data or is ROM hacking both the cracking and application of game data? Is ROM hacking the cracking or the cracking/modding? BGNG's Stance I am very borderline when it comes to this concept, as both sides seem equally logical and I see no significant reason to exclude either of them. Nonetheless, the two ideas conflict each other, so saying "I agree with both" is not an option. I have been able to make but one single observation that puts me on one specific side. When a person cracks game data and makes an editor for the game, or if he documents what he's found and someone else uses the document to make an editor, the extent of application ends right there. There is no guarantee that the future users of the editor software will have any knowledge whatsoever of what goes on behind the scenes when they use it. It is required to know how the game works to make an editor, but it is not required to know how a game works to change the game with an editor. Either way, unless the users is also the creator, then the user is simply applying the work of another individual to get the job done. In essence, it is the work of the cracker that ultimately makes a game mod regardless of who wants it to be modded. But instead of giving direct credit to the game cracker, the modding is in the form of computer software following instructions of the one who mods the game. This idea manifests itself as a conceptual barrier seperating a game modder from the actual workings of modifying a game. It's like a glove, where the modder's hand technically never touches the game. For this reason, I am inclined to support the idea that ROM hacking only goes as far as cracking game data and that making mods of games falls under a different category and should not be considered ROM hacking. Invitation I present my ideas as respectfully as I can, so do not feel insulted if what I just said is not the same way you feel about the subject. If you have made observations that I have not, then I invite you to make note of them here in this thread stating your stance on the issue. If there is anything that I failed to consider, please make note of it, for I want to be able to speak of ROM hacking as accurately as possible. (edited by BGNG on 01-19-06 03:39 AM) |
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Guy Perfect Since: 11-18-05 Last post: 6314 days Last view: 6313 days |
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| Reviewing the posts in this thread, I have made a few observations...
First, I never once suggested that the community change its convention and start differentiating between "cracking" and "modding" when it comes to the usage of the word "to hack." As my first post says, I was simply inquiring about the real meat and potatoes of what it means "to hack" and whether or not it was truely descriptive of modding. I'm certainly not trying to say "Hey, I have an opinion! Let's do/not call modding 'hacking'!" Specific usage of terminology is of little consenquence to me. If words have useful functionality in a community, then by all means go for it. So long as it's not something blatantly problematic like calling green red or right wrong. All that matters is that there is a distinction in usage where we can "hack a game" or "make a hack," enabling us to discern the particular activity being described. I have also noticed that comments about attitude and elitism certainly appear to be relevant just by reading the posts in this thread. Why is there so much hostility? Is the definition of a word so important that it requires the most agressive of defensive remarks? Are people such that they either want modders to be called hackers for the sake of elitism, or for modders not to be called hackers for the same reason? Such things are predominantly selfish, and I see no need for it. If there's enough of an offense to pit members of a community against one another for something as petty as "You fiend! You have misused a word!" then my only response is that of pity. They say that those with an inclination to technology choose to work with machines because they have no people skills. If usage of a word is too much for someone to handle, then this forum is not the place for him to be. (edited by BGNG on 01-20-06 09:58 PM) |
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| Acmlm's Board - I3 Archive - - Posts by Guy Perfect |
