 |
|
Main
| FAQ
| Uploader
| IRC chat
| Radio
| Memberlist
| Active users
| Latest posts
| Calendar
| Stats
| Online users
| Search
| |||
| Views: 88,499,961 |
Main
| FAQ
| Uploader
| IRC chat
| Radio
| Memberlist
| Active users
| Latest posts
| Calendar
| Stats
| Online users
| Search
|
04-29-24 08:02 AM |
|
| Guest: Register | Login | |||
| Main - Posts by 14159 |
| 14159 |
| ||
 Goomba Level: 12 Posts: 1/21 EXP: 7059 Next: 862 Since: 08-05-09 Last post: 4425 days Last view: 4124 days |
Ok, huge message below. I'm glad to see there is finally a revival in SMA4 hacking! I used to lurk around the rom hacking boards, manly for this game, and feel exactly as the thread creator does about the untapped potential in this game.
I used to go as captain Qball, but now I registered as 14159 to match my youtube. Those are my videos, adn they are done purely by hex editing. I am enrolled in computer science in the fall, and hoping that will help me get enough knowledge to develop an editor for SMA4. In the mean time, I will share as much knowledge as I can. When I first began trying to find things for this game, I was told that "DJ Bouche" had worked a lot on this and had developed some workings for the e-levels, such as how to encode and level format. He seems to have disappeared from the scene, and I asked him on a message board (as well as through a blog I found searching the web) if he could share any info, but never heard back. He seemed willing in the message board thread, but never replied. I know a guy named sludge had an enemy list (I will include a more complete one below), and I believe he is the one that created the SMA4 map editor, which was designed to have level support in it, but was never finished. I have a copy on my computer, and can email to anyone interested. It allows you to adjust sprites, tiles, and pointers for the world map. Lastly there was a list of addresses provided years ago on acmlm by someone called purplebridge001 contains all the IDs for the level addresses. There is a Youtube user (SMAHacker) that has done some palette editing, and other work, but he doesn't speak english very well, so I never really got a whole lot of information from him. He seemed willing to share information, but I haven't had a whole lot of time in the last 6-8 months for much. To my knowledge, this is all that has existed of SMA4 hacking aside from this thread, and a guy named caitsith2 who made the japanese dot codes work on american ereaders (not hacking per se, but involved with the headers of the dot codes). Partially relevant if you would ever want to design levels on the computer, then print out a dot code for it and scan it in. Ok, now onto the knowledge. I apologize, I don't really upload things, so I'm just going to put it all in this thread and hope that's ok. First here is a summary document I started putting together for all teh requests on Youtube. I emailed some of this to a couple people about a year ago when they had requested it. (Notes edited into this file for thread readability) |
| 14159 |
| ||
|
Goomba Level: 12 Posts: 2/21 EXP: 7059 Next: 862 Since: 08-05-09 Last post: 4425 days Last view: 4124 days |
I don't believe that editor can actually edit the levels, only worldmaps. Unless I don't know how to operate it or don't have the right ROM.
Treeki, to answer your question, I would vote to use the second method, which would leave the original game levels unused. Perhaps later down the road something else can be mapped to fill in that spot in the rom? This isn't based on anything technical though, just from what I would see as being easier and more open for editing. |
| 14159 |
| ||
|
Goomba Level: 12 Posts: 3/21 EXP: 7059 Next: 862 Since: 08-05-09 Last post: 4425 days Last view: 4124 days |
So are e-reader levels in a similar format to the SMB3 levels? I saw the videos of an edited/new level, so I'm guessing is similar. Does any documentation exist on e-level format?
As for the editor, I'd be willing to try to throw something together in a couple months, right now I'm far too rusty with programming in general and have no knowledge of how to make an editor. I agree about removing Mario Bros, from the very start I thought it was a waste of space. Though it might have some nice things to implement in the engine? |
| 14159 |
| ||
|
Goomba Level: 12 Posts: 4/21 EXP: 7059 Next: 862 Since: 08-05-09 Last post: 4425 days Last view: 4124 days |
Interesting, it seems to be a subset of enemies for the classic levels. Must be in order to give a xx offset to have the enemies match their original positions. I wonder, is it similar to any SMB1 enemy data? perhaps they just ported over enemies from SMAS or something.
In regards to caitsith2's site with the unreleased levels with english names. I just want to mention that the names are in no way official, just names I had come up with way back when. If someone is able to translate the japanese names, perhaps they should use those? For accessing the e-switches, I think we should leave it to be very flexible for the hacker. I can see ideas where someone would want only certain switches active, and not let the player change them during the game, or to have points on the map to disable/enable, or even other events in game to switch them on or off. This is all looking very exciting, hopefully this weekend I can sit down and see if I can manage to piece together an e-level. I see Treeki hasn't posted here in a while, I'm curious about the custom level format he was considering. To quote from above: e-Level data (Able to use the e-Level format): - figure out e-Level data - to my understanding this has been done (I haven't check any of it out, but people seem to be able to make changes) - crack e-Level compression - done - create custom e-coins - scan in custom e-Level trough e-Reader -done? It seems it can be done electronically, but I don't know if anyone has attempted to print/scan it yet - insert e-Level into save without e-Reader - done basic enhancements (use e-Level as standard SMB3 levels): - save e-Level to rom instead save to save space - access e-Level like a normal level on the worldmap instead of level select. - have them same possibilitties to use locked doors, airships, coinships, white mushroom houses, etc as normal levels. As a basic enhancement, I would also propose the use of the E-level splash screen for each level (showing the type and Ace coins) for all levels. If the e-level is used as the standard, I don't see this being an issue. As I said before, I have extremely limited programming experience, but am willing to attempt something in a few months, but if someone else who knows what they are doing has a chance, by all means go ahead. Right now I think we need to focus our efforts. Should we be looking at how to adjust the ROM to use e-level format for all levels, or look at how to make custom e-levels which functino as, well, e-levels? |
| 14159 |
| ||
|
Goomba Level: 12 Posts: 5/21 EXP: 7059 Next: 862 Since: 08-05-09 Last post: 4425 days Last view: 4124 days |
Ok, I've spent all night sifting through my e-reader folders and files, and reading this thread all all the goodies linked to, and I'm confused.
I have the compressor and the decompressor files (not purplebridge's yet, the compressor from earlier in the thread). I confused as to which file format these need. Kiiro, perhaps you can share some insight since you seem to have been able to modify/create a new level. I have the e-levels in .raw format. I think I used to have them in .bin but can't find them if I ever did. I also have caitsith2's uncompressed levels, in a .level format The decompressor comes with .ecl (compressed) and .ecr (uncompressed). The compressor comes with an empty level in .bin (compressed). Using all this, I want to try to take a level (in .raw?) and decompress it, modify using a hex editor, and recompress so that it can be scanned in No$GBA. Which format does the decompressor, decompress? I assume ecl into ecr, but can those formats be used in other programs? I'm guessing the compressor generates .bin files, but what files should it be taking? EDIT: Using Purplebridge's save tool, I managed to put in a level from .ecr (just a modified classic 1-1). I changed the name and ID. Rather than being star 1 I made it mushroom 1. My point is that I had two mushroom one levels in the save file, both completely playable. I kinda thought the point of the ids were to give each level a unique indicator. Maybe I missed something in editing the file, or maybe it's a side effect of the save tool, but I found it interesting. |
| 14159 |
| ||
|
Goomba Level: 12 Posts: 6/21 EXP: 7059 Next: 862 Since: 08-05-09 Last post: 4425 days Last view: 4124 days |
Afraid I don't have anything exciting to contribute at this time. I've been fooling around modifying the uncompressed levels and scanning them in. After painstakingly recreating the first half of SMB 2-3 (which is relatively simple for enemies/objects), the level would either show an empty black screen where mario fell to his death or just crashed the emulator. I imagine it's something to do with the objects but I can't figure it out.
The game acknowledges my level name and id changes, but won't work when the level actually begins. I wanted to familiarize myself more with the e-level format and see what other potential it has to offer, but so far it's going slower than I hoped. |
| 14159 |
| ||
|
Goomba Level: 12 Posts: 7/21 EXP: 7059 Next: 862 Since: 08-05-09 Last post: 4425 days Last view: 4124 days |
Well, there was Treeki's custom method, other than that, I believe the next step would be to figure out how to get the ROM to load ROM levels like e-levels.
It was decided that the e-level format is better to work with but is somewhat separate from the main SMB3 engine. Sounds like perhaps do some tracing in an emulator to find the level loading routines for both the SMB3 part and the e-level part? Either find a way to get the main game to load an e-level, or get the w-orld levels to be loaded from the ROM. |
| 14159 |
| ||
|
Goomba Level: 12 Posts: 8/21 EXP: 7059 Next: 862 Since: 08-05-09 Last post: 4425 days Last view: 4124 days |
Yeah, I understand that Treeki's method would involve a custom loader and negate what I said about loading e-levels from the ROM. But I, for one, have no idea how to do what Treeki stated. Unless he comes back or someone else can do what he said, that plan is kinda on hold.
What I had suggested would be an alternate to that method, for the possible case where Treeki doesn't come back with a new format/object map. |
| 14159 |
| ||
|
Goomba Level: 12 Posts: 9/21 EXP: 7059 Next: 862 Since: 08-05-09 Last post: 4425 days Last view: 4124 days |
Nice work! I'm excited for the level editor/creator. I've been wanting to try to make one too, but with classes and work I don't really find time.
I might still try once things slow down, but it'll probably be only for my own experience than anything that's decent enough to release to the public. And in regards to reuben, I've been intentionally avoiding it so as to try to keep myself motivated for SMA4, but today at work I had a great idea I might want to test reuben for.... |
| 14159 |
| ||
|
Goomba Level: 12 Posts: 10/21 EXP: 7059 Next: 862 Since: 08-05-09 Last post: 4425 days Last view: 4124 days |
Wow! This is all very exciting, great work Uppa and Kiiro!
This looks far better than I imagined, and I'm very excited to try it out sometime soon and give some feedback. If there is anything you need help with in regards to rom/sprite information let me know, and maybe I can try to help. This is great work! Perhaps in the actual ROM hacking gets developed, and the e-level format adopted, Solar Magic could be used as the template for that as well. Posted by eddine67 To be honest, that's the way it's gone since 2003 with this game, if you want more than 33 levels, you have to have multiple save files. Not such a big deal since the idea is for people to create individual levels. If people would rather make a big 30 level hack all at once, e-cards probably aren't the best way for that. As I understand it, the level number/symbol (ie Musroom 3) doesn't actually identify the level, using the save editor, I had two levels labeled as Star 1 on the file at the same time. While I'm sure there would be some way to expand the .sav, that would create complications for those trying to play on a flashcard, and would probably require some rom edits to make the game read the new area for more levels. |
| 14159 |
| ||
|
Goomba Level: 12 Posts: 11/21 EXP: 7059 Next: 862 Since: 08-05-09 Last post: 4425 days Last view: 4124 days |
I would like to see e-reader support first. a SMA4 ROM editor that uses the e-level format/sprites would be worth it though. |
| 14159 |
| ||
|
Goomba Level: 12 Posts: 12/21 EXP: 7059 Next: 862 Since: 08-05-09 Last post: 4425 days Last view: 4124 days |
Ok, Which discoveries are you referring to? With a now completed sprite list (is it completed?) isn't most of the format figured out? or is it about the compression/decompression.
Sorry, it's been a while since I've been around, but I'm still interested in this project, and with classes ending next week, I'll hopefully have some time. |
| 14159 |
| ||
|
Goomba Level: 12 Posts: 13/21 EXP: 7059 Next: 862 Since: 08-05-09 Last post: 4425 days Last view: 4124 days |
Hi all, glad to see this is still alive and kicking!
I'm here to announce that I am also working on an e-level editor/maker. I haven't been able to bring myself to tedious testing to work on the sprite list, and was bored at work. I've been working on it for about 2 weeks. Nothing to show yet, but so far it reads in the files (though not very well - I haven't even begun to interpret the object data), and allows editing and adding/removing objects/sprites/pointers (but doesn't save). I'm just working on reading in 5/6 byte sprites and hope to use it to help test out the rest of the sprite list. Regarding the sprite list, is there a compiled one somewhere? The google docs one only has the first 16. Sorry if I missed it but where is Upa's sprite list? So far I'm using my outdated copy cross referenced with one posted a long time ago in this thread. For level settings, that is the thing I plan to work on next in my editor, and will hopefully be able to report back any findings I have playing around with the values. Similar to objects, I would like to work on sorting a lot of those out. Right now my program just lists the number it is, which is not very useful to anyone. And excellent job on the documents Kiiro, they are very well done and quite handy! |
| 14159 |
| ||
|
Goomba Level: 12 Posts: 14/21 EXP: 7059 Next: 862 Since: 08-05-09 Last post: 4425 days Last view: 4124 days |
Second page? That'll never do.
I worked on SMA4 a bit this week, unfortunately I'm not sure when I'll get another chance, not anytime in the near future at least. First of all, here is a picture of my editor, named Roy (after the koopaling) in action. It's still terribly fragile and crashes a lot, but it can successfully read and save elevels, and can modify objects and sprites. Still working on reading in and modifying level settings, and ecoin data. 
I tried to investigate some sprites but it didn't go so well. Using the graphics settings of Classic 1-1 I went through the unknwon spirtes in bank 0, expecting some of them to work more than in the actual ROM levels. That didn't happen, in fact some sprites even did less than they did in the main game levels. So I wasn't able to find out anything new yet. I am working on mapping out the objects for the sky graphics set as well, that is going pretty well. Does anyone known how many banks are actually used for objects? I thought it was mainly 0 and 4, but either my program is reading them wrong, or some come from bank 5 or 6 (which doesn't make sense). |
| 14159 |
| ||
|
Goomba Level: 12 Posts: 15/21 EXP: 7059 Next: 862 Since: 08-05-09 Last post: 4425 days Last view: 4124 days |
Sadly It does seem as though interest in SMA4 hacking has diminished. Though to be honest I had just started work on a new version of my e-level editor/maker hoping to release a testing version sometime this summer.
I've been doing testing with it, but have a lot to sort through before a release. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VkU1TefH1s0 |
| 14159 |
| ||
|
Goomba Level: 12 Posts: 16/21 EXP: 7059 Next: 862 Since: 08-05-09 Last post: 4425 days Last view: 4124 days |
Posted by H4ck3r Well editors take lots of work and coding. You'll have to select a language that is capable of everything you need it to be. If you are at the 'hello world' stage, I would recommend learning how to do file input/output next, and learn Object Oriented Programming. Encapsulation works nicely on levels made up of objects. On top of that you need to actually be able to manipulate the file for the game, so you should know how to work with bytes in your given language, and understand hexadecimal and offsets. If you are specifically interested in SMA4, you're lucky as a lot of the information for level format has been discovered and documented, which means you don't have to figure it out for yourself and you can verify your programming since you can know what to expect. Of course to bring it all together you will need to know how to code a user interface of sorts. Command Line works alright for a lot of tools, but not so well for an entire editor. Sort sort of windowed or graphical system will need to be designed and implemented to work with the data manipulation and file input/output. This is the part that is taking me so long, and probably the hardest. In other news, i'm still progressing on the e-level creator/editor. I have a list of 25 tasks of varying difficulty and length still to do before I want to release it. I'm getting in the bad habit of just coding functionality without designing first, and it's come to haunt me right now for the block train path editing. Right now it works for deleting, creating and editing objects and sprites (though most objects haven't been identified or cataloged). It also does the same for location pointers between areas. It theoretically handles the removal and addition of more areas into a level, but I'm having issues with the level/area settings so I can't say that it is complete yet. I'm currently working on block train editing, and autoscroll controlling is next. Other things to take care of include undo/redo ability, ecoin/ace coin support, and user support in the way of descriptors for various objects and sprites. I'm not doing a graphical point and click interface yet (that will be after this release), but I'm hoping to at least have a grid of text characters to try to help the user visualize the level without having to constantly test. |
| 14159 |
| ||
|
Goomba Level: 12 Posts: 17/21 EXP: 7059 Next: 862 Since: 08-05-09 Last post: 4425 days Last view: 4124 days |
I can't say It's something I would use at any point in the foreseeable future, but I would never discourage anyone from hacking or programming, so I say do it.
Even if you don't want to make the editor yourself, if you can get someone to share technical info about the game I think you should and post it somewhere on the net for others. |
| 14159 |
| ||
|
Goomba Level: 12 Posts: 18/21 EXP: 7059 Next: 862 Since: 08-05-09 Last post: 4425 days Last view: 4124 days |
Don't let age stop you, it's about commitment, both with time and dedication. I'm pretty sure I'm older than most here and I've seen some people do incredible things.
The editor is going alright, as I said all the basic functionality is done. Now it's all about the interface. I'm hoping to do a beta release this summer (probably August). |
| 14159 |
| ||
|
Goomba Level: 12 Posts: 19/21 EXP: 7059 Next: 862 Since: 08-05-09 Last post: 4425 days Last view: 4124 days |
Ignoring the language issue (I'm stuck with just English and Google Translate), I do feel this could have stayed in the SMA4 thread. That being said, it is 30 some pages which could be intimidating for someone who is just beginning. However, there is a lot of information in those pages.
Kawa pretty much described the most common issue, but if you are serious, you should go through that thread for info. For starters check out this link http://acmlm.kafuka.org:81/uploader/get.php?id=1939, in particular the level data part. Bah, can't get the https working on the link, add an 's' between "http" and "://" to access the page. |
| 14159 |
| ||
|
Goomba Level: 12 Posts: 20/21 EXP: 7059 Next: 862 Since: 08-05-09 Last post: 4425 days Last view: 4124 days |
I agree with some of the sentiments here that it has been taking a long time for progress to be made. Unfortunately, the editor is not as high on my priority list as I would like it to be. The good news is so far my semester is looking to be less intense than expected, so I'm hoping to be able to release a beta version sometime in the next few months.
I know I said the same thing over the summer, and that clearly didn't happen. But right now rather than building the editor up to where I would like it to be for a public release, I am going through my list and cutting certain features and determining which are vital for a working test product. As for where it all currently sits, All the basic functionality is there. Roy lets you add, remove and change sprites and objects, regardless of sizes. It just might not be as easy as some would like. It also supports autoscroll and block path editing, and support for multiple areas, including music, graphics, and backgrounds of each. It also allows the editing of names, icons and numbers for levels. So far it cannot create new levels, only editing existing ones. The biggest area where it is coming up short is with the objects. There are several banks for each graphic set, and a good majority of these objects are unknown. If I do manage to release a version this year, my hope would be for users to test out the objects and report their findings for all. 
This is the current look of Roy. Gone is the visual display for now (too many headaches), and now is a probably too confusing layout of lists and buttons. Descriptions of each red numbered area are below: 1: The current item editor. For both objects and sprites, this is where you change the location and values for the selected item. You can also remove or clone the item. The text tip would ideally explain the extra bits for such objects and sprites, but that hasn't been done yet. 2:Addition menu. You can select a sprite or object from the appropriate banks and add it into the level. 3:Existing item lists. This is where you select the sprite or object you want to edit from the list of all items in the area. Split between objects and sprites. The sort buttons aren't implemented yet but would be used for arranging the list for ideal placement before saving. 4: Location Pointer editor. Used for changing the pointers between areas. This includes the pipes, doors, etc that transition you from area to area. 5: Block Path/Autoscroll editors. Block paths are working, autoscroll, not so much. They let you create/delete/edit the paths for the current area you are editing. 6: The multipurpose window. Shown is the Area settings tab, but also allows control of level start conditions, time limit, background. The eCoin tab so far displays the data values for the eCoin graphics if present. Eventually this would become an eCoin editor to craw your own eCoin for your level. The layout tab was designed to be a text display of the level area (like an ascii image but color coded). This has not been started yet, and would require the most work and as such would not be included in any releases in the near future. 7:Level Settings Menu. Controls details of the level aside from the actual level itself, such as name, number, icon, and shows Ace and eCoins. 8:Area buttons. Allows you to switch between areas and delete or add as appropriate (max of 4 areas per level). Then above are mostly empty or useless tools and menus which will be filled in later. So, what features do all of you, the potential users, think would be necessary for a usable release? I'm not sure how much I'll be able to complete over the next few months, but a somewhat working editor available is better than a non-existent one or one I keep to myself. I'm intrigued by Kiiro's project as well, and hope to see the full power of Solar Core once it is ready. I'm sure it will put what I'm working on to shame. And good luck H4ck3r with your editor, is it for e-levels or the in-game SMA4 levels? |
| Main - Posts by 14159 |
© 2005-2023 Acmlm, blackhole89, Xkeeper et al. |
|
MySQL - queries: 128, rows: 160/160, time: 0.325 seconds. |