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05-06-24 04:06 PM |
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| Main - Posts by Renegade X135 |
| Renegade X135 |
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 Micro-Goomba Level: 9 Posts: 1/12 EXP: 3009 Next: 153 Since: 12-29-09 From: *random* Last post: 1936 days Last view: 1936 days |
Hey guys, I seem to have run into a little problem, and I was wondering if one of you could help me:
Last week, I managed to archive my Super Mario Advance 4's save file from my cartridge onto my computer. (all 128 KB of it!) [US v1.0] I downloaded the No$GBA setup, and (being the owner of an actual e-reader) downloaded an e-reader rom, the save file (.sv2) the GBA bios, etc etc etc. I got the dual screen mode to work, and I have been able to scan cards into my ROM (using my uploaded save file), and have been saving e-reader level after e-reader level. (I've been scanning the unreleased level with "English" names, circa August 2009 from Caitsith2) So here is my problem: I scanned Mushroom 29 onto my game (Bowser's Airship Pt 1) and played it. The moment I started playing, the entire level was messed up and I died 10 seconds later. I erased the level and scanned the SAME card (Mushroom 29) but with the obsolete Japanese characters. (US region however) That level worked fine. So, how do I fix this problem of mine? (A) Should I scan the working level, and then Hex Edit the name of the level, after I save it to the game? If so, HOW??? (B) Is there a way to edit the NAME of the level in the .raw file of the working/untranslated Mushroom 29 level? (C) Is there a variable I can edit in the glitched/translated version of the Mushroom 29 .raw? Help would be greatly appreciated!! Thank you!!! |
| Renegade X135 |
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Micro-Goomba Level: 9 Posts: 2/12 EXP: 3009 Next: 153 Since: 12-29-09 From: *random* Last post: 1936 days Last view: 1936 days |
@UpaLuppa:
Thank you so much for correcting it! MY goal is to eventually UPLOAD a save file that has all 37 (currently existing) e-reader levels in one file. (with Star 1-5 erased, and Mushroom 1-30, PR1 and PR2 all accessible) All the levels will have english names, work properly, and (of course) the file will have maxed out coins and score. Your uploading of that Mushroom 29.level will HELP ME achieve this future upload of mine, so thank you! One quick question however: How do I convert the .level file into a .raw (or .bin) file? I presume this would involve me having to use Solar Magic Advance? If so, what should I do? On an unrelated note, I intend on playing that custom level of yours soon when I get some free time! Judging from what I've read from you, you've been laboring away at this project intensely, and I want to be one of the first to honor your effort-driven works! 
EDIT: Also, the level SHOULD be titled as exactly: (without the quotation marks) "Bowser's Airship Pt 1" (this is because the second one [Mushroom 30] is entitled "Bowser's Airship Pt 2") But if the ability to edit the level name IS within Solar Magic Advance, then this shouldn't even be an issue at all. I'm just worried about converting it into either .raw or .bin, as previously stated. |
| Renegade X135 |
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Micro-Goomba Level: 9 Posts: 3/12 EXP: 3009 Next: 153 Since: 12-29-09 From: *random* Last post: 1936 days Last view: 1936 days |
Kiiro, PLEASE release a build of Solar Magic Advance that WILL convert .level to .raw (or .bin) and vice versa!!!
If you do so, it will be a BREAKTHROUGH in e-Level hacking!!! I will be eagerly/patiently awaiting this release. So GODSPEED on it's development!!! 
EDIT: I just learned how to use sma4savtool AND Solar Magic Advance! I can just automatically add levels (from the .level format) into my game, so that adds a breath of relief for me. So here is my question: HOW DO I CHANGE THE NAME OF A LEVEL??? I tried hex-editing levels' name data, and then adding them to my save file. But the results ended in the game crashing every time I tried loading the levels themselves. CAN SOMEONE HELP ME OUT HERE?!? (I already know that the name data starts at 0x40 for regular e-levels, and 0x180 for e-coin e-levels. WHAT ELSE should I know here???) EDIT 2: Disreguard that. It turns out that when EXPANDING or contracting the character size of a name (ei, XXXX instead of XXX) the Data headers (0x05 through 0x3F) ALSO have to be edited to whatever offsets the data level was originally positioned at. For example, if the first data header referenced data at 0x004F, then 0x05=4F and 0x06=00. And conversely, 0x4F would be what it's referencing (which in most cases is '40') so if that '40' gets moved up one or two bytes, (example, now 0x5F='40', instead of 4F), then just add +10 ALL the data references. (in other words, change 0x05=4F to 0x05=5F) I hope that made sense to anyone familiar with Hex Editing. All I'm trying to say is that if one is going to edit the Name of a e-Level, just make sure to also edit the Data Headers, so that they too work correctly. Otherwise your 'edited' e-Level WILL crash the game when selected!!! |
| Renegade X135 |
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Micro-Goomba Level: 9 Posts: 4/12 EXP: 3009 Next: 153 Since: 12-29-09 From: *random* Last post: 1936 days Last view: 1936 days |
It's 4:30 AM on New Year's Eve.
And I am EXTREMELY proud to say that my Super Mario Advance 4 project is now successfully COMPLETED!!! My goal was to upload a save file to my ACTUAL GBA SMA4 cartridge that contained both Switch data and e-Level data that wasn't previously released in America. Not only are the levels BETTER translated, working correctly, and containing all 37 in one file (with the five star levels nothing but record data), but I have triggered ALL the switches in all FOUR SMB3 files (with the exception of the Green Switch, which I personally don't like) I have SAVED all of the files and documents that helped me achieve this task, and I intend on uploading them here very soon. However, I feel as though some user-friendly documentation will be necessary, so as to save other people the hours upon hours of headache incurred when tweaking around with SMA4. To make matters worse, I'm going to be ENTIRELY busy both tomorrow AND Saturday. Therefore I will document AND upload ALL of my files either Sunday or Monday. (most likely Monday) I apologize DEEPLY for the wait, but I promise that Monday will hold some valuable keys in terms of SMA4 hacking progress. Until next time, I am signing out to some MUCH NEEDED sleep!!! @eddine67: YES, I used the sma4savtool to upload .level files INTO my super mario advance 4 .sav file! As mentioned, I WILL be uploading PROPER user-friendly documentation on HOW to use sma4savtool on Monday. (maybe Sunday) Unfortunately, the documentation will ONLY be in English (having seen your previous posts, I can say that I absolutely do NOT know any french) So if someone on the board would be willing to translate my document into French once I upload it, it would be for eddine's benefit here. |
| Renegade X135 |
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Micro-Goomba Level: 9 Posts: 5/12 EXP: 3009 Next: 153 Since: 12-29-09 From: *random* Last post: 1936 days Last view: 1936 days |
Hey guys! Sorry for the long-delayed wait!
I was in the process of transferring universities this past week, and to make matters worse, I was hit by a severe allergic reaction that left me near-paralyzed for a few days. But enough excuses. I have completed my documentation and finalized all uploads. I am here tonight to present to you all, my work, regarding the hacking of Super Mario Advance 4!!!! You may download ALL of my files here: Super Mario Advance 4-e Project Files v1.2.rar http://www.mediafire.com/?g0romgyhamjvznm So now, what exactly is inside this .zip file? Within it are eight folders. Allow me to overview each one of them, in order of their importance: world-e Levels This folder contains 37 of Nintendo's e-world Levels (excluding Mad Dash, boo!) all in the form of .level files. Each of these levels has been given NEW English titles, and have been each tested for bugs. (So they all work perfectly!) How does one get these levels into their save file? That is what the sma4savtool is for. Alternate Level names Since I edited the English titles to a FEW of the levels, I'm sure this might or might not piss off a few people. For this event, I have KEPT copies of ALL the levels with their original level names (as well as a few other alternates I picked up from this thread.) Therefore, if you do NOT like the new "Titles" to some of the levels, this folder contains .level files with their original titles, for whatever reason need be. sma4savtool This folder contains the version of 'sma4savtool' that I used to upload and tweak around with the e-Levels from my SMA4 save file. (which mind you, CAME from my actual cartridge!) This is version 0.03 of the application, and purplebridge001 is the original author of the program. (So kudos goes to him for making this wonderful thing!) It utilizes the DOS prompt, and proper documentation that explains how to use it is INCLUDED in this folder! No$GBA This folder contains the version of No$GBA that I used to work with my SMA4 save file, when it came to e-Reader link cable support. For some odd reason, the version of No$GBA that comes from it's homepage CRASHES whenever it attempts to load Super Mario Advance 4. I have included THIS VERSION of the Emulator for those of you who are having trouble getting No$GBA to work properly. (All credit for this emulator goes to the authors who originally wrote it!) VisualBoy Advance This folder contains the version of VisualBoy Advance that I used when tweaking around with my SMA4 save file. It is the latest version available (1.7.2, if I recall correctly) and runs the game VERY sufficiently. (Again, all credit for this emulator goes to the authors who originally wrote it!) XVI32 (Hex Editor) In this folder contains the Hex Editor I used to modify both my .sav files and .level files with. It is VERY user-friendly, and has a decent GUI. It is called XVI32, and it has come in handy for me many times in the past, and hopefully it will serve those of you who are unfamiliar with hex-editing just as proficiently. (Once again, all credit for this program goes to the authors who originally wrote it!) Save Converter This folder contains the save converter I used to edit No$GBA's saving preferences, from 'compressed' to 'uncompressed'. It's not very necessary, as I have instantiated an alternative method for switching the save preferences. But I have included this nifty tool here for anyone who feels like using it. (Credit for this application goes to the folks who originally wrote it.) GBA-Computer File Transferring And finally, a little something extra for those of you who are interested in transferring your save files from your computer to your GBA cartridge(s), and vice versa! Included in this folder is Rudolph's GBA Backup Tool for the Nintendo DS. So credit goes to him for writing that program as well. Additionally, within each of these folders is documentation that extensively describes each of the application's functions, as well as how to properly go about hex-editing the e-Levels, SMA4 save data, and so forth. To many of you, all of these files might seem archaic and repetitive. However, my goal in publishing these files is to OPEN UP the Super Mario Advance 4 e-Level hacking scene to a broader more user-friendly audience. The more people we can get to reverse-engineer this game, the sooner more progress will come in developing proficient hacking techniques for this game! *NOTE: THE e-READER AND SUPER MARIO ADVANCE 4 ROMS ARE NOT INCLUDED WITHIN THIS PACKAGE! DOWNLOAD THOSE TWO FILES YOURSELVES AT YOUR OWN DISCRETION!* And with that, enjoy the files, everyone!  |
| Renegade X135 |
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Micro-Goomba Level: 9 Posts: 6/12 EXP: 3009 Next: 153 Since: 12-29-09 From: *random* Last post: 1936 days Last view: 1936 days |
@UpaLuppa:
What do you mean? I don't have the Mad Dash level, nor is it included in that upload. "This folder contains 37 of Nintendo's e-world Levels (excluding Mad Dash, boo!) all in the form of .level files." excluding =/= including excluding = NOT including So sadly, the construction (or acquisition) of the Mad Dash level STILL remains as one of the greatest conquests YET to occur in SMA4 hacking history. Sorry for any misleading sentences.  |
| Renegade X135 |
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Micro-Goomba Level: 9 Posts: 7/12 EXP: 3009 Next: 153 Since: 12-29-09 From: *random* Last post: 1936 days Last view: 1936 days |
Hey everyone. Sorry I haven't posted on here in forever.
School, etc. Anyways, now that I'm done with school, I revisited my SMA4-e Project, and found out a minor translation flaw. The 19th Mushroom e-level is translated as "Pipe Maze", which also happens to be the SAME NAME as World 7 of the main game. BAD SEMANTICS... As such, I re-translated that level as "Pipe Labyrinth" and thus updated my upload files accordingly. Below is the NEW download link for v1.2: (I deleted the old one) http://www.mediafire.com/?g0romgyhamjvznm In addition to the updated .level file, I also updated my latest .sav file of Super Mario Advance 4, which contains COMPLETE data progress in ALL portions of the game.
(In other words: The .sav file has ALL 37 levels on it, EXCEPT of course, for the non-existent Mad Dash.) Anyways, I'm out. Enjoy the download. |
| Renegade X135 |
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Micro-Goomba Level: 9 Posts: 8/12 EXP: 3009 Next: 153 Since: 12-29-09 From: *random* Last post: 1936 days Last view: 1936 days |
I updated my most recent SMA4 .sav file to have everyone with the raccoon powerup from the start of the file. a very minor change, but nonetheless, version 1.2 of my project files for public download
http://www.mediafire.com/?g0romgyhamjvznm |
| Renegade X135 |
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Micro-Goomba Level: 9 Posts: 9/12 EXP: 3009 Next: 153 Since: 12-29-09 From: *random* Last post: 1936 days Last view: 1936 days |
Hey everyone. I haven't posted on here in around a year. I've been busy with school, as well as designing+programming my own independent video game platformer project.
Anyways, just wanted to remind people that they can download fully translated (and working) levels of the e-reader level cards. (the .level files, the editor for injecting/removing them, as well as a .sav file with the levels already on them.) The link is here: http://www.mediafire.com/?g0romgyhamjvznm Yeah, this project is pretty empty for the moment. But I encourage everyone whose started working on a level editor to continue their work! And as always, hunting down the .level data for the elusive "Mad Dash" level is always appreciated! |
| Renegade X135 |
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Micro-Goomba Level: 9 Posts: 10/12 EXP: 3009 Next: 153 Since: 12-29-09 From: *random* Last post: 1936 days Last view: 1936 days |
Hi everyone. I haven't posted on here in almost 3 years, wow.
Anyways, just wanted to let you know that I updated my SMA4 e-reader files. The current version is now v1.3: http://www.mediafire.com/?2ebt8rqyz30zf2r These files contain EVERYTHING one would need with regards to playing all the sma4 e-reader levels, translated into English. I re-arranged the documentation around to make it easier to navigate through the files. I also deleted the extra saves so that there is only 1 SMA4 sav file. It lacks the Classic World files. But to re-insert them, all one has to do is use sma4savtool. I plan on including the .level and .sav files of Mad Dash (version 1.2) in v1.4 of my files, which I have scheduled to work on sometime soon. College is very time consuming... For the time being, use my mediafire link for downloads. Enjoy |
| Renegade X135 |
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Micro-Goomba Level: 9 Posts: 11/12 EXP: 3009 Next: 153 Since: 12-29-09 From: *random* Last post: 1936 days Last view: 1936 days |
It took me a couple of months of research, programming, trial and error. But just recently, I have finished work on translating ALL of the unreleased Super Mario Advance 4 e-Reader cards into English as digital binary files for use in emulator programs such as No$GBA, which feature e-reader/link cable functionality.
Needless to say, the resulting SAV files can then be converted and loaded and then loaded into an actual GBA cartridge. Alternately, the binary data files can be converted into raw dot code images that a person can print out and use with an actual e-Reader. Now, some of you might be asking why this is even necessary? The Wii-U re-release of SMA4 already includes all of the e-Reader levels, and with officially translated titles. I did this for people that want to experience these levels/power-ups/demo-playthroughs to their fullest translation on the original ROM and/or cartridge of Super Mario Advance 4 - as Nintendo had originally planned for the American market. When SMA4 first came out in 2003, there were 105 e-Reader cards released in Japan (actually, 106, where one of them was a promo version of the Super Leaf card), but only 43 of them came to America, with the other 62 never released or translated. So, in order to accomplish this feat, what first I did was gather information on how Nintendo's binary data and header checksums worked for these files. (Most of this info came from CaithSith2's website on e-Reader hacking/development). I then started by using No-Intro's dumps of the Japanese SMA4 e-Reader cards, and using his dumps of the English SMA4 e-Reader cards as a cross-comparison at points. I also used the Checksum that Bangaio created a few months ago (https://gbatemp.net/threads/super-mario-advance-4-region-change-e-reader-cards.521634/) This program was ESSENTIAL in converting all of the JP binary e-Reader files for US usage. To ensure that their program worked, I first used it to convert the demo and power-up cards that WERE released in America with their officially released American counterparts. Every single binary file was a perfect match, with the exception of the first 10 item cards (Mushroom, Fire Flower, Super Leaf, etc.) - For whatever bizarre reason, their unique identifiers had 10 subtracted from them. (Example: JP Fire Flower was 12, while US Fire Flower was 2) Remember how I mentioned that Promo Super Leaf Card earlier? Well, the JP Super Leaf identifier was 13, the Promo JP Super Leaf identifier was 3, and the US Super Leaf identifier was also 3. At this point, I then ran the program to convert the demo and power-up cards that WEREN'T released in America. (No identifiers were changed along the way whatsoever.) The Level Cards, however, had another problem: their names. The Japanese titles showed up as garbage text on US SMA4 games. For this, I decided to use the OFFICIAL translated level titles from the 2016 Wii-U virtual console re-release of SMA4, which has ALL 38 e-Reader levels pre-loaded into its ROM file. So, upon extracting the level data from the level cards, changing the bytes in the titles, and then re-compressing and re-encoding the e-Reader files, they were complete. There was one level in particular that took quite some extra work: No Time to Dawdle (also known in Japanese as B-Dash de Kakenukero!) This particular card was not included with the No-Intro dumps. I managed to acquire it by finding an SMA4 save file that contained the level saved into it. From here, I extracted the level out of the save and into it's own binary file. Using Bangaio's program, I was able to re-create the e-Reader BIN file of the long lost B-Dash de Kakenukero! card! All of the header/binary data matches up with Nintendo's syntax on e-Reader cards 100% perfectly. So first off, here is a download of the long-lost holy grail of Super Mario Advance 4: The Japanese "Mad Dash" level e-Reader file, 07-A052: https://bit.ly/2SUigeA (To ensure that this level file was genuine, I made sure to cross-compare it to the fan re-creation of the level from 2013. The binary data was completely different between both files, so I knew that this binary data was the real deal.) The next obstacle was figuring out which "official" title to give this level when converting it to English. In the Wii-U version of the game, this particular level shows up as "No Time to Dawdle" when entering world-e for the first time in a play through. However, when re-playing the level on a subsequent try, the title changes to "No Time To Dawdle!" with an exclamation mark added. This bug occurs because the title in the save record data not being the same as the title in the embedded level data. However, it gets even deeper than that!! Within the Wii-U version of the SMA4 ROM, the bytes representing the name within the record data include a junk byte (1B) at the end of the string. This may have very well been a typo on behalf of the translation team, as the bytes representing the name within the level data include the exclamation mark byte at this same position. At this point, I decided to make an executive decision on what to name the level, and decided to go forward with "No Time to Dawdle" with the invisible junk byte 1B at the end of the string. I feel that this title fits the level most appropriately, as all 37 other level titles do not have an exclamation mark or question mark at the end of them. This also matches the title as it is found in the Wii-U re-release's ROM file. Other than changing the e-reader level titles from Japanese to English, no other changes were made to any of the data in any of the binary files! Before finishing up, I decided to take the opportunity to compare these converted BIN card files with CaitSith2's own converted BIN card files. There were some MAJOR revelations discovered!! For starters, his conversion of the power-up "5 P-Wings" was corrupt and did not work properly. He improperly converted the identifier for the "100-up Mushroom". But most importantly, his colored switch cards were missing vital data. As such, the official versions of the unreleased switch cards include the following: Yellow Switch - Luigi's Gravity cut in half - only usable in the SMA4 main game Green Switch - Timer twice as slow for first 50 counts - only usable in the SMA4 e-World Cyan Switch - P-meter only requires half the running - only usable in the SMA4 e-World CaitSith2's version of these cards had them usable in both the main game and the e-World, which were causing game-crashing bugs in SMA4 when more than 5 switches were active in game. What this means is that the main game is intended to have 5 switches maximum enabled: Blue, Orange, Blue Green, Yellow and Red. And that the e-World is intended to have its own 5 switches maximum enabled: Blue, Orange, Green, Cyan and Red. So now comes the BIGGEST discovery of all: the Red Switch! This switch works in both the main game and e-World. But CaitSith2's version of the card enables two effects: Harder versions of enemies and doubled score awards. Well... It turns out that the official version of the Red Switch actually has FOUR EFFECTS! Harder versions of enemies spawn, doubled score awards, non-lethal collisions turn Mario/Luigi into their small form (even if they had a Raccoon suit or Fire Flower), and bosses have twice their usual health. All of the converted binary card files that I have created include all of these official effects, and can be compared to their Japanese counterparts for verification. I have nothing but respect for CaitSith2, as he is the one who helped paved the way for these e-Reader conversions to become a reality. However, his conversions of the e-reader cards were incorrect, whereas these ones are correct. So without any further ado, here is the download link to all of the unreleased Super Mario Advance 4 e-Reader Cards Translated: https://bit.ly/2TXRmma And for anyone who wants the source files of the programs/scripts I used, along with helpful text files explaining all of the conversion data in more detail, here is a download link to that: https://bit.ly/2Fw1kYB Before I end, I just wanted to give credit to Bangaio, LuigiBlood, purplebridge001, CaitSith2 - without their help and programs, none of this would have been possible. I hope that these files help people experience ALL of the e-Reader functionality from Super Mario Advance 4 to the full extent, as it was meant to be enjoyed 15 years ago in 2003. |
| Renegade X135 |
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Micro-Goomba Level: 9 Posts: 12/12 EXP: 3009 Next: 153 Since: 12-29-09 From: *random* Last post: 1936 days Last view: 1936 days |
Hi everyone. It's been well over 5 years since I've posted in this thread. (Since early 2013, wow)
A LOT has changed since then. For starters, I've graduated college with a degree in Computer Science - which I have aptly applied to this hacking project. Anyways, to give a bit of a timeline right now 2014 - Official Mad Dash level is upload online via an SMA4 save file. 2016 - Nintendo re-releases SMA4 to the Wii-U virtual console. Except this version of the game is a modification, having it's ROM size doubled, and all of the e-Reader levels embedded into it, along with official english titles! So I recently decided to return to my long lost project of translating the unreleased SMA4 e-Reader cards for english usage. It took me a couple of months of research, programming, trial and error. But alas, I have finished work on translating ALL of the unreleased Super Mario Advance 4 e-Reader cards into English as digital binary files for use in emulator programs such as No$GBA, which feature e-reader/link cable functionality. Needless to say, the resulting SAV files can then be converted and loaded and then loaded into an actual GBA cartridge. Alternately, the binary data files can be converted into raw dot code images that a person can print out and use with an actual e-Reader. Now, some of you might be asking why this is even necessary? The Wii-U re-release of SMA4 already includes all of the e-Reader levels, and with officially translated titles. I did this for people that want to experience these levels/power-ups/demo-playthroughs to their fullest translation on the original ROM and/or cartridge of Super Mario Advance 4 - as Nintendo had originally planned for the American market. When SMA4 first came out in 2003, there were 105 e-Reader cards released in Japan (actually, 106, where one of them was a promo version of the Super Leaf card), but only 43 of them came to America, with the other 62 never released or translated. So, in order to accomplish this feat, what first I did was gather information on how Nintendo's binary data and header checksums worked for these files. (Most of this info came from CaithSith2's website on e-Reader hacking/development). I then started by using No-Intro's dumps of the Japanese SMA4 e-Reader cards, and using his dumps of the English SMA4 e-Reader cards as a cross-comparison at points. I also used the Checksum that Bangaio created a few months ago (https://gbatemp.net/threads/super-mario-advance-4-region-change-e-reader-cards.521634/) This program was ESSENTIAL in converting all of the JP binary e-Reader files for US usage. To ensure that their program worked, I first used it to convert the demo and power-up cards that WERE released in America with their officially released American counterparts. Every single binary file was a perfect match, with the exception of the first 10 item cards (Mushroom, Fire Flower, Super Leaf, etc.) - For whatever bizarre reason, their unique identifiers had 10 subtracted from them. (Example: JP Fire Flower was 12, while US Fire Flower was 2) Remember how I mentioned that Promo Super Leaf Card earlier? Well, the JP Super Leaf identifier was 13, the Promo JP Super Leaf identifier was 3, and the US Super Leaf identifier was also 3. At this point, I then ran the program to convert the demo and power-up cards that WEREN'T released in America. (No identifiers were changed along the way whatsoever.) The Level Cards, however, had another problem: their names. The Japanese titles showed up as garbage text on US SMA4 games. For this, I decided to use the OFFICIAL translated level titles from the 2016 Wii-U virtual console re-release of SMA4, which has ALL 38 e-Reader levels pre-loaded into its ROM file. So, upon extracting the level data from the level cards, changing the bytes in the titles, and then re-compressing and re-encoding the e-Reader files, they were complete. There was one level in particular that took quite some extra work: No Time to Dawdle (also known in Japanese as B-Dash de Kakenukero!) This particular card was not included with the No-Intro dumps. I managed to acquire it by finding an SMA4 save file that contained the level saved into it. From here, I extracted the level out of the save and into it's own binary file. Using Bangaio's program, I was able to re-create the e-Reader BIN file of the long lost B-Dash de Kakenukero! card! All of the header/binary data matches up with Nintendo's syntax on e-Reader cards 100% perfectly. So first off, here is a download of the long-lost holy grail of Super Mario Advance 4: The Japanese "Mad Dash" level e-Reader file, 07-A052: https://bit.ly/2SUigeA (To ensure that this level file was genuine, I made sure to cross-compare it to the fan re-creation of the level from 2013. The binary data was completely different between both files, so I knew that this binary data was the real deal.) The next obstacle was figuring out which "official" title to give this level when converting it to English. In the Wii-U version of the game, this particular level shows up as "No Time to Dawdle" when entering world-e for the first time in a play through. However, when re-playing the level on a subsequent try, the title changes to "No Time To Dawdle!" with an exclamation mark added. This bug occurs because the title in the save record data not being the same as the title in the embedded level data. However, it gets even deeper than that!! Within the Wii-U version of the SMA4 ROM, the bytes representing the name within the record data include a junk byte (1B) at the end of the string. This may have very well been a typo on behalf of the translation team, as the bytes representing the name within the level data include the exclamation mark byte at this same position. At this point, I decided to make an executive decision on what to name the level, and decided to go forward with "No Time to Dawdle" with the invisible junk byte 1B at the end of the string. I feel that this title fits the level most appropriately, as all 37 other level titles do not have an exclamation mark or question mark at the end of them. This also matches the title as it is found in the Wii-U re-release's ROM file. Other than changing the e-reader level titles from Japanese to English, no other changes were made to any of the data in any of the binary files! Before finishing up, I decided to take the opportunity to compare these converted BIN card files with CaitSith2's own converted BIN card files. There were some MAJOR revelations discovered!! For starters, his conversion of the power-up "5 P-Wings" was corrupt and did not work properly. He improperly converted the identifier for the "100-up Mushroom". But most importantly, his colored switch cards were missing vital data. As such, the official versions of the unreleased switch cards include the following: Yellow Switch - Luigi's Gravity cut in half - only usable in the SMA4 main game Green Switch - Timer twice as slow for first 50 counts - only usable in the SMA4 e-World Cyan Switch - P-meter only requires half the running - only usable in the SMA4 e-World CaitSith2's version of these cards had them usable in both the main game and the e-World, which were causing game-crashing bugs in SMA4 when more than 5 switches were active in game. What this means is that the main game is intended to have 5 switches maximum enabled: Blue, Orange, Blue Green, Yellow and Red. And that the e-World is intended to have its own 5 switches maximum enabled: Blue, Orange, Green, Cyan and Red. So now comes the BIGGEST discovery of all: the Red Switch! This switch works in both the main game and e-World. But CaitSith2's version of the card enables two effects: Harder versions of enemies and doubled score awards. Well... It turns out that the official version of the Red Switch actually has FOUR EFFECTS! Harder versions of enemies spawn, doubled score awards, non-lethal collisions turn Mario/Luigi into their small form (even if they had a Raccoon suit or Fire Flower), and bosses have twice their usual health. All of the converted binary card files that I have created include all of these official effects, and can be compared to their Japanese counterparts for verification. I have nothing but respect for CaitSith2, as he is the one who helped paved the way for these e-Reader conversions to become a reality. However, his conversions of the e-reader cards were incorrect, whereas these ones are correct. So without any further ado, here is the download link to all of the unreleased Super Mario Advance 4 e-Reader Cards Translated: https://bit.ly/2TXRmma And for anyone who wants the source files of the programs/scripts I used, along with helpful text files explaining all of the conversion data in more detail, here is a download link to that: https://bit.ly/2Fw1kYB Before I end, I just wanted to give credit to Bangaio, LuigiBlood, purplebridge001, CaitSith2 - without their help and programs, none of this would have been possible. I hope that these files help people experience ALL of the e-Reader functionality from Super Mario Advance 4 to the full extent, as it was meant to be enjoyed 15 years ago in 2003. |
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