Might and Magic: Book One NEC PC-Engine CD Translation

Hi!

I Begin Might and Magic: Book One PC-E translation and I discover lots things.
First time I try reverse enginering font and text system, and look like success. In a last few day I can hack the fonts from 12x12 to 8x12, but kanji font isn't on CD, is in the system card. I need well modded syscard3.pce with good looking 8x12 ASCII chars font.
Anyone have them? (I made one, but it's not look too pretty, I think)

And text string looks well mixed with code, not the easy modify strings lenght. PC-E  8k memory address space is to small, and not easy modify like a SNES segment addressing. Memory banks relocation is looks too difficulty to me, and looks more hard with CD system. Is someone can help, please inform me.

Here is some pics from early state:







PS: I don't know image why don't work? Here is the links!

http://ticokh.atw.hu/1.png


http://ticokh.atw.hu/2.png


http://ticokh.atw.hu/3.png

How i said here is the in progress pack of translation:

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=E6SKIFF5

This areas translated: B1, C1-3, D1, E1, Cave North Barrier, Dusk, Erliquin and Cave, Sorigal and Cave, in progress Portsmith.

All translated text is in the torrent in .jce file format, can use with JWPce (JWPce is a freeware japanese word processor). I use these format because easy to rip texts from the game to the ShiftJIS coded file.

This is awesome! Keep at it!

Nice!  Always nice to see more pc engine translations!

I try solve a text space problem and I hope succeed!

I had a idea: if glued in a first byte from shift-jis coding I can doubled the 8x12 text length in original place. I need more hack the syscard.pce and I hope 255 ( minus some controll bytes) chars enough the english text.

http://ticokh.atw.hu/7.png
Hmm, maybe work... If I change the input TBL...

http://ticokh.atw.hu/5.png
looks better...

http://ticokh.atw.hu/6.png

I missed something on the new TBL or syscard hack but if I correct them, maybe the 8k ram not problem anymore.
And need increase the 20 chars line length to 30 chars.

If you need more help on this, you can try looking at:

magicengine.com
pcenginefx.com
http://pcedev.blockos.org/index.php?sid=24a7730418fca48fa5900a3301ef89e1

Hope that helps in some way...

Hi!

I works a lot on this translation in a past days. Found a new problem: When a 8x8 text string is 14+ char long a system put automatic line drop. Some monsters and items names in original game is 14 chars long. The string loader  put line drop after names in some menus, and this doubled the line drop in 14 chars long names.
Like this:
 http://ticokh.atw.hu/11.png

I cut one char from every 14 chars long names, and it looks like this:
 http://ticokh.atw.hu/12.png

If I found the routine which put the automatic line drop and I can expand whith 1 char (to 15 chars long) I can chance the names back.

If your trying to look for a routine like that, search in a trace log for a loop that outputs characters to the screen via a write port. The code will probably read the item data from a buffer(when item data gets loaded from the program rom, sometimes it gets written to a buffer). Most likely, indexed addressing will be used and the loop counter will be incremented by one and used as the index bit for the instruction that loads the byte. If the item length is 14 look for a compare and branch instruction that terminates the loop at 14.

Thanks!

I found one, which is works, but is sad this solution ruin the menu window frame. Annoying a bit, but I don't have better idea this time. Anyone have?

Look:
http://ticokh.atw.hu/13.png

Are you using Mednafen for debugging? If not you should, it's excellent.

Games sometimes write the block of text to RAM first where it's formatted and then just transfer a whole block to VRAM at once. Usually all you have to do is set a breakpoint on the address of the first letter being written to RAM, then follow the loop. One of the registers will be the counter (usually), so when finishes and returns you can see where it's being loaded from.

Hopefully it's as simple as changing an $0E to an $0F-- I'm stoked about your translation. I tried playing the game once and it was pretty sick.

Yes I'm use the mednafen, this is the great app for this. Some months ago I try the begin translate this game, and I try the use the ootake for debuging. Ootake is great PC-E emulator but not too usabel for debuging. I almost give up... and some weeks ago I found Mednafen... At now, the full translation to dependent on the free time which I can spending for this.

 

Ooh, this looks spiffy.  I played through the Apple and PC versions back in the day, so I'll be all over this one probably.

One of these days I keep meaning to give the NES port a shot for fun, but I invariably get frustrated with the slowness of the combat in it (not to mention the balance being weird compared to the computer versions)...

Haven't played this game in any form, but I am glad to see someone gave some love the PC-Engine CD  .
I will most likely play this when it gets released.
Also, thank god for mednafen XD.

I will play this RELIGIOUSLY when released.

I play all PC Engine/TurboGrafx translations to the ultimate end.

After obtaining the NES version of this, I was a bit curious to see what else was out there.  This looks like a really spiffy version of the game.

Hm-mm

I found one hardest thing  this project. If I want correct english battle text, with right word order, I need swap two words (someone "on" someone action -> someone action "on" someone), but buffer loaded in serial. I found two subroutine which loads the words. I swap it. first looks like works,  but if monster die in this turn, the name is a next monster in the list. Gash! Help anybody???