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Personal Projects / DavePatcher (a NES or general romhacking tool)

« on: June 02, 2017, 02:10:01 am »

Just wanted to keep a thread for my patcher program.  I use it a lot myself, but maybe others will find it useful, it does a lot of things, mostly relevant to NES romhacking.  It's a command line program (Windows, though maybe someone can get it working on other platform from source) to patch NES files with features like applying game genie codes or ips patches, importing/exporting graphics (requires lua-gd), changing text and other handy stuff.  I included a sample script for Super Mario Bros. to make "SMB Chill":


Issues:
    * My code is probably not very readable, but it's there.  It also doesn't help that SRLUA needs it to be one big file.
    * When creating IPS patches, it doesn't support RLE so the patches might be a bit larger than usual.
    * There is very little error handling.  If you mess up the syntax it may give some completely unhelpful error messages.  This is one of the main things that makes me keep this in "beta" stage.

Download here:
https://github.com/SpiderDave/DavePatcher

If anyone finds this useful let me know

---- Below is the README file -----

DavePatcher v2017.06.02 beta - SpiderDave https://github.com/SpiderDave/DavePatcher
A custom patcher for use with NES romhacking or general use.


Some commands require Lua-GD https://sourceforge.net/projects/lua-gd/


Lines starting with // are comments.
   
    // This is a comment
   
You can also do a comment at the end of a line:
   
    put 1200 a963 // set lives to 99
   
When comments are stripped, it will remove up to one space before the //
automatically, so if you need whitespace in your command, add an extra
space before the // like so:
   
    text 3400 FOOBAR  // set name to "FOOBAR "
   
Lines starting with # are "annotations"; Annotations are comments that are
shown in the output when running the patcher.
   
    # This is an annotation
   
Lines starting with : are labels.  See also "goto" keyword.
   
    :myLabel
   
You can use %variable% for variables to make replacements in a line:
   
    var foobar = fox
    var baz = dog
    # the quick brown %foobar% jumps over the lazy %baz%.
   
Keywords are lowercase, usually followed by a space.  Some "keywords" consist
of multiple words.  Possible keywords:

    help
    commands
        Show this help.  May be useful in interactive mode.
       
    load <file>
        Loads <file> and refreshes the data.
   
    save <file>
        Save data to <file>.  If the file ends in ".ips" it will save the data
        as an ips patch.  If save isn't used in the patch it will automatically
        save at the end of the patch, unless in strict mode.
   
    file <file>
        Changes the file but does not refresh the data.
   
    outputfile <file>
        Sets the output file.  If not set, defaults to output.nes.
       
    get <address> <len>
        Display <len> bytes of data at <address>
    get hex <address> <len>
        (depreciated) same as get
   
    get asm <address> <len>
        Get <len> bytes of data at <address> and analyze using 6502 opcodes,
        display formatted asm data.
   
    print asm <data>
        Analyze hexidecimal data <data> using 6502 opcodes, display formatted
        asm data.
   
    put <address> <data>
        Set data at <address> to <data>.  <data> should be hexidecimal, and
        its length should be a multiple of 2.  You may include spaces in data
        for readability.
        Example:
            put a010 0001ff
    hex <address> <data>
        (depreciated) same as put
   
    fill <address> <count> <data>
        Fill the address at <address> with <data> repeated <count> times.
       
        Example:
            put a010 06 a900
           
        This is the same as:
            put a010 a900a900a900a900a900a900
   
    copy <address1> <address2> <length>
        Copies data from <address1> to <address2>.  The number of bytes is
        specified in hexidecimal by <length>.

        Example:
            copy a010 b010 0a
           
    copy hex <address1> <address2> <length>
        (depreciated) same as copy
       
    text <address> <text>
        Set data at <address> to <text>.  Use the textmap command to set a
        custom format for the text.  If no textmap is set, ASCII is assumed.
        Example:
            text a010 FOOBAR
           
    find text <text>
        Find text data.  Use the textmap command to set a custom format for
        the text.  If no textmap is set, ASCII is assumed.
        Example:
            find text FOOBAR
           
    find <data>
        Find data in hexidecimal.  The length of the data must be a multiple
        of 2.
        Example:
            find 00ff1012
           
    find hex <data>
        (depreciated) same as find
       
    textmap <characters> <map to>
        Map text characters to specific values.  These will be used in other
        commands like the "text" command.
        Example:
            textmap ABCD 30313233
           
    textmap space <map to>
        Use this format to map the space character.
        Example:
            textmap space 00
           
    skip
    ...
    end skip
        skip this section.  You may put text after skip and end.
        Example:
        skip -------------
        // unstable
        put 10000 55
        end skip ---------
   
    break
        Use this to end the patch early.  Handy if you want to add some
        testing stuff at the bottom.
       
    goto <label>
        Go to the label <label>.
        Example:
            goto foobar
            :foobar
       
    start <address>
        Set the starting address for commands
        Example:
            start 10200
            find a901
           
    offset <address>
        Set the offset to use.  All addresses used and shown will be offset by
        this amount.  This is useful when the file contains a header you'd like
        to skip.
        Example:
            offset 10
           
    ips <file>
        apply ips patch to the file
   
    makeips <file>
        create ips file named <file> from the current patch.  Note: RLE is not
        yet supported.
   
    palette file <file>
        set the available NES palette via file
        Example:
            palette file FCEUX.pal
   
    palette <data>
        set the current 4-color palette from a hexidecimal string.
        Example:
            palette 0f182737
   
    export <address> <nTiles> <file>
        export tile data to png file.
        Example:
            export 20010 100 tiles.png
   
    import <address> <nTiles> <file>
        import tile data from png using current palette as a reference.
        Example:
            import 20010 100 tiles.png
           
    start tilemap <name>
    ...
    end tilemap
        Define a tile map to be used with the export map command.
        valid commands within the block are:
       
        address = <address>
            Set the address for the tile map.
        <tileNum> <x> <y> [h]
            Tile map entry.  "h" in the fourth field is used to optionally flip
            the tile horizontally.  In the future, other flags like "v" for
            vertical flipping will be used here as well.
       
        Example:
            start tilemap batman
            address = 2c000
            81 1 0 h
            82 2 0 h
            90 0 1 h
            91 1 1 h
            92 2 1 h
            a0 0 2 h
            a1 1 2 h
            a2 2 2 h
            b0 0 3 h
            b1 1 3 h
            b2 2 3 h
            end tilemap

    export map <tilemap> <file>
        export tile data to png file using a tile map.
        Example:
            export map batman batman_sprite_test.png
   
    import map
        import tile data from png file using a tile map
        Example:
            import map batman batman_sprite_test.png
   
    gg <gg code> [anything]
        decode and apply a NES Game Genie code.  If there is a space after the
        code you may add whatever text you like, as a convenience.
        Example:
            gg SZNZVOVK        Infinite bombs
       
    refresh
        refreshes the data so that keywords like "find text" will use the new
        altered data.
   
    refresh auto
        automatically refresh the data after each change.
   
    refresh manual
        do not automatically refresh the data after each change.  Use "refresh"
        command manually.
       
    code
        Execute Lua code
        Example:
            code print("Hello World!")
       
    eval
        Evaluate Lua expression and print the result
        Examples:
            eval "Hello World!"
            eval 5+5*2^10
       
    verbose [on | off]
        Turn verbose mode on or off.  This prints more information when using
        various commands.  If verbose is used without a parameter, off is
        assumed.
       
    diff <file>
        Show differences between the current file and <file>
   
    repeat <n>
    ...
    end repeat
        Repeat the lines in the block <n> times.
   
    var <var name> = <string>
        A basic variable assignment.  Currently you can only assign a string
        value.  You may also do variable assignment without using "var" if
        not in strict mode.
   
    if <var>==<string>
    ...
    else
    ...
    end if
        A basic if, else, end if block.  "else" is optional, and it's very
        limited.  Can not be nested currently, only comparison with string
        is supported.
   
    include <file>
        include another patch file as if it were inserted at this line.
   
    strict [on | off]
        Turn strict mode on or off.  If strict is used without a parameter, on is
        assumed.  In strict mode:
        * "var" keyword is required for variable assignment.
        * break on all warnings.

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ROM Hacking Discussion / Join Lamross in Hell (SMB2 Hack)

« on: May 23, 2017, 05:06:09 pm »

I'm making a Super Mario Bros. 2 hack. This is still mostly the idea phase, but I've got some concepts down.  The look of the game will be a minimalist background with a macabre feel.  Play as Lamross, an ambitious minor demon.  Fight your way deeper into the underworld to increase your power.  I think I'd like his ultimate goal to be a surprise on the ending, but basically you accumulate power and status as a goal, with possible new abilities over time.

A few goals and possible ideas:
* Remove multiple players.
    -- Done (removed select screen).  The code for multiple players is still there, and made it so all characters are the same.  I can make these power suits or something.
* Remove or replace select screen.
    -- Done, but needs work to load the correct palette and tiles.
* Remove the basic gameplay of picking up roots and throwing them.
* Add a projectile attack, possibly a pitchfork or various weapons like Castlevania.
* Remove locked doors or change the way keys work.
    -- Made it so locked doors now spawn as unlocked doors instead.
* Remove charge jump.
    -- Done.
* Add new abilities, possibly: double jump, "rage" mode.
* Redesign levels
* Remove all music (possibly add new music later)
    -- Mostly done, a few left.
* Change the way you ride enemies, giving you more direct control, like with Yoshi.
    -- Here is something I made with Lua to work on the concept before putting it in the rom:
   
* Remove small character state.
    -- Done.
* Make maximum life carry over through all stages.
* Change phanto to a familiar that attacks for you.
* Create stage names or messages in place of the normal title card before each level.
    -- Replaced title card stuff and made full font available, but need to add code for it to change every level.
* Remove lives and continues, possibly start at start of stage if you die.
* Remove Sub-Space.
    -- It's easy to remove access to sub-space, just remove all the potions.  What I want is to remove it alltogether, and repurpose all the code and memory, or change it into something else.

WIP Title card (placeholder graphics):


I've created an ASM hack to require holding a specific item for floating, thinking of making an umbrella item to use it.