Recent posts

#91

Newcomer's Board / Re: Help with applying some pa...

Last post by Jorpho - September 27, 2023, 04:35:54 PM

You messed up your quote tags.

It seems, in the case of Castlevania 2, there are different roms needed, one for the main patch I want (with the map) and then other roms for other patches.

What do you mean? Each of https://www.romhacking.net/reviews/8025/ , https://www.romhacking.net/reviews/6874 , https://www.romhacking.net/reviews/5423/ , and https://www.romhacking.net/hacks/4135/ specify the same File SHA-1: D6B96FD98AE480C694A103FE9A5D7D84EEAFB6F7 , so they all need the same ROM.

But how can I apply the same patches to one rom? I'm confused...

You apply one patch to get a patched ROM, and then you apply another patch to the patched ROM. It doesn't get more complicated than that, if the patches are compatible with one another. (Of course, the patched ROM will have a different hash than it started with, but if the patches are indeed compatible, that shouldn't matter.)

#92

Newcomer's Board / Re: advice needed-my take on Z...

Last post by Jorpho - September 27, 2023, 04:31:17 PM

Google around and see what people have done already. I expect there's some documentation on Data Crystal.

like editing enemy properties as in the zelda2 randomizer.

If you're really stuck, you can make changes using the Randomizer and then use a hex editor with a file comparison to see what specific bytes the randomizer changes to edit enemy properties – and then make similar changes yourself.

#93

Personal Projects / JP->EN Kidou Senshi Gundam: M...

Last post by PTwr - September 27, 2023, 02:24:55 PM

Discord: https://discord.com/channels/266412086291070988/1156659500430929930
Github: https://github.com/PTwr/0079tl

Smashing big mecha by frantically waving wiimote around? What not to love.
Oh right, it JP only game

Translation is needed for text (loooooots), images (few), and voice over (loooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooots).

Images are standard Wii textures
Progress: 0%, just few unimportant UI elements

Voice over are standard Wii sound files, about half appears to be used in conjunction with text.
There appears to be no easy way of displaying text when playing cutscene voices, so I just made Dolphin fork that displays subtitles when file is played.
Progress: 1/6558
TODO: filter out music and sound effects
TODO: filter out sound files accompanied by text
Limitation: subtitles won't work on actual retro hardware. While voice files played during battle could be TL'ed through textboxes, I have not found a way to display them without blocking player movements until closed.

Text in split between binary xml (.xbf) resources, duplicated lua resource files, and binary game logic (.gev) files.
XML decoding and patching requires custom program, featuring global and nested dictionaries to handle duplicated entries. Most of text is in BlockText.xbf files.
LUA patching is just a matter of updating text files while paying attention to encoding, just gotta figure out how to deduplicate scripts from patch and/or generate LUA dynamically from dictionary.
GEV is binary format with game logic which displays embedded strings in textboxes (among other things), I got it reverse-engineered enough to freely modify embedded strings and insert logic block to display more textboxes if needed.

Text length issue:
Japanese being Japanese, most text is shorter than its EN translation, except when its uses borrowed terms in "engrish".
Some text positioning can be done with whitespace, some two-column lists can be just reordered into multiline string, StringGroup.xbf can move text left/right and change font size/colour.
However bunch of text position is controlled through 3D model bones mapped through LUA scripts. Repositioning is possible, but rather annoying.

Text TL progress:
Menus (mostly text): 100%
Mech/weapon/character names and stuff: 100%
Map names: 20%, might require literate creativity to fit some rather poetic names on screen
Prologues (scrolling wall of text + voice): a bit to just test if it works, voice matches text so no need for subtitles
Story chat: 1/42, one chat per story mission, voice matches text so no need for subtitles (not present in Ace missions)
Mission intel: 1/62, just few lines of text per mission. Requires some creativity to fit some texts.
Mission objectives: 1/62, just few lines of text per mission. Irritatingly spread between xbf (in menu) and lua (in game).

Road map:
(Done) Unpack and patch game .arc recursive archives (BrawlCrate doesn't work best with this particular game)
(Done) Unpack and patch game .xbf files
(Rewriting) Unpack and patch game .gev files
(Done) Translate shared UI, menu, dialogs, hints, mech details, and those kind of stuff
(Partially done) One-click program to apply translation to game
(Done) Dolphin subtitle system
(Cleanup required) Get my Dolphin changes merged into upstream
(In progress)Translate basic mission details, objectives, map names, .etc to make it playable in EN
(In progress)Translate chat
(In progress)Translate voice not accompanied with text
(Someday)Create IPS patch - currently working directly on game files because its easier


Sneak peak time!

Main Menu, translated button hints, submenus, description


Hangar view (story, versus, survival)


Mission objectives and random dialog window


And crown jewel... cutscene subtitles!

#94

Personal Projects / Re: Metroid: Zero Mission colo...

Last post by Brutapode89 - September 27, 2023, 01:11:45 PM

Oh, dear, I hadn't thought of that. Taking a quick look, it doesn't seem as if the two ROMs would be compatible with the patch, as I am working off of the US/Australian version.

Will be it possible only after to have finished the US version, please?

#95

Newcomer's Board / Re: Help with applying some pa...

Last post by bartolomey_wong - September 27, 2023, 01:03:11 PM

Did you notice the same tool is available at https://www.romhacking.net/patch/ ? Not that it makes much of a difference.

Yes, I know about this tool, though it seems it's the same one.

There is nothing different per se about a ROM that is patched that prevents another patch from being applied to it. However, two different patches might make changes to the same part of the ROM and in that case they will never work together without non-trivial modification.

Do the patches you are trying to apply work correctly if they are applied individually?

If the patches don't even work individually, another likely possibility is that you have the wrong ROM.  You can verify if you have the correct ROM by using https://www.romhacking.net/hash/ to see if your ROM has a hash that corresponds to whatever hash is likely provided in the documentation for the patches you are trying to use.
Why not just put the links in your post..?

Did you notice the same tool is available at https://www.romhacking.net/patch/ ? Not that it makes much of a difference.
There is nothing different per se about a ROM that is patched that prevents another patch from being applied to it. However, two different patches might make changes to the same part of the ROM and in that case they will never work together without non-trivial modification.

Do the patches you are trying to apply work correctly if they are applied individually?

If the patches don't even work individually, another likely possibility is that you have the wrong ROM.  You can verify if you have the correct ROM by using https://www.romhacking.net/hash/ to see if your ROM has a hash that corresponds to whatever hash is likely provided in the documentation for the patches you are trying to use.
Why not just put the links in your post..?

Thank you for your reply!

First, I've added the links to those patches in my original post. Thank you for suggestion!

Second, on the pages of those patches, it is said they're compatible with the ones I try to apply. For example, there's a few patches for Castlevania 2, but they are all compatible.

Third, I just checked the rom with the hash tool you've generously shared with me, and I see there's mismatching. How come.

But I thought I downloaded the correct rom. It seems, in the case of Castlevania 2, there are different roms needed, one for the main patch I want (with the map) and then other roms for other patches. But how can I apply the same patches to one rom? I'm confused...

#96

Newcomer's Board / NES decompiling question

Last post by Venutech - September 27, 2023, 12:24:14 PM

I've decompiled Transformers Mystery of Convoy for Famicom and would like to post it here but Im not familiar with the rules about that. I've posted the project to my GitHub, which includes the full decompiled game including character rom data.
Ultimately, I just want to post about completing the first step of my ongoing project to remake the game so it's actually playable. Decompiling was a great learning experience.

#97

News Submissions / Re: Translations: Ultima Under...

Last post by lastdual - September 27, 2023, 10:39:22 AM

This is really cool, but I'm finding myself in need of a guide for just navigating the basic controls. I did find this:

BASIC CONTROLS:
Move character - D-Pad
Cancel action/Jump - X Button
Select action / Character inventory - Circle Button
Hit - Circle or Triangle Button (hold) + D-Pad (in battle mode)
Look - L1 Button (hold) + D-Pad
Show pointer: - R1 Button (hold)
Run - L2 Button
Menu - Select Button
Change between normal & battle mode - Start Button

There are also combo controls while holding R1 for the pointer, but I'm still lost when it comes to, say, moving an item around in your inventory.

#98

Personal Projects / Re: Metroid: Zero Mission colo...

Last post by Piggy Chan! - September 27, 2023, 10:39:22 AM

are you going to fix Fusion's arm cannon weirdness as well? (that is: disappearing arm cannon for a couple frames when firing in one direction, lack of recoil when firing at a certain diagonal)

None of those fixes are on the dock, nor am I sure what causes them. It certainly has something to do with the fact that Samus's arm cannon (in most cases) is somewhat disconnected from her own sprite, with its own individual color palette.

Interestingly, a bug has popped up in the process of making this patch, causing this console unit to flicker during its 'orange' phase:



When you step on the switch and the console enters its 'green' phase, the issue does not occur. I am not sure how the bug occurs, and it does not occur in the original ROM.

#99

Newcomer's Board / Re: Help with applying some pa...

Last post by Jorpho - September 27, 2023, 09:29:07 AM

I have only a Macbook, so I'm applying patches via this online tool: https://www.marcrobledo.com/RomPatcher.js/

Did you notice the same tool is available at https://www.romhacking.net/patch/ ? Not that it makes much of a difference.

Cause I need to apply several patches to one rom, and perhaps that is not supported with this tool.

There is nothing different per se about a ROM that is patched that prevents another patch from being applied to it. However, two different patches might make changes to the same part of the ROM and in that case they will never work together without non-trivial modification.

Do the patches you are trying to apply work correctly if they are applied individually?

If the patches don't even work individually, another likely possibility is that you have the wrong ROM.  You can verify if you have the correct ROM by using https://www.romhacking.net/hash/ to see if your ROM has a hash that corresponds to whatever hash is likely provided in the documentation for the patches you are trying to use.

I would send you the links to the patches I have in mind.

Why not just put the links in your post..?

#100

Newcomer's Board / Help with applying some patche...

Last post by bartolomey_wong - September 27, 2023, 06:31:41 AM

Hey guys!

I've been trying to apply rom hacks to Castlevania, Zelda 1 & 2 and Contra games, but for some reason, only Castlevania 3 works for me.

I have only a Macbook, so I'm applying patches via this online tool: https://www.marcrobledo.com/RomPatcher.js/

Can someone help me with applying patches via some other, I think more reliable tool? Cause I need to apply several patches to one rom, and perhaps that is not supported with this tool.

If you are kind enough, here are the games and patches I would love to use:

Contra translation — https://www.romhacking.net/reviews/10510/

Castlevania 1

Improved controls: https://www.romhacking.net/hacks/3867/

And another rom for Castlevania 1: Holy relics:
https://www.romhacking.net/hacks/3759/
+
the same improved control for this game too (the patch is compatible as stated) — https://www.romhacking.net/hacks/3867/

Castlevania 2

English Re-translation (+Map): https://www.romhacking.net/reviews/8025/
This one should be applied the first. But it's better to compile the patch from the author's site: https://bisqwit.iki.fi/cv2fin/
From there, one should unselect the option for "[Usability, EXTENSION] Stairs features", which conflicted with NaOH's improved controls and led to game freezes.

Then should be applied anything below, it is compatible.

Improved controls:  https://www.romhacking.net/reviews/6874

'Double hearts' only from this pack: https://www.romhacking.net/reviews/5423/

Penalty reduction: https://www.romhacking.net/hacks/4135/


Zelda 1 — https://www.romhacking.net/hacks/5752/

Zelda 2 — https://www.romhacking.net/hacks/5440/

Crystalis:
Translation: https://www.romhacking.net/reviews/3855/
QOL: https://www.romhacking.net/reviews/9217/
Crystalis Audio Buzz Fix: https://www.romhacking.net/hacks/6589/

Battle of Olympus: https://www.romhacking.net/reviews/4318/#review



You are my only hope to play those classic games with a little quality of life changes so that I could finally beat them! 🤩❤️