Author Topic: Super Stalin Bros. (WIP) -- NEED HACKING PARTNER! (Read 7539 times)

MasterGwonam · « **on:** December 28, 2015, 10:03:22 am »

EDIT: I don't get how to work on most of this stuff so I would love to have someone be my partner in developing this hack. Get at me ASAP. I would love to get this done as best as possible. I don't want this to be a mere palette swap with a few tile graphic edits. You'll get half the credits and I will even draw for this game its own instruction book with artwork, including whatever character you want representing you on the last page alongside me.

I am making a funny ROM hack that I've been wanting to do since I was a kid. I need help getting started because I can't find anything substantial since Google sucks ass.
1.) How can I change the flashing colors on the ? Blocks? It flashes between 07, 17 and 27 and I want the palette numbers to 18, 28, 38 but I don't know which hex codes to modify.
2.) How can I assign the flashing colors on the top half of the Fire Flower to the bottom half?
3.) How can I edit the title screen? Is there any guide to tile reassignment and placements? I want to change the title screen from SUPER MARIO BROS. to SUPER STALIN with an 8-bit render of an HD Stalin head like in the old school propaganda posters.
4.) How can I extend the amount of letters for the names up top? I want an extra letter so I can write JOSEPH instead of the Georgian variant IOSEB (can probably be answered with the answer for question 3 I assume, but if not fire away).
5.) How can I change the palette assignment for an object on screen? (i.e. Assign the same palette swap for the title screen used by the Super Mushroom instead of the flooring)

I hope this isn't a bother, but if you have the time to help me I would really appreciate it. Thank you so much. Take care and have a good day.

Dr. Floppy · « **Reply #1 on:** December 28, 2015, 02:40:15 pm »

(1) Looks like there's a six-byte array at $09D3-09D8.

(2) & (5) That can be done by back-tracing the Attribute data for the sprites in question. It involves setting a conditional write breakpoint for a RAMslot in the $202,x field (where x = multiple of 4), the condition being based on a known Tile ID# value being present at the prior $201,x slot.

So, we know that the bottom-half of the fire flower is represented by Tile #D9. Thus, we set a write-breakpoint to $2B2, on the condition that $2B1 == #D9, and wait for the snap. Then, it's just a matter of backtracking a few steps to see where the game acquires the Attribute data (palette assignment, H/V flip status, etc.) for that sprite assignment.

(3) The OP's put the title screen layout in the CHR-ROM because it was the 1980's and brominated crack was a thing. There was a recent set of posts on this very subject within the past month; anyway, it involves editing strings of BG tile assignments under the typical light compression format of (2-byte starting address) (1 control byte) (Tile ID#'s.....). If you can't find that thread, I can assist.

Edit: Here it is! http://www.romhacking.net/forum/index.php/topic,20581.0.html

(4) Similar to (3), but might be stored elsewhere. Also, you might have to redirect the text pointer if there's no free byte after the original data.

SunGodPortal · « **Reply #2 on:** December 28, 2015, 06:49:06 pm »

Awesome. I love Commie-themed hacks and Stalin is one of my (anti-)heroes.

Dr. Floppy · « **Reply #3 on:** December 29, 2015, 08:26:16 pm »

Quote from: SunGodPortal on December 28, 2015, 06:49:06 pm

Awesome. I love Commie-themed hacks and Stalin is one of my (anti-)heroes.

Did you enjoy Krazy Komrades, by the Soviet Compu-Leisure Bureau?

FAST6191 · « **Reply #4 on:** December 29, 2015, 08:54:42 pm »

Quote from: SunGodPortal on December 28, 2015, 06:49:06 pm

Awesome. I love Commie-themed hacks and Stalin is one of my (anti-)heroes.

Great, now we are going to have to deal with the anti communist nutjobs as well as the anti nazi nutjobs.

MasterGwonam · « **Reply #5 on:** January 21, 2016, 03:39:17 am »

Quote from: Dr. Floppy on December 28, 2015, 02:40:15 pm

(1) Looks like there's a six-byte array at $09D3-09D8.

(2) & (5) That can be done by back-tracing the Attribute data for the sprites in question. It involves setting a conditional write breakpoint for a RAMslot in the $202,x field (where x = multiple of 4), the condition being based on a known Tile ID# value being present at the prior $201,x slot.

So, we know that the bottom-half of the fire flower is represented by Tile #D9. Thus, we set a write-breakpoint to $2B2, on the condition that $2B1 == #D9, and wait for the snap. Then, it's just a matter of backtracking a few steps to see where the game acquires the Attribute data (palette assignment, H/V flip status, etc.) for that sprite assignment.

(3) The OP's put the title screen layout in the CHR-ROM because it was the 1980's and brominated crack was a thing. There was a recent set of posts on this very subject within the past month; anyway, it involves editing strings of BG tile assignments under the typical light compression format of (2-byte starting address) (1 control byte) (Tile ID#'s.....). If you can't find that thread, I can assist.

Edit: Here it is! http://www.romhacking.net/forum/index.php/topic,20581.0.html

(4) Similar to (3), but might be stored elsewhere. Also, you might have to redirect the text pointer if there's no free byte after the original data.

I only understood #1. Is there a way you could do this step by step with me by example? On Skype perhaps? Hell I'd even involve you in the hack itself and give you half the credit for it (if you have the time for it of course). That would be awesome. Hope my request is not bothersome to you in anyway.

Guyver · « **Reply #6 on:** January 21, 2016, 04:32:57 am »

Princess = Eva Braun or Nadezhda Alliluyeva?

MasterGwonam · « **Reply #7 on:** January 21, 2016, 05:08:51 am »

Nope... KARL MARX!

dougeff · « **Reply #8 on:** January 21, 2016, 09:14:09 am »

Learn 6502 ASM. Hack the disassembly. Reassemble. That would fix all but the title screen...which stores its data in the end of the graphics (the CHR ROM), that will have to be carefully hex edited. It has a format of ...PPU ADDRESS, # of bytes to transfer, data bytes. (Its actually slightly more complicated). Or, there's a few tools which can edit the title screen.

MasterGwonam · « **Reply #9 on:** January 21, 2016, 10:14:22 am »

What programs could I download for that?

dougeff · « **Reply #10 on:** January 21, 2016, 12:22:08 pm »

Title Editor - http://www.romhacking.net/utilities/491/

Disassembly - http://www.romhacking.net/documents/344/

Recompiles with with asm6 if you add a header and append the graphics to the end (.incbin).

Asm6 - http://www.romhacking.net/utilities/674/

Guyver · « **Reply #11 on:** January 21, 2016, 09:32:14 pm »

What name of the second player?

MasterGwonam · « **Reply #12 on:** January 21, 2016, 10:42:46 pm »

Ordzhonikidze

I'd prefer the first name to be Stalin if you're capable of making that room.
Thanks a lot chap!

January 21, 2016, 10:43:29 pm - (Auto Merged - Double Posts are not allowed before 7 days.)

Quote from: dougeff on January 21, 2016, 12:22:08 pm

Title Editor - http://www.romhacking.net/utilities/491/

Disassembly - http://www.romhacking.net/documents/344/

Recompiles with with asm6 if you add a header and append the graphics to the end (.incbin).

Asm6 - http://www.romhacking.net/utilities/674/

Is there an English version to that tile editor?

Also I remember there was a hacked version of SMB which was unedited but it had an extra page for extra tiles to work with. Anyone know where it is? Only having 2 pages kinda sucks.

Guyver · « **Reply #13 on:** January 22, 2016, 03:23:08 am »

No...

I wanted to ask not about surname, but about player 2...

Player 1 - Mario (Joseph)
Player 2 - Luigi (???)

SunGodPortal · « **Reply #14 on:** January 22, 2016, 03:29:36 am »

Quote

Player 1 - Mario (Joseph)
Player 2 - Luigi (???)

That's a difficult question to answer. Everyone was a potential enemy in Stalin's mind. The obvious answers would be Lenin or Trotsky, but he had both of them killed. He also didn't seem to be very fond of Mao.

MasterGwonam · « **Reply #15 on:** January 22, 2016, 03:54:10 am »

Quote from: Guyver on January 22, 2016, 03:23:08 am

No... I wanted to ask not about surname, but about player 2...

Player 1 - Mario (Joseph)
Player 2 - Luigi (???)

Just make it Sergo. Thank you.

January 22, 2016, 03:55:25 am - (Auto Merged - Double Posts are not allowed before 7 days.)

Also this tile editor is garbage. It won't let me place certain tiles in certain places and if I do it wont let me save. That stupid text keeps popping up every time I try to design the title screen to what I want it to be. Anyone know of a better program or how to fix this?

EDIT: I FIXED IT. Ran out of space. Nevermind...

January 22, 2016, 04:18:13 am - (Auto Merged - Double Posts are not allowed before 7 days.)

Quote from: SunGodPortal on January 22, 2016, 03:29:36 am

That's a difficult question to answer. Everyone was a potential enemy in Stalin's mind. The obvious answers would be Lenin or Trotsky, but he had both of them killed. He also didn't seem to be very fond of Mao.

Sergo Orzhonikidze, because he is the Luigi of the two Georgians. Stalin fucked over Sergo much like how Mario fucks over Luigi (only Stalin did a lot worse).

SunGodPortal · « **Reply #16 on:** January 22, 2016, 05:41:53 pm »

Quote

Sergo Orzhonikidze, because he is the Luigi of the two Georgians. Stalin fucked over Sergo much like how Mario fucks over Luigi (only Stalin did a lot worse).

Awesome. Nice to see I'm not the only person interested in this sort of thing.

MasterGwonam · « **Reply #17 on:** January 22, 2016, 06:46:45 pm »

ITSA ME STALIN

IMMA GONNA PURGE!

SunGodPortal · « **Reply #18 on:** January 22, 2016, 06:52:29 pm »

Quote

ITSA ME STALIN

IMMA GONNA PURGE!

I bet Stalin had times when he would drop a pencil or something and someone would get it for him being polite and then he would think "What's this guy up to?". His paranoia was monumental.

MasterGwonam · « **Reply #19 on:** January 22, 2016, 10:21:41 pm »

Quote from: SunGodPortal on January 22, 2016, 06:52:29 pm

I bet Stalin had times when he would drop a pencil or something and someone would get it for him being polite and then he would think "What's this guy up to?". His paranoia was monumental.

He hated getting his ass kissed. He was actually a pretty humble guy in private. He wore the same soft Caucasian boots his whole life until his death in 1953. Never liked fancy things. Sometimes he would offer rides for people who were stuck on bus stops. He would read the newspaper and everywhere he looked he would be getting praised and it would piss him off. At the same time he knew that it was the only way he could maintain power and rule his people without ever getting questioned. You can blame his paranoia on the Tsarist secret police who use to play games with the revolutionaries, trying to get them to turn on one another. Somebody who wants to survive unconditionally will assume everyone is a potential enemy and keep friendships at bay for ones own security. What can I say, he was a weird bullied half cripple. Naturally, a social outcast is a target by people, so Stalin had his paranoia founded by society before it was honed and sharpened by the Marxist underground that marked him in his later years. Unlike what we are told, like all people, he was not all evil. He was in many ways a good person, but he was heavily corrupted by his fanatic belief in a Marxist utopia and his dreams of achieving it (which had an Islamic fervor to it). He had a messiah complex because of his machine like memory and sharp street smarts, which in his mind placed him above others. Naturally he would be a dick to inferior people trying to tell him what's what, even if they were right. He is the perfect example of a victim becoming the victimizer.