10 replies to this topic

[El Grillo]

Hello everyone,

When it comes to inserting new content (currently maps and events), tutorials prompt me to use a hex editor to expand the ROM by inserting lots of 00 blocks at the end, saving new maps/event scripts/other data to that blank space, and then re-pointing the Events Reference Table accordingly. While it's not explicitly stated, I'm interpreting this to mean that much of the base ROM's data remains, but the game ignores it because it's been pointed elsewhere.

From a strictly theoretical perspective, would there be anything wrong with me subsequently deleting this unreferenced data so as to keep the ROM size small? If it would mess up all of the pointers, could I at least use it for other purposes? For example, if I wanted to insert new maps and new items, could I expand the ROM, save the map data to the new space, and then rewrite the old maps' space with my item data?

From a more practical perspective, how do you all like to keep track of how you've allocated space in the hex editor? So far I'm keeping a simple Excel spreadsheet with the addresses and what they are, but it's yet another window to juggle while modding. Anyone willing to share from their experiences?


Thanks in advance,
El Grillo

P.S. After this, I should be able to start providing some screenshots/demos. I just don't want to fall into any bad data management/file structure habits

[SmashedFish]

Hey El Grillo,

While you could theoretically do that, many people don't bother because you would need a LOT of content to fill a fully expanded rom and then need more room for data. On the other hand, I'm pretty sure that if nothing pointed to it, that data could be used for anything you wanted without breaking the game. Someone can correct me on this if I'm wrong, though.

As for me, I like to mark off my insertions by typing memorable titles in HxD like so. You can then find them with Control-F, as I demonstrated. Just be sure to not write anything over the space you reserved for making titles.

Hope this helps,
SmashedFish

[El Grillo]

Thanks, that was very helpful. I think I'm getting the hang of this, though I made a really funny mistake earlier. I tried loading a unit of every class to check some text edits, but I didn't think it would matter if they all had the same (generic Citizen) name. Boy was I wrong. I ended up spawning a Kishuna with 4 Brave Swords and a Light Brand that ran away into untraversable terrain, among other silly things!

[SmashedFish]

Haha, that's odd indeed! Messing with stuff like that is a good way to get a bunch of nonsensical things like that, and can sometimes be pretty entertaining. Do you have any more similar stories?

[El Grillo]

I learned not to put slow and fast-moving units in a unit group together if those units are moving towards distant locations (the screen hangs for a few seconds while the camera tries to keep them both in view before refreshing properly). Beyond that, I actually haven't run into any more conceptual problems yet, though I'm keeping my prologue quite straightforward to minimize the chance of catastrophic failure. Would you mind if I posted it for feedback, knowing that it's incomplete and certainly full of room for improvement?

[SmashedFish]

By all means, go ahead! I'd be happy to give feedback.

[El Grillo]

Thanks so much for offering your time. Please be gentle.

Google Drive

P.S. In case of in-game difficulties, talk to Arsenios before he flees.

EDIT: Link updated to better reflect work in progress.

[Fire Blazer]

Kinda just skimming through this but

QUOTE

From a strictly theoretical perspective, would there be anything wrong with me subsequently deleting this unreferenced data so as to keep the ROM size small? If it would mess up all of the pointers, could I at least use it for other purposes? For example, if I wanted to insert new maps and new items, could I expand the ROM, save the map data to the new space, and then rewrite the old maps' space with my item data? From a more practical perspective, how do you all like to keep track of how you've allocated space in the hex editor? So far I'm keeping a simple Excel spreadsheet with the addresses and what they are, but it's yet another window to juggle while modding. Anyone willing to share from their experiences?

You actually bring up a pretty good point here.

The thing with deleting data is that it will shift all of the data past it. You can certainly overwrite unused data, but you have to be very careful with what you overwrite: it's very easy to accidentally overwrite data that IS being used or something of the sort. I've certainly repointed data and then used the resulting free space from moving it, but you need to keep track of everything for it to work out without any issues etc., especially if you take for granted that something is/isn't used (don't just assume it isn't used just because you don't know what it does or it seems empty/useless!).

As far as handling offsets goes, I personally just organized them in text files keeping note of which text files had which relevant things (e.g. event/map offsets, music offsets, etc.), but it DID get a bit cluttered at times. I usually had all the information I needed, but it did get sort of annoying to keep track of things, here and there--not terribly annoying but it's just one of the things that comes with the territory of hacking--data management is a drag and isn't done for you. Hacking has some perks, but it also has a lot of drawbacks, like this. :\

I don't have much time to go playtesting patches but do let us know if you have more questions, I'll try to be around more so I can help.

[SmashedFish]

Just from the prologue, I have to say I really liked it so far. The plot seems fascinating, and the writing is definitely good. My one issue is with the fact that if Peter rescues Gerrard on turn 1, Gerrard will become unplayable and seemingly AI-controlled for the rest of the prologue, teleporting to a square near the bottom-left of the map. All of the enemy soldiers save for one went after Gerrard, and the one who didn't humorously took out Abram before getting ORKO'd by Sevastian, who didn't attempt to attack at all until he was attacked himself. Since the glitch seems to stem from Gerrard being rescued by Peter, I'd recommend taking Peter out of the prologue, or moving Gerrard so far ahead of Peter (or vice versa) that a turn one rescue isn't possible.

[El Grillo]

Thanks again for the feedback, and I'm happy to hear that you found my writing acceptable. English isn't my first language, so this is both good practice and good fun.

Thanks for the detailed bug description. That was my fault, really - I had noticed earlier that there were problems with Peter rescuing Gerrard later in the map, which is why I had him disappear on turn 2. I just hadn't thought of what would happen if that occurred on turn 1. In addition to your suggestions, I'm also considering removing the mounted bonus to CON for rescue checks and giving Gerrard and Peter the same CON, or even removing the rescue mechanic entirely in favor of something new (pending, of course, on whether or not I can implement my vision).

I can fix that easily enough, and provided that no one else reports any unintended interactions, I'll begin working on the next chapter.

[Fire Blazer]

Your writing is pretty good indeed, I couldn't tell it was a second-language or anything. I've met lots of people who said they spoke it as a second language and were worried etc. about their writing and most of the time they're great at it, I don't know how when it's such a difficult and annoying language, haha. (This coming from a guy who ONLY speaks English fluently XD)

Sounds like you've got the rescue issue worked out (at least to some extent), I've had similar issues where I had to play around with the CON or something similar... it's definitely workable without any ASM hacks or anything, though.

Good luck on the next chapter!