Basic Questions and Answers Thread

Discussion in 'Discussion & Q&A' started by Malevolence, Jul 7, 2009.

  1. GalliumGrant

    GalliumGrant Void. Member

    Joined:
    May 11, 2010
    Messages:
    384
    To AnimeMaster:


    My S1.BUILT rom is 512kb.


    Your probably right.


    Also, i'll try working my ASM file without s1.comb.asm.


    Note: I'm working with QJimbo's Guide.This should show which ASM file i'm working with.


    -SonED2


    -SonED2 Projects_Quickman


    -Sonic_1_(Split_and_Text_By_Hivebrain)


    -Sonic the Hedgehog (W) (REV00) [!].bin


    To Hanoch:


    After i'm done saving LZ's edits, I go to Build.bat without closing SonED2, compile, and save SonED2 again.


    These edits don't show when I play S1.BUILT on Gens. Crap.


    At least I can look at my art on SonED. <_<


    EDIT: @ OrdosAlpha


    Okay, fine. I didn't know.


    If you guys say i'm being babysat and you don't like it, thats fine.


    Quite well the reason why I was afraid of asking in the first place.


    Guess I should've warned you. My mistake. :mellow:


    If you guys think I should do more research on ASM, just say so.
     
    Last edited by a moderator: May 18, 2010
  2. c1owd

    c1owd Previously 'CarrascoZX0' Member

    Joined:
    Dec 13, 2008
    Messages:
    364
    Do more ASM research. <_<
     
  3. Irixion

    Irixion Well-Known Member Member

    Joined:
    Aug 11, 2007
    Messages:
    670
    Location:
    Ontario, Canada
    Disassembly is like taking something apart.


    YOU CUT THE CAKE. -- split.bat -- to cut the cake, or in this case s1 into pieces.


    Edit it.


    Put it back together. -- built.bat -- to take the pieces and put them back together.

    Uhh, you save with SonED 2, and THEN put it back together, not the other way around. Make sure you get no save errors in SonED's error console. Also make sure there are no errors while building.
     
    Last edited by a moderator: May 19, 2010
  4. Jerphunter

    Jerphunter Newcomer Member

    Joined:
    May 19, 2010
    Messages:
    2
    Location:
    Miami,Florida
    I'm new to starting hacks here and everything seems to be going fine. I'm however stuck on one thing, I would like to know the most efficient way to add sprites from the newer sonic games into my hack (which is no more than a simple pallet/layout/music/moves hack) I'm attempting this hack at honing my skills to do greater things. Getting this out of the way as I stated earlier I'm am looking for an efficient way to add sprites. I read and preformed chimpo's tutorial over at sonic retro but I am having a little bit of trouble adding some other sonic 3 sprites. Can anybody recommend me any programs/paint editors to rip animations off of sprite sheets,is it even a valid way to do sprites? I'm in the dark here.... I use SonMapEd for sprites. I can link to the sprite sheet if needed.


    Lol first post....


    EDIT: double wording lol
     
    Last edited by a moderator: May 20, 2010
  5. MarkeyJester

    MarkeyJester ♡ ! Member

    Joined:
    Jun 27, 2009
    Messages:
    2,867
    EDIT: Quoting for new page.


    If you get stuck, come to this lovely thread here first by the genius SOTI, which I shouldn't have doubted =P


    Here are a few useful links specifically for your issue:


    Using SonMapEd Parts 1.. ..and 2, by Chimpo


    And not directly related to sprites but.. How to port the spindash part 1 by Lightning, which contains a small section about porting spindash art from sonic 2 to sonic 1 complete with an explaination about sprite mappings, PLC and animation (Heck it's what tought me about the sprite system).


    Which led to.. Working with Objects/Sprites by Me and Malevolence =P


    Those should explain and make more than enough sense, good luck.
     
    Last edited by a moderator: May 20, 2010
  6. Jerphunter

    Jerphunter Newcomer Member

    Joined:
    May 19, 2010
    Messages:
    2
    Location:
    Miami,Florida
    Thanks man! I already read through most of the guides the problem I previously had was working with sprite sheets,Maybe this is one of the "NAH REALLY" things but make sure you have a good image editing program to use if making sprites! Learn how to make the background of sprite sheets you find transparent or find some pre-made.Until I got Paint.net and Photoshop sprites were a living nightmare now sprites are easy but take a lot of my time. As I said earlier thanks for the guides although I already got to them. I'm just that kind of guy who over prepares so I already had the guides booked and tools & utilities downloaded it was just a matter of figuring where I was in the mess of preparation. I'll also get into that spindash guide ill see that guide as an intro to asm. I want to make sure my first hack is good. Music menu's and all! (s1 hack btw) Thanks for your help!
     
  7. Animemaster

    Animemaster Lets get to work! Member

    Joined:
    Mar 20, 2009
    Messages:
    1,229
    Location:
    UK
    So I've got a problem, I think its simple and there is probaly loads of ways to do this, but I want to know if it can be done my way.


    well here goes: so I wanna have different lampposts when in certain levels, so I done compares in loadplc, and loadplc2, but its still the same lamppost, is there away to fix it?


    and yeah I will post code if needed, or an example of code since I know what happened with my options menu code ;) .
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Jun 9, 2010
  8. MarkeyJester

    MarkeyJester ♡ ! Member

    Joined:
    Jun 27, 2009
    Messages:
    2,867
    Pattern load cues



    PLC_Main: dc.w 4
    dc.l Nem_Lamp ; lamppost


    dc.w $F400



    This here will load the same lamp on EVERY level, remove it from there, and put one on every level's PLC, such as; PLC_GHZ, PLC_LZ, PLC_MZ, etc. This will enable you to change the art on different levels.


    EDIT: also you shouldn't have compares/checks everywhere for individual selections which are pitiful like these, it's not very optimal and can cause lag when it all builds up.
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Jun 9, 2010
  9. Animemaster

    Animemaster Lets get to work! Member

    Joined:
    Mar 20, 2009
    Messages:
    1,229
    Location:
    UK
    Ok I'll try that thanks markey, I'm curious, why does it always load the same lamppost? it always nice to learn more. And the reason I use compares is because its the only way I can do it. I mean I tried different art locations but they either mix up with other objects, or the location has been taken. But I'll try and look into again, I haven't knuckled down and done some expermenting/learning asm for awhile I feel a bit rusty and may have to go over the basics again to refresh my mind, its just finding enough time to get my brain in gear, I've been with work and other things, but I will get back into the hacking scene properly eventually!.
     
  10. MarkeyJester

    MarkeyJester ♡ ! Member

    Joined:
    Jun 27, 2009
    Messages:
    2,867
    Because their way requires holding the PLC information of the lamppost only ONCE, there as the way you're about to try, holds the same information several times, not very optimal in terms of size, remember, these programmers are professionals, and will try any motive to make sure that size is saved and speed is at its highest.
     
  11. Animemaster

    Animemaster Lets get to work! Member

    Joined:
    Mar 20, 2009
    Messages:
    1,229
    Location:
    UK
    Ah I see thanks, that explains the lag I was getting for sonic revelations ;) . Well, back to the drawing board on finding a different way I can do. I gotta go to work so I'll try something later.
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Jun 10, 2010
  12. Goonie

    Goonie Active Member Member

    Joined:
    Jun 14, 2010
    Messages:
    47
    Location:
    Australia
    Is Sonic QX a good program to edit sonic 2 music sounds etc??


    [EDIT] Curiosity questions.....what makes sonic 2 HD...HD?? bigger tiles? more res? can 32 bit graphics be used in sonic2?
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Jun 16, 2010
  13. Irixion

    Irixion Well-Known Member Member

    Joined:
    Aug 11, 2007
    Messages:
    670
    Location:
    Ontario, Canada
    Sonic QX is for sonic 2 beta--and it only opens original, compiled ROMs.


    If you're looking to modify music in your Sonic 2 disassembly, the best way to do it is manually, through a hex editor.


    As for your second question-- HD means High Defenition--high details. So, larger images would provide better quality, at their original resolution (1080i/p). Since the MegaDrive has a limited colour palette, as well as a limit on the size of tiles, the answer is no.
     
  14. Goonie

    Goonie Active Member Member

    Joined:
    Jun 14, 2010
    Messages:
    47
    Location:
    Australia
    thanks for the information :lickrom:
     
  15. nicogearX

    nicogearX Newcomer Member

    Joined:
    Mar 7, 2010
    Messages:
    24
    I've got a question: It's about SonMapEd, and before anything, i already read the tutorial on how to use it: http://info.sonicretro.org/SCHG_How-to:Use_SonMapEd/Part_1 and http://info.sonicretro.org/SCHG_How-to:Use_SonMapEd/Part_2 but i follow the instructions up to the part when you must delete the sprite you want to replace, and it does get replaced, by the NEXT sprite, not the PREVIOUS one, i already tried placing the sprite i want NEXT to the one i want replaced, but the same result, the frame counter keeps saying 0, when the tutorial says it should say 1, and the one sprite that takes the slot of the sprite i deleted is ALWAYS the same one, as you can see in the screenshot, the frame counter(pointed with the red arrow) stays like that after i delete the standing frame, wich is the one i want to replace, the result is that the new standing sprite is the one with sonic looking to the screen, how do i fix this? Just to confirm, I READ THE TUTORIAL!

    /monthly_06_2010/post-1086-1277422673_thumb.jpg
     

    Attached Files:

  16. SaunicBoom

    SaunicBoom Well-Known Member Member

    Joined:
    Sep 14, 2007
    Messages:
    324
    I think I know what the problem is...


    When I've worked with SonMapEd, after loading the art, mappings, and dynamic cues, I've noticed that there is an invisible sprite before the standing sprite. It looks as if you may have unintentionally deleted it. Before you follow these steps, be sure to save a backup of your current settings on SonMapEd, in case this doesn't help.


    1. Highlight the very first sprite you have there (the one with the moustache).


    2. Go to "Edit > Sprite > Insert New Sprite", and there should now be an invisible sprite between the moustached sprite and the normal standing sprite.


    3. Hold Ctrl+[ to move the invisible sprite before the moustached sprite.


    4. Highlight the normal Sonic standing sprite that's next to the moustached sprite.


    5. Go to "Edit > Sprite > Delete Sprite", which should delete the normal Sonic standing sprite.


    6. Save the art, mappings, and dynamic cues.


    I think the issue is that the invisible sprite is no longer there to take the "0th" frame slot. Follow the steps above and let me know if that fixes it.
     
  17. nicogearX

    nicogearX Newcomer Member

    Joined:
    Mar 7, 2010
    Messages:
    24
    Whoa! Thanks alot, it worked!


    EDIT:Another question, if i replace sonic´s standing sprite with a sprite....2 times larger, it will afect how it looks? like a tile error?
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Jun 25, 2010
  18. Animemaster

    Animemaster Lets get to work! Member

    Joined:
    Mar 20, 2009
    Messages:
    1,229
    Location:
    UK
    It all depends on size, but as you say it would be twice the size then you would need to first add more tiles to that sprite otherwise it won't let you say, import a 48 x 48 on to a 32 x 32. Now depending how big could make jmp errors, can't remember which branchs not on my laptop, but it normally is just a bra.w to jmp to fix the problem. If there are two big, they won't show properly in game, parts of art from other files will take over it. I think thats all I know, other than vram editing maybe but I don't know enough about vram to talk about it.
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Jun 27, 2010
  19. nicogearX

    nicogearX Newcomer Member

    Joined:
    Mar 7, 2010
    Messages:
    24
    I see, because i tried replacing sonic with mecha sonic(from sonic & knuckles) in SonMapEd and part of his feet was replaced with strange red tiles when i played the game. I thought the cause could be that he was 2 times larger.
     
  20. MarkeyJester

    MarkeyJester ♡ ! Member

    Joined:
    Jun 27, 2009
    Messages:
    2,867
    That would be VRam space, Sonic's art has been set with a limited amount of VRam space for a single sprite to fit in (Using PLC), but other things are loaded directly after Sonic's space, like the points art which is in red, you'll need to move the points art to another space in VRam (If you can find any), change the points object's VRam location read, and change the DMA transfer value in the Vertical Blanking Interval routines (loc_B10).

    Firstly, the art is in VRam not the main ram, except Sonic's art which is loaded via PLC, then later DMA transfered over, Secondly, Sonic's art file is included near the end of the rom with the other data, this is because loading data can only really be read effectively by loading it long-word sized (i.e. lea, movea, etc), there as the jump commands have smaller ways such as bra. As you cannot use anything smaller for file reading, they put it all at the end, there is no code after the data at the end, so no jump errors will occur at any time, not unless you're stupid enough to put code after it =P