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Awesome! Thanks, MiDKnighT.
I also have some code to insert if people want to make use of my Item Icons.
Place @ 0x27c10 (0xb0 bytes)
Code:004060703C181606C0E0713A1C0F1727
E0F0FA7A3A043B0340406030391E070B
D0E0609008040201402098FCFEE7713C
70D8B8E87C0E0703384442212162E4C2
002E94E8F4622100804F31324C485060
1048249E5B331F0E42E7FF7E7E5A3C3C
28D6AA546C54AA44DBBD7E66183C5ADB
097AFFDF8D0D18107C027CFE1E7C1E00
3C182442FFFFFF7E031E2F7F7FFFF160
0F304758233C77F13C1E396DD6EE7C38
3E427E4A7E527E00000006FDF9AD0600Here's a rundown of the icons that you will receive. Open up the PPU Viewer in FCE Ultra to check them out.
40- Dagger
41- Sword
42- Broadsword
43- Curved Sword
44- Spear
45- Large Polearm Head
46- Mace
47- Whip
48- Axe
49- Bow
4a- Claw
4b- Robe
4c- Mail
4d- Armor
4e- Bandana
4f- Helm
50- Potion
51- Horse Head
52- Wing
53- Generic Pouch
54- Letter
55- Key
56- Staff
Here's a screenshot with some of the new enhancements in action:
If someone wants a few tactic icons, I might be able to cook those up in the next couple of days. :ninja:
When all else fails... manipulate the source code.
Hey MiDKnighT,
I noticed a typo in the Section 12, under Starting Lineup. The guide says to modify this:
Code:0x375D0: A90A8DF861A9018DC0608DC160A9028DC260A9148DB4608DB5604C3C94That code is actually found @ 0x357d0. FYI :wink:
When all else fails... manipulate the source code.
Niahak:
That would be really cool if you would set up an SVN for me. No rush on it, but thank you very much for the offer! :P
Sonic:
An M.Def type effect would be neat. That sounds like something that might be worthwhile tackling, though I'm scared of attempting to add a new character attribute… that would likely be beyond what I can do at this time, at any rate.
MiDKnighT and all:
As far as the new place for item text, I coded like a madman last night and placed it on page 3E (0xfb010 – 0xfb810). With the item expansion hack, item costs are always in bytes ending in 0 and 1 (i.e. 0xfb110, 0xfb111) and obviously, the name follows. So, if your hex editor shows lines 0x10 in length, the item names and costs will line up for you. For me, this is invaluable for modding on the quick.
Quote:The increase in the number of weapons sounds great but if we do that, it makes the menu change I talked about long ago a little more important. One of the most annoying things about the original DoaE engine is equipping a new set of equipment. Ideally if you equip or unequip a weapon, it shouldn't make the menu disappear. It should allow you to do more things in one shot (like equip 3 items) where only the B button takes you out of the menu.Ah! I had forgotten about that. That sounds good, I'll see what I can do on that. My feeling is that equipping, trading, or dropping an item should, after execution of the command, re-open the current officer's pack (like it had just been selected again). This would be important if they traded away or dropped their last item.
Quote:As for the IPS patch. Maybe include optional enhancements as separate IPS patches. Maybe we should designate a page or two for optional enhancements that the main IPS patch doesn't touch? Perhaps 3E and maybe 3D? I still need to get the IPS patch updated to 1M too – hopefully I can get that done this week.I've actually got an IPS patch together that does the Base AC and Item Expansion edits– just click on the link below to download it. You can only apply it (safely) to a 1MB ROM. If you're using Firefox… right clicky -> Save as.
Download Base AC and Item Expansion patch
Patch details
***************************************************************************************************************
Here's the nitty gritty of the stuff that has it's location changed:
Weapon Power- Status display: 0x78640 (none), 0x78641 to 0x7865f (ID #40 – #5e)
Weapon Damage- least significant byte: 0xfe710 to 0xfe72f (0x20 bytes), also 0x7e710 to 0x7e72f
Weapon Damage- most significant byte: 0xfe730 to 0xfe74f (0x20 bytes), also 0x7e730 to 0x7e74f
Armor Defense: 0xfe750 to 0xfe758 (0x09 bytes), also 0x7e750 to 0x7e758
Helm Defense: 0xfe759 to 0xfe760 (0x28 bytes), also 0x7e759 to 0x7e760
Defense values for opposing generals: 0xfe750 to 0xfe777 (0x28 bytes), also 0x7e750 to 0x7e777
Item Name Pointers: 0xfb010 to 0xfb0ef (0xe0 bytes)
Item Names: 0xfb110 to 0xfb80f (0x700 bytes)
That may look like a lot, but most of the stuff above is encapsulated in the 0xfe710 to 0xfe777 and 0x7e710 to 0x7e777 ranges.
So, Item IDs #40-#5e are used for weapons, #5f-#67 are for Armor, and #68-6f are for Helmets.
The patch creates the dummy names for the expansion items, and makes sure that all items are still in the same place (whether given at the start, sold in stores, or found in chests on hidden on the ground). Armor defense is not re-aligned for use with Base AC enhancement; it uses stock DoaE defense values.
The Base AC enhancement works as advertised (at least, as far as my meager testing as gone). The equation used is:
let x = STR/2 + INT/4 + AGI/4
Base AC = x * 3 * level / 256, capped at 100
New Hacking Ideas
***************************************************************************************************************
First, I intend to add a few characters to the DoaE font. Have you noticed how characters 0x40-5f are lonely and unused? I am going to add several characters to delineate differing types of items (swords, axes, mail shirts, potions, horse heads, etc.) This would be very cool for making neat looking item names, like in DoaE 2.
Second, what do you all think about implementing a moddable item drop list for after battle spoils? :unibrow:
When all else fails... manipulate the source code.
Hmmm… the way to go about Item Names may just be, and I hate to say it because it adds a layer of complexity implementation-wise, would be to use another ROM page. Then, I imagine that we'd have all the space we need for names, and that could make for easier visualization for modders when working with the hex (not to mention the item costs). That may actually be the best solution. What do you all think?
When all else fails... manipulate the source code.
MiDKnighT–
Good afternoon!
I noticed in my ROM that there is about 0x300 bytes of space free in ROM page 0B (at about 0x2f380 to 0x2f67f). This is the ROM page that contains names for Tactics and Items. Do you know if this space is used Destiny of an Editor for Text editing? I'm planning out expanding the number of weapons and armor available for use.
I've got Base AC working, and will do a write up of this in a little bit. It was a bit hairier than I was hoping… I had to actually move the Status Screen weapon power display values to the ROM page 1E as well :evil: The defense for officers is actually only calculated when equipping/unequipping items. So, I had to figure Base AC separately, at the time of display or use in battle, and not save this to memory, so I needed two functions: one for Status screen display, and one for Battle functionality. The awesome part of this, though, is that Base AC is viewable from the Billeting status function! :P
The plan for the Items changes (I've done quite a bit of code research :study: , and I do believe my plan is workable) is to make use of the dummied item IDs that DoaE has for weapons/armor/helmets. However, if I did this, we'd have 25 potential weapons (up from 19), 13 armors (up from 7), and 10 helmets (up from 8). I'm actually being more ambitious than this, and want to realign the way items are handled by the game, allowing
30 weapons
10 armors
8 helmets
!! :lsd: !!
So, this is a nasty edit, and doesn't easily lend itself to the IPS patch. It would require a realigning of the existing item structure (Weapons begin at ID #40, Armor begins at ID #5e *not 59* and Helmets begin at ID #68 *not 66*. It would require string pointer manipulation for item names (and finding space for the item names!), shop realignment so that the shops don't sell unintended stuff), treasure and hidden item replacement, as well editing code to open up the space for the weapon strength, and the defense power for armor.
:smoke:
How would you like this attacked, so that this could be put into IPS format? It will absolutely require 1MB expansion. The Item Expansion change would also most likely require the Base AC change, as it takes advantage of moving the Status Weapon power display values off of page 0E. I almost think that this should be a separate IPS patch, as I can't imagine many would want to do all that realigning work with items in general. I do think that this has the capacity for making the game much more interesting, and giving modders tools to give officers more unique weaponry and defensive capabilities… The problem is, and I'm not sure I see any way around it, the item expansion would still require a bit of a learning curve for modders to take advantage of.
The bonus of having this in a separate IPS patch is that the item realignment (with shops, treasure and hidden items, as well as names) could be packaged with it. The downside with this is, of course, that modders would lose their custom items. Blargh. My head is spinning.
When all else fails... manipulate the source code.
Quote:Nice! We could use some new enhancements and ideas. All I ask is that you share all your findings and enhancements here to benefit others.Sure thing. I have every intention of doing that; this is probably the best community gathered around one game that I've ever found on the internet. No hyperbole. And like you said, I've gleaned so much from you all, I could do no less. :P
When all else fails... manipulate the source code.
Thanks as always. That's great news, and the enemy profiles wh. I've expanded my ROM and applied the IPS patch, and debugged my status screen (had it done a little bit differently than the patch was expecting). Now I'm happily and busily planning out how to realign the tactics for a new iteration of the Remix! Hopefully I'll be able to figure out the Base AC thing, and perhaps even a base Weapon Strength that upgrades with level as well (that would require creating a function linking the Weapon display value with actual damage values. More than anything, I'm just brainstorming right now.
Given there's so much room for new coding, I may just decide to add a few more items to the game as well. Don't know how feasible that will be, but I know that there are multiple IDs for several weapons and armors. Something I may be able to work with.
Now I just gotta find time to get some work done, now that I'm inspired :ninja:
When all else fails... manipulate the source code.
MiDKnight–
Question pertaining to the way that Enemy Tactic AI works now… Does it matter whether Healing tactics are specifically in slots 3/4? Do officers expect to see Life/Raise in slot 5? Or can I mix and match the tactics, choosing whatever slots I want, regardless of tactic type, and not cause havoc to the AI algorithm?
Also, question for Sonic:
How did you change the water graphic to a lightning bolt? That's a great effect. :thumright:
When all else fails... manipulate the source code.
Sonic, I feel a bit sheepish/shameless for asking this, but I wanted to ask you permission to use some of your sprites and portraits to improve Ludmeister's Remix. Do you consider your portraits as "common domain" around these parts? I totally understand if you want to restrict them to your personal mods; they are your work. I especially liked the idea of having portraits for the generic "Force" enemies.
When all else fails... manipulate the source code.
Quote:Actually I did duel and most of the other tactics before the 1MB expansion. I used an area of the ROM that was used for Japanese character graphics on ROM page 2.Did you use all of that area? Is there, perhaps around 0x100 bytes or so for the Base AC calculation? Great thinking.
When all else fails... manipulate the source code.
Quote:The 1MB expansion is way better than the 500k one that was done before. Why? Because our 500k mapper wasn't a real mapper. The 1MB one is and that means we can access memory from any ROM page with the 1MB ROM instead of jumping all over the place like we were doing before. Remember that problem? We couldn't access memory on pages 10-1F. Well in the 1MB expansion, that problem is FIXED! Thought you would love that enhancement. There's nearly unlimited room to play and code now. The only limitations are on the original pages (finding room to jump to new pages, etc…).That's awesome! That is powerful work; is that how you found space for Duel, and your other tactic enhancements? I was wondering about how I'd get around this limitation when I get around to coding a base AC.
It really is amazing, all the work that has been done on this game. It pretty much can be used to do whatever people want, it's like a "Historical RPG Construction Kit", especially when you factor in Niahak's Destiny of an Editor. The ROM could, with work, even be adapted for use for more classical (Dragon Warrior/Final Fantasy) JRPGs.
Has anyone figured out the cave/town/camp map data yet? That might be the last piece of the puzzle to being able to totally transform DoaE into anything a modder might want.
When all else fails... manipulate the source code.
Hey all. I've been playing Sonic's Flames of Wu mod, and I've remembered why DoaE is such a great game. MiDKnighT, your enhancements that you've been researching and coding are badass. Like, :huohu: badass. Duel is awesome, and the AI enhancements make for more battle immersion.
I've come up with another thought for hacking, and maybe I'll plug in the latest IPS patch to a clean DoaE ROM and look into it as I get a little time here and there. My thought is to code a persistent base AC for allied officers. My thoughts are:
Give all officers a base AC of (3 * level). Weight STR, AGI, and INT into this, with STR being twice as important as the other two, and then cap the bonus at something arbitrary… say 100 or so. Then, Level up would be important for all officers, not just those that have soldier progressions. Also, Armor and Helmets would need to be toned down a bit (maybe the best armor would be AC 75, the best helm AC 50, to make a max AC of 225, which would amount to almost a 90% reduction in damage).
This would have the effect of making your strong generals (as well as very talented generals) more resilient to physical damage than others, because armor would only do so much. Also, in the early going, AC would be marginally lower (but since the damage resistance is percentage based, armor really doesn't do much in the first two chapters when enemies are knocking off 50-100 soldiers and your armor only saves 3-8 of them). In theory, this would serve to make the final three chapters much more interesting, though.
What do you all think? Is this worth pursuing here?
When all else fails... manipulate the source code.
Hey Sonic!
I dropped in a couple of days ago, all stealthy-like, to see what you were up to, and how your Flames of Wu mod is coming along. I had the in-laws in town, and they hadn't seen my son in quite awhile, so they were more than happy to watch him for a couple of days. That meant I a couple of days to play your mod!
I enjoyed it quite a lot. You are a very proficient officer-portrait designer. More than once, I made a decision to use one officer or another simply because their portrait was badass. Also, I found your map edits quite interesting. It wasn't as frustrating as Rise of Ieyasu, if only because my DoaE knowledge helped me keep my bearings a bit, since you kept some things the same. Good use of humor. Very well done. I'm humbled that you used a few of my enhancements as well.
I realized right off the bat that you, MidKnighT, and others had been very busy perfecting DoaE coding, as I was introduced with the "FOCUS" command. Love it. Every tactic seemed legitimately useful. Loved using the "Duel" tactic, especially during the early and mid game, to put enemy warriors (who has 200-220 STR) in their place. They just couldn't compete with Gan Ning FLEXX
If there was one thing that bugged me during the course of the game, it was the lack of being able to convert the defeated officers of my enemies to my cause. That's a big deal to me, though the steady trickle of converts that I picked up in town served to defray this annoyance quite a lot. The other was the difficulty of keeping food in my soldier's mouths. As such, I wouldn't recommend this mod to a novice DoaE player, even starting out. The learning curve is just too steep.
I hope I'm not belaboring points that have already been brought up here (I didn't want to wade through 50+ pages of feedback, please forgive) :oops:
As for bugs… there was one person that I recruited from one of the towns… I believe he is the one that is supposed to trigger the ability to talk to Lu Su. His name creates problems. He makes the colors go all wonky when I'm recruiting generals in billeting. He also messes up the officer's name that appears directly above his in the billeting list.
Here the general, holed up in billeting:
This is is status screen:
And this is the aftermath, after I've said "goodbye" to billeting :cactuar:
That said, as one who's played the game a few times (just a few :crown:) advanced player, I enjoyed the mod immensely. I had toyed with the prospects of making a Wu mod, now I have no need. If I want to put my own touches on a Wu mod, I may just mod yours for my own enjoyment.
If I can think of any more things to say that can help make it better, or just make you feel better about your great achievement, I'll pass them along. For now, please accept my humble "thank you" for making the last couple of days a blast.
When all else fails... manipulate the source code.
Hello MiDKnighT and all!
:?
MiDKnighT was kind enough to look me up and ask me (in a nice way of course) what the crap was going on and why I haven't been here.
Well… real life has a tendency to load you up until you absolutely can't do any more. That's kinda where I've been. Before I got the news that my dad passed away in late January, I even had the notion that I'd be interested in making a Wu mod. Of course, that was before I was contacted through my site by an entrepreneur who wanted to hire me as a programming consultant based off of the various projects featured there. So, I honestly barely apprehend what day it is before it's gone.
However, I can see that the Wu mod is in very capable hands, and I salute you in your endeavors, Sonic.
Also, I haven't gotten through your Ieyasu mod… I cannot figure out what to do after I get through chapter six, to advance the story. Maybe you can email me with some pointers, clandestine like :ninja:
Well, I gotta get back to work. Cheers, ya'll.
When all else fails... manipulate the source code.
Sonic,
You really have put together a quality mod. I'm beginning Chapter 6, the Kyushu (sp?) region, and am about level 27. It does work just fine on my Android phone (Tiger NES emulator). The Vigor tactic has been a blast, with my Agility enhancements :geek:
I found it a little difficult to get my bearings early on (but that's to be expected because you changed so much of the map, and I've memorized the map because I've played DoaE so much! :thumleft: ) Thought the officers that you fight in Chapter 1 were a bit overpowered, so much so I grinded to level 8 (or 9) before I completed Chapter 1. Since Oda Nobunaga was the main antagonist there, that's also understandable, however.
Since I got the Tachis and Bokutos in Chapter 4, I've found the game's difficulty level much more forgiving. Oh yeah, and Flare/Tsunami make mincemeat of a lot of boss battles before Kyushu… especially when Hanbei (sp?) uses them. I used Tadaoki as my strategist and had Hanbei leading my troops. This made it very difficult for the enemy to Negate my tactics (Vigor, Guard, and even Zeal) and gave me a huge advantage.
I think my main gripe with the game is early on, it's a bit tedious to advance because your enemies are so powerful, and your equipped with nothing more than Kamas (and a fair bit later on, Spears) and those weapons just cannot dent serious warriors, unless you have a decent numerical superiority. Until I found the Bokutos in Chapter 4 after getting Hanbei, I was literally saying, "Okay… seriously needing more offense or defense… take your pick."
All in all though, I'm very glad that I'm sticking with the mod, and am enjoying it a lot (I love the portraits! That in itself represents tons of work :cheers: ). Sonic, your efforts have revitalized my interest in DoaE, and when I get some time out from my other projects, I want to polish Ludmeister's Remix (which by its very nature intends to improve on the original game, not create a new story per se), and after that to start on my Wu mod. Here are some of the innovations that have me seriously considering the possibilities for the Wu mod:
- The way you changed up the order of the caves
- Your fun new events… it seems you edited the events of lots of different people, even placing Billeting in places where I was not expecting
- Simply changing the map.
Also, it makes me wonder if I can figure out how to change the way Chapters advance in the game, and what I can do to take needlessly annoying events out or modify them (like the Zhuge Liang exchange, which always takes more time than I think it should).
I'll check in later, after I've made more progress. Awesome work, man.
When all else fails... manipulate the source code.
