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MeteorStrike
ParticipantHah hah, no, when I said "generator" I meant that it generates maps ( particularly the png images ) based on the game data. I mean what good would be to "randomize" a map? Unless you were playing something like Chocobo's Dungeon, Azure Dreams, Pokemon Mystery Dungeon, or other such random dungeon Rogue-style type of games, that wouldn't be very useful. :)
February 7, 2012 at 5:09 pm in reply to: Walk-thru walls effects while walking outside of world map bounds #41794MeteorStrike
ParticipantI had a couple of minutes to kill, so I checked the Map Screen Index formula the other day, and I found out what was going on.
When you go outside of the world map area beyond 0x20 for X-HI, the calculation is such that the value of ( X-HI * 2 ) is added, but the carry flag, if set, is not added to the higher byte for the resulting address, so the end result ends up being an incorrect value for certain Y-HI values.
I figured I should mention that. ( Even though nobody will even get what I'm talking about, but I didn't want to leave this as an unresolved issue. :P )
MeteorStrike
ParticipantYep, it's just information. I know just about everyone in this board is more interested in "hacking" than on the actual information, so I completely understand that my Map Generator and generated maps are probably not all that useful for you guys.
I generally only "hack" games to be able to write extractors / map generators and other such tools, so I don't have any interest in editors. ( Sorry Niahak! ^_^' ) But I figured it was worth posting about it, especially since it completes my maps project for the DOAE games.
Anyways, I will post the details of the maps formats, etc. at a later date, which should allow Niahak to add them to his editor, and -then- you guys can give me props ( and Niahak of course ) for something you guys actually find interesting! :p
MeteorStrike
ParticipantNot sure what you mean. I made the Map Generator just to… generate the maps… so, I guess "what is possible" is that now I have all the maps in the game? Other than that, I'm not sure what else you could mean by that.
MeteorStrike
ParticipantIs this a mod of Destiny of an Emperor 1? If so, you don't need MidNight to hack the intro title, assuming you are referring to the title graphics of "Destiny of an Emperor". You can easily edit the title using something like Tile Layer or Tile Layer Pro.
The start address of the screen title appears to be at 0xB810, but you shouldn't be hacking that with a hex editor. I recommend something like Tile Layer Pro, and then going to that address, and you should see the Title images.
Tile Layer Pro lets you edit the game tiles ( which -all- emulators call "Patterns" so I don't know why they didn't call it Pattern Layer Pro instead… meh… ) so you can use that to edit the game's graphics.
MeteorStrike
ParticipantOH I just realized what you were talking about… lol… I thought you were first referring to the bar where you find whats-his-face drinking beer before heading off to fight Yuan Shoe!
OK I'll give you the info but I don't want to have to explain it too much… you should be able to make sense of the data with this info, if not, play around with the numbers and you will understand what I mean:
The Minimum Soldier count for each bar is calculated as follows:
0x03AE0A = List 1
0x03AE0F = List 2
And the values are ( value_list_1 * 256 ) + ( value_list_2 )
This gives the following values:
500, 2001, 5001, 10001, 15001
Color groups:
0x03ADF8 = List 1
0x03ADFE = List 2
0x03AF04 = List 3
The amount of Soldiers each pixel is worth will be
( value_list_3 * 256 ) + ( value_list_2 )
This gives the following values:
10, 40, 100, 200, 300, 400
The NES Palette color is the value in list 1.
I think… I didn't trace everything to the end, but this looks correct.
MeteorStrike
ParticipantIt says "doae_ips_patch_1.1.zip' is unavailable. This file was deleted."
I think the SOPA virus is spreading!
On that note… here's a neat little video I watched recently:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WJIuYgIvKsc
In summary: The companies who own sites like download.com, which are the sites who have made file-sharing software available for over a decade, are the same companies that are now suing people for downloading pirated content, making millions in ad revenue while providing the people with said software, and are now the supporters of SOPA and other such legislation.
I never thought about it until I watched his video, but he's freaking right! THE place to download these file-sharing software has always been download.com ( and I guess other similar sites ) which are also owned by corporations who distribute content that is now pirated. How freaking ironic is that? Sounds like they need to put the CEOs of those same companies behind bars instead of the average citizen. They are traitors to the welfare of the corporations they manage! And here I thought Lu Bu was the only traitor guided by greed! :p
MeteorStrike
ParticipantWell I was gone for a while but I'm back. In my "break" I was snowed in for a couple of days and nearly resorted to eating the rats for food. OK it wasn't that bad, but I took that opportunity to implement the Map Generator for DOAE 1. It was pretty easy to do so I finished it. I only need to upload the new content to my site, which I will do probably on the weekend.
On that note, I am sooo glad that I did the DOAE 2 map generator first, because the DOAE 1 maps are a lot more simple, and it was easy to convert by just deleting the complex code. If I had done the DOAE 1 Map Generator first, I would have been kicking myself. lol.
Anyways, guess I'll be back later…
Oh, and I found some weird crap in DOAE 1, but nothing that's too exciting. There are a couple of passages that were removed in the cave with the Iron Ore, but sadly it wasn't any sort of "debug" room, which it -could- have been… the stairs out of there lead to limbo though. I don't know why they took it out of the final game…
January 31, 2012 at 9:55 am in reply to: Walk-thru walls effects while walking outside of world map bounds #41793MeteorStrike
ParticipantQuote:Here's the actual answer derived from modding the game. Essentially, the game starts on chapter 0. Chapter 0 has super rebels. You don't advance to chapter 1 until you fight 1 battle on the world map. So essentially, by fighting a boss fight before having 1 random encounter, you fight the chapter 0 super rebels!Emm… I must respectfully disagree with sonic.penguin on his answer. ( At least in part. ) You can easily verify this is not the case by playing a clean, non-hacked version of the game, starting a new and clean game, and then using the no random battles Game Genie code, and then going straight to Qing Zhou and fighting Zhang Liang. ( or without using Game Genie but using lots of load states to avoid random battles until you get there! )
The "chapter" number that tests the level of enemies is at $6026 and adding a break on write at this address will confirm that a value is written when getting into a battle, whether it be with a random battle or a Castle / Fort battle. The exception to this rule is for battles whose Map ID ( $47 ) is not 0 ( the world map ) so maybe you got into a battle with someone in a cave or somewhere else?
In any case, adding a break on write at $6026 and using the no random battles Game Genie code, and then getting into a fight with one of those bosses in the beginning of the game, will verify this.
So fighting a random battle or boss battle anywhere except for the world map, and -before- you had previously fought any battles on the world map, will cause such an effect.
That leads me to my original post. I tested walking "off the world map" and I didn't see a repeating map, which is odd because that's what the formula for screens predicts.
Map Screen Index = ( Y-HI * 64 ) + ( X-HI * 2 )
which means the Map Screen Indices of the world past X-HI of 0x20 should repeat the pattern of the next row or Screens in the map. I would test this with the debugger, but it's not even worth it. You're not supposed to walk off the world map this way anyway, so to quote Microsoft, walking off the world map is "not supported" which in their terms would mean "I don't know WTF is going on but I'm not gonna bother debugging it cause you're not supposed to be doing that!" ;)
January 19, 2012 at 5:39 am in reply to: Walk-thru walls effects while walking outside of world map bounds #41787MeteorStrike
ParticipantSorry, we don't accept random questions in this board. Just kidding. :p
Actually, if you don't mind, I renamed the topic slightly to make it easier to identify. It's really annoying when a title tells you -nothing- about what you will find inside of it. :)
Actually, someone asked something similar a long time ago on the GameFaqs boards. In short, there's a good chance you simply ended up going outside the bounds of the defined physical map. Due to the way the map is stored, you will likely end up "looping" back to what -appears- like the world, but it's not. The chapter number of the area you walked in was probably something out-of-bounds so all the Rebels were super-rebels.
Of course, without actually debugging it, it's hard to tell, but the simple answer is: When you use walk-thru-walls, you should try not to walk too far from the defined world, otherwise you might end up entering into a black hole that sucks you into another universe where the laws of physics no longer apply. :)
EDIT: Gah, I can't find the GameFaqs topic where someone had asked that. You'll just have to find it yourself if you're curious about what was said in it. :p
MeteorStrike
ParticipantSorry, but making an editor is not something I plan to do. This came up in another topic and I mentioned that Niahak can go ahead and do that, but it doesn't appear that he is interested in doing that either.
MeteorStrike
ParticipantThe best part about crappy yahoo news stories that -should not- be news is the comments:
CA man suspected of poisoning wife's Rice Krispies
Comments:
Cereal Killer
We'll all be safer once he Chex into prison.
I get accused of trying to poison my family every time I cook!
He could serve life, while the prison guards serve him LIFE…concurrently!
another cereal killer gets a spoonful of justice…..
The dude was unclear on serial killer concept
She should have switched the bowls when he left the room for a moment.
"Police grew suspicious of her husband when he said he was going to smoke a cigarette, then disappeared. He was arrested about two miles away and charged with impersonating a magician".
Mrs. Porras was unharmed, but the rice krispies were pronounced dead on arrival.
When she asked her husband "what's in the cereal" He replied: "Nutt N' Honey"
The police became suspicious when he sugar coated his story.
Two Scoops of arsenic in every box!
Your headline said he poisoned the cereal. Was the attempt to kill the cereal successfull?
What a friggin genius. He puts it in the least fragrant cereal on the planet.
Best part of waking up is poison in your cup!
Now his $1million bail will be coming out of his pay Chex.
Maybe he suspected his wife was after his Lucky Charms?!
I hear Captain Crunch is lead investigator.
Reminds me of a story an old man told me years ago. He and his wife were married for 60 years and she nagged him every day – his quote to me "I should have killed her long ago, I'd be out by now."
If I were married to you, I'd put poison in your coffee.
– – – Lady Astor (to Winston Churchill)
If you were my wife, I'd drink it.
– – – Winston Churchill, in reply
Insanity defense…Coo Coo for Cocoa Puffs
He doesn't have a chance in prison, they eat pieces of crap like him for breakfast ;)
Ever notice how the cereal box on Trix depicts a rabbit and the cereal itself looks like colored rabbit droppings……Trix are for kids, because adults know better.
January 15, 2012 at 8:19 pm in reply to: Destiny of an Emperor RH Guide ( MOVED! to http://doaerhguide.wikidot.com ) #40020MeteorStrike
ParticipantThis discussion almost makes me want to make my video of the Generator now, instead of waiting for the day I complete the DOAE 1 generator. I probably won't get to the DOAE 1 gen for a while… I just turned on the laptop and it had been off for days now.
The dating site and strip club has taken up all my time… Sometimes I wonder how much time of my life I could save if I didn't have those male hormones bothering me so often… and sometimes I wonder how much time of my life I could save if I could just grow up past my video game / hacking addiction. Hah hah!
Anyways, you guys actually are looking at the data wrong ( I think ) so here's the actual format for it: ( NOTE: This is for DOAE 2. I am pretty sure it's the same format as DOAE 1 though, but just letting you guys know… )
Code:List of Entrance Points: Source YLO = ( data[0] & 0x0F ) Source YHI = ( data[1] ) Source XLO = ( data[2] ) Source XHI = ( data[3] ) Dest YLO = ( data[4] ) Dest YHI = ( data[5] ) Dest XLO = ( data[6] ) Dest XHI = ( data[7] ) Dest Map ID = ( data[8] ) Dest Dir = ( data[0] >> 6 ) Extra Info Flag = ( ( data[0] >> 5 ) & 1 ) If ( Extra Info Flag == 0 ) Struct Size = 9 If ( Extra Info Flag == 1 ) Struct Size = 11 Extra Info Pointer = ( data[9] | ( data[10] << 8 ) )The Extra Info Pointer is a pointer for a piece of code that will execute when the player enters this location. This extra info pointer is only present if Extra Info Flag is on, so not all Entrance Points have it. The code handles things like placing you at a different destination entrance if you came from the north instead of the south, etc.
Code:List of Warp Points: Source YLO = ( data[0] ) Source YHI = ( data[1] ) Source XLO = ( data[2] ) Source XHI = ( data[3] ) Dest YLO = ( data[4] & 0x0F ) Dest YHI = ( data[5] ) Dest XLO = ( data[6] ) Dest XHI = ( data[7] ) Dest Map ID = ( data[8] ) Dest Dir = ( ( data[4] >> 5 ) & 3 ) Do not Reload Ass = ( data[4] & 0x10 ) Everyone Grouped = ( data[4] & 0x80 )BTW "Ass" is short for "Assets" i.e. the Palettes and Pattern tables. It has little to do with the "Ass" that Liu Bei is tapping in the Palace while you're working your ass off killing rebels for -his- credit.
Anyway, Warps do not have any Extra Info Pointer so their size is always 9 bytes.
Also, this is for the actual list of Entrance Points and Warp Points. As you could imagine, I had very little need for figuring out the list of Gullwings or Liu Bei invites or anything like that. I did hack the initial start-off location for a new game because I wanted the generator to start off at the beginning of the game though. Basically, there is a portion of code that loads some data stored in the ROM to construct the return stack. If you want to change the location of a Castle or other place where you start the game when you load, you will need to look for that chunk of data and change the return stack values from there too.
MeteorStrike
ParticipantWell, it's actually pretty easy to replace "release" with "execute". The first step is to replace all the text. It should say "Execute General" or something, and instead of saying "Bla bla was released" it can say "bla bla was executed" so that part should be easily done within your abilities.
The next step is the flag. I don't recall all the flag values, but basically, IIRC, the values $6300 – $63FF are the Generals Statuses flags. One of those flags indicates the General is dead. ( Example, Yuan Shu executed, other Generals executed, etc. ) Another flag says the General was added to your army. So when you let go of someone, just set their "executed" flag rather than letting them go. This can probably be done by MidNight without too much problem.
Lastly, adding this as a 3rd option might be complicated, but it's probably still doable. I'm not into hacking or modding, so if MidNight wants to look into that… but at a minimum, the "replace" option to replace "release" with "execute" should totally be doable.
As DragonAtma mentions though, it might not be the best thing in the world sometimes to replace that option. Ideally, it should be a 3rd option, so the player can just execute the annoying looser Generals, and leave the rest alive.
MeteorStrike
ParticipantHi Jiang.
I'm not sure what you mean by DOAE2 mods. I haven't made any mods. I only wrote tools to extract the data from the ROM and generate the html tables I have uploaded in my site. I guess I can provide the details of the addresses in the ROM, etc. over time, but I never actually made any mods for DOAE2.
Quote:while i'm at it is there away to make it where you can only get the officers that join as part of story and you can't get the ones you fight cept the lu bu gem sword trick and the one pang tong fightWhy would you ever want to do that? Is it because you're annoyed / tired of having the text ask you about what to do with captured Generals? If that's what you want to avoid, that should be pretty simple to do with a Game Genie code. I might need to do that later though… Well, let me know if that's what you're asking…
On that note, I always wanted an option like this:
"We captured bla bla General. What should we do?"
Option 1 – Convert to our side.
Option 2 – Release.
Option 3 – Execute this mother f**ker.
I would LOVE to see a DOAE hack that does that. Unfortunately, adding a 3rd option can be complicated, however, -replacing- option 2 with option 3 would make for an -awesome- mod for this game. For those of you modding DOAE 1, you guys should definitely consider making that change!!! The only problem would be that the player might end up executing that General at the first area that you need to convert to your side… Boy, that would be awkward… lol… ( This can easily be accomplished by setting a flag, BTW. )
On that note, Jiang, if you made that option you are asking for, then you wouldn't be able to recruit that first General you need to get into that cave on the first chapter…
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