Super Metroid/SMILE Help Thread

2009-07-01 12:32:29 am

Burrrp!

Does anybody know how to make the varia suit pallet go over top of the gravity pallet?
otherwise ill have to scrap my varia pallet...

ChozunSDA

2009-07-03 12:44:18 pm

2 quick questions.

1) My rom is an SFC file. At first I thought this would be a problem, but after making a copy of it and changing its extension it appears that they are identical. It seems like all the PLM's are loading up as they should and that i can edit and play it without any problems.
What I am wondering is, are they identical? I dont want to make something that others cant patch.

2) I intend to make a mini full hack based around a really large escape timer and am wondering if there are any limits to what events can happen during the escape. Also how long could the timer be set to?

Deep_Space_Observer

2009-07-03 03:06:49 pm

Quote from ChozunSDA:

2 quick questions.

1) My rom is an SFC file. At first I thought this would be a problem, but after making a copy of it and changing its extension it appears that they are identical. It seems like all the PLM's are loading up as they should and that i can edit and play it without any problems.
What I am wondering is, are they identical? I dont want to make something that others cant patch.

Yes, they are identical in everything except the name of the extension. It was just dumped with a different system than the one that makes .SMC extensions. All the information inside will be exactly the same, and that also applies to other variants such as .SWC.

Quote from ChozunSDA:

2) I intend to make a mini full hack based around a really large escape timer and am wondering if there are any limits to what events can happen during the escape. Also how long could the timer be set to?

Some bosses will mess up the graphics of the timer, also possibly rooms that have enemies that take up a large amount of GFX space. Other than that, I don't know anything else that will affect the timer's running. Just don't give it any hexadecimal values in the timer, or it will mess up other sprite graphics such as Samus.

[quote="ChozunSDA"]
2 quick questions.

1) My rom is an SFC file. At first I thought this would be a problem, but after making a copy of it and changing its extension it appears that they are identical. It seems like all the PLM's are loading up as they should and that i can edit and play it without any problems.
What I am wondering is, are they identical? I dont want to make something that others cant patch.[/quote]

Yes, they are identical in everything except the name of the extension. It was just dumped with a different system than the one that makes .SMC extensions. All the information inside will be exactly the same, and that also applies to other variants such as .SWC.

[quote="ChozunSDA"]

2) I intend to make a mini full hack based around a really large escape timer and am wondering if there are any limits to what events can happen during the escape. Also how long could the timer be set to?
[/quote]

Some bosses will mess up the graphics of the timer, also possibly rooms that have enemies that take up a large amount of GFX space. Other than that, I don't know anything else that will affect the timer's running. Just don't give it any hexadecimal values in the timer, or it will mess up other sprite graphics such as Samus.

ChozunSDA

2009-07-03 03:18:29 pm

Ok cool thanks.

Screwed up timer doesn't bug me as long as it fixes itself when you leave the rooms.

Deep_Space_Observer

2009-07-03 08:52:43 pm

It doesn't automatically fix itself when you leave the room. Once it glitches up, it stays glitched up unless you force fix it with asm.

Sadiztik Fish

2009-07-03 09:44:05 pm

OMG FLAN!!!!!!!

Oh no! By any chance is Ridley one of those bosses?

ChozunSDA

2009-07-03 10:21:10 pm

Yes he would be, and no guarantees on this hack just something I want to try while i have time.

Anyway I think I'll continue with design and and worry about the timer issue after I have made a decent bit of progress.

Sadiztik Fish

2009-07-03 11:31:44 pm

OMG FLAN!!!!!!!

Crap!

I was intending to make you fight Ridley in the escape

Maybe I can find a work around. I sure as hell don't want a screwed up GFX timer :(

squishy_ichigo

2009-07-04 02:13:37 am

. . .

As always, when I'm asked to document something, I share it with the community!

ENDING SCENE PALETTES!

Thx goes to DMantra for asking me to document them for him! :P

see the attachment!

attachment:

appendix D - Ending Scene Palettes.rtf

DMantra

(user is banned)

2009-07-04 01:10:54 pm

Breathe in the Future, Breathe out the Past

Many thanks for this squishy! grin new

To those of you deciding to have your hack be on another planet, you will find this more than useful!

TAxxOUTBR3AKxx

2009-07-05 03:06:54 am

Sadiztik, I went through some trouble for you so you can start somewhere. The GFX Timer is screwed up due to Ridley's tail. If you go into his DNA and change # bytes to use for GFX to 1C00 or something below that, the timer won't screw up, but his tail will change into a bunch of numbers.....I tried moving Ridley's graphics alone to another location and repointing his GFX data, but it still screws up the timer.... aiwebs_007

I didn't think it would be this simple to fix. Also, once Ridley is defeated, the GFX timer screws itself up again anyways, even if you thought you fixed it this way. Crying or Very sad

MetroidMst

2009-07-05 08:40:45 am

Go ahead. Stare.

"I hate math!!! Shoot the alien teacher already!"

That is actually pretty cool to be honest.

Arva

2009-07-05 04:15:02 pm

QI[9]IQ

Can the item in bomb chozo's hand be changed and still trigger his awakening? As far as I know he only awakens if he holds the bombs.

Arva

Edit history:

Arva: 2009-07-05 05:01:25 pm

2009-07-05 04:50:40 pm

QI[9]IQ

Quote from SleepingSeaweed:

I got an answer to that from kejardon a while ago... I'll just repost it.

Quote:

More often than not, it's just unused (0000).
When it is used, the code is typically

SEP #$20
LDA #$XX
STA $7ECDXX

or
E2 20 A9 XX 8F XX CD 7E

There might be a PHP and PLP or a REP #$20... I don't remember which. But if you follow the pointer to code in bank 8F (78000 - 7FFFF) you should be able to find the above pattern easily.
The values you'd want to change are the XX's. First one is the scroll value, second one is the screen to change plus $20 (screen 00 => 20).

The atypical ones are going to vary from case to case and can feasibly do anything. Learn assembly if you're curious about them.

So basically you could just use that code and replace XX with the correct values for your screen.

Does this mean I need to learn ASM to pull this off? Aren't there a nice pattern of how the last four digits in a door data control scroll areas? Example: In brinstar (room 9AD9) there are two doors (06 and 08) directly connected and their scroll values are BD07 (going right) and BD25 (going left) I've tried to apply these numbers to different doors in different areas, but the game crashes when I test them.

EDIT: Now I get it! I've been as dumb as Fry. Those are pointers, lol.
Now I found those numbers! Neat. Time to get to work then. I guess I'd have to create a bunch of new pointers to get my idea to work. Can a single pointer change more than one scroll area?

[quote="SleepingSeaweed"]
I got an answer to that from kejardon a while ago... I'll just repost it.
[quote]More often than not, it's just unused (0000).
When it is used, the code is typically

SEP #$20
LDA #$XX
STA $7ECDXX

or
E2 20 A9 XX 8F XX CD 7E

There might be a PHP and PLP or a REP #$20... I don't remember which. But if you follow the pointer to code in bank 8F (78000 - 7FFFF) you should be able to find the above pattern easily.
The values you'd want to change are the XX's. First one is the scroll value, second one is the screen to change plus $20 (screen 00 => 20).

The atypical ones are going to vary from case to case and can feasibly do anything. Learn assembly if you're curious about them.[/quote]
So basically you could just use that code and replace XX with the correct values for your screen.
[/quote]

Does this mean I need to learn ASM to pull this off? Aren't there a nice pattern of how the last four digits in a door data control scroll areas? Example: In brinstar (room 9AD9) there are two doors (06 and 08) directly connected and their scroll values are BD07 (going right) and BD25 (going left) I've tried to apply these numbers to different doors in different areas, but the game crashes when I test them.

EDIT: Now I get it! I've been as dumb as Fry. Those are pointers, lol.
Now I found those numbers! Neat. Time to get to work then. I guess I'd have to create a bunch of new pointers to get my idea to work. Can a single pointer change more than one scroll area?

Kejardon

2009-07-05 05:31:15 pm

Embarrasing Fact: Power suit made by lowest bidder

Yes.
IIRC, the full code is:

Code:

PHP
SEP #$20
LDA #$XX
STA $7ECDXX
PLP
RTS

which in a hex-editor will be

Code:

08 E2 20 A9 XX 8F XX CD 7E 28 60

You can easily modify existing ones, or create entirely new ones (make sure they point to unused space). The main two instructions doing stuff here are the LDA #$XX and STA $7ECDXX (which are probably the two most useful instructions in assembly to begin with, so it's a good place to start learning assembly anyways), which are the A9 XX 8F XX CD 7E. You can just repeat that section with a new scroll value (after the A9) and screen number + 20 (after the 8F) to edit as many screens as you want. Just make sure you don't overwrite any other important information, and end it with the 28 60.

If you're interested in learning assembly, here's a bit more info about what's going on:
The value in the door editor is a pointer to code that is run whenever Samus goes through the door (although if it's 0000, the game knows to ignore it). It can technically do just about anything, but the most common use is to just edit the scroll value of screens. The scroll values start in RAM at 7ECD20, with screen 00 (at the top left) and counting up as the screens go right then down (like a book). This code is just taking a value with LDA and putting it into the RAM for the screen's scroll value with STA.
Then PHP, SEP #$20 and the PLP are making sure the LDA #$XX works properly (that would take a bit to explain), and the RTS tells the game "I'm done, you can go on to whatever comes next now".

Yes.
IIRC, the full code is:
[code]
PHP
SEP #$20
LDA #$XX
STA $7ECDXX
PLP
RTS
[/code]
which in a hex-editor will be
[code]
08 E2 20 A9 XX 8F XX CD 7E 28 60
[/code]
You can easily modify existing ones, or create entirely new ones (make sure they point to unused space). The main two instructions doing stuff here are the LDA #$XX and STA $7ECDXX (which are probably the two most useful instructions in assembly to begin with, so it's a good place to start learning assembly anyways), which are the A9 XX 8F XX CD 7E. You can just repeat that section with a new scroll value (after the A9) and screen number + 20 (after the 8F) to edit as many screens as you want. Just make sure you don't overwrite any other important information, and end it with the 28 60.

If you're interested in learning assembly, here's a bit more info about what's going on:
The value in the door editor is a pointer to code that is run whenever Samus goes through the door (although if it's 0000, the game knows to ignore it). It can technically do just about anything, but the most common use is to just edit the scroll value of screens. The scroll values start in RAM at 7ECD20, with screen 00 (at the top left) and counting up as the screens go right then down (like a book). This code is just taking a value with LDA and putting it into the RAM for the screen's scroll value with STA.
Then PHP, SEP #$20 and the PLP are making sure the LDA #$XX works properly (that would take a bit to explain), and the RTS tells the game "I'm done, you can go on to whatever comes next now".

Arva

Edit history:

Arva: 2009-07-05 06:35:24 pm

2009-07-05 06:18:58 pm

QI[9]IQ

Aaah, now I've created my first direct connected doors and it works like a charm. Thanks a lot for help!

Sadiztik Fish

2009-07-06 03:06:48 am

OMG FLAN!!!!!!!

Quote from TAxxOUTBR3AKxx:

Sadiztik, I went through some trouble for you so you can start somewhere. The GFX Timer is screwed up due to Ridley's tail. If you go into his DNA and change # bytes to use for GFX to 1C00 or something below that, the timer won't screw up, but his tail will change into a bunch of numbers.....I tried moving Ridley's graphics alone to another location and repointing his GFX data, but it still screws up the timer.... aiwebs_007

I didn't think it would be this simple to fix. Also, once Ridley is defeated, the GFX timer screws itself up again anyways, even if you thought you fixed it this way. Crying or Very sad

Oh sweet. Thanks Taxx grin new

I'll have a mess around with Ridleys AI, see if I can get something working.

TAxxOUTBR3AKxx

2009-07-06 03:45:00 am

I'll go ahead and put these in for now as well.....

Breaks GFX Timer:
-Bomb Torizo (?)
-Kraid
-Crocomire
-Draygon
-Gold Torizo
-Ridley

Doesn't Break GFX Timer:
-Spore Spawn
-Phantoon
-Botwoon
-Mother Brain (1st Form)

Discrepencies:
-Ceres Ridley: No clue, but since the same graphics are used as Ridley, it's pretty safe to assume he will screw up the Timer as well.
-Mother Brain: Her normal "Brain-only" form is ok, but once her body attaches it screws up the Timer. Once the script starts for the Metroid to swoop in on her starts, the Timer becomes disabled until she is killed, which then restarts the timer.

ChozunSDA

2009-07-07 06:08:06 am

While on the subject of bosses, im sure this has been asked many times, but do any bosses have a bad reaction to being in different areas? Specifically Kraid in Crat and Phantoon in Brin.

Phazar

2009-07-07 03:10:41 pm

...

Usually, you will want to keep bosses in their original areas(and in some cases, rooms). Many bosses are known to screw up outside their default area. Also, Kraid should NEVER be used outside his room unless you know ASM.

Deep_Space_Observer

2009-07-07 03:43:06 pm

I've used bosses (Including Phantoon) in other areas just fine. Just remember that when it dies, it sets the death bit in the area it resides in, not the one it was originally. So killing Phantoon in Brinstar will not activate the WS, but will cause any other big bosses (that check the boss death bits) in Brinstar to not appear.

Sadiztik Fish

2009-07-07 10:54:10 pm

OMG FLAN!!!!!!!

Also while testing I realised Ridley can't be in any area other than Nofair. I don't know why, but anywhere else, he appears in the top right corner, facing left. Then the fight goes as normal sometimes, other times the game freezes. I fized just by switching Norfair and Tourian headers grin new

Kraid maight be able to be used in another area if you just change his room header? I've never messed with Kraid (I'm not even using him), but that might work. You still need the same tileset though.

TAxxOUTBR3AKxx

2009-07-08 12:44:19 am

In my WIP, Kraid seems to work just fine in Norfair.....

Arva

2009-07-09 01:37:17 am

QI[9]IQ

In Redesign there are tiles that when you pass them, you can't unmorph. Does anyone know how to do that?

Kejardon

2009-07-09 01:54:10 am

Embarrasing Fact: Power suit made by lowest bidder

The blocks would set or clear a bit within Samus's equipment, which then would disable the up, down, and possibly jump button depending on if Springball was on.
In other words, ASM.