New project: New background graphics for SSF2

[maxxfarras]

Tryphon,
thanks a lot for share this valuable info of your findings. I can see what you find but I have not idea how do you find it. But you did it! Have not words. Im so excited that we can finish cammy stage now!

Im looking forward for more of your work and for the info of genesis version of SSF2. I will try to study it carefully. Surely some other members also will find this info very uselful and use it in a deeper way than me.

This project could not still alive without you. And thanks a lot again to Barone because their sharp ideas and contribution.

Now just need fix some details of cammy stage and then I will do a preliminary release of this version of SSf2 hack. Its a very special version for me because it contains the contributions of some members of community: stef, Pyron, you and me.

[tryphon]

Thanks for the kind comments.

I've updated my post with comments of object 59 (the stone under the birds) and addresses from the US version.

Of course, this is just a few infos needed for Cammy stages, but it opens ways of changing many things (position, patterns to be used, and even, but more complicated because it would require moving the tables and some hacking, number of sprites making an object, or even new custom objects).

[maxxfarras]

tryphon wrote:

I've updated my post with comments of object 59 (the stone under the birds) and addresses from the US version.

Of course, this is just a few infos needed for Cammy stages, but it opens ways of changing many things (position, patterns to be used, and even, but more complicated because it would require moving the tables and some hacking, number of sprites making an object, or even new custom objects).

That is great Tryphon!

By the way, Cammy stage at last is ready IMO. (Except if Pyron consider necesary some improvement for color but anyway that could come later)
This release includes all the improvements that Stef, Pyron, Tryphon and me did for SSF2 so far. Enjoy guys!

https://www.dropbox.com/s/som2p9imll..._plus.bin?dl=0

[saturndual32]

Just tried it. Looks amazing!. Its a huge contrast to go from a regular level, to the ones you have fixed in this demo.
Congratulation maxxfarras!

[Barone]

Just tried it. Looks amazing!. Its a huge contrast to go from a regular level, to the ones you have fixed in this demo.
Congratulation maxxfarras!

This.
I've tested it this morning on real hardware using component output with a Sony FD Trinitron Wega 29¨ (KV-29FS200 IIRC) and, man, it does look like an arcade game on the stages maxxfarras have edited. Holy cow!

Also, Pyron's color hack is really superb for this game. The characters look so smoooooothly colored and detailed.

By the way, Cammy stage at last is ready IMO. (Except if Pyron consider necesary some improvement for color but anyway that could come later)

One detail which bothers me in the new version of Cammy's stage is the fighters' shadows. They are using a blue-ish green (probably from the aurora palette) instead of a dark brown-ish tone like they should (on all other stages the fighters' shadows use the a dark tone which is based on the floor's palette).
But IDK if it's an easy fix because I believe it's a side effect of the MUCH better palette arrange you made for this stage. If that's the case, then you'll probably need to change the sprite attribute of those shadows as well, in order to use the castle's palette (its darkest tone would be perfect for the shadows IMO).

There's also a similar (but smaller issue) with the color scheme of Chun Li's stage. Fighters' shadow are solid black while I believe they should be using the same color of the bikes' shadows.


By the way, tryphon's hacking skills are off the charts. Thanks a lot, man!

[maxxfarras]

Just tried it. Looks amazing!. Its a huge contrast to go from a regular level, to the ones you have fixed in this demo.
Congratulation maxxfarras!

This.
I've tested it this morning on real hardware using component output with a Sony FD Trinitron Wega 29¨ (KV-29FS200 IIRC) and, man, it does look like an arcade game on the stages maxxfarras have edited. Holy cow!

Also, Pyron's color hack is really superb for this game. The characters look so smoooooothly colored and detailed.

Thanks for your words guys. Indeed was a lot of work. By the way I included in this release the improvement that Pyron did for the colors of ken stage also.

One detail which bothers me in the new version of Cammy's stage is the fighters' shadows. They are using a blue-ish green (probably from the aurora palette) instead of a dark brown-ish tone like they should (on all other stages the fighters' shadows use the a dark tone which is based on the floor's palette).
But IDK if it's an easy fix because I believe it's a side effect of the MUCH better palette arrange you made for this stage. If that's the case, then you'll probably need to change the sprite attribute of those shadows as well, in order to use the castle's palette (its darkest tone would be perfect for the shadows IMO).

There's also a similar (but smaller issue) with the color scheme of Chun Li's stage. Fighters' shadow are solid black while I believe they should be using the same color of the bikes' shadows.


By the way, tryphon's hacking skills are off the charts. Thanks a lot, man!

You caught me here. Exactly, as you suspect is hard for me to change it. Could it be necesary to change the subpalette asigned to the sprites used for the shadow of the fighters and then change the index of the subpalette color.This is beyond of me. Maybe if tryphon can check if it is possible...

[maxxfarras]

Some little updates about other stages:


I been working a little for try to fix the "blue things" on ken stage floor, but Im not sure if look better or worse than before:

subir fotos gratis

For other side, also I been doing some tests for try to improve blanka stage. By rearrenge the subpalette asignation and tilemap I could get it more acurate to arcade. Clouds can be improved also by creating a new tilemap. The following two 16 color pics show the concept, even when the pics need to be cleaned a little (mainly the house). Maybe I will experiment with blanka stage before than chun li stage becase animations are already drawed for blanka stage and I can recycle some graphics:


sube fotos



subir fotos

[tryphon]

You caught me here. Exactly, as you suspect is hard for me to change it. Could it be necesary to change the subpalette asigned to the sprites used for the shadow of the fighters and then change the index of the subpalette color.This is beyond of me. Maybe if tryphon can check if it is possible...

I think it shouldn't be too hard. I'll have a look at it as soon as I finish what I'm working on (teaser:


)

[Stef]

S*****i !
What are you trying to do ??

[tryphon]

Recreating it from scratch, first with SGDK, then directly in asm for performances if needed.

For the moment, I'm coding my map handler. Then I'll go for sprites (I want to mimic Shadow Dancer engine, which doesn't work like yours : less flexible but likely faster). Then collisions.

BTW, in English, do we write TEXTLE WASTES ot TEXTILE WASTES ?

[Stef]

Awesome !!

[maxxfarras]

Never thought possible, my dream becoming true! Epic.

[tryphon]

Concerning SSF2 :

I had a look and it seems trickier than I thought : the problem is that the shadows are an object shared by all stages. So I can't just change the base_pattern attribute (at 0x12 of the ObjectDescriptor struct).

What the engine do, when initializing the object, is test if stage_id is 0, 0xE, 0xF or 0x11 (Ryu, Fei-Long, Dee Jay or unknown - likely some bonus stage) in which case the palette used is palette 0. In all other cases it's palette 1.

I can add some code to test if stage is Cammy, and change the palette accordingly. For that, I must know where there is free space in the ROM : since it uses a bank-switch system, I don't think I can just add my code at the end of the ROM.

Do you have an idea ? (Maybe Stef: where did you put your alternate sound driver? Did you just replace the old?)

Concerning the other thing : it's still a very early work in progress. It'll be a long time before I can show something really interesting.

[Barone]

I can add some code to test if stage is Cammy, and change the palette accordingly. For that, I must know where there is free space in the ROM : since it uses a bank-switch system, I don't think I can just add my code at the end of the ROM.

Yeah I think it's on the limit already.

Do you have an idea?

I think you can use the space from 1B0 to 200 with no major concerns (I've overwritten it right now and made some tests). It's not a huge space but I think it will be enough for what you need.
But, after that, you'll need to apply the Master Code in order to avoid the red screen (fixing the checksum will not work).

Master Code for the US version:
M27T-AA86

Easy-to-use tool to apply it permanently to the ROM file:
http://www.sega-16.com/forum/showthr...Game-Genie-Guy!

[tryphon]

Good idea!
I remember Golden Axe 3 has code in the header too.
For the checksum, I can disable it completely, it's not a big deal.

I hope Stef hadnt the same idea, I don't want to conflict with the sound driver hack.