Ninja Gaiden II (working version please)

[Codetapper]

My tile compressor (a Windows app - sorry non Windows users) is now in the zone. Included are the sample tiles for levels 1, 2 and the fixed level 6, and a bonus level 6 with slime tiles numbered so possible modification of the animation can take place.

Incidentally, you could also edit other pictures from the game and inject those back into the game. Files like the chaos.raw, sunset.raw are also 320 x 200 x 32 colours (with the same static palette) so you could alter those graphics too if you really wanted to.

[Codetapper]

I've also knocked up a quick WHDLoad slave for the game. It's hardly tested and may contain bugs but you can at least load the game a lot easier now!

Grab it from the zone...

[dlfrsilver]

thanks Ian, and happy new year ! all the very best

[viddi]

Great! Thanks for your efforts, guys.

[mai]

Originally Posted by prowler

Before I work on all the disk images, I need to know that we have a final replacement for that file.

If you create disks with the final replacement, then please use original "CSL" release and i would prefer to add credits at startup.

[prowler]

Originally Posted by mai

If you create disks with the final replacement, then please use original "CSL" release and i would prefer to add credits at startup.

Right you are, mai!

[Retro-Nerd]

It's a horribly bad version of Ninja Gaiden, but a great job in preserving a broken/lost game.

[prowler]

Originally Posted by Codetapper

My tile compressor (a Windows app - sorry non Windows users) is now in the zone. Included are the sample tiles for levels 1, 2 and the fixed level 6, and a bonus level 6 with slime tiles numbered so possible modification of the animation can take place.

Got it, thanks! With your tool I've compressed the level 6 tileset with the slime tiles numbered. I'll transfer the new raw file to disk later and, if the numbers aren't too distracting, I'll see if I can determine the actual sequence and, if possible, suggest an alternative, but I'll have to leave it to the experts to implement the changes.

Edit: It's a bit of a mystery that there are 23 tiles in the 'slime set', and this is a prime number. I doubt that the 23 tiles represent a single sequence, so it'll be interesting to see how they're distributed.

[Codetapper]

It's probably a bit of a hopeless cause to be honest. I put that file onto the game, set the FPS in WinUAE to 1 and observed the numbers and they're an ugly pattern. I originally thought the problem might be to do with the fact the bottom row of graphics in the original file uploaded had stuff in them (just in case the game did anything weird with those "half" row tiles - as the file is 200 pixels tall but the tiles are 192 tall then a half row left over) but nothing.

Anyway it'll be interesting to see what you come up with! I've ripped all the other tiles to IFF if anyone wants them. The tile util also accepts PNG input incidentally, I just used IFF as it was more Amiga-like!

[prowler]

Originally Posted by Codetapper

I've ripped all the other tiles to IFF if anyone wants them. The tile util also accepts PNG input incidentally, I just used IFF as it was more Amiga-like!

Yes please, if you would upload them. Thanks for the offer! I've not finished trying to master GfxRip yet, and they might just help.

[Codetapper]

In the zone...

[clenched]

Hey prowler/Ct - Load up my savestate, go to debugger and change address $186f0 to $60 and see what you think. This animation cycles 3 tiles per block. But there is pause and the counter isn't running smoothly. At any rate, the hiccup is coming from the program because this change bypasses flag that tells the game to accelerate switching blocks. Animation now looks consistent with what I am seeing in DosBox. I wouldn't make the stretch to say anything is fixed but I think this trouble is in the program.

[hipoonios]

Thanks guys!

I can now finally finish my longplay.

I think there is more problems with this game. Sometimes the game asks for wrong disk. Also some of the cut scenes are broken.

[Codetapper]

Clenched: That fix certainly makes the slime animation work nicely, I wonder if it affects anything else too?

Hipoonios: The WHDLoad version at least should prevent that "wrong disk" problem as it assigns both NG1: and NG2: disks to the same data folder, thus all files will appear to exist on the same drive.

[clenched]

Originally Posted by Codetapper

Clenched: That fix certainly makes the slime animation work nicely, I wonder if it affects anything else too?.

I looks confined to the speed of animation. On act 4 there are some flames and a different value in the long word that is tested. It is also jerky with authentic Amiga tiles. When the value remains 0 such as the waterfall animation, it remains smooth. I never noticed trouble skipping forward through the levels but going backward from 7 to 3 caused the game to fall into an endless loop. In the absence of anything better, I'll ask you or prowler to change the exe accordingly because I'm give out.


That packing advice didn't come a moment too soon because of all the gunshots and firecrackers were beginning to get on my nerves.

[prowler]

Originally Posted by Codetapper

In the zone...

Got it, thanks. I'll report back later.

[s2325]

longplay [ Show youtube player ]

[prowler]

Originally Posted by clenched

Hey prowler/Ct - Load up my savestate, go to debugger and change address $186f0 to $60 and see what you think. This animation cycles 3 tiles per block. But there is pause and the counter isn't running smoothly. At any rate, the hiccup is coming from the program because this change bypasses flag that tells the game to accelerate switching blocks. Animation now looks consistent with what I am seeing in DosBox. I wouldn't make the stretch to say anything is fixed but I think this trouble is in the program.

Originally Posted by Codetapper

Clenched: That fix certainly makes the slime animation work nicely, I wonder if it affects anything else too?

Originally Posted by clenched

I looks confined to the speed of animation. On act 4 there are some flames and a different value in the long word that is tested. It is also jerky with authentic Amiga tiles. When the value remains 0 such as the waterfall animation, it remains smooth. I never noticed trouble skipping forward through the levels but going backward from 7 to 3 caused the game to fall into an endless loop. In the absence of anything better, I'll ask you or prowler to change the exe accordingly because I'm give out.

Could someone let me know at what offset in the executable "change address $186f0 to $60" occurs, please? Then I'll be able to patch it directly in the relevant data block in the disk image.

[Codetapper]

I don't have time right now to look but you can try the following. Enter WinUAE debugger with Shift F12, type "m 186f0" and note down the sequence of bytes. Probably 4 are enough, possibly 8 should be ample. Then search the executable file for that sequence with a hex editor like Zap and change the bytes.

[prowler]

Unfortunately, the WinUAE version I'm using doesn't have the debugger, otherwise I wouldn't be asking. Obviously, in these circumstances, the byte sequence would be just as useful to me. And I'll be patching the disk image directly, not the executable, though I'll use the same method before recalculating the checksum(s).

BTW, would sdi.iff be the one with the wrong palette?