Found and fixed a bug in Phantasie III

Nogg · 20 February 2008, 12:48

Playing through the C64 version of the #1 RPG of all time I noticed that High Devils sometimes had wolves on rank 2, something that never happens in other versions.

After analyzing the monsinfo.dat file High Devil did indeed have a reference to Wolf at rank 2. But the Wolf structure itself was corrupt, listing a Wolfs hit points as 0. Using data from the C64 version I could recreate the correct info for wolf so now the wolves are back from the dead.

Give me a holler if you want the adf with the fixed monsinfo.dat, I also have constructed almost full spec of that file if you want to play around with it, create own monsters etc.

The Atari and PC versions also seem to suffer from corrupt monsinfo.dat

demoniac · 20 February 2008, 20:01

Why don't you put in the Zone (see FAQ), so people can grab it now if they want?

Nogg · 20 February 2008, 23:45

Hi demoniac, thanks for the sugggestion. However, when I try to access "The Zone!" I get: "Nogg, you do not have permission to access this page." Maybe I'm too new of a member?

Graham Humphrey · 20 February 2008, 23:45

Read the FAQ, as demoniac suggested.

Nogg · 21 February 2008, 00:00

Hi Graham, maybe tonights sparring session has left me a bit punch drunk, cant seem to find any useful info about the zone in the FAQ/wiki.

Graham Humphrey · 21 February 2008, 00:02

Well okay, just for you:

http://eab.abime.net/faq.php?faq=vb_...ezone_faq_item

Nogg · 21 February 2008, 00:10

Thanks Graham

I managed to find it myself eventually, it was under Rules&Help not FAQ, shame on both of you for misdirecting me

Nogg · 21 February 2008, 00:35

Ok, now it's in The Zone. I think you will find my party has some cool stuff.

demoniac · 21 February 2008, 01:28

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nogg

Thanks Graham

I managed to find it myself eventually, it was under Rules&Help not FAQ, shame on both of you for misdirecting me

I guess I haven't read the FAQ for a while (before the section got moved).

Thanks for the file. Since you have looked at the various platform versions, were the data structure identical between them?

Nogg · 21 February 2008, 02:34

Demoniac, there seems to be an Amiga FAQ and a vBulletin FAQ, I got stuck at the first one cause it said FAQ with big shiny letters, that just how I operate I guess

As for your question, the monsinfo.dat for Amiga, Atari and PC (named CREATURE.DAT) versions are exactly the same, ie no wolves since that piece of data is corrupt. The C64 version has Wolf intact and also differs in the byte that describes which picture to use for each monster, a bit different system in use I guess.

Another thing I noticed while playing the C64 version was that it was much harder to hit monsters. This could be because the byte that decides how hard a monster is to hit seems to be calculated as a signed byte on the Amiga. That is, 127 is the highest value, values beyond that get calculated as negative, ie easy to hit.

Now I'm rambling a bit, but I just love this game down to the last bit.

demoniac · 21 February 2008, 06:54

Thanks for the info. I'm interested to learn more about the series as I think it would be cool to make a Phantasie II for the Amiga. My original thoughts were to port over the data from Atari ST (since it's the most similar to the Amiga), but if PIII data are similar between platforms then maybe PII would be the same as well. I haven't had time to research this personally yet, and did not want to research until I beat PI Amiga version.

I liked PIII's UI and gfx more than PI. However, I think it'll be easier to use PI's engine for PII.

Maybe I'll start playing PI soon, since I'm becoming a bit more excited about playing them.

Nogg · 21 February 2008, 13:35

Interesting. I have been trying to find info about every bit in Phantasie 3, and have been thinking about making a custom game using the P3 engine. However, much of the stuff seems to be going on the main program file, and it's a bit hard to follow the disassembled code.

I've played through P1 on the Amiga, and as you say the UI is a bit backwards if you're used to P3's. It's a fun game nevertheless when you get into it.

I havent played P2, having never been on the Amiga and all. But I think I will have to give the ST version a go.

MazinKaesar · 21 February 2008, 14:38

@Nogg
Thank you for your adf, I will play P3 in the future, but right now I have to beat Super Robot Wars 64

and then find some working d64 of Might & Magic I for C64. Since I played P1 on C64 some times ago, I'll play it on ST too.

Nogg · 21 February 2008, 15:43

Hi MazinKaesar, P1 is available on Amiga, although the ST version is the same. I have limited experience with ST emulators, but I'm guessing WinUAE puts them all to shame.

MazinKaesar · 21 February 2008, 16:46

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nogg

Hi MazinKaesar, P1 is available on Amiga, although the ST version is the same. I have limited experience with ST emulators, but I'm guessing WinUAE puts them all to shame.

Eh eh... WInUAE rulez ^^

demoniac · 21 February 2008, 21:37

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nogg

I havent played P2, having never been on the Amiga and all. But I think I will have to give the ST version a go.

I don't know the story behind PII Amiga, but it seems like they were going to work on it (as it was listed as coming soon) and then it got canceled. I guess maybe the team that was supposed to work on it got behind schedule and PIII was about to come out?

I am a little concerned that the PII Atari ST version would have some Atari gfx formatting, see

http://eab.abime.net/showpost.php?p=...&postcount=266 .

I did try loading Sinbad Atari ST once and I used both STeem and SainT emulators. WinUAE at that point blew them both away.

Nogg · 22 February 2008, 02:25

@Mazin

@demoniac

Judging from the screenshots P2 seems very similar to P1, havent tried yet, will see how UI and gameplay is.

I took a quick look at the files though. The .PIC file sizes makes me think they are uncompressed bitplane data. COVER1.PIC for example 40(320 bits) width x 200 height x 4 bitplanes = 32000 bytes. Dont know if ST uses bitplanes like Amiga however

demoniac · 22 February 2008, 03:18

Well if you are interested in getting involved w/ a PII version for the Amiga, I could shift my focus on the P series soon. I think it's more exciting to reverse engineer together. Let me know...

MazinKaesar · 22 February 2008, 11:48

Ok, maybe someone of you can also create an English Amiga version of P4? It's only in Japanese, for Sharp X68000 and MSX2? 8-P
.
.
.
.
.
Don't take offense! It's just a joke

Nogg · 23 February 2008, 13:14

@demoniac

I can probably help out for sure, I'm more interested in P3 though. I have to play through P2 soon.

@Mazin

Interesting. I know a little japanese, might have try it out.

21 February 2008, 14:38	#13
MazinKaesar Super Robot Pilot Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Modena (Italy) Age: 49 Posts: 872	@Nogg Thank you for your adf, I will play P3 in the future, but right now I have to beat Super Robot Wars 64 and then find some working d64 of Might & Magic I for C64. Since I played P1 on C64 some times ago, I'll play it on ST too. Last edited by MazinKaesar; 21 February 2008 at 14:44.

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20 February 2008, 12:48	#1
Nogg Registered User Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Sweden Posts: 22	Found and fixed a bug in Phantasie III Playing through the C64 version of the #1 RPG of all time I noticed that High Devils sometimes had wolves on rank 2, something that never happens in other versions. After analyzing the monsinfo.dat file High Devil did indeed have a reference to Wolf at rank 2. But the Wolf structure itself was corrupt, listing a Wolfs hit points as 0. Using data from the C64 version I could recreate the correct info for wolf so now the wolves are back from the dead. Give me a holler if you want the adf with the fixed monsinfo.dat, I also have constructed almost full spec of that file if you want to play around with it, create own monsters etc. The Atari and PC versions also seem to suffer from corrupt monsinfo.dat

20 February 2008, 20:01	#2
demoniac Registered User Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: - Posts: 1,703	Why don't you put in the Zone (see FAQ), so people can grab it now if they want?

20 February 2008, 23:45	#3
Nogg Registered User Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Sweden Posts: 22	Hi demoniac, thanks for the sugggestion. However, when I try to access "The Zone!" I get: "Nogg, you do not have permission to access this page." Maybe I'm too new of a member?

20 February 2008, 23:45	#4
Graham Humphrey Moderator Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: Norwich, Norfolk, UK Age: 37 Posts: 11,168	Read the FAQ, as demoniac suggested.

21 February 2008, 00:00	#5
Nogg Registered User Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Sweden Posts: 22	Hi Graham, maybe tonights sparring session has left me a bit punch drunk, cant seem to find any useful info about the zone in the FAQ/wiki.

21 February 2008, 00:02	#6
Graham Humphrey Moderator Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: Norwich, Norfolk, UK Age: 37 Posts: 11,168	Well okay, just for you: http://eab.abime.net/faq.php?faq=vb_...ezone_faq_item

21 February 2008, 00:10	#7
Nogg Registered User Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Sweden Posts: 22	Thanks Graham I managed to find it myself eventually, it was under Rules&Help not FAQ, shame on both of you for misdirecting me

21 February 2008, 00:35	#8
Nogg Registered User Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Sweden Posts: 22	Ok, now it's in The Zone. I think you will find my party has some cool stuff.

21 February 2008, 02:34	#10
Nogg Registered User Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Sweden Posts: 22	Demoniac, there seems to be an Amiga FAQ and a vBulletin FAQ, I got stuck at the first one cause it said FAQ with big shiny letters, that just how I operate I guess As for your question, the monsinfo.dat for Amiga, Atari and PC (named CREATURE.DAT) versions are exactly the same, ie no wolves since that piece of data is corrupt. The C64 version has Wolf intact and also differs in the byte that describes which picture to use for each monster, a bit different system in use I guess. Another thing I noticed while playing the C64 version was that it was much harder to hit monsters. This could be because the byte that decides how hard a monster is to hit seems to be calculated as a signed byte on the Amiga. That is, 127 is the highest value, values beyond that get calculated as negative, ie easy to hit. Now I'm rambling a bit, but I just love this game down to the last bit.

21 February 2008, 06:54	#11
demoniac Registered User Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: - Posts: 1,703	Thanks for the info. I'm interested to learn more about the series as I think it would be cool to make a Phantasie II for the Amiga. My original thoughts were to port over the data from Atari ST (since it's the most similar to the Amiga), but if PIII data are similar between platforms then maybe PII would be the same as well. I haven't had time to research this personally yet, and did not want to research until I beat PI Amiga version. I liked PIII's UI and gfx more than PI. However, I think it'll be easier to use PI's engine for PII. Maybe I'll start playing PI soon, since I'm becoming a bit more excited about playing them.

21 February 2008, 13:35	#12
Nogg Registered User Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Sweden Posts: 22	Interesting. I have been trying to find info about every bit in Phantasie 3, and have been thinking about making a custom game using the P3 engine. However, much of the stuff seems to be going on the main program file, and it's a bit hard to follow the disassembled code. I've played through P1 on the Amiga, and as you say the UI is a bit backwards if you're used to P3's. It's a fun game nevertheless when you get into it. I havent played P2, having never been on the Amiga and all. But I think I will have to give the ST version a go.

21 February 2008, 15:43	#14
Nogg Registered User Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Sweden Posts: 22	Hi MazinKaesar, P1 is available on Amiga, although the ST version is the same. I have limited experience with ST emulators, but I'm guessing WinUAE puts them all to shame.

22 February 2008, 02:25	#17
Nogg Registered User Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Sweden Posts: 22	@Mazin @demoniac Judging from the screenshots P2 seems very similar to P1, havent tried yet, will see how UI and gameplay is. I took a quick look at the files though. The .PIC file sizes makes me think they are uncompressed bitplane data. COVER1.PIC for example 40(320 bits) width x 200 height x 4 bitplanes = 32000 bytes. Dont know if ST uses bitplanes like Amiga however

22 February 2008, 03:18	#18
demoniac Registered User Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: - Posts: 1,703	Well if you are interested in getting involved w/ a PII version for the Amiga, I could shift my focus on the P series soon. I think it's more exciting to reverse engineer together. Let me know...

22 February 2008, 11:48	#19
MazinKaesar Super Robot Pilot Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Modena (Italy) Age: 49 Posts: 872	Ok, maybe someone of you can also create an English Amiga version of P4? It's only in Japanese, for Sharp X68000 and MSX2? 8-P . . . . . Don't take offense! It's just a joke

23 February 2008, 13:14	#20
Nogg Registered User Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Sweden Posts: 22	@demoniac I can probably help out for sure, I'm more interested in P3 though. I have to play through P2 soon. @Mazin Interesting. I know a little japanese, might have try it out.

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