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Sonic Adventure 2 Hacking

Discussion in 'Engineering & Reverse Engineering' started by Turbohog, Feb 20, 2012.

  1. Chris Highwind

    Chris Highwind

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    So, yeah, got this problem with the Dreamcast models in SA2:
    [​IMG]
    It's fine in the actual boss battle, but I don't know if these models are meant for cutscenes. I'm probably going to either keep them off as a result, or just play through the stages without the cutscenes.
     
  2. End User

    End User

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    Supers Over Hedgehogs (SA2)
    This is a common problem with the current Dreamcast Characters mod, as the cutscene heads and hands still adhere to the default texture lists for mapping purposes instead of those included in the mod pack. My (admittedly minimal) searches have not led me to locate where the in-level cutscenes are stored in the game's files, so the issue will unfortunately persist. In the worst-case scenario, the problem you've shown causes the Rouge cutscenes to crash the game due to the included texture pack not having enough images to load. I've been working on and off on a fix for these and other issues associated with the mod and I should have something ready soon.

    In the meantime, looks like Eggman went above and beyond with his Halloween costume this year...
    (A download link will appear soon.)
    [​IMG]
     
  3. Shaddy the guy

    Shaddy the guy

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    So...the problem will persist, but you're working on a fix for it? Or is it just a crash fix? I've seen the issues with Rouge firsthand, it's annoying. Eggman is also totally messed up.
     
  4. End User

    End User

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    The Dreamcast model conversions in SA2B have similar issues to what you're seeing with DC Eggman, though his is the most extreme case. The cockpit window in particular is a separate mesh entirely in SA2B, which is why it doesn't appear in your screenshot. DC Rouge still has the issue where her Iron Boots don't display the appropriate glow due to those layering problems, and it's a problem I've looked into. The only one I've managed to fix so far is DC Super Shadow's disappearing red streaks in his hair. If I'm unable to fix DC Egg Walker's glaring problems, the fix will simply replace him with Big until I can figure out how to have Eggman's body appear correctly.
     
  5. roachdaripper

    roachdaripper

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    Trying not to rage when porting SADX/SA2 models on PC.
  6. Sable

    Sable

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    this may have been discussed before so pardon me if so, but has there been any attempt to restore the lighting, models, and missing objects from the dreamcast version of the game? amongst other smaller things like some audio becoming fucked due to the cutscenes staying at 60 FPS at all times
     
  7. Shaddy the guy

    Shaddy the guy

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    I'm sure there's been an attempt to restore some of it, but SA2 isn't as versatile or at least is more cryptic than SADX from a hacking standpoint. The ports are also better, though they still have problems. I'd love to see a DC project as much as the next guy but I don't know a damn thing about modding and I don't know how much anyone actually wants to do it
     
  8. Speeps

    Speeps

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    It might not be much but a while ago I remade a few story select graphics and cleaned up the stage select background:
    [​IMG][​IMG][​IMG]
    https://www.mediafire.com/file/jgt86lm5wm08uba/Updated%20Menus.zip

    The main problem I find with all versions of SA2B though is the amount of lighting and effects missing in cutscenes that just make them look awful:

    Remember how the ARK's computer looked different in SA2B? That's because they didn't bother to properly port it in most cutscenes, with what seems to be their broken attempt at doing so being crammed into video files.
    Look closely: (DC) (GC), some leftovers from the original version are crammed into the top left corner

    Also, this:
    [​IMG][​IMG]
    And then there's added laziness in the PC port, like using a video of the game's original intro instead of going in and fixing the actual event that still exists in the game's files.
     
  9. Mr. Fox

    Mr. Fox

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    More than anything, I'd love to have separate volume sliders for music, voices and sfx. Something's very wrong with the sound mixing in the PC version. Just load up Aquatic Mine, the water dripping sound is drowning out everything.
     
  10. Fred

    Fred

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    That's because the positional volume leveling is broken, so everything sounds like it's either right up against you or infinitely far away.
     
  11. Yuzu

    Yuzu

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    I'd love to see that fixed one day. The 50% SFX volume mod improves it, but everything still sounds really off.
     
  12. Chibisteven

    Chibisteven

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    It's pretty obvious that the members of Sonic Retro should be doing the ports for these games because of all the stuff SEGA manages to break when porting in their usual half-assed style...
     
  13. Blue Spikeball

    Blue Spikeball

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    The Taxman ports/remakes broke a number of stuff too.
     
  14. SF94

    SF94

    Tech Member
    I'd be down, as long as this means they let me use advanced DirectX 11.1/12 and/or OpenGL features to implement (optional) OIT for Dreamcast games. Seriously. I'd do it.
     
  15. MainMemory

    MainMemory

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    With a remake, you're, well, remaking the game from scratch. For a port, all you have to do is not break the stuff that's already there and make adjustments for the new target platform.
     
  16. Blue Spikeball

    Blue Spikeball

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    Weren't the Taxman remakes largely based on the original games' source code, though?
     
  17. Clownacy

    Clownacy

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    No? The way I understand it, Stealth provided some reverse-engineering insight, but that was only when it was absolutely necessary. They prefered to redo things their own way, which led to some inaccuracies. They never had access to the source code, either. Just disassemblies.
     
  18. Blue Spikeball

    Blue Spikeball

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    They had access to the disassembled source code, and I thought they largely based the Retro Engine on it.
     
  19. Clownacy

    Clownacy

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    Stealth's blog goes over his and Taxman's differences in approaching the remasters, namely:

    And according to the beginning of this, Stealth was brought in when the base engine was already complete, and just there to make it a 'stronger build'. Some objects were probably ported to the Retro Engine, but things like crushing being too strict I imagine is because the relavent code was written from scratch.

    Making the remasters in general is more complex than porting SA2, particularly because the classic games have to have their code translated from ASM to something like C, which is a massive window for error. Not to mention, the ported code would then have to be rebased on top of the Retro Engine. With SA2, the objects and the like are already written in a suitable language, and don't need moving to a new engine.

    With SA2, you mainly just have to worry about porting the game to a new graphical/audio backend, which the Retro Engine was also dealing with on top of everything else. By comparision, Taxman and Stealth were practically making a game from the ground up, following someone else's blueprints, while SA2 was a straightforward port. Basically what MainMemory said.
     
  20. Blue Spikeball

    Blue Spikeball

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    So it's partially based on the original code, and partially based on new code that recreates the original behavior. I suspected as much, but it's nice to hear the devs' account. Thanks for looking it up.