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SADX/SA1 Hacking/Modding

Discussion in 'Engineering & Reverse Engineering' started by MainMemory, Aug 15, 2009.

  1. Dark Sonic

    Dark Sonic

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    Working on my art!
    [​IMG]

    Here is V2 of my HUD update mod. I've gone back to using the 3D head icons for the 1 up boxes, but I opted out of using the original ones. Unfortunately Sonic's spikes droop a fuck ton in this game so what can ya do. For those who want to download it here's the link:

    https://mega.nz/#!jtV3BLBB!2W-DiUCLfclx1QVaaQKkS0Gu8YOUON_1xM3edfanKU8

    This is likely the last version of this I'll release btw, as it's being folded into a sub mod for the Dreamcast project. So in the future you'll get these and some other nice updates to bring SADX into the modern age :specialed:

    EDIT: I updated the mod real quick to fix Sonic's Tails race icon. It had some garbage pixels that I wanted gone.
     
  2. PkR

    PkR

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    SADX Dreamcast Conversion, The Emeralds' Awakening
    First release of the HD GUI mod, which provides high-resolution graphics for various ingame menus and GUI items. This isn't an exact recreation of SA1/SADX assets in HD, although the Dreamcast version was used as a reference and attempts were made to imitate it where possible.

    The mod replaces the following graphics:
    -Timer and ring counter, ring icon
    -Checkpoint timer
    -E102 Gamma's timer and GUI
    -Big's HUD (except the fishing rod GUI)
    -Knuckles' HUD, including emerald radar
    -Digits used in Trial menu
    -Character life icons (by Dark Sonic)
    -Item capsule icons (by Dark Sonic)
    -Emblem counter
    -Emblem icons in the results screen (by Dark Sonic)
    -Image of Sonic used on the ingame model of the emblem
    -Life gauges for Tornado and bosses
    -Scoreboard background and all scoreboard text and icons, including bosses, Sky Chase, Hedgehog Hammer and Twinkle Circuit
    -Twinkle Circuit HUD
    -Pause menu items, including button rectangle
    -Level A/B/C Clear/Missed text
    -Tails' race icons (by Dark Sonic)
    -Various miscellaneous items, such as the "BALLS" text in Casino
    -The font used for boss names

    Things this mod doesn't replace:
    -Animal icons
    -Objectives ("Rescue Tails" etc.)
    -Level titlecards
    -"Game Over" text
    -Anything Chao-related
    -Fishing rod GUI
    -Main menu text, buttons and shadows
    -Anything related to Mission Mode and Mini Game Collection

    Screenshots
    Timer/ring counter
    [​IMG]
    Boss font
    [​IMG]
    Pause menu
    [​IMG]
    Scoreboard
    [​IMG]
    Check it out, there's lots more!
    Download

    This mod will be included in an update for DC Conversion (totally optional), but I thought people who don't play DC mods might be interested in it as well so I decided to post it here.
    I gotta say I'm by no means a professional UI/font designer, and perhaps some of my replacements could've been done better. I still have the PDFs for almost everything, so if you feel like you could improve this - let me know and I'll give you the source material.

    EDIT: I updated the boss font to make it look more like the original. Thanks SteG for helping me improve it even further!
     
  3. MainMemory

    MainMemory

    Kate the Wolf Tech Member
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    I made a mod that lets you make any character use any other character's physics data:
    http://youtu.be/9gc35_eO4NA
    Get it here: https://github.com/MainMemory/SADXPhysicsSwapMod/releases

    Edit: Bonus Video
    http://youtu.be/n3uhZXzUiD4
     
  4. Covarr

    Covarr

    Sentient Cash Register Member
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    Trapped in my own thoughts.
    Two stageplays, a screenplay, and an album
    So what's going on with the little "CPU" flag in the first video? It appears to spend quite a bit of time pointing at places where not only is Sonic not, but where there's not even any land for Sonic to be on.
     
  5. MainMemory

    MainMemory

    Kate the Wolf Tech Member
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    It has difficulty distinguishing whether a character is in front of or behind the camera, and I'm not sure how to fix it.
     
  6. Dude

    Dude

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    There are several ways: Do a camera frustum check against the other character's location, or transform the other character's location into camera local space and see if the forward axis of the transformed point is negative. You could also get the forward direction of the camera, the direction from the camera to the other character's location and do an angle check or even a dot product between them.
     
  7. MainMemory

    MainMemory

    Kate the Wolf Tech Member
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    Okay, but... how do I do any of that in SADX?
     
  8. It seems that at least SA characters were modelled in Softimage 3D. Can this get us anywhere like more natural model opening, may be straight out of NJ file? Do you think they converted Softimage files somehow before putting them into a game?
     
  9. Shade Vortex

    Shade Vortex

    The Black Vortex Member
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    I have no clue why but sound effects won't play for me- I'm using BetterSADX and SADX:FE. But music and voices do work. Before anyone asks, yes, SADX:FE: Sounds is checkmarked, yes sounds are enabled in the config, and the volume is set to 100 for music and sound.
     
  10. MainMemory

    MainMemory

    Kate the Wolf Tech Member
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    Maybe you somehow ended up with ADX format sounds from the Steam version instead of the WAV format sounds the 2004 version uses?
     
  11. BlazeHedgehog

    BlazeHedgehog

    A "Community Enigma"? Oldbie
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    Is there any way SADX Fixed Edition could fix this spring in Final Egg? I'll describe where it is.

    [​IMG]

    The conveyor room near the start of the level. If you drop down to the lower level below the top level of conveyors, at the end there's a spring

    [​IMG]

    If you homing attack the spring, it sends you almost straight up and you fall in to the pit with very little chance to recover.

    [​IMG]

    You're supposed to spring forward in to these and it sends you back to the upper level of the conveyor room.

    I thought maybe it was a problem with Dreamcast Conversion or something, but I checked, and it happens in vanilla SADX, too. Seems like the kind of thing SADX Fixed Edition deals with. Honestly, this is the first time I've ever explored that lower level of the conveyor room at all, I didn't even realize there was stuff down there.
     
  12. darkspines35

    darkspines35

    It's Easy Actually. No, seriously. Tech Member
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    Yeah, Sonic Team used SoftImage for most, if not all of, Sonic Adventure's development. And within the Dreamcast SDK, there are tools for 3DS Max, SoftImage, and LightWave to create NJ/NJCM files. AFAIK, they won't work on modern systems as they were built for programs that don't work on modern systems. The 3DS Max version it requires is 2.5 for example. Picture is of me using it in a VM though.

    [​IMG]

    It's mostly easy to use, but it's a pain having to go back and forth with the VM. The plus side is that they are dll files, so they could be decompiled.
     
  13. Well not a big problem for me since I still run XP and installed Win2000 on my notebook recently %) AFAIK different models can only be distinguished by HEX offset which becomes their name in ripped file. Is this possible to view this HEX offset in a game though?
     
  14. Shade Vortex

    Shade Vortex

    The Black Vortex Member
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    Any way for me to fix this? I mean, I just recently found out I had this issue, and I tried reinstalling SADX, BetterSADX, and even installed the latest verson of the modloader.
     
  15. MainMemory

    MainMemory

    Kate the Wolf Tech Member
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    [​IMG]
    SADXLVL2's mission editor is now ready for public use. To edit missions, you need to check the "Mission SET Items" option in the View menu. You can right click -> Add -> Mission Object to add a new object, and every object that has mission-specific properties should have all those properties listed in the properties pane. The mission descriptions, the markers in the mission list that indicate the character, and the total item amounts for the onscreen progress indicator are all stored separately and will have to be added to the split tool.
     
  16. MainMemory

    MainMemory

    Kate the Wolf Tech Member
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    I've made some improvements to SADXLVL2's SET editing:
    • When creating objects, a dialog appears to select the type of object you want to place.
    • Object definitions can now specify default values for rotation/scale fields.
    • Objects are placed on whatever surface was under the mouse when you clicked to open the context menu.
    • Objects begin rotated to match the surface they are placed on.
    • Spring and Dash Hoop objects now have a custom "Point To" verb that allows you to select a location within the level for them to orient towards.
    [hr]
    Also, SADX Mod Loader now has a code to make title cards display for longer (default 2 seconds, configurable in Codes.xml).
     
  17. SF94

    SF94

    Tech Member
     
  18. PkR

    PkR

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    SADX Dreamcast Conversion, The Emeralds' Awakening
    Hey there,

    So I was looking at sound stuff again, and it seems like there's an issue with how SADX handles the timing of certain (all?) looping sounds.

    For example, check out the background engine sound in Egg Hornet. I'm pretty sure it's supposed to be a long sound that loops seamlessly like on the Dreamcast, but in SADX (both GC and PC) it gets cut off too early before the next loop, and it sounds a bit weird.
    However! When I was playing SADX on my tablet (which struggles to maintain a playable framerate when the PL mod is enabled), I noticed that the Egg Hornet sound was looped properly like on the Dreamcast. I then checked the restored Sky Deck 2 announcements ("Descending into the clouds" and "Go up - full speed ahead!") that get cut off too early - and they didn't get cut off. Then I tried lowering CPU speed on my laptop, and the sound started looping properly when it was low enough for framerate dips. Finally, out of curiosity I ran the game at "normal" (30 FPS) framerate with regular CPU speed, and guess what? The sounds loop and stop properly at 30 FPS. As soon as I set the framerate back to 60 FPS, the problem comes back.

    If possible, I'd like to ask the almighty SADX masterminds to look into this and help us make this broken game sound a little closer to what it originally was.
     
  19. E-122-Psi

    E-122-Psi

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    Overall there's been a lot of good enhancements in just these few months.

    I can think of only two key obstacles before the game will look fully presentable in HD (gameplay wise at least, no hope for the cutscenes :P).

    * Enhance the skybox (high res textures and larger smoother model to decrease distance cut off, I'm working on the former).
    * Add proper floor shadows SA2 style to replace the basic circle ones.

    That's looking pretty good. I always wanted to make more entertaining missions. Have to figure out how to get SADXLVL2 running on my laptop some point.
     
  20. E-122-Psi

    E-122-Psi

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    A rather quick one, but here's a HD version of the Egg Carrier background:

    [​IMG]

    Aaand another attempt at HD Speed Highway, still inconsistent sharpness though:

    [​IMG]