Five years after the disassembly was started, a decompilation has finally been started. You do not have to know C, C++, or 80960 ASM to help the project. I am looking for people to: Edit and enhance markup documentation Produce more efficient, structured, and documented python tools Create the wiki instructions and frequently asked questions Add bytecode segments to accompany the assembly in the code Document how to build ghidra with staging patches 1349, 1437, and 1452. If you are technically inclined in C/C++ I would greatly appreciate any help, I am a beginner once again. If you are knowledgeable with M86K, the disassembly from ValleyBell needs work and/or decomp started.
Breaking an executable down to rebuildable assembly is not a decompilation; it is a disassembly. A decompilation produces code which is written in the compiled language that the original developers used (C, C++, etc.) which compiles to matching machine code. Assembly is not a compiled language; it is merely a human-friendly way of viewing machine code. Calling this a decompilation is like calling the conversion of Pig Latin English to regular English a translation.
...are we reading the same post? I am pretty sure that is the goal of this project. Right now, it's a disassembly, but the OP clearly states a distinction and an intention to make it a proper decompilation as C/C++ code.
"decomp" is in quotes and mentions that it's all assembly *right now*, with another tweet specifically mentioning the intention on recreating the code in C/C++. Whatever dumb news sources are saying is not relevant to this thread. Even besides those tweets and whoever is parroting them, the OP still clearly marks a distinction between the original disassembly having started years ago and efforts to begin properly decompiling it all into C/C++ now just beginning, so this isn't BSF confusing the two.
I gotta agree with Clownacy, call them dumb news sources all you want but it's already spreading like wildfire and there's clearly a misunderstanding of what this truly is. Since when it putting "decomp" in quotes good enough? Would you seriously be saying that for a newbie non-tech member who shows up doing the same thing for any other random game? I'm doubting it. I think the gun was clearly jumped a bit on announcing this as a decomp when it hasn't reached that stage yet. It's really that simple. Edit: And just for the record, no criticism is meant to punch down directly on biggestsonicfan, I do think it would be amazing if this got somewhere eventually. A Saturn port someday would be amazing.
I definitely agree with the news sources not helping with spreading this misinformation, and I do agree that it is definitely too early to be calling this a decompilation just yet. But, regardless, the intention is there to do it, and I really do hope that it gets off the ground.
Mistakes made and new regrets. It sucks that there is confusion. Time Extension has edited their article and to be perfectly honest I needed something to build from to start. I don't really know how much code I would have had to have translated to a higher level language before I could call it a decomp. The Paper Mario Decomp started in a similar way. I never intended to deceive or make people upset. I kind of figured no matter how I worded it, there would be misinterpretations. Some people think disassembly means decompilation and/or decompilation means pc port. I just feel bad now that I've started a fire I can't put out.
Don't feel too bad, I don't think anyone's truly "mad" or anything I'd say the issue mainly stems from the internet, including myself, being used to the idea of a modern day traditional decomp to mean something translated to something higher level than ASM since it allows for portability. I certainly see where this can be used as a starting point though.
In all fairness, the distinction between disassembly and decompilation is rather technical and I wouldn't expect the average layperson to understand or care about the difference... and its not like gaming journalism is all that well known for technical rigor in their reporting. It matters to the people doing the work and those who want to take advantage of it for hacks/mods, but for a lot of people who will only ever play the end result of any ports/hacks/mods, the technical mumbo jumbo is unimportant and all they care about is "Can I run this without an emulator and with upgraded graphics?".
