Another Big Hack Finished

16 years ago by Mato

Just a very quick late-night update. Finished the main battle VWF, finally got the “you got too many items” stuff to use a VWF too now. It was pretty easy actually, I was able to copy and paste most of my code for the main main battle text and then just a few tiny changes here and there.

Some pics of it in action.


So that means another big hurdle is crossed off the to-do list finally!

Allow for more than 42 letters on the screen at once, and change the auto-wrap thing. This will be VERY hard.

I remember when we all thought getting more than 42 letters to work in battle was impossible. The key is to think like a crazy person.

Anyways, that leaves just one thing left to do with battle text hacking. Here’s hoping it’ll be similar to this and be mostly a bunch of copy-paste stuff!

Posted on Tuesday, May 13th, 2008 at 1:35 am by Mato, filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Comments and pings are currently closed.

76 Responses to “Another Big Hack Finished”

  1. KouHotaru said 16 years ago:

    Things seem to be moving along very smoothly now! *knocks on wood* Keep up the good work.

  2. wtfitsed said 16 years ago:

    omg yes!

  3. Div03 said 16 years ago:

    Geeze, this is more than awesome!

    It’s like, almost done! LOOK AT ALL THE LINES ON THE TO-DO LIST

    Well, hopefully you’re a high enough level to take on the final boss =)

  4. KratosAuron0 said 16 years ago:

    shoot… I was just here 10 minutes ago, and there’s ALREADY a new post!? AMAZING!
    As you surmount new challenges, the mass of people await the fruits of your labor, cheering you on all the way.

    As you progress on,
    MOTHER 3 comes ever close
    Keep moving forward!

  5. Daves said 16 years ago:

    mato, please bear my children.

  6. Kuroneko said 16 years ago:

    Neat, I remember seeing this in the Mother Birthday video. Good stuff!

  7. crescentsaber said 16 years ago:

    omg omg omg you are GOD ! … of all fruits !!!

    wait.. is tomato a fruit or a veggie ?

  8. Zero said 16 years ago:

    I am going to have to second Daves on this one.

  9. Beck said 16 years ago:

    Short, but sweet. Just the way I like it.

  10. lawtey_boy said 16 years ago:

    WOW the to-do list is shrinking nicely 🙂 Good job Mato

  11. Jau said 16 years ago:

    Great Job guys, btw, what has been your favourite thing that you hacked? Just Curious.

  12. Wezzle said 16 years ago:

    Excellent work. This seems to be getting excitingly close to complete! Nintendo should be paying you guys. WE should be paying you guys…

  13. Matt said 16 years ago:

    You guys rock!

    Your work is greatly appreciated over here!

  14. Psychomax said 16 years ago:

    Dude, awesome! The list is slowly but surely being reduced to “to-do-paragraph”

    But you may want to hurry; in just a few days the planet will be sucked into a micro-black hole and we’ll all die, and I kind of want to play Mother 3 in English before that happens. 🙁

    http://www.lhcountdown.com/

  15. Earthboundpwnage said 16 years ago:

    woooo…..

  16. Buzz Buzz said 16 years ago:

    To defeat Giygas, your own power must unite with the Earth’s… the Earth will then channel your power and multiply it… There are eight points that you must visit. Make these places your own… Each of these locations is “Your Sanctuary.”

  17. EBer said 16 years ago:

    w00t!
    So, approximately how many more months? I’m guessing maybe 4 or 5 AT THE MAX.

  18. Morgil said 16 years ago:

    In the last update, i commented that i had crunched the numbers of the to-do list and calculated the progress so far. Not counting the editing and testing phases, it averaged out to about 78%. Now with this update, i checked the updated to-do list and recalculated. It has now jumped up to 90.5%. I was shocked at such an increase, and rechecked my figures, but it’s not wrong. It really did increase by that much. Now, if you add in the editing and testing phases, then the numbers drop to 71.9%, but since those phases i don’t think will be that long, i’m not too concerned.

    Long story short: I’m sure we’ll all be playing this sometime this summer, before long.

  19. Psychomax said 16 years ago:

    Hmm, 3 weeks ago you said there were 2 months of major hacking left, so that gives you at least 5 weeks to do the main script hacking. Does that estimation still sound about right?

  20. Cheezeitz said 16 years ago:

    Awesome! Just a little bit further!

  21. catpants said 16 years ago:

    Wow…I knew that there was a reason I checked this at 4 AM after a long night of drinking and carousing.

    Another thing off the to-do list…another step closer.

    Thanks so much Mato and friends…

  22. james said 16 years ago:

    Is this really happening? Is it really going to end?

  23. Vinnie said 16 years ago:

    almost there mato!!!

  24. Indy said 16 years ago:

    I’m so thankful for the work you people put into this project. If your site had a donation button I’m sure our appreciation would show (i’d gladly put 20 dollars down on this).

    Unfortunately I’m military and will be deploying soon, but there will be this to look forward to whenever I get back.

    Keep up the great work! Keep on truckin.

  25. beernutz said 16 years ago:

    KratosAuron0: Are you the one who has been regularly dropping haikus all over this blog? Part of me wants to applaud you for doing it so casually. I don’t know about the other part.

    In Other News: WOOOO!! Mato, if there was a way I could give you a solid handshake via this post, I would do so. Thank you very much, you are doing a great job.

    And yes, to whoever asked, technically a tomato is a fruit, being the swollen ovary of a pollinated flower. Awesome.
    Mato: Super ROM Hacker, Awesome Translator, Delicious and Nutritious. High in Vitamin C!

  26. Anna said 16 years ago:

    Geez, Mato. You’re knockin’ ’em down left and right, sweet! 😀

    I wonder what secrets lie behind the hidden door of the main script routine?

  27. Unsavory Maggot said 16 years ago:

    WOW! Great job man! 😀 Sit down, relax, and have yourself a bowl of Captain Crunch, you’ve earned it! 😀

    Also: Will Captain Crunch fit in Favorite Thing or Favorite Food? 😉

  28. Duffman said 16 years ago:

    Its so close, my only fear is how long it will take to polish it.
    Just because thats so vague, and its what is going to make me so impatient because i fell is polished enough.

    Hopefully its only a few things, but if isn’t too much trouble, elaborate what all falls under the “Polish” in your to-do list.

    Thanks

  29. Duffman said 16 years ago:

    Saddly, since there is no edit feature, since we are seemingly very close, will this have a launch date?

    Or will it just be, emails sent, come get it.

    I was just curious, i could use a reason to call off of work.

    😉

  30. thethirdman said 16 years ago:

    o___o

    look at all those lines crossed on the to-do list… wow.

  31. Chaos20022002 said 16 years ago:

    I’m very happy for what you guys are doing, i can’t wait for you guys to finish.
    i just thought it would be funny but what if Nintendo is also waiting for you to finish so they can take your hard work and then they put it into a cart and sell it as their own. idk i just woke up and checked so again good job!!

  32. npjpkac said 16 years ago:

    Yay…just what? 15 things on the list now!

  33. MentallyAbstract said 16 years ago:

    Good, good… 😛

  34. TimeSpaceMage said 16 years ago:

    Yeah, figured I’d check here before going to bed at *glances* 5:30 AM >_>
    All hail the man who invented copy-paste!

  35. Paige(Halfmetal Alchemist) said 16 years ago:

    Awesome job! You totally Falcon Punched that hack!

  36. SolarBoyMatt said 16 years ago:

    I’m running out of things to say…

    Keep it up!

  37. Majora said 16 years ago:

    90.5% 0_0

  38. Apteryx said 16 years ago:

    So, I know more people started out on this project when it began, specifically when starmen.net and mother3.org merged. However, at this point, it’s really just you (Tomato), jeffman, and byuu’s hack, no? So who are the people that were involved but have dropped off? And if you’re not comfortable with saying their names to “protect the innocent until proven guilty”, how many people were originally slated to help hack this thing?

    I’m not trying to get this for a list of people to chase with torches and pitchforks, because I couldn’t blame anyone for not wanting to do this thing. I just find it amazing that you guys still have the tenacity to keep pushing along with this project, especially after having the other guys kind of drop off. It’s just come so far. I’ve been around here for every single petition (and signed them as well) to Nintendo, and I was here when this project started. It’s come such a long way, and I’m just in awe of the progress made by the most stubborn community of fans the intarweb has ever known. Good job, boys.

  39. Tarik said 16 years ago:

    Morgil… keep dreaming.. 🙂

  40. Magus said 16 years ago:

    Morgil, barring crazy Mato bullshit (which I admit has been happening more often) the Main script routine technically counts as 50%

  41. Animus01 said 16 years ago:

    Whoa! And the menus were done a short while ago, too! Now the battle stuff hacking is nearly done! Krakens are like Thirsty Coil Snakes to you guys, now, right?

  42. fgg said 16 years ago:

    No time to rip

  43. Shaun said 16 years ago:

    Amazing! I can almost taste Mother 3!

  44. danny said 16 years ago:

    I’m so excited. Great work, guys. ^_^

  45. EToaster said 16 years ago:

    Wow… only 2 major hacking things left to deal with. You guys have come a long way in such a short time. =)

  46. Turnip said 16 years ago:

    Wow… I have to say that the pace is really picking up. I guess as Mato has been hacking we have been watching him develop along his learning curve.

    Very cool indeed, I can’t wait to play this game.

  47. Cas said 16 years ago:

    There’s a light at the end of the tunnel (and it’s not a freight train)!

  48. Torin said 16 years ago:

    Alright! a couple big hacks left on the to-do list and you’re done!

    Great job!

  49. AdamG said 16 years ago:

    Keep it up Mato and Jeffman!

    All your hard work is VERY appreciated as I’m sure you know, and you guys are probably more looking forward to the end than any of us as you can finally get a well deserved hacking vacation, which by the sounds of it may be permanent after this. Hahaha.

  50. Sonicandtails said 16 years ago:

    I know this is pretty much off-topic, but I figured I would throw it out here.

    Tomato, I know you are pretty much done with all hacking and whatnot, and I don’t want to take any of your time away from hacking away at Mother 3, but I seem to have run in to a problem. I wanted to play Earthbound Zero, with your update hack found on Starmen.net. However, in FCEUltra (Newest Version) it shows the star background as you noted in the readme, but the arrow for selecting menu stuff is missing. In Nestopia, the arrow comes up, but I was not able to get the star background to appear. Also, running the original Mother(Nintendo translation) has the arrow just fine in FCEUltra.

    Is this a case of emulator-specic hacks? Or am I just a moron 🙁

  51. Sonicandtails said 16 years ago:

    Also: Using GoodSet unmodified ROM for patching and whatnot.

  52. Judzilla said 16 years ago:

    Mato,

    You should seriously consider getting some T-shirts made that celebrate the glory of this hacking endeavor. Something that gives credit to you and the others who worked on it. This is a huge event for the hacking community and especially for Earthbound/Mother fans… and I for one would love to be a bearer of such a garment.

  53. EdgartheAlien said 16 years ago:

    Yay, more progress. This update’s almost glowing, am I crazy?

  54. GoldyK said 16 years ago:

    hmmm… haiku eh?

    Way to go Mato,
    I praise your efforts with love.
    -Your third strongest fan.

  55. L1G3RZ said 16 years ago:

    Unsavory Maggot: It’s actually Cap’n Crunch, not Captain Crunch. So, yes it should fit, because Mato has showed us that “Boob Wizards” fits. XD

    Mato: I don’t know what to say, except for thank you and good luck in the future. =)

  56. Coolkalle said 16 years ago:

    ‘The key is to think like a crazy person’ is now my mantra.

  57. Mato said 16 years ago:

    Good news, the three-line battle stuff should be mostly a copy-paste job again. Will have to take some stuff into account since there are 3 lines now, but nothing too difficult. Can’t show pics though, the 3-line boxes only show up near the very end of the game.

  58. Artek said 16 years ago:

    Wooo! You got the Zexonyte! Now find the Phase Distorter and kill us a Giygas! Pronto!

  59. Mato said 16 years ago:

    Alright, got the 3-line VWF working. The only thing I need to do now is write a new text-mover-upper. Got it working in 20 minutes, dang. I still don’t understand why the programmer made 50 different routines that are basically the same except for like one or two tiny things that could’ve been handled using variables. Ah well.

  60. GoldyK said 16 years ago:

    It would use less space
    but mother three programers
    are very evil.

  61. BreakingOrder said 16 years ago:

    My god…Two big problems solved in such short time? Now all the important stuff left is that 25% one and the special dialogue boxes that appear later in the game, right? RIGHT? I’ve never been so excited with a fan translation project as much as this one, Mato. Thank you, really.

  62. Lemmerman said 16 years ago:

    Keep it up guys!
    Work seems to be coming along great, I can’t believe how much has been crossed off so far.
    Good work, and thanks again.

  63. Lamguin said 16 years ago:

    Woo freaking Hoo.

    Well done, sir. Well done, indeed.

    I eagerly await the fruits of your hard work.

  64. Danio said 16 years ago:

    Can this be?

    Is this patch really coming to fruitiion?

    ………………..

    SWEETDOM!!!! YESSS!

  65. Eddward said 16 years ago:

    I think I found a glitch. Why is Flint throwing away a Nut instead of Nut Bread? On a related topic, how many actual bugs are in the Japanese version that were not caused by the translation hacking?

  66. Mato said 16 years ago:

    That’s not a glitch, I chose to throw away a Nut so I could get the Nut Bread.

    There are a number of bugs in the original version. I don’t think there’s an exact count.

    ———-

    Anyway, finished the 3-line VWF. We can move that to 50% now.

  67. Reagle said 16 years ago:

    My god. Are my hopes and dreams actually coming to fruition?

  68. captainzhao said 16 years ago:

    so excited

  69. Tom said 16 years ago:

    I can hardly believe all the hacks that have been completed in the past week (not that I would expect any less :P). Just watching the list shrink has a great feeling tied into it. Not that I expect this being done before the end of the academic summer break; but I can sure hope :).

  70. GoldyK said 16 years ago:

    I am quite impressed
    another hack in an hour
    Mato is the man!

  71. Saunis said 16 years ago:

    Yes! Keep it up you handsome stallions!

  72. Jeffrey said 16 years ago:

    Hey Mato, if you want to think like a crazy person I know an easy way how! All you have to do is go to your local Safeway run around like a freak until they kick your butt into a mental hospital! The only problem is you’ll start thinking like a crazy person because you were already crazy from the start all along! You just now let you inner crazy out and now it can’t go back in. WHAT A TWIST!!!

  73. DIGI01 said 16 years ago:

    Mato,

    How hard do you think the “Make sure these hacks will work at all text speeds” item will be? Do you anticipate any major glitches in your existing hacks?

  74. Mato said 16 years ago:

    I should probably just cross that off since that’s really part of the hacking process. Maybe I’ll just remove it. I don’t expect text speeds to matter much anyway.

    I don’t anticipate any major glitches with existing hacks, we usually test stuff out a good deal before saying something’s complete. We’ve already fixed what few major bugs we’ve found, too.

  75. Negi said 16 years ago:

    Mato, what other battle stuff is left to do specifically? Is there like battle scrolly text?

  76. Mato said 16 years ago:

    Only thing left battle-wise is a text routine related to the final battle.

    Also, I need to look more closely at the stuff I just hacked, my word wrap code doesn’t seem to work on it, I don’t expect any problems though, probably just a single-byte change will fix that.