Fixing Block 0 Bugs, Part 3
Lots more code-tracing to fix some Block 0 problems. The first and probably most important fix was the Block 0 cut scene stuff, especially one during the final battle. Rabid readers may remember that we discovered Block 0 would crash the game during the final battle during a big playthrough test a few weeks ago.
Anyway, it was annoying as hell, but I managed to fix it, allow for more text, and allowed the centering routine to work with the longer text. Then I finalized this scene’s text, formatted it, and tested it a lot.
As expected, fixing this broke something else Block 0-related: the scrolling text that appears throughout the game. The text would act strangely after 11 lines and repeat some of its previous lines. It was very strange, but after some random swearing for a few hours, I got that fixed. Tested a bunch (not all) the scrolling text in the game and it all works, and the various Block 0 cut scene text also works properly.
That’s two major things fixed in about a day, whew. That leaves just about three other Block 0 issues to fix, each one being connected to a key item in the game. They’re notebook-like items, and they display a text overlay on the outside screen when you use them. You can flip through pages by pressing left and right, and one of these items has about 10 KB of English text total. I’m not 100% sure, but I bet these things all share the same code, but we’ll see.
In any case, with the recent stuff completed, we can say this Block 0 stuff is somewhere around 40%-ish done on the to-do list. With any luck, those key items WILL share the same code, so fixing one might fix them all. But right now they crash/reset the game or do that weird memory corruption stuff from a previous update.
More updates as stuff happens, though I’m sure there’ll be plenty of mini-updates in the comments before then.
Cool, I just checked for fun, and I was early, gonna admit though, I’m leaving a comment and reading afterwords >.> Still can’t wait though!
I love you
Epic.
Can’t wait for this to be done!
WOOOOOT!
Yessssssssss. <33
I’m so ridiculously excited for this. 😀
Hooray for Random Swearing!! 😀
good job man… we all knew you’d deal with that scrolling issue in not too long at all..
Keep on truckin’, and i hope you got your hacking groove back
Thanks you huys, this is really cool! 40% WE’RE SO CLOSE!
Good good
Congratulations on tackling that Block 0, even if it is only around 40% done. 40% is better than 30%, right? Plus, you’ve inspired me to take Japanese as an elective.
I can’t wait for this game. NOA not translating this game makes me want to go down there and punch all them in the face. Well ok maybe not but hey. Guys we are all rooting for you. “Generic Praises”
AWESOME. Hey, do you think you could do a video of some memory corruption? That would be awesome.
Cool, I just started to listen to “Eight Melodies” and checked this site to find a new update. Whee, you guys rock.
Hyperstar: He’s already done a video showing some of the memory corruption that block 0 causes, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=urT9dgKJ4c4&fmt=18
Is it sad that this is my homepage so I can read the updates shortly after they’re released? Anyways, grats on getting past that.
Sweet! This is awesome!
Wow! It definitely looks like Block 0 might not take as long as everyone thought. If you keep at it like you have been, it should be done in no time. Keep up the good work Tomato and team I can’t wait to see it when it’s done.
Awesome!
C’mon! you can do it!
Everyone, post pollyanna lyrics! it keeps your spirit up!
I believe the morning sun
Always gonna shine again and
I believe a pot of gold
Waits at every rainbow’s end, oh
I believe in roses kissed with dew
Why shouldn’t I believe the same in you?
I cant believe i did this.
http://www.lyred.com/lyrics/Cathrine+Warwick/MOTHER+Soundtrack+(Japan)/Pollyanna+(I+Believe+in+You)/
I think I may have fixed one Block 0 key item already. Just need to format the text better and tinker with it.
seeing as you just owned two big block-0 problems and you’re still only at 40%, i’m guessing block-0 controls a good crapload of stuff
maybe posting a list of all the tings block-0 controls will help us see exactly what is left to be done, kind of like a to-do list within a to-do list (well, dont post anything spoiler-y, of course)
Just one? So no shared code then 🙁
Even so, the light at the end of the tunnel is growing larger and larger. Good luck + generic praise!
*Randomly swears at game for giving Mato a semi-hard time*
…No secret link? Or maybe I’m just blind…
Oh wow.. Have you been eating nothing but Skip Sandwiches for the past few days, Mato? You’re going awfully fast.
The text data for these special items is really strange, and being ever-so-slightly off will make the game freak out. It feels like the programmers did these last-second or threw it together real fast without much care. At least enough care to make it work just barely in Japanese.
First Block 0 item (you get in Chapter 1) works now. Testing the second Block 0 item now, it also seems very fussy, but I think it may work exactly the same as the other one. It’s somewhat possible I could have most of this finished before bed. Have a headache though so maybe not. But maybe.
Man, Mato, you are a hacking machine. I can’t believe the progress you’ve made. It’s just amazing.
Mato = <3.
or something.
Either way, you deliver the final blows to evil Block 0 coding. and I is crossing fingers on the key item thing, please let us know soon how that goes because I want to be excited for YOU with the whole hacking thing.
How many block 0 items are there?
uh hey first time poster, anyways really exciting to see this is almost done. Im really impressed with the speed your completing these arduous tasks, you must be a freakin wiz kid mtomata .. peace
Keep going I hope this gets done soon. Whenever they get finished and it gets released we will have Mother 3 day. YAY!!
Think I got the second of the three Block 0 items done. They work and display properly, but they’re strange, so I hope they’re not causing any unseen trouble.
The third item is the really crazy one that’s like 10 KB in size (seriously, go try to write 10+ KB in a text file, it’s huge) and it’s the one we all knew would be hell when we first started the project. I don’t even know how it loads the text here, I sure hope it doesn’t load all the text at once at any point, might not have enough RAM for it.
I just have to say… you guys rule! I’ve been following this since day one. Keep up the good work!
Mato, toil comfortably knowing that I, too, swear uncontrollably. Though, for me, and in this context, I swear, not in frustration, but in excitement.
Mato-san Kenobi, you’re our only hope.
These special items must be like the cups of coffee in EarthBound. You’re making real progress on all this Block 0 stuff Mato! Is fixing the menu morphing problem going to be easier than this, do you think?
Also, I found the secret link.
Honestly, Mato. I don’t see how the hidden videos can get any more devious from here. Feel free to prove me wrong!
“jyxtKzhc00c”
Er… I don’t get it…
I wonder how many people will find that.
Good work Mato. I thought progress on Block 0 would be much slower than this. Keep up the fast pace, we’re all counting on you. Just don’t work yourself too hard.
Oooo you all had made all of us feel proud! keep up the good work.
I think everyone will appreciate the game when everything’s done… especially those who followed the translation progress since years ago =D
Ganbate Ganbate! It’s chinese mooncake festival today =D
Hope I have the chance to treat you one… hehe..
Actually, never mind. I just got it. You really were evil with this one. >-<
^,..,^
Everyone who touches this project has my eternal gratitude, keep up the incredibly hard work. I must return to organic chemistry.- Hides-
gah this hidden video is hidden toooo well…
Got a tiger plush today. Named it Kumatora. <3
this is my first time commenting, but i’ve been reading along since about the beginning. (shy) you’ve worked so hard! and once this block 0 is finished we’ll all be in the homestretch! i’m sure there are many other people who read (and wait!) and haven’t commented who are also very grateful.
thank you very much kind sir.
Oog this huge file is huge, and I have to format it without aid of the preview tool because it’s so much text that it breaks the previewer. I’ll also have to slim down the text for sure, since it seems there are other weird limits involved, but things are looking up for the third and last and craziest Block 0 item. It’s gonna take me all night to format/edit this stuff though, bleh. Hopefully no new issues will arise.
In other unrelated news, I did discover one slight display bug possibly related to my previous debug menu fix, but I think it’ll be easy to fix later.
Next time I have a problem I’m just going to swear randomly and see if it works out…
Am I reading too far into this, or does this mean Block 0 nears its doom?
Ugh, This one sound’s like it will take a while. Good luck Mato.
He’s Mato the Hacking Man
He’s Mato the Hacking Man
He’s strong to the finish
‘Cause he eats his… Nut bread?
…
He’s Mato the Hacking Man!
Very nicely done. Keep diligent and you’ll have your vacation in a bit.
Kudos.
Germ: No, that’s exactly what this means, but because this stuff is such a tangled mess, there’s always a chance a fix here might cause some strangeness elsewhere in the game, so some testing will be needed to make extra sure everything is a-ok.
But gotta finish this last item first.
For those wondering, the sprite text morphing thing won’t be easy, I’ve tried a few things already in the past. It’s going to take a few weeks, like I mention in the to-do list. I have other ideas for it, but that whole sprite text system is such BS that there’s no guarantee things how will turn out until we try them all.
yay random swearing
There needs to be a “I survived Block 0” t-shirt. Cuz I would totally throw money at you for that.
Also, Mato, you’re the best person. Ever.
I just realized this project has spawned so many memes and in-jokes.
NUT BREAD IS NOT FOR THE HEAD
what’s this sprite text morphing? I’ve been following the blog since forever, but I probably missed it somewhere, or forgot.
10kb of text is really big. Unless you’re using Microsoft Word. A blank Word document is 11kb, just because of all the strange extra formatting that Microsoft puts into every word document. It’s a wonder that Word is the industry standard, but oh well…
Mato, this is all very exciting.
fantastical
We’re cheering for yah! Keep going Mato!
Mato, you are some kind of hacking demon. It frightens me a bit, to be honest.
Mato take a break man. Sometimes its more efficient to sleep on things and look at it with fresh eyes. No one wants you to tire yourself out. Go buy some beer, smoke a doobie, get laid. We all can wait as long as its gonna take to finish the patch.
I second the motion for a “I Survived block 0” shirt, simply because seeing someone else wearing it would be a big trip.
About halfway through formatting this huge thing. Blargh so much text.
Sweet you guys are coming close to completion 😛
Do you think it’ll be done by November Mato?
We really appreciate how much time your dedicating into this 😀
Wow, and you said there would be little activity for the last points on the list (you won’t hear me complaining, though!). Good to be aware of the progress and best of luck in finally getting the Block 0 issues out of the game.
Keep it up! Also, it is a known fact that swearing randomly at faulty code is a sure way to fix it. The louder, the better, too. Banging your head against a wall/table if possible.
I finally found the secret link. Yeah, it was a toughie. I actually missed it the first looking at the source code.
Go Mato! Keep up the great work!
About 2/3 done formatting this huge text.
You’re on a streak
Awesome, just a bit more and you’ll have hit an OmelettesHome Ru. Or something like that…
Well, it’s good to hear about Block 0 no longer being the threat it once was.
I love you guys.
Wow. You’re amazing, Mato.
Lesser hackers would probably have given up by now.
I salute your stubbornness.
This is so exciting! 😀
Cool. o.o;
Umm… crap, can’t find secret link… can’t find it by tabbing, and is it even a hyperlink? You’ve hid it well. >_> (I’m assuming it exists somewhere in the source code >_<)
Ahh, so no link is the link. Got it 🙂
I wish fixing the evil of block 0 and sprite morphing was as easy as that 🙁 We need to hire some commandos to steal the M3 source code, then get a time machine so they can bring it to Mato back at the start of all this…
I suspect that the hack that finally Block 0’s doom, if rendered in anime, would look something like Archer’s ‘Unlimited Blade Works’ attack, but with a lot of 1s instead of swords… 🙂 But Mato has probably already lost his ‘reality marbles’ from hacking this for so long…
[Anyone who doesn’t get the reference should go watch Fate/Stay Night.]
Oh, okay… found it. No need to be assholeish about hiding the link though. @_@
I am the bone of my sword.