ROM Hack Pikmin 2 (Switch) Product Placement Restoration

[Finn_MacCool]

I'm trying to restore the original textures of treasures to the switch version of Pikmin 2. This is the first ROM hacking project I've ever done and I'm struggling a little.

The only tool I've found that allows me to preview, edit and replace textures for switch games is switch toolbox. I've unpacked the nsp file for Pikmin 2 and I'm trying to look at the szs files in switch toolbox to find the relevant ones. Unfortunately the program can't open most of them, giving me the following errors:

Unable to read beyond the end of the stream.

Index was outside the bounds of the array.

Am I doing something wrong or is switch toolbox innapropriate for what I'm trying to do?

 

[Spooner]

The type of compression used on the new szs files haven't been figured out yet, as far as I'm aware.

You don't need the szs files for that though, the textures are in data/texture_replace as har/hix files. You can decompress them with Hixtool, just google it, they'll just be a bunch of pngs in a folder.

I've actually completed a mod that adds back all the sponsors and created icons for the treasure hoard menu. I'm working on making it public, but I can send you the files through PM if you'd like.

 

[Finn_MacCool]

I actually figured out how to open the szs files, I was going about it the wrong way. When I opened them directly in file explorer with switch toolbox it worked and I could see and edit the files. Don't know why navigating to them through toolbox didn't work but oh well.

I've actually completed a mod that adds back all the sponsors and created icons for the treasure hoard menu. I'm working on making it public, but I can send you the files through PM if you'd like.

Ah damn I was looking forward to having a project :// . Dw about PMing me, I'm happy to wait for the public release, I'm still playing 1 atm.

Does your mod restore the PAL region treasures? I'm not even sure if the switch release has regional differences. If not, and you're not interested in doing that, I could try to create a mod for it.

 

[Spooner]

Interesting, what version of Switch Toolbox are you on? I know people in the Pikmin community are working on more specific tools, but I like to tinker still.

I went the US route, the only non-branding thing I did was remove the censor on Arboreal Frippery. I don't have too much of an interest in the other versions, so go for it.

 

[Finn_MacCool]

Interesting, what version of Switch Toolbox are you on?

v1.0.260 but I made a mistake, I had the files from the Wii version open, not the switch version, very silly of me.

I think I'll have a go at the PAL restoration in that case. Would it be possible for you to share some details on how you made the mod? Np if not, I'm happy to work things out myself.

 

[Spooner]

Yeah sure, I used Hixtool to unpack the "TreasureTexture" and "Zukan" file sets, dumped the original game's textures as pngs, matched the original to generic textures, copied the names from the generics over the original names, and used Hixtool again to repack it.

A strange thing I noticed was if I saved a file out of Photoshop, which I needed to photoshop some textures like the batteries to get the + and - sides to show as silver, the game wouldn't load the texture properly, I ran whatever I photoshopped through a Custom Texture Tool aimed at Dolphin support and then it worked.

 

[Finn_MacCool]

Ok I'll have a look. I'm unsure about if a PAL restoration is even possible currently since some treasures use different models, so modifying the texture replacements wouldn't be enough. I'll still have a go.

You mentioned people in the pikmin community working on tools, where could I track progress on that?

 

[Spooner]

Oh yeah, I hadn't thought about the model changes. Given some time, there probably is the chance that model replaces would work, I'm not sure though.

I've not seen the ability to track the progress on the tools, and I always find not asking them about it to be the best way to get them out faster. I'm willing to bet that once they release, they'll be available on the Hocotate Hacker discord (I'd post the invite, but I don't have permission to do links yet).

 

[Finn_MacCool]

Thanks for the tip, I've joined it now.

 

[KaedesPiano]

The type of compression used on the new szs files haven't been figured out yet, as far as I'm aware.

You don't need the szs files for that though, the textures are in data/texture_replace as har/hix files. You can decompress them with Hixtool, just google it, they'll just be a bunch of pngs in a folder.

I've actually completed a mod that adds back all the sponsors and created icons for the treasure hoard menu. I'm working on making it public, but I can send you the files through PM if you'd like.

Would it be possible to PM me the mod? I've been waiting for a mod like this before I play Pikmin 2 on the Switch

 

[Cortexfou]

It's off topic but why not a 60fps mod too?

 

[Spooner]

Would it be possible to PM me the mod? I've been waiting for a mod like this before I play Pikmin 2 on the Switch

I've posted my mod here: https://gbatemp.net/threads/pikmin-2-re-sponsored.635963/