ROM Hack Metroid: Other M Redux (Based on Maxximum Edition)

ShadowOne333 · Oct 19, 2022

novortices said:
Unfortunately, it still does not work. Do you think maybe the uploaded files are wrong?
I just replaced the files directly using Wii Backup Fusion, and while things like the FMVs work, the Gravity Suit's model is not changed outside of FMVs and the "Maxximum Edition" banner is not on the title screen.

Did you put the extensionless files inside "Metroid Other M - Maxximum Edition"?
The numbered files are the actual models, and they shouldn't go inside any other folder other than that one.

As for the banner, that one is normal, I didn't include it in my files since I found it intrusive.
Another thing I forgot to do was to add back all of the other model changes from Maxximum into Redux, those you still need to grab them from Maxximum's files from Archive.org

novortices · Oct 20, 2022

I'm deciding to try it out on real hardware, to see if it makes any difference. Any changes I need to make to the Riivolution XML before using it on real hardware?

ShadowOne333 · Oct 20, 2022

novortices said:
I'm deciding to try it out on real hardware, to see if it makes any difference. Any changes I need to make to the Riivolution XML before using it on real hardware?

I just updated the files in the Archive.org link, you can attempt with those now. I also updated the information in the description with new instructions to get the game working with Dolphin and Riivolution.
The Archive.org link is only missing 3 files... dm08_01, dm52to56 and dm63Bto64.
For some reason those 3 specific files are recognized as faulty video files by Archive.org, even though all the other SFDs were uploaded successfully. Maybe it's because I did those ones with the Dreamcast SDK Video Creator.

Aside from that, if you are going to attempt loading the game in real hardware, be mindful that you require a way to load Riivolution stuff on it.
My other suggestion would be to completely create a new ISO with Wii Backup Fusion with the Redux files.

novortices · Oct 20, 2022

Okay, I tried to use Riivolution on my Wii U (with your updated files) but the Riivolution menu doesn't show me the mods to enable (even when the directories are correct)
I don't know how none of this is working for me.

ShadowOne333 · Oct 20, 2022

novortices said:
Okay, I tried to use Riivolution on my Wii U (with your updated files) but the Riivolution menu doesn't show me the mods to enable (even when the directories are correct)
I don't know how none of this is working for me.

That's really weird, I am not sure why Riivolution isn't showing the proper options at all.
I have it setup in both Windows and Linux, and in both cases I can load it up just fine.
What do you have inside the "Other M Redux" (or the Maxximum Edition) folders?

novortices · Oct 20, 2022

ShadowOne333 said:
That's really weird, I am not sure why Riivolution isn't showing the proper options at all.
I have it setup in both Windows and Linux, and in both cases I can load it up just fine.
What do you have inside the "Other M Redux" (or the Maxximum Edition) folders?

Here's my folder (the rest of the numbered files are there too)

ShadowOne333 · Oct 20, 2022

novortices said:
View attachment 332901
Here's my folder (the rest of the numbered files are there too)

That seems about right.
Check your XML file that it corresponds with the name of the folder, and also be absolutely sure the "Other M Redux" folder is inside "Documents/Dolphin Emulator/Load"

novortices · Oct 20, 2022

ShadowOne333 said:
That seems about right.
Check your XML file that it corresponds with the name of the folder, and also be absolutely sure the "Other M Redux" folder is inside "Documents/Dolphin Emulator/Load"

I'm trying it on hardware now actually, so the XML goes in the riivolution folder on my SD Card, and the Other M Redux folder goes in the root.

ShadowOne333 · Oct 26, 2022

I think I was finally able to fix all the remaining cutscenes to work properly in-game, and with both English and Japanese audio tracks.
I did have to use some SDK tools tho, mainly for muxing and converting the WAV files to SFA for the muxing process, but all in all, I was able to finally make it work.
I tested dm08_01, dm36to43 (this one kinda worked but I could see some glitchy stuff when it transitions between the Ridley cutscene and the following cutscene in the Theater gallery), dm46to49, dm52to56 and dm63Bto64, and they all seem to work properly now. Even dm63Bto64 seems to properly load the credits for the dm65 cutscene afterwards!

Another thing I found, was that the video bitrate I was using seems to have been wrong all along.
I was using a conversion with ffmpeg that made the converted video 3600kb/s in bitrate.
I checked with ffmpeg the exact information for an original Other M SFD with this command:

Code:

ffmpeg -i otherm.sfd

And it gave me something like this:

Code:

Input #0, mpeg, from 'otherm.sfd':
  Duration: 00:02:16.47, start: 0.000000, bitrate: 8505 kb/s
  Stream #0:0[0x1c0]: Audio: adpcm_adx, 32000 Hz, stereo, s16p, 288 kb/s
  Stream #0:1[0x1c1]: Audio: adpcm_adx, 32000 Hz, stereo, s16p, 288 kb/s
  Stream #0:2[0x1e0]: Video: mpeg1video, yuv420p(tv), 640x480 [SAR 1:1 DAR 4:3], 7822 kb/s, 29.97 fps, 29.97 tbr, 90k tbn, 29.97 tbc

The important things to note here are:

Both audio files have a frequency of 32000 Hz, and a bitrate of 288 kb/s. This is extremely important to avoid sped up issues during in-game playback, so the converted WAV files to either ADX or SFA need to have 32 kHz and 288 kb/s.
The video file has a resolution size of 640x480, and its bitrate is 7822 kb/s.

The most important thing here I think is the bitrate, which was most likely the culprit of the playback issues with my previously generated SFD files with sfdmux from Crytools.

I have yet to try out if this new change in the video files makes the sfdmux SFDs works properly in game. I cannot test this since I can't compile Crytools/sfdmux at the moment, due to the current updates breaking the compilation. I'm waiting on the sfdmux.c file to be updated to reflect the latest changes on sfdmux.h so I can properly compile it back again and test with sfdmux-generated SFD files with 7822kb/s bitrate videos.

The "fixed" SFD files are currently only available in the DropBox link.
The Archive.org link still doesn't have them, because it refuses to upload the SFD files, as Archive.org recognizes them as videos and wants me to submit a file with extension similar to a video file (mp4, mpg, etc.) and not SFD.
I'll see what I can do for the Archive.org upload, but in the meanwhile anyone interested can try the SFDs from the DropBox link while this gets fixed.

I also added a full-on tutorial on how to make SFD files in the OP, and that one is now the recommended method for conversion of SFD files.

ScatlinkSean · Oct 28, 2022

ShadowOne333 said:
The "fixed" SFD files are currently only available in the DropBox link.
The Archive.org link still doesn't have them, because it refuses to upload the SFD files, as Archive.org recognizes them as videos and wants me to submit a file with extension similar to a video file (mp4, mpg, etc.) and not SFD.
I'll see what I can do for the Archive.org upload, but in the meanwhile anyone interested can try the SFDs from the DropBox link while this gets fixed.

I also added a full-on tutorial on how to make SFD files in the OP, and that one is now the recommended method for conversion of SFD files.

would putting them in a Zip folder or WinRAR folder work?
Also, did you figure out how to fix the in-game cutscenes to show the Gravity Suit instead of the Varia Suit?

ShadowOne333 · Oct 28, 2022

ScatlinkSean said:
would putting them in a Zip folder or WinRAR folder work?
Also, did you figure out how to fix the in-game cutscenes to show the Gravity Suit instead of the Varia Suit?

That's most likely what I'll have to do. Though I'm still debating whether to save all the SFD files into one big zip file, or if I should make zip files for each one, so they can be downloaded individually in case people need to update or get a specific from the bunch.
I also want to make it as user-friendly as possible when the package is complete, so people need to unzip the SFD files in the proper folder (movie) in order for it to work properly.

As for the in-game models, I haven't figured out how to change the in-game/in-engine cutscenes that load Varia instead of Gravity yet.
I haven't really focused on that, I'm currently working on these points:

Patch the main.dol, and load the patched DOL through Riivolution (or have it handy for creating an ISO without needing Gecko stuff or cheat codes). The patch will include:
1. 3rd Person Missiles, both for regular Missiles and Super Missiles by using Charge Beam + B button.
2. Concentration changes from Maxximum, so players can use concentration at any given time, but the caveat being that it takes longer for it to regenerate health
3. A fix for the infamous Sector 3 softlocking door glitch will be patched-in by default,
4. I'm currently testing if I can also patch-in an option that allows for the Theater mode to be unlocked by default so users can skip cutscenes on the first playthrough. I managed to do it for Hard Mode, but it seems that trying to do it for Theater mode enabled the alternate title screen music as-if you have beaten the game already (which is expected, as Theater mode is unlockable after finishing the game for the 1st time). I'm not 100% sure about this one, since you more or less unlock this after beating the game, and having Theater mode unlocked from the get go would spoil all of the game's plot to newcomers without even launching the game. I'll most likely not add this one.
I'm testing if I can somehow force the game to load the Japanese version from the NTSC-U one (since the Japanese version's data is already on the disc).
The main reason being that the Japanese version allows you to change the voices to either English or Japanese, and the same thing for the subtitles, so doing that would allow for basically undubbed tracks with the subtitles in English right from the US version:
https://metroid.fandom.com/wiki/List_of_version_differences#Metroid:_Other_M

Metroid Fandom List of Differences said:

The English version of Other M allows the player to select French or Spanish subtitles, but the Japanese voice dub is not accessible. The voices and subtitles can be changed between English and Japanese in the Japanese version. It is likely that Japanese voices cannot be selected in the American version because of licensing issues with the voice actors. In the European version, French, Spanish, German and Italian subtitles can be selected.

Click to expand...
I'm tinkering with BrawlCrate to see if I can somehow make the unused Power Suit model work in-game. Sadly, I haven't been able to do so just yet, any attempt I made makes the game crash upon trying to load a save file, but hopefully one day it'll be possible, be it by me or if someone with modelling knowledge decides to help with the project, as it's just this one model and 252 (252 is the Power Suit cutscene one with the Varia shoulder pads that is actually used) that need to be modified.
I have been tweaking the Riivolution file a lot, and I think I can add an option to add the Maxximum's OST changes into Redux as an option for those that want it.

Out of all that, the only thing I'm having issues right now is the Power Suit model (as expected). And outside of that, only the Gravity Suit in cutscenes and the subtitle changes should remain. All of those 3 points I might need help with as I still haven't found anything new that might help towards getting those done.

ShadowOne333 · Oct 31, 2022

Not sure if this is the first time people get to see the unused Power Suit model in action or not, but take a peek at this:

Seems like using model 255 in place of 252 and 337 properly loads up the Power Suit model without much issues.
There's currently two problems with the model though:

There's two objects for the visor, one which is opaque and the other transparent.
All of Samus' models have these two models, but the transparent one has a specific flag set to it in the object data which always loads it up as opaque.
This, however, can easily be fixed by using BrawlCrate and changing this flag specifically for the transparent visor object.
As seen in the images, there's a part of the visor which is offset just below Samus' face at any given time.
This is the transparent visor object mentioned above. It seems like this specific object isn't tied properly to the right bone or something. This could probably be fixed by changing the transparent visor object so it follows the same base joint/bone as the opaque visor. I still haven't been able to fix it though.

It's good to know that the unused Power Suit model works in cutscenes without changes by default, but that still doesn't give me any kind of help towards making this model an in-game working one. I tried tweaking the model with BrawlCrate, but haven't gotten anything successful from all the tests and changes I've done.
I'll try to keep pushing forward with this, but if someone still has the knowledge to port over the chest pieces, legs and shoulder+arms of the unused Power Suit cutscene model, it'd be incredibly helpful to cross off this point.

ShadowOne333 · Nov 2, 2022

obesebear said:
I've been using brawlbox to slowly but surely switch out the parts, but I'll switch to brawlcrate since it seems to be more up to date. Attaching the mesh to the correct bone has been a bit of a challenge. I'll keep pounding away at it, but I'll go ahead and list the steps I've been taking.
1. To open a model in brawlcrate, launch the program then drag and drop the file into the window. In our case we're using model 255. Expand 3DModels(NW4R)
2. Highlight rtm_samus_old first, then expand it. Now expand the Objects folder
3. Right click on polygon1 and export as .obj. Do the same for polygon2.
4. Import both .obj files into blender and highlight them. Press Ctrl+J to merge them into a single file. Now export as shoulders.dae
5. Back in Brawlcrate, drag model 0 over in order to open it.
6. Right click on on the small, red BRES icon > Import > Model, and select shoulders.dae. I believe the Model Version needs to be 11, but I'm not sure
7. Expand "samus_normal" and its Objects folder and highlight polygon1. At the top, copy the vertexnode/normalnode name. Also note that it's using TextureCoordinate #1
8. In the UVs folder, delete #1. Within the Vertices folder and Normals folder, delete the files with the same name you copied
9. Now expand the "shoulders" model. We're going to rename #0 in the UVs folder to #1 and place it in the UVs folder in the "samus_normal" UVs folder directly below #0.
10. Now we'll do the same thing in the Vertices and Normals folder. Rename both to the copied text from the prior vertexnode/normalnode an place the in their corresponding location in the "samus_normal" model.
11. Finally, open the Objects folder for both models. Within the "shoulders" model, make sure the object is renamed to "replacement" or something like that. Now drag it into the "samus_normal" Objects folder.
12. Try to to make the text in the Replacement file look like the Polygon1 file. Then delete polygon1 and rename Replacment to polygon1
13. Delete the "shoulders" model. (skipping this step will cause a game crash and seems to corrupt the mesh for some reason)
14. File > Save ( You should probably make a backup first, though) (Save As results in a .brres file)
15. Repeat for every other mesh

*NOTE* This doesn't currently import the mesh properly. The mesh doesn't appear to attach to the correct bone.

Sometimes this works and will load in game. Sometimes it doesn't. The mesh may become corrupt, or the UVs may not work resulting in bad textures. Switching the order of operations doesn't seem to result in any different percentage of success rate, but YMMV. Hopefully switching from brawlbox.78 to brawlcrate.37 will help. Setting "bind" within the polygon1 notes will foprce the mesh to that particular bone, but I still haven't gotten it to work quite right.

Some adjustments can be made by right clicking on the model and selecting Preview. It allows for rotation,translation, and scaling. This whole job might be extremely easy for someone who has experience with brawlcrate, as I'm just learning it as I go.

As long as the textures from "255" are resized, they are easily imported in place of "0"s. Too many seem to crash the game though, or it may just be 1 or 2 that cause the crash. So far I've only swapped samus_arm and samus_arm_bm and it still loads.

I went back and attempted doing this today, but for some reason, trying to import the merged shoulder pads from Blender back into the Other M model with BrawlCrate makes the shoulder pads invisible while in-game. Also, the model of the combined/merged pads in BrawlCrate aren't even visible when imported, so I'm not sure if this is a problem with Blender's import/exporting or if it's on BrawlCrate's end.

seras13 · Nov 26, 2022

This modification seems very interesting, my intention at first was to try out Maxximum edition but then i stumbled upon this. Looking at some cutscenes and comparing them, all those changes seem much better than in the Maxximum edition IMO. Yeah the Other M story is kinda cringey but it doesn't get much better if you leave Samus just standing there, starring at everything without a single sound, so.....props to the developer for trying out something new and cool like this to enchance/repair the story as much as possible.
But i have a question for....well...anyone here actually who is willing to help a bro out a little.
I kinda know how to apply the patch itself, that's not a problem but not really sure about two things:
1) do i only apply(better said change files and folders in dumped game) only from Redux, or do i need to do Maxximum Edition first and then Redux on top?
Cuz as i understand in Maximum Edition there are some graphic and gameplay changes too, and would really like to implement them and try them out...BUT with the Redux cutscenes if that makes any sense. (If the redux patch has everything in it then i should just do that i guess....)
Just wanna make sure i am doing things correectly.
2) i noticed in Redux folder with videos there are some wii video files (can't really remember the extension) and then also MP4 files. Pretty sure i don't need MP4 files but just wanna make sure cuz i will be making a new ISO and trhing it on real hardware. No reevolution or nothing.
Well...those are two things i need to know if anyone can help. Please sorry for my bad english if any and keep the good work guys!

ShadowOne333 · Nov 26, 2022

seras13 said:
This modification seems very interesting, my intention at first was to try out Maxximum edition but then i stumbled upon this. Looking at some cutscenes and comparing them, all those changes seem much better than in the Maxximum edition IMO. Yeah the Other M story is kinda cringey but it doesn't get much better if you leave Samus just standing there, starring at everything without a single sound, so.....props to the developer for trying out something new and cool like this to enchance/repair the story as much as possible.
But i have a question for....well...anyone here actually who is willing to help a bro out a little.
I kinda know how to apply the patch itself, that's not a problem but not really sure about two things:
1) do i only apply(better said change files and folders in dumped game) only from Redux, or do i need to do Maxximum Edition first and then Redux on top?
Cuz as i understand in Maximum Edition there are some graphic and gameplay changes too, and would really like to implement them and try them out...BUT with the Redux cutscenes if that makes any sense. (If the redux patch has everything in it then i should just do that i guess....)
Just wanna make sure i am doing things correectly.
2) i noticed in Redux folder with videos there are some wii video files (can't really remember the extension) and then also MP4 files. Pretty sure i don't need MP4 files but just wanna make sure cuz i will be making a new ISO and trhing it on real hardware. No reevolution or nothing.
Well...those are two things i need to know if anyone can help. Please sorry for my bad english if any and keep the good work guys!

Thanks for the kind words!
To answer your questions:

1) Redux also applies the gameplay, model, and texture changes that Maxximum Edition had, with the great advantage of having the gameplay changes patched into the game itself without relying on Gecko cheat codes, and also some extra texture changes for models that were forgotten or overlooked in Maxximum's original release.

2) You're correct, you don't need the MP4 files at all.
Follow the instructions found at the Redux Archive.org link, and just make sure to grab the SFD files from the Dropbox link, since Archive.org refuses to upload a handful of those, but everything else you can get straight from the Archive.org link.

seras13 · Nov 26, 2022

ShadowOne333 said:
Thanks for the kind words!
To answer your questions:

1) Redux also applies the gameplay, model, and texture changes that Maxximum Edition had, with the great advantage of having the gameplay changes patched into the game itself without relying on Gecko cheat codes, and also some extra texture changes for models that were forgotten or overlooked in Maxximum's original release.

2) You're correct, you don't need the MP4 files at all.
Follow the instructions found at the Redux Archive.org link, and just make sure to grab the SFD files from the Dropbox link, since Archive.org refuses to upload a handful of those, but everything else you can get straight from the Archive.org link.

Thank you very much for such a quick response. I will try it out as soon as possible and test it on a real hardware, as well as on dolphin. If everything works it will be a nice add-on to the Metroid PC collection i am currently working on.....something like "all games in one" pack with "quasi-native" keyboard+mouse support.
Will post it somewhere after its done as a gratitude.
Thank you all very much!

ShadowOne333 · Nov 28, 2022

seras13 said:
Thank you very much for such a quick response. I will try it out as soon as possible and test it on a real hardware, as well as on dolphin. If everything works it will be a nice add-on to the Metroid PC collection i am currently working on.....something like "all games in one" pack with "quasi-native" keyboard+mouse support.
Will post it somewhere after its done as a gratitude.
Thank you all very much!

That sounds like a great project.
I'd certainly be interested in seeing what you come up with in terms of control mapping, since I'd be interested in playing this in Dolphin at some point.
Be sure to let me know how it goes!

ScatlinkSean · Jan 4, 2023

I know the end of year holidays have just wrapped up; but has there been any solutions for swapping the Varia suit for the Gravity suit for in-game cutscenes once you get the Gravity Suit?

ShadowOne333 · Jan 5, 2023

ScatlinkSean said:
I know the end of year holidays have just wrapped up; but has there been any solutions for swapping the Varia suit for the Gravity suit for in-game cutscenes once you get the Gravity Suit?

Sadly I haven't been able to figure it out yet.
I have to make the proper time to list in detail which cutscenes are the ones that wrongly have the Varia Suit in place of the Gravity Suit, and where they appear in the game.
From there I'd have to see if there's a file specifically that determines the model that is used, or if that's hardcoded into the DOL file itself.

I am currently waiting on Kwasior to finish up his rework on the CryTools software so I can re-convert the SFD files to properly work with Archive.org and also in-game, and possibly also save up some disk space. Aside from that, I'll have to learn how the hell to use Blender to fix up the visor in the unused Power Suit cutscene model, and also to port that model into the in-game one, since I haven't found someone who can help with the model stuff yet.

WaterTheFlowers · Jan 9, 2023

ShadowOne333 said:
Did you put the extensionless files inside "Metroid Other M - Maxximum Edition"?
The numbered files are the actual models, and they shouldn't go inside any other folder other than that one.

As for the banner, that one is normal, I didn't include it in my files since I found it intrusive.
Another thing I forgot to do was to add back all of the other model changes from Maxximum into Redux, those you still need to grab them from Maxximum's files from Archive.org

Hey I just got redux working and I saw that the banner is different than my older version of maxximum edition. Could you guide me on how to have that banner with redux?

ROM Hack Metroid: Other M Redux (Based on Maxximum Edition)

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