ROM Hack Can someone point me to some info.... I feel like such a newb.

[zach12_2]

I'm just playing around with Final Fantasy IV DS and ROM hacking. I unpacked the rom successfully, but I encountered a file type that I hadn't read about. The extension, .bbd, doesn't show up in a google search and I've scoured everything I know of and can't find any info on the file.

I'm sure it's just something simple, but I don't know where else to look.
My goal is to edit the ROM in such a way that Cecil learns offensive magic by level up.(I thought this'd be a relatively simple task for my first attempt at ROM hacking. I might be wrong, though.

)
I assume it's some type of compression, but I really have no basis for that assumption. If anyone can point me to some info on the subject I'd be very appreciative. Sorry if this is a silly question.

 

[rastsan]

there are so many things I think I need to ask...

does this character already use these skills?
if he doesn't, when a character who does use them, is there some form of animation for that character using that skill?
If he doesn't and he is going to need to have those animation files made then you are going to have that much more a difficult a hack. it could be as simple as just adding a few things to a couple files or editing many many files....

If this character does use those skills just later on... then I could see how editing just one file might do the trick.

On to the compression... there are several types of compression for nds. lz -(three types), Huffman, rle, yaz0. these compression types all have ways for searching for (or identifying them). there is a guide stickied to the top of this forum. I suggest you read through it.

On a side note crystaltile2 can search for those compression types... there is also a number of other utilities out there that decompress/compress. (batchlz, dsdecmp, codeclzss, tinke, etc.)

so research the compression types first. if that fails and you are sure that it is compressed just not in those ways. then you are going to have to take some time disassembling the file.
the more proper thing to do would be to actually look at the file...
could you post a snapshot of it in hex mode? preferably a good chunk of the start of it.

along with a download link to it and another file of the same type, for comparison purposes.

this way anyone interested in helping can take a a look....

 

[zach12_2]

Sorry, I haven't been able to reply sooner. I'm suddenly swamped, I'll try to get the info requested asap. I appreciate the help you have offered so far. I know that the animations exist for the character and the character can use the abilities in game. I actually have an AR code to add the spells on to the player character, but I was hoping to mod the game so that the PC learned the spells by level up. Perhaps the AR code could be used as a guide to find what I need to edit? I'll try to add more info soon when I am able to dedicate more time, I know I haven't given a lot of information to go on, sorry. Thanks again for your help.

 

[Celice]

If you need help with a compression type, it would hurt to mosey over to romhacking dot net and check out the DS graphics tool on their message boards. I think it's under the Personal Projects section. I forget the name, but you should end up recognizing it. It has support for a bunch of different file types and the author is continually updating it per-game.

 

[rastsan]

Sorry, I haven't been able to reply sooner. I'm suddenly swamped, I'll try to get the info requested asap. I appreciate the help you have offered so far. I know that the animations exist for the character and the character can use the abilities in game. I actually have an AR code to add the spells on to the player character, but I was hoping to mod the game so that the PC learned the spells by level up. Perhaps the AR code could be used as a guide to find what I need to edit? I'll try to add more info soon when I am able to dedicate more time, I know I haven't given a lot of information to go on, sorry. Thanks again for your help.

well the problem with the arcode is that it may refer to a spot in memory. not necessarily files in question. the good thing though is that we can view that general area in memory and see if it has a specific file or files it refers to.

Hey as long as you are sure which file has the data for leveling up then you will be fine. as having those skills animations makes this a heck of a lot easier.

If you can get a file for someone who does learn those skill on leveling up, having it to compare against this specific character makes it much more easy. if possible several characters level up files would be nice.

if everything goes well the file will be nice and organized if not we could always try the file corruption method. where we corrupt the data in several places and see what happens in game play. either way it won't be too hard to figure this out. (as long as there are the right files).
looking forward to your next post.