ROM Hack Wizardry DS pointer/table help needed

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AshenPhoenix

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Hi

I was curious how easy this game would be to translate since all the text is in ordinary text files, but I'm having trouble figuring out
how the pointer files are built up.

Here's a text example:
2ziplcj.jpg


and here is the table file for it:
14in0h0.jpg


Hoping someone can see some connection between the files
wink.gif
 

rastsan

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check out the rom hacking wip here on gba temp or type pointer in the search on hte top of the page, I know not easy to follow but you will get it. Basicly its a number that points to the text so relatively speaking where is the text in the rom or in the single file sometimes the pointers will be in the file with the text and sometimes not so...
so look in hex for a number that pints to the location of the text
 

AshenPhoenix

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Mmm... I've read that long ago, and I've worked with pointer tables and made a text extractor/inserter with pointer recalculation for another game.
I'm just stumped as to how this table worked. But thanks for trying to help
smile.gif


And to clarify, these are two separate files, and their entire contents are as seen on these screen shots.
 

FAST6191

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Very odd table "unicode" 0D0A-> 000D 000A for what I guess is a new line.

Pointers, I find it easier if you change the hex editor so the column width is approximately the same as the pointers (I would say exactly but sometimes the header means the pointers can end up on different lines).

Still trying to see the end of line/section marks in the text. I assume it is not compressed or it has already been uncompressed. Several candidates in the the new line, 00 09 00 or my personal favourite is 5c 00 (in your text conversion it comes out as a yen sign with a subscript p) as it seems to correspond the roughly arabic numbers counting up (I count nine such incidences) and when they do not appear the text is fairly short (all able to appear on one screen?), I will also note the " appearing alongside the yen sign and in some of the smaller sections as well.

The pointers are not plain leading me to call either relative or offset type and more likely relative. By the looks of the repeating numbers the pointer file may also house some text formatting/ownership as well (another reason for lining things up).
Going the other way and looking at the pointers the text file finishes at 2CD, I see nothing like that in the end of the text


0086
00CE
0128
0163
01AA
0203
0244
0270
02BA

Relative differences between them are
48
5A
3B
47
59
41
2C
4A
Nothing obvious there.


Ignoring the header (ASCII section) of the pointers gives about 170 (C5-1B) to play with- assuming 168 that means for the 14 "sections" in the text there are 12 per pointer although this can narrow if there are other things in there.

I shall have to play around with this one further.
 

AshenPhoenix

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Here's a shot at how the txt file looks in JWPce:
15dqir9.jpg


Saving in JWPce ruins the file though, since for some reason it converts spaces to what the game uses for linebreaks or something. ie 000A is turned into 000D 000A. Trying to run the game after this will only give you the first line of text, then a bunch of empty text boxes until the next text file. Adding text manually with a hexeditor works just fine though. Not sure if CT2 can insert/remove bytes? Wanted to try adding characters manually since JWPce is messing up text formatting. And all text files end with an empty section like section 14 in this file.
 

AshenPhoenix

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Hmmm, not sure really what those table files are for. I left the table file unedited and went ahead and "translated" the beginning dialog.
I don't know japanese though so it's google translate and some editing.
I thought it would crash but as long as I keep the same amount of lines, it works.

143l5z7.jpg
 
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