The Ultimate WA Editor Hex-Editing Topic! Take A Look!

cbloopy · Post by **cbloopy** » Sat Apr 04, 2009 9:49 am

Clifford wrote:Why can't I load MoFI .wlv and .dia files in the editor.

MS added 4 extra bytes at the beginning in the MOFI .wlv and .dia files, but as far as I know the bytes don't do anything. For .dia files, you can just delete the first 4 bytes (you probably should save a copy instead of changing the original) and the resulting dialog file will load in the Editor (I've done this myself already a while ago so I know it works).

For .wlv files, in principle you just need to delete the first 4 bytes. But of course many MOFI levels use models new to MOFI and the Editor MAVs on seeing any of those. The program I'm working on right now (I still need another week I think) will also help with the inverse of converting MOFI .wlv files into something loadable in the Editor (with the new MOFI models subtituted by old Editor models), so one day you'll be able to view MOFI levels in the Editor as well.

jdl · Post by **jdl** » Sat Apr 04, 2009 5:42 pm

Well, since things have "slowed down" I decided to make small video deticated to Cbloopy. It's nothing much, just some SMW Remix music, pictures, MAVs...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uWrkTsjQmcY

dlcs18 · Post by **dlcs18** » Sat Apr 04, 2009 5:49 pm

jdl wrote:Well, since things have "slowed down" I decided to make small video deticated to Cbloopy. It's nothing much, just some SMW Remix music, pictures, MAVs...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uWrkTsjQmcY

Qloof234 · Post by **Qloof234** » Sat Apr 04, 2009 6:26 pm

Another model-swapping .wop file.

This one changes out the scritter model for a cuboid, and works fine doing so.

Makes me wonder why the cuboid - wee stinker model switch didn't work.

NOTE: The texture used is from Portal, since I wanted to see how it would end up looking in game.

cbloopy · Post by **cbloopy** » Sat Apr 04, 2009 9:26 pm

jdl wrote:Well, since things have "slowed down" I decided to make small video deticated to Cbloopy. It's nothing much, just some SMW Remix music, pictures, MAVs...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uWrkTsjQmcY

Thanks for all your support and encouragement!

jdl · Post by **jdl** » Sat Apr 04, 2009 10:02 pm

cbloopy wrote:
jdl wrote:Well, since things have "slowed down" I decided to make small video deticated to Cbloopy. It's nothing much, just some SMW Remix music, pictures, MAVs...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uWrkTsjQmcY
Thanks for all your support and encouragement!

Your welcome!

Clifford · Post by **Clifford** » Tue Apr 07, 2009 9:39 pm

AJQZC wrote:
Qloof234 wrote:I don't know how to make all options usable, but thanks to cbloopy's work I found which data byte controls the color of the magic:

The two red circled areas (left is in Decimal, right is in text) is what controls the color.

As we can guess, 0 = red, 1 = orange, 2 = yellow, 3 = green, 4 = blue (Brr), 5 = indigo (blank), 6 = purple, 7 = white, 8 = rainbow (of a sort), and then the rest are probably all blank (black).

Is it possible to hack the option such that we do not get the limit of just 2, 4 and 6?

I found out, no, unless we make changes t0 units000 and wg.exe.

look at glovecharge.wop and stinker.wop, see the data- value's? There built into the edtor to show Hat,Acsessory,Colour, those things.

It's also built in for glovecharge.wop, to only allow the values 2,4,6.

Sammy_P · Post by **Sammy_P** » Tue Apr 07, 2009 11:25 pm

PM me for a BONUS COIN TEXTURE with a test level.

Clifford · Post by **Clifford** » Wed Apr 08, 2009 5:28 am

Sammy_P wrote:PM me for a BONUS COIN TEXTURE with a test level.

Why PM?

Sammy_P · Post by **Sammy_P** » Wed Apr 08, 2009 2:05 pm

I'll post the texture and test level later today.

JohnEmmanuel143 · Post by **JohnEmmanuel143** » Wed Apr 08, 2009 4:15 pm

Qloof234 wrote:Another model-swapping .wop file.

This one changes out the scritter model for a cuboid, and works fine doing so.

Makes me wonder why the cuboid - wee stinker model switch didn't work.

NOTE: The texture used is from Portal, since I wanted to see how it would end up looking in game.

Best Idea for leading you to a trap!!!!

JohnEmmanuel143 · Post by **JohnEmmanuel143** » Wed Apr 08, 2009 4:21 pm

DP but I got an Idea why Qloof had a problem on the wee stinker-portal box changing!

You cannot change this because stinkers and weestinkers uses 3 or more textures!

Like for example,
Weestinkers sleep,follow and die...

Stinkers use up to a lot of textures!(No need to edit the textures though,you got selections)

cbloopy · Post by **cbloopy** » Wed Apr 08, 2009 8:18 pm

I needed a break from working on the program that lets you create levels using new MOFI elements (still a week away I'm afraid, there's just lots of complications to work through...), so here's something fun if a little useless.

The attached WOPs are basically the RubberDucky object with the model substituted by things like scritters and chompers. So if you place one in a pool of water it will swim like the RubberDucky. Keep in mind that since they are really rubber duckies, you can't Brr or Pow them like actual monsters since they aren't.

There's also a test level. As you can see yourself, there are some minor problems I can't fix, like getting rid of the shadows. Of all 4 WOPs, i think the swimming scritter and the floating barrel work best. There's no swimming turtle because that fails to work correctly due to technical reasons.

Anyway, have fun.

Clifford · Post by **Clifford** » Thu Apr 09, 2009 11:19 am

cbloopy wrote:
Clifford wrote:Why can't I load MoFI .wlv and .dia files in the editor.
MS added 4 extra bytes at the beginning in the MOFI .wlv and .dia files, but as far as I know the bytes don't do anything. For .dia files, you can just delete the first 4 bytes (you probably should save a copy instead of changing the original) and the resulting dialog file will load in the Editor (I've done this myself already a while ago so I know it works).

For .wlv files, in principle you just need to delete the first 4 bytes. But of course many MOFI levels use models new to MOFI and the Editor MAVs on seeing any of those. The program I'm working on right now (I still need another week I think) will also help with the inverse of converting MOFI .wlv files into something loadable in the Editor (with the new MOFI models subtituted by old Editor models), so one day you'll be able to view MOFI levels in the Editor as well.

... and Wonderland Adventures?

I'm going on holiday and'll be back 2 weeks later. Do you think you could also release a patch for wg.exe so that:

We can edit the text so it doesn't always show Wonderfalls; Behind Wonderfalls; Kaboom! Village etc...
It doesn't show the volcano on the title screen.

maxnick · Post by **maxnick** » Thu Apr 09, 2009 11:27 am

Clifford wrote:It doesn't show the volcano on the title screen.

Well, I think you could just change the graphics file

Clifford · Post by **Clifford** » Thu Apr 09, 2009 11:38 am

maxnick wrote:
Clifford wrote:It doesn't show the volcano on the title screen.
Well, I think you could just change the graphics file

How??? No matter what you do, the volcano stays there!

If you think that's not true try it for yourself!

cbloopy · Post by **cbloopy** » Thu Apr 09, 2009 6:55 pm

Clifford wrote:Do you think you could also release a patch for wg.exe so that: [...]It doesn't show the volcano on the title screen.

It's not like there's a sign inside wg.exe that says "here's where the volcano gets drawn". I have no idea where in wg.exe it does that volcano so I doubt I can remove it.

Just ask the player to ignore it. A perfect title screen is pointless anyway if the adventure itself is no good.

Qloof234 · Post by **Qloof234** » Thu Apr 09, 2009 8:17 pm

cbloopy wrote:
Clifford wrote:Do you think you could also release a patch for wg.exe so that: [...]It doesn't show the volcano on the title screen.
It's not like there's a sign inside wg.exe that says "here's where the volcano gets drawn". I have no idea where in wg.exe it does that volcano so I doubt I can remove it.

Just ask the player to ignore it. A perfect title screen is pointless anyway if the adventure itself is no good.

I have a theory, and it involves some studies with WA's system.

I bet that instead of calling upon a drawing system, the title screen is a level in the game, albeit one we can't use.

Check those cutscenes out in WA or MoFI. They're both done ingame levels, or they are in WA at least. None of the commands there (except the camera and fading) are outside of our reach, in theory.

We might want to check with John about this - if I remember correctly, he got an acid volcano... thing in his WA:ATAL title screen.

cbloopy · Post by **cbloopy** » Thu Apr 09, 2009 9:34 pm

Qloof234 wrote:I have a theory, and it involves some studies with WA's system.

I bet that instead of calling upon a drawing system, the title screen is a level in the game, albeit one we can't use.

Except most of the screen's graphics can be accounted for from files somewhere inside Data\Graphics.

Check those cutscenes out in WA or MoFI. They're both done ingame levels, or they are in WA at least. None of the commands there (except the camera and fading) are outside of our reach, in theory.

That's true. I know for a fact that some of the cutscenes in WA' ending are actual levels (first few .wlv's in WA1's hub). I don't know if there are commands we can use (as opposed to direct programming in the game) for the camera, fading and mouse/keyboard lockout but I guess it doesn't hurt to ask Patrick.

Qloof234 · Post by **Qloof234** » Thu Apr 09, 2009 9:44 pm

cbloopy wrote:
Qloof234 wrote:I have a theory, and it involves some studies with WA's system.

I bet that instead of calling upon a drawing system, the title screen is a level in the game, albeit one we can't use.
Except most of the screen's graphics can be accounted for from files somewhere inside Data\Graphics.

What about the acid volcano model? I've checked, those files aren't in Data/Graphics as far as I can see.

Maybe Patrick used a system like your TextureName system to get the Title Screen Level to use those graphics?

cbloopy · Post by **cbloopy** » Thu Apr 09, 2009 10:15 pm

Qloof234 wrote:What about the acid volcano model? I've checked, those files aren't in Data/Graphics as far as I can see.

Oh, so you think the title screen actually uses the volcano model from the game?

Interesting. Maybe there is something I can try to look for in wg.exe after all.

[edit: nope, still nothing that I can directly attribute to the volcano in the title screen (as opposed to elsewhere in the game).

I guess you'll need to ask JohnEmmanuel on how he did it]

[edit2: there's no volcano in WA:ATAL's main menu screen, at least not in the demo I downloaded here. Plus he's using wg.exe from the Editor, which doesn't do the volcano. John just replaces the star background in the Editor wg.exe with an acid texture.]

Qloof234 · Post by **Qloof234** » Fri Apr 10, 2009 1:08 am

cbloopy wrote:
Qloof234 wrote:What about the acid volcano model? I've checked, those files aren't in Data/Graphics as far as I can see.
[edit2: there's no volcano in WA:ATAL's main menu screen, at least not in the demo I downloaded here. Plus he's using wg.exe from the Editor, which doesn't do the volcano. John just replaces the star background in the Editor wg.exe with an acid texture.]

I guess that mine's broken or something then, because I could've sworn that there was a volcano there

cbloopy · Post by **cbloopy** » Fri Apr 10, 2009 1:17 am

Qloof234 wrote:I guess that mine's broken or something then, because I could've sworn that there was a volcano there

That's quite a "break" if it produces something that doesn't normally exist.

It's possible maybe it was in one of the earlier WA:ATAL demos, or some post that I missed in search.

Let's make sure we're talking about the same thing. I'm talking about the background image on the main menu screen that reads like "Start New Game", "Load Saved Game", "Options", "Exit Game", etc. In MOFI demo, there is the "shadow" of a volcano on the left side of the screen, but no corresponding graphics file can be found from the game's files to account for that volcano.

Anyway, I really think the volcano thing is unique to MOFI and I would be very surprised if there's something similar in the WA Editor version of wg.exe (which looks closer to WA1), which is what John used for WA:ATAL as far as I know.

cbloopy · Post by **cbloopy** » Fri Apr 10, 2009 1:31 am

sorry for dp, but I confirm that MOFI demo indeed is using the volcano model to display the volcano, although it looks like no texture is applied (which is presumably how the "shadow" effect is done). Here's what happens if I replace the volcano model in the game with the ship model.

I'll try harder to see if I can pinpoint a specific place in wg.exe (or maybe one of the hub levels?--[edit: scratch that]) where it uses the volcano model for the specific purpose of the title screen. We can't just swap the volcano model out because it is a model that you can (eventually) use in your levels (as does the ship).

[edit: come to think of it, it can't be in the hub levels, since WACP replaced all the .wlv files in the game but the volcano's still there]

Qloof234 · Post by **Qloof234** » Fri Apr 10, 2009 1:32 am

cbloopy wrote:
Qloof234 wrote:I guess that mine's broken or something then, because I could've sworn that there was a volcano there
Let's make sure we're talking about the same thing. I'm talking about the background image on the main menu screen that reads like "Start New Game", "Load Saved Game", "Options", "Exit Game", etc. In MOFI demo, there is the "shadow" of a volcano on the left side of the screen, but no corresponding graphics file can be found from the game's files to account for that volcano.

The silhouette of the acid spout/volcano/whatever in the background of the title screen... Yes. In fact, I'll go look at my copy of WA:ATAL right now.

Demo 1 that I have: No silhouette.

My computer seems to have manually uninstalled Demo 2... Gonna go get it now.

EDIT: Okay, what you've done there is awesome.

EDIT2: Okay, I can't reproduce it, cuz I have no idea how I managed to get it in the first place

cbloopy · Post by **cbloopy** » Fri Apr 10, 2009 1:54 am

cbloopy wrote:I'll try harder to see if I can pinpoint a specific place in wg.exe

Nope. There are very few reference texts in wg.exe for "volcano" or "!Obstacle" (the latter is the model reference used for decorative objects, with 03 and 04 being the acid/lava volcanos). Some obviously are global (ie. changing them will affect levels using the volcanos), while the ones that don't look global have no effect on the title screen when I change them.

So unfortunately, it looks like wg.exe's programming for selecting the volcano model on the title screen does not involve any text I can search for, therefore I don't know how to get rid of it.

Here's an idea: maybe you can change the background so it's black around the same areas as the volcano, so you don't see the volcano. I know it limits the kind of graphics you can use on the title screen but maybe not too bad?

Qloof234 · Post by **Qloof234** » Fri Apr 10, 2009 1:57 am

Part of me still screams that it's a level in the game's files

cbloopy · Post by **cbloopy** » Fri Apr 10, 2009 2:21 am

Qloof234 wrote:Part of me still screams that it's a level in the game's files

Well I can tell you such a "level" is certainly not in wg.exe, because as you know, WLV data contains copies of an object's WOP data, and the WOP data would either have a model reference (which would be !Obstacle03 or !Obstacle04 for the volcanoes) or at least the path to the model file in text. So if wg.exe contains the volcano as part of some WLV data, I would be able to find it from the text search I mentioned in my post above. I found no such thing.

AJQZC · Post by **AJQZC** » Fri Apr 10, 2009 2:25 am

Can we use the volcano model from WSW?

Can we try to work out how the shards work in WA (as in, the teleport function)?

Clifford · Post by **Clifford** » Sat Apr 11, 2009 12:24 pm

(posting on holiday)

when i get back home ill make a few surprises for you guys!