secrets

April 2012

This was another month spent trying to make it through each day.

March 2012

This month I finally finished an update the older hitbox scripts. The goal was to get them to better exploit Lua's breakpoint functions in FBA to make things as easy as currently possible for the user. Trivial in the larger scheme, or even compared to past Lua work, but the task had been hanging over my head for months. It was made more unpleasant by the need to retread the miry ground of syncing computation and display frames, and by the chronic problem that FBA and MAME don't have exactly the same timing.

In the end I didn't get much done. I still need to straighten up CPS3 before I'm ready to put aside hitbox stuff.

February 2012

So, another month gone by with no research done, and me feeling terrible for getting no work done, or even following up on some emails. The new year funk is hitting me really hard this year.

I am thinking of starting another blog to write about other topics. This would leave secrets devoted to its intended purpose, my original research, while providing an outlet for discussing books, movies, and other non-VG related subjects. Seems like a waste to crank out all this analytical juice with no place to pour it.

January 2012

Following last year's tradition, I'll take a moment to review the topics covered in 2011.

• Extensive deconstruction of the mechanics of the obscure Genesis game Battlemaster.
• Examination of the critical hit system in D&D: Shadow Over Mystara.
• Updates to MacroLua, adding as-yet useless analog support.
  • Needs maintenance for the new emu versions.
• Short piece examining in-game vs. streaming video framerates and how to reconcile them.
• Indexed all the hitbox work into a wiki page.
  • It needs an update.
• Short guide to wrangling the NeoGeo BIOS in emulators.
• Developed codes to remove the backgrounds from the hitboxed games, to aid in box- and sprite-ripping. Also improved the mutecodes for CPS1.
  • You can more easily use all of them with the updated mamecheat pack now. Thanks to Pugsy for accepting them.
• Mostly comprehensive breakdown of turbo-speed frameskip and its consequences in Capcom games.
• Completion of the Mayflash arcade stick modding project.
  • Ill-advised in retrospect—I haven't gotten to enjoy them and probably won't.
• Updated an informational HUD script for the SNES version of SimCity.
• Assorted SF2 discoveries: throwboxes, obscure mechanics, bonus-stage combos, and damage formulas.
• Updated an old frame data collector script.
  • But it's turning out to be more trouble than it's worth when a hitbox script can do much of the same more intuitively, or you can use MacroLua to do it manually.
• Made some minor contributions to some combovids that were shown at evo2k11 and Season’s Beatings: Velocity.
• Updated an old OSD script for fighting games, including 3S.
• Screenshot maps of the Genesis game Sub-Terrania.
  • They were never granted publication.
• Developed various hitbox scripts from scratch, and helped move CPS3 forward.
• Added throwboxes, with a MAME-rr debugger workaround.
  • I am trying to convert over to new FBA-rr Lua functions implemented by mz.

December 2011

For the last month I've been occupied with other matters. As things stand now the goals are the same as they were in November.

November 2011

Stuff done in October:

• Updated that old dizzy meters script, and expanded it to the SF3 series.
• Improved on the old 3rd Strike hitbox script.
• Added Warzard to it.

Next month I plan to:

• Update some old scripts to use the Lua breakpoints in the new FBA-rr.
• Add the Jojo hitboxes to the CPS3 script and correct any other imperfections.
• Update the hitbox wiki page.

October 2011

In September I mapped out the Genesis game Sub-Terrania, which took longer than expected thanks to difficult backgrounds and camera control. The rest of the month's research went toward overhauling the old dizzy meters script. I'm adding more games and functionality but it's not finished.

I plan on wrapping that up first. Then I'm thinking of either hitboxing a couple more games or making some long-needed improvements to TranScripter.

Todo as of September 1

The only thing accomplished in August was adding hitboxes for Real Bout Special, RB2 and MotW, and getting throwboxes out for the Garou Densetsu and early King of Fighters series. It's not much compared to the prior body of work, but it proved to really taxing because of the need to dig every little thing out of the innards of the code using asm traces. (However, anyone considering getting into this kind of work shouldn't be too put off: hitbox systems are generally more sanely designed in later games.)

The scripts are now about as good as they can get, at least given the precarious state of MAME-rr and FBA-rr. With this done, I feel I can leave behind the hitboxes to work on other things. I'm leaving next month open-ended, but there's a Lua project with 3rd Strike and a cartography project I want to try.

Todo as of August 1

This month I puzzled out a few more of the background removal codes and then returned my attention to the hitbox scripts. I've gotten better at reading disassembly to the point that I can figure most things out the right way instead of the more fallible intuitive way. The result is increased accuracy, and with the help of debugger breakpoints, bringing out otherwise inaccessible boxes.

I still believe someday the Lua engine will be expanded so you won't have to use the MAME debugger. When that happens, it won't take much work to convert the scripts to use internal Lua functions, so I try not to feel bad about requiring such an inconvenient setup for the user.

Next month I plan on upgrading the NeoGeo script and getting MotW working—something I was supposed to get done this month. I'd also like to get on with some planned improvements on Macrolua, and if I can find the time to study C++, an overhaul of Transcripter.

Todo as of July 1

Got a few things done in June:

• updated an old Lua script for the SNES version of SimCity
• cleaned up and improved a bunch of old cheat codes for SF2 and other games
• engaged in some pointless combo research regarding SF2 Blanka
• developed a way to get the exact damage formulas for SF2
• improved on the frame data collector script to the point that it's actually usable

I wanted to do some more hitbox and Macrolua work but it'll have to wait till July. In particular I want to get MotW working and show throwboxes for the CPS2 games. It should be pretty obvious now how I intend to do that.

In related news, it's good to see that someone else has been working on hitbox Lua, for samsh5sp. Mauve, however, is no newcomer to hitboxes, [1] [2] [3] and has been at this for years.