DKC Atlas Forum

[Shy Guys Stash]

1.I do love the interface of this editor but the thing that bother me is that you can't insert new objects into a level you have to replace the objects that's already in the level. I understand that there may be limits but yoshi's island editor(egg vine) had the same issue but it was overcome with the new yoshi's island editor(golden egg) but can't you make it were the program can expand the rom size would that fix some stuff?

2.the tiles set is just a mess I think you should make a a little more user friendly and organize it to make it neater maybe put it as a set instead of what it is now

3. another thing for the tile set that would be nice is the ability to expand something across X or across Y.

[Simion32]

DKC cannot be expanded further without loss of ZSNES compatibility.

DKCRE was built from the beginning to edit the existing objects, not to insert new ones. DKCRE v0070 will be able to use the available space dynamically and will allow inserting new objects (and outright deleting them).

The tilesets are currently displayed exactly as they are stored in the ROM. Also a v0070 feature is planned to allow rearranging the tiles table. There's also a tile block clipboard kind of functionality someone suggested, which will probably fill the tiles panel while in selection mode.

Tile platform click-and-drag expansion is a very advanced feature that is of DKCLB caliber, and may take quite a while to implement, because the terrain is not as simple as Super Mario World's. Do not expect to see this feature anytime soon.

[Simion32]

Bug Fixes Update:
DKC Resource Editor v0.0.6.8

>>> DOWNLOAD LATEST VERSION HERE <<<

BUGS KILLED:

• BFA should have been stripping the ROM header when using the SetTargetDataSNES() method. Caused IPS patching troubles.
• Display error with EXtraction sub-panel displayed over other modes was fixed.
• Removed a crash on level $00 during extraction of level tilemaps. Happened due to a digit list error of some sort.
• Extraction checkbox logic bugs removed: If you check off Bonus Entrance Cannons, Show Barrel Meta Cannon Data is disabled. If Bosses was checked, that is unchecked.

MINOR UPDATES:

• There is now only one DLL outside the exe, thanks to static compilation. DKCRE v0.0.7.0 will not have any external DLLs.
• Two progress bars removed from extraction mode, saving a bit of speed and some exe file size. This is temporary for until I find a better way to do things.

[Markster]

I am getting back into DKC hacking, I am going to download this.

[Iconic]

This is pretty sweet.
I got 3 questions, however;
1)Will there be a point in time, when DKCRE is more optimized to where it can run better, or even great, on slower computers? Like Lunar Magic for example.

2)Odds are this would be MANY versions away, but in the future (Maybe version 2.0.6 etc) will DKCRE be able to edit the Overworld Map and The Level Titles/Names?

3)When you nuke a level, how do you play it? I nuked a level and tried to play it and it started up but nothing happened, the game ran, but Donkey and Diddy never appeared.

A couple comments:

Whenever you click the left and right arrow keys, DKCRE closes itself. I constantly find myself attempting to scroll the stage, out of habit, because of Lunar Magic, but instead of just "not scrolling the stage", it just exits the program, which can be a little frustrating, always closing and reopening the program.

This is a fantastic editor, and so much better than the cruddy DKEdit sh*t.

A possible feature request:
The ability to scroll the level using the Arrow Keys (Like in LM).

All the other requests have already been brought up.

[Simion32]

1) DKCRE v0.0.7.0 has plans for an upgraded GUI. The problem with the GUI is that it was originally designed for games (DELTA) and therefore sucks down lots of CPU re-drawing the screen.

2) DKCRE v0.0.7.0 will be able to edit the level names out of the box, i already know were the data is! There just isn't a level properties dialog to have it in (the current version anyway), and the feature was skipped. Editing the overworld map shouldn't take too much effort, I'll have to dig into Mattrizzle's hacking documents though.

3) Nuking a level will cause all objects to turn into Banana Bunches (or whatever this is configured to). For Jungle Hijinxs you need the level entrance scripts in order for the Kongs to appear. Putting those back in, near the usual entrance point, should get it working.

---------------------------------------------------
Another missing feature to be added is modification of DK's starting points for each level. This tends to be an issue in more advanced hacks (don't try to use DKEdit to do this, because it will corrupt (U) ROMs trying to edit (J) data locations, and won't work).

The arrow keys issue is probably a very screwy input bug. The GUI upgrade should deal with this. I've already done an overhaul on the GUI's input code and fixed multiple input issues that are from (and still in) RE, but this overhaul code is currently part of DELTA at the moment.

[Simion32]

.
CHANGES IN UPDATE PROCEDURE

I would like to announce that the Program Releases and Bug Reporting sub-forums are going to spring to life very shortly.

I'll be using those forums to make any further releases.

Please report all program bugs in the appropriate version topic once it is created by me (and discuss the bugs there, too, instead of here).

[Simion32]

WhyDKCREisSlowPercentages.png (33.63 KiB) Viewed 314042 times

This.

I'm working on some NitroGUI upgrades in preparation for the DKCLB editor, and these GUI updates will first be applied to DKCRE. I aim to reduce the graphics usage so that it only takes in the single digits, or at least the lower tens.

DKCRE is not fit to be rendered out like a game, and that is exactly what NitroGUI is trying to do. It attempts to render several times the size of your screen all in 1/60th of a second, and most even-moderately-old PCs are not capable of doing this. Even my computer kills over dead at a maximal 30FPS (or lower).

These updates are required before I can begin constructing the DKCLB editor. It's just not going to happen any other way.

EDIT: Part of the updates includes new NitroGUI controls, since the DELTA input updates break all Windows-based dialog boxes. You end up not being able to type any text because all the keyboard input is trapped by NitroGUI before it ever reaches the dialog(s).

After the updates are completed, DKCRE (and the new DKCLB template) will be as stable and well-behaved as DELTA, but fast enough to run even on fairly ancient machines.

[Markster]

Good idea Simion32, the only computer I ever had than ran Nitro GUI at full speed was my HP Slimline PC, also, the only programs that can edit DKC2 and 3 American version is Kingizor's SDK2/SDK3 translation, it edited DKC2 and 3 (U) ROMs like a charm.

[Simion32]

For some reason, the above image disappeared. I re-added it to the post.

Anyway, so far the maximum usage measure (Croctopus Chase with a panel open, 1280x1024x32 @60Hz) is at about 190%. The NitroGUI adjustments are nowhere even near being done, but just changing the way CPictureBox behaves has introduced a ~60% usage improvement.

I have yet to implement dirty rectangles for the CPictureBox and RE interface, once that is done the drawing amount might even drop by another whole 100%.

----------------------------------
Oh, and I've been really busy the last few days, so expect delays on any kind of updates. It's getting close to university time again...

[Simion32]

Progress Update: DKCRE is still a leaky program?! Holes Patched.

The process of copying DELTA's version of NitroGUI on top of DKCRE before starting the upgrades also gave it memory leak detection capabilities that were originally designed for DELTA.

At some point today I decided to look at the DebugLog.txt that is now being automatically generated. Lo and behold...

"13154 memory leaks found. Looks like something went wrong!"

DKCRE had over 10,000 memory leaks, and now they are all fixed.

[Qyzbud]

Wow, that's a lot of leaks - nice work!

Funny that you solved such an issue in DKCRE right after memory related issues popped up here on the forum... in fact, I spent much of last night combing through error/access logs myself... coincidence? ...or something far more sinister?



Good job on the fixes, anyhow; sounds like a big boon for efficiency!

[Simion32]

I've removed old versions of DKCRE v0.0.6.x from the releases section.

No one needs to be downloading buggy versions of this program, because I don't want any premature complaints about bugs that were already fixed.

[Iconic]

1)You might have answered this already, but I couldn't find info on it;
At some point when you can edit DKC12&3, could music say from DKC3, be inserted into DKC1?

2)Will an advanced version of the tool allow Custom GFX?

-Thanks =)

[Simion32]

No to both.

Custom graphics has to be done with some other tool. On top of that DKC's graphics are compressed (except sprites). DKC2 and DKC3 have their level data and many other things compressed as well.

As for the music insertion, no, because the games all have different sound tables (and I have ZERO SNES-music-related knowledge). Music transfer cannot just be done automatically, due to the way the music is coded (yes, the music is actually ASM code). You need a manual hack for that, period.

[Axis]

Hello Simion.

I wanted to say, I've been browsing through both DELTA program topics for sometime now just to really wrap my head around what your producing for the community. Can you list (it can be brief) some key points about the differences between DKCRE and DKCLB? I'm having trouble understanding the difference between the two intentions that they both bring.

[VideoViking]

I'll fill you in on DKCLB and DKCRE:

- DKCRE works with the actual ROM files. All the edits you make using DKCRE will be done under the confinements of the selected ROM. You cannot crossover with the other titles in the trilogy. For example, if you use Diddy Kong's Quest (DKC2) as the base game to build your hacks, you will be restricted to the contents within Diddy's Kong Quest only. You will not be able to transfer any of the content from the first game (DKC1) or Dixie Kong's Double Trouble (DKC3) over to DKC2. RE stands for Resource Editor, thus you can only edit from the resource file itself. All glitches found in its respective titles remain, including the dreaded stack object overflow bug.

- DKCLB allows you to create hacks using ALL of the ROM files, WITHOUT using the ROMS themselves. The way this works is, DKCLB will first extract all the sprites and objects from the SNES trilogy ROMS onto your hard disk so that you can use those to create your own games. Save for the extracting of contents, the original ROMs themselves are never utilized. The games you create through the DKCLB will not work with emulators such as ZSNES; therefore, Simion has designed an emulator specially capable of playing your custom-made games called DELTA.

To recap, DKCRE depends on the core ROM files. DKCLB uses its own emulation system, and is independent from the original ROM.

[Axis]

Thanks, VV.

I had a similiar broken theory to what you just informed me about and you really patched up the holes. I've had to subscribe to some DELTA topics because this is a really big thing for the Atlas and Simion is really breaking through with some innovation on this project. I've lurked mainly on this side of the atlas for near two years between every few months and I really appreciate your breakdown of the two. As the development continues, the support grows.

[VideoViking]

One of the reasons why DELTA, DKCLB and DKCRE are going to be ground breaking can be summed up in one title: Donkey Kong Country X. It's a video game hack that I'm working on, and all the contents I've created so far for my game have opened Simion's eyes to new unforeseen possibilities waiting to be implemented on or tested. I cannot divulge any information on what my game contains, but rest assured that the programs Simion is perfecting will change the way we hack. DKCRE and DKCLB will be ten steps above the original Japanese SDK Editors.

[Simion32]

Actually, games made with DKCLB are far from being hacks. They will likely be closer to the realm of Game Maker (except faster -- and probably easy to work with but definitely not "for-noobs easy").

The thing is, even though DKCLB is being designed only with Donkey Kong Country specifically in mind, DELTA/LB and the DLL plugin system will be far more capable than just running DKC games.

You will (I'm 99% certain) eventually see somebody use DELTA as a base for a Super Mario game (since DELTA focuses around platforming games in general).

[Markster]

That would be cool, but I only care about Donkey Kong Country games in DELTA/DKCLB, and I got a question, will DKCRE ever support MSU1, and if MSU1 came supported with ZSNES/SNES9X (We can only dream), would it be required in DKCRE?

[Simion32]

I highly doubt that will happen. MSU1 is in the realm of extremely advanced ASM hacking.

[Markster]

----------
Also, are you working on DKCRE 0.0.7.X yet?

[Mattrizzle]

@Simion32: On a good note, blanking out the music (as your Zero-Music Patch does) is one step toward preparing the DKC ROM for MSU-1. That's what BMF54123 had someone do for Super Mario Odyssey...

[Markster]

I'm going to be researching Donkey Kong Country and how it can be used with MSU1, that's one thing I will use, and the main reason I want to do this is because of the... MASSIVE 4GB OF STORAGE!!!

[Simion32]

You know, I'd rather spend my efforts getting DKCLB working than messing with that.

DKCLB defeats the purpose of making DKCRE compatible with MSU1 DKC hacks. When everything is just computer files, you likely have over 250GB of possible storage space and the MSU1 argument is irrelevant.

[Markster]

Donkey Kong Country Level Builder is going to be much much much much more better than MSU1, but I was just saying that the MSU1 has a lot of storage support, and I am researching about it.

[Simion32]

Well, I forgot to answer your other question: The update I'm working on right now is going to be DKCRE v0.0.6.9, not v0.0.7.0, because v0.0.7.0 is a really big internal code overhaul. I won't be doing that for quite a while.

So far, DKCRE is already seeing massive speed improvements (literally: there's an over 120% usage drop already) just from optimizing the CPictureBox and the tile drawing with a dirty rectangles system. I have only worked on the tiles mode so far, and there are still quite a few things left to optimize there before I can move on to the object mode(s).

I mean, this is the first time I have ever seen DKCRE running steadily at a full 60FPS (in full screen mode - windowed mode still tends to stutter a bit).

The percentage gains once everything possible has been optimized, are going to be insane compared to the huge amount of CPU that v0.0.6.8 takes.

[Markster]

That's great, maybe it will work better on my dinosaur PC.

[Simion32]

NOTICE: NOPs

University Classes Have Begun *Today*
Expect Major Delays (again)

[Simion32]

*figure I better update this topic too*

For those not in the loop, the majority of the NitroGUI optimizations were completed some time ago, and I'm stalled waiting for some free time away from University to continue working on this stuff.

Bugs I've fixed so far:
--All of the input bugfixes and updates from DELTA. Fixes menu unresponsiveness/lags.
--Palette Editor mode was not resetting the dropdown boxes correctly (error after switching to a different mode and back).
--NGUI bug: Menu highlights weren't disappearing when mouse is not over the menu dropdown.

IMPROVEMENTS:
--All of the stability and timing improvements from DELTA. You can now run multiple copies of DKCRE without lag problems.
--Changed title text to reflect your open file.
--Added the title text to the taskbar as well, instead of static "DKC Resource Editor" text.

What's Left:
--Optimizations for All 3 Object Modes, Bananas Mode, and Camera Mode. Tiles mode already fully completed.
--NGUI generic message dialogs (involves making an extended text drawing function, unfortunately).
--The new generic, NGUI-based Save/Open dialog, and new controls for it.
--A generic NGUI-based Folder Picker dialog (doesn't need any controls that the Save/Open doesn't have).

Save Dialog Mockup (this is still a WIP):

Spoiler!

save_dlg_mockup.png (48.84 KiB) Viewed 313406 times

I can't be bothered to explain all of the weird intricacies of this dialog just yet, but I can say that not everything is going to act exactly like the typical windows save dialogs.

[Simion32]

I'm finally having time to do some stuff.

NOTICE: A full backup has been completed yesterday. I also preformed a few "security upgrades" prior to this.

How's this file listing dialog font look guys?
I need your input here!

*see below!*

[Qyzbud]

Looks really good — even to my bleary it's-not-yet-6am eyes.

Did you design it yourself?

[Simion32]

Pretty much. Here's a slight update (new ampersand):

Font_Carbon_Thin12.PNG (1.88 KiB) Viewed 313270 times

I took the original NitroGUI font and made it thin, and kept tweaking it until I got this. It's meant for displaying those long folder paths and file names.

[Qyzbud]

Nice update — you made the changes I was about to suggest.

I was also curious about the need for such a small font, what with PC monitors being so large/high-res these days... but sometimes path and file names can be really long, so it makes sense now.

I'm impressed that you'd go to the trouble of designing your own font when you're so busy and there are so many excellent, royalty free options already available... kudos to you!

Edit: you changed more than just the ampersand, right? Or am I still half asleep?

[Simion32]

Nope, actually it was just the ampersand.

On this topic, I'm working on a custom text printing function (nearly done with that!), and redoing the font system a bit so that it will accept variable-width characters instead of me having to manage a "glyph grid" (putting the characters all in a line like that will be easier for the code to digest as well).

[Qyzbud]

I could swear you updated the # and $ signs, too... must've been dreaming.

Either way, they look better to me now.

[Simion32]

NOTICE: NOPs

University Classes Begin *Tomorrow*
Expect delays, as usual.

[Iggy]

Hope you're doing well with classes!

Just a thought, after all these years of monitoring your on and off again development schedule (which I completely understand, school can be a lot of work), I'm wondering, do you already have a full time job? If not once you graduate are you getting one? I'm guessing you see where I'm going with this.

What kind of hit (if any) might it have on development?

[Simion32]

I won't be getting a job until at the very least I've got that piece of paper that says I know what I'm doing. Which probably won't be for at least 2 years.

Besides that getting a job would be dead-end. I do not have the time and resources to allocate to both a job and DKCLB at the same time, especially since jobs are usually full time all-weekers and all those dollars would get wasted paying for gas to drive to work anyway. I feel that mostly getting a job is just a lie because due to this defective economy I wouldn't get to actually keep the profits of doing so for myself (not any dollar amount worth having anyway), the money just ends up going down the bottomless tax pit like everything else.

I have to figure out a way of making (large I hope!) sums of money without compromising my schedule. Otherwise there won't be any time to feed into DKCLB.

Ideally I'd like to make some very large lump sum, quit whatever thing I was just doing, and be able to run on that money for a long time and then only get another job/income-source when and if necessary.

[Markster]

DKCLB is more important than you wasting your time on a full-time job.

I know 16 (Sometimes 15) year-olds can get part time jobs, but I like getting allowance from my parents more, 300$ is soon coming so I can repair my good computer, all it needs is a low-profile graphics card.

[Simion32]

>>> DKCRE v0.0.7.0 Features Brainstorming <<<

I NEED YOUR INPUT!

[Simion32]

Progress Update: Sprite Viewer to Be Rebooted for v0.0.6.9

I haven't had time over the last two weeks or so to work on DKCRE much at all, but I recently started implementing one of the major features that had previously existed waaaaay back in v0.0.5.0... the Sprite Viewer is back!!

This is still a work in progress, but here's a small taste of what's coming:

SpriteViewerReboot.png (30.37 KiB) Viewed 312714 times

I also plan on adding more than what was in the old program, including sprite naming (via the INI), a way to jump to a palette in the Palette Editor mode, as well as having Ctrl+C or Ctrl+X copy the displayed information to the clipboard as text.

The shortcuts will now be utilizing the numpad keys to prevent confusion over what keys should be pressed for certain actions.

Note: Once v0.0.7.0 is done, I'll be taking v0.0.5.0 permanently offline - there will be no reason to keep it anymore.

[Qyzbud]

Sounds great — can't wait!

[sonosublime]

Call me a noob, but I have absolutely no idea how to use this program. Is there an instruction manual or something? And can it be used to rip level tiles into a PNG or something, so they can then be used in a game making program to make fangames?

[Phyreburnz]

^ I second this. A manual would be great.

[VideoViking]

If I have the time, I can work on a manual for RE. The decision breaker is whether to code it in HTML or compile one using HTML Help.

[Kingizor]

I'd be interested in making one as well.

[Simion32]

Sure, knock yourself out Kingizor.

I want it in HTML *without any javascript* - this has to be plain, unattractive black and white pages. You can probably use the controls documentation (readme.html) as a base to start from.

I'll cover for any possible decorations/frontpages/etc myself.

[sonosublime]

Awesome, thanks guys, I appreciate the effort. I look forward the being able to use this program effectively to make the best-looking fangame I can.