Cosmo's Cosmic Adventure II: HUMANIZED!!! (W.I.P.)

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Levellass
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Post by Levellass »

At $19F70 there is a reference $0890W to the text 'mzztop.mni' at $1A4E0; changing this to a different song pointer changes the title music. (For example to $0885W) The main menu's text is written at $1609B

This appears to be part of a block of 'filename get' pointers at $19E28-$19FA7 referencing filenames at $1A1EE-$1A5C7

Also, I assume you figured out how to patch the story and help texts\images. Well done!
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T-Squared
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Post by T-Squared »

Thank you! :eek I'll try that right away!

Well, I haven't patched the story images, but I intend to. (I believe it's one of the features of COSGRAPH.) I've been also able to make differently-sized actor sprites and add a few frames, but in order to free up memory to do so, I made a picture list of sprites I will blank in the actors tileset. (Actually, I should probably just delete those frames, and leave just one frame for the actors I don't need.)

However, yes, I did patch the story text. It's not as difficult as it sounds. I just truncated my story, and fit it into the original spaces of text in the program. I have to watch where my hex editor says $00, because that's where the program stops and makes a CR. If it's deleted, the text glitches and goes all over the place.
(An extended story in the spirit of the original Apogee XXHINT.EXE programs will be included with Episode 1.)

I also found some interesting features in Anvil Studio (the FREE program I'm using to compose some music for the game.) while composing the Episode 3 song yesterday. Anyone ever try the tempo change feature?

EDIT: (Honestly, I do not have any major experience in game patching, but I may have figured out how to change the pointer based on how the levels list it. 8))
Cosmo II: HUMANIZED!!! Progress:
Graphics: 15% Complete
Story: 100% Complete
Music: 5% Complete
Programming Modifications: 5% Complete (FINALLY! SOME PROGRESS!)

http://www.tsqproductions.com
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T-Squared
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Post by T-Squared »

Unfortunately, your patch also changed the ending music to the same song...

Is there a way to separate the music pointers so that the main menu points to one song, and the ending to another?
Cosmo II: HUMANIZED!!! Progress:
Graphics: 15% Complete
Story: 100% Complete
Music: 5% Complete
Programming Modifications: 5% Complete (FINALLY! SOME PROGRESS!)

http://www.tsqproductions.com
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T-Squared
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Post by T-Squared »

Ok, I've compiled a picture list of sprites to blank or remove in order to accommodate larger sprite images, or to remind me that these objects will not be used in this game. (Mostly because I can't find an analogous use for them on "Earth". I mean, what can I do with an actor that just hangs in the air and stays still until you look away from it?)



My point is, when it comes down to what I've deleted, there really isn't much left. (Which is a good thing, considering that I'm the one making the graphics. :P)
Cosmo II: HUMANIZED!!! Progress:
Graphics: 15% Complete
Story: 100% Complete
Music: 5% Complete
Programming Modifications: 5% Complete (FINALLY! SOME PROGRESS!)

http://www.tsqproductions.com
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Levellass
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Post by Levellass »

I've pinpointed the titlescreen code around $F200-$F300, but haven't been able to locate anything that affects the song yet.
What you really need, not what you think you ought to want.
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T-Squared
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Post by T-Squared »

Greetings, all!

Been a while, eh?

I have completed both tilesets, but not the sprites for Episode 1. I still have to draw those. However, I finally "programmed" in two concepts I had for Episode 2. (COSTILE is working great, levellass!)


I'm still shooting for a December 2014 release on episode one, but I need some songwriters, background artists (should be easy enough), and map makers. Some of the non-story text screens have been edited, and I also worked on all three graphics credits screens! (Try saying that 3 times fast!)

Also, I just need ONE MORE alien character to be in episode 2 and 3! (There's 9 in all, Cosmo included in the bunch.)

In the interim, I've been trying to put together a costume for a convention in my hometown. (NOT Commander Keen. It's actually a Wizardmon Costume.)

However, I found myself on another 16-Color artistic binge for my own mod in the past 3 weeks thanks to Gridlock, as I'm one of the main story artists for Atroxian Realm.

With that, here's some programmed-in concept art for Episode 2 (POSSIBLE SPOILERS AHEAD!):
https://www.dropbox.com/s/5p4nvzg2j7ag1 ... ace....png
Cosmo II: HUMANIZED!!! Progress:
Graphics: 15% Complete
Story: 100% Complete
Music: 5% Complete
Programming Modifications: 5% Complete (FINALLY! SOME PROGRESS!)

http://www.tsqproductions.com
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Post by Keening_Product »

Dat some nice alien.
Keening_Product was defeated before the game.

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Post by Levellass »

That's just brilliant. Not at all sure what I could add to this project, but it looks amazing.
What you really need, not what you think you ought to want.
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Post by T-Squared »

Levellass wrote:That's just brilliant. Not at all sure what I could add to this project, but it looks amazing.
I'm glad you like it!

I am in need of MIDI music, but I was hoping to follow a method that Cyan, a game company, once did to create the sounds for their game "Myst". I was going to have the levels built, and then base the music on that. (What Cyan did was create their worlds, then the sound engineer could have a context basis for what sounds to use or create.)
However, I'm seeing that may not be able to happen in that order, seeing as I'm hoping for a December 2014 release for Episode 1. I do have some music ideas already written down in the updated "Cosmo II Levels" document in the "(A) START HERE" subfolder of the Cosmo II Dropbox folder: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/ul8gsihslzh1 ... eRtDul1dea

I have a basic idea drawn on paper for a new Humanizer machine, but I still have to draw it in 16-colors for Episode 1's title screen and story art.


Also, if anyone can contribute any sort of "tech" art (i.e. machines, controls, lights, buttons, screens, circuitry, backgrounds or otherwise), that would be great. (Anything appropriate goes.)
Cosmo II: HUMANIZED!!! Progress:
Graphics: 15% Complete
Story: 100% Complete
Music: 5% Complete
Programming Modifications: 5% Complete (FINALLY! SOME PROGRESS!)

http://www.tsqproductions.com
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Post by Levellass »

You can use any of mine from my mods but all I'm doing now is going towards another mod. I have no spare.
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Post by T-Squared »

Dang it. I had some really awesome art to put into the mod's story pages, but there's a problem. The program renders the tileset format for the cartoon tiles in reverse, from the bottom upwards; instead of drawing from the top downwards.

That means THIS happens: https://www.dropbox.com/s/4iie6z095x3ah1a/problem2.png

instead of this (what my intentions were, it's photoshopped): https://www.dropbox.com/s/vrlwcjdhm9f4oun/problem1.png

Here's the original formatting for the images: https://www.dropbox.com/s/sxvlpwz7w1ss5 ... aphics.png (text is different because I had to use a different group file for the example.)

Unfortunately, this kind of modding is out of my range.
Unless anyone knows how to change the hard-coded coordinates for the images, I'm stuck. It's difficult enough to make concessions for the game engine (the exclusion of that infamous SB sound engine was one of them), but story art is not one of those concessions I'm willing to make.
Cosmo II: HUMANIZED!!! Progress:
Graphics: 15% Complete
Story: 100% Complete
Music: 5% Complete
Programming Modifications: 5% Complete (FINALLY! SOME PROGRESS!)

http://www.tsqproductions.com
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Levellass
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Post by Levellass »

Ok, so if I understand you correctly what you are saying is that the game displays images starting at the bottom l=right instead of top left?

If you have the text patches and numbers of the cartoon images you are using I may be able to fiddle the coordinates unless the game is wacky with them.
What you really need, not what you think you ought to want.
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T-Squared
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Post by T-Squared »

Levellass wrote:Ok, so if I understand you correctly what you are saying is that the game displays images starting at the bottom l=right instead of top left?

If you have the text patches and numbers of the cartoon images you are using I may be able to fiddle the coordinates unless the game is wacky with them.
No, exactly. It starts from the bottom left, I think. I think it's sort of like how the actors are treated in the game. (In Cosedit, the program I'm using to build the levels, actor placing locations usually start from the bottom left.)

Sorry, I haven't finished the story art yet. I'll let you know when I have, though. Also, I didn't actually patch the text. I used a hex editor to change the text within the COSMO#.EXE programs
Cosmo II: HUMANIZED!!! Progress:
Graphics: 15% Complete
Story: 100% Complete
Music: 5% Complete
Programming Modifications: 5% Complete (FINALLY! SOME PROGRESS!)

http://www.tsqproductions.com
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T-Squared
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Post by T-Squared »

Aw what the heck. After thinking it over, I could probably modify the coordinates of the rest of the story images if I wanted to once I've finished the art, if you figure out the coordinate system for them.


The story images I'm going to be modifying are as follows (in "CARTOON000-##" format):
00
02
03*
04
05
06
07
08
09
10
12
13
16
19
20
21


*(I found out this is actually used TWICE in episode 3! Once in the prologue story, and once in the epilogue story! Be careful with this image's coordinates!)

Also, I didn't modify the game with patches. I used a hex editor, and severely shortened the story to fit in the original text spaces. What I'm hoping to do is a roundabout method to what CKPatch does. If there's a patch generator program out there that can make patches based on the differences between the original and modified versions of Cosmo, I'm going to use it to make patches that modify the .exe programs permanently, instead of temporarily at startup. (Much like iD did to patch Doom and Doom II to newer versions.)
Cosmo II: HUMANIZED!!! Progress:
Graphics: 15% Complete
Story: 100% Complete
Music: 5% Complete
Programming Modifications: 5% Complete (FINALLY! SOME PROGRESS!)

http://www.tsqproductions.com
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T-Squared
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Post by T-Squared »

FINALLY!

I finally got the hang of KEENWAVE for Cosmo!

(For some reason, the sound was not playing, but now I can edit the sounds elegantly.)
Cosmo II: HUMANIZED!!! Progress:
Graphics: 15% Complete
Story: 100% Complete
Music: 5% Complete
Programming Modifications: 5% Complete (FINALLY! SOME PROGRESS!)

http://www.tsqproductions.com
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