Topic: OMG! So glad I found this!

[TheouAegis]

There are binary file comparison programs out there, but I didn't want to clutter up my HD with even more stuff. So I did a quick search for an online comparison site. I found this one:

http://www.diffnow.com

It's a little slow because it displays the entire contents of both files. But it is sooo useful! Want to know where palette data is stored in a game but only have a game editor like reVamp or Stake? Backup the game, edit a palette entry, save it, then load both copies of the game into that site. Click COMPARE and voila! It tells you all the bytes that got changed!

Man, this will make my weekends go by so much faster now.


On a sad note, this verified what I'd discovered on my own: you can't have multiple background colors in CV3 (not sure about other NES games) because Trevor's transparent color is the background color. Although sinc eyou can have more than one background color by directly editing the PPU, I would think it was just a limitation Konami put on themselves.

[Inccubus]

I'm pretty sure that's a self restriction by Konami. As far as I know there's no reason the BG palettes on the NES can't have 4 different colors in each of the 4 available palettes.

[uzo]

You can only have one wash color, if that's what you're asking. Even between the two scrolls, it's still the same.

Additionally, you cannot turn off the transparency in any palettes. I haven't seen any game use anything but black for that entry, but in either case changing it will not do anything as it will never show.

All of these are restrictions based on the console, not the software.

[TheouAegis]

Tell that to reVamp and FCEUX.

Setting the "mirrored color" (color 0 in bg palette 0) sets Trevor's palette color 0, which in turn sets all the bg palettes' color 0's to that same color. And I know I've gone into the PPU and manually edited each palette's color 0 in the backgrounds (in sprites you can't do that) so I had 4 completely different 4-color bg palettes. Not sure how you'd actually program that, because editing the PPU isn't the same as editing the ROM. Maybe something you could do after the fact.

[uzo]

And I know I've gone into the PPU and manually edited

You'd have to verify if that is the only way you can do it. I'm under the impression, from talking with a guy who has dabbled with NES coding and my own research, that you cannot use the transparency color in any tile or sprite as an opaque. I've certainly never seen any commercial game do it either. You usually see the wash color being used as the 'darkest shade' of a scroll asset. Especially on big enemies, when the wash color changes, you will notice the darkest shade of the giant enemy changes with it.

As for the transparent palette index assignment being linked between palettes, back to the wash color, that sounds logical from a total ram stand point, but I didn't say anything about that either way.