DSHack

Archive Generated December 23rd, 2018
B.B
User ID: 170

Thread: whitescreen
Author Posted on 2016/01/01
B.B ive been trying to port n64 mario raceway and it seems to be ok but every time i try to load it, it white screens. i've created key checkpoints, enemy routes, item routes, etc. maybe i did something incorrect along the way.

if needed, here's the szs. i only replaced the bcmdl, kmp, and kcl
http://a.pomf.cat/uxqafe.szs

any help would be appreciated!
Thread: whitescreen
Author Posted on 2016/01/01
B.B
It's quite difficult to verify, as one part of the CT falls outside the Viewport.
But what I've found is:

1. The Startline object is outside the Checkpoints, it's supposed to be inside.
Wherever you put the Sun object, doesn't matter.
2. Item Paths are even more interesting, because the 0th Path has 1 as both Prev 1 and Next 1, and the 1st Path has 0 as both Prev 1 and Next 1.
Fixing that one would be easy: Simply remove the 1st Path (I mean, the one with ID 1, not the first on the list), so you'll be left with only 1 Item Path. After that, make sure you change Prev 1 and Next 1 to 0.
3. The Y Axis for almost all Item Points is 0, make sure it's at least +1.


The part of the CT outside the view is inaccessible to drivers anyway, so it's not an issue. There's no need to put checkpoints out there.

1. OK, I didn't notice. I removed the Sun object too.
2. Oh, alright.
3. I got lazy here. I fixed each path to a Y coordinate.

Even with all of these changes, and DarkFlare's notice that I named the BCMDL incorrectly, it still gives a whitescreen. At this point, I'm not sure of the issue. Maybe the filesize is too big or the Enemy Paths are too complex?

Here is the updated .szs:
http://a.pomf.cat/ofddfc.szs

First of all, your BCMDL is named wrong. But apparently that's not the only issue, because it froze when I named it properly.

So that means it's an issue with the KMP. I have personally never made a KMP that works, even though i follow exact guides from people, and moving a single point causes the game to crash. But it looks like your checkpoints are too close.

and btw i was also working this track, but we can have 2

Sorry, I didn't know. This track seemed the most simple to port for me so I chose it.
Thread: Large filesize when using Creative Studio
Author Posted on 2016/01/06
B.B So all I wanted to do was use Creative Studio to make my textures transparent. When I export it in Creative Studio (yes, I do "Skeletal Model-Simplification" and disabled "Fragment Lighting"), the filesize is 2.44MB. It's too big. In my other BCMDL created with EFE, the filesize is merely 1.40MB.

Just in case, I had someone else attempt to export it in Creative Studio, and it still gave the same problem. So I must've done something wrong in my model. Anyone think of a reason? For reference, the cmdl created in Maya is 467KB, which is reasonable. I don't know why it jumps from 467kb (cmdl) to 2.44mb (bcmdl).
Thread: MK8 Hacking, yes or no?
Author Posted on 2016/01/06
B.B I don't like Mario Kart 8 in any way, but hacking I may be OK with. Partially because MK8's community is mostly dead, and the few people working on hacking it internally are elitist and keep everything to themselves. It'd be nice if we could offer another alternative for those interested in hacking it, for educational purposes, ideally.

As MK7tester mentioned, MK8's tracks are ridiculously detailed, a one-man job on professional-looking CTs is not a possibility if that is to happen. They will mostly look like shit.

So, my stance is: maybe. I would rather keep the focus on MKDS and MK7.
Thread: Large filesize when using Creative Studio
Author Posted on 2016/01/06
B.B The track still works in-game, despite the large filesize. So for now, I will ignore this problem, but I hope I won't have to come across it again. As far as I'm concerned, the trees are fixed.
Thread: Animations / Shadows / Lighting
Author Posted on 2016/01/09
B.B So this is more advanced stuff I'm asking for CTs. Since I can make basic CTs and ports, now I want to make them look good. The best way to do this is to add animations and lighting.

If anyone can maybe create a quick guide on how to do animations, shadows and/or lighting, I'd appreciate it. It'd help others who are trying to figure this out too.
Thread: Animations / Shadows / Lighting
Author Posted on 2016/01/31
B.B
The problem is, that you will need CreativeS, and afaik, it is illegal to share how do they work.

Not to be rude or anything, but that's the dumbest thing I've ever heard. Considering the work done on this website as whole, most everything can be classified as illegal.

With that out of the way, would anyone like to tell us how to do this?
Thread: Why did you choose your current User Name?
Author Posted on 2016/02/14
B.B https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DfwJA0f0UTg
Thread: Why did you choose your current User Name?
Author Posted on 2016/02/14
B.B
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DfwJA0f0UTg


Is it bad that I laughed? :awsum:

who the buck r u??? xDD
Thread: Bottom screen?
Author Posted on 2016/02/17
B.B Does anyone know how to edit the bottom screen map and position it properly? I've seen it on Moo Moo Farm, N64 Rainbow Road, etc., so it must be possible. Any insight is appreciated.
Thread: Dreams
Author Posted on 2016/03/06
B.B i dreamt that i was LITERALLY the #buck
Thread: Suggestion Box
Author Posted on 2016/03/06
B.B Here's a few suggestions:

- Text align tags for center and right
- After updating your profile settings, redirect to the user's profile, not the forum page. It makes editing the user style simpler.

And a bug:
- Select "preview" for your post, the line breaks are not correct.
Thread: [TUTORIAL] How to do checkpoints properly
Author Posted on 2016/03/06
B.B OK, I see this problem from everyone who tries to do CTs for MK7. White screens from checkpoints. I suffered through it until I understood how to do checkpoints properly. So I'm gonna share my method.

Let me clear up two misconceptions I heard:
1) The checkpoints can't be too close or far away from each other

While yes, most of Nintendo's tracks have nice and clean checkpoints, this isn't taken into consideration. Obviously, you want your checkpoints to be clean so you can go back and edit them later, but the game doesn't actively check how close they are to each other.

2) The checkpoints can't overlap.

Generally you don't want your checkpoints to overlap, if at all possible. It can cause position jump bugs, and worst of all, ultra shortcuts. It also messes with respawn points if done wrong, especially if done over elevating turns. A few of Nintendo's own tracks suffer from these bugs. Maka Wuhu had an ultra shortcut due to this (it got patched) and Neo Bowser City can sometimes respawn you on the bottom of the track around the last turn.

3) The amount of checkpoints don't matter.

You can have as many as checkpoints as you want. In fact, the chance is, the more you put, the lesser chance you'll screw up (and you get more options for respawn points anyway).

These things you should avoid doing, as a rule of thumb. But they do not cause white screens by themselves. These are several tracks in the Hack Store that feature these two things, and they load fine. But they have glitches.

----

Why do your checkpoints white screen? This is, 99% of the time, due to the following reason:
YOUR CHECKPOINTS ARE NOT CONVEX QUADRILATERALS.
(or "rectangular shapes" for the geometry-impaired)

When a track is loaded, Mario Kart 7 processes a quick algorithm check to see if the checkpoints are convex quadrilaterals. This is done to ensure all tracks follow general checkpoint rules, offering a lower chance of glitches as I described above. (MKWii had this same algorithm, but unlike MK7, it did not cause a white screen; this is why many early CTs had glitches.) Evidently, it's very annoying to deal with. What does this mean?


Obviously: your checkpoint can't be a triangle. Some of Nintendo's tracks look like they have triangular checkpoints, but they aren't. So keep your checkpoints, at least, rectangular. Secondly, do NOT place two check POINTS on top of each other. This never works.


In this image, you can see different types of checkpoints. The green areas are areas found by the algorithm, and the red areas are not found. The more triangular the checkpoint becomes, the less of a chance the game will find it. Therefore, a white screen occurs.

Your best bet is to understand how Nintendo does their checkpoints. Let's look at a few examples. Pay attention to the amount of checkpoints on curves so the developers avoided the more triangular shapes of the checkpoints.


Here is Toad Circuit's checkpoints. Toad Circuit follows the misconceptions above. Some checkpoints are close to each other, a few are far away. Some checkpoints are angular, and some follow curves. This track can prove that your checkpoints can look sloppy, but can still work.

There is one thing I must point out that will also ensure your checkpoints are proper quadrilaterals:

All of Nintendo's tracks follow the general rule that one side of the checkpoints, on curves, are circular and gradual. Look at the points in the arrows. The red dots in the upper-right corner are circular, but the connected green points outwards are sloppy and rectangular. So: make sure, on curves and turns, one side of the connected points follow the curve closely. The other side does not have to follow as closely.

If you're still confused, let's take a look at Coconut Mall, which is the best examples of checkpoints in my opinion.


Notice the many curves on Coconut Mall. The red dots follow the curves closely, whereas the outer green dots are further spread out, but they are still curved, avoiding triangular shapes or concave quadrilaterals. All the quadrilaterals are spaced fairly as well.

~~~~

Here is an example of checkpoints I created that work.


This is from my CT, Shower Circuit. The checkpoints here are all over the place. They overlap, they curve, they become narrow and then widen out, and aren't spaced right. However, it still works properly. I mainly wanted to show you how these sloppy checkpoints can still work.

You might notice the triangular-looking checkpoints on the top-right side. But if we look closer...

The points are not exactly on top of one another. Even when the points are this close, the checkpoints still work properly.

And now I'll show you a more sleek set of checkpoints from my port of DS Shroom Ridge.


Shroom Ridge is almost entirely curved, so to compensate, I had to make a lot of checkpoints despite the simplicity of the track itself. Almost all the curves follow the road closely and look nice. I was able to get this done on the first try.

---

So in the end, I just wanted to show how checkpoints are done in Mario Kart 7. Many people get frustrated at this, and I do as well. But eventually you start to understand it better. This is mostly for those new to hacking MK7 CTs and can't get it to work.

If anything you can always quit regular tracks and make boring battle tracks. :)
Thread: [TUTORIAL] How to do checkpoints properly
Author Posted on 2016/03/06
B.B
Nice tutorial. Now for your next challenge, figure out why in the hell does this KMP refuse to work?


I already told you on Skype if I could have the OBJ for the map to make it easier and you never did. :P
Thread: KMP Expander - a MK7 KMP Editor
Author Posted on 2017/01/05
B.B Amazing update. We can edit AREA and CAME now, which is the best part to me.

In alpha2, I can't import an OBJ, though. Nothing happens when I click on an OBJ. Is it a bug? Seems weird.
Thread: KMP Expander - a MK7 KMP Editor
Author Posted on 2017/01/07
B.B Do you think you could add a previous kind of OBJ viewing like in v2.0? The OBJ loading actually loads now, but doesn't always display correctly.

A few other suggestions, since you're actively working on it again:
- Global map editing. This is possible now thanks to Baoulettes' discovery. You can ask him for further information, it doesn't seem difficult to implement.
- Enable/disable local map image with a key. It's hard to position it, but allowing you to disable/re-enable it with a key (F4 or something, idk) would be perfect.
- Readd the Object names in the Object list. It's a million times harder to look at this with only IDs.

I'm loving these updates. Keep up the great work!
Thread: KMP Expander - a MK7 KMP Editor
Author Posted on 2017/01/16
B.B In case you're wondering about the global map, basically all you do is this:

1. You position the local map first
2. From the values of the local map, you add +150 to X1 and X2, and +701.269 for Y1 and Y2, to the global map. (The local map image becomes a rectangle.)

And that's it, really. I don't think it's hard to implement, but there are other things you have to do.

The full tutorial for Baoulettes' global map positioning is here: https://www.dshack.org/store.php?page=file&fid=302