Nintendo Wii + DOSBox + OHRRPGCE

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Greenyel
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Nintendo Wii + DOSBox + OHRRPGCE

Post by Greenyel »

Hey guys! I know it's been a long time... :v:
How are you all? TMC still out there? :D
I finally managed to remember my login (thanks Adam) :)

OK, let's go! This at first seemed crazy to me, but... I can actually now run my rpg game on my Nintendo Wii!

Now I'm helping a friend to make a pack for Wiiflow (a multifunctional loader that loads everything on the Nintendo Wii) and I really wanted to include my game (and maybe others) together to play on the console (with the dosbox plugin). But my game latest rpg file is in callipygous version...

I know the answer is probably no, but would it be possible to downgrade my .rpg file? I mean, otherwise I would have to redo the entire game so that it will run on the latest DOS compatible version of game.exe. I know that maybe the songs have to be only in .bam... (I don't really remember which version the .ogg and .mp3 support came in).

But is there any alternative, method or tool that helps to adapt my game (the .rpg file) to run on the Wii DOSBox?
(Any alternative to having to redo everything from scratch is welcome :) )
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Re: Nintendo Wii + DOSBox + OHRRPGCE

Post by TMC »

Hi! Cool! Do you have any photos?

The last DOS version, Hasta-la-qb+, was in 2006, so the gulf in available features is pretty huge. Nonetheless most of the data files are still the same format except that the record sizes have been extended. (E.g. it was originally 320 bytes per enemy, now it's 744.) So it would be possible to partially convert a game back by creating a tool to shrink the records, throwing away the later data. The easiest way might be to fork the source code and adapt the existing function for converting record sizes, but no, there is currently no tool for it. Because you're using Callipygous, that's before the graphics file formats were replaced, so that's not a problem, and remarkably even though the hero file format was completely replaced in Beelzebufo (2012), even today some hero data is still saved in parallel in the old .DT0 file! I'm surprised to see that we're still doing that. And you can recompile scripts with an old HSpeak to get them to work. Of course you'll find lots of stuff that's broken.

We also wanted to do a real port of the OHRRPGCE to the Wii. I haven't gotten around to trying out the Wii devkit, because there's so much else to do, but we have done some things in preparation for it, like relicensing the engine to MIT.
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Re: Nintendo Wii + DOSBox + OHRRPGCE

Post by Bird »

*Mad scientist laughs*

Once upon a time, I tried this, converting a game from beelzebufo to hasta-la-qb (here is the result: viewtopic.php?t=7845). But I was too unexperienced and did not know, what I was doing, so this converter program can't be called "operateable". However the task would be possible without a doubt, just cutting some bytes here and there, and you would get something of a partly compatible version for DOS. The documentation in the wiki (https://rpg.hamsterrepublic.com/ohrrpgce/Main_Page) about all the data structures, especially of past versions, was helpful. Speaking about the DT0 internal, take a look at this page for example:

https://rpg.hamsterrepublic.com/ohrrpgc ... on=history
There you can go back in time and look at the data structure of this particular part, where the hero data was stored for example.

Some plotscripting commands were added in the meantime. Also, scripts were defined differently in 2006. Did you use any plotscripting for your game? If so, try to compile it with the old version of HSpeak. Depending on if newer features of the OHR are used in your game, you should consider rewriting it by hand in thre DOS editor. Say Greenyei, how was your game called?

The songs for the DOS version have to be in MIDI or BAM format. There are no satisfying converters for making an MP3 to MIDI unfortuneatly.
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Re: Nintendo Wii + DOSBox + OHRRPGCE

Post by Bob the Hamster »

Honestly, I'm not sure if trying to downgrade a game to hasta-la-qb is really less work than trying to port the current version to Wii, but if you want to try, I wish you luck
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Re: Nintendo Wii + DOSBox + OHRRPGCE

Post by TMC »

I agree, creating a tool to trim the record lengths is pretty easy. Working around all the stuff you lose/break in the process is probably going to be either a lot of work or impossible.
Bird wrote: Sun Mar 06, 2022 10:53 am*Mad scientist laughs*

Once upon a time, I tried this, converting a game from beelzebufo to hasta-la-qb (here is the result: viewtopic.php?t=7845).
Oh, right! Apologies for forgetting! I forgot you actually downgraded a game that way.
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Re: Nintendo Wii + DOSBox + OHRRPGCE

Post by Greenyel »

TMC wrote: Sun Mar 06, 2022 3:27 am Hi! Cool! Do you have any photos?

The last DOS version, Hasta-la-qb+, was in 2006, so the gulf in available features is pretty huge....
Nice to see you're still around, TMC! :D
Well, since the last version of Dosbox for Wii came with Dynarec support, it has been possible to considerably increase the cycles and speed. So OHRRPGCE games can be, so to speak, playable. Anyway, I haven't done many tests yet.
TMC wrote: Sun Mar 06, 2022 3:27 am We also wanted to do a real port of the OHRRPGCE to the Wii. I haven't gotten around to trying out the Wii devkit, because there's so much else to do, but we have done some things in preparation for it, like relicensing the engine to MIT.
Oh really?! :D I always wished this would happen one day. But I never thought that the possibility of a port would really exist... :)

The idea of making something that ran on DOSBox, on the other hand, was interesting too, since DOSBox already exists for practically all platforms.
Bird wrote: Sun Mar 06, 2022 10:53 am *Mad scientist laughs*
I laughed! :v:
I don't know if I understand correctly but does this tool really work? Unfortunately I don't have linux. Can I get it to work on Windows? :???:
Bird wrote: Sun Mar 06, 2022 10:53 am Did you use any plotscripting for your game? If so, try to compile it with the old version of HSpeak. Depending on if newer features of the OHR are used in your game, you should consider rewriting it by hand in thre DOS editor.
Yes, I was learning slowly (with the help of everyone here, as something always went wrong!). But I think it was the closest I got to the programming area lol! (working with variables).
Bird wrote: Sun Mar 06, 2022 10:53 am Say Greenyei, how was your game called?
The game was called "Protoman RPG". The idea of making a Megaman game in an RPG format with FFVII references has always interested me. It was the purpose of this game. The idea too was to make an English version when I finished. But that has never happened until now. :(


Bird wrote: Sun Mar 06, 2022 10:53 am The songs for the DOS version have to be in MIDI or BAM format. There are no satisfying converters for making an MP3 to MIDI unfortuneatly.
Yes, I had a MIDI collection that I initially used in the game. I remember spending hours converting the files to BAN and trying to adapt the songs within the limitations of the format. It was fun, but it was a relief when OGG and MP3 support arrived. Yet most of the songs I use are still in MIDI or BAM.
Bob the Hamster wrote: Sun Mar 06, 2022 1:29 pm Honestly, I'm not sure if trying to downgrade a game to hasta-la-qb is really less work than trying to port the current version to Wii, but if you want to try, I wish you luck
That's what I imagined. Maybe one day the Wii version will see the light of day. :)

Anyway it was great to see that the forum is still active and that you guys are still out there. A lot of things end up making me put my personal projects aside, like this game. But I really hope to one day finish.
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Re: Nintendo Wii + DOSBox + OHRRPGCE

Post by TMC »

I vaguely remember that game. Ah, yes, can be hard to find time as your life goes on, but when a project promises some cool reward like seeing your game on an actual Wii suddenly you can find the time :)
And I'm still planning to finish adding translations as an engine feature (it's half complete!) so that you don't have to create two .rpg files, in fact it'll allow just feeding all the text from your whole game into an online translation tool :D
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Re: Nintendo Wii + DOSBox + OHRRPGCE

Post by Bird »

@Greenyei:
Let's give it a try. However that converter program only works on Windows 98. I suggest you don't try this on your own, as getting that tool to operate is quite... complicated. My old machine is ready to take on this task. Just send me your game files (via PM).
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