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General Category => Games => Topic started by: Fmtrx on 17:31, 08 February 20

Title: Shinobi Remaster - Released
Post by: Fmtrx on 17:31, 08 February 20

Prologue

I have always been a huge fan of the Shinobi in arcades. Mastering the game with 20.000 bonus provided excellent gameplay value unparalleled back then. I was also fan of the CPC since 1988, my first program was written in this machine. The CPC conversion while quite good visually in the green monitor when i first saw it circa 1989 (Dimitris from Styra, Faidon salutes you if you are reading this ;) ), the color scheme that the designer followed made it to differ drastically from the arcade. We all know that despite the fact that the palette is restricted,  CPC can do better than this in 'mimicking' the arcade look.
Adding to the recipe the most valuable ingredient: cpctoolkit, that Fano kindly provided to us, which resulted in me having some fun remastering the old graphics during the last weeks. I tried the best i could, to simulate the feeling of arcade.


The Remaster

Initially my original intention was to just replace the main character sprite -  i always hated the original sprite.  (Noone likes a hero with scoliosis and rounded legs)
Then i decided to change some colors as well.... After that, i decided to update many textures... 'Appetite comes with eating' they say.
The result was that i changed/colored almost all textures of backgrounds, and updated several sprites (hostage,skeleton, blue/green ninjas - the ninja sprite has now a more imposing posture, also used hero sprite,thug from sigh/Rouzid)
That being said, bonus stage is left untouched, until we manage to extract the data. Additionally, end bosses are left untouched for the same reason. Basically i believe that end bosses are already very well designed.


Acknowledgments/Credits

'Fano' for the Patching Tool  utility and his help on many matters regarding the usage, and aspects of the game details. 'Sigh' and Yves Rizoud for their sprite work they did for the main hero, thug, hostage. Also mission 1 tiles are a modified version of Sigh's tiles - added shadows, changed some colors.


FUTURE work

NOTES

To fix 1) and 2) , code hacking is needed.





Change Log
V1.01 / 9/2/2020

_Updated hostage sprite to make it more visible.
_Corrected texture of mountains in Level 3-1.

V1.02 / 10/2/2020
_ Removed Dithering in Mission 1. Get the clean look of the arcade.
_ Corrected a texture in L5-1_ Changed a texture in L2-1
Title: Re: Shinobi Remaster - Released
Post by: Carnivius on 17:44, 08 February 20
This is cool.Definitely preferring the new graphics especially the improved main player sprite and his walk animation.  :)
Title: Re: Shinobi Remaster - Released
Post by: VincentGR on 18:13, 08 February 20
Will longplay this on youtube for sure, love this game.


Thank you.
Title: Re: Shinobi Remaster - Released
Post by: SkulleateR on 18:50, 08 February 20
Thx for this, will try this out soon  8)
Title: Re: Shinobi Remaster - Released
Post by: Gryzor on 20:03, 08 February 20
Dang that's exciting! Trying it the soonest possible!


[EDIT] is it joystick only? I don't remember...
Title: Re: Shinobi Remaster - Released
Post by: Fmtrx on 21:09, 08 February 20
Quote from: Gryzor on 20:03, 08 February 20
Dang that's exciting! Trying it the soonest possible!


[EDIT] is it joystick only? I don't remember...


yes, joystick only unfortunately.


Quote from: VincentGR on 18:13, 08 February 20Will longplay this on youtube for sure, love this game.Thank you.
please post a link when you do so  :)







Title: Re: Shinobi Remaster - Released
Post by: ukmarkh on 21:25, 08 February 20
Legend!!!
Title: Re: Shinobi Remaster - Released
Post by: Shaun M. Neary on 21:31, 08 February 20
Quote from: Fmtrx on 21:09, 08 February 20

yes, joystick only unfortunately.

please post a link when you do so  :)










The original was Joystick only if memory serves me correctly.
Gonna fire this up. Can finish the original easily enough so will be nice to compare. And I love the Aplin original!
Title: Re: Shinobi Remaster - Released
Post by: ukmarkh on 21:49, 08 February 20
Sadly I can't get past the grey screen, loads the ninja, asks me about options for cheating and then try's to load. I've tried C4CPC and WinApe32?  :(
Title: Re: Shinobi Remaster - Released
Post by: Fmtrx on 22:05, 08 February 20
Quote from: ukmarkh on 21:49, 08 February 20
Sadly I can't get past the grey screen, loads the ninja, asks me about options for cheating and then try's to load. I've tried C4CPC and WinApe32?  :(
For WINAPE : make sure you have enabled joystick in settings. This i think is emulated with numpad by default. With Num lock OFF,
'5' starts/shoots, 4,8,6,2 : directions
Title: Re: Shinobi Remaster - Released
Post by: sigh on 22:44, 08 February 20
I need a joystick to control this properly but I managed to see the first screen of the first level. I can throw shurikens and can't move the character at the moment.
However - it looks amazing! The backgrounds colours are especially good as the original yellow I had used was too bright and uncomfortable to the eye. The dithering works well.The ninja colours are super cool as it looks better than the grey of the original.
I hope to find a joystick soon.
Title: Re: Shinobi Remaster - Released
Post by: amijim on 23:29, 08 February 20
WoW.What a game.Congratulations.There is only one thing that comes in my mind!Free vacations in my hotel in Preveza for the creator.Contact me for details.
Title: Re: Shinobi Remaster - Released
Post by: Mr. DVG on 23:40, 08 February 20
Fantastic! :o 

An excellent job that makes this Amstrad version the best ever for 8-bit computers of that period. I played this remake pleasantly and was really impressed by the beauty of the new tiles / textures and sprites. If I am allowed I would just like to report some strange bugs in the pavement and in the backdrop of the second boss, some tiles a little messed up in the mountains of the third level and then with the red too bright sometimes the children to be saved are not seen well (which should be pink), but I found everything else really excellent! If you intend to improve even more, the product could become a real jewel (but even so it already is)!

Thank you! :-*

P.S. - Works perfectly on M4 board! ;)
Title: Re: Shinobi Remaster - Released
Post by: VincentGR on 00:07, 09 February 20
Tomorrow I will play it on an emulator so the picture would be crispy.
WinCPC is also not running it.
Ape is OK, will try also retrovirtualmachine.
Title: Re: Shinobi Remaster - Released
Post by: trocoloco on 08:34, 09 February 20
Very nice work on the graphics, the main character is a huge improvement over the original and also the background colour scheme is far more pleasant, overall it makes it a lot more enjoyable over the original but i also agree with Mr. DVG comment about the third stage. Played it on a CPC6128 with M4 and worked great. Welldone!
Title: Re: Shinobi Remaster - Released
Post by: Gryzor on 11:50, 09 February 20
Damn, why doesn't joystick work under Winape? Numlock on or off, nothing happens... what must one press to begin the game?
Title: Re: Shinobi Remaster - Released
Post by: Fmtrx on 12:07, 09 February 20
Quote from: amijim on 23:29, 08 February 20
WoW.What a game.Congratulations.There is only one thing that comes in my mind!Free vacations in my hotel in Preveza for the creator.Contact me for details.


Thank you man, I appreciate it.


Thank you all for your comments, I am glad you enjoyed it. :)


Mr DVG: you are quite right, it seems that just recoloring the texture did not work quite well. I will create a new texture for it.
Also the kid, while i pink color is used, indeed it is hidden in some places. I will use a more vibrant color.
I have no problem with suggestions, i believe that there is always room for improvement on anything.
I will release a V1.01 soon.


Gryzor, I use numeric keypad in winape. 5 starts the game. Did you have any success with this?
Title: Re: Shinobi Remaster - Released
Post by: Gryzor on 12:11, 09 February 20
No, and I don't know why! Joystick enabled, nothing happens though... I'll try a fresh installation.
Title: Re: Shinobi Remaster - Released
Post by: Fmtrx on 17:35, 09 February 20
New version 1.01:

_Updated hostage sprite to make it more visible.
_Corrected texture of mountains in Level 3-1.

Title: Re: Shinobi Remaster - Released
Post by: khisanth on 18:53, 09 February 20
Fantastic stuff, nice one!  Will play this tonight with a beer :)
Title: Re: Shinobi Remaster - Released
Post by: VincentGR on 19:37, 09 February 20
You have a P.M
Title: Re: Shinobi Remaster - Released
Post by: kawickboy on 08:34, 10 February 20
Really nice job.
Title: Re: Shinobi Remaster - Released
Post by: Xyphoe on 10:28, 10 February 20
Great job so far!!! <3 I love this game, and I especially like what you've done with the main sprite.
I've done a quick comparison video -
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z-ZnMGblmB8 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z-ZnMGblmB8)
I know it's a work in progress and I think some things should probably change, so I'll likely do a longer video later when it's the final version or whatever!
Title: Re: Shinobi Remaster - Released
Post by: Gryzor on 11:03, 10 February 20
Lovely, thanks for the vid!!!
Title: Re: Shinobi Remaster - Released
Post by: TotO on 11:24, 10 February 20
A agree with Xyphoe about the issue of the new backgrounds brightness.
By the way, it is a great work (in progress) for this Shinobi re-Master version.
(not kind to remove the musician name from the credits)
Title: Re: Shinobi Remaster - Released
Post by: kawickboy on 11:38, 10 February 20
What's the next step ? Asking Mc Klain to adapt tunes and to add an option original/remaster like modern coin op conversion ?
Title: Re: Shinobi Remaster - Released
Post by: Fmtrx on 13:46, 10 February 20
Thank you all for your constructive criticism, sure there is room for improvement. I will see what i can do.

However I had to remove the link for now, for a couple of hours until i manage to include the removed musician as someone noted.
The removed name may seem as an action of an 'unkind' person, but this was not my intention; to be unkind to the musician.
The bytes that can be used to write the credits are only a few and i will have to cut short some names or anything else i can.

Besides i had already declared that i have in my mind to create a title screen to include everyone original & new people.

If anyone is able to help, I would like to include the title screen which matches the arcade, with the names of new people, and leave the next gray screen with the original authors as is. This is the best solution, i just need help on this section how to insert the new title screen. Not only the musician, but also the original Gfx designer's name  should be present as well!


Next step is to update bonus stage, add enhanced music if anyone offers.
Title: Re: Shinobi Remaster - Released
Post by: TotO on 14:29, 10 February 20
Quote from: Fmtrx on 13:46, 10 February 20If anyone is able to help, I would like to include the title screen which matches the arcade
I'm taking a look... (wip with some rasters)
Title: Re: Shinobi Remaster - Released
Post by: Fmtrx on 14:51, 10 February 20
I have already created a version in CPC colors and resolution. It is clean without the SEGA logo and without credits. To tell you the truth i would not like to destroy the pic by putting the credits here. Perhaps I would put credits in a separate screen after the this new title screen. and then continue with the classic gray screen with the original credits. I will send you the pic when i return home.
Title: Re: Shinobi Remaster - Released
Post by: Targhan on 15:05, 10 February 20
QuoteAdd enhanced music if anyone offers
Be very wary about what memory you have left! You may want to integrate a player with a demo music first, before involving a musician, just to be sure on the technical side.

Arkos Tracker 2 may be the ideal tool :) (see my signature).
Title: Re: Shinobi Remaster - Released
Post by: TotO on 15:08, 10 February 20

Quote from: Fmtrx on 14:51, 10 February 20I have already created a version in CPC colors and resolution. It is clean without the SEGA logo and without credits.
The arcade screen embed the Sega logo, but depending of the final usage, it could be optional here.
Title: Re: Shinobi Remaster - Released
Post by: Fmtrx on 17:07, 10 February 20
i had created this last week by converting from arcade and recoloring and removing text.
Title: Re: Shinobi Remaster - Released
Post by: fano on 17:23, 10 February 20
Quote from: Targhan on 15:05, 10 February 20
Be very wary about what memory you have left! You may want to integrate a player with a demo music first, before involving a musician, just to be sure on the technical side.

Arkos Tracker 2 may be the ideal tool :) (see my signature).
Would not be an issue as i'm used to use AT and the game uses the 0xC5 bank to locate the music player and data.I didn't isolate sfx routines for now but i think AT would give better SFX.
Title: Re: Shinobi Remaster - Released
Post by: Fmtrx on 18:43, 10 February 20
Finished the game yesterday? Well fire it up again and repeat fellas!  V1.02 is out.
It is a good excuse to play some more shinobi. Isn't it ?

Remember you have a good excuse if your GF or your wife comments: "are you playing again this @#$@$?"
You have a good answer: "But it is Version 1.02 my love!"
(do not base your defense only with this. Prepare to get her out for a nice dinner afterwards, to compensate ;) )

I adjusted the issue with the brightness of Mission 1. Fixed a couple of texture as well in other missions.
Regarding the music, Fano told me that we have 32 kb free. These could be utilized for a couple of new frames or for the new music. He will see what is feasible.
Saying this, I will note that the original Music by Tiny is excellent, all the correct notes are played and the tempo is correct.
What we could have is to use a more advanced synthesizer that will produce richer music output.
Title: Re: Shinobi Remaster - Released
Post by: kawickboy on 08:38, 11 February 20
Toto you screen is great. Or maybe Sylvestre should make a special enhanced "flashouille" ?
Title: Re: Shinobi Remaster - Released
Post by: Targhan on 09:59, 11 February 20
QuoteSaying this, I will note that the original Music by Tiny is excellent
I do agree!

QuoteOr maybe Sylvestre should make a special enhanced "flashouille" ?
Don't ask anything to Sylvestre unless you want to wait 10 years for your screen...
Title: Re: Shinobi Remaster - Released
Post by: kawickboy on 10:30, 11 February 20
On "le mur de Berlin..." he wasn't so long. I loved this screen indeed.
Title: Re: Shinobi Remaster - Released
Post by: Targhan on 11:15, 11 February 20
"Le mur de Berlin" was quite a few years back. Anyway, this is out of topic and I might be wrong, but don't hope too much.
Title: Re: Shinobi Remaster - Released
Post by: kawickboy on 11:41, 11 February 20
Better/more accurate magics ?


Targhan: do you know if McKlain is working with AT2 ?
Title: Re: Shinobi Remaster - Released
Post by: TotO on 12:13, 11 February 20
Quote from: Fmtrx on 14:51, 10 February 20
Perhaps I would put credits in a separate screen after the this new title screen.
Like on R-Type, you should have a title screen to start to play or go to the game options and see the credits, and more...

Title: Re: Shinobi Remaster - Released
Post by: Gryzor on 12:18, 11 February 20
That's actually a great idea :)
Title: Re: Shinobi Remaster - Released
Post by: Targhan on 12:32, 11 February 20
QuoteTarghan: do you know if McKlain is working with AT2 ?
He's using AT1 to my knowledge (which works fine too). I cannot speak on his behalf, but I did all the SlapFight 2020 music because he had no time to do it, so I'm not sure he would find time for Shinobi, which has less music. Once again, I might be wrong!
Title: Re: Shinobi Remaster - Released
Post by: Fmtrx on 14:51, 11 February 20
I do not know if it is feasible to extract the notes of current soundtrack, which are fine as they are, and then feed them to the AT which would produce a deeper, of higher quality music output?
Title: Re: Shinobi Remaster - Released
Post by: VincentGR on 14:55, 11 February 20
The track is fine but it needs a bit of bass for my taste  ;D
AT has some fantastic sounds for that.
Title: Re: Shinobi Remaster - Released
Post by: Targhan on 15:19, 11 February 20
QuoteI do not know if it is feasible to extract the notes of current soundtrack, which are fine as they are, and then feed them to the AT which would produce a deeper, of higher quality music output?
It is possible, but it requires to understand and parse the format of the original music, and convert it to AT. It is faaar simpler to reproduce it by ear directly into the new music software. Plus it allows more creativity to the musician.
Title: Re: Shinobi Remaster - Released
Post by: Fmtrx on 20:19, 11 February 20
i see. well if it has an unknown encoding or needs hacking yes it may not be worth the hassle.

regarding the title screen of Toto and the menu he proposes, i think this is the one we should use.
Title: Re: Shinobi Remaster - Released
Post by: Fmtrx on 19:10, 13 February 20

Sprites and their issues.

There is one more sprite i thought that it would benefit from an update.
The cool Guandao Warrior.


Interesting historical fact: Did you know that this Crescent moon blade (Guandao) weighted up to 81 kgs and was
used by Chinese warriors to test and prove their strength by performing maneuvers in order to become military officers?
Watching how easily they throw the blade in the game like a boomerang, i can only say that the warriors of the game are exceptionally strong. Stronger than Hercules, (or Atlas to exaggerate a little)
Which means that Musashi's kick and punch has the power of a bulldozer to bring down such a powerful opponent with only a single hit. Think about this![size=78%] [/size] ;)


The picture shows the 3 basic positions. 1 : standing, 2: alert/aim  3: shoot
starting from the original sprite (1st column) , the redesigned (2nd column) , and the arcade sprite for reference (3rd column).


The issue here is that the sprite width is already very narrow in this game; only 12 pixels.
To accommodate such a wide man,  the sprite needs some modification, which is evident from the result.
The second issue is that once more we have the infamous sprite/tile economy, by utilizing the same half sprite for different
sprites.
See 2 and 3, the original sprite shares the same legs.
So i will not be able to use the legs of my redesigned sprite in 3. Thus i used legs from 2, with some modifications so that
they can fit in both different cases.


The same issue i had with the main sprite in which i had designed the jump up position, but could not use it, because the same frame is used when ...crouching!  :picard:  So this lower part of the body that defined the jump up frame was ditched.
The only update i could do there was to define inclination at the upper half of the body, as in the arcade sprite.


I have also retouched some textures adding more detail.
As soon as we have the new title screen from Fano and Toto, i will include all updates in V1.03.









Title: Re: Shinobi Remaster - Released
Post by: kawickboy on 09:01, 14 February 20
On the original release the Guandao warrior seemed to be sitted.
Title: Re: Shinobi Remaster - Released
Post by: Fmtrx on 09:58, 14 February 20
This is correct.
Arcade has three postures. When he is idle he is standing, and when he notices you, he bends and uses a couple of frames
for walking back and forth.

The original in cpc  omitted the standing phase and allocated 2 frames showing him sitting in both frames
, and the second frame had his leg extended for the walk cycle.

I am experimenting here with the following:
I will allocate the one sitting frame of the original  to a standing pose, as in the arcade. Why ? I find it cooler and more natural to have him standing and not always in the sitting position like he is tired or something! Guandao warrior tired?  ::)

Then i will allocate the second frame to a sitting position with a movement in legs.

Thus when he notices player, leaves standing position, bends with extending his leg to move towards player. Then he remains
standing. The behavior is not 100% as in the original, but we have two frames only to work, and it is a good compromise i think to avoid having him sitting all the time like he is taking a *BEEEP*   ;D

I will see how it goes through testing though.

I really hope that we could be able to embed some missing frames to this game provided the fact that we could have space
and the appropriate hack.


Good news is that i have noticed in the spritesheet several frames that were never used!
For example initially they had thought to implement the attack of the blue ninja with the 'circus jump'.
The two frames (blue and green) are there but never used. Also a frame with Joe holding a pistol.
Also a frame with skeleton. Ithink a couple more unused also exist.

With the appropriate hack we could use these sprite slots and add some missing frames:

1. Joe sword attack
2. Joe jumpup frame (legs)
3. Joe with pistol
4. Guandao standing position AND movement --> three frames instead of two frames as it is now.

The hack would be something like, modifying the address of the sprite being used when certain conditions apply.
If player has bullets, then display the upper torso of the frame with pistol, if attack is close display sword frame and not the kick frame etc.
Title: Re: Shinobi Remaster - Released
Post by: sigh on 10:57, 14 February 20
Quote from: Fmtrx on 09:58, 14 February 20

With the appropriate hack we could use these sprite slots and add some missing frames:
I think it would be better to use those frame for the main character, such as his jump, crouch walk and Ninja Magic?
The Ninja magic has never looked right to me on the CPC.
Title: Re: Shinobi Remaster - Released
Post by: TotO on 11:15, 14 February 20
One thing looking strange is the missing frame when the player fire bullets because there is no shotgun into his hands.  ;D
Title: Re: Shinobi Remaster - Released
Post by: Fmtrx on 14:57, 14 February 20
Quote from: TotO on 11:15, 14 February 20
One thing looking strange is the missing frame when the player fire bullets because there is no shotgun into his hands.  ;D


But this feeling...it was something else huh?? to have a hero that sends bullets on fire with his bare hands!
It was like a super hero from Marvel!  ;D  You felt you were very special when playing from a cpc!


Seriously, I tend to think that it was a bug in code that the sprite was not displayed ? They already had designed the sprite
if you see the attached image. Who knows? Only R. Aplin could enlighten us. IF he remembers after 30 years!
Regarding the frames of flying blue ninjas, i understand that they were not used because they could not include the AI routine for the movement, maybe because they did not have the time to finish this.


@sigh (https://www.cpcwiki.eu/forum/index.php?action=profile;u=104), it would be nice to have the proper magic. It may need some coding though. The arcade provided an animation of the a group of sprites moving diagonal. I think the cpc just displays the frame randomly. The other two spells...it is a different story...
For sure it would be nice to include as many as possible of the missing frames for the main character. it gives a better overall experience in the gameplay.





Title: Re: Shinobi Remaster - Released
Post by: bugpat on 15:34, 14 February 20
 :o Wow a remastered Shinobi !!! Thanks guys, will try it this evening on my 664 ;D
Title: Re: Shinobi Remaster - Released
Post by: Mr. DVG on 17:57, 14 February 20
I tried both versions thoroughly (V1.01 and V1.02) and to be honest despite the dithering (the one inserted in the yellow bricks and columns of the V1.01 version) gives some optical nuisance, I find that it is aesthetically very more beautiful than that of the orange bricks (they seem too "empty") of version V1.02 (I speak of the first three stages of course). Another thing is the strange bug in the level of the second boss (the flicker in the pavement and on the main sprite), which was not present in the original version. Excellent the new sprite of the Gundao Warrior and the new loading screen with the selections that Fano and Toto have made, they will surely give an extra touch to the whole ensemble. There is still ample room for "graphic" improvement even without having to patch / hack all the original code in my opinion ... for the details then we'll see!  ;)

I leave the link of the longplay I made of version V1.01 (my favorite currently):

https://youtu.be/4vcHNU-RhSo (https://youtu.be/4vcHNU-RhSo)

Thanks again for all the work you have already done! ;D
Title: Re: Shinobi Remaster - Released
Post by: GUNHED on 20:20, 14 February 20
Nice GFX, but I can't jump on the roof.
Title: Re: Shinobi Remaster - Released
Post by: Fmtrx on 20:57, 14 February 20
I would like to thank you all for the support. From the beginning I already knew that this modification i do, for every person that likes it, there will be 3-4 people that will not match their taste. This was expected, the taste is always subjective. Here we have a similar case that some people like the clean look, while others like the dithering. Personally i like them both. They both work for me, and i can see the sprites. Not easy to choose.


*saying that the sprites can be seen easily, i just found out that one type of thug, instead of black shades has transparency! Which means that he blends with the background and could be the one of the reasons that some people noticed that sprites are not easily seen.


With the bricks in mission 1 we have the dilemma: Either use the clean look of the bricks that arcade presents, using the pink color (V1.02) or apply some dithering to get a color that is closer to the arcade (but loose the clean look)


I tested a dithered version but removed the highlights of the bricks that i believe that it was the main reason that many people found these stages too bright.
See the middle screen in the attached picture.
Again i am not sure which route to follow here, i guess i will have to play the game a few days more and take a decision.

For the error in colors in mission 2 i will have to check it out. I suspect that i accidentally applied gray color in L2-4 palette.

Jump up should be done if you  press fire and UP simultaneously.


irrelevant: This bonus stage needs an update. The same applies for the running ninjas there.
Title: Re: Shinobi Remaster - Released
Post by: Mr. DVG on 21:31, 14 February 20
At the moment this would seem the most suitable choice of colors + dithering! It should be seen in the game, but I already like it a lot (always personal taste of course)! It is nonsense, but in my opinion, adding a splash of water to divers who come out of the sea in level 2-3 would give another extra touch to the game (ok I stop I swear)! ;D
Title: Re: Shinobi Remaster - Released
Post by: Fmtrx on 23:40, 14 February 20
it would be the easiest thing if they had associated a particular frame for the diver when he appears as he comes out of the water. I would just modify graphics.
But they use a single frame that performs the whole jump - (jump?, this is not a jump, this is a LIFT OFF from canaveral), so there is no way to be done by just modifying graphics.
Title: Re: Shinobi Remaster - Released
Post by: Sykobee (Briggsy) on 00:02, 15 February 20
If there's a way to stick some grey into the bricks they will look a bit more muted like the arcade version.


But let's be honest, the CPC was all about bright colours :)
Title: Re: Shinobi Remaster - Released
Post by: Mr. DVG on 01:52, 15 February 20
I understand, there are limitations imposed by the code because that's how it was originally programmed by Richard Aplin, so these factors are not modifiable unless you hack / patch the original code to be able to modify them, is it correct or wrong?

I find it was a shame to give the code so little "freedom of action" (maybe it was planned to run in that period, or who knows), also because Aplin was very talented in that period (maybe he still is, although I don't know if he always deals with programming) and has made conversions of a good standard and for different systems.

This Shinobi for Amstrad CPC (in its original version) proves to have excellent cards on the table (in-game sound, non-jerky scrolling and feeling very similar to the arcade one) and therefore I hope that in the end it will be possible to change everything 100% to make it a remastered even more accurate ... It is the best wish I can do!  ;)

I don't understand anything about programming in general, but a little tutorial would be nice to understand how you are modifying the graphics of this game and if you can apply the same principle to other games that maybe need a "revision"! In a short time I will have many months of freedom from work and maybe I could study a little and give support for some future project!  :D

In the final sentence there is another sprite that should be modified in my opinion, namely that of death (but only to me it seems that Joe is taking a nap with his hands behind his head?)! The arcade one is slightly different and the position of the arms is fundamental to make it clear that Joe is lying on the ground!

Curiosity: in the table of the sprites used for Amstrad there is also a sprite with Joe seen from the front, but when is this sprite used? does anyone know?  :)

Another small note of this version (and which denotes the haste with which the games were programmed in that period) is the total absence of the final boss who is sincerely inexplicable (the game is practically everything, why omit this?)!  :(
Title: Re: Shinobi Remaster - Released
Post by: Fmtrx on 11:19, 15 February 20
I would say that the limitations we have in modifying the game has to do with its state. We have the BIN file only, and no source code. Which means that an experienced person in assembly has to do the tedious job to reverse engineer and understand the code, find critical addressed, correspond areas of code with an action they perform etc.

For this remaster, the possibilities for now are restricted to update the graphics of the tiles. No reorganization of tiles, no chance of inserting NEW tiles/sprites, no possibility of changing the tiles/sprites size. As a matter of fact, even if we could add tiles, this would be almost impossible due to memory limitations.

However even with what we have in our hands, which is named texture update, can still make a big difference in visuals.
New graphics are embedded in the game with a tool created by Fano and is specially designed for this game.

The sprite you saw is indeed one more case of an unused sprite.
The death sprite, i will see what i can do to put the missing hand. I feel the original designer's concerns.
He had to work in a narrow 24x24 sprite width for an horizontal position of the body :/ .

At this stage of the game it is good to check the ratio: big visual update / effort in hacking.

Apart from the Chinese warrior sprite update, i believe that there is no other sprite that needs update at its current stage. Unless i am wrong.
So there maybe a couple of texture refinements, some of them are already done in my unreleased build and put the new title screen, and an updated bonus stage in the next version.

A future update could include music update.
The last step which would be the most difficult is to put missing frames in unused sprite slots, and have the assemblycode modified to use these new sprites.

But music update, new frame usage require change in assembly code.

@sykobee to put gray, i need to find which color i have to sacrifice. It is not an easy task, as they are all needed.
But let's see how it would look like with pink and gray dithering:
Title: Re: Shinobi Remaster - Released
Post by: Carnivius on 11:29, 15 February 20
Hope you don't mind but I had a go at that brick wall stage and made the poster closer to the arcade's one too.
(https://i.imgur.com/pmGSrxM.png)hm why does posting it here make it a lil squished?  Weird.

Title: Re: Shinobi Remaster - Released
Post by: Fmtrx on 12:37, 15 February 20
i like it. you used yellow i see for the bricks. You modified the palette organization of the mission 1? because as it is now yellow is in different indexes among stages in mission 1 and it gets corrupted.
Title: Re: Shinobi Remaster - Released
Post by: Carnivius on 13:16, 15 February 20
thanks. No I didn't intentional modify the indexes, that's just what happened when I saved out as a 256 colour indexed PNG instead of 16.8 million colour PNG. :PWhat's the correct palette order?  I can easily swap the colours around in my image.
Title: Re: Shinobi Remaster - Released
Post by: Mr. DVG on 16:08, 15 February 20
As I follow the project I also understand the limitations and why some things happen ... the transparency of the first enemy is probably due to the fact that he uses the same sprite as Joe's legs (and vice versa) and this certainly has generated one "decompensation" in the color palette ... but ... LOL! :D

Seriously, I don't think it will be easy to solve this problem! :picard:
Title: Re: Shinobi Remaster - Released
Post by: Fmtrx on 18:55, 15 February 20
Quote from: Carnivius on 13:16, 15 February 20
thanks. No I didn't intentional modify the indexes, that's just what happened when I saved out as a 256 colour indexed PNG instead of 16.8 million colour PNG. :PWhat's the correct palette order?  I can easily swap the colours around in my image.


it has to do with the palette of the game, i cannot use the yellow color currently because it exists only in stage 1 palette.
I will have to modify palettes of stages 2 and 3 and include it there and with the same index. Otherwise bricks will be colored with other color instead of yellow.


@MrDVG, i fixed the transparency issue, i had accidentally applied transparent black to black shade.
Title: Re: Shinobi Remaster - Released
Post by: Mr. DVG on 19:01, 15 February 20
Quote from: Fmtrx on 18:55, 15 February 20

@MrDVG, i fixed the transparency issue, i had accidentally applied transparent black to black shade.
Great!!! Then the thugs' legs have deceived me!  ;D

I have idea that the V1.03 release will be nice full of news! :P
Title: Re: Shinobi Remaster - Released
Post by: Carnivius on 19:10, 15 February 20
Quote from: Fmtrx on 18:55, 15 February 20

it has to do with the palette of the game, i cannot use the yellow color currently because it exists only in stage 1 palette.
I will have to modify palettes of stages 2 and 3 and include it there and with the same index. Otherwise bricks will be colored with other color instead of yellow.
Weird. By yellow do you mean the sorta darkish tone of yellow (rather than the bright one)?   I used to hate that colour but then one day I realised it's one of the most useful colours in the entire CPC palette and should rightfully be in almost any game's palette.  Especially great in adding a more realistic and gritty look to things as well as being a great buffer colour in various hue ramps too helping with a smoother transition between certain colours.  I would certainly recommend trying to fit it into the palettes of other stages as with the more 'earthy' look of the arcade game's palette I think it could be of great use. :)

:)
Title: Re: Shinobi Remaster - Released
Post by: Fmtrx on 19:25, 15 February 20
Yes the dark yellow. I could not agree more regarding the usefulness of this color. As a matter of fact i have included in Mission 3, in order to recolor the brown stones. Next is mission 1.


I am trying to collect as many corrections as i can before i release something. Even if it takes a while.
Title: Re: Shinobi Remaster - Released
Post by: Mr. DVG on 19:13, 29 February 20
Is there any news for updating to the new version? I do not deny that I am anxiously waiting, but I would like to know even if you are experiencing difficulties of some kind in the update! (maybe someone maybe could help or give support). ;D
Title: Re: Shinobi Remaster - Released
Post by: Fmtrx on 20:26, 29 February 20
Quote from: Mr. DVG on 19:13, 29 February 20
Is there any news for updating to the new version? I do not deny that I am anxiously waiting, but I would like to know even if you are experiencing difficulties of some kind in the update! (maybe someone maybe could help or give support). ;D


Hey man, I have updated some BG textures, but the major work was done with the main sprite.
I have drawn almost all missing frames, more specifically the inclination of his body when he crouches, jumpup and fall off frames, updated crouch ower frames, shooting position when crouching, shooting position when shooting bullets both standing and crouching and maybe a few more that i cannot now recall.
The only frames that are not designed are the sword frame and the frames when he jumps high to different platforms.
But i did not have sprite slots. Fano told me that he could find a solution with this.


Also i have to bote that i could not match the crouching position 100% because the shooting of shurikens in the arcade version when crouched, is at a lower position than the cpc. So i had to make him crouching at a higher height - or else he would shoot shurikens from his mouth when crouched ;D . But even with higher crouch position, it is quite close to the arcade in my opinion.

I have updated the BIN file with the new frames, but i will definitely need help regarding the hacking of the code, as someone needs to :
example for the crouch frame of the upper part:
a)identify the part in code that e.g. when he crouches, the code just display the upper frame of the walk frame.
b)change the address of the sprite with the new one i designed and it shows the proper frame.

Fano is already helping with this, but his time is restricted.
From my part after taking a look in the code, i found the parts where the sprites addresses frames are loaded.
But this is only the start of the woven ball.


The problem here is that my path was  : Basic->c->c++->java->.NET.  No assembly in this flow.
The only case i had written some code was in university classes during a semester.
They taught us basic knowledge of ASM. (and it was 8085, not Z80)

Obviously this is not enough to accomplice the task here!
We would appreciate if someone helped in this section !  ;D

Next in the list is the retouch of the ninjas. I had already included a first version in the download, but the retouch was done to make them feel more robust. Version 2 will focus on redesigning to look like the arcade as much as i can.

Apart from the frames, i experimented with tilestudio, and changed  the reorganization of the tiles.
So the turquoise bricks in Level 4-1 are removed from this section and replaced with orange bricks that match the rest.
The ability to move tiles wherever we want helps in improving some graphic details of the game - only the BG details though, not objects with collision detection info.
(i hoped that  game designers had associated collision info and sprite addresses which this would help us rearrange even objects;
I experimented with this, but this was not the case. )

I continued with Level 2-1 and applied some 'tile economy' in order to improve graphics.
'tile economy'... catchy title in our era of worldwide crisis huh? . This means that I pinpointed tiles that offer little to detail of the scene, and allocated them as textures for the boat at the end of the level, and as texture for the big column and avoid using the four columns.
The tiles that were sacrificed were tiles with sky stars and a couple of others. (Not even the arcade had stars in L2-1 if i rememer well, so two tiles for ... STARS was a total waste!)

Then I hit the wall. While modifying tile organization in L4-1 worked exceptionally, in L2-1, game start showing corrupted graphics. I tried various things to identify where the problem is and even by importing the map, and exporting without changes with the tilestudio had as a result to corrupt graphics.
It seems that tilestudio corrupts specifically  the map file of level 2.1 for some unknown reason. Thus Level 2-1 will not be updated unless a solution is found.

Meanwhile i will change tile organization of mountains 4-1, 5-1. 
Doing so, i will break the randomness that they are placed so that i will be able to use shadows and highlights more effectively, by designing tiles for these roles.


Then i will pdate the ninja sprites.
I have asked a guy if he is interested in doing some updated music. I have not received an answer yet.

I feel that i opened the can of worms with this remaster, but i am determined to continue.
Title: Re: Shinobi Remaster - Released
Post by: Mr. DVG on 20:41, 29 February 20
Thanks for the prompt reply and wow ... damn ... with all this work maybe it was better to redesign it from the beginning (joke of course)!

These jobs should be stimulated in some way ... I would like to offer you a beer or a dinner in some way ... (could you make a site to support the project with a donation perhaps?)  ;)

In any case, I hope to be able to play before the Coronavirus ends us definitively (unfortunately the situation in Italy regarding this problem is not the best)!  :picard:
Title: Re: Shinobi Remaster - Released
Post by: Fmtrx on 21:21, 01 March 20
Quote from: Mr. DVG on 20:41, 29 February 20
Thanks for the prompt reply and wow ... damn ... with all this work maybe it was better to redesign it from the beginning (joke of course)!

These jobs should be stimulated in some way ... I would like to offer you a beer or a dinner in some way ... (could you make a site to support the project with a donation perhaps?)  ;)

In any case, I hope to be able to play before the Coronavirus ends us definitively (unfortunately the situation in Italy regarding this problem is not the best)!  :picard:


we are in a bad situation here in Greece as well. We also have 7 cases of Covid, and the worst is the situation with thousands of refugees pushing to enter our country by FORCE. It is like we are in a war here. I hope that this madness will end soon. we are all sad and extremely upset regarding the future of our country.

Anyway, regarding the remaster, to tell you the truth i have never thought about it, regarding the donations. I am not sure.
I will give it a better thought, as i see that it is a common practice.
My main motive when publishing this was because i wanted to share this with people that have common passions with me, which in this case is CPC and shinobi.

Thank you for you kind offer i appreciate it, i am glad that you enjoyed it.

Regarding the corruption of L2-1 from the tilestudio, i found a solution. I dida diff in hex editor, and found these bytes that were written by tilestudio and caused this issue.
So each time i save the level in tilestudio i will have to do some hex editing in order to be recognizable from the game  :picard:
I could write a short patch in C to write these bytes in the file, but i could not care less. I will just update manually.

I did some tile rearrangement and refined some graphics in mission 4.
I attach some comparisons of all versions to have a better look of the progress.
here is a snapshot where i deployed tile rearrangement along with texture updates:

Title: Re: Shinobi Remaster - Released
Post by: Mr. DVG on 14:16, 02 March 20
Quote from: Fmtrx on 21:21, 01 March 20

we are in a bad situation here in Greece as well. We also have 7 cases of Covid, and the worst is the situation with thousands of refugees pushing to enter our country by FORCE. It is like we are in a war here. I hope that this madness will end soon. we are all sad and extremely upset regarding the future of our country.

It is a moment of global crisis for everyone, we hope that this emergency will soon pass, so that we can face the future with more serenity! ::)

Quote from: Fmtrx on 21:21, 01 March 20
Anyway, regarding the remaster, to tell you the truth i have never thought about it, regarding the donations. I am not sure.
I will give it a better thought, as i see that it is a common practice.
My main motive when publishing this was because i wanted to share this with people that have common passions with me, which in this case is CPC and shinobi.

Thank you for you kind offer i appreciate it, i am glad that you enjoyed it.

If you need to make a donation campaign, don't hesitate to let us know ... I will be very honored to contribute!

Quote from: Fmtrx on 21:21, 01 March 20
Regarding the corruption of L2-1 from the tilestudio, i found a solution. I dida diff in hex editor, and found these bytes that were written by tilestudio and caused this issue.
So each time i save the level in tilestudio i will have to do some hex editing in order to be recognizable from the game  :picard:
I could write a short patch in C to write these bytes in the file, but i could not care less. I will just update manually.

Excellent, a rather complex solution, but in the end you found a clever way to solve it. I don't know what you're actually improving in level 2 (it already seemed perfect to me in the V1.02 release), but if you managed to solve the "flash" bug of the flooring to the second boss it's a great thing!

Quote from: Fmtrx on 21:21, 01 March 20

I did some tile rearrangement and refined some graphics in mission 4.
I attach some comparisons of all versions to have a better look of the progress.
here is a snapshot where i deployed tile rearrangement along with texture updates:

The new updated tiles / texture of mission 4 are nothing short of exceptional, not only do they differ a lot from the original version programmed years ago by Richard Aplin, but it almost doesn't look like the same game! In addition, the new coloring brings them very close to the original arcade version! (just don't see the Japanese writing above the door, but it's really a small thing compared to the general majesty)!

Excellent! ;)
Title: Re: Shinobi Remaster - Released
Post by: Fmtrx on 15:42, 02 March 20
Thank you!


Regarding the writing on the door, i have been thinking about it since yesterday. Two tiles are spent for the writing above the door... Which it cannot even mimic the original as the pixels are too big and few. So i am still thinking of removing them and allocate these two tiles as extra tiles for the ground.
They could help imitate the pseudo 3d proportion of the arcade : grass  is more sparse at the front, and thicker on the back.
So removing detail that the player sees for a second, the writing, we allocate to the ground, and give more detail, where the player is watching for the whole stage while playing.
Title: Re: Shinobi Remaster - Released
Post by: Mr. DVG on 16:39, 02 March 20
Quote from: Fmtrx on 15:42, 02 March 20

Regarding the writing on the door, i have been thinking about it since yesterday. Two tiles are spent for the writing above the door... Which it cannot even mimic the original as the pixels are too big and few. So i am still thinking of removing them and allocate these two tiles as extra tiles for the ground.
They could help imitate the pseudo 3d proportion of the arcade : grass  is more sparse at the front, and thicker on the back.
So removing detail that the player sees for a second, the writing, we allocate to the ground, and give more detail, where the player is watching for the whole stage while playing.

Absolutely agree with this choice, better to take better care of the graphic aspects visible during the entire level, rather than a small thing that appears for an instant (and it wasn't much that not even in the original by Aplin).

P.S. - I am pleased to note that the use of the "useless" yellow, together with other shades, has given amazing results (with the due proportions the block of rock with the grass in the middle seems almost like the original arcade).  :P
Title: Re: Shinobi Remaster - Released
Post by: Fmtrx on 19:14, 09 March 20

Greetings all,


Just a small update. The time has come to up the game. 64 tiles is very restricting when you want to depict 4 stages (one mission).

An idea came up to me today which is: why load before each mission a tileset of 64 tiles and restrict the variation of graphics?

Wouldn't be better to have a tileset of 64 tiles per stage ? So each stage has its own 64 tiles, and we can accomplish extreme precision in the quality of the remaster. The only side effect is that we need ~30-40 kb instead of 10 kb of extra disk space.

Currently the game loads chites4.bin - which is the tileset of mission 4, as it loads the first stage of mission 4.
The hack in the code  would modify the loader so  that the game loads chites41.bin (tileset of stage 1, mission4) when it loads 41.bin (stage 1 of mission4), then loads tileset of stage 2 which is the chites42.bin when it loads 42.bin (stage 2 level of mission 4) etc.

This results in higher graphic details that match the arcade almost 1:1. Textures can be the same with the arcade.
Let's see an example of the wall in mission 4:

As is the current situation, i cannot include these textures you see in the attached photos. The red wall textures allocated 4 tiles in the original, but it needs 15 tiles to match the arcade (!). So 64 tiles for 4 stages are not enough.
But if we had 64 tiles per stage, then we could do it. Even my cat approves it as you can see :)

I am not sure how difficult is to hack this, but i believe that it is the easiest workaround, and without breaking compatibility with 464 machine. I will keep you noted if someone can accomplish this hack.

If this hack is done, i promise you that this would be a game changer of what we initially thought of the limits of this remaster!
Title: Re: Shinobi Remaster - Released
Post by: sigh on 19:34, 09 March 20
Your new tiles for that level looks nice.

Quote from: Fmtrx on 19:14, 09 March 20
The only side effect is that we need ~30-40 kb instead of 10 kb of extra disk space.

Quote from: Fmtrx on 19:14, 09 March 20
I am not sure how difficult is to hack this, but i believe that it is the easiest workaround, and without breaking compatibility with 464 machine.
I could be wrong here - but 30 - 40kb might be very tight for the stock 464, as that version doesn't even have sound which would of probably have cost 8 - 10kb in itself?

Title: Re: Shinobi Remaster - Released
Post by: Fmtrx on 19:40, 09 March 20
thanks sigh.


Actually this method does not require more RAM. Before each stage of a mission it loads a specific tileset for this stage which takes 2kb.
When player goes to next stage, it loads the  tileset of the next stage and overwrites the previous tileset.
So during each stage we use the same 2kb of ram. Only the contents change from stage to stage.

The 38 kBs are the extra disk space for storage as we allocate 19 different tilesets one for each stage and not one for each mission.
This is not an issue. Almost all of us have installed an sd card solution, personally i am using the excellent m4board from duke.
But even without these, one could play it by using two disks, or use a higher density disk with Parados.
Title: Re: Shinobi Remaster - Released
Post by: Gryzor on 08:36, 10 March 20
Indeed very nice looking. No wonder cat approves.
Title: Re: Shinobi Remaster - Released
Post by: Fmtrx on 10:46, 10 March 20
Quote from: Gryzor on 08:36, 10 March 20
Indeed very nice looking. No wonder cat approves.


Ī¤hanks Gryzor. I am thinking of posting in Programming forum to search for anyone who could do the hack. I hope that I do not break any forum rules with this. the reason is that i believe that if i post here is less visible to programmers, than posting explicitly there, where i believe that some hardcore coders visit it often.
Title: Re: Shinobi Remaster - Released
Post by: Gryzor on 10:48, 10 March 20
Go ahead. It's not programming at this point, but we don't hang anyone for cross-posting :D
Title: Re: Shinobi Remaster - Released
Post by: Mr. DVG on 18:55, 10 March 20
Quote from: Fmtrx on 19:14, 09 March 20
Greetings all,


Just a small update. The time has come to up the game. 64 tiles is very restricting when you want to depict 4 stages (one mission).

An idea came up to me today which is: why load before each mission a tileset of 64 tiles and restrict the variation of graphics?

Wouldn't be better to have a tileset of 64 tiles per stage ? So each stage has its own 64 tiles, and we can accomplish extreme precision in the quality of the remaster. The only side effect is that we need ~30-40 kb instead of 10 kb of extra disk space.

Currently the game loads chites4.bin - which is the tileset of mission 4, as it loads the first stage of mission 4.
The hack in the code  would modify the loader so  that the game loads chites41.bin (tileset of stage 1, mission4) when it loads 41.bin (stage 1 of mission4), then loads tileset of stage 2 which is the chites42.bin when it loads 42.bin (stage 2 level of mission 4) etc.

This results in higher graphic details that match the arcade almost 1:1. Textures can be the same with the arcade.
Let's see an example of the wall in mission 4:

As is the current situation, i cannot include these textures you see in the attached photos. The red wall textures allocated 4 tiles in the original, but it needs 15 tiles to match the arcade (!). So 64 tiles for 4 stages are not enough.
But if we had 64 tiles per stage, then we could do it. Even my cat approves it as you can see :)

I am not sure how difficult is to hack this, but i believe that it is the easiest workaround, and without breaking compatibility with 464 machine. I will keep you noted if someone can accomplish this hack.

If this hack is done, i promise you that this would be a game changer of what we initially thought of the limits of this remaster!
I really admire the dedication that you are instilling in this project!

I can't help you on a technical level, but I am confident that, in light of the new technical considerations you have set out, this remaster will be something revolutionary and can be an inspiration for many other similar projects!

I repeat that there is really much to learn from the past, you have been able to take it back and improve it! An unprecedented experience that will bear fruit as soon as they are ripe!

Thanks again!  :-*
Title: Re: Shinobi Remaster - Released
Post by: Fmtrx on 20:01, 10 March 20
Really Mr DVG, it should be me that I should say thanks, for your kind words.
Each message of your i read, is a source of motivation for me and for the project and helps me considerably in continuing the work.
I really hope that a coder will be found to do this hack with the tilesets, and then .... the sky is the limit -
well 64 tiles PER STAGE is considered as the sky for me ! :-)
Looking forward seeing your wonderboy project, one of my favorite games in the arcades.
Title: Re: Shinobi Remaster - Released
Post by: Mr. DVG on 20:50, 10 March 20
Quote from: Fmtrx on 20:01, 10 March 20
Really Mr DVG, it should be me that I should say thanks, for your kind words.
Each message of your i read, is a source of motivation for me and for the project and helps me considerably in continuing the work.
I really hope that a coder will be found to do this hack with the tilesets, and then .... the sky is the limit -
well 64 tiles PER STAGE is considered as the sky for me ! :-)
Looking forward seeing your wonderboy project, one of my favorite games in the arcades.
I am sure you will succeed! ;)

For Wonderboy the project is not mine, but the good Benjamin Yoris, a very good graphic designer who did an excellent graphic conversion job directly from the arcade game, masterfully adapting it for the CPC! He only needs one programmer (who, as you know, are very few and are the ones who do the dirty work), but it seems that Abalore is available (or at least I hope so) to collaborate on the project, after completing his exceptional Slap Fight / Alcon!  :P :P
Title: Re: Shinobi Remaster - Released
Post by: Fmtrx on 21:08, 10 March 20
The work is indeed dirty. I work as a software developer, and the burn i get during the working hours generate the need to draw some graphics several afternoons each week and let some steam out of my head :)
It is a shame that my experience in ASM is limited at an academic level  gained during several university classes in 8th semester in the lab with an 8085. I could study and get a grasp of it but the learning curve is steep comparing with other languages which describe algorithms and are closer to human logic. So it would take much time.
Title: Re: Shinobi Remaster - Released
Post by: Sykobee (Briggsy) on 11:10, 11 March 20
I presume the map is stored at 1 byte per tile, 6 bits for the graphic data and perhaps 2 bits metadata (a bit to indicate it's solid/background, what else?), or maybe it's just memory limited to 64 tiles?
Title: Re: Shinobi Remaster - Released
Post by: Fmtrx on 12:58, 11 March 20
Quote from: Sykobee (Briggsy) on 11:10, 11 March 20
I presume the map is stored at 1 byte per tile, 6 bits for the graphic data and perhaps 2 bits metadata (a bit to indicate it's solid/background, what else?), or maybe it's just memory limited to 64 tiles?


Yes, each tile is assigned a number corresponding to a byte. A test of inserting more than 64 tiles showed correctly generated numbers inside the XX.bin map file that tilesudio generated. Additional tiles were correctly indexed as  40h, 41h... ( No65, No66...) etc.


But the problem is - after a talk i had with Fano - that the available memory is exactly 4096 bytes, and they had put a guard in the code, by doing an AND with 111111; which has the effect of resetting the number that addresses the tiles after 63. So 65 becomes 1, 70 becomes 6 etc.


I am not sure that they keep info if the tile is solid  with the extra bit. I am saying this because i did an experiment of removing object that player collides, the brown box in level 1, and inserted other tiles. But the player kept colliding at these coordinates.







Title: Re: Shinobi Remaster - Released
Post by: Sykobee (Briggsy) on 13:04, 11 March 20
Thanks - so it's just a memory issue for the tileset. I guess the game must be crammed in (If not, rearranging memory to free up more tilespace is possible, but difficult and fiddly.)
The level 'objects' (boxes/floor-height, enemies, etc) must be stored separately to the map - doesn't affect a reskin, but new maps would be a problem.
Title: Re: Shinobi Remaster - Released
Post by: Fmtrx on 13:21, 11 March 20
Designing new maps, or modifying existing maps other than the artistic style is impossible with what we have now.
But regarding the number of tiles, there could be a solution with an easy hack from someone experienced in ASM.
The idea is to load before each stage a tileset that is specific to this stage. Next stage will load a new tileset at the same area of the previous tileset
overwriting its previous contents (previous tileset is not needed anymore). Thus RAM requirement is the same.
So we will be able to use 64 different tiles per stage which gives enough freedom to provide detailed graphics, and very close to arcade.
Currently the tileset of 64 tiles is per mission (which consists of 3-4 stages) which is restrictive.
Title: Re: Shinobi Remaster - Released
Post by: sigh on 13:35, 11 March 20
Quote from: Fmtrx on 12:58, 11 March 20

But the problem is - after a talk i had with Fano - that the available memory is exactly 4096 bytes, and they had put a guard in the code, by doing an AND with 111111; which has the effect of resetting the number that addresses the tiles after 63. So 65 becomes 1, 70 becomes 6 etc.
What would be the reason for doing this? Is this because some of those same tiles are used in different missions?
Title: Re: Shinobi Remaster - Released
Post by: Fmtrx on 14:29, 11 March 20
Sounds like a precaution, in order to avoid referencing addresses outside of the 64 tile limit. I suppose that the number of tile (0-63) inside the map file (XX.bin) was added to a specific address in order to create an absolute address that references the address of the tile inside the tilemap file (CHITESX.bin) which its contents are copied somewhere in ram.

So there is no way to corrupt the game if you provide a map file that addresses more than 64 tiles.

Another speculation would be that these highest two bits are assigned values specific with tile properties from somewhere inside the game.
For example  if tile no 5  ( 0000 0101 ) belongs to the brown box, in mission 1, then mark bit 7 as 1 to indicate collision properties : 0100 0101
so that game engine reads its property.
But in mission 2, the tile  No 5 could be a part of the sky, so the bit 7 should be modified to 0. So the same tile No becomes now : 0000 0101.

So they clear the highest 2 bits (7th and 8th bit)  in order to set them properly for these properties.

But these are just speculations. Only the original programmer knows how exactly this works, and unfortunately we will never know.
Title: Re: Shinobi Remaster - Released
Post by: Mr. DVG on 17:26, 06 May 20
Sorry if I bring this discussion up high, but I wanted to know if there are updates on this project.

From what I understood "Fmtrx" was now well on the various changes to be made to the main program! :)
Title: Re: Shinobi Remaster - Released
Post by: Fmtrx on 06:48, 07 May 20
Quote from: Mr. DVG on 17:26, 06 May 20
Sorry if I bring this discussion up high, but I wanted to know if there are updates on this project.

From what I understood "Fmtrx" was now well on the various changes to be made to the main program! :)


hello DVG, unfortunately the project has been suspended.
An attempt in modifying the code in order to have each stage its own tileset, failed.
Perhaps it has to do that the code has various self modifications (?).
ASM is not my field, and i do not have time to become an expert at this period and fix this.
What we need here is an experienced person in ASM to give me a hand, but unfortunately there is no interest
for this project from others, or there is no availability from others.
It is a shame, because if we could pull this modification, the graphics would be greatly enhanced.
(I also i have designed new frames that are not utilized)
Title: Re: Shinobi Remaster - Released
Post by: Mr. DVG on 15:33, 07 May 20
Quote from: Fmtrx on 06:48, 07 May 20
hello DVG, unfortunately the project has been suspended.
An attempt in modifying the code in order to have each stage its own tileset, failed.
Perhaps it has to do that the code has various self modifications (?).
ASM is not my field, and i do not have time to become an expert at this period and fix this.
What we need here is an experienced person in ASM to give me a hand, but unfortunately there is no interest
for this project from others, or there is no availability from others.
It is a shame, because if we could pull this modification, the graphics would be greatly enhanced.
(I also i have designed new frames that are not utilized)
I am very sorry to hear this, and it is a pity to suspend everything in this way (given the excellent results obtained so far).

Maybe a new update could be released with the changes that have been possible! I remember that you had run many bugfixes compared to the versions that have been released ...

For the rest, I hope in my heart that this project will not be permanently abandoned! ::)
Title: Re: Shinobi Remaster - Released
Post by: Shaun M. Neary on 00:42, 06 June 20
Just wanna say...Finally had a chance to play this tonight (between my work and the implications Covid-19 had) time has been tight to say the least.

I LOVED THIS!
Granted, I loved the Aplin original, but the colour of the backgrounds is definitely easier on my near 43 year old eyes.
The game somehow also manages to fix a bug on level 4-2 where about 2/3rds of the way, an enemy comes at you at lightning speed, and unless you time it right, there's no chance of getting past him! :D

Nice work. :D
Title: Re: Shinobi Remaster - Released
Post by: Fmtrx on 14:44, 16 June 20
Hi Shaun,


Thank you for your kind words, i am happy that you liked it. I have invested many hours in this, and i am willing to invest more if someday someone manages to do the hack so that each stage has its own tileset so that we will be able to use more textures.(now it has one tileset per mission) Some private builds i have done with tilesets that are specific for each stage, make the game look like the arcade.
Title: Re: Shinobi Remaster - Released
Post by: Shaun M. Neary on 12:22, 17 June 20
Quote from: Fmtrx on 14:44, 16 June 20
Hi Shaun,


Thank you for your kind words, i am happy that you liked it. I have invested many hours in this, and i am willing to invest more if someday someone manages to do the hack so that each stage has its own tileset so that we will be able to use more textures.(now it has one tileset per mission) Some private builds i have done with tilesets that are specific for each stage, make the game look like the arcade.

I'll give it another play through if another release comes out. Finished it on the second attempt (was very drunk on the first), but I've been able to finish that game blindfolded (not literally) for years now. :D
Title: Re: Shinobi Remaster - Released
Post by: Fmtrx on 21:22, 17 June 20
This game had excellent gameplay. C64 may had a better framerate, but the cpc version is more enjoyable.
I learned this game first in the arcades during a summer, I think 1988,mastered it without shurikens in all stages except some bosses. Afterwards i went to the home version. What an excellent game in its time.
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