Quick Modding/Hacking Answers Thread

How do I change the starting map?

 

Use Cave Editor and change it in Game Options (game settings?) or right-click the map and "set start location"

It's not implemented in BL yet if that's what you're using.

 

How many tilesets can the game handle? I remember in my old mailstory mod i had added 5 new tilesets to the game, and by the 5th the game had trouble and it took a few minutes to get the tileset working without the game crashing.

 

I just copypasted all of vanilla's tilesets (so that it had twice as many) and it worked perfectly fine.

 

Um, there's not really any issues with adding new tilesets. Maybe the Tile Types weren't configured well because CE is a bit lazy with memory initialization like that.

 

Um, there's not really any issues with adding new tilesets. Maybe the Tile Types weren't configured well because CE is a bit lazy with memory initialization like that.

Huh, ok. By the way, how does CE add new tileset's to the game without getting rid of NPC's and stuff?

 

They're not even in the exe. A tileset is comprised of a .pbm and a .pxa file.

 

They're not even in the exe. A tileset is comprised of a .pbm and a .pxa file.

Oh, ok. I was wondering what pxa's were.

 

It is, but you'd have to find room to put the code into and also write the actual NPC code.

I'm kinda scared to ask...
but how difficult would it be to copy the data for an original npc and just change the image?

For example, using the save point's data and making another image file with it being blue.
I basically want a save point clone that doesn't ruin the original.

 

I dont know about that.

Also, i'm making a cave story + version of my beta mod, and i used curly story as a base (adding my stages to stage tbl in the slots), and after finally getting the damn thing to work (NiCALiS REALLY needs to fix the way cave story+ handles mods), i added a <TRA command to event #0200 in start.tsc to go to the start level, but it doesn't work, it just loads the mod and has a black screen with the message box sound playing over and over, how do i fix this?

 

Are you remembering the <FAI on your target map?

 

Oh, ok. I was wondering what pxa's were.

".pxa" files are basically files that tell the game which tiles are solid, which tiles are spikes, and so on.

Anyway, I don't know if these are quick, but I'll ask anyway.
If the questions are stupid, sorry.

(EDIT: Dammit, stupid IP Board deleted my questions )

EDIT²:
Question 1:
How many ticks does it take Curly to move forward one tile?
Using the <ANP command to let her walk to the player until she's one step away causes her to walk in the air.

Question 2:
Is there a way to set Experience Capsules so that they appear when a certain flag is set, without creating enough XP to be equal to the flag?
When I tried, it created 1341 XP while I wanted it to create 10 XP
It was supposed to appear only when flag 1341 was set.

Question 3:
For some reason, <FLJ is breaking the mod I'm working on.
Flag 1533 hasn't been set yet, but whenever I enter an area (map 101), the event that it should jump to (0095) triggers anyway.
I checked all scripts, even set <FL-1533 after a boss fight, yet it happens anyway even if the flag is still impossible to trigger.
And an H/V trigger that is supposed to appear only when that flag has been set appears whether the flag is set or not.

Question 4:
Is it possible to make invisible moving platforms using an H/V Trigger?
(Yes, this question is entirely random.)

 

Are you remembering the <FAI on your target map?

Yeah, the <FAI is on the event of the map the start goes to in the plus version, and i made a few changes and now the mod wont even start.

Also just a heads up, the stage.tbl's boosters lab makes do not work in cs+.

 

Eh, the format's about right, but looks like there's some kind of bug making them not all save. Probably has to do with null pointers and stuff.

I'll issue a high-priority fix as soon as I figure out what went wrong.

 

Eh, the format's about right, but looks like there's some kind of bug making them not all save. Probably has to do with null pointers and stuff.

I'll issue a high-priority fix as soon as I figure out what went wrong.

Ok, also, why are the stage.tbl's it saves set for 1x res? As far as i know, there isn't a version of original cave story that uses stage.tbl.

 

Uh, not sure what you mean by that. You mean when you load a stage.tbl it uses 1x graphics scale?
There's nothing in stage.tbl that says what the tile size should be.

 

Uh, not sure what you mean by that. You mean when you load a stage.tbl it uses 1x graphics scale?
There's nothing in stage.tbl that says what the tile size should be.

I mean if i load a stage.tbl created by BL from a mod of original cave story, it shows in 1x scale, but if i open stage.tbl from cave story+, it shows 2x.

 

Question 1:
How many ticks does it take Curly to move forward one tile?

15 ticks. (Just tried it myself)

Question 2:
Is there a way to set Experience Capsules so that they appear when a certain flag is set, without creating enough XP to be equal to the flag?
When I tried, it created 1341 XP while I wanted it to create 10 XP
It was supposed to appear only when flag 1341 was set.

As you yourself have discovered, the number of power crystals emitted by an energy capsule corresponds to that entity's flag ID.
So first set that energy capsule's flag ID to 10, if that's the amount you want it to give you if you destroy it. Now give that energy capsule an event number. In addition, make that energy capsule a blank entity. After that, add an <FLJ somewhere in the room's script that mandatorily executes before you see the place where the energy capsule is. (I.E., in the room's fade in script, or in which ever event was called by the <TRA that brought you to that room.) Make this <FLJ check for the flag you want (in your case 1341), and if that flag if set, have the event it jumps to change the blank entity into type 253, an energy capsule.

Question 3:
For some reason, <FLJ is breaking the mod I'm working on.
Flag 1533 hasn't been set yet, but whenever I enter an area (map 101), the event that it should jump to (0095) triggers anyway.
I checked all scripts, even set <FL-1533 after a boss fight, yet it happens anyway even if the flag is still impossible to trigger.
And an H/V trigger that is supposed to appear only when that flag has been set appears whether the flag is set or not.

I hate it when stuff like that happens. Sometimes, it's the result of some part of some script setting the flag that you're not aware of. If you haven't already, use either Booster's Lab or Noxid's TSC script editor to generate a flag listing of your mod, and see if that flag isn't being set by some script you're not aware of. If you can't get it to work, then just rewrite all the parts of your mod's scripts that are supposed to use flag 1533, and use a different flag ID. If, after trying everything you could think of, then I hope you've been following a very good fundamental practice that all Cave Story modders should know to do: Back up your game.

Question 4:
Is it possible to make invisible moving platforms using an H/V Trigger?
(Yes, this question is entirely random.)

I believe that would be possible. I haven't tried this myself, but it should work.
Take the entities that are used in the Labyrinth that are moving platforms, and set them up for your own mod. Now take note of where in PrtMaze.bmp the tiles that have the appearance of those moving platforms are, and have that area completely black in your own tileset. Hopefully this will make moving platforms invisible. Just note that using these would crush you if you got in their way.

 

15 ticks. (Just tried it myself)

As you yourself have discovered, the number of power crystals emitted by an energy capsule corresponds to that entity's flag ID.
So first set that energy capsule's flag ID to 10, if that's the amount you want it to give you if you destroy it. Now give that energy capsule an event number. In addition, make that energy capsule a blank entity. After that, add an <FLJ somewhere in the room's script that mandatorily executes before you see the place where the energy capsule is. (I.E., in the room's fade in script, or in which ever event was called by the <TRA that brought you to that room.) Make this <FLJ check for the flag you want (in your case 1341), and if that flag if set, have the event it jumps to change the blank entity into type 253, an energy capsule.

Thanks!

I hate it when stuff like that happens. Sometimes, it's the result of some part of some script setting the flag that you're not aware of. If you haven't already, use either Booster's Lab or Noxid's TSC script editor to generate a flag listing of your mod, and see if that flag isn't being set by some script you're not aware of. If you can't get it to work, then just rewrite all the parts of your mod's scripts that are supposed to use flag 1533, and use a different flag ID. If, after trying everything you could think of, then I hope you've been following a very good fundamental practice that all Cave Story modders should know to do: Back up your game.

Thanks.
So, apparently an event in the Sacred Grounds B3 area (that is inaccessible) decided to set itself.

I believe that would be possible. I haven't tried this myself, but it should work.
Take the entities that are used in the Labyrinth that are moving platforms, and set them up for your own mod. Now take note of where in PrtMaze.bmp the tiles that have the appearance of those moving platforms are, and have that area completely black in your own tileset. Hopefully this will make moving platforms invisible. Just note that using these would crush you if you got in their way.

Thanks!

EDIT:
Looks like IP Bored destroys long posts sometimes...

 

I'm kinda scared to ask...
but how difficult would it be to copy the data for an original npc and just change the image?

For example, using the save point's data and making another image file with it being blue.
I basically want a save point clone that doesn't ruin the original.

Not too hard; just find the code for the entity, duplicate it in place of a different entity, then change the framerects.