Quick Modding/Hacking Answers Thread

ok, thanks, but another question, is there a reason why only some maps have a pxa file?

Spoiler: Example

 

PXA files don't correspond to maps, they correspond to tilesets. When you find a .pxa file, there will also be an associated .bmp/.pbm file. The .pxa file determines whether the tiles in that tileset are solid, not solid, sloped, water, or some other tile type.

 

got it, much thanks

 

Guess it's best to repeat this for idk how many times now.

Stage folder file extension guide (of doom):
.pbm - (.bmp but made so it won't show spoilers) - You know what it is. If you use Booster's Lab, they'll automatically be converted into .bmp files for easier access.
.pxa - (???) Tells the game what kind tiles the tilesets are supposed to be. There is one per tileset, not one per map.
.pxe - (PiXel Entity) It holds the entity placement in all the maps and stages of the game.
.pxm - (PiXel Map) It holds all the foreground and background tiles you place in all the maps and stages of the game.
.tsc - (Text SCript) The events that every map has. Can be used for interactions, cutscenes, bosses, technical behind the scenes, etc. It can also access some memory addresses for some stuff if you're skilled enough.

 

yeah, I thought the rest were self explanatory, e = entity, m = tileset pieces and background stuff. I already knew what TSC was, but it seems I was much too senile to see that its pbm because its to prevent people seeing the tilesets

 

Funny thing, .pbm is actually a type of bitmap, but I doubt Pixel really know about that. As proven through Cave Editor (yes, Cave Editor. There is a hack for Booster's Lab that can allow you to change the file extension the executable reads the bitmaps, but you'd have to manually change the file extensions in the bitmap file names), if you change the file extension for the bitmaps to anything that isn't a different file format that you typically use for other stuff (.png, .jpg, .wav, .exe), you can still open it up with Paint and it'll work just like it would if its file extension is just .bmp.

 

I actually use Cave Editor as my main editor, though I do use Boosters labs tools regardless

 

I just noticed that using the CS+ sprite size makes the entities in Booster's Lab not match in position with the ones in the actual game.
I hadn't noticed that because playing the game normally didn't actually change anything and I haven't been using Booster's Lab to edit entities' positions in a while.
Is there a way to fix that?

 

change it back
I dont really know anything about it
but I've edited Cave Story+ before
perhaps use the graphics from CS+ (assuming you have it)

 

change it back

Hell no. No way I'm going back to that resolution. There must be some setting that fixes that.
I should also mention that I'm using Clownacy's mod loader for the double resolution, which I'm pretty sure was designed to work with Booster's Lab.

 

Here I come to save the daaaaaaaaaaaaaaay!
Open up your mod with Booster's Lab, go to Edit Project Config Settings, and use this configuration. (Note: 27 is for 16:9 resolution, if your mod is going to be in 4:3 resolution, keep it at 21)

I should also mention that I'm using Clownacy's mod loader for the double resolution, which I'm pretty sure was designed to work with Booster's Lab.

Hasn't stopped Noxid and GIR, King Story and WTF Story were made BEFORE Booster's Lab was ever developed. I'll need to go and see if the CE they used was modified, or if they just placed 16x16 tiles relative to the actual tiles that were used in the tilesets, because that still works if you're still not too sure for yourself.

EDIT: It's confirmed that the version of CE they used was hacked, after all. So unfortunately, that won't seem to be obtainable nowadays. (I mean, Booster's Lab can already do everything CE could, plus more! There is no reason to use CE unless for some fucked up reason your computer can't use Java)

By the way, the 2x resolution hack is otherwise working great. the game still feels the same and the new version of Cave editor is working fine too.

 

Here I come to save the daaaaaaaaaaaaaaay!

It works wonderfully, thank you.

 

A bunch of posts have spawned since then but I guess I'll go ahead anyway.

.pxa - (???) Tells the game what kind tiles the tilesets are supposed to be. There is one per tileset, not one per map.

.pxa = PiXel Attributes.
At least, that's what Noxid taught me when I asked him 8 years ago, and I've gone with it ever since.

 

That... Actually makes a lot of sense now. The "a" part of the extension has been killing me!

 

how do you use the Mimiga Mask glitch and how does it work?

 

how do you use the Mimiga Mask glitch and how does it work?

Mimiga Mask Glitch? Wazzat?

 

well, in Jenkas Nightmare whoever made it had 3 versions of the mimiga mask: Quote, Curly, and Curly + Kamina's shades, I was wondering how that works and how to use it

 

That just means the <MIM command was in use, lol.

 

wait thats a command? like a vanilla command? WHAT?!

 

wait thats a command? like a vanilla command? WHAT?!

Nono, it's a custom TSC command made by Lace, and Zarro just plugged it in his mod. You can easily install it through either the optimized <END hack, or through TSC+. Welcome to the wonderful world of assembly.