GameHacking.org Weekly Hacking Target (07-10-11) - Little Nemo [NES]

[BeyondTheStatic]

Doh! That code hasn't been easy I usually listen to other music while hacking, since loading states all the time can be jarring to the ears.

I've got this one:

Walk On Spike Tops
AOXLSGEY
[B]NOTE: All other sides can still kill you. May also cause you to walk on some background elements. Not recommended.[/B]

It's better than nothing, and the music doesn't stop. Full coverage might require a total of four codes, but it doesn't matter when you've got *.nsp cheat files

[nolberto82]

Jump in Midair
AEXXENGI
PSUZUNYT

[BeyondTheStatic]

Good one! I'm currently writing a huge routine to make total flight possible (it will probably end up as a patch or an *.nsp file), but it's interfering with the suits. I'm testing against Nemo's normal state, but it crashes right when you try to ride an animal... On the plus side, I'm learning a lot more about 6502 programming

edit: I was skipping lines in decimal not hexadecimal. Unfortunately, it doesn't prevent a suit-related crash...

[BeyondTheStatic]

Nemo Can Fly

So it took a lot of work, but here it is: the first complete flying cheat for Little Nemo. If nobody likes it, then at the very least I learned a few new things

To fly, just jump or fall off a platform. You will neither rise nor fall until you use the D-Pad. The animals you can ride will not be affected.

Since the code is so long, I've attached an .nsp file that you can import into Nestopia. I've added comments so that anyone who is interested may see how it was done.

Credits:

-VisitntX, for finding the rising state
-Unknown, for the suit state
-Galoob, for the Super Speed cheats.

I hope you enjoy it!

[OldSchoolGamer]

Nice!

[Tony H]

Nice job. Just curious... How many codes total to fly?

[BeyondTheStatic]

Thanks, thanks. It looks like forty-eight to fly, fifty to fly well. I'm sure it could be optimized... not sure how, though. What's the limit with most NES emulators? 50? Well I guess I'm about to find out how many Nestopia can handle. A patch might really need to be made...

[OldSchoolGamer]

wow thats alot of codes

[BeyondTheStatic]

Yeah, it's a bunch. It looks like Nestopia can handle more than fifty codes, so that's good. But... I could never find any freespace, so the flying codes make the game reset itself right after Topsy-Turvy No Morningstar, no bosses, no ending

Also, exiting down off a platform is sometimes sketchy, but it's not too bad.

[nolberto82]

Yeah, it's a bunch. It looks like Nestopia can handle more than fifty codes, so that's good. But... I could never find any freespace, so the flying codes make the game reset itself right after Topsy-Turvy No Morningstar, no bosses, no ending

Also, exiting down off a platform is sometimes sketchy, but it's not too bad.

You can bankswitch to get some free space.

[BeyondTheStatic]

Hmm, that subject seems quite involving. Maybe for now I'll try out a patch where unseen level data is used...

Wait, to bankswitch, all I have to do is use the correct compare values for the GG codes, right? For instance, early on I was having problems with the frog jumping into water because that area in memory was shared with text I was overwriting. If I use compare values from the frog-water event, not the text, everything should work out, right? (assuming, of course, nothing else is written there somewhere down the line)

[nolberto82]

No, bankswitching is too swap a whole block of memory with another. If you don't don't want to do that then you can overwrite another function. You can overwrite the lives function and put your codes in there.

[BeyondTheStatic]

Is there a good bankswitching tutorial anywhere?

A function overwrite sounds like a good idea though, and something like a limited number of lives probably won't be missed.

BTW, your Jump in Midair cheat for this game causes Nemo to sink quickly underwater, but it's still playable. It seems like new codes often have some sort of unintended effect...

[BeyondTheStatic]

No luck finding a good portion of usable space for the flying cheats, though I haven't been working on it nonstop. When it's done, it will probably be in patch form.

Here's something:

Always Have Morning Star (press select in Nemo mode to activate)
APEIPIEP

OldSchoolGamer, is it normal behavior for that weapon to be able to shoot, even when the meter hasn't been filled up yet? If not, then my code seems to do that too

[OldSchoolGamer]

OldSchoolGamer, is it normal behavior for that weapon to be able to shoot, even when the meter hasn't been filled up yet? If not, then my code seems to do that

Yes that is normal for it to do that. If you just tab the B button, it won't shoot. You have to hold the B button for a split second for it to charge a tiny bit and then it will shoot. The more you charge it, the more damage it does to enemies. If you charge the full meter, it inflicts the most damage. So your code does not also do that. But it's still an awesome code. Now you don't need the help of the friendly animals to kill enemies in the first 7 levels. So I guess there should be a way to make a code that lets you shoot without having to charge it at all. A code like "Always shoot fully charged Morning Star without having to charge it".