[a / b / c / d / e / f / g / gif / h / hr / k / m / o / p / r / s / t / u / v / vg / vm / vmg / vr / vrpg / vst / w / wg] [i / ic] [r9k / s4s / vip] [cm / hm / lgbt / y] [3 / aco / adv / an / bant / biz / cgl / ck / co / diy / fa / fit / gd / hc / his / int / jp / lit / mlp / mu / n / news / out / po / pol / pw / qst / sci / soc / sp / tg / toy / trv / tv / vp / vt / wsg / wsr / x / xs] [Settings] [Search] [Mobile] [Home]
Board
Settings Mobile Home
/vr/ - Retro Games


Thread archived.
You cannot reply anymore.


[Advertise on 4chan]


Why haven't you started a disassembly or decompilation of your favorite game, anon?
>>
I don't wear programmer socks
>>
I'm a straight white male.
>>
I don’t have an estrogen prescription.
>>
Because i have no clue where to get started.

It sounds like a cool hobby
>>
>>12112439
fpbp
>>12112441
spbp
>>12112443
tpbp
/thread
>>
>>12112437
we have nothing in common
>>
>>12112437
It's a 6th gen game with no debug symbols leak so idk seems daunting
>>
>>12112437
I'm afraid of annoying Mike Singeletons departed soul because I'm so grateful to him for writing that game.
>>
>>12112469
Usually I start by mapping out data in the ROM with a hex editor. Look for text first, either with an ASCII search or a relative search if the game doesn't use ASCII. Then do a hex search for numeric data like stats, levels, item prices, whatever. Switch to a graphics editor and look for blocks of uncompressed graphics. That's the low-hanging fruit, after writing down all those offsets I would pull out an emulator with debugger and start looking for code and RAM.
>>
>>12112469
It's like making a code index, definitely not for guys that don't care but great for games you care about. I don't understand why caring excludes guys, but I suppose that's a statement from guys that don't care so never mind they/them.
>>
All my favorite games got decompiled long ago.
>>
>>12112437
I have too much skill, intelligence, self respect. My breath doesn't smell like cum.
>>
File: 1758051936939038.webm (3.92 MB, 1354x420)
3.92 MB
3.92 MB WEBM
>>12112437
I did. It's currently completely playable on modern windows, mac, and linux with all features working except network multiplayer.
https://github.com/FatalDecomp/ROLLER
>>
>>12112437
too busy making hacks without the use of a disassembly.
a debugger is enough
>>
>>12112437
I came to understanding that it's a waste of time. At the end of the day very few people care and you can't make money on it. So instead of decompiling everything for years I'm just lifting the good bits for my own game.
>>
>>12115681
Fair enough but hey, don't monetize all your hobbies
>>
>>12112437
Can't someone else do it?
>>
>>12116407
Personally my other hobbies all cost a lot of money so having one that was free was kinda nice. Also learning how to decompile made software fun again for me instead of just being work that I want to be as far away from as possible in my free time. It was exciting to learn all the inner workings of a game I liked as a kid and very gratifying every time I could mark another function as decompiled in Ida Pro.

Only ~15 autists from the car board on a mongolian basketweaving forum caring about it is part of what motivated me. I figured I was probably the only person in the world who had both the technical skill and the interest in the game so if it was ever getting a decomp it would be me or nobody.
>>
File: sapien.gif (280 KB, 1280x1000)
280 KB
280 KB GIF
>>12112437
The only game I'd be interested in decompiling is Halo 1. There are a few things that theoretically make the process easier:
>most function names aren't obscured
>In 2004, Bungie released their own in-house tools they made the game with so people could make mods/custom maps, so we know a great already about how the game works
But there's two main obstacles. First is that nobody would give a fuck because MCC already exists and is the definitive way to play Halo 1. Moreover, do you decompile the Xbox version, or the PC version? If you choose the PC version, you're inheriting the Gearbox bugs. If you choose the Xbox version, porting is going to suck because you're dealing with pixel shaders and GPU code more generally built for a custom GPU that is kind of DirectX 8 but not really.
>>
>>12112437
I like being male and having a penis, I don't want to cut it off and pretend to be a girl.
>>
>>12112437
It isn't fucked to the point that a decomp is necessary to play it for an average person, and it's got a (bad) remake recently that makes it accessible for an average consolefag. So I disasm/decomp only the functions relevant to my mods (asm hacks) which are just a bit too large to be implementented as cheats.
>>
>>12113362
Thats pretty cool anon
>>
>>12116407
Historically in the 80s and 90s it used to be about making money
Here Lemmings/GTA guy talks about borrowing routines from other games
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N8NL9Yb-zMw
And here Microprose guy talks about reversing Genesis dev system
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hF8jHy307DI
No pay public service angle is a recent thing
>>
>>12112437
I don’t know how. But if I did, it’d be Tekken 4
>>
>>12112437
Somebody else already made one

https://www.romhacking.net/documents/858/
>>
>>12112478
This
Also I’m too dumb
>>
>>12118548
Argonaut guy talks about reversing NES and GB systems
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ysxrJdsS7zw
>>
>>12112437
I did. It doesn't take much to start a disassembly. Finishing it is another thing.
>>
>>12113126
Really? I'd probably start by scanning the memory to try and identify where all the key values were stored, score, health, player position, etc.
>>
File: 1759923357387615.jpg (78 KB, 800x600)
78 KB
78 KB JPG
>>12113126
>>12121540
I was lucky, an exe was released with debug symbols included. Didn't have function params like the dethrace guys but I did have all the function names, global names, and file structure. I believe I could manage without symbols knowing what I know now after having learned how to do this but I probably would not have attempted it in the first place without them.

If I was doing it again on something without symbols the first thing I'd do is load the exe up in Ida Pro, then get an LLM to guess what all the functions do and give them reasonable names. LLMs are not good at writing C but they are very good at immediately recognizing what an algorithm is for and giving an overview of what it's probably for.

I am not sure if I could decomp a game that was not originally written in C though. C++ or God forbid anything higher level probably gets real fucky real quick.
>>
Is there a full list of decompilations/source ports anywhere? There's so many these days it's hard to keep track of them.
>>
>>12112437
Let's say I wanted to start from ground zero with no programming experience. What should I learn to do this?
>>
>>12112437
I got like 2/3 through then became a chronic masturbator.
>>
>>12112437
Cisgendered and have real world responsibilities.
>>
>>12121730
You find and read shit like this but for your system
https://feuniverse.us/t/gbafe-assembly-for-dummies-by-dummies/3563
>>
>>12112437
I'm not autistic so it's impossible
>>
File: Native ports cmonnn.png (1.08 MB, 1420x639)
1.08 MB
1.08 MB PNG
I made a collage of the ones I want. That's more than nothing, right?
>>
>>12112437
I don't trust these things. Only a group of heterosexual white men could do the games justice in the process, and unfortunately the only people with the time to take on these endeavors are gay men in dresses, so you can rest assured that any decomp will carry with it a tranny's influence.
>>
>>12121727
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_commercial_video_games_with_available_source_code#Games_with_reconstructed_source_code
Not a full list but something

Newer games made using high level languages (Unity/Godot/UE3/GameMaker/RPG Maker/Love2D/Clickteam Fusion/Python/Java/Lua/Ruby/C#) you can just auto-decompile with tools available on github
So those typically don't end up on such lists, it's just given that everyone can decompile them at leisure
>>
>>12121758
and yet you post here, so that seems like a stretch
>>
>>12112437
if i can't be bothered to learn jap the fuck makes you think i'm gunna decomp some obscure game no one gives a shit about that only i love
secondly decomping a saturn game sounds like aids
>>
>>12116706
>If you choose the Xbox version, porting is going to suck because you're dealing with pixel shaders and GPU code more generally built for a custom GPU that is kind of DirectX 8 but not really
I always thought Xbox used the modified Windows but original DirectX. So was I wrong all that time?
>>
>>12121826
and yet you're posting here. don't worry I'll cut off the crusts



[Advertise on 4chan]

Delete Post: [File Only] Style:
[Disable Mobile View / Use Desktop Site]

[Enable Mobile View / Use Mobile Site]

All trademarks and copyrights on this page are owned by their respective parties. Images uploaded are the responsibility of the Poster. Comments are owned by the Poster.