18 KiB
Design Flaws
These are parts of the code that do not work incorrectly, like bugs and glitches, but that clearly exist just to work around a problem. In other words, with a slightly different design, the code would not need to exist at all. Design flaws may be exceptions to a usual rule, such as "tables of pointers in different banks use dba
" (one exception, and another) or "graphics used as a unit are stored and loaded contiguously" (a notable exception).
Contents
- Pic banks are offset by
PICS_FIX
PokemonPicPointers
andUnownPicPointers
are assumed to start at the same address- Footprints are split into top and bottom halves
- Music IDs $64 and $80 or above have special behavior
ITEM_C3
andITEM_DC
break up the continuous sequence of TM items- Pokédex entry banks are derived from their species IDs
- Identical sine wave code and data is repeated five times
GetForestTreeFrame
works, but it's still bad
Pic banks are offset by PICS_FIX
data/pokemon/pic_pointers.asm, data/pokemon/unown_pic_pointers.asm, and data/trainers/pic_pointers.asm all have to use dba_pic
instead of dba
. This is a macro in macros/data.asm that offsets banks by PICS_FIX
:
dba_pic: MACRO ; dbw bank, address
db BANK(\1) - PICS_FIX
dw \1
ENDM
The offset is translated into a correct bank by FixPicBank
in engine/gfx/load_pics.asm:
FixPicBank:
; This is a thing for some reason.
PICS_FIX EQU $36
GLOBAL PICS_FIX
push hl
push bc
sub BANK("Pics 1") - PICS_FIX
ld c, a
ld b, 0
ld hl, .PicsBanks
add hl, bc
ld a, [hl]
pop bc
pop hl
ret
.PicsBanks:
db BANK("Pics 1") ; BANK("Pics 1") + 0
db BANK("Pics 2") ; BANK("Pics 1") + 1
db BANK("Pics 3") ; BANK("Pics 1") + 2
db BANK("Pics 4") ; BANK("Pics 1") + 3
db BANK("Pics 5") ; BANK("Pics 1") + 4
db BANK("Pics 6") ; BANK("Pics 1") + 5
db BANK("Pics 7") ; BANK("Pics 1") + 6
db BANK("Pics 8") ; BANK("Pics 1") + 7
db BANK("Pics 9") ; BANK("Pics 1") + 8
db BANK("Pics 10") ; BANK("Pics 1") + 9
db BANK("Pics 11") ; BANK("Pics 1") + 10
db BANK("Pics 12") ; BANK("Pics 1") + 11
db BANK("Pics 13") ; BANK("Pics 1") + 12
db BANK("Pics 14") ; BANK("Pics 1") + 13
db BANK("Pics 15") ; BANK("Pics 1") + 14
db BANK("Pics 16") ; BANK("Pics 1") + 15
db BANK("Pics 17") ; BANK("Pics 1") + 16
db BANK("Pics 18") ; BANK("Pics 1") + 17
db BANK("Pics 19") ; BANK("Pics 1") + 18
db BANK("Pics 20") ; BANK("Pics 1") + 19
db BANK("Pics 21") ; BANK("Pics 1") + 20
db BANK("Pics 22") ; BANK("Pics 1") + 21
db BANK("Pics 23") ; BANK("Pics 1") + 22
db BANK("Pics 24") ; BANK("Pics 1") + 23
Fix: Delete FixPicBank
and remove all four calls to FixPicBank
in engine/gfx/load_pics.asm. Then use dba
instead of dba_pic
everywhere.
PokemonPicPointers
and UnownPicPointers
are assumed to start at the same address
GetFrontpicPointer
and GetMonBackpic
in engine/gfx/load_pics.asm make this assumption, which has to be accounted for in the data files.
In gfx/pics.asm:
; PokemonPicPointers and UnownPicPointers are assumed to start at the same
; address, but in different banks. This is enforced in pokecrystal.link.
SECTION "Pic Pointers", ROMX
INCLUDE "data/pokemon/pic_pointers.asm"
SECTION "Unown Pic Pointers", ROMX
INCLUDE "data/pokemon/unown_pic_pointers.asm"
In pokecrystal.link:
ROMX $48
org $4000
"Pic Pointers"
"Pics 1"
ROMX $49
org $4000
"Unown Pic Pointers"
"Pics 2"
Fix:
Don't enforce org $4000
in pokecrystal.link.
Edit GetFrontpicPointer
:
ld a, [wCurPartySpecies]
cp UNOWN
jr z, .unown
ld a, [wCurPartySpecies]
+ ld hl, PokemonPicPointers
ld d, BANK(PokemonPicPointers)
jr .ok
.unown
ld a, [wUnownLetter]
+ ld hl, UnownPicPointers
ld d, BANK(UnownPicPointers)
.ok
- ld hl, PokemonPicPointers ; UnownPicPointers
dec a
ld bc, 6
call AddNTimes
And GetMonBackpic
:
- ; These are assumed to be at the same address in their respective banks.
- ld hl, PokemonPicPointers ; UnownPicPointers
ld a, b
+ ld hl, PokemonPicPointers
ld d, BANK(PokemonPicPointers)
cp UNOWN
jr nz, .ok
ld a, c
+ ld hl, UnownPicPointers
ld d, BANK(UnownPicPointers)
.ok
dec a
ld bc, 6
call AddNTimes
Footprints are split into top and bottom halves
; Footprints are 2x2 tiles each, but are stored as a 16x64-tile image
; (32 rows of 8 footprints per row).
; That means there's a row of the top two tiles for eight footprints,
; then a row of the bottom two tiles for those eight footprints.
; These macros help extract the first and the last two tiles, respectively.
footprint_top EQUS "0, 2 * LEN_1BPP_TILE"
footprint_bottom EQUS "2 * LEN_1BPP_TILE, 2 * LEN_1BPP_TILE"
; Entries correspond to Pokémon species, two apiece, 8 tops then 8 bottoms
; 001-008 top halves
INCBIN "gfx/footprints/bulbasaur.1bpp", footprint_top
INCBIN "gfx/footprints/ivysaur.1bpp", footprint_top
INCBIN "gfx/footprints/venusaur.1bpp", footprint_top
INCBIN "gfx/footprints/charmander.1bpp", footprint_top
INCBIN "gfx/footprints/charmeleon.1bpp", footprint_top
INCBIN "gfx/footprints/charizard.1bpp", footprint_top
INCBIN "gfx/footprints/squirtle.1bpp", footprint_top
INCBIN "gfx/footprints/wartortle.1bpp", footprint_top
; 001-008 bottom halves
INCBIN "gfx/footprints/bulbasaur.1bpp", footprint_bottom
INCBIN "gfx/footprints/ivysaur.1bpp", footprint_bottom
INCBIN "gfx/footprints/venusaur.1bpp", footprint_bottom
INCBIN "gfx/footprints/charmander.1bpp", footprint_bottom
INCBIN "gfx/footprints/charmeleon.1bpp", footprint_bottom
INCBIN "gfx/footprints/charizard.1bpp", footprint_bottom
INCBIN "gfx/footprints/squirtle.1bpp", footprint_bottom
INCBIN "gfx/footprints/wartortle.1bpp", footprint_bottom
...
Pokedex_LoadAnyFootprint
in engine/pokedex/pokedex.asm has to load the halves separately.
Fix:
Store footprints contiguously:
INCBIN "gfx/footprints/bulbasaur.1bpp"
INCBIN "gfx/footprints/ivysaur.1bpp"
INCBIN "gfx/footprints/venusaur.1bpp"
INCBIN "gfx/footprints/charmander.1bpp"
INCBIN "gfx/footprints/charmeleon.1bpp"
INCBIN "gfx/footprints/charizard.1bpp"
INCBIN "gfx/footprints/squirtle.1bpp"
INCBIN "gfx/footprints/wartortle.1bpp"
...
Edit Pokedex_LoadAnyFootprint
:
- push hl
ld e, l
ld d, h
ld hl, vTiles2 tile $62
- lb bc, BANK(Footprints), 2
+ lb bc, BANK(Footprints), 4
call Request1bpp
- pop hl
-
- ; Whoever was editing footprints forgot to fix their
- ; tile editor. Now each bottom half is 8 tiles off.
- ld de, 8 tiles
- add hl, de
-
- ld e, l
- ld d, h
- ld hl, vTiles2 tile $64
- lb bc, BANK(Footprints), 2
- call Request1bpp
Music IDs $64 and $80 or above have special behavior
If a map's music ID in data/maps/maps.asm is $64 (the value of MUSIC_MAHOGANY_MART
or MUSIC_SUICUNE_BATTLE
) it will play either MUSIC_ROCKET_HIDEOUT
or MUSIC_CHERRYGROVE_CITY
. Moreover, if a map's music ID is $80 or above (the value of RADIO_TOWER_MUSIC
) it might play MUSIC_ROCKET_OVERTURE
or something else. This is caused by GetMapMusic
in home/map.asm.
Fix:
Replace RADIO_TOWER_MUSIC | MUSIC_GOLDENROD_CITY
with MUSIC_RADIO_TOWER
in data/maps/maps.asm.
Redefine the special music constants in constants/music_constants.asm:
-; GetMapMusic picks music for this value (see home/map.asm)
-MUSIC_MAHOGANY_MART EQU $64
+; GetMapMusic picks music for these values (see home/map.asm)
+MUSIC_MAHOGANY_MART EQU $fc
+MUSIC_RADIO_TOWER EQU $fd
; ExitPokegearRadio_HandleMusic uses these values
RESTART_MAP_MUSIC EQU $fe
ENTER_MAP_MUSIC EQU $ff
-
-; GetMapMusic picks music for this bit flag
-RADIO_TOWER_MUSIC_F EQU 7
-RADIO_TOWER_MUSIC EQU 1 << RADIO_TOWER_MUSIC_F
Edit GetMapMusic
:
GetMapMusic::
push hl
push bc
ld de, MAP_MUSIC
call GetMapField
ld a, c
cp MUSIC_MAHOGANY_MART
jr z, .mahoganymart
- bit RADIO_TOWER_MUSIC_F, c
- jr nz, .radiotower
+ cp MUSIC_RADIO_TOWER
+ jr z, .radiotower
farcall Function8b342
ld e, c
ld d, 0
.done
pop bc
pop hl
ret
.radiotower
ld a, [wStatusFlags2]
bit STATUSFLAGS2_ROCKETS_IN_RADIO_TOWER_F, a
jr z, .clearedradiotower
ld de, MUSIC_ROCKET_OVERTURE
jr .done
.clearedradiotower
- ; the rest of the byte
- ld a, c
- and RADIO_TOWER_MUSIC - 1
- ld e, a
- ld d, 0
+ ld de, MUSIC_GOLDENROD_CITY
jr .done
.mahoganymart
ld a, [wStatusFlags2]
bit STATUSFLAGS2_ROCKETS_IN_MAHOGANY_F, a
jr z, .clearedmahogany
ld de, MUSIC_ROCKET_HIDEOUT
jr .done
.clearedmahogany
ld de, MUSIC_CHERRYGROVE_CITY
jr .done
ITEM_C3
and ITEM_DC
break up the continuous sequence of TM items
constants/item_constants.asm defined the 50 TMs in order with add_tm
, but ITEM_C3
and ITEM_DC
break up that sequence.
add_tm DYNAMICPUNCH ; bf
...
add_tm ROLLOUT ; c2
const ITEM_C3 ; c3
add_tm ROAR ; c4
...
add_tm DIG ; db
const ITEM_DC ; dc
add_tm PSYCHIC_M ; dd
...
add_tm NIGHTMARE ; f2
NUM_TMS = const_value - TM01 - 2 ; discount ITEM_C3 and ITEM_DC
GetTMHMNumber
and GetNumberedTMHM
in engine/items/items.asm have to compensate for this.
There was originally a good reason for these two gaps!
Pokémon traded from RBY to GSC have their catch rate interpreted as their new held item. This was planned early on in development, so some items were given indexes corresponding to appropriate Gen 1 catch rates:
- $03 = 3:
BRIGHTPOWDER
is for Articuno, Zapdos, Moltres, and Mewtwo- $1E = 30:
LUCKY_PUNCH
is for Chansey- $23 = 35:
METAL_POWDER
is for Ditto- $3C = 60:
SILVER_LEAF
is for 10 Pokémon- $4B = 75:
GOLD_LEAF
is for 13 Pokémon- $96 = 150:
MYSTERYBERRY
is for Clefairy- $AA = 170:
POLKADOT_BOW
is for Jigglypuff- $B4 = 180:
BRICK_PIECE
is for MachopYellow was also being developed then, and it did the reverse, altering some catch rates to correspond to appropriate Gen 2 items:
- Starter Pikachu's catch rate became 163 = $A3 for
LIGHT_BALL
- Wild Kadabra's catch rate became 96 = $60 for
TWISTEDSPOON
- Wild Dragonair's catch rate became 27 = $1B for
PROTEIN
- Wild Dragonite's catch rate became 9 = $09 for
ANTIDOTE
Most catch rates were left as gaps in the item list, and transformed into held items via the
TimeCapsule_CatchRateItems
table in data/items/catch_rate_items.asm. For example, the 52 Pokémon with catch rate 45 would hold the gapITEM_2D
, except that gets transformed intoBITTER_BERRY
.But a few Pokémon end up with weird items. Abra has a catch rate of 200, or $C8; and Krabby, Horsea, Goldeen, and Staryu have a catch rate of 225, or $E1. Those indexes correspond to the items
TM_PSYCH_UP
andTM_ICE_PUNCH
, which seem like random choices—because they are.The TMs and HMs span from indexes $BF to $F9. However, as we can see in pokegold-spaceworld, they originally spanned $C4 to $FF. For some reason they were shifted down by 5 during development.
Before the index shift, the gap
ITEM_C3
would have been at index $C8, andITEM_DC
at $E1. In other words, they would have neatly corresponded to the catch rates for those five Pokémon! Then they would have heldBERRY
when traded through the Time Capsule (since the gap items get transformed viaTimeCapsule_CatchRateItems
).
Fix:
Move ITEM_C3
and ITEM_DC
above all the TMs in every table of item data.
Edit engine/items/items.asm:
GetTMHMNumber::
; Return the number of a TM/HM by item id c.
ld a, c
-; Skip any dummy items.
- cp ITEM_C3 ; TM04-05
- jr c, .done
- cp ITEM_DC ; TM28-29
- jr c, .skip
- dec a
-.skip
- dec a
-.done
sub TM01
inc a
ld c, a
ret
GetNumberedTMHM:
; Return the item id of a TM/HM by number c.
ld a, c
-; Skip any gaps.
- cp ITEM_C3 - (TM01 - 1)
- jr c, .done
- cp ITEM_DC - (TM01 - 1) - 1
- jr c, .skip_one
-.skip_two
- inc a
-.skip_one
- inc a
-.done
add TM01
dec a
ld c, a
ret
Pokédex entry banks are derived from their species IDs
PokedexDataPointerTable
in data/pokemon/dex_entry_pointers.asm is a table of dw
, not dba
, yet there are four banks used for Pokédex entries. The correct bank is derived from the species ID at the beginning of each Pokémon's base stats. (This is the only use the base stat species ID has.)
Three separate routines do the same derivation; GetDexEntryPointer
in engine/pokedex/pokedex_2.asm:
GetDexEntryPointer:
; return dex entry pointer b:de
push hl
ld hl, PokedexDataPointerTable
ld a, b
dec a
ld d, 0
ld e, a
add hl, de
add hl, de
ld e, [hl]
inc hl
ld d, [hl]
push de
rlca
rlca
maskbits NUM_DEX_ENTRY_BANKS
ld hl, .PokedexEntryBanks
ld d, 0
ld e, a
add hl, de
ld b, [hl]
pop de
pop hl
ret
.PokedexEntryBanks:
db BANK("Pokedex Entries 001-064")
db BANK("Pokedex Entries 065-128")
db BANK("Pokedex Entries 129-192")
db BANK("Pokedex Entries 193-251")
GetPokedexEntryBank
in engine/items/item_effects.asm:
GetPokedexEntryBank:
push hl
push de
ld a, [wEnemyMonSpecies]
rlca
rlca
maskbits NUM_DEX_ENTRY_BANKS
ld hl, .PokedexEntryBanks
ld d, 0
ld e, a
add hl, de
ld a, [hl]
pop de
pop hl
ret
.PokedexEntryBanks:
db BANK("Pokedex Entries 001-064")
db BANK("Pokedex Entries 065-128")
db BANK("Pokedex Entries 129-192")
db BANK("Pokedex Entries 193-251")
And PokedexShow_GetDexEntryBank
in engine/pokegear/radio.asm:
PokedexShow_GetDexEntryBank:
push hl
push de
ld a, [wCurPartySpecies]
dec a
rlca
rlca
maskbits NUM_DEX_ENTRY_BANKS
ld hl, .PokedexEntryBanks
ld d, 0
ld e, a
add hl, de
ld a, [hl]
pop de
pop hl
ret
.PokedexEntryBanks:
db BANK("Pokedex Entries 001-064")
db BANK("Pokedex Entries 065-128")
db BANK("Pokedex Entries 129-192")
db BANK("Pokedex Entries 193-251")
Fix: Use dba
instead of dw
in PokedexDataPointerTable
. Then edit home.asm to contain a single copy of the PokedexDataPointerTable
lookup code, updated to work with 3-byte dba
entries and get the bank from the first entry byte. Delete the three separate lookup routines and use the new one (placed in home.asm so it can be called from any bank.)
Identical sine wave code and data is repeated five times
_Sine
in engine/math/sine.asm:
_Sine::
; a = d * sin(e * pi/32)
ld a, e
calc_sine_wave
Sprites_Cosine
and Sprites_Sine
in engine/gfx/sprites.asm:
Sprites_Cosine:
; a = d * cos(a * pi/32)
add %010000 ; cos(x) = sin(x + pi/2)
; fallthrough
Sprites_Sine:
; a = d * sin(a * pi/32)
calc_sine_wave
BattleAnim_Cosine
and BattleAnim_Sine
in engine/battle_anims/functions.asm:
BattleAnim_Cosine:
; a = d * cos(a * pi/32)
add %010000 ; cos(x) = sin(x + pi/2)
; fallthrough
BattleAnim_Sine:
; a = d * sin(a * pi/32)
calc_sine_wave BattleAnimSineWave
...
BattleAnimSineWave:
sine_table 32
StartTrainerBattle_DrawSineWave
in engine/battle/battle_transition.asm:
StartTrainerBattle_DrawSineWave:
calc_sine_wave
And CelebiEvent_Cosine
in engine/events/celebi.asm:
CelebiEvent_Cosine:
; a = d * cos(a * pi/32)
add %010000 ; cos(x) = sin(x + pi/2)
calc_sine_wave
They all rely on calc_sine_wave
in macros/code.asm:
calc_sine_wave: MACRO
; input: a = a signed 6-bit value
; output: a = d * sin(a * pi/32)
and %111111
cp %100000
jr nc, .negative\@
call .apply\@
ld a, h
ret
.negative\@
and %011111
call .apply\@
ld a, h
xor $ff
inc a
ret
.apply\@
ld e, a
ld a, d
ld d, 0
if _NARG == 1
ld hl, \1
else
ld hl, .sinetable\@
endc
add hl, de
add hl, de
ld e, [hl]
inc hl
ld d, [hl]
ld hl, 0
.multiply\@ ; factor amplitude
srl a
jr nc, .even\@
add hl, de
.even\@
sla e
rl d
and a
jr nz, .multiply\@
ret
if _NARG == 0
.sinetable\@
sine_table 32
endc
ENDM
And on sine_table
in macros/data.asm:
sine_table: MACRO
; \1 samples of sin(x) from x=0 to x<32768 (pi radians)
x = 0
rept \1
dw (sin(x) + (sin(x) & $ff)) >> 8 ; round up
x = x + DIV(32768, \1) ; a circle has 65536 "degrees"
endr
ENDM
Fix: Edit home/sine.asm to contain a single copy of the (co)sine code in bank 0, and call it from those five sites.
GetForestTreeFrame
works, but it's still bad
The routine GetForestTreeFrame
in engine/tilesets/tileset_anims.asm is hilariously inefficient.
Fix:
Edit GetForestTreeFrame
:
GetForestTreeFrame:
; Return 0 if a is even, or 2 if odd.
- and a
- jr z, .even
- cp 1
- jr z, .odd
- cp 2
- jr z, .even
- cp 3
- jr z, .odd
- cp 4
- jr z, .even
- cp 5
- jr z, .odd
- cp 6
- jr z, .even
-.odd
- ld a, 2
- scf
- ret
-.even
- xor a
+ and 1
+ add a
ret