Tutorial: Modding ROMs in Castlevania Advance Collection

[calm palm]

Video tutorial: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=azQY-fIwizY

The Castlevania Advance Collection uses a proprietary emulator with compressed ROMs. You can patch these ROMs with existing patches since they are very similar to the originals. The original ROM(s) must be replaced, and all game files recompressed and repackaged.

You must download the MArchiveBatchTool utility. The release version can be found here: https://github.com/farmerbb/RED-Project/wiki/Castlevania-Anniversary-Collection

0. As it says in the link above, install .NET Core from Microsoft and download the MArchiveBatchTool. Extract the utility archive.

1. To make things simpler, put the "MArchiveBatchTool-win-x64" folder in the root C: drive.

2. Create a folder called "game" in the "MArchiveBatchTool-win-x64" folder. You will extract the game files here in a later step.

3. Create another folder called "build" in the "MArchiveBatchTool-win-x64" folder. You will recompile the game files here in a later step.

4. Copy the following files from the "windata" folder in your Castlevania Advance Collection game folder into the "game" folder in the "MArchiveBatchTool" folder that you created.
- alldata.bin
- alldata.psb.m

5. Open Command Prompt and change directory to the MArchiveBatchTool folder. If you moved the folder to C:, you can run the following command to change to the folder:
cd C:\MArchiveBatchTool-win-x64

6. Run the following command to extract the game files into the "game" folder you created:
MArchiveBatchTool.exe fullunpack --keep game\alldata.psb.m zlib 25G/xpvTbsb+6 64

7. Leave your Command Prompt window open but go to C:\MArchiveBatchTool-win-x64\game\alldata.psb.m_extracted\system\roms\.

8. Choose the ROM you wish to modify. You may want to move it to a different folder first depending on what you want to do with it.

9. Make your modifications. You may be using an IPS patch or a program designed to patch the file. Make note of the output. If the program creates a new ROM, rename this new ROM to the original name (including the .bin extension) that it was called in the extracted game files (e.g., for Circle of the Moon US version, it should be "01_Circle_US.patch_210614m.bin".

10. Copy the modified ROM to C:\MArchiveBatchTool-win-x64\game\alldata.psb.m_extracted\system\roms\ and overwrite the original. If you are not prompted to overwrite, you have named the file incorrectly.

11. Recompress the game files with the following command:
MArchiveBatchTool.exe m pack game/alldata.psb.m_extracted zlib 25G/xpvTbsb+6 64

12. Build a new archive with the following command to output a .bin and .psb.m to the "build" folder you created earlier:
MArchiveBatchTool.exe archive build --codec zlib --seed 25G/xpvTbsb+6 --keyLength 64 game/alldata.psb.m_extracted/ build/alldata

13. Copy the following files from C:\MArchiveBatchTool-win-x64\build to your Castlevania Advance Collection "windata" folder and overwrite the original files:
- alldata.bin
- alldata.psb.m

14. The game should load normally when you start it, but with your custom ROM instead of the ROM you replaced. If it is a black screen that never loads, a mistake was made.

Credit to the author of the MArchiveBatchTool utility: https://gitlab.com/modmyclassic/sega-mega-drive-mini/marchive-batch-tool/-/tree/master/MArchiveBatchTool
Credit to farmerbb, author of this article: https://steamcommunity.com/app/1018020/discussions/0/1629665087674849653/
Emotional support: Circle of the Moon Speedrunning Discord @ https://discord.gg/Ae7Qjd5xDu

[Melodia]

Nice™.

[MIkike]

Which mods should I use to not differ from the original release but maybe just patched.

[calm palm]

You could use the Aria of Sorrow randomizer or the Circle of the Moon "Card Up" mod (puts DSS cards on pedestals instead of enemy drops). There are other mods for the games though.

[iriyap]

Wasn't there an always run patch for CotM? I remember using one years ago. It's a massive QoL improvement IMO.

[Tsuki Zero]

Originally posted by iriyap:

Wasn't there an always run patch for CotM? I remember using one years ago. It's a massive QoL improvement IMO.

I did make some CodeBreaker codes, yes. Lemme fetch then and edit here.

Codebreaker - Always Run (May make precise movement hard)
72000050 0007
3200009C 0000

Codebreaker - Reveal all DSS Combinations (You still need to find the cards though)
42025688 0101
00000063 0001

[the_randomizer1889]

Awesome :D

[CrowRising]

This should be a guide so it doesn't get buried in a sea of topics.

[CID]

Originally posted by Tsukiyomaru Zero:

Originally posted by iriyap:

Wasn't there an always run patch for CotM? I remember using one years ago. It's a massive QoL improvement IMO.

I did make some CodeBreaker codes, yes. Lemme fetch then and edit here.

Codebreaker - Always Run (May make precise movement hard)
72000050 0007
3200009C 0000

Codebreaker - Reveal all DSS Combinations (You still need to find the cards though)
42025688 0101
00000063 0001

Tsukiyomaru, do you know of any Codebreaker, Game Shark, or Action replay codes for forcing a level 1 cap and also editing stats to fixed values, specifically the LCK stat?

[Tsuki Zero]

Originally posted by CIDphi:

Originally posted by Tsukiyomaru Zero:

I did make some CodeBreaker codes, yes. Lemme fetch then and edit here.

Codebreaker - Always Run (May make precise movement hard)
72000050 0007
3200009C 0000

Codebreaker - Reveal all DSS Combinations (You still need to find the cards though)
42025688 0101
00000063 0001

Tsukiyomaru, do you know of any Codebreaker, Game Shark, or Action replay codes for forcing a level 1 cap and also editing stats to fixed values, specifically the LCK stat?

Sadly, no. But shouldn't be hard to make them.

[iriyap]

There's also this patch that removes the outlines in HoD, a must have IMO.
https://www.romhacking.net/hacks/677/

[the_randomizer1889]

Keeping that outline in the PC version was a mistake. They could've removed it.

[Tsuki Zero]

Originally posted by the_randomizer1889:

Keeping that outline in the PC version was a mistake. They could've removed it.

Not keeping true to source would be a greater mistake.

[SageX85]

Nice, you can even put other roms, just teste zelda misnish cap, megaman battle network, and they worked, some others game either crashed the program or had issues, and the snes emu doesnt support games with chips like super fx or cx4, i suppose normal games should work, but oh well is not like that test was important in this day and age, just wanted to see how tied the emulation was to the roms. and it seems not much.

[calm palm]

Good point @CrowRising, I'll put it in guides

[the_randomizer1889]

Originally posted by Tsukiyomaru Zero:

Originally posted by the_randomizer1889:

Keeping that outline in the PC version was a mistake. They could've removed it.

Not keeping true to source would be a greater mistake.

It looks like hot garbage on big displays. Fact.