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Topic: Patch Format Help? (Read 2 times)
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Ryusui
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« on: March 09, 2008, 02:07:49 pm » |
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Well, as I've already mentioned, Death Note: The Kira Game will probably be my next release after BoF2 is at long last finished.
There's just one little problem. IPS can only patch files up to 16MB, and the Death Note ROM is 64MB. The recent Haruhi Suzumiya translation for PSP uses PPF format, which apparently doesn't have this limitation, but is there a better solution? Besides NINJA?
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Karatorian
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« Reply #1 on: March 09, 2008, 02:40:10 pm » |
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There is also Xdelta and bsdiff, you could check them out. However, they're not very well known in the ROM hacking community, so they may not be the best choices.
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creaothceann
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« Reply #2 on: March 09, 2008, 04:32:06 pm » |
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What about an utility that creates / applies several IPS patches, one for each 16 MB block? The patches could then be bundled into one file.
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Gideon Zhi
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« Reply #3 on: March 09, 2008, 05:03:55 pm » |
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What about an utility that creates / applies several IPS patches, one for each 16 MB block? The patches could then be bundled into one file.
This solution just feels like putting a band-aid on a cut that really requires stitches :/ The 16mb limit just isn't practical these days, especially when game images are file structures in and of themselves. We really do need something that can cope if we put a file back into the image that was bigger than the original. |
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creaothceann
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« Reply #4 on: March 09, 2008, 06:27:23 pm » |
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What about an utility that creates / applies several IPS patches, one for each 16 MB block? The patches could then be bundled into one file.
This solution just feels like putting a band-aid on a cut that really requires stitches :/ Well, it'd still be useful for larger ROMs. The 16mb limit just isn't practical these days, especially when game images are file structures in and of themselves. We really do need something that can cope if we put a file back into the image that was bigger than the original.
That'd require an intelligent patcher, which is no longer "easy". So the only hope would be to extend NINJA... |
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Shadowsithe
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« Reply #5 on: March 09, 2008, 08:08:07 pm » |
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We're never going to get a successor to IPS without early adopters. I've... possibly pissed my evening reading the bsdiff guy's thesis, but it sounds good from what I understand of it. Initially, I would bundle a patcher with the release, possible a home-rolled one just to make sure everything's cool, until a format is widely supported.
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BRPXQZME
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« Reply #6 on: March 09, 2008, 08:43:09 pm » |
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I remember xdelta-patching for Star Ocean (before they finally figured out S-DD1). It really wasn’t so bad, because they had detailed instructions, and included everything you needed, and a HEY LOOK AT THIS message. People did mess up the process, but overall, it worked okay.
IPS is popular, but I mean, nearly everyone who downloads off the Internet willy-nilly these days probably had to look up RAR or 7z at some point, right? I don’t think a new patching format is so bad as long as there’s a decent patcher.
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Ryusui
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« Reply #7 on: March 09, 2008, 10:06:11 pm » |
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I tried to be an early adopter of NINJA before D got himself banned. ^_^; I went so far as to release my SF1 patch in RUP-only format. Then stuff happened and I went with a bi-format release, and then finally IPS-only after the NINJA movement pretty much fell apart.
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Shadowsithe
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« Reply #8 on: March 09, 2008, 10:24:08 pm » |
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Yeah... I remember that. Crazy times ah?
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Kitsune Sniper
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« Reply #9 on: March 10, 2008, 12:28:24 am » |
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We're never going to get a successor to IPS without early adopters. I've... possibly pissed my evening reading the bsdiff guy's thesis, but it sounds good from what I understand of it. Initially, I would bundle a patcher with the release, possible a home-rolled one just to make sure everything's cool, until a format is widely supported.
Bundled patchers are good and all, unless the guy is running an OS that doesn't like the program. Mac / Linux owners, for example. :\\ |
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Spikeman
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« Reply #10 on: March 10, 2008, 01:44:12 am » |
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Bundled patchers are good and all, unless the guy is running an OS that doesn't like the program. Mac / Linux owners, for example. :\\
You'd just need to make sure your patcher runs under Boot Camp and Wine. Or you could use something like Python or Mono. |
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akadewboy
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« Reply #11 on: March 10, 2008, 01:59:24 am » |
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If it's just a DS game, what's the problem with PPF? It's a really popular format in many 'scenes' and it's pretty much created the same way as an IPS patch. You just compare the original unmodified file to the modified one and it spits out a patch based on the differences.
Unless of course you're doing what Gideon Zhi said, changing the size of the modified file I can see why an Intelligent patching program would be needed.
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« Last Edit: March 10, 2008, 02:08:06 am by akadewboy »
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BRPXQZME
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« Reply #12 on: March 10, 2008, 02:53:19 am » |
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Bundled patchers are good and all, unless the guy is running an OS that doesn't like the program. Mac / Linux owners, for example. :\\
You'd just need to make sure your patcher runs under Boot Camp and Wine. Or you could use something like Python or Mono. Err... Boot Camp is just running Windows on Mac hardware, not running Windows programs under Mac OS. Whatever, Mac and Linux users are used to being inconvenienced. Just point people at where to get the right patcher and all is well. This doesn’t need to be over-thought! |
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Solid One
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« Reply #13 on: March 10, 2008, 07:55:09 am » |
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as most people said above, IPS has that weird 16mb site limit. so, it's useless to most DS roms.
PPF is mostly used for Playstation's. but, it won't work properly with anything besides playstation's (or ISO consoles/portables).
about NINJA's RUP... I heard that it don't work for DS until then. it generates some bugs that will crash roms after patching.
there's PDS format, created by italian romhacking scene members. I heard that it works perfectly and it's made for DS system, but they haven't released programs for creating PDS patches. only for applying them. so, you can't use it till the moment.
you can use PPF or xdelta. some friends of mine tested alotta patching programs, and xdelta worked well.
you can create patches this way:
xdelta delta <OriginalRomName>.nds <ModifiedRomName>.nds <PatchName>.delta
and you can apply patches this way too:
xdelta patch <PatchName>.delta <OriginalRomName> <DestinationRomName>
I've found information about it in brazilian scene. you probably can find more info about it there.
or, if you feel like it, you can do exactly what italian scene made, and create your own patching system for it.
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« Last Edit: March 10, 2008, 12:11:38 pm by Solid One »
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Nightcrawler
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« Reply #14 on: March 10, 2008, 08:17:28 am » |
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So.. just one patcher and every thing is fine, huh? That's already happened on several occasions and also failed. It's about ease of implementation for other people as well. You can't have just one patcher and expect a format to prosper. Why? Because people abandon their patcher, leave bugs and unresolved issues in it, and don't further develop it. Without support and evolution, the format will stagnate or die. Think about the very first IPS patcher we had. Nobody uses that today do they? A single patcher isn't adequate. Part of IPS's success was because there were many patchers and they were easy to make. Better patchers were created as time went on.
There are clear reasons why IPS is STILL the most widely used patching format after all these years. New formats still haven't gotten the formula right. One of the missing pieces is having something extremely easy for others to implement or perhaps providing libraries in several different popular languages and platforms. After seeing many try with little success, I've kind of taken to thinking extending IPS with the minimal amount necessary to overcome the few most important issues into IPS+ or something might work. Upgrade the addressing, add the ability to add a few commands and call it a day.
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