uneditable colors?

[Claude C Kenny]

i'm using SNES palette editor to edit FE7, and I can't seem to get Karels hair color to change. I know i'm positive i'm editing the correct 2 colors, because all the other edits i've done to him have come out OK. has anyone else encountered this, and how do I get around it?

Edited March 22, 2011 by Claude_C_Kenny

[AstraLunaSol]

Some characters have their palettes hardcoded. (Or specifically a color)

Dunno if Karel is one of them, but Batta is.

Edited March 22, 2011 by Shion Kaito

[Claude C Kenny]

I noticed there are actually 3 colors for hair, but that didn't solve my problem obviously.

how do I get around hardcoding? Or, I don't and I would just have to edit someone else with the colors I want instead?

[AstraLunaSol]

The latter. So, if you have a black/brown haired SM somewhere, you'll just use Karel's palette, and edit the clothes.

Really, the only way to break hardcoding is with ASM (IIRC)

Edited March 22, 2011 by Shion Kaito

[Chocolate Kitty]

Actually no in game palette is hardcoded, every palette can be found in a normal hex editor.

Karel's hair color is also the same as the generic male swordmaster, make sure you're editing his palette not the generic.

[spoiler=Batta]

For some reason it wouldn't grab the palette editor... But palette is 07BF

See, Batta's hair color is there, just broken up for some reason.

Edited March 22, 2011 by Hero of Time

[Claude C Kenny]

I gave karel the generic swordmaster palette, and the hair shows up brown. is it an enemy thing or something?

another question. how do I take one persons palette and make it match for a different class? like, if I took dorcas' fighter palette and tried to change it to fit a swordmaster?

[Chocolate Kitty]

Nevermind, I guess I was just mistaken... Unless...

Yup, you could be editing the enemy's palette.

That would just involve changing the palette, I'm assuming you mean like this:

[Claude C Kenny]

I'm going look into what you're saying, but if it's true, then why are his other colors working? I hacked him into eliwoods first chapter before I started editing, so there's not any swordies around that he could be mistaken for. If editing karels hair is actually editing the generic enemy swordmaster, then i'm wondering if the reverse would work as well. perhaps therein lies the solution.

EDIT: nope, enemy swordmaster is still the same. FMITA.

so, is that karel with someone elses palette? if so, how did you get it to not look like someone just dumped random paint on it?

Edited March 22, 2011 by Claude_C_Kenny

[Chocolate Kitty]

You are using the NM mod that gives the offset correct? That would give you 100% accuracy.

Just the paint trick, nothing special.

[Claude C Kenny]

You are using the NM mod that gives the offset correct? That would give you 100% accuracy.

what do you mean by that? i've been using a hex editor to find the offsets before going to SNES palette editor. it's the method described in blazers tutorial.

what do you mean by the paint trick?

[AstraLunaSol]

He's talking about the manual way of editing palettes, which is opening up paint, finding the color values, using GBA Color Picker to get the hex, then inserting it through a Hex editor.

[Claude C Kenny]

that seems like too much work, but I guess it's an option if this becomes a problem. I mean, it already is a problem, since I don't know of any other SM's except Lloyd, but it might be better to use Lloyd's custom sprite anyway for the character i'm trying to make. with any luck, i'll be able to edit enough palettes to at least get a few chapters up and running.

I need serious event advice as well, if anyone wants to offer.

[Crimson Red]

Chapter 16 (Chapter 16: Battle Palette Reference Editor) talks about the battle palette module which lets you locate palettes.

Chapter 43 is for locating palettes but certain modules sometimes give you the offsets to palettes so you don't have to search for them manually (e.g. the battle background editor, battle palette reference editor, etc.).

Chapter 44 helps you edit palettes (it gives 3 methods IIRC; SNES Palette Editor, Hex Editor, and GBAGE).

Some palettes might use the same or similar colors. Thus searching for palettes is not a perfect method because one palette (or part of a palette) may come up multiple times. You can either use modules or other hacking skills that I can't really explain (I'd call it "logic" but it's not exactly that, either...) to locate specific palettes without fail, or just guess-and-check the palettes that you used the search function in a hex editor to find.

another question. how do I take one persons palette and make it match for a different class? like, if I took dorcas' fighter palette and tried to change it to fit a swordmaster?

Someone might have to check my long tutorial to see if I included this in there, but here's the jist of what I do; I take the offset of the palette of the class that my character is going to be (example, if I have a druid named Bob, I'd go to Canas's slot in the battle palette reference editor and find the offset to his palette), go to that offset in a hex editor, and copy all of his palette (I know because the next palette will start with a '10'...). Then I paste it in some free space (e.g. 0x1005000) and repoint the character whose palette I am "editing" to that (so if I am currently editing Erk's palette, I'd go to Erk's slot, and replace the old pointer with 0x9005000 using Nightmare). Then I'd save my Nightmare, test it to make sure the repointing is working, and it SHOULD show a Druid with Canas' palette. Then I exit out of Nightmare, go back to my hex editor, and edit the palette at 0x1005000 using whatever palette editing method I choose (I'd tell you how I do it but it's a lazy and poor method that I would be scolded for if I were to teach you, so I can't). Because I am using Canas!Druid palette as a base, my edited palette should work for all allegiances, assuming my Erk replacement is also a Druid. If I were to use Dorcas as a base, well, it'd be a bit more complex and a bit more of a pain in the butt. D=

[Claude C Kenny]

i'm sorry, Luffy. I can only read the tutorial on my mom's computer, so sorry if I missed it. as I said, I used your tutorial to get where I am so far, I just wasn't expecting any colors to be so difficult to edit, so to speak. and it's worked for everything i've edited so far except Karel's hair.

i'll have to look into swapping palettes later when I have more time.

[Crimson Red]

that's weird, have you tried the online version? it should work like any website: http://www.feshrine.net/ultimatetutorial/

I really am guessing Karel's problem is just an instance of the same palette twice or you typing something in wrong or something silly like that

[shadowofchaos]

Some characters have their palettes hardcoded. (Or specifically a color)

Dunno if Karel is one of them, but Batta is.

Err, what?

Hardcoded palettes? Since when did this happen?

"Hardcoded" as in you can't change the color of the swordmaster's "trim" on the robe to something outrageous because you'll be changing the skin color... but that's the only "hardcoded" term I've heard someone use on FEU when it comes to editing character palettes.

If all else fails from getting the palette offsets from Nightmare modules, you could always get the offset from the VBA Palette editor.

Edited March 23, 2011 by shadowofchaos

[Claude C Kenny]

my computer's hard drive just went up, so I can't do anything on mine. that's what I meant by having to use my mom's.

shadowofchaos, that's already how I get the offsets to put into the palette editor.

*pause the game when the palette you want to change is displayed.

*find the row with the colors you want.

*write down the values of each color (I do it 4 colors at a time) then flip the values (so 14A5 would become A514 and so on).

*insert string of flipped values into hex editor and write down offsets.

*load ROM into palette editor and type in offset.

*change color to your liking and remember to save your changes.

*???

*PROFIT!!!

I think I explained it right.

I noticed too, that you can't just go to the next offset, and maybe that's the problem. for instance, say my offset is FDB8F2. instead of going to FDB8F3 for the next one, I have to go to FDB8F4 to get the next color. this might be the problem, but i'm not sure. and now, i'm starting to talk like I actually know things.

[shadowofchaos]

I use GBA Graphics Editor. *shrug*

I like seeing the colors on the sprite first, on something like GIMP, then just letting the program insert it for me. It's just a personal preference.

[Celice]

Err, what?

Hardcoded palettes? Since when did this happen?

(since 1985)

(and technically the first Fire Emblem had them too. Though, these issues are more with how colors are selected, not how to modify which colors are available)

you youngin's and your simple non-efficient games...

[Crimson Red]

I'm guessing someone is misinterpreting what it means to be "hardcoded"...

@Claude I suggest reading the part of my tutorial that talks about LZ77 compression and how the offsets in Nightmare point to compressed palettes so the bytes you have to skip (that aren't colors) are part of the compression... ;{

[shadowofchaos]

(since 1985)

(and technically the first Fire Emblem had them too. Though, these issues are more with how colors are selected, not how to modify which colors are available)

you youngin's and your simple non-efficient games...

I know there are hardcoded palettes, I MEANT the palettes for characters in FE7. I have never run into any hardcoded one when it comes to their battle animations.