The morning star weapon for Link

http://hh-zelda-hacking.bigforumpro.com/t75-new-weapon-idea-request-ball-and-chain

For many many years, I have always wanted for Link to be able to use the ball and chain weapon that the morning stars use. Someone please God do make this available and code it into the game. It should act just like how the morning stars use it. Your frozen for a second (charging) the ball and chain goes around 3 times in the air and then on the last swing it extends out and reaches a further distance.

Thank you.



So yeah, I've been wanting to see this come true since 2008 when I first got into Zelda 3 hacking and please God I want to see this or someone teach me. The weapon should behave the exact same way as the morning stars use them.

Or maybe have the ball and chain only go around once when you press the weapon button and if you charge it, then it will go around 3 times or so like how the real enemy uses it!

PLEASE GOD MAKE IT PLEASE GOD!!!!!!!!!

If you want this feature I'd suggest you map the hookshot to act like a morning star (give animation, deal more damage). You could also leave the ability of the hookshot to reach other locations.
Would also be suitable for an upgrade (L2. Hookshot), but I do not know whether this ability spoils the game a bit - you make an attack as the spin attack everytime you use it.

(1) you'd need to insert the item, similar to what I did to SePH's PU and make a 02 to save to the hookshot (7Ef342) with item replacement in the menu

(2) The pointer for the hookshot's use is pc $03:8067: 7C AB hijack the code when after pointer is used at 07/ABC7):

Code:

$07/8106 7C 41 80    JMP ($8041,x)[$07:AB7C] A:0426 X:0026

Then make a check for whether 7ef342 is 01 -> normal hookshot use; load native pointer 7C AB
or 02 -> pointer to morning star (must be found out which pointer for the morning star animation the sprites use and whether it can be adapted... dunno here).
Guess the animations start here:

Code:


Hookshot animation: $07/AB7C 9C 73 03    STZ $0373
Morning star animation: $06/F64E C9 00       CMP #$00


So the animation must be ported and adjusted. This may get very quick very complicated.

(3) further adjustments, like tile replacement to make the hookshot look like the morning star when used, more damage dealt and so on.

I hope this helps a little... much success, for the time I take a break and no new requests

^ Thanks so much Conn!

That is an excellent idea to model this after the hootshot since they similar.

It's my dream come true!

Wait, your dream is far away from getting true
Even if it all can be done, there are lots of difficulties which require some very advance asm!

(1) The hookshot only uses 2 8x8 tiles at the tip, here we need one 16x16 and address it. Together with the chain and the staff this is in total 6 8x8 tiles, native hookshot uses 4.
(2) The calculation of the animation (pointer I posted above) must be understood and ported so that it first makes 1 or 2 cycles above your head and then it stretches. It's really not a "just like that" thing.

I wish you the best finding somebody who is able to insert it... I was hacking the last 4 weeks day/night and, as said, take my break now.

^ Hey Conn do you have a pay pall account?

I've wanted this since 2008 and am willing to donate some money to you.

And I agree, get some rest and have a break.

And couldn't the spike ball at the end just be redrawn so that its small so that you don't have to use those extra tiles?

nice offer but I won't take money for my servings there's a chance I'll look into it once I feel for it, but as said this easily can go beyond my skills...

Conn wrote:nice offer but I won't take money for my servings ;)there's a chance I'll look into it once I feel for it, but as said this easily can go beyond my skills...

Just give me your paypal and I'll give you something. I'm not saying it will be much, but just give it to me!

PM it to me. Seriously, this means a lot! Damn it!

*lol, for me it would just feel wrong erock, further I don't have paypal.

I did the latest codes for free and I will keep on working for free to support your projects - all I can promise you is taking a look at it.

Erockbrox, I am really sorry. It is impossible to implement the morning star. The reason is that the items that are possible to store in a chest end with 4b (pegasus boots). You'd need to change all tables in the game to be able to add further items. This isn't possible since there are 1000ands of pointers and there is no place to add further items after 4b (after the table that ends with 4b, there is normal code starting that can't be overwritten.

I guess this will remain a dream...

But can you simply replace one item in the menu screen with another item?

Like instead of having the bug net have the morning star weapon?

Is that possible?

And does it have to be stored in a chest? I don't remember pegases boots being stored in a chest?

Thanks!

WOW. I seriously doubted this was ever possible  . Is that replacing the hookshot? If so does it still grapple things?

A morning star weapon and hook-shot all in one?

I had no idea that all of a sudden you just became some ASM wizard!

*lol, just wanted to fool you a bit, Erock
SePH used the PU version of my hack to make the video, and there's of course no weird code required.

here you go:

Native ALTTP version
-v2: hammerbug fixed
-v3: graphic glitches fixed with bird and double item use
-v4: menu map glitch fixed
http://bszelda.zeldalegends.net/stuff/Con/fb_gs.zip


It contains 4 files:
- the patch to be applied on unheadered EXPANDED (1.5 MB) LTTP US version
- instruction how to use (very important)
- an example rom where I changed the first 4 chests you encounter into Golden Star and Force Boomerang with textbox change
- the ASM: If you scroll over the asm you will see the massive code required to implement the feature. I use to be humbly but this took me 3-4 weeks and I regard this hack as sort of a masterpiece in comparison to my previous hacks. Wasn't easy at all.

You must place 2 hookshots and 2 magic boomerangs via HM in a chest, the 2nd chest you open will always contain the Golden Star or the Force Boomerang, respectively. Both new items are upgrades, for which you thus have complete control how and where to place them!
Golden Star makes in phase 1 a  circle around you and then extends and acts similar to the hookshot in phase 2 (grabble on things). In both phases it has the strength of the L3 sword when hitting an enemy.
Force Boomerang hits the enemies with the strength of a L2 sword. Anything else is like the Magic Boomerang.






I wait for some playtests results whether there are some glitches I didn't detect, before I post it in the single hacks collection.
One glitch I found but this isn't fixable: there are rooms where you can go below a bg-layer (like a bridge in this screen):

As you notice; your body covers the chain&ball here when you stand on lower floor. This is due to sprite priority in oam. Normally the goldenstar is stored to 7e/0830. Link's sprite at 7e/0900 region. So the priority of the ball/chain is higher and it is covering Link.
In these special screens however, it is transferred to 7e/0940 AFTER Link's sprite, so Link will cover the ball&chain. Due to the game's architecture, this isn't fixable. But luckily, those screens are not so frequently and it is a glitch we can live with since it is not so obvious to notice.

Another thing which affects the PU version only is that the 8-bit menu only had orange/blue palette. So I needed to set the goldenstar to these colors (in contrast to native ALTTP), in case you wonder about SePH
But I think it looks good and fits with the overall style of your game

  The best! I thought this was impossible. (There was also some doubt in general with that fooling post). I think we just gained the first two brand new items in Z3!

It has the same effect, as if the medical doctors would found the cure for HIV. Specially because this is an upgrade, so you don't loose a hookshot at all!

Lol, thanks
You can always enter upgrades. AST has e.g., a worn-out glove (lets you only lift one stone per screen) and a gold potion (lets you charge your sword faster+magic/health recovery).
It gets difficult when you like to add completely new features, like inventing a hookshot with grapple function. However, programming the circle (and anything else) was hard enough.

I found a bug and like to ask you to redownload the file:
Native ALTTP version
-v2: hammerbug fixed
http://bszelda.zeldalegends.net/stuff/Con/fb_gs.zip

Here's the bug which is fixed, first frame of hammer use was pinc (palette from the morning star was still in use). The morning star uses 2 8x8 bytes more than native hookshot (ball), so I had to overwrite the hammer tiles and reload them afterwards. This caused the bug.


SePH, I sent you the pu complete patch with this bugfix, as well as a patch to fix this bug on a rom with the previous patch applied.

I think this should be one of the last bugs, most codes are only executed when the item is in use and I tried most possibilities. Watching SePH's video also gives hope since the boss he's fighting is immune against hookshot attack. The new weapons are quite strong and distant weapons so the game won't be to beat much easier by e.g., fighting all bosses from distance. I can only hope that most bosses are immune against boomerang/hookshot attack... if anybody could do some playtests for this and further possible bugs, it'd be more than welcome

This is a really amazing hack! Two brand new items is pretty impressive conn. Just wondering if you've seen this but I was messing around with it and I noticed the chain graphics like got distorted after using the flute to warp somewhere.

Not sure why but other than that I haven't found any bugs. Really awesome:D

EDIT: I believe I figured out why, whenever it comes in contact with a disposable sprite ( like arrows or bombs or even the flying bird ) it like picks up little bits of the animation like if you swing the chain into an arrow stuck on a pot it will pick up the arrow sprite and like glitch it into the chain. So those glitchy sprites in the ball and chain are the birds wings.

I've tested this and got the bug only if calling the bird. But collecting the bomb or other sprites, items had no effect.

Puzzledude wrote:I've tested this and got the bug only if calling the bird. But collecting the bomb or other sprites, items had no effect.

Try shooting an arrow into something then swing the goldstar before it disapears

Oh, yes. It is the same with all "flying" items (icerod beam, arrow etc). I think this can be fixed similar as with the icerod asm.

This is beyond amazing! Isn't this like the very first new weapon ever to be in a Zelda 3 hack ever.

Conn, you really out did yourself! And I can't believe I kind of fell for the prank!

And just to let everyone know, like 4 years ago I had a computer programmer in my class and I actually paid him to see if he could somehow program this for me. He ended up not figuring out how to make it work, but still I've wanted this for a very very long time.

Man Conn, this is awesome! I bet it was pretty hard too.

I would love to see how you did it! And how you programed the circle motion.

I totally see why you made it as a combo so that you don't have to ever give up an item, but I was really just wanting it to be a weapon all on its own without the hookshot capabilities.

But, none the less this is absolutely outstanding work and honestly I couldn't have been more surprised and the fact that it took 3-4 weeks and you did that, man I owe you one. Thanks.

Dang erock is excited  
Aside from the flying item thing since I'm sure you can fix it this is pretty freaking impressive. I hope you don't mind I wanted to use it in my hack as well, obviously crediting you.

Erock? I thought, you've figuered it out in your previous post? SePH didn't do this for his PU, Conn did. And remember: it is never a fake, if you make a video, you can only make good fakes as screenshots (pictures). (Also: Conn's explanation on why it "can not" be done, was reather strange in the first place with paradox arguments).

Regarding your request: The current code is an upgrade and can not be so easily switched to not have hookshot ability (since it is connected to it), nor can you (so easily) make it only spin, since it is clearly seen, when the new code ends and goes into hookshot code.

I see.

So it is as if Conn inserted his code right before the hoot-shot code. His code is just part of the original hook-shot!

^ yeah, I almost didn't believe Conn's explanation saying that it was impossible. I was thinking, there has got to be a way to make this work!

Thanks @ all ^^ I'll try to fix this bug asap.

Erock:
there's a reason I made the animation the way it is: you need the hookshot ability to progress the game. If you renounce on it, you'll stuck somewhere. Also I made it swing one circle due to 3 reasons; (1) there's a counter at $7a which can only be set to ff and it get's down to 00 after the circle is completed. No way to circle longer with existing code. Further: the monster in your vincinity will be destroyed by one circle already - no need to make three. (3) the animation would take too long time if I extend the circle time.
I made this patch upon your request but my hacks are for use for everybody as usual! You definitively need the hookshot ability in every zelda hack so I am sorry here to not be able to fulfil your specific wish.

Moegami, feel free to use all of my hacks, you can credit me, but you mustn't.

SePH, if you like you can make a short video of the bug you described, maybe I find time to give it a shot.