KMH's Shmup Patches (up: Touhou - No UI Background)

[KMH]

This thread was originally about one specific patch that I really wanted, and ended up making myself (the original post is preserved below, so the replies will make sense). But after finishing that one, I have continued to make some other stuff, and I figured I would keep this thread updated.

Here's a list of all the patches I have made so far, along with a small description for each:

https://github.com/KMHSTG/Shmup-Patches

(For those who are unfamiliar with github, here's how you download the patches: Go to a patch page, press the green "Code" button and then "Download Zip")




----(Original Post)----

The lock-on sound in Ketsui has always made it completely impossible for me to play the game, because of ear issues making my ears particularly sensitive to high-pitched sounds. So I figured out how to remove the sound effect from the MAME rom, without it affecting any other part of the game.

I know most don’t have a problem with this sound. But when I was looking for solutions in the past, I do remember finding a few threads on this forum, with people having the same issue as me. Even if your ears are not over-sensitive, the actual gameplay is completely unaltered with the patch, and all your mame demos will work identically on both a vanilla rom and a patched one. So if nothing else, it can serve as an alternative that you can switch to whenever you feel like it:

https://github.com/KMHSTG/Ketsui-NoLockOnSound

[BareKnuckleRoo]

Neat. I've always thought it'd be nice to not have the beeping sounds dominate the game so much. Though I do think hearing the lock on sounds is mechanically useful; is there a way to simply make it 1/2 as loud or something? If not, I guess you can simply learn to pay more attention to how many lines of lock on shots are targeting something rather than waiting for the sounds.

How did you go about figuring this out? I've always been curious about how one goes about making patches like this, namely because I wish Giga Wing had a cooperative/tag scoring mode like its sequel does.

[evil_ash_xero]

1/2 as loud would be better, if possible.

[BareKnuckleRoo]

Volume adjustment might be trickier than what this patch is doing though. An easier alternative could be to point it to different SFX, one with a "softer" sound than the beep, such as the sound that's made when you pick up chips. Sure, it'd overlap with point item collection noises, but I don't think that'd be the end of the world, and it wouldn't impact you during midbosses, bosses, and areas where you're not collecting tons of chips nonstop.

[KMH]

Neat. I've always thought it'd be nice to not have the beeping sounds dominate the game so much. Though I do think hearing the lock on sounds is mechanically useful; is there a way to simply make it 1/2 as loud or something? If not, I guess you can simply learn to pay more attention to how many lines of lock on shots are targeting something rather than waiting for the sounds.

How did you go about figuring this out? I've always been curious about how one goes about making patches like this, namely because I wish Giga Wing had a cooperative/tag scoring mode like its sequel does.

The first revision (ketb romset) has a lock-on sound that is roughly half as loud (which is still too much for me, with the high-pitched nature of the sound). Then they increased it even more for the later revisions. With the method I used, which was to remove the sound effect entirely from the rom files, I can't modify it like you suggest. It's all or nothing. Playing the ketb revision is not a bad alternative I guess, if you just want something inbetween. You can see more info about the revisions here: http://www.world-of-arcades.net/Cave/Ke ... isions.htm

I spent 3 days looking at the game's files from different angles, before I figured out how to do it (and then another day testing my solution). I've wanted a patch like this for many years, so I kind of just kept going even when getting nowhere, until I found something. My very first idea was actually to see if I could make the Ket rom behave like the Ketb rom, and further modify the lock-on sound from there. That was the first of many dead ends, but without that initial idea, I probably wouldn't have even attempted to make something like this.

It is quite crazy how much more you can hear without the lock-on sound. The arcade version doesn't exactly have amazing sounding music from a sound quality perspective, but you can actually hear it now without constant interruption! Also, since normally the beep sound wins out in loudness against all other sounds, you never really get to hear when your options start firing. But with the sound removed, it has a very satisfying feel to it, when they start blasting one after another. So it's not like you have no audio indicator, for when your options start shooting. I think any potential disadvantage would disappear when you get used to it.

Volume adjustment might be trickier than what this patch is doing though. An easier alternative could be to point it to different SFX, one with a "softer" sound than the beep, such as the sound that's made when you pick up chips. Sure, it'd overlap with point item collection noises, but I don't think that'd be the end of the world, and it wouldn't impact you during midbosses, bosses, and areas where you're not collecting tons of chips nonstop.

Using my method of editing the audio data, it might theoretically be possible, to replace the beep sound with another sound from Ketsui, though it would have to be basically the exact same length. Because it's not so much referencing a different sound, as it is literally putting another sound in the same space where the beep sound was. Which is the problem, because despite how domineering the beep sound is, it's actually a VERY short sound. So unless you go for a menu selection click sound or something, you'd end up having to use half of another sound. That would be super jank, for sure. And since I have no volume control either, the replacement sound would basically just have to be used as is, hoping for the best. But maybe I'll play around with it a bit, and see what options there are.

[BareKnuckleRoo]

Ah, I suspected based on how small the patch code looked that it was something like that. I've never really been crazy about high-pitched the beep is honestly, so if I have to choose I'd probably still prefer Ketsui without it and adjust accordingly.

So it's not like you have no audio indicator, for when your options start shooting. I think any potential disadvantage would disappear when you get used to it.

The main advantage of the beeps is you can count how many lock ons you get and get a better feel for when you've hit 4 locks on a given boss. The distance you are to the enemy affects the speed of how quickly you lock on, and it can be difficult to tell just based on the auto of the gunpods how many lockons you have. However, you can tell at a glance by simply looking to see how many lines are firing, and I think that's probably sufficient to perform well. Removal of the beep sound entirely might pose a theoretical disadvantage at high level scoring play somehow but I imagine it's not an insurmountable one, so I agree with your assessment.

---

I've recorded a video showcasing the romhacked ver, hopefully it gets the word out for others sick of the beeping.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2NLeG3VEdLE

RevB does exist as an option for softer beeping sounds, but it appears to be an older version that still retains several bugs according to: http://www.world-of-arcades.net/Cave/Ke ... isions.htm

Honestly RevB (the oldest ver) had the perfect volume.

[PC Engine Fan X!]

Will this audio patch work on a real Ketsui pcb setup?

PC Engine Fan X! ^_~

[Rastan78]

The PS4 version has 3 settings for the lock on sound letting you go from loud down to medium or quiet.

[KMH]

Will this audio patch work on a real Ketsui pcb setup?

PC Engine Fan X! ^_~

I have absolutely zero experience with any PCB hardware, or doing mods of that kind. So nothing I say should be taken as fact. But because of how the patch works, I do think someone who has that experience, could make my patch work on real hardware without any issues.

[BareKnuckleRoo]

Will this audio patch work on a real Ketsui pcb setup?

Yeah, it should work no problem, you'd just have to apply it to the appropriate chip. I've got no experience doing this personally, but I know someone who made a PCB of Guwange Blue Label (the arranged version that was on the digital xb360 port) by obtaining the rom files and patching the necessary chips.

trap15's made several Ketsui romhacks and as far as I know some arcades have demo'd them on PCBs, so this one should pose no issue.

[evil_ash_xero]

The PS4 version has 3 settings for the lock on sound letting you go from loud down to medium or quiet.

Really? I don't know how I missed that. Then again, I missed Red Ball mode in Battle Garegga (for Saturn) for years. Sad, really.

[Rastan78]

You have to go into a sub menu and then scroll all the way down. It's easy to miss.

[emphatic]

To me, no shmup meet is complete without the lock on sound going strong in the background at any given time. But I can understand how it can annoy as well.

[KMH]

Since finishing this patch, I've been working on quite a few different patches and fixes.
Various things that I've always wanted in other shmups. I guess since I finally taught myself to do this, the floodgates have opened somewhat.

But since that's beyond the scope of this thread, I wonder if people would be okay with me making a more general thread to post my stuff? And get feedback.
I don't want to come off like I'm promoting myself at all, since the patches are the only thing that matters to me, but I would also feel uneasy posting a new thread for every little fix that may be of use to someone besides myself...


edit: If I can edit the thread title, I could also just repurpose this thread, is that allowed?

[BareKnuckleRoo]

You can edit the thread title by editing the title in the first post of the thread.

(let's all take a moment to remember the glorious "gearshiters" thread~)

[KMH]

You can edit the thread title by editing the title in the first post of the thread.

(let's all take a moment to remember the glorious "gearshiters" thread~)

Alright, I'd prefer to repurpose this thread, so I'll just edit the title and OP whenever I have the next thing ready then.

Nice Ketsui clear by the way. It was quite an enjoyable watch, since I usually can't watch other people play the game (for obvious BEEPBEEPBEEP reasons). And it's really cool to have some good footage of the patch in action as well.

[BareKnuckleRoo]

Is it coop scoring in Giga Wing? I hope it's that. ;V

It's a terrible clear because I am basically terrible at Ketsui's last few stages and can just barely drag myself across the finish line. ;w;

[KMH]

Is it coop scoring in Giga Wing? I hope it's that. ;V

I'm not a programmer, so anything like that is way beyond my ability. It will likely be convenience stuff, or similarly "small but impactful" type of things like the Ketsui patch. To begin with anyway. I'm still learning, so I don't really know where my ceiling is going to be yet.

It's a terrible clear because I am basically terrible at Ketsui's last few stages and can just barely drag myself across the finish line. ;w;

You should have seen me testing the patch out then. It was absolute credit-feed city in the second half of the game, and there was literally zero hope of both 1cc'ing the first loop, and getting into the second one while recording demos. I had to find a 2nd loop demo on restartsyndrome to test that out.

[KMH]

Okay, I think everything is sorted now. I made a page that lists all the patches, it can be found in the OP. Here’s some new stuff:


Dodonpachi DFK BL Arrange - No Lock-On Sound [steam]
https://github.com/KMHSTG/DaifukkatsuBLA-NoLockOnSound

The Ketsuipachi equivalent of my Ketsui patch. The lock-on sound is not as loud in this game as in Ketsui, but to make up for it you now have 6 options (so it goes off even more often).



Gunbird 2 - Unlock Aine [mame]
https://github.com/KMHSTG/Gunbird2-UnlockAine

Strikers 1999 - Unlock X-36 [mame]
https://github.com/KMHSTG/Strikers1999-UnlockX36

Unlocks the secret character/ship in Gunbird 2 and Strikers 1999, without having to use the password system that saves to nvram.
This is useful for anyone who records MAME demos, since it lets you record and playback demos with nvram disabled, without losing access to Aine and the X-36.
(Disabling nvram is needed to avoid demo desync in these games).



And since it was requested:

Ketsui - Soft Lock-On Sound [mame]
https://github.com/KMHSTG/Ketsui-SoftLockOnSound

Lowers the volume of the Ketsui lock-on sound. I don't know if it's comparable to the medium setting in the M2 port, but I made it specifically to be the exact same volume as the earliest revision "ketb". I think it's a good intermediate option, for those who would prefer that.

[KMH]

Update with two patches for the Steam version of Shikigami no Shiro 1. Both are pretty essential in my opinion, but the first one is especially needed.


Shikigami no Shiro - Boss Explosion Sound Fix [steam]
https://github.com/KMHSTG/Shiki1-BossExplosionSoundFix

Fixes the messed up sound effects on the boss death explosions. The patch removes the extremely loud high-pitched noise on all of them, and lowers their volume slightly as well.

(After making this patch I'm almost fully convinced, that the default sound effects for the boss explosions are fucked up by mistake. Because none of the other sound effects in the audio data have any issues)



Shikigami no Shiro - No Background [steam]
https://github.com/KMHSTG/Shiki1-NoBackground

Removes all the UI background art, which the game doesn't let you turn off. This leaves just the central game area, with black bars on the sides (or top/bottom in rotated view).

(The Steam version of Shiki 2 doesn't need this type of patch, because it automatically removes the background art, when you switch it to the arcade style UI in options)

[KMH]

Update with three more patches for various games. This is still from the backlog of stuff I have wanted for a while.


Great Mahou Daisakusen - Unlock Secret Characters [mame]
https://github.com/KMHSTG/GreatMahou-UnlockAll

Makes the four secret characters unlocked by default.



Sengoku Blade - Unlock Aine [mame]
https://github.com/KMHSTG/SengokuBlade-UnlockAine

Unlocks Aine to be selectable with a single "up" input on the random select square.

(Similar to how the secret selections work in Gunbird 2 and Strikers 1999).



Dangun Feveron - No Voices [mame]
https://github.com/KMHSTG/DangunFeveron-NoVoices

Removes the voices from the game (except for the one at the opening Cave logo).

[emphatic]

If possible, a "no announcer" patch for Thunder Dragon 2 would be nice. I hate that guy with a passion.

[BareKnuckleRoo]

Dangun Feveron - No Voices

If possible, a "no announcer" patch for Thunder Dragon 2 would be nice. I hate that guy with a passion.

What's wrong with you guys?

The piano noise in Dangun when you miss a cyborg is legitimately obnoxious though.

[Steven]

Thunder Dragon 2's announcer is the best part of the game... he's the dude who reminds you that IT'S TIME 2 PUT IN MORE COINS MAN. If he didn't tell you it was time to do so, the game would be COMPLETELY UNPLAYABLE.

[KMH]

If possible, a "no announcer" patch for Thunder Dragon 2 would be nice. I hate that guy with a passion.

I've never really had any interest in NMK games, so this is definitely not something I would have made for myself. But I checked it out, and you're not wrong about these voice lines. I also looked at the rom files, and this patch seems pretty straightforward to make. So unless something weird comes up in testing, I'll probably have it ready tomorrow.

What's wrong with you guys?

The constant chatter is just too much noise, and I find it kind of disruptive for concentrating when it's that often. The music also gets drowned out, much like Ketsui with the lock-on sound. Also, the "OH, MY" whenever you get hit, is so bad. I never want to hear that again.

[BareKnuckleRoo]

TD2's announcer is central to the game experience! It's blasphemy of the highest order. WHO'S GOING TO YELL "EEEEE-HURR" FOR YOU? What next, removing Donpachi Bob? Blasphemy, I say!

[Rastan78]

Blasphemy for sure. Took the words right out of my mouth. Trying to figure out wtf he's saying is half the fun. Now Blazing Star's constant BONUS!? Maybe I could live without that.

[BareKnuckleRoo]

If you don't want to hear BONUS repeatedly then git gud and collect those items so you can hear BO-B-B-BO-BON-B-B-BONUS instead. ;3

I had to explain to my husband that Ulala from Space Channel 5 is not, in fact, saying "jew" repeatedly as she shoots space aliens, but "chu".

[EmperorIng]

Cheers, thanks for the hard work.

Update with three more patches for various games. This is still from the backlog of stuff I have wanted for a while.


Great Mahou Daisakusen - Unlock Secret Characters [mame]
https://github.com/KMHSTG/GreatMahou-UnlockAll

Makes the four secret characters unlocked by default.

This one, I can't wait to try it. It's annoying to have to fuss with a savestate or do some other goofy hacks for GMD.
I haven't checked but can I assume this works for Dimahoo (for people who want to play that version) too?

[KMH]

Blasphemy for sure. Took the words right out of my mouth. Trying to figure out wtf he's saying is half the fun. Now Blazing Star's constant BONUS!? Maybe I could live without that.

Blazing Star is in my backlog of stuff to 1cc eventually, but somehow I had forgotten about the bonus voice spam. So I took a quick look at this. Beyond the "BONUS" voice, there's no sound effect tied to those pickups. So if you just remove it, the game will just be silent whenever it would say "BONUS" before. Which doesn't work very well. But there is another normal sound effect tied to the panel pickups, so I'm pretty sure I could just do a straight replacement with that. I'll play around with it and see what works best.

Cheers, thanks for the hard work.

This one, I can't wait to try it. It's annoying to have to fuss with a savestate or do some other goofy hacks for GMD.
I haven't checked but can I assume this works for Dimahoo (for people who want to play that version) too?

The GMD patch doesn't work for Dimahoo, but I did make a separate patch for the parent Dimahoo rom (euro). It's included on that same page.