JXQ
Experienced player (761)
Joined: 5/6/2005
Posts: 3132
SNES9x Input Animator Rationale: I developed this utility to help with the idea of using input to create animations in TASing that could be viewed with input display turned on. This program can convert an existing SMV to use more or less controllers than it is currently using, and then input can be added. I kept adding more and more options to try and make the program easier to use, in hopes that others will be interested in its potential and maybe add it to their TAS projects as well. Basics: There are two "modes" to this program. The current mode is determined by whether or not an SMV file is open. Before a file is open, it is a playaround mode where you can create patterns, move them around, and save or load them. Once a movie file is loaded, options become enabled to select a beginning frame and duration to add the current pattern to. On a desired frame and duration (which will give an ending frame), clicking insert will put this pattern into the movie at that spot, and place the current frame at the first frame after this insertion. I tried to make this intuitive and work efficiently for basic ideas (such as scrolling text), but most things still need to be done "manually". When a file is opened, it is checked for which controllers are enabled and adjusts the allowed controllers as needed by graying out the checkboxes which aren't supported. The purpose of still having a checkbox is to indicate which controllers to overwrite for a certain frame, and which ones to leave alone. The most common example will be adding input to the extra controllers after the 1-player SMV has already been completed. To do this, uncheck Player 1's checkbox and add input to other controllers as desired. When the pattern is inserted, Player 1's input will not be affected. On the other hand, if Player 1's checkbox is left checked, the program will overwrite Player 1's input with precisely what is on the grid - if nothing is selected, it is overwritten as "no input for this frame". Due to the immediate way this program changes data, it is strongly recommended to backup any file that you plan on opening with this program. If you want different controllers enabled in the movie file than it was originally given, that can be done via Movie -> Controllers, when a movie is loaded. You can select which controllers to enable and which to disable, and a new movie file will be constructed, using data from the original file where applicable. It should be noted that the number of controllers can change the sync of certain existing movies. For example, taking the latest SMW TAS and converting it to 5-player will cause it to desync after Castle #1. I suggest anyone planning on adding input animation to their SMV should choose the controllers they want to use from the beginning of their movie. Credits: I would like to thank the following people for early beta testing:
  • Cardboard
  • Fabian
  • jaysmad
  • Maximus
Due to a bug in SNES9x 1.43 v9 or v10's input display, I recommend upgrading to Gocha's v11 here to take full advantage of this concept. It fixes the controller input display and does not affect sync. Please post questions, suggestions, or corrections here.
<Swordless> Go hug a tree, you vegetarian (I bet you really are one)
jaysmad
Other
Experienced player (931)
Joined: 12/1/2006
Posts: 629
Location: Mom's
With that bug fixed, it now works perfectly:D Very cool software! Can't wait to see what amazing animation some will produce with this :D
Joined: 5/2/2006
Posts: 1020
Location: Boulder, CO
As funny as it is on JXQ's metroid run, This will only serve to make turning input display on unplesent.
Has never colored a dinosaur.
Banned User
Joined: 12/23/2004
Posts: 1850
Twelvepack wrote:
As funny as it is on JXQ's metroid run, This will only serve to make turning input display on unplesent.
Hence why you can strip it. Personally, I think adding little touches (such as the boss HP counter or other silly bits of information) are amusing to see.
Perma-banned
Tub
Joined: 6/25/2005
Posts: 1377
what did you do to bloat the snes9x executable from 385K to 1168K? the input display patch wasn't that huge..
m00
Player (36)
Joined: 9/11/2004
Posts: 2630
He probably included required dlls while compiling it, or didn't turn on compression.
Build a man a fire, warm him for a day, Set a man on fire, warm him for the rest of his life.
JXQ
Experienced player (761)
Joined: 5/6/2005
Posts: 3132
I don't know much about compiling SNES9x, someone else did it for me. Once this fix is implemented in an official version though, everything should be good, and I'll update links at that time.
<Swordless> Go hug a tree, you vegetarian (I bet you really are one)
Emulator Coder, Former player
Joined: 10/2/2005
Posts: 563
Location: Toronto, Ontario
Personally, I think this was a great idea, and directly resulted in one of the most innovative runs in a long time. I agree that overuse could be annoying, but you can always turn input display off and just enjoy the run. I also think that this tool could be refined a bit further to make it more user friendly and beef up the feature set. If JXQ is cool with it, I'd like to take a stab at refining what he's already accomplished and incorporate it into my editor.
JXQ
Experienced player (761)
Joined: 5/6/2005
Posts: 3132
That's cool with me, go for it :) I will still probably work on mine from time to time, just as a side project. I wonder if other emulators could be given their own little animation stuff. SNES9x has much more potential than other emulators in this aspect, though, due to how input is displayed.
<Swordless> Go hug a tree, you vegetarian (I bet you really are one)
Emulator Coder, Former player
Joined: 10/2/2005
Posts: 563
Location: Toronto, Ontario
JXQ wrote:
That's cool with me, go for it :) I will still probably work on mine from time to time, just as a side project. I wonder if other emulators could be given their own little animation stuff. SNES9x has much more potential than other emulators in this aspect, though, due to how input is displayed.
I was thinking the exact same thing :) I don't believe that other formats would benefit though since I think only SNES9x display's input stacked vertically, whereas the rest all seem to be in a single line.
Active player (312)
Joined: 2/28/2006
Posts: 2275
Location: Milky Way -> Earth -> Brazil
Yeah, this program was great idea. Although since it came from JXQ, it's not really a surprise... ;D That was the reason I enjoyed his latest SM run... I can't stand that horrid game any longer.
"Genuine self-esteem, however, consists not of causeless feelings, but of certain knowledge about yourself. It rests on the conviction that you — by your choices, effort and actions — have made yourself into the kind of person able to deal with reality. It is the conviction — based on the evidence of your own volitional functioning — that you are fundamentally able to succeed in life and, therefore, are deserving of that success." - Onkar Ghate
Bisqwit wrote:
Drama, too long, didn't read, lol.
jaysmad
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Experienced player (931)
Joined: 12/1/2006
Posts: 629
Location: Mom's
Dont know if this has been asked but will it work good on the v1.51?
Joined: 5/17/2007
Posts: 48
Anyone still have this? The link to the download is dead.
Joined: 2/1/2008
Posts: 347
Found on bluetoaster (thanks to Raiscan for hosting): http://www.bluetoaster.net/emu/tools.htm
<ccfreak2k> There is no 'ctrl' button on DeHackEd's computer. DeHackEd is always in control.
Joined: 5/17/2007
Posts: 48
Awesome, thanks. Also, does this only work with v1.43? I tried using it with v1.51, and got an error trying to load the file I made with it.
Joined: 2/1/2008
Posts: 347
I think 1.51 was not used when JXQ created this add-on, so most likely not. Unless he comes back and magically appears with an update (or someone makes an input animator of their own), it's doubtful that it ever will. 1.51 has a different movie format, btw.
<ccfreak2k> There is no 'ctrl' button on DeHackEd's computer. DeHackEd is always in control.