Noel's PSP Thread of D00M {Now with a TO-DO list!}

[Noelemahc]

Making headway. Finally managed to add the PS2 Moon Knight 4101 model reskinned as 4104 (the Black Costume) into the fourth costume slot, and it even showed up in all the selection menus and lists and shtuff (used the talentfile from the Official Character pack), but the bastard crashed when entering ingame. Gotta check whether I've re-built the FB correctly, it seems. Screens:


Also: the _c.fb packages ARE redundant. Removing them doesn't seem to do anything bad to the game. I of course will try to complete it just to be on the safe side (off the top of my head, they may be used for Arcade's cloning robots and maybe during multiplayer for characters taken by other players, but in SP they're not needed, and removing them all shaves a whopping 16 megabytes off the assetsfb.wad file

Also-2: using XML2 loading screens WORKS. I simply dumped XML2PSP loading screens into the MUAPSP loading folder without writing them into anything - just renamed them so there would be no file replacement. Guess what, they work same as on the PC version (i.e. they appear as loading screens but obviously not in the Review menu). Distortedly, true, but they APPEAR is what matters really. I'll fix the distortion in some equally convoluted way as I do everything else that I do. If you care, this same process can probably be applied to any other loading screen, custom or not; though the ones that aren't already in for chars that are in the game would mean only Storm (XML1 and 2), Deadpool (XML2), Wolverine (XML1 and 2, also - did you know MUAPSP has an exclusive loading screen for him?), Iceman (XML1 and 2), Colossus (XML1 and 2) and Iron Man (XML2). Still, that's something, right?

Addendum: OH MY GIDDY AUNT, MUAPSP uses 512x512 textures as loading screens! Swizzled! That's 2048 blocks of 8x16 pixel size to MANUALLY COPY AND PASTE if you want to swizzle or unswizzle something! Gah!

[xDisciplex]

Awesome work Noel!

Just wanted to let you know I am checking this thread constantly.  With my school and work, the PSP version is what is easily accessible for me, that is why I tried to get the mods going for it w/ Teancum awhile back, but now you are here to help - only good things are to follow suit soon.

[Noelemahc]

Okay, if anyone cares, I've unswizzled that Wolverine loading screen (the GIF supposedly preserves the palette of the original texture, this is the decoded dump, so it's okay that it's 512x512 and upside-down). It's the 0301 one, meaning it replaces the "in the cold and dark Alaska" loading screen all other consoles have. If the flying-towards-screen Wolverine on this looks familiar, you've probably seen him on the multiplayer backdrop that some versions have

Feel free to check if this is present in any other version, and if not - to make a redist of it for use with other versions.

[dark_raven]

how can you create a portrait avaible for PSP?

thanks

[Noelemahc]

Let's assume for a moment that you're not a masochist and don't want to swizzle the texture afterwards. In that case, you will need a PS2 portrait file, any will do.
You create your custom portrait art, turn it upside-down, and export it from Photoshop or GIMP or what-have you, as a 64x64 8-bit indexed DDS. You then follow my old PS2 skinning tutorial (found in the Knowledge Base someplace) to inject the new texture data into that PS2 portrait file, rename it to the new character code (i.e. if it's gonna be Ultimate Deadpool, you rename it to hud_head_1702.igb), and replace the old portrait (I assume we're not talking creating brand-new characters just yet) with it. One way is to steal the portion of the .FB you took it from (including not only the IGB itself, but also the 196 bytes of pre-header that tells the game engine what this file is and how long it is); another - more tedious, but unavoidable if you didn't take the portrait of the very same character's very same skin as base - is to decompile the PSP .FB you're modifying, replace the portrait, and rebuild the .FB afterwards.

If we ARE talking swizzling, it's easier and harder at the same time. You only need to open the .FB with a hex editor, and extricate the portrait art and palette, again, accoring to my PS2 skinning tutorial - just bear in mind that the texture you're extracting is swizzled. Copy its contents into a  pre-made empty 16x128 (it's important!) 8-bit indexed DDS, unswizzle (the texture you then open in your DDS editing software will appear as a list of blocks of image; just copy and paste them one by one, filling the mosaic out, it's easy to get the hang of it, especially on such a small picture). Edit it, then re-swizzle (you should have figured out the principle by trial-and-error at this point), and re-save that 16x128 indexed DDS. Then, again, via hex-editor, copy the new data into the FB and you're all set.

If this sounds too confusing, say so, I'll make piccurs

PS2 method is more tedious because you'll spend more time reinjecting the file; the PSP method is more unwieldy because of the swizzling. Also, the PS2 uses 64x64 portraits, while the PSP relies on only 32x32. The sharpness difference is vast, I've posted an example earlier in this thread.

[Peyo]

do you have the ultimate deadpool hud fix for psp done cause i tried doing it and it didn't work cause i didn't understand it very well

[Teancum]

I'm hijacking Noel's thread for some more findings:

CAN

• MUA2 PSP mannequins work, but they're two dimensional, so they're useless.  I'm going to try MUA2 PS2 mannys, as I know they're 3D

CAN'T

• Can't use MUA1 360 DLC stage.  It's a version 4.0 model (the same as the PC) and the PSP is only v3.5
• Do Ms. Marvel AND Moon Knight as it currently stands. The model "SLOT" for menulocation 25 is broken, so one character will have to not have a mannequin.  That would allow us to fix it.
• Can't have more than the standard characters + 2  (Moon Knight/Colossus).  Putting any more in gave me a BSOD (black screen of death) and sometimes shut off the PSP.

UNKNOWN (need to test more)

• MUA2 characters -- I thought I had Gambit working (in menus) but I need to check it out some more, because the build I had with him in it may not have been the one I tested.  Long Story

I need to test MUA2 models/animations more.  I may just inject a MUA2 model and animation file into an existing MUA1 character.  I don't really care if their powers or Fusions "work" yet, because if I can get the model and animations the rest is absolutely possible, albeit with some tweaking.

[Teancum]

Animated models from MUA2 PS2 crash the game. PSP MUA2 animations and models work in MUA1, as per the picture below.

[BLaw]

Which means you can mod certain characters in the game (green goblin, gambit etc)?

[Teancum]

Yep

I plan on adding at *least* Gambit. Testing XML2PSP animations now.

**EDIT**

Like Noel noted before. XML2PSP animations do nothing.

BUT, as Noel noted XML2PSP models work fine:

[Teancum]

Extra costumes are possible. Here's costume #5 for Wolverine (only tried 5 so far).

[LarsAlexandersson]

:| 360's animations like Hawkeye's currently is impossible, is it?

[Teancum]

I haven't tried 360 animations yet.

[Teancum]

Xbox 360 animations *do* work. That will allow me to update  Hawkeye and convert  Hulk, using the MUA2PSP model and Iammingy's reskins.

[BLaw]

I miss my (broken) PSP now ._.. Stupid ex girlfriends >.

But cool discoveries. Good job TC!