Rockman 2 Editor English Guide (Mega Man 2)

Rockman 2 Editor English Guide by ZeroNoin

Rockman 2 Editor by rock5easily


The translation guides often provided for Rockman 2 Editor use very poor translation and are very short
Since the editor displays Japanese or encoded text, a more thorough guide is needed for English users
This guide also provides a lot more information about how certain parts of the ROM work


This guide is a biproduct of using the Rockman 2 Editor to create a somewhat simple ROM hack
The author does not know Japanese
It took a great deal of time and frustration to figure many details on how to use this editor
The process of producing a ROM hack for a stage using this and other utilities was documented here:
http://pastebin.com/pcGQ72gi
The above document also functions as a good introduction to the process of ROM hacking


Introduction
  The Rockman 2 Editor is a stage editor for Rockman 2 and Mega Man 2


General Tips
  Save and backup often
    ROM files are small, and keeping a history of changes can be helpful
    Routinely saving new files under new names (like with an increasing number at the end) is recommended
  Keep a backup of the original unchanged ROM file as reference
  Multiple windows of R2E can be open at once
    One window with the changed file and one with the unchanged file as reference can be helpful
  A text file documenting changes to hex values in the ROM can help in keeping track of things
  Test often
    Not every change in this editor functions properly in the actual game
  Most values are displayed in hex; learn about hex values before using this
  Grouped data in a ROM like maps and blocks tends to be stored together in an array (an open list)
    A value is used to reference a specific position in an array
      Examples: 00 references the 1st position, 01 the 2nd, 0F the 16th, 10 the 17th, FF the 256th
    A set of arrays can use the same positions to create a set of values
      A set of arrays with related positions is often called a table


(F) File
  (O) Open
    Open a Rockman 2 or Mega Man 2 ROM file for editing (required to begin)
  (S) Save
    Save the current state of changes over the opened file
  (A) Save As
    Save the current state of changes as a selected name in a selected folder
  (C) Close
    Close the current file and state of changes
    If unsaved changes have been made, a Save dialog will open
  (X) Exit
    Close the Rockman 2 Editor
    If unsaved changes have been made, a Save dialog will open


(E) Edit
  Undo (Control+Z)
    Undo the previous change made (does not work with all changes)
  Redo (Control+Y)
    Redo the previous change that Undo removed (does not work with all changes)


Stage Select Dropdown
  Select the stage to edit
    00 Heat Man
    01 Air Man
    02 Wood Man
    03 Bubble Man
    04 Quick Man
    05 Flash Man
    06 Metal Man
    07 Crash Man
    08 Wily 1
    09 Wily 2
    0A Wily 3
    0B Wily 4
    0C Wily 5
    0D Wily 6
  Highlighting this and using keyboard Up and Down keys can make navigation easier


Tab 1 - Map Editor
  Edit the layout of stages
  Stage maps are stored in the ROM in a long array of 32x32 pixel blocks
    The game builds screens from the array, top to bottom, left to right, screen to next screen
  Each screen contains 256x256 pixels, as 8x8 32x32 blocks, containing 16x16 16x16 blocks
  The bottom 16 pixels (16x16 blocks) of each screen are never shown (240p resolution)
  The six Wily stages are each stored in the second half of six Robot stages
  Images of two map screens are displayed for editing
    Left-clicking a 32x32 block changes it to the selected 32x32 block below
    Right-clicking a 32x32 block selects it
    Control+Right-clicking a screen copies that screen
    Control+Left-Clicking a screen pastes the copied screen over it
    Shift+Left-Clicking a screen displays all the 32x32 block array values of that screen
    The scroll bar below moves from screen to next screen, making the second screen the one after the first
  Page0: XX displays the array value of the first screen image displayed
    The scroll bar below changes it and the corresponding image
  Page1: XX displays the array value of the second screen image displayed
    The scroll bar below changes it and the corresponding image
  The CHR (Character Memory) Reload button reloads some information from the opened file
    If block graphics are changed and saved using another program, this will update the images
  The selected 32x32 block section first displays the array value and image of the selected 32x32 block
    Below are the physical values of each contained 16x16 block
    Below next are the array and color palette values of each contained 16x16 block
  The 32x32 blocks image displays the 256 32x32 blocks in order of array value for the selected stage
    Left-clicking a 32x32 block selects it
  The bottom displays the array value of the 32x32 block over which the mouse is hovering


Tab 2 - 32x32 Block Editor
  Edit the 32x32 blocks used to build stage maps
  32x32 block values are shared by Robot and Wily stages sharing the same map
  Editing block graphics can be done using a separate tile editor
  The 32x32 blocks image displays half of the 256 32x32 blocks in order of array value for the selected stage
    Use the arrows to switch between each half
    Left-clicking a 32x32 block selects it
    Control+Right-clicking a 32x32 block copies it
    Control+Left-clicking a 32x32 block pastes the copied 32x32 block over it
    Right-clicking a 16x16 block selects it
    Shift+Left-clicking a 16X16 block pastes the selected 16x16 block over it
  The selected 16x16 block displays its array value, color palette value, and image
  The first button displays array values for 32x32 blocks not used by either corresponding Robot or Wily stage map
  The second button displays array values for sets of 32x32 blocks that have all the same values (duplicates)
  The CHR Reload button does the same thing here that it does in the Map Editor
  The selected 32x32 block displays its array value followed by its image
    Left-clicking a 16x16 block in the image changes it to the selected 16x16 block
    Right-clicking a 16x16 block in the image selects it
    16x16 block physical values are displayed below
      Only four of the eight available block physical properties can be used in each stage
        Each stage loads its own set of four physical properties to correspond with the four physical values
      Left- or Right-clicking block physical value text changes it
      The block physical translations and properties are:
        ƒuƒƒbƒN       Normal Solid    closed
        ”wŒi          Normal Air      open
        ƒgƒQ          Death           closed, max damage on contact (spikes, below lava)
        …’†           Water           open, decreases movement speed, increases jump height
        ‚·‚×‚é°       Ice             closed, delays stopping
        ‚Í‚µ‚²        Ladder          open, enables climbing
        ƒRƒ“ƒxƒA(‰E)  Conveyor Right  closed, pushes right
        ƒRƒ“ƒxƒA(¶)   Conveyor Left   closed, pushes left
    Below next are the array and color palette values of each 16x16 block contained in the selected 32x32 block
      Left- or Right-clicking color palette value text changes it
  The 16x16 blocks image displays the 64 available 16x16 blocks in order of array value
    The 16x16 blocks are displayed four times in each of the four arrays of four colors in the color palette
    If the palette animates, the colors will change according to the palette animation values
    Left-clicking a 16x16 block selects it
  The bottom displays the array value of 32x32 or 16x16 blocks over which the mouse is hovering


Tab 3 - Stage Color Palette Editor
  Edit the color palette and color animation of stages
  16x16 stage blocks are each drawn using one of four arrays of four colors
  Periodic palette changes during a stage add animation at a low processing cost
  The first section displays the four default color arrays of the palette for the selected stage
    Colors are displayed followed by their array value
    The first colors of each four-color array must all match in the Famicom and NES
      This game loads 0F to the first of each color array by default
      The first color is usually not noted in color arrays in the ROM
      Changing the first color of a color array does not work in the game
    Left-clicking a color changes it to the selected color
    Right-clicking a color selects it
    Color array values can also be typed
  The next section displays the selected color and its array value on the left
    All available colors in order of array value are displayed to the right
      Colors and their array values are universal to Famicom and NES games
      Colors often display differently in consoles and emulators from this editor
      There are many array values for shades of black
        0F is the default for background black
        0D and 1D should be avoided because they can cause video issues
    Left- or Right-clicking a color selects it
  The bottom section edits color palette animation
    These color animations can conflict with other forms of palette changes
      Other palette changes come from enemy or item activators or other programming
    The dropdown chooses the number of animation palettes used
      0 and 1 do the same thing (see delay below)
      2 cycles through the first two animation palettes
      3 cycles through the first three animation palettes
      4 cycles through all four animation palettes
    The palette animation delay is expressed in a 2-digit hex value
      The delay is equal to 1 frame plus 1 frame per point in the given value
        Example: 01 has a delay of 1 + 1 = 2 frames
        Example: 3B in hex is 59 in decimal plus 1 equals 60 frames, or about 1 second
      00 delay overrides animation with the default palette
      01+ delay overrides the default palette
        With the animation palettes set to 0 or 1, 01+ delay will display the first animation palette
        The default palette always displays once when a stage begins for the given delay value
    The above colors display how the color palette looks during the stage under the given values
    The animation palettes are displayed with a color array value for each color
      Each row is a palette for the animation
      An arrow displays how the palettes cycle
      Left-clicking a color changes it to the selected color
      Right-clicking a color selects it


Tab 4 - Object Position Editor
  Edit the object (enemy and item) identities, quantities, and positions in stages
  Enemies and items in stages are stored in the ROM in two sets of four arrays (two tables)
    The four arrays contain screen array, X position, Y position, and ID array values
  Each Robot and corresponding Wily stage has a combined enemy array and combined item array
    The enemy arrays each contain 128 values and the item arrays each contain 32 values
    A total of 160 of a combination of enemies and items can be positioned in each pair of stages
  Each enemy and item array should be sorted by position to function properly
    They should be sorted first by screen position, then by horizontal (X) position
    This editor has some automatic sorting features
  Positioning many enemies and items on one screen cause lag
    Flickering is caused by 8 or more sprites simultaneously on a horizontal row of the screen
  Bosses cannot be edited here (somewhat excluding the Dragon boss)
  Undo and Redo do not work here
  Two adjacent screen images for positioning enemies and items are displayed
    Enemy and item positions are displayed with boxes each containing their ID array value
    If enemy editing is enabled, enemies are displayed in white, and items are displayed in pink
    If item editing is enabled, enemies are displayed in pink, and items are displayed in white
    Left-clicking an enemy or item displayed in white selects it
      Holding Left-click drags and repositions it on the screen
    Shift+Control+Left-clicking an enemy or item selects it without repositioning it
    Shift+Left-clicking an enemy or item positions it in four-pixel increments
    Control+Left-clicking an enemy or item positions it in eight-pixel increments
    Shift+Left-clicking a screen displays values of enemies or items on that screen
    Right-clicking an enemy, item, or screen displays a menu
      The first option positions a new enemy or item
        An enemy is positioned if enemy editing is enabled, an item if item editing is enabled
      The second option copies a clicked enemy or item
      The third option pastes the copied enemy or item
      The fourth option selects a clicked enemy or item
      The fifth option deletes a clicked enemy or item
      The sixth option cancels
    Hovering the mouse over a white box displays values for it
  The first section displays information about the map
    It first displays the array values of the two screen images
    Below is the total enemies on each screen
    Below next displays in decimal the currently used of the available 128 enemies positioned
    To the right is the total items on each screen
    Below displays the currently used of the available 32 items positioned
  Below left, the first button enables enemy editing, the second button enables item editing
  To the right, the first button enables automatic screen sorting, the second disables it
    This automatically keeps the enemy array and item array sorted in order of their screen values
  The checkbox below enables or disables automatic horizontal (X) sorting
    This will sort based on X position value as an enemy or item is repositioned
  The bottom-right selects and edits enemies or items
    The first left arrow selects the previous enemy or item on the array
      The right arrow selects the next enemy or item on the array
    Below the enemy or item array value is displayed
      If automatic sorting is disabled, the arrows change the array value of the selected enemy or item
    Below next displays the screen on which the enemy or item is positioned
      The left arrow positions it back a screen, the right arrow positions it forward a screen
    Below next displays the X position value of the selected enemy or item
      The arrows increase and decrease its value
    Below next displays the Y position value of the selected enemy or item
      The arrows increase and decrease its value
    The button to the right deletes the selected enemy or item, and selects the next enemy or item
    The dropdown assigns the identification value of the selected enemy or item
      The identification (object) array contains both enemies and items
      Enemies can be positioned in the item array, and items can be positioned in the enemy array
        It tends to be easier keeping enemies and items designated to their arrays
      The enemy and item values here are separated according to how the original game is programmed
      Enemy identification values:
        00 Shrink
        03 M-445 (activator)
        05 M-445 (deactivator)
        07 Claw (activator)
        09 Claw (deactivator)
        0A Tanishi
        0C Kerog
        12 Track Platform (requires other programming for changing track)
        13 Dropping Platform
        14 Quick Laser (activator, requires other programming for changing lasers)
        16 Batton
        17 Robbit
        1C Friender (drops down, requires stage blocks for graphics, 2E barrier)
        1D Monking (jumps up)
        1E Cook (activator)
        20 Cook (deactivator)
        21 Telly (spawn location)
        23 Chunky Maker (plus color palette activator, deactivates on kill)
        25 Quick Dark Color Palette (activator)
        27 Quick Normal Color Palette (activator)
        29 Pierobot
        2B Fly Boy (spawn location)
        30 Press
        31 Blocky
        34 Neo Metall
        36 Matasaburo
        37 Pipi (activator)
        39 Pipi (deactivator)
        3E Lightning Goro
        40 Goblin 1 (plus color palette activator, requires stage blocks for platform and graphics)
        41 Goblin 2 (plus color palette activator, requires stage blocks for platform and graphics)
        46 Springer
        47 Mole (activator)
        4A Mole (deactivator)
        4B Shotman (facing left)
        4C Shotman (facing right)
        4E Sniper Armor (kill spawns Sniper Joe)
        4F Sniper Joe
        50 Scworm
        53 Phase Block 1 (position directly over one stage block)
        54 Phase Block 2 (position directly over one stage block)
        55 Phase Block 3 (position directly over one stage block)
        56 Color Palette Shift (activator, Crash, Wily 3)
        63 Dragon Block (Dragon can bump it)
        64 Dragon (activator, requires other programming to function properly)
        71 Big Fish (spawn location, jumps up)
        72 Drip 1 (Spawn Location)
        73 Drip 2 (Spawn Location)
      Item identification values:
        02 Shrink (spawn location)
        0F Angler Lure (Shrink spawn, Angler Body, and Angler Color Palette removed on kill)
        10 Angler Body (requires stage blocks for graphics)
        11 Angler Color Palette (activator, Bubble)
        2D Crash Barrier
        2E Friender Barrier (invisible barrier, removed on kill)
        2F Screen Advance (used on boss gates, touching it forces rightward screen transition)
        42 Color Palette Blue 1 (activator, hides Goblin 1)
        43 Color Palette Blue 2 (activator, hides Goblin 2)
        57 Crash Barrier
        76 Health Boost Large
        77 Health Boost Small
        78 Weapon Boost Large
        79 Weapon Boost Small
        7A Energy Tank
        7B Extra Life
      Deactivators are often positioned before and after activators so that turning back will also deactivate
      In order for enemies to display properly in the game, their graphics must be loaded during the scroll segment
        Graphics loaded during segments can be seen using a PPU viewer in an emulator
        Changing graphics of scroll segments is beyond the scope of this editor


Tab 5 - Start and Check Point Editor
  Edit the start points and checkpoints in stages
  Checkpoints occur when Mega Man arrives at a screen containing a start point
  Start points are complex because a lot of information is required to initiate the state of the game
  Be careful looking through screens here because it causes changes to start points
  Undo and Redo do not work here
  Mega Man always starts in the horizontal (X) center of the screen
  The image displays the screen and starting position of the selected start point
    The arrows left of the image change the vertical (Y) starting position in 16-pixel increments
      This is set so Mega Man starts directly on a block
      The Y position value is displayed below these arrows
    The arrows below the image change the screen array value of the selected start point
      The screen array value is displayed below these arrows
  The dropdown selects the start point to display and edit
    Six combined start points are available for each Robot stage and its corresponding Wily stage
    The first start point (0) is the start of each Robot stage
    The fourth start point (3) is the start of each Wily stage
    The button below calculates the first four start point values on the very right
      It calculates enemy and item array values, and left and right graphics scrolling values
  Values of the selected start point are displayed to the right
    They can be changed directly with typing
    The first box is the Y position value
    The second box is the screen array value
    The button below does the same thing as the button to the left
    The box below is the scroll segment value
      It is equal to the number of screens without a seemless scroll before this screen
      This value can be obtained from the Scroll Editor
    To the right, the first box is the value of where to begin on the enemy array
    The second box is the value of where to begin on the item array
    The third box is the left graphics scrolling value in the RAM at addresses 0017 and 0016
      At a start point it is equal to the screen array value multiplied by 40 added to 84E0
    The fourth box is the right graphics scrolling value in the RAM at addresses 0019 and 0018
      At a start point it is equal to the above box plus 80
    Here is a list of the graphics scrolling values for each screen array value:
      00 84E0 8560  0B 87A0 8820  16 8A60 8AE0  21 8D20 8DA0
      01 8520 85A0  0C 87E0 8860  17 8AA0 8B20  22 8D60 8DE0
      02 8560 85E0  0D 8820 88A0  18 8AE0 8B60  23 8DA0 8E20
      03 85A0 8620  0E 8860 88E0  19 8B20 8BA0  24 8DE0 8E60
      04 85E0 8660  0F 88A0 8920  1A 8B60 8BE0  25 8E20 8EA0
      05 8620 86A0  10 88E0 8960  1B 8BA0 8C20  26 8E60 8EE0
      06 8660 86E0  11 8920 89A0  1C 8BE0 8C60  27 8EA0 8F20
      07 86A0 8720  12 8960 89E0  1D 8C20 8cA0  28 8EE0 8F60
      08 86E0 8760  13 89A0 8A20  1E 8C60 8CE0  29 8F20 8FA0
      09 8720 87A0  14 89E0 8A60  1F 8CA0 8D20  2A 8F60 8FE0
      0A 8760 87E0  15 8A20 8AA0  20 8CE0 8D60  2B 8FA0 9020
    The fifth box is the value of the screen after the previous slow scroll transition (first scroll segment screen)
      This value can also be obtained from the Scroll Editor
    The sixth box is the value of the screen before the next slow scroll transition (last scroll segment screen)
      This value can also be obtained from the Scroll Editor


Tab 6 - Screen Scroll Editor
  Edit the scrolling and transitioning between screens in stages
  Slow screen transitions are used as an opportunity to load information (like blocks and graphics)
  The images display two adjacent screens labelled with the scroll used for moving to the next screen
    The labels and scroll properties are:
    a  Up    (slow transition)
    >> Right (seemless)
    .. Right (slow transition)
    << Down  (slow transition)
    No label indicates an end screen
    The arrows below move through the screens, with the screen array values displayed below
    The screen must scroll all the way right for upward and downward scrolls to function properly
      The position of openings is important if a seemless right scroll leads into an upward or downward one
        In this situation, place the opening on the right half of the screen
        Otherwise openings in the bottom of the screen cause Mega Man death
    Upward scrolling requires climbing (a ladder block property)
  The bottom left displays scroll segments for the selected Robot and corresponding Wily stage
    Selecting a scroll segment displays its first screen in the first image, and displays its values to the right
    For Wily stages, select later scroll segments
  The bottom right displays and edits values of the selected scroll segment
    Displayed first is the scroll segment array value
      To its right is the first screen array value in the selected scroll segment
      Below that is the last screen array value in the selected scroll segment
      These values are also used by start points
    The dropdown selects the number (in decimal) of seemless right scrolling screens in the scroll segment
    To the right are checkboxes for the direction going to the next scroll segment
      (+20) Right
      (+40) Down
      (+80) Up
      (+00) Deselecting all scrolling signals an end segment
      Multiple directions can be checked, making multiple exits available for moving to the next screen
        Having two segments both transition into each other can create loops
    Below is the value given to the selected scroll segment as it is stored in the ROM
      It is equal to seemless right scrolling screens plus scroll direction values


More advance changes to the editor can be made by changing the included files
The ROM addresses can be accessed and changed in the ini file


ChipAttributeList (copy this over the R2E file to have this display in English)
;
; 00 Heat Man
;
00 Air
01 Solid
02 Ladder
03 Death
;
; 01 Air Man
;
00 Air
01 Solid
02 Ladder
03 Death
;
; 02 Wood Man
;
00 Air
01 Solid
02 Ladder
03 Air
;
; 03 Bubble Man
;
00 Air
01 Solid
02 Water
03 Death
;
; 04 Quick Man
;
00 Air
01 Solid
02 Air
03 Death
;
; 05 Flash Man
;
00 Air
01 Solid
02 Ladder
03 Ice
;
; 06 Metal Man
;
00 Air
01 Solid
02 Conveyor R
03 Conveyor L
;
; 07 Crash Man
;
00 Air
01 Solid
02 Ladder
03 Death
;
; 08 Wily 1
;
00 Air
01 Solid
02 Ladder
03 Air
;
; 09 Wily 2
;
00 Air
01 Solid
02 Ladder
03 Death
;
; 0A Wily 3
;
00 Air
01 Solid
02 Water
03 Death
;
; 0B Wily 4
;
00 Air
01 Solid
02 Ladder
03 Death
;
; 0C Wily 5
;
00 Air
01 Solid
02 Air
03 Air
;
; 0D Wily 6
;
00 Air
01 Solid
02 Air
03 Air


ObjectList (copy this over the R2E file to have this display in English)
00 Shrink
01
02 Shrink (Spawn Location)
03 M-445 (Activator)
04
05 M-445 (Deactivator)
06
07 Claw (Activator)
08
09 Claw (Deactivator)
0A Tanishi
0B
0C Kerog
0D
0E
0F Angler Lure (Kill Removes Spawn, Body, Palette)
10 Angler Body (Requires Blocks)
11 Bubble Angler Palette (Activator)
12 Track Platform (Requires Programming)
13 Dropping Platform
14 Quick Laser (Activator, Requires Programming)
15
16 Batton
17 Robbit
18
19
1A
1B
1C Friender (Requires Blocks, Barrier 2E)
1D Monking
1E Cook (Activator)
1F
20 Cook (Deactivator)
21 Telly (Spawn Location)
22
23 Chunky Maker (Palette Activator, Kill Removes)
24
25 Quick Dark Palette (Activator)
26
27 Quick Normal Palette (Activator)
28
29 Pierobot
2A
2B Fly Boy (Spawn Location)
2C
2D Crash Barrier
2E Friender Barrier
2F Screen Advance (Right Transition, Boss Gate)
30 Press
31 Blocky
32
33
34 Neo Metall
35
36 Matasaburo
37 Pipi (Activator)
38
39 Pipi (Deactivator)
3A
3B
3C
3D
3E Lightning Goro
3F
40 Goblin 1 (Palette Activator, Requires Blocks)
41 Goblin 2 (Palette Activator, Requires Blocks)
42 Air Palette 1 (Activator, Hides Goblin 1)
43 Air Palette 2 (Activator, Hides Goblin 2)
44
45
46 Springer
47 Mole (Activator)
48
49
4A Mole (Deactivator)
4B Shotman (Facing Left)
4C Shotman (Facing Right)
4D
4E Sniper Armor (Kill Spawns Sniper Joe)
4F Sniper Joe
50 Scworm
51
52
53 Phase Block 1 (Place Directly Over Block)
54 Phase Block 2 (Place Directly Over Block)
55 Phase Block 3 (Place Directly Over Block)
56 Palette Shift (Activator, Crash, Wily 3)
57 Crash Barrier
58
59
5A
5B
5C
5D
5E
5F
60
61
62
63 Dragon Block (Dragon Removes)
64 Dragon (Activator, Requires Programming)
65
66
67
68
69
6A
6B
6C
6D
6E
6F
70
71 Big Fish (Spawn Location)
72 Drip 1 (Spawn Location)
73 Drip 2 (Spawn Location)
74
75
76 Health Boost Large
77 Health Boost Small
78 Weapon Boost Large
79 Weapon Boost Small
7A Energy Tank
7B Extra Life
7C
7D
7E
7F
80
81
82
83
84
85
86
87
88
89
8A
8B
8C
8D
8E
8F


Author Notes
  Difference between the two buttons on the Start Point Editor
  Difference between Crash Barrier 2D and 57
  Figure how to change the blocks physical properties of each stage
  Figure how to change the graphics in each scroll segment
  Figure how to modify bosses
  Figure how some things in this editor are stored in the ROM
  Link ROM Hack Introduction
  There are blocks for an unused enemy in Crash Man's stage resembling a Neo Metall dispenser
  It is amusing positioning a bunch of Color Palette Shifts (56) in a stage
    Creating other palette changing objects could be interesting
  Translated exe file


©ZeroNoin