ModdingWiki - User contributions [en-gb]

Monster Bash Saved Game Format

2016-07-12T21:17:26Z

DivVerent:

{{Playerdata Infobox
| Savegame = Yes
| Where = Start
| Elements = Lives, Level, Difficulty, Score
| Games =
{{Game|Monster Bash}}
}}

In Monster Bash, you can save at any time, however, only minimal information (lives, level, difficulty, score) is actually stored in the save game, so when restoring, you'll always start at the beginning of the level.

To prevent "exploits" like racking up scores/lives by saving, restoring and repeating, the game does not save the current state, but the state you had when entering the current level. Hint: make use of that in case you've been using up almost all lives in a level and haven't saved yet.

Also, it's notable that saved games contain a checksum in an attempt to prevent tampering/cheating.

Information from the first episode:

== File format ==

The files SAVE0.MB[123] to SAVE9.MB[123].

== Save game structure ==

{|class="wikitable"
!Offset!!Data type!!Description
|-
|0x00||SINT16LE||number of lives (initially 3)
|-
|0x02||SINT16LE||level (1 = starting level, 10 = boss level)
|-
|0x04||INT16LE||difficulty (0 = hard, 1 = medium, 2 = easy)
|-
|0x06||SINT32LE||score
|-
|0x0A||SINT32LE||checksum
|}

== The checksum ==

The checksum is computed by adding up all the bytes before it, treating them SINT8 (i.e. subtracting 0x100 from values above 0x7f), and multiplying by seven.

In particular, it does not detect swapping bytes, and it is always divisible by seven.

== Glitches in Monster Bash 1 ==

* Number of lives:
** If high, Johnnies will be drawn outside the info box (Enter key).
** If very high, opening the info box will virtually hang the game for rendering all those Johnnies.
** If negative, no Johnnies appear in the info box, and when you die, the game prints GAME OVER yet you can continue.
* Level number:
** Level -32768 is a black screen with glitchy info box.
** Level -256 quits with Null pointer assignment.
** Level 0 will silently go back to the title screen.
** Level 11 to 32767 will quit the game cleanly.
* Difficulty level:
** Random glitches :)
** Skill 3: no health bar, only 1 HP, massive glitches when moving.
** Skill 255: no health bar, game crash ("NULL FAIL").
** Skill 4354: super-hard mode (health bar indicates skill 0, but you have only 1 HP).
** Skill 32767: no health bar, only 1 HP, game hangs when shooting.
** Skill -32768: behaves just like skill 0.
* Score:
** Values over 2147483647 show as negative and can't enter the high score list (i.e. it uses a signed integer type).

== Glitches in Monster Bash 3 ==

* Difficulty level:
** Random glitches :)
** Skill 4354: god mode (health bar indicates skill 0, but you are virtually invincible).

== Example ==

0000000: 0400 0200 0200 d462 0000 b201 0000 .......b......

This savegame encodes:

* lives: 4
* level: 2
* difficulty: easy
* score: 0x000062d4 = 25300
* checksum: 0x000001b2 = 7 * (0x04 + 0x00 + 0x02 + 0x00 + 0x02 + 0x00 + 0xd4-0x100 + 0x62 + 0x00 + 0x00)

== Credits ==

This file format was reverse engineered by [[User:DivVerent|DivVerent]]. If you find this information helpful in a project you're working on, please give credit where credit is due. (A link back to this wiki would be nice too!)

Monster Bash Saved Game Format

2016-07-12T17:40:42Z

DivVerent:

{{Playerdata Infobox
| Savegame = Yes
| Where = Start
| Elements = Lives, Level, Difficulty, Score
| Games =
{{Game|Monster Bash}}
}}

In Monster Bash, you can save at any time, however, only minimal information (lives, level, difficulty, score) is actually stored in the save game, so when restoring, you'll always start at the beginning of the level.

To prevent "exploits" like racking up scores/lives by saving, restoring and repeating, the game does not save the current state, but the state you had when entering the current level. Hint: make use of that in case you've been using up almost all lives in a level and haven't saved yet.

Also, it's notable that saved games contain a checksum in an attempt to prevent tampering/cheating.

Information from the first episode:

== File format ==

The files SAVE0.MB1 to SAVE9.MB1.

== Save game structure ==

{|class="wikitable"
!Offset!!Data type!!Description
|-
|0x00||SINT16LE||number of lives (initially 3)
|-
|0x02||SINT16LE||level (1 = starting level, 10 = boss level)
|-
|0x04||INT16LE||difficulty (0 = hard, 1 = medium, 2 = easy)
|-
|0x06||SINT32LE||score
|-
|0x0A||SINT32LE||checksum
|}

{{TODO|Any differences to the other two episodes?}}

== The checksum ==

The checksum is computed by adding up all the bytes before it, treating them SINT8 (i.e. subtracting 0x100 from values above 0x7f), and multiplying by seven.

In particular, it does not detect swapping bytes, and it is always divisible by seven.

== Glitches ==

* Number of lives:
** If high, Johnnies will be drawn outside the info box (Enter key).
** If very high, opening the info box will virtually hang the game for rendering all those Johnnies.
** If negative, no Johnnies appear in the info box, and when you die, the game prints GAME OVER yet you can continue.
* Level number:
** Level -32768 is a black screen with glitchy info box.
** Level -256 quits with Null pointer assignment.
** Level 0 will silently go back to the title screen.
** Level 11 to 32767 will quit the game cleanly.
* Difficulty level:
** Random glitches :)
** Skill 3: no health bar, only 1 HP, massive glitches when moving.
** Skill 255: no health bar, game crash ("NULL FAIL").
** Skill 4354: super-hard mode (health bar indicates skill 0, but you have only 1 HP).
** Skill 32767: no health bar, only 1 HP, game hangs when shooting.
** Skill -32768: behaves just like skill 0.
* Score:
** Values over 2147483647 show as negative and can't enter the high score list (i.e. it uses a signed integer type).

== Example ==

0000000: 0400 0200 0200 d462 0000 b201 0000 .......b......

This savegame encodes:

* lives: 4
* level: 2
* difficulty: easy
* score: 0x000062d4 = 25300
* checksum: 0x000001b2 = 7 * (0x04 + 0x00 + 0x02 + 0x00 + 0x02 + 0x00 + 0xd4-0x100 + 0x62 + 0x00 + 0x00)

== Credits ==

This file format was reverse engineered by [[User:DivVerent|DivVerent]]. If you find this information helpful in a project you're working on, please give credit where credit is due. (A link back to this wiki would be nice too!)

Monster Bash Saved Game Format

2016-07-12T14:02:38Z

DivVerent:

{{Playerdata Infobox
| Savegame = Yes
| Where = Start
| Elements = Lives, Level, Difficulty, Score
| Games =
{{Game|Monster Bash}}
}}

In Monster Bash, you can save at any time, however, only minimal information (lives, level, difficulty, score) is actually stored in the save game, so when restoring, you'll always start at the beginning of the level.

To prevent "exploits" like racking up scores/lives by saving, restoring and repeating, the game does not save the current state, but the state you had when entering the current level. Hint: make use of that in case you've been using up almost all lives in a level and haven't saved yet.

Also, it's notable that saved games contain a checksum in an attempt to prevent tampering/cheating.

Information from the first episode:

== File format ==

The files SAVE0.MB1 to SAVE9.MB1.

== Save game structure ==

{|class="wikitable"
!Offset!!Data type!!Description
|-
|0x00||SINT16LE||number of lives (initially 3)
|-
|0x02||SINT16LE||level (1 = starting level, 10 = boss level)
|-
|0x04||INT16LE||difficulty (0 = hard, 1 = medium, 2 = easy)
|-
|0x06||SINT32LE||score
|-
|0x0A||SINT32LE||checksum
|}

{{TODO|Any differences to the other two episodes?}}

== The checksum ==

The checksum is computed by adding up all the bytes before it, treating them SINT8 (i.e. subtracting 0x100 from values above 0x7f), and multiplying by seven.

In particular, it does not detect swapping bytes, and it is always divisible by seven.

== Glitches ==

* Number of lives:
** If high, Johnnies will be drawn outside the info box (Enter key).
** If very high, opening the info box will virtually hang the game for rendering all those Johnnies.
** If negative, no Johnnies appear in the info box, and when you die, the game prints GAME OVER yet you can continue.
* Level number:
** Level -32768 is a black screen with glitchy info box.
** Level -256 quits with Null pointer assignment.
** Level 0 will silently go back to the title screen.
** Level 11 to 32767 will quit the game cleanly.
* Difficulty level:
** Random glitches :)
** Skill 3: no health bar, only 1 HP, massive glitches when moving.
** Skill 255: no health bar, game crash ("NULL FAIL").
** Skill 4354: super-hard mode (health bar indicates skill 0, but you have only 1 HP).
** Skill 32767: no health bar, only 1 HP, game hangs when shooting.
** Skill -32768: behaves just like skill 0.
* Score:
** Values over 2147483648 show as negative and can't enter the high score list (i.e. it uses a signed integer type).

== Example ==

0000000: 0400 0200 0200 d462 0000 b201 0000 .......b......

This savegame encodes:

* lives: 4
* level: 2
* difficulty: easy
* score: 0x000062d4 = 25300
* checksum: 0x000001b2 = 7 * (0x04 + 0x00 + 0x02 + 0x00 + 0x02 + 0x00 + 0xd4-0x100 + 0x62 + 0x00 + 0x00)

== Credits ==

This file format was reverse engineered by [[User:DivVerent|DivVerent]]. If you find this information helpful in a project you're working on, please give credit where credit is due. (A link back to this wiki would be nice too!)

Monster Bash Saved Game Format

2016-07-12T13:36:13Z

DivVerent:

{{Playerdata Infobox
| Savegame = Yes
| Where = Start
| Elements = Lives, Level, Difficulty, Score
| Games =
{{Game|Monster Bash}}
}}

In Monster Bash, you can save at any time, however, only minimal information (lives, level, difficulty, score) is actually stored in the save game, so when restoring, you'll always start at the beginning of the level.

To prevent "exploits" like racking up scores/lives by saving, restoring and repeating, the game does not save the current state, but the state you had when entering the current level. Hint: make use of that in case you've been using up almost all lives in a level and haven't saved yet.

Also, it's notable that saved games contain a checksum in an attempt to prevent tampering/cheating.

Information from the first episode:

== File format ==

The files SAVE0.MB1 to SAVE9.MB1.

== Save game structure ==

{|class="wikitable"
!Offset!!Data type!!Description
|-
|0x00||SINT16LE||number of lives (initially 3)
|-
|0x02||INT16LE||level (1 = starting level)
|-
|0x04||INT16LE||difficulty (0 = hard, 1 = medium, 2 = easy)
|-
|0x06||INT32LE||score
|-
|0x0A||INT32LE||checksum
|}

{{TODO|What happens if values are out of range?}}
{{TODO|Are the integers treated as signed or unsigned?}}
{{TODO|Any differences to the other two episodes?}}

== The checksum ==

The checksum is computed by adding up all the bytes before it, treating them SINT8 (i.e. subtracting 0x100 from values above 0x7f), and multiplying by seven.

In particular, it does not detect swapping bytes, and it is always divisible by seven.

== Glitches ==

* Number of lives:
** If high, Johnnies will be drawn outside the info box (Enter key).
** If very high, opening the info box will virtually hang the game for rendering all those Johnnies.
** If negative, no Johnnies appear in the info box, and when you die, the game prints GAME OVER yet you can continue.

== Example ==

0000000: 0400 0200 0200 d462 0000 b201 0000 .......b......

This savegame encodes:

* lives: 4
* level: 2
* difficulty: easy
* score: 0x000062d4 = 25300
* checksum: 0x000001b2 = 7 * (0x04 + 0x00 + 0x02 + 0x00 + 0x02 + 0x00 + 0xd4-0x100 + 0x62 + 0x00 + 0x00)

== Credits ==

This file format was reverse engineered by [[User:DivVerent|DivVerent]]. If you find this information helpful in a project you're working on, please give credit where credit is due. (A link back to this wiki would be nice too!)

Monster Bash Saved Game Format

2016-07-10T13:55:35Z

DivVerent:

Monster Bash Saved Game Format

2016-07-10T13:32:33Z

DivVerent:

Monster Bash

2016-07-10T13:31:44Z

DivVerent:

{{NeedMoreInfo}}
{{Game Infobox
| Levels = Some
| Tiles = Edit
| Sprites = No
| Fullscreen = Edit
| Sound = Edit
| Music = Edit
| Text = Edit
| Story = No
| Interface = No
}}

== Tools ==

{{BeginFileFormatTools|Type=game}}
{{FileFormatTool
| Name = [[Camoto]]
| Platform = Linux/Windows
| grp = Edit
| map = Partial
| gfx = Edit
| mus = Edit
| sfx = Replace
| txt = Replace
| sav = No
| exe = No
}}
{{FileFormatTool
| Name = [[Wombat]]
| Platform = Window GUI
| grp = Extract
| map = View
| gfx = View
| mus = Extract
| sfx = Extract
| txt = Extract
| sav = No
| exe = No
}}
{{EndFileFormatTools}}

{{BeginGameFileList}}
{{GameFile
| Name = bash[123].dat
| Format = [[DAT Format (Monster Bash)]]
| KnownFormat = Yes
| Desc = Archive file storing most of the game data files
}}
{{GameFile
| Name = bash[12].bin
| Format = [[B800 Text]]
| KnownFormat = Yes
| Desc = Text-mode exit screen
}}
{{GameFile
| Name = mb[123]_d[123].bin
| Format = ?
| KnownFormat = No
| Desc = {{TODO|Unknown}}
}}
{{GameFile
| Name = *.imf
| Format = [[IMF Format]]
| KnownFormat = Yes
| Desc = Background music
}}
{{GameFile
| Name = *.spr
| Format = [[Monster Bash Sprite Format]]
| KnownFormat = Yes
| Desc = Creature animations
}}
{{GameFile
| Name = *.mif *.mbg *.mfg *.msp *.sgl
| Format = [[Monster Bash Level Format]]
| KnownFormat = Yes
| Desc = Game levels
}}
{{GameFile
| Name = *.pal
| Format = [[EGA Palette]]
| KnownFormat = Yes
| Desc = Colours to use
}}
{{GameFile
| Name = *.snd
| Format = [[Inverse Frequency Sound format]]
| KnownFormat = Yes
| Desc = PC-speaker sound effects
}}
{{GameFile
| Name = *.tbg *.tfg *.tbn *.pbg *.pfg *.pbn
| Format = [[Monster Bash Tileset Format]]
| KnownFormat = Yes
| Desc = Tiles used for drawing each level
}}
{{GameFile
| Name = *.txt
| Format = ASCII text (DOS/CRLF)
| KnownFormat = Yes
| Desc = Hint text and other info
}}
{{GameFile
| Name = digi\*.voc
| Format = [[VOC Format]]
| KnownFormat = Yes
| Desc = Digitised sound effects
}}
{{GameFile
| Name = save?.mb[123]
| Format = [[Monster Bash Saved Game Format]]
| KnownFormat = Yes
| Desc = Saved game
}}
{{EndGameFileList}}

Be aware that many of the filename extensions above are fake, as described in [[DAT Format (Monster Bash)]]. This is because the .dat file stores multiple files with the same name (differing in only a special "type code"), so these extensions are used to make it easier to refer to files.

=== bash[123].exe ===

Some game data is stored in the .exe file:

{|class="wikitable"
!colspan=3|Offset !!rowspan=2| Description
|-
! bash1.exe !! bash2.exe !! bash3.exe
|-
| 0x19C12 || ? || ? || style="background: #CCFFCC;" | Font as series of 1-bpp images (8x8 mask then 8x8 char)
|-
| 0x243F2 || ? || ? || style="background: #CCFFCC;" | Window borders? Two 1bpp images (16x254 mask then 16x254 image)
|}

== Links ==

* [http://cnub.org/WikiDefault.aspx?Page=Monster%20Bash Monster Bash page on Gerald Lindsly's wiki] (game engine programmer)

[[Category:Apogee]]
[[Category:Sidescroller]]

Monster Bash Saved Game Format

2016-07-10T13:29:35Z

DivVerent: Created page with "{{Playerdata Infobox | Savegame = Yes | Where = Start | Elements = Lives, Level, Difficulty, Score | Games = {{Game|Monster Bash}} }} In Monster Bash, you can save at..."