I came up with a Donkey Kong hack idea

[homerwannabee]

Why not have a hack that removes the graphics of Mario and his enemies and put a black box where the hit box exactly is?
So, instead of jumping over barrels and Firefoxes, you jump over hit boxes?

In fact, you can have black box hit boxes for all video games.  It doesn't need to stop at Donkey Kong 

[Sock Master]

Ethan/f_symmbols suggested exactly this a few years ago and it's been percolating in my head as a possible thing I could do ever since then.

It would certainly be neat, interesting and useful for such a thing to exist.

Technically speaking, it would be more complicated than a simple graphics swap because the sizes/shapes of some of the hitbox ranges wouldn't necessarily be constant or fit inside the tiles of the character/sprite data - so it would require some... calculated reprogramming but it would certainly be something that is possible to do.

[PaulGoes]

Two years ago I started a romhack like that, but never continued. Mainly because I wasn't absolutely sure that I got the hitboxes right. But when you play it, it seems they are right.

I did simple adjustments of the sprites to display the hitboxes. I do not remember hitboxes that were bigger than the sprite boundaries, but I might be mistaken. And, sock master, maybe you can explain what you mean by hitbox ranges not being constant.

I created two prototype versions. The first one only displays the hitboxes. The other one displays the hitboxes and the outline of the original sprite. I will provide both versions in the next messages.

[The top displays DUEL, because I took a template versioon of that romhack as basis for this one]

[PaulGoes]

The version with the hitboxes only.

[PaulGoes]

The version with the hitboxes and the sprite outline.

[PaulGoes]

Just played with it a little and find the barrels funny. Only such a small hitbox, they look less intimidating in their hitbox shape. The hitbox difference between fireballs and firefoxes is also interesting. Most people think they are the same, but they are not.

I also noticed the wobbling up and down of the fireballs and firefoxes. So there is a difference between the actual Y-position (that the code uses) and the sprite Y-position (that is displayed). That might have impact (code hitbox is slightly different from sprite hitbox)? Is that what you meant sock master?
 

[PaulGoes]

OMG I looked above the unlit oil can on the barrel stage and thought there was dust on my monitor. But there are actually two pixels that make up the hitbox that makes you die when you jump there. 

And I noticed something that I cannot explain. These two pixels are also seen at the top left of the rivets stage, a little between the umbrella and the top left rivet. I do not know why it is there. I guess that that is the same sprite that is also used above the oil can. But why is it there?  And then when playing the pies board I see those pixels again, about the same spot, but they move left and right just like DK does. It looks like that that sprite (originally a blank one) is somehow drawn as part of DK? But why? 

[jammvyy]

why is the hitbox confined to a small space , why can't the rest of the screen be used , is it hardware related
 

[jammvyy]

To make a new hitbox is a complicated thing? or just not possible without dismantling the code? 

[jammvyy]

Sock Master
Technically speaking, it would be more complicated than a simple graphics swap because the sizes/shapes of some of the hitbox ranges wouldn't necessarily be constant or fit inside the tiles of the character/sprite data - so it would require some... calculated reprogramming but it would certainly be something that is possible to do.
[/quote] 
  Never mind me
if i win the lotto i can hire people to work chain to there desk (contract) to ad a new character
 

[Sock Master]

And I noticed something that I cannot explain. These two pixels are also seen at the top left of the rivets stage, a little between the umbrella and the top left rivet. I do not know why it is there. I guess that that is the same sprite that is also used above the oil can. But why is it there?  And then when playing the pies board I see those pixels again, about the same spot, but they move left and right just like DK does. It looks like that that sprite (originally a blank one) is somehow drawn as part of DK? But why? 

It's the 'blank' sprite and the code sometimes uses it as 'display nothing'.  Notably the oil fire before its lit but also in DK's sprites.  The game reserves 10 sprites for DK, but not all 10 are always needed.  When DK is in a pose that has fewer sprites, the extra sprite slots still display but using 'blank' and they have junk X/Y coordinates so they display somewhere off in space.  When DK moves, the junk coordinates also move along with DK.

Maybe I was thinking more about DK Junior when I mentioned inconsistent hitboxes.  That happens a lot in DK Junior, even to the extent that some hitboxes change over time and some sparks in Mario's Hideout even have different hitboxes than the other sparks.

[PaulGoes]

It's the 'blank' sprite and the code sometimes uses it as 'display nothing'.  Notably the oil fire before its lit but also in DK's sprites.  The game reserves 10 sprites for DK, but not all 10 are always needed.  When DK is in a pose that has fewer sprites, the extra sprite slots still display but using 'blank' and they have junk X/Y coordinates so they display somewhere off in space.  When DK moves, the junk coordinates also move along with DK.

That explains it. Thanks.

[jammvyy]

Thanks John , It can imagine it being a tedious job