2K3 HACK: THE END OF YOUR SLOW TEXT SPEED WOES!

This hack has been tested with rpg2003 v1.08 and the "Power Mode 2003" patch so far

Alright, so lately I've been in touch with the infamous "Cherry," responsible for some of the most effective and advanced RPG Maker 2003 hacks to date, like "RPG Maker 2009 Ultimate" and any of his "Hyper Patcher 2" addons.

I brought up a question about text speed and how I found it annoying that in Test Play, you could hit "Shift" to skip through dialogue, but in the standalone exe, you can't. As someone who likes options, and likes giving people options, I felt this was important. Also taken into consideration, the Shift key ALSO cancels out event movements, and some event code in test play mode, so just the functionality of skipping text would want to be added.

Cherry, in his infinite wisdom, replied back literally minutes later with some simple instructions on how to do this. It's so easy, even YOU can do it. So I'm passing the information along.

It's a very easy hack, and has been tested to work in both rpg2003 v1.08 and "power mode 2003" (modified version of v1.09a). Unfortunately, this DOES NOT work with rpg2000.


STEP 1:
You'll need a hex editor. It's not as scary as it sounds, and I'll walk you through it. For the purposes of this tutorial, download the hex editor, "xvi32" HERE. Scroll down the page and find the download link for release 2.51 (or latest). Extract it into a folder and open up xvi32.exe


STEP 2:
Make a BACKUP of the RPG_RT.exe you want to edit. Just in case something gets messed up.
In xvi32, go to "File > Open" and select your desired RPG_RT.exe. You're looking at raw code, so it's important that you don't change any of the values unless instructed.

If you want to learn about hex, feel free to google it, but I'm going to stick to basics here. In the center column, you'll see Each block has 2 characters in it, numbered from 0-9, A, B, C, D, E, F (up to 16 values), totaling 256 possible entries (0 to 255). They each have a specific address within the file, and in the left column, you'll see the hex addresses for the first block of each row, written in the same numbering format but extend beyond 2 characters. You'll notice that you can resize the window, and the number of blocks in each row will expand and contract when you do so. Edit blocks by simply clicking on them, and typing new values.

In the right column, you'll see what the file would look like if opened in a plain text editor like notepad. It's a bunch of junk, so don't worry about it. Make sure the middle column stays highlighted.


STEP 3:
Click on "Address > Goto" to bring up the Go to address window. Click on the "hexadecimal" radial button and the "absolute" radial button if they aren't already selected. In the text field below hexadecimal, enter the following:

$C7042

Now, hit enter.


STEP4a:
Version 1.08:
This will bring you to the address "0xC7042." In v1.08, the values 74 10 will be in that block and the one next to it. IF THEY ARE NOT 74 10, Skip down to STEP 4b

Now, change 74 10 to 90 90

Repeat Step 3 for $C7088. You'll see the same values, so again, change 74 10 to 90 90

Hit save and close out of xvi32. You're done! next time you open up that RPG_RT.exe and see some speech with slow text speed, hit the Shift key. Voila. It skips through it, and it doesn't affect any of the event movement unlike in Test Play!

Power Mode 2003 (Version 1.09a):
If like me, you're using Power Mode 2003, or you're trying to play a game that uses Power Mode 2003, the above values are a bit further down in the file. Each address should say 74 10 and be modified to 90 90 as described above. Here are the addresses:

$C6376
$C63BC



STEP4b:
This just means the RPG_RT.exe you're trying to open is either an earlier version of 2k3 or some wonky version. Fear not, as it's not the end of the world. This is the technique used to find the values of the Power Mode exe listed above, so as long as it's a valid version of 2003, this should work.

Click on "Search > Find" followed by the "Hex string" radial button. The other default options are fine. Enter the following in the text box:

00 74 10 A1 EC DA 4C 00 8B

Hit enter.

VERY IMPORTANT: You'll probably find this string in 3 different places, but you only want to edit the values of the last two you find. They're only a couple rows apart in the C**** address. If they're not anywhere near there, you've got some weird version opened and I probably can't help you.

Use "Search > Find again down" to find the 2nd two values that start around the C**** address, and just like in Step 4a, change 74 10 to 90 90 in both places. Save & Exit. Test it, and hopefully rejoice!



Enjoy! Again, big thanks to Cherry. His website can be found here: http://cherrytree.at/

I've got another tutorial coming soon to fix the reflect problem outlined in my topic here: http://rpgmaker.net/forums/topics/7191/
Look forward to it! Until next time!

Posts

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So totally awesome! I will give this a try soon...
BRILLIANT, Thanks a million! :D
Guide for ALL VERSIONS:

Download Finder: http://share.cherrytree.at/showfile-270/finder.rar
Open your rpg_rt.exe in it and start scanning. In the output look for the line ">> Key pointer: 0x004CDAEC" (the value is different).

This was the line for RM2k3 1.08/1.09. Now compare it with the search pattern: 00 74 10 A1 EC DA 4C 00 8B
If you look at the fifth to eighth byte and reverse their order, you get the address from the "Key pointer" line!

So you can do the opposite for every version. Let's assume finder says ">> Key pointer: 0x0049AA04" (this is RM2k v1.07's value). You then reverse the byte order, so you get 04 AA 49 00. Then add 00 74 10 at the left and 8B at the right, so your new search pattern is 00 74 10 04 AA 49 00 8B.

Best regards,
Cherry
{Oops, sorry for double post}
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