Reference · Engine

The World's top page and bulletin board

partialfrom#58

Mode 4: the log-in screen of The World, a menu of three commands (LOG IN, BOARD, QUIT) over an animated scene out of one CCSF file, xdttopen0, and the bulletin board behind BOARD. It is the TOPPAGE.PRG overlay, two source files: toppage.cpp (0x00400880-0x00401728, 14 functions) and bbs.cpp (0x00401730-0x0040495c, 35), with the board's tables (bbsmsg.cpp, bbsmsgP.cpp; the desktop text page). The desktop's The World icon asks for it with ChangeRequest(4, 7) (the desktop). crates/piney-toppage is the port, checked against the game's code by tools/test_toppage_rs.py.

Setup

ccSetupToppage (0x00168570):

game.enableReset = 0; game.status = 3
fontOnFlip; game.layer->OnFlipExcept; ccDeleteAllThread
ccSys.bgColor = 0 (black); cc3d->Reset; ccBreathThread(2)
font = fontDef; scFadeDef->Init
ccStartThEvent; ccEnableThEvent(0)                 the event pass, phase 0
unless a request is pending (game.request[0]):
  task ccThLoadOverlay("cdrom0:\DATA\TOPPAGE.PRG") until it has loaded
  ccSetFileListToppage: cmnFileList, gcmnFileList, strcmnFileList,
    then toppageFileList (0x00404980): XDTTOPEN0.CCS, category 4
  ccFileExistCheck(0)                              the files loaded
  ccEnableThEvent(2)                               phase 2
  unless a request is pending:
    ccAllSoundOff; ccSndSQLoad(0)                  the board's bank, sqDataToppage
    ccLoadResourceFL; SetFrameRate(1); game.enableReset = 1
    start ccThDtMenu (priority 33, stack 0x1000), ccThToppage (33, 0x800)
    ccEnableThEvent(4)                             phase 4
    unless a request is pending:
      scFadeDef->Init; ccSnd.gameStart (+0x17) = 1; ccSndBgmCtrl

ccSndBgmCtrl's board case (sqLoadParam 0, 0x0017b9c0) plays sequence 0 of the loaded bank when it is not already playing, as ccSqPlay(0) does (sound). The event scripts run beside the page as on the desktop, their blocks for game_status 3 (events); the system menu task is the desktop's ccThDtMenu (the desktop): every status test in it is against 1, so on the board it behaves as on the desktop.

ccThToppage (0x004008e0): the task's name "TOPPAGE", ccLayer::active = sysLayer (priority 0, the view SetFrame(0, 0, 512, 384, 256, 192, 1, 1)), new ccThToppageCtrl, the delete callback ccThToppageDelete, the clear colour black; then Breath(1); Main() each frame while m_exit (+0x2c) is 0. Nothing sets m_exit.

ccThToppageCtrl

ccThToppageCtrl     0x44 bytes
  +0x00  ccThBBSCtrl *m_bc
  +0x04  ccAnm *m_anmEnter      ANM_xdttopst   the log-in, 151 frames, once
  +0x08  ccAnm *m_anmNeutral    @1088[volumeNum - 1]: ANM_xdttop1a on Infection
  +0x0c  ccAnm *m_anmLogin      ANM_xdtlog1a   the command highlighted, 121 frames, looping
  +0x10  ccAnm *m_anmBBS        ANM_xdtbbs1a
  +0x14  ccAnm *m_anmQuit       ANM_xdtqui1a
  +0x18  ccAnm *m_anmCamera     ANM_xdtcame0   stepped once
  +0x1c  ccAnm *m_anmCommand    one of Login, BBS, BBSNew, Quit
  +0x20  ccAnm *m_anmBBSNew     ANM_xdtbbs2a   BOARD with a post new
  +0x24  ccAnm *m_anmNew        ANM_xdtnew1a   the NEW mark
  +0x28  int m_mode             0 enter, 1 menu, 2 leaving, 3 board
  +0x2c  int m_exit
  +0x30  int m_start            unused
  +0x34  int m_cmd              0 LOG IN, 1 BOARD, 2 QUIT
  +0x38  int m_actProccess      zeroed, unused
  +0x3c  int m_actCount
  +0x40  int m_bBBSNew

@1088 (0x00404990) names ANM_xdttop1a .. ANM_xdttop4a; _ChangeMode copies it to the stack at sp + 48 and reads sp + 44 + 4 volumeNum, so volume 1 takes the first.

The constructor (0x004009c0): the nine ccAnms (m_anmCommand null), m_bc = new ccThBBSCtrl and m_bc->Init(this) (the board built at once, below), m_exit = 0, Init, _ChangeMode(0), _SetCommand(0). Init (0x00400c60) sets every animation of xdttopen0 (neutral as ANM_xdttop1a) and steps the camera once.

_ChangeMode(mode) (0x00400da0): m_mode = mode, m_actProccess and m_actCount 0, m_anmNeutral set again to @1088[volumeNum - 1] (so the idle animation restarts on every change); mode 1 takes m_bBBSNew = CheckNewMessage(); mode 2 calls ccSoundFadeOut unless m_cmd is BOARD, then EntryFlash2(30, 1, 0x80000000, 0, 0, 512, 384). _SetCommand(cmd) and _Normal pick m_anmCommand: Login, BBSNew or BBS by m_bBBSNew, Quit.

Main (0x00400f50): SetView(ccLayer::active->view, m_anmCamera->cam, 0), then by m_mode:

The menu (_Normal): step and draw neutral; up and down through ccIsKeyRepeat(key, 6), sound 6 each, wrapping over 0-2; m_anmCommand by the command; then OK (assignPADok, no menu test) with CheckOperate(cmd + 6) and CheckOperate(cmd + 25) both passing: sound 13 for LOG IN, else 4, _ChangeMode(2), and for LOG IN and QUIT game.enableReset = 0. Then step and draw the command's animation, and NEW with m_bBBSNew. The events lock the commands as operations 6-8 and 25-27 (the event VM); CheckOperate records the first asked in operateSet.

ccIsKeyRepeat(key, n) (0x004016a0) uses two main-executable globals: a push returns 1 and sets g_TP_pushFlag (0x00378e1c); a release clears it and returns 0; a repeat bit counts g_TP_pushCntr (0x00378e20), shared by every key and every visit, and returns 1 when it reaches n, starting it again. After ccPad's 15-frame delay a held key moves every 6 frames.

The fader: EntryFlash(30, c) is status 3 from c to clear over 31 frames; EntryFlash2(t0, t1, c) (0x001602d0) is status 5: clear to c over t0 + 1 frames, then c to clear over t1 + 1 (the title's fader). The command's black fade is full on _Exit's last frame.

The hand-off

LOG IN: ChangeRequest(5, 8) queues mode 5 (ccSetupNewGame, GCMN.PRG) and runs InitScene (0x00167320: area, server, town, field, dungeon, floor, block and their Prevs all -1). ChangeArea(0, n) (0x001674a0) with n = saveData.lastTown (+0x8426, lb) is ChangeScene(0, n, -1, -1, -1, -1) (0x00167380):

townPrev = town;       town = n; saveData.lastTown = n      (for n >= -1)
serverPrev = server;   if town >= 0: server = @1489[town]
fieldPrev, dungeonPrev, floorPrev, blockPrev = the old values; all four -1
areaPrev = area;       area = 0                             (a town)
inBattle = inBattleCnt = 0; inBattleDist = 2200.0
ChangeRequest(6, 7)                                         ccSetupGameCtrl next

ChangeArea(a, n)'s other cases: 1 a field ChangeScene(1, -2, n, -1, -1, -1), 2 a dungeon (2, -2, -2, n, 0, 0), anything else (0, 0, -1, -1, -1, -1); ChangeScene sets only the members given as -1 or more. @1489 (0x00306dc0) is {0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 0, 1, 2}. sf 8 does nothing more; sf 7 turns the font and layer flips off (fontOffFlip, OffFlipExcept) and calls ccSleepNoSleepThread(1, 1), which by its name puts the tasks to sleep, so the page's last picture holds. The top page writes no other save field: the player's name, party and the rest go on as the save has them; the town is the last one the event scripts set (last_town, opcode 155).

QUIT: ChangeRequest(3, 7), back to the desktop.

The Title Screen item of the system menu asks ChangeRequest(1, 7).

The board

ccThBBSCtrl         0x850 bytes
  +0x000  ccThreadPage m_ThreadPage      0x180
  +0x180  ccMsgPage m_MsgPage            0x380
  +0x500  ccWriteMsgPage m_WriteMsgPage  0x118
  +0x618  int m_iDrawState               0 threads, 1 a thread, 2 writing, 3 leave
  +0x61c  ccBBSThreadObj *m_ThreadTbl[128]
  +0x81c  ccThToppageCtrl *m_lpToppage
  +0x820  ccLayer *m_lpLayer             priority 127
  +0x824  ccMask *m_maskBbs              96 packets, TEX_xdtbbsp1
  +0x828  ccScrollMark                   blinkFlag, blinkInterval 30, count, setMask
  +0x838  int m_thNum
  +0x83c  int m_initialized
  +0x840  int m_exit

ccThreadPage        0x180: ccAnm m_Anm (ANM_xdtbbsa1); ccScrollBar m_sb (+0x110);
                    ccKanji *m_kanjiTbl[18] (+0x130); index (+0x178); startLine (+0x17c)
ccMsgPage           0x380: ccScrollBar m_sbLow, m_sbHigh; ccAnm m_Anm (+0x40, ANM_xdtbbsa0);
                    ccKanji m_kNoMsg (+0x150), m_kThread (+0x238); ccKanji *m_kTitleTbl[7]
                    (+0x320), *m_kMsgTbl[10] (+0x33c); index, thStart, thExtra,
                    iDrawState, msgStart, msgLast (+0x364 ..)
ccWriteMsgPage      0x118: thObj, msgObj, ccKanji kNewMsg, thIndex, msgIndex, frameCnt,
                    lineIndex, strCnt, noColLength, bDrawEnd, startLine, bWrite
ccScrollBar         0x20: sPos, sLength, bPos, bLength, lPos, lmin, lmax, nPage
ccBBSThreadObj      0x210: m_logicalindex, m_thList, ccBBSMsgObj *m_msgTbl[128],
                    m_maxVisibles (+0x208), m_read (+0x20c)
ccBBSMsgObj         0x480: m_timeRankName[5][61], m_timeRankTime[5][61], m_lpParent
                    (+0x264), m_msgList, m_MaxMsgTbl, m_read (+0x270),
                    char *m_sentenceTbl[128] (+0x274), m_lpTransName (+0x474),
                    m_logicalindex (+0x478), m_selectColorF (+0x47c, 7, unused)

The save

saveData.bbsList[128][48] (+0x28e4, the save) holds a state a post, byte 48 t + p for post p of thread t: 0 not posted, 1 new (bbs_post), 3 read, 7 the player's own post waiting to be written out (bbs_post7). The board reads the table of the save's mode (CheckThreadData, 0x00402220: bbsThreadTblP when parodyFlag), 63 threads, 341 posts, at most 26 a thread and 39 lines a post (both tables).

Init(tc) (0x00401b60): Release; both cursors 0; the scroll bars m_sb.Init(62, 329, 18), m_sbHigh.Init(62, 133, 7), m_sbLow.Init(225, 165, 10); a new layer ccLayer::Init(127, NULL) with SetFrame(0, 0, 512, 448, 256, 224, 1, 6/7) (one unit a frame-buffer pixel); new ccMask(96, 0) on it with SetTex("xdttopen0", "TEX_xdtbbsp1", 1); 18 + 7 + 10 new ccKanji (Init(3, 16)) on it, the 10 of the post lines then SetPrim(32, 0): 32 packets and ctrl 1, which drops Init's drop shadow; m_kThread and m_kNoMsg put on it; both page animations set and stepped once (neither moves again); m_iDrawState 0; _CreateReadTable; InitWritingMsgPage; the scroll mark on the mask with interval 30 and count 0 (the flag kept); m_exit 0, m_initialized 1. Release (0x00401f60) deletes the mask, the layer, the thread objects and the page kanji. The page cursors startLine, thStart, thExtra, msgStart are not reset by Init.

_CreateReadTable (0x004020e0): a ccBBSThreadObj for each of the 63 threads with any post in a non-zero state, in table order. ccBBSThreadObj::Init (0x00404050) runs CreateViewTbl (0x004040a0): a ccBBSMsgObj for each post in a non-zero state, 7 taken as 1; then m_read = BbsCheck() (0x004041f0): 1 when one of its posts is 1 in the save, else 3. ~ccBBSThreadObj (0x00403f70) writes 3 back for each post whose m_read is 3.

ccBBSMsgObj::Init (0x00404310): m_sentenceTbl is the title, then "Author: " and the poster (a new[] string), then a null (an empty line), then GetLineText(i) (0x00404720, the string after the ith NUL of the message) for each of maxLines lines. Post 1 of thread 29 is the Time Idol ranking: _SetupTimeIdolMessage (0x00404490) puts over lines 7 + 5 i and 8 + 5 i "Time: " and "Player: " followed by rank i's strings from saveData.timeIdolRankStr (+0x6775: rank i's player at +40 i, time at +40 i + 20, strcat to their NULs). SetSaveState(s) (0x00404770) sets m_read and writes 0, 1 or 3 into the save.

CheckNewMessage (0x00402260): whether any post of the 63 threads is 1; the menu's BOARD then shows ANM_xdtbbs2a and NEW.

The pages

DrawBBS (0x00402320) draws the page of m_iDrawState, then m_maskBbs->SendPacket(); state 3 sets m_exit and sends nothing. OK and cancel on the board are taken only while CheckMenuType() is -1; OK is assignPADok, cancel assignPADcancel. Text is the thread and post strings as ccKanji::Disp(s, -1) (text rendering), colour ccSpriteColorTable[7] (128, 128, 128), the row under the cursor [4] (16, 128, 16): the row's kanji takes [4] before its Disp and [7] after.

The mask's cells in TEX_xdtbbsp1 (128 x 128, 4-bit; wu, wv in 1/16 texels from the texture's bottom as the desktop's sprites):

dateindex is 0-5 in the plain table, always 0 in the parody one.

The thread list (DrawThreadPage 0x00402b30): the page animation; no threads: cancel (sound 7) leaves. Otherwise 18 rows from startLine (pulled to keep index on the page), row r at y 65 + 18 r: NEW at (50, y) when BbsCheck() is 1, the title at (100, y). The bar: m_sb.SetRange(0, m_thNum), SetPos(startLine), the box at (472, 62 + bPos). With threads below the page, the arrow at (240, 390) while the blink flag is up (m_count counts each such frame; past 30 the flag flips and the count restarts). OK (sound 4) opens the thread; cancel (sound 7) state 3; up and down (ccIsKeyRepeat, sound 6) wrap.

A thread (DrawMessagePage 0x00403060): the page animation; the bar (m_sbHigh.SetRange(0, m_maxVisibles + 1), SetPos(thExtra ? thStart + 1 : 0), box at (472, 62 + bPos)) from last frame's scroll; then thStart and thExtra pulled to keep index on the page (6 rows, 7 once thExtra is 1: the thread's title row has scrolled away). With the title (thExtra 0): the thread's title at (80, 65), the tree's top at (80, 81), NEW at (48, 65) when BbsCheck() is 1; else the tree's top at (80, 65). Posts from y 97 (81 without the title), 16 apart: the title at (112, y), NEW at (48, y) when the save has it 1, the branch at (80, y) (the last branch on the last post), the post cell at (96, y), the date at (8 strlen(title) + 126, y). Then reading (iDrawState 1) ShowMessage, or choosing: with posts below, the arrow at (240, 195); SelectMessage (0x004038d0): up and down (sound 6); above the first post thExtra falls (the title comes back) and at -1 the cursor wraps to the last post; past the last it wraps to the first; OK (sound 4) reads; cancel (sound 7) leaves the thread: every page cursor 0, then InitWritingMsgPage when a post was written this visit, else the thread list with every thread's m_read taken again. A thread with no post draws m_kNoMsg at (151, 100) instead; _CreateReadTable never builds one.

Reading (ShowMessage 0x00403b30): msgStart held to 0 .. maxLines - 7, msgLast = min(msgStart + 10, maxLines + 3); the bar (m_sbLow.SetRange(0, maxLines + 3), SetPos(msgStart), box at (472, 225 + bPos)); with lines below, the arrow at (240, 395); on the first page the date at (8 strlen(title) + 54, 216); lines msgStart .. msgLast at (48, 216 + 18 i), a null line skipped but counted. Up and down scroll (no sound). Cancel (sound 7): msgStart, msgLast, iDrawState 0 and SetSaveState(3): the post is read in the save at once.

The player's own post (InitWritingMsgPage 0x004023d0, DrawWritingMsgPage 0x00402530, ExitWritingMsgPage 0x004029b0): the page resets (lineIndex 3, noColLength -1, bWrite 0) and ccSaveData::CheckWriteBbs (0x00177fa0) finds the first post in state 7 (threads 0-127 by posts 0-47); none: the thread list. Found: its thread and post objects, noColLength = GetLineLengthNoColor(0) (0x00404610: the line's bytes, a #W #Y #B #G #R pair counting none), bWrite 1, state 2. Each frame: the posts' page animation; kNewMsg (no layer of its own, so sysLayer) at (100, 100) with the overlay's label (Shift-JIS, which the font prints as underscores), drawn before the scene's opaque models on that layer; startLine follows lineIndex down (one line a frame once it is 9 lines on, until the end); the date and the bar as reading; the lines above lineIndex in full at (40, 216 + 18 i), then line lineIndex as ccStrRangeCopy(line, 0, strCnt) (0x00401730: the first 2 strCnt bytes, colour pairs copied whole and not counted). Every 6 frames strCnt grows by one; past noColLength / 2 the next line starts; past the last, bDrawEnd. OK shows the rest (lineIndex to the end); once all is shown OK runs ExitWritingMsgPage: the post becomes 3 in the save and its thread opens with the cursor on it (bWrite stays 1, so leaving that thread looks for the next post in state 7).

Scroll bars (ccScrollBar, 0x00404880-0x0040495c): SetRange(lmin, lmax): bLength = sLength when range = lmax - lmin is 0 or less or below nPage, else nPage sLength / range; SetPos(l): bPos = 0 for range <= 0, else (sLength - bLength) l / (range - nPage). A list exactly a page long divides 0 by 0; there is no check, and the EE's div leaves -1 in LO (PCSX2's model of the hardware), so the box draws one pixel up. The tables have such lists: a thread of 6 posts (thread 11) and 31 posts of 7 lines.

Draw order

ccLayer::active is sysLayer (priority 0): every ccAnm draws there, and kNewMsg. The board's layer is 127, the fader's font layer 240, the system menu's 242. Within a layer the desktop's rules hold (draw order): the mask's packets, sent last, are drawn under the text sent before them.

Sounds and music

ccSeOn (the common bank): 9 and 10 at the log-in's frames 1 and 60, 6 a cursor move, 13 LOG IN, 4 BOARD, QUIT and on the board a thread or post opened, 7 back on the board. The system menu's own sounds are the desktop's (16 open, 17 move, 18 OK, 19 back). The music is sequence 0 of sqDataToppage (0x00307ee0; sqVolTblToppage 0x0030a3a0, port 1 full); LOG IN and QUIT fade it out (ccSoundFadeOut: every sequence over 8 frames, then stopped); the board keeps it.

Checks

tools/test_toppage_rs.py runs the constructor and Main of TOPPAGE.PRG in eemu beside the port's task, frame by frame, with the main executable's calls hooked (the animations answered with the port's own playback): the calls in order (animations, text with position, colour, ctrl and bytes, every mask cell bit for bit, the board's layer and texture, the fader), the sounds and requests, and the whole state (both controls' fields, the three scroll bars, the writing page, every thread and post object, the save's bbsList, the key-repeat globals, enableReset, operateSet, and after LOG IN the scene ChangeArea leaves), over scripted runs (a fresh save, event 1's posts, written posts, the Time Idol post, the longest thread, a parody save with every thread, locked commands, the system menu open under the board) and random pad runs.

Unknown

• Whether the task's first Main runs in the frame the task starts; the port draws nothing for one frame.
• Whether kNewMsg's label is ever visible past the board's scene.
• How ccScFade draws while the system menu holds the layers' flip.
• When ~ccThToppageCtrl runs after a hand-off (its ~ccThBBSCtrl writes back the posts read); the port writes them back at the hand-off.
• The EE's div by zero result is taken from PCSX2, not measured.
• Which events fill timeIdolRankStr.