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Research: Animation Script Commands

Touched

Touched

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    • Seen Feb 1, 2018
    While working on Megas, I started writing a list of all the animation commands. While I still don't understand exactly what many of them do, I have compiled an accurate list of all the commands and the arguments they take. This should be enough information to get a basic animation script decompiler working, and therefore allowing research into what moves use which commands. This will help in understanding each commands functionality.

    The table of commands are at 083ADF5C in FireRed, 08525E98 in Emerald and 083ADF3C in LeafGreen (Lost Heart).
    There are 0x2F commands in all versions.
    Each command seems to be responsible for advancing the cursor itself.
    This allows commands to wait and re-execute themselves (like wait animation). This also seems to make the nops cmd6 and cmd7 broken, as they just return without adjusting the cursor.

    All addresses referenced in the document below are for FireRed.

    Code: 
    00: Load Graphics
    short: graphics

01: Unload graphics
    short: graphics

02: Load Template
    long: template - Pointer to the template to load
    byte: ?
    byte: argc - Argument Count
    short * argc: argv - Vardiac Arguments - copied to 
          ma02_t0_02037F02

03: Launch Task
    long: funcptr (void(*)(u8)) - Task to call
    byte: pri - Task Priority
    byte: argc - Argument Count
    short * argc: argv - Variadic Arguments for function - copied 
          to ma02_t0_02037F02
    
04: Countdown (Pause)
    byte: time/frames
    
05: Wait Animaion
    Void
    
06: Nop (might break; doesn't advance the cursor)
    Void
    
07: Nop (might break; doesn't advance the cursor)
    Void
    
08: End
    Void
    
09: Play Sound
    short: Sound to play
    
0A: ???
    byte: ???
    
0B: Clear bitfield except visiblity
    byte: Target
    
0C: Set BLDCNT and BLDALPHA
    BLDCNT = 0x3F40
    short: BLDALPHA
    
0D: Reset blends
    Void
    
0E: Call (Doesn't have a call stack. Can only call and return once)
    long: pointer to target
    
0F: Return
    Void
    
10: Set ma02_t0_02037F02
    byte: Index in ma02_t0_02037F02
    short: Value
    
11: If byte_2037F16
    long: location to jump to if byte_2037F16 & 1
    
12: Conditional If
    byte: condition
    long: location to jump to if byte_2037F16 == cond
    
13: Goto
    long: pointer
    
14: Load Background
    byte: bg id
    
15: Load battle screen elements - I guess it resets
    Void
    
16: Wait for battle screen elements
    wait for is_battle_screen_elements_loader_running == 2
    Void
    
17: Wait for battle screen elements
    wait for is_battle_screen_elements_loader_running = 0
    
18: Load background
    byte bg index
    
19: Audio Play and Stuff
    short: sound
    byte: I don't even know
    
1A: ???
    byte: ???
    
1B: ??? - Audio Related. Adds a task
    short: sound
    byte: ???
    byte: ???
    byte: ???
    byte: ???

1C: ??? - Adds a task
    short: ???
    byte: ???
    byte: ???
    byte: ???

1D: ??? - Task sub_8074028
    short: ???
    byte: ???
    byte: ???

1E: Set BLDCNT
    short: BLDCNT

1F: Start a sub task
    long: pointer - task
    byte: argc
    short * argc: Variadic Arguments

20: Wait for something (audio related)
    Void
    
21: Check ma02_t0_02037F02
    byte: index in ma02_t0_02037F02
    short: value to check
    long: pointer - jumps here if ma02_t0_02037F02[index] == short 

22: Conditional form of cmd0b?
    byte: Target

23: Similar to cmd22
    byte: Target

24: Nop Skip 4
        long: Skip

25: Set background for attacker/defender
    byte: bg if defender
    byte: bg if attacker
    short: nothing

26: Launch task c3_08073CEC (audio related)
    short: Song to play
    byte: priv[0], priv[4] and second arg to audio_play_and_stuff
    byte: priv[1]
    byte: priv[2]
    byte: priv[3]

27: Similar to cmd26 but runs through some functions first
    short: song to play
    byte: ???
    byte: ???
    byte: ???
    byte: ???

28: LCD bg operations for each side something
    byte: Side

29: LCD bg operations above, except unconditional
        Void

2A: Similar to cmd28
        byte: Side

2B: Make side invisible
        byte: side

2C: Make side visible
        byte: side

2D: Visibility something
    byte: side

2E: Something with oam attrs
    byte: side

2F: Stop music
        Void
    Next steps should be thinking of names for each command, and then building a basic decompiler/compiler.
     
    Last edited:
    esperance

    esperance

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    Very nice work! I have a question about command 0x4. By countdown do you mean it pauses the game for the given time?

    And I've got my own small contribution: the command table is located at 083ADF3C in LeafGreen.
     
    Touched

    Touched

    Resident ASMAGICIAN
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    • Seen Feb 1, 2018
    Lost Heart said:
    Very nice work! I have a question about command 0x4. By countdown do you mean it pauses the game for the given time?

    And I've got my own small contribution: the command table is located at 083ADF3C in LeafGreen.
    Click to expand...

    Yeah, it just pauses execution of the script for the given number of frames. I guess it is like the pause command in OW scripting.
     

    Pokemon_XY

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    Posts
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    Years
    • Seen Jan 7, 2017
    Touched said:
    Yeah, it just pauses execution of the script for the given number of frames. I guess it is like the pause command in OW scripting.
    Click to expand...
    I believe that cmd21's parameters are in this format: byte, short, long.
    This is part of its ASM function in knizz's DB:
    Code: 
    ROM:08074164                 PUSH    {R4-R6,LR}
ROM:08074166                 LDR     R5, =move_anim_cursor
ROM:08074168                 LDR     R4, [R5]
[COLOR="Red"]ROM:0807416A                 ADDS    R3, R4, #1[/COLOR]
ROM:0807416C                 STR     R3, [R5]
ROM:0807416E                 LDRB    R2, [R4,#1]     @ arg1
[COLOR="Red"]ROM:08074170                 LDRB    R1, [R3,#1]
ROM:08074172                 LDRB    R0, [R3,#2]
ROM:08074174                 LSLS    R0, R0, #8
ROM:08074176                 ORRS    R1, R0  [/COLOR]        @ arg2

    I hope that I can see your great script editor for this :)
     
    Last edited:
    Touched

    Touched

    Resident ASMAGICIAN
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    • Age 122
    • Seen Feb 1, 2018
    Pokemon_XY said:
    I believe that cmd21's parameters are in this format: byte, short, long.
    This is part of its ASM function in knizz's DB:
    Code: 
    ROM:08074164                 PUSH    {R4-R6,LR}
ROM:08074166                 LDR     R5, =move_anim_cursor
ROM:08074168                 LDR     R4, [R5]
[COLOR="Red"]ROM:0807416A                 ADDS    R3, R4, #1[/COLOR]
ROM:0807416C                 STR     R3, [R5]
ROM:0807416E                 LDRB    R2, [R4,#1]     @ arg1
[COLOR="Red"]ROM:08074170                 LDRB    R1, [R3,#1]
ROM:08074172                 LDRB    R0, [R3,#2]
ROM:08074174                 LSLS    R0, R0, #8
ROM:08074176                 ORRS    R1, R0  [/COLOR]        @ arg2

    I hope that I can see your great script editor for this :)
    Click to expand...

    Nice catch, I've updated the main post with this order. Instead of a script editor, I might just release a series of ASM macros. Those are probably easier to make and use.
     
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