 /---------------------------------\
/     Translation Station v1.11     \
\     By HighTimes and DaPhire      /
 \---------------------------------/

Use:

This program allows you to view and edit rom data in a nice, user-friendly environment. You can use table files to convert data bytes to characters that make sence and are easy to edit.


Note:

You need to run this on Windows 95, and with a resolution of at least 800x600. Lower resolutions, and you won't be able to see the scroll bar on the right. Not Windows 95 or above, and this won't work, period!


Opening a ROM:

Select the Open ROM item from the file menu, and select the rom you want to view/edit.


Opening a table:

Select the Open .tbl item from the file menu, and select the table you want to use.
Its easy to switch tables while running the program - just open them as you want to use them.


Creating your own table:

TranslationStation uses its own form of table file, so you will probably have to create new ones for this program. Fortunately, that's simple to do. Just select Table Generator from the file menu, and the table generator will appear. Click the conversion button, then select the thingy format table file, and it will be converted for you.
If you want to create your own table file, that's easy too. Enter in the characters you want into the correct byte spaces, then save it by pressing the save button. Any byte values you don't want to use can just be left blank.

NOTE: The stupid annoying bug that prevented TS from properly saving table files has been fixed. Amazing what 1 single incorrect line of code will do, isn't it?


Editing Data:

Once you have a rom and an appropriate table loaded, use the scroll bar to find the area of the rom you wish to edit. Click on the first character of the data you want to edit. If you clicked on the right side (where the text is displayed), you can edit the text by simply typing as if you were typing into a text editor - TS will automatically move the selection as you type! You can also enter direct byte values on the left side, but in this case, you will have to reposition the selection after each value you enter.


Typing in DTEs:

DTEs (dual tile encoding - having 2 characters represented by a single byte) can be entered in by using the DTE text box. When you reach an address where you want a DTE, click on the DTE box and type in the DTE.


Navigation:

You can use the arrow keys to move the selection around within the visible area. Backspace will move you back one space and delete what was there.


Searching:

You can search for up to 30 characters in your rom. Type what you want to search for into the text box, and hit the button. The first byte of the matching section will be selected. To include DTEs in your search string, type a pipe (|), followed by the DTE (ex. |af). The search feature will find all instances of that string that appears in the ROM, and a message will appear once all the instances have been found (it will not find an instance if your selection was on the beginning of it at the beginning of the search).
If you want to search for Japanese characters, you must put a pipe before each character, and you must paste each one into the search seperately - it has to do with the format of the characters or something - I really don't know! We used Kanjiikit '97 if that helps.


Script dumping:

Open the script dumping option, and then type in the hex addresses of the beginning and the end of the section of the rom you would like to dump. Press the dump button, and then select the filename you'd like. That's all.


Script insertion:

Open the script insertion option, and then type in where you would like to begin to insert. Use the browse button to retrive the insertion text file and click insert. This isn't a true insertion option - it doesn't create new space, but overwrites existing data. The intended length can help you limit the length of the inserted text. After inserting, you will get a report as to how the length of the inserted text compares to this value. If the length of the text was greater, the end of the text will be cut off (past the length value).


SNES Rom Expansion:

This option under the options menu will allow you to expand SNES roms by MBits. Simply choose how much space to expand and click expand.
<This option doesn't appear to work>


Ports?

We're not going to make any.


In the future:

Watch for the following new features:  bookmarks, pointer support and others that haven't been determined yet.
<Actually, pointer support is very unlikely as it is very complex>


EMail the authors!

Da Phire:  DaPhire@aol.com
HighTimes: hight1mez@hotmail.com