Help Is anyone in here experienced with (Hex) Editing Save States?

[FR4M3]

So I started playing MaternalBound - Redux (Mother 2/Earthbound Uncensorship, Cut content & QOL restoration rom hack) about at the start of this month. I am now at the Monkey Cave Puzzle. So before proceeding further into the cave I decided I'd grind for some XP and in a week I managed to grind for about 4-5 hours (that's pretty much how little time i get to play games, (commutes, waiting at the station etc.))

Anyway I was at fourside battling some mad taxis while the taxi or the speed limit post sign somehow managed to paralyze both me and Jeff and at the same time I managed to Paralyze the mad taxi. Then when I was just about to hit "Run Away" I instead accidentally hit the "Auto Fight" button and got in a soft lock. I've tried every button but it doesn't want to come out of the Auto Fight mode. Official control is B to cancel auto fight but it doesn't work as you can see in the video.

Video:

As you can see in the video I'm soft locked real good.

The emulator I'm using is EX Plus Alpha by Robert Broglia

I've attached the save state that's on this. If someone could Hex edit it or somehow disable the AUTO Fight mode I'd be very grateful.

Thank you.

 

[Deebo]

Sorry I can't help, but I am interested so bumping+watching. Best of luck. Did you have any other states you could fall back on?

 

[FR4M3]

Sorry I can't help, but I am interested so bumping+watching. Best of luck. Did you have any other states you could fall back on?

I do have more states but they are days old. So I'd be losing a significant amount of progress.

The pick & drop feature of these emulators spoiled me.

 

[ciro64]

I tried opening the save state format on PC in 3 different emulators but they wouldn't recognize this format

Does this emulator have a fast forward feature to make the grind less boring in case you have to do it again?

 

[happymasksalesman]

Okay i using hex editor lately.not pro but i know how to use it.
i will lock at it for you.
hex editor can break or save data and even steal other people hard works!
If i mannage to fix it i will send it here.

 

[Required Username]

I don't think editing the savestate will fix the "broken B" or auto-battle. However, you could probably edit the "Paralyze" effect off the party. I would see if there's a list somewhere of the Hex values of Earthbound's status effects, then search for those and change them to "normal" status.
That's just my thought.

 

[happymasksalesman]

I don't think editing the savestate will fix the "broken B" or auto-battle. However, you could probably edit the "Paralyze" effect off the party. I would see if there's a list somewhere of the Hex values of Earthbound's status effects, then search for those and change them to "normal" status.
That's just my thought.

Oh glad to see you.
Can i tranlate your game for other language?
I learning tranlating with hex editor.

 

[Required Username]

Oh glad to see you.
Can i tranlate your game for other language?
I learning tranlating with hex editor.

Sure, that'd be awesome!
I have no problem with more people being able to enjoy my games.

 

[happymasksalesman]

Thanks for permission. I will make a spanish first because i like spanish language and for old stories.

 

[FR4M3]

I tried opening the save state format on PC in 3 different emulators but they wouldn't recognize this format

Does this emulator have a fast forward feature to make the grind less boring in case you have to do it again?

I believe the save state would only work on the emulator that I've used.

It does have a Fast Forward option but it won't help in the case of EarthBound.

Post automatically merged: Apr 29, 2025

I don't think editing the savestate will fix the "broken B" or auto-battle. However, you could probably edit the "Paralyze" effect off the party. I would see if there's a list somewhere of the Hex values of Earthbound's status effects, then search for those and change them to "normal" status.
That's just my thought.

Yeah removing the paralysed effect from the Mad Taxi would be very helpful as well. Since the game requires a numerical exchange (damage given/taken) to register the press of the B button to cancel the auto flight mode.

 

[happymasksalesman]

Wait a second is that a quick save made by emulator or a save file made for game?
oh and if you can wait i know a good 2 mega bytes which can open any file(even shortcuts!)
name is HxD.

 

[Required Username]

Thanks for permission. I will make a spanish first because i like spanish language and for old stories.

Sweet, please send me a copy when you're done so I can check it out.

Yeah removing the paralysed effect from the Mad Taxi would be very helpful as well. Since the game requires a numerical exchange (damage given/taken) to register the press of the B button to cancel the auto flight mode.

If no one can fix it for you I can see about taking a look, but it might be a couple days...

 

[happymasksalesman]

I should learn more. I going to a great sea of porting too, someone told me a devil may cry port for psp can be great.
Very well i will start soon.

 

[FR4M3]

Wait a second is that a quick save made by emulator or a save file made for game?
oh and if you can wait i know a good 2 mega bytes which can open any file(even shortcuts!)
name is HxD.

It's "save state" of the emulator. Not the in game save file (the file ending in .srm is most likely the SRam of SNES meaning the in game save) the other is the Save State of the emulator where the state of the fight is loaded from, I've included both in the zip.

Post automatically merged: Apr 29, 2025

If no one can fix it for you I can see about taking a look, but it might be a couple days...

That's okay, I've already procrastinated about it for two weeks before posting here.

 

[happymasksalesman]

Okay well i will try to fix it soon. If i manage i will send it.

 

[LaserMoose]

I believe the save state would only work on the emulator that I've used.

Save states are essentially a snapshot of the emulator itself, and thus is emulator-specific. In the case of your file, the save state is a .s96 file exclusive to EX Plus Alpha, and so will not be compatible with other emulators on PC like Snes9x. For reference, Snes9x uses .000 and .001 as save state file extensions, as an example. The file types cannot be converted from one to another.

Unless the emulator on mobile has access to a hex editor within itself, it's not likely that we can edit from your save state, unfortunately. It's a limitation of the save state format, due to the nature of differing emulator architecture.

 

[FR4M3]

Save states are essentially a snapshot of the emulator itself, and thus is emulator-specific. In the case of your file, the save state is a .s96 file exclusive to EX Plus Alpha, and so will not be compatible with other emulators on PC like Snes9x. For reference, Snes9x uses .000 and .001 as save state file extensions, as an example. The file types cannot be converted from one to another.

The emulator is essentially a port of the Snes9x emulator on PC. "EX Plus Alpha" is just the name of the frontend it still uses Snes9x as the core, the versions I'm using is 1.5.82. The file header/architecture could be different but I don't think it would be vastly different from one and another.
The lack of debugging tools is a indeed a bummer, But anyway I dont have any experience in editing save states or files so yeah let's see if someone else pops up with more info.

 

[LaserMoose]

The emulator is essentially a port of the Snes9x emulator on PC. "EX Plus Alpha" is just the name of the frontend it still uses Snes9x as the core, the versions I'm using is 1.5.82. The file header/architecture could be different but I don't think it would be vastly different from one and another.
The lack of debugging tools is a indeed a bummer, But anyway I dont have any experience in editing save states or files so yeah let's see if someone else pops up with more info.

To be particular, I'm aware that the apk is indeed a port of Snes9x, but note that I mentioned that the save state extensions are still different. This is what I was trying to say; the architecture between the extensions are still incompatible, regardless of whether the app is a port or not. I should've been clearer when I mentioned EX Plus Alpha that I knew that it was your frontend. You are using version 1.5.82 of Snes9x EX+, but this is not the same thing as Snes9x.

The apk is based off of Snes9x version 1.43. But version 1.43 of Snes9x on PC uses a different file type for its save states too, which is still in a .000 format.

Edit: That said, I will continue to see if I can get something to work on my end. I'll see if I can set up Snes9x 1.43 on PC to force the save states to be read, and go from there.

Post automatically merged: Apr 29, 2025

Well, the good news is that I was able to read the save extension on PC! I needed to use Snes9x 1.43 and renamed your extension to be .000. I just need to find the right values in hex to break out of the dialog lock. I'll see what I can do in the next day or so.

 

[_oBSOLEte_]

Why not load a real save and use cheats to get roughly to the same point of the game that you grinded?

 

[happymasksalesman]

Oh God what is this? No really. WAHT IS THIS?
just one world isn't enought look at this!

I don't even change stuffs,I think I can't help.
Only part which is readable on windows is "HAL Labratory, inc"

 

[LaserMoose]

Why not load a real save and use cheats to get roughly to the same point of the game that you grinded?

This is likely the easiest method to look into, currently. Removing paralysis from Ness in the battle was possible using cheats to edit, yet the battle still acts like he's paralyzed at the moment. My best guess would be to find where "Auto Battle" is toggled, and change that value. The problem I'm having is it's pretty difficult to find that spot in the editor, and there is not much documentation to refer to.

Oh God what is this? No really. WAHT IS THIS?
just one world isn't enought look at this!
View attachment 63709

I don't even change stuffs,I think I can't help.
Only part which is readable on windows is "HAL Labratory, inc"

That decoded text is the .s96 savestate file's contents. It's not the same thing as what you see in a hex editor - you need to load the game using the romhack's ROM and FR4M3's .srm file. From there you can load the savestate if you change the extension from .s96 to .000. The savestate is only compatible with Snes9x ver 1.43, and not later, as that was what the android port was based on.

Post automatically merged: Apr 29, 2025

Update: @FR4M3 I got out of it! Give me a bit and I'll give ya the files

Post automatically merged: Apr 29, 2025

Included here should be the updated save files within the zip. I saved the game at the closest telephone spot, however I did not heal you, as I didn't want to mess with your save file except to break out of the softlock. The problem had to do with Auto Battle - I changed the hex from 01 to 00 to prevent auto battle from occurring, which allowed me to run away.

I'm giving you a .srm, which should hopefully just go to the save I made. If not, see if the save state I made (the .s96 file) works. either should hopefully fix the problem. I also included the PC's .003 save state file extension as well, but you shouldn't need it.

I'll update this with the hex location I changed, but Snes9x is being somewhat annoying right now, and I don't want to restart my computer before giving you the files.

 

[FR4M3]

Update: @FR4M3 I got out of it! Give me a bit and I'll give ya the files
Included here should be the updated save files within the zip. I saved the game at the closest telephone spot, however I did not heal you, as I didn't want to mess with your save file except to break out of the softlock. The problem had to do with Auto Battle - I changed the hex from 01 to 00 to prevent auto battle from occurring, which allowed me to run away.

I'm giving you a .srm, which should hopefully just go to the save I made. If not, see if the save state I made (the .s96 file) works. either should hopefully fix the problem. I also included the PC's .003 save state file extension as well, but you shouldn't need it.

I'll update this with the hex location I changed, but Snes9x is being somewhat annoying right now, and I don't want to restart my computer before giving you the files.

Thank you so much. It's 1 AM here so I'll try the hacked save in the morning and let you. Also please try to keep a track of the Hex location you Modified. I wanted to tell the author of the MaternalBound Redux hack to maybe incorporate a feature in the hack to save people from getting stuck like this.

Thanks again, really appreciate it. :D

 

[LaserMoose]

The address of auto battle is 7E98B1, and I altered the address as shown below in Snes9x v1.43:

Don't mind the other addresses that aren't checked off - that was me messing around with the health to see if I could cause the party to faint.

I found this by using another emulator, Mesen, to find the location where auto battle (which is 00 if off, 01 is on) is in memory.

Location is given below using the memory viewer. Note that 01 here means auto battle is on.

I wanted to tell the author of the MaternalBound Redux hack to maybe incorporate a feature in the hack to save people from getting stuck like this.

This is quite the unique softlock, I'd say! All members being unable to act was a challenge finding the right solution; rolling health bars also prevented Ness from fainting. I'm not sure if vanilla Earthbound also has this softlock being possible, though it may be a remnant of the original coding.

Thanks again, really appreciate it. :D

No problem! But again, if things don't work after using the save file or save state, let me know. Make sure to keep a backup of your softlocked file too, in case what I sent is unsuccessful on your end the first go around.

 

[happymasksalesman]

Sorry for that imageI didnt use hex editor much so I didn't think it will be this.
thanks for your detail.

 

[FR4M3]

@LaserMoose Just tested the save state. And it works! Thank you so much.

I hope the author of the hack is still open to making additions to his hack because I'd really love for a fix to be added to the hack.

If any mod or admin is reading this then I guess LaserMoose should be made the MVP.