Ace Attorney DS

Attorney DS: Casemaker
General
Author(s)	B12Core
Type	Game Engine
Version	1.1
Licence	Mixed
Links
Download
Website

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Attorney DS: Casemaker is a homebrew application is a Visual Novel Engine. It is used to create and manipulate scenes to form a script in which the player can delve into.

Extra support has been added with this application, to support the emulation of the game Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney. This genre of game involves a protagonist Defense Attorney whom helps defend his clients through finding out information during interrogation, examining crime scenes, moving from location to location, presenting evidence to suspects and witnesses and proving testimony in court as false.

Ace Attorney DS reads from .ini files which fill in variables needed for the case to run. This engine, or in other words Casemaker, comes with 113 profile sprites, 280 evidence sprites, 99 maps and 941 animations (pre-scripted for you, from Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney and Phoenix Wright: Justice For All). Using these resources and the knowledge of the .ini functions, you can basically re-create a Phoenix Wright game, with your own custom plot, characters, evidence/profiles, maps/collision maps, and music.

Don't feel limited to only being able to make Phoenix Wright games, this is a visual novel engine with unlimited possibilities if you have ideas. A fanfiction can be played out, for instance, through this application with the necessary sprites and script. Simply put, Ace Attorney DS is a game-maker.

It was placed 1st in the NEO Spring Coding Compo 2009, APP section. It was voted the 14th Top DS homebrew in the 2009 best DS homebrew contest.

Features

• Fanfictions.
• Ace Attorney-based games.
• Visual thriller novels (such as Hotel Dusk).
• Plot-based video games.
• DSMotion support.

Installation

Place Ace Attorney DS.nds and the AADS folder into the root of your flash card.

Boot the ROM from whatever firmware you may be using.

User guide

How to use

In the separate folder on the root of your flash card, named AADS, there are several folders inside.

Navigate to AADS/cases/caseselection.ini and you will be able to see the case selection list used to determine the amount of cases and the folders the ROM should look for to start the cases. If you move further in, at AADS/cases/ini, there are several folders containing .ini files that the ROM reads.

These .ini files are the basis of cases, and are used to define variables required by the casemaker to run. If you start the ROM up on hardware, you can begin take the tutorials (there are 30) to learn how to use the functions that are readable by the .ini files.

Here is an example of a .ini file case:

[CaseInit]
Name=Using the HP
[GlobalMode1Init]
[GlobalMode1Script]
SCR1REGText=This tutorial will focus on using the HP bar in trials.
SCR1Color=1
SCR1Map=2
SCR1Song=0
SCR1NameID=1
SCR1SFX=1001
SCR1Anim=150
SCR2REGText=We will be using events number 3 and 4 today. These will be used to add/subtract HP.
SCR2Anim=150
SCR3REGText=This tutorial will be very brief, as HP is a very simple  variable to control.
SCR3Anim=150
SCR4REGText=Every case starts the player off with 20 HP. Through using Event 3, we will reduce the HP by
SCR4Anim=151
SCR5REGText=the number given in the EventXInt. For instance, I will now reduce the HP by 3.
SCR5Anim=151
SCR5Event1=3
SCR5Event1Int=3
SCR6REGText=Using Event 4, we can increase the HP by the number given in the EventXInt.
SCR6Anim=150
SCR7REGText=Hence, I will increase the HP by 2.
SCR7Anim=150
SCR7Event1=4
SCR7Event1Int=2
SCR8REGText=Increasing the HP bar past 20 will set the HP to 20.
SCR8Anim=150
SCR9REGText=Decreasing the HP bar past 0 will set the HP to 0.
SCR9Anim=150
SCR10REGText=Once the HP bar goes to 0, you will initiate SCR10 of  GlobalMode999. This is a JumpToEvent
SCR10Anim=150
SCR11REGText=used to organize what the Judge will say due to the player losing all of his HP.
SCR11Anim=150
SCR12REGText=It will execute like so:
SCR12Anim=150
SCR12Event1=3
SCR12Event1Int=19
[GlobalMode999Script]
SCR10REGText=You have lost the game.
SCR10Anim=151
SCR11REGText=Now to call upon the 'Guilty' event.
SCR11Anim=151
SCR12REGText=Using event number 256, the 'Guilty' animation will occur and  then a game reset. 
SCR12Anim=150
SCR12Event1=256

Note from developer 2009/03/22:

Delete the AADS/sfx/mp3 folder, it causes some flash card to crash due to running out of data. Some cards, such as the R4TF, will not crash. Check to see if indeed your card crashes to decide whether or not to delete it. Removing MP3 support with not adhere the application's functionality.

Another tutorial is missing in the caseselection.ini so replace your caseselection.ini with:

[CaseSelection]
MaxCases=25
Case1=Introduction
Case2=SetupFAT
Case3=Init
Case4=Text
Case5=Animation
Case6=Maps
Case7=Sound
Case8=Items
Case9=Interrogation
Case10=PrepareForText
Case11=JumpToText
Case12=DyOptions
Case13=Trial
Case14=HP
Case15=CheckFunction
Case16=CustomItems
Case17=CustomMaps1
Case18=CustomMaps2
Case19=CustomMP3
Case20=CustomRAW
Case21=CustomAnimations
Case22=AltCodes
Case23=Francais
Case24=Espanol
Case25=Deutsch

Controls

Tile DS (motion kit) - Browse through court record

Start - Save game and suspend play

Screenshots

Changelog

v1.1

• MP3 playing is now fixed, no more crashing.
• Movie support.
• Correct SFX for buttons.
• Fixed lagging custom animation.
• Fixed testimony prompt.
• .ini reading to determine music playing.
• .ini reading to determine character animation finished.
• .ini reading to determine character text finished.
• .ini reading to determine map background finished.
• .ini reading to determine evidence description finished.
• .ini reading to determine all evidence/profile IDs finished.
• .ini reading to determine whether or not evidence/profile is "check-able" finished.
• .ini reading to determine text type (green, blue or white, as well as inherent sound effects (male blip, female blip and typewriter).
• FAT loading of music, allowing for custom songs.
• Added 212 Profile and 280 Evidence sprites. Basically every item/person in every single Ace Attorney game to date.
• Added 99 Maps. Basically every map in every single Ace Attorney game to date.
• Added custom fonts for text and evidence descriptions.
• Added Capcom's sounds to the "typewriter" style for their text.
• Added colour system for the font, being able to change it from the Blue/Green/White/Gold colours tones from all Ace Attorney games.
• Present GUI complete.
• Move GUI complete.
• Examine GUI complete.
• Talk GUI complete.
• Talk option check (if talk option is the first talk option, say this) complete.
• Present option check (if this item is evidence one, say this) complete.
• Move option check (if this map is map number one, move to this map and do this) complete.
• Examine check (if the cursor is above this object, create examine button) complete.
• Tile Collision for examining maps complete.
• Added basic JumpTo and PrepareFor events.
• Added Dynamic Options.
• Added Presenting.
• Added PRETRL jump event for automatic JumpToPRE1.
• Added Trials and Testimony.
• Added Alt Code support and custom characters.
• Added HP lowering and increasing.
• Added Gyakuten Kenji GUI (please do not rip, they are original).
• Added 48 item leverage (24 evidence/24 profiles).
• Added custom case art loading from FAT.
• Added saving/loading.
• Fixed a lot of bugs, there are still some in the program (graphical bugs, shouldn't affect gameplay, easy to fix).
• Added all animation sprites from GS1/GS2.
• Created 27 collision maps, still 64 left.
• Added support for French/Spanish/Italian/German characters.
• Added 24 tutorials on how to use the casemaker.
• Added Aoi Shoudo's custom soundtrack (with permission) to the mp3 folder.
• Added directory of SFX, encoded for use with the casemaker.
• Added 3 multi-language tutorials, in Spanish, French and German.
• Added FAT loading of custom maps.
• Added FAT loading of custom collision maps.
• Added FAT loading of custom items.
• Added FAT loading of custom animations AND init.ini scripting of them.
• Added FAT loading of custom SFX.
• Added support for motion, tilt the motion in different directions to browse through the evidence.

External links

• Author's website - http://b12core.blogspot.com/2009_11_01_archive.html
• NeoFlash - https://www.neoflash.com/forum/index.php?topic=5557.0