#fin fin on qemu ask

[the-jade-palace]

Hello :) I was wondering, has any effort been made (as far as youre aware) to datamine finfin? I'm assuming some datamining has already been done by you to translate the 6 worlds version, but was just curious if anybody has looked through the files yet. If not; any advice/insights you could give to someone who might try to? (I'm afraid I don't have the skills to try it myself sadly, but I am still very curious) thanks in advance <3

I have done some work in terms of datamining, though it has mostly been for the translation. I do not know if anyone else has done any work in terms of data mining outside the author of the custom German 6 worlds made back in 2010. But here is what I do know!

All the menu graphics are stored in the game file "map_XXX.db" where the "XXX" is the language, in the case of my translation, "map_eng.db". These images are stored in the form of raw bitmaps without the headers or palettes

This can be seen here in this program, 010 editor, which has a byte visualizer. This also contains all the text, and is what I had to edit for the translation.

However, by exporting the bytes to a raw image and adding a header in photoshop, you can actually recreate the original, though to reinsert it back into the file it has to be stripped back to its raw bytes again. This header can be obtained by extracting it from a .bmp, which in turn needs to be extracted from the main game executable with a resource viewer.

Here was a little test I did while messing around, changing the text for the nest to just say "Weather"

I have also found the backgrounds for all the levels, which are stored in these files, with one for each level respectively

The way these are setup is not uniform across the board, and varies depending on what is needed for each world.

However, from what I can tell the way they generally work outside of any level specifics is through palette shifting to change the colors based on time and weather. This information is almost definitely stored in the file "color.db", which just outside the name seems to be made up of many color palettes

The rest of the sprites and animations are almost definitely stored in the file "film.db", but I really have not put much time into trying to datamine this as outside of it likely being more complex, I in all honesty I don't want to completely dissect the game. A lot of what makes it special to me is the strangeness and mystery that surrounds fin fin, and having everything laid bare doesn't interest me.

On a somewhat related note I have also done work on reverse engineering certain parts of the game code for modifications, and work on analyzing and replicating the Smart Sensor. Here is a photo of a the signals it sends out when working!

I'm pretty unfamiliar with it myself, but if you want advice the best I could give is to familiarize yourself with reading and editing binary / hex data and research file headers

[clownkiwi]

Makin' sure you get this ask in case the last one didn't send for link reasons (and not entirely sure this will send either, Tumblr is a pos), but!! the-jade-palace /705825831065468928/ fin-fin-on-qemu-v1 Found this project for Modern FinFin Gaming, which will hopefully help in the Dolphin-Bird Adventure

OHMYGOD THANK YOU

YOU ARE AN ACTUAL LIFESAVER

that just means finfin will be pushed back to tomorrow because i dont think i'll have enough time to start tonight at a reasonable time (unless anybodys down for clownkiwi streams at 3 in the morning, which i wont be able to)

[the-jade-palace]

hi jade, just wanted to say thanks so much for the hard work on bringing fin fin to a modern day computer!! i love my new best friend fin fin, this rules :-D

happy to help keep this weird little game accessible and share the joy of fin fin :)

[the-jade-palace]

Windows defender keeps identifying the Fin Fin on QEMU GTK launcher as a threat for some reason, why does this happen?

Ive posted about this a few times, its an unfortunate side effect of how they work. I hope to make them using a different method at some point in the future to resolve this, but heres an explanation from a bit back for why it happens

[the-jade-palace]

is it true that finfin can get sick and die? I saw a post or two describing how he (and jr) can turn grey and sickly and it worried me...

Fin Fin can get sick and will turn grey, but he can't die and will recover after a few days.

Fin Fin Jr. on the other hand.... This auto translated box art puts it best

There are many dangers on TEO, especially for a young Fin Fin. Most notably the Gminfly, Kago, and the Elmodoki plant.

These aren't in the Encyclopedia, but you can find info on them here https://www.finfin.de/finworld/nest/index_e.htm

[the-jade-palace]

I have to imagine you've answered this before, but I haven't been able to access the MEGA files for finfin on qemu because its asking for a decryption key. Are those available somewhere? Do you provide them?

I have gotten a few questions about this before!

I'm not sure why it seems to happen to a select few people, as the decryption key should normally be part of the included link

Regardless, this is the key: DcO3ZjPA3F15lZ5Tcf48Gg

[the-jade-palace]

Hi! I want to let you know that the latest version of FinFin on QEMU came bundled with the Agent Tesla malware. You might want to look into that!

Nope! This is an unfortunate false positive that's been around since the first version, there's some info about it included with the README file.

Specifically the launcher executables are what get flagged, as they work by extracting and executing a batch script while hiding the console. Its just the same script as the .bat files, but it allows for it to be run without showing the console. Its not malicious, but the way it functions is similar to a trojan, causing some virus scanners to flag it.

Doing some research on the Agent Tesla malware and using process explorer none of the expected activity is seen, nor is there any internet activity from the QEMU launching executables. There's also the fact that the executables show up under many different and generic definitions depending on the anti virus. This is important, as it tells us that the detection is heuristic rather than detecting the specific signature of a known malware.

Again, this is a false positive, but its completely understandable to be concerned about it. This is one of the main reasons among several others that the .bat scripts are also available for launching. If you don't feel comfortable with the executables, you can just delete them and use the .bat scripts instead, as they can easily be opened where the code can be viewed.

Im hoping I can find a different way for launching using a different technique that won't set off anti viruses for a future version, but I haven't figured it out yet.

[the-jade-palace]

sorry if someones asked this before but how did you get finfin on your crt? thats so cool

Theres not really anything special going on there, its just connected to my PC with Fin Fin on QEMU running in full screen on it.

A CRT is just a monitor at the end of the day, it takes a signal in and displays a picture out on the screen. In my case its just connected to my PC using an HDMI to Composite converter, here's the one I use.

This is actually a different higher quality CRT I've gotten since the photos / videos you've probably seen, but here's Minecraft on it!

If you want to so something similar, r/CRTGaming on reddit is a great source about info on CRTs!

[the-jade-palace]

Hello, I tried playing Finfin but when I launch the GTK or even SDL files, it only gives me an error saying "Transfer folder is Un bytes. Please make sure the total size of the folder contents are under 2.78mb (2,924,544 bytes). How do I fix this?

That check is there in place as QEMU will not launch if the Transfer folder is over a certain size, however I've never seen it say its "Un" bytes before. If you haven't placed anything in the folder and its saying this, I'm not sure what could be causing it.

You'll need to use the .bat script to launch, but you should be able to fix this by just removing the check by deleting this portion of the script. Just edit the file with notepad or something, and remove everything in the image below.

If that still doesn't work, just delete everything except for the QEMU launch at the bottom.

[the-jade-palace]

It worked, thank you so much! I apologize for not clarifying earlier, the game was just running very slow.

Glad to hear it! I'll upload modified version of the executables to the 'Extras' folder later today, busy at the moment.

[the-jade-palace]

Hey! I was able to download finfin (you've done a huge service for the community by the way, thank you so much), but i've run into massive amounts of lag when entering new contactee and the main game. Is there any way to fix this, or at least decrease the amount of lag?

When you say lag, is it running incredibly slow, or is the screen just stuttering?

For whatever reason, when the screen is moving from side to side or up and down in the menu and new contact it can appear laggy but this is normal and occurs on real hardware as well, its just an issue with how Windows 98 is handling the rendering, but it doesn't effect anything in game outside of the menus. If that's not what you mean, and there is a significant amount of lag then your best bet is probably to alter the launching script to be a bit less resource intensive. If you right click the batch file and select edit, it should open up in notepad. Replace these lines

-m 256 ^ -cpu pentium3 ^

With

-m 128 ^ -cpu pentium ^

This will instead use 128 mb of ram, and and emulate a pentium 1 instead of a pentium 3. Keep in mind this is emulation, even the slowest modern PCs in terms of sheer performance demolish the requirements for Fin Fin, but with emulation there is a lot of performance lost in the "translation" between machines.

This is still be enough for the game to run completely fine, but should be less intensive on the host machine, which is probably the source of lag, as all releases use the same emulated system. It will likely decrease performance elsewhere in things like loading time though, so keep that in mind.

If this does work for you, please send another ask letting me know! Ill upload altered launching .exes with the changed parameters to the MEGA folder.

[the-jade-palace]

trying to download fin fin but mega suddenly requires download the app + make an account 😮‍💨

You should still be able to download it without an account on desktop. I'm not sure why it was changed or if this is new(?) but if instead of pressing the download button at the top of the page, you right click the file or press the three dots on the right hand side and then click that download it will work.

You can also use the small arrow button at the bottom. Pretty much just every download button but the green one at the top will work.

[the-jade-palace]

Hi! I've been playing finfin on qemu recently, and I have a question. I copied some screenshots to the floppy disk to transfer them out onto my PC, but now when I try to delete them from the floppy disc (while inside qemu), qemu crashes.

I was wondering if it's safe to delete the files from outside of qemu (from my actual PC, while qemu is off), or if that might cause issues. Just want to make sure that doesn't mess anything up, hehe.

Everything aside from that still works fine, so worst case scenario I'll just leave the transfer folder as it is now. Really enjoying teo so far, thanks in advance :)

Yeah that's an issue with QEMU as the shared drive is still somewhat experimental.

You can safely delete the files while from the host as long as QEMU isn't running, it won't mess with anything.

You can also open the virtual hard drives (.qcw files in the Data folder) using 7-zip to access and copy files that way.

[the-jade-palace]

is there any way you would make a version (or translation/text injection/replacement tool) of fin fin on qemu using the other languages available in the 4-world version?

i found out that version has my language, and would like to experience the 6-world version in it, even if it would be missing some text for the extra worlds, id assume.

Its definitely something I've been meaning to do! Unfortunately the changing of the text in the map is a fairly involved process as I understand it, even not including the text for things like the shortcuts and other programs.

Given how many languages the game is available in, its just something that while take a while especially as English is my only language.

Right now a German version is pretty much at the top of the list, but if you'd be willing to reach out to assist with the translation for your language it would definitely help make it happen a lot faster!

[the-jade-palace]

Hi it's the "Un byte" error anon, it worked once when I did the second step, but hours later when I tried launching it again it gave me the same error. Thank you for your patience

It shouldn't be possible for it to revert, are you trying to launch the .EXEs? To avoid this error only the batch scripts can be used, as the EXEs are still trying to give a warning. Also make sure you are using the batch script that was edited, or just update both with the check removed.

[the-jade-palace]

hey! i downloaded fin fin on qemu but i cant seem to get it to register my mic? i dont know where to find an option to pick a recording device either, any help is appreciated!

As of now there isn't a way to specify the audio input device for QEMU, I believe its possible with a command but I'm not sure.

Rather, it will just use whatever the default audio device is on Windows. You can view this by going to the Control Panel, then "Hardware and Sound", then "Sound", and then selecting the Recording tab at the top. Which ever device is listed as the Default is what QEMU will use.

If the correct device is already the default, make sure to try increasing the sensitivity in the "Microphone Setup" program in Fin Fin on QEMU.