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Changing HP bar speed(Platinum/HGSS)

Author(s): AdAstra (original), SpagoAsparago (reformatting)
Research: AdAstra, Mikelan98, Nitram

This is a tutorial on how to change the HP Bar speed in gen 4 games. You'll need an Hex Editor and either Tinke 0.9.2 (Platinum) or CrystalTile2 (HGSS).

Table of Contents​

Cy's Hex Macros​

For Platinum, if 2x speed is enough for your needs, you can use Cy's Hex Macros.

Run the program and select the arm9.bin in your DSPRE's extracted folder, then click the appropriate button. When you load your project in DSPRE in order to export the ROM, remember to not re-extract it.

Hex Editing​

If you're using HGSS or want a different speed for Platinum, you need to hex edit the appropriate files. All offsets provided are based on the US ROM(s) and might be different on another version.

Extracting the files​

  • Platinum: Since Platinum overlays aren't compressed, you can just use the overlay_0016.bin file in the YourROMNAme_DSPRE_contents/overlay folder generated by DSPRE. Alternatively you can extract it with Tinke by searching verlay_9_16 and clicking Extract.

  • HGSS: HGSS overlays are compressed instead, so you can use CrystalTile2 to extract them already decompressed. After you've loaded your ROM, click the NDS icon in the top bar, it should open a window called NDS filesystem information. From there, select overlay_0022.bin, right click and select Extract (U)

Changing the Speed​

Open the overlay in a hex editor, then go to the following offset:

  • HGSS: 0x2E17A
  • Platinum: 0x2D046

Then, replace the bytes at this offset with the following sequence, depending on the speed you want to have:

HGSS
Byte SequenceSpeed
80 01x0.25
C0 01x0.5
40 02x2
80 02x4
C0 02x8

If you want a speed that is not listed above:

HGSS - Custom Speed
  1. You'll need to use either Shell-storm online assembler and disassembler or an assembler like Armips
  2. Assemble the instruction LSLS R0, R0, #yourNumber, with the default #yourNumber being 8, which means the base speed is 2^8 = 256.
  3. Paste the assembled bytes in the overlay
Platinum
Byte SequenceSpeed
88 1Ex2
C8 1Ex3
08 1Fx4
48 1Fx5
88 1Fx6
C8 1Fx7

If you want to fine-tune the speed Animation:

How to fine-tune the speed Animation (HGSS only):

  1. If you haven't already, you need to expand the arm9 using DSPRE's toolbox

  2. Paste this at 0x14FF0 of your synthetic overlay file:

2D 2D 48 50 20 42 41 52 20 53 50 45 45 44 2D 2D
80 21 49 00 48 43 11 1C 70 47 C0 46 FF FF FF FF

  • The first byte of the second row (default is 0x80) represents the speed "fine control".

  • 80 21 49 00 means the speed is 128*2 = 256. [x1]

  • A0 21 49 00 means the speed is 160*2 = 320. [x1.25]

  • C0 21 49 00 means the speed is 192*2 = 384. [x1.5]

  • ...up to FF 21 49 00, which means the speed is 255*2 = 510. [x1.9921]

  • The third byte of the second row (default is 0x49) acts as a cumulative multiplier, or "coarse control".

  • Increasing that value will allow you to set the speed even higher.

  • 60 21 89 00 means the speed is 96*4 = 384. [x1.5]

  • 80 21 89 00 means the speed is 128*4 = 512. [x2]

  • EC 21 89 00 means the speed is 236*4 = 944. [x3.6875]

  • ...up to FF 21 89 00, which means the speed is 255*4 = 1020. [x3.9843]

  1. Paste 77 F1 D1 FA at 0x2E17A offset of uncompressed overlay12.

Reinserting the files​

  • For Platinum, if you edited the overlay in DSPRE's content folder, just load your ROM in DSPRE and export it. Remember to not re-extract the contents. If you extracted the overlay with Tinke, just do the same steps you did for extracting it, but this time use the Change File button and select your extracted overlay you modified.
  • For HGSS, in CrystalTile's NDS filesystem information window, you can select the overlay you previously extracted, right click and this time click Compression, then select your own hex edited overlay. After you're done you can use File>Build ROM... to save your ROM.