Odd Discovery in Mars Lighthouse

[Plexa]

So my good friend Bloodduster found this today: http://www.twitch.tv/bloodduster/v/16027481
Essentially, in Mars 2 (i.e. after the lighthouse has been activated) if you ascend one of the four elemental towers (excluding venus) and after using Blaze to activate the flame you enter retreat mode (get to less than 6 PP, use retreat on a hotkey) and cast Blaze a second time you will activate the Venus tower's flame. If you climb the Venus tower and try this you simply activate the venus flame again.

This is a little bit perplexing because entering retreat mode makes the game think Felix is in the first room of the dungeon (which in this case is the entrance to Mars lighthouse) and there is no flame to activate there. Additionally, casting blaze anywhere else in retreat mode doesn't appear to have any effect. So from my naive point of view, there's no reason why this should work.

[Plexa]

Well I worked it out; the elemental tower flames are all in the same map but with different objects loaded into the map i.e. like vale/vault/etc sanctums. The game knows which flame to turn on by checking the door that you entered from

1= venus
2= merc
3= mars
4= jupiter

So if you can manipulate the door, you can manipulate the flame generated. It so happens that retreat sends you to Map 279 Door 1, seeing as it only checks the door the glitch happens.

Now we just need to learn how to manipulate the door....

[Daddy Poi's Oily Gorillas]

(excluding venus)

Makes me wonder if the flag raised is based on door you came from? (I guess I should look it up.) - Then again, I don't have to look it up. Thanks for the info, though. -

but with different objects loaded into the map

Hm? I'm probably missing something obvious here... But from what I think I know about the Retreat Glitch:
-It causes only the map and door numbers to update.
-Map Code files can be shared across maps/rooms, and when an exit is taken, the map's exit list is located (like this), and scanned.
-Most other data (Like events table - See address 0x02030010 for events pointer.) do not change. (These are assigned on loading a room.) - So when an event is done, the map's events is retrieved from 0x02030010, and the data is scanned. Which means the events that are scanned are not the retreat-to room, but the one you are still in. - Of course, if you Saved/restarted, then you would get the retreat-to room, since it would load in its entirety... and you'd be at whatever coord you saved at previously.

(As far as I know, anyway.)


Several types of things Retreat Glitch can have you thinking about.
Exits glitch - Map Number is checked at exits.
Save/restart - Because you get more control of your coords for going out-of-bounds.
Events = When things are based off door numbers.... (Could be even possible to abuse some encounters with door-based encounters? Still map-specific, though. Edit again: Ofcourse, I'd need to see if that's possible.)
Etc.

[Plexa]

Oh I don't mean the retreat glitch when I'm talking about 'loading stuff into the same map'. Probably to save space there's a bunch of rooms that are used multiple times, but different object/actors loaded into the room depending on where you came from. The first instance of this is vale/vault/bilibin sanctum which is physically the same room but either vale or vault or bilibin actors loaded into the room depending on how you ended up there. The top of the elemental towers happens to behave the same way. As such when the retreat glitch manipulates the door value (by setting it to 1 in this case) the game thinks its in the Venus tower and activates that flag instead.

[Daddy Poi's Oily Gorillas]

Oh yes... Got it... I guess I was right about "missing something obvious"...
Seems this games does a lot of copy/pasting/recycling... From palette swaps on tilesets, to room templates like Sanctums/Trial Roads/etc.
-

[Plexa]

Ugh that reminds me I really should go through the game and work out every instance of rooms being reused...

[Daddy Poi's Oily Gorillas]

Okay, good luck. Let me know if you find anything new and interesting.
Really wish the Retreat Glitch was more useful.... (And/or really wish there was another glitch as useful as the Retreat Glitch or better.)

[Plexa]

It already is insanely useful though :)
Major Skip: Kandorean Temple, Shrine of the Sea God (for trident), Dehkan Plateau, Airs Rock interior/exterior, Tundaria -> Madra after Trident, Magma Rock, Mars Lighthouse 2 (in OP), Anemos Inner Sanctum
Minor Skip: King Scorpion -> Gondowan Passage, after Gabomba; Kibombo Mountains -> Madra, Aqua Rock interior/exterior, Shaman Village (early Aroma)
No Useful Skip: Yampi Desert, Gaia Rock (0-light serpent OP), Madra Catacombs
No Skips: Gabomba Statue, Ankhol Ruins, Jupiter Lighthouse, Trial road, Shaman Village Cave (can't retreat), Sea of Time, Taopo Swamp, Mars Lighthouse 1, Sea of Time Islet, Treasure Isle, Izumo Ruins

In addition to there being useful retreat cheats in Dehkan Plateau, very early Iris and early Anemos.

But yes, it would be nice if there were other equally useful glitches!