Time Lord: No Flashing

This hack removes a flashing effect from the game due to concerns that it may trigger seizures in people with photosensitive epilepsy. If you experience this type of problem or plan on streaming the game to others, it may be worth applying this hack before playing.

If you're not familiar with the effect, it was used along with a sound effect to indicate that something is happening in response to player actions necessary for collecting a few of the orbs in the game. The vagueness of this description is just because more detail could spoil how to collect those orbs. The flashing effect is nice as a cue for indicating that you've done something, but for most people, the associated sound effect that remains in the game should be enough.


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Time Lord - (USA) - NES #
No flashing patch #
by BlahGrahBlarg #
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### CONTENTS ###
This package includes:
* This readme
* A ".bps" version of the patch
* A ".ips" version of the patch

Both patch files are the same but in different formats. It is generally safer to use the ".bps" file, but if you are applying this patch after another patch, you *must* use the ".ips" file instead. Use alongside other hacks is possible but not guaranteed.

### WHAT YOU NEED ###
* The patch (either the ".bps" or ".ips" file)
* The original rom file (USA version, not EU)
* A patching tool of your choice (my recommendation is "Floating IPS" - also known as "Flips" -> https://www.romhacking.net/utilities/1040/)

### HOW TO USE ###
This guide assumes you use "Floating IPS" (aka "Flips") for the patching process, but it should be similar to other patching programs:

1. Open the patcher and select "Apply Patch"
2. Select the patch file (either the ".bps" or ".ips" file) and confirm
3. Select the original game file and confirm
4. Save the new patched file in a directory of your choice

Your file has been now patched and is ready to be played. :)

### FAQ ###
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Q: What does this patch do?
A: This patch removes the flashing effect that occurs at certain points in the game when collecting orbs. This effect was originally used along with a sound effect to indicate that something is happening. The flashing effect might be useful for new players, but it also may cause problems for some players and/or people who are watching someone else play the game, as described below. The associated sound effect remains in the game as a cue.
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Q: Why was this patch made?
A: Flashing effects such as the ones used in this game can have the potential to trigger seizures in people with photosensitive epilepsy.
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Q: How does the patch work technically?
A: During certain sequences, the game would overwrite the background color palettes to new ones containing 0F for the universal background color and 14 for all other colors. These are the palettes for each flash in the flashing sequence. Due to the way the game uses palettes, the current stage background palettes that are overwritten with 14s are stored in CPU RAM starting at $03F2 before being sent to the PPU. The code that changes these colors in the CPU RAM to 14 occurs in a loop, changing one color/byte at a time. This patch leaves the loop structure alone but replaces the instruction within the loop for actually changing each color (three bytes, five cycles) with "CMP $00, NOP" (C5 00 EA; two instructions, three bytes, five cycles). By replacing that instruction with a series of instructions that do nothing, the change to 14 doesn't happen and the preexisting stage background colors remain. All other code was left as is.
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Q: I plan to make a rom hack of Time Lord and want to use this change.
A: Feel free to use it! Please just give credit.

### ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ###
Big thanks to nintendesi for bringing up this potential issue in Time Lord, Hiro-sofT for the inspiration to even try to make this change, link_7777 for providing the cycle-accurate replacement code, and nintendesi and link_7777 for testing it in the levels I don't have the skill to reach myself.

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Database match: Time Lord (USA)
Database: No-Intro: Nintendo Entertainment System (v. 20210216-231042)
File SHA-1: E9061DDCD4D25D8E0F46B4C0A7DC8F81B3420D3B
File CRC32: E37AD9FB
ROM SHA-1: A2D029E51A8E3D92BA17CB2E0A7D96FBC91D96CF
ROM CRC32: 13D5B1A4