NiGHTS Into Dreams Reverse Engineering Project

Update 11/16/2021: Lots of new stuff

Since I last updated this site on 9/30/2021, a lot has changed. More people have joined the ripping project and we've discovered a lot of new things. For one thing, we have started to figure out the basics of how to extract textures and sprites from the original Saturn version and its beta rom, and I can guarantee some very exciting discoveries are in store. Also, we have discovered what part of the data determines which textures are applied to the game's models. This has allowed for the creation of eldritch abominations, as well as new discoveries about how certain unused models are meant to look. I added this feature to my asset ripper and I highly recommend you check it out.

Updates on extracted data from HD NiGHTS into Dreams:

Nightopian data (DAL... .BIN files):

Some more research has been done on the "Mecha NiGHTS" toy. The strange object found found in the below images turns out to be a remote controller which Nightopians hold to control the NiGHTS toy. There are two versions of the remote, a smaller one found in DATPS2_ALIFEOBJ_039.BIN and a larger one in DAL_PS2_OBJ_ST6.BIN. By modifying the save file to cause the Mecha NiGHTS toy to appear in-game, it can be observed that Nightopians hold the smaller version of the remote at first, but if they toss the remote away it switches to the larger model.

Character models (DAT... .BIN files):

Jackle's extra cape turns out to be the culprit of a conspicuous graphical error during his boss fight. This second cape is used whenever Jackle is hit. The fact that this second cape is turned 90 degrees from the normal cape and is mapped to Jackle's prototype texture causes it to stand on its collar and gain blue spots. Unfortunately, fixing this issue is difficult and likely impossible without hacking the game's exe file. This is for a few reasons. First, Jackle's correct cape has more vertices than the incorrect version, meaning that replacing it would involve making Jackle's model data longer. Second, because the offsets of model and texture data are hardcoded into the exe, attempting to change the length of these blocks of data results in the game reading the wrong types of data, causing a crash. Modifying the exe file to solve this, however, is a challenge because it appears to contain a checksum that prevents the game from running if any part of the exe file is changed.

In addition, the discovery of how to automatically apply textures to models has revealed that several of the Nightopian faces found in DATNIGHTOPIAN.BIN are identical for some reason. Also of note is that it is now possible to see what each of NiGHTS' morphs would have looked like in-game.

DEFFECT files:

Referring back to this image: It is now known for sure that the "target-like" texture is used for paralooping and the footprint texture is indeed used for footprints.

In addition, the statement that the white squares from DEFFECT_SS.BIN were opaque and unused is false. They have partial transparency, but my program has not been able to render what this is actually meant to look like.

DENE Files:

KetrinDarkDragon has done some digging in the Saturn version to confirm that the "Nightmaren eggs" found in the DENE... .BIN files are also present in the original game and are also associated with the levels each Nightmaren is native to, rather than collected in files for A-life as normal Mepian eggs are. This suggests that Nightmaren may have truly been intended to reproduce at some point in the game's development.

DGAMEUI3D.BIN

The Ideya Capture models found in this file are not used in Saturn Dreams but are in fact used in the Dream Data level maps.

DITEM... .BIN files:

With the discovery of how the game textures its models, it is now clear that the Ideya Palace-like object found in DITEM_COM_SS.BIN is indeed a prototype version of the Ideya Palace. Below is a new render of this object, although some textures are warped due to differences between the Saturn's programming and modern methods of 3d rendering.

DiGi Valentine clarified that the name on the statue plaque in DITEM_ST5_PIA_PS2.BIN looks like "Huarenjie" which means "Chinatown" in Chinese. This, he noted, is fitting because the PS2 remaster was developed in a Chinese studio.

DITEM_ST6_MARE_PS2.BIN and DITEM_ST6_MARE_SS.BIN both have versions of the red graphic which is displayed on the ceiling of Reala's boss fight. However, the corresponding graphic discovered in the Saturn version by Maresuke on www.nightsintodreams.com is not the same as those used in the remaster. Below is a comparison of the three (left = Brand New Dreams, center = remastered Saturn Dreams, right = original Saturn version).

Both of the remaster's versions of this graphic appear to be warped, widening Reala's face compared to the original image. They also both lack the circle of lights around the edges. Discord user jpeg suggested that this might be to make the ribbon around Reala closer to a circular shape, and Gigglyman pointed out that in the Saturn version's boss fight, the yellow lights are meant to blink on and off. The remaster lacks these lights entirely, perhaps part of a broader problem involving switching textures on models. It seems that the data format used to store model data only allows one texture to be assigned to any particular face, preventing the game from switching textures to create animated effects. This in turn may explain why Elliot and Claris each have an additional "mask" model that is used to show them with closed eyes rather than changing the eye texture on the models themselves, and why neither version of NiGHTS blinks as they did in the Saturn version.

shp... .bin files:

These files contain alternate morphs for character models, such as for NiGHTS' various transformations and other models such as Gillwing's that change during gameplay. These are relatively easy to modify by switching the positions of different morphs' data, allowing for interesting combinations such as mermaid NiGHTS on land. Interestingly, although Saturn Dreams NiGHTS' morphs are already found in DATNIGHTS_SS.BIN, the game does not appear to use these, instead transforming NiGHTS based on an identical set of vertices found in shp_nights_ss.bin. The fact that the game only uses shp file data to morph character models proves that Reala's drill dash transformation is indeed unused, as no shp data exists for Reala.

Below are examples of shenanigans that can be achieved through modification of shp files: