[Tool] Ace Attorney Offline (Download Cases)

[falko17]

If you want to back up some AAO cases (or just download them to play them without internet), I've now written a tool for that called Ace Attorney Offline (aaoffline). It's available here: https://github.com/falko17/aaoffline (the latest release, including a downloadable EXE, is always available here—choose the "gui" version if you're unsure)

It downloads all referenced assets and scripts for the case and creates a version of it that works completely offline. The GitHub page linked above describes some additional features (e.g., applying Time Axis' user scripts, outputting a single HTML file, removing Photobucket watermarks) and how to install and use it. Since version 2.0.0, this program now has a GUI if you choose to run aaoffline-gui(.exe) (shown in the screenshot below). You can hover over most of the options to get additional explanations. If you still wish to run the command-line version, just download the "aaoffline" (i.e., without "-gui") version.

Spoiler : Screenshot of the GUI :

I should note that this isn't an official tool, and I can't make any guarantees that it'll always work. If you notice a problem or have a feature request, feel free to tell me either in this thread or by opening an issue in GitHub.

[TimeAxis]

I gave it a try with a couple of my cases. Didn't run into any issues specific to this tool (although some of my cases ended up being affected by the merged frame AAO bug, so I hope you'll update the tool once AAO gets updated). There are still some unused default assets being downloaded like the courthouse and detention center and stuff, but that's not a super big deal. Very cool though. Thanks again for making this.

[falko17]

some of my cases ended up being affected by the merged frame AAO bug, so I hope you'll update the tool once AAO gets updated

You could actually work around the new merged frame behavior by just choosing an older version (although this older version would of course not have all the bugfixes included in the newest version). For example, by running aaoffline with "-p 01c7623f02b452a025dc4511e7e68349eb72ea81", it uses the player version one commit before the merged frame change.
Also, ideally, I won't even have to change the script once AAO updates, as it by default uses the most recent version of the AAO player. It'll only break if a part of AAO changes that the script directly touches, such as the way the trial information is stored. Still, I'll run the tests regularly (it might be a good idea to automate this and run them once per day or so on GitHub Actions, I'll look into that later) and update the tool as soon as possible once they fail.

There are still some unused default assets being downloaded like the courthouse and detention center and stuff

Oh, I didn't notice that and will look into it soon, thanks for telling me.

[Enthalpy]

For what it's worth, the next AAO change shouldn't change trial_information.

[falko17]

I've updated the tool now to v1.2.0 with some additional features:

• Cases in a sequence are "connected" properly (i.e., redirection to other cases in the sequence along with variable/HP transfer works).
• Photobucket watermarks are automatically removed from case assets.
• Downloads are automatically retried a few times if they fail.
• I've fixed a bunch of bugs, thanks to detailed bug reports by Time Axis.

[K_G]

Tested this with TTT and works really well so far. This tool is very cool and important for case preservation too. I always hoped something like this would exist someday.

[Kroki]

I tried the tool and was able to play the downloaded case perfectly fine !

It took me some time to figure out you have to run the program from the terminal...

It's funny that this functionnality suddendly just pops up after sounding like a distant idea for 17 years, lol, great job !

[Crazalu]

Saw the reason why the test for my case was removed. File garden wasn't gone, their domain got blocked but it got resolved a few days later.

[falko17]

I've put out a 2.0.0 version of aaoffline that should make it significantly easier to use, since it now has a GUI and no longer needs to be run in the terminal. I updated the original post in this thread with more information.

Saw the reason why the test for my case was removed. File garden wasn't gone, their domain got blocked but it got resolved a few days later.

Ah, thanks for telling me, I'll re-add the test then.

[TimeAxis]

This is very cool, and way more user friendly. Nice job. (Just a heads up, not a major issue, but on Windows, the window title is "eframe template". I assume you forgot to change that. Not that it really matters.)

[falko17]

[...] on Windows, the window title is "eframe template". I assume you forgot to change that. Not that it really matters.

Whoops, right, thanks for telling me, should be fixed now.

[candycrust]

Just started playing through the Torrential Turnabout (my first AAO case ever) using files exported thanks to your tool. Incredible work, thank you for this falko17. It is so much more convenient than the online site! I'm especially loving the Backlog, 2x zoom and Night Mode. "Instant text typing" sometimes fast forwards through mid-typing animations I don't want to fast forward through, so I'm forced to use it sparingly.

[candycrust]

Finished reading TTT (all 9 chapters) with the help of this downloader and I must say thank you for creating this great tool! It was a lot better experience than trying to read the case directly on AAO thanks to all the QoLs you added. Not to mention the data preservation and archival benefits.

I think I found one problem though - in chapter 3 of TTT there is a moment where

Spoiler : :

"Edgeworth" suggests a few theories in a row as an explanation for something (I don't remember what exactly). For the gag to work, the bottom screen should show an animation of a menu from which "Edgeworth" selects his answers, similar to the one that player uses for their choices.

However, nothing like this is shown - an icon of a missing image was shown in the bottom screen instead. I asked Acid Rain in PM about this and their reply was

As for the missing image issue... I have reason to suspect the Offline tool on this one. The particular function being used for that gag is one of the few examples where you can link to a graphic without first adding it to your Backgrounds tab in the editor. That being the case, it's reasonable to assume that the Offline tool may not have grabbed that file. Also, I'm not having any problems with it when I test in my browser :p

I downloaded the case around 18th of April, using the latest (graphical) version of the downloader available on GitHub at that time. So if a bugfix has been made since then, sorry for double reporting. But in case it hasn't, maybe Acid Rain could elaborate here with more details on what that function is and how it links to graphics in some other way? This could be helpful in finding the root cause of the issue. :)

[¿Acid Rain?]

Finished reading TTT (all 9 chapters) with the help of this downloader and I must say thank you for creating this great tool! It was a lot better experience than trying to read the case directly on AAO thanks to all the QoLs you added. Not to mention the data preservation and archival benefits.

I think I found one problem though - in chapter 3 of TTT there is a moment where

Spoiler : :

"Edgeworth" suggests a few theories in a row as an explanation for something (I don't remember what exactly). For the gag to work, the bottom screen should show an animation of a menu from which "Edgeworth" selects his answers, similar to the one that player uses for their choices.

However, nothing like this is shown - an icon of a missing image was shown in the bottom screen instead. I asked Acid Rain in PM about this and their reply was

As for the missing image issue... I have reason to suspect the Offline tool on this one. The particular function being used for that gag is one of the few examples where you can link to a graphic without first adding it to your Backgrounds tab in the editor. That being the case, it's reasonable to assume that the Offline tool may not have grabbed that file. Also, I'm not having any problems with it when I test in my browser :p

I downloaded the case around 18th of April, using the latest (graphical) version of the downloader available on GitHub at that time. So if a bugfix has been made since then, sorry for double reporting. But in case it hasn't, maybe Acid Rain could elaborate here with more details on what that function is and how it links to graphics in some other way? This could be helpful in finding the root cause of the issue.

To follow up on this, the action in question ("Ask player to point to an area") lets you choose what is displayed on the bottom screen by selecting either a user-defined place, a pre-defined place, or a custom picture. In this example, I was using a custom picture which calls for a direct link to an external site without having to import the image into the editor.

[falko17]

Thank you for the report, candycrust, and thank you Acid Rain for the additional information (and, of course, for making TTT :‍D)! This is indeed a bug in aaoffline, custom pictures for PointArea's aren't downloaded properly. I've created an issue for this and will try to fix this over the next few days.