Script Variables

Script variables are encoded values which may be passed wherever a command or function expects a literal. The script engine recognizes the encoding and reads or writes the corresponding storage.

Variable Types

Name	Description	Capacity	First encoded value
*GameByte[i]	Saved byte from the original game data.	0x200	F5DE0180 (-170m)
*GameFlag[i]	Saved flag from the original game data.	0x800	F8405B80 (-130m)
*ModByte[i]	Additional saved byte installed by Star Rod.	0x1000	---
*ModFlag[i]	Additional saved flag installed by Star Rod.	0x8000	---
*AreaByte[i]	Byte cleared when the player changes area.	0x10	F70F2E80 (-150m)
*AreaFlag[i]	Flag cleared when the player changes area.	0x100	F9718880 (-110m)
*MapVar[i]	Word local to the current world map or battle stage.	0x10	FD050F80 (-50m)
*MapFlag[i]	Flag local to the current world map or battle stage.	0x60	FAA2B580 (-90m)
*Fixed[0.3]	Fixed-point value with 1/1024 precision.	±19,531	F24A7A80 (-230m)
*Array[i]	Word from an allocated script array.	Varies	F4ACD480 (-190m)
*FlagArray[i]	Flag from an allocated script array.	Varies	F37BA780 (-210m)
*VarX	Local word in the current Evt context.	0x10	FE363C80 (-30m)
*Flag[i]	Local flag in the current Evt context.	0x60	FBD3E280 (-70m)

Flags are packed from least-significant to most-significant bit within each word: 1F 1E ... 01 00, followed by 3F 3E ... 21 20, and so on.

An index may be numeric or a named constant:

*Var4
*GameByte[80]
*GameByte[.SomeConstant]

Temp variables are reserved for compiler-generated expressions. A script may declare descriptive variables which Star Rod maps to Dynamic storage, but should not treat the compiler’s temporary stack as persistent storage.

Lifetimes

Local variables and flags belong to one running Evt context. Exec, ExecWait, Thread, and ChildThread initialize the new context with copies of the caller’s local values. Later changes remain local to the new context. Allocated *Array and *FlagArray storage is instead shared with these child and parallel scripts.

*MapVar and *MapFlag use world-map storage in the world context and separate stage storage in the battle context. Stage values are cleared when a battle begins. World values are left untouched during battle, restored when the world context resumes, and cleared when another map is entered.

This stage storage is separate from the battle variables accessed by SetBattleVar and GetBattleVar, which are used to share state among actors. The original game does not appear to use the stage map-variable storage, but the script engine provides it.

Area bytes and flags are cleared when the player enters another area. They are useful for temporary state shared by several maps in the same area.

Game and mod bytes and flags are saved. Give them project-wide names through the files described in Globals.

Integer and Float Accessors

get_variable - 802C7ABC

Register	Value
A0	Evt*, or null when local variables do not need to resolve.
A1	Literal or encoded script variable.
V0	Resolved integer value.

set_variable - 802C8098

Register	Value
A0	Evt*, or null when local variables do not need to resolve.
A1	Literal or encoded script variable.
A2	New value.
V0	Previous value.

get_float_variable - 802C842C

Register	Value
A0	Evt*.
A1	Literal or encoded script variable.
F0	Resolved floating-point value.

set_float_variable - 802C8640

Register	Value
A0	Evt*.
A1	Literal or encoded script variable.
A2	New value.
F0	Previous floating-point value.

Fixed-Point Conversion

fixed_var_to_float at 802C4920 takes an encoded fixed-point value in A0 and returns a float in F0. Ordinary integer values outside the encoded range are converted to the same numeric value as a float.

float_to_fixed_var at 802C496C takes a float in F12 and returns the encoded fixed-point representation in V0. It does not range-check the result; keep the magnitude no greater than 19,531.

Saved and Area Accessors

Function	Behavior
set_global_flag (80145450)	Set a game flag from an index or encoded value; return the old value.
get_global_flag (801454BC)	Read a game flag from an index or encoded value.
set_global_byte (80145520)	Set a game byte from an index or encoded value; return the old value.
get_global_byte (80145538)	Read a game byte from an index or encoded value.
set_area_byte (80145638)	Set an area byte from a raw index; return the old value.
get_area_byte (80145650)	Read an area byte from a raw index.
set_area_flag (801455A0)	Set an area flag from a raw index; return the old value.
get_area_flag (801455F0)	Read an area flag from a raw index.