Field/Model Viewers in JP 5.45 VOOT (Dreamcast)

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Field/Model Viewers in JP 5.45 VOOT (Dreamcast)

Post by The World - 2.0 »

Hello, everyone! It's been awhile since I've been on the forums. I have something I want ask you guys in regards to a couple of hidden features that are only found in the Japanese 5.45 version of VOOT for Dreamcast.

Apparently, the Cust-Plus loader can unlock a field viewer and a Virtuaroid model viewer that are both hidden in the game somewhere. I emailed Scott Robinson(the creator of the Cust-Plus loader)two and a half years ago asking him if it was at all possible to use Cust-Plus on a Dreamcast Emulator. I figured doing that was impossible, since he told me he didn't have time to get his Dreamcast build environment working again. However, he did also tell me that the field and model viewers were a "two byte patch in memory."

So now I'm attempting to use Cheat Engine's Memory Viewer in conjunction with my Dreamcast emulator in the hopes of patching the memory so I can access the field and model viewers. The only clue I have found so far is, while the Dreamcast emulator process is running(and while the game is on the main menu screen), I used Cheat Engine's Memory Viewer and searched for the text word "viewer." My search yielded 2 results, both of which can be seen highlighted in red letters and circled in the picture I've attached to this post.

But apart from that, I don't know where or how to start the patching procedure. Most likely because I don't believe I have any record of anyone trying anything like this in the past. And trust me when I say I've searched everywhere on the internet. Youtube videos, various forums, tutorials, and so on. So if anyone can please assist me in any possible way, I would greatly appreciate it. :)
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Viewer clue.png
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"I am the ultimate being... There is no hope... My hammer of death shall rain down upon you."
-The World ~ Type-β, from House of the Dead 4.

Favorite VRs: VOOT Angelan, Fei-Yen Kn, and Temjin.
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Re: Field/Model Viewers in JP 5.45 VOOT (Dreamcast)

Post by Porcupine »

Okay that's just text, but it's very helpful for determining two things: 1) these rumored viewers exist 2) they can likely be enabled via secret option menu settings since the other text around them looks like menu text.

There's no data or anything else in the memory region you found though, it's just words.

Any two-byte patch in memory would be located in a completely different memory address. Try changing various option menu settings and doing memory compares just before and after, and try to map out where the data for each menu setting is. If you find a blank or suspicious area in there, that could be your two-byte patch. Or it could be a lot harder to find than that...
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Re: Field/Model Viewers in JP 5.45 VOOT (Dreamcast)

Post by MentholMoose »

The debug mode definitely exists in JP VOOT and has map/model viewers. I didn't hear about any rumor otherwise I could have confirmed it. The menu option can be unlocked in US VOOT but it doesn't work (game crashes so the code is apparently gone or otherwise broken). I should have an Xploder save somewhere that unlocks these, I'll see if I can dig it up.
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Re: Field/Model Viewers in JP 5.45 VOOT (Dreamcast)

Post by MentholMoose »

Here are some old screenshots I found of the menus. I'm still looking for the Xploder save, though. Does anyone happen to have an Xploder image I can use to check my save files?

Image

Image

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Re: Field/Model Viewers in JP 5.45 VOOT (Dreamcast)

Post by The World - 2.0 »

MentholMoose wrote:Here are some old screenshots I found of the menus. I'm still looking for the Xploder save, though. Does anyone happen to have an Xploder image I can use to check my save files?
If you're talking about Dreamcast disc images(like cdi), there are plenty of disc images for Codebreaker(the US equivalent of Xploder) floating around on the internet. Or is that not going to work?
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"I am the ultimate being... There is no hope... My hammer of death shall rain down upon you."
-The World ~ Type-β, from House of the Dead 4.

Favorite VRs: VOOT Angelan, Fei-Yen Kn, and Temjin.
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Re: Field/Model Viewers in JP 5.45 VOOT (Dreamcast)

Post by MentholMoose »

Does the Codebreaker support Xploder save files (FCDCHEATS)?
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Re: Field/Model Viewers in JP 5.45 VOOT (Dreamcast)

Post by Porcupine »

If these modes can be unlocked via mere save file editing, then perhaps I did not look hard enough for secret menu options that could be unlocked via the save files in Xbox 360 VOOM, VOOT, and Force. I'll maybe look again sometime.
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Re: Field/Model Viewers in JP 5.45 VOOT (Dreamcast)

Post by The World - 2.0 »

MentholMoose wrote:Does the Codebreaker support Xploder save files (FCDCHEATS)?
After some very careful looking, I came across some Dreamcast VMU saves on http://bswirl.kitsunet.org a while ago, and saw some files in the "Codebreaker" section that had the name you mentioned, which was "fcdcheats, and also saw some more save files in the "Xploder" section, which amore files with the name "fcdcheats."

So I guess the answer is yes, Codebreaker does support Xploder save files. :)
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"I am the ultimate being... There is no hope... My hammer of death shall rain down upon you."
-The World ~ Type-β, from House of the Dead 4.

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Re: Field/Model Viewers in JP 5.45 VOOT (Dreamcast)

Post by MentholMoose »

Okay cool let me check the save files I have to see if any have the code to unlock the debug mode.
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Re: Field/Model Viewers in JP 5.45 VOOT (Dreamcast)

Post by The World - 2.0 »

MentholMoose wrote:Okay cool let me check the save files I have to see if any have the code to unlock the debug mode.
Alright, that sounds good to me. Thanks for taking the time to do this. :D
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"I am the ultimate being... There is no hope... My hammer of death shall rain down upon you."
-The World ~ Type-β, from House of the Dead 4.

Favorite VRs: VOOT Angelan, Fei-Yen Kn, and Temjin.
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Re: Field/Model Viewers in JP 5.45 VOOT (Dreamcast)

Post by The World - 2.0 »

@MentholMoose,

Sorry for the double post, but have you had any luck in finding the save file with the option to unlock debug mode?
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"I am the ultimate being... There is no hope... My hammer of death shall rain down upon you."
-The World ~ Type-β, from House of the Dead 4.

Favorite VRs: VOOT Angelan, Fei-Yen Kn, and Temjin.
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Re: Field/Model Viewers in JP 5.45 VOOT (Dreamcast)

Post by MentholMoose »

I couldn't figure out how to load the save file in Codebreaker. Any ideas?
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Re: Field/Model Viewers in JP 5.45 VOOT (Dreamcast)

Post by The World - 2.0 »

MentholMoose wrote:I couldn't figure out how to load the save file in Codebreaker. Any ideas?
...Dang. Well, I do have somewhat of an alternate idea, though I'm not sure what you'd think of it.

A little over 2 weeks ago, I actually managed to get the Debug mode working myself on the Demul Dreamcast Emulator with a Codebreaker .CDI image. Here's the thing though, I found that the process I used only works on one particular build of Demul, which is: Build 0.7A, build date 221215. I even took the liberty of putting together a Readme text file which details the exact steps I took in order to get it working. Shall I put it on my next post as an attachment so people can download it?

Off-Topic: My 50th post on the forums! Yay! :D
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"I am the ultimate being... There is no hope... My hammer of death shall rain down upon you."
-The World ~ Type-β, from House of the Dead 4.

Favorite VRs: VOOT Angelan, Fei-Yen Kn, and Temjin.
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Re: Field/Model Viewers in JP 5.45 VOOT (Dreamcast)

Post by Porcupine »

How did you get the debug mode working?
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Re: Field/Model Viewers in JP 5.45 VOOT (Dreamcast)

Post by The World - 2.0 »

Porcupine wrote:How did you get the debug mode working?
Ok, since it doesn't look like the forum accepts text files for attachments, I guess I'll just have to paste the contents of the readme file here so everyone can see. Get ready though, this is going to be quite long.

Code: Select all

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
How to enable VOOT Extras on a Dreamcast Emulator without Cust-Plus.


First and foremost, make [i]absolutely sure[/i] the Dreamcast emulator you're using is Demul version 0.7a, build date 221215. No other version has [i]fully[/i] functional disc swap functionality [i]and[/i] working Save functions.

Also, make sure you're using a .GDI version of VOOT, because .CDI version will not work.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Things you'll need:

1. At least a basic understanding of how Dreamcast hacking works,
2. Demul, version 0.7a, build date 221215,
3. A Wired Xbox 360 controller
4. A .CDI image of CodeBreaker for Dreamcast,
5. Virtual-On Oratorio Tangram .GDI(Japanese version)
6. This document, for reference.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Actual Hacking Process:

Step 1.   Open up "demul.exe."

Step 2.   Go to "Config->GD-ROM."

Step 3a.  If an image file is already chosen, click "Eject." Otherwise, skip to Step 3b.

Step 3b.  Click "Select," and find your CodeBreaker .cdi image and click "Open."

Step 4.   Click "OK."

Step 5.   Got to "File->Run Dreamcast." 

Step 6.   After the Dreamcast and Sega boot-up logos have appeared, You'll see a black screen with the words: "This Product is not endorsed or licenced by Sega Enterprises Ltd. Press a button to continue." 

Step 7.   Follow the prompt on-screen and you'll be at the CodeBreaker main menu.

Step 8.   Choose "Start Game."

Step 9.   The screen will say "Please Open Disc Lid."

Step 10.  Go to "Config->GD-ROM" again and click "Eject."

Step 11.  The screen will then say "Please Insert The New Disc."

Step 12.  Click "Select," find your Virtual-On Oratorio Tangram image and click "Open," and then "OK."

Step 13.  *IMPORTANT!* It may [i]seem[/i] like the emulator has frozen up after loading the new image. However this is [i]not[/i] the case. This is [u]normal[/u] for this version of Demul! Press the Y button on your controller(or the button that's assigned to it) and you'll be back at the CodeBreaker main menu. If the game hasn't been detected once before, go to Step 14a. Otherwise skip to Step 15.

Step 14a. If the game hasn't been detected once before, you'll see the following in purple letters:
	  "Following Game Detected"
	  "CYBER TROOPERS VIRTUAL-ON ORATORIO TANGRAM"
	  "START - Add Game to the cheats"

Step 14b. Press the Start Button on your controller(or the button assigned to it). You'll be taken to the Cheat Browser screen. You'll see that a new game entry is a the top of the list: "CYBER TROOPERS VIRTUAL-ON ORATORIO TANGRAM."

Step 14c. Using the button instructions on-screen, input any new cheat codes that you want to use for your gaming session.

Step 14d. When done, press Start. You'll be asked to either save or discard changes that were made. Press the A button to save.

Step 14e. If any cheats were activated, the Purple text should now say:
	  "(#) Cheats Selected For"
          "CYBER TROOPERS VIRTUAL-ON ORATORIO TANGRAM," in addition to
          "Following Game Detected"
          "CYBER TROOPERS VIRTUAL-ON ORATORIO TANGRAM"
          "START - Show Cheats for this game"

Step 15.  Choose "Start Game" and, if you followed the instructions [i]precisely[/i], you'll be taken to the VOOT startup screen, with the cheats(hopefully) activated!

Step 16.  *IMPORTANT!* If you want to change/add cheats the next time you play, do not forget to delete the file               named "dc.flash" in the "nvram" folder in the Demul directory after each gameplay session. This file is automatically created/modified whenever the emulator is turned off.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Some useful codes:

Enable Ajim Select
00CF9F05
00000001

Enable Gold Custom Heads(P1)
00CF9F17
00000001

Enable Silver Custom Heads(P1)
00CF9F17
00000002

Enable Gold Custom Heads(P2)
00CF9F18
00000001

Enable Silver Custom Heads(P2)
00CF9F18
00000002

Enable Prototype Temjin Select
00CF9F52
00000001

Enable Prototype Raiden Select
00CF9F53
00000001

Enable Debug Mode(works on JP version VOOT only)
00CF9F58
00000001

*IMPORTANT!*
The ONLY way to exit out of the field/model viewers is to press the A,B,X,Y and Start buttons simultaneously. This will cause a screen with the words "Reboot System" to appear for a second before before taking you back to the Main Title screen.

The only things codebreaker cannot do, I have found out, are: 
1. Showing raw health/V.Armor/damage values, and 
2. Enabling customized Virtuaroids for all game modes.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Special Thanks goes to

https://gamehacking.org/faqs/hackv500c.html for telling me what type of Dreamcast code is needed for enabling MOST extras in VOOT(which is the "Type-00" Dreamcast code).

Scott Robinson(the creator of the Cust-Plus loader) for telling me where the memory address for enabling Debug Mode is, as an example.
Last edited by The World - 2.0 on 10 Dec 2016, 14:23, edited 1 time in total.
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"I am the ultimate being... There is no hope... My hammer of death shall rain down upon you."
-The World ~ Type-β, from House of the Dead 4.

Favorite VRs: VOOT Angelan, Fei-Yen Kn, and Temjin.
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Re: Field/Model Viewers in JP 5.45 VOOT (Dreamcast)

Post by Porcupine »

Thanks, those memory locations will help me to possibly find debug modes in the save files of all three Xbox 360 games. But I'm not too hopeful so I won't try until some time next year. It would be even more helpful if you have the memory location in the Dreamcast VOOT save file, I'm assuming those are memory locations in RAM which can be very different.
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Re: Field/Model Viewers in JP 5.45 VOOT (Dreamcast)

Post by The World - 2.0 »

Porcupine wrote:Thanks, those memory locations will help me to possibly find debug modes in the save files of all three Xbox 360 games. But I'm not too hopeful so I won't try until some time next year. It would be even more helpful if you have the memory location in the Dreamcast VOOT save file, I'm assuming those are memory locations in RAM which can be very different.
The Memory locations I used came straight from VOOT's global game data structure. More info can be found here:

https://github.com/quad/voot/blob/maste ... gamedata.h

What I did, following Scott Robinson's instructions for enabling debug mode, was:

Code: Select all

GAMEDATA_OPT and _GAMEDATA_BASE both describe the address. So, for example, to enable debug mode, we look at:

uint8 debug_mode __attribute__ ((packed)); /* 0x8C: 0 is hidden. 1 is active. */

That means debug_mode is an 8-bit long unsigned integer (a single byte) located 0x8C bytes into the gamedata_opt structure.

GAMEDATA_OPT is _GAMEDATA_BASE + 0x9ecc

Which means:

(_GAMEDATA_BASE + 0x9ecc) + 0x8C = (0x8ccf0000 + 0x9ecc) + 0x8C = 0x8ccf9f58

After I found all that out, all I did was use a "type-00" Dreamcast codebreaker code to set the byte at 0x8ccf9f58 to 01, and it worked! :D
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"I am the ultimate being... There is no hope... My hammer of death shall rain down upon you."
-The World ~ Type-β, from House of the Dead 4.

Favorite VRs: VOOT Angelan, Fei-Yen Kn, and Temjin.
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Re: Field/Model Viewers in JP 5.45 VOOT (Dreamcast)

Post by The World - 2.0 »

Sorry in advance for the double/necropost, but I've recently(about 2 months ago) discovered an easier way to access the Debug mode and other extras on the Dreamcast version of VOOT.

Therefore, I'd like to ask that you guys please post in my newer topic, instead of this one, ok?

Here is the link: http://www.oratan.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=1640

Thanks, guys. :)
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"I am the ultimate being... There is no hope... My hammer of death shall rain down upon you."
-The World ~ Type-β, from House of the Dead 4.

Favorite VRs: VOOT Angelan, Fei-Yen Kn, and Temjin.
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