Sega Mega CD Hacks & Patches

[keeper7]

Mezmorize,
This weekend I tested the following games:

Chuck Rock II - Son of Chuck (U)
Invulnerability [OK]
Note 1: Only works on normal difficulty.
Note 2: At Lively Lava stage there are some higher platforms. If you fall into lava you won't be able to jump and reach them. Since you can't die you'll need to reset or load save state.
Note 3: Sometimes you'll stop to blink and become invisible for the rest of the game making impossible to play.

Invincibility [OK]
Note: Only works on normal difficulty.

Infinite Lives [OK]

Chuck Rock (U)
The hex strings for (U) version is different.
Invincibility (2nd instance) [OK]
364A6A0833FC

Infinite Lives [OK]
466A0460

Mickeymania (U)
Infinite Lives now works for entire Steamboat Willie stage.
Other stages you still lose lives.

Mad Dog McCree (U)
Infinite Bullets [OK]
Infinite Lives [OK]

Starblade (U)
Infinite Shield
(After first light speed the game freezes. I changed next byte to the left but it did not work. Actually game freezes before light speed.)

Infinite Credits [OK]

That's it.

Oh yeah...thanks for Corpse Killer Invincibility.
I haven't fully tested it yet because you need to play same stage over and over again until you get a good amount of bullets to kill the bosses.
So far is working great!!!

[Azathoth]

Congratulations Mezmorize, AFAIK that debug mode has never been found in The Ninja Warriors. I'll be trying it out later tonight!

[Mezmorize]

Thanks!
I got lucky once again.
Too bad it's not more robust.

[Mezmorize]

Mezmorize,
This weekend I tested the following games:

Chuck Rock II: Son of Chuck (U)
At Lively Lava stage there are some higher platforms. If you fall into lava you won't be able to jump and reach them. Since you can't die you'll need to reset or load save state.

Damn, I guess that could go for many different games though.
If it were any other system, I could just put out a code to un-do the hack (while it's on), too bad Alt+G does nothing for the Sega CD in Fusion.

Mickeymania (U)
Infinite Lives now works for entire Steamboat Willie stage.
Other stages you still lose lives.

Damn. If you want me to make codes for each level, upload them somewhere (like MU) and I'll do it.

Oh yeah...thanks for Corpse Killer Invincibility.
I haven't fully tested it yet because you need to play same stage over and over again until you get a good amount of bullets to kill the bosses.
So far is working great!!!

Good to hear. The first code seemed to work only when you are not shooting.
Truthfully, I believe I still received damage just one time, somehow.
I played up until a screen with a bunch of videos came up, but didn't play anymore after that.

Congratulations Mezmorize, AFAIK that debug mode has never been found in The Ninja Warriors. I'll be trying it out later tonight!

The patch is only for the version up here by the way.

Edit:
Oh yeah, meant to say that I'll get back to hackin' Sega CD tomorrow, I have a massive headache tonight.
I'm so slow lately 'cause I'm back on 10 hour days, so that's 2 less hours of my hackin' time >.<

[Azathoth]

The patch is only for the version up here by the way.

I'm not sure what version that is, I applied it to the image made from my original disk and it worked without any problems.

[Mezmorize]

Good to hear it worked for you.
I didn't really think about it before, but I guess the patches would also work for non iso/mp3 rips as long as the audio is stored at the end of the disc.

--------------------------

Terminator

Invincibility
1st of 10 instances (maybe 10 stages?)

1C4E754A38FBB6660000044E7541F8F2

Infinite Bombs (after pickup) [also 10 instances]

404E756100F79C3038FAE608000000

Infinite Lives [10x once again]

414238FBB42E7CFFFFFFFC6100B7B8

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

Dark Wizard

I believe this game may have a debug menu or somethin'

Here's some text:

PUSH START BUTTON    
MAP #0000ÿ        
TOWN #0000ÿ        
REAL #0000ÿ      
STATUS #0000ÿ        
KING #0000ÿ       
DEBUG #0000ÿ        
FLAG #0000ÿ        
MODE #0006

[Hacc]

Cobra Command

Also contains a Debug Menu, but I cant seem to emulate any of the different disc images with different emulators.

[COLOR="Yellow"]...[/COLOR]
[COLOR="Red"]DEBUG[/COLOR]_INIT $0000040E

[COLOR="Yellow"]...[/COLOR]

PRESS START BUTTON......
GAME START......
CONFIG MODE.....
CONTINUE.....V
[COLOR="Red"]DEBUG MODE[/COLOR]

[COLOR="Yellow"]...[/COLOR]

[COLOR="Red"]DEBUG MODE[/COLOR]......
STAGE.....
NUMBER.....N
START.....
EXIT
[COLOR="Yellow"]...[/COLOR]

While on the topic, here's more games that don't emulate properly (for me at least):

Corpse Killer
Cliffhanger
Dracula Unleashed
Mighty Morphin Power Rangers

You have to enable the 'Perfect Synchro' (Gens) and 'Perfect Sync' (Kega Fusion) options to get the game running. I used Gens+ v0.0.9.61 to hack the game. This version can run in 32-bit mode without the damaging swap effect of the normal Gens.

My usual method didn't work for this game (I really got tired of sifting through the data of the ISO to know for sure). So, I had to resort to another method of mines that helps in a situation like this. I can't guarantee that it will work for all games (it works for other systems, though). The following was written this morning. I wrote it to act as a tutorial, while at the same time explaining how I found the cheat for this game. I hope it helps others:

I figured out the button cheat sequence by first locating the button counter address for the other cheats (I rarely use this method). The button counter keeps track of the input to verify the cheat (like a combination lock). You find it by first doing a search for zero (if zero doesn't work for a game, do a "!= 0" search instead). Then, you press the first button of the sequence and do a "!= 0" search afterwards (do a "!= previous value" search instead for the "!= 0" method). We get 1 result and see that the value increases by 1 (other games will increase/decrease by different amounts). Repeat the process with the next button in the sequence and so on (keep note of the correct buttons inputted when searching for new cheats). You should get the following addresses for the known cheats:

These are the correct codes by the way. The ones posted on the net are incorrect (even though they still work). This is one of the reasons why I decided to look for button cheats. To right the wrongs of the past.

Cheat Mode: Press Left, Right, Right, Up.
Button Counter: FFD843

Extra Difficulty Levels: Press Up, Down, Left, Right.
Button Counter: FFD847

And the code for the debug menu found by, Mezmorize. It doesn't seem to work properly. I can only access two stages/sections in the menu. There has to be a way to access the rest (if possible). I tried skipping through all of the levels in the game to see if that had any effect on the menu, and still nothing. The code will also work for the PAL version (same issue).

Debug Mode: Press Down, Down, Up, Right, Right, Up, Left, Down.
Button Counter: FFD849

Functions:

Up or Down: Cycle stage
Left or Right: Cycle stage section
A, B or C: Load stage (Now: current frame; Max: total frames)
Start: Exit menu (you'll have to re-enter the code)

[Azathoth]

Good to hear it worked for you.
I didn't really think about it before, but I guess the patches would also work for non iso/mp3 rips as long as the audio is stored at the end of the disc.

Disk image made with CDRWIN, bin + cue format, RAW option unchecked, just in case anyone else needs to know.

[Mezmorize]

You have to enable the 'Perfect Synchro' (Gens) and 'Perfect Sync' (Kega Fusion) options to get the game running. I used Gens+ v0.0.9.61 to hack the game. This version can run in 32-bit mode without the damaging swap effect of the normal Gens.

Thanks. First game I tried was Cliffhanger, and it is now running also.

I figured out the button cheat sequence by first locating the button counter address for the other cheats (I rarely use this method). The button counter keeps track of the input to verify the cheat (like a combination lock). You find it by first doing a search for zero (if zero doesn't work for a game, do a "!= 0" search instead). Then, you press the first button of the sequence and do a "!= 0" search afterwards (do a "!= previous value" search instead for the "!= 0" method). We get 1 result and see that the value increases by 1 (other games will increase/decrease by different amounts). Repeat the process with the next button in the sequence and so on (keep note of the correct buttons inputted when searching for new cheats). You should get the following addresses for the known cheats:

These are the correct codes by the way. The ones posted on the net are incorrect (even though they still work). This is one of the reasons why I decided to look for button cheats. To right the wrongs of the past.

Cheat Mode: Press Left, Right, Right, Up.
Button Counter: FFD843

Extra Difficulty Levels: Press Up, Down, Left, Right.
Button Counter: FFD847

And the code for the debug menu found by, Mezmorize. It doesn't seem to work properly. I can only access two stages/sections in the menu. There has to be a way to access the rest (if possible). I tried skipping through all of the levels in the game to see if that had any effect on the menu, and still nothing. The code will also work for the PAL version (same issue).

Debug Mode: Press Down, Down, Up, Right, Right, Up, Left, Down.
Button Counter: FFD849

Functions:

Up or Down: Cycle stage
Left or Right: Cycle stage section
A, B or C: Load stage (Now: current frame; Max: total frames)
Start: Exit menu (you'll have to re-enter the code)

Wow, amazing as usual Hacc!
Thanks so much for all the info you've given me.
I have actually came across RAM address that was increasing each time you pressed a correct button.
The first one I noticed was Firo and Klawd for PSX:

Cheat (Password) Mode open in options:
300B273C 0004

The value is 4 cause I noticed that it went from 0 to 1 2 3 4 with each successful button press.
I've also noticed that many systems have 'Joker Addresses', or is it all systems?

[Mezmorize]

Basically, most every code I posted before this post is shit.
Thanks to Tony, I have a lot better understanding now.

Hopefully things from now on will be without 'bugs'.
I guess keeper7's job as beta tester will be easier now ^.^

First game:
Cliffhanger

Locate the hex string then overwrite the 2 bytes (4 digits) before it with the 2 bytes in parentheses.

Infinite Continue Time (6002)
[|gg]F176661833FC00010007F17033FC[/|gg]

Infinite Continues (6002)
[|gg]FFF033FC00010007F17033FC0010[/|gg]

Infinite Lives (4E71) [Many instances; I only tested the first]
[|gg]00BC4A39000B00BC66186100E396[/|gg]

Invincibility (6004) [Many instances; I only tested the first]
[|gg]000B00B70C0700086D084A390000[/|gg]

Invulnerability [Blink] (6004) [Many instances; I only tested the first]
[|gg]000B04DA660608B0000700014A39[/|gg]

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Desert Bus

I fixed the problem with this game finally (the bus always pulls to the right).
Now it drives like a normal vehicle.

Find this hex string in your disc image:
[|gg]6FFA4E75303900FF6FEAD17900FF6F[/|gg]

Before all that is an FF.
Make it a 00 to solve the problem.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Well, more to come later.
I got a new 'toy' in the mail today to check out (Dreamcast VGA Box).

[Hacc]

Cobra Command (Sega CD / Mega CD)

Thanks. First game I tried was Cliffhanger, and it is now running also.



Wow, amazing as usual Hacc!
Thanks so much for all the info you've given me.
I have actually came across RAM address that was increasing each time you pressed a correct button.
The first one I noticed was Firo and Klawd for PSX:

Cheat (Password) Mode open in options:
300B273C 0004

The value is 4 cause I noticed that it went from 0 to 1 2 3 4 with each successful button press.
I've also noticed that many systems have 'Joker Addresses', or is it all systems?

You're welcome.

I can't say for sure, but all of the systems that I have hacked has an address (multiple sometimes) in memory that can be used as a Joker (activator) command. It is possible for the Sega Saturn which needs it for some codes in my opinion.

I have to head out right now, but I missed another button cheat. I found it odd that there was a slight gap between the Cheat Mode and Extra Difficulty button counter addresses. Here is the new code:

Invincible: Enter the Cheat Mode code first. Then, press Up, Up, Up, Right, Right, Left, Left, Left, Down, Down twice as a whole code. You'll hear an explosion. Sit back, relax, and watch the game be completed for you.

Button Counter: FFD845 (will be acknowledged after you enter the code the first time)

I also took another look at some of the files that caught my attention before, and found out that the button cheats are stored in LOD_TIL.bin.

Edit: I also checked that Power Rangers game for new cheats and there are none (I had flashbacks of my childhood with this game). It's also odd to see that it was a button-sequence type game.

[keeper7]

I guess keeper7's job as beta tester will be easier now ^.^

Beta tester...LOL
I hope I gain skills and knowledge enough to become at least a "hacker junior" someday. ROFL

[Mezmorize]

Yes, my first button cheat find!

Sega CD
Android Assault: The Revenge of Bari-Arm

At the Title Screen press:
Right, C, A, B, A, Left, C, A, B and A (RCABALCABA)

But I don't know what it does for sure yet...

[Mezmorize]

Found another for Sega CD.

Clifhanger - View The Ending
At the Title Screen, use controller 2 and enter:
Right, Left, Down, Up and Start (RLDUS)

View The Movies
At the Title Screen, use controller 2 and enter:
Up, Down, A, B and C (UDABC)

A very easy one to input:
Use controller 2 and press Up once and then Down until a message appears:


More special messages:
Up, Up, Down until a message appears
Up, Up, Up, Down until a message appears
Up, Up, Up, Up, Down until a message appears
Up, Up, Up, Up, Up, Down until a message appears
Up, Up, Up, Up, Up, Up, Down until a message appears
Up, Up, Up, Up, Up, Up, Up, Down until a message appears
Up, Up, Up, Up, Up, Up, Up, Up, Down until a message appears

[Tony H]

Good finds Mez.

Hacc, thanks for posting the button cheat info. The only way I knew how to search for button cheats, was to look for strings of button values in the ROM (ie. Right = 08, A = 40, B = 10, etc). It was easy to find strings of known button cheats, but not so good at finding unknown cheats. I'm guessing that many/most games don't even use that method for button cheats. The few that I found that do use that method are: Sonic 3, Knuckles, Shining Force 2, and Ecco the Dolphin.

I'll have to try the method you described on a few games.