FF8 savefile map and ChocoboWorld

[Mateo]

Hi !

I may have found enough motivation to finish my work on ChocoboWorld which means release my Chocobo savefile editor (with abilty to modify kisses and Minimog) and a native PSX program which can alter a FF8 savegame on a MemoryCard to add ChocoboWorld features. I'm very glad I finally found a copy of the famous PSY-Q librairies so my PSX devkit is now really cool !

I'd need some infos : I've been looking through Griever's source and I saw that the ChocoboWorld datas occupied 64 bytes somewhere near the end of the saveblock. But as Griever doesn't provide any functionnality for Chocobo editing, I was wondering if this statement was real. I mean : May I trust this info or not ? If I could, this would sure speed things up a lot for me !

Thanks in advance.

Regards,

Mathieu

[halkun]

Having a copy of Psy-Q is very illegal if you are not a licensed PSX developer. (Violation of trade secrets, breach of contract, and copyright infringement). Piracy is very frowned on here. You have been warned.

[Mateo]

Ok thanks. I do know that might not be really legal.

...and let's have a look on the licenses for the Windows, VC++ and 3dsmax users around here.

[ChaosControl]

Ok thanks. I do know that might not be really legal.

...and let's have a look on the licenses for the Windows, VC++ and 3dsmax users around here.

I got a windows license I just use it on multiple computers!

[Mateo]

Well, as being a musician, I actually bought licenses for Reason, Cubase SX, Renoise, Finale as long as three OEM Windows licenses, so what's the deal ? I do understand your warning (halkun) about Psy-Q. It's careful. I won't mention it any more. I was only asking for some technical details. So could we consider moving on now ?

[halkun]

The deal is this:

I have been on the wrong end of a Sony lawsuit that had to deal with their appropriation of trade secrets and copyright infringement. It's best not to stir the sleeping beast when it comes to that. The fact is, in order for you to be in possession of Psy-Q you must have given Sony $20,000 and gone through a very lengthy interview process with NDA contacts signed and the like.

The more we keep things legitimate here, the less I have to worry about Sony going through their list of people who piss them off and find my name on it (again!)

[Cyberman]

Ahh griever.. I made several DLL's and released them with a software program to edit stuff et al. Anyhow the deal is this
Chocobo world Is stored as data in a special memory card Sony made that uses a Atmel produced ARM7thumb based microcontroller.
This program is run on that card.  If FF8 discovers you have chocobo world some of the data that game generates while playing it gets stored into that chunk of memory. As for what the data is, I never found a mini playstation card to try to get the data out.

They are collectors items now I think.

Cyb

[Mateo]

Well, to sum up : my goal is to find a way to make MiniMog, Moomba and the 3 Choco-attacks available for the PSX FF8 version owners who can't have the PocketStation. So here's what I did last year :

- I build a MemoryCard reader (parallel port) to extract my current FF8 PSX savegame
- I used PSXMemTool to convert it into a FF8 PC savegame.
- I played ChocoboWorld PC and analysed its CHOCORPG savefile. I found where MiniMog and the "kisses" data where stored.
- I send Boko back to FF8 PC : I could now use MiniMog and the 3 Choco-attacks
- I used PSXMemTool to convert that FF8 PC savegame back into a FF8 PSX game
- I wrote the savefile downto the MemoryCard using my parallel port reader.
- Everything worked fine and it was fully functionnal on the PSX (whereas there had never been ANY PocketStation pluged in).

So : It seems clear that all the ChocoboWorld features which are usable in FF8 are finally saved into savegames. I'd like to make a tool which could directly alter the ChocoboWorld datas into a FF8 savegame.

I think I'm gonna compare FF8 savegames without the ChocoboWorld features to FF8 savegames WITH the ChocoboWorld features. I think I should be able to tell what's different ! So (here we are), I came here just to make sure of one single thing :

I need to know where the ChocoboWorld features are stored on FF8 savegames and I saw it was near the end of file in Griever's source : I just simply want to know if this information is correct or not.

Many thanks,

Mathieu

@Halkun : Makes much more sense with details. Feel free to remove posts mentioning What-Which-Must-Not-Be-Named

Regards

[Cyberman]

I think I'm gonna compare FF8 savegames without the ChocoboWorld features to FF8 savegames WITH the ChocoboWorld features. I think I should be able to tell what's different ! So (here we are), I came here just to make sure of one single thing :

I need to know where the ChocoboWorld features are stored on FF8 savegames and I saw it was near the end of file in Griever's source : I just simply want to know if this information is correct or not.

Many thanks,

Mathieu

@Halkun : Makes much more sense with details. Feel free to remove posts mentioning What-Which-Must-Not-Be-Named

Regards

That's what I wanted to do about 5 years ago, however getting a pocket station was then out of the question in the US.
Continuing the problem is this, I HAVE the tools to examine the data (seriously) I modified my original Griever plugin to add debugging tools.
Also let me point out if you ARE using PSXmemtool you should be able to use my plugin for PSXmemtool (that's what it was designed originally to work with).
There is also PSX Jenova and a few other plugins I made, however I sometimes have a short attention span, and they've been grossly neglected.

IF you have 2 save states 1 before and 1 after adding the chocobo world data I can know exactly what was altered and what it was and give you that to verify where it is.  I was working through the plot bits and other game choice variables by playing through the game however due to crashes (bloody SIS mother boards) I was severely discouraged

If you wish to discus tools and such PM me. I don't think the old links for getting the DLL and executable to run them is still alive (and no one has asked for them so my guess is they are DEAD).

Cyb