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Curious discovery regarding Sega Smash Pack for PC

Discussion in 'General Sega Discussion' started by MarzSyndrome, Oct 26, 2009.

  1. MainMemory

    MainMemory

    Kate the Wolf Tech Member
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    That probably means that there's nothing assigned to those addresses. The RAM doesn't exist in that area. If you scroll to it in the memory view, you should see a bunch of ??s, scroll until you find actual data, then start from there.
    Gerbil, mind telling us where in memory you found the ROM?
     
  2. ICEknight

    ICEknight

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    An officially released beta version? Great find!

    This needs to be dissected to pieces.
     
  3. MainMemory

    MainMemory

    Kate the Wolf Tech Member
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    Okay, I installed Smash Pack and found the ROM at 02360000, right after a bunch of invalid addresses (??). How do I know where it ends?
    Okay, there were $20 extra bytes at the beginning, but otherwise I got the same ROM cutting it off at the chunk of FFs that switches to 00s.
     
  4. MarzSyndrome

    MarzSyndrome

    Everything is going to the beat. Member
    Are you doing the same thing as me - loading Smash Pack, loading up Shinobi, Alt+Tabbing out when the Sega logo appears, then attaching CE to the process and reading its memory? I don't think I got as far as 02000000.
     
  5. MainMemory

    MainMemory

    Kate the Wolf Tech Member
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    I opened Smash Pack, ran Cheat Engine, attached to Smash Pack, started Shinobi, did a Text search for "SHINOBI", found 3 results, right-clicked the second, selected "Browse this memory region".
     
  6. GerbilSoft

    GerbilSoft

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    I found the Shinobi ROM at around 0x5F0000 in the memory dump. Adding 0x400000 to that results in 0x9F0000.

    Also, I believe GDB is available for MinGW, so consider installing MinGW/MSYS and the latest GDB. Real debuggers work a lot better than things like Cheat Engine. :P
     
  7. MainMemory

    MainMemory

    Kate the Wolf Tech Member
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    Why exactly is Cheat Engine not a debugger?
     
  8. GerbilSoft

    GerbilSoft

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    Actually, now that I looked at the webpage, it seems to have some debugger functionality. But I still don't like it as much as gdb. It just seems more "amateurish" to me, partly because it's written in Delphi.
     
  9. MainMemory

    MainMemory

    Kate the Wolf Tech Member
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  10. GerbilSoft

    GerbilSoft

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    =P

    In particular, I dislike hardcoding addresses for modern executables, since they can (and usually do) change with every recompile. Though for Sega's PC and console games, this usually isn't a problem, since they never release patches to fix game-breaking bugs anyway. (See Sonic'06.)
     
  11. Overlord

    Overlord

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    You write in Delphi? The only guy I know IRL who does that moved onto C++ and Python years ago =P

    Regardless, nice find on the Shinobi ROM! I wonder how many other cockups like this are out there - and if anyone knew about this before now? =P
     
  12. MainMemory

    MainMemory

    Kate the Wolf Tech Member
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    I didn't write Cheat Engine. I'm simply saying that using it does not make someone an amateur. Besides, I program in VB.NET.
     
  13. MarzSyndrome

    MarzSyndrome

    Everything is going to the beat. Member
    Er, what version of Cheat Engine are you using there? I don't get a seperate Results list, nor an opportunity to "browse this memory region".
     
  14. Cooljerk

    Cooljerk

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    Sega Channel actually had an entire section devoted to betas every month. It was the Sneak Preview Test Drive subsection, and they'd throw up playable previews of still-in-production games. The 3 highest profile betas to be played on Sega Channel were Mortal Kombat 3 (which got out even before the PSX version), Primal Rage, and Sonic 3D Blast.

    Sega Channel also had a few unreleased games. Like Megaman: The Wily Wars (US Version) and Pulseman. Megaman wasn't complete, either - the SRAM never worked!
     
  15. MainMemory

    MainMemory

    Kate the Wolf Tech Member
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    Do the first part in the main window, under the button that says "First Scan". The memory view will open when you choose "Browse this memory region".
     
  16. Rika Chou

    Rika Chou

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    Gah, I didn't realize that game was already released in the US at the end of 1989. Why in the world would it have been on Sega Channel at all. Nothing about this makes any sense.
     
  17. Cooljerk

    Cooljerk

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    Thats puzzling. Sega Channel occasionally ran contests with edited games, perhaps this was for some contest or something?
     
  18. evilhamwizard

    evilhamwizard

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    Speaking of undumped stuff, Sega Smash Pack also has an undumped revision of Golden Axe. I'm thinking this is REV02 (GM 00054018-02), and it's not JUE - it's only U. Looks like there are some heavy changes. Interesting.

    I'll wait for someone else to get the rom from the pack. :)

    EDIT: From Smash2 - I think Comix Zone is a different revision. Please find someway to check.
    EDIT2: Super Hang-On from Smash2 is another one of those Sega Channel games that says "A0115 Sega_Channel ma thanks OHE R/D#1 JUE". The first revision actually said "programmed by waka,hama thanks OHE R/D#1JUE".
     
  19. MarzSyndrome

    MarzSyndrome

    Everything is going to the beat. Member
    Well, thanks to MainMemory, I've managed to get the hang of this CE tool now. :)

    Now unless programs somehow move data around the memory every session, I'm inclined to believe the magic dump area for Smash 1 is C60006 - E61000.

    evilhamwizard: Those are some interesting finds! I'm starting to wonder just which kind of team put together these PC Smash Packs now. Compare to the Dreamcast Smash Pack which just uses the same plain roms you can find in the sets. :v:
     
  20. DTX

    DTX

    A fellow w/a name fit for nary a man save himself Member
    I own Sega Smash Pack vols. 1 & 2, and I never realized before that I had a different version of That Shinobi game than anyone else who owned that game in some other form other than the PC collection. I mean I always thought it was weird that the invincibility and level select options were in there right off the bat without the aid of a code or two, but I never realized that the game wasn't supposed have them in its final form. Also, judging from the fact that you felt it worth mentioning that Batman is in this version of the game, I take it that segment of the boss fight was taken out in future releases? Also, is that labyrinth supposed to be unbeatable? 'Cause I remember checking all the doors and not being able to progress no matter what I did.

    Also, in regard to Comix Zone, I don't think the Options menu has the option to switch to 6-Button Controller Mode, which applies to two of the three extra buttons on the 6-button controller (X & Y, X & Z or Y & Z, though I don't remember which combination -- maybe you got to choose) the function to cycle left & right through your items, while to the other button you could apply the ability: to use the "Macho Yell" (which does nothing gameplay wise but is fun to do anyway); to block by means of touching the button; to do that shoulder ram attack at any time (instead of just when you make Sketch press himself up against a wall and attack); or to use one of his three combo finishers (choose from among his roundhouse kick, shaolin kick or that kick which I think is called a scissor kick but am not sure if it is). And maybe one or two functions as well that I am not remembering. Anyway, I am pretty sure that option is not in the Sega Smash Pack version of the game. Then again, maybe I'm wrong; I'll go check. Though I invite someone else to go check since I'll forget soon after now and never get to it.