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The internet lies: cheat code edition

Discussion in 'General Sega Discussion' started by Black Squirrel, Jul 9, 2022.

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  1. Feb 18, 2024 #421
    Chimes

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  2. Feb 19, 2024 #422
    Black Squirrel

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    Problem solved - this cheat is for Black Fire, not Black Dawn.

    There sure were a lot of helicopter games in the 1990s.
     
  3. Feb 19, 2024 #423
    Black Squirrel

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    The other helicopter game for the Saturn (and more wars in Ukraine): Soviet Strike.

    This uses passwords for cheats, but they're not stored in plain text so I don't know if the online lists are definitive.

    Other strings are readible, however, and they hint at something interesting:
    A few suggest a test map once existed. Looking at the files on-disc, I have my doubts there's much left of it in the final build... but there might be hope - we have a prototype from the end of August 1996, dated two months before the PS1 ship date, but six months before the Saturn release.

    Unlike Jungle or Urban Strike which would have built on pre-existing technology, Soviet Strike was the series' first release in 3D, so would have been built from the ground up.


    Also the FMVs are pretty decent quality on the Saturn. This adds nothing to the discussion, but it makes a nice change from the super-compressed Cinepak files everyone else seemed to use.
     
  4. Feb 22, 2024 #424
    Bo102010

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    I took a quick look at Soviet Strike. The passwords are mapped to A=01, B=02, C=03, etc. Then they are scrambled and compared to the valid ones. The algorithm looked pretty impenetrable, alas.

    Also a bummer: the prototype doesn't have the test map files!
     
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  5. Feb 22, 2024 #425
    Team Andromeda

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    The FMV is amazing, EA own codec was just so good, they also had some of the best FMV on the Mega-CD full screen and amazing quality. I do love the Saturn version of Strike and found it much better than the PS version. You can also alter the translucency of the Hud in the game which was a nice touch. Tiburon was such an awesome Saturn developer.
     
  6. Feb 26, 2024 #426
    Black Squirrel

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  7. Feb 29, 2024 #427
    Black Squirrel

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    Today on "questionable uses of my time"

    [​IMG]
    https://segaretro.org/index.php?title=File:SegaMagazin_DE_26.pdf&page=30

    An earlier prototype. It's certainly a... unique 3D model.
     
  8. Mar 1, 2024 #428
    Bo102010

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    OK, I finish the analysis of Three Dirty Dwarves. Its password system is much deeper than I expected!

    The level select password has long been known: MOSHOLU

    However, the game also accepts:
    • ZEREGA* (A through O for the last character)
    • GUNHILL
    • NORWOOD
    • PELHAM.
    • FORDHAM
    • DYREAV.
    • TREMONT
    • FREEMAN
    • NEREID
    All of these are streets in Bronx, NY. Only GUNHILL actually does something - it enables SUPERHERO MODE.

    In Superhero Mode, you don't have to revive your party members if they take a hit. And you can always perform special moves. It's very useful!

    Amazingly, we have source code for one build of 3DD, which suggests that the ZEREGA* passwords were probably meant to be used for level select. However, it doesn't shed any light on what the other passwords might have done.

    The passwords are pretty thoroughly scrambled on the disc, I guess to keep prying eyes from finding them? I cracked the scheme, which is different from what's in the prototype build.

    Here's my full writeup: https://32bits.substack.com/p/under-the-microscope-three-dirty
     
  9. Mar 1, 2024 #429
    Bobblen

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    Great research! That one has a segasoft pc version as well, not in my pile of discs as its US only but I'll have to track it down and see if there's any differences.
     
  10. Mar 1, 2024 #430
    Black Squirrel

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  11. Mar 4, 2024 #431
    Bo102010

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    Games with passwords: Norse by Norsewest has a bunch that are known to the Internet and seem to be correct. They're in plaintext in the game data - see below.

    The special ones are:
    • CR3D
    • CH3T
    • W4RP
    • GHST

    Stage codes:
    Code (Text):
    1. 1: NTR0
    2. 2: 1STS
    3. 3: 2NDS
    4. 4: TRSH
    5. 5: SW1M
    6. 6: W0LF
    7. 7: BR4T
    8. 8: K4RN
    9. 9: B0MB
    10. 10: WZRD
    11. 11: BLKS
    12. 12: TLPT
    13. 13: GYSR
    14. 14: B3SV
    15. 15: R3T0
    16. 16: DRNK
    17. 17: Y0VR
    18. 18: 0V4L
    19. 19: T1N3
    20. 20: D4RK
    21. 21: H4RD
    22. 22: HRDR
    23. 23: L0ST
    24. 24: 0B0Y
    25. 25: H0M3
    26. 26: SHCK
    27. 27: TNNL
    28. 28: H3LL
    29. 29: 4RGH
    30. 30: B4DD
    31. 31: D4DY
     
  12. Mar 4, 2024 #432
    Black Squirrel

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    The Lost Vikings 2: Norse by Norsewest/Hidden content - we already had CH3T and GHST, CR3D shows the ending (or "credits").

    W4RP is described on the internet as "start at highest level previously reached" and I'm... not overly sure what this means. Every level has its own password, and if you die, you're always presented with the option to restart.
     
  13. Mar 5, 2024 #433
    Black Squirrel

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    Was doing a little experiment to see where the gaps are:

    Actua Golf
    Actua Soccer Club Edition
    Batman Forever (arcade)
    Battle Stations
    Casper
    Dragonheart: Fire & Steel
    In the Hunt
    Riven: The Sequel to Myst
    Shockwave Assault
    Swagman
    WWF In Your House
    Whizz

    The PlayStation versions of all these games have codes listed on GameFAQs. Their Saturn counterparts don't. Do they exist??
     
  14. Mar 5, 2024 #434
    Bo102010

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    For Swagman, no - I've got an in depth research article about it in the works, and i couldn't find a level select. It would have been helpful!
     
  15. Mar 5, 2024 #435
    Black Squirrel

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    Blam! Machinehead/Hidden content

    When I originally did my rounds, I saw a load of seemingly random letters on GameFAQs for Blam! Machinehead and assumed the game generated passwords on the fly:
    https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/saturn/197816-machine-head/cheats
    ... but "--GHOSTMODEON--" doesn't seem very random, and hey look, it's a cheat password.

    Those other (non-level) passwords are stored in plain text too, along with messages:

    Code (Text):
    1. ABCDEFGHIJKLMNO
    2. RDS-KKSGDBGD-SR
    3. HMEHMHSD9DMDQFX
    4. HMEHMHSDVD-ONMR
    5. KDUDK9RDKDBSHNM
    6. --GHOSTMODEON--
    7. INFINITE-W-----
    8. INFINITE-W-----
    9. ALL CHEAT MODES DEACTIVATED
    10. ALL CHEAT MODES DEACTIVATED
    11. ALL CHEAT MODES ACTIVATED
    12. ALL CHEAT MODES ACTIVATED
    13. INFINITE ENERGY ACTIVATED
    14. INFINITE ENERGY DEACTIVATED
    15. INFINITE WEAPONRY ACTIVATED
    16. INFINITE WEAPONRY DEACTIVATED
    17. LEVEL SELECTION ACTIVATED
    18. LEVEL SELECTION DEACTIVATED
    19. GHOST MODE ACTIVATED
    20. GHOST MODE DEACTIVATED
    21. CHEAT MODE 7 ACTIVATED
    22. CHEAT MODE 7 DEACTIVATED
    23. CHEAT MODE 8 ACTIVATED
    24. CHEAT MODE 8 DEACTIVATED
    Not explained online is "INFINITE-W-----", which is listed twice and is accepted by the game:

    [​IMG]
    ... no idea what it does. There's also text for "cheat mode 7" and "cheat mode 8". I should point out at this point that I'm not very familiar with this game.

    So what about those weird four codes then? Well if you shift the letters by one according to the characters available (i.e. 9 becomes -, - becomes A):

    Code (Text):
    1. RDS-KKSGDBGD-SR -> SETALLTHECHEATS
    2. HMEHMHSD9DMDQFX -> INFINITE-ENERGY
    3. HMEHMHSDVD-ONMR -> INFINITEWEAPONS
    4. KDUDK9RDKDBSHNM -> LEVEL-SELECTION
    Wow it's like I'm Scooby Doo.
     
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  16. Mar 5, 2024 #436
    Bo102010

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    Nice work!
     
  17. Mar 7, 2024 #437
    Bo102010

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    In The Hunt: the stage select code is there, but it's hidden behind a flag that's always off (I think). And it doesn't really work; you can't switch stages.

    This game does what a lot of multi-platform games do: they translate the Saturn button mappings into their own. But their compiler is really bad, so it doesn't really generate sensible code - I think that's what prevents it from working.

    My guess is that they turned it off rather than figuring out how to fix it.

    Street Racer has passwords on GameFAQS. I confirmed that they're the only ones the game cares about




    upload_2024-3-8_8-10-28.png
     

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    Last edited by a moderator: Mar 8, 2024
  18. Mar 8, 2024 #438
    Bobblen

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    I had Mega Drive Street Racer (the only one that wasn't even a little bit 3d) when I was a kid. I remember there was a secret track set in space if you won all the cups. Not really hidden content as we don't count unlockables but still seemed pretty cool at the time!
     
  19. Mar 8, 2024 #439
    Black Squirrel

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    I had a look at (Saturn) Street Racer before and I think the game gives out those codes legitimately. Though someone might want to double check.

    And while you're there, you can marvel at one of the few genuine wins for the Saturn when put up against the PlayStation version:
     
  20. Mar 10, 2024 #440
    Bo102010

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    OK, G Vector: there's a well known code for 9 credits: Up, Up, Down, Down, Left, Right, Left, Right, A, B, C.

    But there are two others: Up, Up, Down, Down, Left, Right, Left, Right, A+B+C

    And: Up, Up, Down, Down, Left, Right, Left, Right, Left+A, Right+B, Down+C, Up+Y, Left+X, Right+Z (kind of hold those multi-button ones for a moment)

    The game makes a sound, but I can't tell what these do! There's an "extra options" menu, but these don't unlock it.
     
    Last edited: Mar 10, 2024
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