Sonic Unleashed

I only played the PS2 one where there WAS no Empire City

The plot thickens

 

Very interesting find, Endri. Possible DLC?

 

I hope I could tell. But I hope yes. Or better yet, an unlockable.

I can't really say what this Cray Castle stage is, since the file names in the files extructure are a mess. And the files in the supposed 3d models directory don't have proper names (they are something like rt_01.ar.01) so I can't really say for sure.

But right at the moment I'm trying to figure out the compression format used in this DDS to try to crack it, so at least we will see what is the main gimmick of this level (or was, since it might be a scraped level as well).

 

I can shed some light into the Wii version.

Since (at least according to the game's innards) the Wii/PS2 versions are both using the same stuff, you can expect to find some of the same files they used in the Wii versions in the PS2 version. However, there's a problem with this. Like I stated earlier, everything on the PS2 version is compressed in this huge AFS archive, an archive which doesn't seem to work in the programs I've tried it on. However using a hex editor can tell us of some of the stuff inside of it, and I think there are many .one files used.

So you probably think that the Wii version is the same deal. Actually, there is no .afs file. Everything is uncompressed. So if the Wii version does equal to the PS2 version, they still use the same file structure regardless of what they used to compress everything in the PS2 version.

So what do you have in the Wii version? Well...



Everything that you see is everything that could be in that .afs file on the PS2 version.

Here's a simple summary of what folder appears to be:

capital - ui files, the world maps for each town/city
caution_window - warning screens for saved games, etc. (Note, the warning screen for the PS2 version is still here)
cockpit - more boring ui screens
file_select - select your saved game, etc
font - the font used for everything (hint messages, warning messages, etc)
gallery - image gallery files and data, everything that's viewable in game are compressed in .onz format.
load_debug - (!!!) just debug crap for the game - really small amount, not really interesting (I could be wrong though)
load_etc - test images (a test npc even!), npc images, credits, models, subtitles, or anything that I won't mention from here on is probably in here rather
load_main_game - you have your stages (no names for each stage, just folders that're listed like "stage###" - inside contain area parts, common files, and models), common files for Sonic, the Werehog, and Super Sonic
title - title screen, contains the title screen used during TGS)
work - I have no idea, check it out
world - world map
one_wii_LANGUAGE - the same crap as from a bove but in different languages

That's pretty much it.

The Wii version still used ADX for music (Werehog and Towns/Cities) and AIX for the day stages - just like the PS2 version. Uses the same exact FMV cutscenes in SFD format as the PS2 version, but these look a lot better.

Emulation wise, you can probably run this game flawlessly on PCSX2 soon - but for now, it's terribly glitchy. The Wii version is making progress, but of course, it doesn't really matter. In order to run anything at decent speeds on both emulators, you need a good PC (like mine ). However, from what I see - the graphics work perfectly on Dolphin (GC/Wii emulator), it's just the speed and stability of the emulator itself that make it very hard to play much.

Well, that's pretty much it. I still want to look at the 360 version more, since I personally think that's more interesting. However, it looks like the PS2/Wii versions look easier to hack - so we might be better off getting to work with this one first.

Hope this sparks some interest.

 

Time for Dust Hill Act 2. Or perhaps some DLC? While it isn't listed on the box, the game's Xbox Live profile lists Content Download as a feature. We'll see, I guess.

 

Did you try using Puyo Tools to extract it? It's possible that the AFS file is using a slightly different version of the AFS format.

That's not the first time Sega did that either.

 

That's gonna seriously piss some people (including me, and I don't even own the game) off if those are, in fact, files that will be 'downloadable' content in the future. There is nothing more bullshit than this 'Pay extra to unlock content that's already on the disc you paid for' crap that developers keep pulling with games.

 

I've tried Puyo Tools on the archive, and the program just keeps writing/reading off the HDD without any progress. Memory leak?

I even try to use the Task Manager to close it and it won't actually close it. Memory usage goes even higher than IE once it starts extracting. :P

And I know it's not even extracting anything, because it actually starts to cause the computer to hang at random spots and it doesn't create a file ANYWHERE.

 

In that case I'll download the PS2 version and take a look at that file.

 

The back of my box does say game-content download.
Maybe they forgot to put it on the NTSC box?

 

Cray Castle?

Hm, Well, just throwing this out here, seeing as the two ghosts from the promotional movie are in the game for side quests, maybe, if this is a DLC stage, it could be something related? Who knows. Maybe it's something related to Sonic and the Black Knight, like a medieval theme stage.

Very confusing.

 

If we're going to start discussing Sonic Unleashed hacking, I'd almost suggest we start another thread devoted to it. I know how we tend to get about discoveries, some people may get a little lost.

But then again, that's just one thing, so don't make a new one yet I guess. Wait until people do more hunting.

OH MY GOD I just had a thought.

What if that's actually Engrish for CLAY Castle?

 

I thought of that too, since Jungle Joyride is typoed JUNGRE Joyride, and Rooftop Run, ORANGE ROOFS... which mean this is most likely "engrish" due to the translation from japanese to english.

EDIT:
And for people who are interested, here is the file list I dumped directly from the game disc.

And for people who want to help in the research, here are the files mentioned before:
CrayCastle_ACT1_001D.dds
CrayCastle_ACT1_001N.dds
CrayCastle_ACT1_003N.dds

On a little research, I found this:
In the begining, I thought Cray Castle could be only a regular level we all know already but with the name changed, since, aparently, at first the developers planned the places to have their real names, but then changed to pseudo-names just before the release. So...

Africa = Mizuri
China = Chun-Nan
EggManBase = Eggmanland
EULabo = No Idea...
EuropeanCity = Spagonia
Labo = No Idea...
Mykonos = Apotos
NYCity = Empire City
Petra = (I assume this is Abadat)
Snow = Holoska
SouthEastAsia = Shamar

... and that concludes our 11 countries entries.

wait...

...11 countries??? O_O Isn't there only 9 in the game?

Which means that there's more beans in the plate than we could actually count.

 

Now that you mentioned it, it seems like these Labo files are pretty much Professor Pickle's labs really, been EULabo Spagonia's Lab and Labo been simply Shamar Lab.

 

So that's what PTR stands for then! Heh, never did look too far into the files like that.

 

Hmm..
I wasn't sure if I'd be getting it, but I took advantage of the half-price Gamestation deal.
Now I just have to wait for delivery...

...

I could insert some kind of "Sonic would be quicker delivering it himself" joke, but I won't bother. It'd look childish next to the "Lets all roll down the hill" topic.

I can play the demo in the meantime.
I got about 12 minutes, slow-paced look-around out of that level! I'm hoping the rest of the game's as big and chunky!

 

So, Shamar is Jordan.

Hmm...

Now, I wonder why they did not keep the original names...

 

Probably to make the whole thing seem more like another fantasy-telling of Earth.

 

Hey. I have a doubt. One of Professor Pickles' hints mentions about a "spring hidden in the tail of one of the dragons." He says this spring will send you to places you couldn't reach before. Did anyone find this spring?