Need input on a Sega CD Editor

[Tony H]

I was thinking of making an editor for Road Rash (Sega CD) that would patch the bin/iso file so that you would start a new game with Wild Thing 2000. As far as I know, the only way to get that bike is with editing/patching the bin/iso file (meaning I don't think there's anyway to access it in-game). You can make the changes yourself with a hex editor, but this program would do all the work for you with the click of a button.

I'd like some input on if anyone thinks this would be something anyone would use, before I spend time on it. I can also expand the program to include things like start with more money, make specific bikes faster/handle better, etc.

I don't think the Sega CD had any cheat devices back in the day, so an editor might be a good way to add cheats, especially for people that don't want to use a hex editor. If anyone has any suggestions on other Sega CD games that might be a good candidate for an editor, let me know. Keep in mind that I've never made an editor for a file that's as large as SCD files, but from what I've read, it should be possible.

[Dirt Ball Gamer]

That sounds like a really awesome idea. Batman and Robin on SEGA CD is a really nice looking game, but the difficulty is so brutal that it kind of sucks the fun out of the experience. Would the editor program possibly be able to adjust the difficulty of the game down somehow, or could it reduce the number of enemies/projectiles etc that are constantly bombarding you?

[Tony H]

That sounds like a really awesome idea. Batman and Robin on SEGA CD is a really nice looking game, but the difficulty is so brutal that it kind of sucks the fun out of the experience. Would the editor program possibly be able to adjust the difficulty of the game down somehow, or could it reduce the number of enemies/projectiles etc that are constantly bombarding you?

Thanks for the input. Once I find out if an editor will work with a file as large as a Sega CD game, I'll look into Batman and Robin.

[Team Andromeda]

Wasn't the source code to Adv Of Batman and Robin also released to the community?

If we talking of Mega CD games , it be nice if you could patch Soulstar for a level select , since it's a true showcase for the system, but hard as hell .

[Tony H]

I made a test editor for Road Rash Sega CD and it was able to patch Wild Thing 2000 into the .bin file without any problems. The Road Rash SCD file is around 600MB. Since 600MB is near the upper limit of a SCD file size for a single disc, I'm pretty sure there won't be any problems with other games.

Wasn't the source code to Adv Of Batman and Robin also released to the community?

If we talking of Mega CD games , it be nice if you could patch Soulstar for a level select , since it's a true showcase for the system, but hard as hell .

I couldn't find a level select cheat for Soulstar anywhere. Does it have one? If not, let me know and I may be able to make one using a music or sound test option in the game (hopefully Soulstar has that). I did this with several different Genesis games where you go to the music or sound test option, and select different songs or sound effects to determine which level to start on.

[Team Andromeda]

I couldn't find a level select cheat for Soulstar anywhere. Does it have one? If not, let me know and I may be able to make one using a music or sound test option in the game (hopefully Soulstar has that). I did this with several different Genesis games where you go to the music or sound test option, and select different songs or sound effects to determine which level to start on.

One mag said it was there, but even the main programmer of SoulStar said she can't remember a Level select cheat being in the finished version. Its a shame as some of the later levels really look stunning and right out of Galaxy Force II

[Tony H]

Finally finished the editor for Road Rash (Sega CD). Seems to work pretty good, but I'm still fairly new to C#, so no guarantees. lol.

I'm setting these up now so that there are check boxes for each cheat. If you want to turn a cheat off, just run the program again and make sure the cheats that you don't want are unchecked, then patch the file.

Will start working on the Batman & Robin editor next, then SoulStar.






RoadRash(Sega CD)EditorV3a.zip


EDIT: Attached updated program (fixed it so that program window can't be resized).

[cabear]

Awesome work!

[Tony H]

That sounds like a really awesome idea. Batman and Robin on SEGA CD is a really nice looking game, but the difficulty is so brutal that it kind of sucks the fun out of the experience. Would the editor program possibly be able to adjust the difficulty of the game down somehow, or could it reduce the number of enemies/projectiles etc that are constantly bombarding you?

I've never played the game before until now. Is all of it a driving game? Did you want to make the driving parts easier? Perhaps more time or something? Can't get past first level, and not sure who's shooting at me, or if I'm supposed to be shooting at someone else.

Awesome work!

Thank you.

[GelmiR]

Yes, pretty sure Batman & Robin is driving only. Batman Returns is platform and driving - that's the game for which the source code has been released. Oh and same, I (literally) never got anywhere in Batman & Robin :P WAY too hard.

[Team Andromeda]

Yes Adv Of Batman & Robin is driving only, such a shame SEGA didn't look to inlcude the Cart sections in this one, more problably that was down the bad feedback of the 1st game (where most reviews complained about the platform sections) Adv Of Batman is a step backwards graphically and gameplay wise, music isn't as good either. but it does feature the best quailty FMV video window seen in a Mega CD game, the quailty put most early Saturn titles to shame LOL

that's the game for which the source code has been released.

Thanks for that, I thought it was Adv. I would if anyone looked to mess around with John's awesome Batman code

[GelmiR]

Thanks for that, I thought it was Adv. I would if anyone looked to mess around with John's awesome Batman code

You're welcome! I didn't know the source code for any Batman Sega CD game was released and didn't start looking until you mentioned it, so thanks for that

[Tony H]

You guys are right, this game is difficult, but starting to understand how it works and should be able to make an editor that will help.

There is a code/hack online that shows how to patch infinite time into the Batman & Robin bin file, but found out that it is only visual and if you wait 60 seconds, you'll get a time-up and lose a life. I found the actual timer for the clock that runs in the background and have verified that it gives you true infinite time. Will add that to the editor, but also what to add a "Start with xx more seconds" on each level for people that only want to make the game a little easier. Does anyone have any suggestions on how much extra time I should add for each level? I can either make it something like 20 extra seconds for each level, or maybe make it add 20% since many levels have different amounts of starting time. If the amount of extra time is too much, the level could be too easy, so hoping someone can help with this. I might be able to have a few different choices for how much extra time to start with (eg. 5 extra seconds for each level, 10 extra seconds, 20 extra seconds, etc), but don't know how to do that with C# yet, but can probably figure it out.

Here are the starting times (seconds) for the levels (straight from the bin file) just for reference... 60, 60, 60, 00, 27, 27, 27, 30, 25, 20.

EDIT: I think it might be better to label these as how much time is added to the clock when you finish the current level and move onto the next level.

EDIT2: Also, not sure why one of them is zero seconds (haven't gotten that far).

[Dirt Ball Gamer]

Yes if possible having multiple choices for extra time would be terrific. It's funny I thought I remembered using a level skip code for this game many years ago, but I wasn't able to find that code online. I'll check my old game code folders, might be in there. Or maybe my memory is playing tricks on me. I can never get past the damn level where you are in a virtual holographic world. That level is insane, more time would definitely help on that level.

[Tony H]

Figured out how to have several different check boxes for the same thing, and make it so that only one of them can be checked at the same time. This means that we can have several options for how much time will be added to each level, so now I just need some suggestions on how much time for each option. Maybe 5 extra seconds, 10 extra seconds, and 20 extra seconds? Or should it be more (or less)?