Showing posts with label Hacks. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Hacks. Show all posts

Sunday, October 11, 2015

Dynasty Warriors 8 (PS3) - Game Save Now Available that Removes Affinity from All Weapons!


I have gotten some attention regarding the post "How to Disable the Affinity System in Dynasty Warriors 8 (Playstation 3)" and its subsequent follow-ups. For some, the idea seemed brilliant: finally be able to rid of that irritating weapon affinity system in its entirety with little to no side effects, playing the game once again like its Dynasty Warriors 7 and past days.

However, many aren't that keen on doing the required manual tasks themselves, including transferring their saves to their PC, using software to modify hex values, yada yada. For some, it may require too much brain power and work, even though it probably would take an average person less than 5-10 minutes total to accomplish... But still, I understand completely, really...

Well, what if I told you that you didn't have to do any work at all, or very little to get this experience? Well now, as a few have requested, I am providing a game save that already removes all affinity from every weapon in the game. That's right, just download the save for your correct region, transfer it to your PS3, then enjoy Dynasty Warriors 8 the way it should have been (if you aren't catching up this point, hint: I despise the affinity system like a lot of people).

DOWNLOAD: US | EU | JPN

There are some caveats to this save, however. All weapons will have the same elements (in the save, the elements for every weapon will be Cyclone lv. 5, Slash lv. 10, Thunder lv. 10, Velocity lv. 10, Flurry lv. 10, Thorns lv. 10). In addition, any new weapons you obtain will not be granted the no affinity effect.

To get around this, you will need to refer to this post for details on how to reapply no affinity to newly obtained weapons and change weapon elements and their levels (YES, THIS WILL REQUIRE SOME MANUAL WORK!).

Also, if you want to be able to save any new progress, you must resign the save too. Refer to the Playstation 3 Save Resign Tutorial.

Have fun, and let's hope Dynasty Warriors 9 will not have the less than stellar weapon affinity system!

Below is an extended gameplay demo of the modification:


BTW, if you are wondering what music that's playing in the background in the above video, it's a song I created myself—for fun and because I was tired of getting copyright claims on every video I put music to. I call it "Pink Sky" and you can download the song here: https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/66210285/Pink%20Sky.mp3

Oh, about the beautiful cosplay photo that doesn't have anything to do with this post other than being DW8? That's just there to get your attention, duh!

Saturday, June 6, 2015

Dynasty Warriors 8: Empires - How to Individually Change Any Character's Stats (PS3 Mod) and Some Codes



Recently, I've been experimenting with individually altering character stats in saved games on Dynasty Warriors 8: Empires for the Playstation 3 and have been fortunately successful doing so.

One dominant reason which resulted in me ensuing this was so I could lower my controlled character's stats and raise enemy officer stats (particularly attack, health and defense), enabling lengthier combos as officers tends to be annihilated a bit too quickly for my liking. Of course, one could easily reverse that and raise their own character stats to abnormal amounts and the enemy to nothing. Personal choice is a wonderful thing, ain't it?

Anyway, that's probably not important to you—you want to just know how to change a character's stats to anything you want, correct? Well, I'll show you how!

First things first, you'll need the obligatory and rehashed on this blog Bruteforce Save Data. Be sure to download the latest version and update the database pronto (also, run the program as an administrator). I assume you already know how to use Bruteforce Save Data, but if you happen to not, read up a bit on it here and here.

Second, you'll need a save game present on Dynasty Warriors 8: Empires to modify. No, I'm not talking about system data (which cannot be decrypted at the time being), but a save game such as an Empire Mode save and quick save.

Pick the game save you want to use and open it with Bruteforce Save Data, decrypt it and open it with HxD as usual.

You first need to pick the character you want stats changed, taking note of that character's current stats.

In this tutorial, I will change my controlled character's stats (ruler). You can choose any character you wish, as long as that character is present in your current game and you can view their stats.

The first important thing is to view the character's current stats and convert them to hex.

IMPORTANT: You must remove all of your character's item equipments (if you are using any) for this to work. You can re-equip them after you are done changing the stats. Weapons and mounts can be left alone. This only applies to characters you control.

Here is a screenshot of my ruler's stats:

Excuse the Japanese. English version will have no difference aside from language.
Convert the first four stat numbers to hex using this online tool. Four should be sufficient to isolate the specific character and anything less you'll run into the possibility of editing the wrong character.

In my instance, health (520) would be 208, attack (410) would be 19A, defense (550) would be 226 and leadership (510) 1FE.

Put them together IN ORDER and you will get: 208 19A 226 1FE

Now you would think that the hex above would be enough to search out in HxD and change, right? WRONG. This is because KOEI is swapping the hex in Dynasty Warriors 8: Empires. If I searched 208 19A 226 1FE I would never find anything or anything relevant to the actual stat location.

First, if any of your pair of hex are three digits, you will need to prefix a 0 to each one, such as: 0208 019A 0226 01FE

Two digits, you will need to prefix a 00. One digit prefix a 000. Four digits, do not prefix anything. The rule is to keep all pairs of hex four digits.

What you have to do now is to swap the hex. So 0208 019A 0226 01FE = 0802 9A01 2602 FE01.

Notice how the first two digits and last two digits of each pair of hex are swapped around. You must do this for all pairs of hex.

Example again:
0208 > 0802
019A > 9A01
0226 > 2602
01FE > FE01

Now with that hex swapped, you can finally search it using HxD and start changing values.


This is what the search results leads to, spot on!
And here is a general idea of which pair of hex correlates to which stat:


But remember, you have to input your new desired hex swapped as well. So if I wanted 1000 for health, attack, defense and leadership, the hex will be E803 E803 E803 E803 (and not 03E8 03E8 03E8 03E8).

Results of change. Red indicates altered values.
Once you are done, encrypt the game save and presto! You've changed your character's stats! Best of all, it doesn't affect any other character other than the one you changed.

SATISFACTORY!
Tip: Once you have obtain the offsets for a certain character's stats, you can reuse those offsets again next time in any game (even a different one from the the one you modified) without redoing all the stats to hex conversion above.

You can also change your materials, money and unit likely in the same manner.

If you have any questions, feel free to e-mail me at: rubypeace13@gmail.com.

Have fun!

P.S: Want to completely destroy your game and possibly have KOEI coming after your ass? Try these easy to use codes (WORKS ON NTSC/EU VERSIONS ONLY):

[All Characters Max Stats (Except Speed)]
4203F63A 9F860100
43A6005C 00000000
4203F64E E803E803
43A6005C 00000000
4203F652 E803E803
43A6005C 00000000

[All Characters - Max Aptitudes]
4203F65A 64646464
43A6005C 00000000


[Max Matterials 999999]
42005BF4 905F0100
402800E4 00000000

[Max Money 999999]
42005BF8 9F860100
402800E4 00000000

[Max Unit 999999]
42005BFC 905F0100
402800E4 00000000

Sunday, January 25, 2015

New Code to Mass Remove Affinity from All Your Weapons in Dynasty Warriors 8 (Playstation 3) + Xtreme Legends Findings

GOODBYE WARNING SIGN! NO ONE IS GOING TO MISS YOU!
This is an update to the post - How to Disable Weapon Affinity in Dynasty Warriors 8 (Playstation 3).

I've created a code to now remove affinity from all weapons in your collection in Dynasty Warriors 8 for Playstation 3. Just simply decrypt your game save in Bruteforce, apply the cheat code, encrypt and you're now affinity free for all weapons that you currently own! No hex searching and editing required! Of course, you have to reapply the code when you obtain new weapons.

[Remove Affinity for All Weapons in Collection]
40015D43 000000FF
47260018 00000000


You can still manually remove affinity from specific weapons only by doing it the hex method, as described in the original post. This is just an easy way to get rid of affinity entirely with little work.

Remember, put Cyclone (a low to high level) as one of your elements on each weapon you decide to use without affinity.

You can use the following code to mass change all elements on all weapons in your collection:

[All Weapons Elements Change]
42015D45 0CXXXXXX
47260018 00000000
41015D49 0000XXXX
47260018 00000000


Replace each XX with your desired element. See the weapon modding guide for element values. First 0C is for Cyclone, I suggest you do not change it. 

[All Weapons Elements Level 10]
42015D4B 0A0A0A0A
47260018 00000000
41015D4F 00000A0A
47260018 00000000


Xtreme Legends Testing Results: Do not attempt this on Xtreme Legends for now. Removing affinity in Xtreme Legends will cause the game to freeze. The reasoning behind it is because Xtreme Legends added gray affinity, which equates to the game's new "no affinity". Unit Commanders are the only enemies you will see with gray affinities. Attempting to use gray affinity on your own weapons will cause the game to crash, with reasons only the game developer will know.

In the original version of Dynasty Warriors 8, there is no such thing as gray affinity and removing affinity will always result in your affinity being red (during battle). Even though red, you are still technically affinity free (and also freeze free).

Wednesday, January 14, 2015

How to Disable the Affinity System in Dynasty Warriors 8 (Playstation 3)

Do you not like the weapon affinity system present in Dynasty Warriors 8? Well, there is now an easy way to totally annihilate it using the magic value of FF (we'll get onto that in a little bit). By removing it, the combat system essentially returns back to its former Dynasty Warriors 7 days, where you wouldn't have to worry about which affinity to use. Additionally, there would be no storm rush, no variable counter and most importantly, being able to stagger/hitstun every enemy officer in the game regardless of what affinity they have.

So how do you do it exactly? Well, it's actually nothing new at all. Remember when I wrote the weapon modding guide for Dynasty Warriors 8 a long time ago? Remember the part where you could change your weapon's affinity to Heaven, Earth and Man? If so, basically all you need to do is instead of choosing Heaven (00), Earth (01) or Man (02); you replace that value with FF. This renders the weapon in particular to have no affinity whatsoever. No affinity = no inferior or superior affinity to worry about.

CHANGE AFFINITY VALUE TO FF
If you don't understand what I just said, you should definitely read up on the weapon modding guide. It's not just for the sake of removing affinity, but for also learning how to mod your weapons and have full customization over them.

Regrettably, you can only remove affinity of weapons one at a time, or together as a batch work. There is currently no code yet to automatically remove affinity for all weapons in your possession. Hence, it does take an extra bit of work, but that bit of work may pay off extremely well for those interested.

1/25/2015 UPDATE: I created a code to automatically remove affinity all weapons in your collection, so you no longer have to resort to doing any hex editing. Just apply the cheat code to your Dynasty Warriors 8 game save on Bruteforce and you're affinity free!

[Remove Affinity for All Weapons in Collection]
40015D43 000000FF
47260018 00000000


On Dynasty Warriors 8 (non Xtreme Legends version), there is one side effect of removing affinity from your weapons. It will cause your weapons to do very little damage to enemy officers (on any difficulty). However, elemental and musou damage are not impacted. So if you use this, it's a MUST to put on your weapon a percentage damage element, preferably Cyclone. You can mass change all elements in your weapons by using the codes provided in this post.

I have tested this on the Playstation 3 version of Dynasty Warriors 8 for a few hours and it's fully functional. There are no game issues using it besides what is mentioned above. No crashes and no freezes. 

Doing this on Xtreme Legends is not recommended due to frequent game freezes. Read this updated post for more information on why.

Below is a small demo video of removing affinity in action (notice green affinity vs red/null). I purposely added Cyclone only on the Dragon Spear to show you the damage bug. The damage bug is very apparent in the Dual Hookblades, but the Dragon Spear shows off how elemental and musou damage are not affected.


Sunday, November 30, 2014

Bruteforce Save Data Frequently Asked Questions


Having woes with Bruteforce Save Data? Here I will answer some of the most common questions I receive about using the software. Hopefully this will help resolve most of your issues.

Whenever I launch Bruteforce Save Data, I receive an error message saying msvbvm50.dll is missing?


You will need to install Visual Basic Runtime 5. The software will not run without it.

Loaded game saves, but they are labeled as UNREADABLE and I cannot do anything with them.


This is either a permissions issue or can occur if you haven't installed Microsoft Visual Basic C++ 2010 (x86). Make sure you install the x86 version, not the x64. If you installed it and are still receiving UNREADABLE, make sure you are logged into an account with administrator privileges and are not storing your game saves on a write protected directory.

Cheats Repository will not download and/or fail to update.


Update to the latest version of Bruteforce Save Data, run the software as an administrator (right click on the exe file and select "Run as Administrator") and try the update again. You can also download the latest cheats repository manually by visiting the Bruteforce Save Data forums. Simply replace the existing game.conf and add the cheat files with the ones included in the download.

I receive [BLANK] as profile ID when setting up or resigning game saves.


This can occur if your PS3 user account does not have an attached PSN account and you are not logged into it while creating your game saves or saving over them in-game. Please read this post for more information.

BLANK ID will work on games that do not specifically require a unique ID on their game saves. You will have to test the game save after resigning it with a blank ID first.

When I do the rebuild process, the profile name and ID on the game save does not change.


Ensure you are running the software as an administrator. Right click the Bruteforce Save Data exe file and select "Run as Administrator". Then try to rebuild again.

How do I obtain a missing key for a game?


Select the game save and hit F6 (Bruteforce), then select the game's EBOOT.ELF file. EBOOT.ELF file is only available on the game data itself, not the game save. You will need to find someway to transfer the game's data from disc or hard drive to your PC.

I receive corruption message after rebuilding/encrypting a game save and using it on my PS3.


First off, check to see that the game save is actually properly encrypted. The rebuild process should automatically decrypt and encrypt the game save in the process. Always use the "Verify PFD" button to verify that the game save has been correctly encrypted and normal (you should see no red messages). Attempting to run a game save in a decrypted state will always result in a corruption message. Again, you should try to run the software as an administrator to counter this.

Secondly, corruption can also occur due to the following reasons:
1.) Multilayer encryption - Certain games, most notably newer games, will use multilayer encryption. Without a tool to specifically decrypt beyond the first layer, the game save cannot be modified and used without corruption. A fix is to wait until a tool is available, or you can use devices such as Game Genie, which allows you to decrypt all the layers of certain multilayer encrypted game saves. A list of such known current games that uses multilayer encryption can be found on Bruteforce Save Data forums.
2.) Bad/incorrect data - This can occur if you are transferring from one region to another. The differences in offset between the two regions in the game's save data can be different enough that the game will mess up reading it, causing corruption. And yes, this means that not all games can be transferred to one region to another. This can of course occur if you mess with the game save's data too much without knowledge on how to change values.
3.) Wrong region title/ID - If you use the wrong region title/ID, you will receive corruption.
4.) Wrong key - If you use the wrong key for your game save, you will also receive corruption. This can accidentally happen if your game is in multiple regions. Use the specific key for your region only.

If you confirm you did everything correctly and are still receiving corruption message, the problem may be the above four.

After resigning my game save, it still states the save belongs to another user.


Something failed during the rebuilding process or you are using a blank ID on a game that doesn't support it. You must ensure that after rebuilding, your exact PS3 user account profile name and ID appears on the game save. Running as an administrator will solve most of these problems.

How do I apply cheats?


After decrypting the game save, the cheats button should be available. Click it and you can add your cheats. After adding cheats, you need to encrypt the game save to avoid corruption. If you are running an older version, you may need to right click the game save and select "Apply Cheats" instead.

How do I edit data directly with a hex editor?


After decrypting the game save, you can open up the BIN file directly with a hex editor and make changes. Of course, you have to make sure you know what you're doing. The search function is probably the most useful tool to find existing values and change them. Encrypt the game save after to avoid corruption.


If you have any other questions and concerns not detailed in this post, feel free to jot me an e-mail and I will try to answer you promptly. Just do not ask me to simply resign a game save for you.

Sunday, November 23, 2014

Samurai Warriors 4 Weapon Modding Now Possible on PS3!


All you modders can happily rejoice, as Samurai Warriors 4's game save can now be successfully decrypted with Bruteforce Save Data without corruption, thanks to chaoszage's Samurai Warriors 4 Checksum Fixer Tool. If you are unfamiliar with what decrypting a game save does, it essentially destroys the encryption and allows editing of its data. This makes it possible to make all sorts of changes to your game save's data, including of course the modification of weapons.

This is pure software without the need of devices such as Game Genie or Cyber Save Editor.

So here's basically how you do it:

First, you need to have the latest version of Bruteforce Save Data installed. If not, you should at least have updated your cheats repository to the latest database.

Second, you'll need chaoszage's Samurai Warriors 4 Checksum Fixer Tool. Without this tool, you will end up with corruption after decrypting and encrypting. You can download it here.

Open your Samurai Warriors 4's game save using Bruteforce Save Data, decrypt it, edit the data as you would normally (or apply cheats), run the Checksum Fixer Tool on the game save, then encrypt it with Bruteforce Save Data.

Transfer the game save to your PS3 and you should be good to go!

Weapon Modification Codes and Skill Values:

All 1st Weapon Skills Mod
42003884 05050505
403c0110 00000000
42003888 05050505
403c0110 00000000
4200388c aabbccdd
403c0110 00000000
42003890 eeffgghh
403c0110 00000000
42003894 05050505
403c0110 00000000
42003898 05050505
403c0110 00000000
4200389c 02020202
403c0110 00000000
420038A0 02020202
403c0110 00000000

http://www.gamefaqs.com/ps3/730732-samurai-warriors-4/faqs/69237
Use link above to refer the skills effects


Fill aa,bb,cc,dd,ee,ff,gg,hh with value below:

00   Potency
01   Range
02   Counrage
03   Impact
04   Fury
05   Underdog
06   Momentum
07   Clarity
08   Verity
09   Concentration
0A   Fortitude
0B   Stability
0C   Elasticity
0D   Bravery
0E   Determination
0F   Resolve
10   Nullification
11   Zeal
12   Conviction
13   Resurrection
14   Alacrity
15   Blaze
16   Shock
17   Frost
18   Wind
19   Diamond
1A   Reaper
1B   Rampage
1C   Impulse
1D   Awakening
1E   Cavalry
1F   Equestrian
20   Connoisseur
21   Collector
22   Hoarder
23   Constitution
24   Expert
25   Endurance
26   Paladin
27   Stimulus


Modding weapons directly with a hex editor:

You could theoretically mod the weapons without using the code above directly via a hex editor, if you require only specific weapons be altered. Again, this process should be identical to Dynasty Warriors 8. Write down your weapon's skills in hex as it appears in order, then use the search function in a hex editor to replace skills. This process has not yet been tested, so there is no guarantee yet of it working.

Some other fun codes if you're THAT lazy:

Max Gold
20007842 000F423F


Max Kills

2000784A 05F5E0ff


All Gems Max
200078BC 63636363
200078C0 63636363


All Chars Proficiency Max

42000C44 14141414
403C0044 00000000


All 1st Weapon Becomes Rare

40003883 00000000
403c0110 00000002


Notice: This is all specifically for the US/EU versions of Samurai Warriors 4. If you need codes and values for the Japanese version, visit savedata.jp.

Sunday, November 9, 2014

Tool to Decrypt Second Layer of Dynasty Warriors 8: Xtreme Legends Available



I should have posted this bit of news earlier, but thanks to chaoszage, you can successfully decrypt the second layer of Dynasty Warriors 8: Xtreme Legends with a free Windows program that requires no  hardware or devices.

As you may have recalled, Dynasty Warriors 8: Xtreme Legends (along with all newly released KOEI games) has incorporated double layer encryption security for save files. Up until now, the only method of fully decrypting the game saves required usage of paid devices, such as Game Genie and PS3 Cyber Save Editor.

Why would you need to decrypt the game save? Plenty of scenarios—if you want to resign it to another user's profile/PS3, mod your save data, transfer regions, etc.

The guide for usage is included in the download. Remember that you need to pair the decrypter with Bruteforce Save Data. First layer of decryption is done via Brutefroce and the second layer is with this tool.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE TOOL

Have fun, and don't spoil yourself!

Saturday, June 7, 2014

Access Forbidden Japanese Pages on SAVEDATA.JP and Other Sites

There has been a bit of an online thing in Japan recently, where websites are cracking down on who actually gets to view their content—preferably only their own species. Why is that, you ask? Well, imagine you created a website in English for English speaking audiences, then along comes a bunch of foreigners from another country who generate content on your site in a different language you and your audience doesn't understand. You wouldn't like that too much, right?

So hence, if you try to visit a few Japanese sites/pages recently and discovered you are unable to access them due to errors (e.g. Forbidden Access), then you are most likely purposely locked out due to your location not being in Japan.

The most recent example of this is on SAVEDATA.JP. I already detailed what this site is about and why it is useful here. However, they have begun to make all their save codes (セーブエディット) section available only to people living in Japan. So if you try to access these pages outside of Japan, you'll be now greeted to the following:

Red text translate to: You do not have permission to access.
Here is an easy way to get around this, and no, you do not have to move to Japan or any other country.

All you really have to do is to switch to use a proxy address. Proxies not only help you retain anonymity over the internet, but it additionally solves the issue of blocked/forbidden websites and pages, even ones set up by the server/network you are currently using.

But the above page will not just work with any proxy. You specifically need to use a proxy that is located in Japan. By doing such, you are basically masking yourself to the internet as coming directly from Japan instead of where you are currently.

So where do you get a Japanese proxy address? That's easy, just Google "Japan proxy" and you'll get sites offering free Japanese proxies. Here is one that I've actually used myself. Here is another one.


Most proxy lists should indicate the proxy IP (proxy address), port, speed, level of anonymity and country it comes from.

In order to browse the internet with at least decent speeds, you should select a proxy that has the highest speed. Not all proxy addresses also work, so you may have to end up trying multiple ones until you come upon one that does the trick.

So looking at the above proxy list, I would first select 179.60.241.173, copy it to the clipboard and keep the 8080 port number in mind (as I'll be needing to input it later onwards).

Do not simply copy and use this proxy address I'm using or refer to the screenshot I posted for addresses. Proxies change all the time, so you most likely won't be able to continuously use the same ones for an infinite amount of time.

Let's briefly go over how to actually switch to a proxy address in your internet browser settings. All browsers will be different, but in general they should all give you adjustable proxy settings.

In Firefox, proxy options are located under browser options/preferences in Advanced -> Network -> Connection -> Settings.


After clicking "Manual proxy configuration", you need to enter the proxy address you copied previously and paste it into the "HTTP Proxy" number field. Additionally, input the port number tied to that proxy address into the "Port" field. Leave everything else unchanged and save the changes.


In Chrome, proxy settings can be changed by going to Settings -> Show Advanced Settings -> Network -> Change Proxy Settings. The steps should then be the same as Firefox above.

After changing the proxy, you can then test the page that you couldn't access earlier by simply reloading or going to the address again. If you cannot get the page to load or you are still getting error messages, you should go on to try the next proxy address.

So after doing that, I was able to access SAVEDATA.JP's save codes pages again!


Now that you know how proxies work, you can use it to your advantage in other ways, and I do mean not strictly for Japanese web content exclusively.

Monday, June 2, 2014

Game Genie with Dynasty Warriors 8: Xtreme Legends


You may have remembered I posted a guide on this blog on how to mod your weapons in Dynasty Warriors 8 via Windows software Bruteforce Save Data.

Mod?! What a crime, you say! But nah, this came into existence dominantly because the majority of people, including myself, absolutely dreaded the awful weapon tempering system in the game originally. Modding weapons was therefore a way to relieve yourself (your temper, not your pants) of this agony and have some actual fun with the game once again. It was also useful for test purposes, e.g. testing out different element builds.

Albeit the weapon tempering has gotten much better and almost perfected in Xtreme Legends, people who have used it have been kind of spoiled, apparently. They desired to mod their weapons (and other bits) in Xtreme Legends as well, even though the only thing that urges any modding now is the endless grinding and farming the game requires.

I have to maybe pause and say that some things are better left in secret. KOEI has caught onto our shameful tactics and in defense have double layer encrypted their game saves starting from DW8:XL and onwards. This means that Bruteforce Save Data can no longer be used to decrypt the game saves in order to modify their data. Even worse, the developer of Bruteforce Save Data has withdrawn development of the software entirely and pulled it off from his own website. Oddly, I still can't find reasoning of the sudden departure, but this may potentially mean the road will look very bleak for support of newer games, even for mere profile resigning.

Nevertheless, double layer encryption is not foul proof. It can still be destroyed via third party devices such as Game Genie (English) and Cyber Save Editor (Japanese). Yes, Game Genie still exists and not a mere distant memory from the 90s. I know for a fact that Cyber Save Editor has added support for the latest KOEI games such as DW8:XL and SW4 (as documented at savedata.jp). These are of course the Japanese versions. There is still uncertainty that English versions of these games are supported in Cyber Save Editor (Japanese do play our games too, ya know?!)

Anyway, onto the most important part—viewer T Blipz has written the following message to me through e-mail and declares I should let everyone know of this. Hence, I shall not let him down.

He states that basically Game Genie can now decrypt DW8:XL and allow hex editing:


Therefore, if you want to continue to mod stuff in DW8:XL, then Game Genie (English games) or Cyber Save Editor (Japanese games) will be your only bets. The best thing is that Game Genie is a mere 30 bucks, compared to $50-$100 for Cyber Save Editor.

Now stop asking me how to mod stuff in DW8:XL. :) And I have no experience in either of these and never used them, so please don't ask me how to use them. Besides, I believe there are already a few guides on the internet for both.

Finally, I wonder what KOEI will do now knowing of this evil I just unleashed through the bag... *Gulp*

tl&dr: DW8:XL cannot be used with Bruteforce Save Data; however, you can now overcome that with Game Genie.

Friday, November 8, 2013

SAVEDATA.JP - Ultimate Website for all Your Japanese Game Save Needs!

I know I mentioned SAVEDATA.JP earlier in November 4th's post titled "Musou Orochi 2 Japanese Platinum Game Save"; however, I felt like this awesome website deserves a more honorable and noticeable mention. I also wanted to give a little tutorial on how to navigate the website (whether you understand Japanese or not) and how to download game saves and find game save codes (for usage with Bruteforce Save Data).

So basically, if you're reading this post and are thus far interested, you should head on over to SAVEDATA.JP now. By the way, give it a bookmark as I'm sure you will refer back to it in the future.

When you first arrive at the website, you'll be greeted to a list of game consoles with links next to each:


Sounds like you know what to do right? Yep, simply click on the picture or link to the console you want to find game saves and codes for.

Afterwards, things get a little more complicated if you don't understand Japanese. Ignore all the guff on the top and scroll down the page until you start seeing a list of game names for that console (in Japanese, of course).

Game list for the PS3 page of SAVEDATA.JP
Conveniently, the website provides a link to the game's respective Amazon.jp page. Therefore, if you aren't familiar with the Japanese title, simply click on the link and you will be directed to that game's Amazon.jp page. There, you can then use the game's box photos to determine what game it is.

Okay, so you have found the game you are looking for. Now what?

There are three links next to each game, these are from left to right: Save Data, Save Edit, Questions and Other.

Save Data will direct to a message board where users on the website can upload their own game save for the game. This is what you will want to go to if you're only looking to download full game saves. Most of the time, these game saves will be 100% complete and have platinum status trophy. Each game save will be different in content and progress, so be sure to read the uploader's description (you can use Google Translate if you don't understand Japanese). Be wary of game saves that are heavily modified with codes, resulting in non-legit data and strange gameplay.

Downloading game saves will require you to resign them to your own PS3 profile before you can use them. Please see my "How to Resign PS3 Game Saves" post for more information regarding this.

Save Edit will direct to a message board where users on the website can share their codes for the game. By codes, I mean the cheats you can apply to game saves via Bruteforce Save Data. This is a more confusing area for those who won't understand Japanese. Regardless, Google Translate can also help here. If you are completely unsure of what a code does, feel free to e-mail me about it and I'll gladly translate it for you!

Questions and Other is a message board where users on the website can exchange information for one another and ask questions about the game. You don't really need to be here unless you understand Japanese.

And that's pretty much it to using SAVEDATA.JP. Simple, easy and effective, right?

Thursday, August 29, 2013

How to Resign Xbox 360 Game Saves

Recently, I received an e-mail from someone (who I decided should remain anonymous here), asking if there was a way to resign game saves on the Xbox 360 as easy as the PS3 with no modding required.

I'm glad he/she asked, because just a few days ago I had to resign a Lost Planet 2 game save on the Xbox 360. But yes, resigning game saves on the Xbox 360 is just as easy if not easier than the PS3.

So here's how you do it:

Requirements:
  • Game save you wish to resign
  • Game save of your own from your own console and profile
  • USB stick/drive (configured to Xbox 360 specifications)
  • Horizon
  • PC with Windows XP, 7 or 8

 

STEP 1: Format/Customize USB stick in Xbox 360 and copy a game save to it


The first thing you will need to accomplish is to configure your USB stick in order for the Xbox 360 to read and write files to it. This can be easily done by inserting a USB stick in your Xbox 360, going to System > Storage, select the USB stick and select "Configure Now".



When it's done configuring, copy any of your own game save to the USB stick from your profile. It doesn't have to be from same game as the one you're trying to resign.

STEP 2: Obtain game save you wish to resign


You will now need the game save you wish to resign. For this guide, I'll be using a Lost Planet 2 100% save I downloaded from a gaming forums.

The game save has to be a complete game save and not a character save. If you want to learn how to resign character saves, go down to the section labeled "How to Resign Character Saves".

Put the game save somewhere you can remember.

STEP 3: Download Horizon


Horizon is a tool set for working with Xbox 360 configured USB devices. It has a built-in save resigner tool and that's what makes it important and crucial for this guide.

You can download Horizon here. It is freeware.

Once downloaded, run the installer to install the program. Do not launch it yet.

STEP 4: Resign game save with Horizon


Plug in your USB stick to your PC and then run Horizon. Proceed to update the software if necessary.

When it opens, click on the "Tools" tab and then click "Package Manager". It should launch a new Package Manager window.


Click the blue "Open" button and select the game save file you wish to resign.


Click the "Device Explorer" tab on the right. It should spring load the explorer window with your USB stick contents.

Go to "Games" > "Your Game Name" > "Your Game Name Save", like below:


Double click the game save to open it up. It should launch another Package Manger window. Your screen should now look something like this:


Now, what you want to do is to copy the "Profile ID" of the game save from your USB stick and paste it to the "Profile ID" of the game save you want to resign.

Leave the "Console ID" and "Device ID" alone and do not copy it over.


Once that's all done, click the red button labeled "Save, Hash, and Resign".

Now, click on "Save to Device" and select your flash drive. Click "Yes" to the confirmation dialog.


All done!

STEP 4: Final moments


Remove your USB stick from your PC and plug it back into your Xbox 360.

You can either now just play your game and launch the game save directly from the USB stick or copy it back into your Memory Unit or HDD.

How to Resign Character Saves


Sometimes you may encounter or want to resign a character save rather than a complete game save. Character saves are usually labeled as SaveGame.sav while complete saves are Save0001.sav.

What you want to do here is to create and save a dummy character in your game, copy it over to your USB stick, then open the game save in Horizon.

Click the "Contents" tab. Right click the "Entry Name" and select "Replace". Select the character save you downloaded/obtain.

Don't forget to click "Save, Hash and Resign". Afterwards, you should be good to go.


NEED HELP?


Please post a comment directly in this post or send me an e-mail.

Other Posts You May Like:

How to Transfer Region on PS3 Game Saves
How to Resign PS3 Game Saves

Sunday, August 25, 2013

Dynasty Warriors 8 Weapon Modding (US and EU)

In July, I made a post about modding your weapons for the Japanese version of Dynasty Warriors 8. In order to bring fairness to the rest of everyone, I'm going to do a version for both the English North American and Europe version of Dynasty Warriors 8.

Now why would you want to do this? The following scenarios can make weapon modding a valid choice for you:

* You wish to avoid the laborious and semi-lottery style weapon tempering process in the game completely.
* You wish to not have to waste any materials such as weapons and weapon materials.
* You don't have the materials for tempering and don't want to waste time obtaining them.
* You want one or more perfectly tailored weapon(s) with the exact affinity, elements and element levels instantly.
* You want to change one or more current elements and/or affinity on a weapon.
* You want to experiment with different element builds without punishment.
* You are doing tiers/rankings.

Now this guide will be essentially the same as the Japanese version. The only difference will be in the elements list and rewording of a few things (due to official English translations).

Remember, all you need for this is an ordinary PS3 (does not have to be modded in any way), USB stick, a PC equipped with Windows and 5-10 minutes of your time.

There is NO extra experience or knowledge required, except being able to match up numbers with words!

Dynasty Warriors 8: Xtreme Legends Note: This mod WILL work, but you will need to use the Dynasty Warriors 8: Xtreme Legends decrypter tool to decrypt the second layer of encryption.

Requirements:
  • Playstation 3 console (on OFW or CFW)
  • USB stick or drive - to transfer your game save from PS3 to PC and vice versa
  • PC with Windows XP, Vista, 7 or 8
  • Dynasty Warriors 8 game save
  • Bruteforce Save Data
  • HxD hex editor (built-in with Bruteforce Save Data)

 

STEP 1: Copy your game save to your PC


You will need to have your game save stored and accessible on your PC as you will be modifying its contents. The easiest way to do this is to insert a FAT32 formatted USB stick in your PS3 and copying the game save to the stick, then copy it onto your PC.

The game save should be located on your USB stick in PS3\SAVEDATA. Copy the entire NPUB31234-SAVEDATA or NPEB01364-SAVEDATA folder to your PC and leave it somewhere you can remember.

Important! Always make a backup of your game save in case anything ever goes wrong. I recommend creating a new folder called "SAVEDATA BACKUP" and putting an extra copy of your game save there. I will not be held responsible for any damages caused to your game save if you fail to make constant backups.

STEP 2: Download and configure Bruteforce Save Data


Bruteforce Save Data is a powerful game save data swiss army knife for Playstation 3. It allows one to decyrpt and encrypt game save files, add cheats, transfer region, transfer saves to another owner, and more. For this specific scenario, we will only need to use it to decrypt and encrypt files.

Download Bruteforce Save Data here. 

Once it's finished downloading, extract the RAR file and run the installer. Do not run the program yet.

Create a new folder on your desktop or anywhere else you like and name it "SAVEDATA". This folder will be the folder where you store all your game saves for usage with Bruteforce Save Data. Make sure that wherever directory you store it in is NOT write protected!

Drag/copy your Dynasty Warriors 8 save folder (NPUB31234-SAVEDATA/NPEB01364-SAVEDATA) to this "SAVEDATA" folder.

Download this pre-configured game.conf file and replace the existing game.conf in your Bruteforce Save Data program folder (located in C:\Program Files (x86)\Bruteforce Save Data). This will update the database with Dynasty Warriors 8 game keys so the program can decrypt and encrypt the game save.

Now it's time to run Bruteforce Save Data.

Windows Vista, 7 and 8: Run Bruteforce Save Data as an administrator by right clicking the program icon and then selecting "Run as administrator". This is very crucial! If you don't wish to do this every time you re-open the program, go to the BruteforceSaveData.exe in Windows Explorer, right click and select "Properties", then go to "Compatibility" tab and check "Run this program as administrator". Alternately, you can simply disable Windows User Account Control (UAC).

Windows XP: You can just simply double click the program icon to launch. Although, if you run into strange issues, you may want to try running as an Administrator.

If you receive an error message regarding msvbvm50.dll missing, you need to install Visual Basic Runtime 5.

You may be also requested to download Microsoft Visual Basic C++ 2010 (x86) if you don't have it installed in your system. Downloading and installing this is a must!

If all is well, you should be greeted with a nice big window.


It may ask you to download the latest cheats file, simply ignore this and close the window.

Ignore any of the program's requests to input a console ID and User ID. You don't need to setup a PARAM.SFO template either. Just leave them all at default.

The first thing we need to do is click on the "..." button and select the "SAVEDATA" folder of where our game saves are (the one we created earlier). So go ahead and do that. Once selected, your save files should show up.

SAVEDATA folder selected as the path.

Take note of the "Key" section, there should be numbers in this field. If it's empty, you have forgotten to replace the game.conf file as directed earlier and must do so before continuing.

STEP 3: Decrypt game save files


In the Bruteforce Save Data window, make sure NPUB31234-SAVEDATA/NPEB01364-SAVEDATA is selected on the top window and click on "Decrypt PFD" button then "Decrypt All Files". You can also simply use Ctrl + D to decrypt.

How to decrypt the game save files.

After it has successfully decrypted, you should see the window turn green. This indicates the game save files are decrypted. Ignore any disc hash key errors you get.

Game save files successfully decrypted.

STEP 4: Open APP.BIN with hex editor


The APP.BIN is the file that contains all of our actual game save data. Since we decrypted it earlier, we can now open it directly with a hex editor to modify its contents. You can do this by double clicking the APP.BIN file within Bruteforce Save Data. It will open the file in HxD.

Initial opening of APP.BIN in HxD.

Once opened, you should see a bunch of scary looking hex data that no regular being can decipher. Don't worry, you will know exactly what to edit soon.

Make sure your APP.BIN file looks very close to this when you open it in HxD. It should have LOTS of 00s. If it doesn't, you didn't decrypt it or something wrong went with the decryption.

STEP 5: Obtain hex values for weapons you want to edit


Since there's no easy way to locate the exact locations of where certain weapon values are stored on the APP.BIN file, we need to refer back to the actual game to fish them out.

With that being stated, leave your PC and go to your Dynasty Warriors 8 game running on your PS3. Head into any mode where you can access full information about your weapons. Select a particular weapon you want to edit and take a note of its elements. The type of weapon you select doesn't matter. You can even edit gold and treasure weapons if you want.

Now, take a look at the list below. This list details all the weapon elements available in the game and their respective hex values.

FF = Empty/No Element
00 = Thorns
01 = Awareness
02 = Survival
03 = Frenzy
04 = Barricade
05 = Aggression (Musou)
06 = Flurry
07 = Velocity
08 = Chain
09 = Inferno
0A = Frost
0B = Thunder
0C = Cyclone
0D = Slash
0E = Venom
0F = Flash
10 = Spurt
11 = Recovery
12 = Uplift
13 = Enlightment
14 = Explosive
15 = Induction
16 = Vigor
17 = Jolt
18 = Desperation
19 = Resolve
1A = Swiftness
1B = Agility
1C = Aggression (Affinity)
1D = Protection
1E = Fear
1F = Awe
20 = Morass
21 = Jubilation
22 = Roar
23 = Triumph
24 = Greed
25 = Fury
26 = Ridigty
27 = Whirlwind

Look at the weapon you want to edit again, and match up the elements on it with their hex values. On a notepad or piece of paper, write down the element hex values in the order they appear on the weapon.

Need an example? Say my weapon elements are Flash Jubilation Triumph Thorns Flurry Swiftness. So looking at the list, I would write down 0F 21 23 00 06 1A.

The weapon I chose to edit.

A weapon will not always have six elements. So in these cases, simply write down all the element hex values it does have, then append FF to each element that it doesn’t have until it equals six total (e.g. 0C 1E 07 12 FF FF, for a weapon that only has 4 elements). To be certain you don’t edit the wrong weapon during the actual hex editing process, you’ll definitely need a weapon that has at least 4 elements attached to it.

If you plan on editing more than one weapon, take this opportunity to additionally write down the element hex values for all those weapons you're going to edit. Make sure you are using memorable labels for each, as you can get easily confused as to which hex values belong to which weapons later on.

STEP 6: Edit weapon hex values in APP.BIN


It's finally time to actually edit your weapons!

With the APP.BIN file still opened in HxD, hit Ctrl + F to open the find tool. Enter the hex values to the weapon you want to edit in the “Search for” text box. Change the datatype to “Hex-values” and check “All” under "Search direction".


The hex editor should now find your exact weapon location in the file based upon the hex values you provided it. If it fails to find anything, check back in the game and ensure that you did not write down the wrong hex values for the elements or write them in the wrong order.

You can now alter the hex values to your liking, i.e. changing the affinity, attack power, elements and element levels the weapon is currently stamped with. To change the elements, simply change the current six highlighted hex values to hex values of the new elements you want—using the list mentioned earlier as a guide.

You can use the picture below to see where each weapon data is positioned:


Changing affinity:  
The hex values for each affinity are as follows -
00 = Heaven
01 = Earth
02 = Man

Changing attack power:  
You can’t just simply input any number here you like and expect it to work. You will need to use a decimal to hex converter first, such as http://www.binaryhexconverter.com/decimal-to-hex-converter. The max value or attack power you can use is 255, or FF in hex.

I never change this value as doing so will break the game's rules, which I don't condone.

Changing element levels:  
Element levels are from 01-10, but in hex format 10 is actually 0A. Hence, if you want to edit the level to level 10, you must use 0A as the hex value. Values for non-existent elements are marked with 00.

Here, I will change that Eagle Claw to the following:
Affinity: Man
Elements: Cyclone Lv.10, Velocity Lv.10, Explosive Lv.10, Induction Lv.10, Thunder Lv.10, Slash Lv.10

The end editing results looks like this:

Red indicates values that have been changed.

To edit another weapon, bring up the find tool again (Ctrl + F) and input your next weapon hex values, hit "OK" to find its location, edit it to your content, then simply repeat the process as necessary.

Caution if you have an interim save:
All of your weapon data may be doubled when you have an interim save. Hence, you may need to find the weapon you want to edit twice and edit it twice. Otherwise the modified weapon may only appear on the interim save and not elsewhere or vice versa.

Once you're done editing, save the file by hitting Ctrl + S. You can then close the hex editor.

STEP 7: Encrypt the game save files   


This step is simple and quick. In Bruteforce Save Data with NPUB31234-SAVEDATA/NPEB01364-SAVEDATA still selected, click the "Update PFD" button then select "Update PFD (Partial)". You can also just hit Ctrl + U. Do not use the Encrypt PFD option. The green will vanish and the window will return back to white color.

Re-encrypting the game save files.

This will now re-encrypt the file, allowing it to be then safely transferred back to your PS3 without any issues. If you forget to do this step, the game will tell you the game save is corrupted and force you to delete it and create a new one (when you transfer it back to your PS3).

Game save successfully re-encrypted.

STEP 8: Transfer game save to PS3 and test it out   


You can now copy the modified save data back into your PS3. If all is well, you should have your weapon(s) modified to your desire without having to deal with any of the game's annoying in-game nuisances. Best yet, you can modify a weapon into a dream weapon in under 5 minutes compared to hours doing it in game!

Weapon change success!

Have fun, and remember—don't use this method to purposely gain an unfair advantage in the game. Meaning, create legit weapons and not illegit weapons that has impossible stats. Don't go just starting into the game and decide to mod your weapons either. You should only use this to shed time off attempting to get good weapons with the game's poor tempering system.


I NEED HELP!!!


E-mail me. It is the fastest way to get me to respond.


VIDEO GUIDE


Thanks to XthemastaX, he created a video detailing the steps and process.