DCEmulation

SWAT just released a new version adding a Free Region setting.

about the odd region that's normal it's because the dc_flash of the hkt-0120 devkit is filled of 0xFF (so there is no region setting on the flash, the region is likely to be set directly in the bios, or maybe the bios reads some dip switch status to set its region acordingly.

Have you tried to run a cd-r with an ip.bin that doesn't have the JUE region but only one ?

Actually he uses the setting I spoke about, however as far as I tested it (in Chankast) it is not region free but only Japan (or usa if set to 9) with a black swirl :/ as the regions just repeat themselves.

As I said before : X = Japan Y = USA Z= EU (all display black swirls)

some values such as B or C are also valid regions (and they display coloured swirls) most of the values are black swirls though

I just emailed a Dc-Swat guy about mathieulh saying that the so-called-region-free-code don't works.

I also tested a normal dc_bios.bin (from my DC) with the hkt-0120 bios's flash and it don't works, it fuxxx up th intro screen and don't boot cdrs.

-=FamilyGuy=-

You are right; I tried it on my retail Dreamcast and with the "Free" setting it only boots discs with J in the IP.BIN.

Well, it's sad .. but it means DC-SWAT could add a black swirl option to region codes

-=FamilyGuy=-

ok, some more news, I couldn't find any region free value for the retail bios and I doubt there is one, thus I conducted more investigation on the HKT-0120 bios.

First of all, it is region coded, on my hacked bios (that's half working) it tries to boot multi-region cd-r (JUE) but not a cd-r with only european region that I tested.

Then I wondered what made the hkt-0120 not run with the retail flash and I found out that for an unknown reason the very first bit located at 0x1A000 need to be set to FF otherwise the bios wont run.

Familly guy, is the bios you have hacked to run any regions as well ?

I have yet to find the region setting in the hkt-0120 bios but I think that it is located in the bios itself and not in the flash. Which would make sense if the bios chip on devkits isn't mask rom.

So, Region Changer 1.6 is definitely not working as advertised? Darc, you did the internal mod on your DC as well as running the disc, right? Has anyone else tried it? Could it be that it works on some DCs and not others or something?

I don't understand how SWAT and puch666 could release this without ever testing to see if it actually worked. I mean, what made them think that it would work in the first place if they didn't test it?

I'm trying it tonight anyway since I already procured some solder from work. If it really doesn't work, at least my DC will be ready if a version of the Region Changer software ever comes out that really does allow you to set your DC region-free.


...word is bondage...

They released this really-simple update to region changer based on infos mathieulh said on this forum, at the time he though it was working, but it wasn't it was japan but with a blackswirl, he thought it was working because usually black swirls don't boot games. So it's not SWAT fault, nor mathieulh's one. but with what mathieulh found, it could be possible to add a "black swirl" option in region changer.

Also, I don't think puch666 did the release with dc-swat ...

The frontpage news should be edited ...

-=FamilyGuy=-

adding a black swirl for each region is easy, use X for japan (instead of 0), Y for usa (instead of 1) Z for Euro (instead of 2)

Yeah, but to ahve it on a retail console, they must update region changer

Also, I just tested if the hkt-0120 hacked bios is really multi-region, and in fact it's region free ...

It boots J, U, E and NONE region coded games (I always modify my image in the ip.bin on the JUE thing AND the For USA and Canada thing too)

Here's the images it boots : http://www.megaupload.com/fr/?d=M4FF5JFP

All region changer but with different region codes.


Good Luck !

-=FamilyGuy=-

Can you ask the author if I can have it ? It would save me from hacking it myself. I'll try to get it into a retail dreamcast by replacing the bios chip.

Well, I'll ask, but I noticed that my chankast would boot any region games even iwth my own dreamcast's bios ...

Weird no ? ...

Anyway you can still test the images I sent with yours ...

ok I will, still as far as I tested before, the original hkt-0120 bios is region coded to run only japanese games

UPDATE: I just looked at your images with an hex editor, they are not properly edited, the IP.BIN appears twice but it is only edited once on the cdi images, the second iteration is still JUE, which explains why the images allways boot. Take a look at offset 0x36ADC8 of your images you will notice the following:

Oh ... They put it twice ? ...

Maybe because it's a data/data selfboot cd ...

I'll test it with both removed.

[EDIT] It only worked with Japan ip.bin ... really dunno why though ... Maybe Puch666 modded it so it is a japan bios, because the original bios ( on the hkt-0120 itself ) is region free. I mean: maybe that to add the Mil-Cd exploit add the region code too ...

It'd be cool to have a dump of one of the region-free dc that sega sold online at the end of the DC production ... but to run dc-load serial on theses console to dump it, we would need a dc-load serial GD-R and a systemdisc2... if anybody have all of this ... it might worth trying it ...

Um, he released a program that claimed to do something without ever testing to see if it actually could do that thing. I can't imagine any scenario in which that would not be his fault. It doesn't mean he's a horrible person who should be shot on sight, but he did something pretty stupid and it's entirely his fault. All he had to do was try putting games from different regions in his Dreamcast to find out if this mod worked, but he didn't do that and instead just released the mod on pure faith or something.

I still don't understand why he thought it would work. Even if it was only tested with one game which happened to be Japanese and he was surprised to find that this hack booted the game, I don't understand how you could jump from that fact to the conclusion that the hack would be capable of booting any game regardless of region.

Anyway, I did the internal mod, but the CDI image provided will not convert to NRG with CDI2Nero. CDI2Nero says the second session contains 0 tracks. Since Nero is the only burning software I have, could someone provide the plain 1ST_READ.BIN so that I can make my own disc? Thanks.


I've never heard of such Dreamcasts. Where did you hear of them. They're just normal Dreamcasts but without any region detection and they were actually sold to regular consumers? You mean the ones available from Sega-Direct in Japan that they sold with Under Defeat? Or something earlier than that?


...word is bondage...

Actually it is because ip0000.bin (there have allways been 2 ip.bin files in GD-ROMS, one ip0000.bin located in the low density track (but not repertoried by the track's toc, and thus invisible by the iso9660 fs ) and one in the high density track called ip.bin located at sector 45150 of the GD-ROM (both files are beeing identical) the bios detects that the disc is a GD-ROM by first reading the IP0000.BIN in the low density area, then if it finds it, it gets to gd-rom mode (unless it is a mil-cd) , reads the security ring (that physically separates the low density track from the high density track and which makes the only difference between a GD-ROM and a GD-R ) if it is legit then it looks for ip.bin at sector 45150 and reads the toc supplied with it and jumps to the boot file specificed in ip.bin (usually 1st_read.bin)

This is why ip.bin appears 2 times.

About the hkt-0120 bios, it has never been region free to begin with, it's allways been region coded and the region got changed by the use of dip switches on the front of the devkit. At the time the bios got dumped it is likely that the switches were set to JPN so the bios will only read Japanese discs.

Dumping the bios while the jumpers are set to another region (such as EU) would be a good idea to figure where the region setting is located (as it isn't in the flash)

Also the patches that I have done myself in the hkt-0120 to try to make it boot cd-rs makes it try to boot cd-r (it does crash at the "licenced by sega" screen though) with J (or JUE) only in IP.BIN

@ Sweater Fish : Errors are human, the region changer is still by itself a great improvement and I greet DC-Swat for it.
I did say that I did not have time to test it, I also said it using the following words: "I think that I found...." meaning it is not absolute and needed more testings before beeing fully sure of the hack. I think that dc-swat just rushed in and believed it was true because cd-r did boot while the bios had a black swirl.

Mistakes can happen and we can use what we learn from those to improve existing hacks.
I am looking forward any future region changer release and you should be grateful that such an application even exists and that dc-swat gives his time to make it better.

Sorry but you're wrong, ip0000.bin is the begining of the ip.bin (from start to the end of the game name) repeated 16 times in the first 16 sectors of the low density session(test it with any retail gd-rom you have in your pc), In region changer the ip.bin is in the image 2 times, and the ip0000.bin isn't even there (as on the majority of selfboot apps.).

And ip.bin is what we all know it is. What you said about the bootstrap is good too.

So your mistake was to say that ip0000.bin = ip.bin

I fact, in audio/data selfboot backups/apps, ip.bin is present only one time so I really think it's because it's a data/data boot cd (with 2 sessions and linked files).

@Sweater Fish : Yeah Swat did an error by not testing it, but they based it on what mathieulh said and many of their members don't speak nor read english well, maybe they thought he tested it. Error is human, this only proves thay aren't god ! (but no too far since they coded region changer and found the way to do it)


-=FamilyGuy=-

Of course.

You are right, ip0000.bin != IP.bin but the region setting is still there nonetheless :p
still it indeed doesn't have anything to see with why the ip.bin was twice in the image.
Here is the ip0000.bin and ip.bin from the first PAL shenmue2 GD-ROM so other can notice the differences.

looks like we need to hack the bios and the region check, I started to reverse the retail bios and I am affraid there is no region free value I could spot. I doubt that sega even allowed a region free setting, thus we have no choice but to patch the bios itself, still it would be better than to use the hkt-0120 bios rather than the retail one.