PSO Network Trial Edition?

Sylverant is a homebrew open source server for Phantasy Star Online. Dreamcast users still play PSO online with this server even today! This is the official forum for both the online game server as well as the open source project itself. Feel free to post and get a gathering started online! We can also show you how to get connected!

Moderators: BlueCrab, Aleron Ives

User avatar
BlueCrab
The Crabby Overlord
The Crabby Overlord
Posts: 5652
https://www.artistsworkshop.eu/meble-kuchenne-na-wymiar-warszawa-gdzie-zamowic/
Joined: Mon May 27, 2002 11:31 am
Location: Sailing the Skies of Arcadia
Has thanked: 9 times
Been thanked: 69 times
Contact:

Re: PSO Network Trial Edition?

Post by BlueCrab »

Well, as of this evening, Iselia now allows the NTE to actually get online and to the lobby. Pretty much nothing works in the lobby except running around (and changing lobbies), but it is a start. :lol:
User avatar
Aleron Ives
DCEmu Nutter
DCEmu Nutter
Posts: 870
Joined: Wed Jan 05, 2011 2:15 pm
Location: California
Has thanked: 0
Been thanked: 25 times
Contact:

Re: PSO Network Trial Edition?

Post by Aleron Ives »

Does it actually have the lobby skins, or does it have ten Lobby 1s? :lol:
"Fear the HUnewearl."
Image
User avatar
BlueCrab
The Crabby Overlord
The Crabby Overlord
Posts: 5652
Joined: Mon May 27, 2002 11:31 am
Location: Sailing the Skies of Arcadia
Has thanked: 9 times
Been thanked: 69 times
Contact:

Re: PSO Network Trial Edition?

Post by BlueCrab »

Aleron Ives wrote:Does it actually have the lobby skins, or does it have ten Lobby 1s? :lol:
They're different colors, as you would expect them to be.
User avatar
Jack L.
DCEmu Cool Newbie
DCEmu Cool Newbie
Posts: 12
Joined: Sun Jun 16, 2013 2:58 pm
Has thanked: 0
Been thanked: 0

Re: PSO Network Trial Edition?

Post by Jack L. »

Very nice, kinda makes me want to try and pick up a copy somehow.
User avatar
BlueCrab
The Crabby Overlord
The Crabby Overlord
Posts: 5652
Joined: Mon May 27, 2002 11:31 am
Location: Sailing the Skies of Arcadia
Has thanked: 9 times
Been thanked: 69 times
Contact:

Re: PSO Network Trial Edition?

Post by BlueCrab »

That reminds me... I forgot to update this with any progress since Thursday...

I managed to get chatting to work right in the lobby, both to and from the NTE. There's only one problem (and I'm reasonably sure this is a bug/oversight in the game)... Namely, if there are two people in the game or lobby with the same name, the word bubbles will always appear over the person with the lower client ID in the lobby/game. Unfortunately, I have yet to find a way around this, and looking at the code makes it seem to me unlikely that there is any way around it. :?

Oh well.
User avatar
shadowrod
DCEmu Freak
DCEmu Freak
Posts: 59
Joined: Mon Dec 06, 2010 4:09 pm
Has thanked: 0
Been thanked: 0

Re: PSO Network Trial Edition?

Post by shadowrod »

I remember I used to play in schtserv with my PC NTE lol. I also know that the character goes directly to forest instead of going to p2. Anyway i would like to know if you noticed some p2 data on the disk or some beta stuff ( perhaps grass assassin´s data hdden and not enabled on forest)when dissecting the game.
User avatar
BlueCrab
The Crabby Overlord
The Crabby Overlord
Posts: 5652
Joined: Mon May 27, 2002 11:31 am
Location: Sailing the Skies of Arcadia
Has thanked: 9 times
Been thanked: 69 times
Contact:

Re: PSO Network Trial Edition?

Post by BlueCrab »

The Dreamcast NTE takes you to Pioneer 2 when you get in game. :wink:
User avatar
shadowrod
DCEmu Freak
DCEmu Freak
Posts: 59
Joined: Mon Dec 06, 2010 4:09 pm
Has thanked: 0
Been thanked: 0

Re: PSO Network Trial Edition?

Post by shadowrod »

BlueCrab wrote:The Dreamcast NTE takes you to Pioneer 2 when you get in game. :wink:

Wow that´s cool Blue!!! I wonder why in pc versions pioneer 2 is not enabled...
User avatar
BlueCrab
The Crabby Overlord
The Crabby Overlord
Posts: 5652
Joined: Mon May 27, 2002 11:31 am
Location: Sailing the Skies of Arcadia
Has thanked: 9 times
Been thanked: 69 times
Contact:

Re: PSO Network Trial Edition?

Post by BlueCrab »

The PC Network Trial was probably more meant to give people a limited demo of the game. It was designed to draw interest from people, not really as a testing tool.

The Dreamcast Network Trial was arguably a public beta. They were still working out the bugs in the game and the server, and it shows in certain things that it does. The Dreamcast NTE is more of a testing tool than anything else.
User avatar
Aleron Ives
DCEmu Nutter
DCEmu Nutter
Posts: 870
Joined: Wed Jan 05, 2011 2:15 pm
Location: California
Has thanked: 0
Been thanked: 25 times
Contact:

Re: PSO Network Trial Edition?

Post by Aleron Ives »

That's my interpretation as well. The PC trial is a demo that lets people experience PSO's combat system as a way to get them interested in buying the full game (and paying the Hunter's License fee). The Dreamcast trial was a beta test to let Japanese players report problems with the game to give Sega an extra chance to fix them before releasing the retail version.

Remember also that the PC demo was released at a time when HDD space was limited and Internet speeds were slow, so Sega wanted to make the demo as small of a download as possible. The Dreamcast demo came on a disc, so they didn't need to worry about space. PC also has a non-network demo that's even more primitive: it only has Forest 1, you can only play as a HUmar, you can't get hit, and there are no menus. That demo clocks in at 10 MB, whereas the NTE is 80. On dial up, the smaller the demo, the better. ;)
"Fear the HUnewearl."
Image
User avatar
BlueCrab
The Crabby Overlord
The Crabby Overlord
Posts: 5652
Joined: Mon May 27, 2002 11:31 am
Location: Sailing the Skies of Arcadia
Has thanked: 9 times
Been thanked: 69 times
Contact:

Re: PSO Network Trial Edition?

Post by BlueCrab »

So... The newly released version 2.0 of the Sylverant PSO Patcher now supports patching the Network Trial Edition to connect to the server. Nothing new has been added on the server recently in regard to the NTE, but I figured I should mention that the patcher now supports it. :wink:
Treamcaster
Insane DCEmu
Insane DCEmu
Posts: 148
Joined: Mon Jul 02, 2007 1:11 pm
Has thanked: 1 time
Been thanked: 0

Re: PSO Network Trial Edition?

Post by Treamcaster »

Wow, just wow... I'm impressed someone actually is getting the NTE to work! Congratulations Bluecrab! :thumbup: Makes me glad that I bought myself a copy a while back. Too bad I don't have it or my dreamcast atm with me to test this out.
The screens you posted are great! I wish we could see some p2 screens as well! Keep up the awesome job!
MichaelStenberg
DCEmu Newbie
DCEmu Newbie
Posts: 5
Joined: Mon Jan 21, 2013 10:34 am
Has thanked: 0
Been thanked: 0

Re: PSO Network Trial Edition?

Post by MichaelStenberg »

BlueCrab wrote:
  • The game tries to connect to port 9000 of pso02.dricas.ne.jp . There are other strings nearby in the binary that also look like server hostnames (such as pso03.dricas.ne.jp, pso04.dricas.ne.jp, and pso05.dricas.ne.jp, amongst other stranger hostnames). This port wasn't used by any other Dreamcast version of the game, but was used by at least one Gamecube version of the game (and potentially by the PC version, IIRC). I'm guessing the other pso hostnames are backup server names? No idea about the other hostnames in the binary.
I'm not sure if this helps explain this, but according to a post here, it looks like each server was its own ship. Is that correct? Was each server a back up for one going down just in case? I'm not sure but I did find it interesting.
User avatar
Aleron Ives
DCEmu Nutter
DCEmu Nutter
Posts: 870
Joined: Wed Jan 05, 2011 2:15 pm
Location: California
Has thanked: 0
Been thanked: 25 times
Contact:

Re: PSO Network Trial Edition?

Post by Aleron Ives »

It's possible that alpha versions of PSO were configured to let you connect to ships directly, and even though the final version doesn't do that, the strings were left behind. PSOv1 contains a mountain of useless debugging information that Sega was too lazy to purge when compiling the final game, so it would make sense for the NTE to contain just as much useless text.
"Fear the HUnewearl."
Image
MichaelStenberg
DCEmu Newbie
DCEmu Newbie
Posts: 5
Joined: Mon Jan 21, 2013 10:34 am
Has thanked: 0
Been thanked: 0

Re: PSO Network Trial Edition?

Post by MichaelStenberg »

Aleron Ives wrote:It's possible that alpha versions of PSO were configured to let you connect to ships directly, and even though the final version doesn't do that, the strings were left behind. PSOv1 contains a mountain of useless debugging information that Sega was too lazy to purge when compiling the final game, so it would make sense for the NTE to contain just as much useless text.
It looks like they did this in all their games. For example, in the Episode I and II Trial Edition for Gamecube, they left in an empty folder titled "cardbattle". This would later become PSO Episode III. I wonder if they originally planned to include it, but then separated it into its own game - this game would later be highlighted on the Gamecube LCD screen. (http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/news/7789, http://www.unseen64.net/2012/03/05/phan ... -prototype)

In PSO Episode III, they left in pretty much all of the PSO Episode I and II files on the disc.
User avatar
BlueCrab
The Crabby Overlord
The Crabby Overlord
Posts: 5652
Joined: Mon May 27, 2002 11:31 am
Location: Sailing the Skies of Arcadia
Has thanked: 9 times
Been thanked: 69 times
Contact:

Re: PSO Network Trial Edition?

Post by BlueCrab »

So... After a bit of hunting, and a lot of waiting, these came to my door today:
Image
Image
tueidj
Insane DCEmu
Insane DCEmu
Posts: 115
Joined: Wed Aug 15, 2012 12:05 pm
Has thanked: 0
Been thanked: 0

Re: PSO Network Trial Edition?

Post by tueidj »

If what I've been told is correct the GC trial only works with the modem and not the BBA, can you confirm?
User avatar
BlueCrab
The Crabby Overlord
The Crabby Overlord
Posts: 5652
Joined: Mon May 27, 2002 11:31 am
Location: Sailing the Skies of Arcadia
Has thanked: 9 times
Been thanked: 69 times
Contact:

Re: PSO Network Trial Edition?

Post by BlueCrab »

Unfortunately, I haven't had a chance to run the trial editions just yet, so I can only comment on what I see in the instruction manuals.

The Episode I & II Trial Edition manual does not have any references that I can see to anything related to the broadband adapter on the Gamecube. I'm not exactly good at reading Japanese, but I know that there are a few references to things like DHCP and PPPoE in the normal Japanese Episode I & II manual that are absent from the trial version's manual. Of course, that doesn't mean all that much, considering the Dreamcast versions of PSO prior to Version 2 didn't reference the BBA on there, but still worked with it (including the Network Trial Edition), so long as it was already configured.

The Episode III trial manual definitely does have references to configuration related to the BBA. Of course, I'd expect that to be based on much later code anyway, so I wouldn't see any reason that wouldn't support the BBA.

Unfortunately, my copies don't have any sort of cardboard case cover that you'd expect on a Japanese Gamecube game (I suppose I can't expect much for how cheaply I got them), so I can't consult that to see if the BBA is mentioned there.

I'll reply back again once I get a chance to try the games out on my Gamecube (assuming I can figure out how to boot them on my US Gamecube). I'll also try to get a chance to try them out online with Devolution to see if that works (I'd assume it probably will, once I make any required server modifications).
User avatar
BlueCrab
The Crabby Overlord
The Crabby Overlord
Posts: 5652
Joined: Mon May 27, 2002 11:31 am
Location: Sailing the Skies of Arcadia
Has thanked: 9 times
Been thanked: 69 times
Contact:

Re: PSO Network Trial Edition?

Post by BlueCrab »

So, time for some initial findings on the Episode I & II Trial Edition...

First off, it works fine with Devolution on the Wii, as expected. I haven't messed around with it on my Gamecube yet, so I don't know whether it has code for the BBA or not.

It looks for its server at pso-gct01.sonic.isao.net on port 9000, so that hostname is now added to the Sylverant DNS, which will allow it to connect.

The game uses the Dreamcast encryption code -- not the code that was used by the release version of Episode I & II and Episode III. It also appears to follow the Dreamcast version 2 login sequence of sending Packet type 0x9A to start the connection, rather than the normal Gamecube sequence of sending packet 0xDB. Because the server uses a bit of trickery to sort out Dreamcast versus Gamecube clients (based on the encryption and the packet sent first), this means that the Episode I & II trial version is treated by the server as PSOv2 for the Dreamcast (since its login sequence is the same). That is to say, I need to find a way to sort this out to ensure that certain things don't break later... Of course, this could mean that the Episode I & II trial is potentially a closer relative to the Dreamcast version and might be cross-compatible (but I'm not counting on that).

Once you get on the server, the first thing you'll probably notice is that the background for the ship select screen is much like that on the Dreamcast version, just zoomed a bit differently. This is a harbinger of things to come once you get on the ship, as you'll find that the lobby looks like those from the Dreamcast version -- not the normal Gamecube lobby. Lobbies 1-15 look just like their Dreamcast counterparts (meaning you have normal lobbies for 1-10, and Go-Go Ball lobbies for the rest).

Upon creating a team, you end up on Pioneer 2, just like you would expect. The guild counter has quests (all the DCv2 quests in Japanese), which at least appears to work (I only loaded TTF, but that seemed to load fine). The gives you the option to go to Forest 1, Cave 1, or Mine 1. No idea whether Ruins would be available later or not. I didn't play around enough to find out.

So, long story short, the Episode I & II trial can get on the server and even sorta-kinda works, albeit a bit strangely. There's work to be done, when I get a chance. :wink:
User avatar
Aleron Ives
DCEmu Nutter
DCEmu Nutter
Posts: 870
Joined: Wed Jan 05, 2011 2:15 pm
Location: California
Has thanked: 0
Been thanked: 25 times
Contact:

Re: PSO Network Trial Edition?

Post by Aleron Ives »

Does it have Episode II?
"Fear the HUnewearl."
Image
Post Reply