Hey guys, I have been reading about these games and wanted to share my experiences.

I have (2) V1.0 Xboxes, both exhibit the same results:

Both Xboxes:
-V1.0 Xboxes
-X2 4977 Bios - IGR Enabled
-EvoX 1.8.3921 - IGR Disabled

Xbox 1:
-X2 Lite (X-Ecuter)
-Samsung

Xbox 2:
-Matrix (Xodus)
-Thomson

ISO's:
-Craxtion using GDFImage.
-Used Craxtion to Patch the media flags as well.
-Ritek G03 DVD-R burned with Nero6

=========================================
Crimson Skies: So far this game has worked fine from DVD-R. I have played about 6 or 7 of the missions on the opening stage. I hear it doesn' t bomb until level "2", but I don't know where that is, as there doesn't seem to be level numbers...

Amped 2: This game will not start "Career Mode". It freezes at the loading screen... The other menu options, including the Free Roam work fine. Currently testing a possible solution posed by LepPper... UPDATE: To fix find 89 74 24 0C 75 3A A1 F4 in default.xbe and replace with 89 74 24 0C 90 90 A1 F4 in a hex editor! Thanks LepPper!

Tony Hawk Underground: I just picked this game up, so I am going to back it up tonight and see if I get the "disc dirty" error that everyone is mentioning. UPDATE: This seems to be working fine. Just played free skate and story mode in NJ, all I did was backup with Craxtion and burn to dvd-r.
=========================================

My Questions Are:

Has anyone identifed and/or repaired the actual problem(s) with these games?
EDIT: YES! Read below thread...

Are any of the problems only for softmod users? Or HDD users? People are arguing all different sides, so it is hard to tell who is being effected. There seems to be a lot of confusion around these games, and none of the posts I have read really explain exactly what is going on...

I know for a fact that this is not a media issue on my xbox, or a problem with my ISO.

Figured we needed one common place to talk about all three of these games, and try to clarify it once and for all!

well i backed mine up directly from an iso on my comp and trasfered to my xbox hd and i get the video intro and then the dde

schindyguy, which game, and what are your specs?

Here is my experience -

I have XBOX Version 1.0
Xodus Matrix
Evox (latest release) with IGR set to Yes

Tony Hawk and Crimson Skies can be "patched" using a HexEditor on the default.xbe - this has been known for a long time...and it works on these games.

Replace: E8 CA FD FF FF 85 C0 7D
With: E8 CA FD FF FF 85 C0 EB
or
Replace: 74 4B E8 CA FD FF FF 85 C0 7D 06 33 C0 50 50 EB 44 F6 05
With:
74 4B E8 CA FD FF FF 85 C0 EB 06 33 C0 50 50 EB 44 F6 05

I don't remember which one was the one, but try both and one of them will work.
I can play both games perfectly fine on my XBOX.

Now...as far as Amped 2 is concerned, I have tried the ISO patches...and every other patch that I have seen in the last day or two...to no avail. I can play FreeRide fine...and I can enter the "AllLevels" cheat and play all the levels, but career mode freezes when it tries to load.

I think there is a totally different issue with Amped 2 that we need to figure out.

Just some of my thoughts and experience over the last week or so...

QUOTE

Replace: E8 CA FD FF FF 85 C0 7D With: E8 CA FD FF FF 85 C0 EB or Replace: 74 4B E8 CA FD FF FF 85 C0 7D 06 33 C0 50 50 EB 44 F6 05 With: 74 4B E8 CA FD FF FF 85 C0 EB 06 33 C0 50 50 EB 44 F6 05

Going off of memory, isn't that just the standard media flag fix? [If so, then that makes sense why these (2) games are working for me so far, as Craxtion does this media flag patching...] EDIT: Craxtion does do this, it is the standard media flag fix.

As far as Amped2, you are correct. I just tried the px patch and it didn't fix the problem either

Very informative dafinux

my experiences.

Craxtion will not patch Amp2 as it has some other parts of the file that needs patching also.

I have successfully patched however the default.xbe on AMP2 and have it working on career mode. I am looking into incorporating this into craxtion but have a lot more on the table right now.

Did I mention that the new version of craxtion (extremely soon) can patch every single .xbe within a ISO or Directory in under a second. Yeah, I love it. Finally got the speed increase I wanted.

I have a bunch more things that I have worked on as well.

QUOTE (LepPpeR @ Oct 31 2003, 12:36 AM)

my experiences. Craxtion will not patch Amp2 as it has some other parts of the file that needs patching also. I have successfully patched however the default.xbe on AMP2 and have it working on career mode. I am looking into incorporating this into craxtion but have a lot more on the table right now. Did I mention that the new version of craxtion (extremely soon) can patch every single .xbe within a ISO or Directory in under a second. Yeah, I love it. Finally got the speed increase I wanted. I have a bunch more things that I have worked on as well.

so u have amped 2 backed up on hdd and working in career mode? sweet!!
u gotta incorporate this into craxtion.

I have only seen this in NFL Fever 2004 and now AMP2, It would be tedious for me to add new patchers into Craxtion each time a game comes out but I might think about doing it or adding a way that you can enter in a patching file, like a PPF for instance.

well sounds good on the ppf. the other ppf that i found, people said it didn't work. still locked up at the career mode.

Thanks for the info LepPper! When should we expect a full breakdown of the problem? A day or so? I am sure other people are right on the trail too, so it should be soon

adr found six spots on crimson skies when i made my iso.

Hey LepPpeR,
Thanks for all the good info...do you have any steps or instructions on patching the default.xbe for Amped 2? You had mentioned you had patched it correctly...just wondering if it will be manual...or if it will go into Craxtion. Thanks again, many hours of gaming is thanks to folks like you.

im with dafinux if you could post something for us on how to edit the xbe that would be great! instead of just teasing us unless you enjoy that lol thx

hey feflicker,

i am using xbox v2 with 2.2 lite and evox all igrs are off. i am trying to play thug. it gets to the intro video and then i get the dde. i also just tried patching it with craxtion but it didnt work. i dont know if that is the hex patch they are talking about

i hope to hear your results...

You guys can try this for AMP2 if you like and let me know.

with your favorite HexEditor. Search in Default.xbe for:

89 74 24 0C 75 3A A1 F4

and replace with

89 74 24 0C 90 90 A1 F4

Note: Should be located at 0023BB60
Note: Make sure you back up your original Default.xbe

Let me know how it works out

LepPpeR - Team Craxtion

QUOTE

i am trying to play thug. it gets to the intro video and then i get the dde.

As far as Tony Hawk Underground is concerned, I just played story mode and free skate in New Jersey and it worked fine. All I used was Craxtion to patch

I also tried Rainbow Six (again Craxtion), and it worked as well (for those of you having problems).

I can't remember if when I made the ISO's if Craxtion actually patched the game, but I always select "OK" when asked to patch...

Note: I am running off of DVD-R ONLY (Ritek G03) at this time

I am working on testing Amped2 as LepPper outlined as well

yeah, craxtion is cool =).

works on most games. I repeat, Please read my AMP2 post above and try that to fix it. Still waiting for some confirmations.

Ahhh... Career mode is now working in Amped2. Thanks LepPper

DVD2Xbox will also patch the files. When I copied Amped2 to HD, it found 6 spots it had to fix as well. Working fine from HD, so I assume it'll work just as well from DVD-R.

QUOTE (Rileq @ Oct 31 2003, 02:36 AM)

DVD2Xbox will also patch the files. When I copied Amped2 to HD, it found 6 spots it had to fix as well. Working fine from HD, so I assume it'll work just as well from DVD-R.

it will load but does career mode work?




feflicker:
Glad it worked buddy

QUOTE

When I copied Amped2 to HD, it found 6 spots it had to fix as well.

Yeah, I brought this up to LepPper in the Craxtion forums and he is looking into it... It seems that dvd2xbox is doing some different checking than Craxtion or something

it is because it is patching all the .xbe files. Craxtion, at current, only patches default.xbe. My new (unreleased) version has all .xbe files patched.

It will be released soon.

Yea, career mode works perfectly fine.

I've NEVER had ONE issue when using DVD2Xbox or FTPing straight from DVD drive to my computer, iso with Craxtion, and burn. Are all Xboxes different or something?

QUOTE

Yea, career mode works perfectly fine. I've NEVER had ONE issue when using DVD2Xbox or FTPing straight from DVD drive to my computer, iso with Craxtion, and burn. Are all Xboxes different or something?

That is crazy. I don't see how your xbe was fixed... What bios/chip are you using

nope, just suprised that it worked for you. Many people have been having problems getting the game to run. The error occurs with Career Mode within the game (AMP2) where it freezes.

The fix is above in which I posted it.

QUOTE

The fix is above in which I posted it.

LepPper, any insight on what was actually happening here with Amped2? Was this a shortened string to search for to fix a new media flag, or something else? Just curious how you came across the solution

===========================================================

Also, a cool idea. How about having Craxtion parse an XML file called patch.xml. The file could look something like:

CODE

<Craxtion>  <MediaPatching>      <mediaflag1L>74 4B E8 CA FD FF FF 85 C0 EB 06 33 C0 50 50 EB 44 F6 05</mediaflag1L>      <mediaflag1S>E8 CA FD FF FF 85 C0 EB</mediaflag1S>      <mediaflag2L>74 4B E8 CA FD FF FF 85 C0 7D 06 33 C0 50 50 EB 44 F6 05</mediaflag2L>      <mediaflag2S>E8 CA FD FF FF 85 C0 7D</mediaflag2S>   </MediaPatching>   <Games>      <game="Amped 2">      <file>default.xbe<file>      <flagfind>89 74 24 0C 75 3A A1 F4</flagfind>      <flagreplace>89 74 24 0C 90 90 A1 F4</flagreplace>      </game>   </Games> </Craxtion>

This way the patch.xml could be updated via an online updater [or manually via a download from craxtion.com], without a need to update the Craxtion binary every time a new game-specific patch comes out

The (game="Amped 2") line could be pulled from the title that Craxtion is already pulling from the default.xbe when it creates an ISO

If you do this, the patch.xml file would have to be parsed into a hash of some sorts, and keyed on the game title. Then flow control would have to do the rest if it found a match!

Just an idea! I know you are already strapped!
===========================================================

I used Craxtion to patch my THUG, but still no joy, I have a v1.0 XBOX with an original xecuter, it runs find off my HDD.

Also, what problems are people having with Crimson Skies, mine seems ok

Ben

QUOTE (Rileq @ Oct 31 2003, 08:45 AM)

Yea, career mode works perfectly fine. I've NEVER had ONE issue when using DVD2Xbox or FTPing straight from DVD drive to my computer, iso with Craxtion, and burn. Are all Xboxes different or something?

You guys do realise that the "warez" verison of this game in debug mode..... And then this guy says its all fine with normnal patching...

Now go and smell the coffee.

Vilu or anyone... What are you using to insert the PPF file into the ISO?

ppf o matic

Thanks

QUOTE (indecisve @ Oct 31 2003, 02:11 PM)

QUOTE (Rileq @ Oct 31 2003, 08:45 AM) Yea, career mode works perfectly fine. I've NEVER had ONE issue when using DVD2Xbox or FTPing straight from DVD drive to my computer, iso with Craxtion, and burn. Are all Xboxes different or something? You guys do realise that the "warez" verison of this game in debug mode..... And then this guy says its all fine with normal patching... Now go and smell the coffee.

You know, I never even though about these users grabbing the warez version. If that's true, then I apologize, but I don't care to help you.


GO BUY THE GAMES! All 3 are worth your money. The only games I've had any sort of problem with are games 4.7+ GB. Otherwise, everything backs up as normal using the correct tools.

anyone have tony hawk underground working of the xbox hdd? what app did u use to back it up.

QUOTE (Rileq @ Oct 31 2003, 05:58 PM)

QUOTE (indecisve @ Oct 31 2003, 02:11 PM) QUOTE (Rileq @ Oct 31 2003, 08:45 AM) Yea, career mode works perfectly fine. I've NEVER had ONE issue when using DVD2Xbox or FTPing straight from DVD drive to my computer, iso with Craxtion, and burn. Are all Xboxes different or something? You guys do realise that the "warez" verison of this game in debug mode..... And then this guy says its all fine with normal patching... Now go and smell the coffee. You know, I never even though about these users grabbing the warez version. If that's true, then I apologize, but I don't care to help you. GO BUY THE GAMES! All 3 are worth your money. The only games I've had any sort of problem with are games 4.7+ GB. Otherwise, everything backs up as normal using the correct tools.

Reliq can u confirm u did nothing to amped 2 whatsoever for me please.... and answer my pm. Im interested to see if this protection is wild on retail versions. Im not from the US so I cant pick up the game myself.

QUOTE

You know, I never even though about these users grabbing the warez version. If that's true, then I apologize, but I don't care to help you. GO BUY THE GAMES! All 3 are worth your money. The only games I've had any sort of problem with are games 4.7+ GB. Otherwise, everything backs up as normal using the correct tools.

Well, my retail copy didn't work, and dexbe says it is in "debug" mode, but when dexbe sets it to retail it still doesn't work... (Which doesn't suprise me since dexbe has proven to not always be the most reliable tool... It sometimes reports things incorrectly)

Before you start your surmon next time get all the facts straight!

My suspicions on the other problems are that old bioses are not handling the games properly, even when they are patched?

Wtf man damn no career mode when backing up to hdd damn that sucks
crimson skies works fine but I want to play career in amped whats the fix?

Read above akillamuthafucca. You have to use a hex editor to search and replace a hex key in the default.xbe.

(See how I help, regardless of where you may/may not have acquired the game...)

so the retail game is reported in DEXBE as in Debug Mode?

Yeah, but like I said, dexbe isn't always the most reliable tool, that is why I patched it with XBEPatch as well. Didn't seem to change anything

Dexbe reports half of Xports emu's as Debug when they are actually retail as well

I will have to find out for myself. I will let you know. Time to whip out my documentation.

Cool.

And the NFL Fever 2004 patch looks very similar. That wasn't released in debug mode, right?

QUOTE (LepPpeR @ Oct 31 2003, 08:41 PM)

so the retail game is reported in DEXBE as in Debug Mode?

Doesnt matter.... dexbe doesnt know crap. learn about xbox patching for more explaination.

Just thought I'd let you guys know what I found out.

First off, I'd been using xISO and FTP'ing my data to my computer to create images and hadn't had a problem until amped2. I just took your advice and used Craxtion (without doing the manual hex edit) and the game works fine. Loads into career mode no problem. I'm using the EvoX M7 Bios and the Latest Evolution Dash on my v1.3 xbox with the TSOP flashed (no mod chip).

Craxtion only found 1 out of 2 keys it could change but that seemed to do the trick.

Hope this helps,

Scrimpy

PS - I burned THUG using xISO with no patches to the game and it worked fine in my xbox. I DID have to create a career profile on the HD (just using the ingame interface). Everytime I went into career mode it would give me the "dirty disc" error. As soon as I created a profile it just started working. I have yet to try Crimson Skies

So you did nothing like said in this thread Scrimpy and it worked all modes including career?

If so pm me .. I need your help.

The problem is ... they maybe "More" protection for some modchip users. I want to see what fact or isnt. Im not from the US so i cant do it myself.

I DID use Craxtion to patch my default.xbe, but that was all I did. I didn't use Hex Workshop to manually find the keys and replace them as mentioned above.

My first ISO was done using xISO and I was getting the "dirty disc" error. The 2nd ISO I made in Craxtion 2.4, patched it via Craxtion and it worked fine. So I did do something different than the first time i made the ISO.

Scrimpy

hmmm interesting...
U have a pm.

Man, I usually don't post in the backup forum since I don't generally have problems, but some of the "regulars" in this section are fairly brutal (especially after reading through all of the other topics in this section...)

I especially found it humorous when a member told LepPper to "learn about xbox patching for more explaination", even after we all agreed that dexbe is unrealiable

All in all this thread has been useful to several people, so I am glad I started it, everybody just needs to CHILL

Oh really... mmmm thats why get pms of xeero asking for further patching information to put in the likes of craxion etc. And if he has to get documentation out to learn about... it he needs to learn about doesnt he?

dexbe is reliable acutally.. but doesnt show the information required in this case.

Now get off your high horse. This is why I replied "No" to him because of the likes of you.

I am not sure what i said that was wrong. Not sure why I would be put down or anything.

QUOTE (LepPpeR @ Nov 1 2003, 12:07 AM)

I am not sure what i said that was wrong. Not sure why I would be put down or anything.

You havent been put down.. I said to lewarn about it... and u will find it doesnt matter... sheeeeesh.