Modifying Wipeout 3 SE

[Cobol]

I wanted to get to play time trial, championship and single race with the prototype tracks, so I replaced the files contained in the folder called wipeoutc for the ones that were in the folder wipeout3. I expected to change the classic tracks for the normal ones, but instead of that what I got was these strange small ships without wings and with big reactors:



http://ultraboard.topcities.com/ships1.jpg

http://ultraboard.topcities.com/ships2.jpg
(sorry, you have to copy and paste the links, that server doesn't allow hotlinking)

Is there any official way to get these ships or did I just messed up something by changing the files? They look nice.

I also renamed some files from the wipeout3 folder, I changed track01 for track02, and it changed the tracks porto tora for sampa run. Sampa Run became the first selectable track and there was no rain. Porto Tora became the third track, and it was also raining:



http://ultraboard.topcities.com/rain.jpg


But finally I wasn't able to play time trial in the prototype tracks. I'll keep trying different combinations.

[JABBERJAW]

If you have the ablility to do that. Try replacing the regular ships with the prototype ships that are used on the last two prototype tracks. That would be pretty cool. 10 speed on the regular tracks, although i imagine they would be impossible to do perfect laps with.

[Shem]

whoa...this looks interesting...
sorry to say it wasn't done on purpose (apart the purpose of playing all the modes on prototype tracks). but the result's just fantastic. it makes me wonder, ... if replacing such files results in wierd ships, tracks, and most of all NOT CRASHING THE GAME, then there must ba way to modify these...in a somewhat...planned way, if you know what i mean.... This really gives opportunities. Creating your own ships?...I'm not talking about modifying the circuits, it would be a hell to make new ones...but ships?...I think it is possible. Okay, I've said enough. The rest of this post would be about cracking the game 'n stuff, so I'll just stop here.

[zargz]

is it a pc cd or a psx cd u modifyed? :o

[Cobol]

The game I used was the special edition for ps1.

I've seen cheats for other games such as Ridge Racer or Colin Mcrae to make the cars become smaller or to add huge tires, so I thought that there could be a cheat for wipeout 3 to make the ships look different, but I didn't find any reference to that. Those small ships don't look wrong or spoiled, that's why I thought there could be a way to obtain them without having to modify the file names.

Another thing I tried was to use the tracks from the first wipeout on wipeout 2097 as they have the same structure and file names, and some are even the same files in both games. But it didn't work, the game hung up after the loading screen.

[Shem]

The engine of W'O was a basis to the one in WOXL but they were different. The engine of W'O was used in other games like Destruction Derby, Assault Rigs (call it the 1st generation of games for Playstation) so by the time of release of WOXL it was modified.
What I'm trying to say is that these games couldn't match.... :(

[Cobol]

You're right Shem, but when I saw that many files were exactly the same I wanted to try anyway.

Now, there's one mistery solved, I've found the cheat to drive the small ships:



Enter the following codes on the default player name option:
DROIDS = drive as rescue droid ships

Source: http://hem.passagen.se/odjobb/playstation/5582.html


And I've finally found which files contain the prototype tracks and I've replaced them by the normal ones. I changed the 5th prototype for Porto Tora and now there are doves in the track:



http://ultraboard.topcities.com/doves.jpg


This one is beautiful, it's raining in the first prototype track:


http://ultraboard.topcities.com/rain2.jpg

And here i am playing time trial in the prototype tracks:



http://ultraboard.topcities.com/ttrial1.jpg
http://ultraboard.topcities.com/ttrial2.jpg


Something strange happens when you replace the last two prototypes with normal tracks. You play the normal tracks with the special fastest ships, although they look like the normal ones. And when you play the prototypes, the ships are the special ones but with the abilities of the normal ones. So although they look like the regular ships, you can play any track with the special ships.

[Shem]

man, that's awesome! :o

[yuusen]

–
how are you swapping the files?

are you running the game emulated from the hard disc or are you reburning the discs and playing through a chipped psx?

i dont quite understand...
–
¥

[JABBERJAW]

If you can reburn it that would be awesome. Also, if you can do this with wipeout fusion you could play zone mode on every track. You could also play the devilia tracks. And quite possibly you could use the zone ship on all of the tracks.

[Asayyeah]

Totally awesome, drool, fantastic, unreal.....play all the tracks with zone mode... :o :o :o :o :o
Cobol, you can do this...in the name of overall competitors do it please , and tell us how to realize that.
Need also more info with the famous special ship on SE : am i well understood? it's possible to play the fastest ship ( speed 10) on all tracks in changing folders of W3 SE ( you put the cd on your pc open the folders , change them a bit and play with an emulator like epsxe on your pc....right?)

[Cobol]

Sorry, but I don't have a PS2 and I've never played Fusion, so I can't tell you anything about it.

Now, here's how to make your custom Wipeout 3 SE cd. It is the "quick" method, it means, no videos and no music tracks. Most cd burning software can't burn the ps1 video format. There is one program called CDGEN which can do it, but I'm still trying to find out how to burn both videos and audio tracks.

You will need:

- An original Wipeout 3 SE cd.
- A cd burning program (Easy CD Creator or Nero will work).
- An empty ps1 video file and wave file.
- Isobuster.
- Bootedit 2 (optional, only if you want to play on a console).

Put your original cd in your cd drive and copy everything to your hard drive except the files with extension .str and .wav. Now you have to download and unzip this file


http://ultraboard.topcities.com/required.zip

which contains an empty video file and wave file to replace the ones you omitted. First, the video files. You have to copy and rename the file avi.str to the original file names. These are: CURLY44.STR, CURLY44B.STR, PSYG.STR, PSYGLEED.STR and WO3.STR. Then you have to do the same with the wave files. Copy and rename the file wav.wav to TRACK01.WAV, TRACK02.WAV, TRACK03.WAV, ... until TRACK13.WAV. The game will not have videos and music, but I'm learning how to include them using CDGEN.

You will notice that there are two folders called WIPEOUT3 and WIPEOUTC. I supposed that one would contain the tracks from Wipeout3 and the other would contain the classic tracks, but both contain the same files. I only switch files inside the WIPEOUT3 folder. Inside, there are two kind of files, the TRACKM0#.PBP type and the TRACKS0#.PBP ones. I don't know why there are two kind of files, the Wipeout 3 demo had only a TRACKS0#.PBP file.

Here's the track listing:

TRACK##1 : Porto tora
TRACK##2 : Sampa run
TRACK##3 : Hi fumii
TRACK##4 : P-mar project
TRACK##5 : Stanza inter
TRACK##6 : Mega mall
TRACK##7 : Manortop
TRACK##8 : Terminal

TRACK##A : Prototype 1
TRACK##B : Prototype 2
TRACK##C : Prototype 3
TRACK##D : Prototype 4
TRACK##X : Prototype 5
TRACK##Y : Prototype 6

The other files (TRACK##E.PBP to TRACK##Q.PBP) are the classic tracks, but I have not identified them since the WO3 tracks are enough for my purpose.

The prototypes 5 and 6 are played using the special fastest ships. If you want to play a regular track using those ships you have to switch the file names. For instance, if you want to play Mega Mall with a special ship you have to switch TRACKM06.PBP and TRACKS06.PBP to TRACKM0X.PBP and TRACKS0X.PBP respectively. And if you want to play time trial on the prototypes you have to switch the prototype track file name to a normal track file name.

One last thing. If you switch any file name to TRACK##2.PBP, there will be rain in that track. If you do the same with TRACK##4.PBP there will be pink tree leaves. And if you do the same with TRACK##1.PBP, there will be doves, although in some tracks I didn't see them.

Now that you have ripped the music and videos and once you have switched the file names, you are ready to create a cd image. Just drag and drop the files in your cd burning program as if you were creating a normal cd, but you have to change some settings: the cd mode must be set to MODE 2XA, and the file system must be set to ISO instead of Joliet. Then, don't burn a cd, you have to create an image file (.iso or .nrg).

After that you have to convert that image to .bin format using Isobuster (http://www.isobuster.com). Run Isobuster and click on "file / open image file". Browse the folders and choose the image file you created. Once it's loaded you will see a tree menu on the left. Right click on top of it where it says "CD" and choose "Extract CD <image> / RAW (*.bin, *.iso)". A window will pop up asking for a file name to save the image. Then, when converting the file, it will probably report an error near the end (sector can't be read or something like that), don't worry, just click on "Selection" (the default option should be set to "replace with all zeroes"). Then it will say that there were errors and it will ask you if you want to delete the file. Choose NO, of course.

That new image file should work on a PS1 emulator using a virtual CD drive. I highly recommend using both an emulator and a virtual drive instead of burning a CD, that way you know if it works or not before wasting a cd. Some good virtual drives are "Daemon Tools", "Nero image drive" and a plugin for PS1 emulators called "Mooby2 cd disk image driver" (http://mooby.psxfanatics.com/) (I use this last one).

If you want to burn the image to a cd and play it on a console, you must first license the image file. You will need Bootedit 2 (http://www.megagames.com/psx/psx_utils_license.shtml). To license an image click on the browse button (the one on the "cd image file" field, ignore the "tmd file") and choose your image file. Then choose the area (Europe, America or Japan). I suggest to delete the text in the fields "Licensing text", just leave it blank, since it isn't always displayed correctly. Now click on "patch cd image" and you're ready to burn it on CD. Obviously, it will only work if your console can read backup cds.

There's something that I haven't tried and I have no idea if there's any chance for it to work. You could boot your original Wipeout cd and once the game is loaded you would replace the original cd with the modified one. It's just a theory.

If I find a way to burn the cd including the videos and music tracks I'll post the explanation.

[Shem]

I have a question - is it possible just to replace the music tracks on Wipeout 3SE with the ones you like? I mean, it wouldn't be a problem if the lenght of the music tracks was the same or would it? I always wanted to play W3 with my own selectron of music, without turning the game music off and listening to my stereo of course.

[yuusen]

–
i have a friend who djs in his spare time and has wip3out, with bgm switched off, playing through one channel of his mixer and music through another to gain a similar effect.
–
¥

[FoxZero]

yeah i used to do that too yuuusen. it was nicer with the xbox when you could make soundtracks that switched songs themselves, though.

[Shem]

I know what you're talking about yuuusen (I'm a producer and a DJ in my spare time also), but as you wrote - the method you've mentioned requires a mixer :( The other method is to swap the CD after the game is launched. Pause>swap to an Audio CD>Pause off>play. The one problem is, you can't hear the tracks from the start, it's pretty random also, the music tracks start somewhere in the middle, not to mention that the first audio track will be always skipped. heh, why am I saying this? sheesh..everyone tried that Audio CD-swap trick...(i guess)

[zargz]

not me! :wink:
i usualy turn off the music 2make records & allways 4get 2turn it back on.. :o :roll:

[zargz]

so how u doin cobol? 8)

[Cobol]

I have made images that include the videos but I still can't add the audio tracks. I create a cd structure but when I compile the image, the music tracks are omitted. I can't find what's wrong and the program doesn't have too many options.

I've been thinking about different ways to play with the fast ships on normal tracks and I think it could be possible to do using one of those action replay or gameshark devices.

[Mator]

Another thing I tried was to use the tracks from the first wipeout on wipeout 2097 as they have the same structure and file names, and some are even the same files in both games. But it didn't work, the game hung up after the loading screen.

yes , there are some files with identical names, and even some of the .PRM files (where the geometry is stored) are absolutely the same for the 2 games. For example the "shld.prm"(c:\wipeout\common\) is the same for WO 1 and 2097(thats the shield's geometry) .If you swap these 2 files , WO 1 wont crash, and 2097 wont either. But i was curious and modified some files with HEX editor(like UltraEdtit-32). In the 2097\common dir there was a prm file with all the ships'geometry(i dont remember its name :( ) the different ships were separated by their names - for example it starts (i think) with:

"FEISAR П : (ф @) .........AGS П : (ф .... PIR П : (ф @) "

......and so on. Its a little difficult to see where a ship's geometry ends and starts another ship's geometry though. I copied the part where the quirex ship is, saved it like a single file, changed it filename to "shld.prm", and changed its beginnind to

"shield П : (ф @)......."

(thats the header of the file), so that the game thinks its the ordinary shield geometry(but its not :) ). i replaced the modified "shield" with the one in c:\wipeout\common\ and started the game :)
when i took the shield, it wasnt with Egg-like form, it was the quirex ship stuck in my own Wo1 feisar :) This shows that the Wo1 and 2 geometry files are one type!

However, I couldn't manage to play with Wo1 ships on 2097 or with 2097 ships on Wo1.
And i still cant really modify the ship's geometry (with 3dsMAX, for example).

All this works for the PC versions, but im certain it wil work with the PS1 ,too.



Umm ,someone mentioned about "Sony developing tools" , is that a piece of software, ot what ?(and where can I get it :) ) I wont crack the game, i dont know how . I Promise :) :)

[JABBERJAW]

okay cobol, I got a question. How about replacing the wipeout 3 tracks from the first wipeout 3 game with the classic tracks from 3se from wipeout 3se. Is this a possible manouver. If so, then it might be possible to replace the ntsc wipeout 3 game's 8 tracks with the pal versions wipeout 3se's classic tracks. Thus making an ntsc special edition. Could you check this out with the regular pal versions(wipeout 3 and wipeout 3se). If you don't understand I'll try to explain again. From what you have been doing it seems like this might be possible.

[Lance]

.
woah! an NTSC Special Edition. now thERe's something i would love to see
.

[vh5150]

I have a question - is it possible just to replace the music tracks on Wipeout 3SE with the ones you like? I mean, it wouldn't be a problem if the lenght of the music tracks was the same or would it? I always wanted to play W3 with my own selectron of music, without turning the game music off and listening to my stereo of course.

http://www.wipeoutzone.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=230&highlight=

Yes it can be done. It can be done to all versions of Wipeout except for Fusion since I haven't tried it yet.

[Shem]

:o
wow, thanks vh5150!

[noah]

How about replacing the wipeout 3 tracks from the first wipeout 3 game with the classic tracks from 3se from wipeout 3se. Is this a possible manouver. If so, then it might be possible to replace the ntsc wipeout 3 game's 8 tracks with the pal versions wipeout 3se's classic tracks. Thus making an ntsc special edition. Could you check this out with the regular pal versions(wipeout 3 and wipeout 3se).


I tried this with Wip3out (PAL) and W3:SE. I was successfully able to move tracks around within W3:PAL using Cobol's technique, but not between the two games. :( Examining the track files, it appears that those of SE have slightly different filesizes than those of the regular game, and I suspect this means the way the game reads them is slightly different. When I attempted to swap in tracks from SE to regular W3O, and tested it with ePSXe and PCSX, both emulators errored and quit. So I don't think it's possible using simple techniques already stated in this thread.

[Cobol]

The same happened to me. I swapped the files between WO3SE and WO3 and the game loads fine, until it has to load one track, then the emulator hangs up.

There are some differences between the two games. There's one file called NFE.PB inside the WIPEOUT3 folder, I don't know what it does, but it's different on each game. I've tried swapping it too but it didn't work. Then, there's that folder called WIPEOUTC on WO3SE, that I still don't know if it is required or if it's just dummy data.

And some of the tools for edit/convert graphics can be downloaded here:
http://dev.paradogs.com/tools.html

[JABBERJAW]

the japanese version may be the way to go for swapping tracks, this has the same codes and ratings of the 3se version. Someone has to get this to work.

[vh5150]

:o
wow, thanks vh5150!

You're welcome. The guide can be adjusted to the other wipeouts if you look for the right END sectors. Maybe one day I will sit down and rip my Wipeout cd library for those sectors.

[OddbOd]

How about putting both the original and the Special Edition on the same disc and using a boot menu to choose between them.

[JABBERJAW]

does anyone have 3se and the japanese version as well. Is it possible to switch the collection of classic tracks with the wipeout 3 tracks just on that particular version, so the tracks will be in the opposite selection box. If this is possible, I think it may be possible to put the classic tracks onto the japanese wo3. The j version already has all of the protos, so a ntsc version would be possible, it would be two discs though.

[noah]

does anyone have 3se and the japanese version as well.

if I could find a copy of the Japanese version, I would get it. I looked on eBay but didn't really have any luck, and I don't know Japanese so I can't scour their sites. I read in an earlier post that vh5150 has both versions, maybe he can give it a shot.

[JABBERJAW]

I think it's time to get this topic started again. Is anyone willing to try the technique for getting a ntsc wo3se version going. If you have wo3se I can probably provide the japanese version

[vh5150]

does anyone have 3se and the japanese version as well. Is it possible to switch the collection of classic tracks with the wipeout 3 tracks just on that particular version, so the tracks will be in the opposite selection box. If this is possible, I think it may be possible to put the classic tracks onto the japanese wo3. The j version already has all of the protos, so a ntsc version would be possible, it would be two discs though.



does anyone have 3se and the japanese version as well.

if I could find a copy of the Japanese version, I would get it. I looked on eBay but didn't really have any luck, and I don't know Japanese so I can't scour their sites. I read in an earlier post that vh5150 has both versions, maybe he can give it a shot.


Somebody wake me from my deep sleep?

Yes I have quite a collection: http://www.wipeoutzone.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=216&highlight=

Let me know what monster you Frankensteins plan on making.

To fill you in on a JAP WO3SE: It doesn't exist. Only on AUS and EUR systems. There is of course a WO3 for PAL and NTSC though.

[Cobol]

I've uploaded a video I made playing time trial on a prototype track. The quality is pretty bad (so bad that the rain can't be seen), but it's the best I can get emulating a playstation and recording the image at once.
Here's the link, it will last for 7 days:
http://s18.yousendit.com/d.aspx?id=2NBETKSDNADBN0YOVOHXV3JVEQ

[zargz]

that's right - you can't see the rain, but what you can see is the reflection of the engine on the wet track!!
Awsome stuff Cobol! 8)

[wirehang]

I love all this talk. :)

matt

[Cobol]

Here's another one:
http://s51.yousendit.com/d.aspx?id=0K6W2FVSK49ZE01JR7B8NMSML7

This is the first special track driven with one of the regular ships (although it looks like the special one). There is so few time and the ship is so slow that it's hard to finish the race. Also, check out the doves, gulls or whatever they are.

[wirehang]

Nice work

[zargz]

Big thanx to Cobolt and zoolander!
I made it work! WOW! Amaizing stuff! :D

Cobolt: Is there any way to get rid of the rain/leaves/birds??

[Cobol]

I don't think so. The data in this game is stored in a very strange way. I can't understand where is the stuff stored (3d models, textures, sound effects, ...).

[JABBERJAW]

noah, as far as the file sizes being different in wipeout3se and wipeout 3 I don't think will be a problem with the japanese version. My guess is the files are the same size for the same tracks between se and J

[zargz]

I don't really see what the point is of making the ntscSE on the jap wo3?
even if it works ntsc wipErs still have to modify their psx' right? :?

[zargz]

My guess is the files are the same size for the same tracks between se and J Tracks have different file endings and there is a slight diference in size between J and se.
also for J it seems you can't change place of the tracks as you want - some tracks will not go in the place of sertain other tracks!
for se it doesn't seem to matter.
as Colbols original ide I wanted to play TT and tournaments on the prototypes
for SE I put together the following 'wip3out' league: T HF P1 P2 P3 P4 P5 P6 ( P = prototype )
will make for some pretty cool veNom, Rapier and Phantom Tournaments. Right stin? ;)
If I can find out which track is Sagamatha I'll put it first and Terminal second!
for J with some big problems: P2 MM SR SI PK T P4 P6
Also some cool Tournaments! 8)
Actaully P5 (the Big oval) doesn't get really interesting till you race it with the icaras on phantom 8O >>
>> coz in se when changed place with MT, on P5 you race with the proto-ships but with the normal stats
on MT normal ships but with proto-ships stats!!!!!! 8O
zool: you can Only have two 'normal' tracks where you can drive the proto-ships!
By replacing the name of that particular track with P5 or P6.
wo3pal doesnt seem to work - it hangs on the startline :(
much like my J orig game on a chipped euro psx (that's why I got me a J psx 8) )
Also, I'm playng these things on an emulator so I don't know if it will work on an actual psx :?

[JABBERJAW]

zargz, yes but the japanese version has much better physics on some of the tracks, runs at a faster framerate, and will play correctly on a modified psx(a pal version will not unless you have that pal/ntsc switch fix), and then it runs way too fast and doesn't fit onto the screen correctly.

[zargz]

Okay, now I see.
Btw have you tryied, now that you have a Big TV :D, playing SE on wide screen?
I'm almost sure ( 95% ) it will cure the not_seeng_all_the_screen part!
I was playing Worms and couldn't see the windmeter at the bottom ..
Changed it to wide screen and voila! 8)

[JABBERJAW]

The game actually looks better on my other TV!! Future games won't, but that one did. I think you are right because you can adjust the screen many ways. I have a pal TV anyways now so it all fits and I don't have to use that modified version I used to have.

[JABBERJAW]

cobol, your method does not work on the playstation, is there any other way to do these modifications?

[Cobol]

Did you license the iso with bootedit?

I've written a guide to burn a playstation iso including the videos and audio tracks:
http://free.7host03.com/cobol/wipeout3se/index.html

All the tools required (except the burning program) can be downloaded here:
http://s36.yousendit.com/d.aspx?id=119ZWGY45R3R52USBJPI3UUB8W

[zargz]

How about replacing the wipeout 3 tracks from the first wipeout 3 game with the classic tracks from 3se from wipeout 3se. Is this a possible manouver. I replaced the jap porto kora with the se proto kora i e I put se pk on the jap disc > changed the file ending that's different
when I tryed to play it, on emu, it ended with the emu shutting down. Only when trying play PK
All the other trax(jap) were okay so it seems it can't be done I'm afraid .. :?

[JABBERJAW]

Oh, well, it was worth a shot. Did you try to burn a cd like this and try it on your playstation?

[zargz]

No I didn't but if it doesn't work on the emu I strongly doubt it will work on the psx :|

[vh5150]

Anyone have any stories of how they remixed their music for WO3:SE?