THE Guide to using cheat codes with newer pcsx2 (svn3878 beta)
#1
Sometime between the last official beta and this one they changed the way that we do pnach files. We now have both a game patches directory AND a game cheats directory. Both of these directories take pnach files.

Additionally, at some point in the past they added a new feature to EE patching - extended mode. This mode will take any raw cheat code and use it directly - this includes jokers and mass search and replace codes!

So... what is the trick to mass importing all your favorite cheats for all your favorite games into pcsx2? It requires a few simple tools. Note: I will tell you what I use, but I will not provide direct links, you are responsible for doing your own google jobs. It's just the way I roll.

One: a cheat code site. My personal recommendations are GSHI.org and BSFree.org - both have massive libraries of codes for multiple cheat devices, and both use very minimal advertising in comparison to other sites... and, best of all, both are "Just The Codes" without any of that bologna that other sites like to call "cheats" or "codes" that are really just hints that belong in a faq or walkthrough. This last point also means that the cheats are all formatted in essentially the same way. For BSFree, that's a table with the leftmost cell being cheat name/description, middle cell being the codes, and the rightmost cell being reserved for giving credit to the hacker who first reported the code. All of the following will be for importing from BSFree... to import from another site, adjust the regex appropriately. I'd be happy to work out a set of regex for a given site if you post in a reply a decent sample of their standard code formatting. I will not, however, waltz around the internet trying to find every single possible code site in existence and post up regex for them. See above about "do your own google jobs" ... regex is simple to learn, take some time out of your day and learn to do it yourself, OR make things easier on people who already know regex and feed us samples, NOT links to other sites.

Two: For real streamlining of the process, you should use a so-called "programmers" text editor. The necessary features are mass search and replace with full regex support. My personal recommendation here is Notepad++.

Three: You will need OmniConvert. This is not optional. There are no replacements or other choices here. You MUST use OmniConvert. I can attest that it works great in WINE for systems that aren't running windows, so there's no excuse.

Hint: Once you open up OmniConvert and set your Convert From and Convert To, if you close it, you'll have to set them again, so just leave OmniConvert open until you are completely done with a given code import session.

Hint 2: I have dual 1920x1080 screens that I use while doing this, so while I don't have to "switch windows" as much, most of you probably will.

Hint 3: MOST of the codes on BSFree.org that say they're for CodeBreaker are for v7+ encrypted.

Step 1:

Start all your applications up. Firefox (or web browser of choice), Notepad++ (or programmers text editor of choice), and OmniConvert.

Step 2:

Browse using your browser to the codes you want to import. It's often best to repeat this step along with the following ones in chunks, since both BSFree and GSHI split their codes up by categories. (for some games more intelligently than for others *stares meaningfully at .hack for one of the stupid ones*)

Step 3:

Select a large chunk of codes. Make sure you stay within the table and select all the way from the beginning of the first code description to the end of the last hacker name.

Step 4:

Copy these codes into Notepad++.

Step 5:

Bring up Search and Replace (for notepad++ this is done using CTRL+H).

Step 6:

Switch Search and Replace into full regex mode ("Regular Expression" at the bottom left of the window in notepad++)

Step 7:

Type into the search box: "^([A-Z][a-z])" and into the replace box: "// \1" then hit replace all ... What this essentially means is search for a Capital letter immediately followed by a lowercase letter at the beginning of every line and put two "/" and a space in front. This turns the cheat name into comment.

Step 8:

Type into the search box: "\s+Hacker Name(s)" and into the replace box: "\r\n" and then hit replace all ... What this does is erase the credits and replace them with a windows style newline. If you're not using notepad++ and you know that your programmers text editor does this by default, you might be able to just use \n ... you can try it, and if step 10 looks funky in OmniConvert, you'll know you need to use \r\n.

Step 9:

Type into the search box: "\s\s+" and leave the replace box alone, hit replace all. This does the same thing as above, but for separating codes from code descriptions.

Step 10:

CTRL+A, CTRL+X, switch to OmniConvert, CTRL+V, hit convert.

Step 11:

Click over into the converted code section and hit CTRL+A, CTRL+C, and switch over to notepad++ and paste it back in.

Step 12:

Type into the search box: "([A-F\d][A-F\d]+)\s([A-F\d][A-F\d]+)" (the mess is actually just a very simple hex code search where the hex is repeated at least twice, has a space, and then is repeated again at least twice... isn't regex fun?!) and into the replace box: "//patch=1,EE,\1,extended,\2" (this comments out the cheats by default! remember to uncomment the codes you intend to use at a given time before starting up your game)

Optional:

If you do things exactly like I suggest, then you'll want to transfer all these codes to an appropriate .pnach file and rinse and repeat until you have all the codes for your game.

Step 13:

Start up pcsx2, and do most things normally, but in the "System" pulldown menu, make sure "Enable Cheats" is checked. Start up your game, then immediately close it. In the Program Log window, there should be a message about not finding a pnach, with a complete filename. Copy that filename and save your cheats to a pnach with that name. Make sure you include some decent comment lines in your pnach to remind yourself about some of the more unusual cheats you might be using! (At the minimum, you should put a comment at the beginning of the file with the name of the game and the word "Cheats" to remind yourself that you are using cheats. the format for a comment line is: comment="text goes here"

Step 14:

Once you've got all your codes in your pnach and the pnach saved, remove the "//" from any patch lines for codes you want to use.

Step 15:

Start playing your game with your cheats enabled!
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#2
There is no need to waste your time fiddling around with regular expressions in Notepad++. There is a program that does that stuff for you.

http://forums.pcsx2.net/Thread-PCSX2CE-P...eat-Editor
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#3
fuzzymillipede:

You still need to massively reformat the data that you copy from the site that you get your cheats from, even if you use that program for conversion and saving. Personally, I've gotten this process down to the point that it's a mere few seconds to do the final formatting into the pnach file in addition to the much lengthier time it takes to format the code in the first place (which is still only minutes)... unless your program can automagically reformat cheats copied directly off of a site like BSFree or GSHI, my formatting instructions are still quite useful. ... and to be quite perfectly honest with you, I much prefer the power and overall utility of Notepad++ over "specialized" programs. If I could figure out a way to make a plugin for Notepad++ that does the same task as OmniConvert, then I could do EVERYTHING related to this in Notepad++... Which would be bound to make the process even faster. (if only by a few seconds)

All your program really does for you, from my understanding of the OP in that linked thread, is steps 7 and 12. Which is fine, but not really what I was going for. Also, incorporating it's use into my workflow would greatly disrupt the pattern and cause the process to take longer. not shorter.

Of course, it really should be possible to completely automate the process, and even crawl BSFree.org and grab the cheats, format them, etc. the only part that wouldn't be that easy is the filename, but if I were to make my program to do the task operate on the commandline, I could pass as it's parameters a web page to use as the "start" and a filename to save to (as well as other parameters, like the type of codes to expect as input...). if the filename is omitted, it'd output to stdout, which you could redirect as you wish... Although I have considered writing such a program at some point in the future, considering my overall laziness, and that the process I have already accomplishes everything in minutes, taking weeks to write such a program just to make it so every game after that would take just the few seconds it took to type into the commandline would be hardly profitable.
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#4
(10-12-2010, 04:09 PM)slicersv Wrote: You still need to massively reformat the data that you copy from the site that you get your cheats from, even if you use that program for conversion and saving.

PCSX2CE will put preceding comments on a new line above a code and trailing comments inline with the code. So although my program will work for that website, the results will be a bit awkward. However, a typical user won't want to copy every single code at once, he will just create a pnach file containing the codes he wants. The formatting problem is avoided in this case.

Example PCSX2CE output from here.
Code:
//Always Have Camera & Inventions Menu
patch=1,EE,11E22A26,extended,00000171 //bungholio
//All Of Monica's Monster Transformations At Max Level
patch=1,EE,41E23960,extended,000A002F
patch=1,EE,7FFF0000,extended,00000000 //bungholio
//Have All Of Monica's Monster Transformation Sets [Saveable]
patch=1,EE,41E23964,extended,000A002F
patch=1,EE,00000008,extended,00020000
patch=1,EE,41E23968,extended,000A002F
patch=1,EE,00010000,extended,00000000 //Never try to transform into the vanguard or any other monster with no picture when you try to view them.    bungholio
//Infinite Monster Transformation Morph Time All Monsters
patch=1,EE,41E23970,extended,000A002F
patch=1,EE,40000000,extended,00000000 //bungholio
//Have Access To Map
patch=1,EE,71E01816,extended,00000044 //bungholio
//Have Underground Channel On Map
patch=1,EE,71E0181C,extended,00000010 //bungholio
//Have Palm Brinks On Map
patch=1,EE,71E0181C,extended,00000080 //bungholio
//Have Palm Brinks Station & Sindain Station On Map
patch=1,EE,71E01829,extended,00000080 //bungholio
//Have Sindain On Map
patch=1,EE,71E0182A,extended,00000001 //bungholio
//Have Rainbow Butterfly Wood On Map
patch=1,EE,71E0182A,extended,00000002 //bungholio
//Have Fish Monster Swamp On Map
patch=1,EE,71E0182A,extended,00000080 //bungholio
//Have Balance Valley Station On Map
patch=1,EE,71E01835,extended,00000010 //bungholio
//Have Balance Valley On Map
patch=1,EE,71E01835,extended,00000040 //bungholio
//Have Starlight Canyon On Map
patch=1,EE,71E01836,extended,00000004 //bungholio
//Have Barga's Valley On Map
patch=1,EE,71E01837,extended,00000001 //bungholio
//Enable Spheda
patch=1,EE,71E01837,extended,00000020 //At some point in Balance Valley you are allowed to try spheda for the first time and then can play it anywhere after you kill all monsters in a dungeon. This will allow spheda at the start of a new game.    bungholio
//Have Yorda's Valley On Map
patch=1,EE,71E01839,extended,00000010 //bungholio
//Have Vennicio Station On Map
patch=1,EE,71E01842,extended,00000001 //bungholio
//Have Vennicio On Map
patch=1,EE,71E01842,extended,00000004 //bungholio
//Have Ocean's Roar Cave On Map
patch=1,EE,71E01842,extended,00000010 //bungholio
//Have Cave Of Ancient Murals On Map
patch=1,EE,71E01843,extended,00000001 //bungholio
//Have Heim Rada Stop On Map
patch=1,EE,71E0184E,extended,00000010 //bungholio
//Have Heim Rada & Mount Gundor On Map
patch=1,EE,71E0184F,extended,00000001 //bungholio
//Have Griffon's Castle's Moon Flower Palace And Moon Flower Palace Stop On Map
patch=1,EE,71E0185B,extended,00000001 //bungholio
//Have Future Lands + Kazarov Stonehenge On The Map, Disable Griffon's Castle
patch=1,EE,71E0185D,extended,00000001 //bungholio
//Enable Griffon's Castle On Map
patch=1,EE,71E0185D,extended,002000FE //You won't have the future lands on the map, but now you can access griffon's castle.    bungholio
//Have Moon Flower Palace Stop On Map
patch=1,EE,71E01861,extended,00000001 //bungholio
//Have Moon Flower Palace On Map
patch=1,EE,71E01867,extended,00000010 //bungholio
//Have Moon Flower Palace [Dungeon] On Map
patch=1,EE,71E01867,extended,00000040 //bungholio
//Have Zelmite Mine On Map
patch=1,EE,71E01874,extended,00000001 //If you use this you lose access to the moon palace or whatever it was called along with that place to get the earth stones.    bungholio
//Remove Zelmite Mine And Allow The Other Few Places Before It On The Map
patch=1,EE,71E01874,extended,002000FE //Don't use this with the above code. It doesn't unlock the moon palace or anything, but if you have beaten the moon palace and stuff and already unlocked the zelmite mines you can use this to get the moon palace back. (<less<)    Don't use this with the above code. It doesn't unlock the moon palace or anything, but if you have beaten the moon palace and stuff and already unlocked the zelmite mines you can use this to get the m (>more>)    bungholio
//Use This To Enable The Future Lands On The Map
patch=1,EE,71E0186C,extended,002000FE //At some point you will get far enough in the game and the future lands will disappear. This will unclear the bit and allow them again. It doesn't put them on the map though if you haven't already got them.    bungholio
//Unlock All Time Portals
patch=1,EE,01E03218,extended,0000007F //If you go to the future lands after you beat the game and unlock the zelmite mines, the portals that allow you to travel between the present and future disappear and you get trapped in the future. This fixes that.    bungholio
//Unlock And Clear All Dungeon Levels
patch=1,EE,41E1DE0C,extended,00A20005
patch=1,EE,04BB0000,extended,00000000
patch=1,EE,41E1DE10,extended,00A20005
patch=1,EE,00010000,extended,00000000 //bungholio
//Unlock And Clear Underground Channels Dungeons
patch=1,EE,41E1DE0C,extended,00090005
patch=1,EE,04BB0000,extended,00000000
patch=1,EE,41E1DE10,extended,00090005
patch=1,EE,00010000,extended,00000000 //bungholio
//Unlock And Clear Rainbow Butterfly Wood Dungeons
patch=1,EE,41E1DEC0,extended,00100005
patch=1,EE,04BB0000,extended,00000000
patch=1,EE,41E1DEC4,extended,00100005
patch=1,EE,00010000,extended,00000000 //bungholio
//Unlock And Clear Starlight Canyon Dungeons
patch=1,EE,41E1E000,extended,00180005
patch=1,EE,04BB0000,extended,00000000
patch=1,EE,41E1E004,extended,00180005
patch=1,EE,00010000,extended,00000000 //bungholio
//Unlock And Clear Ocean's Roar Cave Dungeons
patch=1,EE,41E1E1F4,extended,00150005
patch=1,EE,04BB0000,extended,00000000
patch=1,EE,41E1E1F8,extended,00150005
patch=1,EE,00010000,extended,00000000 //bungholio
//Unlock And Clear Mount Gundor Dungeons
patch=1,EE,41E1E398,extended,00170005
patch=1,EE,04BB0000,extended,00000000
patch=1,EE,41E1E39C,extended,00170005
patch=1,EE,00010000,extended,00000000 //bungholio
//Unlock And Clear Moon Flower Palace Dungeons
patch=1,EE,41E1E564,extended,001C0005
patch=1,EE,04BB0000,extended,00000000
patch=1,EE,41E1E568,extended,001C0005
patch=1,EE,00010000,extended,00000000 //bungholio
//Unlock And Clear Zelmite Mines Dungeons
patch=1,EE,41E1E7A8,extended,00270005
patch=1,EE,04BB0000,extended,00000000
patch=1,EE,41E1E7AC,extended,00270005
patch=1,EE,00010000,extended,00000000 //bungholio
//Always Have Max, Monica, And Ridepod
patch=1,EE,01E63840,extended,00000007 //bungholio
//Have All Monster Notes
patch=1,EE,41E646D0,extended,01190003
patch=1,EE,00010000,extended,00000000 //bungholio
//Show All Enemies and Treasure on Dungeon Map
patch=1,EE,201D4D74,extended,00000000
patch=1,EE,201DC690,extended,00000000
patch=1,EE,201DC718,extended,00000000 //bungholio
//Show Entire Dungeon Map
patch=1,EE,201D5310,extended,00000000 //bungholio

Most places with lists of codes do not have such excessive data inline with the codes. For example, PCSX2CE works fine with codes from CodeTwink, which is one of the most popular places to find PS2 codes.

Using PCSX2CE is very simple.

1. Open PCSX2CE and enter the CRC and game title. Or, load an existing pnach file.
2. Find the codes you want and convert them to raw format if necessary.
3. Paste the codes into PCSX2CE.
4. Save the changes.
5. Enable cheats if necessary and start the game.

This process is much easier for the typical ignorant user who only wants to use a few specific codes for a specific game and doesn't have any idea what a regular expression even is. Not even advanced users want to have to write their own regular expressions to format the data. Your method is fine if you want to convert entire pages of the GHSI database to pnach format, but is otherwise cumbersome to use.
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#5
^

Dude, I downloaded your program but I dont know how to make it work. There's no .exe file. Please tell me a step by step procedure to actually make use of this program.
Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo 2.8GHz
Vid Card: Geforce 9400GT
OS: Windows 7 ultimate 32-bit
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#6
You need to install JRE to be able to use the program.
After extracting the program from the zip archive and after installing jre,double click on in.
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#7

Is that the Java Runtime environment? I have that one already.
Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo 2.8GHz
Vid Card: Geforce 9400GT
OS: Windows 7 ultimate 32-bit
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#8
Then when you try to run the program do you get an error?
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#9
^

I don't see a .exe program, all I see was class files and a folder containing a .INF file. Am I missing something?
Processor: Intel Core 2 Duo 2.8GHz
Vid Card: Geforce 9400GT
OS: Windows 7 ultimate 32-bit
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#10
Do you actually know how to run java program.
Java programs are not .exe they are .jar
Probably your winrar is associated to open .jar files too and after you extract the program from the zip archive you saw another archive which is actually the program but because of winrar you think that you have to extract this too thus
"all I see was class files and a folder containing a .INF file"

Open Winrar=>Options=>Settings=>Integration=>uncheck JAR and hit ok.
Now when you extract the zip archive you'll see file with different icon(that's the program),not the one from Winrar
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