PCSX2 - Widescreen Game Patches

[Devina]

Updated archive!

-fixed a few typos, added everything so far from the last few posts
-renamed "Splinter Cell" to "Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell" for consistency with the other games.
-Added Blowout (NTSC-U) by Nemesis
-Added 60fps Kingdom Hearts patches, but they will be disabled by default

If anyone wants to update Drakengard 2 (NTSC-U) using the newest PAL one, go ahead.
Nemesis also updated Splinter Cell 1-4, and Valkyrie Profile 2: Silmeria. Pgert might want to take a look at it.

[Little giant]

i hope someone can make a pnatch for Odin Sphere(NTSC-U)

[allencc3]

i hope someone can make a pnatch for Odin Sphere(NTSC-U)

I wish!!! They told me it couldn't be done. But I still have faith.

[ElHecht]

Tenchu - Fatal Shadows (PAL-G) (SLES-53014)
  BF0DC4CE.pnach (Size: 541 bytes / Downloads: 459)

Tenchu - Wrath of Heaven (PAL-G) (SLES-51402)
  83261085.pnach (Size: 663 bytes / Downloads: 475)

[ElHecht]

Armored Core - Silent Line (PAL-E) (SLES-52203)
  89D79F73.pnach (Size: 595 bytes / Downloads: 524)

Armored Core - Nine Breaker (PAL-E) (SLES-53819)
  98BE10F8.pnach (Size: 871 bytes / Downloads: 438)

Armored Core - Last Raven (PAL-E) (SLES-53820)
  B1A38C05.pnach (Size: 619 bytes / Downloads: 505)

Armored Core - Nexus (PAL-M5) (SLES-82036) / (SLES-82037)
  F3A5EC6F.pnach (Size: 962 bytes / Downloads: 557)

Armored Core 2 (PAL-E) (SLES-50079)
  D9B48C4A.pnach (Size: 870 bytes / Downloads: 477)

Armored Core 2 - Another Age (PAL-E) (SLES-50905)
  63F88A8F.pnach (Size: 886 bytes / Downloads: 366)

Armored Core 3 (PAL-E) (SLES-51399)
  DE5AF9A8.pnach (Size: 583 bytes / Downloads: 495)

[ElHecht]

Nemesis also updated Splinter Cell 1-4, and Valkyrie Profile 2: Silmeria. Pgert might want to take a look at it.

VP2 uses GameGuard (anti cheat engine) and detects any modified address. It will cause game freezes, corrupts save games and prevents users from playing the game to the end. This has been reported by many users in different forums (e.g. here).

I recommend removing all VP2 widescreen patches from the archiv, otherwise no one will be able to finish the game when using widescreen patches.

[VIRGIN KLM]

You can still disable or corrupt (to the point it can't function at all) the mechanism that checks for memory changes ingame, it was done on numerous games even on online games that attempted to do such thing. One method is to nop the range the mechanism gets loaded on RAM and the other is spot it with a disassembler on the ELF and nop it. The thing is that Gameguard checks very limited ranges for change, I bet that the widescreen hack is outside that range.

[Devina]

What's the point of having such a feature in a single-player PS2 game. >_>
So there's a code to disable VP2's GameGuard?

[VIRGIN KLM]

What's the point of having such a feature in a single-player PS2 game. >_>
So there's a code to disable VP2's GameGuard?

Nothing, it's just companies or even better specific developers being smart***** until they realise they can make people who buy their stuff angry and lose their jobs. I'm pretty sure that if you attach a debugger on the memory and see what stuff it checks and calls, you can find which range the anti-cheat mechanism is loaded and kill it. Another way is to check the ELF file and disable it. I've done it with Final Fantasy Type-0 on PSP.
But in the case of Valkyrie Profile 2: Silmeria I highly doubt the anticheat mechanism checks those addresses at all, those anticheat mechanisms check pre-defined addresses that do something in the game engine (money, EXP, HP etc). The fov addresses doesn't belong in that category/range. Also that kind of mechanism is a bit stupid. You can patch the executable (ELF) to always return a value for an address (exactly the same as widescreen patches), how is the anticheat mechanism going to distinct which is the correct value when th ELF tells that this is the correct one? Agh, these people think that people who use cheats or even better people who create cheats are stupids with zero knowledge at computing when the reality can be some light years away from it.

[Devina]

I tried to play it with Nemesis code, yeah, the game does crash in the first 2 mins while exploring the harbor.

I don't remember it crashing with the old code (which was a simple one-address zoom out code). Anyone got the old VP2 widescreen hack? Should be in the NTSC-U > Valkyrie Profile 2 - Silmeria folder. I deleted it since I assumed Nemesis' version was better.

It looks something like this (this is the PAL version though):

comment=Valkyrie Profile 2: Silmeria (16:9) (PAL)
patch=1,EE,001508c8,word,3f11eb85 //3eaaaaab