[Request] Improperly cracked Spyro 3

Yes. Look at the screenshot in OP.

 

Okay so is there a concrete list of things that should happen if the game starts acting up?
So far I know
-On boot it will try loading the title but tell you the console has been modified
-Eggs disappear
-Gems disappear
-Zoe will yell at you
-Intentional crashing in odd ways
-Language changing (PAL)

Anything else? This video shows spyro essentially being thrown around into any level any time, open or not


Edit: Messed with part of the WAD.WAD file to see if it would invoke any kind of thing. Still no messages or missing gems or eggs, but I did mess up Spyro's animations in the process (and unrelated but found a small interaction skip)

 

This issue happened on non stealth modded consoles. I dont know anything about a secondary check for modified files - just that the patches didnt resolve the first issue completely (it was checked in multiple places throughout the game). The incorrect fixes didnt cause the issues far as I know, just that they didnt patch out all the checks.

Your modification attempts so far follow what I said - it has triggered nothing, because it doesnt have a non stealth modchip to trigger it.

To patch the issues in, you would need to find all instances of the check throughout the game and force them to follow the code path for a modchip being present. You may miss some, so you effectively have the opposite issue of the people originally trying to patch the game to work.

You are trying to trigger an issue that happened on a specific hardware setup..... without using that hardware and then surprised that its not happening.

So basically, use a non stealth modded PS1 console.

 

It did (at least once) get triggered on my Debug PS1 which has no hardware modification at all.
I'll see if I can locate a PS1 that's been chipped accordingly.

 

Pretty sure that modchip detection/stealth requiring games not always work on debug and the "chipless modchip" (aka debug commands) has been mentioned around here before. But cant find the thread I am thinking of at the moment.

 

Interesting, was unaware of this.

Tried to emulate the versions to see if it would start there.
Grabbed the initial release of ePSXe to try it (to ensure it works horribly) and you're right, looks like 1.1 just cant working when emulated til 1.6.0. 1.0 played totally fine.
1.1 starts working on version 1.6.0. Nothing earlier works and gets stuck unable to pass the state below, which is where the "modified console" warning usually shows.

 

Found a list on Reddit of some of the supposed piracy measures:

• Removing gems, eggs, etc..
• Some enemies would not drop gems.
• The balloon/rocket/whirlygig would take you to odd places.
• The atlas/menu would be disabled in certain levels.
• Gems/eggs would be given to you or taken away at random points in the game.
• Cutscenes would play randomly.
• Sparx would stay the same colour or disappear completely after eating a butterfly, this gets progressively worse.
• Sparx would randomly change colour.
• The game would switch languages.
• Texture glitches and other oddities would occur.
• The level would break, sometimes not loading the map at all.
• The game would warp you to different areas.
• Midnight Mountain levels would all be replaced with the levels from Sunrise Springs.

 

Nice list. If I'm to believe the video I linked earlier it would include something of Moneybags and paying him would not subtract an amount as well as when you get your revenge only a small sum is returned instead.

Would it be potentially worth asking one of the lads who cracked Spyro 3 to begin with to make a version that ALWAYS triggers these measures?

 

Ooh, this has been an interest of mine as well, but I never managed to locate Paradox's buggy iso. Even then, the information contributed by everyone in this thread is true. All instances of the anti-piracy trigger have to be flipped. I'll keep an eye out and see if I can find any info.

If you manage to get it going, do PM me, the anti-piracy rom would make for a rather interesting, wacky evening.

 

You could patch the v1.0 version of the game, just google 'PPF-O-Matic' and click the first link and download, then search again for 'psx_patches_s_3.shtml', click the first link and scroll down and download the crack second from the bottom, then run PPF-O-Matic, select the disc image and .ppf (crack) file and patch.



I've patched the game myself and encountered the "I'm sorry, Spyro, but you seem to be playing a hacked version of this game." when speaking to Zoe. I'm not sure if this will trigger all the piracy measures, though it's worth a try I suppose. I would upload, but I believe this would be breaking the rules.

 

FYI: Google results vary based on your location, search history, etc. Although he may get to the same link you mention, it would be better if you specify the name of the page or something.

 

That's a good point, I've changed it to something more specific, cheers.

 

Thanks for the info. Will make an effort to apply it. Fix that EMU resolution

 

Not wanting to stir anything up, but that's not how I remember it. As I recall it was Paradox (more specifically, Babydock) that cracked this one a few days after release only for very angry players to discover there was an undiscovered anti-crack mechanism, like the screenshot above. In the end I think it took a few months before there was a working crack.

I think stealth chip detection resulted in that "SOFTWARE TERMINATED" screen.

 

Thing is, just having the stealth detection code triggered multiple times also follows your post too. (if it reaches the second check, the ISO must be modified)

But as I said, this is just as I understood it - could certainly be wrong.

Suppose the tests are:

Run the original ISO on a non stealth modchip (should fail at first check)

run the original ISO on a non stealth modchip with a switch on it (turn it off to skip first check, then turn it back on).

Also, run the 1.0 patched ISO on a stealth modchip.

Edit:

Found an article that explains it all:
https://www.gamasutra.com/view/feature/131439/keeping_the_pirates_at_bay.php

So it was indeed an extra check that is only ran once at startup. Not sure why the OPs changes didnt trigger it though, as they specifically mention the WAD file as being checksummed.

 

Tried it and (after a bit of gem collecting) got Zoe out to yell at me. I'll keep playing this save data til I notice anything odd, but I dont think it'll work.
Also the Bios bootup is really annoying if you ask me once patched.


Edit: The measures have kicked in. Subtle but I assume it gets worse from here forward.
I've already freed Sheila, and gotten her level completed. But it appears an egg had been removed.
Edit 2: Second time ive re-entered because the egg was uncollected again. This time no third payment to Moneybags. I suppose this is going to repeat forever?
Midday Gardens is also missing 1 gem, Byrd's Base is missing 6 gems.
Edit 3: Sheila's part in Spooky Swamp is closed off. Sign reads an empty message

 

I have a paradox version of the game if you need it on the menu screen it has a menu for playing in pal or ntsc it also says if you want unlimited gems im not 100% sure if it's properly cracked but when playing on my chipped Ps1 it seemed to work (few years ago) BTW it's on a disc so I might need a bit of help dumping it

Thanks

 

If you feel it has any historical value then sure, just PM me.

 

I have lost the ability to pause at any point entirely.
Whirligig now returns me back to where it departed from.
Resetting it has granted the option back and allows me to continue.
Gets better and better

 

If you're interested, there's also the B.A.D. patch for Spyro 3. IIRC , this patch worked well instead of the PDX ones : http://dl.consolecopyworld.com/?id=psx&file=bad-std3!zip