Xenosaga II USA Retail ??

[Menace]

anyone tried this yet ?

i been waiting for this game forever...i hope a rental rip will work.

[DarkChildX]

i heard that they were about to start using new dvd protection on dvds

[kaioshade]

Oh, it works, but its a pain in the ass.

Switching between mode 1 and 3 makes the game playable, but its HIGHLY annoying. First scene that skips, enable mode 3 and it will go. next scene it stops, enable mode 1. I have been doing this and it has worked thus far. Im just going to use my disc, the loading times arent that bad anyway, not like the first one.

[CrysDark]

Could you just enable mode 1 and mode 3 at the same time?

[kaioshade]

Tried. Doesnt seem to work when that is done. You will still get a black screen at points.

[Ghaleon]

Now i haven't had the time to play alot, but as far as i can see, the game works well, and none of the issues the Beta had came up.

You'll need Mode 1 + 3 enabled for this game to run.

Mode 2 will prevent the game from loading if enabled and mode 3 by itself will crash sooner or later.

I hope i won't have to add incompatibilities later on.
/Me is back to playtesting ^_^

[Ghaleon]

strange, could you please tell me the first point where mode 1 + 3 enabled will fail ?

[kaioshade]

Ok.

First cutscene after chaos/canaan land and it enters into another scene - freeze
mode 3

After this, you walk around for a bit, and coming to the next screen, black screen
mode 1

Jin joins your party and you get into a few fights. upon entering the next screen, black screen


I quit at this point and just put in my disc.

[kaioshade]

You WILL get a black screen with mode 1+3 enabled.

[Ghaleon]

yeah, but when ?
so far i haven't gotten any

[kaioshade]

How far have you played. i posted in the other thread where i got them. and each mode swap has fixed the problem. I will go back and check again.

[omegatron]

how long have been playing it straigh through Ghaleon

[Ghaleon]

when playing with mode 1+3enabled simultaneously,i haven't encountered these issues, while i have yet to progress further to safely state that the game's running perfectly, right now it seem to me it does. No black screens with both modes enabled up to this point.
I'm currently at the second savespot, walked into the next few screens, walked back to the savepoint. Now i'll try a few other things, namely to get the code for the fast walking before progressing further, as the duck like speed of my characters drives me mad.

[kaioshade]

Yup, same place. enabling mode 1 + 3 does help a bit, but when you pass the big building with the columns you will get a black screen yet again.

[Ghaleon]

up to now, second savepoint, continued the next few screens, returned to savepoint 2.
Now i'll try and look if i can get myself the fast walk code, so i can speed things up.

[kaioshade]

Go a bit farther. if yo can get past the screen after the building then i am stumped.

[Ghaleon]

hmm, ok thanks i'll try to get to that spot and see if i encounter the same issue.

[Cordy]

Aight well I don't know how much the modes will change those black screens. Because the information you both are giving are validated. However when I first ran the game I went all the way to the end of the first stage without encountering any black screens and using no modes. I didn't save and I turned off my ps2. Came back this morning and it went to a black screen after the first save point. I enabled both 1+3 and it still went black, but I just tried again and it hasn't gone black yet and I'm at the third save point. So I speculate no matter what it will just randomly turn black from person to person.

edit: I finished the first stage now with no black screens

2nd edit: Ha well after the save screen for the end of the stage it loads but after the short screen it goes black again lol. Funny thing is I tried about 3 times then I disabled all the modes and like magic it loaded this time. I don't know if it was just luck or coincidence. Oh well playing off the disc won't be so bad.

[kaioshade]

Now THAT is strange. Could the game be making random checks, although i dont see why it would do it randomly.

[Ghaleon]

lol maybe it's using the internal clock to determine the black screens (joke)

[kaioshade]

lol that would be funny. Only playable on wednesdays or something.

[Ghaleon]

I've just encountered the same black screen issue at the point mentioned.
It was right after the the scene with the technician, that the game crashed.
It seems they put a showstopper into the game after the intro mission was done.

[Ghaleon]

hehe yeah, or maybe only playable on aprils fools and christmas.

[JacksonDane]

Kaoi, I had the same problems and started playing off the disc... I played for an hour or so off the disc then decided to try on HDLoader again with modes 1+3 enabled, played for about another hour without any black screens

are the black screens only in the first few areas?? I'll keep this post updated if I run into any again

[kaioshade]

I will have to try playing with my disc and see. it would be interesting to see if that is the case as only the first few areas are affected. I only wanted the game on my hard drive for faster loading, because part 1's was horrible.


Oh yea, lets put all info into one thread. two xenosaga 2 threads would get messy with all the info split into two seperate places.

request for a mod to lock either topic.

[Ghaleon]

I tried continuing off the Original DVD , saved as soon as i could (ziggys stroll). Reloaded with HDLoader and the game hung up immediately after loading finished.

Now it seems they made the game only work on HD in a sort of Demo mode. Allowing to play the first "mission" and then disabling any possibility to continue.

[kaioshade]

I have been looking into the main .irx and main elf file and havent seen anything "suspicious" but im still digging. who knows. Someone with more experience might be able to find something i overlook.

[omegatron]

i doubt that was intentional

[Ghaleon]

When i looked into the main elf, I didn't see anything strikingly obvious either, hm now i will just try and get myself that speedwalking code .. lol if i have to bear the load times, i want to run faster to make up for it ^_^.

[Ghaleon]

it was intentional, as one could see if one looked what the beta did. It displayed numerous ways to make HDLoading unplayable while still loading the game.

And with the way the whole Retail Game is setup, stopping to work right after the flashback intro was done, allowing to save just before the exact point where it was happening, and the subsequent failure to even load on hdloader when loading savegames from any point after the one outlined above, it doesn't leave anything to interpretation.

[JacksonDane]

Like I said in the other thread..

I started the game off with the black screen problems, using Mode 1 and 3 to attempt to get by them

Eventually I got frustrated and played for over an hour on the disc

went back to try HDLoader again Modes 1+3 enabled, loaded my save game from where I was after playing on the disc and the game went for about an hour before I saved and quit playing for the day... I didn't once encounter another black screen. Could it be they are only in the beginning areas (the 14 years previous section?)... if I come up on black screens again, I'll holla @ this thread

[Ghaleon]

hm well i will try playing further into the game and will try to reload with hdl after each odd new savepoint, maybe that'll help.

anyway, i found "SRD: Enable HostLock\r\n" as a Label while digging through the elf.
I know pretty much nothing about elfs and programming, but this does sound somewhat suspicious.
For anyone interested, I didn't find the speed walking code, sigh, gotta leave that to the more experienced code creators.

[JacksonDane]

After spending some more time today running the game off HDloader it did start giving the black screen

anyone want to make a patch? :chinscrat

[CrysDark]

The website that lists game compatability, ps*Hd.com has Xeno II listed and incompatible.... Damn.

[scene918]

Anyone tried to merge both layers ? PS*HD.com says it worked for the first Xenosaga...

[Menace]

i'm pretty sure they're both dvd5's man...

damnit i was afraid of this black screen/crashing crap.

i hope someone takes the time an if it's possible create a patch or fix.

[sond64]

same problem here
damm the loading time on dvd are tooo long but guess we dont have choice this time arrrg

[Cordy]

Just from obervation standpoint. To me it seems that the problem from playing it off the hdd is caused by the loading in between each of the scenes and/or the rate at which it is read from the hdd. When playing it from the disc, it practically reads it for just about everything including in between animation sequences. Plus the way those are designed there are multiple movies/scenes played one after the next instead of just of making it one long scene. Also with the speed, when loaded off the disc the screens prior to the main one load by fast and even faster off the hdd, you don't even get to see some of them when playing off the hdd which is why mode 1 enables it to run in some places for some people even though it is playable without any modes. I just speculate the black screens are caused by data being read too fast or something of that nature. Of course these are only my observations and speculations as to what could be causing the problem or at least part of it.

[Stefy2]

can be a good test letting it stays there for an hour or so with one of those backscreen and see if don't return from this state or goes forward

[omegatron]

i will go to dvdricks nomod page and request if a ppf can be made ( doubtfull)

EDIT Request Made XenoSaga_II_USA_RETAIL_PS2_HDFIX thats is the name of the fix requested (it is not a patch yet so dont ask where to dl, i only requested it)


ALSO if someone can show me how to do winhex that would be cool because I would like to make a Viewtifull Joe 1 ppf for hdd... And i dont know how to use WINHEX

[jibe]

Hi guys,

I just bought my Xenosaga II this morning and I am also confronted to these "black screen" problems... :(
To my observation, the game allows you to play around 20 minutes and then will eventually crash as you enter a new area or if a cut-scene occur (I have mode 1 and 3 enabled)... and, yes, 20 minutes are just not enough :lol:
Anyway, I guess we are stuck with using the disc. I will try to go further using the original media and try back with the HDD later on as someone in this thread already mentionned. I'll give you some feedback on this.

Oh, and the game is really good btw!

/me hope for some kind of patch/way to play this awesome game :-pray:

[alexb999]

I tried this game too, it starts acting funny after moving to the next screen after the first save point. It doesn't actually give me a black screen, but all I see are the robot's feet, and some weird, colourful backgrounds.

Omegatron: what's the url of the site you posted that request on? I'd like to keep an eye on it to see if someone can make a patch.

Until then, no Xenosaga II on HDD for me >.<

[dysan]

I hope this also applies to the US version because this is how it works with the JAP version. The black screen WILL occur when changing area and cutscene around Second Miltia and Durandal. The game however will not blackscreen at all when you are in the dungeon area. Even leaving cutscenes in the dungeon areas will not black screen. Save and load off the hdd when you first enter the dungeon and load off the DVD when you are about to finish it. I refer to dungeon area as parts where there are enemies roaming around that is not in Second Miltia or the Durandal. I hope this helps.
I don't know about this so call DVDRick. All he releases these days are Swap Magic fix for the other site. I doubt he'll come up with anything.

[alexb999]

Well I guess I have to hope that they actually release this game over here. As far as I know, XS I was never released here (mainland Europe). At least I couldn't find it in any local stores...

Other wise it's no XS II at all for me >.<

[kaioshade]

I have been playing around with merging both discs (just as an experiment). It gets to the namco screen, then black screen and will no longer continue. I will keep messing with it using both methods.

[importtuner]

I don't think the problem is with merging the layers of the game. It "should" only affect the game when you are finished with the first layer of the game. Then it would hang. At least, that is the deal with Xenosaga 1.

Just out of curiousity, by what means are you all transferring the game? via the PS2 itself, WinHIIP, Hdl_dump/dumb, etc. Just curious....

[Alcahest]

There's no way merging both DVDs could solve anything.
It looks indeed to be a timing problem, by looking at how enabling Mode1 solves one of the lockups.

I doubt it could be a dumping problem as well (not all people used the same apps but all have the lockups).

This game may be using an uncommon way of streaming data off the disc.
Very much unfortunately, i don't think anything can be done.

If it locked when booting it would be another story but in the middle of the game; no :/

I wonder if anyone tried it on TOXIC OS rather than on HDL/Hacked HDL, who knows...
Later,

Alcahest

[omegatron]

ok just point your mirc to efnet #ps2nomod and that is DVDricks server

[Stefy2]

i used only toxic os with the retail and hdl with the beta alchanest, it's too early to see great difference in these things. and for the one with dungeon working right for me it crash al there, maybe more time there

[kaioshade]

You never know. strange methods have worked before, and i was just screwing around. as you see it didnt work, but i was just curious.

[TheCrowX]

i think the next toxic os will have a great game compatibility and fixes
this what they said
so afte the release we ll need some1 to hack it :)
so I guess until the next release there is nothing to do fo xenosaga 2):

[Ghaleon]

I sure hope the Toxic OS will show some improvement, but until now there hasn't been much in terms of solid information regarding this, so i'll just hope it will improve the hdd using capabilities of the ps2 somewhen in the future.

[Stefy2]

yes i also hope, adding mc saving and loading from game to hdd can be very good for example, and also the list of things written on the readme about the next release :D

[Tannah]

Ok I don't Have XenoSaga II yet, but I was woundering what version of the HD- Loader are you all running? Have you applied any of the HDL-Patch's to the version your running? Like for instance the one of the 3 diffrent date patches? And what version of the PS2 are you running?

I'm just trying to look at this from a diffrent angle, because Ive seen reports of people playing XS-II on the HDL with no problems with no compatiblity modes enabled.

[JacksonDane]

Ok I don't Have XenoSaga II yet, but I was woundering what version of the HD- Loader are you all running? Have you applied any of the HDL-Patch's to the version your running? Like for instance the one of the 3 diffrent date patches? And what version of the PS2 are you running?

I'm just trying to look at this from a diffrent angle, because Ive seen reports of people playing XS-II on the HDL with no problems with no compatiblity modes enabled.

I have no patches on my HDLoader.. not sure how to patch it either so I havent' tried it. Would I have to make an ISO of the HDloader disc I have, patch that, then reburn a new HDLoader disc?? and would I be able to boot up the CDR without having to swap discs?

[Tannah]

I have no patches on my HDLoader.. not sure how to patch it either so I havent' tried it. Would I have to make an ISO of the HDloader disc I have, patch that, then reburn a new HDLoader disc?? and would I be able to boot up the CDR without having to swap discs?

Hmm so I guess your ps2 is unmodded? Well I guess the best be would be the PS1 expolit. Its pretty easy to do.

As to the HD-Loader the best bet is to find the uncompressed HD-Loader to patch.

[Stefy2]

toxic os with no patch (date bug and other hdl bugs are corrected)
anyway with the beta was happening the same and i had an hdloader with no disck seek, stop disc, fix date 1, force ntsc, force position enabled.

[jibe]

Ok I don't Have XenoSaga II yet, but I was woundering what version of the HD- Loader are you all running? Have you applied any of the HDL-Patch's to the version your running? Like for instance the one of the 3 diffrent date patches? And what version of the PS2 are you running?

I'm just trying to look at this from a diffrent angle, because Ive seen reports of people playing XS-II on the HDL with no problems with no compatiblity modes enabled.

OK, well I'm using the "original" hdloader, I haven't applied any patch, I have just changed the two BMP to downsize it. I am booting from the MC using the ps1-exploit. (My PAL PS2 is also modded but don't believe that it has anything to do with these problems)

For XS2, I bought the US version two days ago and install it using hdl_dump, and finally I have mode 1 & 3 enabled (however I dind't really try wit other mode setting...)

And I'm experiencing these black screens.... :banghead:

Anyway what are the setting, software and hardware that the "people playing XS-II on the HDL with no problems with no compatiblity modes enabled" have? Thanks for your answer ;)

[sond64]

there s ni issue for xeno yet

btw what is toxic os

[Toma]

DMS4 pirate BIOS.

[woodyos]

At first, I had the black sceen too using HD Loader. I switched to HD advance, which got me through the prologue and past the chase scene (no compatiblity modes enabled). When I tried again this morning, I got black screens all the time, sometimes after battle, sometimes when I enter a new field. I'll just try some more stuff to see if I can get it working again.

[Stefy2]

now i arrived to disc 2 (by dvd) and it does the same things, also i get to do a dungeon it didn't crashed but the day later it crashes all the screen, then switched to dvd, it's so casual. anyone is going to do a patch?

[Ghaleon]

hm by the way, i digged further into the game elf, mostly because o want to find that run faster code, had no luck finding it, but found some references to the hdd. While this is the first game i really examined this much, it does seem to me that this further proves the hdd loader incompatibilities being intentional.

[kaioshade]

hm by the way, i digged further into the game elf, mostly because o want to find that run faster code, had no luck finding it, but found some references to the hdd. While this is the first game i really examined this much, it does seem to me that this further proves the hdd loader incompatibilities being intentional.

Do you remember the offset for this?

[Menace]

keep lookin guys...i would help if i knew what to look for an how to fix it.

i got to the first black screen an i enabled just mode 1 an it seemed to have fixed it but i died at the first boss battle ? between the dude with a sword...how do u beat him ?

[Stefy2]

yes butwith dvd, at that time i was going crazy with hd

[Dabbler]

OK, another forum said that they got Gran Tourismo 4 working with the HDloader if you put the disk in the drive so that it checks for the second layer or something.

Can Xenosaga have the same thing? Periodically check the disk to increase its loading time?

[Stefy2]

checking the disc... yes but if (i haven't tried it) it check the disc automatically hdloader doesn't do anything, it's like hack if you put a disc and activate 3 or 1 i don't remember exactly, it reads from dvd and co ntinue from there, hd is nomore used

[Menace]

has anyone actually progressed though the game with all this damn crashing ? i can't seem to get past that mechanical boss that floats....it just blacks out after i beat him.

damn...

[Stefy2]

any solution? :(

[woodyos]

I haven't been able to figure out anything, unfortunately ~_~ I heard the problem was somewhat similar to that of Shadow Hearts 2 though.

[Menace]

^seems like it...i still can't get past that boss regardless of modes.

keeps crashing right after.

i guess theres no hope for this game.

[woodyos]

There's always hope. The Japanese version works, right? I've heard rumours about a PAL release, maybe a PAL version'll work (very unlikely, but there's always a chance).

[Hello_Kitty]

there will be no pal release since xenosaga 1 hasn't been release in pal format

[Van_Cailen]

has anyone tried the CDloader method? same used with rogue agent?
I got Fatal Frame II working with this, although i havnt played it enough to know if it's a proper working fix.

If anyone wants me to i can give it a try though.

[Vegeta]

there will be no pal release since xenosaga 1 hasn't been release in pal format

Neither did Xenogears.

[Menace]

has anyone tried the CDloader method? same used with rogue agent?
I got Fatal Frame II working with this, although i havnt played it enough to know if it's a proper working fix.

If anyone wants me to i can give it a try though.


try it man, theres gotta be a way to make it fully work by editing the hd checks or whatever is making it constantly crash.

[woodyos]

Hmm... it didn't work with that little God of War tweak either. I sure hope that the Toxic OS 0.3 source is cracked soon, we might just be able to play XS2 with that.

[Menace]

i tired it with the 0.2 core, still froze.

but yea maybe it works with 0.3

[Evkun]

I actually up and bought the game right when it came out, and then ripped both discs to my PC HD, THEN transferred them with winhiip. Something tells me that most people that bought it just shoved it in the ps2 and let hdloader rip it.

Anyways, I never came here earlier because it didn't start crashing until the end of disc 1. Yes, you read that correctly. Without spoiling, I will say that the first time I had a crash was right around where the grassy place turned snowy. It would blackscreen when loading a given cutscene, then I would restart and reload, just like you guys. But I wouldn't switch modes. I'd get past the cutscene, and keep going. Finally, at one point the game would blackscreen on load, and I gave up and played from disc.

In any case, I have a friend that got a backup from usenet, and his crashed right after the intro flashback like most of you. If I remember correctly, the current hdloader I have is very old, a very small version branded with the "No copy rights for those who don't respect copyrights" logo and another site name branded on it. No patches, nothing fancy. It was the same one that all faplink releases were tested on.

My pal said I was 'damn lucky' that mine didn't start crashing sooner, but I think there's something more to it. My ps2 in not modded aside from a memcard exploit.

Ah yes, that was it. When I initially extracted the iso, I thought it was going to be DVD9. I extracted my images with DVD decrypter intending to flatten it, and was suprised when it didn't need to be flattened.

Well, hope something in there helps. Good luck guys.

[woodyos]

What version's your ps2? It's actually quite possible that you've been lucky. I got about 3 hours of playing before it crashed, it seems that it's completely random.

[kaioshade]

Nope it is luck. Many people have reported crashing at variousm places. some have even claimed getting through the game completely.

[Menace]

^must be luck then, it's just a headache even dealing with all the freezing.

does anyone know if the game still freezes with toxic 0.3 ? i read that it worked fine.

[Toma]

Anyone try it with the new HDL Patch? I might try it tomorrow.

[Van_Cailen]

ps2hd.com reports it as being Toxic OS compatable, so I'm assuming that means with the .03 release. It's only a matter of time until that core is cracked as well, so we will get our xenosaga running eventually. It'd be nice if someone could check with the new hd patcher thing though.

[Cordy]

Oh I meant to post this no it still goes to a black screen. I played through for a while from the beginning and eventually crashed after one of the cutscenes on Second Miltia. However this was with no modes enabled and I haven't tried slower disc access as it probably needs it because it goes through non vocal cutscenes very fast and animtions are very fast and the same with switching between scenes. Of course that is a good thing, but seems somewhat unatural so slowing it down might help, but as of now no it's still incompatible.

[-Life-]

Hello everybody. I have the original of this game and it dos't work on hdd(mode1&3 are ativated but the game freez when the cut-scene). Its very important for me because i try t translet the game in french. And run the ggame on hdd is very cool to try the traduction. If you found a patch. please can you give the url .

BIG THX :)

[cause_of_chaos]

Yeah, I want this game working. Was on the last boss, but lost my save!!!

There are a couple of other games that I would like working with this random crashing, like Shadow Hearts, and Super Robot Wars IMPACT

[-Life-]

If anybody found a FIX for HDD please post here for all people. BIG THX

[Dr. Cain]

Any new developments?

[PrincessH]

Buy a DMS4 and get ToxicOS ;)

[Alcahest]

haha i was about to say it but i think i already did a few pages ago..
Later,

Alcahest

[dinkaroo]

Hi, I just wanted to mention something I noticed about xeno 2, I played the game off my disc and off my hd, and when I play the game off the hd, the time played on the save does not change from when I loaded it, but when I play it off my disc, the time does advance again, (by time, I mean the time spent playing the game, which is stored in the save). Other than that, I don't think this is an intentional protection by xeno 2, rather I think its just a fluke, some part of memory that it randomly uses when loading areas/NIS's/cutscenes, that messes up with the hdloader.

[-Life-]

The time in your console is bloque check your hour in the menu. :)

Yeah i know buy a DMS 4 pro maybe a solution :cry: I love this game why he doesnt work :cry: Again if anybody says where found a fix....please post here.

BIG THX

:-pray:

[Alcahest]

yeah the wrong time bug you refer to is caused by an outdated module in HDloader/ToxicOS or something, it's common to many games; just not only to Xeno2.
Later,

Alcahest

[-Life-]

I would like why anybody search to make a fix fir this game.?! Me im not a hacker for do this. But Xenosaga is a dvd9 and many people search to work the game in two dvd5 or on the Hdd and now its work :dance: And Xenosaga 2??? Why anyone want do a fix :cry: If you know any information on this subject please post her, thx ;)

[Alcahest]

? maybe you want to read the first pages of this thread -Life-
Later,

Alcahest

[-Life-]

I have already read the first page :D its just indiquate the game run with mode 1 and 3 but the freez is again here. Why you say me that? You think the version of RETAIL is cracked to work on hdd? But me i havent a backup I HAVE THE ORGINAL :)

[Alcahest]

man i have no idea wtf you're talking about. i forfeit.
Later,

Alcahest

[-Life-]

LOL, my english talk is really bad no? :(
Me im not sur to enderstand you in your post
"maybe you want to read the first pages of this thread -Life-"

Can you explain your idea?

[Alcahest]

-Life-, you asked : "And Xenosaga 2??? Why anyone want do a fix If you know any information on this subject please post her, thx"

I told you to read the first page because it explains the problem people are having with this game on HDD : it freezes randomly.

The retail version is the version you have, sold in shops; RETAIL is not a rlz group ^^;;
Later,

Alcahest

[woodyos]

I noticed that ps*hd.com lists disc 2 as compatible when flattened and with mode 2 enabled. This would indicate that it is indeed not an intentional HDD block.

[-Life-]

"The retail version is the version you have, sold in shops; RETAIL is not a rlz group ^^;;"

Lol, ok I didnt know this. :p

"I noticed that ps*hd.com lists disc 2 as compatible when flattened and with mode 2 enabled"

Really? Its possible to make an dvd9 of the game :wow: I want to see that. :)

[Dr. Cain]

I noticed that ps*hd.com lists disc 2 as compatible when flattened and with mode 2 enabled. This would indicate that it is indeed not an intentional HDD block.

Why would you need to flatten it, if it already fits on a disc?

[-Life-]

Maybe that the game work in dvd9 :) I try ALL solution for the game work on hdd. :)

[woodyos]

I wondered about the flattening as well, but it really does say that it needs flattening.

[Ghaleon]

tsk, what i want is some way to play this game without the cumbersome loadtimes, not some nonsense ... sigh. flattening a already *flat* dvd5 game is just that, nonsense. they must have slipped some crap from xs1 into the xs2 description.

[woodyos]

*Bump* ...anything new yet? I truly wish someone would make a patch...

[Ghaleon]

same here, but i'm pessimistic about it.
though it sure would be great to be able to finish the game without those cumbersome loadtimes, sigh

[Alcahest]

Get a DMS4 PRO + TOXICOS 0.3. Only solution so far for XS2 on HDD.
Later,

Alcahest

[Ghaleon]

mm, thanks, but i think i can wait.

[woodyos]

XS2 has been anounced for Europe. Maybe the PAL version'll work... probably not, but who knows.

[PenPen]

has xenosaga episode 1 even been released in europe?

[Dr. Cain]

has xenosaga episode 1 even been released in europe?

No it hasn't, which would make woodyos statement pretty wierd.

[woodyos]

Weird... yes. But it has been officially announced. STOP PICKING ON ME I CANT HELP IT http://www.rpgamer.com/news/Q3-2005/070405b.html XD

[cause_of_chaos]

I just can't see Xenosaga 2 being released in Europe (so I imported it). Even if it does make it, it won't make much sense to most people, unless:

1. The first Xenosaga is also released, or
2. A DVD with the cut-scenes are released.

Both seem unlikley...

cause_of_chaos

[woodyos]

Play.com and various other sites are already accepting preorders. That good enough then?

[cause_of_chaos]

Fair enough, never knew that. Lets see what happens then...

cause_of_chaos

[woodyos]

Fair enough, never knew that. Lets see what happens then...

Official announcement was made today :cool:

[xelemental]

Get a DMS4 PRO + TOXICOS 0.3. Only solution so far for XS2 on HDD.
Later,

Alcahest

sorry to sound newbish but what exactly is TOXICOS 0.3 and DMS4 PRO? I have HDL patched 0.7c.

[Toma]

DMS4 Pro is a modchip by the DMS team and ToxicOS is their proprietary software; meaning only the DMS4 Pro chip can use it (sorry DMS4 Lite users and everbody else!).

[mp-a]

Grab the rip by STRIKE, ive got it and it works nicely.

[xelemental]

DMS4 Pro is a modchip by the DMS team and ToxicOS is their proprietary software; meaning only the DMS4 Pro chip can use it (sorry DMS4 Lite users and everbody else!).

damn I hate the idea of modding my ps2. thats why i went towards the HDLoader since i didnt have to open it up.

Grab the rip by STRIKE, ive got it and it works nicely.

you mean it works on HDloader 0.7c without this whole enabling 1 + 3 nonsense? a flawless copy of xenosaga 2 on the HardDrive?

[mp-a]

I dont know about that, it works on my chipped system flawlessly though. I would imagine that it works great, STRIKE puts out some good rips.

[kaioshade]

Every DVD-R of zenosaga works just fine from that media. But running it from the hard drive is where the problems lie. I doubt the strike rip works from the HDD as well.

[runo]

just to let everybody know...i think that the iso's what most people got from xenosage eps2 is just bad...why you ask? Well first of all i got a dms4 pro chip running in my ps2 with toxic os v3...now before that i used the hd loader with the latest patch...and yes...it indeed i also got stuck at the militia part...it seems to be a commen problem with hd loader...but...when i uses toxic os v0.3 i played much further without modes enabled or any other problems...till the part where i had to fight the first two gear bosses in miltia...the game froze everytime i wanted almost defeated one of the bosses...so...i tried al the modes...within toxic...but did not help...then i burned it on dvd...en tried to play further that way...but it also showed the same bug...so my conclusion was...the whole release of that first xenosaga episode2 must have been corrupted...when i downloaded the Retail version (second release of the same game) it played perfect...and i just have beaten the game today with toxic os v3 with no modes enabled...so i think that most of you people who cant play xenosaga 2 with hdloader is because you all have the corrupted version of it...you all should try the Retail version and see if that works with HDLoader...i think you would have more luck with it!!! at least i can confirm it works 100% with toxic os....good luck!

[woodyos]

You're kind of missing the point - loads of people have tried running the retail version on harddisc using HDloader, but it keeps crashing. XS2 only works because you've got Toxic OS, it will crash on Hdloader.

[_zaphod_]

you know. maybe rebuilding the LBA actually fixes the game? something to try.

[-Life-]

just to let everybody know...i think that the iso's what most people got from xenosage eps2 is just bad...why you ask? Well first of all i got a dms4 pro chip running in my ps2 with toxic os v3...now before that i used the hd loader with the latest patch...and yes...it indeed i also got stuck at the militia part...it seems to be a commen problem with hd loader...but...when i uses toxic os v0.3 i played much further without modes enabled or any other problems...till the part where i had to fight the first two gear bosses in miltia...the game froze everytime i wanted almost defeated one of the bosses...so...i tried al the modes...within toxic...but did not help...then i burned it on dvd...en tried to play further that way...but it also showed the same bug...so my conclusion was...the whole release of that first xenosaga episode2 must have been corrupted...when i downloaded the Retail version (second release of the same game) it played perfect...and i just have beaten the game today with toxic os v3 with no modes enabled...so i think that most of you people who cant play xenosaga 2 with hdloader is because you all have the corrupted version of it...you all should try the Retail version and see if that works with HDLoader...i think you would have more luck with it!!! at least i can confirm it works 100% with toxic os....good luck!


I have the ORIGINAL game with ORIGINAL game, and the game crash when it on HDD.... :rolleyes:

[Dr. Cain]

Arrrgh, what the hell makes it work on Toxic OS 0.3 ?
It has to be some small patch or something. Just something really small...

[PrincessH]

It works on Toxic OS3 because Toxic is superior to HDLoader.

[cause_of_chaos]

Yo peeps, I've just noticed that if U enable mode 2 (Disable DVD9 Support), this game refuses to boot. I always enable mode 2 and 6 (dunno why), and it usually works with all my games except Xeno 2. Was wondering if the DVD9 support was interfering with the game (looks like Xeno 2 needs it). Any thoughts?

cause_of_chaos

[darklegion]

No.Xenosaga 2 is not DVD9.

[cause_of_chaos]

Yeah, I know. Most of my other games on my HDD are not either. Just that it shouldn't matter whether mode 2 is switched on or off (none of my other games are affected). Just that with Xeno 2, it does matter. Mode 2 turns off DVD9 support. So why does it stop Xeno 2, a DVD5 game from working?

cause_of_chaos

[psychospacefish]

Yes, bringing up a dead thread, hoe noes, but I know what the difference between TOS and HDL is regarding XenoII. Its the CDVDSTM.IRX. Xenosaga II has it, and Gun has it, and they both have random lockups. There must be some way of patching HDL or the ELF or the CDVDSTM.IRX to fix the random lockup issue.

[Ghaleon]

aaah thank you psychospacefish, that's interesting information ^^

[Dr. Cain]

Hmm, yeah so TOS patches that file in a specific way then... Or maybe we can replace it with a prepatched?

[dlanor]

Hmm, yeah so TOS patches that file in a specific way then... No, it doesn't. The installed game needs no patches for ToxicOS.

ToxicOS emulates some things that HDLoader does not. Remember that it's the same programmer who developed both programs. (Nick Van Veen, AKA: Sjeep) Naturally he has added some improvements in the newest version. As 'psychospacefish' noted in a recent post, one such improvement appears to be a proper emulation of the driver "CDVDSTM.IRX" used by many games having compatibility problems with HDLoader.

Or maybe we can replace it with a prepatched?
IMO what's needed here is a way to modify how HDLoader deals with games using "CDVDSTM.IRX", but I see no easy way of making such a patch.

Patching the game files might also work, but as yet I've seen no reports of success with that either. :(

Btw:
I just bought the PAL version of XS2 (SCES_820.34), an hour ago, but haven't tried it out yet.

Best regards: dlanor

[chong69]

works for me with no modes enabled. Hasnt froze yet and im past the beach

[Dr. Cain]

Anyone tried the last HDLpatch with this game yet? New dma-modes, fileopts etc?

[zoharmodifier]

I tested Xenosaga II (Disc 1) with HDL0.8a. It SEEMS to work fine with NO MODES activated. Previously, it usually froze in the intro movies unless I skipped them, but it played fine with the new HDL. Then, I loaded up a save file, and played for 10 minutes or so (fought a few battles). Everything seems to be operating properly, but I can't say I'm 100% sure. I'll be playing more over the next few days so we'll see...

[zoharmodifier]

I've played through all of Disc 1, with no modes activiated. Played fine.

Now going through Disc 2... it's longer so I won't be posting progress for a while (unless it crashes)... not sure if anyone still cares about this game though. :shhh:

**update: disc 2 froze after the very first movie. :[

[b081]

zoharmodifier, did you ran US or european version of Xenosaga 2?

[outphase]

zoharmodifier, did you ran US or european version of Xenosaga 2?

He ran the US version

[perd]

I was looking forward to playing this game to :(

[_zaphod_]

Yes, bringing up a dead thread, hoe noes, but I know what the difference between TOS and HDL is regarding XenoII. Its the CDVDSTM.IRX. Xenosaga II has it, and Gun has it, and they both have random lockups. There must be some way of patching HDL or the ELF or the CDVDSTM.IRX to fix the random lockup issue.

Oh and another game with random lockup isues that uses cdvdstm.irx. Capsule Moonster COlluseum.

i bet we fix that game we fix xenosaga II. and it's a muc smaller game.

[_zaphod_]

PS: those of you who say it work sperfect for you, what ps2 version, and what RPM is your hard drive?

[perd]

Oh and another game with random lockup isues that uses cdvdstm.irx. Capsule Moonster COlluseum.

i bet we fix that game we fix xenosaga II. and it's a muc smaller game.

so it works with hdl 8?

[JusPlayin]

No. IT doesn't. Only ToxicOS for this game.

[Menace]

i'm suprised theres no fix for this game yet, but it seems you guys know what the problem is.....maybe someday.

[perd]

:(

[zoharmodifier]

i'm suprised theres no fix for this game yet, but it seems you guys know what the problem is.....maybe someday.

i heard that the problem with the cdvdstm.irx is that it's not properly emulated without a chip. that's why it works with toxicOS and not HDL.

plus, XS2 just isn't that popular. :(

[eyesonta]

xenosaga2 isn't that popular?~~!
that's hurt!!
T_T

[Dr. Cain]

Hmm tried using the Soul calibur2 fix in hdlpatch 0.8 combined with UDMA0 mode at startup, seems to be much more stable to me. Playing right now, I'll post again if it crashes.

EDIT: crap it crashed, however seems more stable with UDMA0

[DaedalusIkari]

I tried it without any compatibility modes, and it seemed to work fine. (opening cinematic + sequence in the ES Asher.) Just trying it without anything seems to get farther than HDL 07c ever did. Have people experienced problems trying it nice and vanilla plain?

[JusPlayin]

It's def. a little more stable with the new HDL, but it still crashes. I woudln't try to play off HD, you might lose a lot of playing time due to crashes, but hey if its' the only way for you then go for it.

[Dabbler]

It seems pretty random for me although the original HDloader worked fine for me until the 3/4 through the first disc. Everytime I tried any of the patches it seems to crash even more. So I just kept trying with a vanilla hdloader and slowly trudge my way through the game.

[Timmyboy]

Can you play this game to completion using HDloader

[Torabo]

so did anyone ever get this game to work on HDD?

[yahooadam]

Ive been playing the US version for like an hour - no crasahes

using HDLoader 0.7c (all the fixes applied to hdloader)

and the following modes enabled

Slow HDD access, Kill HD Loader after launch, Date/Timefix 3, Disable Network Support, Soul Calibur 2

hopefully this will help someone, and im gonna keep playing ^_^ see if it crashes

[guriguri]

How about now?
Are there no way to play this game by using HDloader?

[JusPlayin]

NOPE. Gotta get a Toxic for this one. I hate it that it's that way, but so far it's the only way to play it.

[guriguri]

Yep, thanks JusPlayin. I don't want to upgrade my dms3 chip, too.