Gran Turismo 3 Swap Trick

[Klik_Klik]

Hi,
had anyone tested swap trick on "Gran Turismo 3 A-Spec PAL" ?

[TnA]

Are you trying to install FMCB through the game-swap-trick?

The normal 'game-swap-trick' probably won't work in your case (since afaik this game has no 'second-stage-ELFs'), only the 'double-timeswap-trick' which is done/performed, while the PS2Logo is shown.

[Klik_Klik]

Where's tutorial 'double-timeswap-trick' for PS2 FAT?

[TnA]

There is no real tutorial out there.

The only tutorials I ever found for that method are posts right here in this forum.

I saw 2 or 3 'Tutorial-Posts' due the last 2 years, but I'm not sure where they are.
I guess, atleast on of those was posted in the PS2-Gameswaptrick-Thread.

[Borgschulze]

I have GT3 A-Spec NTSC

I'm kind of getting annoyed burning all these discs that are failing to load uLaunch...

Is an IRX file similar to an ELF file?

I'm thinking of replacing MCMAN.IRX with uncompressed uLaunch.ELF, and also wondering if it is necessary to use ESR Disc Patcher GUI in order for this to work? Maybe the "guide" is missing a step when burning a disc?

[dlanor]

I have GT3 A-Spec NTSC

I'm kind of getting annoyed burning all these discs that are failing to load uLaunch...

Is an IRX file similar to an ELF file?

They are somewhat similar in principle but not in application.

IRX files are executable programs for the IOP processor.
These programs are mostly TSR device drivers and background servers.
(TSR == Terminate and Stay Resident)

ELF files are executable programs for the EE processor (the main PS2 CPU).
This includes most homebrew applications, such as uLaunchELF.

I'm thinking of replacing MCMAN.IRX with uncompressed uLaunch.ELF,

That has no chance of working.

uLaunchELF is an application to be executed by the EE CPU (and will load many IRX too).
MCMAN is a TSR device driver for memory cards, to be executed by the IOP CPU.
There is absolutely no chance of having uLaunchELF started properly in place of MCMAN.

and also wondering if it is necessary to use ESR Disc Patcher GUI in order for this to work?

The ESR disc methods have nothing to do with the disc swapping used to get FMCB installed.

In order for an ESR patch to be recognized you would need to have a homebrew running already, such as FMCB or uLE. and you would also need to have an ESR.ELF file installed on your MC. This should be done as part of the FMCB installation, so before that is completed you have no way of using ESR.

Best regards: dlanor

[Borgschulze]

Thanks, I wasn't sure how the PS2 handled things.

I just noticed when I was playing GT3 that it loads files from the disc when you go into the memory card save/transfer screen, whatever you would like to call it.. and figured, maybe it's running the driver as an entire program instead of keeping it memory in the background.

I've looked for information on what the PPF and ESR patches are/do but I've not come up with much info.

Thanks for taking the time to reply.

It's been quite the hassle trying my luck and buying a few different games just for the purpose of trying to get uLaunch to run. I would just go with a mod chip, but then I'd have to find a place to buy one, and then risk damaging the console when I solder it in.

[dlanor]

I've looked for information on what the PPF and ESR patches

PPF is a pretty old standard for how to patch binary files in general.
It has no PS2-specific connection or usage, though it can be used for some PS2 binaries too.

ESR is a way of patching PS2 game disc backups such that the UDF filesystem seems to be for a DVD-Video movie, though the ISO9660 filesystem still retains all the game data. As the PS2 CDVD mechacon only checks the UDF layer to recognize the DVD movie format, it will accept such a game disc as readable even on burned media, since DVD movies are allowed on burned media. And the ESR device driver then sees to it that the game code does not 'see' the fake UDF layer, but instead sees the disc as it were before patching.

It's been quite the hassle trying my luck and buying a few different games just for the purpose of trying to get uLaunch to run. I would just go with a mod chip, but then I'd have to find a place to buy one, and then risk damaging the console when I solder it in.

While FMCB itself is free, that can seldom be said about the requirements for installing it, unless you or some friend already have the necessary means. Buying patchable games and DVD-R discs can be costly, as can buying SwapMagic discs (much easier to install with), and buying plus installing a modchip just to install FMCB would be an extreme overkill as I see it.

So if the latter is the only option allowing you to do it yourself, then I'd definitely recommend that you instead use the free installation service, sending your MC to one of the volunteers to do the installing for you. That will still cost you some money for postage and packaging both ways, but that should be a lot cheaper than a modchip and without the risks that installing such a chip always brings with it.

Best regards: dlanor

[Borgschulze]

Hmm, so with an ESR patch, you do still need an application on the PS2 to run, in order to trick the console into reading it as a "normal" disc?

Makes the initial disc check say DVD Movie, then it skips the fake UDF layer? But again, needs to run ESR program on the MC to do this?

This PS2 stuff is so interesting.. maybe I should have got into modding consoles much earlier.

[dlanor]

Hmm, so with an ESR patch, you do still need an application on the PS2 to run, in order to trick the console into reading it as a "normal" disc?

Yes, because the two filesystem layers ISO9660 and UDF hold conflicting information.

But the ESR driver needed is not really a normal application, though it is loaded by such a program as part of the initial launch of an ESR backup disc. But during gameplay only a small specialized driver remains resident, not the whole application.

Makes the initial disc check say DVD Movie, then it skips the fake UDF layer? But again, needs to run ESR program on the MC to do this?

That is the basic principle for how it works.

This PS2 stuff is so interesting.. maybe I should have got into modding consoles much earlier.

It can be quite interesting, but if you had gotten into it much earlier then many of the most important homebrews today would not yet have existed at the time. And many of the most interesting developments occurred fairly recently.

Most of the ESR development was dony by ffgriever in 2008.
And the OPL development took off for real in the latter half of 2009.
(OPL v0.6 was the first backup game loader to support SMB networking, in Dec 2009)

Best regards: dlanor