ARMax and converting NTSC-->PAL

[Dean]

Hy! I have a game that's NTSC, but the ARMax codes are for PAL game only. Now I can't find this version anywhere, that's why I wonder, if I convert my NTSC game to PAL version, do you guys think the codes will work?

[dlanor]

Hy! I have a game that's NTSC, but the ARMax codes are for PAL game only. Now I can't find this version anywhere, that's why I wonder, if I convert my NTSC game to PAL version, do you guys think the codes will work?

No. Definitely not.

The reason why NTSC and PAL games don't use the same cheat codes has NOTHING to do with the different TV systems. It is due to the fact that the programs are compiled with source code differencies, and even if those are minor they will cause virtually all opcode and variable addresses in the entire program to change. And the cheat codes for a game need to be adapted to the RAM addresses whose content the cheats are to modify.

Patching an NTSC or PAL game so as to convert it for use with another TV system than what it was designed for only changes a few constants inside the program, used to initialize the hardware for the needed video mode. But the program as a whole remains what it was before that patch, and will still require cheat codes for its original region.

So you need to find a set of cheat codes intended for the version of the game that you have, regardless of what video mode you patch that version to use.

Best regards: dlanor

[Dean]

So there's no other way but to find a proper codes?
What about converting ARMax codes itself?

[kevstah2004]

What game you need codes for?

[dlanor]

So there's no other way but to find a proper codes?
What about converting ARMax codes itself?

If you have codes for one regional version of the game and want to produce similar codes for another regional version of that game, then you normally need to disassemble the main program of the first version, to check what it is that the cheat codes modify, and then search for the corresponding patterns and memory references in a disassembly of the main program of the second version.

I have done this sort of thing many times myself, but it is something only a programmer can do well, as it requires some understanding of program internals at machine code level. And it also requires access to both versions of the game, which I think you do not have (else you could just play that other version, with video mode patched to NTSC).

I think you should keep searching for some cheat code set for the version of the game that you have, and in this you should not limit yourself only to the cheat engine you use yourself. Codes for any cheat engine can normally be translated for use in any other, and various tool programs are available to help in such work.

Translation between different cheat engine 'dialects' is much easier than translation between different game versions, and does not require any real programming skills. It just requires the proper translation programs.

Best regards: dlanor