A friend and I RE'd the KDDI Capcom games but ran into a hardware roadblock. Here's how 15+ games could come back online

[ioncannon]

You are correct about the init string though; it matches in Vampire as well...

I saw that init in the compiled BIN. I don't think that's the one we're interested in though is it? What does the code around the ATS0=0 string look like?

It most likely is as that function both changes the init string depending on if it's dialing (and something else). The function itself is in the state before dialing or answering.

Most of the network code is a big state machine, which uses two indices to look up a handler function in a jump table. For example the login and menu handlers:

And here is the modem connection functions:

dc1.PNG (4.82 KiB) Viewed 5165 times

Yeah when me and dude chatted I mentioned I wanted to get the thing working with proper GDROMs (I am a stickler for getting OG discs working)

Yeah, I remember you mentioned that in our initial email conversation. I'm generally the same but in this case I really believe patching is the way to go. A PSO-like boot disc is certainly something that could be looked into later for anyone that likes to use original GDs.

You'll probably have to come to grips with the fact that few people will shell out for another hardware piece, but a patched GDI or CDI will reach a wide audience.

Exactly. We have a DreamPi player base of around 3,000 at the moment. A hardware requirement would drop that number down to 0 for the Capcom games and inevitably not everyone is going to jump on board. It'd be a shame to only have a small subset of players that can play the games.

Yeah I get that, and it could be an idea for later while we at least get this going.

I want to test this connection idea but have no clue what goes into patching a 1st_read.bin file. I also use CDIs, but have a gdemu ordered on the way. Anyone knowledgeable in that can help?

[dude2207]

Was spacing out at work today and remembered an important bit of information: If the players phone number changes they have to register for an entirely new Capcom ID. Remember reading the manual for one of the capcom games and it had questions like "can I take my VMU to a friend's house and play there" and also "what happens if my phone number changes" and the answer was to have to go through the registration process again and lose all your existing records/statistics, there is no way of editing what your phone number is. The idea of dialing an IP instead of a "phone number" might not work out. Think that's why I had the idea of pre-registering for a unique number in the first place.

Also here's an FAQ page: https://web.archive.org/web/20031021073 ... g/001.html

[mistamontiel]

I just copied+pasted that archived Capcom FAQ in deepl translator, interesting so Heavy Metal Geomatrix NTSC-U I forgot if had networking? But through other means obvious

[SEGA RPG FAN]

It would be fairly easy to create a player database to match IDs to IP addresses. The dreampi could send an update request on bootup.

[ioncannon]

Have someone helping me with the bin patching, thanks!

On a completely unrelated note: I made progress on Sakura Wars Online! My Final Fantasy XIV reverse engineering (Project Meteor) experience was quite a help! And the fact all the seed values are constant haha.

* Figured out the lobby and game opcode switches
* Found the Blowfish encryption P and S tables, which led me to the static blowfish key they use:
0x6D3921FE90175A8C13CB73036730DB42
* Found the CRC function and lookup table they use for packet verification.
* I *think* I have the protocol figured out but need a testbed to experiment.
* Found the client side certificate.

The issue now is getting passed Dricas due to their SSL protocol they use. Seems Phantasy Star Online bypassed it using a DNS. Dunno much about SSL configuration but the client d/ces after the Server Certificate packet. Anyone know what PSO does?

[SEGA RPG FAN]

I'm sure someone else will have a better explanation, but it was my understanding they just stopped that part of the code from running instead of trying to RE the check.

[Xiden]

Anyone look at Sega Rally 2 if it could benefit from the tunneler solution? I think its structure was similar where after matchmaking is complete it direct dials the opponent.

[ncman071]

really cool to see these games added to the WIP on dreamcastlive.net! DC is just a great community

[dude2207]

Anyone look at Sega Rally 2 if it could benefit from the tunneler solution? I think its structure was similar where after matchmaking is complete it direct dials the opponent.

Reading the JP manual it has KDDI as an option yes. When you go to the online section you can choose between using a central server (which was hosted in Tokyo) or using KDDI for direct connection (if you didn't wanna long distance call to Tokyo or if the lag was too bad etc). Presumably, the same solution used for Capcom Direct can be rigged up to all KDDI games.

[runkthepunk]

I wanted to ask about Sega Rally but didn't want to get too excited and jump the gun

This whole project/discussion really is great news and I am excited for what it could unlock