R18 hidden files

**amptor** · 20th July 2002

Ugh..another problem. I have this one game Shanghai Dynasty I'm trying to make self boot and I can only see 2 files if I iso it from my cd. Anyone know of a method to extract all the files so I can make a self boot? The iso compresses to about 670 megs so there's no way there's only 1 meg of data on the thing. Any help would be appreciated.

**FRSoldier** · 21st July 2002

is it the rip form a gdrom with cdda data?
because I had the same problem with Vrally 2 CDDA,
that it had 2 iso tracks, one as nr 3 and the other track was the last on the disc.
So, to have all the files with the extract tool, I used the command line:
extract isonr1.iso isonr8.iso #offset#

you can get the #offset# when you rip the cdda game.
I don't know if #offset# is the correct word, but it's a number...

bye

**weezee** · 21st July 2002

No, that's an R18 rip, which sometimes hides the files just to prevent ppl from tinckertoying with it. You simply make an ISO and launch bin2boot. Soooo easy.

**amptor** · 21st July 2002

Ok well the problem with bin2boot is when I use bin2boot on it, I get a message like this:

ip.bin not found. Create one? y/n

And for every coaster I've ever got from bin2boot, this was why. If I say yes and it makes a cdi, then I burn it and the game won't boot. Is there any work around for this? I don't believe bin2boot really does make an ip.bin for you.

**weezee** · 22nd July 2002

I think you have a damaged rip or something wrong there.
I have selfbooted shangai dynasty in a click.
I can't remember if it asked me to create an IP.BIN, but if it did, it created it for sure. IP.BIN is a very generic file, just a few switches to set.
NOTE: this game can't be played with RGB cable, so if you have PAL DC you MUST use normal cable.

**amptor** · 22nd July 2002

Yeah but there's other games and homebrew software that I've told it to make an ip.bin for and it always creates a bad cdi, which generates a coaster. It's because of this that I believe when you tell it yes, it doesn't do anything. I just wonder if there's anywhere I can place my own ip.bin so when I tell it yes, it will use that instead of wasting a cd.

**sixpackofa** · 23rd July 2002

try converting the cdi to a nero image and then burning (cdi2nero)

**amptor** · 24th July 2002

are you sure that'd work? sounds like converting a nonworking iso into another nonworking iso.

also I emailed the author of bin2boot, but doubt he'll reply

**sixpackofa** · 24th July 2002

Originally posted by amptor
are you sure that'd work? sounds like converting a nonworking iso into another nonworking iso.

also I emailed the author of bin2boot, but doubt he'll reply

yea... it couldnt hurt to try it, thats for sure... I know sometimes it seems like my cdi is corrupt, but that isn't the case at all, but rather the burner is having a problem with discjuggler. conversion only takes a couple of minutes (less if it turns out to be corrupt(haha)) so youve got nothin to lose

**amptor** · 27th July 2002

Well..still no luck. Winiso says the isos (bin format or bin2iso's iso format) are invalid and are either multisession or multitrack and not supported. So I still haven't got anywhere. Maybe the CD is messed up, but I doubt that. I keep good care of the games and this one still runs on my dreamcast. There's no pinholes in the disc.

**Darkfalz** · 7th August 2002

If you know your way around the CDFS (CD file system) they're not hard to find, you can get the LBA addresses and extract them manually. Basically he often hides the 1ST_READ.BIN and a file called "scratch.bin" which resets the DC if not present during boot. I thought you could just create this file, but it actually contains a tiny amount of date the program looks for.

I redummied his Zero Gunner 2 and Shenmue II releases since I do that for all my games. Wasted a blank or two though becuase of this guys paranoid "copy protection" scheme... he can't really complain about Hooligans ripping off his releases when he's doing a much worse crime ripping off Sega's work!

What boggles me is how they are hidden.... how IsoBuster and CDMage etc can't see the files (even as hidden files) yet the Dreamcast can when it loads.

**Garlic Mayhem** · 10th August 2002

i got nothing against hooligans ripping r18s stuff when usually you wouldnt find it on the net otherwise. but, they dont give credit at all. the game even has an r18 bootlogo or disc is named r18.
cant complain too much because usually the only hooligans games that work are r18

btw.. their work is also being stolen on ps2, so things never change. if you have a no swap mod one or 2 miracle games have the Playstation 2 bootup logo say R18
hehe speaking of r18.. the king of fighters rip is their work too

**whodailli** · 12th August 2002

ya i think r18 started taggin the sega screen cause of fooligans. their shit should jus get nuked. fukin worthless bastards

**zombie_a** · 16th August 2002

the bin2boot works on DX Life and Panzer Front perfect...
on this game, Shanghai Dynasty, it doesn't seem to work

**zombie_a** · 6th September 2002

seems Shanghai Dynasty and Vermillion Desert have the hidden files and the 1st_read.bin is hidden by being mac file or something

i hex'd the iso and saw the real list of files and dirs on the cd.. seems like he inserted a fake toc or something but the dc looks to the real one further in the cd

**Megalex** · 6th September 2002

I often had this problem with hidden files in R18 releases.

Sometimes, IsoBuster works on your burnt CD...

Well, I managed to extract ALL files, but it's a hard job :
_ you have to hex edit the image
_ then locate the "Table Of Content" of your image. There should be 2 TOC : 1 with hidden files (just a list containing files that are shown) and a full TOC. The real TOC is obviously the one with ALL the files. To find it, just look for a file you know it's here and you can't extract (look for "1st_read.bin" for example)
_ once you found the real table of content, you'll need to copy it from its beginning to its end (it's the hard part). There should be a lot of "00" before and after...
_ then, return to the TOC with hidden files and paste the real TOC so that the names of visible files stay at the same place. How to do that ? Well... Count the bytes in the real TOC from its beginning to the 1st character of one visible file. Then find this visible file in the TOC with hidden files and go X bytes before (in fact, you have to keep the beginning of the "false" TOC at its place...).

I did that with all my R18 games and they work perfectly.

Sorry if I'm not clear, bt English isn't my langage.