Question regarding PS1 original titles

[The Almighty MegaMan]

Hi guys.
For a long time I had a thorn on my gaming soul. As I was poor when I was little and my parents disliked videogames it was a little more than a miracle for me to get a PS1.
The only way I could play Spyro 3 was to pirate it.

Many of you may share the same story - the game had strong anti piracy measures, and was on Earthbound standards of cruelty.
Yes, it deleted your saves on the very last boss battle.

So, around 8 or 9 years later, I found a real copy of the game, and I bought it.
I put it in the console and less than 10 seconds after the boot...

...I was greeted with this: http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/831/spyro33.jpg/

I wanted to tear my hairs out one by one. As a matter of fact, I still do. The same thing happened on my PS2.

This leads me to ask you three questions.
1) Is there any way to circumvent this without physically modifying the console?
2) Is there any way to patch an ISO and play a copy on real hardware?
3) Does this bullshit happen with every original game or just this one?
If it's the former I may spend the next 3 days learning how to curse in chinese because I've bought other 4 original PS1 games.

Help EP

[deadlegion]

Hi guys.
For a long time I had a thorn on my gaming soul. As I was poor when I was little and my parents disliked videogames it was a little more than a miracle for me to get a PS1.
The only way I could play Spyro 3 was to pirate it.

Many of you may share the same story - the game had strong anti piracy measures, and was on Earthbound standards of cruelty.
Yes, it deleted your saves on the very last boss battle.

So, around 8 or 9 years later, I found a real copy of the game, and I bought it.
I put it in the console and less than 10 seconds after the boot...

...I was greeted with this: http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/831/spyro33.jpg/

I wanted to tear my hairs out one by one. As a matter of fact, I still do. The same thing happened on my PS2.

This leads me to ask you three questions.
1) Is there any way to circumvent this without physically modifying the console?
2) Is there any way to patch an ISO and play a copy on real hardware?
3) Does this bullshit happen with every original game or just this one?
If it's the former I may spend the next 3 days learning how to curse in chinese because I've bought other 4 original PS1 games.

Help EP

I know it's pretty obvious, but the game in question has detected that the console(s) you're trying to play it on are modified.
Have you tried it on a unmodified console?

I've got a modified SCPH-9002 [PAL] & an SCPH-102 [PAL] that seem to be able to play any backups I've tried in them (although I can't remember playing this specific game).

However, I do have an old SCPH-1000 [JPN] with a very old modchip that has encountered issues with some games.

[The Almighty MegaMan]

I know it's pretty obvious, but the game in question has detected that the console(s) you're trying to play it on are modified.
Have you tried it on a unmodified console?

I've got a modified SCPH-9002 [PAL] & an SCPH-102 [PAL] that seem to be able to play any backups I've tried in them (although I can't remember playing this specific game).

However, I do have an old SCPH-1000 [JPN] with a very old modchip that has encountered issues with some games.

Erm... no, I only own one console of each. Mine is a slim model, purchased as late as 2003.

[deadlegion]

Erm... no, I only own one console of each. Mine is a slim model, purchased as late as 2003.

The modded SCPH-102 I mentioned is a slim.
Honestly, you can get these consoles for free....or if you don't know of any for free: virtually nothing at a pawn shop (or whatever).
The only one I have that isn't modded is a spare SCPH-102...all the others are chipped.

Also: it's not a good idea to play PSX games on a PS2 (especially if you have a PSX console).
It just wears out the laser more quickly

[MaslowK]

Many of you may share the same story - the game had strong anti piracy measures, and was on Earthbound standards of cruelty.
Yes, it deleted your saves on the very last boss battle.

I don't have any advice to offer but this reminds me, of when I had one of the PS1 Spyros (year of the dragon I think?) converted to a PSP eboot and at some point one of the characters in game warned me of the perils of piracy so weird.

So the game you're talking about would work perfectly fine on a modded console until the end of the game, and then delete your save without warning? That's beyond fucked up man

[Kouen Hasuki]

Look for an ISO thats moddified to remove the anti piracy or buy a cheap PS1 thats unmodded there cheap as dirt in most countries

A Little looking around there is a Spyro 3 ISO about cracked by "Paradox" that is supposed to bypass all the anti piracy crap but has a cracktro



Also how the protection is flagging it is this

The modchip inside your console when a disc starts up sends the code to the Drive buffer "SCEA" for USA which is part of something done into the disc itself that CD Burners cannot replicate.

Your modchip however floods the buffer constantly (1st gen modchip) and spams the buffer with "SCEA" when the console should only see that once the disc is started up. the software can see that the buffer is liek "SCEA SCEA SCEA SCEA SCEA SCEA SCEA SCEA SCEA SCEA SCEA SCEA SCEA SCEA SCEA SCEA SCEA SCEA" and then kills the software. later stealth chips inteligently sends it only once then goes to sleep there by mimicking the true PS1 method of reading the protection.

Original chip users had to get cracked versions or remod there system with a stealth chip

(Over the top info about an old school consoles protection - Achivement Unlocked!)

[Inferno.]

Hahaha I remember being told about piracy in Spyro 3, sat there all "WTF?"

My current modded PS1 has a stealth modchip. We had one in the late 90s which had an old school chip with no stealth, Medievil had some form of copy protection, no? I remember that not working past a few levels on our console... As well as the fact the laser was on its way out or didn't like el-cheapo CD-Rs that people were using back then. Hardly anything read on the console unless it was put on its side.

[The Almighty MegaMan]

I don't have any advice to offer but this reminds me, of when I had one of the PS1 Spyros (year of the dragon I think?) converted to a PSP eboot and at some point one of the characters in game warned me of the perils of piracy so weird.

So the game you're talking about would work perfectly fine on a modded console until the end of the game, and then delete your save without warning? That's beyond fucked up man

Not exactly. Let me tell you/warn you about your Eboot.
Spyro 3 will seldom recognize it's pirated. The game requires you to progress by acquiring eggs laying in levels, and clearing said stages.
As you advance, the game will delete eggs you DID get at random (but it seems to prefer deleting those of levels with special characters like Sheila).
This bans you from unlocking areas later.
When you arrive at the 4th overworld, if you somehow get to unlock the last battle, and you enter, the game will overwrite your save with an empty one and put you exactly on the room where Zoe (the fairy) bitches at you for playing an unlicensed copy.

Look for an ISO thats moddified to remove the anti piracy or buy a cheap PS1 thats unmodded there cheap as dirt in most countries

A Little looking around there is a Spyro 3 ISO about cracked by "Paradox" that is supposed to bypass all the anti piracy crap but has a cracktro



Also how the protection is flagging it is this

The modchip inside your console when a disc starts up sends the code to the Drive buffer "SCEA" for USA which is part of something done into the disc itself that CD Burners cannot replicate.

Your modchip however floods the buffer constantly (1st gen modchip) and spams the buffer with "SCEA" when the console should only see that once the disc is started up. the software can see that the buffer is liek "SCEA SCEA SCEA SCEA SCEA SCEA SCEA SCEA SCEA SCEA SCEA SCEA SCEA SCEA SCEA SCEA SCEA SCEA" and then kills the software. later stealth chips inteligently sends it only once then goes to sleep there by mimicking the true PS1 method of reading the protection.

Original chip users had to get cracked versions or remod there system with a stealth chip
(Over the top info about an old school consoles protection - Achivement Unlocked!)

BUUUUUUUUUUUUUURRRRRRRRRRRNNNNNNNNNNNNNN IT WITH FIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!
Dear God I hate that cractro. The game does know it's pirated, and that crack, if it's supposed to disable the antipiracy features, doesn't do SHIT.
It's on every ISO I've ever managed to get my hands on... and none I've tried seems to work.

As for the info, much appreciated. I mean, seriously! I like knowing this sort of stuff, and the more detail, the better.


It really strikes me as odd that the chip is old... I got my console back in 2003, from a major storehouse, even... brand new


May I bother you kind gentlemen to point me in the way of a working patched verion? ^^''

EDIT: The thing that worries me most ATM is whether this will happen with every original game or not (yes, I'm pretty dumb). I get that the chip sends the "SCEA code" all the time. I don't quite get why does that shut down the console when it's working with an original game, though.
If it does then I think I'm going to sell some games I got not too long ago.

[MaslowK]

Not exactly. Let me tell you/warn you about your Eboot.
Spyro 3 will seldom recognize it's pirated. The game requires you to progress by acquiring eggs laying in levels, and clearing said stages.
As you advance, the game will delete eggs you DID get at random (but it seems to prefer deleting those of levels with special characters like Sheila).
This bans you from unlocking areas later.
When you arrive at the 4th overworld, if you somehow get to unlock the last battle, and you enter, the game will overwrite your save with an empty one and put you exactly on the room where Zoe (the fairy) bitches at you for playing an unlicensed copy.

Ah, I see. Still interesting nonetheless, before this whole deal with spyro games I had never seen or had even heard of games that were programmed to detect being run illegitimately, and then behave differently as a result. Someone should totally make a list of said games.

[gezegond]

>use epsxe
>use save states
>???
>PROFIT!

Does this solve your problem?

Edit: Also thanks for the warning, I planned to play this game at some point. I'll keep an eye on this thread.

[Jazzmarazz]

Huh, I always owned every Spyro game legitly so I never guessed it was a bitch to play if you didn't. It works perfectly on the PSP if converted for those able to do it.

[The Almighty MegaMan]

>use epsxe
>use save states
>???
>PROFIT!

Does this solve your problem?

Edit: Also thanks for the warning, I planned to play this game at some point. I'll keep an eye on this thread.

You're welcome.
Also NOPE.avi. For two reasons
1)I've kept my PS1 working for years and I'm a huge fan of playing the games in real hardware whenever possible (to the point that I didn't feel interested in playing CVoTN until I found an ISO I could burn and play on the console).
2) The game still complains IIRC. I started a campaign like a year ago and gave up on it because Zoe kept saying LOL BRB GETTING MY STRAP-ON SO I CAN RAPE YOUR SAVES. PROBLEM?

[deadlegion]

You're welcome.
Also NOPE.avi. For two reasons
1)I've kept my PS1 working for years and I'm a huge fan of playing the games in real hardware whenever possible (to the point that I didn't feel interested in playing CVoTN until I found an ISO I could burn and play on the console).
2) The game still complains IIRC. I started a campaign like a year ago and gave up on it because Zoe kept saying LOL BRB GETTING MY STRAP-ON SO I CAN RAPE YOUR SAVES. PROBLEM?

Yeah, I prefer to use real hardware...and also hardmods.

I thought you said you bought a retail copy of Spyro 3?
If you're getting piracy messages on your console then your console has an old modchip.
This has been explained to you in this thread.

Go get a virgin untouched console and it will work on that.
That way you'll have 1 console for backups, and 1 for anything retail.

[gezegond]

Go get a virgin untouched console and it will work on that.

I think he said he can't afford another console.

Anyways, as this thread was relevant to my interests, I searched around the net and found this article, in which the developer is talking about how he implemented the anti-piracy measures. Somewhere in the article it says that the group who finally made a working patch was paradox. (He even talks about how they made the patch) so the paradox patch should work.

I found the said crack here (NTSC, PAL) Read the .nfo in which the paradox group apologizes about the previous patch and says this one doesn't have the egg-deleting issue.

So do give it a try and report results.

EDIT: I also found out that creating an image using clonecd and mounting it with daemon tools will let you play the game on epsxe, so there's that option too...

[deadlegion]

I think he said he can't afford another console.

He said he's been buying original PSX games though

Spyro 3.........
So, around 8 or 9 years later, I found a real copy of the game, and I bought it.

If it's the former I may spend the next 3 days learning how to curse in chinese because I've bought other 4 original PS1 games.

Most of the PSX consoles I have I got for nothing.
But even if he had to buy one (and he'd only need the console as he has the hookups already. Ok, maybe a power cord if he gets a grey) it should only cost like $10 at the most from a secondhand shop. Even Cash Converters sell them at that price.

I just think that now he has worked out his chipped console has an old modchip that may not always play every game, he should consider getting an untouched console for such games.
He said he prefers using hardware