Jul -- The Cutting Room Floor: Game Genie (NES) codes, on emulators...

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Jul - The Cutting Room Floor - Game Genie (NES) codes, on emulators...

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Aoi
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Posted on 10-26-10 10:07:36 AM

Do most or all of the NES emulators that currently support Game Genie codes support them fully and correctly?

I've been trying to test two codes I created years ago on the actual NES+Game Genie, because I'm wondering if they might tap into a debug function. Probably not. But one of them, rather than behave how it did on the original hardware, just seems to darken the sprite colors and randomly freeze the game in the emulator (which, I'll admit, is a Nester variant on my Dreamcast... (I know, I know...))

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Posted on 10-26-10 10:33:09 AM

10-26-10 05:33:09 AM
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I suppose there might be games that behave differently just because of some values the Game Genie left in memory, or even latency introduced by it being there. There was one game I played that always had messed up sound when used with a Game Genie, even without any codes active.

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Posted on 10-26-10 10:48:43 PM

Originally posted by Rena
I suppose there might be games that behave differently just because of some values the Game Genie left in memory, or even latency introduced by it being there. There was one game I played that always had messed up sound when used with a Game Genie, even without any codes active.

That's because the Game Genie modifies the sound registers to create its distinctive "plunk" sound, and some games aren't bright enough to init the sound chip when they start.

Hence, you end up with that.

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Posted on 10-28-10 04:36:58 AM

Originally posted by Aoi
Do most or all of the NES emulators that currently support Game Genie codes support them fully and correctly?

Yes, although there might be inconsistencies if you're dealing with uninitialized memory.

Originally posted by Aoi
But one of them, rather than behave how it did on the original hardware, just seems to darken the sprite colors and randomly freeze the game in the emulator (which, I'll admit, is a Nester variant on my Dreamcast... (I know, I know...))

Try different emulators. It's entirely possible your code creates an invalid opcode, and not all emulators handle invalid operations correctly. It might also abuse the PPU in some way.

What game are you working with, anyways?

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Posted on 10-28-10 05:38:09 AM



	Originally posted by Rena I suppose there might be games that behave differently just because of some values the Game Genie left in memory, or even latency introduced by it being there. Treasure Master was able to detect the Game Genie by examining the stack at startup, IIRC (kinda important when there's actual prize money at stake). I wonder if it had any other interesting protections to ensure people couldn't hack or glitch their way into the Prize World? ____________________

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Posted on 10-28-10 06:02:04 AM

Mega Man 1 and 2 had issues if used on a Game Genie where the sound registers didn't reset after a letter was entered.

For the Super Nintendo, Super Punch-Out was able to detect the Game Genie and if codes are used, the game will intentionally break the Special Circuit if you beat the World Circuit.

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Aoi
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Posted on 10-28-10 09:38:44 AM

Originally posted by Joe
Yes, although there might be inconsistencies if you're dealing with uninitialized memory.

Hmm... well, I'm not sure about the Nester emulators, and running it on my Dreamcast probably isn't helping.

Originally posted by Joe
Try different emulators. It's entirely possible your code creates an invalid opcode, and not all emulators handle invalid operations correctly. It might also abuse the PPU in some way.

What game are you working with, anyways?

I only have the one emulator on my Dreamcast.

I'm currently experimenting with a Linux distro on my private tower, and haven't yet been able to get any NES emulators working correctly on it.

The game is Mega Man IV. Interestingly, the second code (sort of a variation on the first) does work to some extent... both on MM4 and Rockman 4.

Still has problems, though...
I'd test it on the original hardware, but my NES has fallen victim to the gray flashing-screen problem.

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Posted on 10-28-10 07:07:53 PM

I have Mega Man 4 and a Game Genie, so I could test out codes on real hardware for you if you need.

This may be a silly question, but have you tried cleaning your games? Just dip a q-tip into some rubbing alcohol and rub it across the pins. You could also use the game to clean the pin connector inside the machine by pulling the game in and out of the slot, then cleaning the game once again to get rid of the dirt from the connector.

And if that doesn't work, you can buy a new 72 pin connector off ebay for around $8 if you're that dedicated.

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Posted on 10-28-10 07:39:39 PM (last edited by Rena at 10-28-10 04:40 PM)

10-28-10 02:39:39 PM
Post #3817

The NES had that funny connector where the pins actually pushed down against the cartridge... over time they could be bent back by the cartridge and not work as well. (Ever wonder why the manual said not to leave the cartridges inside?) You can bend them forward again with a small screwdriver. (Or just get a straight-through connector like on a Game Genie and mod it to put the cartridge slot on the back...

)

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Posted on 11-01-10 01:39:25 AM

Or you could own an NES2.

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Posted on 11-01-10 09:25:53 AM (last edited by Aoi at 11-01-10 06:26 AM)

Wonder if I could find those anywhere, locally. I was always curious about those..

Someone offered, some months ago, to get one of those 'clones' for me - a thing that looked like a Super Nintendo, but played both SNES and NES games. I had the chance to test his; it only had ports for SNES controllers, though (I still want to be able to use my old Advantage, darn it

), and was so cheap and low-quality, I didn't think it would last all that long. So, I passed.

I've tried testing the game+codes on FCEUX, and the same 'problems' still occur there, with all three of the versions I tried. MM4 (PRG0), MM4 (PRG1), Rockman 4. The variant/second code (which does the same thing as the first code, except in a more limited way) seems to work to some extent, but the main code still just causes weird glitches (it'll usually, consistently make the boss dark during the intro, though) and freezes.

Originally posted by rabidabid
I have Mega Man 4 and a Game Genie, so I could test out codes on real hardware for you if you need.

Thanks. I'm mostly just trying to see how certain things behave with the code active, however. Er... what I mean is I know they 'work' and change the weapons-screen behavior, but I was trying to examine how, exactly, it was different. Or something like that.

Originally posted by rabidabid
This may be a silly question, but have you tried cleaning your games? Just dip a q-tip into some rubbing alcohol and rub it across the pins. You could also use the game to clean the pin connector inside the machine by pulling the game in and out of the slot, then cleaning the game once again to get rid of the dirt from the connector.

And if that doesn't work, you can buy a new 72 pin connector off ebay for around $8 if you're that dedicated.

Yeah, I think I've tried that (and also trying to clean the connector, and vainly attempting to make sure all the pins aren't bent in the wrong direction). Couldn't I get another NES for about $8?

(Okay, I don't know whether that's true, or not, but I'd probably end up buying another NES, at any rate. Come to think of it, I keep forgetting to buy a new soldering iron...

)

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Posted on 11-02-10 11:34:07 PM

Aoi: would you mind posting the code? Not only do I have a MM4 cart, and a Game Genie so I can test it on hardware, but I can probably fix the code to work as intended on at least one emulator.

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Aoi
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Posted on 11-06-10 02:49:11 AM

Agh. Sorry for the delay; Real Life has been killing me, lately.

Okay, here are the codes. I should note that yes, this was the product of entering an actual word into the Game Genie, and seeing if anything happened, so it's probably a bit embarrassing.

;; However, it's just the result of watching WAY too much MST3K, and deciding to try the word, just for fun. Honest.

The primary code?

POOPIE

(yeah, I know, I know...)

This is the one that doesn't work the same for me in emulators as it did on the original hardware. What the code originally did was allow you to select any of the weapon/Rush positions on the Start-menu weapons screen, even if you don't have those weapons. Only the unframed icon for each weapon will show if you 'highlight' an weapon/adapter you don't have.
You can select the 'blank' weapons/adapters; they each start with no energy, but you can refill them normally with the blue weapon capsules, and the system will remember however much energy each weapon has (naturally). The weapon names/icons won't appear normally on the weapons screen unless you actually use the weapon/adapter.
(If it has any other effects, I'm not sure.)

The secondary code:

GIKPOO

This version of the code seems to work in emulators, but it's limited as opposed to the code above - you can only select blank spots on the weapons menu to the left or right of a weapon/adapter that's already there. (For example, on starting a new game, you can only select the Dive and Toad weapons.)

...I guess you can probably see one of the reasons why I haven't posted this, anywhere, all this time. Well, that, and I created it long before I had any sort of net connection, with no other worthwhile places to send it, IMHO...

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Posted on 11-06-10 04:00:51 AM (last edited by Joe at 11-06-10 01:05 AM)

Originally posted by Aoi
POOPIE

Nope. Amazingly enough, that's the wrong code!

The code you're thinking of is "POOPOO", and it works by modifying the code that checks if you've collected a weapon yet. The code "AEOPOOXI" does the same thing, but a bit better. (Probably.)

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Posted on 11-06-10 04:06:45 AM (last edited by Aoi at 11-06-10 01:08 AM)

I remember it being the one I posted, because of the connection to MST3K.

I wouldn't have any reason to enter POOPOO at that time.

I did try the POOPOO code (can't remember if it was on FCEUX/Windows or my DC, though), a few days ago (in experimenting with the second code) but it froze the game almost immediately. Not sure why.

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Posted on 11-06-10 04:45:22 AM

Originally posted by Aoi
I did try the POOPOO code (can't remember if it was on FCEUX/Windows or my DC, though), a few days ago (in experimenting with the second code) but it froze the game almost immediately. Not sure why.

That might be because it modifies data being written through the PPU to CHR RAM. FCEUX handles this just fine, but I guess the DC emulator doesn't.

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Posted on 11-06-10 03:04:48 PM

You know, I used to run that old Game Genie Code Oddities site back in 2000-2002. I should really dig through the old files and see if there's anything worth posting at all.

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Posted on 11-06-10 07:20:55 PM

Okay, I decided to look into what that other code does. It breaks the game in such a way that it always checks if you have either the M. Buster or the R. Coil when it's deciding if you can scroll left or right, instead of the appropriate weapon.

After some more hacking, I can say that the two codes together should be AEOPOOXI VZKPUOVU.

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Aoi
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Posted on 11-14-10 05:57:06 PM

Your other code, or my other code?

I guess I can be relatively sure this doesn't tap into any debug functions, then. At least, for the time being.

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Posted on 11-14-10 08:21:10 PM

Originally posted by Aoi
Your other code, or my other code?

Your other code. If you compare POOPOO GIKPOO with AEOPOOXI VZKPUOVU using a Game Genie decrypter, you'll see that I didn't really change much.

Now, I don't know what's up with the first code you posted, but POOPIE doesn't do anything much other than darken sprite colors. (The random crashing is a bug in your emulator.)

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