Max Drive, Game Save and making video files thread.

[Dr_Watson]

And, if so, would the Max work with any other USB drive? 'Cause I have one 64Mb USB drive that I use for Photomode, and it works great...

I've heard that the older AR Max software only reliably works with their usb flash drive. But the EVO one is the newest and will work with anything that the ps2 likes.
I've read alot of complaints about this on other ps2 boards when i was looking for a cheap solution. To be on the safe side and avoid potential hasstles, when i finally broke down, faught through the guilt and got one today i got the AR Max EVO... seems to work ok.
+ it lets you play burns and multi-region dvd's without a mod chip, which is kinda neat.
i could give two flips about the cheat nonsense though... which for some reason they seem to tout as the main feature of the thing... but honestly i've never known anyone that got a "game enhancer" for cheat codes. *shrug*
cept the game genie for the NES... that was kinda cool, and had the bonus feature of holding the games firmly on the reader so you didn't have to blow on them and fiddle with the caddy to play anything.

on a side note... any way to uncompress the max files to raw data on the pc? the maxdrive software they have on there site appears to be completely pointless. and the cd that came with it appears to be a media creator/burning program.

 

[Small_Fryz]

Ive also hosted the 100% PAL save that Sphinx mentioned, just in case the other one goes down.

100% Max PAL save

If your PAL get this one

 

[ppucci]

Hello guys?! How about the "OLR SAVE COMPLETE.sps"? Is it up-to-date? Does it work with Action Replay Max?

 

[eatsviper4lunch]

Hello guys?! How about the "OLR SAVE COMPLETE.sps"? Is it up-to-date? Does it work with Action Replay Max?

If you're NTSC this is the best save out there, everything is done : LINK

If you're PAL maybe look at the beginning of this thread in the first posts.

 

[ppucci]

If you're NTSC this is the best save out there, everything is done : LINK

If you're PAL maybe look at the beginning of this thread in the first posts.

Thanks! I'll try it over the weekend...

 

[VTRacing]

YAY!

Just got an email saying my max drive has been dispatched. I should have it early next week.

Groovy.

 

[ppucci]

Maybe I am too dumb, but I cannot understand how to use the .max save file with the Max drive. I started the Action Replay disc, copied the .max file to the USB device, the ARM recognized the device, I copied the file to th memory card, but when I start the game it says there is no GT4 data file in the memorycard. When I go to the PS2 file manager, it shows me the file as a "ARMax file" and not as GT4 Data... what am I doing wrong?! Please help!

 

[Iceman]

Did you select "uncrush to memory card"? If you didn't, it just moves the file to the mem card in the compressed .max format that isn't recognized by the PS2.

 

[ppucci]

I tried it, but it seemed to have no effect

 

[Iceman]

Try it once more and run me through exactly what options you are selecting through the whole process.

 

[ppucci]

I just started all over again. Deleted everything, downloaded it, transfered it and uncrushed it. Now it worked.

I guess when I did not erase the crushed file and uncrushed it on the same device, it got lost somewhere... but it seems to be working now! Thanks anyway!

 

[Drew22]

IIRC, I tried all the 'complete' NTSC saves and found they were not. Decided I'd make my own and thought I'd offer it up here. You can download it from the links below.. right-click, save as.



Just got Max Drive today, saw your game save and downloaded it, damn thanks soo much for making that available Z.

This Max drive is quite easy to use if you read several pages of this thread first
Anyway so glad to have all the cars, especially for WRS.

One question, how do I post a replay. Have replay shortcut on desktop, tried dragging it in...but no go

 

[VTRacing]

My Max Drive is here! Just in time for this week's race.

Now I just have to work out how to use it.

I can't wait to have a look at some of my fellow racers' replays.

 

[kragbees]

Nice one !

Well check thru this thread, I did a post that explains the whole thing ... right from inserting it into the PS2 all the way haha , let me know if you've got a problem !

Cheers dude

 

[Dr_Watson]

i had a go at trying to hack a pal replay into an NTSC replay... its pretty hillarious. so i'll attach it. very reminicant of that bug in gt2 that would break replays from time to time.
apparently much like older generation FPS games, (quake3 for instance) the system clock in gt4 is apparently tied to the frame rate. So without being able to "patch" a file to run on a different refresh cycle, the input that is getting rendered is totally off the mark. Its pretty silly, considering the gt4 replays don't actually store any rendering information, just a playback script that gets fed to the game engine... eh well, such is life.
but if you have an ntsc console and want to see the comedic stab at it... the replay does actually play... just the car is braking and turning at the wrong points due to the input not being in synch with the frame rate.

 

[CFM]

i had a go at trying to hack a pal replay into an NTSC replay... its pretty hillarious. so i'll attach it. very reminicant of that bug in gt2 that would break replays from time to time.
apparently much like older generation FPS games, (quake3 for instance) the system clock in gt4 is apparently tied to the frame rate. So without being able to "patch" a file to run on a different refresh cycle, the input that is getting rendered is totally off the mark. Its pretty silly, considering the gt4 replays don't actually store any rendering information, just a playback script that gets fed to the game engine... eh well, such is life.
but if you have an ntsc console and want to see the comedic stab at it... the replay does actually play... just the car is braking and turning at the wrong points due to the input not being in synch with the frame rate.

Have you tried converting a PAL or NTSC-J gamesave file into a NTSC file? I was wondering because it would be cool to add the slightly different PAL cars into my NTSC gamesave, as I believe there are some different used cars that have low mileage compared to the NTSC version. The gamesave I've built for NTSC has all of the used cars available at the lowest possible mileage you can get them...maybe some of the used cars that you can't get with low miles in NTSC you could get in PAL and vice versa...

I used a PAL and NTSC garage combned before when I made my GT3 Race garage, was hoping I could do it again.

 

[Dr_Watson]

The trick is figuring out how gt4 does its checksum and compression.
just out of curiosity i made a playlist file of all my B licenses, then took b1 out of the list, and ran a file compare on them to see if i could find any noticeable changes, and the lines are different on a 4,4,5,3 pattern... then there was a 4 bit chunk near the end of the file that was probably where the B1 alias was.
I'm starting school again in two weeks, so i'll see if i can talk to my old programming professor about compression algorithms... I don't think GT4 does any encryption, i think its all compression.
And i've noticed that if you save files on different dates that number in the file name (BASCUS9xxxx is the game ID then there is an 8bit or so string after that) changes, so i think that could be the checksum.
at anyrate... i'd like to be able to at the very least gain the ability to rename replay files... as i only have one memcard, its pretty anoying to deal with gt4's replay naming nonsense.
at the moment i'm doing it by ripping the data out of one replay and encapsulating it inside another replay with a different name in that ps2savebuilder program, which seems to work without currupting the file.
which is what i did to make that busted conversion... its holl's ford gt stuffed into lewies viper replay.

 

[fasj6418]

its never too late to ask: has anyone found a solution to know wich replays are we uploading? what´s up with those stupid names? is there a way to put a name on then, before we get to the PC? that would help a lot... now i have to delete my replays and leave just one on the pen drive to get to the PC, otherwise i get lost... i hope someone has a better idea of how to manage replays...

 

[CFM]

its never too late to ask: has anyone found a solution to know wich replays are we uploading? what´s up with those stupid names? is there a way to put a name on then, before we get to the PC? that would help a lot... now i have to delete my replays and leave just one on the pen drive to get to the PC, otherwise i get lost... i hope someone has a better idea of how to manage replays...

I just have 2 mem cards, and keep the second card clear of all replays except from the few I am working on currently. Pain in the ass, but it's about the only way I can be sure I'm getting the right one.

 

[Dr_Watson]

i save the replay, which makes it the "newest" file on the mem card.
so then i can go into the ps2 bios' memcard manager, the saved replay will be at the top... and i use the icon it has to verify its the right one.
From there i write down the file name "Ghost replay[70]" for example.
then i go into the ar max memory manager, and copy the file i need onto the flash drive
once the random nonsene named file is copied onto the pc i open it in a hex editor, make sure the ps2 file name matches the one i wrote down, and rename it something more meaningful.
i'm working on making a little application that will rename max files the ps2 file name inside... so that way i can dump the whole memcard and just run a script that changes all the max names to match the ps2 names.
and if i could do some work on finding out how to "repair" the file check-sums i'd be able to rename the actual ps2 save name so that it shows up in the ps2/armax as something more "proper" than the "Gran turismo4 ghost replay blah blah" nonsense.
But i'm quite short on time lately, so thats kinda on the back, back, back, burner.

^^ i do this because i can't afford a 2nd memory card. :/

 

[fasj6418]

thanks, i just need to find out whats a "hex editor" and then i´ll be fine with my replays...



btw, ghost replay (70)... that´s a lot of replays...

 

[Dr_Watson]

thanks, i just need to find out whats a "hex editor" and then i´ll be fine with my replays...



btw, ghost replay (70)... that´s a lot of replays...

HexPlorer is one of the better free ones.

yeah, i have alot... mainly comes from saving one for every license test and every mission, and every wrs.
they add up quick when you consider 80 licences + 34 missions.

 

[SkillRacer]

A silly question....

I am looking at buying the AR Max ...more specifially this one since its available at a store near my house http://www.circuitcity.com/ssm/Acti...24129/catOid/-13861/rpem/ccd/productDetail.do

only thing i didnt understand is how you get to transfer from your ps2 memory card onto a USB flash drive, do you have to boot the ps2 w/a cd inside? or does their memory card somehow able to recognize ur USB? or do you install some sort of firmware on ur USB to make the ps2 recognize it?

thanks

p.s. are there also any cheaper alternatives? maybe something that doesnt include an extra memory card or game cheats

 

[MisterWeary]

A silly question....

I am looking at buying the AR Max ...more specifially this one since its available at a store near my house http://www.circuitcity.com/ssm/Acti...24129/catOid/-13861/rpem/ccd/productDetail.do

only thing i didnt understand is how you get to transfer from your ps2 memory card onto a USB flash drive, do you have to boot the ps2 w/a cd inside? or does their memory card somehow able to recognize ur USB? or do you install some sort of firmware on ur USB to make the ps2 recognize it?

thanks

p.s. are there also any cheaper alternatives? maybe something that doesnt include an extra memory card or game cheats

The Max Drive I got came with a game disk you insert into your PS2 to see the contents of your Memory Card and it also came with a 16mb USB stick. You put the momery stick into your PS2 aswell and copy the files you want from the Max Drive to the Stick and then copy them from the stick to your PC. You can do the vice versa to view others' replays.

Hope that helps 👍

 

[GPR]

Okay so after reading a crap load of pages about this replay saving business, it sounds to me that it's not possible to extract a replay file to a USB stick without a Maxdrive or other equivalent.

Right?

But I like to know why not? Is there no way to copy whatever the replay file is straight onto a USB stick? I mean if the file shows up in browser mode and in the game obviously, is there no copy to usb function through either way and thus resulting in these products to copy such files?

I may need to provide reps in the future once I improve and move up from div 3 (here's hoping).

I know you've probably heard these sorts of questions a thousand times but I just want to know for sure, even though a max drive is pretty cheap I'd still prefer to not have to get one. And by the sounds of it many people have had issues with these devices. Stress I don't need.

Thanks in advance.

 

[MisterWeary]

I thought the same thing when I was looking at getting my replays off the PS2, I mean you can copy your images??? But sadly it turns out there is no way to get the replays off unless you have a maxdrive or the like.

Although there have been lots of posts about their unreliability I think the advantages SERIOUSLY outweigh the disadvantages, once you can download other people's replays you'll instantly find an extra second or two each week I guarantee it. There's no way I'd be in Div 1 without having studied holl01's laps 👍

 

[GPR]

I thought the same thing when I was looking at getting my replays off the PS2, I mean you can copy your images??? But sadly it turns out there is no way to get the replays off unless you have a maxdrive or the like.

Although there have been lots of posts about their unreliability I think the advantages SERIOUSLY outweigh the disadvantages, once you can download other people's replays you'll instantly find an extra second or two each week I guarantee it. There's no way I'd be in Div 1 without having studied holl01's laps 👍

Bummer, as I suspected. Well then i'll look into getting a max. Advantages, yes! I too believe it'll help me improve much.

Thanks for clear cut response.

 

[~Sp33~]

Hey guys,

im havin' trouble getting the ps2 to recognise muh flash drive. It shows uyp in the menu's but gets a 'unknown error" when copying files across to it. Ive tried a couple of flash drives now and no luck :/ i dont particularly want to fork out money for another flash drive, and i heard that theres a driver that can make these other flash drives work, a similar driver found on the MAXdrive. Anyone know anything about it? or know if i can find this driver?

 

[bbq0801]

HELP!! Max drive disk read error!

I just got the damn thing today, and now i cant watch or dl replays!

 

[holl01]

what ps2 do u have, the slim one?

as my mate borrowed the max drive disk off me once, and he said it took him 15 goes to get the max drive disk to work on his slim ps2