Technorati Tags: cheat pcsx2

------
update Dec 12, 2008: now you can easily cheat games in pcsx2 with gameshark codes instead of manually search for it! Read how to use gameshark | raw | ARM codes to PCSX2 here. But if you want to have the joy of finding codes, read on…
------

Ever wonder how to cheat in pscx2? Or you have been searching the right tool like pec is to epsxe?

Pcsx2 comes with cheat / code finder built in the program. But not everybody knows how to use it, at least I did.

Without further delay, let' start this mini pcsx2 cheat tutorial. I use Final Fantasy X [SLUS 20312] as an example.

PCSX2 Cheat Tutorial

1. start your game, in this example Rikku already have 7 SLVL,
2. press ESC, click Misc -> Patch Finder
3. Click Compared to -> Specific value type 7 (from step 1) and Search, when the search is completed click Close, don't worry the search result is saved automatically.
4. Click Run -> Execute to continue the game, make the value change, let's say now the value is 6,
5. repeat step 2,3 and 4 this time type the new value and then search,
6. repeat step 5 until the search result do not decrease anymore,
7. Then choose the address from address list, by now you already have only 1 address left, and then click Add
   
8. copy the address in Cheat Name Field and then click OK,
9. in this example it will look like this patch=0,EE,0031bc5f,char,<value>
10. open BB3D833A.pnach in pcsx2/patches directory with notepad (back it up first)
11. paste the code like this:

    gametitle= Final Fantasy X [SLUS 20312] (U)
    comment=
    //ZeroGS Patch - GAME_FFXHACK
    zerogs=00000080
    patch=0,EE,0031bc5f,char,<value>

12. Edit your newly pasted code like this
    patch=1,EE,0031bc5f,byte,25
    save it, restart the pcsx2
13. Now your Rikku will always have 37 SLVL.

Warning :

• DO NOT OVER EDIT THE VALUE since it will mess the game system. I've tried it myself. By changing the value to 999, the in-battle menu was a mess. Actually you don't have to make the value higher, since the cheat locks the value, so it's virtually unlimited.
• Make a BACK UP copy first

OK now, you can start your own search for holy cheat :)

FAQ:

• What if my to-be-cheated-value is less than 7?
  • actually you can have any value as long as it isn't 0, although less than 3 will make your search result longer, and you have to gamble and possibly will hang pcsx2 if your selected code is wrong.
• Why my next search shows nothing?
  • two possibilites:
    • the game' memory has not refreshed yet, so if you change some value in game, pause it or enter in-game menu first before press ESC key.
    • sometimes shown value is different than in-memory value, so use the fuzzy search. Explained below.
• What if what I search for is not numbered e.g. Health Bar?
  • use fuzzy search, start with Compared to -> old value and then search, when the value change (increase or decrease) choose Being ->Greater (or Smaller) and then search.
• What if my game is not listed in pcsx2 default patches?
  • you can make new file in notepad containing e.g.: gametitle= Final Fantasy X [SLUS 20312] (U), you can change the title, the region code and language to match yours and add your cheat code. Then name it as pcsx2 recognizes the game, you can see it in the console window, e.g in Dawn of Mana, will show "patches not found can't apply patches crc=9dc6ee5a" in console window title. Then you must name the file as 9dc6ee5a.pnach.
• what is the meaning of the code?
  • This is only my best guess :
    0,EE,0031bc5f,char,<value>
    enable/disable, address, value type,value
    i'm not so sure about value type, my math is suck, but they are in hexadecimal.
• in the example you type 25 in code, but it results 37 in game, how come?
  • 25 in hexadecimal when converted to decimal is 37, something like that. Try it with your calculator.
• How to disable the cheat?
  • Just delete the code inserted inside your *.pnach.
• Who are you?
  • :) Just a regular pcsx2 user. So excuse my not-coder-like language.

Something's wrong or unclear about this tutorial? Let me know.

update : now you can easily cheat games in pcsx2 with gameshark codes! Read how to insert gameshark | raw | ARM codes to PCSX2 here.