Dreamcast Guides : DCRes Selfboot Tutorial

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Creating high quality bootable games from GD files
by TuxTheWise

Why would I want to do that?
- Make your own rips, so you can use files of a trusted source and be sure there are
not corrupted files.
- Improve reading efficiency using dummy file and correct file order.
- Release a rare game that nobody have done yet.

1. Introduction
I've been making high quality releases lately, but unfortunatly my summer vacations
will be finished soon. So, before I lose my free time, I decided to write this guide to
help  anyone  who wants to make their own releases. Although it's a basic guide, if
you fully understand it a door of possibilities will open to you.

This  guide  will  cover  Crazy  Taxi.  I  recommend  you  to  test  with  this  game,  GDI  is
pretty  easy  to  find,  small,  and  you  can  easily  notice  the  reading  improvement
techniques of this guide.

You  need  to  extract  the  game  files  from  track03.bin,  extract  IP.BIN  and  have
extracted file order using IsoBuster. To do that, follow my other tutorial "Extracting
GDI dump files" (included in this pack).

So, to start this guide you need the files extracted from a GD dump. This guide will
only  work  on  Katana  games  (no  WinCE  games,  I'll  make  a  tutorial  for  them  later),
and  without  protection.  If  your  game  has  CDDA,  CDDA  won't  play  either  (again,
another  tutorial  for  this  will  come  later).  A  lot  of  games  don't  have  any  kind  of
protection  and  don't  use  CDDA,  mostly  the  first  ones  releases.  Examples  without
protection:  Crazy  Taxi,  Tony  Hawk's  Pro  Skater  1  and  2,  Shadow  Man,  Legacy  Of
Kain: Soul Reaver, Resident Evil CODE: Veronica (and its japanese "Complete" bro).
Examples  of  games  with  protection:  Sonic  Adventure  2,  Fatal  Fury:  Mark  Of  The
Wolves,  Metropolis  Street  Racer.  But  even  if  a  game  is  protected,  you  can  use
techniques  of  this  tutorial  to  make  already  cracked  releases  (Echelon's,  Kalisto's)
better.

Another  commentary,  the  files  of  the  GD  must  fit  on  a  CD  (remember  that  some
extra space is needed for selfboot session). If you use Crazy Taxi like this guide, it will
fit easily. If you try a Tony Hawk, for example, files won't fit. Then you'll need to use
downsampling techniques, that will be covered in another future guide.

Okay,  so  let's  start  with  Crazy  Taxi.  Using  "Extracting  GDI  dump  files"  tutorial  files
were extracted (including IP.BIN). Here are the files:

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and the file order extracted with IsoBuster:

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00548218 , >:\0GDTEX.PVR
00548283 , >:\1ST_READ.BIN
00497599 , >:\AICADRV.BIN
00526655 , >:\BINC1.AFS
00520773 , >:\BINC2.AFS
00512113 , >:\BINC3.AFS
00504386 , >:\COLDC1.BIN
00505952 , >:\COLDC2.BIN
00503496 , >:\COLDC3.BIN
00510321 , >:\LANDDC1.AFS
00511217 , >:\LANDDC2.AFS
00498484 , >:\MOTDC.BIN
00502810 , >:\OBJDC1.BIN
00502778 , >:\OBJDC2.BIN
00502746 , >:\OBJDC3.BIN
00499878 , >:\POLDC0.BIN
00502490 , >:\POLDC1.BIN}
00502671 , >:\POLDC2.BIN
00502479 , >:\POLDC3.BIN
00503045 , >:\RECADVAC.BIN
00503098 , >:\RECADVDC.BIN
00502939 , >:\RECENDAC.BIN
00502992 , >:\RECENDDC.BIN
00497627 , >:\SNDDC0.BIN
00498016 , >:\SNDDC1.BIN
00498250 , >:\SNDDC2.BIN
00498341 , >:\SNDDC3.BIN
00498360 , >:\SNDDC5.BIN
00502305 , >:\SNDDC6.BIN
00502407 , >:\SNDDC7.BIN
00498395 , >:\SNDDC8.BIN
00532894 , >:\SONG01.AFS
00503151 , >:\SPLDC1.BIN
00503310 , >:\SPLDC2.BIN
00502842 , >:\SPLDC3.BIN
00502159 , >:\SPRADV.BIN
00502267 , >:\SPRBOX.BIN
00501780 , >:\SPRCENG.BIN
00501828 , >:\SPRCJAP.BIN
00501872 , >:\SPRCOMM.BIN
00509697 , >:\SPRGAME.BIN
00509590 , >:\SPRGENG.BIN
00509650 , >:\SPRGJAP.BIN
00509042 , >:\SPRMENG.BIN
00509518 , >:\SPRMENU.BIN
00509251 , >:\SPRMJAP.BIN
00501030 , >:\TEXDC0.BIN
00508476 , >:\TEXDC1.BIN
00507940 , >:\TEXDC2.BIN
00507549 , >:\TEXDC3.BIN
00513870 , >:\VOICE01.AFS

2. Cleaning the garbage
Game is very small, but general rule is always make it the smallest we can, so useless
files  doesn't  messes  with  file  order  (separating  game  files),  and,  if  you  need  to
downsample  something  (not  Crazy  Taxi  case),  you'll  have  more  space  and  make  it
with better quality.

2.1. Deleting useless files
You can delete 0GDTEX.PVR. It's that picture shown  when you insert GD and go to
CD Player on Dreamcast main screen. Note that this picture is not shown on CDs, so

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it's useless.

Some games have a file called WARN_ENG.DA, or something like that. I have no idea
of what it is, but it can be deleted too.

Depending on the game you're working on, there may be more files that be deleted.
Examples:  In  Tony  Hawk's  Pro  Skater  2,  some  programmer  forgot  a  .bat  used  in
compiling a file of the game. In Tech Romancer japanese, there is a karaoke video. In
American  and  European  edition,  video  can't  be  seen  in  the  game,  but video file is
still on GD. Anyway, it will depend on your ability to identify these files. Remember:
if you have doubt, don't delete the file, you may mess the game. And last comment,
if game fit on a CD, don't worry too much about that.

Well, in Crazy Taxi example, we can only delete 0GDTEX.PVR.

2.2. Shrinking AFS files
AFS (.afs) are packs of any kind of files. There are some useless space on them, and
Echelon made a tool very useful that can delete it. It can be done safely on any AFS,
because  tool  identify  no  standard  AFS  and  won't  touch  them.  This  tool  is  called
"dc_afsshrink.exe" and it's located somewhere on this pack. It will save ~500kb for
each AFS file, and don't have any side effect on the game (not that I have seen). To
use it, put it on the folder with GD files and use:

dc_afsshrink.exe *.afs

and  it  will  "shrink"  all  AFS  of  the  folder.  Remember  that  it  won't  search  on
subdirectories, so if your GD has multiple directories you'll have to execute the tool
in each one.

Crazy Taxi doesn't have subdirectories, so it only  needs to be executed on the main
folder. It will save about 3.5mb.

Don't forget to delete/move the program after use.

3. Hacking
Don't worry, explanations here are very simple, you don't need to be an expert to
do it.

3.1. Making the game region-free and enabling VGA-Box support

You'll use IPBIN4WIN.exe (located somewhere on this pack). Open the program and
select IP.BIN (for the 9999th time, remember that you must have extracted it using
"Extracting GDI dump files" tutorial, it doesn't come with game files). Details will be
shown on left window. On "Area Symbol", mark all regions. Be sure that "VGA BOX
supported" is marked too. After making necessary changes, click in "Patch".

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I have no idea if Dreamcast checks region flags when booting CDs, so I don't know if
marking regions will make any difference. Mark all anyway.

Games that have no VGA BOX supported by default, may or may not work with the
accessory if you mark the flag. Some games work fine if you check it. Other games
won't work with VGA even with the flag checked.

Another  important  thing  to  see  here  is  "First-read  Filename".  Common  name  is
"1ST_READ.BIN", but it can be any name. Take note of the name of your game.

Here is a screenshot of Crazy Taxi example with all important parts marked in read:

On this case, VGA Box is marked by default, and we just need to mark the Japanese
and  Europe  regions.  Don't  forget  to  click  "Patch"  after  modifing.  Note  that  in  this
case the first-read filename is "1ST_READ.BIN".

3.2. Hacking first-read filename
This is the more important part of the job. You'll  need to modify 4 bytes in first-read
file name that I have no idea what they are for. The only thing I know, is that if you
don't modify them, game won't boot. Now you can see you're not learning from a
very wise guy after all.

Anyway, you'll need to hex edit first-read file name. I recommend Hex Editor Neo,
but any other hex editor will work because we're using basic functions only. Anyway,
open the file found on last section (example: 1ST_READ.BIN) on hex editor.

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You'll  have  to  find  this  sequence  "5E  B0  00  00" and modify to "96 00 00 00". You
have to modify 2 of this sequences only. If you find more than 2, remember that the
ones you want to modify will be close to each other.

Okay,  so  let's  work  on  Crazy  Taxi.  Open  1ST_READ.BIN  on  Hex  Editor  Neo.  Press
CTRL+F (or Edit, Find). In type, select "Hex Bytes  (BYTE)". Now type the sequence I
told you, like this picture:

and click Find. For the first time, we're only looking for the sequence and taking note
of  the  offsets  (bottom  of  screen),  because  we'll  find  all  and  see  the  two  closer  to
each other to know which one to modify. Okay, in Crazy Taxi we find 2 sequences in
the positions:

1.292.704
1.293.676

We only found two copies, so of course they are the ones we have to modify. You
can go to them again using "Find" or using CTRL+G (or Edit, Go to Offset) and typing
the offset you took note. So, we modify the "5E B0" to "96 00" of both entries (you
can  alternate  between  characters  and  hex  windows  using  key  TAB).  For  the  first
entry, before we modify:

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and after:

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and we do the same for second entry. Save the file and you're hacking is done.

Note: There is a program called dahack.exe that I read t hat do this process we just
made. You can try it. I didn't use it here because I've never tested it before, and hex
editing is very easy anyway.

4. Creating a dummy file
Before we create a dummy file, let's discuss why that's important.

Dreamcast  reads  discs  in  a  constant  angular  speed.  It  means  that  the  disc  does  a
fixed N spins per minute. Another important point is that data has the same density
around all the disc (I guess). Well, now imagine the disc turning, and the lens fixed
on a position reading data. Let's imagine that data is distributed in 2 lines, marked in
blue in this picture:

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Inner line is smaller than the other. We considered the same data density, so bigger
circle has more data than the other. Let's put some absurd numbers, just to help the
understanding.  Smaller  line  has  10  bytes,  and  bigger  one  has  100  bytes.  Let's
suppose  that  disc  spins  one  time  per  second  (another  absurd),  that's  a  constant
angular   speed.   Well,   if   Dreamcast   reads   smaller   circle,   then   it   will   read   10
bytes/second.  If  it  reads  bigger  circle,  then  it  will  read  100  bytes/second.  The
conclusion is: Dreamcast reads faster the more far you're from center of the disc.

There is another advantage of having the files far  of center. Let's imagine the area
like in this picture:

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The measures marked are 2 something, let's consider centimeters. It's obvious that
purple area is much bigger than blue area. So, considering the hypothesis of same
data density, purple area has more data than blue area. For numbers, consider that
blue area has 20mb and purple area has 100mb.

Okay, now imagine your reader. You know that noise it does? It's the reader moving
far and near the disc center, to get in the right data "line". Well, if data is recorded
on blue area, the reader can cover 20mb moving 2cm. For purple area, reader can
cover 100mb moving 2cm. It means that if the game is recorded on the purple area,
reader  will  actually  move  less,  because  more  files  will  be  available  with  the  same
move. Imagine a 100mb game, where it needs to load 2 files, one contained in inner
part  of  recording,  other  in  the  distant  part  of  the  recording.  If  we  record  them  in
purple area, reader will read first file, move 2cm and then read the other. We can
record in blue area, but since it only holds 20mb,  recording will pass the 2cm, let's
consider 4cm. So, for this case, reader will read first file, moves 4cm, and then reads
the other. That's worse, because moving more means bigger loading times and more
noise.

So, our objective is to record files far from center. We can't just make that, because
recoding must start from inner part of disc. So what we do is create a dummy file
and force it to be put in inner part of the disc, this way data will be "pushed" far.
This picture before dummy file:

and after dummy file:

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We'll analyse how to put it first later. Before that, we need to create the dummy file
with  an  appropriate  size.  Well,  obviously,  the  best  results  are  obtained  when
dummy file + games files = all space available in disc. Well, selfboot session occupies
some space of the disc, so how to find out the right size? Well, I've calculated that
with a selfboot session, you have available in disc 709.505.843 bytes. Maybe it's not
the exact number (now I can't remember how I calculated it), but it's very next to it.
So  you  can  use  dummy.exe  (included  somewhere  else  in  this  pack)  this  way  to
create the dummy file:

dummy.exe [name of file] [size in bytes]

Note: Dummy file is a file full of bytes "00", so it's extreme compactable in .rar, .7z
or  whatever.  It  practically  won't  increase  the  image  of  your  disc  in  a  compacted
format.

Well, let's go back to Crazy Taxi. Pressing right-button on the folder of Crazy Taxi we
see that the folder has 101.483.508 bytes.

Note: When we record the game, IP.BIN doesn't need to be present as a file in game
folder.  So,  if  you  don't  want  to  have  a  copy  of  it,  you can see the size of the files
without  IP.BIN.  But  don't  erase  it  of  the  folder  yet,  we'll use it soon. In Crazy Taxi
example I'll keep a copy in game files.

If  our  disc  has  709.505.843  bytes  available,  we  make  709.505.843 - 101.483.508 =
608.022.335 bytes, that's our dummy file size. So we use dummy.exe this way

dummy.exe DUMMY.DAT 608022335

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and  a  huge  file  called  DUMMY.DAT  will  be  created.  Of  course  you  can  name  it
whatever you want, it's not important. Now move it together with your game files.
To  see  if  size  of  files  are  okay,  you  can  right  click  folder  and  it  must  have  exactly
709.505.843 bytes.

Note:  Use  upper-case  in  filename.  The  file  order  list  that  we'll  create  soon  is  case
sensitive,  so  pay  attention  and  have  all  the  files  in  upper-case  or  you  can  have  a
hard to discover problem in future.

5. Preparing file order
We need to create a file order list to a program that we'll use later. If we want that
files are in this order (from inner part of the disc):

DUMMY.DAT
C.BIN
B.BIN
A.BIN

We'll have to create a .txt file containing this information:

data/DUMMY.DAT 4
data/C.BIN 3
data/B.BIN 2
data/A.BIN 1

Pay  attention:  1)  We  use  inverted  bars  (/),  not  regular  ones  (\);  2)  List  is  case
sensitive, pay attention on the example: "data" is lowercase, filename (as the names
you have in your game files folder) is uppercase; 3) The program that will use this
file needs everything perfect, you can make your list not to work correctly if you put
a space after the number for example.

The numbers in front of the file are it's "weight". The higher the number is, closer to
the center it will be. This number is only used to compare with other files weight, it's
not an absolute value. For example, if instead of the last file list you used that one:

data/DUMMY.DAT 60000
data/C.BIN 1512
data/B.BIN 100
data/A.BIN 0

The result would be the same. Just be careful to respect the range limit (0-65535).

Only weight is respected when program uses the list, so you don't need to respect
the order, but it's good so you don't get confused. For example:

data/B.BIN 2
data/DUMMY.DAT 4
data/C.BIN 3
data/A.BIN 1

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would  work  exactly  the  same  way,  but  if  you  want  to  change  anything,  it  will  be
harder to see.

Last comment, there is no problem if you deleted some file and forgot it in file list, it
won't make any bad. For example:

data/DUMMY.DAT 4
data/C.BIN 3
data/B.BIN 2
data/A.BIN 1
data/NOEXIST.BIN 10
data/LALALA.EXE 12

If "NOEXIST.BIN" and "LALALA.EXE" don't exist, result will be the same of the first file
list shown.

As  you  could  see,  dummy  file  order  is  the  most  important,  because  it  must  come
before everything else. But you should use file order of GD, because usually games
are  organized  to  increase  performance.  A  simple  example.  Imagine  a  game  where
the  first  level  is  loaded.  It's  a  400mb   game,   and   for  first  level  it  loads
"AMBIENT1.BIN" and "ZTEXTURES1.AFS". If you don't respect original file order, the
two files will be organized by alphabetic order and files will be far away from each
other (one begins with A, other with Z). But if you use GD file order, probably these
two files will be put together because it was optimized, so Dreamcast will load level
faster because it needs to read first file, and the other one is very close, it doesn't
need to move reader far away to read it. But how to use original file order?

Let's  do  it  in  Crazy  Taxi,  and  you'll  be  able  to  do  with  every  game.  Well,  using
"Extracting GDI dump files" tutorial mentioned thousand of times, you must have a
file list exported by IsoBuster. Here is the one I got for Crazy Taxi:

00548218 , >:\0GDTEX.PVR
00548283 , >:\1ST_READ.BIN
00497599 , >:\AICADRV.BIN
00526655 , >:\BINC1.AFS
00520773 , >:\BINC2.AFS
00512113 , >:\BINC3.AFS
00504386 , >:\COLDC1.BIN
00505952 , >:\COLDC2.BIN
00503496 , >:\COLDC3.BIN
00510321 , >:\LANDDC1.AFS
00511217 , >:\LANDDC2.AFS
00498484 , >:\MOTDC.BIN
00502810 , >:\OBJDC1.BIN
00502778 , >:\OBJDC2.BIN
00502746 , >:\OBJDC3.BIN
00499878 , >:\POLDC0.BIN
00502490 , >:\POLDC1.BIN
00502671 , >:\POLDC2.BIN
00502479 , >:\POLDC3.BIN
00503045 , >:\RECADVAC.BIN
00503098 , >:\RECADVDC.BIN
00502939 , >:\RECENDAC.BIN

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00502992 , >:\RECENDDC.BIN
00497627 , >:\SNDDC0.BIN
00498016 , >:\SNDDC1.BIN
00498250 , >:\SNDDC2.BIN
00498341 , >:\SNDDC3.BIN
00498360 , >:\SNDDC5.BIN
00502305 , >:\SNDDC6.BIN
00502407 , >:\SNDDC7.BIN
00498395 , >:\SNDDC8.BIN
00532894 , >:\SONG01.AFS
00503151 , >:\SPLDC1.BIN
00503310 , >:\SPLDC2.BIN
00502842 , >:\SPLDC3.BIN
00502159 , >:\SPRADV.BIN
00502267 , >:\SPRBOX.BIN
00501780 , >:\SPRCENG.BIN
00501828 , >:\SPRCJAP.BIN
00501872 , >:\SPRCOMM.BIN
00509697 , >:\SPRGAME.BIN
00509590 , >:\SPRGENG.BIN
00509650 , >:\SPRGJAP.BIN
00509042 , >:\SPRMENG.BIN
00509518 , >:\SPRMENU.BIN
00509251 , >:\SPRMJAP.BIN
00501030 , >:\TEXDC0.BIN
00508476 , >:\TEXDC1.BIN
00507940 , >:\TEXDC2.BIN
00507549 , >:\TEXDC3.BIN
00513870 , >:\VOICE01.AFS

I made a script to handle this kind of file. It's the listorganizer.au3 (included on this
pack).  It  will  open  a  IsoBuster  exported  file  list,  sort  it  by  LBA order (LBA is sector
count I guess, so the higher the LBA, more far from center) and write the results that
you'll see soon. I haven't included any kind of detection for invalid format, so have
the list in this format before using it (8 numbers, space, comma, any string).

To convert the list, open the program, select the file list created with IsoBuster and
"output.txt"  will  be  created  in  the  script  folder  (not  in  the  source  folder!).  If  your
game  has  hundreds  of  files,  the  process  may  take  a  while  because  of  sorting
algorithm. For Crazy Taxi, that's the output:

 >:\AICADRV.BIN 30000
 >:\SNDDC0.BIN 29990
 >:\SNDDC1.BIN 29980
 >:\SNDDC2.BIN 29970
 >:\SNDDC3.BIN 29960
 >:\SNDDC5.BIN 29950
 >:\SNDDC8.BIN 29940
 >:\MOTDC.BIN 29930
 >:\POLDC0.BIN 29920
 >:\TEXDC0.BIN 29910
 >:\SPRCENG.BIN 29900
 >:\SPRCJAP.BIN 29890
 >:\SPRCOMM.BIN 29880
 >:\SPRADV.BIN 29870
 >:\SPRBOX.BIN 29860
 >:\SNDDC6.BIN 29850
 >:\SNDDC7.BIN 29840
 >:\POLDC3.BIN 29830
 >:\POLDC1.BIN 29820
 >:\POLDC2.BIN 29810
 >:\OBJDC3.BIN 29800

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 >:\OBJDC2.BIN 29790
 >:\OBJDC1.BIN 29780
 >:\SPLDC3.BIN 29770
 >:\RECENDAC.BIN 29760
 >:\RECENDDC.BIN 29750
 >:\RECADVAC.BIN 29740
 >:\RECADVDC.BIN 29730
 >:\SPLDC1.BIN 29720
 >:\SPLDC2.BIN 29710
 >:\COLDC3.BIN 29700
 >:\COLDC1.BIN 29690
 >:\COLDC2.BIN 29680
 >:\TEXDC3.BIN 29670
 >:\TEXDC2.BIN 29660
 >:\TEXDC1.BIN 29650
 >:\SPRMENG.BIN 29640
 >:\SPRMJAP.BIN 29630
 >:\SPRMENU.BIN 29620
 >:\SPRGENG.BIN 29610
 >:\SPRGJAP.BIN 29600
 >:\SPRGAME.BIN 29590
 >:\LANDDC1.AFS 29580
 >:\LANDDC2.AFS 29570
 >:\BINC3.AFS 29560
 >:\VOICE01.AFS 29550
 >:\BINC2.AFS 29540
 >:\BINC1.AFS 29530
 >:\SONG01.AFS 29520
 >:\0GDTEX.PVR 29510
 >:\1ST_READ.BIN 29500

It's not in the correct layout yet, we need to make some adjustments. A nice way to
do  it  open  the  file  in notepad and use "replace" tool to replace all " >:\" (without
quotes!) for "data/". Again, note the space (standard file list can't have lines starting
with a blank space"), the case and the inverted bar. So, doing it, that's the result:

data/AICADRV.BIN 30000
data/SNDDC0.BIN 29990
data/SNDDC1.BIN 29980
data/SNDDC2.BIN 29970
data/SNDDC3.BIN 29960
data/SNDDC5.BIN 29950
data/SNDDC8.BIN 29940
data/MOTDC.BIN 29930
data/POLDC0.BIN 29920
data/TEXDC0.BIN 29910
data/SPRCENG.BIN 29900
data/SPRCJAP.BIN 29890
data/SPRCOMM.BIN 29880
data/SPRADV.BIN 29870
data/SPRBOX.BIN 29860
data/SNDDC6.BIN 29850
data/SNDDC7.BIN 29840
data/POLDC3.BIN 29830
data/POLDC1.BIN 29820
data/POLDC2.BIN 29810
data/OBJDC3.BIN 29800
data/OBJDC2.BIN 29790
data/OBJDC1.BIN 29780
data/SPLDC3.BIN 29770
data/RECENDAC.BIN 29760
data/RECENDDC.BIN 29750
data/RECADVAC.BIN 29740
data/RECADVDC.BIN 29730
data/SPLDC1.BIN 29720

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data/SPLDC2.BIN 29710
data/COLDC3.BIN 29700
data/COLDC1.BIN 29690
data/COLDC2.BIN 29680
data/TEXDC3.BIN 29670
data/TEXDC2.BIN 29660
data/TEXDC1.BIN 29650
data/SPRMENG.BIN 29640
data/SPRMJAP.BIN 29630
data/SPRMENU.BIN 29620
data/SPRGENG.BIN 29610
data/SPRGJAP.BIN 29600
data/SPRGAME.BIN 29590
data/LANDDC1.AFS 29580
data/LANDDC2.AFS 29570
data/BINC3.AFS 29560
data/VOICE01.AFS 29550
data/BINC2.AFS 29540
data/BINC1.AFS 29530
data/SONG01.AFS 29520
data/0GDTEX.PVR 29510
data/1ST_READ.BIN 29500

It's in the standard form now. If your game has subdirectories, there will be more "\"
bars that must be converted to "/", use the replace tool again. In case of Crazy Taxi,
we don't need to it.

It could be used now, but we're forgetting the extra files that we'll have in CD. One
is IP.BIN. Again, IP.BIN is not necessary to be with files in CD, but I like to have a copy
there. And, more important, we need to force dummy file to be in inner part of the
disc. Remember, higher numbers = inner part of the  disc. So we manually edit the
file list assigning higher numbers for extra files. So we would add these 2 lines:

data/DUMMY.DAT 30002
data/IP.BIN 30001

So the final result will be:

data/DUMMY.DAT 30002
data/IP.BIN 30001
data/AICADRV.BIN 30000
data/SNDDC0.BIN 29990
data/SNDDC1.BIN 29980
data/SNDDC2.BIN 29970
data/SNDDC3.BIN 29960
data/SNDDC5.BIN 29950
data/SNDDC8.BIN 29940
data/MOTDC.BIN 29930
data/POLDC0.BIN 29920
data/TEXDC0.BIN 29910
data/SPRCENG.BIN 29900
data/SPRCJAP.BIN 29890
data/SPRCOMM.BIN 29880
data/SPRADV.BIN 29870
data/SPRBOX.BIN 29860
data/SNDDC6.BIN 29850
data/SNDDC7.BIN 29840
data/POLDC3.BIN 29830
data/POLDC1.BIN 29820
data/POLDC2.BIN 29810
data/OBJDC3.BIN 29800

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data/OBJDC2.BIN 29790
data/OBJDC1.BIN 29780
data/SPLDC3.BIN 29770
data/RECENDAC.BIN 29760
data/RECENDDC.BIN 29750
data/RECADVAC.BIN 29740
data/RECADVDC.BIN 29730
data/SPLDC1.BIN 29720
data/SPLDC2.BIN 29710
data/COLDC3.BIN 29700
data/COLDC1.BIN 29690
data/COLDC2.BIN 29680
data/TEXDC3.BIN 29670
data/TEXDC2.BIN 29660
data/TEXDC1.BIN 29650
data/SPRMENG.BIN 29640
data/SPRMJAP.BIN 29630
data/SPRMENU.BIN 29620
data/SPRGENG.BIN 29610
data/SPRGJAP.BIN 29600
data/SPRGAME.BIN 29590
data/LANDDC1.AFS 29580
data/LANDDC2.AFS 29570
data/BINC3.AFS 29560
data/VOICE01.AFS 29550
data/BINC2.AFS 29540
data/BINC1.AFS 29530
data/SONG01.AFS 29520
data/0GDTEX.PVR 29510
data/1ST_READ.BIN 29500

Again, be careful about the case and don't let spaces after the number. After that,
our file list is done.

6. Preparing recording process
If  you  don't  have  an  ASPI  driver  installed,  you  need  to  install  one  and  reboot
windows. Please google for one.

Now copy selfboot directory on drive c, so you its contents must be on c:\selfboot\.
of course you can put it wherever you want, but it  probably won't work on "c:\im
dumb  so  i  like  long  directories  name  with  a  lot  of  space\and  subdirectories  too
\selfboot".

Move all the game files (in our case, all files of Crazy Taxi) to c:\selfboot\data, the
folder is already created there.

Now get a CD-RW. It's a good idea to use a CD-RW because you can make as many
tests  as  you  want  and  you  can  try  your game on emulator before wasting CDs for
the real Dreamcast.

Next step is to get the device number for cdrecord. Use the command:

cdrecord.exe -scanbus

and it will show your HD and CD/DVD drives. Find your drive there and take note of
the  numbers.  In  my  case,  it's  4,1,0,  but  it  can  be  anything  for  you.  Now  these

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numbers will be refered as a,b,c.

Note:  If  it  shows  the  numbers,  it  means  that  cdrecord  is probably working nice. If
not, you'll have to figure out by yourself why things are not working. Did you really
reboot Windows after ASPI installation? Is the version of your cdrecord adequate for
you?     You    can    try   newer     versions     too.   You     can    try   this   site   too
(http://www.dchelp.net/index.php?id=cdr), it has some tips to make cdrecord work
if you're having trouble.

Now as first recording test, erase your CD-RW using this command:

cdrecord.exe -dev=a,b,c -blank=minimal -speed=x

-speed parameter is optional, default value is -speed=4 (it will erase disc in 4x if you
don't put it). Don't forget that a,b,c must be replaced by the name you found with -
(hyphen) on scanbus, that's the last time I say that. I hope everything is working fine
for you now.

7. Recording game
Now  we're  at  the  last  steps  of  making  a  selfboot  copy  of  your  game.  Not  only  a
working copy, but a great copy because we're dumming and using correct file order.

Except  for  a  change  on  "mkisofs"  step,  everything  else  here  is  of  the  Echelon
selfboot  method.  So  if  you  have  mastered  their  tutorial,  everything  is  going  to  be
very easy for you. If you haven't, don't worry, things will be explained step-by-step.

7.1. First session: audio trac
Use this command:

cdrecord.exe -dev=a,b,c -multi -audio audio.raw -speed=x

Again, speed parameter is optional (default speed is 4). After it's done, you'll have
the first session burned.

Now use this command:

cdrecord.exe -dev=a,b,c -msinfo

It will return some numbers. They'll probably be 0,11702. I think there is a chance
that  you  get  0,11700  too,  or  maybe  other  number.  So,  if  you  get  something
different of 0,11702, just replace them with your number of next steps.

7.2. Last hacking process
Now  you  don't  have  to  hex  edit  yourself,  Echelon  made  some  nice  tools  that  will
make   the   work   for   you.   All   game   files   are   in   c:\selfboot\data   right?   Move
1ST_READ.BIN  (that's  the  case  of  Crazy  Taxi  and  most  games,  but  remember  that

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the file you must use is the one that was indicated when we hacked IP.BIN in section
3) and IP.BIN to c:\selfboot (or copy IP.BIN if you want to have a copy in game files,
that's  what  I'm  going  to  do).  Now  open  "binhack.exe"  and  you  must  use  these
informations:

Enter name of binary: 1ST_READ.BIN
Enter name of bootsector: IP.BIN
Enter msinfo value: 11702

Again, maybe your game first binary is called different than 1ST_READ.BIN, use the
right name. And if you got another value than 11702 replace it.

After this, move 1ST_READ.BIN (or whatever) to c:\selfboot\data again.

7.3. Creating Image
Put  your  file  list  (already  modified  to  standard  format  like  told  in  section  5)  in  c:
\selfboot and name it with a short name, for example, list.txt. Now use the following
command:

mkisofs -C 0,11702 -V TITLE -sort list.txt -l -o data.iso
data

Maybe you need to change 0,11702 for the value you got. Change TITLE for the title
of CD you want (use short names, no space).

For Crazy Taxi, my file list had the name of ctaxi.txt, so I used this line:

mkisofs -C 0,11702 -V MY_CRAZYTAXI -sort ctaxi.txt -l -o
data.iso data

It may take a while to finish the process. After this, you'll have a file called data.iso
in c:\selfboot.

7.4. Checking File Order
Now we must check if file order is the same of file list. Use this command:

isofix.exe data.iso 11702

After  the  process,  you'll  have  a  file  called  "fixed.iso"  on  c:\selfboot.  Don't  delete
"data.iso" yet, we'll use it soon.

Now  open  "fixed.iso"  in IsoBuster, and file will appear on right window. There are
some details about each file, and one of them is LBA number. The lowest the LBA,
closer to the center are the file. So order files by LBA (click LBA column title), and
check if file order is okay, just looking and comparing with file list. If your game has
subdirectories, ignore LBA of directory and look at LBA number of files inside each
directory.

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For Crazy Taxi, remember that the file list used is this one:

data/DUMMY.DAT 30002
data/IP.BIN 30001
data/AICADRV.BIN 30000
data/SNDDC0.BIN 29990
data/SNDDC1.BIN 29980
data/SNDDC2.BIN 29970
data/SNDDC3.BIN 29960
data/SNDDC5.BIN 29950
data/SNDDC8.BIN 29940
data/MOTDC.BIN 29930
data/POLDC0.BIN 29920
data/TEXDC0.BIN 29910
data/SPRCENG.BIN 29900
data/SPRCJAP.BIN 29890
data/SPRCOMM.BIN 29880
data/SPRADV.BIN 29870
data/SPRBOX.BIN 29860
data/SNDDC6.BIN 29850
data/SNDDC7.BIN 29840
data/POLDC3.BIN 29830
data/POLDC1.BIN 29820
data/POLDC2.BIN 29810
data/OBJDC3.BIN 29800
data/OBJDC2.BIN 29790
data/OBJDC1.BIN 29780
data/SPLDC3.BIN 29770
data/RECENDAC.BIN 29760
data/RECENDDC.BIN 29750
data/RECADVAC.BIN 29740
data/RECADVDC.BIN 29730
data/SPLDC1.BIN 29720
data/SPLDC2.BIN 29710
data/COLDC3.BIN 29700
data/COLDC1.BIN 29690
data/COLDC2.BIN 29680
data/TEXDC3.BIN 29670
data/TEXDC2.BIN 29660
data/TEXDC1.BIN 29650
data/SPRMENG.BIN 29640
data/SPRMJAP.BIN 29630
data/SPRMENU.BIN 29620
data/SPRGENG.BIN 29610
data/SPRGJAP.BIN 29600
data/SPRGAME.BIN 29590
data/LANDDC1.AFS 29580
data/LANDDC2.AFS 29570
data/BINC3.AFS 29560
data/VOICE01.AFS 29550
data/BINC2.AFS 29540
data/BINC1.AFS 29530
data/SONG01.AFS 29520
data/0GDTEX.PVR 29510
data/1ST_READ.BIN 29500

Remember that it means, DUMMY.DAT is the closest file to the center, then IP.BIN,
etc. In IsoBuster, ordering by LBA I got this result:

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                                                                            21

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DUMMY.DAT has the lowest LBA, so it's closest to the center, then IP.BIN, (...), then
SONG01.AFS,  and  in  the  end,  1ST_READ.BIN.  So  our  file  list  were  made  correctly,
and ISO has the correct file order.

7.5. Burning last session: game files

Now execute "ipins.exe" and use the following data:

Enter name of bootsector: IP.BIN
Enter name of ISO: data.iso

And  boot  sector  will  be  included  in  data.iso.  Now  it's  time  for  burning.  Use  the
following command:

cdrecord.exe -dev=a,b,c -xa1 data.iso -speed=x

Again,  -speed=x  is  optional.  Well,  now  it  will  burn  the  game  files,  and  as  we
dummied the game for full CD, it will take around 20 minutes in 4x.

CDRecord is very easy to crash, any program that makes access to CD drive will make
cdrecord exists with error. For example: IsoBuster, another CD recording program,
and even some programs with no standard file managers. So I recommend that you
go AFK and let your computer record the disc.

If at the start of recording you get this warning:

WARNING: Files may not fit on the disc.

or  something  like  that,  cancel  recording  start  using  CTRL+C.  It  means  that  you
haven't  dimensioned  dummy  file  right,  and  program  will  make  overburn,  what  is
never  good.  Try  making right size dummy, remaking image, etc, like told before in
this guide.

8. Testing the disc
Game  should  now  be  bootable  on  Dreamcast.  But  you  recorded  on  a  CD-RW
remember? So only your computer can read it. Test it on emulators. For this, make a
image with Disc Juggler and test it on NullDC or test directly on CD with Chankast.
You don't need to play the game, just see if it boots fine. If it does, you have done
everything right.

If  you  have  done  Crazy  Taxi  like  the  example,  it  will  work  in  both  emulators.
Remember to check before if the emulator you're using to test is compatible with
the game you're trying to make selfbootable. An easy test for that is try the GDI you
started with on NullDC, if it works, then selfbootable version must work too.

9. Distribution
If you want to distribute your rip, it's a great thing. But remember that these things

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spread fast. If you distribute a good thing, you'll make a lot of people happy. If you
distribute a bad thing, you'll make a lot of people confused. So be careful, and think
if your rip is really worthy of distribution.

Don't forget to write a readme file, including important informations like what was
ripped, downsampled, etc. In case of Crazy Taxi, nothing, so write that. Don't forget
to tell your sources too, like GD dump, a group's release, etc. This will help to make
scene clean of bad stuff.

Most common format for Dreamcast games is .cdi (Disc Juggler), so use it to make
your image for distribution. Alcohol 120% format is acceptable, but not encouraged.
And  for  God's  sake,  don't  make  images  with  Nero,  newer  versions  can't  burn
Dreamcast selfboot games right.

Last  step  for  distribution  is  to  check  files.  For  that,  make  a  image of your CD-R/W
(again, I recommend DiscJuggler). Now use Daemon Tools to mount the image on a
virtual  drive.  Opening  the  drive,  you'll  see the game files you have recorded. Now
you  must  have  RapidCRC  installed  with  standard  configurations  (so  it  should  be
included  on  right-click  menu).  Now,  on  virtual  drive,  select  all  the  files  (except
dummy file, you don't need to check it), right-click and select "Open with RapidCRC".
It will take a while to analyse every file CRC. Now use Create SFV file -> Create one
.SFV  file  for  all  files  and  save  it  on  c:\selfboot\data  (you  should  still  have  the  files
you  used  there).  Now  open  the  .sfv  you  just  created  double-clicking  it  (it  must  be
associated  with  RapidCRC  or  other  SFV  checker)  and  it  will  check  the  files  on  c:
\selfboot\data. If check is alright, it means that files on image and files that you used
on recording process are identical, so nothing is corrupted on your image.

And last comment, don't forget to try your game on  real Dreamcast. I had a game
once that booted fine on NullDC but froze on main screen on real Dreamcast.

10. Thanks
-   (http://www.megagames.com/console/cgi-bin/dl.cgi?id=dc&file=dcis-tut.001!rar)
Ripping guide of dcisos.de (site dead), it helped hacking my first dreamcast game.
-
(http://www.dreamwell.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/dcselfboot/Tutorial_Index/tutorial_i
ndex.htm) This site that has tons of tutorials that helped me doing stuff on DC.
- The nice guys who created the programs used here.
- All people that rip and distribute GDI.

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