Robozone - Can't load third stage

Hello everyone,

I don't normally like to ask for help as after enough playing with settings I can eventually get something to work, but this time i've had no joy!

I'm playing through Robozone with the hope of creating a video play-through of the game, however after the dialogue that introduces the third stage, my game just sits there with a blank screen, with the floppy indicator reading 01.

I've tried as many of the different disk 2 images as I can find on the net, but all seem to stop at the same place, also tried as many different combinatios of settings as I can think would help and also updating to the most recent version of WinUAE but no joy.

I've still got the origional disks, but I've tried to run disk 2 through ADFread and I just end up with unexpected end of file on every track other than the very first, so I think i've killed my disk!

I'm hoping it's just my computer setup as I can't find anyone else who'd had a similar problem (Running Win7 x64 but 32bit WinUAE), then again this doesn't look to have been a very popular game.

I've attached a savestate if it helps (walk forward and it will advance to level 3)

Thanks in advance for any suggestions offered!

[Supamax]

Is it available in .ipf format?
If so, perhaps Denis (or me, If I have some spare time) can provide you a working extended adf version (obtained from the original/ipf).

[CodyJarrett]

I had the same problem when grabbing the HOL screens (http://hol.abime.net/1265/screenshot) and ended up using the IPF. I can't remember if I had to start again or was able to continue with the new disk.

[dlfrsilver]

May you let me image my original disk please ?

Ah, i've not come accross IPF's before so i'm not sure, it does seem to be listed on the Software Preservation Society website though.

[dlfrsilver]

yes, well making an extended ADF will be a problem.

- Disk 1 is the intro disk, and is OK it can be copied on a standard drive.

- Disk 2 is a problem really. Track 0 use a copylock with $8A91 sync mark, and for tracks 1 to 79, it uses long tracks with a length of $19B2.

The copylock alone will make the game crash for sure or something equivalent and can't be imaged in an extended ADF.

I have robozone in IPF, but you know the rules, no posting and no talk about those on EAB.

After checking the Crystal crack, something tells me that it needs cycle-exact, but anyway, this crystal crack has a problem.

corruption ? omitted copylock routine ? need to be checked.

[Supamax]

Originally Posted by dlfrsilver

The copylock alone will make the game crash for sure or something equivalent and can't be imaged in an extended ADF.

Oh... I didn't know that copylock can't be supported/imaged in an extended adf...
Denis, could it only be a problem related to ADFREAD? Could it perhaps be possible to obtain a working extended adf using Powercopy for the ipf--->extADF copy?

[dlfrsilver]

Originally Posted by Supamax

Oh... I didn't know that copylock can't be supported/imaged in an extended adf...
Denis, could it only be a problem related to ADFREAD? Could it perhaps be possible to obtain a working extended adf using Powercopy for the ipf--->extADF copy?

Unfortunately, the crack that Thiima is using has standard tracks because the game has been cracked.

I can create extended ADF from Robozone, but the copylock will not be correctly copied, and will make extended ADF crash.

extended ADF only apply when the game is using longtracks or even multiple sync marks in game (hybris, sword of sodan for example), But not on game that use a copylock on disk.

[Supamax]

Hmmm... what about patching the .ipf with Maverick or some similar patching/copying software?

[dlfrsilver]

well this would require to extract the game data from the MFM 'shield', i mean decode the disk, but even once done, nothing warrants that it's not compressed.....

We need the expertise of someone like stingray or Galahad for this.

For me the crystal crack is fucked up.

[dlfrsilver]

Originally Posted by thiima

Hello everyone,

I don't normally like to ask for help as after enough playing with settings I can eventually get something to work, but this time i've had no joy!

I'm playing through Robozone with the hope of creating a video play-through of the game, however after the dialogue that introduces the third stage, my game just sits there with a blank screen, with the floppy indicator reading 01.

I've tried as many of the different disk 2 images as I can find on the net, but all seem to stop at the same place, also tried as many different combinatios of settings as I can think would help and also updating to the most recent version of WinUAE but no joy.

I've still got the origional disks, but I've tried to run disk 2 through ADFread and I just end up with unexpected end of file on every track other than the very first, so I think i've killed my disk!

I'm hoping it's just my computer setup as I can't find anyone else who'd had a similar problem (Running Win7 x64 but 32bit WinUAE), then again this doesn't look to have been a very popular game.

I've attached a savestate if it helps (walk forward and it will advance to level 3)

Thanks in advance for any suggestions offered!

Your original disk is OK ! It simply can't be copied. The tracks are too long, that's why you get an error message with ADFread.

Standard amiga track = $2C00 in length, Robozone tracks = $3364 in length

[Galahad/FLT]

I'll take a look at it now, I assume the files are on Elowars site?

[Galahad/FLT]

It is and I now have it.

[dlfrsilver]

This game uses encrypted copylock(s). 2 as it seems..... in the original version.

what's strange is that i found 1 in memory in the crystal crack..... and when the amiga guru, it seems related to it.

[Galahad/FLT]

I've found the first one, but thats nothing special at all, just checks the serial key.

[dlfrsilver]

Ok, Galahad, when you normally crack a copylock, it should not appear anymore in ram right ? Because i have search for a copylock just after finishing the 2 levels and before the 3rd level (last one), with AR3 by doing F 48 7A, and i get a copylock in ram.

Strangely, when the amiga gurus, it says $0000004 and it's the copylock in RAM adress.
Or it seems so.....

[Galahad/FLT]

Well the game disk is now ripped completely, and I can see by some of the files that the game tries to reload the game loader to try and knock out any cracker loader.

Some files are packed with "Ice!" others are packed with "FIRE" so I suspect the second Copylock is hidden in one of those files, shouldn't be long

[Galahad/FLT]

I haven't checked out the Crystal version, but I can suspect I know why it doesn't work.

There are no more Copylocks in the game, just the one at the start.

Level 2 has its own loader separate from the main game loader as it has to load Level 3 over the main loader.

I suspect that whoever cracked it for Crystal just assumed the game would use the same loader for the entire game, and it doesn't.


Level 3 also has its own inbuilt loader to then either reload the title sequence, death sequence or end game sequence.

Most Arc development games only utilise one loader, hence why Crystal were probably caught out.

Almost done, but its not a tidily coded game in any case.

AND DENIS, CLEAR SOME PM SPACE!

[dlfrsilver]

thank you for cracking properly Robozone !

[Supamax]

Originally Posted by Galahad/FLT

Almost done, but its not a tidily coded game in any case.

WOW, great!

[Galahad/FLT]

Its 100% working on OCS/ECS Amigas right now, just trying to get it to load without crashing on AGA, although I'll stress now, i'm not interested in doing a proper AGA fix per se, as i'm now doing a WHDLoad install for the game as well.

Its a piss poor game, but needs doing all the same.

[Galahad/FLT]

Robozone BETA 100% crack in the zone.

I've only managed to test under WinUAE for the moment in an A500 environment.

I've done NO AGA fixing whatsoever on this game, i've simply cracked it. Level 3 now loads as it should do, i've redone the crack from scratch from the IPF.

I haven't touched the intro disk, just the game disk.

All end/death/pollution sequences work.

There are a couple of bugs in the game, but this is because of the game not me, but you can still play it, such as it is, its quite a shit game frankly.

[dlfrsilver]

thanks for this Galahad !!!! We will test this ADF you've made

[Supamax]

It runs fine in WinUAE with this config:
A500, 512KB chip RAM + 512KB slow RAM, KS 1.2

I cannot run it in a basic A500 though (512KB RAM). I gave a look in Hall Of Light but can't say if it's a 1MB game or a 512KB one...

Works fine in WinUAE's A1200 config, too .

[Retroplay]

Originally Posted by Galahad/FLT

I've done NO AGA fixing whatsoever on this game, i've simply cracked it.

Tested on real A1200 and it guru's right after the "press left mouse button".

[StingRay]

Originally Posted by Supamax

I cannot run it in a basic A500 though (512KB RAM). I gave a look in Hall Of Light but can't say if it's a 1MB game or a 512KB one...

Original runs on a 512k machine. Had a quick look, the crack crashes when it tries to load, maybe >$80000 used for the MFM buffer?

[Galahad/FLT]

Originally Posted by StingRay

Original runs on a 512k machine. Had a quick look, the crack crashes when it tries to load, maybe >$80000 used for the MFM buffer?

Crack should work on 512K as well.

The game does piss about with the trackbuffer, but i've accommodated that so wherever the game wants to stick the trackbuffer, the fileloader will use that as well.

[s2325]

It was first game which I loaded on my Amiga (but not first Amiga game which I played) so it have warm place in my heart ("he is waving at me and it's in 3D!"). Amstrad CPC version have very pretty graphics but similar gameplay.

[StingRay]

Originally Posted by Galahad/FLT

The game does piss about with the trackbuffer, but i've accommodated that so wherever the game wants to stick the trackbuffer, the fileloader will use that as well.

You forgot the initialize the MFM buffer. Thus $4.w = "random" value -> crash on a 512k machine.

[Galahad/FLT]

Originally Posted by StingRay

You forgot the initialize the MFM buffer. Thus $4.w = "random" value -> crash on a 512k machine.

Yeah, I'd not copied the assembled version from hard drive to DF0:!

Proper version now in the zone! doh!

[Galahad/FLT]

If it still doesn't boot on AGA Amigas, i'll endeavour to look further into it, but frankly, that effort would be better spent on the WHDLoad version, but at the moment, the game should work on the machine it was designed to run on.

[andreas]

Great work Galahad!!
Yet another non-working crack identified.

Originally Posted by Galahad/FLT

If it still doesn't boot on AGA Amigas, i'll endeavour to look further into it

Question is, is it really a sole AGA problem, or perhaps it doesn't even like any CPU beyond plain 68000?! Since a good couple of these old disk-based games don't.
Wait...this can actually be tested...

@Retroplay, what is the result on your A1200 when AGA is off, i. e. in ECS mode?

[Retroplay]

Originally Posted by andreas

@Retroplay, what is the result on your A1200 when AGA is off, i. e. in ECS mode?

Guru meditation after the press mouse button message.
CPU caches were also disabled.

[andreas]

Ok, thanks for testing. I suspected that it's not necessarily because of AGA, so first of all, it IS the A1200's higher-class CPU which the game has an issue with.

[Galahad/FLT]

I'm doing a version for WHDLoad, i'm not really that interested in spending too much time on the game as it is of such low quality, though I do need to do a cracktro for it.

[dlfrsilver]

Well Galahad is right to be honest, as we say in France, it doesn't break 3 leg to a duck

[Galahad/FLT]

Final version of Robozone in the zone with cracktro.

[Galahad/FLT]

up.................................

[mai]

Should it be

Robozone (1991)(Image Works)(Disk 2 of 2)[cr Galahad][t +3 Flashtro][!][bootable]

or under "FLT" label?

[Galahad/FLT]

I didn't even know Flashtro had trained it?

Just cracked by Me, its nothing to do with FLT.