---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Resident Evil Code: Veronica VMU Data Guide, v1.2 by Charles MacDonald E-mail: cgfm2@hotmail.com ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Disclaimer ~~~~~~~~~~ Unpublished work Copyright 2000 Charles MacDonald This guide cannot be reproduced in any way, shape, or form, nor can it's contents be submitted to magazines, other web pages, etc. It cannot be put up on any web page and is only to be found at GameFAQs and my homepage . This guide was created and is owned by me, Charles MacDonald. Furthermore, it is protected by the Berne Copyright Convention of 1976, as well as International Copyright Law. What's New ~~~~~~~~~~ (v1.2) - Save slots for Chris, Steve, Wesker, Alt. Claire - Added character select - Added stage select - Reformatted some sections (v1.1) - Added security box slots - Added checksum information (v1.0) - First release Requirements ~~~~~~~~~~~~ - Nexus 4M memory card or similar device (www.hkems.com) - DCI2VMS and VMS_CRC utilities (www.franken.de/users/deco/myfiles/myfiles.htm) - A hex editor. I use `Hex' ver. 5.1a by JD Software. All offsets are given from the start of a DCI file, the kind generated by EMS' DC Linker program. Editing the save file ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ There are two types of files generated by the game: RE_CV000.SYS <-- Configuration file, holds options, Battle Mode info. RE_CV000.0?? <-- Save file, one of fifteen available After you've edited a file, you need to fix the checksum to reflect the modifications made. Use the DCI2VMS utility to convert the edited DCI file into a VMS file. Then run VMS_CRC to find the checksum. Finally, at offset 64 in the DCI file, insert the new checksum that you got. Otherwise, you will get an error message when trying to load your save files during the game. I realize this is a very roundabout way to update the checksum, but currently there are no utilities to directly fix a DCI file. All data in DCI files are stored in big-endian format. Configuration file ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The byte at 2A7 enables Battle Mode and controls what characters are available. Bit 1 must be set for Battle Mode to be present in the options menu, and this automatically gives you Claire. Other values are: 01 - Claire 03 - Claire, Alt. Claire 0F - Claire, Chris 7D - Claire, Alt. Claire, Chris, Steve, Wesker I have not been able to determine what settings enable individual characters, nor how to enable more characters than the original five, if there actually are more characters in Battle Mode. Save file locations ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ - Character select The byte at offset 82B selects the character to be used. 0 = Claire 1 = Chris 2 = Steve 3 = Wesker (buggy, no name listed in save file) 4 = Alt. Claire (buggy, no name listed in save file) - Current number of saves The byte at 827 is the current number of times you've saved. You can change this value to zero, for instance, to achieve a better ranking. - Difficulty select The byte at 833 selects the current difficulty level. For the American version, this value is always zero by default. 0 = Normal (save file text is white) 1 = Easy (save file text is green) 2 = Very Easy (save file text is red) - Stage select The two bytes starting at 829 select the area your are in. 829 = Room (00-??) 82A = Stage (00-??) Here are some known values for the stage value: 00 = Prison 01 = Palace Please let me know of any interesting room/stage numbers so I can expand this list. Take note that you will start off in a room in the same location your original save took place. You could start off behind an door that cannot be opened, or inside a wall, etc. To get around this problem, find the area you want to start in, and then save at a typewriter that would place you away from any obstacles. (Imagine the room you want to be in was overlaid on the room you are saving in, and choose a safe spot to stand at) Also, if you save on the ground level, then start in an area where you must be on the top level (such as the bridge in front of the airplane), your character will be stuck with no way to get up. You can always see your character's location arrow on the map screen. - Character inventories There are eight slots available, two extra when using the Side Pack, and one extra for the item currently in-hand, such as the Lighter or Lockpick. Claire: A18 : Slot #0 (In-hand position) A1C : Slot #1 A20 : Slot #2 A24 : Slot #3 A28 : Slot #4 A2C : Slot #5 A30 : Slot #6 A34 : Slot #7 A38 : Slot #8 A3C : Slot #9 (need Side Pack equipped) A40 : Slot #10 (need Side Pack equipped) Chris: A58 : Slot #0 (In-hand position) A5C : Slot #1 A60 : Slot #2 A64 : Slot #3 A68 : Slot #4 A6C : Slot #5 A70 : Slot #6 A74 : Slot #7 A78 : Slot #8 A7C : Slot #9 (need Side Pack equipped) A80 : Slot #10 (need Side Pack equipped) Steve: A98 : Slot #0 (In-hand position) A9C : Slot #1 AA0 : Slot #2 AA4 : Slot #3 AA8 : Slot #4 AAC : Slot #5 AB0 : Slot #6 AB4 : Slot #7 AB8 : Slot #8 ABC : Slot #9 (need Side Pack equipped) AC0 : Slot #10 (need Side Pack equipped) Wesker: AD8 : Slot #0 (In-hand position) ADC : Slot #1 AE0 : Slot #2 AE4 : Slot #3 AE8 : Slot #4 AEC : Slot #5 AF0 : Slot #6 AF4 : Slot #7 AF8 : Slot #8 AFC : Slot #9 (need Side Pack equipped) B00 : Slot #10 (need Side Pack equipped) Alt. Claire (untested) B18 : Slot #0 (In-hand position) B1C : Slot #1 B20 : Slot #2 B24 : Slot #3 B28 : Slot #4 B2C : Slot #5 B30 : Slot #6 B34 : Slot #7 B38 : Slot #8 B3C : Slot #9 (need Side Pack equipped) B40 : Slot #10 (need Side Pack equipped) Item box slots are at B14-D10. There are 128 slots. B14 : Slot #1 B18 : Slot #2 B1C : Slot #3 B20 : Slot #4 : D04 : Slot #125 D08 : Slot #126 D0C : Slot #127 D10 : Slot #128 Security box slots are at D14-D90, and D94-E10. There are 32 slots for each box. Security Box #1 D14 : Slot #1 D18 : Slot #2 D1C : Slot #3 : D88 : Slot #30 D8C : Slot #31 D90 : Slot #32 Security Box #2 D94 : Slot #1 D98 : Slot #2 D9C : Slot #3 : E08 : Slot #30 E0C : Slot #31 E10 : Slot #32 Item information ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Currently, it seems there are a total of 99 items in the game. When used in the Item Box or Inventory data areas, each item slot has the following format (four bytes): 'ff nn xx xx' f = Item flag n = Item number (00-99) x = Item count (0000-FFFF) The item flags define special properties for various items: Bit 0 - Unknown Bit 1 - Unknown Bit 2 - Unknown Bit 3 - Infinite supply of item (item count field is ignored) Bit 4 - Ammo Type Bit 5 - Ammo Type Bit 6 - Ammo Type Bit 7 - Unknown Bit 3 makes the item count infinite. You can still set a value in the item count section, but that value will not be used (interestingly enough, when you pick up more items, the item count is increased). This flag only works for items you can have more than one of, so it can be used with the Bow Gun, Ink Ribbons, etc. but not the Combat Knife, Duralumin Case, and so on. Bit 5 has the following value for the Bow Gun: 0 - Bow Gun Rounds 1 - Flaming Bow Gun Rounds Bits 6-4 have the following values for the Grenade Launcher: 00 - Grenade Rounds 01 - Acid Rounds 02 - Flame Rounds 04 - BOW Gas Rounds It's safe to assume the top four bits could very well select other types of ammo or various states of an item, depending on the item currently selected. The item number chooses what item is in the given slot. The item count selects how many of an item you have. This value can be overriden by the infinite supply flag. The item count must be within 0-999 (decimal), values larger than that will show garbage for the item count. You should set the item count to one for items you can only carry one of. Some weapons take 2 spaces. In this case, you should make the next slot empty, using a value of '00 00 00 00'. Items in the following list with a star next to them mean the item is a duplicate, a non-existing item with an incorrect description / picture, or an item that for some reason has no associated image. There are some items that are never found in the game, such as the King Ant Relief, Remote Control, and Calico Bullets. Any ideas what they may have been used for? Item number list ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 00 < No Item > 01 Rocket Launcher (this item takes 2 spaces) 02 Assault Rifle (this item takes 2 spaces) 03 Sniper Rifle (this item takes 2 spaces) 04 Shotgun 05 Handgun 06 Grenade Launcher 07 Bow Gun 08 Combat Knife 09 Handgun 0a Custom Handgun 0b Linear Launcher 0c Handgun Bullets 0d Magnum Bullets 0e Shotgun Shells 0f Grenade Rounds 10 Acid Rounds 11 Flame Rounds 12 Bow Gun Rounds 13 M93R Part 14 F. Aid Spray 15 Green Herb 16 Red Herb 17 Blue Herb 18 Mixed Herb (G+G) 19 Mixed Herb (R+G) 1a Mixed Herb (B+G) 1b Mixed Herb (G+B) 1c Mixed Herb (Green Pile) 1d Mixed Herb (Yellow Pile) 1e Magnum Bullets 1f Ink Ribbon 20 Magnum 21 Gold Lugers (this item takes 2 spaces) 22 Sub Machine Gun (this item takes 2 spaces) 23 Bow Gun Powder 24 Gun Powder Arrow 25 BOW Gas Rounds 26 *M.Gun Bullets 27 Gas Mask 28 Rifle Bullets 29 Duralumin Case 2a A.Rifle Bullets 2b Alexander's Pierce 2c Alexander's Jewel 2d Alfred's Ring 2e Alfred's Jewel 2f *Prisoner's Diary 30 *Director's Memo 31 *Instructions 32 Lockpick 33 Glass Eye 34 Piano Roll 35 Steering Wheel 36 Crane Key 37 Lighter 38 Eagle Plate 39 Side Pack 3a *Map 3b Hawk Emblem 3c Queen Ant Object 3d King Ant Object 3e Biohazard Card 3f Duralumin Case 40 Detonator 41 Control Lever 42 Gold Dragonfly 43 Silver Key 44 Gold Key 45 Army Proof 46 Navy Proof 47 Air Force Proof 48 Key with Tag 49 ID Card 4a *Map 4b Airport Key 4c Emblem Card 4d Skeleton Picture 4e Music Box Plate 4f Dragonfly Object 50 Album 51 Halberd 52 Extinguisher 53 Briefcase 54 Padlock Key 55 TG-01 56 Sp. Alloy Emblem 57 Valve Handle 58 Octa Valve Handle 59 Machine Room Key 5a Mining Room Key 5b Bar Code Sticker 5c Sterile Room Key 5d Door Knob 5e Battery Pack 5f *Hemostatic 60 Turn Table Key 61 Chem. Storage Key 62 Clement a 63 Clement E 64 Tank Object 65 *Sp. Alloy Emblem 66 Alfred's Memo 67 Rusted Sword 68 Hemostatic 69 Security Card 6a Security File 6b Alexia's Choker 6c Alexia's Jewel 6d *Queen Ant Relief 6e *King Ant Relief 6f Red Jewel 70 Blue Jewel 71 Socket 72 Sq. Valve Handle 73 Serum 74 Earthenware Vase 75 Paper Weight 76 Silver Dragonfly (no wings) 77 Silver Dragonfly (wings) 78 Wing Object 79 Crystal 7a Gold Dragonfly (1 wing) 7b Gold Dragonfly (2 wings) 7c Gold Dragonfly (3 wings) 7d *File 7e Plant Pot 7f Picture B 80 Duralumin Case 81 Duralumin Case 82 Bow Gun Powder 83 Enhanced Handgun 84 *Memo 85 *Board Clip 86 *Card 87 *Newspaper Clip 88 Luger Replica 89 *Queen Ant Relief 8a Family Picture 8b *File 8c *Remote Control 8d *? 8e M-100P (this item takes 2 spaces) 8f Calico Bullets 90 Clement Mixture 91 *? 92 *? 93 *? 94 *? 95 *Empty Extinguisher 96 *Square Socket 97 *? 98 *Crest Key S 99 *Crest Key G In Closing ~~~~~~~~~~ I'd like to thank the following people: - Visual Kreations, for information on save slot locations for Chris, Steve, Wesker, Alt. Claire, and for the character and stage select data. - Jeff Veasey, for the MvC2 save file hacking guide, which was an invaluable help for getting started on this game. - Chris MacDonald, for providing the Dreamcast and the snazzy disclaimer. Feel free to e-mail me with questions, comments, or save file information. I will at least read your letter if time does not permit a response. :) I've gotten a lot of e-mails about what 'bits' are, it's beyond the scope of this document to explain the binary system and how it relates to hexadecimal numbers. If you really want to know, buy a book on computer science, which should explain that kind of thing. Unpublished work Copyright 2000 Charles MacDonald