Shenmue II Xbox Widescreen hack.

[Esppiral]

Update. Download link.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B_v8Ti ... sp=sharing

mirror.
http://www.mediafire.com/download/awld5 ... escreen.7z


Original Post.

Hi, I am just crazy and I can't stop getting involved in new things.

Right now I need help to test Shenmue II on Xbox, this is a quick and dirt attempt to make the game run Widescreen and/or at 720, hex editing the default.xbe.

I need people with a softmoded Xbox, an HDTV cable and if possible, an upgraded ram Xbox.

The goal is mainly to achieve propper widescreen support, 720p is a plus.

My setup is somehow a mess ( Xbox v1.6....) so my console hangs at the first loading screen. I could be either bad video config on my end or just that the Xbox ran out of ram, so that's why I ask for upgraded ram xbox to test, anyway anyone can test and post their results.

Here it is the default resolution.



And here the widescreen 853x480 one.



As said my Xbox hangs at this screen and I need people with different set ups to test it.

Links

720p .xbe
https://mega.nz/#!lF42yRiT!mv4uM7Pj-si2 ... nExbRoTM4k

853x480 .xbe

https://mega.nz/#!BNggyRAR!zVLNE-CjTRsw ... CDd0lMFp2Q

Just drag and drop the default xbe on the root of the game and overwrite, remember to make a backup of your original .xbe just in case.

Thanks.

[amiga1200]

okay, i don't have a trusty/1.4ghz box, just the defaults on SPPV's finest softmod.
...
thanks for putting the time into this, and sharing. (oh, mega! it demands the latest opera POS on winblows, so be warned. also, no echo/response from the links when tried in other browsers, just a blank white page...this side.)
i'll give this item a bang and report back.
if this item is built for a 128m (and possibly a 1.4ghz cpu upgrade) it's likely it won't work for a default 64m (800mhz cpu) config.
in any case, i'll be back!

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new modded xbox users:
shenmue 2 must be a clean install, and follow advice by the op.
F:/games/shenmue 2/default.xbe
G:/games/shenmue 2/default.xbe

E:/ volume is likely to be too small for shenmue 2 installed, any of the above two directory locations will suffice.

i use UNLX as my primary da$h, not sure if that has any bearing?!

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Default853-480.7z (2.02m, expanded 5.5m)
Default.xbe.720.7z (2.02m, expanded 5.5m)

[edit]
my console are PAL-EUR at the core.

[Esppiral]

My Xbox is an 1.6v, so it has trouble with some games especially in HD, due to its video encoder, that's why I need people with different xbox revisions to test it, I also want to know if it hangs because rendering at higher resolutions makes the console ran out of ram or not, a trusty Xbox shouldn't hang.

So please test it, no matter if your Xbox is a stok one or a "trusty" I just need to test it in a wider range of setups as possible.



Thanks.

[amiga1200]

well, you aint gonna fuckin like this:
(all run on default/factory stock motherboard configs.)
1, the first xbe (480p) did exactly as described in your op, just hung at the first loading screen, the prompt at the lower of the screen with animated dots moving from one to four in sequence.
that's all it did, hung there, but the way the loading text was still animated implied the xbox was still processing.
2, in game reset (tried on AVA, and xbmc, the same results) just doesn't work, chunks the console, and a full poweroff/on is required to get back to da$h. (cold boot)
3, the second xbe (720p) wasn't much different, just a black screen, a bsod. (no loading text/animation) same was required in 1.
...

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kernel: 1.0.5101.1
video buf: W1280 H720
version: 0.39.0222A
build: 572

da$h is set on all video outputs bar 1080i, that remains disabled. (tried forcing PAL-60hz, the same, even if enigmah video eeprom config was used prior to tests. no changes to the outcome on all fronts.)
...
still, appreciate the effort gone into this, any way i can help again (on my pos 1.6/1.4's) please don't hesitate to say.
again, thanks a lot for the attempts, looking forward to more possibilities.
[edit]
game tested was a PAL-EUR retail copy, clean install. (and if you just add the suffix to the original xbe like this: 'default.xbe.old' it saves having to move it around, and you can just restore it back if needed)
[FFFFF!]
also, video cable used is Y.Pb.Pr. (component)
you could try here, may help?
and in good hands:

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emuxtras.net

[Esppiral]

Thanks amiga for your help. I'll leave this project on hiatus until further notice.

[amiga1200]

^^ oh, okay?! (well, this was a non-productive WASTE of both our times.)

[shengoro86]

^^ oh, okay?! (well, this was a non-productive WASTE of both our times.)

Thats a bit harsh. Esppiral does a lot for us. I'll happily waste my time for him.

@Esppiral. I have a softmodded and a hardmodded xbox. Sadly I do not have a Crystal Xbox or component cables.

When I get component cables, I'll do some testing for you. My chipped xbox should be able to dump some debug info at the system level. Not sure if that will help in this case but with the way the xbox handles XBE hash checks and loading, it may.

[shengoro86]

Ok so......

Done!

4:3


16:9


4:3


16:9


Sorry for the crappy "screenshots"


Things to note, the Hud is not scaled just stretched, other thing to know is that, in the same fashion as the Dreamcast version emulated with the Widescreen hack on NullDC, geometry outside the 4:3 will start to disappear, but in a slightly different way, for instance, if Ryo's hand/arm goes out the 4:3 on Dreamcast, his arm and hand will disappear, on the Xbox, only if the full character is out of the 4:3 area will disappear, so the effect is less distracting.

The images above are a good example, the characters outside the 4:3 area are still "complete" and not "broken" as it would on the emulated DC version, also the extra FOV is awesome!!!!


I must thank MarvelousMirth I was failing miserably trying to change the aspect ratio, without him this couldn't be possible.

Next thing I want to do is increase a bit the internal resolution, from 640x480 to 720x480, the game shouldn't perform any worse and we could gain a bit of sharpness.

Edit I forgot to add the link lol

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B_v8Ti ... sp=sharing

mirror.
http://www.mediafire.com/download/awld5 ... escreen.7z

[Giorgio]

Incredible! What CPU speed you need in order this to run well on the original Xbox?

[Anthony817]

WOW! I guess it is time I bought another OG Xbox! My brother has one for sale so I hope he cuts me a deal!

[Esppiral]

Incredible! What CPU speed you need in order this to run well on the original Xbox?

It runs fine on a default xbox, no need to upgrade the hardware.

[shengoro86]

Great work Esppiral!

I shall be taking advantage of this ;)

lol I just finished testing the above xbes too but it looks like u beat me to it

[Anthony817]

It runs fine on a default xbox, no need to upgrade the hardware.

My brother wants to sell me a xbox. So since it is my brother, how much should I pay him for it? I can't afford too much. It is a stock Xbox, so I would have to mod it without games that could do it like 007?

[Esppiral]

It runs fine on a default xbox, no need to upgrade the hardware.

My brother wants to sell me a xbox. So since it is my brother, how much should I pay him for it? I can't afford too much. It is a stock Xbox, so I would have to mod it without games that could do it like 007?

I wouldn't pay more than 60€ for it.

About softmodding the console, I have no idea, a friend of mine installed the chip for me.

A few decent screenshots showcasing the new 16:9 aspect ratio.









Ever wanted to know whats behing the walls?



CATS!!!!



Wireframe hack.
link.

http://www.mediafire.com/download/ouirr ... shenmue.7z

[bankai]

Great job man! It works fine on my Xbox, great stuff.

I do have 2 problems with it:

1. the pause screen is in Spanish..? I would really like everything to be in English (except speech, for which I use the native dubs). The title and option screen are in English.. so it's kinda weird to have the pause screen ingame in Spanish.

2. there's lots of culling; detail popping on the sides of the screen. You notice it instantly with characters and items disappearing on the sides of the screen (the 16:9 area). That's too bad.. but I guess it can't be helped..? Dolphin (wii/gamecube emulator) has cheatcodes to prevent culling in some games which use widescreen hack: https://forums.dolphin-emu.org/Thread-widescreen-and-60-fps-master-list

It would be incredible if you could fix that - even better than a resolution bump to 720.. but I guess the Xbox wouldn't be able to maintain a steady framerate with more rendering going on.

What do you think?