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About
This tutorial (post 1) and FAQ (post 2) was created to show R4 and M3s how to use the R4 Save Editor and using them on the R4. The original R4 v1.08 Final and M3s v1.04 Final firmwares already support this current list of games, with codes from codejunkies.com.
Section 2,3,4,5,6,7,8 is intended for you to add support for future games, add cheats that aren't already in the firmware, or edit cheats that are already in the firmware. Section 9 contains instruction on running cheats on the R4.
I absolutely do not condone online cheating, however cheats are still useful to add replay value to games to completed games. My R4/M3simply FAQ is located here. I hope you find some use from this
have fun.
1. Important:
Please read the instructions entirely and the FAQ on the second post of this thread before starting.
2. Software Needed:
R4 Cheat Editor v1.00
Mirror 1 - R4, China (rar)
Mirror 2 - R4, Hong Kong (rar)
Mirror 3 - iamwhoiam, UK (zip)
R4 Firmware v1.08 Final
Mirror 1 - R4, China (rar)
Mirror 2 - Gbatemp (zip)
Mirror 3 - MAD_BOY, Germany (rar)
Mirror 4 - iamwhoiam, UK (zip, no moonshell)
You should have this set up correctly on your R4. Check this thread to find out how.
NDS Action Replay XML Code Editor v1.0
Mirror 1 - Original author: Java and exe versions (zip)
Mirror 2 - iamwhoiam, UK: exe version (zip)
Action Replay Code Manager, ARCM.
Mirror 1 - Rapidshare (rar)
Mirror 2 - spikeygcps2, US (rar)
Mirror 3 - SkH, EU (rar)
Mirror 4 - SkH, EU (zip)
A big thank you goes to all the mirrors!!
This program is optional, but highly recommended. It lets you have an easy access to working Action Replay cheat codes. It's basically a software frontend for codejunkies.com. There might be Vista compatability issues though.
You should have these files:
Setting ARCM up:
1. Double click on Setup.exe to install.
2. After installation, you can update the program by click on software upgrade (optional, but recommended).
3. Make sure the program has internet access (enable it in firewalls etc).
3. Obtaining Action Replay codes
You can do this from a number of sources.
- Code Junkies - AR's code site
- Google - Search Engines
- Forums - Good for finding codes before they become released on codejunkies.
- Action Replay Code Manager - Action Replay's DS software, which interfaces with codejunkies to obtain codes. This is probably the best method because you basically have an easy to access list of the most up to date codes at codejunkies. It is the method I recommend.
So, to find a cheat using ARCM:
- When you first open the program, you will see three boxes. Ignore the left hand box, as that deals with the retail AR cartridge. You'll be using the two green boxes.
- The Subscriptions box is where you'll get your codes from, and you'll see three regions.
- Open up the region in which the game belongs to, and find your code. In this example, I will be using Metroid Prime: Hunters as an example.
4. Adding Cheats Manually
- The first thing we will need is the Game Code and Game ID. To find it, double click on the game name in ARCM.
- If you obtained your code from a different source and the game isn't listed in ARCM. You can use NDS Action Replay XML Code Editor v1.0 to find the Game Code and Game ID. Goto "Tools" and select "Get GameID from ROM". Find the backup (.nds format). You will then have your GameID.
- Open up R4 Cheat Editor v1.00. You can start a new database, or open up an existing one.
- Goto "Code", then "Add Game".
- Enter Game Name, which can be whatever you want it to be.
- Enter Game Code and Game ID in the following format:
- Find your Metroid cheat in ARCM and double click on it. I will be using "Infinite Missiles" cheat.
- Copy the entire contents of the "Cheat Codes" box. Switch to the R4 Cheat Editor.
- Select the game (Metroid Prime: Hunters)
- Goto "Code", then "Add Code".
- Enter cheat name, which can be whatever you want it to be.
- Paste the cheat code you copied previously into "Cheat data"
- Important: Click on "Update Code" to save the code.
Grouped Cheats
You will notice that some codes can be expanded and are grouped, usually they allow you to modify a set value in the game, e.g. running speed etc. To add these:
- Goto ARCM and find your game. Again, I will be using "Metroid Prime: Hunters" as an example.
- The "LOG BOOK CODES:" cheat can be expanded. This code lets you modify how much of the Log Book in Metroid is completed.
- Double click on the first code in the list
- Once again, copy the contents of the "Cheat Codes" box. Switch to R4 Cheat Editor.
- Select the game (Metroid Prime: Hunters)
- Goto "Code", but instead choosing "Add Code", choose "Add Folder"
- Enter folder name. In my case I entered "LOG BOOK CODES:"
- Select the folder (LOG BOOK CODES
- Now goto "Code", then "Add Code"
- Enter cheat name and paste the code as before.
- Now add the other codes contained within the group, under the same folder name (LOG BOOK CODES
One Hot
If you are wondering what that tick box marked "One Hot" does, let me explain... Some cheat codes can be used in game by pressing a certain button, e.g. Press X for Green Shell. However, there maybe others in the list too, e.g. Press X for Red Shell. As you can see, it uses the same button with a different effect, and this is where you can specify this. It also restricts the cheats by allowing you to only select one cheat at a time.
- This time I will be using Mario Kart DS as an example, but instead of going through the previous instructions, a picture is worth a thousand words:
- As you can see, "One Hot" (meaning, use one hot key) is ticked because you only use one hot key (PRESS X) for the different effects.
And there we have it. Successfully manually entered codes in the cheat manager.
5. Adding cheats automatically with ARCM.
It's all well and good entering cheats manually, but it can be troublesome if you want to add the entire game's codes. So you can use ARCM, along with R4 Cheat Editor's XML import facility to do this. I will be using Tetris DS as an example.
- Find the game you require in ARCM.
- Right click on the game name and select "Copy"
- This time, we'll be using the second green box, My Codelists.
- There should already be a Custom Code List in there, but you can rename this to whatever you want.
- Right click on the list name (Custom Code List) and select "Paste"
- This imports the entire list of codes for that game.
- You can repeat this for all the games you need cheats for.
- Alternatively, you can even copy the entire region of games into your Custom Code List. Just right click on the region..
...and select "Copy".
- Paste it into your Custom Code List. It might take a while as all the codes are downloaded:
- Once you have your list of games and their cheats in you Custom Code List, open "My Computer".
- Browse to this directory, C:\Program Files\Datel\Action Replay Code Manager\, or wherever you installed ARCM.
- Open the folder "local_codelists"
- Here is your Custom Code List files in .XML format. Now, remember the R4 Cheat Editor can support XML importing
- Switch to R4 Cheat Editor and goto "File", then "Import XML file"
- Locate your "Custom Code List.xml" file in the above folder and import it.
- You will then find your game, along with Game ID, game cheats, all intact
- Of course you can use any source of XML file which contains Action Replay codes, but with this method, you have the most up to date codejunkies.com database.
6. Saving the cheat database
- In the R4 Cheat Editor, goto "File" then "Save cheat database"
- Important: Save it as usrcheat.dat
- Put usrcheat.dat in the same folder as your cheat.dat on your R4's MicroSD, which is the _system_ folder.
- Both files are required for usrcheat.dat to work.
7. cheat.dat, usrcheat.dat - Important
The english R4 Save Editor instructions (here) suggest that cheats for a game in cheat.dat cannot merge with different cheats in the same game in usrcheat.dat. So, can't overide a game if it is already in cheat.dat with extra codes in usrcheat.dat. So, the above examples using Metroid, Mario Kart, Tetris, will have no effect if you are using the standard cheat.dat that comes with the R4 firmware because those cheats are already in cheat.dat. They are only examples of what you can do for future updates.
A sneaky way around this is to use an empty cheat.dat (it doesn't have to be capitalised by the way), available here. Then use the above techniques to import all your cheats into "usrcheat.dat" and play away at your hearts content. If you want the latest precompiled usrcheat.dat, then click here. If there isn't a latest one at the end of the thread, you could always try to request it.
8. Mastercodes - Important
The mastercode contains the location in the ROM which all the cheat codes for a game target. The majority of games (90%) have the mastercode
In ARCM, games whos cheats use this mastercode do not have an (M) in their list of cheats. This (M) setting is only required if the mastercode is different, e.g. check out Animal Crossing, Wild World.
The Action Replay Retail Cart uses this (M) setting to overide it's default setting (which is set to search for the above mastercode). The ninja linkers also use this function, but their mastercode settings are simply called "master".
However, the R4 still defaults to the above mastercode, as it is the one that is most used. No one has found out how to tell the R4 to use a different mastercode.
Therefore games that use a different mastercode (and have it specified in ARCM), will not work.. yet.
9. Using cheats on R4
So, you're either using cheat.dat, a combination of cheat.dat and usrcheat.dat, or an empty cheat.dat with your cheats in usrcheat.dat. This section will explain how you get them going on an R4.
- Select your game in your NDS. If your game is supported in cheat.dat (click here to find out) or if you input the correct Game Code and Game ID, with your cheats in usrcheat.dat then you should get a new button "Cheat(Y)"
... I have used Yu-Gi-Oh: World Championship 2007 as an example to prove that the cheat editor and usrcheat.dat work. This game isn't on codejunkies.com or cheat.dat.
- So, press Y and a new menu should pop up
Note that it says "User cheat code" (indicating that usrcheat.dat is in use) instead of "Cheat code + Date" (indicating cheat.dat is in use).
The top screen shows the list of cheats you have programmed. The touchscreen shows your options to enable/disable cheats.
- Select ALL
- Select NONE
- Save & exit
- Discard & exit
These are pretty much self explanatory.
- Cheat Enable/Disable
Enable or disable cheat mode for all games
- Game Enable/Disable
Enable or disable cheat mode for specific game. Enabled effect only works if Cheat is enabled.
So there you have it.
x Andy
This tutorial (post 1) and FAQ (post 2) was created to show R4 and M3s how to use the R4 Save Editor and using them on the R4. The original R4 v1.08 Final and M3s v1.04 Final firmwares already support this current list of games, with codes from codejunkies.com.
Section 2,3,4,5,6,7,8 is intended for you to add support for future games, add cheats that aren't already in the firmware, or edit cheats that are already in the firmware. Section 9 contains instruction on running cheats on the R4.
I absolutely do not condone online cheating, however cheats are still useful to add replay value to games to completed games. My R4/M3simply FAQ is located here. I hope you find some use from this
1. Important:
Please read the instructions entirely and the FAQ on the second post of this thread before starting.
2. Software Needed:
R4 Cheat Editor v1.00
Mirror 1 - R4, China (rar)
Mirror 2 - R4, Hong Kong (rar)
Mirror 3 - iamwhoiam, UK (zip)
R4 Firmware v1.08 Final
Mirror 1 - R4, China (rar)
Mirror 2 - Gbatemp (zip)
Mirror 3 - MAD_BOY, Germany (rar)
Mirror 4 - iamwhoiam, UK (zip, no moonshell)
You should have this set up correctly on your R4. Check this thread to find out how.
NDS Action Replay XML Code Editor v1.0
Mirror 1 - Original author: Java and exe versions (zip)
Mirror 2 - iamwhoiam, UK: exe version (zip)
Action Replay Code Manager, ARCM.
Mirror 1 - Rapidshare (rar)
Mirror 2 - spikeygcps2, US (rar)
Mirror 3 - SkH, EU (rar)
Mirror 4 - SkH, EU (zip)
A big thank you goes to all the mirrors!!
This program is optional, but highly recommended. It lets you have an easy access to working Action Replay cheat codes. It's basically a software frontend for codejunkies.com. There might be Vista compatability issues though.
You should have these files:
Setting ARCM up:
1. Double click on Setup.exe to install.
2. After installation, you can update the program by click on software upgrade (optional, but recommended).
3. Make sure the program has internet access (enable it in firewalls etc).
3. Obtaining Action Replay codes
You can do this from a number of sources.
- Code Junkies - AR's code site
- Google - Search Engines
- Forums - Good for finding codes before they become released on codejunkies.
- Action Replay Code Manager - Action Replay's DS software, which interfaces with codejunkies to obtain codes. This is probably the best method because you basically have an easy to access list of the most up to date codes at codejunkies. It is the method I recommend.
So, to find a cheat using ARCM:
- When you first open the program, you will see three boxes. Ignore the left hand box, as that deals with the retail AR cartridge. You'll be using the two green boxes.
- The Subscriptions box is where you'll get your codes from, and you'll see three regions.
- Open up the region in which the game belongs to, and find your code. In this example, I will be using Metroid Prime: Hunters as an example.
4. Adding Cheats Manually
- The first thing we will need is the Game Code and Game ID. To find it, double click on the game name in ARCM.
- If you obtained your code from a different source and the game isn't listed in ARCM. You can use NDS Action Replay XML Code Editor v1.0 to find the Game Code and Game ID. Goto "Tools" and select "Get GameID from ROM". Find the backup (.nds format). You will then have your GameID.
- Open up R4 Cheat Editor v1.00. You can start a new database, or open up an existing one.
- Goto "Code", then "Add Game".
- Enter Game Name, which can be whatever you want it to be.
- Enter Game Code and Game ID in the following format:
- Find your Metroid cheat in ARCM and double click on it. I will be using "Infinite Missiles" cheat.
- Copy the entire contents of the "Cheat Codes" box. Switch to the R4 Cheat Editor.
- Select the game (Metroid Prime: Hunters)
- Goto "Code", then "Add Code".
- Enter cheat name, which can be whatever you want it to be.
- Paste the cheat code you copied previously into "Cheat data"
- Important: Click on "Update Code" to save the code.
Grouped Cheats
You will notice that some codes can be expanded and are grouped, usually they allow you to modify a set value in the game, e.g. running speed etc. To add these:
- Goto ARCM and find your game. Again, I will be using "Metroid Prime: Hunters" as an example.
- The "LOG BOOK CODES:" cheat can be expanded. This code lets you modify how much of the Log Book in Metroid is completed.
- Double click on the first code in the list
- Once again, copy the contents of the "Cheat Codes" box. Switch to R4 Cheat Editor.
- Select the game (Metroid Prime: Hunters)
- Goto "Code", but instead choosing "Add Code", choose "Add Folder"
- Enter folder name. In my case I entered "LOG BOOK CODES:"
- Select the folder (LOG BOOK CODES
- Now goto "Code", then "Add Code"
- Enter cheat name and paste the code as before.
- Now add the other codes contained within the group, under the same folder name (LOG BOOK CODES
One Hot
If you are wondering what that tick box marked "One Hot" does, let me explain... Some cheat codes can be used in game by pressing a certain button, e.g. Press X for Green Shell. However, there maybe others in the list too, e.g. Press X for Red Shell. As you can see, it uses the same button with a different effect, and this is where you can specify this. It also restricts the cheats by allowing you to only select one cheat at a time.
- This time I will be using Mario Kart DS as an example, but instead of going through the previous instructions, a picture is worth a thousand words:
- As you can see, "One Hot" (meaning, use one hot key) is ticked because you only use one hot key (PRESS X) for the different effects.
And there we have it. Successfully manually entered codes in the cheat manager.
5. Adding cheats automatically with ARCM.
It's all well and good entering cheats manually, but it can be troublesome if you want to add the entire game's codes. So you can use ARCM, along with R4 Cheat Editor's XML import facility to do this. I will be using Tetris DS as an example.
- Find the game you require in ARCM.
- Right click on the game name and select "Copy"
- This time, we'll be using the second green box, My Codelists.
- There should already be a Custom Code List in there, but you can rename this to whatever you want.
- Right click on the list name (Custom Code List) and select "Paste"
- This imports the entire list of codes for that game.
- You can repeat this for all the games you need cheats for.
- Alternatively, you can even copy the entire region of games into your Custom Code List. Just right click on the region..
...and select "Copy".
- Paste it into your Custom Code List. It might take a while as all the codes are downloaded:
- Once you have your list of games and their cheats in you Custom Code List, open "My Computer".
- Browse to this directory, C:\Program Files\Datel\Action Replay Code Manager\, or wherever you installed ARCM.
- Open the folder "local_codelists"
- Here is your Custom Code List files in .XML format. Now, remember the R4 Cheat Editor can support XML importing
- Switch to R4 Cheat Editor and goto "File", then "Import XML file"
- Locate your "Custom Code List.xml" file in the above folder and import it.
- You will then find your game, along with Game ID, game cheats, all intact
- Of course you can use any source of XML file which contains Action Replay codes, but with this method, you have the most up to date codejunkies.com database.
6. Saving the cheat database
- In the R4 Cheat Editor, goto "File" then "Save cheat database"
- Important: Save it as usrcheat.dat
- Put usrcheat.dat in the same folder as your cheat.dat on your R4's MicroSD, which is the _system_ folder.
- Both files are required for usrcheat.dat to work.
7. cheat.dat, usrcheat.dat - Important
The english R4 Save Editor instructions (here) suggest that cheats for a game in cheat.dat cannot merge with different cheats in the same game in usrcheat.dat. So, can't overide a game if it is already in cheat.dat with extra codes in usrcheat.dat. So, the above examples using Metroid, Mario Kart, Tetris, will have no effect if you are using the standard cheat.dat that comes with the R4 firmware because those cheats are already in cheat.dat. They are only examples of what you can do for future updates.
A sneaky way around this is to use an empty cheat.dat (it doesn't have to be capitalised by the way), available here. Then use the above techniques to import all your cheats into "usrcheat.dat" and play away at your hearts content. If you want the latest precompiled usrcheat.dat, then click here. If there isn't a latest one at the end of the thread, you could always try to request it.
8. Mastercodes - Important
The mastercode contains the location in the ROM which all the cheat codes for a game target. The majority of games (90%) have the mastercode
Code:
C0000000 023DF000
F20081CC E12FFF1EThe Action Replay Retail Cart uses this (M) setting to overide it's default setting (which is set to search for the above mastercode). The ninja linkers also use this function, but their mastercode settings are simply called "master".
However, the R4 still defaults to the above mastercode, as it is the one that is most used. No one has found out how to tell the R4 to use a different mastercode.
Therefore games that use a different mastercode (and have it specified in ARCM), will not work.. yet.
9. Using cheats on R4
So, you're either using cheat.dat, a combination of cheat.dat and usrcheat.dat, or an empty cheat.dat with your cheats in usrcheat.dat. This section will explain how you get them going on an R4.
- Select your game in your NDS. If your game is supported in cheat.dat (click here to find out) or if you input the correct Game Code and Game ID, with your cheats in usrcheat.dat then you should get a new button "Cheat(Y)"
... I have used Yu-Gi-Oh: World Championship 2007 as an example to prove that the cheat editor and usrcheat.dat work. This game isn't on codejunkies.com or cheat.dat.
- So, press Y and a new menu should pop up
Note that it says "User cheat code" (indicating that usrcheat.dat is in use) instead of "Cheat code + Date" (indicating cheat.dat is in use).
The top screen shows the list of cheats you have programmed. The touchscreen shows your options to enable/disable cheats.
- Select ALL
- Select NONE
- Save & exit
- Discard & exit
These are pretty much self explanatory.
- Cheat Enable/Disable
Enable or disable cheat mode for all games
- Game Enable/Disable
Enable or disable cheat mode for specific game. Enabled effect only works if Cheat is enabled.
So there you have it.
x Andy
