New Macross Game from Sega for PS2

[g3173]

Hello Everyone,

Not sure it this has been asked, but can you go from ground fights and then switch to fighter mode and have a dog fight? Or is there a magical bubble that blocks you from taking off into the air like BattleCry.

Thanks,

Gene

[Bub]

Hello Everyone,

Not sure it this has been asked, but can you go from ground fights and then switch to fighter mode and have a dog fight? Or is there a magical bubble that blocks you from taking off into the air like BattleCry.

Thanks,

Gene

Yes, there's a "magical bubble" in the ground stages like in Mars.

Stages like the duel with Millia also has the "magical bubble" but is very big so you can have dog fights.

OT: Whew, I've been out for the longest time. nice to be back... Now let me read the thread on Toynami's DYRL? toys...

[Macross_Fanboy]

I had a thought the other day. What if the extra VFs (YF-19, YF-21, SV-51 & VF-0S) are actually still in the game and to unlock then it takes something that probably nobody has done yet, such as getting an 'S' grade in every mission using the VF-4 or using Hikaru or Roy's VF-1S.

I mean most people quit playing once they unlock Max, Hikaru and Roy's VF-1S. I doubt anybody bothers to play through the game to get 'S' grades a second time.

I'm probably dreaming.

Graham

I'm trying to do it!

[Gaijin]

I had a thought the other day.  What if the extra VFs (YF-19, YF-21, SV-51 & VF-0S) are actually still in the game and to unlock then it takes something that probably nobody has done yet, such as getting an 'S' grade in every mission using the VF-4 or using Hikaru or Roy's VF-1S.

I mean most people quit playing once they unlock Max, Hikaru and Roy's VF-1S. I doubt anybody bothers to play through the game to get 'S' grades a second time.

I'm probably dreaming.

Graham

I'm trying to do it!

If it were, I'm sure it would have been brought up in the Japanese gaming magazines...which to my knowledege never has.

I think they just figured, all hell, we have enough already.

[Spider-X]

I wonder... is there some "Ultimate PS2 Macross - Guide Book" or something, that's describes how to unlock those planes.

Or did Bandai/ Sega AM2 included the shot's of the VF-0, YF-19 etc. to get more people to buy it?

[Bub]

I wonder... is there some "Ultimate PS2 Macross - Guide Book" or something, that's describes how to unlock those planes.

Or did Bandai/ Sega AM2 included the shot's of the VF-0, YF-19 etc. to get more people to buy it?

A couple of months ago, I was able to secure a copy of a Macross PS2 gamebook.

Nothing special. Just a few graphics and mostly screen shots. Too bad I can't read Japanese...

... The other planes YF-19 etc.?!!! Oh yeah. What ever happened to that? I thought there's gonna be some sort of sequel!!!

[JB0]

... The other planes YF-19 etc.?!!!  Oh yeah. What ever happened to that? I thought there's gonna be some sort of sequel!!! 

Funny, first thing I thought when I saw this thread up top again was "Another one?"

Then I realized we couldn't have generated 21 pages of posts(yes, I did in fact change the posts per page setting in my profile) if it was a new thread.

Edited May 29, 2005 by JB0

[VT 1010]

The m+/m0 valks could still be in the game. There could be some button combo or hidden menu or something that allows you to use them. If anyone can access the source code, that may have all the answers. Or maybe there's way to contact somebody from the development team and ask them...

Of course, they may have been taken out of the game. I was just now thinking, HG has used the majority of valks in the game (with the exception of the VT-1 and VE-1. Not sure about the strike though) for various products, like comics, books, games, and toys (even the VF-4). They may have taken out the other valks with the intention of releasing it here in the U.S. under the Robotech liscense. There were discussions and rumors about it being released in the states anyway?

Maybe I'm wrong, I don't know...

Thoughts?

EDIT: Oops, accidentally pasted the wrong thing.

Edited May 29, 2005 by VT 1010

[JB0]

The m+/m0 valks could still be in the game. There could be some button combo or hidden menu or something that allows you to use them. If anyone can access the source code, that may have all the answers. Or maybe there's way to contact somebody from the development team and ask them...

Can't access the source code unless you're on teh dev team. It's not shipped out on the game disks.

Disassembling the binary would leave you with a heap of uncommented assembly code, and hypothetically you COULD hunt codes down in that. But it'd be a royal pain in the butt.

So yeah, getting ahold of hte dev team would be the way to go.

[Wes]

... The other planes YF-19 etc.?!!!  Oh yeah. What ever happened to that? I thought there's gonna be some sort of sequel!!!  

Funny, first thing I thought when I saw this thread up top again was "Another one?"

Damnit me too, I about crapped my pants when I saw it from the main page.

Edited May 30, 2005 by Wes

[VF-18S Hornet]

Well I took a look at the site, too bad it's in Japanese (damn lousy school counselors for not letting me take a course on it) Anyway from the way it looks and starts out it's similar to the Macross DYRL game that I have for the Saturn with a few differences. In the DYRL game the Macross launched with the ARMD carriers attached and folds away, but in this new game they have the Macross without them launching and folding intothe outskirts of our solar system just like the events in the TV Series.

Edited May 30, 2005 by VF-18S Hornet

[Macross_Fanboy]

So what are the exact flyable Valkyries?? Is the SDP-1 Stampede unlockable as well? I still haven't unlocked the GBP-1S Armor yet, I've pretty much got the basics and I'm trying to get Max's and Roy's paint schemes still.

[VT 1010]

Can't access the source code unless you're on teh dev team. It's not shipped out on the game disks.

Disassembling the binary would leave you with a heap of uncommented assembly code, and hypothetically you COULD hunt codes down in that. But it'd be a royal pain in the butt.

So yeah, getting ahold of hte dev team would be the way to go.

Is there a way to hack the game and get the source code? Don't they get gameshark codes by hacking the games? I also remember some people with a modded xbox messed with Halo and started changing different elements in the game (like flying the banshee at the beginning of Halo, playing as a marine, visiting every sqaure inch of a level, etc.). Would there be a way to do this Macross?

[JB0]

Can't access the source code unless you're on teh dev team. It's not shipped out on the game disks.

Disassembling the binary would leave you with a heap of uncommented assembly code, and hypothetically you COULD hunt codes down in that. But it'd be a royal pain in the butt.

So yeah, getting ahold of hte dev team would be the way to go.

Is there a way to hack the game and get the source code?

Nope. They only distribute compiled binaries.

And all you can get from those is uncommented assembly code, which is near-impossible to read.

Back in the days before the PlayStation, uncommented assembly was close to source code, because console games were written in assembly.

If you knew your stuff you could trace the code and figure out what was going on, though it would take some work(even fully commented source is hard to figure out sometimes).

But modern games are written in a high-level language and then compiled. And compiler-generated assembly is totally insane from a human point of view.

Don't they get gameshark codes by hacking the games?

I would bet that they watch the RAM to see what addresses change with what game effects, much like you do if you make your own codes.

But they've got better equipment for the task(say, a deck with a memory monitor in it), making it easier to find codes as well as to find more complex codes.

I also remember some people with a modded xbox messed with Halo and started changing different elements in the game (like flying the banshee at the beginning of Halo, playing as a marine, visiting every sqaure inch of a level, etc.).

Without knowing what was going on there, I can't make more than a guess as to what they did.

I'm betting there weren't any changes made to the exectuable, though.

Would there be a way to do this Macross?

That depends VERY greatly on the programming style used.

But hacking the executable can be pretty much discarded outright in terms of feasability.

What you likely CAN do is skim through the data files.

Find where it keeps fighter information and check if the rumored VFs are in the list.

That'll at least answer if they're there.

If they're there, the EASY thing to do would be hack a RAM code to replace an existing fighter with the desired one.

I strongly suspect they were thrown out of the game; but it is quite possible that while the mechanism to unlock them was removed, the models, texture maps, and data entries were left on the disk(it's happened before).

[VT 1010]

What you likely CAN do is skim through the data files.

Find where it keeps fighter information and check if the rumored VFs are in the list.

That'll at least answer if they're there.

Ok, so I just scan the data files...How would I do that?

If they're there, the EASY thing to do would be hack a RAM code to replace an existing fighter with the desired one.

I wouldn't really know were to begin with that either...

I strongly suspect they were thrown out of the game; but it is quite possible that while the mechanism to unlock them was removed, the models, texture maps, and data entries were left on the disk(it's happened before).

That's exactly what I was thinking.

My theory is that they were considering releasing it in the U.S. under the Robotech title (there were rumors about this too). But since HG didn't own the rights to Plus or Zero, they had to take the valks out at the last minute. Even though the bastardiza-er, I mean "importation" of the game never happen, they didn't bother to fix it for the Japanese release.

This leaves the question: Did they COMPLETELY remove every trace of the valks, or are they still there, hidden under the surface from us?

[JB0]

What you likely CAN do is skim through the data files.

Find where it keeps fighter information and check if the rumored VFs are in the list.

That'll at least answer if they're there.

Ok, so I just scan the data files...How would I do that?

That depends on exactly how they're formatted.

The first, and least likely to work, thing would be to open them in a plain text editor like Windows Notepad, and search for the proper string.

This is the only one that's really EASY to do. Beyond that you need some knowledge of how exactly it works.

If they're there, the EASY thing to do would be hack a RAM code to replace an existing fighter with the desired one.

I wouldn't really know were to begin with that either...

Still the easiest way to replace a fighter. Find the RAM address that stores your current fighter, and stuff in a value that corresponds to one of the "hidden" mechs with an Action Replay or similar.

I strongly suspect they were thrown out of the game; but it is quite possible that while the mechanism to unlock them was removed, the models, texture maps, and data entries were left on the disk(it's happened before).

That's exactly what I was thinking.

My theory is that they were considering releasing it in the U.S. under the Robotech title (there were rumors about this too). But since HG didn't own the rights to Plus or Zero, they had to take the valks out at the last minute. Even though the bastardiza-er, I mean "importation" of the game never happen, they didn't bother to fix it for the Japanese release.

*shakes head*

If they wanted to release it as a Robotech game, they'd dummy the non-RT mechs out of the US release, but leave the JP ones in there.

Regional changes are nothing new.

This leaves the question: Did they COMPLETELY remove every trace of the valks, or are they still there, hidden under the surface from us?

Personal bet: PARTS of the missing VFs are there. But not enough to fly them.

[VT 1010]

Ok, I'll try and see what I can come up with.

If they wanted to release it as a Robotech game, they'd dummy the non-RT mechs out of the US release, but leave the JP ones in there.

Regional changes are nothing new.

HG has used all the valks currently in the game (VF-4 included) in some sort of RT product, with the execption of the Ostrich and Elintseeker. With the super posable figures, they've already tried milking the original version of the macross TV series and DYRL. They released the un RT'd series and I wouldn't be suprised if they tried to release DYRL in the future.

There could have been some discussion about releasing it in the US. This game was already being made by someone else, so all HG would have to do is get someone to "translate" it for the US. Somebody else does all the work, while they exploit it (sound familiar). HG might have made the demand that those valks had to be taken out in order to be released here (due to Manga having the rights to M+ and BW having M0).

How about this for a scenario:

The devlopment team has already created the valks and put them into an early build of the game. They get an order from the higher ups to remove them (for the afformentioned reasons). Instead of completely removing them, they just disable the ability to use them. The game was either released in Japan before the deal went south or they just didn't bother to put them back in (maybe it was time constraints or lasiness, I don't know).

This is all speculation, of course. It's late where I am, so I could just be talking out of my ass. I think I can taste a little toe-jam*...

The point being, we don't know any cold, hard facts about the missing valks. All we have are guesses. Checking every bit (no pun intended) of the game will answer at least some of our questions.

Does anybody know how to contact the developer and ask them?

BTW, I wonder if there's a way to get an early build of the game, like the one used in the demo movie...

*reference to foot being in mouth, meaning to talk like a dumbass.

[JB0]

If they wanted to release it as a Robotech game, they'd dummy the non-RT mechs out of the US release, but leave the JP ones in there.

Regional changes are nothing new.

HG has used all the valks currently in the game (VF-4 included) in some sort of RT product, with the execption of the Ostrich and Elintseeker. With the super posable figures, they've already tried milking the original version of the macross TV series and DYRL. They released the un RT'd series and I wouldn't be suprised if they tried to release DYRL in the future.

There could have been some discussion about releasing it in the US. This game was already being made by someone else, so all HG would have to do is get someone to "translate" it for the US. Somebody else does all the work, while they exploit it (sound familiar). HG might have made the demand that those valks had to be taken out in order to be released here (due to Manga having the rights to M+ and BW having M0).

Bandai would've likely done the localization in-house.

And as they very likely got the original source code from Sega, it'd be easy to "dummy out" the planes they weren't going to be using for the US release WITHOUT crippling the Japanese version.

Better yet, they could replace the "offending" VFs with suitable Robotech vehicles.

Why NOT add a Alpha and a Beta into the game? It'd be fairly easy if you already HAD some secret mechs programmed in.

Obviously, they wouldn't be dockable, as there's no code in the game for mating fighters, but other than that you could do a fully-functional version of either one.

Though there may be some scale issues(aren't Alphas/Legiosses like half the size of the VF-1?).

How about this for a scenario:

The devlopment team has already created the valks and put them into an early build of the game.  They get an order from the higher ups to remove them (for the afformentioned reasons).

The aforementioned reasons are actually kind of silly and most assuredly NOT the reason they're missing.

No offense.

Instead of completely removing them, they just disable the ability to use them.  The game was either released in Japan before the deal went south or they just didn't bother to put them back in (maybe it was time constraints or lasiness, I don't know). 

Actually, this conversation HAS left me with a half-formed idea.

The VF-0 and MacPlus YFs are a fair bit larger than the VF-1 and VF-4. There may've been a few points in the game where they had some gameplay issues due to the bigger models, which would've made them undesirable to leave active.

Not familiar enough with the game to offer it as a concrete theory, though it sounds plausable enough.

If nothing else, it would enlarge your hit area, making the game harder than it was designed to be.

The point being, we don't know any cold, hard facts about the missing valks.  All we have are guesses.  Checking every bit (no pun intended) of the game will answer at least some of our questions.

Indeed. Though you may have to hunt down someone a bit more knowledgable than me to verify it.

I don't really expect anything in there to be readable without specialized software, but it HAS been known to happen.

Does anybody know how to contact the developer and ask them?

Nope. Not that I expect they'd answer anyways.

BTW, I wonder if there's a way to get an early build of the game, like the one used in the demo movie...

Alphas and betas(in the sense of pre-release revisions of software, not the Robotech versions of MOSPEADA mechs) HAVE been known to surface from time to time. Odds are there IS a copy or 2 out there, but good luck figuring out who has them.

...

Actually, members of the dev team are most likely to have copies.

Several pre-release revisions have surfaced that way(the "perfect" build of Sinistar being a notable one), or while unreleased to the public are known to exist(a late beta of the N64 Robotech game being an example this board would recognize). A copy of PS2 Macross with the VF-0 and YF-* enabled would be EXACTLY the kind of thing a dev team member would be likely to burn a copy of for their private collection.

[Renato]

Man, this really has turned into a big, dirty mess. It's an OK game, but with the added bonus of choosing different fighters this could have been the best Macross game of all. As is, it's very easy to tire of.

The more I hear about what could have been, the more I feel I've been ripped off, and left with "Not Very Variable" Fighters.

[Noyhauser]

Ok, I'll try and see what I can come up with.

If they wanted to release it as a Robotech game, they'd dummy the non-RT mechs out of the US release, but leave the JP ones in there.

Regional changes are nothing new.

HG has used all the valks currently in the game (VF-4 included) in some sort of RT product, with the execption of the Ostrich and Elintseeker. With the super posable figures, they've already tried milking the original version of the macross TV series and DYRL. They released the un RT'd series and I wouldn't be suprised if they tried to release DYRL in the future.

There could have been some discussion about releasing it in the US. This game was already being made by someone else, so all HG would have to do is get someone to "translate" it for the US. Somebody else does all the work, while they exploit it (sound familiar). HG might have made the demand that those valks had to be taken out in order to be released here (due to Manga having the rights to M+ and BW having M0).

How about this for a scenario:

The devlopment team has already created the valks and put them into an early build of the game. They get an order from the higher ups to remove them (for the afformentioned reasons). Instead of completely removing them, they just disable the ability to use them. The game was either released in Japan before the deal went south or they just didn't bother to put them back in (maybe it was time constraints or lasiness, I don't know).

This is all speculation, of course. It's late where I am, so I could just be talking out of my ass. I think I can taste a little toe-jam*...

The point being, we don't know any cold, hard facts about the missing valks. All we have are guesses. Checking every bit (no pun intended) of the game will answer at least some of our questions.

Does anybody know how to contact the developer and ask them?

BTW, I wonder if there's a way to get an early build of the game, like the one used in the demo movie...

*reference to foot being in mouth, meaning to talk like a dumbass.

I seriously doubt that there was any thought brought to this. Especially given Bandai's tumultous history with HG which reportedly sank their last attempt to bring a game over to this side of the ocean. I think they have essentially forsaken the North American market, and rather not deal with HG at all because of the implications it could have.

Also HG does not have the rights to the VF-4's transformation, they have it for the desk model of it in fighter mode, but not of the actual fighter transformation that first appeared in Digital Mission VF-X. Thats why you never see the VF-4 in battroid mode in any of HG's works because they do not have the licence for it.

[VT 1010]

The aforementioned reasons are actually kind of silly and most assuredly NOT the reason they're missing.

No offense.

None taken. If people didn't point out when I said something stupid, I'd continue to make myself look like an idiot.

 

Does anybody know how to contact the developer and ask them?

Nope. Not that I expect they'd answer anyways.

If we can, it's worth a shot...

Alphas and betas(in the sense of pre-release revisions of software, not the Robotech versions of MOSPEADA mechs) HAVE been known to surface from time to time. Odds are there IS a copy or 2 out there, but good luck figuring out who has them.

...

Actually, members of the dev team are most likely to have copies.

Several pre-release revisions have surfaced that way(the "perfect" build of Sinistar being a notable one), or while unreleased to the public are known to exist(a late beta of the N64 Robotech game being an example this board would recognize). A copy of PS2 Macross with the VF-0 and YF-* enabled would be EXACTLY the kind of thing a dev team member would be likely to burn a copy of for their private collection.

Stuff like that happens all the time with other games, so it could have happened to this one too.

I remember when Halo 2 was being beta (I think it was beta, but it may have been a later build)tested, Bungie mailed the games to some of the testers (I can't remember why they did that. I think they wanted them to do some Xbox Live testing or something from home). Doesn't mean somebody didn't burn themselves their own personal copy of H2. This could have happened with macross.

How we are going find a copy, I have no idea...

Until then I will search through the game and see what I can come up with. JBO, is there a site that has some intructions and details for what you were suggesting earlier, or any sites that might help me with looking through the game?

[JB0]

I remember when Halo 2 was being beta (I think it was beta, but it may have been a later build)tested,

It's beta from when they move out of alpha until it's finalized. Beta covers a VERY wide range of products.

Bungie mailed the games to some of the testers (I can't remember why they did that.  I think they wanted them to do some Xbox Live testing or something from home).  Doesn't mean somebody didn't burn themselves their own personal copy of H2.  This could have happened with macross.

I'd bet people DID burn some copies.

And public betas aren't anything new. Among other things, it gets a wider variety of testers. In-house testing only gets you so far, eventually you have to turn it loose to the masses and see what they can find.

Until then I will search through the game and see what I can come up with.  JBO, is there a site that has some intructions and details for what you were suggesting earlier, or any sites that might help me with looking through the game?

Not that I know of.

Odds are good that the data's compressed. You'd need to be able to identify what compression scheme is being used, which requires a fair bit of technical knowledge(I don't have it).

[Sumdumgai]

I had a thought the other day.  What if the extra VFs (YF-19, YF-21, SV-51 & VF-0S) are actually still in the game and to unlock then it takes something that probably nobody has done yet, such as getting an 'S' grade in every mission using the VF-4 or using Hikaru or Roy's VF-1S.

I mean most people quit playing once they unlock Max, Hikaru and Roy's VF-1S. I doubt anybody bothers to play through the game to get 'S' grades a second time.

I'm probably dreaming.

Graham

87690[/snapback]

Sorry for bumping this old topic. I bought the game recently and have been playing it like crazy. I already unlocked all the paint schemes including Roy.

Now, I just went through all the missions that you can play the VF-4 with and got all S grades. Nothing happened, so I'm going to try going through all the missions with Roy's VF-1S. I'll bump the thread again when I'm done with that.

[VF-0S FAN]

I had a thought the other day.  What if the extra VFs (YF-19, YF-21, SV-51 & VF-0S) are actually still in the game and to unlock then it takes something that probably nobody has done yet, such as getting an 'S' grade in every mission using the VF-4 or using Hikaru or Roy's VF-1S.

I mean most people quit playing once they unlock Max, Hikaru and Roy's VF-1S. I doubt anybody bothers to play through the game to get 'S' grades a second time.

I'm probably dreaming.

Graham

87690[/snapback]

Sorry for bumping this old topic. I bought the game recently and have been playing it like crazy. I already unlocked all the paint schemes including Roy.

Now, I just went through all the missions that you can play the VF-4 with and got all S grades. Nothing happened, so I'm going to try going through all the missions with Roy's VF-1S. I'll bump the thread again when I'm done with that.

324471[/snapback]

Naughty guy

I thought there was a new game !!! I was very surprised cause I work in the video game industry and never heard about a new Macross game. Shame on you just married Man