The internet has and continues to change the way society operates. The biggest thing the internet has going for it is instant availability for anything you could ever want. Be it from news, to sports, to knowledge, whatever, it's out there and waiting to be accessed whenever your heart desires. It's no surprise that this on demand media is killing the mediums of old: radio, newspapers, magazines, etc. However, the one that seems to be taking a hit the most, recently, is television. Why wait for a show to come on when you can just watch it on the internet whenever you want? Okay, this isn't really about the philosophies of the internet, but it seemed a nice segue into a recent project of mine.
For anybody who's perused the geek community long enough, you've probably heard of console modding. The act of taking a console and breaking it's will so that it becomes your little bitch and does whatever you say. I've done this before, most notably with the PS2 and the DS. I'd been using my PS2 to watch videos, but the media programs out there for it are nowhere near as extensive and awesome as Xbox Media Center (XBMC). This program is truly amazing. It is, by far, the best media center program in existance (yes, it trumps Windows Media Center and Front Row). XBMC has it all: support for more video codecs than actually exist, a beautiful interface, a robust scripting engine (a la Python), and it's open source to boot. It was this promise of media tranquility that pushed me to purchase a second hand Xbox ($60 from GameStop) and take a shot at modding its brains out. What I didn't realize, was that the road that lay before me was a long and bumpy one.
There are many ways to mod your Xbox, but all of them fall under two categories: modchipping and softmod. Modchipping (a word that I honestly just made up) is the act of actually soldering a chip to your Xbox that overrides it's flash bios and runs its own software. Having no soldering skills, I decided to go the safer route and did a soft mod. There are a goodly amount of softmods out there, but I used a combo of a game save exploit and hot swapping to get the job done. Hot swapping, in this case, is the act of swapping the IDE cable of the Xbox hard drive to hook it up to your PC so you can read and write files to it. It has to be done while the Xbox is running becase the drive is locked and only the Xbox that its shipped with can unlock it. I may post a condensed quide to the approach I used later, but here begins (finally) the sordid tale of my three days of agony.
Actuallt, I lied. A little more exposition is needed. The reason I chose to do a hot swap mod instead of the safer transfer a game save to the Xbox via USB drive was due solely to impatience. I would have needed to buy an adapter with which to hook up my fash drive which would mean ordering from some shady mod chip store online, waiting a week or two for delivery and I just didn't want to wait that long. Plus, being a guy whose messed with computer hardware before, I was pretty confident in my ability to pull this off.
So, I got home from buying my Xbox and set to work immediately. I was only a minute into the operation when I ran into my first major problem: the Xbox had torx screws, and I was fresh out of torx screwdrivers. So, instead of bugging my room mate to take back to the store to aquire said screwdrivers, I did what I usually do in this situation: find something else. In this case, I used the spare keys for my bike chain. A few minutes and torn up fingers later, the top came off and I was ready to do the swap.
Being that I only have a laptop, I couldn't plug the hard drive directly into my computer. As such, I had to go through a USB enclosure. This itself presented a myriad of problems, though I didn't realize it at the time. Perusing the intewebs had told me that I needed a program called hdd_driver to copy my stuff to the drive. So, going through the usual channels, I acquired myself a copy of that and was greeted by five thousand missing DLL errors. So, instead I decided to look for an alternative. The next thing I came across was a Linux distro with built-in FatX support (the file system type of Xbox). Attempting to use this raised one issue, though: it would only recognize drives plugged into an IDE channel (hda). Being that I've had some experience with various virtual machines, I knew qemu emulated this. So, I set up my environment and booted. However, I was greeted with "Xbox partitions not found".
I didn't realize it at the time, but I was not going about unlocking my drive properly at the time. Getting this done correctly is something that requires fast movements and, when you've bricked the dashboard, precise timing. Once I realized this and had gotten the drive recognized, I attempted to install my exploit (which was, at that time, a fonts exploit and not the game save one) via a handy little install script that came with the Linux distro. How nice is that? What I didn't realize at this point was that though my drive was recognized and could be read from, writing was not working correctly. So, this script did it's thing: it went and formatted the C drive and replaced all the dashboard files with the hacked versions... or at least tried to.
It came back with a few "unable to copy" errors which unnerved me a little, but I reconnected my Xbox correctly and booted it up only to be greeted by the ambiguous error 21. My dashboard was completely unbootable and with it so shrank my window of opportunity to hot swap while the drive was still unlocked. After about twenty or so tries I finally managed to get a good swap again and found that my C drive was in ruins... and there wasn't anything I could do about it. Everything I tried to do resulted in "Unable to copy. Read-only file system." At this point I thought it was because it couldn't delete the gibberish files that had been written from the script I had run. So, I decided to wait until the next day and pick up a copy of Splinter Cell and use the game save exploit for it.
So, I picked up Splinter Cell and proceeded to get the files necessary. After some time I managed to get a succesful swap again, erased my E drive (where the save games are stored) and attempted to copy over the data. I was again greeted with ominous "Read-only file system" error. I spent the rest of that day and most of the next basically doing the same thing: turn on Xbox, swap the drive, attempt to copy, fail, change something, rinse and repeat. Nothing worked, and I was afraid that I'd just wasted sixty bucks on a console that could only play games. Needless to say, I got really good at swapping the drive.
I was about to give up when I decided to blame something other than the Linux distro I was running. I decided to do two things: swap differently, and use a different IDE cable. The cable I had been using was a one device, 40-wire cable. I moved up to a two device, 80-wire cable and unplugged the DVD drive from the Xbox as well. By unplugging the DVD drive I gave myself a larger window of opportunity to swap as the system will fail that before it checks the hard drive. So, after I'd done this I went through the usual paces and, lo and behold, files were copied. To say I was ecstatic would be an understatement. With the exploit running and the FTP server working, I now had an easy way to transfer my files to and from the box and the rest went down pretty easily (there was one more minor hiccup, but something that I figured out pretty quickly).
So, now my Xbox is fully modded and running XBMC, and it is really freakin' sweet. All the pain and emotional anguish I suffered had finally paid off, and I now have cable television for the price of my internet connection and a one time fee of $60.
2007 was, indeed, a monumental year in gaming. So many triple A titles, ninety-nine percent of which were released in the holiday season making it very expensive for those who wanted to stay on top. Today I'm going to take a look back at gaming in 2007 (the games I have played, at least).
Wii
Wario Ware: Smooth Moves
This was my first foray into the world that is Wario Ware and, as such, cannot compare it to previous entries in the series. For the uninformed, Wario Ware is a collection of micro games, meaning each little game has one goal and you have about five (or less) seconds to complete said goal. The folks at Nintendo got incredibly inventive and this game shows off the abilities of the Wiimote excellently. As far as looks go there isn't anything jaw dropping, but the art direction can be hilarious at times and it certainly fits in with the zany, face paced style of the game. I only wish there were some better multiplayer options especially since this is a great party game (especially when over zealous players put their hand through a ceiling fan).
8/10 Stars
Super Paper Mario
Previous entries in the Paper Mario series have been more RPGish in that battles were turn based and you traversed the world in three dimensions. Super Paper Mario takes a more unique approach, cleverly blending old school platforming with RPG elements. There is, of course, the flip element to the game which makes you look at everything in a whole new perspective (forgive the pun). About the only caveat to this game would be the mansion level, but the clever puzzles mixed with awesome writing make this a must have game for the Wii.
8/10 Stars
Super Mario Galaxy
I will admit, I do not own this nor have I played it much. However, in my time with it I can see how it has gotten such high praise. The visuals alone are simply beautiful, I'd say the best looking of any game made this year. The music is a joy to listen to with many motifs going back to the days of Mario 3 and some Mario 64 selections as well. Most of it is orchestrated which makes it all the better. The best thing is, these are only the icing on an extremely delicious cake. The game play is simply fantastic. Gravity plays a huge role in the mechanics of this game and you had best be keeping that in mind whilst traversing the spherical levels. There's really not much to say about this game aside from that it's everything a Mario game should be.
10/10 Stars
Xbox 360
Crackdown
This is probably the must underrated game of the year. If you bought this game just for the Halo 3 beta, raise your hand. (raises hand) If that's the only reason you bought this game and never even played it, then you should be ashamed of yourself. I was originally going to pass on Crackdown and the Halo 3 beta, but after playing the demo I realized that it (Crackdown) was a really cool game. I've never played a sandbox game before and just the ability to go wherever and do whatever I wanted was awesome enough. Throw in being able to leap tall buildings in a single bound and run faster than your mom and you've got one sweet game. The ending does suck, but story isn't the most prominent aspect so I'll let it slide. I spent many a good hour with this game.
7/10 Stars
Eternal Sonata
Eternal Sonata was supposed to be the Final Fantasy for Xbox 360, at least in my eyes. It was simply gorgeous and it had an awesome battle system, however it is missing the one crucial element that a good RPG needs: story. I haven't played very far into this game because, quite frankly, I don't care about the characters. In games such as Final Fantasy VI or X there was enough story to keep me going to find out what happened. The problem with ES is that no real story has been setup after a few hours of play. There's been a little bit of character exposition, but not much compelling me to play through.
6/10 Stars
Halo 3
By far the most hyped game of the year, luckily it delivers. There really isn't much of a difference from the previous games, but enough of an evolution for me to say that it is the best looking, best playing Halo out there. Multiplayer still rocks, they brought back the assault rifle, and the addition of multiplayer match replays is very sweet. If you are a 360 owner and haven't bought this yet, you need to do some deep soul searching and then go and buy it.
8/10 Stars
Rock Band
Rock Band, aka Drum Hero or the Real Guitar Hero III, is by far the best rhythm game ever. Guitar Hero was awesome, but there's not much room left for innovation in that game outside of new songs. I don't know if this is what Harmonix was thinking or not, but they definitely upped the ante with Rock Band. Guitar is more or less the same, same for vocals if you've played Sing Star or Karaoke Revolution, but the drums is an entirely different beast. Getting all your limbs to work separately from each other can be a challenge, albeit a very satisfying one once you get the hang of it. In terms of song selection, there should be something for everyone especially with new downloadable tracks coming every week. The only thing about Rock Band is that, as the name suggests, you really have to play it with other people. Playing the solo tour is fun and all, but the multiplayer is where it's at. Paying attention to our band mates and saving them (or vice versa) adds an extra element to the game. The most awesome part, though, is when your singer can't sing. It can be hilarious and horrible... all at the same time.
10/10 Stars
Nintendo DS
Phoenix Wright: Justice for All
The Phoenix Wright series was already fairly well established by the time I got to it. I originally a half ass purchase as a game to play on my flight to Orlando in May. It turned out to be one of the best things I bought this year. Phoenix Wright was like an interactive Encyclopedia Brown story, only with killing and stuff. The stories are so intriguing that it is hard to put them down, and when you do finish you are saddened because the awesome ride you were just on ended. Graphically there's not much to see, though the artwork is nice. If you're into thinking type games you should definitely pick this one up.
9/10 Stars
The Legend of Zelda: The Phantom Hourglass
Zelda's first foray onto the Nintendo DS brought some radical changes to gameplay; namely, a game controlled entirely by the stylus. As bad as that may seem it works amazingly well. The game's visuals and sound are near identical to its predecessor, the Wind Waker. Despite all this, I felt the game was somewhat lacking and felt very scaled down. Granted, this is a protable release and the target audience was newcomers, but it still took away some of that Zelda feel. However, they still could've made some better music for the dungeons.
7/10 Stars
Portal
Just yesterday I picked up a copy of the Orange Box. Five games for fifty dollars is simply too good of a deal to pass up. At this point in time I have only installed/played/completed Portal. Portal is, by far, one of the most awesome games I've played in some time. The concept is insanely clever and forces you to think in a vastly different way. The writing is top notch and there were several things that I laughed out loud at. My only problem is that the game was far too short. I completed it in a few hours. Luckily there are advanced maps to complete yet and hopefully some stuff made by the community that I can get later.
9/10 Stars
If I had to pick one of these as my number one game of 2007 I would have to go with Rock Band. The drums are simply awesome and having a whole bunch of people doing co-op play makes for an awesome time. I would have to say Mario Galaxy would come in at a close second. It's awesome on too many fronts not to give honorable mention.
Well, there you have it. 2008 alredy looks to be promising with Brawl coming up right off the bat. Hopefully we'll see the same amount o quality games, but maybe released over a longer period of time. Happy New Year and keep gaming.
This will be my final dealing witht the Rock Band drums on Windows. In the last post I said I was going to make a GlovePIE script, but it seems I have been beaten to the punch. You'll find the script in the description of the linked video and I can confirm that it works with the 360 drum kit.
Here's a simple little program I whipped up to use the Rock Bad drums as a MIDI controller. I'll have a video up sometime later. NOTE - You'll need the .NET 2.0 Framework.
Note: I'm not providing any support for this program. It's up for those who want a MIDI solution.
Download
EDIT: Since it appears my program is complete crap, I now redirect you to somebody who's developed a much better piece of software (and probably spent much longer than fifteen minutes developing it). Enjoy!
Everything I had posted here before is now outdated (and more than likely was when I came up with this). The latest Xinput driver from Microsoft supports the Harmonix controllers out of the box (people who think I'm fake probably already had this). You can get the 32-bit version here and the 64-bit version here.
Be sure to check out Andrew Rudson's Drum Machine
Answers to common questions:
Does this work for PS2 or PS3 controllers?
No. This driver is for Xbox 360 compliant controllers. Seeing as I don't have either of those, I don't know their level of support.
Do the Xbox 360 work on the PS3/PS2 version (or vica versa)
More than likely not, but once again I don't have anything to test it out with.
You're not a hacker. I plugged mine in and it just worked.
Not really a question, but:
A) I had old drivers when I did this (Nov '07). The old drivers didn't support anything outside of Microsoft Xbox 360 controllers. The newer drivers have been rewritten to support third party contrllers.
B) Hacker is (or was) a synonym for programmer, so once again, you're wrong.
I have a problem with my computer. Can you fix it?
Being a full-time college student I don't have time to attend to every little problem. There's an internet full of willing people who are much smarter than I and have far more time.
No time? But you made this! You obviously have no life!
I made this in half an hour (video included). And it was over Thanksgiving break at that. You, my fine sir, troll the internet telling people they have no life when it is in fact you that have no life. Seriously, go and get yourself a girlfriend. Once again, you lose.
Okay, enough poking fun at people. I hope this brings all the confusion and chaos to a close.