Backup Tech.

[Ambrai]

Findings:

Sega does NOTHING to your VMU in terms of writing code.

They are tracking the code in your VMU for certian things (which I will not release)

You can swap vmu's during the dialup/logon process.

Swapping VMU's when online boots you off.



The Tech:

This tech can only protect a current char that you have now that can go online. At least we can protect ourselves from this point on.

You need the following to do this. The initial setup is tedious but after that its a 5 second process to save your char every day.

You need:

Browser disk with ability to email the char save to yourself.

2 VMU's


Email your char save to yourself and download it into a second VMU with the guild card. So you will have 2 copys of your char.

Pick a VMU to use and go online with it, play for 10 minutes and be sure to gain xp to make sure the server recoginzes the file. Exit and save the game.

Now relog online. While it is dialing pull the VMU out and replace it with your backup. What this does is if you crash you will lose a old copy of your char (woopie). When you are done playing just exit as normal. It will save the file to the VMU and that VMU is now your main one. (note you will be switching VMU's like this each time you go online).

BOOOMMMMM, your DC just locked up and you lost your char =..(. So what you need to do is figure out how long you played for online and how much xp you gained in that time period. You MUST exceed both numbers before you go online. And no you cant play an old backup past what your char was when it crashed because the server side monitoring will pick it out.

So just throw in the main VMU and play offline til you exceed those numbers and go online and party http://www.pso-world.com/images/phpbb/icons/icon_cool.gif.

It sounds tedious but once you get to the point of just swapping out VMU's its very easy. Takes a second and a half to switch em and thats all you have to do to back up from now on http://www.pso-world.com/images/phpbb/icons/icon_cool.gif.


Enjoy!!!


Big thanks to Ranova and the 2k girl for pushing me to keep going when I was about to give up http://www.pso-world.com/images/phpbb/icons/icon_cool.gif.

[MiNdPuZzLa]

Looks very familiar to my old technique except mine require no e-mail!!!


My Method:
The Double Power VMU technique by MINDPUZZLA
Date Created: Mon, 19 Feb 2001 08:11:09 -0800 (PST)


1. Purchase a Double Power VMU by Innovations(Found easily a www.levelsix.com)

2. Have or get two VMU's. One needs to be blank(so
that you dont over write any files that may exist on
it).

3. While the Double Power VMU is OFF insert the 1st
VMU(the one with the PSO save on it) into the side
labeled SOURCE.

4. While the Double Power VMU is OFF insert the 2nd
VMU(the blank one) into the side labeled TARGET.

5. Turn on the Double Power VMU, wait for logos to
load in both VMU's, Press the red button on top of the
Double Power VMU. Seconds later you have two VMU's
with the same files one them including PSO.

The steps for PSO backing-up are as follows:

1. Turn on PSO with VMU A in.

2. Load your game(online or offline)

3. Once you are online(before dial-up) or offline quickly swap VMU A
with VMU B(the one you've used the Double Power VMU on
if you've done the VMU swap as stated above)

4. Once that is done whenever you are ready to save
quit game as normal and it will save to the VMU.

5. Repeat steps as needed (Read note if you don't
understand this part).

NOTE: ONCE THE NEW SAVE IS SAVED ON THE NEW CARD. VMU
B BECOMES THE NEW VMU A.

[watashiwa]

For those who got semi-confused on how Ambrai explained how to do the new back-up method (like me), I put it into some what of a simpler explanation. (All credit to Ambrai for original post and routine . . .)

Here goes:

1. Make a copy of your character on another VMU.
2. Logon to PSO with main VMU and play for 10 minutes. (Make sure to gain experience.)
3. Quit and save.
4. Logon to PSO with main VMU but during the connection procedure swap VMUs with your backup VMU..
5. When done playing, quit and save normally. (With backup VMU in place.)
6. Your backup VMU is now your main VMU and vice versa.
7. Repeat steps 4 through 6 each time you sign on.

Should your Dreamcast crash and you lose your character, you will have to load your backup VMU character and play offline to gain an exceeding number of experience and playtime. Once you have exceeded your experience and playtime values, you can once again go online. Start the process all over again from step 1 when you succeed from recovering from a backup. (So you now have another working backup of your character . . .)

Again, all credit to Ambrai.

<font size=1>[ This message was edited by: watashiwa on 2001-03-13 15:25 ]</font>

[dev1nsan]

Damn so if your character can't go online without losing everything right now than you still can't do it, right. DAAAMMNN http://www.pso-world.com/images/phpbb/icons/icon_frown.gif

[AdoptedDeV]

DAMNIT! still requires e-mail access... juno blocks off e-mail and I don't know how to use juno's email through the browser. So is there anyway to send your file to an e-mail addr? Kinda like the snapshot.

Could this work if you used GameShark to make the second save cuz like I said I don't have access to email through Juno. I've tried a million different things I just get "Server is busy" when I try e-mail.

[swartt-cm-]

at what point in the connection process do i switch the VMU?... do i have to play 10 min and gain exp on the first vmu every time?

[watashiwa]

You only have to play for 10 minutes or so once. You change the VMU during the starburst screen, just right before you fully connect. (I'm guessing . . I'm currently at work so I haven't had the ability to test it. Ambrai, would you please verify? I'm pretty sure I'm right about this though.)

[Spy]

Cool Ambrai, thanks for posting it

[Spitfire]

Maybe I'll give that a try sometime...

[SAYAN]

ok im consfused about this u can only play 4 10 mins b4 u have 2 switch exit and switch the vmus? or r u just playing 4 this 10 mins 2 test it out cus if u have 2 keep switching every 10 mins this trick isnt worth the effort.

[Stoned_Cat]

Cool...

[Manny]

When you use the backup save (it hasnt become main yet) will it mess up the file if you play less time than the last one or get less exp?

<font size=1>[ This message was edited by: Manny on 2001-03-13 20:03 ]</font>

[Manny]

Oh yeah and couldnt you just make a back up and when your file corrupted you would just exceed the time? (Could take a long time but just wondering)

[Stinger]

im confused!I have a question is it just a charackter backup or will the Items get backuped,too!?
Im woundering becouse when you go online with the main VMU and play for 10 minutes and than save!
Than the main File (VMU) is newer as the Backup and than when you switch the vmu?s dont get the Backup resetet?Becouse the server regioized that it is a backup or am i wrong? *totalyconfused*

[Manny]

Items get saved when you backup a character.

[Ambrai]

Q. When do you swap VMU's?

A. When you start to go online and the screen comes up that says 'now dialing', look down at your VMU and if there is no activity you swap the VMU then.

Q. Why do I have to play for 10 minutes and whats that about?

A. The first time you log you are playing for 10 minutes (gaining xp) so that the sega server recoginzes the save. During this step you would have loaded your main save and swapped VMU's as outlined during the dialup process. The main reason is so that you can save up to date server information on your second VMU.

After this you can swap VMU's during the dialup as normal for this process.

[Defend]

Yes, why can't you just hold one backup file for ages, then play offline to increase EXP and time if your main file crashes?
Sounds like what people usually did in the first place.


Also, what about duping. Is this stopping the old basic 'grab a friend and dupe' method at all?

So basically, the server change is completely avoided by having the right VMU in when you load a character at the start, then changing to another VMU as it dials up.

Which info is loaded online? The first one I assume.

[Ambrai]

Aye the first one is loaded before you see the 'now dialing' screen.

[AdoptedDeV]

Ok, but you still didn't answer my question if i can use the backup I made w/ the GS code?

All I can assume is thats the one thing SEGA scans your VMU for, but you'll most likely never say.

[Ambrai]

I belive that you can use a GS but it really depends on when it was saved. Its just easier to do it this way.

[Adamh411]

What if you have the 4x memory card from sega, can you just push the bank button instead of switching VMUs? That would make it really easy.

[Defend]

Ha! Hey yeh! Good point! I'm sure that would work.

As far as I can see it, you can still use this method to dupe. Load one card, swap while dialing if you want. Give all yer gear to a mate, quit. Offline, use other card to beat time and EXP, go online, get gear.

Great. I'd rather have neither.

[ArtemisX]

Hey guys, I'll see if I can trick the Juno servers so we can use e-mail. Unfortunately, I don't think I can use my @home email without actually getting a BBA.

[-Excalibur-]

Guys, I think you dont even need the email to copy your guild save file. If I am right then this should work:

1. Put 2 VMUs in your controller(the vmu with your character and the vmu you want to copy to)

2. Start up the Dreamcast without any disc in it.

3. Go to File

4. Go to the vmu that has the guild save on it.

5. Select the PSO Guild file and press A

6. Select Copy and press A

7. Then select the VMU you want to copy to and press A

8. File Copied!

This will not work with the main save file because it is an uncopyable file.