Star Ocean Save State Hacking Guide Usable with the ZSNES emulator (.zst style save states) Written by Thundergod (dragon_god_inferno@yahoo.com) Version 1.0: First draft, most of the character information. Version 2.0: Whoo hoo! Found Talents, Skills, and items! Unpublished work Copyright 2001 Thundergod This FAQ is for private and personal use only. It can only be reproduced electronically, and if placed on a web page or site, may be altered as long as this disclaimer and the above copyright notice appears in full. This FAQ is not to be used for profitable/promotional purposes; this includes being used by publishers of magazines, guides, books, etc. or being incorporated into magazines, etc. in ANY way. This FAQ was created and is owned by me, Thundergod . All copyrights and trademarks are acknowledged that are not specifically mentioned in this FAQ. Please give credit where it is due. Thanks go to: Ragnarosen (ragnarosen@hotmail.com) for the form of the following paragraph, and for the section on hexadecimal. Kao Megura (kmegura@yahoo.com) for the copyright statement. To download ROMs and emulators for all systems, go to www.pe2000.net. To alter the statistics of your characters through hacking into your save state (or .zst file), you'll need to go to Break Point Software (http://www.bpsoft.com) and download a program called "Hex Workshop." Once you're finished downloading and the program is finished running SETUP.EXE automatically, open Hex Workshop and use it to open any Star Ocean .zst files you may have. NOTE: This Hacking Guide was designed for use with the ZSNES emulator, and was hacked with Break Point Software's Hex Workshop. This guide will not work with any other programs, as each one works with the save states differently. My favorite version of Hex Workshop is v2.54, as it is easier to use than the others, so I recommend you get that version. ----------------------------------------------------------- OFFSETS: Most of the questions I get anymore have to do with offsets - what are they, how do I tell what I'm editing, I don't understand hacking in general, etc. As far as I am concerned, the Help Section is as thorough is it is going to get. The only way I could explain it any better would be to point at the screen and say, "See that there? That's what you need to change!" Since I can't do that, you'll just have to be on your own if you need any help more detailed than what I have included below. If you REALLY cannot figure out offsets and hacking on your own, read the Hex Workshop help file. For the best explanation (with pictures), open the help file and click on the Find tab. Search for offset, click on the first option (there should be four), and click on "How to Hex Edit" in the box below. Read over that very carefully, and you should have no trouble with hacking and finding offsets after that. If you STILL do not understand, then odds are hacking is, quite seriously, not for you. If you have reached this stage and do not understand, do not e-mail me, for I will not be able to help you. DO NOT ASK ME TO HACK FILES FOR YOU! I will ignore any request to do so. ----------------------------------------------------------- Help! Answers for commonly asked questions: You don't use a cartridge in the SNES for this process. Have you heard of emulation? An emulator is a program on your PC (or Mac) that you can use to play the games you have. First, you need to download an emulator (ZSNES is the best, in my opinion) and the Star Ocean ROM. Once you have both, load up the ROM in your emulator. If you are using ZSNES, press F2 to save the game's state. This will make a copy of that EXACT moment in the game, so when you load the state (F4) it will reappear right at that point. Now that you have a save state file (.zst for ZSNES), load up Hex Workshop, load the save state, and hack away! This can only be done on the computer, when you are using an emulator (like ZSNES) and ROMs (in this case, Star Ocean.) Go to www.pe2000.net for ROMs, emulators, and how to use them. If you already know, and/or are already using an emulator, then move on to the next paragraph. Otherwise, get them so that you can follow the rest of this. Once you are using an emulator, you may have found out how to use save states. Basically, save states save all the details of your game at that exact moment. Thus, you can use it more often, and faster, than regular saving. For example, if you want to save your state right before making a choice (like a fork in the road,) if you choose the wrong path, you can just load up your save state and choose again. At any rate, to begin hacking, go to the Breakpoint software homepage (www.bpsoft.com) and download a copy of Hex Workshop. Load up your favorite emulator (whatever that may be) and make a save state. A ZSNES save state will have the same name as the ROM, and will have the file extension .zst. For ZSNES (the best emulator , in my opinion) press F2 to save a state, and F4 to load a state. Next, load up Hex Workshop and load the save state (ex: so.zst) Use the "Go To" command, which is under the Edit menu, to get to the offset you are looking for. For example, if the offset is 90B4, type 90B4 in the "Go To" box and press enter, and it will take you right to it. Keep in mind that this all uses the hexadecimal system, which means that not only is there 0 - 9, but also A - F. A = 10, B = 11, and so on. This is called hexadecimal because there are 16 numbers instead of ten. So, let's say that offset 8067 is the offset for guts, and you want guts to be at max (255, FF in hexadecimal). Use "Go To" to go to offset 8067, and then type in FF. Next, save the data, and open the emulator again. Load the state, and voila! the character's guts will be at 255. Note that you can make as many changes as you want before reloading the state (not just one, as in the example), and that you should close the loaded save file (though not necessarily Hex Workshop) before reloading the state. To find a particular offset easily, use the "Go To" command in the edit menu (I think). Remember, because of the hexadecimal system you can also enter letters from A to F. For example, if the offset is 2041A, use "Go To" and type in 2041A. The program will take you right to it! Also, at the bottom of the screen, a small box will say what offset you are currently on (in this example, Offset: 2041A). Now for the entering of values. Let's say you want to change Ratix's guts to 99. To do that, go to the offset that changes guts (8067) and type in two numbers (or letters from A to F) that correspond to the value you want. The hexadecimal system is hard to grasp at first. In the 99 example, 99 become 63 in hexadecimal form. In decimal (or standard) form, the base is ten. This means that for a number (say 1429) each digit is multiplied by an increasing power of ten. For 1429, it looks like this: (9*1)+(2*10)+(4*100)+(1*1000) or (9*10^0)+(2*10^1)+(4*10^2)+(1*10^3) with the carat (^) referring to the power of the number. If you already know how to work with powers, I apologize for repeating this basic information. As you can see, the powers of the digits increase at we go along. In hexadecimal, the base is 16, not 10, so there are a few changes. Here's what 1429 would look like in hexadecimal: (9*1)+(2*16)+(4*256)+(1*4096) or (9*16^0)+(2*16^1)+(4*16^2)+(1*16^3) Thus, 63 in hexadecimal equals 99 in decimal because (3*1)+(6*16) equals 99. The highest number you can get with one offset is 255 (FF in hexadecimal). Two (or three) offset changes are harder for beginners, because the number that you are trying to change is broken up into two pieces. For these numbers, refer to the list of useful numbers after this section. For example, input E703 to get 999 and 0F27 to get 9999. For example, if you want to change your money to 9,999,999, enter 7F in offset E86, 96 in offset E87, and 98 in offset E88. ----------------------------------------------------------- - For the different offsets, here's a Quick List of the most commonly used values: HEX VALUE DECIMAL VALUE USES ----------------------------------------------------------- "14" for "20" used for item quantities "FF" for "255" used for levels, statistics "E7 03" for "999" used for MP, Max MP, statistics "0F 27" for "9999" used for HP, Max HP, statistics "7F 96 98" for "9,999,999" used for money "FF E0 F5 05" for "99,999,999" used for experience ----------------------------------------------------------- NOTE: For the two- or three-column HEX VALUES ("E7 03"), the numbers must be entered "backward" as shown above to work properly. - When saving large numbers to computer language, the order of the hex values are reversed. If you open Windows Calculator and enter "999" in decimal form and convert it to hexadecimal form, it will show "3E7" (note that Calculator will remove any leading zeros). To use this multi-column hex value, add any necessary leading zeros (in this case, in front of the "3") to make even pairs ("03 E7"). Put the number pairs in reverse order ("E7 03") in the so.zst files. - THIS DOES NOT MEAN TO REVERSE THE VALUES! "03 E7" must be entered as "E7 03", not "30 7E"! For the basic rule of thumb, number pairs are entered like this: #2 #1 (or #3 #2 #1 for very large numbers) ----------------------------------------------------------- Money: E86, E87, E88 Items: 8BF4 - 8DF3 Item Quantities: 8DF4 - 8FF3 Note: Because Star Ocean has so many items, it had to use a very creative system to handle the potentially huge item list. The item values range from 00 to FF, with 00 being the empty space, and quantities of 01 (1) to 14 (20). However, this only allows access to half the items in the game. How do you get the other half? Add 80 (in hex) to the item quantities! Thus, the first half of the items have quantities of 01 to 14, while the other half ranges from 81 to 94. For example, the item FF with a quantity of 01 is one Hamburger, while FF with a quantity of 81 is one Tri-Emblem. Also, item 00, when given a quantity of 81 to 94, is an item, namely Escargo. CHARACTER OFFSETS First Position: Base HP: 8042, 8043 Maximum HP: 8044, 8045 Present HP: 8046, 8047 Base MP: 8048, 8049 Maximum MP: 804A, 804B Present MP: 804C, 804D Level: 804E Strength: 804F, 8050 Constitution: 8055, 8056 Evade: 805B, 805C Agility: 8061, 8062 Guts: 8067 Intelligence: 806D, 806E Equipped Weapon: 8090, 8091 Equipped Armor: 8092, 8093 Equipped Shield: 8094, 8095 Equipped Helmet: 8096, 8097 Equipped Shoes: 8098, 8099 Equipped Accessory 1: 809A, 809B Equipped Accessory 2: 809C, 809D Experience: 809E, 809F, 80A0, 80A1 Talents: 80CA, 80CB Skill Points: 80CC, 80CD Stamina: 80CE, 80CF Skills: 91F4 - 9224 Second Position: Base HP: 8142, 8143 Maximum HP: 8144, 8145 Present HP: 8146, 8147 Base MP: 8148, 8149 Maximum MP: 814A, 814B Present MP: 814C, 814D Level: 814E Strength: 814F, 8150 Constitution: 8155, 8156 Evade: 815B, 815C Agility: 8161, 8162 Guts: 8167 Intelligence: 816D, 816E Equipped Weapon: 8190, 8191 Equipped Armor: 8192, 8193 Equipped Shield: 8194, 8195 Equipped Helmet: 8196, 8197 Equipped Shoes: 8198, 8199 Equipped Accessory 1: 819A, 819B Equipped Accessory 2: 819C, 819D Experience: 819E, 819F, 81A0, 81A1 Talents: 81CA, 81CB Skill Points: 81CC, 81CD Stamina: 81CE, 81CF Skills: 9234 - 9264 Third Position: Base HP: 8242, 8243 Maximum HP: 8244, 8245 Present HP: 8246, 8247 Base MP: 8248, 8249 Maximum MP: 824A, 824B Present MP: 824C, 824D Level: 824E Strength: 824F, 8250 Constitution: 8255, 8256 Evade: 825B, 825C Agility: 8261, 8262 Guts: 8267 Intelligence: 826D, 826E Equipped Weapon: 8290, 8291 Equipped Armor: 8292, 8293 Equipped Shield: 8294, 8295 Equipped Helmet: 8296, 8297 Equipped Shoes: 8298, 8299 Equipped Accessory 1: 829A, 829B Equipped Accessory 2: 829C, 829D Experience: 829E, 829F, 82A0, 82A1 Talents: 82CA, 82CB Skill Points: 82CC, 82CD Stamina: 82CE, 82CF Skills: 9274 - 92A4 Fourth Position: Base HP: 8342, 8343 Maximum HP: 8344, 8345 Present HP: 8346, 8347 Base MP: 8348, 8349 Maximum MP: 834A, 834B Present MP: 834C, 834D Level: 834E Strength: 834F, 8350 Constitution: 8355, 8356 Evade: 835B, 835C Agility: 8361, 8362 Guts: 8367 Intelligence: 836D, 836E Equipped Weapon: 8390, 8391 Equipped Armor: 8392, 8393 Equipped Shield: 8394, 8395 Equipped Helmet: 8396, 8397 Equipped Shoes: 8398, 8399 Equipped Accessory 1: 839A, 839B Equipped Accessory 2: 839C, 839D Experience: 839E, 839F, 83A0, 83A1 Talents: 83CA, 83CB Skill Points: 83CC, 83CD Stamina: 83CE, 83CF Skills: 92B4 - 92E4 Fifth Position: Base HP: 7C42, 7C43 Maximum HP: 7C44, 7C45 Present HP: 7C46, 7C47 Base MP: 7C48, 7C49 Maximum MP: 7C4A, 7C4B Present MP: 7C4C, 7C4D Level: 7C4E Strength: 7C4F, 7C50 Constitution: 7C55, 7C56 Evade: 7C5B, 7C5C Agility: 7C61, 7C62 Guts: 7C67 Intelligence: 7C6D, 7C6E Equipped Weapon: 7C90, 7C91 Equipped Armor: 7C92, 7C93 Equipped Shield: 7C94, 7C95 Equipped Helmet: 7C96, 7C97 Equipped Shoes: 7C98, 7C99 Equipped Accessory 1: 7C9A, 7C9B Equipped Accessory 2: 7C9C, 7C9D Experience: 7C9E, 7C9F, 7CA0, 7CA1 Talents: 7CCA, 7CCB Skill Points: 7CCC, 7CCD Stamina: 7CCE, 7CCF Skills: 90F4 - 9124 Sixth Position: Base HP: 7D42, 7D43 Maximum HP: 7D44, 7D45 Present HP: 7D46, 7D47 Base MP: 7D48, 7D49 Maximum MP: 7D4A, 7D4B Present MP: 7D4C, 7D4D Level: 7D4E Strength: 7D4F, 7D50 Constitution: 7D55, 7D56 Evade: 7D5B, 7D5C Agility: 7D61, 7D62 Guts: 7D67 Intelligence: 7D6D, 7D6E Equipped Weapon: 7D90, 7D91 Equipped Armor: 7D92, 7D93 Equipped Shield: 7D94, 7D95 Equipped Helmet: 7D96, 7D97 Equipped Shoes: 7D98, 7D99 Equipped Accessory 1: 7D9A, 7D9B Equipped Accessory 2: 7D9C, 7D9D Experience: 7D9E, 7D9F, 7DA0, 7DA1 Talents: 7DCA, 7DCB Skill Points: 7DCC, 7DCD Stamina: 7DCE, 7DCF Skills: 9134 - 9164 Seventh Position: Base HP: 7E42, 7E43 Maximum HP: 7E44, 7E45 Present HP: 7E46, 7E47 Base MP: 7E48, 7E49 Maximum MP: 7E4A, 7E4B Present MP: 7E4C, 7E4D Level: 7E4E Strength: 7E4F, 7E50 Constitution: 7E55, 7E56 Evade: 7E5B, 7E5C Agility: 7E61, 7E62 Guts: 7E67 Intelligence: 7E6D, 7E6E Equipped Weapon: 7E90, 7E91 Equipped Armor: 7E92, 7E93 Equipped Shield: 7E94, 7E95 Equipped Helmet: 7E96, 7E97 Equipped Shoes: 7E98, 7E99 Equipped Accessory 1: 7E9A, 7E9B Equipped Accessory 2: 7E9C, 7E9D Experience: 7E9E, 7E9F, 7EA0, 7EA1 Talents: 7ECA, 7ECB Skill Points: 7ECC, 7ECD Stamina: 7ECE, 7ECF Skills: 9174 - 91A4 Eighth Position: Base HP: 7F42, 7F43 Maximum HP: 7F44, 7F45 Present HP: 7F46, 7F47 Base MP: 7F48, 7F49 Maximum MP: 7F4A, 7F4B Present MP: 7F4C, 7F4D Level: 7F4E Strength: 7F4F, 7F50 Constitution: 7F55, 7F56 Evade: 7F5B, 7F5C Agility: 7F61, 7F62 Guts: 7F67 Intelligence: 7F6D, 7F6E Equipped Weapon: 7F90, 7F91 Equipped Armor: 7F92, 7F93 Equipped Shield: 7F94, 7F95 Equipped Helmet: 7F96, 7F97 Equipped Shoes: 7F98, 7F99 Equipped Accessory 1: 7F9A, 7F9B Equipped Accessory 2: 7F9C, 7F9D Experience: 7F9E, 7F9F, 7FA0, 7FA1 Talents: 7FCA, 7FCB Skill Points: 7FCC, 7FCD Stamina: 7FCE, 7FCF Skills: 91B4 - 91E4 Notes: With the Talent offsets, just enter FF FF to have every talent. Strength, Constitution, Agility, and HP have maximum values of 9999 (0F 27). Evade, Intelligence and Stamina have maxes of 1000 (E8 03), and MP has a max of 999 (E7 03). Guts and Level only occupy one offset, so their maximum values are 255 (FF). Gold maxes out at 9,999,999 (7F 96 98), though you can set it higher (FF FF FF is the max) if you're trying to buy expensive items (such as the Tri-Emblem) and want to spend fewer trips getting them. Star Ocean DOES have 255 levels instead of the usual 99, and because of that the max experience you can get is 99,999,999 (FF E0 F5 05). Skill Points also have a normal maximum of 999. However, a handy trick is to set a character's SP to much more than that (such as 65,535, or FF FF in hex). Even though this number is too large for it all to show, the character will still have all of the extra SP. Since it takes over 6000 SP to master every skill, this can save you many trips back and forth to the hex editor, which you would have to make if you set your SP to 999 every time. I do not know how the game reacts to these extra points in the long run, though, so if you want to be safe I would suggest you return your SP to 999 when you are done with upgrading your skills. Immediately following every stat are two copies of its modified value, namely the present modified version and the maximum modified version. For example, Strength is followed by present Attack and maximum Attack. The reason I did not include these values in the offset list is because you cannot change them directly through hacking - they are values based on the base stat (in this case Strength) and your equipment, and you cannot change the values of the equipment. If you want to change these, either change your equipment or the base stat relating to them. Either way, they aren't important to the guide, so I left them out. The exception to this is HP and MP, where the present and maximum values are both important and can be changed independently of the base. Because there are accessories that add to a character's max HP and MP, the game needs to keep track of what the original value was in case you take the item off. If you change the max HP/MP to a value that is different from the base, it will revert to the base value as soon as you leave that screen, so the best method of changing HP/MP is to change all three values (base, max and present) to the number you want. Of course, both HP and MP are maxed out for all characters on level 255 anyway, so if you don't want to bother with this, just max out your levels. Yes, equipment does actually take up two offsets in Star Ocean! This is because the game has 511 items total, instead of the usual 255 (or less) that most other games have. Thus, the item values range from 00 00 (an empty space) to FF 01 (the Tri-Emblem). The offsets for the skills are in the same order for every character, but no character ever gets all the skills. For example, fighters cannot get Motor Mouth, and spell-casters cannot get combat skills. Also, you cannot give a character Ougi skills that they are not supposed to have. If you give a character skills they aren't allowed to get, they will not appear on the skill menu and will have no affect on the game. To give a character their proper Ougi skills, just input a 01 in the appropriate offset (see list below). SKILL OFFSET ORDER LIST: Biology Herb Lore Spirit Rock Lore Tool Lore Piety Recipe Music Lore Faery Lore Esthetic Sense Good Eye Functionality Playfulness Danger Sense Radar Effort Will Patience Craft Kitchen Knife Instrument Whistle Sketching Writing Metalcrafting Science Gale Animals Below the Belt Strong Blow Flip Counter Feint Mental Training Link Combo Motor Mouth Raven Sword Marvel's Weapon Skill Jujitsu Edarl Sword Garyuu Neko Shichisei Ougi Shiseijuu Ougi Kouryuu Ougi Bushin Ougi Hakkake Ougi Uraouka Ougi Neko Ougi