Memory card / Zeno chip question

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aandrew
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Joined: Mon Dec 02, 2013 5:02 pm

Memory card / Zeno chip question

Post by aandrew » Wed Feb 19, 2014 8:06 am

Did I read somewhere once that if you have a Zeno chip installed you shouldn't mix saved pal & NTSC games on the same memory card ?
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badsector
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Location: Berlin

Re: Memory card / Zeno chip question

Post by badsector » Wed Feb 19, 2014 9:11 am

PAL and NTSC-US save files schouldn't be a problem and usually can be on one single memory card. But some NTSC-JAP games can cause problems: http://www.gc-forever.com/wiki/index.ph ... ion_Switch

I read somewhere, that some PAL games don't like 1019 blocks memory cards. I never had any problems (I mostly use original Nintendo 1019 blocks memory cards on my PAL GameCubes), but maybe you should be careful.
tueidj
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Re: Memory card / Zeno chip question

Post by tueidj » Wed Feb 19, 2014 10:02 am

It's not an issue with just some PAL games, but a few titles for all regions: http://www.nintendo.com/consumer/memorycard1019.jsp
For most of them the same problems apply to 2043 block cards.
theclaw
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Re: Memory card / Zeno chip question

Post by theclaw » Thu Feb 20, 2014 8:06 am

Avoiding side by side is a safety precaution. In-game issues are game specific.

How memory cards and region normally relate involves two basic factors.
1. Gamecube formats based on console region. Not the game disc.
2. Devices like modchips or Freeloader do not change console region.

In other words no matter what get saved, data is stored in the format of the Gamecube who created it.
For instance you won't be able to share with Japan GC owners (unless third party utilities allow conversion).

A region switch mod is different. That devkit feature turns the console itself between USA and Japan.
Fixes compatibility of some games, but have to swap memory card.
tueidj
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Re: Memory card / Zeno chip question

Post by tueidj » Thu Feb 20, 2014 9:04 am

It's actually a signal from the video port (similar to the signal which indicates a component cable is attached) that is used to check for a japanese vs. PAL/NTSC console. Switching the IPL only changes which default font is available.
theclaw
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Re: Memory card / Zeno chip question

Post by theclaw » Thu Feb 20, 2014 10:26 am

tueidj wrote:It's actually a signal from the video port (similar to the signal which indicates a component cable is attached) that is used to check for a japanese vs. PAL/NTSC console. Switching the IPL only changes which default font is available.
Huh, never heard of it. Did any games implement such a check?

Common knowledge things like Donkey Konga 3 having save problems in wrong language modes, and Star Fox Adventures switches text bank.
But I don't know the technical side.
tueidj
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Re: Memory card / Zeno chip question

Post by tueidj » Thu Feb 20, 2014 11:10 am

All games implement it, to check if memory cards are formatted to match the system. That's why you can run a japanese game on a non-japanese system and not get an error when saving to a non-SJIS memory card (although the filename might get messed up, it never gets shown to the user anyway).
theclaw
Posts: 324
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Re: Memory card / Zeno chip question

Post by theclaw » Thu Feb 20, 2014 11:31 am

tueidj wrote:All games implement it, to check if memory cards are formatted to match the system. That's why you can run a japanese game on a non-japanese system and not get an error when saving to a non-SJIS memory card (although the filename might get messed up, it never gets shown to the user anyway).
I guess. Astounding all those details developers don't tell us.
From the user's point of view, all we need to know is whether the boot menu displays in English or Japanese.
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