dj898
Saturn Gamer
Joined: November 2008
Posts: 172
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Post by dj898 on Mar 27, 2017 2:41:53 GMT
I have had 3 ARP carts and with all of them I opened the carts and filed the edge of pin connector using the ultra fine nail polishing stick before reassembled the carts. Never have an issue.
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jonalex
Lurker
Joined: June 2017
Posts: 1
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Post by jonalex on Jun 7, 2017 22:26:46 GMT
Hey i have been running into problems with dragon force 2 on the Action Replay 4M Plus. I can't seem to figure out a way to transfer my save file. I tried the memory manager for the Saturn itself and the only option that i had was to clear the file. I need your help please, i really enjoy this game but i want to figure it out.
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sych
"Living for the fantasy" -NIGHTS INTO DREAMS- The Classic Saturn Gem!!!
Joined: July 2009
Posts: 2,661
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Post by sych on Jun 7, 2017 22:31:35 GMT
Don't go to Memory Manager on the system memu, use Memory Manager on the AR menu. Press reset on the console, the Action Replay Menu should start up, enter memory manager from there. Look for the file in the internal memory folder and then press 'C' to copy to the AR catridge then press 'B' and it should save it.
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mattius
Advanced Saturn Gamer
Joined: March 2017
Posts: 384
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PSN: Artabasdos
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Post by mattius on Jun 9, 2017 1:44:35 GMT
The new AR4 carts have a high lemon rate. Be careful.
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xemidos
Newbie
*Segata suplexes a giant game controller, just because he can.
Joined: May 2017
Posts: 13
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XBL: Xemidos XIII
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Post by xemidos on Jun 9, 2017 6:22:57 GMT
I just got mine in and I'm wondering if there are any noteworthy codes for it out there.
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sych
"Living for the fantasy" -NIGHTS INTO DREAMS- The Classic Saturn Gem!!!
Joined: July 2009
Posts: 2,661
Location:
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Post by sych on Jun 9, 2017 13:34:28 GMT
I just got mine in and I'm wondering if there are any noteworthy codes for it out there. For what game?
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sych
"Living for the fantasy" -NIGHTS INTO DREAMS- The Classic Saturn Gem!!!
Joined: July 2009
Posts: 2,661
Location:
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Post by sych on May 22, 2018 21:04:06 GMT
Interesting discovery regarding the AR4M plus cart. As you all know the cart claims to have 8000 blocks of memory but I've just discovred that there is actually only just over 3000 blocks of memory avaliable. I recently went to save Wipeout 2097 to my AR but I kept getting an error message. My memory space on the cart prior to saving Wipeout 2097 on the cart was 5009. The save being 30 plus blocks would have taken it into the 4000s but the AR refuses to let you drop below 5000 blocks and attempts to compress the save files to save memory. Anyone ever had this happen? Here are some pictures.
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sych
"Living for the fantasy" -NIGHTS INTO DREAMS- The Classic Saturn Gem!!!
Joined: July 2009
Posts: 2,661
Location:
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Post by sych on May 23, 2018 21:10:57 GMT
Surely this must have happened to someone other than me. Speak up people! I can't be the first person on here to use over 3000 memory blocks on the Action Replay, there must be others that have experienced this surely.
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sych
"Living for the fantasy" -NIGHTS INTO DREAMS- The Classic Saturn Gem!!!
Joined: July 2009
Posts: 2,661
Location:
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Post by sych on May 31, 2018 0:17:49 GMT
Still no feedback on my Action Replay discovery...You guys dissapoint me.
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captainkael
Joined: March 2012
Posts: 2,489
Location:
XBL: CAPTAINKAEL
PSN: CappyK
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Post by captainkael on May 31, 2018 13:38:46 GMT
Still no feedback on my Action Replay discovery...You guys dissapoint me. I'll have to check mine at home. I might be somewhere in the 6000s. I can always just double stuff to get down to 5000 if required
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privateye
Saturn Player
Joined: July 2016
Posts: 55
Location:
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Post by privateye on May 31, 2018 13:59:43 GMT
It is well known that the Action Replay makes use of compression. I can only guess that, instead of fitting it with 512KB of flash storage, they instead fitted it with, let's say, 256KB of storage as a cost cutting measure.
What I guess is happening is that the save files are first stored uncompressed if there is a sufficient amount of free space. Then, once the full capacity has been used (i.e. there is not enough space left to transfer a save file in its uncompressed form), the cart compresses the existing save files to free up some space, allowing you to store more saves. I couldn't tell you what that error message is about though; maybe it failed to compress the existing saves, or maybe it is signalling some kind of corruption?
Personally I have never trusted an Action Replay with my save files because the whole compression thing seems like it is prone to corruption. I recently bought a Saturn Gamer's Cartridge and I love it. It is made by the same person behind the Pseudo Saturn Kai project and it allows you to backup your save files to an SD card, which you can then transfer to your computer and other forms of storage for safe keeping. It also allows direct-access for many games, which is great for save files that are simply too large to store on the internal memory (Dezaemon 2 shmups, Fantasy Zone replay data, Sega Rally ghost data etc).
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sych
"Living for the fantasy" -NIGHTS INTO DREAMS- The Classic Saturn Gem!!!
Joined: July 2009
Posts: 2,661
Location:
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Post by sych on May 31, 2018 17:09:32 GMT
It is well known that the Action Replay makes use of compression. I can only guess that, instead of fitting it with 512KB of flash storage, they instead fitted it with, let's say, 256KB of storage as a cost cutting measure. What I guess is happening is that the save files are first stored uncompressed if there is a sufficient amount of free space. Then, once the full capacity has been used (i.e. there is not enough space left to transfer a save file in its uncompressed form), the cart compresses the existing save files to free up some space, allowing you to store more saves. I couldn't tell you what that error message is about though; maybe it failed to compress the existing saves, or maybe it is signalling some kind of corruption?
Personally I have never trusted an Action Replay with my save files because the whole compression thing seems like it is prone to corruption. I recently bought a Saturn Gamer's Cartridge and I love it. It is made by the same person behind the Pseudo Saturn Kai project and it allows you to backup your save files to an SD card, which you can then transfer to your computer and other forms of storage for safe keeping. It also allows direct-access for many games, which is great for save files that are simply too large to store on the internal memory (Dezaemon 2 shmups, Fantasy Zone replay data, Sega Rally ghost data etc). It's never attemmpted to compress save files before this. It's only because I got down to 5000 units which ultimately shouldn't have been a problem because it states 5000 memory blocks left but it won't let you go pass 5000 units which is very odd. Interestingly enough I checked out that link to Saturn gamer's cartridge. It doesn't apper to offer 4MB expansion or Game Shark Cheat codes, looks inferior to the Action Replay to me.
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privateye
Saturn Player
Joined: July 2016
Posts: 55
Location:
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Post by privateye on May 31, 2018 17:58:43 GMT
It's never attemmpted to compress save files before this. It's only because I got down to 5000 units which ultimately shouldn't have been a problem because it states 5000 memory blocks left but it won't let you go pass 5000 units which is very odd. It hasn't attempted to compress save files before because it didn't have to. Not to sound rude but go back and read the second paragraph of what I said (I'm only theorising, of course). Interestingly enough I checked out that link to Saturn gamer's cartridge. It doesn't apper to offer 4MB expansion or Game Shark Cheat codes, looks inferior to the Action Replay to me. Cheat codes are coming in a future version of Pseudo Saturn Kai, which the Gamer's Cartridge is powered by. As for the lack of RAM expansion in the Gamer's Cartridge, not many games in the Saturn library even make use of the additional RAM, so it's hardly a big deal; just put in a RAM cart if you ever want to play one of the few 1MB/4MB games. A big downside of the Action Replay is that its storage is not direct-access, so you've got no way of saving files that are larger than the internal memory (this means no Dezaemon 2 shmups or Sega Rally ghost data, among others). Couple this with: - the limited amount of storage it offers vs the practically unlimited storage that the Gamer's Cartridge provides (storage is only limited by the size of your SD card, and even a 2GB card offers a gargantuan amount of space for Saturn save files);
- the unreliability of an Action Replay for storing save files (the error message that you got is indicative of this);
- the fact that you can't transfer save files to PC with the Action Replay (unless you've got one of the older comms link models and a Bluetooth DataLink)
means that the Gamer's Cartridge is certainly the superior solution if you really value your saves.
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captainkael
Joined: March 2012
Posts: 2,489
Location:
XBL: CAPTAINKAEL
PSN: CappyK
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Post by captainkael on May 31, 2018 19:18:44 GMT
Haha I'm fairly certain sych has one of those older models with the comms port
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sych
"Living for the fantasy" -NIGHTS INTO DREAMS- The Classic Saturn Gem!!!
Joined: July 2009
Posts: 2,661
Location:
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Post by sych on May 31, 2018 21:11:27 GMT
Haha I'm fairly certain sych has one of those older models with the comms port Indeed I do, you know me too well Captainkael lol I've had the same Action Replay Cart for coming up to 15 years now and it's served me well with no major incidents so I'll probably be sticking with it. I'm just shocked it doesn't have the 8000 plus spaces it claims to have. It's more like 4000. If you're gonna test it out to exceed 4000 slots try repeatedly transfering a game that requires large slots like VF2 or Touring Cars as you'll hit that 4000 target alot quicker.
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