Which Donkey Kong 64 Maintains Save?

[Prodigal Gun]

Does anyone know which Donkey Kong 64 rom has a save that functions properly? It works until you get the first crown. When you save after this point and then turn the 64 off and on again, the in game save files are blank.

This was a part of the copy protection at the time of it's original release.

I knew about this "protection" so I played the "Donkey Kong 64 (U) [f1] (Save).z64" rom for 90 minutes and after turning the unit off and on the "in game" save file is blank again.

There is an [f2] and [f3] rom I haven't tried yet. Any help would be appreciated and prevent my head from bruising :banghead: Thanks!

EDIT:

Use only "Donkey Kong 64 (U) [f2].z64" from the GoodSet. Always use "force SRAM" on the bottom of the ED64 Menu before you boot the rom. It works perfectly. I'm 10 hours into the game without losing a save point. All of the other roms kept save points from 1 to 3 hours but eventually they disapeared. The only time you don't need to use "force SRAM" is when you are rebooting the same rom again with the C-Up yellow button.

[Prodigal Gun]

Ok, after some research, I found that the patch applied to the "Donkey Kong 64 (U) [f1] (Save).z64" rom changes the save routine. Instead of EEPROM16 the patched save is SRAM.

Edit:

Use Donkey Kong 64 (U) [f2].z64 and boot with "force SRAM". Works perfectly
Don't use [f1] or [f3]...the Saves eventually disappear after a few hours of play

[KRIKzz]

ED64 choice save type by game ID and does not matter which save file in save dir. OS remember forced save type if game was loaded by C-UP button, so not need to force save type manually each times

[Delirious17]

I use f2 and http://www.assemblergames.com/forums...ad.php?t=34359

I'm just too lazy to do all that for 101% across the board... :)

[derekb]

can it be fixed in OS?

[KRIKzz]

fixed waht?

[derekb]

well, he says in first post that DK64 has save problem?

[sanni]

just use the cracked one that doesn't check for a 6105 cic :P

[KRIKzz]

i can see that original not patched rom can save without any problems, so i guess that he just have a problem with those emulator save file

[derekb]

did you play through game? he says theres a copy protection check that its failing after a bit of gameplay

[KRIKzz]

mmm no i not play a lot

[derekb]

Maybe someone can send krikzz a save near the problem point so he can test?

[Prodigal Gun]

Using GoodN64 3.14 Releases

1. Donkey Kong 64 (U) [!] default EEPROM16 - There is a physical save in the ED64 Saves Folder but RARE put copy protection check so that the in game save file shows "empty" after going through the first cave and saving on the beach, pause and save, reset N64, turn N64 off, turn on and load rom again. The save is gone.

2. Donkey Kong 64 (U) [f1] (Save) Play for One hour or until after gaining first Crown. Once again ED64 save file is still in folder but when booting rom in default EEPROM 16 mode the in game save file shows "Empty".

However the Donkey Kong 64 (U) [f1] (Save) was the second patch attempt by Dextrose and Titanic 11 years ago. Game went unfixed for proper saving for almost 9 months after initial scene release from 1999 to 2000. This save is designed to overcome the copy protection by using SRAM as the save for game copiers such as the Z64. This is also true for the ED64. Use Force SRAM as your save type and your good for the entire "very long" game.

I've spent hours for two nights going back and forth on the two roms listed above and the procedure I have written about works. I owned a Z64 when they first came out and still do so I remember very well the problems that existed when Donkey Kong 64 first came out and for the year that followed if you owned a backup unit.

Open the "Donkey Kong 64 (U) [f2] (Save)" and instead of playing the game read the scrolling info on the "crack screen" for a few minutes to get more of the story.

Summary:

Donkey Kong 64 (U) [!] default EEPROM16 - In Game Save File shows "Empty" upon reboot after reset, N64 OFF, and then game reboot.

Donkey Kong 64 (U) [f1] (Save) default EEPROM16 - In Game Save File shows "Empty" after about 1 hour or "First Crown Achieved" after reset, N64 Off, and then game reboot. Eventually Fails

Donkey Kong 64 (U) [f1] (Save) Force SRAM - Just make sure you select Force SRAM on this rom if you play any other games in between or it will revert back to EEPROM 16 and you will think you lost your in game save again. EDIT: It eventually loses it's save also, just later in the game after about 3 hours of gameplay.

Use the "Donkey Kong 64 (U) [f2].z64" and "force SRAM". It works perfectly!


Also just so you will know I am not using emulator saves or old Z64 saves...only ED64 Save files.

Thanks

[Prodigal Gun]

Heres a site with different news posts on what was happening with the game 10 years ago. Maybe it will help clarify my "wordy" posts above.

http://n64.icequake.net/mirror/64sce...m/updsep00.htm

[sanni]

The [f2] version is the same as Lacs 101% crack if I remember correctly, so I would use that ^.^

[Prodigal Gun]

"Donkey Kong 64 (U) [f2].z64" is indeed the only safe rom to play on the ED64. I have made it through 10 hours of gameplay and the saves always work as long as you use "Force SRAM" to boot the game. The [f1] version has the same intro, but it also loses its save progress after playing for 1 to 3 hours. The [f3] version was the original faulty patched version and also eventually loses the save.

Thanks to Delirious 17 and sanni for already posting about this.

Now if there was any way for the ED64 to recognize this rom and automatically select SRAM. But I am definitely not complaining since the new firmware now works with flash games! The ED64 absolutely is the best there is!!!

[puch66]

Now if there was any way for the ED64 to recognize this rom and automatically select SRAM. But I am definitely not complaining since the new firmware now works with flash games! The ED64 absolutely is the best there is!!!

I think that ED64 looks in the header of the rom to guess what kind of save type use. Probably the cracked rom doesn't have the right save type flag in the header.
Maybe with ucon64 you could edit this but i'm not sure.

[KRIKzz]

ED64 use rom ID for detect save type, so need to replace DK id ny id of some other game which use sram

[sanni]

If you changed the boottype or savesetting with the Mr Backup Z64 it created a romname.ini file to store the changes.
You could program the Everdrive 64 menu so that it first looks if such a file exist for the particular rom you try to load and if yes use the settings provided by it.

[fathertime]

This is the final crack release from all those years ago - see attached.

Crazynation Titanik had a shot at cracking/redirecting the save type from 16k eeprom to SRAM, but due to Rare having some nasty hidden protection, the save was wiped randomly. Then Dextrose LaC released his crack (with similar 16k eeprom to SRAM save redirection) but it had the same save problem as the original Crazynation Titanik crack.. Finally Dextrose LaC released his 2nd crack/save redirect attempt called the "101% crack" that found every last piece of Rare's protection code. Many people on the old www.dextrose.com N64 scene forums were able to finish the game with this final crack so this one should work for you.

Now having said all of that, does the Everdrive not let you just use a virgin rom anyway and save to the 16k eeprom?