opening cdi's

[dreg01]

hey

i was hoping somonoe would be able help me. I currently have a skies of arcadia cdi. I want to open it to browse the contents of it but cant seem to find a program to do it. I am looking to extract the textures and maybe some models (i hope that isnt in breech of any rules to ask). any help would be awsome

thanks

ash

 

[Mouser X]

Ever heard of a CD emulator? Or something that mounts disc images? For that matter, I know for a fact that you would have recieved faster feedback if you had simply gone to google, and searched "CDI." Search engines exist for a reason.

That aside, you need to use a program that can create virtual CD drives on your PC (meaning, it's not a real drive, but your PC interpets it as one). I use Daemon Tools, so that's what I'd recommend. I know that Nero can do it as well. So can Alcohol 120% (I think that's how you spell it). Use of one those tools to mount the CDI image file. If the image was create properly, then you should be able to view the contents like you would any other CD.

As for extracting the audio, vidoe, graphic, 3D data, good luck. What tools do you plan on using? Because I am not aware of any programs that can read the data on that disc directly (there very well may be a such a program out there, but I don't know what it is. If it does exist, I'd like to know about it, if possible). Do you plan on building your own tools? Do you have some on mind? I very much like this game as well, so if you have somehow figured out how to manipulate this data, it would be appreciated. As I said though, good luck. I'm guessing you might need it. Mouser X over and out.

 

[dreg01]

i have deamon tool and have used it just to open the disk file but I cant find the texture and model files. I think I may need to convert the cdi file into something else before I can get these. My firend is working on a game engine which i was hoping i could add a basic game called pirates of arcadia. the idea is you start with a certain amount of money at one of four islands, buy a ship then go out and fight (this wold be a start anyway). After this you go back to an island and repair and upgrade. but to do this i would like the models and textures although i have made and textured my own models it would be alot less hassel if i could use the originals and concertae on the coding. at some point in the games creation the models/textrues must have been created on pc then converted for the dreacast format, i just need a way to convert it back to this stage then i think i willl be able to get the files i need (good luck indeed!)

 

[Mouser X]

When you have the image mounted, can you browse through the CD like you would a normal CD? Do you see files, and folders? I've attached 2 text files that contain a directory listing of the files in the root of each CD. If, when you have your images mounted via Daemon, you can see these files (or, really, any files), then it's working just fine. Converting the CDI into another format will not help in anyway whatsoever in extracting, or converting, the files on the discs. Basically, it will almost certainly be easier to create the models and textures yourself, than it would be to create a program that could convert that info for you. Sure, they probably were created on a PC first. But I have never encountered a game that didn't use a proprietary format for its game data. Meaning, in almost all instances, you can't just read the data straight off the disc into Paintshop, or Photoshop, or Quicktime, or Media Player, or Winamp, or 3D Studio Max. You need to figure out a way to decode that information first, and then you need to figure out a way to save that decoded information into a format recognizeable by one of those programs. If you don't have any tools in mind to do this, then there's a good chance the tools you need don't exist.

In all honesty, I hope I'm wrong, because I'd like to pull all kinds of information out of this game... So, yes indeed, good luck. I recommend you start searching for Dreamcast extraction/conversion utilities. I've seen a few, but most of them were to make games self-bootable, aid in ripping the game disc, or convert audio files into ADX format, to help alter/decrease the file size of the ADXs (so that it could easily be burned to a regular CD). Sorry I don't have more information than that. Hopefully it was helpful though. Mouser X over and out.

 

[dreg01]

thanksf or the files, the drive is working fine. i will check out to see if i can find any programs to help. if you love this game as much as i do (and by the sounds of it you do!) i am thinking about modding a game called treasure planet: batttle at procyon. (its disney but its good for a laugh) if you dont know the game check it out. it has ships and islands. initially i would just need to change the background from space to sky and change the models to skies of arcadia ones ive made/will make. i am getting together with one of my friends over the next few days to analyse the game files and formats to see if this is possible. it could lead to a multiplayer game where you choose a ship and weapons layout for your and the rest of your fleet, then fight with another fleet. the game system would work really well for the idea. thanks again

 

[Mouser X]

i am thinking about modding a game called treasure planet: batttle at procyon. (its disney but its good for a laugh)

I have that game. $10, with a 90-day money-back garantee? I coudn't turn it down. Unfourtunatly, I don't play it very often because it gives a BSOD everytime I touch the keyboard. Except for the "esc" key. So far, if I use any other keys, it crashes. Luckly, using the keyboard isn't required, but it does make it easier to save your game... Of course, this means I cannot take screenshots either. My 3 biggest complaints about the game is 1) It's not 3D in any way. Yes, the models are 3D, the gameplay is not. You can't go up or down. You're stuck on a specific plane, and can only go forward, back, left, or right. 2) The ships move far to slowly. 3) It crashes my computer. Those are the 3 biggest reasons I don't play it to often...

As for the crash, I called their support people, they were fairly useless (I thought they would be, but I was hoping there was a patch out that I didn't know about. Nope, there's not). So, I did some searching, and found out that it's a problem with the drivers for my motherboard system. I'm using an Nvidia made motherboard (part of the "Nforce" system stuff), and one of the drivers in that software (apparently audio related?), causes crashes for a few games. GTA:SA, Simcity 4 (I think), and, apparently, Treasure Planet, cause crashes with this driver. I haven't called the support people back, because I HIGHLY doubt they'll do anything about it. I've been told to update my video card drivers, which I have to admit, I haven't done yet, but I hold little hope of that making a difference...

If you're going to be modding the Treasure Planet game, might I suggest you look into Lego Star Wars (for PC) as well? I'm fairly certain you can do some pretty cool things with that game. When installed, it's about 1.5gb (which is ludicrous, since it installs from a CD!), and they leave all kinds of text files containing code bits lying around. If someone actually wanted to spend the time to do so, I bet you could alter things up quite a bit in that game... I think it would be pretty neat, anyway. Mouser X out.

 

[dreg01]

i have lego star wars as well- damn fine game. the reason i was thinking about treasure planet is the ease at which the game system which is already in place could be used. its a shame that your system has issues with it but i would say see if there is anything you can do as the multiplayer is actually pretty good. to start with the star field in the background could be relaced with sky and then the models replaced with skies of arcadia ones. i have been working on e a few ships from the game with scope to use in the mod. i have given the game to my friend who knows about game coding so he should get back to me over the weekend to see if we can proceed. will keep you in the loop plus if you want to see some screens of the models i have been working on leave me your email and i will send you them.