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NEC TG-16/TE/TurboDuo => TG-16/TE/TurboDuo Discussion => Topic started by: roflmao on October 13, 2012, 02:20:35 PM
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So yesterday I got Shape Shifter in the mail and I was all excited to play it because it's one of the few US releases I've never played before. Things are going great. I'm navigating around town, listening to everyone's story and then it's time to put the kid to bed. I speak with the mayor and save the game.
Today I popped in Dragon Knight III which I've been playing off and on over the past few weeks. To my surprise, There's no option to load up my saved game from the main menu; only an option to start a new game. Strange.
So I reboot and go into the TG16's memory to see if I can find the Dragon Knight III save.
Everything is gone, except for a Shape Shifter save file.
ALL of my save games. Ys Book I &II, Ys Book III, Kabuki Den, Dracula X, Bomberman '93 - all gone. :(
So I googled the issue and it seems there's some sort of random bug related to Shape Shifter that can erase all your game saves. I couldn't really find much information about the bug, but I'm not in any hurry to play Shape Shifter again. And it looks like it has so much potential.
WTF.
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Sorry about your loss. I had some saves backed up on a Tennokoe Bank and I'm not sure if I lost them because I can't read Kanji and deleted them by mistake or if Shape Shifter was partly responsible for it but I've been there before. Thanks for sharing the info about the bug so others can prepare for it.
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It would be great if it was possible for someone to make a patch that fixes this bug... too hard, I guess. Yeah, it's a definite issue.
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I played through Shape Shifter and saved the game and it didn't corrupt my Duo saves. Maybe the key is just to isolate exactly what causes the saved data corruption?
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Wow, that really stinks! I don't recall ever having the problem. The only problem I had was that my friend save his game over mine BITD ](*,)
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It would be great if it was possible for someone to make a patch that fixes this bug... too hard, I guess.
Forget making a patch, we can't even get stickies for this kind of shit. Carmen Sandiego is the other game that can swipe a bank too, apparently.
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It would be great if it was possible for someone to make a patch that fixes this bug... too hard, I guess.
Forget making a patch, we can't even get stickies for this kind of shit. Carmen Sandiego is the other game that can swipe a bank too, apparently.
I didn't know about this!
Or, to be more precise: I probably read about it years ago and promptly forgot about it.
Yup. (http://junk.tg-16.com/images/pcgs.png)
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Wooooooooo I hate in when you loose saves :-(
Thanks for sharing the info, this is one I did not know about.
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It would be great if it was possible for someone to make a patch that fixes this bug... too hard, I guess. Yeah, it's a definite issue.
It's easier to swap out a save bank in ten seconds using a Tennokoe Bank than fooling around with cdrs.
There are several games that overwrite other saves. The only one I can think of off the top of my head is Hi Leg Fantasy.
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Well, it's good to know that other games do this as well. From now on I guess I'll be backing up my saves via Tennokoe Benk before starting up Shape Shifter. Carmen San Diego has piqued my interest so I may pick it up at some point and I'll have to remember to use the Tennokoe Bank for that as well. It's a pain, but I'd rather go through that process than lose everything again.
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Just use a different system with those games. You have a working TG16 with CD right? Carmen can use the system 13 card if you dont have the 2.0 for it.
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There are several games that overwrite other saves. The only one I can think of off the top of my head is Hi Leg Fantasy.
Wow, a third one. Let me know if you think of any more.
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One strange thing I noticed is when I started up a new game in Dragon Knight III again, my dude had the same stats as my lost game. But once I activated a story element in the second city, he reverted back to a level 1 character. :(
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Carmen Sandiego can erase your files too? I'd heard that Shape Shifter and Hi-Leg Fantasy can do that, and that Shadow of the Beast will erase everything in memory if there's not enough space for its save file when it tries to save, but hadn't heard about that one... huh. I'll have to add it to my list ( http://www.pcenginefx.com/forums/index.php?topic=12247.msg237956#msg237956 ).
It would be great if it was possible for someone to make a patch that fixes this bug... too hard, I guess. Yeah, it's a definite issue.
It's easier to swap out a save bank in ten seconds using a Tennokoe Bank than fooling around with cdrs.
But then you'd have to dedicate one whole bank on the Tennokoe Bank to just Shape Shifter, meaning that it'd effectively be using all 2000 blocks instead of the 177 that it actually takes up... quite a waste of space.
There are several games that overwrite other saves. The only one I can think of off the top of my head is Hi Leg Fantasy.
True, but Shape Shifter is the only US release that does so (though that Shadow of the Beast note is important to know as well!).
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Sorry to hear that rofl :( I went through something similar recently, lost my LoX save. Based on this thread, I'm thinking it was hi leg that did that, but what's weird is my Duo's memory was completely blank. There wasn't even a hi leg save on it.
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Shape Shifter was on my want-list, but this is making me rethink things. Do you have to save your game, or can you just use passwords?
It would be nice if the Turbo Everdrive could be used as a memory back-up device.
Chris
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One strange thing I noticed is when I started up a new game in Dragon Knight III again, my dude had the same stats as my lost game. But once I activated a story element in the second city, he reverted back to a level 1 character. :(
Ummm... I'm pretty sure that the going down to level one event is part of the game.
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Carmen Sandiego can erase your files too? I'd heard that Shape Shifter and Hi-Leg Fantasy can do that, and that Shadow of the Beast will erase everything in memory if there's not enough space for its save file when it tries to save, but hadn't heard about that one... huh. I'll have to add it to my list ( http://www.pcenginefx.com/forums/index.php?topic=12247.msg237956#msg237956 ).
It would be great if it was possible for someone to make a patch that fixes this bug... too hard, I guess. Yeah, it's a definite issue.
It's easier to swap out a save bank in ten seconds using a Tennokoe Bank than fooling around with cdrs.
But then you'd have to dedicate one whole bank on the Tennokoe Bank to just Shape Shifter, meaning that it'd effectively be using all 2000 blocks instead of the 177 that it actually takes up... quite a waste of space.
There are several games that overwrite other saves. The only one I can think of off the top of my head is Hi Leg Fantasy.
True, but Shape Shifter is the only US release that does so (though that Shadow of the Beast note is important to know as well!).
Yeah, but there is no reason to hang on to a save file from Shapeshifter at the end of the game. You can't go anywhere or do anything but fight the final boss. Once you've played through it once, it can be beaten in an hour.
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Ummm... I'm pretty sure that the going down to level one event is part of the game.
Really? I knew he started out all buff and macho, but I thought in the first cutscene he gets beat up and his clothes taken, which reverted him to a level one character, but I could be wrong. I've only started it once before so I don't really recall.
Either way, I've been able to almost catch up to where I previously was in a fraction of the time. It's amazing how much time is saved when you aren't exploring every square inch, clicking on every object, talking to everyone, then talking to them again in case something triggered something, etc... I think in under 5 hours I'm where it took me close to 15. :)
Shape Shifter was on my want-list, but this is making me rethink things. Do you have to save your game, or can you just use passwords?
It doesn't have a password system. If you have a Tennokoe Bank (they're cheap to pick up. I think mine was somewhere in the vicinity of $5) you can avoid the frustration I ran into, though it is kind of tedious. I haven't tried it yet.
Just use a different system with those games. You have a working TG16 with CD right? Carmen can use the system 13 card if you dont have the 2.0 for it.
Sorry, Bernie, no can do. If I kept one game for just one system, the other games would rise up claiming favoritism, and revolt against me. I just know it.
Both of my setups capture a different atmosphere. One setup is my "classic" setup: tube tv, cd boombox for the speakers, daisy-chained rca selector boxes, sit on the floor or in bean bag type of chair to play. The way these games are meant to be played.
Then I have my living room setup: HD TV, surround sound, comfy reclining couch, coffee table, etc... It's a totally different environment for gaming.
Some games play better in one room or the other. :D
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Shape Shifter is an awesome game!!! At least I like it.
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One strange thing I noticed is when I started up a new game in Dragon Knight III again, my dude had the same stats as my lost game. But once I activated a story element in the second city, he reverted back to a level 1 character. :(
I think you are just confusing how the story goes with your issue.
You start at a high level, 16ish iirc. And then, the priest restarts you at level 1, for some strange reason I don't remember. This is a standard part of the game play.
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Geez, as if I didn't already have enough to hate Shape Shifter for... I already knew it was a buggy game, but this is ridiculous. It's a prime example of why Americans sucked at game design back then.
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Geez, as if I didn't already have enough to hate Shape Shifter for... I already knew it was a buggy game, but this is ridiculous. It's a prime example of why Americans sucked at game design back then.
It's more of an example of what happens when a game is shipped before being polished or off or really finished. Most/all of Icom's Turbo games had restrictive budgets and timelines and Nec/TTi was more interested in quickly adding quantity over quality to the Turbo library.
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Geez, as if I didn't already have enough to hate Shape Shifter for... I already knew it was a buggy game, but this is ridiculous. It's a prime example of why Americans sucked at game design back then.
This has nothing to do with game design. It's shitty programming/testing. There's a difference, lol.
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i will take your game if you don't want it. :mrgreen:
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This has nothing to do with game design. It's shitty programming/testing. There's a difference, lol.
Yes Sir, Captain Semantics! :P :lol:
Srsly did they even test this thing...
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This has nothing to do with game design. It's shitty programming/testing. There's a difference, lol.
Yes Sir, Captain Semantics! :P :lol:
Srsly did they even test this thing...
Probably, but the testers were later sent to an assylum IIRC. :P
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I like this game though. There have been several arguments on this site if Shape Shifter is good. Sucks that now there is more fuel for the "it is shitty" fire.
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This has nothing to do with game design. It's shitty programming/testing. There's a difference, lol.
Yes Sir, Captain Semantics! :P :lol:
Srsly did they even test this thing...
Its not really semantics either!
Its like saying the game was poorly designed because the music sounds like shit and the art looks funny. That's not the designers fault either, lol.
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I usually back stuff up to a Tennokoe Bank huey before starting a new game, as ya never know when shit will happen. This is especially true when starting a PCE rpg, since I can't read the chicken scratches warning me that it can't save.
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I have a save game for Carmen Sandiego and it didn't erase my other saves.
I have a copy of shape shifter and didn't had time to play yet. I'll finish Neutopia before trying it :)
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Ive never had Shapeshifter do that either, but its most likely a random bug.
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I usually back stuff up to a Tennokoe Bank huey before starting a new game, as ya never know when shit will happen. This is especially true when starting a PCE rpg, since I can't read the chicken scratches warning me that it can't save.
That is sound reasoning. I'll try to get into that habit as well. :D
EDIT: This bug isn't going to stop me from playing it though! I'll get back to it once I've cleared or given up on the games I'm currently playing and I'll update this thread if I run into the issue again. Maybe I can narrow down what's causing the conflict. :-k
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Yeah I've lost saves over time, usually frustrating to say the least.
That being said you might as well finish playing Shape Shifter, I always liked that game.
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Okay so this thread got me thinking to play Shape Shifter to see what happens to my saves. The game will just not work correctly in my modded DUO-R, WTF!!! Basically it loads until just past the initial story line and then the screen goes purple with vertical lines!!
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That sucks man.. What kind of mods were done to your DuoR.
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The Duo-R Blue LED, S-Video, Region Mod via D-lite. I refuse to believe it's the laser/lens since all other CD games play fine. Oh and the disc is scratch-free.
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hmm, I dunno then. That is just strange.
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Its not really semantics either!
Its like saying the game was poorly designed because the music sounds like shit and the art looks funny. That's not the designers fault either, lol.
Code design. :P
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I hear that Shadow of the Beast, if it doesn't have enough room to create a save file will erase EVERYTHING as it boots up for the first time, just so you can save high scores. No prompts or anything. Just... gone. So make sure you have enough room to save that one when you boot it up. Too bad you can't tell because NEC/Hudson were too stupid to list the sizes of all the saves in the BIOS menu and the back of each game box.
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Ok don't know how but I decided to boot it up again and now it works great. Hmmm...
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I hear that Shadow of the Beast, if it doesn't have enough room to create a save file will erase EVERYTHING as it boots up for the first time, just so you can save high scores. No prompts or anything. Just... gone. So make sure you have enough room to save that one when you boot it up. Too bad you can't tell because NEC/Hudson were too stupid to list the sizes of all the saves in the BIOS menu and the back of each game box.
I never had that happen before. I beat SOTB twice in a row with a TG-16 that was full of Ys and CF2 saves.
Weird.
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Ok don't know how but I decided to boot it up again and now it works great. Hmmm...
You probably just had it set to the wrong region. :mrgreen: