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Game Enhancer _Plus_ FAQ
Version 3
Tuesday, October 2 2001
by Carlos Miranda
<Alpha1@removethis.philwebinc.com>
<resal1719@removethis.hotmail.com>

NOTE: Please remove the "removethis" from the addresses. This is to foil 
spammers and thier spamming mailbots.

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DISCLAIMER
This FAQ is for private use only. Nobody cannot take or reproduce ANY part 
of this guide without explicit permission from the original author. You 
cannot sell it for cash, profitable or not. Publishing it in a magazine is 
not allowed, that's the reason it's used in the Internet, so it can be 
used  internationally and easily revised. Neither is it used under your 
own name, or copy content from it directly. It also cannot be used in 
other sites without permission. ALL OTHER SIMILAR OFFENSES CAN BE CHARGED 
AGAINST YOU AND IS PUNISHABLE BY THE COPYRIGHT LAW.

Exceptions:
1. Copying from this or ANY FAQ, mine or other's, indirectly, which means 
you can't copy it word for word, and provide credit. If you want to copy 
and paste, ask me first.

2. Ask me to post your guide in your site. No alterations, HTML, banner 
ads, etc. unless I do it myself. Banner ads in a separate frame are 
allowed, however.

3. Give me money for the publication of the FAQ in magazines and credit 
me, plus give me money for that. ^_^

Anyway...

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FAQ STATUS:

In progress/revised
Version: 3
Started: Tuesday, October 2 2001
Author: Carlos Miranda

FAQ status meanings:

In progress/new: This FAQ is in progress (incomplete) and is new.
In progress/revised: This FAQ is in progress and has been revised one or 
more times.
Complete/new: This FAQ is complete and is new
Complete/revised: This FAQ is complete and has been revised one or more 
times.

Questions in FAQ: 25
Questions in RAQ: 0

NOTE: Complete does not always mean that it does not need revision. Some 
has one or more errors in it.

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Part 1 E-mail policy
Part 2 Version history
Part 3 Frequntly Asked Questions (FAQ)
Part 4 The Game Enhancer Plus (Version 5.04)
Part 5 Rarely asked questions (RAQ)
Part 6 Miscellaneous

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Part 1 E-mail policy
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Now, if I expect e-mail, I want you to read the whole guide first.
Here are do's and dont's:

DO:
1. Send me a comment, suggestion, complaint, etc.
2. Questions that cannot be found here.
3. Send e-mail in plain text only
4. Attached messages are allowed, but in plain text only, no HTML.
5. Include the title of the guide (on top) in the subject field or message 
body.
6. Send e-mail in the language of the guide is written in (English).
7. Please excuse me for my bad English because Filipino is my language.
8. If you find it hard to send to my main address, contact the backup 
address.
9. As for Webmasters who want my FAQ, please ask. If I find out that you 
ripped me off I will ask for removal of guides and you cannot accept 
future guides from me. (Unless I read a sorry message, I will unblock your 
address and allow further guides, but your name will remain PERMANENTLY in 
the "Special notice" section.)
10. If there are any corrections, please ask _politely_, or in any case 
just don't offend. That goes especially for wrong grammar or spellings. If 
I see any "Your grammar/spelling/FAQ/whatever, 
sucks/stupid/idiotical/horrible etc." I will place your name under blocked 
senders and don't even try to use the backup address. (The backup address 
does not support blocked senders, so I won't reply unless I read a "sorry" 
message.)
11. Don't send to the backup address if not necessary. If the mail 
bounced, or if I don't repy within one week, do so.

DONTS:
1. Send in an executable, HTML or any e-mail that are not text-based and 
may carry viruses.
2. Attachments, which may also carry viruses.
3. Offensive words like the 4-letter s and f words, b-word, genitalia 
words, etc.
4. Pyramid schemes, chain letters, ads, scams, threats etc.
5. Insults like "jerk, nerd, gay, homo, idiot, dork" etc.
6. Talking about sex, like or giving URL's for sites that have explicit 
material.
7. Giving URL's to download sites that have pirated content, or unsafe 
downloads that may have viruses or/and are illegal.
8. Talking about religion.
9. Talking about politics like "Erap resign or be impeached".
10. Bragging, like saying "My guide is better", "you are stupid and that's 
wrong", etc. If you send a complaint/correction/whatever, that's allowed, 
but be polite.
11. Large files/annoying messages (so that I get all confused and annoyed 
just replying to one message). There is an exception, if you send in 
comments, put a warning such as "LARGE FILE" in the subject field.
12. Sending in messages in another language other than the guide is 
written in. If this guide is Filipino send in Filipino.
13. DO NOT SEND TO THE BACKUP ADDRESS WHEN NOT NECESSARY! The backup 
address uses a separate program, and it is also prone to server down 
problems. I use it because they have a range of free services.
14. Talking about stuff not realted to anything related stuff, or e-mail 
that does not make sense, like "Have you read Playboy lately".

Note that doing the FIRST SEVEN dont's will not include your name/address 
in this FAQ, but in my BLOCKED SENDERS LIST. Or you may be isolated in 
another place in this FAQ, the "SPECIAL NOTICE" section. Doing the others 
and I simply wouldn't return with a good answer to your question.

The backup address does not support blocked senders, so I want to read 
ONLY BACKUP MESSAGES AND/OR SORRY MESSAGES FROM THE BLOCKED SENDERS. As 
for offenders, your name would remain permanent in the "Special Notice" 
section, however. Webmasters can post to their site, provided that they 
have permission and that it is not HTML even in the same words, no banner 
ads etc. unless I say so. Ones who didn't ask permission who said sorry, I 
will unblock your address and/or allow further posting of the guides. You 
will remain in the "Special Notice" section, however.

I do this because I don't offend people, especially with the dirty words. 
I realized that plagiarists have feelings too, they get hurt that way. The 
"Special Notice" section won't be for offense, but for _kindly_ asking 
people to stop their BAD doings. I realized that when I registered with 
the GameFAQs message boards.

Sending in a good e-mail will quickly return with a reply. If I don't, 
just send the message again within one week of me not replying, to the 
backup address. Sometimes I'm out of town, or just plain busy, so don't 
send to the backup address unless I didn't reply for at least a week.

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Part 2 Version History
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Version 3 Tuesday, October 2 2001
New MISC INFO section.
Game Enhancer + is ILLEGAL (gasp!!!)

Version 1 Monday, January 08, 2001
Nothing important to say, just that I started it.

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Part 3 Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
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For MAJOR concerns regarding the Game Enhancer Plus (Version 5.04), check 
this part. Common questions and concerns normally are found here. If you 
see that it is not here, don't send me mail yet, refer to the Rarely Asked  
Questions (RAQ). If you don't find it there, e-mail me, but check the e-
mail policy first.

The Enhancer FAQ is for the Game Enhancer Plus.

Questions that go to the RAQ are only asked me by two to five people. 
After it has been asked by the 6th I'll move it here.

ENHANCER FAQ

Q. What is the Game Enhancer Plus?
A. It is another version of the older Game Enhancer. If you don't own a 
Game Enhancer Plus but a Game Enhancer, check Devin Morgan's FAQ on 
GameFAQs <http://www.gamefaqs.com/console/psx/game/22680.html> This URL 
will take you to the page where the FAQs are.

URL - Uniform Resouce Locator
HTTP - Hypertext Transfer Protocol

The Game Enhancer Plus is a Gameshark compatible device. It can be used as 
a Gameshark, a memory card manager, and a CD Player or game cutscene 
player.

Q. Does a Game Enhancer Plus support everything a Gameshark does?
A. No, not exactly. I don't own a Gameshark, so see Dingo Jellybean's 
Gameshark Pro FAQ on the same URL above.

Q. Does it support Xplorer and Xploder codes?
A. No. I don't own it either. Check vgstrategies.about.com for details.

Q. How does it work?
A. That's easy. It knows certain values that you enter in the code, in 
Hexadecimal system. The code contains which value to override, and to how 
much. For example, 80013782 means EXP recieved in the game Final Fantasy 
7, and FFFF to change it to 65535. Understand? It means it manually 
overrides certain values that you specify to be changed, and changes it to 
the value you specify.

Q. How do I use the Game Enhancer?
A. Just plug it in the parallel I/O port at the back of your Playstation.

Q. There is no Parallel port.
A. You have one of the 9000 series Playstations. To know which you have, 
you need to see the bottom of your PSX and see if your model no. is not 
SCPH-900X. 9001 corresponds to the American |NTSC|U/C| VERSION, AND THE 
9003 is the Japaneese |NTSC|J| version.

Q. What do I do?
A. There is a Gameshark CD, I don't know about it. I heard you can upgrade 
your 9000 PSX and put a Parallel I/O port, only expensive though. I heard 
about it when my cousin's cousin had a Playstation 9000 series that had 
color problems and the color chip has to be replaced because colors don't 
appear. The shop asked if he wanted to install a Parallel port.

Q. My game crashed. Is there something wrong with my device?
A. No. You probably entered the wrong code, which means the value to 
change does not exist for the game, or the value to override is beyond the 
limit. For example, only 1923 is available and you enter FFFF.

Q. I heard that you can hack codes for the Gameshark using the port at the 
back. Can this be used for the Game Enhancer?
A. I don't know anything about hacking. See Gameshark FAQs.

Q. Do you know how to use import games?
A. No, not exactly. I haven't tried it, since my Playstation was already 
modified when I bought my Enhancer Plus.

Q. Can I use Gameshark codes that only work for a certain version of the 
Gameshark on the Game Enhancer Plus? (E.g. G.S. 2.2 or higher)
A. No, the Game Enhancer Plus is slightly different in that case. Even if 
you have the Game Enhancer Plus 5.04 it still won't work.

Q. Do you cheat?
A. Yes, in RPGs where (in my opinion), story is the leader, not the 
gameplay. Others I only use the Enhancer Plus when I'm not satisfied with 
my stats. KasketDarkFyre, the one who made the Dex Drive FAQ, stated that 
it's not cheating. To me it is since if the game has no cheats, you can 
use the Enhancer Plus, or if the game does not allow game advancement with 
the built-in cheats, it's worse than cheats.

No offense to Kasket, I guess we all have different opinions. I hope you 
understand.

Q. What kind of games can you use the Enhancer?
A. Any. Even if you bought yours in America you can use it in Asia or 
Europe, just make sure that the codes are for that version of the game.

Q. Do you recommend a site for the codes?
A. Yes, GSCCC http://www.cmgsccc.com. The Game Software Creators Club does 
not only host Gameshark/Action Replay/Enhancer codes but for other cheat 
devices as well.

Q. I cannot find the code I want. Where do I go?
A. Check other sites for Gameshark codes. Cheat Code Central 
http://www.cheatcc.com and http://cheatplanet.com are good sites to begin 
with. The only drawback is Cheat Planet is often out-of-date, and Cheat 
Code Central often has codes similar to GSCCC. 

OR

http://vgstrategies.about.com has links to other Game Shark Sites.

OR

See user-created codes from guides in GameFAQs or some other site, most of 
them are more reliable.

Q. With the "Normal Start" menu and the "Start game with cheat codes" 
menu, will "Start game with code" without choosing any game/code make any 
difference?
A. Yes. If you try to start as "Normal Start", removing the Game Enhancer 
Plus will _not_ crash the game. If you start with codes, the Game Enhancer 
Plus will not have anything to override, but it will still control the 
game because all codes are controlled by the Game Enhancer.

Q. (Special Thanks to Devin Morgan) The Enhancer says the memory card is 
unformatted. What is the solution?
A. The answer is to remove the memory card and reinsert it. If in some 
case your memory card was dropped, or abused in any way the files got 
corrupted, this message will appear. If you just bought the memory card 
and it's just out of the box and you didn't use it yet, this is very 
likely to happen.

Q. There are "?" icons in my memory manager. What's the cause? One of my 
files are also missing.
A. Some games like Megaman X4 and Pac Man World save in a way that only 
_very accurate_ memory card readers and the game itself can read the file 
format. Let's say for example, you have a Megaman X4 save that you want to 
copy. The solution is to use the game itself or the built-in memory 
manager of the Playstation. I noticed this when I played Rouge Trip my X4 
save was missing, but it says "Megaman X4". I also noticed that when I 
played Chessmaster III it registered as "DAMAGED FILE".

Q. My save got corrupted (Damaged) when I copied it to another memory 
card.
A. There are several possibilities, namely:
Your memory card is fake.
You removed the memory card/controller while saving
The manager isn't as accurate as the built-in manager of the Playstation.

Q. (Special thanks to Devin Morgan) Why is the Game Enhancer "Start Game" 
screen shorter than the normal PSX logo and SCEI logo?
(Original question by Devin Morgan "What's the difference between playing 
a regular game with the Game Enhancer plugged in or not?)
A. Basically, the Playstation searches wether the disc is a game disc or a 
music CD. The game disk will take you to the Playstation logo, while a 
music CD will take you to the CD player.

Q. Is the Game Enhancer Y2K compliant, and can it be infected by viruses?
A. (sigh) This question is commonly asked by the younger people ages below 
10. I did wish they'd ask their parents which are and which are not, since 
most young people are confused by it. This is one of the oldest and 
commonly asked questions since the Millenium Bug. HONESTLY. *Sigh*

The answer is no and no. The Game Enhancer is _not_ a Y2K compliant, 
neither does it use dates/times to use it, that's why it's not, so don't 
worry about Y2K in your cheat device. It cannot be infected by viruses 
because it does not have program files that run automatically. Since 
everything with the Game Enhancer has to be done manually, it can't.

Q. My manual says somthing about a "Golden Finger" function. What's that?
A. Some versions of the Game Enhancer Plus have a "Golden Finger" function 
built into it. After you turn the system on, a game "High Speed Golden 
Finger" will be selected automatically, even if it isn't in your Game 
Enhancer. So far, that's all I know about it.

Q. I just recieved an error message (Japaneese) that allow you to select 
"EL" or something.
A. I don't understand Japaneese, but I think it means that the Game 
Enhancer is full. One time I over-cheated with too many codes, I got this 
message. I WAS SO MAD THAT I DELETED MY DINO CRISIS CODES AND DRIVER CODES 
THAT DON'T EVEN WORK! After that I was able to make a set of Final Fantasy 
XI codes. And it works every time.

Q. Where can you buy the Game Enhancer Plus?
A. It's available in most game stores here in the Philippines, I don't 
know about other locations.

Q. How much does it cost?
A. It is available for 500 Pesos (Philippine money), or about $10 US. To 
exchange, divide the Peso by 50 to get US Dollars. For any other, I can't 
write em all here so convert to USD then to your exchange rate.

NEW!!!!

Q. Why is it, in my V-RAM image viewer, the screen does not show the last 
picture that was shown before I ended the game?
A. There are several possibilities, namely

1. You did not reset the Playstation but turned it off.

2. Someone may ask, I reset it. Maybe there was a breif power interruption 
that you did not notice, which happens very frequently in our area. So 
always have a surge protector for all your electronic devices, and a UPS 
for your computer.

Q. Why does my CD-ROM Player Plus show the CD-Player screen for a game?
A. There are several possibilities, namely (this one of my lines ^_^)

1. Your CD is dirty (most likely)

2. The Game Enhancer Plus does not recognise the CD you inserted.

Q. Why does my game crash when I Start Game With Code +?
A. If it is playable with the codes without the "+" sign (press select), 
the tendency of the game when you start it with code + is that the game 
may hang, or you can't turn it off.

END OF FAQ
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Part 4 The Game Enhancer Plus Version 5.04
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What's new with the Game Enhancer Plus

I don't know. I don't own a Game Enhancer, so I'm in the dark as you are. 
I _think_  it's that it has no built-in codes menu, so that you can edit 
freely. I'm not sure. I only know the Game Enhancer _PLUS_.

Getting started

Insert your Game Enhancer Plus in the Parallel I/O port of your 
Playstation. After that, turn on the system and instead of booting up the 
disc directly, the Playstation will start in a special menu that will 
allow you to choose six different functions. Here are they:

Normal Start
Start the game normally, like you would do without the Game Enhancer Plus.

Start Game With Code/Start Game With Code +
Starts the game with the selected codes. If the code does not work, try 
pressing select and Start Game With Code + will appear. This works for 
games like Metal Gear Solid, the version 1.0 codes will need this 
function. Note that selecting no game and using this menu will make a 
difference with normal start. Starting the game here will hang the game if 
the device is removed, while normal start will not.

Select Cheat Codes
Allows you to select a variety of built-in codes, and you are also able to 
delete/edit existing codes and make new ones.

Memory Manager
Conveniently manage memory card files here. Note that the built-in manager 
of the Playstation is more reliable.

V-RAM Image Viewer
This is a not-so-useful but interesting function. It will save the last 
image displayed when you _reset_ your Playstation. This is very useful if 
you need to read the copyright notice of the game. When it is displayed 
immediately reset your Playstation.

CD-ROM Player Plus
This function can either be a CD player or a movie viewer. If you want to 
view movies, the file format shold match. If you still don't have the 
format you can press Triangle and search.

END OF FUNCTIONS

Inputting codes
Choose new game or new code. Enter the _proper_ code and start the game 
with codes. If in any time you need to edit them press square.

NOTE: Unless a code is really needed to be that way, you can combine the 
codes to one name for less space. The only drawback is that you can't turn 
them off one by one.

END

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Part 5 Rarely Asked Questions
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(empty)

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Part 6 Misc Info
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GAME ENHANCER+ IS ILLEGAL! Yes! Here is what Chuck Cochem e-mailed me:

"What?" I hear you say? It's true. The game Enhancer is illegal. And 
here's why. 
 
First there was the Pro Action Replay/Game Shark. WE all know what this 
is. It's a cheating and hacking device, with legitimate purposes. The 
"Pro" persion of the Gameshark, and most versions of the Pro Action 
Replay (PAR) have a port on the back for a PC interface. This can be 
used to transfer data to PC, and also to reflash the BIOS. Now some 
Japanese programmers who didn't want to fork out the 700$ worth of cash 
to buy a Yarouze came up with a clever idea. They realised that the 
gameshark pro was a lot cheaper, and could be reprogrammed to be a 
development device, with the help of the PC Comms Link, and coded a 
replacement BIOS from scratch. This added some nifty development 
features. However, one function was missing from it. the ability to 
actually play the game you developed and burned to CD-R, because it was 
too big to load directly to main memory through the Comms Link. So, the 
guy wrote a function in it to stop the motor after the boot code was 
read, so you could then, if you modified the door open sensor, safely 
swap an original with your burned new homebrew game for testing. And 
once it worked that way, you could then run the game on any modded 
playstation. All this is completely legal, as the Caetla tools were all 
legally developed. 
 
Now the Hong Kong people saw this product, and said "Hey! This function 
can also be used to boot pirate copies!" This doesn't in itself make 
Caetla illegal, because that is not it's primairy use. But, the pirates 
knew that the original Caetla wasn't very "usable" for the average 
pirate user. So they accquired a copy of this Caetla bios, and hacked 
it's code, violating the copyright of the Caetla BIOS owners. They 
translated the menus to English (legal), addd and removed certain 
functions (illegal), and put in special code to auto-enable the swap 
function (HIGHLY illegal). And presto. we have a "Game Enhancer+"/"Game 
Wizard"/"PlugMod"/"External Mod Chip"/"Pro Action Replay" (many of the 
clones used the original device's name to lend them a false perception 
of legitimacy)/you name it. 
 
That is what the Game Enhancer is. A Hong Kong knock off of the 
Gameshark with an illegaly modified BIOS and a simplified import/backup 
playing function added. And because it is done by pirates, it is buggy, 
due to lack of quality assurance. Not only do they violate the DMCA, by 
being marketed as "external Mod Chips", but they ALSO infringe on the 
copyrights of the LEGIT Caetla BIOS author. 
 
There are only three legal BIOSes around for a GameShark/PAR that I am 
aware of. The Interact copyrighted GameShark BIOS, the Datel copyright 
Pro Action Replay BIOS, and the Caetla BIOS. All other's I've seen are 
illegal hacks of Caetla. 
 
Incidentally, some legitimate versions of the Game Shark Pro can be used 
to do a variation of the orginal, and safe, swap trick. You enter the 
Gamesharks CD menu, then swap discs after the motor stops. (of course, you 
must install a spring to hold the sensor down.  
 
So here's my advice to everyone. DO NOT buy any "Game Enhancers"! If 
you wish to cheat and hack, but not develop games, buy a Gameshark or 
legit Pro Action Replay (many hong kong clones claim to be A Pro Action 
Replay, but are not!). If you wish to do homebrew development, buy a 
game shark pro/PAR and PC COMMS Link/SharkLink, download the Caetla 
BIOS, flash your cheat device, learn Japanese, and start developing. If 
you wish to play imports and backups, either get a modchip (voids 
warranty, and is illegal) or a boot CD, although these are quite illegal 
too. The boot CD is particularly ingenious. SOme clever person managed to 
dupe the protected area of a playstation CD, and wrote a loader program 
which, like the Caetla BIOS/Game Enhancer, provides for a safe swap trick 
(one that stops the motor before you swap discs). IF you wish to remain 
legal, use the gameshark cd menu swap trick. I condone using mod chips an 
dboot CDs fr legitimate prposes, even if they are illegal, but I cannot 
condone the Game Enhancer, or any of the other Hong Kong clones of the 
Game Shark Pro. If you have a PsOne, you MUST use a boot CD or an internal 
modchip, unless you wish to try to perform a VERY risky swap trick with 
the Gameshark CDX.

My opinion:
I never really knew about this and I honestly only use my Game Enhancer+ 
for cheating and viewing movies.

I am not writing this to force current GE+ users to spend cash on other 
legit devices, but rather, use them for legit purposes. Also, the next 
time you buy a cheat device, do not buy such. There are many variants of 
the GE+ like what Chuck said and there is also the "Code Card" as far as I 
know.

I did find the GE+ to be VERY buggy, like the infamous memory card bug 
that will either not read the memory card, or reformat it, and many other 
bugs.

The GE+ and it's variants are simply these cheat devices that have 
illegaly modified BIOSes which violate copyright. Either use them for 
legit purposes, or don't buy at all.

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Part 7 Credits
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Chuck Cochems for legal Game Enhancer info.

Devin Morgan for some of the questions and answers.

Readers of this FAQ, and people who send me mail

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THANK YOU FOR READING!!!!!!!
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(c) Copyright MMI by Carlos Miranda
