After 300 video uploads to Youtube from July 2009 we still haven't even reached 2010 yet! But we are getting close, so let's continue...
301) C2 Mini Column - Uploaded 12th December, 2009
Another video from the same arena, this time I've reduced the size of a column. First I use the fallen column (there is only one). You will notice that when I increase the size of the column as in video 300 (Colossal Column - previous blog) the colour gets lighter, and here when I reduce its size it gets darker. This also happens when you increase or reduce the size of a colossus. So I make the column smaller and smaller until it looks like a dark log lying on the ground. Next I chose a standing column and reduced its size, even at half size Wander can still climb it. I make it smaller (a little higher than Wander) but now I can't grab onto it. I make it even smaller (a little lower than Wander's height) until finally in a flash, the column turns back to its original size, pushing Wander off balance in the process 😉.
302) G2 Pelagia's Tower - Uploaded 12th December, 2009
As in video 283 (Barba's Tower) here I am doing the same thing but this time moving around the gazebo structures at Pelagia's lake. That is, I found the position co-ordinates of the structures then started stacking them one atop the other to make a high tower. You will notice at 1:18 in the video Pelagia moving up and down in the lake, this was to keep it from attacking Wander whilst I worked on creating the tower 😉. Next I jump hack up high then float down to get a closer look at the tower, first next to the tower then right through its center... but again there is no collision detection as I have only moved the 3D models of the structures and not their collisions.
You may also notice Agro standing down on the bottom of the lake at time index 2:07, I had warped the horse to one of the gazebo structures but it had fallen off it seems... so I move it back up next to Wander. I move Agro to the center of the platform in the hopes she will be safe there and take a final look at the tower. Note: the tower at the end of the video is higher than the first as I had made some adjustments to it.
303) G2 Pelagia Save Stone Platform - Uploaded 16th December, 2009
It was WWWArea who first found the 'scale' values of a save stone. From this he could modify or stretch the save stone out into a flat plane. So in this video I have used his methods to stretch out the 'Misty Falls' save stone at G2. First I stretch out the save stone then move it down a little next to the waterfall, but Wander dies!
I once saw a Youtube video (now lost) where you could see Pelagia 'in front' of the arches... that is in the lake where the waterfall is... this was the purpose of this video as I was trying to recreate it, and at 1:54 in the video we see this strange effect! But it's just an optical illusion as what we are seeing is the colossus behind the arches, but we are far enough away that it looks like the colossus is in front of them!
Screen shot from the video - I intend to make a higher res image!
Next, I have moved the save stone platform up to the level of the arched gateway to get a closer look at it. Sadly, the entire arched bridge has no collisions... this enigmatic structure was the subject of much speculation in the early days. Players wondered if there was a way to traverse this bridge and somehow find a path to the Eastern lands!
I move the save stone platform up until I'm right at the center of it... now we can see that there are no surfaces on the top of the arched bridge, yet strangely the 'sides' of the columns still have collisions? It's much like what we see at the upper levels of the Shrine of Worship, that is the sides of the temple still have collision surfaces, but the top surfaces do not? At the end of the video I try to make Pelagia land on my save stone platform but it doesn't work... I have moved the save stone beyond its limits so it disappears and Wander falls into the lake.
304) E6 Modding Phalanx - Uploaded 17th December, 2009
I start out by moving Phalanx down just above the surface of the desert sands. When I move Phalanx or any of the snake type colossi around, their tails invariably twist and turn in strange ways... Next Phalanx is curled up into a spikey ball of protruding wings and body parts which has some weird effects on the camera view, but eventually Phalanx does what I intended and it starts surfing over the sands much like how the 10th boss Dirge does. You'll notice I look down at the sand from time to time then look back up, this is to reset the bloom effect which in this arena can be quite intense.
On foot, Wander runs up the ground surfing colossus and tries to grab on but fails! But he does touch one of the wings for a second or so, causing the music 'Counter Attack' to start. Then within just a few seconds, Phalanx dives into the sand as it does in normal play once you have climbed onto it. So I try again, this time on Agro and ride right up in front of Phalanx's head, narrowly missing it! I then leap off Agro onto its back and start surfing this crazy ground level version of Phalanx 😉. I run up and take position on its head, crouching down for stability and then just watch what happens. You can see how my emulator was struggling to record some parts here...
Then I shift Phalanx high up into the air, Wander is thrown up but seems to have passed through the colossus as we see him falling back to earth and Phalanx is untangling itself high above (again the tail twists and turns in strange ways). Lastly, I have the colossus standing upside down in a vertical position; it seems I did this for most of the colossi I modded xD. Again, you can see it untangling and moving in strange ways. Then all of a sudden as I level it out, I am punished for my blasphemy! (that is for messing with this gentle giant) as Wander and Agro are thrown into the void below the desert and killed when they hit the death floor!
305) F4 Mini-Mega Agro - Uploaded 17th December, 2009
I was bound to happen! I mean I had changed the scale codes of a tree and a save stone, I had even scaled one of the colossus (Kuromori)! So in this video I use the scale codes on Agro - first by making the horse into a tiny little pony! Sadly, I could never work out how to scale its mane, reins or tail... so we see a tiny horse with normal horse sized mane, reins and tail - which looks quite unusual yet very cute! I make Agro about a third of the size of Wander... but only the half sized horse can carry Wander around. Smaller Agro seems to move more slowly as well based on its smaller frame... I then increase Agro's size to twice its size! Now Wander seems to be a small person on a large horse.
I then change Agro in a 'Paper' version as well (as in the above video), then a colossal Agro! Until finally I reduce her to normal size and pet her... to let her know all is OK again 😉.
306) E2 Modding Gaius - Uploaded 18th December, 2009
In my earlier attempts at this arena I had warped Wander to the sleeping colossus only to wake it up, but there is a safe place to land that won't wake the sleeping giant! I'm not sure who it was that first discovered this spot but I think it was Pikol who first landed there in a video? In any case, I learnt that the stone bracelet of Gaius was solid so I worked out how to land there. Then I jump down right in front of the Knight's face and watch as its eyes change from darkness to 'life'! You only get a short glimpse of this before the cutscene starts, but it shows that when the colossi are sleeping or 'deactivated' they are basically dead.
So I start modding the colossus! First I warp Gaius up into the sky, then start messing with its position co-ordinates... It looks like Gaius is dancing or stretching out in weird ways! I break its arm bracelet (as normal) then slowly push the colossus out to the edge of the circular platform - until it falls into the lake and disappears! Wander tries to follow by jumping down into the lake, but by this time Gaius would have already fallen past the death floor (-300m) and continued to fall down ad infinitum.
Next I jump up onto its back fur and hold on while I warp the colossus back out past the circular platform, the colossus falls into the lake and beyond, while Wander floats back up to the surface. Pretty cool! Then (by a mistake) I made 'Paper Gaius'! That is, I changed the wrong address and we see this weird flat 2D version of Gaius! I have called it this from the Youtube comments of the time! I've also increased its size too much, hence you can see it bobbing up and down. Still, this accident is still interesting to watch all these years later as I never re-created this effect. As you can see in the video, I can't even land on 2D Gaius! At the end of the video I've squeezed the colossus up so much it disappears and only some remnants of the stone bracelet are left... things I can't honestly remember doing now! I think I just kept on modding (hacking) to see what would happen.
307) F8 Malus Save Stone Platform - Uploaded 16th December, 2009
The video starts with a stretched out save stone positioned right up next to the ramp that leads to the final boss. This is a safe place Wander can use to avoid the lightning attacks from Malus as Wander is standing on a platform that is above the ground. So I start by jumping onto the surface atop the ramp to trigger Malus. Note: It's still daylight up here as the storm hasn't yet been triggered as Wander had yet to touch the surface... so first Malus appears with the storm, then I need to jump onto the surface again to trigger Malus fully. Malus attacks and I jump back to the safety of my save stone platform.
I then move the platform up and Wander gets kicked high up into the air but a second later I have brought the platform up to meet him. I became quite adept at doing this over time 😉. So now I can move the save stone platform anywhere I want up close to Malus without fear of being blasted by its lightning attacks. From high up I look down on Malus far below. Notice how the vines and vegetation are scaled up here!
I recreated Wander looking down at Malus from the save stone platform
Next I shift the platform down lower and lower until I'm about chest level with Malus. We watch as Malus shoots bolt after bolt at Wander but to no avail, in fact Wander stands right in front of Malus' enormous hand without taking any damage. Eventually Wander stands directly in front of Malus' huge head and throws a couple of harpoons... he then jumps onto its shoulders and falls down to the lower body levels. At 4:20 in the video it seems I try to 'warp' Wander back up to the platform but instead I'm shifted away from the colossus and fall to my death! At the end of the video I check out Malus before it is activated. In this mode it's a ghost and has no substance so Wander can run right through it. You'll also notice its eyes are devoid of life, just black empty sockets! But I run too close to the edge of the save stone platform and again fall to my death.
308) F2 Mega Wander - Uploaded 17th December, 2009
Wander starts on the bridge about half way across, he then transforms into a giant! But I've made Wander too big as he keeps jumping on the spot, this indicates he is too large to stand. You can make Wander 1.8 his size and he acts normally but anything beyond that and you will see this weird jumping animation (this is also true for the colossi).
Also, Wander's head is normal size so he looks very odd here! There is a separate model for Wander's head and in this video I had only found Wander's body position co-ordinates. So Wander jumps down from the bridge and opens the chute... which compared to Wander's enormous frame looks like a small tablecloth! Once he mounts Agro the jumping stops and I ride towards the South changing Wander's body size from large to 'colossal' and then 'ridiculous'! You will notice at 1:35 in the video I also increase Agro's size until at the end both rider and horse have returned to their original sizes.
In February 2019 I made an updated but different video with the same title, see here:
309) G7 Mega White-Tailed Lizard - Uploaded 17th December, 2009
This was one of my most popular videos back in the day with over 40,000 views before I deleted it, probably should have left it on my channel but it's not a great video quality wise. Wander is in the main hall of the temple and shoots down the white-tailed lizard from the roof. Yes, there is a white-tailed lizard in the Shrine of Worship! It falls to the floor and then I make it about six times its size. As Wander approaches it runs into the statues to escape but gets stuck there, so I locked its position co-ordinates in the centre of the hall so I could stop it moving around.
Like Wander's head model in the above video the lizard's tail is likewise a separate model, so it looks like a tiny appendage sticking out of this giant lizard. I make the lizard even larger until it starts flashing on and off... indicating that I have made the lizard way too large as at times you see only the tiny white tail floating above the floor. Finally I put the poor reptile out of its misery with a quick shot from my bow, the lizard falls then starts to slowly sink into the floor, while this is happening I increase its size again until it's truly enormous - colossus sized now! Eventually the huge bulk of the creature sinks into the floor leaving only the small glowing tail for Wander to pick up.
In November 2011 I made an updated but different video with the same title, see here:
310) F4 Super Speed Wander - Uploaded 18th December, 2009
Not far away from Wander's position co-ordinates in the code you will find his speed variables. As far as I know I was the first to ever find them! So I can speed up, slow down or even freeze Wander, these codes will be invaluable to me in future videos as they can be found for all of the colossi. For instance I could freeze a colossus before I enter its arena or wait for it to attack then freeze it etc. the possibilities were many! In this video I'm exploring the effect for the first time, so I just speed Wander up in increments to see what happened. Gah! I'm still in the 'era' of Wander having that weird pink thing hanging from the back of his head...
So I run up to the pool room and back again each time faster and faster. Poor Agro tries to keep up but can't match his master's new amazing speed ability! Then Wander runs so fast he leaves the temple and finds himself running on the land outside until he slams into a cliff wall! He runs back up the stairs into the temple at super speed, then runs up the circular ramp above the pool room...in just ten seconds Wander has run from the bottom of the ramp up to top. Normally it takes about a minute to do this in game, so Wander is at x10 speed here!
Wander falls back into the pool from the top of the ramp, looking like a wind up doll until at the last second he unfurls the parachute. He then runs out of the temple and towards the first colossus arena, every now and then the game stops as it has to catch up with Wander's speed. He reaches the first colossus arena high on speed! Wander is tripping balls now! He moves like he has snorted a pound of cocaine! Video ends.
311) F4 Bobble Head Wander - Uploaded 18th December, 2009
As in the above 'Super Sized Wander' video I have now found the scale values of Wander's head model. So in this short video I super size Wander's head. At first I made it double sized, and yes the weird pink testicle is still part of Wander's head...damn it! Then I scale up Wander's body values (which I already had) until I have a super sized Wander riding a small horse. I play around with various sizes but Wander keeps jumping up and down (too large), until finally I make Wander's body normal sized but the head is colossal! At the very end of the video I scale up the head even more (x12) and then call for Agro. You can see the Wander's lips move and the strange light effects on his face.
I recreated Wander's enormous head scaled up x 12
312) SotC Tribute Video - Uploaded 21st December, 2009
I clearly remember making this video and enjoying every minute of it 😉. This is one of those videos that I have great nostalgic feelings about. The video starts as the game does with the hawk flying over the canyons in the opening cutscene with the background music I chose to compliment this video 'You were there' from the ICO sound track. The song was composed for the game by Michiru Ōshima and was sung by a then 14 year old Steven Geraghty.
You can listen to the song here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XWVij6r4QBw
I edited the video so it would line up with the changes in the song to match whenever there was a change of scene in the video. I was quite happy with the result. So after the opening cutscene I then proceeded to feature all of the 16 colossi using the videos I had made previously - which are all showcased in my previous two 'early videos' blog posts. Most of the videos featured are my hacking type such as having Agro in arenas she wasn't meant to be in etc. as it would have been boring (I think) to just showcase the normal gameplay... I mean anyone could make a video like that!
After the final boss I showed Wander at the bridge cutscene where Agro falls, then some parts of the end cutscene with Dormin being sucked into the pool of light, the main stone bridge breaking apart and finally Mono waking up and meeting Agro. The only issue with this video is that Agro is white in all of the game scenes except the opening and ending cutscenes where we see black Agro... but I wasn't too concerned about it at the time 😉.
313) H4 Mega Avion - Uploaded 23rd December, 2009
So here we are on Christmas eve, 2009... Well, I can sum this video up pretty quickly as all I do is move Avion from its perch to the 2nd (higher) platform of the starting temple where Wander is located, then I increase Avion's scale up to a huge size. Again, I have made it too large as it flickers on and off... later I realised how large I could scale a colossus to stop this effect. So I then shoot an arrow into the invisible Avion and we see it flicker back into existence and fly away, throwing Wander back via its huge wing gusts. Avion appears ghostly white at this size and seems to move more slowly as its huge frame navigates the lake. In fact, it's so huge it takes up the entire frame of the video.
Yet you get glimpses of mega Avion staring back at you with its beak open and those huge predatory forward facing eyes, like the eyes of a true bird of prey! It's quite scary and creepy to say the least... Wander gets blown back again and again in this video, but if I made this video today I would know how to withstand those wing gusts 😉.
314) H4 Mini-Mega Avion - Uploaded 23rd December, 2009
Christmas day, 2009! Next I continue on from the Mega Avion (video 308) but this time I move Avion from its perch up to the 2nd level of the temple then decrease its size. I make Avion smaller than Wander but its three sigils are now glowing like spotlights! So I change weapons from the sword to bow & arrows to turn this effect off. Now I can get a closer look at 'Mini Avion'! I mean it's so adorable at this scale! I want one!
Yet, I still point my bow and arrow at this tiny creature and shoot! Mini Avion flies away back over the lake, I watch it for a while then increase its size, larger and larger. Again, as it passes by, Wander is thrown back by the wing gusts. At times in this video I lock Avion so it can't move (by locking its position co-ordinates). I move the colossus up higher in the sky then we see it swoop back down to its original level... video ends.
315) C2 Modding Cenobia - Uploaded 23rd December, 2009
This nine minute video starts out with a mega sized Cenobia. You will see some anomalies with Cenobia at this size... for instance, you can see a gap between where its legs join to the body and a strange cone shaped protrusion around the head. This is because I had only found the 'body' scale values and not the head. I make the colossus jump up and down on the spot so that Wander has a chance to escape its influence. You will see the first column floating above the ground... I'm using the same save state as I did to make Nomad's temple and move the columns around in earlier videos.
So I move the horizontal column up and then 'release' the small headed huge bodied Cenobia from its falling animation. Next we see that Wander isn't safe standing on one of the arches as Cenobia is so large its back passes through the arch sending Wander falling to the ground. I won't bore you with every detail of this video but in essence I make the super sized colossus walk on air with some interesting results, then I'm trying to land on the colossus via jumping up high and floating down with the chute... and it's very clear how slow the emulator was working back then as the game struggles to keep up with the frame rate! More weird effects follow but at 5:10 in the video it seems I had abandoned the colossus and focussed on making a column larger.
So Wander jumps up to the top of this enormous column (perhaps x3 its size) then waits until Cenobia rams it, however, as the column is now so large we can't see the colossus from this high vantage point. So I had to use some hacks to shift Cenobia out onto the field where Wander could get a clean shot at it with his bow. You'll notice Cenobia is stuck at the position co-ordinates I have set until Wander shoots it. Then we see the huge column fall to the ground. Even so, Cenobia can still ram it, sending Wander flailing about and losing his balance!
Finally I make the column x10 its size, Wander jumps up to the top, looks around then jumps back to the ground where we see a normal sized Cenobia trying to ram this ridiculous sized column... and failing! Video ends here.
Recently I have made an updated video of the x10 column:
316) F4 Super Speed Agro - Uploaded 24th December, 2009
Still on Christmas eve... I start out of the Shrine of Worship then as I'm riding across the green fields Agro suddenly speeds up! In the Hex code when you know Agro's position co-ordinates (x,y,z) you just add 2A0 to the address and you will get Agro's speed value. This works for Wander, the colossi and even the soldiers at the end cutscene. So I can speed up or slow down the horse, but if you go too fast the game can't render the landscape in time, so Agro stops while the game catches up.
I've found the best speed to use is double Agro's normal speed as she can run consistently like this without the game having to catch up. But of course as this was my first ever attempt using Agro's speed up code I went a bit too far... you'll notice when I turn Agro around she spins in circles very fast and the land disappears at times as the graphics need time to render etc. Also, this old video suffers from a lot of bloom and general poor quality when it was made...
Next I make Agro super sized as well as super speed, but this has the strange effect of Agro's front end falling into the ground while its tail end is above. I had seen this effect before in a very old video (before even Youtube was a thing!). Back in January 2006 there was 'Google video' and this effect or 'glitch' in this case was recorded by a now unknown user - see his video here:
Although, by reducing Agro's size I can continue to play the game (unlike the attached video). So I ride Agro back to the temple towards the pool of water but have trouble controlling her as I'm going too fast.
317) D7 Ledge (NTSC & Preview Version Comparisons) - Uploaded 25th December, 2009
Merry Christmas! Here is an area that Wander can climb down to reach a rocky ledge and a nice view of the ocean but little else. There is a similar ledge at H7 on the world map, both let you climb down some ledges but they lead nowhere? The first part of the video showcases the US retail version. You can see a carpet of lime green grass that Wander can climb down, it stands out boldly from the surroundings. When Wander reaches the ledge he explores what there is to see and then at 01:22 suddenly jumps to his death! Not sure why I did this? Then Wander climbs back up the mossy carpet back to Agro.
At 02:06 the video cuts and we are in the Preview version. You can see the carpet of grass/moss is missing now! I slide down and explore the same areas but the difference is that in the distance you can now make out the D7 island! But sadly, it is obscured by the intense bloom effect. I try to get a better look at it but the bloom takes over... video ends.
318) D7 Island (Preview Version) - Uploaded 26th December, 2009
Boxing day - Turns out I was the first person to find this island in the Preview version (as in the video above). Not that it matters now, but at the time finding something new was a big thing amongst the SotC community and there was stiff competition to be the first. From the shoreline you can see a bare rocky island jutting out above the water which was different to any other island that we had seen before.
The video starts out with Wander jumping towards the island but failing to reach it and then falling into the ocean and dying. I did this as I was testing how far I had to jump, so I would try a value > fail > try again with a different value etc. until I reached my goal. In any case when I miss the island I'm high enough to get a good look at it before Wander dies. Seems I didn't have the parachute in the Preview version at this stage... which is problematic when trying to explore something like this.
Finally at about a minute into the video I make it to the island but Wander falls straight through it. So I fall through it a few times before the video ends. I recall making this as a quick way to show others what the island looked like up close. In a later video I make a more detailed study of it.
319) D6 Modding Barba - Uploaded 26th December, 2009
First I shrink Barba down to about the height of Wander, but as parts of the colossus stay the same size, notably its beard and knee pads, it's hard to see it. There's also a lot of dust flying around but at 1:05 in the video you can see mini Barba 😉. You'll also notice that Barba's tower from my previous blog post (video 283) is here, I must have used that save file for this video and I've locked Barba's movement so I can get Wander into a good viewing position. So when Barba crashes through a couple of the barriers you now see a gap in the tower with the top most barriers floating in mid air!
Next I speed up Barba... this part is a bit crazy as Barba is flying around all over the place breaking barriers and making the camera move in strange ways. Barba's tower has now lost more of its barriers as I return the colossus back to normal speed. Next, I revisit the very top of the arena above the main central column. I first made a video of this area back in August (video 27) however, I'm not sure this video quality is any better... but here I warp Barba up to this high vantage point. You can see it jumping up and down from below and then Wander grabs on for the ride! As the colossus falls, Wander holds on for dear life - see below image and unlisted video here: https://youtu.be/rISTUJdt1-Q
Finally, I run outside to the front of the temple then warp Barba to that location, but as expected it just falls through the ground and disappears.
320) F3 Modding Quadratus (Reprise) - Uploaded 27th December, 2009
So here we are back at the 2nd colossus arena for some more modding of poor Quadratus! I always felt a little guilty interfering with Quadratus for some reason? It just felt wrong somehow to move it around and resize it etc. Not sure why, I didn't get that feeling with the other colossus as much... So I start by freezing it then making it smaller, then slowing it down to watch is stomping action. Then I reduce the size even more to about the size of an elephant and attempt to climb it. At these smaller scales the collision meshes don't work so well and Wander gets stuck trying to move around. I drop to the sand and make Quadratus even smaller, but this causes Wander to glitch through the ground and fall into the void! So I try again, that is make Quadratus the same small size but the same thing happens! Wander just falls through the sand into the void?
So I try something else... which is to speed up a normal sized Quadratus. At times it's moving so fast it floats above the sand! Then, just as it's about to crush Wander under its huge hoof-like foot - I freeze it again. Next I increase its size to huge proportions... again, too large for the colossus to stay standing on the ground. After all the previous colossi modding videos you think I would have learnt by now that there is a scale above which the colossi are too large to stay afloat? Well in this instance it seems I hadn't figured that out yet xD. So once I unfreeze this enormously sized Quadratus (I mean it's probably 6 times its normal size here) I try to make Wander jump onto its head as it sinks below the surface, but fail - in fact Wander would just fall through a colossus this size! Lastly, I return the colossus to its normal size - it rears up and I freeze it once more... and we see one final anomaly as its right leg seems to rotate around in a strange way.
Quadratus frozen with raised leg
321) G5 Modding Phaedra (Preview Version) - Uploaded 27th December, 2009
I start by shooting a whistling arrow at Phaedra that I had frozen via changing its 'speed' code to zero. However, it can still move when something interacts with it. This can be seen when I freeze Agro, when Wander moves around Agro's head follows him even though the horse is frozen. So, when an arrow flies past or hits the colossus, it still moves! I shoot a regular arrow at it to be sure, and yes it moves again as if wounded! Poor beast!
I then shrink the colossus down to about a third of its size, however those climbable 'earring' structures remain the same scale. It's so small in fact that it floats above the ground. If I had reduced the earrings as well then we would have seen a tiny Phaedra on the ground, but the scale of the earrings keeps it up. So I try moving the colossus down lower and manage to grab hold of the earrings and climb them, but this seems like a wasted effort. Next, I increase its size, speed it up then make my way back to the starting area where you see that deep pit that has pathways that lead down and back up again... you'll see what I mean in the video below, but I was trying to get Phaedra to fall into that pit!
My aim here was to try and get the colossus to follow me (i.e. Wander) to the edge of the pit but it just turns around and walks away. So I freeze it again to get Wander into a better spot then speed it up, but I get knocked down into the pit by being taken aware of Phaedra's speed! So Wander has to run all the way back up to the surface. In these old videos I never used to cut out parts or edit them, I just posted what I recorded 😉. Finally at 6:17 in the video I had success! You can hear Wander's 'heh' sound as it happens - I have shifted Phaedra into the pit! But it just falls down through the surfaces and disappears.
The second we see Phaedra falling into the pit
Wander runs over to the edge of the pit and looks down, but there is nothing there (of course). In later videos I can shift the camera to the colossus, so as it falls we would see what it is seeing as it falls into the void. But the result is the same... the colossus just falls into the void and keeps falling forever!
322) F4 Agro On Spiral Path - Uploaded 27th December, 2009
So I have 'warped' Agro up to the top of the spiral path, in fact up to the entrance door where we first see Wander and Agro enter into the Shrine of Worship at the intro cutscene. I was trying to replicate that cutscene (in game). Again, the quality of these ancient videos are terrible, but we can see how Wander rides Agro down the ramp to the upper platform. Next, I try to navigate the sloping spiral ramp on Agro... it's very hard to keep the horse on track, at first I try a slow gallop but fail! Agro falls down to a lower ramp, but this kicks Wander off and he falls into the void.
Next I try I get a little further but still fall off... but this time both Agro and Wander survive the fall. So it seems the only way to do this properly is not to gallop. That is to ride Agro as slowly as possible. So in my third attempt this is what I do - and it works! I speed up the video as it would have taken a lot longer to watch at normal speed, but at 3 minutes in the video we see Agro reach the bottom of the spiral ramp. Note: You will notice Agro 'shifts' its position slightly right at the end, this is the barrier that has been placed there to stop you riding 'up' the ramp (in game).
323) F8 Malus is Defective - Uploaded 27th December, 2009
I could have called this video 'Malus is frozen' as here I have frozen Malus so it can't shoot its bolts of energy at Wander. I start as usual and jump up to the top of the ramp and quickly make my way to the first column (to avoid the blast)! I move out a little to entice Malus to shoot again, then quickly run back to the safety of the stone column. But then Wander runs out into the deadly blast zone but nothing happens? How is this possible you may ask? Malus still has its outstretched hand full of potential energy just waiting to blast Wander - answer is I have frozen the colossus!
So I (Wander) shoot an arrow into its huge outstretched palm, then make my way down further towards the colossus. I shoot another arrow into its hand then make my way up the slope that leads to the feet of the boss, but here we see no 'cutscene' appear! So this means I had already been there before and this was my second trip back to Malus! So I jump hack up from the stairs then the video cuts to Wander landing on its left arm. As Malus is frozen it's easy to jump from the arm to its shoulder... as there is no movement. I even shoot a couple of arrows at Malus's head as I have a steady platform to do so!
Next, I jump off and run back to the front of the colossus and shoot more arrows into its outstretched palm... but now I have 'unfrozen' Malus just a little! I can't recall exactly what speed, but it was very small... like 5% of normal... so we see how the energy blasts start to appear but then dissipate! It's like it's charging up the blast but just can't move fast enough to produce enough energy - I remember being really impressed by this effect at the time 😉.
324) C2 Modding Celosia (Reprise) - Uploaded 28th December, 2009
In this video I have already knocked Celosia off the cliff so that its armoured back plate is missing. I start off standing on the starting side of the trench, however, you will notice that Celosia is much larger than normal - in fact double its size. I was playing around with Celosia's scale and speed values and as such you can see the colossus floating around the arena in weird ways. It falls into the trench and then tries to enter via the broken entrance (see image below). But it's too big to fit through the entrance now! So I let it in (reduced its size) but it's still in speed mode... and it surprises me as it jumps over the trench - knocking Wander down hard!
Celosia is too large to enter the arena!
I climb back up and find the huge colossus frozen. I get in what I think is a safe position (behind) the final step of the staircase then unfreeze it, but it sights me and attacks! Throwing Wander back down the stairs. I run up the stairs but quickly get dispatched again! Wow, double sized Celosia is brutal! I quickly freeze the colossus for safety then run up and jump over the trench, I climb onto one of the fire pedestals and then unfreeze the colossus again, you can see it's higher than the fire pillars! But its attacks do the same damage, knocking out a wooden stick (as normal). I freeze the colossus again and grab the stick then shrink Celosia down to a third of its size. It looks a little strange at this scale and reminded me of an armadillo... I quickly light the torch then scale it back up to double size where I can scare it with the fire - pretty amazing to see a double sized Celosia backing away from the fire stick!
325) F8 Weird Effects at #16's Area (Part 1) - Uploaded 29th December, 2009
As the title of the video says, there are some strange things going on here! I had to break this (long) video into four parts as all four parts run at just over 34 minutes! First Wander is invisible... he appears and disappears briefly, this has since been a very useful code for me over the years! We then see Malus sink down into its platform and suddenly Malus is above Wander! Back in video 256 of the 2nd blog in this series you may recall WWWArea working out how to move Malus from its platform, so here I do it again. You will also see I have sped up the clouds just to add some drama to the video : )
I trigger Malus then freeze it so it's safe to explore and you can see how I have changed its colour to white (like an albino version of Malus). I can turn the storm on and off as well... there were all sorts of effects I had found at this stage 😉. So I let albino Malus take a shot at Wander then change its colour back to normal. Things get harder to explain in some parts... like somehow I've messed with the floor textures so they are mismatched, and then we see a ghostly (upside down) version of Wander floating nearby... and the same effect is happening to Malus as well.
Next Wander is inverted but can still run around (weirdness) but then we see what I think is the most strange effect of all - Wander is moving 'under' the arena inverted, that is the camera is above Wander but he is moving downwards. I land on an invisible surface and we can see Malus under the arena as well, only its legs are inverted... what is going on here? xD. The textures return and we see how Wander is standing on the stairs that lead up to the colossus, I use the same trick again and we see Wander floating down below the walkways under the arena and then hear him die on the death floor.
This video is quite long (9 minutes 41 seconds) and we are only half way through, so I'll make the rest as brief as I can. We next see Wander acting like a 'hang glider', that is I found a way to increase part of his body that stretches out like wing structures... very bizzare. It seems I can glide using these wings, so I do a couple of tests to see how they function but only end up dying (see video below for more on this). We then see Wander's bow and sword grow to enormous sizes, Wander even shoots at frozen Malus with the super sized bow. Strangely, the sword returns to normal size when Wander uses it... unlike the bow.
Now we return to the effect we saw briefly at the start of the video, with Malus sinking into its platform. I trigger the storm then make my way towards the colossus and then try to grab onto its hand fur, but even frozen Malus still has some movement and always seems to move away at the right moment as if it knows what Wander is trying to do. So I run around to the back of the colossus, stab its weak point then jump back down to the platform. The video ends with Wander looking South out over the vast ocean above which the clouds move swiftly through the stormy skies above.
326) F8 Wander Hang Glider - Uploaded 30th December, 2009
As seen in the above video, once I found that weird 'hang glider' code I decided to see if I could use it to make Wander fly! The results were disappointing as you can see... I think this might be a stretched out neck texture perhaps? and it does advance Wander quite a distance, but he still needs a parachute to land with (which apparently I didn't have when I made this video), so he dies when falling from that high up. Sometimes he just falls into the chasm and yet at others he gets flung half way across the map where he freezes. At this early stage I couldn't turn off the freeze value, but if I had managed to do so we would have seen the lands around Wander load as he glided down to the surface. Sadly, to try and replicate this today would be problematic as I sometimes had multiple addresses changed at the same time which created many and varied strange effects.
327) F8 Weird Effects at #16's Area (Part 2) - Uploaded 30th December, 2009
The video starts with Wander sinking into the floor in strange ways with his feet as the pivot. This is Wander's gravity code but since I had a lot of other codes locked at the same time we see different effects. Wander floats up and lands on the outstretched arm of Malus and interestingly you will notice the same effect does not work when standing anywhere on a colossus, so I try jumping again but I don't float higher up. It seems I have the parachute in this video (unlike part 1) so when Wander falls off he lands safely. I'm also sliding slowly backwards and can't seem to stop sliding off the platform into the danger zone where the blasts from Malus can do damage... luckily Wander is again thrown up, this time much higher than before, he lands and is thrown up again and again. Somehow this happened automatically as I wasn't changing any codes when I made this video, I was just recording what happened.
The next few minutes of the video showcase strange texture effects and we again see the upside down Wander, this time as a shadow figure. We see Wander fighting to push through strong wind gusts (that we see in the final cutscene - more on this later) and then we are warped outside and under the map briefly. I'll let you watch the next part as it's too hard to explain what's happening except to say the camera is panning in and out on Wander (under Malus) with all sorts of weird effects! Finally the camera pans too far away which resets the environment, so the storm disappears and we have normal skies again. Wander rolls under the skirt of Malus to take a look at the changed environment.
We see Wander tied up in strange ways and then another inverted anomaly with Malus upside down under the arena, so looking up you see the passage ways that Wander traverses in the game. So Wander falls yet he appears to be moving up... so weird! Next we see Wander's legs moving out horizontally until he is doing the splits! Perhaps this was a value tied to how Wander rides Agro? Finally we see a repeat of an effect in Part 1 as Wander is inverted but can still run around, strangely, Malus' feet also seem to float above the ground as Wander is in this mode.
328) F8 Weird Effects at #16's Area (Part 3) - Uploaded 31st December, 2009
We see Wander running around on his tippy toes then crouched down. You don't see Wander crouch down much in the game but there are places low enough to cause this. Next I'm playing around with the storm producing weird rain effects and making it darker or mistier etc. Then a great effect where we see Malus' skirt parts all twisting and turning around within each other like some strange clockwork machine. I try to get a good look at this as I knew it was a one off fluke happening as I had locked so many random memory addresses here I would never be able to replicate it, but getting too close would knock Wander over (very near the edge of the cliff), so I had to be careful.
More strange Wander effects follow with his sword seeming to bend and warp like a whip of light perhaps? Next the game is inverted, I know how to achieve this easily as I recently made a video about it. There is a 'zoom' code that has a value of 1 (float type), when you make it -1 the game inverts, that is everything is upside down. See my 'Upside down' mode video here: https://youtu.be/joYozAJoB4U
Next I find a camera code that makes the camera pan away from Wander. This will become a staple part of all future videos and indeed would become a kind of signature that you were watching a 'Nomad' video when this effect is showcased 😉. It's an amazing camera effect as you can literally pan out as far as you want by changing a value, even until you are out of the game boundaries. You can also pivot around with the controller (where Wander is the centre of the imaginary sphere) to move up/down, left/right or circle around etc. To reset the camera you just change the value to 4.6 (its default value). In the video I pan far enough away to unload Malus.
Next we see another camera code that shifts East/West, North/South or Up/Down. This is Wander's own camera code and it's really useful for looking up high places like when standing in the Secret Garden I can shift the camera up and look at the higher parts of the temple (for instance). In the video I shift the camera to the right (West) so that we pass over the edge of the arena, then I make it snap back to Wander. I use the North/South code next and we see Malus unload again, meaning I have moved Wander's camera too far away from the colossus. The problem with this (Wander's) camera code is that if Wander starts moving anywhere the camera starts freaking out and it's quite difficult to control, so it's best used when Wander is standing still.
So far I have found two very useful camera codes, the first (the 'pan out' camera) and the second (Wander's camera), but next I find another one that seems to stretch away from Wander. That is, Wander stays in the centre of the screen but his surroundings all warp away backwards until it looks like a stretched out tunnel... hard to explain really you'll just have to watch the video 😉. Finally I play around with the colour code, changing it from green to purple to red, this was another code I had found early on but it only affects the background, not Wander or Agro or a colossus etc.
329) F8 Weird Effects at #16's Area (Part 4) - Uploaded 31st December, 2009
Well, we have come to the final part of this four part series. Wander is being blown back by an invisible wind! This is indeed the same effect that happens when in the final cutscene, Dormin is reduced back to a shadow version of Wander... and he is pulled back towards the pool of light and can't seem to jump fast enough to make any difference! However in the video Wander is pulled back in turbo charged mode! So he warps way North and lands somewhere in F7...
Next we are back on the starting platform above the ramp, I use the same trick but get stuck in the tunnels Wander uses to reach the colossus. Eventually I warp through the walls and get transported far away... to I knew not where > the video transitions to another warp and this time I end up at the first colossus arena (Valus) and we can see the dead remains of the colossus. Note: the level (height) of the first boss arena and the last boss arena are the same, hence Wander can transport between each arena in the North/South direction when using this 'warp' code.
Next, the screen is all messed up as I'm hacking into the screen memory of the game, but we can still hear the audio which tells us this is the cutscene where Agro falls off the bridge, we see the arena inverted again then the game crashes (not surprising considering how many addresses were locked)! It seems I had zeroed in on that cutscene as we see it again... Agro falls from the bridge after saving Wander. Then we are looking down on Malus, but everything is inverted again? Honestly, I have no idea how I did these things back then!
Well, after 329 videos starting from 27th July, 2009 we have finally made it into 2010! That averages out to just over 2 videos per day for 158 days! This sounds impressive but some of the big Youtubers upload 2 videos per day, such as Jacksepticeye, who's favourite game is (you guessed it) Shadow of the Colossus 😉 In any case, let us continue.
330) Speedup SotC (PCSX2 r1888) - Uploaded 3rd January, 2010
In this video I show how to make the game run faster in the r1888 (September 2009) version of the PCSX2 emulator. I open up the 'Config' menu and show all my settings, i.e. which graphics plug-in I am using etc. but from memory these are just the default settings. You can see back then I was running the emulator at just 512 x 384 pixels at 60Hz, hence why all of my old videos have such small resolutions! I next show the CPU settings to make sure anyone watching this video could replicate it on their system if required.
So I run the game and you can see how slow it is... just 18 to 22 fps (frames per second). I then go into the 'Speed Hacks' menu and check some options to make the game run faster, even though some of these are still 'experimental'. I also change some settings in the 'Advanced Options'. Round mode and Clamp mode... seems I knew what I was doing 😉. When I run the game again, we see a big speedup! We are now getting a decent average of 30 fps.
I go back into the Speed Hacks menu and you can see a special option at the bottom called 'VU Cycle Stealing (experimental)'. There's a little slider you can move to the right to speed up the game even more, so I move it half way and then run the game again. We are now getting between 40-50 fps (a huge improvement). I go back and move the slider all the way to the right and try again - we are now seeing above 60 fps - even up to 70 fps! Note: The 3rd of January is my birthday, so it's cool that I figured this out on that day back in 2010. From here on I'm pretty sure I used these settings for my future videos.
331) G6 Modding Kuromori (Part 2) - Uploaded 4th January, 2010
This is a continuation of my part 1 video (263 from the 2nd blog post) and it's actually from the exact same video! That is, I originally made a longer version (7 minutes 32 seconds) but for some reason (part 1) was only two minutes long. Not sure why I uploaded a shorter version first? In any case, here is the continuation of this video from the 25th November, 2009.
So we start seeing a larger version of the colossus, perhaps 2 or 3 times its normal size, I can't recall exactly how large I made it 14 years ago 😉. We see it climbing up the wall and it's so large you can see that its head peeks above the rim of the colosseum! Abruptly the video changes and we see a smaller, faster gecko running quickly on the floor below. Wander whistles to gain its attention and here it gets very dangerous for Wander! In fact I was quite surprised at how formidable this change to the colossus would turn out to be.
As I had sped up the gecko's animations this included the speed of its ranged energy pulses which now felt like I was under fire from a machine gun! The pulses are so fast now and the gecko can scale the wall in less than a second! I run for cover but find myself being blasted by the relentless attack. I run down the stairs but the gases start to affect me... I get stuck for a second then fall to the level below only to be struck by another barrage of energy blasts, I roll back unable to control Wander but manage to stand up and run for my life! I jump down to the next level and get blasted all over again. Finally I manage to roll out of the carnage and find a safe window to look at the colossus from, we see it blasting its rapid energy blasts at the spot I just left... I feel thankful that I made it out alive from that deadly mini boss!
Next I make the colossus larger and smaller while it's attached high up on the wall of the enclosure, I freeze and unfreeze it so I can get a better look at it, you'll notice the music speeds up when viewing Wander then slows down when I pan the camera up to look at the colossus - caused by the emulator struggling to keep up. Finally I shoot at its legs then let it fall to the ground, I stab it twice to kill it then freeze it again.
As I have frozen the colossus after death yet before the cutscene appears we are in a weird state of limbo where Wander can move around the frozen corpse yet the level has not ended yet. As Wander was in a crouched position when delivering the final blow, he now is stuck or locked in that position. That is, Wander can't stand up or jump, all he can do is walk and roll (as if I have my finger pressed on the 'R1' button). I move around the dead colossus and the music speeds up until I 'unfreeze' the colossus and end the madness! Kuromori dies, the music stops and Wander is penetrated by the black essence of Dormin.
332) F4 Aeroplane Agro - Uploaded 4th January, 2010
Here I had found a strange effect that stretched out part of Agro's saddle and its side parts. Over the years I have found many strange effects when searching codes for Wander and Agro... indeed for the colossi as well. Below is another weird Agro example:
Weird Agro legs effect
So I increase the value of the 'wings' and ride Agro outside the temple. It's very strange to see Agro with these huge appendages protruding out on either side! The stretched out saddle part provides a dark brown line that traverses both wings, almost like it was designed that way? So I ride around outside then stop and make the wings even longer, so long in fact that the ends penetrate the terrain, then I use my 'Agro spinning' code to turn Agro into a 'helicopter'! Sadly, she doesn't lift off 😉. Finally, I ride back into the temple and make Agro whole again.
333 F4 Wander's Camera - Uploaded 4th January, 2010
We start where we left off in the last video, in the Shrine of Worship with Agro. Here I am using Wander's own camera code, that is a camera that is attached to Wander himself and as usual there are three values for X, Y and Z, or as I say Up/Down, East/West and North/South. So to begin with I move the camera up to look at the roof of the temple. We see Dormin's occulus, the white-tailed lizard clinging upside down minding its own business, the top of the statue enclosures which you never see from this perspective and then we get a better look at that weird 'surfboard' like structure.
If I pan the camera down I can see Wander below as a tiny person running along the floor of the temple, but when you run the camera tends to wobble up and down. So I run outside the temple with the camera up in the air, there is a path of cobblestones that leads you in the general direction to the first colossus. I pan around and look at the landscape before speeding Wander up and running towards the E5 forest. The camera is high enough to look over the rocky outscrops and see the void showing through from below. I take a quick look at the forest towers (such wonderful enigmatic structures!) and we can see some off limits areas behind them. I then move the camera up above the canopy of leaves and survey the surrounding cliffs as I move West towards D5.
If I pan the camera down I can see Wander below as a tiny person running along the floor of the temple, but when you run the camera tends to wobble up and down. So I run outside the temple with the camera up in the air, there is a path of cobblestones that leads you in the general direction to the first colossus. I pan around and look at the landscape before speeding Wander up and running towards the E5 forest. The camera is high enough to look over the rocky outscrops and see the void showing through from below. I take a quick look at the forest towers (such wonderful enigmatic structures!) and we can see some off limits areas behind them. I then move the camera up above the canopy of leaves and survey the surrounding cliffs as I move West towards D5.
334) F4 Sliding Agro - Uploaded 4th January, 2010
We start back in the Shrine of Worship with Agro. I found this weird code that makes Agro seem to move around (without moving) as if she's on a sheet of melting ice! That is, even when Agro is still, she moves around from side to side. So giving her a little push makes her slide even faster. It's a very weird effect that I could also replicate with Wander, I made an update video in July, 2012 called 'Land Surfing' but I only use the effect with Wander, see video here: https://youtu.be/njqPEvsXqiQ
As I increase the 'sliding' value Agro will speed up and get to a point where the game has to update the landscape, so we see Agro and Wander freeze for a second or two... You can see that the background textures don't have enough time to render properly so the game stops. In the video we see this before we ram into the cliff face to the right of the first colossus arena (Valus). I only need to kick Agro once to get us sliding along the landscape. I head for the valley that leads to the 8th colossus arena (Kuromori).
Once I reach the valley I slide along until I reach the end when again I'm moving too fast! The textures disappear and the bloom effect is intense! It takes a while before things return to normal, then I head back along the valley at a speed that doesn't break the textures - which is basically making Agro trot along at a slow speed. Even so, speeding up just a little can make the textures disappear.
335) F4 Shrine of Worship Save Stone (Reprise) - Uploaded 5th January, 2010
Back in video 25 of this series I first demonstrated Wander floating down past that strange structure that fans called the 'Diving Board'. I also mentioned that later on I would use hacks to walk on it. This is that video I mentioned. Wander is actually standing on the diving board for the first time! Since this structure has no collision detection, no one had ever stood here before but I did it using a special hack using the Shrine of Worship save stone.
As mentioned in video 279 (E5 Forest Save Stone) WWWArea was the first player that worked out how to modify a save stone and posted this iconic image on the Playstation forums (2nd December, 2009)
As mentioned in video 279 (E5 Forest Save Stone) WWWArea was the first player that worked out how to modify a save stone and posted this iconic image on the Playstation forums (2nd December, 2009)
First ever mod of a save stone
I have been able to mod a save shrine stone. Looks like the save shrine stone is a rocket ship this way. I wanted to go to the beta dam this way but it goes away if I warp too far. Even if I put it really high which is over 1,100 float value, it goes away.
So what WWWArea is saying here is that when he tried to use the save stone to travel to the Dam (outside the F4 quadrant) the save stone unloads. This is because only the current map quadrant is loaded at any one time, so when you try to move an object outside the object disappears and returns to its original co-ordinates. But he also found the save stone's scale values so we could stretch the save stone out to any size we liked and could use it as a walkable platform.
So in this video, I've squeezed the save stone to the exact dimensions of the Diving Board and hidden it just below the surface so Wander could stand there. Next I use the same trick to walk around in that area above the stairs - I always wanted to explore up here! But you can see Wander's feet are sunken into the platform, I recall that area wasn't completely flat so you would see part of the save shrine platform poking up through the surface.
Next I have moved the save stone up into the secret garden which involves first going to the garden and using a special code that 'locks' the garden preventing it from unloading. The consequence of this is the main hall below unloads, but the save stone (being an object) does not. So it's pretty cool seeing a save stone in the garden and Wander can still pray at it and save a game, of course if you do this the game loads as normal, back where the save stone starts. Then I have moved the stone up to the higher platform in the garden right up against the back wall, so Wander has to run the length of the platform to find it.
I then use the save stone as a launching platform and move up through the levels into the higher parts of the temple above the garden. I've increased the scale of the save stone to make a safer platform for Wander to stand on as when you move the save stone up, it kicks Wander up into the air quite a distance... then I float back down with the chute and catch up with it. I got quite adept at launching Wander up then moving the save stone up to catch him. So within a few moves we are standing at the top of the temple on the save stone platform looking down towards the garden far below. The video ends with Wander falling down through the temple and landing on the save stone back in the garden.
336) F4 Spinning Agro - Uploaded 5th January, 2010
A nice change of scene compared to the last four extensive videos! This video only runs for 51 seconds and showcases how I found a code that makes Agro spin like a top. I should have called the video 'Agro spinning and sliding' as Agro slides across the surface of the land as if on a sheet of ice. However, I made a specific video about Agro sliding (see video 334 below). You can see Agro doesn't like spinning like this and makes this apparent via whinnying from time to time (Please Stop!)
337) D3 Weird Effects at #9's Area - Uploaded 9th January, 2010
In this video we don't see the colossus, we just see some weird effects I had found, but I recorded them in the D3 arena. The first effect we see is Wander and Agro upside down viewed from 'beneath' the ground level (we saw this same effect in video 320 above). It's a very strange effect as Agro's mane and tail and Wander's poncho are blowing upwards into... well into the void below! You can see as we are under the floor the textures are flickering off and on and you can see the base of a geyser in action. When Wander dismounts he falls upwards (downwards) and hits the death floor then starts 'hopping' uncontrollably. As I said, a very strange effect. I've recently tried to find this code again but so far without any luck.
Next I change the colours of the background but the results aren't very good. Perhaps D3 with its dark and misty atmosphere wasn't the best place to test this? There is a float type code with a value of 1 that changes the colours, so making it zero turns everything black, changing it 6 makes the colour green etc.
Changing colours
So I try a few colours (green, purple) without much success before moving on to changing the vertical height of the screen (or squishing the screen). This is the aspect ratio code so you can change it to create some weird effects either horizontally or vertically. Next I turn the game upside down! This is a very different code to what we saw before, it basically turns the camera upside down and you can play the game as normal, however your controls are reversed so it's a little tricky to control Wander or Agro in this mode. I made a video of playing the 11th boss (Celosia) in upside down mode recently, check it out here: https://youtu.be/joYozAJoB4U
Next, I turn off the land textures and ride Agro around on an invisible surface. This was found by WWWArea back in the day (the before times 😉. and we always called it the 'No Land Hack', a fitting description of what you see. You can still see the distant low res mountains but the main high res textures are turned off with this code. I noticed at 04:51 in the video you can see some parts of the colossus in the background - I have no memory of making the colossus invisible? I don't know what else these floating structures could be other than parts of Basaran.
Colossus (Basaran) parts floating in the background
Finally, I found an effect that increases the power of the wind. You can see it even blows the geyser streams away to the North, and you can see how Wander and Agro are affected by the wind effects! I ride Agro for a few seconds then jump off - you see Wander is blasted North towards Basaran's cave in an instant! Here the video ends.
338) C3 Giant Tortoise - Uploaded 9th January, 2010
So in all these videos we have seen how I have modded and scaled both characters (like Wander & the colossi) and objects (like a save stone). I had scaled up a white tailed lizard before so in this video I used a tortoise (or turtle). They are easy to find in the forbidden lands if you know where to look. I chose the small lake at C3 as it has a few turtles and also a hawk that flies past at regular intervals (will mod this in a later video 😉.
So you see Wander standing at the shore of the small lake and I start increasing the size of the turtle. Note: I have frozen Agro so she doesn't interfere with the process. First I make the turtle about the size of Agro and I've locked its position co-ordinates so it can't walk away. When I approach the turtle Wander is kicked back and the turtle shrinks back into its shell. I keep making the turtle bigger and bigger until it starts moving up and down (which means it's too big to walk). I unlock its position co-ordinates to release the turtle and it moves slowly out into the lake. I jump into the lake then scale the turtle back to normal size. This was fun as a test run but I made it too big. In a later video I take control of the turtle and control it.
339) D2 Modding Basaran (Part 1) - Uploaded 9th January, 2010
The first thing you will notice in this video is that I have moved Wander's health bar and weapons icon to the top of the screen, but Wander's grip circle is where it normally is. I found a way to move these icons around the screen and could place them anywhere I wanted, however it's clear that they work best at the bottom of the screen as intended 😉. So I sit there shooting arrows for a while until finally at 1:21 I move towards the colossus. Now, I have frozen Basaran here so it doesn't immediately attack Wander, so you see once the cutscene is finished Agro won't move towards the colossus. She only jerks forward in small steps, this is because the devs programmed Agro to stay still during a cutscene, otherwise you might see Agro running past the colossus as it wakes up! So I dismount then run towards the colossus and start shooting arrows at it to show how it has no substance (yet)... the arrows pass right through it. I even run inside the belly of the beast and show what it looks like from this unique perspective.
Finally, I release Basaran from its paralyzed state and it immediately attacks Wander with its energy weapon! You might notice that I have moved Wander's health bar back to the bottom of the screen, but the weapons icon is still up in the right hand corner. Also, I have cheated here as I have Wander's health limit locked at full strength, so anytime he takes damage it's instantly refreshed. I recall doing this as I just kept on getting blasted by Basaran, so I decided to make Wander invincible. Plus it's a cool feature on its own, watching Wander get hit over and over with no way of dying.
Next I freeze Basaran just as it's about to shoot an energy blast. You can see the electrical discharge building strength until I unfreeze it and Wander is blasted yet again. Note: I recently made an update of this part here: https://youtu.be/gnmtIrXsaeI
Then the colossus rears up to do its stamping attack (much like the 2nd boss Quadratus) I freeze it again. I must say it was always so much fun having this amount of control over the colossi! I move a fair distance away to view the frozen statue then double its size... the colossus now towers over the landscape - then I unfreeze it and its huge feet come crashing down! At 5:10 in the video you will see Basaran shape shift for a split second before it's reduced to half its normal size.
Basaran in the process of being scaled down
With the colossus still frozen I make it even smaller and try to interact with it. Wander just flails around and cannot grab onto the colossus. The music has stopped here so the rest of the video is just the ambient environmental sounds. I do have an address that can turn off the music but it doesn't work 100%, that is you can still hear the music in the background but only slightly... so I think in this video something happened that actually stopped the music (?) Finally I unfreeze the colossus again, get blasted one more time, then scale it up again to watch a final stamping attack - video ends.
340) D2 Modding Basaran (Part 2) - Uploaded 9th January, 2010
We start where we left off in Part 1, Basaran is double scale but now I am warping it up into the air. At first it just falls through the ground... we see a hint from Dormin telling us 'The power of the earth shall shake even the colossus...' then suddenly Basaran lands and shoots Wander! But in an instant the colossus is now suspended in the sky above the arena, like an enormous floating balloon, again, we are surprised when Basaran suddenly falls and shoots Wander down a second time.
Next we see Wander running from a scaled and sped up giant... stamping and shooting at Wander. I had doubled Basaran's speed here so Wander has a hard time avoiding its attacks, but remember I've made him immune to any damage so it's OK. We cut to Wander on Agro at a safe distance on the bridge leading into the arena, just as Basaran is about to shoot I freeze it and you can see the energy sizzling from the four horned protrusions that make up its energy weapon. Then suddenly Basaran seems to fly off to the East! What just happened? I ride Wander East out of the gloom of the arena looking for the colossus but do not find it...
So as you may have guessed I have 'warped' Basaran out of its arena here and next we see it walking on air back to its lair, but it doesn't get very far before it falls into the ground and disappears! So I give up on that idea and we are back in the main arena. I freeze the colossus above a geyser just as it topples to its side but instead of taking advantage of this frozen pose Wander just stands there as Basaran rights itself > jump to 04:39 of the video and we see the Basaran death cutscene. You will notice that the black tendrils just pass through Wander without effect, this is because I have used the 'colossus kill code' which kills the boss but leaves Wander able to move around as normal. You will notice that the colossus' eyes are still blue, meaning it's dead, but not fully dead... Wander spends the rest of the video running around the corpse until he stabs the colossus with the Queen's sword - killing it a second time! You can see the eyes of the colossus are now black - all life has been stolen away.
So as you may have guessed I have 'warped' Basaran out of its arena here and next we see it walking on air back to its lair, but it doesn't get very far before it falls into the ground and disappears! So I give up on that idea and we are back in the main arena. I freeze the colossus above a geyser just as it topples to its side but instead of taking advantage of this frozen pose Wander just stands there as Basaran rights itself > jump to 04:39 of the video and we see the Basaran death cutscene. You will notice that the black tendrils just pass through Wander without effect, this is because I have used the 'colossus kill code' which kills the boss but leaves Wander able to move around as normal. You will notice that the colossus' eyes are still blue, meaning it's dead, but not fully dead... Wander spends the rest of the video running around the corpse until he stabs the colossus with the Queen's sword - killing it a second time! You can see the eyes of the colossus are now black - all life has been stolen away.
341) C3 Giant Bird - Uploaded 9th January, 2010
So in all these videos we have seen how I have modded and scaled characters (like Wander & the colossi) and here I do the same with a dove at Mono's altar in the Shrine of Worship, so the video should have been titled 'Giant Dove' I guess, but bird is still acceptable.
So first I found the position co-ordinates of a dove then changed its scale. You can see it flying around above Mono's altar - it's about the size of Agro now... you can see when it lands the bird is positioned much higher up above the level of the altar platform, this is due to its larger scale. Then I scale the dove to a colossus size, but you will notice that it flaps its wings very slowly (based on a normal scaled dove). You can see how I freeze it in one place then make it even larger. It's now so big it takes up the whole screen and then some! Again I have made the bird too large... it seems I still didn't understand the scale of objects back then. In any case Wander shoots an arrow into this enormous bird (an easy shot) and it dies. We can only see its legs and part of its underside sticking out above the floor, so I reduce the scale back to normal size - video ends.
342) E3 Save Stone - Uploaded 12th January, 2010
In this video I use the 'Ravine Entrance' save stone to explore the southern parts of E2 (Gaius' arena), that is those wide open flat plains that surround the lake which were always so enticing to me! In video #95 of the first blog post in this series (first 150) I tried landing on them with the parachute but they have no collision detection, so in this video I use a stretched out save stone to explore them in a limited way. But there's not much to see here... first I have to move the save stone up over the top of the cliffs, then North until I can start moving it back down again until it's level with the surface, so most of the video is taken up doing this. But there are some nice views to behold 😉. It's not until 03:28 in the video that I'm actually level with the surface at which point it looks as if Wander is running across the surface of the plateau. But I run a little too far and fall off, ending the video.
343) D2 Wander Kill Code - Uploaded 12th January, 2010
Possibly the shortest video in this series? It only runs for 13 seconds! It's a very strange byte code (address) that kills Wander instantly (anywhere)... the value starts out at 68, if I make it 255 (the largest value of a single byte), Wander dies. If Wander is on Agro, she also feels the death effect and is injured, but doesn't die. Note: I have made a new higher res version of this video recently in the temple:
https://youtu.be/4qMsPS88CdA
https://youtu.be/4qMsPS88CdA
344) E3 Willow Wander - Uploaded 12th January, 2010
This is one of those videos that will make you smile as it's totally bizarre and weird! So I start off at the E3 save shrine (Ravine Entrance) and Wander transforms into this 'stick insect' like shape! Then Agro is warped into a strange shape as well. I called this video 'Willow Wander' as if someone is tall and slender they can be described as being 'willowy'. So I ride my weirdly warped horse for a while before I make her whole again, but now we see this bizarre, slender version of Wander riding on Agro! Interestingly, Wander's sword seems to have been stretched out also?
So I ride around the lands for a while then dismount Agro at F3 next to the fruit trees there... then I make Wander even more 'willowy' i.e. I increase the values and run across the earth bridge leading to the temple. But about half way across I slip and fall into the lake below, killing Wander! Of course this wouldn't have happened with a normal sized Wander as the invisible walls prevent him (and Agro) from falling. However, as Willow Wander is now super sized, he can bypass the invisible walls.
345) E3 Save Stone (part 2) - Uploaded 12th January, 2010
An update to video #333. Seems I wasn't done with this area... however instead of trying to explore the tablelands (as I called them) I seem much more interested in the top of the cliffs that surround the E3 arena. So this time I seem to have expanded the stretched out save stone so Wander has a lot more ground to cover. You might have noticed Agro is frozen in both videos as I didn't want her getting in the way. It also seems I have sped up this video or I was using Wander's speed code here? Not sure which? Yet, we see Wander exploring a vast area of the surrounding cliffs and trying to jump onto them, looking for walkable areas. I was always looking for walkable areas! In the end (at 04:14) I jump down from the save stone platform onto the cliffs but just get pushed down to the ground... video ends.
346) D2 Basaran Kill Code - Uploaded 12th January, 2010
As in the above (video 331) I kill Basaran again. This colossus 'kill code' had been online for years before I even started, along with a lot of other codes based on the work of a gamer named 'Bungholio' who was an early hacker contemporary to Radical Dreamer. He had posted a list of Code Breaker addresses on the now defunct Codemasters Project website, so I didn't find the colossus kill code, it had been available for anyone to discover for years!
So Wander is still invincible as he is hit by a blast from Basaran and just as he stands up, we see the colossus death scene playing... the huge behemoth dies but something is different? As Wander runs towards the front of the beast we see that it has been frozen mid-death! At 01:04 in the video I unfreeze the colossus to let the rest of the cutscene play out. A good reason for freezing a colossus during the death scene is to wait for the music to stop, then when I unfreeze it, we see it collapse with the normal background environmental sounds. Again, the black streamers just pass through Wander with no effect but this time I mount Agro and ride out of the arena.
Once you see Wander's health and grip circle appear on screen, this indicates you have passed the threshold of the colossi's arena, that is when you go back and re-enter it, the colossus will miraculously be alive again! In this video I have sped up Agro to make this journey happen faster... of course I could have just edited this part out better, but oh well 😉. In any case, when we return to the arena we see Basaran resurrected even though we had killed it? I jump off Agro and use the kill code a second time - video ends. But technically, you can kill the colossus over and over using this code.
347) F8 Malus After Death (Reprise 2) - Uploaded 12th January, 2010
We start with Wander standing on the head of a frozen Malus panning the camera around from this high vantage point. I have frozen the colossus right before the final stab... and then Wander makes the fatal blow with his sword! I then jump from its head to its right hand finger before doing a backwards jump that takes me back down to the ground. This I think was what I wanted to showcase in this video, as Wander is locked into his 'crouching' position here and will stay that way until I unfreeze Malus and let the death cutscene finish. So to move around Wander must 'roll' or 'creep' (walk slowly). I then unfreeze Malus and let the cutscene play out but freeze it again just as the colossus slumps down and its hands fall to its sides. Wander then rolls to the edge of the platform and I let the game continue until Wander dies.
Next, I kill Malus again and freeze the cutscene, Wander is again stuck in the crouching pose so he can only crawl around the colossus. You will notice some falling debris here... there is a lot of falling rocks and dust that appear for only a few seconds in the game, but since the cutscene is frozen it's now easy to see. I jump down to the base of the colossus and make my way down in front of it again, then I repeat what I did before > unfreeze Malus and die! Video ends. Note: I decided to make a short update video about the falling debris here: https://youtu.be/ARzg-0yXEz8
348) H7 ledges - Uploaded 16th January, 2010
This video was inspired by a user named 'nrkst' on the Sony PlayStation 2 forums on the 11th January, 2010 who was sure he had found what looked like a cave entrance at H7 on the map. Of course we were all intrigued (if not a little skeptical) but it didn't take me very long to disprove it.
What looks like a mysterious cave entrance and a small ledge
His Youtube channel name is 'Tanner Willow' and he makes videos about playing his guitar but has not posted a video there for two years now, and it seems he has deleted his old Shadow of the Colossus videos... but of course you know I have them backed up! So I uploaded them to my channel here:
https://youtu.be/BNnTb62GJWc
https://youtu.be/BNnTb62GJWc
In the end, after trying to Agro launch to the ledges on the West side cliffs of the 'cave' and failing, I tried from the bluff that faces the ocean, but there's no way to make it from there either. So as you can see in the video I reverted to jump hack up really high and then land on various parts of the cliffs to see what happens. The end result is that there is no cave there and no way to even stand on that small outscropping or on the cliffs above it without being pushed down or either Wander is sent into his 'rolling animations! But at least for a while we had something new to explore 😉.
349) G7 Stone Arch (Preview Version) - Uploaded 16th January, 2010
A short video (01:47) in which I explore the Stonehenge monument. Basically I jump up onto it (not shown) then jump around a little before standing on a strange green rock that doesn't match the texture of the surrounding stone.
Strange green stone on top of the Stonehenge monument
I found that if you stand on this stone in a certain place you are immune from explosive arrows! That is you can shoot right at Wander's feet and he doesn't get thrown back by the blast. But it is a weird looking rock and seems out of place up here... however there are similar style stones at the base of the monument, so I guess some developer decided to place one on top? Again, I have made a short hi-res update of this video here: https://youtu.be/IrUjIXD1ZrI
Note: While making the update video I noticed a hawk got itself stuck between the Stonehenge rocks! I'd never seen this happen before so I was just lucky it occurred when I was recording the new video. I also tested the explosive arrows in the US (NTSC) version, but each time Wander got blasted off the monument... so it appears to only happen in the Preview version. I guess the hawks don't get stuck in the retail versions either 😉.
350) Modding the Intro - Uploaded 16th January, 2010
This video shows how I used what codes (addresses) I had found previously and how I used them to reveal some scenes not seen before. It starts out with the hawk flying down towards the canyons and you can tell how 'slooowwww' the game is running! I use a code I found that stretches the view and pans away from Wander which we see has a huge 'bobble' head! So using this 'stretchy-pan-away' code we see some interesting views. I can also rotate the camera view clockwise or anti-clockwise etc.
In the forest cutscene you will notice Wander's head reverts back to normal size and wander floating by himself and Agro keeps moving forward (01:48). When we reach the Entrance temple you can see (for the first time) what is beyond the pillars on the left side as the camera pans out (very impressive for the time). But for the most part I use the pan away camera stretch effect in this video.
351) F4 Invisible Shrine of Worship - Uploaded 18th January, 2010
I should have called this video 'The Invisible Main Hall' as this happens when the Secret Garden model is locked (or active) so when Wander jumps back down to the ground surface then runs into the main temple complex we see everything has unloaded. This was first profiled in one of Pikol's 'New Bugs & Secrets' videos, but I guess I was playing around with the same idea in this video.
As the Secret Garden model is locked, when you try to leave the map square (F4) Wander freezes. Next, Wander is on Agro and I have the SoW save stone to move up to the garden from the invisible main hall section... in an instant I'm in the garden! But it seems I only used this to get back up to the garden easily as I ride back down the ramp to the entrance door bridge. Here we see the door and front of the temple are also 'invisible' as the garden is the only model locked. So we can see what it looks like above the main temple and below the garden. Finally, I mount Agro and ride along the bridge but again we freeze!
352) F4 Under the Secret Garden - Uploaded 18th January, 2010
Continuing on from the previous video I have stretched out the save stone here and moved it below the garden to see what we can see. You'll notice Wander is in a layer of water as you can see the water effects and hear the sounds of splashing when Wander moves. This makes sense as the water we see in the trenches are not confined to those narrow channels, rather they extend out under the whole garden. Again Pikol had shown this in one of his 'New Bugs & Secrets' videos but only for a few seconds so I wanted to explore it further.
So I run around for a while checking things out then 'warp' Wander down under the save stone floor and float back down the main hall surface. I run outside the temple and look up at the garden model (you'll notice I have frozen Agro) and we can see how weird the temple looks without the main hall showing. Next I unfreeze Agro > move the save stone platform down from the garden > scale it to normal size then run up to it with Agro following. I then resize the save stone back to a platform and shift it up again. This catapults Wander high up into the sky (about as high as the top of the temple) and as he falls back down we get some nice views of the upper parts of the Shrine of Worship! Views one could only dream about getting a year before 😉. I land back down in the garden and you can see how the save stone platform is just under the grass floor with the water channels now filled with stone, before resizing the save stone back to normal once again.
353) F8 Malus After Death Without Storm (Preview Version) - Uploaded 18th January, 2010
The first part of this video is virtually identical to the previous video above (337 - Malus After Death - Reprise 2) as I make the killing stab to Malus then freeze it just before the end of its death cutscene. However, in this version there is no storm so everything looks much brighter. Again we see the falling debris as Wander crawls around (in his crouching position) before jumping off and landing on the ground. He rolls around before I unfreeze Malus and (as before) Wander dies as the black tendrils penetrate his body.
Next, I shift Malus down under its arena then warp Wander down to follow it. We see Malus in an area never before seen - with a ring of cliffs surrounding it and the infinite void below! I land on one of the lower platforms of the colossus but the camera is now locked in its death position! That is the camera angle is only pointing down... so it's difficult to control Wander from this high vantage point. Yet, I do have some control of the camera, I can move it up and down in wide sweeps looking above or below and I can rotate around in the front and back. Unfortunately, Wander has landed on a ledge that is problematic to climb higher from, I do make it up one more level but then inevitably I fall into the void below!
354) ICO (Modding ICO) - Uploaded 23rd January, 2010
It's strange, but I never got very far with modding ICO like I did with Shadow of the Colossus, but you will see in this video I can do some basic hacks. We start out in the main temple hall where the game starts, and the first thing I do is pan the camera away from the model - beyond is a vast black void - unlike the teal green like void we see in SotC. I then find a code to move ICO and start shifting him from place to place. Next I find ICO's speed code and as such we see ICO run across the floor at super speeds! When standing still he vibrates back and forth (just like Wander in speed mode) and we see the camera takes a little time catching up with him.
I find the code that stretches and squishes the screen and the result is ICO looks shorter and fatter, and it looks like I have scaled ICO down but it's just an optical illusion as the entire temple has been squished instead. Next ICO does the splits and zooms around the floor at lightning speeds... I don't know what this is really, just a weird address that I found. I then stretch the hall upwards so it looks much taller and thinner than before - almost cathedral like. We then see ICO change shape, meaning I have found his scale codes - at first he looks just like 'Willow Wander' (from video 338 above) but a little later we can see the benefits of scaling up ICO. At 07:18 in the video we see ICO is too small (at normal size) to reach the higher set of stairs leading to the Queen's chamber, but once I make ICO much larger he can easily grab onto the higher platform and climb up. But without having the Queen's sword I have no access to the elevator... so I revert ICO to normal size and jump back down to the floor.
355) I2 Dormin Exploring the Dam - Uploaded 23rd January, 2010
This was a remake of one of WWWArea's videos - he did this first (January 19th, 2010) see video here:
In his video he moves Dormin around at normal size and normal speed, but at the end he uses Wander to fly around the orange brick structures, but as usual I expanded on what was done before and explored a lot more of the Dam with Dormin. So in my video I start as normal sized Dormin but then speed it up so I can move around faster. At 01:05 in the video I reduce Dormin's scale so it's easier to see the landscape as it moves around. Dormin is now perhaps twice the size of Wander and is moving at 2 or 3 times the speed Dormin moves.
I speed Dormin up even more then move towards the orange brick structures - remember Dormin is limping due to the arrow that was shot into its (Wander's) leg... so you can see this as it moves. So we get up close to the orange brick structures and then we head back to the Dam. Even this smaller version of Dormin is still too large to fit through the arch that leads to the bridge, so I reduce its size again... now Wander sized Dormin can cross the bridge - but it's hard to navigate Dormin, it seems to move at angles instead of in a straight line. So I keep moving it until we reach the cave - but I need to change its position height at intervals along the way to get it there. So I reach the end of the cave and then shift Dormin up and move along the cliffs until I reach the top of the Dam - video ends.
Note: The beauty with using Dormin from the final cutscene is that (unlike a colossus) it won't fall down through the floor - Dormin is fixed and will not fall, so I can change it's position co-ordinates in the up/down or Z axis and it stays there. This will be useful in future videos as you will see.
356) H4 Avion Before Activation - Uploaded 23rd January, 2010
In this video I launch Wander up high above Avion's arena before stepping on the trigger point which activates the colossus. I then float around with the parachute and have my 'gravity hack' locked so that Wander will stay at the height I have chosen. From a distance you can see Avion frozen in its starting location, but if I get too close it disappears. I fly through the surrounding cliff walls to get a better look at it, I zoom in but the bloom effect makes it a little hard to see. In a later video I work out how to fly up right next to the colossus before it is triggered.
Next, after trying a few times to see the colossus I change tack and fly over above Avion's perch. I had always wanted to land on that column and stand there to look around at the sunken city but Pikol had tried and failed... so I hoped I could make it! You'll notice how I bob up and down really fast - this is because I hadn't yet found the code that 'stabilises' the gravity hack, so as I approach the column/perch it's hard to see where I am in relation to the top and as such I fall into the water below. So I try again and this time I'm directly above the perch, yet I still can't land there. It turns out that it isn't possible after all as there is an invisible inverted cone above the top of the column so Wander just slides off it.
I did finally make it there (much later) in the Preview version
357) B5 Legitimate Way onto B5 Cliffs - Uploaded 24th January, 2010
This was first discovered by Baxtertimewell way back in 2006!. He Agro launched to the cliffs as you can see in the video then blasted Wander using the 'Explosive arrows' until you land on a spot that Wander can start to move on without being sucked back by the invisible walls (in this video that occurs as 03:11 - so jump ahead if you are bored with watching explosive arrows!). So basically, in the video I have recreated his discovery as he never made a video about it.
I remember there was an early Baxter video called 'I shouldn't be here' or something similar on Google videos before it became Youtube. In the video Wander was running over the B5 cliffs heading East, but it didn't show how he got there. I've tried to contact Baxter many times but never get a response... I guess he is done with SotC even though his Youtube channel is still active: Baxtertimewell YT channel
I remember there was an early Baxter video called 'I shouldn't be here' or something similar on Google videos before it became Youtube. In the video Wander was running over the B5 cliffs heading East, but it didn't show how he got there. I've tried to contact Baxter many times but never get a response... I guess he is done with SotC even though his Youtube channel is still active: Baxtertimewell YT channel
358) G5 Bird's Eye View of Phaedra's Area - Uploaded 24th January, 2010
I pet Agro a couple of times (as I love her soooo much!) then dismount and run up to the top of one of the four mounds that you enter in the game to hide from Phaedra. I then use my gravity hack to shift Wander way up into the sky. Note: It seems (finally) I have woken up to the obvious - that the 'gravity hack' is much more useful than the 'jump hack'. However, in some cases the jump hack is a quicker way to get where you want to go... But in this video I wanted to explore around the perimeter of the arena and as such, locking Wander's height was the best way to do so.
So I fly around the arena - Wander is still wobbling up and down (unavoidable at this time), yet we get to see what no one else had seen before! Vast areas of rock, trees and bushes - out of bounds areas that for now I only glimpsed from above. At 02:57 in the video I land next to the colossus. I have by-passed the 'trigger point' so the colossus is still in its neutral state. It looks like I'm going to trigger it but the video ends.
359) F4 Agro Float Code - Uploaded 27th January, 2010
You may have noticed when playing the game that on some steep inclines Agro's rump will move up quite high and can look a little strange. In this video I had come across the code (or memory address) that determines how high Agro's rear end moves up, and so by exploiting this I created some comical effects! I start out with Agro walking at a slow pace with the fabulous and colossal stone bridge in the background. Within a short time Agro's rear end is enveloping Wander!
Agro's rump sticking up
Agro's rump starts to swallow Wander!
Agro walking on two legs like a human
Soon you see Agro's rear end pass through Wander then reach Agro's head. Agro is now walking on its two front legs. As I increase the value of the code some strange things begin to happen, as Agro flips around and is now walking on its two back legs - like a human horse! Then she seems to move up high above the ground as I keep on increasing the value... the horse twists and turns with Wander in the centre and Agro's body rotating around him. So basically I keep changing the value to see what happens until the end of the video. Agro and Wander warp up to the level of the secret garden and seem to pass through solid walls > then I'm up at the top levels of the temple, all the while I am riding Agro as normal? Seems I can use this effect to explore high places (in a limited way)... finally I am back on the ground and I reset the value - Agro & Wander are back to normal.
360) D1 Legitimate Way onto D1 Cliffs - Uploaded 29th January, 2010
Back in (video 11) of the first blog post in this series, I Agro launched up to this area but was pushed back by the invisible walls. So in this video I do the same > Agro launch up to the top of the cliffs but this time I use the flash arrows (or explosive arrows) to blast my way back far enough to explore. Sadly, there's no way to run around up here, it's mired with invisible walls and as such all this video shows is Wander blasting his flash arrows over and over... so nothing really interesting here. At the end of the video I blast my way over a boundary and Wander falls into the void. I never explored this area again!
361) B5 Legitimate Way onto B5 Ledge - Uploaded 29th January, 2010
So here we are back at the very beginning! That is one of the very first public video I ever made way back in July, 2009, but here I have updated it a little... that is once I've Agro launched onto the field of grass, I then use my flash arrows to blast Wander back as far as he can go. I had hoped that somehow I could blast myself up the cliffs at the back of the field, but this didn't work... so as you can see I just run back down the field. You may also notice that the video quality is much better now!
362) C6 Stretching Fruit - Uploaded 29th January, 2010
So here I was trying to scale up a piece of fruit to an enormous size. It would have been really cool for Wander to eat a huge piece of fruit 10 times his size xD. So first I shot down a piece of fruit then found its position co-ordinates so I could move it around (x,y,z). However when I found the scale values of the fruit it just stretched it out at weird angles? So the fruit was scaled up to look like some kind of weird tree? Perhaps I got my scale values wrong? I will have to revisit this and see if I can fix it.
So you can see the elongated fruit tree thing moves from side to side as I try other values... seems I can only make it grow 'up'. Wander then takes the fruit as normal. I try again with another piece of fruit but the results are the same. Update: I tried again recently and figured out how to scale up a piece of fruit correctly, see images below:
So you can see the elongated fruit tree thing moves from side to side as I try other values... seems I can only make it grow 'up'. Wander then takes the fruit as normal. I try again with another piece of fruit but the results are the same. Update: I tried again recently and figured out how to scale up a piece of fruit correctly, see images below:
Wander next to a 6x scaled up piece of fruit at F6
Now that's a big pink banana!
The fruit tree at F5 has a single piece of fruit
363) F5 Legitimate Ledges at #1's Area - Uploaded 29th January, 2010
A very short video (only 47 seconds) which shows what ledges Wander can jump onto at the first colossus arena entrance. That is before you enter the actual playing field. It's not as impressive as anyone can figure this out, but at the time I thought it was pretty cool! At the end I look up at a higher ledge which appears to show a dark doorway... but as seen in video 42 (Blog 1) it turned out to be just a shadowed area.
364) F5 Super Jump - Uploaded 29th January, 2010
I start out by speedrunning out of the temple to reach just shy of the first colossus arena. It takes me a while (was messing with the memory editor) before you see how this effect works. Wander jumps as normal but then jumps much further! So here we had found the so-called 'Super Jump' code. Note: I say 'we' as I don't remember now if it was WWWArea or myself. So to use this code all you need to do is change the value from 2 (where it starts) to whatever you want. In the video I increase it in stages as I was testing it here for the first time.
I then 'Super Jump' but deploy the chute to give me extra distance. However, this will only work on a downwards slope. In fact the 'Parachute hack' code and this 'Super Jump' code are very close to each other in the memory. So I jump around for a while until I end up landing in the 2nd boss arena only to find the corpse of my most beloved Agro dead on the beach!
365) F4 Recreating the Pool Scene - Uploaded 30th January, 2010
Here I just happened on this while searching for something else (from memory). Wander starts being pulled back and you see some mist being sucked in as well! So I realised I had found the code for the 'wind' effect that pulls Wander back that you see in the end cutscene. For some reason the code is still in the normal game memory, so I made this short video showcasing this effect.
Note: As I am writing this blog post and watching these old videos I made 14 years ago I sometimes attempt to replicate them today, recording in much higher quality. So for this video I wanted to explore the 'wind effect' a little more and see how far I could go with it. The result was this recent video which pretty much delves into everything I could do with that old code I found 14 years before: https://youtu.be/lNDYPwBZnW8
366) F5 Colossal Tree - Uploaded 30th January, 2010
In this video I found the position co-ordinates of a tree from the first colossus arena (after climbing up the platforms) then moved it down to the entrance area. So here we have a solitary tree standing in the centre of the field that I start to scale up. I hit it with my sword a couple of times to make sure it still has its collisions then start to increase its size. I increase the size of the tree in stages until it towers over the cliff walls that encompass the first colossus arena. Then I reduce it back down to its normal size - video ends.
Solitary tree standing where we start the level
367) B3 Smooth Texture at B3 - Uploaded 30th January, 2010
So here I'm exploring (from a distance) this strange silver coloured, triangular shaped piece of land floating out on the very Western part of the map. It has two levels but at the time if I moved into its field Wander would freeze, so I was recording the video from a safe distance. You'll notice Wander is bobbing up and down a lot, this is because the 'gravity hack' at the time wasn't stable, but it gave us early fans a glimpse of things to come!
It turns out that this map square (B3) was supposed to house an unused colossus called 'Yamori A' but it was never implemented into the game. It was a precursor to the 8th Colossus (Kuromori). So I show the upper and lower levels but as soon as I cross over the barrier, Wander freezes!
368) E6 Modding Phalanx Reprise (Part 1) - Uploaded 30th January, 2010
In video 298 (2nd blog of this series) we saw my first attempts at modding Phalanx, but in this video and in part 2 to follow we see much more interesting results! I start out standing on top of one of those rock buttes that jut up above the desert sands - Note: I'd previously called them rock promontories but this was a mistake as a 'promontory' juts out into the sea or a lake and we are in a desert so that didn't make sense! In any case I have diverted Phalanx's movement so it flies right past this spot and Wander can just jump onto its back with ease. I have Phalanx set at a certain altitude which is locked so it can't fly higher or lower. I jump onto a wing to prove how stable the beast is, I then move Wander onto its head and we fly above the desert as the lands pass smoothly below us. But as I have taken over the controls of Phalanx eventually we pass beyond its sphere of influence and as such it vanishes causing Wander to fall and land on the outskirts of the arena.
Next we are back where we started (as is the way when using an emulator save state) but this time we watch Phalanx from this high vantage point as it undulates vertically in the sky Note: This suggests Phalanx is a mammal of some sort as it moves like a dolphin or whale does. It also has fur or hair which is common in all mammals. You'll notice Wander keeps looking down at his feet, this is because the bloom effect was so intense in this arena that to reset it I had to look down then back up. Next, from the same spot we see how I speed up Phalanx. It's hard to tell with the bloom being so bright but I supercharge its speed and it rockets forward off into the distance.
Next the Phalanx 'Express' passes Wander again and this time he just steps onto it (like a passenger boarding a train) and we are off and running. I stand still and pan the camera around, taking in the majestic scenery that surrounds Wander. I've messed with Phalanx's codes so it coils around on itself, like a snake trying to grab its tail! Lastly I attempt to warp Phalanx under the sand, for a few seconds it works as you can see Wander holding onto its fur, but then the colossus just disappears leaving Wander falling into the void below.
369) E6 Modding Phalanx Reprise (Part 2) - Uploaded 30th January, 2010
I think this is one of my more interesting videos! As I rewatched it so many years later while writing this blog I was impressed by what I did back then 😉. So we start back on top of the rock butte where we started in the previous video but this time I have positioned Phalanx to fly just above Wander, you see its air bags passing by Wander at very close range. We start over, this time as in the previous video, Wander just walks onto the back of the colossus from the top of the butte... Phalanx is turning or coiling on itself, Wander jumps from its back onto a wing then proceeds to run back onto its body.
The scene changes and we are back at the start again, but this time I warp Wander under the desert floor and do the same with Phalanx. Again Phalanx is twisting and turning in strange ways but Wander floats above it with the parachute and eventually lands. So now we are under the ground riding the colossus (like we saw back in video 124 or the first blog in this series), but all of a sudden, the colossus disappears and Wander falls into the void. Next I do the same thing except this time I warp Phalanx way up high into the sky and then follow it with Wander. I fly above and then land on its back, you can see Phalanx's head is bobbing up and down, this is because I have locked its altitude to a certain height. But I remember it was a lot of fun riding the colossus so high up in the sky!
The scene changes and we are back at the start again, but this time I warp Wander under the desert floor and do the same with Phalanx. Again Phalanx is twisting and turning in strange ways but Wander floats above it with the parachute and eventually lands. So now we are under the ground riding the colossus (like we saw back in video 124 or the first blog in this series), but all of a sudden, the colossus disappears and Wander falls into the void. Next I do the same thing except this time I warp Phalanx way up high into the sky and then follow it with Wander. I fly above and then land on its back, you can see Phalanx's head is bobbing up and down, this is because I have locked its altitude to a certain height. But I remember it was a lot of fun riding the colossus so high up in the sky!
Next I take advantage of how stable the colossus is and start shooting its airbags from its back. I shoot the middle and rear airbags then run onto a wing to shoot the front airbag after which Phalanx begins to dive downwards. As I look up towards the tail of the colossus you can see we are at a steep incline on our way back to the surface, yet looking down we are still at a dizzying height above the forbidden lands. After a while I gave up waiting and so warped Phalanx back down to a lower altitude then just let Wander fall after it... but as I get close to Phalanx I fall right through it? I guess I was falling too fast for the game to notice? After that Wander is back on the sand of the E6 desert and Phalanx has returned to its normal flight path - all back to normal.
370) E6 Phalanx Intro without Bloom - Uploaded 2nd February, 2010
This was another code (address) that WWWArea had found, in fact in those early days it was WWWArea who really found all the most amazing codes! Remember I was using the r1888 version of the emulator and this allowed some interesting effects to appear that aren't possible in later versions. This one is similar to the code from the above two videos, yet it works (in game). We called it the 'Player_A' camera code, and what it does is turn off the bloom lighting effects. However, if the camera shifts to another object (say a colossus) then you will see the bloom effect return, so it only works when Wander is the main character. So in this short video you will see how clear and clean the sky looks (for example) when normally it would be all washed out. Once the cutscene starts you will notice that when the camera focuses on Phalanx the bloom effect returns, but then disappears again once the camera shifts back to Wander.
So this code was great to use as for the first time we could turn off that damn bloom effect and see the pristine lands beneath, but it had the disadvantage of only working when Wander is prime. In later videos a simple change to the emulator's graphics plug-in file would turn off the bloom effect everywhere in the game, from that point on I never looked back.
In the R1888 emulator, the Player_A camera code also made the water transparent
I once made a video about the areas in the game where I showcased the invisible water. Back then Youtube had 'annotations' you could add to videos, text or mouse over areas which I always thought was a really nice feature, but in 2017 Youtube removed them which made my following video title screen obsolete - see here: https://youtu.be/dUVJyDW3vH4
371) Entrance & Secret Garden Without Bloom - Uploaded 2nd February, 2010
As with a lot of my uploads, one video led to another, in this case I was still recording things where I would turn off the bloom effect. So here we start at the Entrance temple, I jump up high with the gravity hack and then look around at the lands and temple. I then freeze Wander mid air (you can do this with the same gravity hack) and you can see how clear everything looks compared to normal. Next we are in the garden but here I think turning off the bloom isn't as pleasing to the eye as in other areas, but it still sharpens all the temple parts which I think looks amazing!
You'll notice at 01:41 in the video I go to the map and here we see another benefit of turning off the bloom as sometimes (not always) you will see more detail as the camera pans above Wander, in this instance you see a great bird's eye view of the garden (see below image). I then jump up to the higher platform level in the garden and compare no bloom vs with bloom - which do you think looks better?
View of garden as I go to the map
372) F4 Turning Off the Bloom - Uploaded 2nd February, 2010
So far on this day Tuesday, 2nd February 2010 I had already uploaded two videos about turning off the bloom effect, but I made another one this time just showcasing the difference in the light we see in the game from the Shrine of Worship (i.e. at the start of a new game). I made this video as I wanted to show the effect of the 'Player_A' code in a normal setting, that is just standing in the field but with the enormous temple as a backdrop. In the r1888 version emulator Wander's shadow is cast like a triangle, but when the bloom effect is removed so too was that annoying shadow! Another benefit is the game ran faster without the bloom, which was a great advantage for me as my PC still ran the emulator below 30fps.
At 01:12 in the video Wander raises his sword but there is no light beam! This was a disadvantage of the Player_A code as it removes all the light effects. But at the time it didn't worry me as I was so impressed by the sharpness of the landscape this byte revealed! I run back into the temple and run out past Mono onto the porch, I raise my sword and compare both the on and off effects of the bloom, video ends.
373) High Above the Forbidden Lands - Uploaded 2nd February, 2010
I can't remember exactly where I was when I warped Wander up to this crazy height, but I start at around 6,000 metres high and when up at this altitude you see a donut-like ring of clouds. Going higher you will notice that we are above a dome of clouds that is breaking up into pie shaped pieces, this is because we are viewing the cloud textures from above instead of from below. I continue to warp Wander higher until at the end of the video all we see is a grey dome surrounded by the void!
Wander floating above the dome of the world!
374) E6 Controlling Phalanx - Uploaded 2nd February, 2010
This video is a continuation of Video 361 and 362 above, but this time I change Phalanx's direction downwards and upwards. So Wander is again standing on the same rocky butte we saw in the previous videos and Phalanx changes directions away from Wander then makes a 180 degree turn and flies back towards Wander, but then we see Phalanx take a sharp dive straight down into the sand and disappear.
I wasn't happy with the first take, so the video cuts and we see Wander controlling Phalanx again, but this time we have a nice view of when it dives into the ground. I use the L1 button to track the colossus and you see Wander look down to his feet - as the colossus is now down under the desert sands... then, all of a sudden Phalanx rises majestically from under the ground and flies straight up, this is where the video gets interesting! The video cuts again and we see Wander holding onto Phalanx's fur as it flies straight up like a rocket! As the game 'thinks' we are still at ground level the music doesn't change from the track 'Silence' when it should be playing 'Counter Attack' - when Wander has climbed onto its back. So, in this instance we see Phalanx flying straight up with Wander holding on... then once the music (should change) Wander is kicked off!
Wander falls while he looks up at the fast flying colossus as it shoots up into the higher atmosphere. Then I do it again with the same results as Wander hits the ground with a thud and Agro rides up to see his fallen companion... sad! Next, I waited until Phalanx was super high in the sky - I mean above the dome of clouds (see previous video - although I didn't take Phalanx so high)... So again Wander is kicked off, but now he has to fall so much further than before. I counted '35 rolls' as he fell before he hits the ground!
375) C1 Legitimate Way onto C1 Cliffs - Uploaded 4th February, 2010
I'm not sure now if I was the first to make this Agro launch? It may have been Baxtertimewell or some other forgotten early player but it's a pretty easy launch. You start at the columned path that leads towards the #14th colossus (Cenobia) and face towards the cliffs there, then launch off Agro to land on the cliff edge. You might need to do a few jumps to make it up to the slope that leads up to the top of the cliffs, but once there you get a great view of the landscape and the columned path leading to Cenobia. From this vantage point you feel like the 'King of the World!'. In later videos I explore this area further (of course 😉).
376) E2 Freezing the Knight - Uploaded 4th February, 2010
We start with the Knight towering over Wander just before it does its vertical club attack, that is when Wander is close to the colossus it will use this attack with its club to try and squash Wander! But I freeze its animations just before Wander would be flattened and killed. I then run to the other side of the arena, turn off the bloom effect then unfreeze the colossus. We see its animations continue from where they were frozen and the club smashes down into the ground. I then repeat this same technique but this time with the Knight's second attack where it slams the club into the ground when Wander is far enough away (we are more familiar with the second attack as it's the one used to break its armour). Again I freeze the knight before the club hits the ground, move Wander to a safe distance then unfreeze to watch the club hit the ground. Wander then runs up the now completely stable club.
The next part is a little weird! I remember I was searching for codes and by accident came across this ghost like version of the Knight. Basically we are only seeing the fur and some other parts of the colossus here, the rest of the model is hidden or turned off. So I examine this strange version of the Knight for a while then unfreeze it, it again smashes down its club and then I freeze it once more. I take Wander up to its head via the gravity hack and we can see a close up of its head. You can see some dark patches in the fur where its eyes are... but I don't bother stabbing it. I jump down to its middle section platform (which is invisible) then jump to the club (also invisible)! Video ends.
Ghost Gaius
377) G2 Mini Pelagia - Uploaded 4th February, 2010
We start out with Pelagia frozen where we start the level. Wander is standing on the platform that triggers the colossus, then I reduce its size so it disappears from view under the water. Then via changing the 'Player_A_shadow' byte address I turn off the water effects. I jump into the water and we can see the shrunken colossus - but something is off... the teeth that crown its head haven't been scaled down, so it looks quite strange. Using Wander's gravity hack I then move down into the invisible water so I'm in front of mini Pelagia, then I unfreeze it. I've sped up its animations here so it moves very quickly and even shoots at Wander under the water, however turning off the water effects also turns off the lightning effects so Pelagia's ranged attacks are also invisible.
I try to grab hold of its grassy covering at the head but as I'm underwater this doesn't work, perhaps I wasn't low enough in the water column or it was due to the speed Wander and the colossus were moving at? Next, you see Wander floating in the dark water and the colossus is playing catch up.
This part I think is pretty creepy as we see the water beast charge towards Wander from the darkness! Next I turn the water effects back on, return Pelagia and Wander to normal speed then I scale the colossus back to its normal size.
378) G2 Modding Pelagia (reprise) - Uploaded 4th February, 2010
A lot of times I would make a follow up video in the same location as is the case with this video. In fact thanks to the emulator save states I can start back exactly where I did in the last video. So as usual I first freeze Palagia then scale it up. Next I turned off the water effects (as in the previous video) then, after a look at this super sized colossus, I turn the water effects back on. I then 'unfreeze' Pelagia and Wander gets hit with a blast of energy that sends him tumbling into the water (karma is a bitch)!
So I freeze the colossus again - just as it's about to strike Wander. Its horns are now glowing brightly, like two mini suns! I then play around with the textures, changing the colours etc. The end result is what I called 'Rainbow Pelagia'! So I play as normal, that is Wander swimming in the lake for a while then - Oh wait, the video cuts to an invisible colossus! Pelagia has disappeared and only its head teeth are visible... but it can still shoot at Wander. The video cuts again and I'm now moving the colossus around the arena (again frozen) > then it's scaled up again. I speed up Wander as he starts swimming away from the oversized boss. It's now moving up and down (meaning I have scaled it up too large)! Wander swims away past the stone arches and looks back - video ends.
379) G2 Pelagia Statue - Uploaded 4th February, 2010
Just a short video, still in the same location. We see the colossus charging at Wander again as I have sped up its animations, after taking a couple of hits it rears up onto the platform, so I freeze it then reduce its size. Now it looks like a smaller Pelagia model you would buy from Etsy or eBay! You can see the entire colossus now, just reduced in size and frozen into a pose, standing on the circular stone platform. I release all my hacks and the beast falls into the water... then jumps up again at normal size with Wander standing on its head - video ends.
Pelagia statue
380) Non-Rendered Intro Parts - Uploaded 4th February, 2010
We start in the Forest part of the opening cutscene with a lot of the landscape missing. This was due to me messing around with codes (memory addresses) that sometimes can make strange effects happen. In this case, it seems all the vegetation and parts of the forest floor are missing. The lake is also missing as the cutscene continues. Next we jump to the Entrance part of the cutscene - again the floor is missing!
We also don't see Wander riding Agro! The effects that are running have made them invisible. It appears I have turned off all the high resolution textures and only the low res textures are showing, which you can see at the end of the video when the Entrance temple cliffs seem to expand into view. Very strange!
381) D5 legitimate Way Onto D5 Mountains - Uploaded 6th February, 2010
An Agro launch video showcasing how to launch up onto the D5 mountains, although I would hardly call them mountains... they are more like low rocky outcroppings. In all of my future Agro launch videos I always show some failed attempts before I make the launch that works. But in this video I went crazy with the failed attempts! I show 9 failed attempts before I make it up there! The problem with this launch site is that Wander will get stuck on the side of the rock he lands on... and there's no way to escape once he is stuck. But after some practice I could make it up there time after time.
However, there is a much easier launch site just a little bit further up the side of the cliffs, but it requires a standing Agro launch - see here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u9a0Gkab68Q&t=155s
However, there is a much easier launch site just a little bit further up the side of the cliffs, but it requires a standing Agro launch - see here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u9a0Gkab68Q&t=155s
382) E5 Legitimate Way onto E5 Mountains - Uploaded 6th February, 2010
Yet another Agro launch video except this time up onto the E5 mountains. In this early attempt I did make it up there but later found an easier launch site. So I run up onto the top of the plateau and get a nice view of the desert to the South (where we later fight Phalanx). Next, I Agro launch again but this time take a different route and head to an outcrop that overlooks the ponds of water (see video #90 from the first blog in this series). This is a special place for me and in the NTSC (US) version you can get up here legitimately!
383) H4 Underwater at Avion's Arena - Uploaded 7th February, 2010
Here Wander is riding Agro under the gloomy green water at Avion's arena. It's a pretty boring video as there's really nothing to see down there, just wide open spaces where you can ride around but it's hard to see any good detail, especially with the limited resolution of the video. So I start out at the area in front of the temple (i.e. before Wander has to swim under the broken wall in the game) then I 'warp' Agro through the wall and start riding around the large open area we see. As you can see the animations are the same as on land here as I even stand up on Agro at one point, but looking up at the sky is pretty amazing! You can see at least 8 beams of light in the distance so I did this long after I had defeated Avion. At the end of the video I ride towards the main temple then dismount Agro and float up to the lake's surface, leaving Agro down below in the murky depths!
384) Flying Camera Mod - Uploaded 8th February, 2010
This came about by accident. I was playing around with Wander's speed code which is set at 1 (Float type). I made it -1 and Wander started freaking out! That is he started shaking and twisting in weird ways! He also floated above the floor, so by moving him around in this strange butterfly mode (that is he flitters like a butterfly) I noticed I could float above the ground at the same speed Wander runs at. So all I had to do then was make Wander invisible, which I had a code (memory address) for already. Then to move the (Wander camera) up or down I used his gravity codes. But I can also move up via pressing against the collision - that is I move left and right and slowly I move up.
The result is I can fly around the lands and move up or down very much like a 'free camera'. But the difference here is that the movement still detects the collision detection of the lands (which a proper free camera does not). That is my (Wander camera) will stop when it hits a wall or will move over hills when they are detected. So a pretty cool way to explore the lands, especially since in 2010 there was no free camera for this game (yet).
The video begins at D6 (outside Barba's arena) then it cuts to the C6 cliffs (off limits in the game), then I'm at F4 as I fly over the earth bridge and then towards the huge stone bridge. Note: The sound effects stop here for some reason? There's an invisible wall on both sides of the bridge, so my Wander camera can't go through it. But using the left and right movement, Wander slowly moves up against the invisible collision of the bridge. It takes some time, but eventually I reach the top of the bridge. The sound starts again once I'm above the bridge. Next we are panning away from the temple then we are flying above the gates at the #16th boss (Malus' arena). The camera flies above the outskirts of the arena then above it but Malus wasn't there when I made this video. Finally I take the camera above the awesome waterfalls at G3 and travel up the valley towards where the #12th colossus lives. Here I take some nice closeup video of those cliffs that no one had seen before. Video ends.
385) Dormin at the Beta Mountains - Uploaded 9th February, 2010
So here I have moved Dormin all the way East to the beta mountains, specifically on the i3 and i2 map squares. Dormin is a very different beast than Wander when moving it around as it has no up or down controls, so it stays at the same altitude you set it at, whereas Wander and the other colossi for instance will fall unless you are holding them in place. So you can easily move Dormin around anywhere and all you have to do is change its up and down co-ordinates so it appears to be walking on a surface. So in this video I decided to explore the beta mountains with Dormin.
I tried to make it a more spooky experience by changing the sky colour to black but it didn't work so well here as the sky keeps flickering on and off. But Dormin looks almost ghost-like here against the dark green background. Dormin moves very slowly at normal speed so I had to speed it up to explore the lands otherwise the video would have been three times longer. In any case there isn't much to see at the beta mountains except the same textured surfaces and off in the distance you can see the temple, the bridge and the entrance temple texture as well as the colossi beams of light.
At the end of the video I head West and start moving across the rocky textures that lead to the beta Dam at i2, but just before I reach the Dam the video abruptly ends. I did this as I had already taken Dormin to the Dam (see above video 347).
386) E5 Forest Bird's Eye Mod - Uploaded 11th February, 2010
This is my second video using my 'Flying Camera mod' as I explore above the E5 forest (one of my favourite areas in the game). So there's nothing much I can say here as watching the video will show you what happens. But basically I start at the entrance to the E5 forest and fly around just above the canopy looking down at times to see details, like the E5 save shrine for instance, then we head over to the E5 valley where we get a nice look at those mysterious pools of water. Then I head over to the D5 the hills (where I Agro launched onto in the above video #375).
387) F4 Dormin Escapes! - Uploaded 11th February, 2010
During the final cutscene, I had found the position co-ordinates of Dormin, Emon and all the soldiers. It took many hours of work, but once I had the emulator save state and the corresponding TSearch memory file with all the memory addresses of said characters it was then easy to go back and play around with the game. Note: the opening and ending cutscenes always take place at A0, all the way up in the top left corner of the world map.
So when the video begins we see Emon and the soldiers are running high up above the floor (as they have no gravity codes like Wander). They were made for this cutscene alone and hence there was no need to give them animations like Wander. So we see them running towards the pool of water at the back of the temple, but the soldiers still turn around and shoot arrows at Dormin, of course as they are so high up, none of these arrows find any purchase! In the meantime, I warp Dormin up through the central column and we see what it looks like from above, then I speed up Dormin and start moving away from the temple, but I'm still still too high up, so I move Dormin down to the surface.
So when the video begins we see Emon and the soldiers are running high up above the floor (as they have no gravity codes like Wander). They were made for this cutscene alone and hence there was no need to give them animations like Wander. So we see them running towards the pool of water at the back of the temple, but the soldiers still turn around and shoot arrows at Dormin, of course as they are so high up, none of these arrows find any purchase! In the meantime, I warp Dormin up through the central column and we see what it looks like from above, then I speed up Dormin and start moving away from the temple, but I'm still still too high up, so I move Dormin down to the surface.
But then the video changes and I speed Dormin up even faster and reduce its scale down by a third (maybe?) Can't remember now as it was 15 years ago! But it seems I wanted to take Dormin and explore further out beyond the A0 temple. I speed Dormin up so fast that it doesn't appear to 'wobble' when I move it! I think it was like 30-60 times its normal speed or something? Then I changed the colour of the background lands as with the intense bloom effect it was nigh on impossible to see anything. But with the colour change (in this case cyan) you can make out the distant mountains. I start moving Dormin in a new direction but the video ends here - more to come!
The copy temple at A0
388) F8 Malus Backgrounds (Preview Version) - Uploaded 11th February, 2010
A weird and somewhat pointless video! First you can see something is off here! The arena is missing parts and Wander appears to be standing on nothing but void, yet the stairs are still there. This happens when I had locked some other quadrant of the map and then re-visit F8 to load Malus. It's a little difficult to explain but by doing this, I can move Malus to a new location on the map. The new location is as you see it in the game but F8 (where Malus starts from) is only the low res type in this scenario.
So I warp Wander straight onto Malus' head in a single move, then using the parachute I move Wander out in front of the colossus. There I stay suspended in the air, each time I go to the map I am attempting to change the background colours. First I make it black, then khaki green then a lighter green colour. All the while Malus is thrashing around. Next it seems I have turned off all the wind and clouds effects so we are left with a clean grey background. Then Wander flies back towards Malus and after a couple of mishaps finally lands on Malus' head where the video ends.
So I warp Wander straight onto Malus' head in a single move, then using the parachute I move Wander out in front of the colossus. There I stay suspended in the air, each time I go to the map I am attempting to change the background colours. First I make it black, then khaki green then a lighter green colour. All the while Malus is thrashing around. Next it seems I have turned off all the wind and clouds effects so we are left with a clean grey background. Then Wander flies back towards Malus and after a couple of mishaps finally lands on Malus' head where the video ends.
389) Dormin Exploring the Void - Uploaded 11th February, 2010
So here is the next part of the above video (387 - F4 Dormin Escapes!) I move Dormin (at speed) and visit the low res texture of the Entrance temple, the low res bridge and then the low res temple. Nothing interesting here as they all melt away when I get close to them. However, at 2:02 I have loaded the beta Dam so Dormin has something interesting to explore. But I'd already been here before with Dormin, so there is nothing new to see here. Yet, I quickly pass over the Dam to reach the beta mountains - here Dormin moves around the vast expanse of the empty lands that exist at the edge of the world... video ends.
390) E3 Desert Bloom - Uploaded 11th February, 2010
A very short video showcasing what the E3 arena (i.e. the 13th colossus) looks like when the bloom effect is turned off. Wander is in super speed mode, but you can see how different the landscape looks. So Wander runs towards the desert arena until the light changes, then he runs back up the hill so it changes back. Here's an image I made of the arena with the bloom disabled at the E3 arena.
I called this image 'The Dune Sea'
391) H8-I8 Invisible Lands & Beta Mountains at Night - Uploaded 12th February, 2010
Like most of the videos profiled in these three historical video blogs, this video was originally recorded at 400 x 296p but I have upscaled them to 640 x 360p. But it shows you how I had no idea of what resolution to use at this early stage. I mean by the time I made this video it had been only just under 7 months since I began making videos. But you can see the quality is pretty bad (even at 360p). It's interesting to note that at the time (2009-2010) Youtube supported HD quality videos! So with that out of the way let me discuss what happens in this video.
We start out on the H8 invisible platform. Wander is standing there in front of the H8 mountain, the only mountain you can see from the invisible platform. I have used the colour code (address) and changed it to 0 - which means it's black. I then use my gravity code and parachute hack to fly Wander out beyond the safety of the solid platform and head towards the large blue triangle that exists to the North East (see below image).
Blue triangle at North East of H8
You get a sense of how large the triangle is from this perspective, yet compared to the H8 quadrant it's just a tiny sliver at the top right edge. From there I move towards the mountain and then start to travel along the IH mountains - which is the same mountain just now we can see more of it as its profile runs along towards the East. This is classic Nomad stuff! as you can see the forbidden lands out to the West against an impenetrable black background - very mysterious! I keep shifting my up/down position as I fly over the cliffs before heading towards J7. I head South and briefly check out the Blue triangle at J8 before skirting around the borders of the J7 mountains. Once I pass over into J6 I freeze, as from this point on the entire J column is an area no one could explore at this stage. Later that would change but that will be in a future video.
392) G6 #8's Arena at Night - Uploaded 12th February, 2010
I continued the 'at night' theme for the next few videos as when I found something new and interesting I would usually see how far I could take it. So we start out in the G6 valley in front of the cave entrance that leads to Kuromori's lair (the #8th boss) or Yamori_B as the devs called it. You'll notice the sky is a strange shade of green - the closest match I could find is called 'beryl green' named after the mineral that shares this colour. To get this blank green sky you must remove the clouds 'sky box' which requires a glitch I found in the NTSC version, but as the clouds are no longer present, I can change the sky to any colour I wish, in this case black!
Wander is in super speed mode so it doesn't take me too long to get to the temple. I jump into the lake as I also have turned the bloom effect off, so the fish and eels are clearly visible. You can see when I look upwards once I'm next to the lake the sky is a glowing white light, then I turn off the bloom effect and it's pitch black. So I make my way to the temple and change Wander's speed back to normal. When I'm in the temple next to the two large fire pillars you can see there is no fire, but once I turn the lighting effects back on the sky is a blazing white and the fires return! Lastly, I run into the colosseum and then jump down next to the remains of the Gecko and look back up at the black sky.
393) F4 Shrine of Worship at Night - Uploaded 12th February, 2010
Continuing on with the night theme, we start out with the regular 'bloom filled' sky. The sky box is still missing as in the last video and then I turn off the bloom effect. The sky is again a solid beryl green colour. I ride towards the temple then stop Agro to witness the sky has turned a light blue! This happens as you ride around the lands, the solid sky colours change depending where you are.
I raise my sword and you can see that the light columns and the spiral clouds above them are still visible. I then change the sky black and ride into the temple. The temple is dark and ominous in this mode... the main hall has been transformed! I unmount Agro and head towards Mono's altar. The scene changes and I have sped up Wander again. I run towards the back of the temple and behold! There is no water in the pool. This is due to my turning off the bloom effect in the r1888 version of the emulator as it also removes the water effects. I turn the water effects back on then speedrun until I'm under Dormin's oculus, I look up proving the light effects have returned, then quickly turn them off again. I speedrun out to the ledge of the temple - video ends.
I raise my sword and you can see that the light columns and the spiral clouds above them are still visible. I then change the sky black and ride into the temple. The temple is dark and ominous in this mode... the main hall has been transformed! I unmount Agro and head towards Mono's altar. The scene changes and I have sped up Wander again. I run towards the back of the temple and behold! There is no water in the pool. This is due to my turning off the bloom effect in the r1888 version of the emulator as it also removes the water effects. I turn the water effects back on then speedrun until I'm under Dormin's oculus, I look up proving the light effects have returned, then quickly turn them off again. I speedrun out to the ledge of the temple - video ends.
394) E6 #13's Desert at Night - Uploaded 12th February, 2010
Same deal as the previous three videos yet this time I'm at the E6 desert where you fight Phalanx. So I make the sky black then super speed Wander runs around the desert, briefly checks out the remains of Phalanx then runs towards the small desert temple. When I change the sky back to normal you can see it's a strange orange/yellow colour - I looked online and this particular shade is called sorrel brown. Finally Agro makes it to the temple (Wander was way too fast for her!).
395) F8 Making it Dark - Uploaded 12th February, 2010
Here we see how the above videos were created! That is how to get rid of the sky box with clouds (Note: only works in the US version). Firstly to set up this video I had already climbed up to the platform (at Malus' arena) to trigger the storm. I then jumped back across the gorge using the parachute hack and here is where the video starts. As you can see the storm follows Wander even when he is back down on the ground near the entrance gates. I speed up Wander and quickly run outside (again to save the video running too long).
Once outside, I change the colour code to 0 again (black). You'll notice how the screen flickers from black to white, even though I have locked the colour memory address it seems it can't lock it perfectly, hence every now and again it fluctuates. I then speed run towards the East until I get close to the Stonehenge-like structure, and here is where the clouds disappear and we are left with a pitch black sky!
396) D1 Hydrus Flavours - Uploaded 12th February, 2010
In this video I change the background colours of the lake at Hydrus' arena from green, to blue to red. First I turned off the water effects so everything is crisp and clear underwater, in fact it looks like Wander is floating in empty space. You get to see some nice clear footage of Hydrus as well. It's strange but when Wander is splashing around on the surface of the lake the water is a deep navy blue, but when the camera moves underwater, the scene turns blood red! So I'm not changing the colours manually here, it's just how the game works.
You'll notice I get 'zapped' quite a few times by Hydrus' electrical spikes, but my health limit is off the chart and even off the screen! I must have set it to 1,000 or something whereas the maximum health you can receive in the game is 570. I also have sped up Wander several times his normal speed again (like the above videos) as swimming in this game is pretty slow and I needed to keep up with Hydus. At times I'm using the gravity hack to keep Wander underwater and level with the colossus - Note: You can't drown in this game. When Wander's grip runs out underwater you hear him breathing heavily... but he can't die. Next, I've turned the water a forest green colour and have moved the camera up above the colossus and Wander. This is my favourite part of the video as Wander swims alongside the colossus in its natural habitat.
397) D1 Hydrus without Bloom - Uploaded 13th February, 2010
Basically the same video as above except I haven't changed any colours. All I've done is remove the water effects (which also removed the bloom). Again, it's just cool to see Hydrus and the columns underwater with clarity as in game it's murky and dark. But the problem with having no water effects is that it's hard to know when to hold onto Hydrus and when to let go as it undulates on the lake surface as there are no ripples to guide you.
Next, I'm holding onto Hydrus 'beyond' the point in the game when you are supposed to let go. That is, I try my best to stay attached to the colossus as it dives down into the depths of the lake. I probably should have taken out the three electrical spikes before attempting this as I get blasted away from each one, but it seems Wander will let go no matter how long you try to hang on. This happens with other colossi (Dirge & Phalanx) as when you try to hang on when you're not supposed to you are summarily kicked off!
398) E2 Ramp Ruins - Uploaded 13th February, 2010
Next, I start at the apex of the stone ramp that leads to the Knight's platform. But instead of making the jump to the stone block, instead I turn around and use the parachute hack to float back down to the start of the ramp. I land in the water and then remove the water effects in order to explore what was hidden under this lake, and I found something significant! You can now see three hidden megalithic blocks that were unseen until before. Two are in situ, but the third is placed on its short edge, as if it had been blasted there by some now forgotten catastrophe! It seems like the bridge has suffered a slight collapse in the past, but only where it meets the water. Or perhaps the strong currents of the lake shifted these three blocks over time?
Upturned block hidden under the lake at E2
Note: the textures on these underwater blocks differ from those above water. You can see the blocks above the water have a wider edge on either side, but those underwater are narrower and have a distinctive dark line running down their center.
Comparison between the above lake blocks to those hidden underwater
399) F4 Secret Garden at Night - Uploaded 13th February, 2010
Another 'at night' video. This time I start out on the main bridge and look around at the pitch black sky above. I then run up the path that leads to the garden, and then proceed to run around the perimeter of the garden then up the ramp to where the stone blocks are. The fruit seems to appear much more visible in this mode due to the black background, otherwise nothing else is worth mentioning. I don't even jump up to the higher platform here, the video cuts and I'm back outside on the path. I jump down using the parachute (cloth of desperation) and land back safely on the ground. Agro arrives as the video ends.
400) H4 Avion's Arena at Night - Uploaded 13th February, 2010
And yet another 'at night' video.We see Wander riding Agro towards Avion's arena - the sky is black, they reach the edge of the lake and Wander dismounts and swims towards under the broken part of the wall to reach the ladder that leads up to the path. Again, I have removed the water effects so for the first time you can see what's below the lake such as temple structures and cliff faces that are now clearly visible - pretty cool! Wander swims under the gap in the wall and then climbs the ladder that leads to the trigger point for Avion.
But of course, since I can only turn off the clouds and make it dark at the final boss (Malus) all my 'at night' videos will only be Wander revisiting the defeated colossi... so they are just a pile of dirt and rock (colossi corpses) in these videos! But in this video, I don't even leave the trigger point platform, I just look around at the sky. You can see the remains of Avion off in the distance. At 2:04 in the video I turn on the bloom effect and then turn off the colours... then jump down into the lake - video ends.
401) Sky Colours - Uploaded 21st February, 2010
Note: In this video I have kept the bloom effect on. I start out next to the Shrine of Worship. The sky is the normal beryl green colour (without the clouds) but as I ride Agro North towards the earth bridge you see it change to pale blue, then to yellow, then as I traverse the bridge it seems to revert to normal, but for a split second we see a shift to red and then a yellow/green... I ride on heading North, the bloom effect is intense here. We then see purple followed by blue, yellow, lime green, a pale purple and back to lime green as Wander reaches the far wall of the lands (under the Entrance temple).
So what is going on here? Well, it seems the colours change depending on where you are in the lands when you have this address turned on. So all I did in this video was ride from the Shrine of Worship to under the Entrance temple, the sky colours changed automatically.
402) F8 Exploring #16's Chasm - Uploaded 21st February, 2010
You know, I think this video is pretty miraculous! Why? Because I did something that no one had ever done before, even the greats like Radical Dreamer! I was the first to explore the lower parts of the chasm that you see Agro fall into at the final boss (Malus). But to do it I had to think outside of the box.
So instead of warping Wander down into the trench (or chasm if you like) which always proved to be impossible at this time, I tried something else. I searched the code for the models of the chasm then moved each piece out onto the vast green fields beyond the entrance gates of the arena. Here I could put all the pieces together and then make Wander run through them, as if he was at the bottom of the 'real' chasm! The effect is still impressive to this day, however at the end of the video you can see what I have done! For instance, you can see Wander is running 'above' the level of the ground, also his footfalls sound the same as when he is running on a normal surface (like grass)... Then at 2:02 in the video, you see a hawk fly past the camera! But the real giveaway is at the end, when you see the grass start to become visible. Interestingly, the water still flows even though I have moved these models to another place.
So instead of warping Wander down into the trench (or chasm if you like) which always proved to be impossible at this time, I tried something else. I searched the code for the models of the chasm then moved each piece out onto the vast green fields beyond the entrance gates of the arena. Here I could put all the pieces together and then make Wander run through them, as if he was at the bottom of the 'real' chasm! The effect is still impressive to this day, however at the end of the video you can see what I have done! For instance, you can see Wander is running 'above' the level of the ground, also his footfalls sound the same as when he is running on a normal surface (like grass)... Then at 2:02 in the video, you see a hawk fly past the camera! But the real giveaway is at the end, when you see the grass start to become visible. Interestingly, the water still flows even though I have moved these models to another place.
403) F4 Invisible Agro - Uploaded 22nd February, 2010
With the clouds still missing and a nice pure blue sky above I made this short video. I did this by using the object camera code which lets you change the camera between Wander and Agro. By changing the values some strange things happen, such as Wander's hair model disappearing as at the beginning of the video. As such, I can turn off Agro's body model, but her mane and tail are still visible. So I mount invisible Agro and ride up the stairs into the temple then circle past Mono's altar and ride back outside again. You'll notice a couple of weird floating objects offset from Agro, these are part of its harness that for reasons unknown to me appear there when Agro is invisible. So I ride Agro across the field until I reach Valus' arena where the video ends.
404) F4 Mist - Uploaded 22nd February, 2010
By searching for a value of 1 (float type) and changing that value to zero (for instance), you will find a lot of cool things in the code. One of them is the Mist code. That is it starts out at 1, but if you make it 2, the mist becomes more prominent, when you make it zero or minus 1, the landscape gets darker etc. So in this video I start out on the bridge and once I use the mist code everything surrounding Wander becomes like an Antarctic white out! That is, you can hardly see anything around Wander...except that damn ugly triangular shadow. That was how the PCSX2 r1888 ran that game back then, I had no way to remove it! I run towards the temple and find the front door through the mist. I then reduce the mist a little, but then increase it as Wander runs up the path to the garden. All we see here is a shadow surrounded by a blue/white fog! When we reach the garden entrance things get clearer.
Another iconic image from WWWArea showing the mist effect
The mist code works really well when it is constrained between two walls (for example), when it's spread out it doesn't have the same spooky effect! So once in the garden I turn the mist code down then up again and pan the camera around. Wander is now just a ghostly outline! I jump down into the water channel (aqueduct) and follow it around to the entrance turning the mist down then finally off. Next we are outside the garden and I use the parachute hack to float back around to the bridge, then back down to ground level. It's pretty cool gliding through the mist and seeing plants materialize out of the gloom!
The video then cuts to Wander running through the now misty E5 forest. It really does give the game an extra sense of mystery I think. Finally Wander uses the sword light to point at the save stone. When you are in the forest at the start of the game, the sword light points towards Valus (of course) which just happens to line up with the save shrine temple.
405) E2 The Knight at Night - Uploaded 22nd February, 2010
We start out on the shore of the lake at E2 looking up at the impressive flat topped structure that is the abode of the third colossus (Gaius). I turn off the water effects and for the first time we can see what has previously hidden under the surface of the lake. By turning off the water effects it also has some other advantages, such as removing the bloom effect. Everything is sharper and has more contrast.
I jump into the water and again we see the three drowned megaliths at the base of the ramp (as in video 390 above). I make my way up the ramp and then parachute hack to the outer path (to save time), but strangely I still run around the path towards the stairs instead of just climbing up one of the many ladder blocks that are there to access the arena. I'm guessing at the time I didn't know you could climb these?
As with the above videos, I have built one on the other and they seem to be getting longer with each new upload. As you see the clouds are still missing so I again change the colour code to black and the arena is transformed to night! After the cutscene, I basically just run around the arena avoiding the Knight's attacks and showcasing how it appears against a black sky. Note: At 3:14 in the video I have turned the bloom back on, that is turned on the water effects - Gaius now looks like a blurry shadow! It's only when Wander gets up close to the colossus that any details become apparent. You'll also notice at 3:46 in the video when I turn off the water effects again the central plate now is just a rim of metal, like a bicycle wheel without its spokes! Finally I turn the colour code off and we can see the Knight backed by the off brown sky beyond.
Only the metal rim is left when the water effects are removed!
406) E2 Agro in #3 Arena - Uploaded 23rd February, 2010
Hmmm, it seems I spoke too soon? This video is only 2:14 long, so it's a very short video! We start down on the shore of the lake (as in the above video), but this time Gaius is already activated and is walking around the arena. I did this one purpose, as if you take Agro to the arena before the colossus wakes up, you are just warped back down to the shore of the lake when the cutscene starts. I go to the map then work my magic to warp Agro to the top of the platform - and in an instant Wander & Agro appear there!
The music starts and I ride Agro around the colossus avoiding its attacks. At 36 seconds I accidently ride off the platform and land on the lower path of the arena. But no problems, we are right next to the stairs, so I position Agro and walk back up to the platform. Again, I ride Agro around and it seems that Gaius doesn't discriminate between Wander or Agro! That is it will still attack. However, I know from experience if Agro was up there by herself, the Knight would ignore her... it's only Wander it attacks! I entice Gaius to slam its club down several times and then end up riding again to the outer lower path, where the video ends.
407) F5 Valus in Mist - Uploaded 23rd February, 2010
Carrying on with the mist code we have another short video. I start right next to the colossus, but the problem here is I've turned the mist code up too high, so Wander and Valus are a strange green shade with highlighted shadows.
I do turn off the mist effect a couple of times, but in hindsight I should have made it lower at first and then more intense as the video progressed. Finally I jump back down to the field outside and then raise the sword, this turns everything dark (one of the effects of the mist code).
408) F5 Double Sized Wander at Valus- Uploaded 23rd February, 2010
So here I shift gears compared to the last lot of videos that dealt with making it dark, adding mist, removing the bloom or changing the colours etc. You may remember from video 302 above (Mega Wander) I had made Wander larger but his head was still normal sized? Well, in this video I found Wander's head model as well, but I still made him too large (2x his size), so he keeps jumping up and down on the spot. To stop the jumping all I had to do was make Wander 1.8 times his normal size, but back then I was still experimenting with these things and didn't realise this until much later. However, if you are walking or running he doesn't jump.
But it's quite amusing how each time Wander tries to whistle for Agro, he raises his hand to his mouth and then jumps again! So however much he tries he just can't quite call for Agro xD. You will also notice that when the cutscene starts, Wander stops jumping, this is because Wander gets frozen while the cutscene plays, otherwise you could run around and start climbing the ledges etc. After the cutscene I climb up the ledges without much trouble until I get to the fallen pillar. Here Wander is too large to jump over or roll under it, so I had to make Wander normal sized again to pass this barrier. Some ledges that required Wander to grip onto then pull himself up are now easily accessible with a single jump, but once I try and climb the colossus, things get much more difficult!
Of course Wander was never meant to be this large and as such, the controls just don't work very well when climbing a colossus. So just to get that first stab on the leg requires a lot of trial and many errors! So many in fact that I cut the video and jumped to the part when I finally could climb up the back of the colossus. So I finally make it to the apex where the death sigil is but then I made another mistake! I bring up the map and then make Wander 6x his normal size! What was I thinking! The result is the game freaks out as Wander is thrown into chaos, the camera can't seem to focus on Wander as he is drawn into the body of the colossus and Wander has no way to stab anything, let alone a tiny sigil... so I bring the map up again and reduce Wander back to 2x his size, but even then it's still a laborious task to even stab the sigil (I'm using the Queen's sword btw).
But I finally managed to make one stab with the oversized Queen's sword (yet in this case, the sword was also upscaled to twice its size), but as I'm in Hard Mode I still have to stab the sigil on Valus' right arm, but I fail to even grab onto it as I fall back to the ground, opening my tiny chute which wasn't upscaled (see image below). I return Wander to normal size and the video ends.
409) F8 Making it Really Dark - Uploaded 24th February, 2010
Continuing on from video 395 above (Making it Dark), here I take the next step by turning off the light effects which removes the bloom effect and Wander's shadow, then changing the colour code to zero (Black), then adding to the mist effect (which makes it darker) and finally running past the boundary which causes the clouds glitch to happen, that is the 'clouds' sky box is removed. We are left with a pitch black sky and everything around Wander is also as black as coal! Only a slight spotlight of light now surrounds Wander. I then turn the light effects back on at the end of the video to show how the landscape can be restored, but the sky is now forever without clouds.
410) PSU Demo Beta Areas- Uploaded 26th February, 2010
In a nutshell, in this video I spend the first 3 minutes and 44 seconds exploring the edges of the PSU demo map, which (as in all the demos) only comprise the nine centre squares. I named this video PSU demo 'beta areas' but these are not beta areas at all, they are just the normal lands we see in the game but are inaccessible in this demo. So when Wander passes the threshold of the nine centre squares, the low res lands beyond disappear. You can only see the low res lands from the safety of the nine solid centre map squares.
So I start out on the edge of D3 (Basaran's arena - 9th boss). Wander wobbles when floating as I didn't have the parachute yet, so I was using the gravity hack to fly around. In the map below I have numbered each quadrant I explored in order. Second was G2 Pelagia's low res lair, then Gaius E2 (3), Avion H4 (4), and finally Phalanx E6 (5).
Wander explores the edges of the map in this order
Then the video changes and we see Wander climbing the Shrine of Worship at a specific point. He jumps down into a recess between two large stone supports. There is a small platform there that Wander can stand on (legitimately). In the retail versions, this area is blocked by an invisible wall. There's a small tree blocking the view, but even so, this is a nice little secret area that is well worth visiting! From memory, it also works in the OPM demo.
Wander standing on the platform (not accessible in the retail versions)
The video changes again and we are now behind the large wall that encloses Dormin's oculus heading out onto the porch (as I call it). We get a grand view of the lands from this high vantage point which in fact you are able to reach legitimately in the OPM and PSU demos. I try to climb up the opposite side of the porch but fall off into the void and die. Next, Wander is frozen behind the 2D Entrance temple and mountain low res texture. The low res bridge runs off into the distance to the Shrine of Worship and you can also see the rock stoppers floating in the void.
411) PSU Demo Save Shrines - Uploaded 26th February, 2010
I start out at the Ravine Entrance save shrine at E3 (see map below). You can see the save stone is missing, but I failed to notice that it's still there, just out of sight hidden between the save shrine.
Save stone I failed to notice in the video
Next, I head towards the Round Stone Hill save shrine (also at E3). You'll notice Wander is sped up so he can run faster, but only two times his normal speed, which is more manageable. That is, in previous videos I had his speed at x6 which is just too fast as it makes the distant landscapes disappear as they don't have time to render fast enough. I also have the 'Super Jump Glide' code enabled. I haven't talked about this code before but I did cover the 'Super jump' code back in video 364 of this post. The Super Jump Glide code (as I called it) is very similar to the Super Jump code, except that as Wander jumps it only takes effect when Wander is at the end of his jump... that is, just before he hits the ground, he lurches forward to the value I have set. So in effect, Wander can glide forward a great distance when traversing the lands (which saves a lot of time).
So I reach the Round Stone Hill save shrine which has the save stone intact. I pray at it to show that this action will crash the game (which it does). Next, I'm at the E5 forest save stone (seems I have ignored the Stone Bridge Cliff save shrine) which is also missing... the video shifts and we are now at the Shrine of Worship save shrine (the only save stone that isn't in a free standing structure). We see an empty niche where the save stone should be. The video cuts again to the Half Moon Canyon save shrine at G3, Wander prays at the save stone and the demo crashes! Finally, we are heading towards the Cliff Path save shrine at G4 near Avion's arena. We arrive and see the save stone intact.
412) E3 PSU Demo Strange Sounds in the Forest - Uploaded 26th February, 2010
In the PSU demo when you are near the E5 forest, you will hear these strange sounds. First you hear Mono's disembodied voice, then the footsteps of Valus (the first colossus) and finally Wander waking up in the temple. You don't have to be in the forest as such, you can still hear the sounds just outside next to the large rock stopper that is there to prevent access into the forest. It's clear these sounds are due to some glitch in the demo, but even in the PAL demo (the latest version) there is also a glitch in this area, but this time pieces of music from the introduction play at regular intervals.
An expert in all things to do with the workings of the game (Jaihkay) explained the glitch to me: 'You're not supposed to be able to enter the E5 forest in this demo and so the ambient track that should play here doesn't exist in the game files (as it's not needed). Because the forest ambient track is missing, the game instead plays the audio tracks that come after it.' So this explains why these sounds appear in the demos, however there are no such sounds in the OPM demo?
But of course I prefer to go into the forest, so in this video I do. I usually wait near the save shrine for the sounds to begin. There's a small pool of water nearby where some doves fly down to bathe themselves before flittering away again. The forest has a quiet stillness to it and (for me) is one of my most favourite areas in the game to visit. I also made this updated HD video that just plays the sounds:
https://youtu.be/K6CBbXPs1jw
https://youtu.be/K6CBbXPs1jw
413) F3 Moving the Mini Bridge - Uploaded 26th February, 2010
I should have called this video 'Moving the F3 culvert to the temple' or something similar as Pikol called it the mini bridge, yet it's more like a Dam as a culvert is something that is made to go 'under' a road or bridge etc. But since there is already a very famous Dam in the game (also found by Pikol), it's hard to know what to call this structure. Perhaps the 'Mini Dam'?
In any case, to make this video I had to spend a long time searching through memory addresses to find all the pieces of the structure and surrounding cliffs. So I start by standing on the cliff and looking down with a clear view of the structure, then I search for a float code of 1 and change the results to zero. When I see parts of the structure disappear, I know I have a part of it. I won't bore you with how I moved all the parts to the temple, but before I do that I just moved the 'parts' up high enough so that when Wander is standing on the earth bridge it appears he is standing on top of the Mini Dam, but this is just an illusion.
Next I move the parts into the temple, and inside we see the Mini Dam taking up most of the space of the main hall. Wander can run through the arches but notice the floor textures are flickering on and off... it seems I didn't move the model up high enough here... finally Wander stands on the porch of the temple and looks across the flat plains and the landscape outside is completely different now, as we see the Mini Dam from Wander's perspective in the temple - pretty cool!
I made an HD update just to prove (to myself) that I could still do these things!
https://youtu.be/JDnyeYQr8T0
https://youtu.be/JDnyeYQr8T0
414) F5 Valus Parts - Uploaded 26th February, 2010
The video starts out with Valus about to smash Wander with its club, but suddenly the colossus disappears! Here I have used some codes to turn off Valus' body, leaving only some parts that include the club, the rings that hang from its body in various places and also both knee pads still visible. Why only these parts stay loaded is based on the memory addresses I just happened to find at the time - I changed them from 1 (loaded) to zero (unloaded). Yet, as you can see, they still preserve their collisions, so Wander jumps and climbs onto the club. I fall off the club and check out the rings at ground level and above, then I parachute hack away to give me some distance before I make Valus visible again. Valus reappears as it smashes its club down, but now Wander is safely out of range. I enable the codes again > Valus disappears > then re-enable them > Valus appears > video ends.
415) E6 Phalanx at Night Over Land - Uploaded 27th February, 2010
At the time I thought this might become a 'viral video' but I recall it got very low views and even some negative comments about how far people should modify (or hack) this game... so not long after I posted it publically, I removed it. But, from my point of view it was an amazing new way to showcase what was possible in the game. First I travelled to G7 in the South lands and started searching for land model pieces one by one. Once I found one, I would move it up into the sky 100m so I could keep track of which pieces I had found. Eventually when I thought I had enough pieces I needed, I moved them all to E6 in order to create the illusion that the #13th colossus now flies over the green fields instead of a dry, dusty desert.
Here I have moved a piece of land up 100m to keep track of it
The sky clouds are missing as with a lot of previous videos so the sky takes on the colour of that quadrant, in the case of E6 it's a dusty yellow colour. There are four variations of the sky I can use in this way: 1) The sky with the bloom effect - here the sky blazes white and it's hard to see any details, 2) The sky without the bloom - here the sky is sharp and has the colour of the land, 3) The sky is black with the bloom effect - here the sky is dark green/grey but you can still see all the particles of sand blowing around in the wind, and 4) The sky is black without bloom - here the sky is sharp and pitch black. All of these variations you can see in the video.
A dusty yellow sky over lush green fields with the majestic colossus floating by
The colossus flies over green fields against a pitch black sky
The video starts out with Wander and Agro on the green fields against a grey sky. Wander raises his sword and the light points Southwards. Next Agro moves forward until it reaches the trigger point where Phalanx erupts from below the ground. But now we are seeing the cutscene appear over green fields instead of a desert. It's difficult to know where to ride Agro as (in reality) we are still in E6 with the normal collisions that exist there. And you will see how the G7 fields do not match the contours of E6, as such Agro seems to sink through the ground, but after this I was careful to only show those parts of the video where it seemed the ground was solid under Wander or Agro. Next we are on 'Kegan's rock', named after the first fan who made it there in the PS2 version. I dismount Agro and run to the edges of the plateau to watch how Phalanx glides across the sky. But you can see in the distance that the lands are low res or not loaded.
Next, we are back on the ground next to the small pond at G7 with the fruit tree nearby as Phalanx flies behind it. Then Wander runs forward a little and you can see the G7 save shrine in the distance and also the beams of light from the previous colossi. So you can see that (for the time) this was a unique video and one of my favourite hacks 😉. The video cuts to the 'pitch black' sky mode as Phalanx again flies past, but in this mode the colossi eyes and the Dormin hints (or any text) does not appear on screen.
416) F3 Quadratus at Night - Uploaded 27th February, 2010
Another 'at night' video. This time I chose Quadratus to see what the beach looked like 'after dark!' So I start out just beyond the trigger point, Wander shines his sword and we see the sky is black. I then trigger the colossus and ride towards the shore with Quadratus following. I turn off the bloom effect and the eyes of the colossus are now empty black sockets! I dismount Agro and get my bow ready, Quadratus rears up and then... Wander parachute hacks and runs away? So I had no intention of fighting this boss, I just wanted to show how it looked in this new environment I had created.
Next, Wander climbs up the large rock close to where you enter the arena from. Did you know you can climb this rock? It provides a great view of the colossus from a safe location. I then jump and glide to the side of Quadratus as the video shifts back to the start. Now, I do something different - I turn off the land surfaces (no land hack) so we can see Quadratus and the rock door before it is triggered without any of the cliffs obstructing the view. You can see Quadratus in its original configuration in the distance. Then I trigger it by riding towards the door - you can see how Quadratus rams the door with its head lowered and then raises it back up. This detail is missed when you watch the cutscene normally.
Quadratus charges the door!
You can also see how each step of the colossus causes sand to fall down below the surface of the beach. I turn the land textures back on and then play around the the mist code. The colossus looks pretty creepy standing in the distance with the mist enabled, its two glowing eyes peering out of the gloom!
417) G5 Phaedra at Dusk - Uploaded 1st March, 2010
Not much happens in this video... I basically run around or use the parachute hack to glide away from Phaedra so it follows me. The sky is normal in this video (i.e. the clouds are back!) So when I make it dark it only effects the landscape but not the sky which is why I called it 'Phaedra at dusk' instead of 'at night' as it looks more like early morning when the sun is just below the horizon. I use the mist and colour code to change the landscape, making it darker or lighter. But as you can see, when I lock the colour code it doesn't lock completely, that is you can see the colours flash on and off. But Phaedra becomes a dark silhouette at times so there were some good sections of the video.
Phaedra at dusk
418) G5 Fighting Phaedra at Night - Uploaded 1st March, 2010
Pretty much the same video as above, except this time I fight the colossus (in hard mode). So the video starts out with only the mist code enabled, that is the background has that opaque green colour. We watch the cutscene take place and then I play the game as normal > run towards the furthest of the four mounds > wait for Phaedra to walk into the center, then drop down and run through the tunnels to arrive at the back of the colossus from the other side. Jump up onto the tail and then climb up the back of the colossus. This is where I change the colour mode to black - now it is the night!
So the rest of the video is Wander taking down the colossus (Note: I have the Queen's sword) so it doesn't take me long to kill it. As the camera is focussed on the colossus, the background is black, so it appears I'm fighting Phaedra at night. At the very last second, I jump and use the chute as the black tendrils penetrate Wander's body... so we see the 'clamshell glitch' as he falls and collapses 😉.
So the rest of the video is Wander taking down the colossus (Note: I have the Queen's sword) so it doesn't take me long to kill it. As the camera is focussed on the colossus, the background is black, so it appears I'm fighting Phaedra at night. At the very last second, I jump and use the chute as the black tendrils penetrate Wander's body... so we see the 'clamshell glitch' as he falls and collapses 😉.
419) Dormin Exploring the Void (Reprise) - Uploaded 1st March, 2010
Not sure why I made this (Reprise) video as there is really nothing much to see out in the void? From memory I think it was because I had worked out how to turn off the bloom effect, and as such Dormin was now much easier to see than the previous video (389 - Dormin Exploring the Void) above, which had an ugly bright cyan background. So I start out by visiting the low res temple again - that is the 'real' temple at F4, way off to the South East from where we are at A0, then I head back to A0 and take a better look at the lands next to the A0 cutscene temple. Here we can now see more detail and can even espy the fruit tree and pond that we are all used to passing on our way to the first colossus in the game. Next, we are back in front of the A0 temple where the video ends. Meh!
420) D7-C7 Beta Areas (Preview Version) - Uploaded 4th March, 2010
An update to my video above (318 - D7 Island). I start on the high cliffs overlooking the ocean at D7. In the distance is the island but first I check out an invisible texture nearby that let's you look under the lands to the ocean below, there are a few of these missing textures in the Preview version. In this video I have the parachute, so I can now travel to the island with the parachute hack and gravity codes enabled. The bloom effect doesn't appear to be as intense as in the last video so we get a much better view of the island. You can see there's nothing special about the island, just a barren rock with the same textures as the cliffs (Note: It was removed in all later versions).
I head back to land then warp Wander high up to the top of the cliffs - 166 metres high from ground level in fact! From up here you can look down and see a large boulder like hill surrounded by an area of grass. I then traverse the top of the cliffs where no player had ever set foot before! And then made my way back down to the other side of the mountains. We end up on a slanted area of rock with a path of green grass heading to the West. My first instinct (of course) was to run along this path, but I soon fell into the void... the video cuts and I float along the strip of grass. You can see it was just the Southern part of a much larger area that was cut. I then head through the cliff face into the area we saw from high up on the cliffs. It's quite an extensive area to explore, but without collisions, Wander has to float around, but there's not much to see here.
I made an updated video about the C7 Beta area here: https://youtu.be/SBPsAcVJsyA
421) H4 Avion Camera - Uploaded 4th March, 2010
This might be confusing as to what is happening here, but basically, I have moved Wander's camera to Avion using a single byte address found in the memory near Wander's position co-ordinates. It was WWWArea who first found this (somehow?), but it has been one of my most constant companion codes over the years 😉. At this early stage we were still working out what it did and how we could use it. It's very much the same as the 'Eye of the Colossus' item you can access in the Preview version, but here I'm using the NTSC (US) version - the main version I use. We called it the 'Wander camera shift' code.
The video starts with Avion on its perch and the camera is directly above it. As the colossus is now the primary character we can use the controller to move it around, make its wings flap etc. Avion lifts off the column and we can see a headless Wander floating nearby! This is based on how to use the byte. Back when I made this video, I changed the byte from 2 (default) to (X) can be any number less than 255, but unless you then change the byte back to zero, you will see Wander's floating headless body.
Controls are:
L1 (moves the camera behind the colossus)
L2 (camera pans in on the colossus)
R1 (Avion raises its wings and shrieks)
R2 (zooms in on the colossus)
Hold X (Avion lifts off and starts flying) but it only moves in one direction... there is no way (using the controller) to change its direction. But you can keep using X to flap its wings (Note: It also opens its mouth and shrieks again).
TRIANGLE once in flight (Avion flaps its wings as if it's above the perch column)
SELECT (Avion dies) the cutscene appears
422) F4 Wander & Agro 'Get Down!' - Uploaded 6th March, 2010
You know, I actually hate this song... but it seemed an appropriate 'disco type' track to portray what I wanted to appear in this video. So the first thing I did was speed up the clouds in the background, to set the mood. Then to make Wander dance, I used the same technique as in video 384 (Flying Camera Mod) above, which is to make Wander's speed code -1. I also did this with Agro, so we have both player and horse seemingly dancing around in the temple. Then abruptly, everything stops and we are back where we started. As soon as I uploaded this video back in March, 2010 I got a copyright warning! So I immediately removed it from my channel. So very few people would have seen this bizarre video.
423) F4 Shifting the Camera - Uploaded 6th March, 2010
So in this video we see I can now remove the bloom effect at will (as long as I'm Wander), speed the clouds up, and shift the camera from Wander to other objects in the game. I'm getting more advanced as each discovery builds on the next, and when combining more than one, new possibilities become available in the game. First, the camera always goes to Agro. You can see that I have fixed the 'floating headless Wander' issue in this video by changing the byte back to zero (see video 421 above).
Now that I'm playing as Agro I can ride her away to any parts of the game I like, but there's a problem... Agro 'wants' to stay near her master, so she only runs a short distance away then stops. I have to mash the X button on the controller to make her run again, eventually she will pass beyond Wander's influence and then you can move the horse anywhere you like. But here, I don't ride away too far before returning to Wander. Then I shift the camera back to Wander and show how the two parts of Wander are visible, 1) his headless body and 2) his head, poncho and sword sheath.
Then I shift the camera to the 3rd object, Mono. Notice when Mono's altar appears we still see a ghostly Wander body floating nearby, but then disappears. This is because I change the byte code back to zero. You can press all the controller buttons when Mono is the primary character, but all you see is Wander's health and grip bar appear. Of course Mono has no controls as she is deceased (poor girl)!
424) J6 Exploring the J6 Beta Mountains - Uploaded 7th March, 2010
Here I have moved the model pieces from J6 all the way to the Southern lands so I can explore them on a solid surface. But the problem with this method is that the backgrounds are all low res as you can see in the video. I did the same thing in the video (415 - E6 Phalanx at Night Over Land) above. Wander runs around the lowest levels of the J6 quadrant with some nice music playing in the background. Note: This was one of the first videos where I just used music from the soundtrack instead of the usual in-game sounds.
Next, I have moved the model pieces down lower so it looks as if Wander is running on the higher ledge. He jumps from one ledge to another (using the chute) at times to reach a ledge out of reach. Then the video shifts to Wander on the very top of the J6 beta mountains as he runs around the perimeter looking down. We see how far up we are, in fact about 300 metres from the ground level!
Later I would make an updated video using a solid save shrine platform to explore the actual area at J6 - see here: https://youtu.be/Uci3JohpBrc
425) G1 Argus Before Activation - Uploaded 9th March, 2010
My videos seem to be getting longer and longer (time wise) as my uploads increase! But here is one of my early attempts to look at Argus before it is triggered clinging to the cliff wall, and also that mysterious cave that players (including myself) were so interested in! So first I move Wander up to the trigger point, but making sure not to cross over it. Then I use the 'No Land Hack' code as WWWArea and I called it, to make the landscape invisible. Here we can see Agrus in its inactive state floating in the void.
Next, I decided to think outside the box and bring Agro to the arena. I thought if I could move Agro to the ledge of the cliff I could then use a camera mod I had to see Argus in its state before it is triggered by Wander. Of course I would first have to 'shift' Wander's camera to Agro - but now I know how to do this - so that's what I did. As you can see, Agro wants to move back to Wander - so I have to mash the X button to make the horse move ever closer to the ledge! Then finally we can get a closer look at Argus. I then use a different camera hack that let's me move the camera in all three dimensions... but it's not so good as it wobbles around in a jerky motion, but at the time it's all I had to work with.
But for the first time we get to see Argus from behind as it appears before activation, and also some nice views of that mysterious cave below Argus. The camera also shows the bottom of the valley and the cliffs surrounding it. Finally, I shift the camera back to Wander... Agro appears and runs back to her master!
426) G1 Argus Bridge - Uploaded 10th March, 2010
I spoke too soon! The next video is only 58 seconds in length! All I do in this video is shift the camera from Wander to the West most bridge in #15's arena. In essence, I have taken over control of the bridge and it now acts like a character (object) in the game. So I can use the controller to move the camera around it or (its only function) to destroy it... which is what I do - but it's from the bridge perspective. I also use that 'wobbley' camera code to pan away from the bridge in order to get a look at Argus before it is triggered. When the bridge explodes we see the short cutscene, but after the camera is still hanging in the place the bridge used to be - pretty cool!
427) G1 Argus in Stand-by Mode - Uploaded 10th March, 2010
So here I take it one step further than the last video. I shift the camera from Wander to the bridge, but this time Argus is activated - standing still, as Wander has left the arena. This was one of the most amazing videos I had made back then as we can hear Argus 'breathing' with no background sounds. When the colossus is active the music drowns out all other sounds, but here as Wander is not in the arena we only hear the ambient background sounds (I have muted these). So we see Argus in its inactive state for the first time ever.
Argus in stand-by mode with no sword and glowing sigils
This was my first ever 'stand-by' mode video, but there will be more later on. You can see as Argus breaths it moves its body in a rhythmic pattern with every breath. The camera is still fixed to the bridge so I can only pan up and down to see Argus clearly. I shift the camera down using a camera code I had found (I called it the MHS camera - based on the Memory Hacking Software I used by L. Spiro). With this camera you have to lock each of the three co-ordinates (x,y,z) to move the camera where you want it, but it doesn't work so well as the frame wobbles around as if the camera is having trouble holding its position. Later I found a much better camera code than pans out from an object smoothly and doesn't require locking the three (x,y,z) co-ordinates, but at the time this was all I had. Lastly, I release Argus from its torpor and let it move again. We watch it stroll down to the other side of the arena where the video ends.
428) G1 Argus and Agro - Uploaded 10th March, 2010
Still in Argus' arena, I start by shifting the camera to Agro and then like magic I warp the horse up to the top of the stairs! I found that if I leave the camera shift code as it is, that is not reset it back to zero, Agro can ride away from Wander more easily. So (as Agro) I ride into Argus' arena and we see the colossus is still in stand-by mode at the end of the causeway. Notice all its sigils are glowing brightly and the colossus holds no sword. There is also no music playing as Wander is not present. I ride up to the feet of Argus then pass right through its right foot! For Agro, Argus has no substance.
Next, I activate Argus and it starts walking forward. Here we see the sword suddenly appear in its hand and the sigils stop glowing. Agro runs out of its way but I don't think Argus could hurt her even if it stepped on Agro. Argus walks back and forth along the causeway until I shift the camera back to Wander and then to the broken bridge. Here Argus is back in stand-by mode again, I activate the colossus once more and we watch it from the high perspective of the bridge as it magestically stomps down away from us to the other end of the arena.
Controls are:
D-Pad Down (wakes up colossus - before activation)
L1 (moves the camera behind the colossus)
L2 (Argus slams its right fist down)
R1 (Argus walks backwards)
R2 (zooms in on the colossus)
D-Pad Left (Argus stamps its left foot)
D-Pad Right (Argus stamps its right foot)
D-Pad Up (Argus shakes its right arm - to throw Wander off)
X (Argus starts walking)
SQUARE (Argus does its sword overswing attack - to destroy the bridge)
D-Pad Down (Argus does its sword side swipe)
CIRCLE + L2 (Argus shakes its left arm)
CIRCLE + R1 (Argus shakes its right arm)
CIRCLE + D-Pad Right (Gaius moves its right arm)
CIRCLE + D-Pad Down (Argus shakes its shoulders)
SELECT (Argus dies) the cutscene appears
429) G5 Phaedra in Stand-by Mode - Uploaded 11th March, 2010
Now that I know how to put a colossus in stand-by mode I start making videos about this technique. To put Phaedra into stand-by mode I first ride into the arena but stop before the trigger point. I then shift Wander's camera to Phaedra and using the controller (D-Pad down) activate the colossus. Once the cutscene has finished, Phaedra will not move forward but stands still on its stone platform. Next, I ride away from the colossus until we travel beyond its influence. You can see when this happens as Wander's health bar and grip circle appear briefly. Then I shift the camera to Agro and ride back into the arena. Now we will see all the sigils glowing as we did with Argus in the previous video, and Phaedra will be breathing with no music playing.
However, I didn't show all these steps in this video... I started it when Phaedra is already in stand-by mode and use the 'wobbly' MHS camera to view the colossus. So for the first minute and a half this is all we see. Then I release Phaedra and it starts to walk forward away from us into the distance. Note: When I turn off stand-by mode the glowing sigils disappear, but the eyes of the colossus are missing - just black sockets. This is because Wander is not present.
430) C2 I, Cenobia - Uploaded 13th March, 2010
I named this video 'I, Cenobia' based on the famous book by English writer Robert Graves 'I, Claudius' from 1934, and to a lesser but more interesting extent 'I, Borg' an episode from Star Trek: The Next Generation (the 23rd episode from the fifth season). I shift the camera to Cenobia, and we see for the first time ever a new perspective from Cenobia's point of view. The camera is offset to the left of the colossus and then it starts to move. Cenobia then leaps down the broken stairs of the ancient temple but instead of running towards Wander, I now have control - so I direct it to another area of the arena.
The first thing I wanted to check was if that 'Rook' type structure could be damaged? So I ram Cenobia into it a few times but nothing happens... so that answers that! Next, I try to ram a normal column, but it seems without Wander, Cenobia can't knock it over by itself. We need Wander to shoot the colossus so a program flag is set which then gives the game 'permission' for Cenobia to ram it again and knock it over. Hmmm, so there is nothing much I can do 'being' Cenobia. All I can do is run around the arena and jump over the aqueducts. So I continue running around and make my way back to Wander and Agro on the stairs that lead up to the arena. Here something strange happens! I try to ram Agro but it appears I hit an invisible wall, so I try from the side instead and as Cenobia jumps over Agro we hear her neigh! When I turn Cenobia around again Agro is frozen mid-way between a rearing motion and Wander is nowhere to be seen? At just the right angle you can see the reins are stretched out but I couldn't find Wander... Well at least something interesting happened at the end 😉.
431) D6 Barba Awakes - Uploaded 14th March, 2010
Once WWWArea and I had started finding the position co-ordinates of the colossi we also found the codes for scaling them, changing their colours etc. but most importantly (for me at least) was changing their speeds. So in this video all I did was freeze Barba before I triggered it. Wander jumps down from the top platform and just as he's about to land, I deploy the chute so he lands safely. But you can jump down here without the chute and not die in any case, although Wander takes damage. I measured the height from the top platform to the bottom at 29 metres (95 feet) - any regular person jumping down from this height would suffer very severe injury (broken legs etc.) and most likely death!
So we watch the cutscene as normal but once the huge stone door has lowered we see that Barba is frozen. I jump up into the room that houses the colossus and then run though its foot to show it has no substance yet. However, its beard is still climbable in this state, much like how other colossi still have solid parts before they are triggered, such as Valus' club, Kuromori's tail, Celosia and Cenobia's head to name a few. I move Wander away and then unfreeze Argus. Now we see its animations clearly without the cutscene music playing. As soon as it targets Wander it raises its huge right hand in order to crush Wander like a bug! But I freeze it mid-way and move Wander to a new position then unfreeze - the hand comes crashing down but Wander is safe having fooled the colossus! From Argus' point of view, Wander would have seemed to teleport instantly to another location.
432) F8 Malus Awakes - Uploaded 14th March, 2010
Another 'stand-by' mode video. Here I shift Wander's camera to Malus then start the cutscene from Malus' perspective. I've had to use the 'wobbly' MHS camera to move up and see Malus' face as the camera's default is in the centre of the colossus. Once the cutscene ends we see Malus with black eyes (it has no soul here) - and its arms are by its side. I use the D-pad buttons on my controller to animate the colossus - it shakes as if Wander is on top of it or raises its arms up as if Wander were on its hand or wrists. These are just the animations that play out in the game. Sadly, the storm sounds drown out the breathing sounds of Malus.
433) F8 Agro Gliding - Uploaded 14th March, 2010
Just a short video of another weird effect that can be produced by shifting the camera. Here, as Agro is riding across the lands with Wander I shift the camera to Agro and Wander disappears, yet Agro keeps moving forward but has become as rigid as a statue! The reins are still attached to Wander who is also frozen in mid air back where I first shifted the camera. So I have no control of Agro, she just keeps moving in a straight line until she hits some sort of barrier, in this case it's the rock walls just next to the entrance to the 16th colossus. Once I shift the camera back to Wander, Agro disappears and Wander appears, then I set both values back to normal and everything returns to normal. Note: I wonder if something similar to this happened back at the end of video 430 (I, Cenobia) as the same effect took place when the colossus interacted with Agro? Doesn't seem likely, I would have to run some tests to see if I can replicate the glitch 🤔.
434) G5 I, Phaedra - Uploaded 14th March, 2010
Much like video 430 (I, Cenobia) above, I move the colossus around the field using the controller. This is a continuation of video 429 (Phaedra in stand-by mode) as again we see Agro running towards the colossus without Wander. I shift the camera from Agro to Phaedra and again we hear its deep and sonorous breathing. The camera is close to the colossus so we get inside while I move the camera around. I then move the camera up higher and start moving Phaedra forward with the controller, however it seems to get stuck a couple of times... I can use the controller to shake its head (and roar) but when I try some other buttons we see a strange effect. Its head seems to rotate through its body in strange ways as though tying itself up in knots! There's no hacking here, it's just how the head moves when pressing certain controller buttons.
Next, I pan the camera out to see the colossus from a short distance away and make it roar again. We get a glimpse of the high cliffs surrounding the arena here before I bring the camera back in and hit the button that kills it. We see the cutscene as Phaedra dies but the camera is still above it - video ends.
435) G1 Freezing Argus - Uploaded 14th March, 2010
In video 425 (Argus before activation) above I was thinking about ways to get a better look at Argus as it's clinging to the cliff wall before being triggered. But now that I can freeze a colossus it's much easier to accomplish, all I have to do is set the freeze code (byte) from 1 to 0 then run to the edge of the cliff. Wander now has a magnificent view of Argus clinging to the cliff wall. I know I keep referencing earlier videos, but what I've done here is the same as in video 431 (Barba awakes) as the cutscene plays but Argus does not move. I jump off the cliff onto its shoulder but fall right through and continue to float down to the large open cave below... and then die! Next, I start the cutscene as normal but freeze Argus mid-way through. Argus still has no substance but its sword is solid and walkable. So I jump up onto the sword and we get a good look at Argus close up (I recreated this shot below).
Argus frozen mid-cutscene
I jump off the sword then let the cutscene run a little further before freezing Argus again. I jump back onto the sword > take another look at the colossus > then jump back down again before letting the cutscene run its full course. This was so much fun to play around with at the time as I had full control of what I could do with a colossus! In the last few seconds, you can see how the cutscene (ghost) model transitions to the in-game (solid) model. Argus seems to move forward just a little - this is the transition. I guess Team ICO didn't get the co-ordinates exactly right?
436) E2 I, Gaius - Uploaded 16th March, 2010
Another stand-by video. First I shift the camera to Gaius > wake it up and then proceed to move the colossus using some of the controls from the list below. As Wander is not here we don't hear any music playing, only the sounds of the environment and the creepy sounds of the colossus breathing. This is so amazing to hear for the first time. So (as the colossus), I walk backwards, shake its shoulders, execute the short vertical attack and then the long horizontal strike attack. As it approaches the rim of the arena you will notice it can't move any further forward, and just walks on the same spot, so as much as we would like to see the colossus walk off the edge, it can't happen. At the end of the video you can see when Gaius steps on the central stone platform, a shock wave emanates outwards in a circular wave. Pretty cool!
Controls are:
D-Pad Down (wakes up colossus - before activation)
L1 (moves the camera behind the colossus)
R1 (Gaius walks backwards)
R2 (zooms in on the colossus)
D-Pad Left (Gaius stamps its left foot)
D-Pad Right (Gaius stamps its right foot)
X (Gaius starts walking)
TRIANGLE (Gaius moves its shoulders)
SQUARE (Gaius does its long strike attack)
D-Pad Down (Gaius does its short strike attack)
CIRCLE + D-Pad Up (Gaius shakes its head)
CIRCLE + D-Pad Left (Gaius moves its left arm1)
CIRCLE + D-Pad Right (Gaius moves its left arm2)
CIRCLE + R1 (Gaius shakes its shoulders)
SELECT (Gaius dies) the cutscene appears
https://youtu.be/DV6m27BaLTI
437) F1 Freezing Celosia - Uploaded 19th March, 2010
I have brought Agro with me on this excursion! I start by jumping over the trench using the parachute hack, this gets me past the 'tigger' point. Then I run back to the trigger point and just as Celosia jumps from its hidden platform I freeze it! The cutscene continues, but we now see it without a colossus. I run to the center of the arena to get a better view of the now floating colossus. It hangs there in the air as if time has stopped... Note: Once WWWArea and I had worked out how to freeze a colossus it gave us a new way to play the game as we had full control of the colossi! That is once a colossus is frozen, you have full access to explore the arena without worrying about being harmed, and can even jump onto the colossus in question.
Next, the video cuts to another frozen moment, when Celosia was just about to land on the lower platform. Wander jumps through the colossus, as in their cutscene mode they have no substance. Wander then stares right into the eyes of the colossus as its menacing profile predicts death and destruction - its claws outstretched ready to render! Yet, Wander is completely safe now as he has the power of Dormin (a God) to stop its motion, making it harmless. I let the cutscene continue and the music starts > I freeze Celosia again then jump towards it and get blasted back for my hubris!
Next, Wander is standing on the frozen colossus, once I wake it up. I fall off and parachute hack to safety on the other side of the trench where Agro is still waiting. But it seems once the colossus cutscene started, Agro was transformed into a ghost as Wander moves straight through her.
Next, Wander is standing on the frozen colossus, once I wake it up. I fall off and parachute hack to safety on the other side of the trench where Agro is still waiting. But it seems once the colossus cutscene started, Agro was transformed into a ghost as Wander moves straight through her.
438) B4 Dirge in Stand-by Mode - Uploaded 19th March, 2010
Well, upon watching this video again I was a little disappointed! At the start, Dirge seems to be in stand-by mode as it's stuck in one spot with its sigils glowing, no music playing and the sand billowing up around it. The camera is quite jerky here as I try to keep the colossus in the centre of the frame. Then I release Dirge from its stand-by mode and it sets off into the distance while the camera stays locked in the same location. The music starts playing and for the rest of the video we see Dirge move about the arena. So nothing super exciting here.
439) H4 Avion Perch Perspective - Uploaded 19th March, 2010
I recall being quite satisfied by this video once it was finished. I start by using the gravity hack to move Wander to the column (or perch) Avion lands on. Here we can see I've already frozen Avion just before it lands on the column. As I was previously stuck with using the MHS 'wobbly' camera, I now use a different method based on Wander's Gravity codes. Basically, I just make Wander's North/South position value (zero) and he freezes like a statue. To unfreeze him I just need to enter the original N/S value. So using this method I can freeze Wander at any place close to Avion's perch. Note: This method was discovered by the first hacker 'Radical Dreamer' who told Pikol how to do it. Pikol told WWWArea and he told me!
So I unfreeze Avion and it lands on the column, as it moves around, Wander is still frozen in space so Avion moves through Wander and below Wander. The video cuts to another attempt, this time Wander is already frozen at the column and watches Avion fly along its path to the column. We see Avion from a distance and then it flies right up and lands on the column (from Wander's perspective) - really cool!
Next, another attempt - Wander is frozen as Avion approaches, flapping its wings. We are very close to Avion's feet now and we see how they move up and down as Avion breaths. Then I unfreeze Wander and he grabs hold of Avion's right wing... I fall and use the chute to land on its left foot before moving back to the perch. Here I have locked Wander's gravity codes, but there is no way to stand on the perch. It has an inverted invisible cone or pyramid like collision that makes it impossible for Wander to stand there, video ends.
440) H4 Freezing Avion - Uploaded 19th March, 2010
I start this video the same as the previous one, I use the gravity hack to move Wander to the column (or perch) Avion lands on, but this time I float around behind the colossus which I have already frozen. Once Wander grabs hold the music changes from 'Silence' to 'A Despair-filled Farewell'. I climb up its back and end up standing on its right wing tip, high above the lake below. I stand there for a while admiring the fact that I'm standing on the wing of a huge colossus that I now have complete control over! Then I unfreeze Avion, but it seems I wasn't holding on as I fall into the lake (dang!).
Instead of trying again, I shift gears and try something else. As Avion flies over the temple during the cutscene I freeze it. Then I use Wander's gravity codes to rise above it, but of course Avion has no collisions yet, it's still in its 'cutscene mode', but I do get some nice shots of the colossus here. I then land back on the upper temple level and release Avion from its frozen state, then watch it continue its flight path to the column it lands on.
441) A0 Lord Emon & Soldiers - Uploaded 19th March, 2010
A very short video (just over a minute) this time. We see Lord Emon and the soldiers all lined up and frozen in place. I have restricted their movements so they can't run away, instead they run on the same spot, which looks a little strange. You can see how they try to move forward but are snapped back to their starting position. I've also added some background music to this video which I didn't do very often back in those days - in the before times! It's track 33 from the OST 'Epilogue - those who remain', such a wonderful piece of music!
As I pan the camera around you will notice that the crossbow weilding soldier is the primary agent here as I have moved the camera to him, but I can shift it to any of the soldiers, Emon or Dormin if needed. I freeze all the soldiers and Emon and pan the camera around them, then I unfreeze and release them all from their starting positions and the game continues as normal.
As I pan the camera around you will notice that the crossbow weilding soldier is the primary agent here as I have moved the camera to him, but I can shift it to any of the soldiers, Emon or Dormin if needed. I freeze all the soldiers and Emon and pan the camera around them, then I unfreeze and release them all from their starting positions and the game continues as normal.
Emon and soldiers in a neat line (from a later video)
442) F5 Valus in Stand-by Mode - Uploaded 19th March, 2010
For the first minute of this two minute video it's just Valus standing still and breathing with the hawks (or kites) circling and shrieking above. Apart from the camera wobble it's quite relaxing to watch I think... Just the sounds of the wind, the flapping of the bird's wings and the sonorous sound of the colossus breathing. I neglected to make the eyes and sigils glow this time so Valus has those creepy dead eyes devoid of life! About a minute in, I start to make the colossus walk but the camera stays fixed and we watch it stomp away into the distance. Then all of a sudden one of the trees falls over by itself? What just happened you may ask? The answer is, once Valus was far enough away I shifted the camera to one of the trees, you can see at 1:55 in the video Wander's grip and health bar appear briefly, this is when I changed the camera to the tree. I then used my controller to knock it over, but since I had the camera locked where we started it appears to fall over by itself.
443) F5 Valus Tree - Uploaded 20th March, 2010
Continuing on in the same arena, I start by shifting the camera from Wander to the same tree we saw fall over in the previous video. There are only two controls for the tree, I can shake it by pressing the CIRCLE button or kill it (knock it over) by pressing D-Pad Down. Of course I can still zoom in using R2 and L1 moves the camera behind the tree (as with the colossi controls). So two camera options and two active controls. Once the tree has fallen there is nothing you can do with it, so the only option is to switch the camera back to Wander. But even so, when WWWArea and I first understood how to move the camera from Wander to Agro, and then from Agro to other objects in the game, it opened up an exciting new window for us to explore and exploit. Ah, such wonderful times!
A felled tree
444) F5 Freezing Valus - Uploaded 20th March, 2010
Continuing on in the same arena (yet again), I start by triggering the cutscene of Valus, but instead of seeing the colossus crashing through the trees and passing by Wander as we normally see, this time nothing happens! Valus hasn't moved and is frozen in place at the moment the cutscene started. So we see the colossus standing frozen in place with the birds circling above. Wander can then climb the colossus as normal, but of course it's much easier to do now as there is no movement. I jump onto its left leg and stab the weak point, then continue to climb up until I reach its head. Note: I have the Queen's sword, so one stab is enough to remove the head sigil. We watch the spray of dark liquid erupt from the head in a torrent that lasts for 15 seconds! Then I trigger the cutscene and we see it play out as normal. When the camera returns to Wander we see him still standing on the shoulder of the colossus.
I then make my way to the left arm and stab the final sigil to kill the colossus. The sad music plays and Valus falls down to its ultimate demise, but as it's falling I again freeze it. Note: This was the first time I had frozen a colossus mid way through a death scene, so I didn't know what to expect. Wander is now stuck in his 'holding' animation, so he can only crawl along the body of the colossus - he can't stand up in this mode! If he falls to the ground he will crouch down automatically and will only walk in slow steps, he cannot run or roll now. So as I was stuck on the colossus with no way down, I unfreezed it and let the death cutscene play out. When I did this the music was out of sync as the black streamers passed through Wander.
445) F4 Shrine of Worship Camera - Uploaded 21st March, 2010
Here I am using my 'flying camera mod' (see video 384 above) to explore the Shrine of Worship. Actually, the video starts at the entrance to the secret garden. There's not much explanation needed here as I basically fly around the garden above the arches then move up to the higher levels. The great thing about this camera mod is that if I run into a surface I just need to wiggle the controller stick left to right and the camera (invisible Wander) will move up. So using this method I make my way up to the top of the temple showcasing some amazing views of the structure in the process. Note: Just a few months before this my emulator would have really struggled to record these views of the temple, but it seems things have improved now 😉.
446) E2 Freezing the Knight (Reprise) - Uploaded 21st March, 2010
Here, my main objective was to freeze the knight (Gaius) before it wakes up, which is what we see in this video. I start on the broken ramp then bypass the gap via using the gravity and parachute hacks. I land on the central disc and the cutscene starts... but Gaius does not move. Once the cutscene is over I run around to look into the eyes of the colossus. Technically it is awake now, just frozen and unable to move. It must be thinking 'How dare this intruder use his magic on me'!!! Then Wander just stands still for 19 seconds! What was I doing during this long pause you may ask? Well, I was searching through my Tsearch memory editor looking for the code that 'unfreezes' Gaius LOL! Finally, the colossus starts to move and stands up. Once standing, it turns around and performs its vertical attack. Wander gets knocked backwards but is unharmed - video ends.
447) H7 Agro Kills Birds & Lizards - Uploaded 21st March, 2010
This only happens in the NTSC (US) for some reason? When any animal, be it a lizard or bird (including Hawks) touch Agro they instantly die! For instance in the temple when the doves fly into the horse they fall dead. Likewise any lizard, be it black or white-tailed also dies instantly when interacting with Agro. They fixed this glitch in the PAL PS2 version which means the PS3 and PS4 versions also were fixed as they were based on the PS2 PAL version.
In the video I am chasing the white-tailed lizard at H7 and then watch how it dies by running into Agro, 'Oh, that was convenient, thanks Agro'! Then a flock of five gulls fly into Agro and two of them are killed. I already knew this glitch occurred in the US version, but this was the first video I had made about this effect. Note: In the video you will see the birds disappear and the landscape appear darker and sharper. This was me messing around with the 'Player_A camera code' (see video 370 above for more details). I think I'll make a new high resolution video of this effect 🤔.
In the video I am chasing the white-tailed lizard at H7 and then watch how it dies by running into Agro, 'Oh, that was convenient, thanks Agro'! Then a flock of five gulls fly into Agro and two of them are killed. I already knew this glitch occurred in the US version, but this was the first video I had made about this effect. Note: In the video you will see the birds disappear and the landscape appear darker and sharper. This was me messing around with the 'Player_A camera code' (see video 370 above for more details). I think I'll make a new high resolution video of this effect 🤔.
448) G7 Hawk Camera - Uploaded 26th March, 2010
Basically this video is the same as what you see after saving a game. At the main menu if you don't touch the controls (choose an option) for a while you will get a cutscene of the hawk flying around where you last saved your game. On rare occasions you will see Agro running around, but in my experience this only happens like 10% of the time. I always get the hawk (or kite).
We start at the windy Eastern Bluff save shrine. I dismount Agro then move Wander's camera to a passing hawk. From then on I just recorded the video of the hawk flying over that area - which includes the Stonehenge structure. I even added the music we hear in the cutscene 'The Farthest Land'. You will notice that at times the scenery will become darker and sharper - this is when the hawk is aligned with Wander - the 'Player_A camera code' is being activated, so the game thinks it's Wander, not the hawk that is the primary. Hard to explain, but it's the most simple explanation I can give. At other times, you see the hawk following Agro and Wander as they ride across the vast green expanse, only to then turn away and continue on its programmed flight path.
449) D6 Barba in Stand-by Mode - Uploaded 26th March, 2010
A short video showcasing Barba in stand-by mode. This is clear as Barba walks right through the massive stone door, even though it is closed! First I moved Wander's camera to the colossus then triggered its 'wake up' action by pressing D-Pad Down. From there, Barba does its normal animations as in the game after the wall has lowered down. Once Barba's cutscene has finished, it just stands there breathing (as with the other minotaur colossi - Gaius and Argus). I don't display any of its movements in this video, that will be featured in a future video.
450) A0 Final Act 1 (Preview Version) - Uploaded 28th March, 2010
The last video of this blog post! In the final cutscene of the Preview version, the sound is way out of sync with the animations. At first it seems OK, but by the time Emon is praying over Mono and Wander suddenly appears in the temple you can really notice the mismatch. So I did my best to match the audio file with the cutscene, but the results were pretty terrible! For one thing the video is choppy and the frame rate suffers badly in places, secondly after all the hours of work I put into fixing the audio, it sounds horrible! But for the time I was happy enough with the end result.
So this video (Act 1) runs from the start (obviously) to when Dormin is resurrected and just before you take over control of Dormin (runs for 6:44) - Enjoy, or not 😉.
Well that takes care of part 3 of my (Early videos in chronological order), what a mouthful! Hope to see you in part 4 which will be the last part of this series. Part 4 will end at 600 videos in September, 2010 - we won't hit 2011 until video 655! Damn I uploaded a lot of videos in my formative years 😋.
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