WipEout Pulse PS2 - A development kit?

[Rafeku]

I dunno if I should post this here, but I'll be sharing with you guys. :cold. If you don't want I'll remove ASAP.
So in WOPulse PS2, there's a file called "PADZ2". It's a disguised zip file, and when you extract it, it goes to 4,4GB(considering a DVD is 4,7GB, that thing is ultra compressed). Just a guess, but I think that what causes the slow loading. Anyway, it wasn't my find, I've found this like out of a coincidence. I began looking inside it and it had basically a development kit inside the game itself! It had the music, the models(which are in Maya format, so remember the papercraft? We could do it since 2009, but the game was so underlooked that it went straight), textures, and even comparison images of the ships of PSP and PS2 versions....
Can't say I'm hacking anything since... it is just there. I'll post some images below(I killed the quality propositally):
8933<< With layers - Unlayered>>8934
8935 << Comparison

Well this could be used for something useful.
I just hope it doesn't cost my membership. Just wanted to share this.

EDIT: The name of the files is PADZ2! Not DATAZ. I've mistaken myself fixed now.

[multibodydynamics]

How did you access this data? Can I just put the game DVD in a PC and unzip DATAZ? I'd really like to have those comparison images for all 12 teams. :)
What else did you find?

[Rafeku]

Just insert the disc(since a PS2 DVD is readable by normal), copy DATAZ to your PC and extract it with 7-zip or Winrar. It's a zip file.
I've found scripts, Javascripts, Java executables, Sony Computer Europe programs, conversors(one of them looks preety obvious, dds2gtf. DDS is Direct Draw Surface; you can open with photoshop, if you have the plugins. GTF maybe a PS2 texture type?)...It's all there. I didn't search everything cuz I'm lazy. There's installers in the package. I don't even know if it is possible to build Pulse again, using this progrmas, changing some stuff. Because it seems this is preety much just taking space in the disc. I can't say much, it has everything there. I just could list those things if I knew for what are they for. Also has anyone tried opening the game, removing that DATAZ, burn a DVD and test in the PS2 to see if loads faster?

[multibodydynamics]

I have a Modbo 4.0-chip in my PS2 to make it region free. I think that it also plays burned DVDs. I could try to remove the DATAZ and burn a copy without it. Can the PS2 read DVD-RW discs? I don't have any DVD-R available at the moment.

[Rafeku]

I would do myself if I had DVD's since my PS2 is also modchipped. Though it's not region free(NTSC) it can run the games cuz 60HZ. I dunno if PS2 can run DVD-RW...Well it's rewritable, you could try. Make an ISO of the game, use Ultra Iso(or similar program...Power Iso maybe) delete this file and burn with Alcohol 120% or ImgBurn(which is free) with at 4x(just in case you don't know...) and test it.

[Amaroq Dricaldari]

If SL was still active, I would totally ask them to release the PS2 models/textures as DLC if you were playing the game on Vita. Those look sick!

If only the cockpit glass was trancelucent like in the PSP version.

[Rafeku]

But the glass is translucent in both PSP and PS2 versions.....

[Amaroq Dricaldari]

Oh. I didn't look at the pictures closely enough... My bad -.-

Do you think any of the other WipEout games might contain their respective SDKs within their ISOs? Also, how big was PADZ2 before you extracted it?

[Rafeku]

Not gonna happen. As far as I know this game was ported by a 3rd party company(I've read this here), a dirty port of the game to the PS2(not so dirty, cuz they remade all of the textures and Smoothen the ships so it's a plus, but it lost the smooth screen transactions. Also some slowdowns on the hardware.). Maybe it was just an accident and they left it there. A huge accident. But who knows? WipEout Zone forum with Sony Liverpool Studio tools, with a possible disassembly of WOPulse? Could come something good.

[Amaroq Dricaldari]

The track introduction voice was also different in the PS2 version. Also, they got the Black/White track surfaces wrong in the PS2 version (PSP: Light roads on white tracks, dark roads on black tracks. Vice versa for PS2.)

But that aside, you still didn't answer my other question; how large was the PADZ2 file prior to extraction?

[Rafeku]

About the voice I didn't really care. But on the tracks, are you nutz? The tracks are right in both versions man. I've checked Moa Therma Black and White in Both PSP and PS2 versions, they're the same, though one is Low, other is High resolution. Also I didn't see you asked the size of the file. It's 2,56GB. Almost half of the extracted folder

[bigsnake]

Oh damn, I've been waiting for someone to start a thread about this! (I don't have the balls to risk my account). While talking about the assets for Wipeout, I've actually managed to extract all the assets from Wipeout HD. Unfortunately it was a much more hacky process then Pulse's already exposed stuff and I was working on getting the assets out for quite some time. It was disappointing because everything is in proprietary formats, although I was able to convert the textures from GTF to DDS, then to PNG. Another thing is that all the XML files are exposed in WOHD so you can look at all the settings for the game, including the ship handling settings (I would make a spreadsheet with them all in but I feel like I should ask permission from someone first). I guess that's a bit closer to having the source code then what appears to just be compilers and converters inside of Wipeout Pulse...kinda.

[Amaroq Dricaldari]

I wonder if somebody can rip assets out of 2048. So far, the precise stats of the prototype ships has eluded us.

[defor]

I've worked with the remnants of the SDK for a while now as part of my Pure/Pulse project that I've slowly been working on for the last 9 years...
What's in here Provides some definite enlightenment as to the development process, but there are some core components missing. if you were to desire to use it for development. It APPEARS that the SDK was designed as a network client/server system for offloading the maya conversions, VEX optimization and repackaging, and without the server, this is useless for the intended purpose.

This said, there's a lot of fun things you can do with the data contained within, and some of the client side binaries.
I'll leave it up to the reader to make their own assessment as to what one could do with a full copy of the maya assets, textures, etc from pulse, but remember kids, copyright infringement that is not part of "fair use" is not cool.

Another interesting note-
PS3 Wipeout does NOT utilize the WAD format, and makes poking around in it pretty straightforward, and a lot has changed, but it appears that there WAS a plan (or at least capability) in the cross-building tools that existed by the time ps2 pulse came into being to build the assets and game for the PS3.

[Amaroq Dricaldari]

Sorry for the bump and all...
But do you think it would be possible to use these tools to add Metropia, The Amphiseum, Vertica and/or Outpost 7 to the Zone Mode selection screen, in either the PS2 or PSP version? (The latter could probably be done through a modified Data.wad)

P.S.: Outpost 7 would probably be pretty crappy to play in Zone Mode...

[Amaroq Dricaldari]

Okay, you wouldn't happen to know how to open the .bank/.bnk files and the .sfx files under Data\PS2\sound\environmental, would you?