PSX games with undocumented link support?

[davidbrit2]

I've been wondering this lately. Were any games released for the PSX that supported the serial link cable, but were not advertised as such? Did any games make it to market with unfinished network code that can be enabled in some way? I've got about 3 or 4 of those cables sitting around, and I wouldn't mind using them.

[zmeston]

I've been wondering this lately. Were any games released for the PSX that supported the serial link cable, but were not advertised as such? Did any games make it to market with unfinished network code that can be enabled in some way? I've got about 3 or 4 of those cables sitting around, and I wouldn't mind using them.

Very unlikely. As one developer told me in an interview, "Link-cable support is always the feature at the bottom of the list, and the first to get dropped at crunch time." If a developer/publisher went to the hassle of including it, darn tootin' it was going to be mentioned.

(And I await the posting of a link to www.undocumentedlinksupport.com...)

-- Z.

[davidbrit2]

Well, a completed link feature probably wouldn't go unmentioned. It would be more likely that bits of unfinished link support might have slipped in a game here and there, perhaps without enough functionality to warrant mentioning it, or making it accessible without a debug code or something.

[zmeston]

Well, a completed link feature probably wouldn't go unmentioned. It would be more likely that bits of unfinished link support might have slipped in a game here and there, perhaps without enough functionality to warrant mentioning it, or making it accessible without a debug code or something.

Oh, okay, I see what you mean. Still very unlikely, though -- heck, I'd be willing to bet on it. One, half-assed Link Cable support would raise red flags during Sony's tech-check/QA-approval process. (Implementing the support as a code, as you mention, would be acceptable; for example, Sony allowed Working Designs, during my stint, to include several potentially crash-inducing codes in Silhouette Mirage.) Two, Link Cable was such an afterthought for most developers that the few who bothered with it made sure to finish it. Again, recalling my interview with that developer (of WarGames), adding Link Cable support was much more of a technical challenge than would be expected -- to the point that, as I inferred it, incomplete Link Cable programming wouldn't work at all.

-- Z.

[davidbrit2]

That could be. Still, it wouldn't hurt to hook some kind of debugger to the PSX serial port and see if it sends any unexpected handshaking signals during unexpected games.

[Videogamerdaryll]

Even though I recently found this game on a PS linkable game list..

Ridge Racer Type 4 was released with no link option written the back of the case or in the book..

I remember this when I first bought this game...I forget how I found out it was linkable..
I just looked at the game again...and in the book..it says nothing about this game being linkable but it is..
I bought two of these to link..
I think you have to play in first person/view during link..the change view option is not available in link mode..
This made people who I played with me hate the link up because the couldn't change the view..

In the game an option appears for linking..

I'm not sure if it's highlighted automatically in the options..I think it becomes highlighted once the two PS's are hooked up together and started up..


If some can find a link feature in the book please let me know.

I know of a sword fighting early release PS game that is linkable..
It's not on the list..But I linked it..and it worked.

I gotta think about it..

Ok I'm pretty sure it's Bushido Blade......It could be Bushido Blade 2
But I never owned BB2 and I don't own 1 anymore..
Years back I tried linking two of these..When you link the game screen turns into a first person view..You can only see your sword swinging and the opponent..
I think Bogey Dead 6 is linkable too..
Now that I look at the list several games are missing that are linkable..
A newer PS version of Formula 1 is missing and I know that sucker is linkable because me and my wife bought two copies and the game was too hard to have any fun so I returned them..

I did this stuff several years ago..Some games I still have and others I don't..I can only verify what I have in my possesion..
So if I'm wrong let me know..But if you have the titles I spoke about please try to link them.
I do want to own all linkable titles..

I just found this on Ebay..
Bushido Blade it is.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=3028447501&category=27252

This game is also serial linkable, so you can connect two PlayStation game consoles together via a link cable and fight against your friends.

[zmeston]

If some can find a link feature in the book please let me know.

Nope, there isn't one. The RRT4 manual has a detailed section on the game's PocketStation applet, for the three Americans who owed a PocketStation, but nothing on the Link Cable. Perhaps Namco thought that, seeing as an earlier RR had Link Cable support, gamers would assume RRT4 had it, too. Or maybe by the time RRT4 shipped, Sony had shipped the PlayStation hardware revision sans Link Cable port, so Namco felt no need (or was commanded by Sony) not to mention the Link Cable feature.

Bushido Blade does have the Link Cable icon displayed on its packaging, however.

-- Z.

[digitalpress]

Hey, I did a complete rundown of these in one of the Collector's Corner articles in Tips & Tricks. Within the last year though, so the scan won't be online. But here's the list.

Title Mfr
Formula One Psygnosis
Grid Runner Virgin
Andretti Racing EA Sports
Armored Core Sony
Assault Rigs Psygnosis
Bogey: Dead 6 Sony
Burning Road Playmates
Car and Driver Presents Grand Tour Racing 98 Activision
CART World Series 989 Sports
Command & Conquer: Red Alert Virgin
Command & Conquer: Red Alert Retaliation Virgin
Cool Boarders 2 Sony
Cyberspeed Mindscape
Descent Interplay
Descent Maximum Interplay
Destruction Derby Psygnosis
Doom Midway
Duke Nukem: Total Meltdown GT Interactive
Final Doom Williams
Independence Day Fox Interactive
Krazy Ivan Psygnosis
Monaco Grand Prix UBI Soft
Motor Toon Grand Prix Sony
Need for Speed, The Electronic Arts
Red Asphalt Interplay
Ridge Racer Revolution Namco
Ridge Racer Type 4 Namco
Test Drive Off-Road Infogrames
Wipeout Psygnosis
Wipeout 3 Psygnosis
Wipeout XL Psygnosis

[Queen Of The Felines]

Pro Pinball: Big Race USA is linkable too.

Kristine

[Videogamerdaryll]

If some can find a link feature in the book please let me know.

Nope, there isn't one. The RRT4 manual has a detailed section on the game's PocketStation applet, for the three Americans who owed a PocketStation, but nothing on the Link Cable. Perhaps Namco thought that, seeing as an earlier RR had Link Cable support, gamers would assume RRT4 had it, too. Or maybe by the time RRT4 shipped, Sony had shipped the PlayStation hardware revision sans Link Cable port, so Namco felt no need (or was commanded by Sony) not to mention the Link Cable feature.

Bushido Blade does have the Link Cable icon displayed on its packaging, however.

-- Z.

Thank you..

[Videogamerdaryll]

I just remembered Test Drive 4 is linkable..

This is a cool game to link..(link cable 2 consoles)it's writen on the case too.

Andretti Racing is linkable too.


If I have too identical games in my rack next to each other..I put them that way because I bought them for link up...

I forgot about this stuff..my PS games don't get played much..anymore.

[Videogamerdaryll]

Hey, I did a complete rundown of these in one of the Collector's Corner articles in Tips & Tricks. Within the last year though, so the scan won't be online. But here's the list.

Title Mfr
Formula One Psygnosis
Grid Runner Virgin
Andretti Racing EA Sports
Armored Core Sony
Assault Rigs Psygnosis
Bogey: Dead 6 Sony
Burning Road Playmates
Car and Driver Presents Grand Tour Racing 98 Activision
CART World Series 989 Sports
Command & Conquer: Red Alert Virgin
Command & Conquer: Red Alert Retaliation Virgin
Cool Boarders 2 Sony
Cyberspeed Mindscape
Descent Interplay
Descent Maximum Interplay
Destruction Derby Psygnosis
Doom Midway
Duke Nukem: Total Meltdown GT Interactive
Final Doom Williams
Independence Day Fox Interactive
Krazy Ivan Psygnosis
Monaco Grand Prix UBI Soft
Motor Toon Grand Prix Sony
Need for Speed, The Electronic Arts
Red Asphalt Interplay
Ridge Racer Revolution Namco
Ridge Racer Type 4 Namco
Test Drive Off-Road Infogrames
Wipeout Psygnosis
Wipeout 3 Psygnosis
Wipeout XL Psygnosis


Could we combine an effort and update this list..?

[davidbrit2]

Pro Pinball: Big Race USA is linkable too.

Kristine

You can link Pro Pinball??? What on earth does that do? Is there a double ended one on one table or something?

[DDCecil]

The japanese version of Bushido Blade 2 has the link cable symbol on the back, does the U.S. one also support it?

Though it's a non-U.S. release, Robo Pit 2 also uses the link cable.

[digitalpress]

Could we combine an effort and update this list..?

Surely... I'm seeing just two new entries though - Test Drive 4 and Pro Pinball Big Race. Have you two actually tried linking these? It's not just another Bushido Blade misrepresentation, is it?

[Videogamerdaryll]

Could we combine an effort and update this list..?

Surely... I'm seeing just two new entries though - Test Drive 4 and Pro Pinball Big Race. Have you two actually tried linking these? It's not just another Bushido Blade misrepresentation, is it?

Test Drive 4.. I have linked..and it's writen on the case..
I have two copies right here...This is Verified..
Tomorrow morning i'll scan the insert and post a pic.

Bushido Blade I "think" I linked years ago..I don't have the game to verify it..

I need someone to verify that... or... until I get two copies myself.

Pro Pinball Big Race USA has "link cable compatable" on the case also...I have that game...I can verify that..

Do you know if there is a PS Formula 1 96/98..?
There was a another Formula 1 game that's linkable..I definety linked them but I didn't like it enough to keep them at the time.

It would be great to actually have a complete or semi complete list of up to date linkable games here at this site..

Semi off topic...Did you know the The Kenner Redline handhelds are linkable.
Suposidly it's the first linkable handheld.......

I have two of them,but I never linked them..I'm too scared to try....

The link cable was never made..so it has to be made out of headphone jacks..

If you have one of these you will see a input on the bottom..It looks like it's for a AC plug/jack..But I read and have spoken to someone, it's for linking.

I need to find the Kenner site again..

[Videogamerdaryll]

I found this "link"info on an Ebay auction tonight..for Formula 1 "99"


http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=3028259972&category=11055



FORMULA 1 98 PLAYSTATION PS1 GAME BRAND NEW!
Title: Formula 1 98
Publisher: Psygnosis
Genre/Category: Racing-Sports-oriented
System: : PS One Console, PlayStation 2 System
Number of Players: 4
Release Date: 12/98
Compatible Peripheral Feature: Vibration Function, Memory Card, Analog Control

Description: Formula 1 '98 is your chance to experience the ultimate driving fantasy!

With all the teams and tracks from the 1998 season, F1 '98, the third in the best selling F1 series, brings all the excitement of the world's number one motor sport to your home.

The artificially intelligent cars in the multi-player game drive you to your limit and the competition increases with the brand new four-player link-up mode through combined split-screen and link-up play.

With enhanced car dynamics and modeling, dual commentary and greatly expanded track-side activity, the realism is greater than ever before.

In the realistic pit lanes, you can communicate with your motion-captured pit crew allowing you to make fast decisions. And like real life, if everything goes to plan, the aim is to get the car back out onto the racing line in the shortest time possible. Make sure you don't override your speed limiter. . .

Features:


Current 1998 Formula 1 Season, teams, drivers and tracks
Animated pit crews
Representative physics model that captures over 12 unique forces
All new features include G-force driver head movements
Replay camera mode
2 player split screen/4 player split screen via link cable
This game is brand new, factory sealed. Works in both Sony Playstation1 (PS1) and

[bargora]

Pro Pinball: Big Race USA is linkable too.

Kristine

You can link Pro Pinball??? What on earth does that do? Is there a double ended one on one table or something?
Yeah, I'm wondering about this one, too. If nobody has the answers, I'll have to buy a second copy and find out myself.

If it were a table with a scrolling field, it might be cool if you could stack two TVs to get the whole picture, but the Pro Pinball series gives you a full table view.

[Videogamerdaryll]

Could we combine an effort and update this list..?

Surely... I'm seeing just two new entries though - Test Drive 4 and Pro Pinball Big Race. Have you two actually tried linking these? It's not just another Bushido Blade misrepresentation, is it?

Emailing Pictures to you of the Back of Test Drive 4 and Pro Pinball: Big Race USA..

[digitalpress]

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=3028259972&category=11055

2 player split screen/4 player split screen via link cable


I'm gonna need proof that this is "link compatible". I have the game listed as multi-tap compatible (4 players on ONE screen). Can anyone confirm?

[Videogamerdaryll]

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=3028259972&category=11055

2 player split screen/4 player split screen via link cable


I'm gonna need proof that this is "link compatible". I have the game listed as multi-tap compatible (4 players on ONE screen). Can anyone confirm?

Ok....If no one confirms this..I'm going to search for a copy of this game over the Weekend....or I'll buy one off Ebay..
I'm going to look for Bushido Blade too...

I'll keep working on this...and keep you updated...

[Videogamerdaryll]

I went to 5 different Video Games stores today including Funcoland.
None of them had Bushido Blade..or Formula 1 98/99 ..
But I saw Bushido Blade 2..
It has the Link Cable icon displayed on its packaging.(link cable two consoles)

I should have Bushido Blade/2..and Formula 1 98/99 soon..

I still have the rest of the weekend..I won't stop to I find them..I gotta make some calls.

I would of bought Bushido Blade 2 tonight but it had a"ridiculously" high priced tag on it.. @_@
I'll find that one two for much cheaper...Crazy.. O_O

[Jorpho]

Pro Pinball: Big Race USA is linkable too.

Kristine

You can link Pro Pinball??? What on earth does that do? Is there a double ended one on one table or something?
Yeah, I'm wondering about this one, too. If nobody has the answers, I'll have to buy a second copy and find out myself.

If it were a table with a scrolling field, it might be cool if you could stack two TVs to get the whole picture, but the Pro Pinball series gives you a full table view.

Curious. Ever get to the bottom of this?

[CYRiX]

Can anyone explain what Command and Conquer Red Alert is like when playing with someone?

[Haoie]

That compat list's so incomplete. For example, I'm so certain that Quake 2 had it as well, for starters. And it was noted as such in the case and manual.

[davidbrit2]

Yeah, I'm wondering about this one, too. If nobody has the answers, I'll have to buy a second copy and find out myself.

If it were a table with a scrolling field, it might be cool if you could stack two TVs to get the whole picture, but the Pro Pinball series gives you a full table view.

Curious. Ever get to the bottom of this?

Er, uhh, probably not. http://www.digitpress.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=71889

[Jorpho]

But of course. I should say, has anyone present ever gotten to the bottom of this?

[davidbrit2]

But of course. I should say, has anyone present ever gotten to the bottom of this?

Okay, just wasn't quite sure who you were addressing that question to. I wanted to make sure you weren't out of the loop or something. ;-)

[PS1Expert]

BTW, there was an early game (either racing or flight sim....I think racing ..or maybe combat) that was NOT marked as Link but there was a trick to do to get it link capable! I was going to post a message asking if anyone can remember it, but then I found this post.

[Twitami]

Command & Conquer in Link Mode (and Dune 2000 is Linkable as well) was awesome. It is just like playing C&C on two networked PCs. Yo ucan play with Comp players and 2 people at the same time as well. A friend and I used to play C&C for hours this way before either of us got PCs.

[Twitami]

Some others missing (that I own):

Dune 2000
Blast Radius (VERY fun linked!)
Formula 1 '98 (not sure if you meant 98)

Also, a interesting bit of info. Motor Toon Grand Prix 1 AND 2 are linkable. The US version is actually MTGP 2. In the Jap versions, an extra "link only" disk was included so that you did not need two copies of the game. In the game, the better you do, the more Linkable games become available. One of them is a Battleship game where each person sees his own "ocean" and shoots at the other guys. Very fun game even on its own.

[CosmicMonkey]

Can anyone explain what Command and Conquer Red Alert is like when playing with someone?

We used to have this on the go in my mate's garage many years ago. Double garage with a pool table, fridge full of Stellas, a couple of old sofas, two 14" tellys and two Playstations with (amongst others) C&C:RA. Trouble is link cable support uses a huge amount of the PSX's CPU. So by the time you've built a half decent army the game starts to chug, and slows to about 10 frames a minute. Really. Unless you're happy with armies of 10 vehicles and a few men each, it's not too great.

[Twitami]

Only time I really had any problem with C&C is when the PC army would box itself in. Then the game would lag big time untill we attacked the Comp army and brok eup the traffic jam. Other than that, it was very playable I thought. And we played it a lot :)