bemanitools/doc/iidxhook/iidxhook9.md

Game list

The following games are compatible with this version of iidxhook:

• Heroic Verse
• BISTROVER
• CASTHOUR
• RESIDENT

The games must be bootstrapped using launcher.

Data setup and running the game

Supported versions of Windows

This version requires at least Win 7 x64 and will not run, like the former versions, on Win XP x86!

Dependencies

Make sure to have the following dependencies installed:

• DirectX 9
• Visual C++ 2010 Redistributable Package (x64)

Data setup

We assume that you are using a clean/vanilla data dump. Ensure your ("contents") folder with your unpacked data looks like this:

• data
• modules
• prop

• For versions 27-29, only
  • Copy/Move all files from the modules directory to the root folder, so they are located next to the data and prop folders.
• Copy all files from prop/defaults to the prop folder.
• Setup proper paths for dev/nvram and dev/raw in prop/avs-config.xml by replacing the -block in that file with the following block:

<fs>
    <root>
        <device __type="str">.</device>
    </root>
    <mounttable>
        <vfs name="boot" fstype="fs" src="dev/raw" dst="/dev/raw" opt="vf=1,posix=1"/>
        <vfs name="boot" fstype="fs" src="dev/nvram" dst="/dev/nvram" opt="vf=0,posix=1"/>
    </mounttable>
    <nr_mountpoint __type="u16">256</nr_mountpoint>
    <nr_filedesc __type="u16">256</nr_filedesc>
</fs>

• For versions 27-29, only

  • Unpack the package containing iidxhook9 into the root folder so iidxhook9.dll and all other files are located in the same folder as data, prop, bm2dx.dll, etc.

• For version 30

  • Unpack the package containing iidxhook9 into the modules folder so iidxhook9.dll and all other files are located in the same folder as the game's DLLs, e.g. bm2dx.dll, etc.
  • Move the gamestart-30.bat to the root folder so it is located next to the modules, data and prop folders

• Run the gamestart-XX.bat file as admin. Where XX matches the version you want to run.

• Note: if you know what you're doing and would like to keep all the dlls in the modules folder then you extract iidxhook9 into that directory, move gamestart-XX.bat up, and edit the paths.

Configuring iidxhook

The hook library can be configured via cmd arguments or a configuration file. The latter is generated (iidxhook-XX.conf in the same directory) on the first start of the game using the gamestart-XX.bat file (again, XX matches your target game version). It contains default values for all available parameters and comments explaining each parameter. Please follow the comments when configuring your setup.

Add the argument -h when running gamestart-XX.bat (e.g. gamestart-XX.bat -h) to print help/usage information with a list of all available parameters. Every parameter can be either set as command line argument or using a configuration file.

To set a parameter from the command line, just add it as an argument after the bat file like this

gamestart-09.bat -p gfx.windowed=true -p gfx.framed=true

The syntax for the "key=value" is the same as in the config file. Make sure to have a pre-ceeding "-p" for every parameter added.

However, if a parameter is specifed in the configuration file and as a command line argument, the command line argument overrides the config file's value.

Eamuse network setup

If you want to run the games online, you need a valid PCBID and the service URL. Open prop/ea3-config.xml and set the values of the ea3/id/pcbid and ea3/network/services nodes accordingly.

Run the game with the gamestart-XX.bat file and enable network on the operator menu. When enabled, the game seems to hang and expects you to power cycle the machine (i.e. quit the game and restart it).

Real hardware support

The game does not go into either 640x480 (SD) or 1280x720 (HD) as expected but rather picks a resolution like 1386x768

The graphics backend of the game is auto detecting the resolution and refresh rate based on the supported specs reported by the monitor. Depending on that output, this can lead to the game picking some "odd" resolution like 1386x768 even the game is set to HD mode (expecting 1280x720).

Furthermore, this can lead to different refresh rate values on the automatic monitor check, e.g. compared to previous versions (59.94 on Rootage but 60.02 on Heroic Verse). Ultimately, the result can be a very offsync gameplay experience with extremely delayed input.

If that happens, try forcing the resolution to 1280x720 when the game is set to HD mode in the operator menu. Note: Your monitor must also be capable of handling the resolution.

iidxhook.conf:

gfx.force_screen_res.width=1280
gfx.force_screen_res.height=720

The monitor check is showing high fps and I am using a monitor with high refresh rate features, e.g. 120/144hz

Sync and timing might be screwed up since the game was never meant to run on such refresh rates. Try setting the option gfx.forced_refresh_rate to either 59 or 60.

Note: Your GPU driver settings must be configured to allow application overrides on vertical sync/refresh rate options.

On AMD GPUs, set the "V-Sync" option to On, unless application specifies.

BIO2 hardware

Set io.disable_bio2_emu=true in the iidxhook.conf file to not hook the BIO2 communication with an emulation layer. The game will directly talk to the IO. In this mode, the game supports the BIO2 board only.

Driver notes

You can use the default driver that Windows (7/10) automatically installs once you connect the BIO2 board via USB to your host. However, these drivers will not allow the game to detect the board correctly, throwing an IO error. The drivers will work fine when using the iidxio API implementation iidxio-bio2.

If you want to use the BIO2 with the game without the emulation layer, as suggested above, you need to install Konami's original driver which is identical to the stock Windows driver except the device name is different (which is the crucial part for the stock game's automatic detection).

The driver is available in the bemanitools-supplement repository.

Ezusb and other

Set io.disable_bio2_emu=false in the iidxhook.conf file. Use the specific iidxio API implementations, e.g. iidxio-ezusb2.dll to use the IO2 EZUSB board. The common iidxio abstraction layer also allows you to use custom IO boards or whatever Konami hardware is going to be available in the future. Obviously, someone has to write an imlementation of the iidxio API, first.

Slotted/Wave pass card readers

You have the following options:

• Set io.disable_card_reader_emu=true in the iidxhook.conf file to not hook card reader communication with an emulation layer. The game will directly talk to the real readers though this only supports whatever readers the game directly supports (wave pass readers)
• Set io.disable_card_reader_emu=false in the iidxhook.conf file. Replace the default eamio.dll with the eamio-icca.dll and have either your slotted (IIDX, DDR Supernova or GF/DM type) or new wave pass card readers conencted and and assigned to COM1. Other custom implementations of of the eamio API also work.

ICCA device settings (device manager)

• Port: COM1
• BAUD rate: 57600
• Data bits: 8
• Parity: None
• Stop bits: 1
• Flow control: None

If you encounter issues after the game opened the device, e.g. application stuck, try a USB <-> COM dongle instead of using one of the COM ports of the mainboard.

Troubleshooting and FAQ

The turntable input feels laggy/delayed with my BIO2 + sub IO

See the this readme for information about the bypass cable.

The game does not run "well" (frame drops, drifting offsync etc)

This can be related to various issues:

• Make sure to run the game as (true) Administrator especially on Windows 7 and newer. This will also get rid of various other errors (see below) that are related to permission issues.
• Run the game's process with a higher priority:

start "" /relatime "gamestart.bat"

• Enforce v-sync enabled in your GPU settings.
• Ensure that you have a constant refresh rate around the 60 hz (59.9xx or 60.0xx) that is not jumping around. Use the timebase feature of one of the newer games to check that or enable iidxhook's timebase and check the log output for the determined value. Run this a few times and check if the results differ.

"NETWORK WARNING" instead of "NETWORK OK"

This can be caused by:

• Invalid PCBID
• Firewall blocking connections
• Invalid eamuse url or port specified
• Game is not run using the Administrator account Make sure to check these things first

My songs are offsync

From IIDX 20 (or Lincle very final revision) onwards, the game comes with a built-in auto timebase option ("monitor check" on startup) which dynamically, detects the refresh rate of your current setup. Thus, BT5's timebase option is not included from this hook version onwards, anymore. Ensure that refresh rate displayed is very stable, e.g. 60.00x hz, and the game should be able to provide you with a smooth and sync game experience.

My game runs too fast

iidxhook can limit the frame rate for you (refer to help/config file)

My game crashes when I try fullscreen

Use dxwnd and set settings like "Acquire admin caps" and "Fullscreen only"

Background videos aren't working. When starting a song, windows is playing the error sound and a message box appears

If you are running in window mode, you can see an error pop-up window with the title DirectShow Texture3D Sample and error message Could not create source filter to graph! hr=<some number>.

When running fullscreen, you only hear a windows error sound and the game appears to be frozen when trying to play a background video.

You are missing a codec to decode and play the videos. There are different methods available to get background videos working. Probably, the easiest solution: grab the CLVSD.ax file and go to Start -> Run -> regsvr32 clvsd.ax Make sure to run cmd.exe as Administrator, otherwise you will get errors caused by invalid permissions.

I installed the CLVSD.ax codec but the game crashes or displays a message box that tells me to disable my debugger

If songs keep crashing upon start and you get an error message that says

DirectShow Texture3D Sample
Could not create source filter to graph! hr=0x80040266

despite having the codec (CLVSD.ax) installed, remove the debug flag (-D) from gamestart or use a CLVSD.ax codec which has the debugger checks removed.