Cobra 2.
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for Viper GC and Viper GC Extreme
Content
1 Main features....................................................................................................... 2
2 General info......................................................................................................... 3
3 Cobra usage........................................................................................................ 4
3.1 Main menu ................................................................................................... 4
3.2 Disc Explorer ................................................................................................ 5
3.3 Cheat codes ................................................................................................. 5
3.4 MultiBoot discs ............................................................................................. 6
3.5 External drivecode........................................................................................ 6
4 PC tools usage .................................................................................................... 7
4.1 CobraBackup................................................................................................ 7
4.2 CobraManager ............................................................................................. 7
4.3 DOLSendUSB .............................................................................................. 8
4.4 CobraPCView............................................................................................... 8
4.5 Screenshot ................................................................................................... 8
4.6 USBMemCard by Tactics ............................................................................. 8
4.7 XtremeFinder................................................................................................ 9
4.8 MakeTheme ................................................................................................10
4.9 GameRemote ..............................................................................................10
4.10 RealTimeStateSave (Beta)..........................................................................10
4.11 ISOStream (Beta)........................................................................................11
4.12 InjectDrivecode............................................................................................11
4.13 CobraPlugins...............................................................................................11
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1 Main features
Feature Viper GC Extreme USB
Direct boot of backups, imports and originals o o
Standalone cheat code system, action replay compatible o o
Find and create your own cheatcodes (XtremeFinder) o o o
Copy memory card content to/from PC (USBMemCard) o o o
Support for user-provided drivecodes o o
Backup your games (no extra hardware needed) o o o
Skinnable GUI o
Put more than one game on one disc (Multiboot disc) o o
Manage your onboard files and flash BIOS from PC o o o
Store small executable (MP3 player, ISO ripper, GCOS) on modchip
flash o o
Store big executables (linux, games, GCOS) on modchip flash o
Create in-game screenshots o o o
Interact with a game while it's running (write, read memory and more) o o o
Flash BIOS from PC or from DVD o o
Disc Explorer o o
Enter cheats with on screen keyboard or load them from DVD o o
View PC screen on TV o o o
Work on all gamecubes from all regions o o
Compatible with multi-disc games o o
Stream ISO from PC (Beta) o o o
Real time save, at any point in game (Beta) o o o
New features since V1.6 on green background
This great video shows a small subset of new Cobra 2.1 features:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LgQvfqhHDKE (courtesy of megaprodz)
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2 General info
Cobra 2.1 is by far the most powerful unofficial gamecube BIOS. The following is
needed in order to install Cobra on your gamecube:
- A Viper GC or Viper GC Extreme modchip
- This very flash file
- Some compatible media and a DVD burner
It allows you to run game backups, imports from any region, homebrew software and
original discs. It allows you to create your own backups, find and use your own
cheatcodes and much, much, much more.
Depending on your hardware it is possible to flash this BIOS from DVD, from USB or
from parallel port. If you have a Viper USB Adapter, make sure both DIP switches are
OFF after you’ve programmed the chip (you won’t ever have to change them again
as you can reprogram the chip with both switches OFF using CobraManager since
Cobra 1.6). If you’re using a parallel port flasher, disconnect it after use.
Here is a list of the different flash files provided in this package:
File Description
cobra21.vgc Cobra 2.1 BIOS
Cobra 2.1 BIOS preloaded with GCOS external drivecode
cobra21_drive20010608.vgc for drive 2001/06/08
Cobra 2.1 BIOS preloaded with GCOS external drivecode
cobra21_drive20020402.vgc for drive 2002/04/02
Cobra 2.1 BIOS preloaded with GCOS external drivecode
cobra21_drive20020823.vgc for drive 2002/08/23
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3 Cobra usage
Turn on your GC with the disc you want to run and:
- Hold Y to go to Main Menu (if it's not your Default Boot mode)
- Hold X for the other boot mode (can be set in Config Menu)
- Don't hold anything for Default Boot Action
3.1 Main menu
Direct Disc Boot Play a backup or an original GC game from any region
Play an original game compatible with your GC region or enter GC BIOS
Original BIOS menus
Configuration Menu Change Cobra settings and view GC version info
Explorer Browse the content of the disc or flash memory and load files
Cheat Codes Manage cheat codes
Change disc Change the disc without having to reset the GC
Execute the embedded Cobra Plug-in. Only available if a plug-in is
Plug-in loaded
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3.2 Disc Explorer
The Disc Explorer lets you browse the
content of the inserted disc. The following
file systems are supported: ISO9660
(Level2 compatible no joliet) and FST (GC
native file system).
The files with following extensions can be selected, loaded or executed:
VGC Viper GC flash file Select this file to reprogram your Viper GC
DOL Homebrew application Select this file to execute it
COD Cobra cheat codes Select this file to load new cheat codes
CBP Cobra plug-in Select this file to load a plug-in
Copy this file to flash then select it from flash explorer to change GUI
CTM Cobra theme skin (Viper GC Extreme only)
PCM ADPCM audio file Select this file to play (must be aligned)
ADP ADPCM audio file Select this file to play (must be aligned)
3.3 Cheat codes
If you want to use cheat codes, enter
Cheat Codes menu, select a game, check
the codes you want to use, exit the cheat
selector and enable cheats.
To add new codes follow on-screen
instructions. The codes are compatible
with decrypted AR codes. You can
decrypt AR codes using the great
GCNCrypt by Parayste. Never enter the
first code of a given cheat code (validator
code). You can also put .COD files on a
DVD and load cheat codes from there,
each file corresponds to one game. Cheat
codes are working for backups and
original games.
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3.4 MultiBoot discs
The MultiBoot feature lets you put several games on one disc. You can use
Viper_Multi_Boot_ISO_Creator by LoonyCube (latest version is 1.3b) to create
MultiBoot discs easily.
3.5 External drivecode
The drivecode is the firmware code responsible for handling DVD media. Cobra
contains its own drivecode which has improved a lot since its first release and is the
best available in our opinion. Still, if you encounter some media issues such as DRE
even after tweaking your pot, you might want to try another drivecode as it might
handle disc slightly differently and help in some cases. This other drivecode can be
injected into Cobra’s BIOS file (VGC) and is then called External drivecode. In the
configuration menu you could switch between this external drivecode and the built-in
cobra drivecode.
In order to inject an external drivecode, you must use the InjectDrivecode command
line tool.
Drivecodes from GCOS 1.X are provided as an example.
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4 PC tools usage
4.1 CobraBackup
CobraBackup lets you create your game
backups. Its usage is straightforward.
The smart backup option is faster and
works for 99% of all games.
4.2 CobraManager
CobraManager lets you flash a new BIOS on
your chip using USB, without the need of
changing Viper USB Adapter DIP switches.
It also lets you upload DOL executables and
skins to be stored Viper Extreme’s onboard flash.
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4.3 DOLSendUSB
This command line tool lets you send and run a gamecube executable on the fly.
If you don’t know how to use command line tools, simply drag and the DOL file you
want to send over the DOLSendUSB icon.
4.4 CobraPCView
This application lets you stream PC screen content to your TV. It is currently not
suited for movies as frame rate is low (~10fps max).
4.5 Screenshot
This application lets you take screenshots in games and save them as BMP pictures.
While in cobra main menu, start screenshot application on PC and follow instructions.
A command line version is provided aswell for advanced users.
4.6 USBMemCard by Tactics
We decided to package this awesome memory card manager written by Tactis in
Cobra 2.1. It lets you copy memory card data from/to PC. While in cobra main menu,
start USBMemCardLauncher application on PC and follow instructions.
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Please read readme.txt and libogc-license.txt for more information about this program
and its licence. Source code is included. For more info visit author’s homepage given
in readme.txt.
4.7 XtremeFinder
This cobra tool by Loonycube lets you find your own cheat codes. Here is a list of
features:
- GUI with all interesting Cobra Remote features
- View and Edit memory in real time
- Find cheats automatically by comparing memory content at different times
- Create cobra compatible cheat codes, including master codes (Search Hook button)
You must be familiar with the
process of cheat creation to
use this tool. Hit “Start game”
while in cobra main menu.
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4.8 MakeTheme
This command line program is to be used by advanced users to create Cobra
Themes (skins). A test theme is provided as an example. For great downloadable
skins check http://nintenskinz.tehskeen.com/
4.9 GameRemote
This command line program is to
be used by advanced users. It lets
you interact with gamecube’s
memory while a game is running in
order to modify or read game’s
content on the fly. It also allows
you to freeze and unfreeze a game.
XtremeFinder takes advantage of
all of those feature with a more
user friendly GUI.
4.10 RealTimeStateSave (Beta)
This command line tool (for advanced users only) lets you take and restore realtime
saves at any point of any game. Imagine a certain game that won’t let you save until
you finish a level, now you can save at any point.
The saves are copied from/to PC using USB. This feature is currently very beta but
should work on most of the games, most of the time. If the game crashes while
restoring a save, try again, it sometime takes a couple of time.
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4.11 ISOStream (Beta)
This command line tool lets you stream a game ISO from PC using USB. If you don’t
know how to use command line tools, simply drag and the ISO file you want to play
over the executable icon.
The different executables lead to different results regarding speed or crashes. This
feature is currently very beta, but might be useful on some occasions. It does not
work at all on NTSC 1.0 systems (Cobra Bios supports it but PC application doesn’t).
4.12 InjectDrivecode
This command line tool is for advanced user. It lets you inject a drivecode in Cobra
2.1 VGC file, that will be used as external drivecode (see configuration menu).
External drivecodes are loaded in a similar way as open source cactus drivecode is.
4.13 CobraPlugins
CobraPlugin lets you create Cobra plugins from a DOL file. Make sure resulting CPB
file is not bigger than 45056 bytes. It is possible to inject a plugin in Cobra 2.1 VGC
file using a DOS prompt. The syntax is “copy /b cobra21.vgc+plugin.cbp output.vgc”.
Make sure that cobra21.vgc is 81920 bytes long before the copy operation.
A sample plugin is provided (MP3 player).
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