DQ8ED
Version 1.1.0
Compile date: 09/09/2008

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About
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This is a savegame editor for Dragon Quest VIII on the Playstation 2.

So as long as you're not using a Playstation 2 emulator, you'll need a way to
get the savegames to and from the PS2 memory card to the PC.
There are loads of ways to do this but one of the most popular (and the method I
used) is with a USB flash drive. You'll need the software for the PS2 to go with
it, which (unless you've chipped your console) has to be a proper PS2 disc. You
can pick these up pretty cheap from the net if you know where to look. I used
something called Ultramem. Thanks eBay.

When you've got your savegame, you need to make sure it's decompressed. Many
products for transferring savegames use their own file format to store the data.
One reason for this is that on the PS2 memory card, each savegame has its own
folder which contains several files. These are things like the savegame summary,
3D icon (which is shown in the PS2 browser) and of course the savegame data
itself. Most of these transfer tools will compress or pack the savegame folder
into a single file. If this is the case for you, you'll need to unpack it. I'd
recommend using the appropriately named "PS2 Save Builder" tool, which you can
download from:
http://www.ps2savetools.com/

If you're using a PS2 emulator, and that emulator happens to be PCSX2, you might
need a PCSX2 memory card file manager for your PCSX2 savegames as well as PS2
Save Builder. I'd recommend "MyMC". You can download it from:
http://www.csclub.uwaterloo.ca:11068/mymc/

Once you've done all that and got your savegame on the PC, you're good to go.

And sorry about the delay with the editor folks. I only played Dragon Quest for
the first time in late 2007!

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Usage
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Remember to save your modifications before you turn off the editor.
I recommended that you leave most of the options on the 'Options' screen alone,
especially the 'Checksum' section. I've tested these settings so I know they
work for me. Changing these may also prevent DQ8 from loading the savegame at
all.

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Requirements
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Pretty minimal. Keyboard, mouse and about 8MB of free RAM.
Windows 95/98/ME/2K/XP/Vista are all good but if you're stuck with Windows ME or
earlier, you may need to download MSVBVM60.dll from the Microsoft website to get
it working.

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Updates
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- Version 1.0.0
  28/01/2008
  - First release
- Version 1.0.1
  28/01/2008
  - Updated the character screen title
  - Fixed an array out of bounds error when attempting to equip certain
    combinations of items
  - Modified a line of text on the character screen
- Version 1.0.2
  29/01/2008
  - Some minor changes in appearance
- Version 1.0.3
  18/08/2008
  - Made it possible to equip any equipment to any character
  - Added more save locations
  - Completed NTSC savegame support testing
  - Fixed a bug which sometimes occurs when applying certain combinations of
    checksum settings
  - Made it possible to modify the default quantity of items added to the bag
- Version 1.1.0
  09/09/2008
  - Fixed an overflow bug which could occur when loading savegames files
  - Added a monster team editor
  - Updated the error reporting and recovery mechanism

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Tips
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- A new savegame (such as the example savegame) will always force you to begin
  at the start of DQ8, regardless of the save location. There are also stages in
  the game when a character's items and attributes are reset. (For example, when
  a new character joins the party.)
- If you increase the 'Exp' of a character to the appropriate amount, the
  character will continue to level up after a battle up to the level reflected
  by that amount of experience. (This is a more suitable way to change the level
  of a character, providing you want him or her to be a higher level of course.)
- Additional recorded save locations include codes 53, 164 and 177, which are:
  An alternative Maella Abbey save location, Princess Minnie's Castle and Neos
  respectively; But they're not fully supported.
- You can use the monster team editor to duplicate the monsters in your reserves
  for each team!

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Disclaimer
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Although this application has been tested, the author of this software will not
be held responsible for any damage caused from the use of this editor. Use at
your own risk.

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Contact
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If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to send them to the
following address: dq8ed@hotmail.co.uk

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Credits
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Programmed by Capo

Thanks to:

http://www.dqshrine.com/
http://rpg-home.lunar-net.com/dq-web/index.html
http://www.ps2savetools.com/
SquareEnix
Level 5
http://www.ddo.com/
http://www.csclub.uwaterloo.ca:11068/mymc/
http://www.pcsx2.net/
Tom-Servo (For the updated save locations!)
