How to port Soul Calibur III: Arcade Edition to PS2

Anthony Ryuki

[09] Warrior
"Soul Calibur III: Arcade Edition is a re-tuned, re-vamped, and, most importantly, fixed version of Soul Calibur III. Naturally, all glitches found in the console version have been fixed. In addition to that we've re-tuned the overall balance of many moves and re-vamped Amy, Hwang and Li Long as official characters. All three have been revised into more unique move sets and help to expand the already expansive Soul Calibur III line-up." WCMaxi (Namco Producer)

This improved edition was made to make up for the home version problems, it was unbalanced, rushed and had lots of bugs, according to some players.

You might have noticed that OOFMATIC had made this port before but the torrent is no longer available. Instead of making a torrent that, sooner or later, will stop working, I'll make a guide that will last forever.

Step 1: Getting the data

First, put in a folder all the files of your SC3 copy. You can notice there is a ROOT.OLK file in it, it's the file that contains the main game data, such as character models, movesets and game modes. And now get your hands on the AE files. Now that the game was added to the MAME list (though it doesn't work at all yet on it), it's very easy. Look for Soul Calibur III in a MAME roms website and download the CHD file (not the other romset, as that's a dump of the security dongle). It is the MAME format DVD image file, and you need to extract it. MAME includes an application called CHDMAN you have to use to do so. Open it with the command prompt typing this command:
chdman extractraw -o output.raw -i input.chd
You will get a .RAW file, but it's actually a .ISO image, so you have to rename its extension to .ISO.
Finally, extract ROOT.OLK or ROOT2.OLK using an ISO explorer (I used WinRAR). The two files are identical (you can notice that because they have the same size), so you can extract the one you want.

Step 2: Putting the data in the right place

Read this thread: https://8wayrun.com/threads/modding-soul-calibur-iii-updated-18-09-2020.20613/
It contains a documentation of what's inside the ROOT.OLK file in the vanilla version, so you can know where to import the AE data into it.
Remember that Human.olk is File7.olk in the vanilla version, but it's File6.olk here.
This thread also contains software files that you need to use to explore the game's data. What we need to use here is the OLK Explorer.

The following list contains all what you need to know about File6.olk (the one with the character data in the AE). And remember to swap file 1 (included in the character data .olk file) too. If you don't do it, the characters' movesets won't work properly (and adding it makes the original movesets work badly).

Code:
File6.olk

1-4 Core gameplay files

3D MODELS - there are six costumes rather that the four (two for the extra characters)
found in the PS2 edition, and the new ones have just different colors.
There are two new .pkg files inside them. The former one (File9.pkg) contains the character's battle screams.
The latter one (File10.pkg) is the weapon model.
The 1P and the 2P weapons are included in the respective outfit files,
and the bonus characters's 2P weapons and Inferno's weapon are new.
Furthermore, Hwang and Li Long have some new pre-battle and victory
quotes that are enabled by File9.pkg, although they do not function
correctly when imported into the PS2 version.
Finally, keep in mind that Amy's second costume is new to the AE,
it's not a variation with different colors of the first costume like the one on the original,
which is costume 3 here.
https://web.archive.org/web/20130821181623/http://fortunecross.com/soulcalibur3/index.html

JAPANESE BATTLE SCREAMS IN FILE9.PKG

9-14 Mitsurugi

15-20 Seong Mina

21-26 Taki

27-32 Maxi

33-38 Voldo

39-44 Sophitia

45-50 Siegfried

51-56 Rock

57-62 Hwang

63-68 Ivy

69-74 Kilik

75-80 Xianghua

81-86 Lizardman

87-92 Yoshimitsu

93-98 Nightmare

99-104 Astaroth

105 Inferno

111-116 Cervantes

117-122 Raphael

123-128 Talim

129-134 Cassandra

135-140 Yun Seong

141-146 Li Long

147-152 Setsuka

153-158 Tira

159-164 Zasalamel

165-170 Olcadan

171-174 Abyss (he has four costumes, not six, as he wasn't playable in the AE)

177 Night Terror

183-188 Amy

ENGLISH BATTLE SCREAMS IN FILE9.PKG

189-194 Mitsurugi

195-200 Seong Mina

201-206 Taki

207-212 Maxi

Voldo only appears in the Japanese list

219-224 Sophitia

225-230 Siegfried

231-236 Rock

237-242 Hwang

243-248 Ivy

249-254 Kilik

255-260 Xianghua

Lizardman only appears in the Japanese list

267-272 Yoshimitsu

273-278 Nightmare

279-284 Astaroth

Inferno only appears in the Japanese list

291-296 Cervantes

297-302 Raphael

303-308 Talim

309-314 Cassandra

315-320 Yun Seong

321-326 Li Long

327-332 Setsuka

333-338 Tira

339-344 Zasalamel

345-350 Olcadan

351-354 Abyss (he has four costumes, not six, as he wasn't playable in the AE)

Night Terror only appears in the Japanese list

363-368 Amy

WEAPONS

Although the most important weapons are already included in the characters's 3D models,
a separate list of weapons is included here, because this is where they are loaded for Olcadan.
Also, Olcadan gains the ability to use Hwang, Li Long and Amy's styles in the Arcade Edition.
Because of that, he gets three new weapons.

369 Shishi-Oh 1P
370 Shishi-Oh 2P
371 Two-Handed Sword
372 Masamune
373 Damascus Sword
374 Soul Edge
375 Souvenir Gift
376 The Ancient

377 Scarlet Thunder 1P
378 Scarlet Thunder 2P
379 Defender
380 Hyup Do
381 Halberd
382 Hraesvelgr
383 Feather Broom
384 The Ancient

385 Rekki-Maru & Mekki-Maru 1P
386 Rekki-Maru & Mekki-Maru 2P
387 Kagenui
388 Kagekiri
389 Fumakugi
390 Kris Naga
391 Tobacco Pipes
392 The Ancient

393 Soryuju 1P
394 Soryuju 2P
395 Tetsuryu
396 Chained Kozuka
397 Raimei
398 Vajra
399 Termite Snack
400 The Ancient

401 Manas & Ayus 1P
402 Manas & Ayus 2P
403 Cat Claws
404 Tofana Scissors
405 Iron Ram
406 Guillotine
407 Tambourines
408 The Ancient

409 Omega Sword & Elk Shield 1P
410 Omega Sword & Elk Shield 2P
411 Fire Blade
412 Blue Crystal Rod
413 Orichalum
414 Soul Calibur
415 Memento
416 The Ancient

417 Requiem 1P
418 Requiem 2P
419 Flamberge
420 Glam
421 Faust
422 Soul Calibur
423 Galley Oar
424 The Ancient

425 Onslaught 1P
426 Onslaught 2P
427 Giant Mace
428 Ropalon
429 Juggernaut
430 Wayakin
431 Iron Fist
432 The Ancient

433 Blue Thunder 1P
434 Blue Thunder 2P (new)
435 Blue Thunder 1P
436 Blue Thunder 1P
437 Blue Thunder 1P
438 Blue Thunder 1P
440 The Ancient (new)

441 Valentine 1P
442 Valentine 2P
443 Viper Edge
444 Dream Blade
445 Alraune
446 Kaleidoscope
447 Prototype Ivy Blade
448 The Ancient

449 Kali-Yuga 1P
450 Kali-Yuga 2P
451 Ling-Sheng Su Bo
452 Amud
453 Jingu Staff
454 Soul Calibur
455 Bamboo Staff
456 The Ancient

457 No Name 1P
458 No Name 2P
459 Kard
460 Northern Star
461 Kopis
462 Soul Calibur
463 Calligraphy Brush
464 The Ancient

465 Grudge Ax & Aya Shield 1P
466 Grudge Ax & Aya Shield 2P
467 Tabarzin
468 Lunatic
469 Kora
470 Soul Edge
471 Boned Meat
472 The Ancient

473 Yoshimitsu 1P
474 Yoshimitsu 2P
475 Kastane
476 Pakayun
477 Kagekiyo
478 Hihiirokane
479 Shepherd's Crook
480 The Ancient

481 Soul Edge (Phantom) 1P
482 Soul Edge (Phantom) 2P
483 Steel Paddle
484 Soul Edge (Larvae)
485 Soul Edge (Cocoon)
486 Soul Edge
487 Giant Squid
488 The Ancient

489 Kulutues 1P
490 Kulutues 2P
491 Terror Moon
492 Great Maul
493 Nanbanfu
494 Soul Edge
495 Stone Slab
496 The Ancient

497 Soul Edge (Inferno's weapon) (new)
498 Soul Edge & Nirvana 1P (Cervantes's weapon)
499 Soul Edge (Inferno's weapon, red) (new) (Why is this file so big? It always causes an allocation error)
500 Soul Edge & Nirvana 1P (Cervantes's weapon)
501 Soul Edge & Nirvana 1P (Cervantes's weapon)
502 Soul Edge & Nirvana 1P (Cervantes's weapon)
503 Soul Edge & Nirvana 1P (Cervantes's weapon)
504 Soul Edge & Nirvana 1P (Cervantes's weapon)

505 Soul Edge & Nirvana 1P
506 Soul Edge & Nirvana 2P
507 Styx
508 Erlang's Blade
509 Phlegethon
510 Soul Edge
511 Imitation Sword
512 The Ancient

513 Flambert 1P
514 Flambert 2P
515 Epee
516 Holy Antler
517 Estoc
518 Queen's Guard
519 Cane
520 The Ancient

521 Syi Salika & Loka Luha 1P
522 Syi Salika & Loka Luha 2P
523 Tonfa
524 Side Harpe
525 Double Crescent Blade
526 Soul Calibur
527 Weight
528 The Ancient

529 Digamma Sword & Nemea Shield 1P
530 Digamma Sword & Nemea Shield 2P
531 Ivan the Terrible
532 Spine Blade
533 Dark Blade
534 Valkyrie
535 Broken Sword
536 The Ancient

537 White Storm 1P
538 White Storm 2P
539 Giant Butcher Knife
540 Cheng Ying
541 Ramdao
542 Han Guang
543 Child's Sword
544 The Ancient

545 Falcon 1P
546 Falcon 2P (new)
547 Falcon 1P
548 Falcon 1P
549 Falcon 1P
550 Falcon 1P
552 The Ancient (new)

553 Ugetsu Kageuchi 1P
554 Ugetsu Kageuchi 2P
555 Ridicule
556 Shiranamigasumi
557 Moonlight
558 Ugetsu Shinuchi
559 Broken Bamboo Sword
560 The Ancient

561 Aislene Drossel 1P
562 Aislene Drossel 2P
563 Bifrost
564 Ixion
565 Vimana
566 Soul Edge
567 Cogwheel
568 The Ancient

569 Kafziel 1P
570 Kafziel 2P
571 Ankou
572 Balor
573 Mrtyu
574 Irkalla
575 Beak
576 The Ancient

577 The Silent
578 The Mute
579 The Perceptive
580 The Fierce
581 The Savage
582 The Hidden
583 The Tease
584 The Ancient

585 Irkalla 1P
586 Irkalla 2P
587-590 Irkalla - No Glow
591-592 Irkalla - Brighter Colours & No Glow

593-598 Soul Edge (Complete)
599-600 Soul Edge (Complete) - Smaller & No Wings

601 Albion 1P
602 Albion 2P (new)
603 Albion 1P
604 Albion 1P
605 Albion 1P
606 Albion 1P
608 The Ancient (new)

Unfortunately, Olcadan can only use the new fighting styles in the PS2 version if regular characters are replaced with them.

ANIMATIONS

609 Mitsurugi Moveset
610 Mitsurugi Exhibition

611 Seong Mina Moveset
612 Seong Mina Exhibition

613 Taki Moveset
614 Taki Exhibition

615 Maxi Moveset
616 Maxi Exhibition

617 Voldo Moveset
618 Voldo Exhibition

619 Sophitia Moveset
620 Sophitia Exhibition

621 Siegfried Moveset
622 Siegfried Exhibition

623 Rock Moveset
624 Rock Exhibition

625 Hwang Moveset

626 Ivy Moveset
627 Ivy Exhibition

628 Kilik Moveset
629 Kilik Exhibition

630 Xianghua Moveset
631 Xianghua Exhibition

632 Lizardman Moveset
633 Lizardman Exhibition

634 Yoshimitsu Moveset
635 Yoshimitsu Exhibition

636 Nightmare Moveset
637 Nightmare Exhibition

638 Astaroth Moveset
639 Astaroth Exhibition

640 Inferno Moveset (identical to Cervantes, but without the shooting gun moves, as Soul Edge doesn't have
a gun. It also retains SC2 Inferno's special move, UP then B+K, and has a different taunt.)

642 Cervantes Moveset
643 Cervantes Exhibition

644 Raphael Moveset
645 Raphael Exhibition

646 Talim Moveset
647 Talim Exhibition

648 Cassandra Moveset
649 Cassandra Exhibition

650 Yun Seong Moveset
651 Yun Seong Exhibition

652 Li Long Moveset

653 Setsuka Moveset
654 Setsuka Exhibition

655 Tira Moveset
656 Tira Exhibition

657 Zasalamel Moveset
658 Zasalamel Exhibition

659 Olcadan Moveset
660 Olcadan Exhibition

661 Abyss Moveset

662 Night Terror Moveset

663 Amy Moveset

The exhibitions weren't changed, so you don't need to put them in.
Be careful though, if Ivy and Yoshimitsu happen to load up, the game will freeze, unless you're using an emulator; however, the graphics will be glitched at the first fight of any mode even with it, as there will be a "TLB Miss" error. It has to do with the additional space allocation process the OLK Explorer does when putting the new movesets in: they don't seem to like allocations at all.
The stages are in File5.olk in both versions. There are a few new stages to the AE. All stages are listed as follows:

Code:
1 - Mountain Top
15 - Egyptian Temple Ruin
22 - Egyptian Temple (Minimum)
29 - Egyptian Temple (Minimum & Cage)
41 - Clock Tower
55 - Eurydice Shrine
62 - Eurydice Shrine (No Statue)
75 - Ostrheinsburg Castle
89 - Water Mill Valley
103 - Battle in the Strait
117 - Valentine Mansion
131 - Ling-Sheng Su Temple Ruin
138 - Ling-Sheng Su Temple Ruin (No Spirits)
151 - Coliseum
158 - Coliseum (No Wall, Night)
165 - Coliseum (No Wall, Day) (new)
177 - Kunpeatku Shrine
184 - Kunpeatku Shrine (Mist)
191 - Palgaea Shrine (new)
203 - Indian Port
217 - Lost Cathedral
224 - Lost Cathedral (No Embrace of Souls)
237 - Secret Money Pit
251 - Underground Buddhist Sanctum
258 - Underground Buddhist Sanctum (Again?)
271 - Proving Grounds
285 - Grand Labyrinth
292 - Grand Labyrinth (Darkness)
299 - Grand Labyrinth (Corridor)
311 - Sacred Mt. Fuji - Lava Bed
325 - Lost Cathedral - Ruin
332 - Lost Cathedral - Ruin (Different Lighting) (new)
345 - Pirate Raid
359 - Jyurakudai Villa
373 - Romanian Valley - Castle Siege
387 - Lotus Garden
401 - Old Toledo Burning Gallery
415 - Silk Road Ruin
429 - Chaos - Spiritual Realm

443 - Weapons & Armour Room
450 - Weapons Shop
457 - Armour Shop
464 - Items Shop
475 - Japanese Village
489 - Rooftop at Night *Glitchy*
496 - Rooftop at Day *Glitchy*
509 - Tranquil Field
523 - Tranquil Bridge
537 - Rainy Forest *Glitchy*
551 - Secret Money Pit (With Barrel)
565 - Boat in Calm Waters *Glitchy*
579 - Wasteland
593 - Boat in Stormy Waters *Glitchy*
607 - Library (Disorganised)
614 - Library (Organised)
627 - Shrine to Hephaestus
641 - Rothion's Forge
648 - Rothion's Forge Again
661 - Lost Cathedral - Ruin (Calm)
675 - Dock
689 - Coliseum (Olcadan's Training)

751 - Skybox
765 - Game Menu 'Water'
779 - Start Screen 'Soul Calibur 3 Arcade Edition Logo' (new)
793 - CaS Mode 'Blue Flying Rocks'
In File3.olk, there is some interesting stuff. First, there are the new lifebars, which are in File6.pkg (thanks dee4doa for finding them) and however don't exactly look as they should on PS2; File47.unk is a new image for the ADX logo; and finally File38.pkg contains some data for the AE character selection screen, but doesn't work well on PS2.

Step 3: Building the new ISO file

To build an ISO file, just use ImgBurn. Open the files on the direcory you've just created, and that's it.

One small problem this port has is that most of the Options menu and the Pause menu text will get killed, so you may want to learn what the choices mean by heart. Also, you won't be able to see the new movelists. The old ones will be shown instead, and that may not be really helpful for the extra characters (here's a guide for Amy: http://www.gamefaqs.com/arcade/931657-soulcalibur-iii-arcade-edition/faqs/44659), though the changes for standard ones are very slight. And, of course, there's Ivy and Yoshimitsu not working on PS2. But I think this works great, the gameplay was improved a lot! Have fun with it!
 
Last edited:

Thanks a lot for the guide, I love how it balances the characters in Soulcalibur III! This guide is amazing but it disappoints me that Yoshimitsu and Ivy doesn't work properly even in the emulator. Olcadan also causes glitches in the graphics when he loads Yoshimitsu or Ivy's moveset. In quick play however, I have found that the graphics would be fixed when Yoshimitsu or Ivy fights the next character in Stage 2 and up, sadly this fix only stays in quick play I think. Another thing that I have found is that some stages have become more buggy in that some characters would teleport into the other side of the stage. Maybe updating the stages into Arcade Edition may help but the stage locations in the OLK files aren't shown in this guide. It would be nice if we can get these problems resolved to have an awesome game.

Also, I would like to know if there is a way to add and remove content rather than replacing them. And is there also a way for me to get the character select screen from Arcade Edition? It would be nice to have the character select screen in versus mode be similar to its arcade counterpart.

Again, I would like to thank you for this guide. It was fun modding the game :)
 
Hey. I know this might be a pain, but could someone kindly do this and create another torrent. I myself need help with this, and people are still interested in downloading the torrent. People are still trying to download the original torrent. There are 7 peers.

I know it's a pain, but may you please do it? Keep the SCIII spirit alive!

And you did do it before... just reupload it.
 
It is actually fairly easy to do this, just follow through the guide carefully. The main part I was stuck on when I was first modding the game was with CHDMAN(only found in the 32-bit version of MAME, to use it you have to make a .txt file with the given command prompt and then changing the .txt to a .bat). I was about to ask for a re-upload until I was able to solve it. Just give it a shot, modding is actually quite fun and you get to mod it the way you want when you learn how to do so.

What I am waiting and hoping for would be an update to the guide so I can swap out the stages and the character select screen and also a fix for Ivy and Yoshimitsu.
 
Thanks a lot for the guide, I love how it balances the characters in Soulcalibur III! This guide is amazing but it disappoints me that Yoshimitsu and Ivy doesn't work properly even in the emulator. Olcadan also causes glitches in the graphics when he loads Yoshimitsu or Ivy's moveset. In quick play however, I have found that the graphics would be fixed when Yoshimitsu or Ivy fights the next character in Stage 2 and up, sadly this fix only stays in quick play I think. Another thing that I have found is that some stages have become more buggy in that some characters would teleport into the other side of the stage. Maybe updating the stages into Arcade Edition may help but the stage locations in the OLK files aren't shown in this guide. It would be nice if we can get these problems resolved to have an awesome game.

Also, I would like to know if there is a way to add and remove content rather than replacing them. And is there also a way for me to get the character select screen from Arcade Edition? It would be nice to have the character select screen in versus mode be similar to its arcade counterpart.

Again, I would like to thank you for this guide. It was fun modding the game :)

Well, I play this game on my PS2 and the stages work perfectly on me, no glitches or anything. By the way, is there any program to edit the fighting styles? If so, I think that fixing Ivy and Yoshimitsu would be easy. And it doesn't look like it's possible to add new files, I'm afraid. About the selection screen, I have no idea on where it is located, I'm afraid. What I know is that it's not on File5, nor on File6.
 
What causes these TLB Miss errors anyway? Why does it specifically affect Ivy and Yoshimitsu out of all the characters? Are there any special properties within their movesets? These are the questions that follow through my head, I just don't understand why other characters' movesets work but not Ivy and Yoshimitsu's. What I read in the other thread is that "It seems to have to do with the universal movelist properties file that was ported from AE, and not the actual movesets." so I would assume that the core gameplay files found in File6.olk is what causes this problem. If this truly is the case then our only possible solution would be for us to find a way to edit files 1-4 found in File6.olk and make it so that Ivy and Yoshimitsu's movesets may work. If we can somehow find a way to make these changes then we would also be able to fix the menu problems.
 
I wonder if replacing the old 3D models with the new ones fixes this. It is possible that the new files included in them are needed to get them working.
 
Damn, I thought so... however the character models and graphics seem to work in the second match of quick play. I played through Yoshimitsu in quick play mode and fighting the first fighter always causes graphic issues. However, by the time I fight the second fighter, the graphics fix itself and I could play Yoshimitsu without experiencing problems in the graphics. Play through quick play and you guys will see what I mean. If only I have more experience with this...
 
Is there any way to replace a mpde with the 'Legends mode' from the arcade OLK file? How come you can't just replace the whole OLK completly? :s
 
The whole OLK is not compatible with the PS2. I don't know if Legend mode can be put in. What I know is that it's inside File3.olk.
 
hmm you said that the ending stages in the Arcade version were less glitchy, does this mean they have proper collisions so we can use these as playable stages? :D
 
Hmm I need to find where the modes are stored within the .OLK I think it's in 'File 3' but thats just my guess. I want to replace a mode with 'Legends Mode' which was the Arcade exclusive mode.
I think this is also possible on SC2 aswell since you could theoretically replace a mode with an existing one in the .OLK file Also I have the ROOT.OLK for the Arcade version of SCII (Version A)

I had success when using your tutorial for swapping stages, but instead I used it for bringing over the Arcade stages from SCII to the Console version (in sc2) I ran it in PCSX2 and it worked like porting over SC3AE stages to SC3 for PS2! :)

I found that the stages were slightly better looking (as if they had more polygons) and some of the 3D objects in the background slightly differ to the ones in the final version. One example is that the statue in Sophitia's and Cassandra's stage was different (it was in a different pose and looked larger) also some textures were different too.
What I havn't tested yet is bringing over the Arcade Character models to the console. Since it ran on the 'Namco System 246' the models would be abit more polished than the console versions, infact it wouldn't suprise me since the stages were noticably different (in some areas of the stage)

Soon though I will be getting a new Processor for my PC so that I can run PS2 games at full speed (atm I have a processor @2.3 ghz and that doesn't cut it LOL!) XD When I have my new processor I will post some youtube videos about it (mabe a comparison between the 3D VMP files?)

Anyway enough about SCII :P this is the SCIII forum! I guess I got abit carried away... -_- I want to thank you Falcon for making this awesome tutorial! without this info I wouldn't of been able to get my hands on the Arcade SC version of the ROOT.OLK ;)

*Update!*
I managed to port over the lifebars from AE, here it shows me running the game in PCSX!
if your wondering what file it is, it's either File 1.unk or File2.unk in the File3.OLK section (AE Root.OLK) you then need to extract them and replace them with the ones inside the PS2 Root.OLK :)

*Update!* - I have now realised that it's either File1.unk, File2.unk or File3.PKG in the FILE3.OLK section that is causing Ivy to crash, because I only swapped those files and Ivy gave me the 'TLB' error I guess I now just have to replace her other AE files and she ill be playable now! I havn't tested Yoshi, but I can guess that these AE files have some crucial files and without them we get errors because in reality, we havn't 'Fully' replaced the movesets so they are compatible.

portedlifebars.jpg
 
Back