Shadow of the Colossus hackery (spoilers possible)

[The Twilight Mexican]

It occurs to me that I should share this awesome sauce with everybody. Over on the official PlayStation board, there's been this "Quest for the last big secret" thread running for several years for Shadow of the Colossus.

It started out with players just trying to find stuff that one normally can't reach. It eventually evolved quite a bit via playing on an emulator and screwing around with the game's values.

One of them (unclejun/lolo486) was even able to acquire the beta disc of the game's final version -- which included a colossus battle menu, and a completely solid Shrine of Worship. That's solid from top to bottom, with grabbable edges! The original final releases of the game had only one small ledge that was solid:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Hot8QMWncY

As if that weren't enough awesome, this one guy (youmoosotc) developed the Dormin Editor, which allows for viewing any of the game's models.

At this point, various amazings things have been achieved or discovered, including:

-The presence of a large dam-like structure in the eastern lands of the game, which are normally inaccessible; sadly, the dam is not solid
-More than one series of mountain ranges that are normally inaccessible
-Solid ground out in the ocean
-Landing on the top of the Shrine of Worship in the beta disc; this has also been done with the Official PlayStation Magazine and PlayStation Underground demos for the game; in all retail copies, the shrine was not solid beyond the garden area and the small ledge mentioned above
-Escaping from the tentacles that emerge after a colossus' death; obviously, advancing in the game is interrupted by this
-The temple that the game's final scenes take place in was discovered to be a copy of just the main parts of the temple, with a little bit of ground outside to give the impression that it's the original; probably done this way to make processing things easier
-Warping Wander anywhere
-Moving objects, as well as increasing their size
-Modding the colossi (warping their locations, swapping their animation codes, etc.); unfortunately, none of them can be removed from their areas or they simply fall through the landscape into the white void under the geometry
-Getting behind the entrance to the Forbidden Land, where there's nothing but void and a little bit of unsolid bridge (yes, there's more bridge on the other side)
-Landing on colossi before their activation cutscenes (most of them are intangibile when you do this); in the case of the 16th colossus, he's sometimes not there when you bypass the cutscene with Agro below his arena; in one particularly amazing instance, a battle with him commenced in broad daylight rather than during a storm; the results seem to vary depending on whether you're using the beta disc or a retail copy
-Everything in the game has been walked on or tested as to whether it's solid

There's probably more things I'm forgetting, but those are the highlights. You can see most of this and more at the following YouTube channels:

Nomad0168: http://www.youtube.com/user/Nomad0168 (with almost 300 videos, he is the king of SotC exploration; you'll notice that the hackery got more advanced as time went on)
PikolUploader: http://www.youtube.com/user/PikolUploader (first to reach the top of the temple; also the one to discover the dam)
wwwarea: http://www.youtube.com/user/wwwarea (wizard who always figures out how to do something new and incredible every time these guys think they've hit a dead-end; first to mod a colossus)
youmoosotc: http://www.youtube.com/user/youmoosotc (developer of the Dormin Editor)

For the sake of due credit being given, the guy who started the hacking called hiimself "RadicalDreamer." He figured out how to glitch through walls and do a couple of other things. He didn't keep at it for long, though he blessedly passed on his techniques to others who quickly surpassed him.

A couple of videos to whet your appetites for more:

The top of the Shrine of Worship (solid versions)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xLBGfbOJj-I
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XyWcpkX5wHs
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tEk8BMBVPcM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=20yk7Xb7Irk
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ha3uVIakLeM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4sul235teCA

Pikol's Dam
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=75R1g9zZfU0
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ucl3dY9kFs
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S8H_xbYlL-o

Copy of the Shrine of Worship
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Qa7W5qvifY
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eS5TQz91cvg
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=73Xh8nDmDkM

Colossus 7 flying
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cSjHmYId-RM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UELpDKhJDF4

Fighting Colossus 16 in the daylight
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ES8B3X0iu3E

Riding Colossus 13 under the sand
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zyEbyIK9Pjo
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X1h4nSna8fU

In my opinion, all of this makes the game even more magical. Enjoy!

 

[Alex]

I'm genuinely not kidding when I say that this is an absolutely amazing thread and that I've bookmarked the YouTube channels in here.

Absolutely A+ find, well done. And I'm really not being sarcastic here, this is genuine praise.

 

[Tennyo]

Oh yeah I remember hearing about the dam a few months ago. Watched a vid for it. It's pretty awesome. Makes me wish the creators had added it in.

Thanks for all the other stuff, though. Very cool.

 

[The Twilight Mexican]

I'm genuinely not kidding when I say that this is an absolutely amazing thread and that I've bookmarked the YouTube channels in here.

Absolutely A+ find, well done. And I'm really not being sarcastic here, this is genuine praise.

Glad to be of service.

After seeing everyone's reactions to SotC getting 1st place on Destructoid's top games list, it occurred to me that there's probably a lot of people here who would love to see this stuff.

Hardly anyone frequents the official PS board, so there's probably not many who know about all this. Here's the thread from over there in case you guys are curious:

http://boardsus.playstation.com/playstation/board/message?board.id=shadowofcolossus&thread.id=41796

It's over 450 pages now, so reading all of it in one sitting is not advised. The first 200 or so pages can probably be completely ignored anyway.

Oh yeah I remember hearing about the dam a few months ago. Watched a vid for it. It's pretty awesome. Makes me wish the creators had added it in.

No kidding. That thing is fucking gorgeous.

I can only assume that it was left out because they felt it would "advance" the culture that lived in the Forbidden Land more than they'd intended. The dam doesn't really seem like it would be from the same technological era as the other structures in the game.

Thanks for all the other stuff, though. Very cool.

No problem.

 

[Interslicery]

if I'm reading this correctly, someone just made an editor or something that allows them to do things you cant normally do, and this is the result of messing with some of the games files.

why is this interesting?

 

[The Twilight Mexican]

There's more linked than that, but that alone is interesting because it's Shadow of the Colossus, and SotC is dope.

To me, being able to view any of the game's models is pretty sweet. Especially when used to do something like look at the entire Shrine of Worship:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yPmxBwqPxqA

 

[Alex]

TresDias I'm reading through that thread now and it is absolutely insane but unquestionably fascinating.

 

[Interslicery]

There's more linked than that, but that alone is interesting because it's Shadow of the Colossus, and SotC is dope.

To me, being able to view any of the game's models is pretty sweet. Especially when used to do something like look at the entire Shrine of Worship:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yPmxBwqPxqA

eh... I love sotc, but looking at stuff like this just doesnt interest me. I like the gameplay, story, atmosphere, etc., seeing some plants and balconies/glitchy collosi/etc. is a waste of time.

 

[The Twilight Mexican]

eh... I love sotc, but looking at stuff like this just doesnt interest me. I like the gameplay, story, atmosphere, etc., seeing some plants and balconies/glitchy collosi/etc. is a waste of time.

Eh, to each their own. I know exploring every nook and cranny of SotC's Forbidden Land isn't for everybody, but those whom it is for (such as myself) tend to look to each new plant with anticipation.

TresDias I'm reading through that thread now and it is absolutely insane but unquestionably fascinating.

i no rite?

Did you start at the beginning or toward the middle? The first couple hundred pages were mainly theories that didn't pan out. Things didn't really start happening until the hacking began.

Now, that said, a few rather awesome discoveries were made over the years via normal gameplay:

Flying over the Shrine of Worship on a hawk
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eTT-jiBCn1c

This was first done by Sisquet. It involved a turbo controller and the hawk-grab glitch (a.k.a. "hawk humping").

If you're unfamiliar with the hawk-grab glitch, it involves grabbing a hawk and then releasing R1 while immediately pressing it again. You do this repeatedly, allowing the hawk to carry you higher:

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=6555961858227475096&hl=en&emb=1

Obviously it can be done without a turbo controller, but it's a hell of a lot easier with one. Here's another video demonstrating "turbo hawking":

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NpHDHVImbp4

You'll notice in Sisquet's video (the upload on YouTube is his vid, but it wasn't uploaded by him) that the temple doesn't load properly when approached in that manner. If you let the hawk carry you as high as it can and then deploy the parachute to float down into the temple, it will be hollow, just as it appears in that video.

So, you just float on through it into the game's void.

This hawk method was once thought to be the way to the top of the temple, but after many attempts, people figured out that it wasn't going to do shit for them, as the temple would never load properly.

Turbo hawking allowed you to land on a few normally inaccessible rock formations, but only in areas where hawks tend to fly around -- so, in other words, it didn't provide much more than a nice view.

Reaching various normally unreachable areas via "Agro launching" and "Flash Arrow-climbing"
-Agro launches-
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8oWNkJtYFPM
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-6839726337163691804
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zrl2Zf7rCJE
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UAsw27NyzQ4
-Flash Arrow ascent-
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-5773434354182247433

Both Flash Arrow-climbing and a place that was only reachable via first Agro launching and then immediately Flash Arrow-climbing were discovered by khfan1 several years ago. This area is just south of Colossus 10's cave:

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=910186487187207733

Here's a video showing the first half of how to get there:
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=9043790521378519562

It involved Agro launching onto a small ledge down in the corner of the plateau south of 10's cave, then immediately blasting yourself off the ledge into a crevice in the mountainside. You had to do this quickly or you'd slide off the ledge.

You'd then blast yourself up out of the crevice, and then across the mountainside, heading south, while avoiding falling back into the crevice. Finally, you had to blast yourself over a small chasm, which you'd fall into half the time, forcing you to start over.

You'd do all this while fighting against gravity -- and your diminishing health bar -- the whole way. It was actually pretty hard to do.

The Invisible Land
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yz_Wezh7ePM

Video speaks for itself on that one. Discovered by khfan1 and Syd_tiger. There's another identical area in the ocean on the opposite side of the map, though that one can't be reached through ordinary means.

The Sword Launch
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OxABz7r_o68

This was discovered by sniper_1263. One of the first major discoveries of the game, and still one of the greatest.

Colossus 16 dodge run
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cgk72RgI2-0

Also discovered by sniper_1263, this is a method of running right through Colossus 16's fireballs without taking damage -- but you have to follow this specific path.



As you can probably tell, I've followed this shit closely since the time the game came out, though I was a lurker for about three years.

 

[Tetsujin]

Whoooaaa....O_O
The dam is awesome. Who'd have thought you'd find a structure like that out there in the middle of nowhere?
I wish it would've been in the game proper. With a huge lake and a Colossus to battle there and everything...

 

[Cloudskye]

I wish it would've been in the game proper. With a huge lake and a Colossus to battle there and everything...

This ^^

Thanks, TresDias. I agree when I say this is amazing. Well done.

 

[Alex]

I read the first post and it was absolutely mental.

Reminds me of when GTA:SA came out and a dedicated section of the fanbase crucified themselves trying to find the secret UFO using hints from the viral websites and the strange maps found throughout the game.

 

[Anzu Mazaki]

I remember seeing a lot of these on youtube before; its crazy how many different things you can play around on in this game, and rather fitting too, considering the enigmatic nature of the game to begin with.

I wonder why so many hidden/unfinished features of SoC compared to other games. Or maybe its just more explorable since the game had a lot of freedom of exploration (actually the premise of the whole game was exploration. and period battles with giants).

No wonder this game is best of the decade

 

[The Twilight Mexican]

A few new cool videos involving the movement of -- as well as shrinking and expanding of -- objects:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bXcRHkoer-Y
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JEkRaBJwEUw
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qCEDlJsaCoQ
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mbaDaZbwxp4

Notice that objects retain their walkable/grabbable nature even when shrunk or enlarged. Sadly, many tend to lose this quality when moved.

Also, fun fucking around with the first colossus:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=whdPOyZSVOA

 

[The Twilight Mexican]

Some of the coolest shit yet is being done now. Agro, Wander and even the colossi's sizes can be expanded or decreased now, along with other values.

Guys, prepare to see the coolest thing ever. See Wander tapping into the Speed Force:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7in3rprOc5A

I literally laughed out loud when he started running around outside the temple. That was ridiculous but so awesome.

But that's not at all!

See the third colossus not only be dropped in the lake below his arena, but see him be turned into a giant image from a pop-up book and then into a small block of stone:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LMlaUEMMSWo

See Agro go from his normal war horse size to that of a miniature pony, then to the size of a Breyer toy horse, and then on to the size of the Trojan Horse:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C4iv1aPg8bI

See Wander become the size of a colossus!:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BdOJptkMV2w

Bobble head Wander!:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yOZ4Asbs0ho

Face to face with Colossus 16 (as well as a sight of him in his inanimate, unactivated form):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xe_HevQqOuI

Magical sight-seeing stones:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8zduBNsrjcQ
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l9HOSyoW8oo
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gddW9TUR9zc
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yI7i0xf-zYQ

Giant lizard, ho shit!:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RscOwP4fOwY


And because it made me tear up, SotC tribute video by Nomad0168:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-QT1tbLzX5c

 

[The Twilight Mexican]

Well, this is pretty awesome:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-9uTs6nysvM

In this video, see the lizard colossus variously become hilariously small, ridiculously large, and frighteningly fast.

Also, bird's eye view:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CSEIhF4HHfs

Ginormous Save Stone (see if you recognize the music ):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2EK1HSQOAh4

 

[The Twilight Mexican]

New discovery. Apparently, the "Eye of the Colossus" item that was unusable in the final version of the game was very usable in the pre-release final version:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gwBNJONxYCg

 

[Tennyo]

These vids are so cool! I wish I was like some computer genius to be able to discover these things.

 

[X-SOLDIER]

New discovery. Apparently, the "Eye of the Colossus" item that was unusable in the final version of the game was very usable in the pre-release final version:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gwBNJONxYCg

That's crazy! It's surprising that there's still things that're being found out about this game.


X

 

[Cthulhu]

Nice idea, and probably not too hard to implement (just stick a camera where the eyes are), but I can understand why it didn't make it into the final version.

 

[The Twilight Mexican]

Probably the same reason the solid, climbable Shrine of Worship didn't. I interpret it all to mean that Ueda had a concern of leaving noticeable flaws in the game design -- and I really hope he's outgrown that concern with "The Last Guardian."

Both the Eye of the Colossus and the climbable temple would have been so fucking awesome. It's a shame we had to wait years later and for hackers to pull it off.

 

[X-SOLDIER]

On a slightly related note, there's rumor that SotC & ICO might come to blu-ray.

http://geeksofdoom.com/2010/05/27/w...lossus-in-hd-blu-ray-quality-early-next-year/



X

 

[Cthulhu]

Ico should be re-released indeed. I haven't played it, and I can't be bothered to shell out bigtime on a (rare) used version, .

 

[Tennyo]

Ico doesn't cost much. I paid $7 for my copy. yarly

But PS3 re-releases? Not a bad idea...

 

[Cthulhu]

Ico doesn't cost much. I paid $7 for my copy. yarly

Is it still available, then? .