Persona 4 Golden Save Converter

This repo contains:

• convert_vita2pc.py, a utility that converts P4G PS Vita saves to P4G PC saves:

  • PS Vita data00XX.bin and system.bin files are converted to the PC format (see FAQ #1).
  • PS Vita sdslot.dat file is converted to PC data00XX.binslot files (see FAQ #2).
  • A remotecache.vdf file is generated with valid entries for each save file (see FAQ #3).

  This tool will convert the above into proper PC .bin/.binslot files.

  There's no need to edit any hashes manually.

• convert_pc2vita.py, a utility that converts P4G PC saves to P4G PS Vita saves.

WARNING: REMEMBER TO BACKUP YOUR SAVES BEFORE CONVERSION.

PS Vita	PC

Requirements

• PS Vita with HENkaku + VitaShell or vita-savemgr
• Persona 4 Golden on PS Vita - supported versions:
  • PCSE00120 (USA)
  • PCSB00245 (EUR)
• Persona 4 Golden on PC
• Python 3

Usage

PS Vita Saves to PC Saves

Dumping Saves from PS Vita

Use VitaShell or vita-savemgr to export a save. Transfer the exported save directory to PC using FTP/USB.

For example, using VitaShell:

• Navigate to ux0:user/00/savedata/.
• "Select" the PCSE00120 directory.
• Press Triangle and select Open decrypted.
• Using FTP/USB, copy the saves to a directory on PC.

The directory you exported to PC should look like the following, if all save slots were populated:

PCSE00120/
|- sce_sys/
|  \- sdslot.dat
|- data0001.bin
|- data0002.bin
|- ...
|- data0016.bin
\- system.bin

Note that the sce_sys directory contains other files, but they are not relevant to the conversion process.

Converting Saves to PC Format

1. Clone or download this repository.

2. Convert your PS Vita saves using:

   python convert_vita2pc.py [--custom-diff {disable,enable}] save_dir

   This utility will generate:

   • a <save_dir>_conv directory containing the converted saves
   • a remotecache.vdf file

3. Exit Steam - make sure Steam is not running in the background.

4. Backup the contents of the %PROGRAMFILES(X86)%/Steam/userdata/<user_id>/1113000/ dir.

5. Copy the converted saves in <save_dir>_conv to %PROGRAMFILES(X86)%/Steam/userdata/<user_id>/1113000/remote/, overwriting files as necessary.

   Copy the generated remotecache.vdf to %PROGRAMFILES(X86)%/Steam/userdata/<user_id>/1113000/, overwriting the original file if necessary.

6. Start Steam and launch the game. In case of a Steam Cloud sync conflict, choose to upload local files to the cloud.

7. Your imported saves should now appear in the LOAD GAME menu.

PC Saves to PS Vita

Converting Saves to PS Vita Format

1. Clone or download this repository.

2. Copy the saves in %PROGRAMFILES(X86)%/Steam/userdata/<user_id>/1113000/remote/ to another location as a precaution.

3. Run the following on the directory you've copied:

   python convert_pc2vita.py [--custom-diff {disable,enable}] save_dir

   This utility will generate a <save_dir>_conv directory containing the converted saves.

4. Move the converted saves to PS Vita (see here) and launch the game.

5. Your imported saves should now appear in the LOAD GAME menu.

Moving Converted Saves to PS Vita

Copy the converted saves in <save_dir>_conv to ux0:user/00/savedata/PCSE00120/ using VitaShell FTP/USB. Overwrite files as needed (remember to backup the saves already on PS Vita too). You should only need to overwrite data00XX.bin, system.bin and the sce_sys/sdslot.dat file.

Do not replace the entire save directory on PS Vita. Only overwrite the .bin files within the save directory (as needed) + sce_sys/sdslot.dat.

FAQ

1. Why do I need to convert the saves? PS Vita saves seem to work fine without conversion.

   • The PC save format is slightly different (see Save Format Changes). If you load a PS Vita save directly without conversion, you might get the following error:

     

     This can be avoided by converting the saves properly.

2. Why do I need to include sdslot.dat?

   • PS Vita saves store metadata in the sdslot.dat file, which can be found in ux0:user/00/savedata/PCSE00120/sce_sys/. PC saves store metadata in binslot files. This converter takes data found in sdslot.dat and converts it to the PC binslot format (see Save Format Changes).

3. Why can't I see some of my saves in the save select screen? Why am I getting a "Load failed." message when trying to load a save? Why do I need a remotecache.vdf file?

   • The game uses the Steam Storage API to enumerate game saves. Each save file needs to have a valid entry in %PROGRAMFILES(X86)%/Steam/userdata/<user_id>/1113000/remotecache.vdf. This program will generate a valid remotecache.vdf file when converting saves.

     You can also use remotecache.py to regenerate a valid remotecache.vdf.

4. Why does my Clear Data save look like this? Why aren't NG+ saves colored pink/purple in the save select screen?

   

   • This is by a bug in the game itself. Note that the saves work as they should, the only issue is with how the save metadata is displayed. Wait for a patch, or use this mod to fix the issue.

     Also note that when converting a Clear Data (save 13 below) or NG+ save (save 14 below) generated on PC to PS Vita format, the save metadata is read correctly by the PS Vita version of the game:

     PC	PS Vita

Save Format Changes

Config Settings

Config settings are no longer saved in system.bin, instead there's a config P4G.ini file in %LOCALAPPDATA%/Sega/P4G/.

.bin Files

• The Rescue Requests save segment increased in size (due to internal struct changes), from 0x2908 bytes (PS Vita) to 0x3FAC bytes (PC).
• PC saves contain a new save segment (0x30 bytes) which stores the Hero's name.
• PS Vita saves are padded to 0x38000 bytes with garbage data from PS Vita memory. PC saves aren't padded (0x34D3D bytes).

.binslot Files

BINslot files are the PC alternative to sdslot.dat.

Stored metadata is identical to PS Vita apart from a new LANG%d parameter.

BINslot file structure:

typedef struct
{
    char Magic[ 0x08 ]; // SAVE0001

    ubyte SlotFile_MD5[ 0x10 ]; // md5sum of bytes 0x28 to EOF (SlotData)
                                // *** with P4GOLDEN appended to the end ***

    ubyte SaveFile_MD5[ 0x10 ]; // md5sum of corresponding data00XX.bin or system.bin file

    ubyte SlotData[ 0x34C ]; // slot data, same as sdslot.dat data
                             // at offset 0x400 + <save_num> * 0x400
                             // save 0 == system.bin
                             // save 1 == data0001.bin
                             // etc.

} BINslot;

BINslot Slot;