Astal: Various Audio Improvements Patch is a user-created modification for the Sega Saturn that enhances the game's audio experience. Notable changes include restoration of SEGA intro vocals and the Japanese FMV theme. The patch also mutes repetitive attack sounds, restores the vocal jingle during title screen idle, and adds an Easter egg allowing characters to say SEGA. Individual changes can be reversed via the provided instructions.
Changes:
- SEGA intro vocals restoration, Easter Egg Sega Calls are also restored. (explained below)
- Intro FMV vocals restoration, the FMV still has the English VA "Astal!" but the theme now has the cut
JP vocals instead of being just the backing track.
- No repetitive attack voices, the "HIEY!" attack and "HARIYA!" throwing samples have been muted.
Attacks still have their regular sfx, all of Astal's other grunts, yells and voices are untouched.
These two samples were edited out of all of the .SND packs.
Intro Logo "Sega Call" Voices:
If you idle on the Title Screen a Sega Logo animation and jingle eventually starts playing. In the Japanese version this jingle plays alongside a female vocal "Seeegaaaa". This patch restores the vocal version of that jingle for the US release.
This patch also restores the "Alternate Sega Calls" Easter Egg that also was cut. With the Secret Mode enabled you can make other characters from the game say "Sega" during the Sega logo animation by holding different button combinations.
The Easter Egg specifics are described in the readme.
These changes can undone individually, also described in the readme.
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~----------------- Astal - Various Audio Fixes Patch -------------------~
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Patch version: v2.0
Author: Riggles
Platform: Sega Saturn
Date: 2024-04-21
--- What it does ---------------------------------------------------------
- SEGA intro vocals restoration, Easter Egg Sega Calls are also restored. (explained below)
- Intro FMV vocals restoration, the FMV has the English "Astal!" but the theme now has the cut
JP vocals instead of just the backing track.
- No repetitive attack voices, the "HIEY!" attack and "HARIYA!" throwing samples have been muted.
These attacks still have their regular sfx, all the other grunts and voices are untouched.
These samples were edited out of all of the .SND packs due to how they're constantly repeated.
--- Sega intro voice ----------------------------------------------------
If you idle on the Title Screen a Sega Logo animation and jingle eventually starts playing.
In the Japanese version this jingle plays alongside a female vocal "Seeegaaaa".
This patch restores the vocal version of that jingle.
This patch also restores the "Alternate Sega Calls" Easter Egg that also was
cut from the US version. With the Easter Egg enabled you can make other
characters from the game say "Sega" during the Sega logo animation.
The various Sega jingles in the Japanese version can be heard here:
https://tcrf.net/Astal#:~:text=In%20the%20Japanese%20version%2C%20Astal,The%20US%20version%20is%20instrumental.
--- How to enable the Easter Egg -----------------------------------------
Go into the options menu, then press Left Right Left Right Up Down L R START on the
second player controller. This unlocks the "Secret Mode".
With Secret Mode enabled you can return to the Title Screen.
While waiting for the Sega Logo to appear:
Hold L+X for Leda
Hold L+Y for Astal
Hold L+Z for Geist
Hold R+X for Antowas
Hold R+Y for an alternate Antowas
Hold R+Z for Gerardo
More cheats are described here: https://segaretro.org/Astal/Hidden_content
- Download the Sega Saturn Patcher by KnightOfDragon:
https://segaxtreme.net/resources/sega-saturn-patcher.73/
(v1.91 Beta download, actual version 1.9.7872.1316)
- Select Saturn Game then CD Image
- Select your .cue + .bin copy of Astal (redump verified (USA) (3S), two .bin tracks)
- Click the "+Game Patch" button and select the .ssp patch provided.
- Click the "Build Image" button, with "Separate Track Files" checked in.
- Select .bin from the Windows Explorer window "Save as type:" dropdown.
- After the file is saved you can delete track 3 if you have it (it's a duplicate of track 2,
track 2 contains a CD audio version of the intro music)
- Delete the newly created .cue and replace it with the original redump .cue file.
Open the .cue in a text editor and rename the .bin files so that they match the actual files.
--- How to undo individual changes -------------------------------------
Using the Sega Saturn Patcher, you can copy back files from the US release if you want
to undo any of these changes, for example if you don't want the JP vocals in the intro.
- Start Sega Saturn Patcher and load the already patched game.
- Click "Create New Patch"
- Mount the unpatched Redump verified (USA) (3S) version of the game with DAEMON TOOLS or similar.
- Navigate in a file explorer to each of the files described below
and place whatever you want into "Sega Saturn Patcher".
- This generates your own "undo" SSP patch that can be applied to the already patched game.
BPT.CPK (this is the intro FMV)
(the following are sound pack files that are loaded depending on the stage)
R11SE.SND
R12SE.SND
R13SE.SND
R14SE.SND
R21SE.SND
R22SE.SND
R23SE.SND
R24SE.SND
R31SE.SND
R33SE.SND
R41SE.SND
R42SE.SND
R43SE.SND
R51SE.SND
R53SE.SND
R64SE.SND
R91SE.SND
R94SE.SND
--- Tools used -------------------------------------------------------------
Hex Editor
KnightOfDragon's Sega Saturn Patcher
TrekkiesUnite118's SegaSaturnFilmMuxer tool
Astal: Astal - Various Audio Improvements Patch ROM
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