How painless is 360 modding?

[Opa Opa]

I'll try to keep this short and sweet.

All I want to do is be able to play imports, Deathsmiles II to be precise. I plan on getting one of those new slim model 360's and I want to buy a domestic model to keep it on the cheap side.

So how easy is 360 modding? Is it as streamlined as say modding a psp or is it a pain in the rear to get working?

I've never modded any xbox consoles so I'm kind of in the dark here.

[pierrot]

I've never really found any good compendium of information on 360 modding, and since I don't run windows, I'm severely limited in my ability to interface with it. It's definitely not anywhere near as simple a process as soft-modding a PSP or Wii, that's for certain. I'm not even sure that you'll be able to break the region encoding, per se, either. All I've ever really seen for information on 360 hacking, is methods of playing backups, which include buying a certain type of HD DVD drive, or buying a USB dongle to connect external HDDs through.

[Opa Opa]

I've never really found any good compendium of information on 360 modding, and since I don't run windows, I'm severely limited in my ability to interface with it. It's definitely not anywhere near as simple a process as soft-modding a PSP or Wii, that's for certain. I'm not even sure that you'll be able to break the region encoding, per se, either. All I've ever really seen for information on 360 hacking, is methods of playing backups, which include buying a certain type of HD DVD drive, or buying a USB dongle to connect external HDDs through.

Yeah, I can't find any info either that leads to a simple solution. I'll keep searching but I'll probably just end up downloading the English version of Ds2 off of Xbox Live.

[jay_red]

short of getting an imported 360, your option of modding the 360 is either a "jtag" (not likely anymore) or a "RGH" (Reset Glitch Hack). These 2 mods are basically the same thing (allow the 360 to run unsigned code AKA custom dashboards) With this mod, you can change the region of your 360, allowing you to play the imports, you can also change the region on an ISO to NTSC and burn/run from a HDD. Performing this mod will make your 360 no longer able to go on Xbox Live (well, you can, but you will be banned within minutes). A simple firmware flash on the DVD drive will not allow you to play imports.

If you are just wanting to play imports, and depending on how your moral compass points, an import 360 may be the easiest way to go.

EDIT: Many xbox 360 games are actually Region Free, and will play on an unmodded 360, so be sure to check that.

[dunpeal2064]

Its not as cool as getting the physical package, but I recall being able to purchase Deathsmiles II via Xbox live for $30, and I believe that version will run on your 360.

[Opa Opa]

short of getting an imported 360, your option of modding the 360 is either a "jtag" (not likely anymore) or a "RGH" (Reset Glitch Hack). These 2 mods are basically the same thing (allow the 360 to run unsigned code AKA custom dashboards) With this mod, you can change the region of your 360, allowing you to play the imports, you can also change the region on an ISO to NTSC and burn/run from a HDD. Performing this mod will make your 360 no longer able to go on Xbox Live (well, you can, but you will be banned within minutes). A simple firmware flash on the DVD drive will not allow you to play imports.

If you are just wanting to play imports, and depending on how your moral compass points, an import 360 may be the easiest way to go.

EDIT: Many xbox 360 games are actually Region Free, and will play on an unmodded 360, so be sure to check that.

Hmm... I still want Live support, I guess modding is a no-go. I guess I'll just download the game from the marketplace.

Its kind of strange. Ds2 is one of the few region-locked shooters. Not sure why that is. Most of the other quality titles are region free if you look at the shmups checklist thread.

[Anapan]

I only did a fat 360. It wasn't as hard as hard modding an original xbox, but still fairly involved. The case was difficult to disassemble even with the included tool. The mod focused on the DVD drive and the mobo connections were mostly just to draw power to the chip and block network access while the mod was active. Disc images needed to be hacked before burning - something was modified between the 1st and 2nd burnt layer so the chip would kick in while the system booted and checked the disc. Since Live was disabled while playing a burnt disc it's probably not the mod you are looking for.
I hear there's one that runs between the system and original hard drive and allows for another hard drive to be plugged between the 2 parts. Supposedly it allows any game image or program to load and play just fine off that 2nd drive, tho I don't have one myself...

[lwcook]

Haha, painless 360 modding. That's a good one.

Even when you have the right equipment to easily flash the DVD drive, it's still painful because of the restrictions on Live. After 2 boxes being banned I just said the hell with it and made a JTAG box for offline and virgin 360 S for online play.

[fvgazi]

Its not as cool as getting the physical package, but I recall being able to purchase Deathsmiles II via Xbox live for $30, and I believe that version will run on your 360.

Yes - I purchased it as a download (for my ntsc-u 360), but I remember it being cheaper than $30.00. I wasn't even aware there was a physical release. Actually - that game was a huge disappointment after playing the first one, however, it was my first 1cc.

It's probably easier just to invest in a J-360 than risk having to buy a new one and possibly a third for imports when the mod gets banned. I've toyed around with the idea myself, but it's not something that I'd be willing to spend money on right now.

[KalessinDB]

Hmm... I still want Live support, I guess modding is a no-go. I guess I'll just download the game from the marketplace.

I am BY NO MEANS an expert in 360 modding, but there is a chip, IIRC the Cobra chip, that allows you to have a dual-booting 360 -- basically have it switch between virgin, unmodded and RGH'd so you get the best of both worlds -- you can't play your hacked/downloaded/etc games online, but you don't need to buy 2 systems.

And before you ask, no I cannot do the install nor do I have anyone to really recommend, this is information I got from back when I was thinking about doing it on another site which has since shut down. Sorry.