v1 Craft v2.94 muxer support ?

[2601677867]

Hi, thanks for making this tool

I'm trying to make a translation for House of the dead 4 Ver A and I need to modify its sfd file. The detector shows that it was made with V1 Craft v2.94, but the tool only has 2.98. Is it possible to add support for 2.94?

Thank you

[Firebow59]

Hey there!

Unfortunately, the V2.94 CRAFT muxer is not available (due to it not being present in any currently publicly available CRI SDK), but based on the "History" document from the V2.98 muxer, the only differences between CRAFT V2.98 and CRAFT V2.94 are some bug fixes, so the game likely should have no issue playing V2.98 encoded SFDs.

If you encode them w/the V2.98 muxer and they don't work in-game, let me know, and I'll try to dig in a bit more and see what I can do. Hope this helps!

[2601677867]

Hi Thanks for your reply

After using the tool to extract the unmodified 2.94 version of MPEG and ADX (using the c:v parameter in the options) and then importing it back into the game through 2.98 to generate sfd, the game image quality will become hazy and there will be slight lag (frame loss?)

This problem occurs in the "House of the dead 4 Rev A" version, and this symptom will occur when using any version of TeknoParrot.

This also happens in the PS3 version of the game, also using v2.94. I don't have a PS3 or Sega Lindbergh so I can't be sure if it's caused by simulation.

[Firebow59]

Hey there!

Thanks for the info! I'll take a look into this as soon as I can, and hopefully I'll have a solution within the next few days!

[2601677867]

Hello Firebow59, here's some information that may help you, and a few more questions.

I used IDA Pro to decompile the executable program hotd4m.elf and found a function called criSFDManager(). I found that this function stores the bitrate in a pointer table file. I changed the return value of the read pointer to return 81920 (80M, the same as in the software settings), and the video returned to normal. Perhaps this is a problem with the SEGA NN engine?

Another question is, is there any limit on the size of the video when generating sfd files using Craft v2.98?

When I use the extracted mpeg video to re-compress it into sfd file, muxer will succeed, but when I use the modified (hardcoded ass subtitles) mpeg video, muxer will always fail without any errors (even if the original mpeg compressed file is still small or bigger)

``
Converting audio track 1 to ADX...
ffmpeg version 7.1.1-essentials_build-www.gyan.dev Copyright (c) 2000-2025 the FFmpeg developers
built with gcc 14.2.0 (Rev1, Built by MSYS2 project)
configuration: --enable-gpl --enable-version3 --enable-static --disable-w32threads --disable-autodetect --enable-fontconfig --enable-iconv --enable-gnutls --enable-libxml2 --enable-gmp --enable-bzlib --enable-lzma --enable-zlib --enable-libsrt --enable-libssh --enable-libzmq --enable-avisynth --enable-sdl2 --enable-libwebp --enable-libx264 --enable-libx265 --enable-libxvid --enable-libaom --enable-libopenjpeg --enable-libvpx --enable-mediafoundation --enable-libass --enable-libfreetype --enable-libfribidi --enable-libharfbuzz --enable-libvidstab --enable-libvmaf --enable-libzimg --enable-amf --enable-cuda-llvm --enable-cuvid --enable-dxva2 --enable-d3d11va --enable-d3d12va --enable-ffnvcodec --enable-libvpl --enable-nvdec --enable-nvenc --enable-vaapi --enable-libgme --enable-libopenmpt --enable-libopencore-amrwb --enable-libmp3lame --enable-libtheora --enable-libvo-amrwbenc --enable-libgsm --enable-libopencore-amrnb --enable-libopus --enable-libspeex --enable-libvorbis --enable-librubberband
libavutil 59. 39.100 / 59. 39.100
libavcodec 61. 19.101 / 61. 19.101
libavformat 61. 7.100 / 61. 7.100
libavdevice 61. 3.100 / 61. 3.100
libavfilter 10. 4.100 / 10. 4.100
libswscale 8. 3.100 / 8. 3.100
libswresample 5. 3.100 / 5. 3.100
libpostproc 58. 3.100 / 58. 3.100
[adx @ 000001dd8842edc0] Estimating duration from bitrate, this may be inaccurate
[aist#0:0/adpcm_adx @ 000001dd8842f4c0] Guessed Channel Layout: stereo
Input #0, adx, from 'D:/Works/HOTD4/wordspace/allinone_workspace_video/stage2_s01_c01/stage2_s01_c01-track1.adx':
Duration: 00:00:36.01, start: 0.000000, bitrate: 396 kb/s
Stream #0:0: Audio: adpcm_adx, 44100 Hz, stereo, s16p, 396 kb/s
Stream mapping:
Stream #0:0 -> #0:0 (adpcm_adx (native) -> adpcm_adx (native))
Press [q] to stop, [?] for help
Output #0, adx, to 'track1.adx':
Metadata:
encoder : Lavf61.7.100
Stream #0:0: Audio: adpcm_adx, 44100 Hz, stereo, s16, 320 kb/s
Metadata:
encoder : Lavc61.19.101 adpcm_adx
[adx @ 000001dd88443380] Encoder did not produce proper pts, making some up.
[out#0/adx @ 000001dd884305c0] video:0KiB audio:1744KiB subtitle:0KiB other streams:0KiB global headers:0KiB muxing overhead: 0.000000%
size= 1744KiB time=00:00:36.00 bitrate= 396.9kbits/s speed= 169x
LegalADX v1.0 By Alex Free (C)2022

Converting...

Done! The output file track1.sfa is compatible with sfdmuxapp.exe/sfdmux.dll/Dreamcast Movie Creator.
Converting video to AVI...
ffmpeg version 7.1.1-essentials_build-www.gyan.dev Copyright (c) 2000-2025 the FFmpeg developers
built with gcc 14.2.0 (Rev1, Built by MSYS2 project)
configuration: --enable-gpl --enable-version3 --enable-static --disable-w32threads --disable-autodetect --enable-fontconfig --enable-iconv --enable-gnutls --enable-libxml2 --enable-gmp --enable-bzlib --enable-lzma --enable-zlib --enable-libsrt --enable-libssh --enable-libzmq --enable-avisynth --enable-sdl2 --enable-libwebp --enable-libx264 --enable-libx265 --enable-libxvid --enable-libaom --enable-libopenjpeg --enable-libvpx --enable-mediafoundation --enable-libass --enable-libfreetype --enable-libfribidi --enable-libharfbuzz --enable-libvidstab --enable-libvmaf --enable-libzimg --enable-amf --enable-cuda-llvm --enable-cuvid --enable-dxva2 --enable-d3d11va --enable-d3d12va --enable-ffnvcodec --enable-libvpl --enable-nvdec --enable-nvenc --enable-vaapi --enable-libgme --enable-libopenmpt --enable-libopencore-amrwb --enable-libmp3lame --enable-libtheora --enable-libvo-amrwbenc --enable-libgsm --enable-libopencore-amrnb --enable-libopus --enable-libspeex --enable-libvorbis --enable-librubberband
libavutil 59. 39.100 / 59. 39.100
libavcodec 61. 19.101 / 61. 19.101
libavformat 61. 7.100 / 61. 7.100
libavdevice 61. 3.100 / 61. 3.100
libavfilter 10. 4.100 / 10. 4.100
libswscale 8. 3.100 / 8. 3.100
libswresample 5. 3.100 / 5. 3.100
libpostproc 58. 3.100 / 58. 3.100
Input #0, mpeg, from 'D:/Works/HOTD4/wordspace/allinone_workspace_video/stage2_s01_c01/sub.mpeg':
Duration: 00:00:36.05, start: 0.516667, bitrate: 19673 kb/s
Stream #0:0[0x1e0]: Video: mpeg1video, yuv420p(tv, progressive), 936x672 [SAR 1:1 DAR 39:28], 104857 kb/s, 60 fps, 60 tbr, 90k tbn
Side data:
cpb: bitrate max/min/avg: 0/0/0 buffer size: 13058048 vbv_delay: N/A
[out#0/avi @ 000001e13d243080] Codec AVOption crf (Select the quality for constant quality mode) has not been used for any stream. The most likely reason is either wrong type (e.g. a video option with no video streams) or that it is a private option of some decoder which was not actually used for any stream.
Stream mapping:
Stream #0:0 -> #0:0 (mpeg1video (native) -> mpeg4 (native))
Press [q] to stop, [?] for help
[mpeg4 @ 000001e13d233000] bitrate tolerance 4000000 too small for bitrate 300000000, overriding
Output #0, avi, to 'AVIconvert.avi':
Metadata:
ISFT : Lavf61.7.100
Stream #0:0: Video: mpeg4 (FMP4 / 0x34504D46), yuv420p(tv, progressive), 640x480 [SAR 1:2 DAR 2:3], q=2-31, 300000 kb/s, 60 fps, 60 tbn
Metadata:
encoder : Lavc61.19.101 mpeg4
Side data:
cpb: bitrate max/min/avg: 0/0/300000000 buffer size: 0 vbv_delay: N/A
[out#0/avi @ 000001e13d243080] video:46767KiB audio:0KiB subtitle:0KiB other streams:0KiB global headers:0KiB muxing overhead: 0.122726%
frame= 2163 fps=0.0 q=2.0 Lsize= 46825KiB time=00:00:36.05 bitrate=10640.4kbits/s speed=38.6x
Converting video to MPEG...
ffmpeg version 7.1.1-essentials_build-www.gyan.dev Copyright (c) 2000-2025 the FFmpeg developers
built with gcc 14.2.0 (Rev1, Built by MSYS2 project)
configuration: --enable-gpl --enable-version3 --enable-static --disable-w32threads --disable-autodetect --enable-fontconfig --enable-iconv --enable-gnutls --enable-libxml2 --enable-gmp --enable-bzlib --enable-lzma --enable-zlib --enable-libsrt --enable-libssh --enable-libzmq --enable-avisynth --enable-sdl2 --enable-libwebp --enable-libx264 --enable-libx265 --enable-libxvid --enable-libaom --enable-libopenjpeg --enable-libvpx --enable-mediafoundation --enable-libass --enable-libfreetype --enable-libfribidi --enable-libharfbuzz --enable-libvidstab --enable-libvmaf --enable-libzimg --enable-amf --enable-cuda-llvm --enable-cuvid --enable-dxva2 --enable-d3d11va --enable-d3d12va --enable-ffnvcodec --enable-libvpl --enable-nvdec --enable-nvenc --enable-vaapi --enable-libgme --enable-libopenmpt --enable-libopencore-amrwb --enable-libmp3lame --enable-libtheora --enable-libvo-amrwbenc --enable-libgsm --enable-libopencore-amrnb --enable-libopus --enable-libspeex --enable-libvorbis --enable-librubberband
libavutil 59. 39.100 / 59. 39.100
libavcodec 61. 19.101 / 61. 19.101
libavformat 61. 7.100 / 61. 7.100
libavdevice 61. 3.100 / 61. 3.100
libavfilter 10. 4.100 / 10. 4.100
libswscale 8. 3.100 / 8. 3.100
libswresample 5. 3.100 / 5. 3.100
libpostproc 58. 3.100 / 58. 3.100
Input #0, avi, from 'AVIconvert.avi':
Metadata:
software : Lavf61.7.100
Duration: 00:00:36.05, start: 0.000000, bitrate: 10640 kb/s
Stream #0:0: Video: mpeg4 (Simple Profile) (FMP4 / 0x34504D46), yuv420p, 640x480 [SAR 1:2 DAR 2:3], 10632 kb/s, 60 fps, 60 tbr, 60 tbn
[out#0/mpeg1video @ 0000023623b39dc0] Codec AVOption crf (Select the quality for constant quality mode) has not been used for any stream. The most likely reason is either wrong type (e.g. a video option with no video streams) or that it is a private option of some decoder which was not actually used for any stream.
Stream mapping:
Stream #0:0 -> #0:0 (mpeg4 (native) -> mpeg1video (native))
Press [q] to stop, [?] for help
Output #0, mpeg1video, to 'newvideo.m1v':
Metadata:
software : Lavf61.7.100
encoder : Lavf61.7.100
Stream #0:0: Video: mpeg1video, yuv420p(tv, progressive), 640x480 [SAR 1:2 DAR 2:3], q=2-31, 80000 kb/s, 60 fps, 60 tbn
Metadata:
encoder : Lavc61.19.101 mpeg1video
Side data:
cpb: bitrate max/min/avg: 0/0/80000000 buffer size: 0 vbv_delay: N/A
[mpeg1video @ 0000023623b3a540] warning, clipping 1 dct coefficients to -255..255
Last message repeated 27 times
[mpeg1video @ 0000023623b3a540] warning, clipping 1 dct coefficients to -255..255 speed=42.1x
Last message repeated 11 times
[out#0/mpeg1video @ 0000023623b39dc0] video:46386KiB audio:0KiB subtitle:0KiB other streams:0KiB global headers:0KiB muxing overhead: 0.000000%
frame= 2163 fps=0.0 q=2.0 Lsize= 46386KiB time=00:00:36.03 bitrate=10545.7kbits/s speed=41.5x
Creating SFD...
||||||||||||||||||||||| CRI Sofdec CRAFT Ver.2.98 |||||||||||||||||||||||
Integrated Encode System for "CRI Sofdec" 2006-03-11
Copyright(c) 2000-2005 CRI-MW

Step 1 : MULTIPLEX (Ver.2.29)
[Source file information]
Audio Num : 1
Video Num : 1
User Num : 0
Pack Size : 2048
Input Audio file : ACH00(C0) track1.sfa
Input Video file : VCH00(E0) newvideo.m1v
[Destination file information]
Output file : file.sfd
SFD muxing failed, canceling SFD creation...******-] ( 48128 / 48130 )
``

[Firebow59]

Hey there!

Thanks for the extra details, as well as the CMD output! It's really appreciated!

As for your first question - based on looking at the SFD files themselves, they all seem to have a bitrate roughly around the 10-16M mark, so I'm assuming that was the intended max bitrate rate set by the developers/the engine House Of The Dead 4 runs on. I'm assuming this was the reason the SFDs had the frame loss issue, and seems to line up with what you found in IDA.

As a side note, here's some other info I found regarding the game's SFD files, if you're interested:

• The resolution of the SFD files appears to be 1024x768.
• The framerate of the videos appears to be 60FPS when checking the entire SFD file with FFprobe, but shows as 25FPS in FFprobe after extracting only the raw video data. I'm assuming the 25FPS is more correct in this case.
• The SFD files also seem to have a max duration built into the game directly - if the SFD is longer than that, it'll just get cut off. I've only checked the pre-title screen SFD (adv_all.SFD) though, it could be different for others.
• In summary, the best settings for this game seem to be:
  • Bitrate of 10M-16M
  • Resolution of 1024x768
  • Framerate of 25FPS

*I should also note that I have not tested anything related to anything above on the PS3 version of the game - it could be different there. I should be able to check it sometime soon to confirm though.

As for your second question, there shouldn't be any limits on the size of the video file with the CRAFT muxer. What I have noticed though, is that SFDCreator seems to have an issue with some input files - likely an issue with the video conversion code. I'm hoping to fix this issue in a future update, but as for right now, I've attached a script that should allow you to mux a working SFD. To use it, just put the EXE file in the same folder as SFDCreator.exe. The resolution, framerate and bitrate are all already set in the script, so it hopefully should work without issue. If you have any issues with it, please let me know and I'll see what I can do!

HOTD4_SFDcreate.zip