MCP Pine vs MCP Bizhawk

pine_read8

PURPOSE: Read an unsigned 8-bit byte from the emulator's EE main address space at the given absolute address. USAGE: Use for single-byte fields — status flags, counters, 8-bit enums, character bytes. For 16/32/64-bit values use pine_read16/read32/read64 (one call instead of multi-byte assembly); for spans of more than ~4 bytes use pine_read_range (one batched call instead of N round-trips). BEHAVIOR: No side effects — pure read. Reads work whether the emulator is running or paused. No alignment requirement (byte access is naturally aligned). Returns an error if the address is unmapped, the connection drops, or PINE returns its FAIL response (0xFF). The 10-second per-call timeout fires if the emulator drops the reply (PCSX2 has been observed to do this under heavy pipeline load — see pine_read_range for the wider context). PlayStation 2 main address space landmarks (PCSX2): 0x00100000-0x01FFFFFF EE main RAM (32 MiB) — game code & data; the most common target 0x10000000 Hardware registers (DMA, GIF, VIF, etc.) 0x11000000 VU0 / VU1 memory 0x12000000 GS privileged registers 0x1C000000-0x1C1FFFFF IOP RAM (2 MiB) 0x1F800000 IOP scratchpad 0x70000000 EE scratchpad (16 KiB) PINE memory operations target the EE address space. RETURNS: Single line 'ADDR_HEX: VAL_DEC (0xVAL_HEX)', e.g. '0x00200000: 99 (0x63)'.

pine_read16

PURPOSE: Read an unsigned 16-bit little-endian value from the emulator's EE main address space at the given absolute address. USAGE: Use for 16-bit fields (HP, score, coordinates on many PlayStation 2 titles). For single bytes use pine_read8; for 32/64-bit use pine_read32/read64; for unaligned reads or big-endian fields, use pine_read_range and decode the bytes yourself (this tool always interprets bytes as little-endian, which matches MIPS byte order on PS1/PS2). BEHAVIOR: No side effects — pure read. Reads two consecutive bytes (low byte at `address`, high byte at `address+1`) and combines them as little-endian. Address MUST be 2-byte aligned. PINE on PCSX2 does NOT enforce alignment — unaligned access typically returns whatever bytes are at the aligned address below, silently corrupting the value. If you need an unaligned multi-byte read, use pine_read_range and assemble the bytes yourself. Returns a PINE FAIL response on unmapped addresses; times out after ~10s if the reply is dropped. PlayStation 2 main address space landmarks (PCSX2): 0x00100000-0x01FFFFFF EE main RAM (32 MiB) — game code & data; the most common target 0x10000000 Hardware registers (DMA, GIF, VIF, etc.) 0x11000000 VU0 / VU1 memory 0x12000000 GS privileged registers 0x1C000000-0x1C1FFFFF IOP RAM (2 MiB) 0x1F800000 IOP scratchpad 0x70000000 EE scratchpad (16 KiB) PINE memory operations target the EE address space. RETURNS: Single line 'ADDR_HEX: VAL_DEC (0xVAL_HEX)'.

pine_read32

PURPOSE: Read an unsigned 32-bit little-endian value from the emulator's EE main address space at the given absolute address. USAGE: Use for 32-bit fields — timestamps, large counters, RGBA colors, and the lower half of 64-bit pointers. For single byte / 16-bit / 64-bit values use pine_read8/read16/read64; for big-endian or unaligned multi-word reads use pine_read_range and decode yourself. BEHAVIOR: No side effects — pure read. Reads four consecutive bytes starting at `address` and combines them as little-endian (LSB at `address`, MSB at `address+3`). Address MUST be 4-byte aligned. PINE on PCSX2 does NOT enforce alignment — unaligned access typically returns whatever bytes are at the aligned address below, silently corrupting the value. If you need an unaligned multi-byte read, use pine_read_range and assemble the bytes yourself. Returns a PINE FAIL response on unmapped addresses; times out after ~10s if the reply is dropped. PlayStation 2 main address space landmarks (PCSX2): 0x00100000-0x01FFFFFF EE main RAM (32 MiB) — game code & data; the most common target 0x10000000 Hardware registers (DMA, GIF, VIF, etc.) 0x11000000 VU0 / VU1 memory 0x12000000 GS privileged registers 0x1C000000-0x1C1FFFFF IOP RAM (2 MiB) 0x1F800000 IOP scratchpad 0x70000000 EE scratchpad (16 KiB) PINE memory operations target the EE address space. RETURNS: Single line 'ADDR_HEX: VAL_DEC (0xVAL_HEX)'.

pine_read64

PURPOSE: Read an unsigned 64-bit little-endian value from the emulator's EE main address space at the given absolute address. USAGE: Use for true 64-bit fields — full pointers, large IDs, packed double-word state. The PS2 EE is a 128-bit MIPS where 64-bit slots are common; PS1 and PS3 use 64-bit less heavily but the opcode still works. Reach for this rather than chaining two pine_read32 calls when you want atomicity. For 8/16/32-bit values use the corresponding sibling; for byte spans use pine_read_range. BEHAVIOR: No side effects — pure read. Reads eight consecutive bytes starting at `address` and combines them as little-endian. Address MUST be 8-byte aligned. PINE on PCSX2 does NOT enforce alignment — unaligned access typically returns whatever bytes are at the aligned address below, silently corrupting the value. If you need an unaligned multi-byte read, use pine_read_range and assemble the bytes yourself. The result is returned as a decimal STRING (not a JSON number) to preserve precision past 2^53 (JavaScript number limit) — parse with BigInt if you need to do arithmetic. Returns a PINE FAIL response on unmapped addresses; times out after ~10s if the reply is dropped. PlayStation 2 main address space landmarks (PCSX2): 0x00100000-0x01FFFFFF EE main RAM (32 MiB) — game code & data; the most common target 0x10000000 Hardware registers (DMA, GIF, VIF, etc.) 0x11000000 VU0 / VU1 memory 0x12000000 GS privileged registers 0x1C000000-0x1C1FFFFF IOP RAM (2 MiB) 0x1F800000 IOP scratchpad 0x70000000 EE scratchpad (16 KiB) PINE memory operations target the EE address space. RETURNS: Single line 'ADDR_HEX: VAL_DEC (0xVAL_HEX)' — VAL_DEC is a decimal string that may exceed 2^53.

pine_read_range

PURPOSE: Read a contiguous range of bytes from EE main address space memory as a hex dump. USAGE: For >4 bytes — far cheaper than looping pine_read8. Max 4096 bytes/call; chunk larger reads in 4 KiB. Powers snapshot-diff RAM hunts (snapshot before/after a known change, diff for matching deltas), unknown-struct inspection, and region capture/restore. BEHAVIOR: No side effects. PINE has no native bulk-read opcode; the tool synthesizes the range from read64/32/16/8 calls (largest aligned load at each step) and assembles client-side. Issued FULLY SERIALLY by default because PCSX2's PINE queue silently drops replies past ~7 in-flight requests, desyncing the bridge until emulator restart. Loopback serial is fast enough (~52 ms for 4096 bytes on PCSX2 v2.6.3); other targets are typically similar or faster. Override via PINE_PIPELINE_BATCH env var at your own risk. Errors on length out of 1-4096, any underlying FAIL, or reply timeout. PlayStation 2 main address space landmarks (PCSX2): 0x00100000-0x01FFFFFF EE main RAM (32 MiB) — game code & data; the most common target 0x10000000 Hardware registers (DMA, GIF, VIF, etc.) 0x11000000 VU0 / VU1 memory 0x12000000 GS privileged registers 0x1C000000-0x1C1FFFFF IOP RAM (2 MiB) 0x1F800000 IOP scratchpad 0x70000000 EE scratchpad (16 KiB) PINE memory operations target the EE address space. RETURNS: 'ADDR_HEX [N bytes]:' header + space-separated 2-digit uppercase hex bytes.

pine_write8

PURPOSE: Write a single unsigned byte (0-255) to the emulator's EE main address space at the given absolute address. USAGE: Use for single-byte cheats, debug pokes, and game-state mutations (give a player N lives, unlock a flag, set a counter). For 16/32/64-bit values prefer pine_write16/write32/write64 (single call instead of byte-at-a-time, and atomic from the emulator's perspective). For seeding many bytes there is no native bulk write — loop pine_write8 yourself or batch via pine_write64 on aligned regions. To roll back later use pine_save_state BEFORE the write and pine_load_state to restore. BEHAVIOR: DESTRUCTIVE: overwrites whatever was at `address` with no undo. The write is direct memory access — bypasses TLB protection and any DMA semantics — so writes to read-only regions (BIOS, etc.) are silently dropped by the emulator with no error. The write takes effect immediately, but visible game-state effects only appear when the emulator next ticks (so writing while paused shows changes only after unpause or frame-step). No alignment requirement for byte access. Returns an error if the connection drops or PINE returns FAIL on a wholly invalid address. PlayStation 2 main address space landmarks (PCSX2): 0x00100000-0x01FFFFFF EE main RAM (32 MiB) — game code & data; the most common target 0x10000000 Hardware registers (DMA, GIF, VIF, etc.) 0x11000000 VU0 / VU1 memory 0x12000000 GS privileged registers 0x1C000000-0x1C1FFFFF IOP RAM (2 MiB) 0x1F800000 IOP scratchpad 0x70000000 EE scratchpad (16 KiB) PINE memory operations target the EE address space. RETURNS: Single line 'Wrote VAL_DEC (0xVAL_HEX) → ADDR_HEX'.

pine_write16

PURPOSE: Write an unsigned 16-bit little-endian value to EE main address space. USAGE: For 16-bit cheats/pokes (HP, score, coordinates). For single bytes use pine_write8; for 32/64-bit use pine_write32/write64; for big-endian fields byteswap first (this tool always writes little-endian). Snapshot via pine_save_state for rollback. BEHAVIOR: DESTRUCTIVE: overwrites two bytes (low at `address`, high at `address+1`) with no undo. Direct write — bypasses TLB; writes to read-only regions (BIOS) are silently dropped. Address MUST be 2-byte aligned. PINE on PCSX2 does NOT enforce alignment — unaligned access typically returns whatever bytes are at the aligned address below, silently corrupting the value. If you need an unaligned multi-byte read, use pine_read_range and assemble the bytes yourself. Errors on connection drop or PINE FAIL. PlayStation 2 main address space landmarks (PCSX2): 0x00100000-0x01FFFFFF EE main RAM (32 MiB) — game code & data; the most common target 0x10000000 Hardware registers (DMA, GIF, VIF, etc.) 0x11000000 VU0 / VU1 memory 0x12000000 GS privileged registers 0x1C000000-0x1C1FFFFF IOP RAM (2 MiB) 0x1F800000 IOP scratchpad 0x70000000 EE scratchpad (16 KiB) PINE memory operations target the EE address space. RETURNS: 'Wrote VAL_DEC (0xVAL_HEX) → ADDR_HEX'.

pine_write32

PURPOSE: Write an unsigned 32-bit little-endian value to the emulator's EE main address space at the given absolute address. USAGE: Use for 32-bit cheats and pokes — timestamps, large counters, RGBA colors, the lower half of pointers. For single byte / 16-bit values use pine_write8/write16; for true 64-bit fields use pine_write64 — chaining two pine_write32 calls is non-atomic and can be observed mid-update by the running game. For big-endian layouts, byteswap into a little-endian value yourself first. BEHAVIOR: DESTRUCTIVE: overwrites four bytes starting at `address` with no undo. Direct memory write — bypasses TLB protection and DMA mediation; writes to read-only regions (BIOS) are silently dropped with no error. Address MUST be 4-byte aligned. PINE on PCSX2 does NOT enforce alignment — unaligned access typically returns whatever bytes are at the aligned address below, silently corrupting the value. If you need an unaligned multi-byte read, use pine_read_range and assemble the bytes yourself. Values are NOT truncated by this tool: the schema rejects anything outside 0-4294967295 (0x00000000-0xFFFFFFFF) before the call ever reaches PINE. Returns an error if the connection drops or PINE returns FAIL on a wholly invalid address. PlayStation 2 main address space landmarks (PCSX2): 0x00100000-0x01FFFFFF EE main RAM (32 MiB) — game code & data; the most common target 0x10000000 Hardware registers (DMA, GIF, VIF, etc.) 0x11000000 VU0 / VU1 memory 0x12000000 GS privileged registers 0x1C000000-0x1C1FFFFF IOP RAM (2 MiB) 0x1F800000 IOP scratchpad 0x70000000 EE scratchpad (16 KiB) PINE memory operations target the EE address space. RETURNS: Single line 'Wrote VAL_DEC (0xVAL_HEX) → ADDR_HEX'.

pine_write64

PURPOSE: Write an unsigned 64-bit little-endian value to EE main address space. USAGE: For true 64-bit writes — full pointers, large IDs, packed doubleword state. Atomic from the emulator's perspective; preferred over chaining two pine_write32 calls (a running game can observe the in-between state). For 8/16/32-bit values use the corresponding sibling. BEHAVIOR: DESTRUCTIVE: overwrites eight bytes from `address` with no undo. Direct write — bypasses TLB; writes to read-only regions silently dropped. Address MUST be 8-byte aligned. PINE on PCSX2 does NOT enforce alignment — unaligned access typically returns whatever bytes are at the aligned address below, silently corrupting the value. If you need an unaligned multi-byte read, use pine_read_range and assemble the bytes yourself. `value` is a DECIMAL STRING (0 through 18446744073709551615) to preserve precision past JS's 2^53 number limit. Errors on connection drop or PINE FAIL. PlayStation 2 main address space landmarks (PCSX2): 0x00100000-0x01FFFFFF EE main RAM (32 MiB) — game code & data; the most common target 0x10000000 Hardware registers (DMA, GIF, VIF, etc.) 0x11000000 VU0 / VU1 memory 0x12000000 GS privileged registers 0x1C000000-0x1C1FFFFF IOP RAM (2 MiB) 0x1F800000 IOP scratchpad 0x70000000 EE scratchpad (16 KiB) PINE memory operations target the EE address space. RETURNS: 'Wrote VAL_DEC (0xVAL_HEX) → ADDR_HEX' — VAL_DEC may exceed 2^53.