Cheats (PS2RD)

RiptOPL ships the full PS2RD cheat engine. Drop a .cht file in the CHT folder, enable cheats in Game Settings, and choose whether OPL applies them automatically or shows you a selection menu before the game boots.

Cheats depend on the runtime

Native OPL runs PS2RD itself. Standard kits bundle a post-v1.8.0 Neutrino development runtime with text-cheat support; standalone Neutrino v1.8.0 and the RA kit's pinned ORBIT v1.0.2 do not provide that support. A valid 90xxxxxx mastercode is required. See Neutrino cheat setup.

The CHT folder and .cht file format

OPL looks for cheat files in the CHT/ folder on your storage device (USB, MMCE, MX4SIO, iLink, SMB, or the internal HDD). The folder lives alongside DVD/, CD/, CFG/, and the other standard OPL folders. On an APA/PFS HDD it lives in the OPL data partition — pfs0:CHT/, i.e. hdd0:+OPL by default — and only becomes pfs0:OPL/CHT/ (hdd0:<partition>/OPL/CHT/, e.g. hdd0:__common/OPL/CHT/) when conf_hdd.cfg points hdd_partition at a partition whose name does not start with +.

Each file covers exactly one game. The filename must match the game's startup name (its disc ID, e.g. SLUS_123.45) with a .cht extension — .CHT is accepted too, because PFS and the BDM FAT drivers do not fold case and several published cheat packs ship the uppercase spelling:

CHT/SLUS_123.45.cht

OPL also reads cheats out of CHT/cht.tar — a flat ustar archive of <startup>.cht members at a device root — and looks there first, searched across devices in the tar engine's own device order (the member name is retried with an uppercase .CHT extension as well). The loose file above is the fallback: a tar miss, an empty member, a member over 1 MB, or a member that fails to parse all fall through to CHT/<startup>.cht rather than failing the launch. If that loose file is missing too, a member that was there but empty, too large or unparseable is reported as a cheat file that failed to load — never as "no cheats".

The format is plain text in PS2RD format: a cheat is a description line (the cheat name) followed by one or more hex code lines. A code line is exactly 16 hex digits — two groups of 8 — which OPL reads as an address (first 8) and a value (last 8):

Infinite Health
20123456 3F800000
Infinite Ammo
2034ABCD 00000063

The 16 digits may be upper- or lower-case, split by any amount of spaces/tabs — or run together with none. Anything that isn't 16 hex digits (plus whitespace) is read as a name line instead.
A cheat starts with its name line; the code lines that follow belong to it. Code lines that appear before any name line are ignored, so always put the name first.
// or # begins a comment (a whole line, or a trailing note after a code). Keep whole-line comments at the start of the line — an indented comment can leave stray whitespace that hijacks the next cheat's name. ; is not a comment marker.
A name can be up to 128 characters; one cheat can carry many code lines. OPL stores up to 250 named cheats per file. Blank lines are ignored, and both LF and CRLF (Windows) line endings work.

A Master Code is required. Almost every PS2RD file begins with a Master Code — a special line whose address starts with 9 (e.g. 90123ED8 …). It is the hook that lets the engine run; without it, none of the other codes do anything (they load silently and simply never fire). Master Codes are game-specific — copy the correct one from a cheat database for your exact disc ID. In Select Game Cheats mode it always stays on and can't be toggled off.

A complete example `.cht` file

Save this as CHT/SLUS_000.01.cht (using your game's boot ID). Every address and value here is an illustrative placeholder — get real codes for your title from a cheat database:

"Example Game /ID SLUS_000.01"          // optional title line — decoration only

Mastercode                              # REQUIRED hook. Address starts with 9.
90123ED8 0C048DB6                        # Copy the real one from a cheat DB.

Infinite Health
20365DB8 42C80000
20365DBC 42C80000                        // a cheat can have many code lines

Max Money
203C5F00 05F5E0FF

Have All Items
D0456788 0000FBFB                        # D-type: apply the next line only if a value matches
103C6210 0000270F

OPL displays each named block (Infinite Health, Max Money, …) as one toggle in the launch-time cheat menu. If cheats don't take effect, the Master Code is almost always the culprit — verify it matches your exact disc revision.

Which code types does the engine support?

The first digit of a code's address is its type, and it decides what the line does. The type is the only part of the syntax OPL interprets — everything else is just address and value. RiptOPL runs the PS2RD code handler, which implements these types (verified against ee_core/src/cheat_engine.S):

Type	Name	What it does
`9`	Master Code (hook)	The activator hook — required, one per file (only the first that matches is used). See the callout above.
`0`	8-bit constant write	Continuously writes a byte to the address.
`1`	16-bit constant write	Continuously writes a halfword.
`2`	32-bit constant write	Continuously writes a full word. The most common cheat type.
`3`	Increment / Decrement	Adds to or subtracts from the value at an address (8/16/32-bit; 32-bit uses two lines).
`4`	Serial write	Two lines: writes a value to n addresses, stepping the address and value each time (fills tables/arrays).
`5`	Copy bytes	Two lines: copies a block of bytes from one address to another.
`6`	Pointer write	Two lines: reads a base pointer from an address, adds an offset, and writes to the result.
`7`	Boolean operation	Bitwise OR / AND / XOR of a value with what's at the address (8/16-bit).
`C`	Conditional (equal)	Runs all following codes only if the 32-bit value at the address equals the given value.
`D`	Conditional (multi-line)	Runs the next n code lines only if a test passes (equal, not-equal, <, >, NAND, AND, NOR, OR).
`E`	Conditional (legacy)	Older encoding of the `D` test; handled the same way.

Not implemented: types 8, A, and B are parsed but silently skipped — a cheat that relies on one of them simply won't do anything. (Type F is a Master-Code variant, handled like type 9.) This matches upstream PS2RD; it is not a RiptOPL limitation. If a known-good code doesn't work, check whether it uses one of these unsupported types.

Where do I find .cht files?

PS2RD-format cheat files are the same format used by PCSX2 and many older cheat databases. Search for your game's disc ID plus "ps2rd" or "cht" to find community-maintained files, or build one by hand from Action Replay / CodeBreaker codes converted to the raw address/value form. The OPL compatibility list at OPL-CL sometimes lists known-working codes for specific titles.

Enabling cheats for a game

Open Game Settings

Highlight the game in any list and press Triangle to open the game menu, then choose Cheat Settings.

Set the settings source

The Settings Mode picker at the top of the Cheat Settings panel controls whether OPL reads cheat options from the Global Settings (shared across all games) or Per-game Settings (stored in a per-title file under CFG/). Choose Per-game Settings if you want different cheat choices per title.

Enable the PS2RD Cheat Engine

Toggle PS2RD Cheat Engine on. The hint reads: "Lets PS2RD Cheat Engine patch your game." The cheat mode selector below it becomes active once cheats are enabled.

Choose a cheat mode

See the Cheat Modes section below. Select Auto Select Cheats or Select Game Cheats and save.

When a game has no cheat file

What happens depends on where cheats were turned on:

Global Settings (every game): the game starts without cheats, with no message. Most games have no .cht, so with cheats on for everything a missing file is normal.
Per-game Settings (this game only): RiptOPL shows No cheats found and lists every place it looked. Accept starts the game without cheats; Back returns to the menu.

A cheat file that exists but can't be read always shows a message, however cheats were turned on. That covers a cht.tar member that is empty, over 1 MB or won't parse, and a loose .cht the device refuses to open — access denied, or held open by another session on a network share. One exception: a generic I/O error while opening still counts as missing, because an SMB share reports a file that isn't there that way.

Cheat modes

The PS2RD Cheat Engine Mode setting has two options:

Mode Behaviour

Auto Select Cheats All cheat entries in the .cht file are enabled and applied automatically when the game launches. No selection screen is shown.

Select Game Cheats A cheat selection menu appears at launch time: tick the cheats you want and press Start. Your picks are remembered for that game and are already ticked next time, on either core. They are matched by cheat name, so a .cht that gains or reorders cheats keeps them. The first time, only the Master Codes are on. Master Codes cannot be disabled — they are required for any other codes to function and are always applied. A game started by Auto Loading runs its remembered picks without showing the menu.

Mode	Behaviour
Auto Select Cheats	All cheat entries in the `.cht` file are enabled and applied automatically when the game launches. No selection screen is shown.
Select Game Cheats	A cheat selection menu appears at launch time: tick the cheats you want and press Start. Your picks are remembered for that game and are already ticked next time, on either core. They are matched by cheat name, so a `.cht` that gains or reorders cheats keeps them. The first time, only the Master Codes are on. Master Codes cannot be disabled — they are required for any other codes to function and are always applied. A game started by Auto Loading runs its remembered picks without showing the menu.

Master Codes

A Master Code (sometimes called a "must be on" or "activator" code) is a prerequisite hook that the cheat engine must write before any other codes in the file take effect. OPL recognises them by their heading — Mastercode, Master Code or Enable Code (Must Be On), in any case and spacing — and always keeps them enabled, even in Select Game Cheats mode. You will see them in the selection menu but cannot toggle them off.

Cheats with the Neutrino core

A game set to the Neutrino core uses the same .cht file, the same settings and the same selection menu. At launch, RiptOPL writes the enabled codes to config/riptopl-cheats.toml (or flat riptopl-cheats.toml, or your forwarded -cwd=) and adds -cfg=riptopl-cheats to the launch. The file is rewritten on every launch with cheats on and is safe to delete.

Requirements for cheats to apply under Neutrino:

Neutrino runtime version: Cheats require the post-v1.8.0 development build (v1.8.0-61-g7be8de2 or newer) bundled in standard RiptOPL rolling-release downloads. Official standalone Neutrino v1.8.0 predates cheat support in its ee_core.elf. If you use an external v1.8.0 install or the RetroAchievements (RA) edition (which pins ORBIT v1.0.2 based on v1.8.0), codes do not apply.
Mastercode (90xxxxxx) hook: Neutrino's PS2RD engine hooks into SetupThread through a 90xxxxxx code. The .cht file must contain a valid 90 mastercode. Files with only an F0xxxxxx code or raw memory writes (20xxxxxx) lack a hook target. In that case, ee_core skips hook installation and cheats do not execute.
Cheat toggle: Cheats must be toggled On in Game Settings or Global Settings.
User -cfg forwarding: A custom -cfg= passed in your Neutrino arguments continues to load. Neutrino keeps the final -cfg (RiptOPL's), and RiptOPL chains yours via depends.
No enabled codes: no file is written and no -cfg is added.
Read-only storage: If RiptOPL cannot write riptopl-cheats.toml (such as a read-only share or full card), it prompts before launching without cheats. Autolaunches proceed without cheats.
Cheat images: The binary PS2RD Cheat Image (.img) is an OPL-core-only feature and is greyed for a Neutrino game.
Show Launch Arguments: Enable Show Launch Arguments (see Neutrino Core) to verify that -cfg=riptopl-cheats appears in the launch arguments.

PS2RD Cheat Image (.img)

In addition to text .cht codes, OPL supports a prebuilt PS2RD cheat image — a binary patch file (extension .img) that is applied directly to the game at boot, in parallel with (and independently of) any text cheat codes. This is a separate, optional feature controlled by its own per-game toggle.

The IMG folder

Image files live in an IMG/ folder on the same device, alongside CHT/. The filename convention mirrors the cheat file: the game's startup name with an .img extension:

IMG/SLUS_123.45.img

Enabling the image

In Cheat Settings for the game, find the PS2RD Cheat Image toggle (config key $EnableImage). The hint reads: "Apply a prebuilt PS2RD .img patch to your game." This toggle is off by default. Turn it on to have OPL load and apply the .img file when the game next launches.

The $EnableImage toggle is independent of PS2RD Cheat Engine — you can use the image patch with or without text cheats enabled.
If the .img file is absent or fails to load, OPL logs the error and continues; the game still boots.
The image is limited to 4 KB (1 024 32-bit words). Larger files are truncated to that limit.
Unlike text cheats, the binary image patch does not apply when the game's Loader Core is set to Neutrino.

What is a PS2RD .img file?

A PS2RD cheat image is a flat binary array of 32-bit address/value word pairs in the same format as the in-memory cheat list the engine compiles from text codes. It can be produced by tools that export cheat engine state or by hand-crafting the binary. Unlike a .cht file there is no human-readable text — it is a raw patch list loaded directly into the EE core at boot. It was popularised by wOPL and the wider OPL community as a way to distribute patches that bypass the text-parsing step entirely.

Config keys reference

Cheat settings are written to the per-game CFG/ file (or to the global settings if the source is set to Global). The relevant config keys are:

Key	Values	Meaning
`$CheatsSource`	0 = Global, 1 = Per-game	Which config layer cheat settings are read from.
`$EnableCheat`	0 = Off, 1 = On	Enables the PS2RD Cheat Engine for this game.
`$CheatMode`	0 = Auto Select, 1 = Select Game Cheats	Whether all cheats run automatically or a selection menu appears at launch.
`$EnableImage`	0 = Off, 1 = On	Loads and applies the prebuilt `.img` binary patch alongside (or instead of) text codes.
`$CheatSel000`, `$CheatSel001`, …	a cheat name	The optional cheats picked in Select Game Cheats mode, one name per key. Rewritten on every pick; Master Codes are never stored.

Per-game SettingsFull walk-through of every per-title option panel Neutrino CoreRuntime, path and launch-argument requirements VMCVirtual Memory Cards — another per-game feature