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What is your favorite car to use in Initial D?

  • Toyota AE86 Trueno

    Votes: 3 17.6%
  • Mitsubishi Lancer EVO

    Votes: 3 17.6%
  • Toyota Supra

    Votes: 1 5.9%
  • Mazda Rx-7

    Votes: 3 17.6%
  • Mazda Rx-8

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Honda S2000

    Votes: 3 17.6%
  • Other

    Votes: 4 23.5%

  • Total voters
    17
I don't think you can erase cards legitimately. I'm planning to script something to clear them with a pc. The game appears to read a card before writing to it, and I think it expects a blank card to come from the stocker. I had tried reloading a card from the write test to use in game and it failed. At least on ID 4/5, there's not an option to erase the written data. Printed content should get wiped the next time the card gets printed assuming it erases every time before printing (Maximum Tune 1/2 behave this way).

Cards should be oriented in the stocker with arrow pointing to the back. The same orientation it would be when you insert it through the slot.
 
somewhat off-topic, I erased my personal card in testing readers on V8. When does the game print again so I can restore it? It hasn't updated at all between games for a while.
It prints after each main level up, map completion, or wardrobe change. Does not print any data on the card itself after part upgrade or time attack record.
Ok this is kind of what I thought. So just at some point, it will rewrite what's on my card once I get that far.
 
I don't think you can erase cards legitimately. I'm planning to script something to clear them with a pc. The game appears to read a card before writing to it, and I think it expects a blank card to come from the stocker. I had tried reloading a card from the write test to use in game and it failed. At least on ID 4/5, there's not an option to erase the written data. Printed content should get wiped the next time the card gets printed assuming it erases every time before printing (Maximum Tune 1/2 behave this way).

Cards should be oriented in the stocker with arrow pointing to the back. The same orientation it would be when you insert it through the slot.
That would be great if expired cards can be reused, at some point these cards are going to be more difficult to find.
By the way, if anyone needs cards, James at Happmart has ID7 and ID8 cards at $4.90 each. I'm gonna buy some ID7 cards as not many places still have those.

I'll check over the thermal head later. Rather than use another card at this point I'll just keep playing and wait until I level up. I've progressed through the game quite a bit I'm still at level E3 at the moment.
 
ID8 cards are available on alibaba as well for similar pricing, I picked up a stack of 20 for recent cons.
 
somewhat off-topic, I erased my personal card in testing readers on V8. When does the game print again so I can restore it? It hasn't updated at all between games for a while.
It prints after each main level up, map completion, or wardrobe change. Does not print any data on the card itself after part upgrade or time attack record.
Ok this is kind of what I thought. So just at some point, it will rewrite what's on my card once I get that far.
Yep. It actually rewrites often especially during wardrobe changes (like your avatars hair, facial expressions, etc). If your printer hasn't written in a while, the marks will look blurred or faded but gets darker the more it prints.
 
I don't think you can erase cards legitimately. I'm planning to script something to clear them with a pc. The game appears to read a card before writing to it, and I think it expects a blank card to come from the stocker. I had tried reloading a card from the write test to use in game and it failed. At least on ID 4/5, there's not an option to erase the written data. Printed content should get wiped the next time the card gets printed assuming it erases every time before printing (Maximum Tune 1/2 behave this way).

Cards should be oriented in the stocker with arrow pointing to the back. The same orientation it would be when you insert it through the slot.
That would be great if expired cards can be reused, at some point these cards are going to be more difficult to find.By the way, if anyone needs cards, James at Happmart has ID7 and ID8 cards at $4.90 each. I'm gonna buy some ID7 cards as not many places still have those.

I'll check over the thermal head later. Rather than use another card at this point I'll just keep playing and wait until I level up. I've progressed through the game quite a bit I'm still at level E3 at the moment.
Just wanted to add:

Are you playing on an online machine? Offline machines use the same cards but they get tagged as 'offline' cards so they can't be used online. The offline cards are virtually unlimited play. The usage counter does not decrease after each playthrough. Since each card can hold up to 3 vehicles, you really don't need that many cards. But if you're a completionist, it's good to have many cards. There is a certain point in the game on an offline machine where you can't go any higher in rank. I believe E3 is the max you can get on an offline machine. I really hope I'm wrong but I have yet to go any higher as well.
 
ID8 cards are available on alibaba as well for similar pricing, I picked up a stack of 20 for recent cons.
Yeah, I bought my 20 ID8 cards from Aliexpress as well. They arrived pretty quickly but it took a couple of days before the tracking number worked. I also had an additional $8 discount for being a new user so that bumped the price down a little. It's certainly not a cheap hobby when upgrading/building an ID8 machine though!

I don't think you can erase cards legitimately. I'm planning to script something to clear them with a pc. The game appears to read a card before writing to it, and I think it expects a blank card to come from the stocker. I had tried reloading a card from the write test to use in game and it failed. At least on ID 4/5, there's not an option to erase the written data. Printed content should get wiped the next time the card gets printed assuming it erases every time before printing (Maximum Tune 1/2 behave this way).

Cards should be oriented in the stocker with arrow pointing to the back. The same orientation it would be when you insert it through the slot.
That would be great if expired cards can be reused, at some point these cards are going to be more difficult to find.By the way, if anyone needs cards, James at Happmart has ID7 and ID8 cards at $4.90 each. I'm gonna buy some ID7 cards as not many places still have those.
I'll check over the thermal head later. Rather than use another card at this point I'll just keep playing and wait until I level up. I've progressed through the game quite a bit I'm still at level E3 at the moment.
Just wanted to add:
Are you playing on an online machine? Offline machines use the same cards but they get tagged as 'offline' cards so they can't be used online. The offline cards are virtually unlimited play. The usage counter does not decrease after each playthrough. Since each card can hold up to 3 vehicles, you really don't need that many cards. But if you're a completionist, it's good to have many cards. There is a certain point in the game on an offline machine where you can't go any higher in rank. I believe E3 is the max you can get on an offline machine. I really hope I'm wrong but I have yet to go any higher as well.
I'm using an offline machine.

You say the cards are unlimited for offline use?
In the garage mode I think I seen a number 10 somewhere on a menu, I'm wondering if that's how many times I've saved on the card?
I'll recheck again after a few sessions and see if the number changes.

I'm not sure how to select another car though, I guess that's somewhere in the garage section?
Not knowing Japanese I'm always hesitant to go around blindly in menus in case I delete my current car or something. Any idea if there's an English language guide or something similar that I can look at?

ID8 is a great game though, there's a 'fake' online mode which kicks in every now and again, it really breaks the flow of the story mode imo. I wish I could choose whether or not to do those races.

I have ID7 as well but it's just the base load so it's missing a lot of updates. Not sure how I can update ID7 to the latest version though. After I've completed ID8 I'd like to go through ID7 as well. Any ideas if I can update ID7 or am I stuck on v1.0?

Thanks.
 
ID8 cards are available on alibaba as well for similar pricing, I picked up a stack of 20 for recent cons.
Yeah, I bought my 20 ID8 cards from Aliexpress as well. They arrived pretty quickly but it took a couple of days before the tracking number worked. I also had an additional $8 discount for being a new user so that bumped the price down a little. It's certainly not a cheap hobby when upgrading/building an ID8 machine though!
I don't think you can erase cards legitimately. I'm planning to script something to clear them with a pc. The game appears to read a card before writing to it, and I think it expects a blank card to come from the stocker. I had tried reloading a card from the write test to use in game and it failed. At least on ID 4/5, there's not an option to erase the written data. Printed content should get wiped the next time the card gets printed assuming it erases every time before printing (Maximum Tune 1/2 behave this way).

Cards should be oriented in the stocker with arrow pointing to the back. The same orientation it would be when you insert it through the slot.
That would be great if expired cards can be reused, at some point these cards are going to be more difficult to find.By the way, if anyone needs cards, James at Happmart has ID7 and ID8 cards at $4.90 each. I'm gonna buy some ID7 cards as not many places still have those.I'll check over the thermal head later. Rather than use another card at this point I'll just keep playing and wait until I level up. I've progressed through the game quite a bit I'm still at level E3 at the moment.
Just wanted to add:Are you playing on an online machine? Offline machines use the same cards but they get tagged as 'offline' cards so they can't be used online. The offline cards are virtually unlimited play. The usage counter does not decrease after each playthrough. Since each card can hold up to 3 vehicles, you really don't need that many cards. But if you're a completionist, it's good to have many cards. There is a certain point in the game on an offline machine where you can't go any higher in rank. I believe E3 is the max you can get on an offline machine. I really hope I'm wrong but I have yet to go any higher as well.
I'm using an offline machine.

You say the cards are unlimited for offline use?
In the garage mode I think I seen a number 10 somewhere on a menu, I'm wondering if that's how many times I've saved on the card?
I'll recheck again after a few sessions and see if the number changes.

I'm not sure how to select another car though, I guess that's somewhere in the garage section?
Not knowing Japanese I'm always hesitant to go around blindly in menus in case I delete my current car or something. Any idea if there's an English language guide or something similar that I can look at?

ID8 is a great game though, there's a 'fake' online mode which kicks in every now and again, it really breaks the flow of the story mode imo. I wish I could choose whether or not to do those races.

I have ID7 as well but it's just the base load so it's missing a lot of updates. Not sure how I can update ID7 to the latest version though. After I've completed ID8 I'd like to go through ID7 as well. Any ideas if I can update ID7 or am I stuck on v1.0?

Thanks.
Ringo said:
You say the cards are unlimited for offline use?
In the garage mode I think I seen a number 10 somewhere on a menu, I'm wondering if that's how many times I've saved on the card?
I'll recheck again after a few sessions and see if the number changes.
Correct. Virtually unlimited. You reach the limit when the card becomes physically unusable or damaged. Not sure what that number is but if it's in the garage menu, it's just a timer that should be counting down but would need a screenshot to know exactly what you refer to in this screen.

Ringo said:
ID8 is a great game though, there's a 'fake' online mode which kicks in every now and again, it really breaks the flow of the story mode imo. I wish I could choose whether or not to do those races.
Those fake online challenges are basically story mode. The are injected into the story mode of the game to give offline players the chance to experience close to the same situations online players receive when connected to sega .NET. Once you beat those opponents, you will move on to the next segment of story mode. Just my opinion as well but story mode + what actually happens in the manga make these 'interruptions' even better since non Asian region players will never get to play others except in local mode.

Ringo said:
I have ID7 as well but it's just the base load so it's missing a lot of updates. Not sure how I can update ID7 to the latest version though. After I've completed ID8 I'd like to go through ID7 as well. Any ideas if I can update ID7 or am I stuck on v1.0?
You're SOL on this one. There are several ways that I am aware of receiving these updates:
1. A ID7 Server PC receives updates from Sega.net subscription. Once you plug in a client PC, it should see the update and do its magic.
2. Some updates are provided by DVD by SEGA but rare this is probably even more difficult unless you have the latest iteration of the game that contains the update on your DVD.

3. There are some folks that know more about how these updates work so I can't speak for the other options you might be able to consider.

ID7 did not receive many updates. Unfortunately, I can't seem to find a link to the revision history for this game but I remember the latest (at the time I could last remember) update was v1.1 which had some minor tweaks and nothing to do with story mode.
 
I'm not sure how to select another car though, I guess that's somewhere in the garage section?
Not knowing Japanese I'm always hesitant to go around blindly in menus in case I delete my current car or something. Any idea if there's an English language guide or something similar that I can look at?
It's in the garage for sure. I went to check things out there and the option was on the menu, I didn't have enough points to buy another car though. Next time I ever get around to setting the machine back up, I'll try to point it out! Otherwise you can probably find it just by selecting all the menu options (lol)
 
I'm not sure how to select another car though, I guess that's somewhere in the garage section?Not knowing Japanese I'm always hesitant to go around blindly in menus in case I delete my current car or something. Any idea if there's an English language guide or something similar that I can look at?
It's in the garage for sure. I went to check things out there and the option was on the menu, I didn't have enough points to buy another car though. Next time I ever get around to setting the machine back up, I'll try to point it out! Otherwise you can probably find it just by selecting all the menu options (lol)
Sorry forgot to add my comment on this one. You can only add car #2 and car #3 if you do not set the game to free play. You need to make sure that free play is turned off in order to select additional vehicles. Once you get these vehicles added, turn free play back on.
 
Thanks for all the answers guys. :thumbup:

I've just had a quick browse through the menus to look for that number, I can't seem to find it now.
I definitely seen it in one of the menus, which one I just don't know! lol

Ah, so I need to take it out of free play mode to get the option to buy another car.
Cheers for that, now I don't feel such a dumbass for not being able to find that option. :D

I managed to find the update history for ID7, Japanese Wikipedia was the source:

Upgrade version
Version 1.0 + A Toshiba (snow) appeared from this version. Version 1.0 + B The model is MAZDASPEED ROADSTER C - SPEC, power house amuse S2000 GT1 added. The appearance of the X class, addition of character parts was done Version 1.0 + C Tsukuba (snow) appeared from this version.

You were right (again! lol), ID7 doesn't seem to have any major updates.
Versions 6 and 8 seem to have quite a few updates, I suspect finding a fully updated version 6 is gonna be tough as time passes by.

Man I kinda feel bad for derailing this thread! :whistling:
Well at least I've found out that I'm not alone in liking the Initial D games on Ringedge enough to buy the original hardware. :)

Thanks.
 
I can confirm you cannot get past rank E3 on ID8, the challenges to level up include online battle participation and wins...which we cannot do offline lol

Interesting on the game play countdown on the cards. I have a few cards I made online in Japan and use them on my offline machines. Need to check into this. I have been playing quite a bit and haven't come across a card renewal like the older IDs.
 
After asking about ID7/ID8 cards and the SGI reader with James from Happmart, I agreed to buy 20 ID7 cards.
He sent an invoice which I paid straight away. $4.90 per card, 5% PayPal fee and $30.00 shipping, total $134.40.

Then, this morning he sent an email saying that the ID7 cards are out of stock and would I like English ID4 cards instead for a cheaper price. I asked for a refund which he sent quickly.

Why on earth do sellers do this type of thing? Don't they realise that first impressions are pretty important when someone deals with them for the 1st time. I don't know man.......

It may be common knowledge, but, can anyone else confirm whether it's possible to use ID4 Export cards with later ID titles?
I seen an auction on eBay.com a while back stating that a card other than ID7 can be used with ID7, but I can't find that auction now.
I wonder if all the ID IC cards are hard coded to a specific game or if some others are interchangeable as well, a master list would be useful. If the game compatibility can be changed somehow that would be very convenient, I'm not sure if that's possible though.

Anyway, my quest for cards that are compatible with ID7 continues........
 
I can try an ID4 card with ID8 but that's it atm. As for stock, large companies that can happen often. You can't keep track of everything :P
 
Yeah, I guess. I don't know how big Happmart is but taking my money then telling me it's out of stock gives out the wrong vibes for me. He refunded me quickly so all is well.

I've just tried dispensing another card from my reader and made sure the card was the correct way in the stocker, again it's not printing anything. I guess I got one with a bad thermal head or something. I'll give it a check over and see if any cables are unplugged but I'm sure I plugged all the connectors back in when I put it back together. Looks like I'll be writing on the back of the cards until I get the proper reader then! lol
 
After asking about ID7/ID8 cards and the SGI reader with James from Happmart, I agreed to buy 20 ID7 cards.
He sent an invoice which I paid straight away. $4.90 per card, 5% PayPal fee and $30.00 shipping, total $134.40.

Then, this morning he sent an email saying that the ID7 cards are out of stock and would I like English ID4 cards instead for a cheaper price. I asked for a refund which he sent quickly.

Why on earth do sellers do this type of thing? Don't they realise that first impressions are pretty important when someone deals with them for the 1st time. I don't know man.......

It may be common knowledge, but, can anyone else confirm whether it's possible to use ID4 Export cards with later ID titles?
I seen an auction on eBay.com a while back stating that a card other than ID7 can be used with ID7, but I can't find that auction now.
I wonder if all the ID IC cards are hard coded to a specific game or if some others are interchangeable as well, a master list would be useful. If the game compatibility can be changed somehow that would be very convenient, I'm not sure if that's possible though.

Anyway, my quest for cards that are compatible with ID7 continues........
Sometimes, those vendors you go through also have their own contacts. Such that they will receive an order from a customer, then in turn ask their source if they have any in stock. Their source will say yes or no, then relay this back to the customer. I'm not vouching for Happmart but they are one of a few that provide these cards without asking for a minimum quantity of 200. So James may not even realize the cards are unique to each iteration of the game. Learning from experience, before you throw down any money, just ask to confirm what the card looks like or send them a screenshot. This will save you the trouble of going through the refund process or have buyers remorse.

Answer to your question, barring any kind of technique to spoof the card validation process, each IC card is tied to each specific version of the game.

I shared this example with other hobbyists but this will give you a better visual of the differences when playing the stock game requiring the specific card for that particular game:
ID Cards.jpg

Please keep special attention to ID4 Japan and ID4 Export cards.
They are not cross compatible with each version of that same game. They have their own cards.

As the later versions of Initial D are getting promoted and integrating into Sega.NET cards, the earlier cards get ever closer to extinction.
 
I can only try ID4 export, ID4 JP, and ID5 JP, but export ID4 did not like any JP cards I tried.

ID5 worked fine with an ID4 JP card - for storing data - and DID print to the card even though content won't all line up. Edit: I mistakenly said it was an ID7 card - it was ID4 JP. My ID7 card was used in a test write and worked in ID5, but will have to erase before I can try it in game.

I did order some US ID4 cards, so will be able to better confirm my region lock theory when I get them.

I would bet ID4 US cards will not work in the other ID versions. ID4 JP cards may.
 
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Thanks for the info on the cards guys. I'm not surprised ID7 cards are difficult to find if they can be used with earlier versions.
Has anyone tried to use English ID4 cards with ID7? Also, has anyone come across IC cards for ID4 Kai?

Yeah, it's useful that these places sell cards in lower numbers than a full box, and I can understand that these companies have their sources, but I did ask beforehand if they had ID7 cards which he replied that he did. So I was elated to have finally sourced some, but I was then crushed the next day when he said that they were sold out. I guess that's how these businesses operate, but if it was me I wouldn't take any money for something that I didn't have in hand. Man I sound like a right whiner don't I. lol

There was an eBay seller recently selling some ID7 cards for $15 each, but the shipping to the UK for 1 card was another $20. I'll pay a fair price for a couple of ID7 cards, but $35 is way over my budget for 1 card!

Does anyone know anywhere that has ID7 cards?
I guess I can keep checking YAJ and the like.

Thanks.
 
To answer my own question, ID8 cards will work on the Japanese version ID7.
The answer was under my nose the whole time! lol

I read on an eBay listing that ID8 cards will only work on ID8, so I took it for gospel that ID8 cards didn't work with ID7.
So I thought what the heck I'll give it a try and it ended up working! I'm glad I tried it as I can now go through ID7's story mode.

Also, I can also confirm that the SGT card reader prints in ID7 when using ID8 cards, obviously it doesn't have the correct spaces for the picture but it does line up with the name, car and rank printing. AFter a few games my rank is now showing as E1 on the card. (pic attached) So there's definitely something screwy with the FW on SGT card readers when used with ID8.

What I can't understand is why ID8 is printing on Nismopunch's cards when using the SGT card reader?
I bought another card reader from the seller and it does the same thing, not printing in ID8 but printing in ID7. Just for the record I also sent the seller a small payment after I got the other card reader working.

I should have a couple of ID4 cards soon to test with ID7 as 2 people and an eBay listing have confirmed that ID4 cards will work with ID7, so as I like throwing money at this Ringedge hobby I thought I'd buy a couple and see what happens as no one else has tried that combination. Once they arrive I'll let you guys know what my findings are.

We should really combine our knowledge to compile a compatibility document showing what cards are compatible and what's not compatible with each version of the game.
 

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I wonder why they didn't take advantage of more of the printable area on ID8 cards. Having the card resemble a driver's license with a picture on it is pretty cool in the prior versions, so the ID8 cards seem less functional/interesting as a result.

My belief, based on observations with ID4 and 5 is that any JP card can work in any JP game. ID5 reads in each game's blank card as a usable blank card in test mode. ID4 US cards are read as unknown cards.

My hopes of being able to blank out and reuse a card have been dashed. There are counters on the cards that get decremented with each use and the values cannot be incremented in any way that I know how to do. So even rewriting the rest of the card to be a blank card seems to result in an unusable card.
 
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