PS4 Questions about FPKG merging and updating

[Lerain]

Greetings, and Happy New Year.

I have several questions. Thank you to anyone who takes the time to answer.

1. How does the "PS4 Tools" Merge Game + Update feature actually work?

For example, if I have a game with two files:

• CUSA05760_01.00.pkg (base)
• CUSA05760_01.01.pkg (patch)

After running the PS4 Tools merge feature, I receive:

• Fahrenheit (CUSA05760) - 1.00 Game (Merged).pkg
• Fahrenheit (CUSA05760) - 1.01 Update (Fix Game Info).pkg

However, this newly created "1.00" base game is shown as v01.01 in PS4 Package Viewer, which suggests that it was merged and updated with the 1.01 patch.

If that is the case, why do I also get Fahrenheit (CUSA05760) - 1.01 Update (Fix Game Info).pkg, and is this file actually needed?

2. Can I use official PS4 updates and integrate them into a fake base PKG?

For several games, I only have the base version. I've made sure the game ID matches (same region) and downloaded the official PS4 updates from orbispatches.

However, I assume those updates must first be converted into Fake PKGs (FPKGs) and then "remarried" with the base game. Is this the correct approach?

Gratitude

 

[Lerain]

P.S. I did some investigation, and here's what I found:

1. It seems that when you merge a base game PKG with an update, the output should be a single file - the merged package itself.
   I'm not sure why some tools also generate an "XX Update (Fix Game Info).pkg", but this appears to be just a dummy file and does not need to be installed.
   
   
2. It also seems that you cannot merge an official update PKG with a fake base game PKG.
   The merge will either fail entirely, or, if you install it directly on the console, the game will no longer boot.
   
   From what I can tell, an official update PKG needs to be edited/modified and converted into a fake PKG before it can be used this way - similar to how backports are handled.

 

[psdavx]

The update file itself is useless, it's just there to ensure the correct version number is displayed on your ps4.

 

[Lerain]

The update file itself is useless, it's just there to ensure the correct version number is displayed on your ps4.

I got that impression because one of the update files had a "console version fix" suffix or something similar.

However, even without installing it, I still get the correct version just from the base PKG, since the version changes after the merge anyway (from v01.00 to v01.33, or whatever version the update had).

So I guess having the extra update file is just some legacy precaution for older PS4 firmware versions or something ?
Mine is 12.52, which I'd consider fairly recent.

 

[psdavx]

I got that impression because one of the update files had a "console version fix" suffix or something similar.

However, even without installing it, I still get the correct version just from the base PKG, since the version changes after the merge anyway (from v01.00 to v01.33, or whatever version the update had).

So I guess having the extra update file is just some legacy precaution for older PS4 firmware versions or something ?
Mine is 12.52, which I'd consider fairly recent.

Earlier versions of hen or goldhen would not display the correct version number on your ps4 after installing the merged game, while the newer version of goldhen fixes this problem. The purpose of the extra update pkg is then obvious.

 

[xHAXIMILLIONxx]

I used to always just use Easy PKG Extractor v1.07 by LapyGames whenever I wanted to see what ACTUAL Update/Patch Versions were Installed whenever I was dealing with Embedded/Remastered Game+Update PKG's because there are indeed still quite a few of them out there.

Because these Types of PKG's are something you can come across it is a pretty nice Option for anybody who doesn't care about not having the correct Version showing on the PS4's Home Screen as well as not wanting to Install a PC Program to solve the issue.

This may be completely redundant nowadays but possibly still could be useful perhaps to those on a 5.05 System running any Older Versions of HEN that do not Implement the same Fixes as GoldHEN.

Also Retail PKG's of Updates alone cannot be Decrypted into a Fake PKG by itself as they are Encrypted. In order to get a specific Fake PKG of a particular Retail PKG Update it would need to be Installed on top of an existing Retail Game such as Physical Disc or Digital. Then a Dump of that would give you the App+Patch in an FPKG Format.