Modify Game Port Numbers

INFO

If you do not have the need to switch between CHUNITHM and maimai/ONGEKI, and have no other special requirements, you can safely ignore this section.

WARNING

This article only applies to users connecting via the SEGA official serial protocol.
If you modify the configuration files according to the tutorial below but later want to use virtual reading (Enter key) or AimeIO, please be sure to restore the configuration files to their default settings, otherwise they will not work properly.

Introduction

Game	Default Port Number
maimai DX	COM1
ONGEKI	COM1
CHUNITHM	COM4

The above are the default port numbers for the GekiChuMai games, but they are not fixed. Users can change the reader port number used by the game by modifying the configuration files.

Imagine a scenario:
You have only one computer and one reader, but want to play multiple SEGA rhythm games.
maimai and ONGEKI typically only need to be set once since they have the same default port number.
CHUNITHM has a different port number, hence the need for this tutorial.

Currently, most SEGA games use AMDaemon, and reader-related settings are managed uniformly by AMDaemon.
Players can change the reader port number required by the game by modifying the configuration file passed to AMDaemon.

File Modification

File Introduction

The following are AMDaemon configuration files that may exist in a normal game directory:

• config_client.json, config_server.json
  Related to distribution servers, can be ignored for this article
• config_hook.json
  Comes with Segatools, used to forcibly override some settings
• config_cvt.json, config_sp.json
  CHUNITHM specific configuration files
• config_common.json
  Configuration file common to all games

Typically, reader port number configuration is located in config_common.json.
However, for CHUNITHM, you need to modify config_cvt.json or config_sp.json depending on the cabinet type used at startup.

Modification Method

Open config_common.json or config_cvt.json / config_sp.json, and look down for the aime entry:

Where:

"port": 4

Here, 4 is the port number used by the reader (corresponding to COM4).
You can modify it to another port number not occupied by official devices.

Note: What are "other port numbers officially used"?

Take CHUNITHM as an example. SEGA officially uses COM1 to connect to the Ground Slider (ground key touch panel), so COM1 cannot be used when modifying the reader port number.

Below are the port numbers occupied by official games and cannot be used for readers:

Game	Occupied Port Numbers and Purpose
maimai DX	COM2: VFD screen COM3 / COM4: 1P / 2P touch screen COM21 / COM23: Light board
ONGEKI	COM2: VFD screen COM3: Light board
CHUNITHM (SP)	COM1: Touch panel COM2: VFD screen COM20 / COM21: Light board
CHUNITHM (CVT)	COM1: Touch panel COM2 / COM3: Light board

All the above port numbers cannot be used as reader ports.

Use Case Description

Requirement:
I have only one computer and one reader, but want to switch between playing CHUNITHM and maimai.

You can follow these steps:

1. Edit maimai's config_common.json and change the reader port number to COM7
2. Edit CHUNITHM's config_cvt.json or config_sp.json, and also change the reader port number to COM7
3. Open Windows Device Manager, change the reader's actual port number to COM7, and replug the reader

After completion, you can switch between the two games without repeatedly changing the reader port number.