Buzz Toolkit 0.1.5

Make your own quiz packs for Buzz! Quiz World (PS3, BCES00645) and host your own Buzz! online server, for playing on RPCS3 or a modded PS3.

Two halves, one app (Buzz Pack Studio):

• Pack generator (offline). Add questions and pictures, choose the rounds and language, switch the host's voice on or off, press Generate, get a .pkg. Packs install like real DLC and play with no network at all.
• Online server (self-hosted). Your own replacement for the old Buzz! servers: MyBuzz online quizzes, leaderboards and buddies for you and your friends. Publish any pack's questions to it as online quizzes.

The toolkit ships no game files. Everything it needs from the game (the key packs are encrypted with, the server's signing value, the round plans, the host's voice) is read from your own copy during setup.

What you need

• A Windows 10 or 11 PC
• RPCS3 with Buzz! Quiz World (BCES00645) set up in it. The game's update 01.02 is needed too; the app checks for it and can download it from Sony for you (step 5).
• About 1 GB of free disk space (about 8 GB more for the optional host voice)
• For the host voice (optional): an NVIDIA graphics card. Without one, packs still build, just without the host reading the questions.

Getting started

You only do this once.

1. Install Python 3.11

Download Python 3.11 from python.org/downloads/release/python-3119 (scroll down to Files and pick Windows installer (64-bit)). Run it and, on the first screen, tick Add python.exe to PATH, then click Install Now.

Use 3.11 even if you already have a newer Python: the host voice only works on 3.11. The two can sit side by side.

2. Unzip the toolkit

Unzip BuzzToolkit-0.1.1.zip somewhere with space, for example C:\BuzzToolkit. Avoid putting it inside a OneDrive or other synced folder.

3. Run Install.bat

Double-click Install.bat in the toolkit folder. It:

• sets up the app in its own folder (tools\venv), so it doesn't touch anything else on your PC
• downloads ffmpeg (a free audio/video tool the app uses)
• asks whether to install the host voice. Answer Y for the voice (about 6 GB, takes a while) or N to skip it; you can run Install.bat again later to add it.

If Windows shows "Windows protected your PC", click More info → Run anyway.

4. Find your game's EBOOT and decrypt it

The app reads the keys it needs from your own copy of the game, from a file called EBOOT.BIN.

1. If your game is an .iso file, extract it first. Install 7-Zip (free), right-click the .iso → 7-Zip → Extract to "Buzz Quiz World". You get a normal folder. (If your game is already a folder, skip this.)
2. Open the game folder, then PS3_GAME, then USRDIR. EBOOT.BIN is in there.
3. Decrypt it: in RPCS3 open Utilities → Decrypt PS3 Binaries, pick that EBOOT.BIN and let it finish. A new file, EBOOT.elf, appears in the same USRDIR folder.
4. Copy the folder's path: in the USRDIR window, click the address bar at the top (the path turns blue) and press Ctrl+C. It looks like L:\Games\Buzz Quiz World\PS3_GAME\USRDIR. You'll paste it in the next step, as it is, with no quotes.

5. Open the app and finish setup

Double-click Start Buzz Pack Studio.bat. The app opens in your web browser at http://127.0.0.1:8765. Keep the black window open while you use the app; closing it stops the app.

In the app's Setup box (left-hand side):

1. RPCS3 folder: open the folder that has rpcs3.exe in it, click its address bar, press Ctrl+C, paste it into the box (Ctrl+V) and press Save folder.

2. Game update 01.02: the toolkit is built on this official update. A green Game update 01.02 installed label means you already have it. If not:

   1. Press Download update from Sony. The app fetches the official update (22 MB) straight from Sony's PS3 update server and checks it. The toolkit never includes Sony's files.
   2. Close RPCS3, then press Install update into RPCS3. RPCS3 opens and installs it.
   3. Press Save folder again to re-check; the label turns green.

   (Or install it yourself: RPCS3 → File → Install Packages/Raps/Edats and pick the file in the toolkit's tools\downloads folder.)

3. Your decrypted EBOOT: paste the USRDIR path from step 4 and press Read game keys. A green Game keys read from your EBOOT label confirms it.

4. Optional: Turn on custom running orders, so each pack plays its own rounds in the game's Pack Game menu. It changes one game script and keeps a backup.

You're ready to make packs. From now on, just double-click Start Buzz Pack Studio.bat.

Make a pack

1. Create a pack (name on the left).
2. Pack: channel, language, "made by", pack number, host voice on/off.
3. Questions: drop in files (CSV, text, Moodle XML, Buzz online XML, JSON), pull from Open Trivia DB / OpenTriviaQA / The Trivia API, or write your own (picture questions and Point Stealer picture answers included). The app checks the game's limits (93 characters per question, 30 per answer).
4. Rounds: the running order: fixed rounds or random picks, as many as you like, then the Final Countdown. The Question coverage box underneath is only a check: it shows how many of your questions each round can use. You don't set those numbers; the game picks questions for each round itself. If a round shows repeats or none, add more questions of that kind.
5. Generate: builds the pack and a .pkg. Install it in RPCS3 with File → Install Packages/Raps/Edats (or press Copy straight into RPCS3).

Pack numbers

Every pack has a number (1 to 999), and no two packs can share one. The game keeps each pack in a folder named after its number, so installing a pack replaces any other pack with the same number, including official DLC. That happens whether you use Copy straight into RPCS3 or RPCS3's File → Install Packages.

The app protects you from this:

• A new pack gets a free number automatically, skipping numbers already installed in RPCS3 or used by your other packs. Set your RPCS3 folder first, so it can see what's installed.
• You can change the number in step 1. Numbers that are already taken are refused, and the app suggests a free one.
• Generate and Copy straight into RPCS3 refuse to go ahead if a different pack with that number is installed. Rebuilding and reinstalling the same pack is fine; the app recognises it.

If you install a PKG by hand, check its number first. The file name ends in it, for example PubQuiz_GBR_PACK0096.pkg is pack 96.

Example question files are in examples/. A .buzz.txt file is the easiest way to share a pack as plain text (see examples/pub_quiz.buzz.txt).

Installing on a real PS3 (untested)

Packs are confirmed on RPCS3 only. They are built the same way as community-made DLC for modified consoles, so they should install on a PS3 running HEN or custom firmware (CFW). They cannot install on an unmodified PS3: it only accepts packages signed by Sony.

You need the disc the pack was made for. Discs that share a download folder can share packs:

Disc	Pack languages	Download folder on the PS3
BCES00644	GBR, FRA, DEU, ITA, NLD	/dev_hdd0/game/BCES00098
BCES00645	GBR, ESP, PRT	/dev_hdd0/game/BCES00098
BCES00647	RUS, POL, GRC, CRO, CZE	/dev_hdd0/game/BCES00195

1. Make the pack in the language your game is showing. The game only lists a pack that has a file for the language it is running in. (In RPCS3, BCES00647 always runs in Russian; how it chooses its language on a console has not been confirmed. If a Polish, Greek, Croatian or Czech pack doesn't appear, note which language the game's menus are in.)
2. Check the pack number isn't one of your official packs (see Pack numbers above). The app can only see what is installed in RPCS3, not on your console.
3. Copy the .pkg from the pack's output folder to the root of a FAT32 USB stick.
4. On HEN, enable HEN first (every time the console starts). Then install it from the XMB under Game → Package Manager → Install Package Files (on CFW: Game → Install Package Files).
5. Start the game and open the pack list.

The game patches in this toolkit (60 FPS, online) are for RPCS3 only. Packs don't need them.

Troubleshooting on a console

Nobody has tried this on a real console yet, so this is a list of what could go wrong, from the most likely to the least.

Where's my pack? Each pack ends up as one file: <download folder>/USRDIR/PACKnnnn/<LANG>PACKnnnn.EDAT, for example /dev_hdd0/game/BCES00195/USRDIR/PACK0097/CZEPACK0097.EDAT. Checking whether that file exists (webMAN MOD's file manager, or FTP) tells you which half failed: the install, or the game loading the pack.

What you see	Likely cause	What to try
The .pkg isn't offered for install	Unmodified firmware; HEN not enabled since the console started; the USB stick isn't FAT32; the file isn't in the stick's root	Enable HEN, or use a CFW console. Reformat the stick as FAT32 and put the .pkg in its root.
The install stops with an error	The console's installer rejects the package. Our packages copy the layout of Sony's own Buzz packs but can't carry Sony's signature, so on a console this is the part most likely to fail.	Skip the package and copy the .EDAT by FTP (see below).
It installs, but the pack isn't in the game's list	The language doesn't match: the pack has a file for one language and the game runs in another	Make the pack in the language the game's menus are in (step 1).
	Wrong disc: the pack went into the other download folder (BCES00098 holds packs for 644/645, BCES00195 for 647)	Check the table above, then rebuild the pack in a language from your disc.
	The .EDAT was renamed, or copied into the wrong PACKnnnn folder	Use the exact file name and folder from the output folder. Its encryption is tied to the name.
	The console rejects the pack file itself. Toolkit packs use the "free" licence type, which needs no licence file. Their signatures are placeholders, as with other community-made packs. RPCS3 accepts them; a console might not.	Report it (see below). Nothing on the console side fixes this.
An official pack disappeared, or shows our questions	Same pack number as an official pack: installing replaced it	Give the pack another number and reinstall the official pack.
The pack plays, but the host is silent	Built without a voice for that language (Generate says built without audio). Not a console problem.	Make a voice for that language (see Host voice) and generate again.

Copying the .EDAT by FTP instead of installing the .pkg: with webMAN MOD or multiMAN running, connect an FTP client to the console and copy the .EDAT from the pack's output folder into <download folder>/USRDIR/PACKnnnn/. Create the PACKnnnn folder if needed, and don't rename the file. The download folder itself must already exist with its PARAM.SFO. It does if you have ever installed an official pack, or this pack's .pkg. Otherwise the game can't find any packs there.

Please report what you see: console model, firmware with HEN or CFW name and version, disc ID, the game's language, the step that failed, and any error code shown (for example 8002xxxx).

Rounds and running orders

Every pack can have its own running order for the game's Pack Game menu: any of the game's rounds, in any order, with optional random picks, ending with the Final Countdown. It needs the one-time Turn on custom running orders step in the app's Setup box.

Host voice

With the voice switched on, the host reads every question. Voices are made from your own game, once per language; after that, voicing a pack takes minutes. Both commands below are typed in a Command Prompt opened in the toolkit folder (type cmd in the folder's address bar and press Enter).

• Quick (a few minutes, any language on your disc): clones the host from a short sample. tools\venv\Scripts\python make_host_reference.py <disc>/PS3_GAME/USRDIR/PACK0100/ESPPACK0100.PAK --out voice_models/buzz_host_ESP/reference.wav --lang ESP
• Trained (about 1 hour, runs unattended): learns the host's voice and delivery from every line on your disc. Much closer to the real host. tools\clone_venv\Scripts\python -m voice_trainer.run --disc "<extracted game folder>" --work <scratch folder> --name buzz_host Add --preset best for a longer run (about 1 h 40 min); in our tests it sounded no better than the default. For another language, add --lang with the disc's code and name the voice after it, e.g. --lang CZE --name buzz_host_CZE (codes: ESP, PRT, FRA, DEU, ITA, NLD, POL, RUS, GRC, CZE, CRO). Use a separate scratch folder per language.

Languages. Every pack language on the three discs can be voiced: English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, German, Italian, Dutch, Polish, Russian and Greek directly, plus Czech and Croatian (below). Each language needs its own voice, made from that language's host on your disc. A language with no voice on your PC builds without audio, and Generate says so.

Czech and Croatian are not among the voice engine's own languages. The toolkit speaks them through its Polish voice, after respelling the text the way a Polish reader would pronounce it and writing numbers out as Czech or Croatian words. With only the quick sample this sounds foreign, so train these two voices. Training uses 1,500 delivery steps for them automatically, so it takes about 2 hours rather than 1.

Times measured on an RTX 3060 (12 GB). Faster cards are quicker; CPU-only training is not practical.

How accurate is it?

Every generated line is checked with speech recognition, which compares what it hears against the question text. A line with too many wrong words is made again, up to four times, and the best take is kept. Czech and Croatian lines often use all four takes, so voicing those packs takes longer.

Our measurements, on disc questions the voices never trained on (12 per language, 24 for English). Similarity is how close the voice sounds to the real host (1.0 = identical). Misheard is the share of words the recogniser got wrong, which is a rough measure of pronunciation. Even the real host isn't at 0%.

Language	Similarity, trained (real host)	Misheard, quick sample	Misheard, trained	Misheard, real host
English	0.964 (not measured)	13.9%	13.5%	not measured
Czech	0.982 (0.983)	55.4%	27.3%	15.5%
Croatian	0.980 (0.987)	46.8%	19.6%	20.5%

A trained Croatian voice is about as clear as the real host. A trained Czech voice sounds very like the host, but a native speaker will still notice some words. Other languages use the engine's own pronunciation and haven't been measured yet.

Fixing words that come out wrong

The voice reads the question as written, so these help in every language:

• Abbreviations (e.g., km, např., tzv.) are not expanded. Write them out.
• Ordinals and Roman numerals (1., Karel IV., Henry VIII) are read as plain numbers or letters. Write them as words (Karel Čtvrtý).
• Plain numbers are fine. Czech and Croatian numbers, decimals (3,5) and percentages are written out for you. In other languages, write a number as words if it sounds wrong.
• Foreign names are read with the pack language's rules. Spell them the way they should sound (see below).

For words that keep coming out wrong, add them to the pack's pack.json (in content\projects\<pack>\), inside "voice". Close the app before editing it.

"voice": {
  "pronounce": {"Shakespeare": "Šejkspír", "USA": "ú es á"},
  "say": {"KDO NAPSAL HAMLETA?": "Kdo napsal Hamleta?"}
}

• pronounce swaps single words for a spelling that sounds right, in the pack's own language. For Czech and Croatian, write it in Czech or Croatian spelling, not Polish; the respelling is applied afterwards.
• say replaces the spoken text of a whole question. The key must match the question exactly as it appears on screen, in capitals.
• Only lines whose text changed are made again on the next Generate. The rest come from the cache.

Training a voice further

Training runs in stages and skips any stage that has already finished, so running the same command again does nothing new. To train the delivery longer while reusing the decoded disc lines and the trained voice, add --retrain-t3 and a step count:

tools\clone_venv\Scripts\python -m voice_trainer.run --disc "<extracted game folder>" --work <same scratch folder> --lang CZE --name buzz_host_CZE_long --retrain-t3 --t3-steps 3000

• Use a new --name so your current voice stays as it is. The run ends by printing similarity and misheard figures. Compare them with the previous run, then pick the voice that sounds better.
• The previous delivery training is kept in your scratch folder as models\t3_lora.prev.
• Expect small gains. In our tests Czech stopped improving after about 1,000 steps, and Croatian after about 1,500. More steps mostly cost time. A wrong word is usually quicker to fix with pronounce than with more training.
• To start completely afresh, delete the scratch folder.

Online server

The server is optional. Your packs play offline without it. If you've run Set up this PC for online play and the server isn't running, the game shows a "can't connect" message when it starts; press the button to close it and carry on playing offline. Start the server only when you want MyBuzz online quizzes.

Open Online server in the app.

1. Start server (first time: give it your EBOOT.elf if you haven't already).
2. Set up this PC for online play: applies the login fix to your game scripts, enables the RPCS3 patch the server needs and sets RPCS3's network options. The host uses 127.0.0.1.
3. Friends: each friend installs the toolkit, does the one-time setup, and runs Set up this PC for online play with your IP address (shown on the page). Over the internet, forward TCP ports 10060, 10071 and 10075 to the host and use its public IP. Everyone needs a free RPCN account (RPCS3 → Configuration → RPCN).
4. Publish to MyBuzz on any pack puts its questions on your server as online quizzes.

The RPCS3 patches that Set up this PC for online play adds are also in the toolkit as a file of their own, rpcs3_patches\buzz_toolkit_patches.yml, if you'd rather add them yourself: open RPCS3's Manage → Game Patches window, drag the file onto it, choose Import, then tick the patches for Buzz! Quiz World. They contain only our own changes to the game code, no game data:

• Online: logged in when connected to the server: lets the menus go online with the toolkit's server, and lets the game carry on offline when the server isn't running.
• 60 FPS: runs the game at 60 frames per second instead of 30 (optional).

What works online today: the MyBuzz menus (online quizzes, leaderboards, buddies). Live online matches against remote players are not supported yet (see the roadmap).

Big Button buzzers

You can play with Xbox 360 Big Button pads (the wireless controllers from Scene It?) instead of Buzz! buzzers or a keyboard. Each pad has the same five buttons as a buzzer. Up to four pads work, one per player.

What you need

• The Big Button IR receiver, the small USB receiver the pads came with (USB ID 045E:02A0), plus the pads with batteries. The pads talk to it by infrared, so keep it in view of the players.

• The WinUSB driver for the receiver. Windows has no driver of its own for it. Install one once with Zadig:

  1. Plug the receiver in and run Zadig.
  2. Options → List All Devices, then pick the entry whose USB ID is 045E 02A0. Don't pick an Xbox 360 Wireless Receiver, which is a different device.
  3. Choose WinUSB as the driver and press Install Driver (or Replace Driver).

  To undo this later, uninstall the device in Windows Device Manager.

• Buzz! started once in RPCS3, so RPCS3 has a controller profile for the game.

• Run Install.bat again if you updated from an older toolkit. It adds the USB library the buzzers need.

Switching them on

In the app, open Big Button buzzers (under Online server) and switch Big Button buzzers on. The page checks the receiver, its driver and RPCS3's profile, and tells you what's missing. Once it's on, every press shows on the page, for example pad 2 big down -> Q. That's a quick way to check each pad works and which player it is.

Then start (or go back to) the game in RPCS3 and keep the RPCS3 window in front. Switch off on the same page when you're done: that stops the buzzers and puts your previous RPCS3 controller settings back. Switch off before closing the app, or the buzzers keep running in the background. If that happens, open the page again and switch on and then off: the app takes over from the leftover buzzers and stops them.

How a press reaches the game

1. The IR receiver passes every pad's presses to the PC over USB.

2. The toolkit's bridge (buzz_bigbutton.py) turns each pad's buttons into key presses. Each pad has its own keys:

   Pad	Big button	X	B	A	Y	Start	Back
   1	1	2	3	4	5	6	7
   2	Q	W	E	R	T	Y	U
   3	A	S	D	F	G	H	J
   4	Z	X	C	V	B	N	M

   The d-pad is the arrow keys on every pad.

3. When you switch on, the toolkit sets RPCS3 players 1-4 to the keyboard with those keys, in the game's own controller profile. It also sets RPCS3's Buzz! emulation to 1 controller (four buzzers). Your previous settings are backed up first.

4. RPCS3 hands players 1-4 to the game as buzzers 1-4:

   Pad button	Buzzer button
   Big button	Red buzzer
   X (blue)	Blue
   B (red)	Orange
   A (green)	Green
   Y (yellow)	Yellow
   Start, Back, d-pad	Menus

The pads only report a button while it's held, never its release, so the bridge counts a button as released 0.3 s after its last report. A quick tap still registers, but don't expect two presses within a third of a second to count as two.

If it doesn't work

What you see	What to try
Receiver not found	Plug it in (try another USB port), then wait a few seconds for the page to update.
Needs the WinUSB driver	Install it with Zadig (above). Pick the 045E 02A0 entry, not another Xbox device.
Can't open the receiver in the log	Another program is using it. Close other copies of the toolkit or the bridge, switch off and on again, or reinstall the driver.
Presses show on the page but nothing happens in the game	Click the RPCS3 game window: RPCS3 only reads the keyboard while it has focus. Also check you're in a part of the game that takes buzzer input.
A pad shows up as the wrong player	Each pad reports its own number, and pad N is always player N. Check the number on the page when you press a button.
Keys like 1 or Q appear in other windows	The buzzers type keys wherever you are. Switch them off before using the PC for anything else.
Your normal controller stopped working in RPCS3	The buzzers are still on. Switching off restores your previous settings.

Question sources and licences

• Open Trivia DB and OpenTriviaQA: CC BY-SA 4.0. The pack's credits page is filled in automatically; keep it if you share the pack.
• The Trivia API (free tier): CC BY-NC 4.0, non-commercial use only.
• Your own questions and pictures: share only what you have the right to share.

Known issues

• Real PS3 consoles (HEN / CFW) are untested; packs are confirmed on RPCS3 (PKG install via File → Install Packages/Raps/Edats and Copy straight into RPCS3). See Installing on a real PS3 for the steps and what to report. Unmodified consoles can't install them.
• Big Button buzzers are tested up to RPCS3: receiver, driver check, key presses and the RPCS3 mapping and restore. A full four-pad game hasn't been played through yet.
• Online: live online matches against remote players are not supported (MyBuzz quizzes, leaderboards and buddies are).
• Host voice from the quick sample is less close to the real host than a trained voice. In Czech and Croatian it also has a Polish accent; training reduces it a lot, but some Czech words can still sound slightly off (see Host voice).

Licence

Buzz Toolkit is released under the MIT licence. The licence covers the toolkit's own code and documentation only; it grants no rights to Buzz! Quiz World or any other game content, which belongs to its owners and is not included. Third-party parts keep their own licences; see THIRD_PARTY_NOTICES.md.

Disclaimer

Use at your own risk. Buzz Toolkit is provided as is, without warranty of any kind, express or implied, including fitness for a particular purpose. You use it entirely at your own risk. The author is not responsible for any damage, data loss, corrupted saves or game installs, account problems or any other issue arising from its use or misuse, including errors in the toolkit itself. The toolkit changes files in your RPCS3 installation and keeps backups of what it changes, but you should keep your own backups too.

Fan project. This is an unofficial, non-commercial fan project. It is not affiliated with, endorsed, sponsored or approved by Sony Interactive Entertainment, Relentless Software or any other rights holder. "Buzz!", "PlayStation" and "PS3" are trademarks of their respective owners and are used here only to describe what the toolkit works with.

Your own copy only. You need your own legally obtained copy of Buzz! Quiz World. The toolkit contains no game files, keys or recordings; it reads what it needs from your copy, on your machine. The game update is downloaded from Sony's own servers, not from this project. Don't use the toolkit to share or distribute game content, and only share packs made from questions and pictures you have the right to share.