OG Xbox Boot Animation Easter Egg Hunt

[GlowingHead]

I noticed a slightly different boot screen on an unboxing video.
Notice these vertical black bars at the beginning. I've never seen them before.
The difference here is that it is the very first boot of this xbox, as it was new in the box.

 

[speedyink]

I noticed a slightly different boot screen on an unboxing video.
Notice these vertical black bars at the beginning. I've never seen them before.
The difference here is that it is the very first boot of this xbox, as it was new in the box.

Yeah, that whole side sweep opening is definitely different.. Could it be a monitor thing? Just seems weird, as it's a new Xbox, and not even like an original model, as it's got Forza bundled in. It's kind of something everyone has done, so it's definitely a weird trigger for something apparently never been seen. Unless he meant like hey, there's an xbox out there with a specific serial number that turns on differently =P

 

[cta]

Oh it's a "monitor thing" alright. You can see the same effect in this "fake PS5" (NES clone) video @5:21.

 

[SgtSalmon]

Found this while browsing reddit. Just joined the hunt. This does not seem legit but it might help.

 

[SoundsLikeCrisps]

Found this while browsing reddit. Just joined the hunt. This does not seem legit but it might help.

This is covered in the very first post of this thread...

 

[SgtSalmon]

This is covered in the very first post of this thread...

I had just skimmed the last few pages. I do have an idea though. The developer said he wanted to say it had something to do with a controller but not really. What if this had to do with the dvd remote plugin? These contain Dolby licenses that, from what I understand, have to do with the security chip that locks dvd usage. I am not familiar with the boot order, but could it be something like all four ports having a dvd controller or some combination of multiple dvd remotes?

 

[SgtSalmon]

I had just skimmed the last few pages. I do have an idea though. The developer said he wanted to say it had something to do with a controller but not really. What if this had to do with the dvd remote plugin? These contain Dolby licenses that, from what I understand, have to do with the security chip that locks dvd usage. I am not familiar with the boot order, but could it be something like all four ports having a dvd controller or some combination of multiple dvd remotes?

What I’m trying to say is this is the only use of the ports I have thought of that would work at boot, as it was aforementioned that controllers are not recognized until after the animation is completed

 

[GoTeamScotch]

I talked to Seamus back in March and he revealed a bit more about the easter egg. I was asking if he would give us any new hints since it's been so long and no real progress has been made.

Is there any scrap of into you're willing to share? Like does it have to do with having a piece of hardware present? Does it only happen when a controller, a memory card, a karaoke microphone (etc.) is plugged in?

It’s completely random.

As in the thing you have to do to trigger it is "random"? (not easily guessed) Or it appears randomly? (based on a random number)

Yes based on a random number derived from startup chaos.

And I'm not sure if I've shared this yet so I'll copy this here as well:

Can you tell me if its something that happens (gets triggered and then appears) or is it something that is already visible on screen and people just haven't connected the dots?

The former.

"The former" referring to the first part of my message: it gets triggered and then appears.

To re-cap, here's a few important reminders about what we know about the easter egg:

1. It is NOT something that is already on screen that we just haven't noticed yet. It is something that appears after being triggered.
2. When it does appear, it is "obvious" when it happens. This implies that it's not something you'll have to look hard for in order to find when it happens.
3. The thing that triggers the easter egg to appear is NOT something that the user directly controls. Seamus said that it's based on "a random number derived from startup chaos". So at some point during the startup procedure, the system generates a random number and if that number equals some value, then the easter egg is triggered. The way that random number is generated is through "startup chaos". This could be based on any one (or combination) of things. It could be a precise timer that counts how long it takes for some action to happen. It could be how fast the fan happens to be spinning. It could be the temperature of the CPU. Or something else entirely.

So if it really is random like Seamus says, then we have two options:

1. Setup a wall of Xboxes that are rebooted every few seconds with their video output being recorded and analyzed for differences until one Xbox happens to luck-out and trigger the easter egg.
2. (the much more reasonable option) reverse-engineer the startup animation. For example:
   "use tracing stuff in xemu to generate an IDC file for an IDA database commenting which code paths weren't taken on kernel load"
   -Mike Davis, Xbox EasterEggs Discord server, May 2021

Many have already tried looking through the source code for clues, so I lean on not encouraging that route. I wouldn't be surprised if when this egg is finally cracked that people are going to be able to go back and find it in the code, just like how the Dev Credits easter egg (a.k.a. the "timmy" easter egg) was found in the code after it was revealed. So going in from that direction is still possible, but might be finding a needle in a haystack. There's also the possibility that the easter egg doesn't exist in the code (maybe it was added later?). I lean on agreeing with Mike. If this is going to be found, then deconstructing the compiled retail BIOS using PC tools is probably the most likely way to find it.

 

[cta]

For those taking the "let's look through leaked code" approach, I'd like to point out:

at some point during the startup procedure, the system generates a random number

That does not necessarily need to be "generated" (as in using a (P)RNG), we might be looking at uninitalized memory, a fast changing register or sth instead. IMHO it sounds a lot more like that than RNG usage. I'd be surprised if a simple 'Ctrl-F, "rand("' would lead to anything.

and if that number equals some value

Doesn't need to be equal, could also be sth like "n-th bit is set" or "value exceeds some threshold".

Remember, there's many ways to hide stuff in plain sight.

Also, GoTeamScotch - next time you get to talk to Seamus, could you make sure we're all on the same page about what's what? Everyone here seems to be focusing on the BIOS rn, but one could interpret the term "the startup animation" to also cover dashboard startup.

 

[QwertyChouskie]

The invite to the Discord server is expired, does anyone happen to have an up-to-date link?

 

[GoTeamScotch]

The invite to the Discord server is expired, does anyone happen to have an up-to-date link?

The Discord server was deleted due to inactivity. No real progress was made in over a year so it didn't make sense to keep it around. This thread is the main repository for information related to the easter egg moving forward.

 

[GoTeamScotch]

Also, GoTeamScotch - next time you get to talk to Seamus, could you make sure we're all on the same page about what's what? Everyone here seems to be focusing on the BIOS rn, but one could interpret the term "the startup animation" to also cover dashboard startup.

I got some clarification. It is indeed part of the boot animation sequence and not the dashboard (which loads after).

 

[bLiGhTy]

I just saw a face looking at me in the fog

 

[Zemn]

So if it really is random like Seamus says, then we have two options:

1. Setup a wall of Xboxes that are rebooted every few seconds with their video output being recorded and analyzed for differences until one Xbox happens to luck-out and trigger the easter egg.
2. (the much more reasonable option) reverse-engineer the startup animation. For example:
   "use tracing stuff in xemu to generate an IDC file for an IDA database commenting which code paths weren't taken on kernel load"
   -Mike Davis, Xbox EasterEggs Discord server, May 2021

If one were to attempt the first option, what would be the best course of action? Obviously capturing the footage is straightforward but is there a way to make the Xbox auto reboot instead of loading the dashboard? Or maybe there's a way to create an xbe that just plays the boot animation looped? And then how would the footage be analyzed without human eyes? There would likely be hundreds or thousands of hours of reboots that no reasonable person would have the time or patience to check.

Maybe I missed it but did he say if it's a visual easter egg or audio?

 

[GoTeamScotch]

If one were to attempt the first option, what would be the best course of action? Obviously capturing the footage is straightforward but is there a way to make the Xbox auto reboot instead of loading the dashboard? Or maybe there's a way to create an xbe that just plays the boot animation looped? And then how would the footage be analyzed without human eyes? There would likely be hundreds or thousands of hours of reboots that no reasonable person would have the time or patience to check.

Maybe I missed it but did he say if it's a visual easter egg or audio?

I think what Mike was hinting at is that the 1st option is is way too complex and not viable compared to the reverse engineering method.

That said, anything is possible. Someone probably could get a bunch of Xboxes and HDMI capture devices then the video captures to a computer where they're processed. Like a script that converts the captured videos to a series of snapshots (using ffmpeg), and some other app compares the images across several reboots for differences and triggers a reboot if the images are the same in order to try again.

The problem with that is that there's no telling if you'd have to leave this contraption running for a week, a month, or several years before this "random" thing appears.

But, again, this would be ridiculous. lol