SEGA Game Configuration Instructions

HINATA and HINATA Lite support connecting to the game in two ways, please choose one:

• SEGA Official Serial Protocol
• AimeIO (based on Segatools)

Each of the two methods has its own advantages and disadvantages. Currently (with firmware version 2025040400), I recommend using SEGA Official Serial Protocal.

Please prepare a game that can connect to the network normally first.

Differences between the two methods:

SEGA Official Serial Protocol

When using the SEGA Official Serial Protocol, all behavioral logic is consistent with the official card reader, but:

• Configuration is more troublesome, and you have to wrestle with Windows' esoteric issues.
• If the card reader fails to communicate with the game for various reasons, the game will disconnect from the network.
• Many servers are not connected to SEGA's official AimeDB, which will cause users to get an incorrect card number (starting with 0008) when using the serial protocol and scanning an Amusement IC card. If you need to get the completely correct card number when scanning an Amusement IC card, please use the AimeIO method to connect to the game, and ensure that the card reader firmware version is ≥ 2025040400.

AimeIO

Advantages of using AimeIO:

• Supports hot-plugging the card reader in-game.
• The card reading speed is slightly faster than the serial protocol.
• Can coexist with enter-to-swipe.
• Convenient configuration, no need to fight with Windows to set the serial port, just plug it in and configure the game to use it.
• Exclusive feature: Supports bypassing the server to directly read the correct card number of an Amusement IC card and pass it to the game.

However, some behaviors are limited by Segatools and cannot be implemented correctly:

• Cannot log in to the official SEGA server (SDGA, SDGS, etc.) when using an Amusement IC card.
  Local servers and private servers are not affected.
• Currently unable to read non-Amusement IC Bandai Namco Passport cards (cards without the Amusement IC logo, or with a 20-digit number starting with 3, or with English, Korean, or Chinese on the back).
• A small number of Segatools cannot use all Felica cards, including Amusement IC, or the implementation is incorrect. If you encounter various card swiping problems in the game when swiping Felica cards such as Amusement IC or Hime, please replace your Segatools, or switch to the serial protocol connection.