Let's Decode a Scream 4 Patch

Last updated on June 19, 2020

This is the INIT patch of Propellerhead's Scream 4 Distortion FX Unit



This is what the INIT patch looks like in bytecode form, saved with the filename 17.sm4

464f 524d 0000 0072 5054 4348 4341 5420 0000 0004 5245 4653 4445 5343 0000 0023 bc01 0300 00ff 0000 0002 3137 0000 0013 5363 7265 616d 2034 2044 6973 746f 7274 696f 6e00 5041 524d 0000 0025 bc01 0000 000f 0101 023e 0300 043e 051e 0600 0700 0800 0900 0a00 0b69 0c28 0d00 0e00 0f55 0000 424f 4459 0000 0000

What do these codes mean? How can we translate these bytes back into the saved state of the Scream 4 that we started with?


Cracking the Code

Click on bytes below to reveal the FourCCs ("four-character codes") or a description of the bytes do

filenameLength = 2
filename = 17

464f 524d 0000 0072 5054 4348 4341 5420 0000 0004 5245 4653 4445 5343 0000 0023 bc01 0300 00ff 0000 0002 3137 0000 0013 5363 7265 616d 2034 2044 6973 746f 7274 696f 6e00 5041 524d 0000 0025 bc01 0000 000f 0101 023e 0300 043e 051e 0600 0700 0800 0900 0a00 0b69 0c28 0d00 0e00 0f55 0000 424f 4459 0000 0000

Special Thanks...

to @gormster for pointing out the FourCCs that I did not include originally in the post. Thank you for helping with the post!