Documentation
Purpose of Documentation
Documentation on this wiki serves as a comprehensive resource hub for ROM hacking, game modification, and the use of various tools, drawing inspiration from established communities like ROMhacking.net. These documents include tutorials, technical guides, data format breakdowns, assembly references, hardware information, and game-specific notes that help developers, hobbyists, and preservationists understand and alter classic games. The purpose is to educate users on the intricacies of ROM manipulation—such as editing graphics, text, levels, or music—while promoting safe, legal practices like using patches on personal ROM dumps. By hosting or linking to these, we aim to preserve knowledge, lower entry barriers for beginners, and foster innovation in fan projects, indies, and homebrew. Examples of document types (based on common categories from ROMhacking.net) include:
- Assembly: Guides on low-level programming for specific hardware, like NES or SNES opcodes.
- Compression/Decompression: Explanations of algorithms used in games to pack data, with tools for unpacking/repacking.
- Game Specific: Detailed breakdowns for individual titles, such as level data in Super Mario World or Pokémon's scripting.
- Graphics Hacking: Tutorials on editing sprites, tiles, palettes, and formats like CHR banks.
- Hardware Info: Specs on consoles, chips, and peripherals for accurate emulation or homebrew.
- Level Editing: Instructions for modifying maps, enemies, and layouts using editors like Lunar Magic.
- Pointers: How to locate and redirect data references in ROMs.
- ROM/ISO Information: Formats, headers, and checksums for various systems.
- Table Files: Encoding schemes for text, like shift-JIS for Japanese games.
- Text Editing: Handling dialogues, fonts, and translations.
- Tutorials: Step-by-step walkthroughs for beginners, covering hex editing to advanced mods.
These resources empower you to create ROM hacks, fix bugs in old games, or even build new tools. Contribute by adding your own docs or expanding existing ones!
Browse Documentation
Explore our collection of documentation resources:
- Documentation by Type - Organized by category.
- Documentation by Game - Organized by the specific game or series.
- Documentation by Author - Organized by the creator or contributor.