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m (Hacks moved to Sonic Hacks: there is already a hack section, and this one seemed to be focused on sonic hacks.)
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Revision as of 11:45, 3 June 2008

Hacks are video games which have been modified somewhat, be it a simple pallette or text modification, or a more complicated level, graphic, gameplay, or music modfication. This is usually done by technically-inclined video game fans to breathe new life into a cherished old game, as a creative outlet, or to make essentially new unofficial games using an old game as a foundation.

ROM hacking is generally accomplished through use of a hex editor (a program for editing non-textual data) and various specialized tools such as tile editors, and game-specific tools which are generally used for editing levels, items, and the like, although more advanced tools such as assemblers and debuggers are occasionally used. Once ready, they are usually distributed on the internet for others to play, usually on an emulator.

Sonic hacks

The Sonic game hacking scene started around 1997, led by Saxman. While the first hacks were very basic, such as minor palette changes, the hacks of today are very complex, usually featuring some combination of the following:

  • Palette changes
  • Sprite changes
  • Major art (title screen, HUD, et al.) changes
  • Level art changes and original level layouts
  • Music and/or sound changes
  • Importation of levels from other games
  • Changes in movement engines or bosses
  • Original ideas and concepts introduced, such as the ring counter in Sonic 2 Delta

Most hacks in the Sonic community are distributed as full ROMs today. In the past, IPS patches were used, because an IPS patch was usually much smaller than the source ROM. It was also believed that since an IPS patch did not contain any copyrighted code, it was not illegal to distribute one. Many old hacks can still be found as IPS patches, but the format fell out of use when people started using split disassemblies to edit the game data. The massive shifts in the ROM that can result from reassembly made IPS patches very large, and they would often contain code anyway, thus eliminating the legal advantage. Though the RXL Format, developed by Saxman, was meant to eventually replace IPS, it quickly faded into obscurity (and probably would have suffered from the same problems anyway).

Notable hacks

In alphabetical order

Megadrive/Genesis

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