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Difference between revisions of "Sonic hacks"

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'''Sonic Hacks''' are Sonic games which are usually edited through the process of [[Hacking|Rom Hacking]]. The 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:
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'''Sonic hacks''' are Sonic games which are usually edited through the process of [[Hacking|ROM Hacking]]. The 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
 
* Palette changes

Revision as of 10:21, 11 September 2008

Sonic hacks are Sonic games which are usually edited through the process of ROM Hacking. The 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 and therefore easier to distribute when dial-up was widely used. 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 split disassemblies came into use to edit 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 alleged 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

Sega CD