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Saxman posted a message on his website requesting interested programmers write software to modify levels using his notes. Eventually [[Stealth]] e-mailed Saxman about writing the software. Stealth began working on a program called [[SonED]] (spelled with a lowercase 'D' at the time). Stealth sent version 0.003 of the editor to Saxman to test. Saxman was pleased with the work, but a misunderstanding between Stealth and Saxman started to surface. Saxman wanted an editor written for him, whereas Stealth wanted to write the program under his own vision. This led to some disagreements between them, and so they parted ways.
 
Saxman posted a message on his website requesting interested programmers write software to modify levels using his notes. Eventually [[Stealth]] e-mailed Saxman about writing the software. Stealth began working on a program called [[SonED]] (spelled with a lowercase 'D' at the time). Stealth sent version 0.003 of the editor to Saxman to test. Saxman was pleased with the work, but a misunderstanding between Stealth and Saxman started to surface. Saxman wanted an editor written for him, whereas Stealth wanted to write the program under his own vision. This led to some disagreements between them, and so they parted ways.
  
In late 1999, Saxman became the maintainer of SSRG alongside Andy Wolan, ROM hacking had become a big deal in a previously small segment of the Sonic community, and other Sonic hacking pages were beginning to appear, all ending with "hacking guide". Cyan Helkaraxe had released his hacking notes for the original [[Sonic the Hedgehog (16-bit)]]. Andy Wolan suggested that Cyan and Saxman combine their pages, both of which were on SSRG. The [[Sonic 1 Hacking Guide]] and the notes on Cyan's website together became [[Sonic 1 Hacking Documents]].
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In late 1999, Saxman became the maintainer of SSRG alongside Andy Wolan, ROM hacking had become a big deal in a previously small segment of the Sonic community, and other Sonic hacking pages were beginning to appear, all ending with "hacking guide". [[Cyan Helkaraxe]] had released his hacking notes for the original [[Sonic the Hedgehog (16-bit)]]. Andy Wolan suggested that Cyan and Saxman combine their pages, both of which were on SSRG. The [[Sonic 1 Hacking Guide]] and the notes on Cyan's website together became [[Sonic 1 Hacking Documents]].
  
 
As ROM hacking information began emerging more rapidly, Saxman decided it was an opportunity to launch his own website outside SSRG. So through a deal with Andy, sonichacking.org was registered and on January 1, 2001, Saxman launched a brand new website simply called [[Sonic Hacking Community (SHaC)]]. The website became an enourmous success, though nowhere near the success of it's bigger brother SSRG. SHaC's purpose was to focus centrally on hacking. Saxman also used it as a personal homepage and uploaded some home-recorded music.
 
As ROM hacking information began emerging more rapidly, Saxman decided it was an opportunity to launch his own website outside SSRG. So through a deal with Andy, sonichacking.org was registered and on January 1, 2001, Saxman launched a brand new website simply called [[Sonic Hacking Community (SHaC)]]. The website became an enourmous success, though nowhere near the success of it's bigger brother SSRG. SHaC's purpose was to focus centrally on hacking. Saxman also used it as a personal homepage and uploaded some home-recorded music.

Revision as of 04:11, 29 September 2008

<forumuser name="saxman" /> Saxman is a long-time veteran of the Sonic community. He has been around since 1996, which goes all the way back to the days when Rat.Org was heavily active on the Web.

Saxman, started his first Sonic the Hedgehog website in 1997 and called it "Sega-Master's Sonic the Hedgehog Page". It usually ranked 3/5 by most linking sites. The page focused around having everything Sonic, from pictures and MIDI files, to fan games and cheats.

Saxman's friend A.J. Freda introduced him to emulation by sending the Sonic the Hedgehog 2 ROM file via ICQ. It was the first time Saxman ever knew playing Sega Genesis games on a PC was possible. Simon Wai was not known in the community yet, and the Sonic 2 beta ROM hadn't seen the light of day.

In 1998 when Tom Sonic publically released information on how to modify a Genecyst savestate to access Hidden Palace Zone, Saxman started to take interest in it. Realizing that hacking could be taken further, Saxman began poking around savestates to see what else he could figure out. He discovered the act and lives bytes soon after, and this prompted him to began taking notes. Saxman jotted everything on a sheet of paper. He also became curious about the ROM and began randomly changing information in it to see what would happen. As he did this, he jotted down more findings. This sheet of paper was mailed to A.J. Freda and was the precursor to what was about to become the Sonic 2 Hacking Guide.

In late 1998, Saxman typed his notes on his brand new IBM computer and sent them to Simon Wai so they could be uploaded to his Sonic 2 beta page. As luck would have it, Andy Wolan was looking at Simon's page and offered him hosting on the newly created Sonic Stuff Research Group (SSRG) website. Andy e-mailed Saxman seperately about hosting. Saxman agreed, and within an hour of Simon's page first showing up on SSRG, the Sonic 2 Hacking Guide appeared in a new HTML format Saxman had put together.

The popularity of the Sonic 2 Hacking Guide didn't come immediately. It took many weeks before people around the Sonic community started to take a serious look at the findings Saxman had been hammering out almost daily. It could be argued that Saxman's level editing information was what made interest from other people begin to spike. Saxman would soon make other breakthroughs such as documenting how to modify text, mappings of the player sprites, color palettes, and how to port Hidden Palace Zone from Sonic 2 beta over to a savestate from the commercial Sonic 2 ROM. He released a couple hacks of his own such as a brand new Sonic 2 level called Coastal Valley. Saxman and his website became widely known across the community for the new innovation never before seen in the community.

Saxman posted a message on his website requesting interested programmers write software to modify levels using his notes. Eventually Stealth e-mailed Saxman about writing the software. Stealth began working on a program called SonED (spelled with a lowercase 'D' at the time). Stealth sent version 0.003 of the editor to Saxman to test. Saxman was pleased with the work, but a misunderstanding between Stealth and Saxman started to surface. Saxman wanted an editor written for him, whereas Stealth wanted to write the program under his own vision. This led to some disagreements between them, and so they parted ways.

In late 1999, Saxman became the maintainer of SSRG alongside Andy Wolan, ROM hacking had become a big deal in a previously small segment of the Sonic community, and other Sonic hacking pages were beginning to appear, all ending with "hacking guide". Cyan Helkaraxe had released his hacking notes for the original Sonic the Hedgehog (16-bit). Andy Wolan suggested that Cyan and Saxman combine their pages, both of which were on SSRG. The Sonic 1 Hacking Guide and the notes on Cyan's website together became Sonic 1 Hacking Documents.

As ROM hacking information began emerging more rapidly, Saxman decided it was an opportunity to launch his own website outside SSRG. So through a deal with Andy, sonichacking.org was registered and on January 1, 2001, Saxman launched a brand new website simply called Sonic Hacking Community (SHaC). The website became an enourmous success, though nowhere near the success of it's bigger brother SSRG. SHaC's purpose was to focus centrally on hacking. Saxman also used it as a personal homepage and uploaded some home-recorded music.

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