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A number of people who frequent CoN have, at one point, dealt with ROM hacking. We're all familiar with Caesar's rather l33t hack, for instance. I myself have done my share of ROM hacking and consider myself somewhat of a veteran, particularly in the field of reverse engineering assembly code. But then again, I'm a programmer both by trade and hobby, so it's only natural. Last night, I stopped and considered something that, frankly, caused me to question the whole concept of ROM hacking.

Why do we do it?

The obvious answer experienced ROM hackers will give is, for the challenge. Let's face it: ROM hacking is difficult. No, using a program someone else made to change the game's text or to put in your own sprites does not make you a ROM hacker by a long shot. I'm talking about real ROM hackers who have at least a mild understanding of what they're doing, not (with no offense intended) wannabes who blindly rely on editors. The true ROM hackers who keep the field moving can hardly disagree with this: we do it because it's a challenge, and we're damned proud to squeeze out information from uncharted territory. Nothing beats the feeling of finally cracking a complicated format or making sense of some sketchy assembly function. Nothing can beat the pride one takes in posting an IPS patch where the game engine's limits have been pushed back or where important changes have been made.

Others, particularly those who have little to no experience with real programming, will answer that ROM hacking is their means of getting their ideas out in the open without resorting to something like RPGMaker. Also a valid point, and one shared by a lot of people.

So what's the big deal? I've just answered my question, right? Of course. I have. But that isn't a satisfactory answer at all: there's an alternative that's far easier (if a little more difficult to learn at first) and far, FAR more flexible.

Let's face it: if you want to do anything with a ROM, you need skills. Very good ones. And a lot of effort. You can't just pick a game and state, "Today, I shall rewrite the events in this game and insert my own version of the storyline!" If only it were that easy! A lot of research time must be spent finding what does what, how things are stored, and how things work. As a matter of fact, despite years of effort, there are still MANY things left to be discovered in FF6, THE most hacked ROM in the history of emulation. This being from the cumulative effort of many ROM hackers.

Sure, but what if you DO have access to the information you need? What if someone has already figured out how the things you want to edit work? Well hey, problem solved right? You can get right down to implanting your idea! Indeed, you can. But. You are at the system's mercy. Your sprites are limited to 16 colors. You don't have the raw power required to render 3D. In fact, you can't even (for instance) add new additional characters without SERIOUS assembly hacks and data manipulation that would drive even the most skilled veteran up a wall in frustration.

ROM hacking's a challenge and something to be damn proud of. But is it productive? Not by a long shot. Programming takes very little time to get into, and with a few months of effort you can produce SNES-quality games (assuming you start along the right path; QBasic is not the right path.) And the end results? With no restrictions in your way, you can come up with absolutely insane things. For instance, along with a very skilled fanfiction writer from these very boards, I'm using my game's engine to remake FF6 (DON'T TELL SQUARE'S LAWERS LOL ASL?! ) 3D maps, 2D sprites (possibly remastered to look nice and non-16bitish), remastered dialog, added goodies... ROM hacking would never permit this.

So what are your reasons for ROM hacking? What advantage do you see in it? I'm not talking about ROM editing, I'm talking about the real thing, the field which directly results in editors being created for non-ROM hackers to edit their ROMs, or for real ROM hackers to create new material and patches. My reasons are mentionned above (the challenge!) but I'm curious to hear other people's takes on this, be they programmers/ROM hackers or just people who like to mess around and see what they can come up with.

Discuss.

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"Judge not a man by his thoughts and words, but by
the quality and quantity of liquor in his possession
and the likelyhood of him sharing."

I do it for, like you, the challenge of it. I love to challenge myself since I am rarely challenged in school, and I love pushing my own limits. I don't even truly consider myself a "hacker", since I don't know assembly, however, I AM a hacker in the sense that I can change anything that doesn't require assembly, simply by using the hex editor. Certainly editors are faster, but there is no pride is using them...not to me, at least.

Also, ROM hacking is a nice little hobby to have on the side. It's sorta like "bonding time" with your favorite game...having the desire to decode the entire animation script coding merely by trial and error shows a great deal of admiration to the game. Sure, it's not nearly as productive as using assembly to figure out what's going on, but there's definitely something to be said for corruption.

Not only has this been a nice little hobby (late some nights, just sitting down and absolutely tearing apart an animation string and putting it back together differently, with gosubs pointing everywhere imaginable, gives one a sense of dignity), but I actually think I might have benefitted from hacking FFVI. I have acquired a great deal of patience (when you spend at least an hour decoding an animation string through corruption, think you know how something works, and then try using it on your own, only to realize that all the animation does it crash the emulator, you have to be patient, for the sake of the computer itself), as well as tremendous advances in deduction and critical thinking. I spent some serious hours bonding with the scientific method, and there is nothing I would rather do. Through analyzing similarities and differences between animation strings, I have before quite adept at picking out identical bytes within different animation strings, similar patterns, and other such things. This has truly been helpful during my internship working in a genetics lab at a nearby college...I can scan 6, 7, or sometimes even 8 DNA sequences at once and instantly pick out similar sequences and different ones; I am very fast at this...even faster than most of the college students working there and they have 4 or 5 years on me.

So, to answer your question, RuneLancer (let's use the name you prefer, for a change ), I hack ROMs for the challenge, the benefit of it, and simply the sheer enjoyment of delving into the innards of a favorite SNES game.

Oh, btw, thank you for this bit:

Quote

We're all familiar with Caesar's rather l33t hack, for instance.

It's always nice getting compliments from such an esteemed programmer to such a lowly hacker.

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Is PJ