Rummy
01-12-2007, 04:17 PM
So, I just got an M3(flash cart) and feel like fiddling around with some GBA ROMs, but I haven't got a clue where to start really, or what I want to do for that matter.
Firstly, I'm curious about something. I used to love playing around with PAR codes and stuff(probably why I found messing with ROMs fun), and I was wondering, is there any sort of way to change a ROM's code to give a permanant effect of what you could do with a game genie/PAR/whatever code easily?
Secondly, does anyone here know much about flash carts/devices, M3 ones in particular, and what sort of stuff you can do with them? Like I said, I want to go right back where I started, and I notice one feature is that you can encorporate .cht files into the ROM you put on the card, but does anyone know how to go about writing them? I had a look at one of the cheat files, but I didn't really understand what was going on. Here's a snippet from the .cht file for Superstar Saga;
[Mney]
ON=48E0,FF,FF,0
[Entire stage pro]
ON=48E2,63,63,63,63,63,63,63,63,63,63,63,63,63,63, 63,63,63,63,63,63,63,63,63,63,63,63,63,63,63,63,63 ,63,63,63,63,63,63,63,63
[Mario EXP]
ON=485C,F,27
[Luigi EXP]
ON=4898,F,27
I understand hex and all that, and how PARs worked, but I need some sort of starting point here to be able to understand these. Is the first 4 digits referring to an address? Which is set to the value after when turned on? If there's more than one value, does that simply mean it works relative from the starting point(like if it said 0000, FF, FF, FF it'd set the values at 0000, 0001 and 0002 to FF?)
I guess that's all for now, just looking to get started with something light and relatively familiar to get me into the mood and swing of things.
EDIT: It's me again, I guess this topic has gone more away from ROM hacking and more towards code creating. Say if I had a list of GS codes for a game, and found a pre-existing cheat file(like this one), is it likely to work to just port the codes by like a fixed shift? Like how codes would vary between different regional versions(in which cases you could usually just add or subtract a fixed 'factor' from the addresses of the existing codes to get the desired ones. Anyone with me here? I need to find out about how GBA codes work though...
EDITWO: Hmm, I managed to find some superstar saga codes and it does seem pretty much the same, I don't think I understand these sliding codes entirely, but I think they're to save actual cheat users from typing out lines of code, and that the .cht file does work how I originally though. Still iffy about some things, methinks I'll look for a more dedicated forum.<P ID="edit"><FONT class="small">Edited by Rummy on 01/12/07 04:00 PM.</FONT></P>
Firstly, I'm curious about something. I used to love playing around with PAR codes and stuff(probably why I found messing with ROMs fun), and I was wondering, is there any sort of way to change a ROM's code to give a permanant effect of what you could do with a game genie/PAR/whatever code easily?
Secondly, does anyone here know much about flash carts/devices, M3 ones in particular, and what sort of stuff you can do with them? Like I said, I want to go right back where I started, and I notice one feature is that you can encorporate .cht files into the ROM you put on the card, but does anyone know how to go about writing them? I had a look at one of the cheat files, but I didn't really understand what was going on. Here's a snippet from the .cht file for Superstar Saga;
[Mney]
ON=48E0,FF,FF,0
[Entire stage pro]
ON=48E2,63,63,63,63,63,63,63,63,63,63,63,63,63,63, 63,63,63,63,63,63,63,63,63,63,63,63,63,63,63,63,63 ,63,63,63,63,63,63,63,63
[Mario EXP]
ON=485C,F,27
[Luigi EXP]
ON=4898,F,27
I understand hex and all that, and how PARs worked, but I need some sort of starting point here to be able to understand these. Is the first 4 digits referring to an address? Which is set to the value after when turned on? If there's more than one value, does that simply mean it works relative from the starting point(like if it said 0000, FF, FF, FF it'd set the values at 0000, 0001 and 0002 to FF?)
I guess that's all for now, just looking to get started with something light and relatively familiar to get me into the mood and swing of things.
EDIT: It's me again, I guess this topic has gone more away from ROM hacking and more towards code creating. Say if I had a list of GS codes for a game, and found a pre-existing cheat file(like this one), is it likely to work to just port the codes by like a fixed shift? Like how codes would vary between different regional versions(in which cases you could usually just add or subtract a fixed 'factor' from the addresses of the existing codes to get the desired ones. Anyone with me here? I need to find out about how GBA codes work though...
EDITWO: Hmm, I managed to find some superstar saga codes and it does seem pretty much the same, I don't think I understand these sliding codes entirely, but I think they're to save actual cheat users from typing out lines of code, and that the .cht file does work how I originally though. Still iffy about some things, methinks I'll look for a more dedicated forum.<P ID="edit"><FONT class="small">Edited by Rummy on 01/12/07 04:00 PM.</FONT></P>