you've been around for a few years
I joined ROMhacking.net forums in 2016 because around that time, the site had temporarily changed the download process so you had to log in with a forum account to download something. After I made an account, I noticed they switched to a system where you just had to copy and paste a code to start the download. So I kept the account, but didn't actively use the forums until recently.
On a recent boredom streak, I started responding to posts where it looks like I can help. I want to share knowledge and help other people learn, but I often find myself just continuing to investigate on my own and patching the code or generating a cheat code myself. It's difficult to share all of the required background knowledge in a single post (machine language knowledge, debugger usage, console memory maps and registers, cartridge memory banking, and so on). Or if I want to link to some other documents, I feel like I'd have to find and link to a lot of different documents and explain how to fit all the different concepts together. But I still try to share knowledge when I can.
Other selected hacking history, estimated dates:
- 1989: I was gifted my own Commodore 64 for Christmas.
- 1995: I began reading about the 6502 machine language and wrote small machine language programs for my Commodore 64.
- 1999: The first time I saw an NES emulator, Nesticle.
- 2004: I learned how to use the debugger in FCEUX to investigate the password encoding in the NES game Uforuia.
- 2013: I became re-interested in learning how the Power Glove encodes its "programs". I found an interesting Power Glove thread on NESdev forums, registered an account there to reply, and continued reading those forums since then. I don't yet do any actual NES development, but I enjoy reading about how the NES works, because it's something I can understand.
Bavi_H, are you currently working on any projects of your own? [...] I would be curious and interested to see what you would enjoy working on and coming up with of your own, if creating was something that you would enjoy doing.
As a semi-project, I'm currently having fun helping Brutapode89 with
code debugging and text enlarging parts for his Super Mario Bros. 2 French translation.
For something on my own:
I find NES music composition software like Ikinari Musician and Family Composer interesting. Or on SNES, the music part of Mario Paint.
I've recently been fiddling around with graphics hacks to Family Composer, I might submit one.
I sometimes plan some initial design thoughts about making a small music program for the NES. Like maybe something that lets you use the controller like a tiny keyboard, or a small music composer system, or a simple music matching game.
I got a wiki account here and posted some RAM notes I had gathered while investigating a game. I might review other game notes I have and see if there's anything else interesting I can add that's missing from the wiki.
I might clean up and release some lua scripts for FCEUX or Mesen I wrote for specific games.
