[Archived] Hack ideas: for those without the skill but with all the ideas.

[darthueba]

You'd be better off just creating an English translation patch for the FDS version. I can guarantee that would be much more feasible. Even if you set aside the fact that the FDS has extra audio hardware, changing text and graphics is much easier than music and sound effects.

I know there's already a ROM translation of the FDS version, but it's limited in terms of space for words.
(link to the forum on the translation: https://www.romhacking.net/forum/index.php?topic=23727.0)
I'm hoping there's some way to expand the ROM to have room for both the sound and the complete text of the original English version, and I'm not sure how difficult that would be.

[Zanemato]

Not easy. I'm not sure about what frame rate the game actually runs at, but improving it would be a hell of a task. It's not like 3D games, games on the NES were just designed to be like that, so changing that design would be more trouble than it's worth. Just play the arcade version.

Now THIS is more doable. One could analyse how mouse input works on Mario Paint and the few other games designed to use the mouse, then try to replicate that in Sim City. If there's a game out there that supports both controller or mouse, even better. The tricky part is telling the game that that's what you want to do, but I really don't think it's outside the bounds of possibility.

Given how much people like this version over all others, I'm surprised nobody has tried to do it. I would, but alas, no time.

I'm in for this patch, it would be a new way to play. In the same optic, it would be awesome too to get a target cursor on the screen like Lethal Enforcers for games like Super Scope 6 or Yoshi's Safari

[KingMike]

There was a scene trainer-patched ROM that claimed to add controller support to Yoshi's Road Hunting (the Japanese version of Safari, or at least I think that was which version the ROM was).
But I couldn't get it work. Or at least it didn't work on the game select screen, which makes a controller hack kind of useless when you can't get through the menu. Though I think I tried using savestates to get around it to the gameplay and it still didn't work.
(unlike the Mario & Wario scene release which did have a functional controller hack that I converted to a patch, though also added the pause button support that the original hack didn't)

[Psyklax]

I know there's already a ROM translation of the FDS version, but it's limited in terms of space for words.
(link to the forum on the translation: https://www.romhacking.net/forum/index.php?topic=23727.0)
I'm hoping there's some way to expand the ROM to have room for both the sound and the complete text of the original English version, and I'm not sure how difficult that would be.

First of all, you cannot make a ROM with FDS sound, it is literally impossible. So, forget that.

As for the text, I'm actually rather surprised that there's a problem with space for text on the FDS version since there's such a tiny amount of text in the game anyway, and FDS disks usually have plenty of free space to exploit. I haven't looked at the disk myself but I'd be shocked if you couldn't fit the whole English text on there.

So, if you want to play FDS Zelda then either just play it since the language barrier ain't exactly overwhelming, or use the English patch that's already done, cause you ain't getting that sound on a cartridge.

[KingMike]

As for the text, I'm actually rather surprised that there's a problem with space for text on the FDS version since there's such a tiny amount of text in the game anyway, and FDS disks usually have plenty of free space to exploit. I haven't looked at the disk myself but I'd be shocked if you couldn't fit the whole English text on there.

RAM space is the issue more than ROM space.
Files get loaded to RAM, since I don't believe the CPU can execute code directly off the floppy, so you have to worry about having room to load data without overwriting something else.

[Psyklax]

RAM space is the issue more than ROM space.
Files get loaded to RAM, since I don't believe the CPU can execute code directly off the floppy, so you have to worry about having room to load data without overwriting something else.

Of course, though the FDS has extra RAM to accommodate this fact. Obviously the FDS can't execute directly off the floppy, though I don't think any computer can do that. I suppose if there's not much RAM left then it could be an issue, but again, I haven't looked into it.

Still don't think you're missing all that much by playing it in Japanese...

[E.Signal]

A rom hack for Final Fight 2 on the SNES that buffs the character's damage would be nice, It's takes way too long to defeat enemies since the characters are so weak, Final Fight 1 and 3 didn't have this problem, if 2 got the same treatment those games had, I think it'll be more enjoyable, please make this rom hack happen 

[Psyklax]

A rom hack for Final Fight 2 on the SNES that buffs the character's damage would be nice, It's takes way too long to defeat enemies since the characters are so weak, Final Fight 1 and 3 didn't have this problem, if 2 got the same treatment those games had, I think it'll be more enjoyable, please make this rom hack happen 

If you're a little more precise, this would likely be a very simple hack. Then again I beat FF2 and FF3 in one try in about the same length of time, so I'm not sure how necessary it is...

[Petuuuhhh]

I want to update and expand on Pokémon FireRed. I can do coding and use what ASM has been presented to me on PokéCommunity and sites like that, but I am not good at mapping. I want locations from the Indigo League saga in the anime and the First Movie, but since I can't map them, I'm not able to do it.

[treos]

i have ONE question... be it as a romhack OR homebrew... is this possible for the original playstation?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9fWjRHcgktI&feature=youtu.be

i forgot to copy/paste the link. there we go.

[tvtoon]

It does nothing that stray far away from PlayStation 1, even going trough clipping issues. Possible if not real, maybe even a fun multiplayer.

[spiffy]

According to this forum post, in the PAL version of Tony Hawk's Pro Skater (i.e. Tony Hawk's Skateboarding) the following three music tracks that were present in the NTSC version:

Vilified - Even Rude
Screamer/Nothing to Me - Speedealer
Euro-Barge - The Vandals

... were replaced with these three:

Le Hot - Grand Unified
Ain't Got Time to Waste - Aim feat. YZ
Blue Thunder - Aquasky

I wonder if it would be possible to insert all six tracks (three region-exclusive + three from the opposite region) onto a single game disc/image and edit the game's playlist to play the additional tracks, ideally in alternating order (region-exclusive -> opposite-region-exclusive -> region-exclusive, etc.).

I'm not sure if the Playstation version would have the extra space to accommodate the extra tracks, but I'm pretty confident that the Dreamcast version would (in GDI form at the very least).

[mamertos]

Battletoads (NES): after game over, start from the stage you have reached and not from the beginning

[ShockwaveS08]

Shadow Master (PSX): Adjust the control scheme to better-resemble modern FPS games, like a certain band of RH.net modders did for the PSX version of Quake II.

[Arty]

Was just wondering if someone could port the Ninja Gaiden SRAM hack to it's two sequels, it's a great hack and I'd love to have a completed trilogy.

[Psyklax]

Was just wondering if someone could port the Ninja Gaiden SRAM hack to it's two sequels, it's a great hack and I'd love to have a completed trilogy.

I do wonder what the point is of these hacks. Sure, if you had an original cartridge on original hardware, having a save function would've been neat - though a level select cheat would be more useful and wouldn't require an extra RAM chip and potentially a more complex MMC. But emulators have save states, the EverDrive N8 has save states... why the need to hack? Unlike an RPG which needs to save items, experience and whatever, this only needs to save one byte: the level you're on.

Personally I think a level select would be more useful, but hey, it's just my opinion. Maybe I'll do a series of hacks to add level selects to games...

[KingMike]

Someone also released a Ninja Gaiden III hack was restores the unlimited continues and passwords from the Japanese version.
Is that not suitable enough for NG3?

[mamertos]

Exactly. That's I'm looking for Battletoads: unlimited continues, not infinite lives. I think this game (and many others hard NES games) are more challenging with unlimited continues since the infinite lives feature (game genie codes) is very boring to play because the check points. At least with infinite continues, if you die, you have to start at the beginning of the last level.

[John Enigma]

Considering the fact that there's a Super Pitfall II prototype in existence, and the fact that there is a hack for the first Super Pitfall called the "30th Anniversary Hack", it would be nice if SPII got the same treatment.

[Arty]

I do wonder what the point is of these hacks. Sure, if you had an original cartridge on original hardware, having a save function would've been neat - though a level select cheat would be more useful and wouldn't require an extra RAM chip and potentially a more complex MMC. But emulators have save states, the EverDrive N8 has save states... why the need to hack? Unlike an RPG which needs to save items, experience and whatever, this only needs to save one byte: the level you're on.

Personally I think a level select would be more useful, but hey, it's just my opinion. Maybe I'll do a series of hacks to add level selects to games...

It's mostly a personal thing, I just feel dirty using save states to continue where I left off and only use them when I absolutely have to. If it's only one byte, how hard would it be for me to do it myself? Since it's something not many other people besides me want?