Best ROM Hacks

[Mr.JT]

I came across the Jaguar Doom2 ROM hack the other day, and have spent hours since playing it on my gamedrive. I always go back to Doom, but this was like getting a whole new game even if it isn’t ‘complete’ 

 

Made me think, is there a list of similar ROM hacks (ie., changes to existing games) or a best of… and if not, what do people think?  (I couldn’t find one with some ‘moderate intensity’ searching… imagine if there was a best of list that hadn’t been done before…!)

 

I’d think the Doom2 one would probably feature near top of the list given all the new content (at least until slayer edition is released), but im aware of the checkered flag controls hack too - making a game much improved; a different kind of hack.

 

 Thoughts?

[+madman]

There's a steering patch for Checkered Flag.

https://www.reboot-games.com/rebootnews/checkered-flag-steering-patch/

[+Saturn]

There's an infinite superzapper romhack for Tempest 2000 done by CJ from Reboot, too.

 

I've done over 300 "new maps" rom hacks for Doom using the exact method for the two Doom 2 versions. Did more romhacks on both of those versions to add correct map names and a proper ending. Also, a ton of source code hacks for Doom weapons damage amounts, health amounts on bonus pickups, etc, as well as some MAJOR source code hacks done by a few others to include missing sounds, music, door speeds, teleporting demons, telefragging and so much more. Adding the Cyberdemon and Spider Mastermind were huge hacks-as well as a Jaguar only variant of the Spectre. There's a lot more but Doom 2 is exceptional bc it opened the door to possibilities.

 

Just need a romhack to stop the timer in Mutant Penguins so I'll quit losing repeatedly on the 1st stage when the robot blows his lid

 

[agradeneu]

30 minutes ago, Saturn said:

There's an infinite superzapper romhack for Tempest 2000 done by CJ from Reboot, too.

 

I've done over 300 "new maps" rom hacks for Doom using the exact method for the two Doom 2 versions. Did more romhacks on both of those versions to add correct map names and a proper ending. Also, a ton of source code hacks for Doom weapons damage amounts, health amounts on bonus pickups, etc, as well as some MAJOR source code hacks done by a few others to include missing sounds, music, door speeds, teleporting demons, telefragging and so much more. Adding the Cyberdemon and Spider Mastermind were huge hacks-as well as a Jaguar only variant of the Spectre. There's a lot more but Doom 2 is exceptional bc it opened the door to possibilities.

 

Just need a romhack to stop the timer in Mutant Penguins so I'll quit losing repeatedly on the 1st stage when the robot blows his lid

 

Any chance these hacks will be released for us to enjoy?

[+Saturn]

I hope so one day. A lot of them won't make the cut for various reasons but time will tell.

[sirlynxalot]

Wasn't someone porting chex quest?  I recall there was also a version of heretic but it was never released as far as I remember.

[doctorclu]

On 4/23/2023 at 3:40 AM, Saturn said:

There's an infinite superzapper romhack for Tempest 2000 done by CJ from Reboot, too.

 

I've done over 300 "new maps" rom hacks for Doom using the exact method for the two Doom 2 versions. Did more romhacks on both of those versions to add correct map names and a proper ending. Also, a ton of source code hacks for Doom weapons damage amounts, health amounts on bonus pickups, etc, as well as some MAJOR source code hacks done by a few others to include missing sounds, music, door speeds, teleporting demons, telefragging and so much more. Adding the Cyberdemon and Spider Mastermind were huge hacks-as well as a Jaguar only variant of the Spectre. There's a lot more but Doom 2 is exceptional bc it opened the door to possibilities.

 

Just need a romhack to stop the timer in Mutant Penguins so I'll quit losing repeatedly on the 1st stage when the robot blows his lid

 

Those are some awesome hacks.   I would be interested in how you added the sounds INTO Doom.   Still trying to understand how to change the file sizes in a rom and how the programs in the rom find the sub-file locations.

 

And I agree, Mutant Penguins could probably use a tweak to the time.   Can be a bit tight at times.

 

One hack I'm trying to hunt down is to change Zool 2 so that you only have to collect 5% - 10% of the items instead of 99% for speedrunning.

 

But in the meantime, we have made some progress in changing the maps and music in Bubsy.   This one adds ways to get to the lost room on the 6th level, and makes it possible to escape that room when done.   More changes and hacks with that coming up.

 

 

[doctorclu]

I'll just say, I'm surprised there are not more hacks and tinkering when it comes to Jaguar roms, at least from my experience with graphics hacking 2600 games.

 

But then there are a lot more tools developed for hacking 2600 and Atari 8-bit games.   Maybe more for the Jaguar in the future.

[tripled79]

I think on ROM hacking.net there was a Flashback hack that corrected the music at the early part of the game.

[SoundGammon]

Where does one download Doom 2?

[doctorclu]

Saturn does a lot with Doom and various Doom maps

 

Here is a Wolfenstein 3D hack I found:

"This is a patch for the Atari Jaguar version of Wolfenstein 3D which fixes two following things:

• Hans Grosse’s, Trans Grosse’s and Dr. Schabbs’ names now display in the correct order;
• For some reason, the purple wall texture has been replaced by the grey boulders texture, but, on the automap, it’s still purple. This patch replaces the automap graphic.

The patch is in the XDelta format."

 

Here is one for Flashback:

"With the exception of the CD-based releases, all other versions of Flashback (Sega Genesis, SNES, FM Towns Marty, Macintosh, DOS, and Amiga) play the same famous introduction jingle when Conrad is waking up. All - except the Atari Jaguar release which, for some reason, had the jingle accessible from the sound test menu but was never used during the game.

This patch rectifies that oversight.

It can be applied to any Jaguar ROM extension (*.rom, *.j64, *.jag, etc), provided it passes the CRC check. I’ve included two versions of the patch:

“ROM Flashback Jingle.ips” should be applied to your Jaguar ROM if you just plan to use it on an emulator.

“JAG Flashback Jingle.ips”, while not tested on real hardware, has been patched with the universal cartridge validation for a Jaguar running on an Alpine dev board.

Lunar IPS is required to patch the game."

 

[PFG 9000]

On 4/24/2023 at 11:55 AM, doctorclu said:

One hack I'm trying to hunt down is to change Zool 2 so that you only have to collect 5% - 10% of the items instead of 99% for speedrunning.

Would there be a way to hack Zool 2 so that Up on the D-pad no longer makes you jump?  The Jag's less-than-ideal D-pad doesn't help things, but I find myself frequently jumping unintentionally when I play Zool 2.  I never understood why that wasn't optional in the first place.

[panzer]

It might be silly/not possible. 

 

But a hack for rapid fire in Raiden?

 

I've only been playing it since I got a Game Drive and what an absolute gem it is. 

[hutnutmen]

On 5/2/2023 at 8:06 PM, PFG 9000 said:

Would there be a way to hack Zool 2 so that Up on the D-pad no longer makes you jump?  The Jag's less-than-ideal D-pad doesn't help things, but I find myself frequently jumping unintentionally when I play Zool 2.  I never understood why that wasn't optional in the first place.

This one🤩

[+Sauron]

On 5/2/2023 at 10:06 AM, PFG 9000 said:

Would there be a way to hack Zool 2 so that Up on the D-pad no longer makes you jump?  The Jag's less-than-ideal D-pad doesn't help things, but I find myself frequently jumping unintentionally when I play Zool 2.  I never understood why that wasn't optional in the first place.

I always thought I was the only one with this problem. Good to know that I wasn't!

[Zap1982]

This is interesting stuff.. I do love a good hack and have enjoyed a lot of them on the Megadrive side of things.

 

Quick question.. I am getting a Jag game drive soon and just wondered if there is a magical place where I can download the library of original released games and also if there is a similar place for hacks?

 

As a big Doom fan also, has anyone encountered slowdown on the Doom 2 levels at all? I am curious as to if some Final Doom levels could one day be ported..

[doctorclu]

On 5/2/2023 at 12:06 PM, PFG 9000 said:

Would there be a way to hack Zool 2 so that Up on the D-pad no longer makes you jump?  The Jag's less-than-ideal D-pad doesn't help things, but I find myself frequently jumping unintentionally when I play Zool 2.  I never understood why that wasn't optional in the first place.

On 5/3/2023 at 12:14 PM, hutnutmen said:

This one🤩

On 5/5/2023 at 5:29 AM, Sauron said:

I always thought I was the only one with this problem. Good to know that I wasn't!

 

Glad to say thanks to collaboration, you can now play Zool 2 with no crazy jumps from up on the D-Pad.

 

Can find that here: 

 

Up on D-Pad is entirely off on this version, however for climbing you can hit the jump button to shimmy up a wall.  

 

Overall, less chaotic.

Edited June 9, 2023 by doctorclu

[PFG 9000]

On 6/9/2023 at 3:21 AM, doctorclu said:

Up on D-Pad is entirely off on this version, however for climbing you can hit the jump button to shimmy up a wall.  

 

Overall, less chaotic.

This sounds awesome!  Thank you!

[doctorclu]

31 minutes ago, PFG 9000 said:

This sounds awesome!  Thank you!

 

Try it out, and let us know what you think.

 

Finding UP on the D-Pad is not really missed BTW.  Also think in Zool 2 the jump up and climb are not seperate actions.   Up on D-Pad and jump button did both.

If you need to climb a wall just hold down the jump button, climbs at regular speed as if you were holding down up on the D-Pad.

[+Biff Burgertime]

On 6/9/2023 at 4:21 AM, doctorclu said:

 

Glad to say thanks to collaboration, you can now play Zool 2 with no crazy jumps from up on the D-Pad.

 

Can find that here: 

 

Up on D-Pad is entirely off on this version, however for climbing you can hit the jump button to shimmy up a wall.  

 

Overall, less chaotic.

 

Wait... you're telling me Zool 2 assigned "Up" to jump... in spite of the fact there's a dedicated face button for jumping?!

 

The only cases in which "Up" is acceptable for jumping is either when there's no other option (1-button joysticks) or in fighting games a la Street Fighter II. Certainly not in a platformer on a console that offers 3 face buttons!

 

What the hell were they thinking?

[doctorclu]

6 hours ago, Biff Burgertime said:

 

Wait... you're telling me Zool 2 assigned "Up" to jump... in spite of the fact there's a dedicated face button for jumping?!  ...

 

What the hell were they thinking?

 

I've often felt any time up is assigned to jump, it generally does work.  And like you said, especially when another button is assigned to jump.

[doctorclu]

On 5/3/2023 at 3:56 AM, panzer said:

It might be silly/not possible. 

 

But a hack for rapid fire in Raiden?

 

I've only been playing it since I got a Game Drive and what an absolute gem it is. 

There are a few hacks I'd love to do for Raiden.   That, and see how slow it would go without the right scoreboard panel covering 40% of the screen.

[MrMaddog]

36 minutes ago, doctorclu said:

There are a few hacks I'd love to do for Raiden.   That, and see how slow it would go without the right scoreboard panel covering 40% of the screen.

 

Great idea...  I think they were trying to emulate the vertical screen but if you can scroll the screen left & right then what's the point?

 

 

[doctorclu]

1 hour ago, MrMaddog said:

 

Great idea...  I think they were trying to emulate the vertical screen but if you can scroll the screen left & right then what's the point?

 

 

Something fun.   See more of the screen at once?   Not have to scroll back and forth.   See more of the objects for collecting treasures.   Fewer surprise shots from off screen.

[hutnutmen]

On 6/9/2023 at 11:21 AM, doctorclu said:

 

Glad to say thanks to collaboration, you can now play Zool 2 with no crazy jumps from up on the D-Pad.

 

Can find that here: 

 

Up on D-Pad is entirely off on this version, however for climbing you can hit the jump button to shimmy up a wall.  

 

Overall, less chaotic.