ROM Hack Hacking with the NDS Header.

[madstarr]

I've heard of other people using it to hack, and i want to know how.

 

[Mooney]

You use the header tool to find the offset of a file, then use a hex editor to go to the offset and edit the file.

It is easy to change the text with games that have .txt files in them, like Impossible Mission. Other games might be harder.

 

[madstarr]

can you explain step by step what do i need, where do i get it and what to do. If you can, thanks a lot!!!!! the game i want to hack is Mario Kart DS KIOSK DEMO. The ndstool, i cant find a way to use it, so i gave up on the ndstool. I want to hack everyplace in different MKDSBeta.nds roms, about 6 or 7 roms.

 

[FAST6191]

Mooney summed it up although I should add that files in the DS file system often have their own file system, the most common of these is the SDAT sound file (used for all games I have ever broken down save electroplankton (which was standard wave if I recall).

You can do things like trick the game into thinking a file is another: mario kart beta hacks is a good one for this.
You can also replace files: often the Japanese audio is superior or desirable so you can "replace" the Western: megaman games are always a good candidate here.


Some info:
GBATek, if you ever program or hack files for the DS/GBA you will end up here, it has what you want:
http://nocash.emubase.de/gbatek.htm#dscartridges
SDAT spec, it is fairly obvious if you take it apart but here it is anyway:
http://kiwi.ds.googlepages.com/sdat.html
The good people behind tahaxan (one of the few DS hacking tools) also write up specs for various files as well:
http://tahaxan.arcnor.com/forums/index.php?board=1.0
A side note, you can also hack files for pokemon (search for the pokemon 493 thread around here and check some of the links within).

To go with this though most files have the locations of the files they hold within and their names at the start of the file and once you flip the bytes (8c01 becomes 018c etc) then it should make some sense (normally will point directly to the file of be a set amount "out").

 

[madstarr]

where do i get the hex editor? how do you use it?

 

[Toad717]

Just search "Download Full Hex Editor" but i dont know how to hack with it. Can anybody help me and madstarr on how to use it to hack? Hey i like mkdsbeta too.

 

[iTech]

I'm using frhed (http://www.kibria.de/frhed.html) right now, but it sucks, like everything that is free (except offcourse sex with your girlfriend, which *never* results in suckage)

 

[Toad717]

How do you use the hex editor to hack my rom mkdsbeta. Dont give me patches just tell me how to hack with it. What todo with all of those codes?

 

[madstarr]

How can me and toad 717 use the nds header and the hex editor together to hack? NOTE: for the nds header, do you just change the file data stuff like in mkdsbeta, you delete a unwanted course, and then rename the one you want to replace the course. Ex:mansion_course.carc (deleted) luigi_course.carc renamed to mansion_course.carc. just change it and your done? it has been changed in the rom? So after that you can play the rom and it would be how i put it?

 

[Njosnavelin]

...

Is this a serious post?

 

[madstarr]

well, i really want to know, because the ndstool way, it's way too confusing for me.

 

[madstarr]

anyone here to help out?

 

[arctic_flame]

If you can't understand ndstool, learn to understand ndstool.

Seriously, you're no way near computer literate enough to hack with a hex editor.

 

[Toad717]

All he and i wanted was some help on how to use it. I have the hex editor and ive found where the courses are in the exact location but no one would help us on how to hack. And there are no places on the web that have an entire explination on how to use the ndstool. I click it and all it does is show a black box with words but it dissapeares after a half a second. I know you have to run a command prompt and do this documents and settings thing ive seen people do that but my computer doesnt have a folder named documents and settings and if i put that on the command prompt and i put this ndstool-x Mkdsbeta.nds -x y -yi header.bin thing i know theres more but i havent memorized it and i press enter and it says its a bad command and nothing happens. I have the rom mkdsbeta and the ndstool in one folder alone and nothing at all happens. Can anyone help me with my mistakes? What kind of command prompt do i run. Or is there another way?