GCN Learning how to mod games?

[Manyula]

I want to start modding GameCube games, but I don't know where to begin. I know how to program, but am at a loss with getting started.
Can someone help?

 

[FAST6191]

Same as anything really. Unlike the really old devices the gamecube has a file system so you have that making things a bit easier in many ways, and harder in others. http://www.romhacking.net/start/ https://gbatemp.net/threads/gbatemp-rom-hacking-documentation-project-new-2016-edition-out.73394/

I think we are still suggesting https://wit.wiimm.de/ for tickling gamecube isos. Many of the same formats that appeared on the wii also appeared on the gamecube before it, and some similarities between things seen on the DS and later devices there will also be apparent. Indeed many of the Wii tools to handle file level compression started out as gamecube ones.

The best hardware documentation is probably still going to be http://hitmen.c02.at/files/yagcd/yagcd/frames.html but the source code for dolphin is worth having here. I am not sure what goes with dolphin's debugger mode these days but there should be a version out there for it. I don't know what we are suggesting for the Gamecube's slightly odd powerpc chip if you are going to go into assembly.

Some games have been fairly extensively fiddled with. Mario Kart probably being the most notable http://wiki.tockdom.com/wiki/Custom_Music , but there are also individual file formats that are known to various degrees. http://wiki.xentax.com/index.php/Game_File_Format_Central being a decent start there.
There is no particular central hub for GC ROM hacking. Most things are those individual games or spotted randomly in places. As mentioned though most of hacking is the same between systems -- a table for text editing works much the same on the NES as it does on the latest PS4 effort.