Metroid Construction
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-> Hacks -> How to play ROM hacks
The reason hacks are distrubuted as .IPS files instead of modified ROMs that you can download and play right away is because they're much smaller in filesize than a hacked ROM. They're also legal to host publically, unlike .SMC files. We're gonna have a quick go-over of the two most common ways to use these patches: soft patching and hard patching.
Soft patching:
Soft patching is a quick and temporary method of using an .IPS file that does not alter the ROM at all. Snes9X and ZSNES are both capable of doing it. In order to soft patch, you'll first need to verify whether both your patch and ROM are headered or unheadered. From there, it's simply a matter of your .IPS and .SMC files being in the same directory, and having the same exact filenames. For example:
C:\program files\Snes9x\Super_Metroid.smc
C:\program files\Snes9x\Super_Metroid.ips
Pretty straightforward, right? Once you've done that, load the .SMC file in your emulator. That's it. If all went well, you should now be playing the hack. To play the game normally again (or try another hack), rename the .IPS file to something else, and give another one the same name as the ROM. You get the idea.
Hard patching:
Hard patching is a little more difficult to do and involves more steps. Doing this does alter the ROM's programming permanently. Soft patching is great, but if you're looking to have a collection of hacked ROMs to pick from and play at any time, you're gonna wanna use this method. If this is your first time doing a hard patch, follow every step of this walk-through, even if you don't think it's necessary. You might learn something.
1. Find and download a Super Metroid ROM. Super Nintendo games are most commonly .SMC files. To avoid the risk of legal drama, we're not posting it here. Torrents and Google are your friend.
2. Download the .IPS file for whatever hack you want to play.
3. Download Lunar IPS and extract the .ZIP file's contents to any folder you want. This program is for patching .IPS files onto .SMC files.
4. Download SMILE and extract the .ZIP file's contents to any folder you want (everything will be placed in a "smile" folder on its own when you do this). This program is what pretty much every Super Metroid hacker uses to design their games, but we're only gonna be using it to verify whether your Super Metroid ROM is "headered[h]" or "unheadered[uh]" for this.
5. Make a back-up copy of your ROM before you do anything else! To do this, you right-click on the .SMC file, then click on "copy" and "paste" - this creates a duplicate .SMC file; a full back-up copy of the game. Patching an .IPS changes the ROM's programming, so always keep a 'clean' .SMC that hasn't been patched or modified by SMILE. This will spare you the headache of having to continually re-download it from the internet if you try multiple hacks.
6. Run "smile.exe" to launch the program, which is in the "smile" folder that you extracted earlier. Find and select the .SMC file that you want to apply an .IPS patch to and click "Open." Click on the blinking box that says "Click" and load a room from it. It doesn't matter which one you pick.
7. In SMILE, click "Tools > Header > Remove Header" and pay attention to what the n00b notice box tells you. It is wise. Click "Yes" when it asks, "Are you sure you want to remove the header?" If it says that the header has been removed, congrats. The header is gone and you can now safely use unheadered[uh] patches on it. Likewise, the back-up ROM still has a header, making it safe for headered[h] patches. Click "No" if another n00b notice pops up and says that "SMILE thinks this ROM doesn't have a header." This obviously means that it has no header, and clicking yes will probably just break the .SMC file.
8. That's all you really need to know about headers if you're just playing hacks. If you still crave knowledge, read up on the SMC header. Now, let's actually patch the ROM with an .IPS file.
9. Run "Lunar IPS.exe" (red smiling moon; you can't miss it) and click the "Apply IPS Patch" button on the left.
10. Find and select the .IPS file you downloaded, then click "Open."
11. Find and select the .SMC that you want the .IPS applied to, then click "Open." IPS patched successfully!
12. That's all there is to it. Load this now-patched .SMC in the emulator of your choice and enjoy the game. Don't patch the same ROM with multiple hacks, or you're just asking for a ruined game. IPS patches can't be "taken off" or un-patched easily, so learn the importance of duplicating a clean ROM before applying anything to it.
If you have a hacked Wii, these ROM hacks can be played right on your TV with a controller by loading the patched .SMC file with a homebrew application such as Snes9X GX. We're not gonna discuss how to hack your Wii here. You'll need to research that on your own if you're interested in doing that. Note that a lot of these ROM hacks are more difficult than the original game, and are made with the ability to use savestates in mind. Playing them on a console without the luxury of saving/loading your exact position on a whim could be very frustrating. Maybe even fun.
Apart from using SMILE (which can only open Super Metroid ROMs), this goes for most ROM hacks of other games. Get the ROM, patch the hack .IPS to it with Lunar IPS, and rock on.
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