Talk:Data Crystal

New Accounts

The new account text should be updated since the romhacking.net account bridge is no longer maintained, something like:

New Romhacking.net accounts no longer work here. If you'd like to contribute to Data Crystal then join the #datacrystal channel on Discord and request an account from @danke along with a valid email address.

Sidebar Proposal

I suggest we replace the existing sidebar with this:

• Navigation
  • mainpage|Data Crystal Main Page
  • http://www.romhacking.net/%7CRHDN Home
  • recentchanges-url|recentchanges
  • helppage|help
• Hacking Basics|Hacking Basics
• Hacking
  • 3DO|3DO
  • Fujitsu FM |FM-7/Towns/Marty
  • Gameboy|Gameboy/Color/Advance
  • Gamecube|Gamecube
  • GameGear|GameGear
  • Genesis (Mega Drive)|Genesis/Mega Drive
  • Lynx|Lynx
  • MSX 1-2|MSX 1/2
  • N64|N64
  • Nintendo DS|Nintendo DS
  • NES (Famicom)|NES/Famicom
  • NEC PC|NEC PC-88/98
  • Neo Geo|Neo Geo
  • Neo Geo Pocket|Neo Geo Pocket/Color
  • PC-FX|PC-FX
  • Playstation|Playstation 1/2/3
  • PSP|PSP
  • Sega Master System|Sega Master System
  • SNES (Super Famicom)|SNES/Super Famicom
  • TurboGrafx-16 (PC Engine)|TurboGrafx-16/PC Engine
  • Vita|Vita
  • Wonderswan/Color|Wonderswan/Color
  • X68000|X68000
• Game Specific
  • http://www.romhacking.net/games/%7CRHDN Games List
  • Category:3DO games|3DO
  • Category:FM-7 games|FM-7
  • Category:FM-Towns games|FM-Towns
  • Category:FM-Towns Marty games|FM-Towns Marty
  • Category:Nintendo Gamecube games|Gamecube
  • Category:GB/C games|Gameboy/Color
  • Category:GBA games|Gameboy Advance
  • Category:Sega Genesis games|Genesis/Megadrive
  • Category:Lynx Games|Lynx
  • Category:MSX Games|MSX
  • Category:MSX2 Games|MSX-2
  • Category:Nintendo 64|N64
  • Category:Nintendo DS|NDS
  • Category:Neo Geo Pocket games|Neo Geo Pocket/Color
  • Category:Neo Geo Pocket Color games|Neo Geo Pocket Color
  • Category:NES games|NES/Famicom
  • Category:NEC PC-88 games|PC-88
  • Category:NEC PC-98 games|PC-98
  • Category:PC-FX|PC-FX
  • Category:Sony Playstation games|PS1
  • Category:Sony Playstation 2 games|PS2
  • Category:Sony Playstation 3 games|PS3
  • Category:Sony PSP games|PSP
  • Category:SNES games|SNES/Super Famicom
  • Category:Sony PS Vita games|Vita
  • Category:Wonderswan games|Wonderswan
  • Category:Wonderswan Color games|Wonderswan Color
  • Category:X68000 games|X68000
• Translations Request List|Translation Request List
• Community History
  • Fan Translation Community History|Fan Translation Community History

Zonk47 (talk) 14:08, 29 February 2016 (EST)

I approve. I already asked for something like that on IRC last year, but nothing has been done since. Might be worth a try to ask again.--Mantidactyle (talk) 23:59, 3 March 2016 (EST)

Pages for emulators?

What do you guys think about adding pages for emulators? Stuff like:

1. Controls/Keyboard Shortcuts
2. Required libraries and build tools
3. Compilation guides. FAQs concerning what dependancies you're missing if you get certain error messages, and what to sudo apt-get to correct those errors.
4. Explanations of these things, or links to explanations. http://board.byuu.org/viewtopic.php?p=26819
5. Documentation of source code
6. Last updated, dead/dying/alive/forked status

And does this wiki's software have a hide/spoiler/expand-contract tag?

--Creeperton 19:53, 10 February 2011 (UTC)

Request and Help?

Could someone add a page for the PS1, and add PS1 to the "games" sidebar? I can't edit the main page.

Nor can I confirm my email address. I just get a "mail error" message, even though I copy and pasted my email address. This does not bode well for me. If I can't get help, how do I know that this site won't drop off the face of the earth and take all my contributions with it?

(unsigned comment by User:Vimes)

I added a PSX link to the sidebar and main page (both are protected as they are prime vandalism targets). I also made an infobox template for PSX games (Template:PSX) and changed Vagrant Story to use it. I don't know much about the PSX, so I was not sure what to actually put on it. Feel free to add whatever information belongs there. You can look at Template:iNES and Template:SNES for examples. (I just copied Template:iNES and removed the NES-specific stuff.) I did not make a page for the Sony Playstation. You can do that, or maybe I will get around to writing up a stub later.

Not sure what is up with the e-mail thing. I will look into it.

Please sign additions to talk pages, either by using the signature button or by typing two dashes followed by three tildes with no spaces.

--AnyoneEB 00:16, 21 August 2010 (UTC)

Okay, I figured out why e-mails from the server were broken. They work now. Thank you for telling me they were broken. Re-request the confirmation e-mail. --AnyoneEB 01:12, 21 August 2010 (UTC)

Updates?

Is the main page ever going to be updated?

It seems to be a shame that very few people seem to care about this site. It has been almost a year since the main page has been updated. I think that more people would contribute to this site if there was any sign of life from a moderator or owner or whatever.

We should also get a new logo and state what major websites give info to this wiki.

Is anyone who has control over the site still here?

To the above

I doubt it. My idiocy from 3 years ago was still there. --ShadowDog 04:33, 29 July 2010 (UTC)

I'm still around. I do not have the time to patrol every edit. The vast majority of the edits appear perfectly fine now that the spam filters are working. --AnyoneEB 17:37, 29 July 2010 (UTC)

Dutch Allies...

Why don't we ever link to Magic Stone, our dutch(?) ally? Also, we got anymore alternate languages? --Cat Lover 18:08, 7 May 2007 (EDT)

Maybe because noone here knows Dutch ;) But actually there is a link on the left... I'll assume it was added after your post.

That's German... 24.138.69.112 16:27, 3 May 2009 (UTC)

Update!

I have just updated all the game systems on the left, plus Xbox, to be indexed by hacked-ness. See Help

ROM Hacks Classification

I think it would be a good idea to add a kind of code for ROM Hacks, according to what is actually modified in the hack compared to the original game. Text, graphics, levels, sound, gameplay, etc. And integrate this code as a taxobox item. What do you think? -- Trax 17:20, 3 July 2007 (EDT)

Super Mario World for NES

There is a really strange and cool homebrew version of SMW ff That ROM is incredibly hard to find but it's possible - I found it somehow.

IRC Channel

There are no chat rooms on IRC. And noone's ever in the channel either.f Oh well.

I just checked the irc and the channel does not exist. Someone should remove it from the page.

And Discord is awful to even get running. Apparently it hates my ISP. I got past the ReCaptcha and then it just... sites there. At least IRC was instant.  :( BTW: I thought signing our names was required? Alphamule (talk) 06:34, 22 June 2018 (EDT)

Value display formats

I think there should be a format for displaying values, namely Hexadecimal and Decimal. f I know with some of the work I do, I like to see both rightf next to each other. Not only is it helpful if your math isn't so great, but it increases the readability for any newcomers to hacking. With some of the RAM maps I've been modifying, I've generally used $Hex(Dec), though I've been working with the 0x[HEX] as well. I'm not sure which one should be used, but that can be discussed. f In all honesty, I like the idea of using the 0x format for the addresses and the $Hex(Dec) format for value listings.

Ex:
0x0015 -- Lolo's X position -- Always equal to 0x006D plus $0C(12). Not directly changeable.

Of course, it'd look much nicerfff in the chart; This is about the format of displaying values. Any feedback or comments on this would be greatly appreciated. Being an occasional organization zealot, I'm gung-ho to set a format in place and go to some of the other, less kempt pages and correct them. ^_^

P.JBoy - The way I have it: "adding numbers" (would be used for positions/momentums/health etc.) would be shown as decimal and "oring numbers" (powers of 2, would be used for button input/equiptment status etc.) would be shown as hexadecimal

Rycona - Makes sense. I sometimes make my own programs for analyzing data, depending on the situation, and since I'm lazy, I don't write the code to rework the decimal it displays into hex (which would take about 1 1/2 minutes >_<). You make a very strong argument, though. Anything more geared toward being process through more binary routines should be displayed in just Hex. I personally still have the mind set of showing all other values, or "adding numbers," as both just so you have both to work with depending on what kind of work you're doing, what suits you best, and general readability (especially for lower-level hackers such as myself).

Article Removal

The Rockman No Constancy/wikid/index.php page should probably be removed/cleared. Just a suggestion. --Rycona 12:21, 18 January 2008 (EST) ffffff

zophar.net

ff They have a lot of hackfing tools that'll populate empty articles and add more to what's already here.

Also, romhacking.net is another of those places that are trying to centralize the scene.

hell0

hi, i am Andrewrox, an admin on [www.en.spongepedia.bimserver.com SpongePedia], a SpongeBob SquarePants Wiki. I am pretty much t boss of the site, and i have a few tips for you: on the Main Page, add in sections with colors.Add in templates, with colors and add in specials sfuch as: Wanted Articles, New articles, and trivia! thanks, and for examples with the main page, just check SpongePedia!

January is Community Discussion Month!

It's almost june now though ;) --Frantik 02:59, 23 May 2008 (EDT)

That message is actually from January 2007. --Case 12:18, 25 June 2008 (EDT)

The SPAM problem...

Is there anybody left here who actually has the power to fdo something about this? Like turn off non-logged-in editing and then be able to ban users who spam if they decide to set up accounts. It seems like almost every edit now is a spammer or someone removing the sfpam. :P --Case 12:22, 25 June 2008 (EDT)

-_- I am very Sorry. I have been quite negligent in kfsion and installed/updated some anti-spam extensions. Hopefully that will greatly limit new spam. If the anti-spam measures are annoying to normal users, please complain here so I can address those issues.

Users can help by using Template:spampage to mark pages that currently have spam that I miss.

--AnyoneEB 05:35, 29 June 2008 (UTC)

N64???????

There is a nice handfull of editors out there for n64 games. Zafum 00:56, 20 November 2008 (UTC)

Recent downtime

Apologies for the recent downtime. Our host had some troubles with their hosting company and ending up moving to a new server. Please notify me if anything did not get transferred properly. --AnyoneEB 03:36, 25 November 2008 (UTC)

Needs moar console variety

As stated, we need moar console variety. I've had that hidden BREAKDOWN page up for a looooooong time now and after having devoted some time to considering it, a lot of XBOX games are probably just as exploitable. Thus, I think an XBOX category should be added, as well as several others as they become of interest, which doesn't seem to be happening at the moment. --NLA

Okay, I added links to the Xbox category on the main page and sidebar. What other consoles do you think should be added? BTW, is there a standard three letter abbreviation for Xbox or is just "Xbox" fine? --AnyoneEB 03:00, 2 December 2008 (UTC)

Dead?

Is DataCrystal dead? ameeps 01:03, 3 February 2009 (UTC)

Hmmm... I guess you have made most of the changes in the past couple days (see: Special:Recentchanges on the navbar), but going back a few days there are some other users around. I guess it is not all that lively at the moment, but it's not dead. --AnyoneEB 07:29, 4 February 2009 (UTC)

...

The link to the Super Nintendo article reads "Nintendo Super Nintendo Entertainment System"

Main Page Link Correction

Several of the front page links now link to duplicate articles, now blanked. If at all possible, could the main admin change the Super Nintendo Entertainment System link from the current category to Category: SNES Games (as well as the link name, incorrect and mention above), the Game Boy/Color link from the current category to Category: GB/C Games, and the Game Boy Advance link from the current category to Category: GBA Games. Redstar 00:25, 7 June 2009 (UTC)

Category Renaming

To go with the standard of abbreviating console names for their game category, Category:Nintendo 64 games should be renamed Category:N64 games, Category:Sony Playstation games should be renamed Category:PS/1 games, and Category:Playstation 2 games should be renamed Category:PS2 games. Redstar 23:54, 8 June 2009 (UTC)

Getting rid of hack pages?

Romhacking.net's ROM Hacks section seems to cover ROM hacks quite well, and is far more complete than DataCrystal will ever be. It is user-editable, and the wiki features simply don't add that much to hack pages, while the structured search on romhacking.net seems to work well. Hacks are not the main focus of DataCrystal, and there seem to be a lot of hack pages made compared to the amount of editing the hacking documentation gets. This does not seem to add any real value.

As being able to find existing hacks is certainly a feature of value, I am suggesting that instead of listing hacks on DataCrystal, game articles should just link to romhacking.net's hack list for the game. For example, Earthbound hacks.

I do not believe this is a step toward obsolescent for DataCrystal; instead, it would allow DataCrystal to focus on its strength: documentation of games which is going to naturally involve a good amount of cross-references both within a game and to various system features used like graphics and compression formats and therefore lend itself to a wiki format.

--AnyoneEB 06:07, 5 July 2009 (UTC)

There is also the site Badhacks which contain the "more mature" hacks that are on this wiki, such as the naked headless mario, or whatever it's called. I know that romhacking.net took a stance against games like that, mostly for obvious reasons, so they wouldn't be listed on RHDN. danke 11:15, 6 July 2009 (UTC) 11:15, 6 July 2009 (UTC)

"badhacks" is currently MIA

As there does not appear to be any disagreement, I am closing this discussion.

All hack pages are to be removed from this wiki (... eventually) and no new ones should be created. Instead links to romhacking.net, badhacks, and other hack repositories may be included in game articles.

Similarly, although I am not against pages on utilities, for most cases, a link to the utilities list on romhacking.net is probably sufficient. Recommendations on the most useful utilities and tutorials are fine. --AnyoneEB 23:03, 21 July 2009 (UTC)

A note on the hacks migrating to romhacking.net: Romhacking.net will not accept half-assed hacks, or hacks with very minor changes. I'm not sure why these hacks are even listed on this wiki, because they don't warrant their own pages, because the changes are so minimal. The hack submission policy on RHDN is pretty lenient, as long as you follow the submission rules. They require screenshots, links to the patches (not ROMs) hosted on another site, and an optional Read-Me. danke 07:24, 12 August 2009 (UTC)

HackI strongly believe DataCrystal should have his own

Thanks for the info. I don't think that should be an issue. --AnyoneEB 18:43, 12 August 2009 (UTC)

Walkthrough?

Hi, can I write a walkthrough here? There is a hack listed in this wiki which I like very much, but no walkthrough exist. --77.203.166.23 16:47, 16 August 2009 (UTC)

Console Logos

I think we should change all console images (ex: SNES template) to their respective logos, Valendian already used the PlayStation logo in the PSX template. Wikipedia has all the console logos in SVG format and I'm fairly sure that if we copy their trademark/copyright disclaimers, there should be no problem with using said logos. I don't mind replacing all logos and copying the disclaimers' templates. What do you guys think? -- Golden 14:52, 17 September 2010 (UTC)

Hmm... I actually sorta like the image of the console with the interlacing lines, but you are probably right that the logos make more sense and are likely more identifiable. So I guess count me as a weak agree. --AnyoneEB 03:28, 18 September 2010 (UTC)

Math Tags

I've noticed the <math></math> tags are disabled, is it possible to enable them? -- Golden 14:58, 17 September 2010 (UTC)

I will look into it. I suspect it is more complicated than just changing a preference as it needs to be able to call latex. --AnyoneEB 03:29, 18 September 2010 (UTC)

Ah, according to the manual it requires compiling something and installing a few packages. I will ask the admins if they could do that. May I ask what you want it for? --AnyoneEB 03:33, 18 September 2010 (UTC)

I think it greatly increases readability in math oriented articles in Wikipedia. There are some articles here on Data Crystal which could also benefit from its usage, like Introduction to Hacking. -- Golden 11:59, 18 September 2010 (UTC)

Sorry, the romhacking.net admins think it's too much trouble for something that would have very minimal application to this wiki, which I agree with. As a workaround, if you do need some typeset math, you could typeset it in an sandbox on Wikipedia and upload the image. --AnyoneEB 05:13, 26 September 2010 (UTC)

SVG Support

It would be nice to be able to upload SVG files since the same image can be resized without losing quality, avoiding the need for multiple images for different sizes. -- Golden 14:53, 18 September 2010 (UTC)

Sorry, as above, the romhacking.net admins think it's too much trouble for something that would have very minimal application to this wiki, which I agree with. Just use PNG images and don't worry about rescaling them. --AnyoneEB 05:14, 26 September 2010 (UTC)

Font size in <nowiki> tag

I think the font used inside the <nowiki> tag is too small, its current size is 10px when 12px would make it much more readable.

10px:

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipisicing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua.

12px:

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipisicing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua.

The CSS selector responsible for formatting the content inside <nowiki> tags is defined as 'pre' at: http://datacrystal.romhacking.net/wikid/skins/monobook/main.css --Golden 22:34, 18 September 2010 (UTC)

Never mind, it's probably best not to mess with those files; <big><nowiki>...</nowiki> produces the same output. --Golden 01:55, 19 September 2010 (UTC)

Allowed to upload source files

I have been adding data for a game and I wonder if it's allowed to upload and link to source files in order to supplement the explanations in the page. More specifically, I would like to do this on the pages describing compression schemes by uploading the source for a small compressor/decompressor implemented in a single file. Or is it preferable to put the source in the page itself.

Neige 02:05, 14 January 2012 (UTC)

Wonderswan and others

ZOMG, WSx plz! I have like... 2 Tables to add! Also, why don't just stick everything known by mankind and let people "Edit" the pages?

Tvtoon (talk) 16:46, 22 December 2013 (EST)

What on earth are you trying to say? If you want to add a game for a system not currently listed, you are free to create a page and template for the new system. Use another system's page/template as a guide. If you want it added to the nav bar, contact an admin.

The reason we don't have "everything known by mankind" is because somebody would have to spend time to research and add all those extra pages, which would do nothing but clutter up the wiki without adding any actual content. It's a wiki. Pages are added as needed. This is done by users like you, because wikis are community maintained. Snarfblam (talk) 15:27, 24 December 2013 (EST)

Actually, I was talking about enforcing some standards (abbreviations and such). Anyway, I have created the WS/C Games category, now I am wondering how should I put another Final Fantasy page up, so it doesn't stick to the NES one.

Also, if anybody has better ideas for the template in this system, step in. Mine resumes to "Color Only" addition.

Tvtoon (talk) 20:18, 29 December 2013 (EST)

Well, if you would like to discuss standards and conventions, feel free to create a topic on the RHDN forum. If you want to enforce existing standards and conventions on existing pages, feel free to edit them.

As for games for different systems with the same name, I would recommend leaving the existing page with the same title, and giving the new game page a title such as "Final Fantasy (Wonderswan)". A note can be added to the top of the FF NES page to the effect of "There is a separate page for the Wonderswan version of the game". Snarfblam (talk) 17:46, 31 December 2013 (EST)

Something is going wrong with the {{{game}}} tag inside the template, the footer isn't working. Check Final Fantasy (WonderSwan) Tvtoon (talk) 21:42, 5 January 2014 (EST)

I don't understand what you're talking about. The info box? I've fixed up the template a little, as well as the pages that use it. I'm happy to help, but please, IN THE FUTURE, keep discussion about a page within that page's talk page. This talk page is for discussion regarding the Main Page only. Discussion about the wonderswan template can go in Template talk:WSx. Snarfblam (talk) 18:41, 6 January 2014 (EST)

I think Wonderswan and Neo Geo Pocket should be added to the list on the Main Page list. The links are http://datacrystal.romhacking.net/wiki/Category:WS/C_Games and http://datacrystal.romhacking.net/wiki/Category:NGP/C_games --Mantidactyle (talk) 08:43, 6 May 2014 (EDT)

Nintendo DS

Is it possible if you add Nintendo DS? Also can you add the games: Super Mario 64 DS and New Super Mario Bros? Thanks --TheToxicRyu (talk)

You can create your own articles for consoles and games, just copy/paste the ones used on other articles. For putting new consoles on the main page, you'll have to contact an administrator, try to be insistent though as not even asking on IRC will make your request be done otherwise... (I've asked like 7 times to put new consoles on the main page, nothing has been done yet ~ ) --Mantidactyle (talk) 08:30, 11 August 2015 (EDT)

What should be included in "Known Dumps" and how should it be laid out?

What should be included in "Known Dumps" and how should it be laid out? --Hiccup (talk) 15:05, 4 December 2015 (EST)

I know this is a late answer, but in case anyone has the same question: either the file name, or the version of a specific dump if it has several (with the appropriate tags). --Mantidactyle (talk) 15:18, 16 February 2018 (EST)

TurboGrafx 16 games

I added a template and category for Turbografx 16 (PC Engine) games that seem to be kind of working now. Would someone with permission please add those games to the list on this page and the sidebar? Thanks. --Filler (talk) 23:14, 11 February 2018 (EST)

Try to post about that on the forums, it should make the addition to the sidebar faster. And don't forget to sign your messages with the sign button. --Mantidactyle (talk) 15:14, 16 February 2018 (EST)