Category: hacking scene

  • Retro Achievements Announces Policy Clarification

    Code of Conduct Scope

    For clymax’s projects, click here. You can also follow him on YouTube, Twitter, or Retro Achievements.

    Original Link: https://retroachievements.org/forums/topic/32644

    October 3, 2025

    Dear RetroAchievements community,

    We’d like to make a policy clarification regarding the User Code of Conduct’s scope and our stance on content archival.

    Recent discussions in our community have raised important questions about the scope of our Code of Conduct and our approach to game content. We want to address these questions publicly so the entire community has clarity on our policies and practices.

    On the scope of our Code of Conduct

    Our Code of Conduct governs user behavior within RetroAchievements community spaces: how members interact with each other in comments, forums, and Discord.

    It does not govern the content of games or ROM hacks for which we provide achievement sets.

    RetroAchievements functions as an archival platform. We provide achievement sets for games and ROM hacks as they exist, without curating based on their themes, content, or messages. This includes commercial games, from various eras and regions, homebrew projects, and community-created ROM hacks. The presence of an achievement set on our platform does not constitute endorsement for a game’s content, nor does it reflect the personal views of our volunteer developers, moderators, engineers, or administration.

    We understand this distinction was not clearly communicated in our Code of Conduct, creating reasonable confusion about the scope of our content policies. This is something we intend to clarify in our documentation.

    On reporting mechanisms

    Our platform currently lacks a clear, intuitive mechanism for users to report concerns about game or set offensive content. Users must know to contact RAdmin, which isn’t well-documented or easily discoverable. This is a structural gap we should address, regardless of whether we ultimately take action on content reports. We’ll add improvements to our reporting systems to our engineering priorities.

    Our position on archival vs. curation

    We recognize the tension between archival preservation and community safety. Different platforms resolve this tension differently. Some curate heavily based on content, while others preserve more broadly.

    RetroAchievements has chosen a preservation-focused approach, prioritizing archival completeness over content curation.
    This means we host achievement sets for games and hacks that contain content some community members find deeply offensive.

    We don’t expect everyone to agree with this approach, and we respect that some users may decide this platform isn’t for them based on this policy. We’re committed to being transparent about our approach so users can make informed decisions about participation on RA.

    Moving forward

    We welcome discussion about our policies in community spaces, provided discussions remain focused on policy rather than personal attacks. Civil, constructive criticism is encouraged as outlined in our Code of Conduct.

    We also expect respect between community members regarding game choices.
    Harassing or calling out users for playing games you find offensive violates our Code of Conduct. Conversely, deliberately provoking others by taunting them about offensive content or bringing it up in unrelated discussions is equally unacceptable. Our community spaces should remain focused on achievement hunting and retro gaming.

    If you have questions about our policies, you can reach us by DMing this account (RAdmin) directly.

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  • Ban of Popular Brazilian YouTuber Buraco, Top-1500 Ranked Player on Retro Achievements

    Clovergate Prologue, Part Four

    For clymax’s projects, click here. You can also follow him on YouTube, Twitter, or Retro Achievements.

    This incident highlights the same lack of transparency that Moderator BahamutVoid would soon raise in leaving his farewell letter not long after Administrator televandalist’s own resignation letter dropped.

    Global Points Ranking Leaderboard

    Publicly Protesting Against a Known Exploit Seven Months Earlier Presumably Led to Recent Ban from Global Leaderboards with No Communication or Explanation Despite Player Inquiry

    You can follow Buraco on YouTube or RA; for the player rankings, click here.

    September 21, 2025

    The ban took the form of what is referred to as an “Untracked” player status on Retro Achievements.

    Auto-translated captions in English are available via the video settings.

    It is recommended to start at the 20m 20s mark of the video.

    YouTuber Noise de Gole: Is Retro Achievements punishing whistleblowers?

    Follow Noise de Gole on: IG | tiktok | Steam

    English auto-dub available.

    YouTuber Luis Link: Only RetroAchievements content creators will be BANNED?

    Follow Luis Link on: RA | Twitch | Kick | IG | Twitter

    English auto-dub available.

    This post has been viewed 42 time(s).

  • Commercial Publishing Pilot

    Listing Your Romhack Patches for Sale

    For clymax’s projects, click here. You can also follow him on YouTube.

    For the first time, under a new pilot, mod-makers can engage clymax to serve as publisher of mods they’ve made.

    Such mods will be published under the following terms and conditions.

    1. The mod-maker agrees to a publishing cut of 25% from revenues after transaction processing fees and any store fees. In return, the publisher assists with marketing, sales, and distribution of the mod as the publisher sees fit. This includes matters of compliance related to the mod.
    2. The mod-maker has the option to request hacking assistance from the publisher in bifurcating a mod into public and private releases in a compliant manner. This can be of particular relevance to mods deemed non-compliant. The publisher provides such hacking assistance for an additional publishing cut of 25% (for a total of 50%). This includes ongoing technical support related to the bifurcation.
    3. The publisher can, for any reason or for no reason, decline entering into a publishing arrangement. For instance, certain types of mods may not be eligible for this pilot, such as due to reasons relating to compliance.
    4. The publishing arrangement can be terminated by either party with thirty days’ written notice, unless otherwise specified.
    5. The mod-maker retains any and all rights belonging to the mod-maker. The publisher retains any and all rights relating to the bifurcation if performed by the publisher. No rights are transferred between the mod-maker and publisher as part of the publishing arrangement.
    6. Although the mod patches are deemed as being legally published, neither party provides the other with indemnification if the mod patches are alleged as infringing the rights of others.
    7. No legal advice is rendered as part of the publishing arrangement. No client-attorney relationship is formed.
    8. All rights belong to their respective owners. No laws are violated by the mod or the publication of the mod’s patch.

    For more details or to discuss a publishing arrangement, DM clymax via Discord or Twitter/X.

    This post has been viewed 48 time(s).

  • Hacking Academy

    Pilot Program Launched

    For clymax’s projects, click here. You can also follow him on YouTube or Twitter.

    The academy is for players wanting to become hackers of the first two hacker roles explained here.

    Are you a beginner interested in learning how to hack roms of your favorite games? Having trouble grasping assembly coding on your own? Read on!

    Hall of Graduates

    New Graduate epigonone

    Registration

    1. To join the hacking academy, the player warrants that he or she is new to romhacking. Coding experience in another discipline, e.g., web development, is OK.
    2. The player must not have had any publicly released hacks in the player’s name, in a way that credits the player as a hacker of the first two hacker roles.
    3. The player must have passion for or fondness for the Final Fantasy franchise.
    4. Sign-ups are taken via a dedicated thread in the Discord. Please note, a player may be denied entry for any reason or for no reason.
    5. Especially for the pilot, enrollment may be limited and subject to availability.
    6. The Crystal Warrior role may be required unless an exception is granted.

    Making Your Hack

    1. If a player is accepted into the academy, the player will be given one calendar year to make a new romhack.
    2. The romhack should be of one of the following games: Final Fantasy I-VI.
    3. The romhack should be for one of the following systems: NES, SNES, and GBA. To be clear, Pixel Remaster (Steam/PC) versions are not accepted.
    4. The romhack can be any type of hack. Examples include comprehensive, improvement, levels, graphics, sound, bugfix, etc.
    5. The player is required to submit a hack description and seek approval by one or more mentors before commencing work on the hack.
    6. Please note, hack descriptions that correspond closely to a feature in one of clymax’s private hacks will likely not be approved.
    7. Important: for the Assembly Hacker route, assembly coding MUST be used in making the hack. Using an assembler and using binary editing are both OK. To be clear, only using game-specific tools is not acceptable for purposes of this program. Using such tools in conjunction with assembly coding is OK. Using game-neutral tools is always OK. For the Data Hacker route (if it is offered in the future), assembly coding is not necessarily required, but proficiency with a debugger is required to be shown.
    8. Choice of debugger must be approved by one or more mentors. This is to ensure availability of a mentor well-versed in the debugger chosen by the player.

    Evaluation and Awards

    Certified Hacker
    1. The player is required to submit the hack by the one-year deadline for evaluation by one or more mentors. The player may be required to explain how the hack was made.
    2. Hacks will be graded on a pass/fail basis. Please note, the decision is final and cannot be appealed.
    3. If the hack passes evaluation, the player will receive the “Certified Hacker” title from FFV Central’s Hacking Academy. Title recipients will be memorialized on the website. The title will also have a corresponding website badge and a Discord role. The hack that passes evaluation will also be commemorated in a Hacking Academy Hall of Hacks on the website. This will also constitute the player’s graduation from the Hacking Academy.
    4. The player retains any and all rights related to his or her work on the hack. We kindly ask that FFV Central be given credit alongside the player in the hack, but this by no means a requirement and is up to the player.
    5. Terms of the program are subject to change from time to time to suit the needs of program.

    So, what do you think? Comment below, or come check us out on Discord.

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