Category: hacking scene

  • Is Romhacking.net Low-Key Shaming Alternative Sites It Beefed With?

    Any Mention of Romhack Plaza is Automatically Hyperlinked to Old Reddit Drama Thread—and More

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

    1. Intro

    A project thread of mine in the RHDN forums apparently contains some image hotlinks (which I should be fixing anyway) that became broken after a certain point in time, possibly in mid-2025.

    To be clear, these images worked fine for a period of time.

    But why did these end up being broken?

    This is what I saw today when attempting to fix the images.

    It looks like any link to (update: mention of) Romhack Plaza (RHP) is being auto-converted to instead point to a Reddit thread regarding some old drama between the two sites (which Romhack Plaza’s predecessor already addressed here).

    Could this be an accident?

    Or is RHDN refusing to squash its beef with one it deems as its competitor?

    Let’s check another project thread of mine here.

    Seems not.

    We get that beef happens. But is that not something that the hacking community can overcome?

    Is this the kind of culture that we want to see being set in our community?

    2. Analysis

    The original image (not hotlinked this time):

    The original forum shortcode with hotlinked image URL:

    [img width=256 height=224]https://romhackplaza.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/FF5r-IC-Disc1-English-translation-v0.01-by-clymax_027.png[/img]

    The autoconverted result by RHDN:

    [img width=256 height=224]https://[url=https://www.reddit.com/r/romhacking/comments/18xgc3b/romhacksorg_admin_sabotaged_romhackingnet/][url=https://www.reddit.com/r/romhacking/comments/18xgc3b/romhacksorg_admin_sabotaged_romhackingnet/][url=https://www.reddit.com/r/romhacking/comments/18xgc3b/romhacksorg_admin_sabotaged_romhackingnet/][url=https://www.reddit.com/r/romhacking/comments/18xgc3b/romhacksorg_admin_sabotaged_romhackingnet/]romhackplaza[/url][/url][/url][/url].org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/FF5r-IC-Disc1-English-translation-v0.01-by-clymax_027.png[/img]

    Basically, RHDN’s automated script looks for:

    romhackplaza

    and auto-adds a hyperlink to the drama thread, like this:

    romhackplaza

    Based on further testing it was discovered that the URL shortcode is nested four deep in this case due to four edited submissions having been made.

    That is to say, each additional edited submission results in one further level of nesting of the URL shortcode.

    3. Validation

    Should we test our hypothesis? A different thread is used.

    “romhackplaza” was temporarily added at the end of the post.

    The result is now hyperlinked as explained in the previous section.

    The auto-added shortcode can be seen on re-editing the post.

    This shows that the auto-conversion is still active to this day.

    For what it’s worth, other variants were also tested but appear unaffected.

    4. Another Discovery

    It has since been reported to yours truly that you get a similar result if you try to mention Romhack.ing.

    Here is a test:

    And the result:

    where

    romhack.ing

    became

    Idiots that staged a hostile takeover.

    in reference to an incident we previously covered here.

    Crosspost on Twitter

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

    This post has been viewed 314 time(s).

  • Romhacking.net Ending Submission Queue to Allow More Submissions

    Site Celebrates Twentieth Anniversary

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

    Says RHDN in a recent announcement:

    During our tenure with the keys to the kingdom, we removed most long standing sustainability problems that had inhibited site operation in the past. Our philosophy is the site should be more of a simple tool rather than an obstacle that can get in the way of itself. We also want to see a reduction of gatekeeping, less strict rules, limited bureaucracy, and more inclusion. As such, we are stepping aside and getting out of the way.

    We have been phasing out the submission queue system of old. We designed a more sophisticated model to be self-sustaining and without a queue. Many of you have been on the new system already and have likely seen the benefits. Things move at a much faster pace. The phase out and tuning will continue for a little while longer yet until we are out of a job! LOL!

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

    This post has been viewed 9 time(s).

  • Romhacking.net Reportedly Requiring Hack Authors to Self-Dox to Request Hack Removal

    Removal Policy Allegedly Quietly Updated This Year

    What do you think?

    Will you keep using RHDN or RHDI?

    Or will you use alternatives like RHP?

    This post has been viewed 30 time(s).

  • Hacker Spotlight: Billy Time! Games

    Recommended Works of the Retro Gaming Mad Scientist

    With a release count of 250 (and counting!), Billy Time! Games is committed to creating hacks of games from obscure to well-known and providing users with a new and refreshing gaming experience.

    You can follow Billy Time! Games on YouTube, Twitter, RHP, or RHDN.

    The self-professed mad scientist of retro gaming sits down with FFV Central to give an exclusive overview of the highlights of the scientist’s numerous hacking projects.

    Subheadings, screenshots, and trailers added during the editorial process.

    1. Ghostbusters – Special Edition

    2023 – BillyTimes Games, Master Linkuei, Danillo Dais

    • 4 new playable characters
    • 26 new cheats
    • Save function
    • Two new difficulties
    • Director’s cut mode
    • Nerfed coffee cups

    Why did I make this?

    I am a huge ghostbusters fan and really want to do a hack which added new characters with awesome abilities. I also really wanted to test how big I could make a hack.

    Also available: 2023 interview with SEGAbits [link].

    2. Sega Channel Revival

    2021 – BillyTime! Games

    • Offline version of Sega Channel with all features included
    • Playable on certain custom cores and hardware

    Why did I make this?

    I never got to enjoy Sega Channel during its lifetime, this hack was my attempt to have the service reborn so I and many others could see and enjoy what Sega Channel was.

    3. Super Star Wars Redux Trilogy

    2025 – BillyTime! Games

    • Nerfed difficulty across all games
    • Extra perks for easy mode
    • Streamlined patches to cut out bad or annoying levels

    Why did I make this?

    I loved Super Star Wars even though it was hard, the others? Not so much. This was a project I wanted to do for years and I am glad to have done so.

    4. Streets of Rage Plus

    2024 – BillyTime! Games

    • Six Button Support
    • Alternate Colors in 1p
    • Access bad ending in 1p
    • Difficulty Randomizer
    • Hi-Score SRAM saves

    Why did I make this?

    I LOVE Streets of Rage, over the years I kept making small hacks and I figured, why not just build a super hack and go all out. Probably my preferred way of playing SOR1 now.

    5. Zombies ate My Roguelike

    2022 – BillyTime! Games

    • Randomized levels across five tiers
    • Mania mode for endless fun
    • High Score SRAM
    • Score based reward system

    Why did I make this?

    I always enjoyed games like Binding of Isaac and I wanted a randomizer type game but without the extra software needed. It also built on the idea that Genesis can have ZAMN hacks too.

    6. Ultimate X-Men

    2021 – BillyTime! Games

    • Rebalanced Mutant Powers, Especially Wolverine!
    • SRAM Save Support
    • Infinite X-Man Switching
    • CPU Reset done automatically

    Why did I make this?

    I am a huge marvel fan and always wanted the older games to be awesome. This was one of my first forays along with Spider-Man/X-Men to revamp the entire Marvel library. Except Spider-Man Animated, that game is cooked.

    FFV Central: Spectacular! Thank you for this overview.

    So, what do you think? Have you tried Billy Time! Games’s hacks, and if so, which is your favorite? Comment below, or come check us out on Discord.

    This post has been viewed 19 time(s).