In Search of 6502/Turbo Game Doctor 6M+ Hacking Expert.

Discuss technical or other issues relating to programming the Nintendo Entertainment System, Famicom, or compatible systems. See the NESdev wiki for more information.

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Destro_83
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In Search of 6502/Turbo Game Doctor 6M+ Hacking Expert.

Post by Destro_83 »

Greetings all. Destro here...

I am in the process of making a massive physical collection of FDS and TGD6M+ games

When I am done, I plan to have 546 physical FDS/GD games in my shelving system.

For context, I do own a modded Turbo Game Doctor and a FDS, and I already have a number of hacked games for it. For anyone looking for them, I can happily share for free.

To get my favorite games in physical editions, many of them (the 512k games, specifically) will be on multiple disks. And for those wondering, having to load up four disks and a saver disk to play Final Fantasy 3 in perfect english is akin to listening to a record on vinyl to me and I have been trying to figure out how to play FF3 in english on original media since I discovered the game. This checks my shelf candy box and my OEM hardware box. lol
Oh, and I do have Final Fantasy II and III in english and in GD mode for anyone looking.

Now to the point of my thread. At one time, I had a contact with the ability to break into the 6502 code and hack the rom file into FDS/GD chunks that you can write to FDS disks using a FDSstick. Well, I have not been able to get any return communication from him for almost a year now, which is a huge bummer for many reasons. Mainly that he became a good bud and I hope he is ok, but I also lost my 6502/GD expert. If there is anyone here that is an TGD6M+ expert and knows how to do the ROM hacking I described, I will happily you per game and then also share the GD roms with the community like I am offering for the 100-200 games I already have. I am needing 60-100 games worked on to fill my collection goals. I would need to tally the numbers again to get a direct count... Give a holler if you can help!
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Dwedit
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Re: In Search of 6502/Turbo Game Doctor 6M+ Hacking Expert.

Post by Dwedit »

This seems like a lot of trouble to go through to avoid using modern flash cartridges.
Many other platforms have Disk Drive emulators that use SD cards as well.
Here come the fortune cookies! Here come the fortune cookies! They're wearing paper hats!
Destro_83
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Re: In Search of 6502/Turbo Game Doctor 6M+ Hacking Expert.

Post by Destro_83 »

Again, I was not looking for your feedback on my approach to playing. Cheers!
lidnariq
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Re: In Search of 6502/Turbo Game Doctor 6M+ Hacking Expert.

Post by lidnariq »

Are you willing to offer a significant amount of money so that you can do things Your Way?
Destro_83
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Re: In Search of 6502/Turbo Game Doctor 6M+ Hacking Expert.

Post by Destro_83 »

I would not have made the post if I wasn't :p
Destro_83
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Re: In Search of 6502/Turbo Game Doctor 6M+ Hacking Expert.

Post by Destro_83 »

Anyone in here able to help?
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Ben Boldt
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Re: In Search of 6502/Turbo Game Doctor 6M+ Hacking Expert.

Post by Ben Boldt »

Destro_83 wrote: Fri May 14, 2021 8:14 am And for those wondering, having to load up four disks and a saver disk to play Final Fantasy 3 in perfect english is akin to listening to a record on vinyl to me and I have been trying to figure out how to play FF3 in english on original media since I discovered the game. This checks my shelf candy box and my OEM hardware box. lol
Dwedit wrote: Fri May 14, 2021 8:45 am This seems like a lot of trouble to go through to avoid using modern flash cartridges.
Many other platforms have Disk Drive emulators that use SD cards as well.
That does sound cool to get that obscure hardware functioning with new stuff. However, in this case you're looking to create new things to satisfy a 'complete' collection... Wouldn't a complete collection consist of all of the genuine things that existed way back and try to exclude things that were made in modern times? How can you appreciate the nostalgic value of things when you are aware that they did not exist? It seems we're cheating here. :wink:
Destro_83 wrote: Fri May 14, 2021 10:59 am Again, I was not looking for your feedback on my approach to playing. Cheers!
If your desire to create a giant collection of obscure pseudo-antiques in the future is too personal to discuss, I think it might be difficult to get someone onboard. (Just my opinion.) But don't let us stop you from trying.
Destro_83
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Re: In Search of 6502/Turbo Game Doctor 6M+ Hacking Expert.

Post by Destro_83 »

Lol I just don't care about your opinion regarding my esoteric antiks, and it fill the thread with content not related to my reason for posting (I can make a-"please tell me your thoughts on my game doctor collection" if you like. I probably won't check it. lol). I also never said anything about it being too personal. I am looking for answers to my question and someone looking to contribute something useful to what I am trying to accomplish. Also, completion is in the eye of the collector and I reserve my comments regarding how someone wants to have a good time with their old toys and how they collect them.
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rainwarrior
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Re: In Search of 6502/Turbo Game Doctor 6M+ Hacking Expert.

Post by rainwarrior »

I'm sure many games can be converted to work on the TGD6, and many probably just can't. Depending on the game it might be a day of work, or it might be a week, or several weeks. These things are pretty hard to estimate... a lot of the time it would take you as long to figure out how long the work should take as it would to actually do the hack.

So my question is how much you actually think this is worth. Would you consider $1000 per game a reasonable estimated price? Do you have $60,000 you want to spend on a collection of hacks like this? I'm not making an offer here, but just trying to see if your value for this is an a ballpark that would actually be professionally reasonable.
Destro_83
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Re: In Search of 6502/Turbo Game Doctor 6M+ Hacking Expert.

Post by Destro_83 »

Do you know how to make TGD6M+ rom hacks? My friend that makes only needed a handful of hours per game. I really wish I could get back in touch with him... Especially after a day of trying to get help on here! lol

I am aware of what games do not work on the game doctor, and they are not on my list. $1,000 per game is insane. Happy to pay (I already have a complete FDS collection, and complete libraries for 15 or 16 other systems/computers. In for a penny, in for a pound) and I am also willing to share the product with the community, but I just can't respond to conjecture. I am sure you understand. Cheers!
lidnariq
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Re: In Search of 6502/Turbo Game Doctor 6M+ Hacking Expert.

Post by lidnariq »

So provide a counteroffer.
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rainwarrior
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Re: In Search of 6502/Turbo Game Doctor 6M+ Hacking Expert.

Post by rainwarrior »

Destro_83 wrote: Fri May 14, 2021 11:30 pmDo you know how to make TGD6M+ rom hacks?
I have not worked with TGD6M+ before but I have plenty enough relevant knowledge and experience to say: yes, I absolutely could.
Destro_83 wrote: Fri May 14, 2021 11:30 pmMy friend that makes only needed a handful of hours per game.
A "handful of hours" sounds like a day of work to me. For any reasonable professional programmer wage that should be a few hundred dollars at least.

I simply don't believe that all games only require "a handful of hours". I can believe that some games did, at least if the programmer does little to no testing work for you.

Mapper conversion hacks are sometimes simple, very often not. 1 day, 1 week, and several weeks are all reasonable estimates depending on the complexity of an individual game's needs, in my experience.
Destro_83 wrote: Fri May 14, 2021 11:30 pm$1,000 per game is insane.
Well, that's my honest ballpark estimate of how much this work is worth.

If you're wondering why you don't get many responses to "I'm willing to pay" on a forum like this, it's because 99.9% of the time the person offering to pay thinks the job is worth 10% or 1% of what it actually is. When you come on here and say you want a job done that requires expert skills and don't make any mention of price... unfortunately I think for a professional that does this kind of work, it'd be safe to assume that it's not even worth spending the time to throw out an estimate.
Destro_83 wrote: Fri May 14, 2021 11:30 pmI just can't respond to conjecture.
I don't know what you mean by this.
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Memblers
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Re: In Search of 6502/Turbo Game Doctor 6M+ Hacking Expert.

Post by Memblers »

I did a lot of NSF rips back when that was a new thing, and if it's at all comparable to that kind of hacking, I would speculate that if your hacker had your list of desired conversions, it's probable that the easier ones were done already. So it could be that that the remaining ones are mostly in that "long tail".

Though I don't have experience with the TGD6M+, nor do I own one, it's something I might be interested in.. what it would cost seems crazy to me though. Though it sounds fun, I already have a day job + family + other things that take up my time. So I'm not really all that available.

It might be helpful if you post a list of conversions that are already done, and the list of the ones you want. Would give someone an idea of what they're up against. But, like rainwarrior said, it's a fairly large amount of work to even see how much work the conversion would be. Some games do mapper control in a very clean and organized way, like where every call goes to a single subroutine and that's kinda easy. But a lot of games' code (maybe most of them) tends to be a little chaotic and a lot wacky.
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Ben Boldt
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Re: In Search of 6502/Turbo Game Doctor 6M+ Hacking Expert.

Post by Ben Boldt »

I like your comparison to NSF memblers, I had not thought of it that way. It also ties nicely into his vinyl record metaphor that we aren't allowed to question.

Have you considered doing it yourself Destro_83? If so, what obstacles have you faced? You might find that we're better at helping you do it yourself than we are at doing it for you.

Maybe a different way to look at the cost: How much would you pay not to have to do it yourself? If nobody can match that price, then you already have the best deal in your own hands.
Destro_83
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Re: In Search of 6502/Turbo Game Doctor 6M+ Hacking Expert.

Post by Destro_83 »

Ben Boldt wrote: Sat May 15, 2021 8:06 am I like your comparison to NSF memblers, I had not thought of it that way. It also ties nicely into his vinyl record metaphor that we aren't allowed to question.

jeez man, join a facebook group or something. lol
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