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iNES Header/Format Information File
[iNES Header/Format Information File]
[Version 2.0 Compiled on 1/31/98]
[VmprHntrD - kennedy5@flash.net]
NOTE: This document is on the iNES format is almost totally complete. I still
need to add some little tidbits as the iNES format is updated. Please do not
modify this document in any way without MY prior consent. If you wish to add
to this please talk to me through e-mail, or in the evenings on the IRC -
EFnet, in the channel #emu. [I'm an OP in there.] :P
BE ADVISED: Any emails sent to me about ROM requests will be ignored and most
likely forwarded to the SPA at piracy@spa.org. You get one warning and this
is it, sorry to be harsh but I have to. ...Am I a nice guy or what?
<"In"Famous Quotes:>
"Power TENDS to corrupt; Absolute power corrupts absolutely." - I forget :)
"Escape is impossible and obedience is imperative!" - Cmdr. Yurak from Voltron
"I'm surrounded by fools and imbusiles!" - King Zarkon from Voltron
<Personal thanks goes to:>
* Zophar for help with some math and errors.
* FanWen for the greater extension of the iNES Extended Header format and all
the associated work along with it.
* Groups like Damaged Cybernetics, GitM, NPS, Vertigo 2099 and more that have
in one way or the other brought us the games this guide pertains to.
* Anyone who has ever e-mailed and/or talked to me in IRC that assisted in the
fixes and upkeep of this guide.
* And thanks to all the loyal readers that actually care about this document
and what I have to say here.
[Table of Contents]___________________________________________________________
Section 1 .... Known HEXidecimal Values of the First 8 Bytes of the NES Header
Section 2 ................... The Seventh and Eighth Bytes' HEXidecimal Values
Section 3 ........... Common iNES File Sizes & What They Are Made Of (PRG/CHR)
Section 4 .................................. HEXidecimal Values of the PRG/CHR
Section 5 ........................ Miscellaneous Information on the NES Format
Section 6 ......... Let's Get Cracking on Prepping Your RAW/FFE/PasoFami Image
Section 7 ......... Information (Recommended Tools for Converting iNES Images)
Section 8 ...... UPDATES (The History of the iNES Header/Format Documentation)
[Sect.1: - Known HEXidecimal Values of the First 8 Bytes of the NES Header]___
...Those FIRST (8) bytes of your NES, or to be a NES file...
(Bytes 0->3 MUST BE What is stated below.)
0 = 4E (N)
1 = 45 (E)
2 = 53 (S)
3 = 1A (Character Break, necessary!)
(Bytes 4->8-15 Can BE MODIFIED!)
4 = PRG (Hex number depends on size of PRG file)-/-- (See Sect. 4)
5 = CHR (Hex number depends on size of CHR file)/
6 = Mapper 0-15/ V or H Mirroring, Battery, 4 Screen VRAM, Trainer Switches
Also is used as the "Ones" place holder digit for the extended iNES Header
format. (See Sect. 2)
7 = Mappers 16-?, the extended iNES Header format "Tens" place holder digit.
Again (See Sect. 2 for details on how this is set up.)
8->15 = Not used at this tume but MUST BE ALL ZEROS or games will not work.
NOTE: Now that there is a fully established Extened iNES Header Format set up
gracefully by FanWen and Marat Fayzullin ALWAYS leave in games that do
not use over mapper 15 blank in bytes 8->15 or games WILL NOT WORK!
[Sect.2: - The Seventh and Eighth Bytes' HEXidecimal Values]__________________
Byte 6 in a hexeditor will look something like this:
59 <---This is for CastleVania III: Dracula's Curse
(The "5" is the mapper number, the "9" stands for Vertical Mirroring AND 4
Screen VRAM ON!) -- See below for all the possible values!
Byte 7 in a hexeditor will look a little different, something like this:
* 1->F/0<---Only the first part is used in coorilation with the first
part of byte 6 above. *READ BELOW FOR EXAMPLE!*
*Extended iNES Header Format Design*
Basically in this extended design the 7th byte is used to implement mappers of
16 and higher. It does this through a hexidecimal conversion of the actual
mapper number. In my example I'll use Mapper 69 with a vertical switch(1).
Example: Mapper 69 = 4E in hexidecimal...
Therefore in the new iNES Extended Header format this is how bytes 6 and 7
would look in hex and work together.
Example:
Bytes=> 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
N E S ^Z PRG CHR MAP/SW MAP/0(always)
4E 45 53 1A 10 20 E1 40
* See above that the ONES DIGIT (E) is in the 6th byte, and the TENS DIGIT (4)
is the first half of the 7th byte. But be advised that the second half of
the 7th byte in hex HAS TO ALWAYS BE 0 (zero)!
*AND NOW FOR THE BAD NEWS FOR "YOU"*
Considering iNES has always set the standard for "Mapper Compatibility" we are
now faced with a new problem ...CONVERSION. We must convert the current games
we have to the new format which is very TIME CONSUMING because of the iNES
Header Editors out there that insert extra garbage into the header. Therefore
let's get to FIXING YOUR GAMES for the new "Extended iNES Header Format":
* First get out your hexeditor and move over to the eighth byte. For example
lets use the NESimage tag of: "DiskDude!"
* On the 7th byte it will be covered by the "D", to make your game a "clean"
image you must on the hexidecimal side put a double zero "00" through bytes
7-15, then save it.
* Be very careful doing so, if you hit the first byte of the game, its DEAD if
you aren't paying attention and save it...you've been warned.
* If you can find a program on the internet called "NESFIX.EXE" this will do
all the tasks above in a fraction of the time of doing it manually. Ask
around a few people will be able to get it to you.
[Below is the current possibilities for the all the supported mappers]
NOTE: The format for this graph is taken from the iNES 0.7 doc to give you a
better example of what each mapper is and runs... I would personally
like to thank Marat Fayzullin, Yang FanWen, Y0SHi, and anybody else I
left out that assisted in the adding of these new MAPPERS!
Mapper # Name Examples (Game Names, etc.)
______________________________________________________________________________
0 No Mapper All 32kb ROM + 8kb VROM games like Super
Mario Bros, Balloon Fight, Slalom, etc.
1(fixed) Nintendo MMC1 Chipset 1942, Bomberman II, Mega Man II, etc.
2 ROM (PRG) Switch Konami games like CastleVania and Stinger.
3 VROM (CHR) Switch Twin Bee, Q*Bert, and many japanese games.
4(fixed) Nintendo MMC3 Chipset Super Mario Bros 2 & 3, Silver Surfer, etc.
5(100%!) Nintendo MMC5 Chipset CastleVania III: Dracula's Curse
6 FFE F4XXX Games F4XXX Games off the FFE CD-ROM
7 32kb ROM (PRG) Switch Wizards & Warriors, Marble Madness, etc.
8 FFE F3XXX Games F3XXX Games off the FFE CD-ROM
9 Nintendo MMC2 Chipset Mike Tyson's Punch-Out!!, and Punch-Out!!
10 Nintendo MMC4 Chipset Japanese Punch-Out!!, and japanese games.
11 Color Dreams Chipset Crystal Mines, Tagin' Dragon, Babyboom, etc.
12 FFE F6XXX Games F6XXX Games off the FFE CD-ROM
15 100-in-1 Cart Switch 100-in-1 Multicart Switch
Below are all the Extened iNES Header Format Mappers which are now, or will be
in the near future added into another emulator yet to be publicly released.
* Read above in Section 2 on how to implement Mappers 16 and up in iNES.
16 Ban Dai Chipset Japanese: Dragon Ball Z, Gaiden etc.
17 FFE F8XXX Games F8XXX Games off the FFE CD-ROM
18 Jaleco SS8806 Chipset Japanese: Jaleco's Sport Series
19 Namcot 106 Chipset Japanese: Famista 90-92, Megami Teisen 1-2
20 Famicom Disk System Reserved for the Disk System, DON'T USE IT!
21 Konami VRC4 2a Chipset Japanese: Wai Wai World2, Goemon Gaiden 2
22 Konami VRC4 1b Chipset Japanese: Twinbee 3, etc.
23 Konami VRC4 1a Chipset Japanese: Wai Wai World, Kid Dracula, etc.
24 Konami VRC6 Chipset Japanese: CastleVania 3j, MADAKAJ, etc.
25 Konami VRC4 Chipset Japanese: Konami Baseball, Gradius 2, etc.
32 Irem G-101 Chipset Japanese: Image Fighter 2, etc.
33 Taito TC0190/TC0350 Japanese: PonDoKoPon, Bubble Bobble 2j, etc.
34 32kb ROM (PRG) Switch Japanese: Impossible Mission, Deadly Towers
65 Irem H3001 Chipset Japanese: Mr. Love, Mr. Big Hammer, P-Man2
66 74161/32 Chipset Japanese: Dragonball 1, BioWarrior DAN
67 Sunsoft Mapper 3 Japanese: Unknown
69 Sunsoft Mapper 4 Japanese: Afterburner 2
70 74161/32 Chipset Japanese: Unknown variant
80 X-005 Chipset Japanese: Demon Sword
81 C075 Chipset Japanese: Unknown
82 X1-17 Chipset Japanese: Unknown
83 Cony Mapper Japanese: Garbo Dentsu
84 PasoFami Mapper! Japanese: (.500 .MOD) Supported
[Below is the current possibilities for the second figure of the 7th byte.]
This part of the byte is the place you setup the game to use, or not use
Horizontal or Vertical mirroring, Battery Backup, 4 Screen VRAM, and a built
in Trainer. Below are the different combinations of all the listed options
in HEXidecimal format.
0 = H (Horizontal Mirroring ONLY)
1 = V (Vertical Mirroring ONLY)
2 = H + Bat. (Horizontal Mirroring + Battery ON)
3 = V + Bat. (Vertical Mirroring + Battery ON)
4 = H + Train. (Horizontal Mirroring + Trainer ON)
5 = V + Train. (Vertical Mirroring + Trainer ON)
6 = H + Bat. + Train. (Horizontal Mirroring + Battery and Trainer ON)
7 = V + Bat. + Train. (Vertical Mirroring + Battery and Trainer ON)
8 = H + 4scr. (Horizontal Mirroring + 4 Screen VRAM ON)
9 = V + 4scr. (Vertical Mirroring + 4 Screen VRAM ON)
A = H + Bat. + 4scr. (Horizontal Mirroring + Battery and 4 Screen VRAM ON)
B = V + Bat. + 4scr. (Vertical Mirroring + Battery and 4 Screen VRAM ON)
C = H + 4scr. + Train. (Horizontal Mirroring + 4 Screen VRAM and Trainer ON)
D = V + 4scr. + Train. (Vertical Mirroring + 4 Screen VRAM and Trainer ON)
E = H + Bat. + 4scr. + Train. (Horizontal Mirroring + Battery, 4 Screen VRAM,
and Trainer ON)
F = V + Bat. + 4scr. + Train. (Vertical Mirroring + Battery, 4 Screen VRAM,
and Trainer ON)
[Sect. 3: - Common iNES File Sizes & What They Are Made of (PRG/CHR)]_________
These are the "known" formats TO ME for the iNES format NES Players! Be
advised that "ROM" and "VROM" were the names of the chips that the "PRG" and
"CHR" data were stored on. [ROM = PRG VROM = CHR]
[24K - 24576 bytes]
(EX: Donkey Kong - 131Kbit ROM + 65Kbit VROM)
PRG => 16384 bytes (1 x 16kb pages)
CHR => 8192 bytes (1 x 8kb pages)
[40K - 40960 bytes]
(EX: Super Mario Bros. - 262Kbit ROM + 65Kbit VROM)
PRG => 32768 bytes (2 x 16kb pages)
CHR => 8192 bytes (1 x 8kb pages)
[48K - 49152 bytes]
(EX: Twin-Bee - 262Kbit ROM + 131Kbit VROM)
PRG => 32768 bytes (2 x 16kb pages)
CHR => 16384 bytes (2 x 8kb pages)
[64K - 65536 bytes]
(EX: Spy Hunter - 262Kbit ROM + 262Kbit VROM)
PRG => 32768 bytes (2 x 16kb pages)
CHR => 32768 bytes (4 x 8kb pages)
[80K - 81936 bytes]
(EX: Dragon Warrior - 512 Kbit ROM + 131Kbit VROM)
PRG => 65532 bytes (4 x 16kb pages)
CHR => 16384 bytes (2 x 8kb pages)
[128K - 131088 bytes]
(EX: Legend of Zelda - 1MBit ROM)
PRG => 131088 bytes (8 x 16kb pages)
CHR => (NONE - "imbedded")
[132K - 139280 bytes]
(EX: Stinger (Twin Bee 2 USA - 1MBit ROM + 65Kbit "imbedded" VROM)
PRG => 131088 bytes (8 x 18kb pages)
CHR => (8192 bytes ="imbedded")
[160K - 163840 bytes]
(EX: Mappy Land: 1MBit ROM + 262Kbit VROM)
PRG => 131088 bytes (8 x 18kb pages)
CHR => 32768 bytes (4 x 8kb pages)
[192K - 196608 bytes]
(EX: CastleVania II: Simon's Quest - 1MBit ROM + 512Kbit VROM)
PRG => 131072 bytes (8 x 16kb pages)
CHR => 65536 bytes (8 x 8kb pages)
[192K - 196608 bytes]
(EX: Wall Street Kid - 1MBit ROM + 512Kbit "imbedded" VROM)
PRG => 131072 bytes (8 x 16kb pages)
CHR => (65536 bytes - "imbedded")
[224K - 229392 bytes]
(EX: Mad Max - 1MBit ROM + 785Kbit VROM]
PRG => 131072 bytes (8 x 16kb pages)
CHR => 98304 bytes (12 x 8kb pages)
[232K - 237584 bytes]
(EX: Tetris 2 - 1MBit ROM + 851Kbit VROM)
PRG => 131072 bytes (8 x 16kb pages)
CHR => 106496 bytes (13 x 8kb pages)
[240K = 245760 bytes]
(EX: Legend of Zelda 2 - 1MBit ROM + 917Kbit VROM)
PRG => 131072 bytes (8 x 16kb pages)
CHR => 114688 bytes (14 x 8kb pages)
[248K - 253468 bytes]
(EX: Super Contra - 1Mbit ROM + 925Kbit VROM)
PRG => 131072 bytes (8 x 16kb pages)
CHR => 122880 bytes (15 x 8kb pages)
[256K - 262144 bytes]
(EX: Final Fantasy - 2MBit ROM)
PRG => 262144 bytes (16 x 16kb pages)
CHR => (NONE - "imbedded")
[256K - 262144 bytes]
(EX: Super Mario Bros. 2 - 1MBit ROM + 1MBbit VROM)
PRG => 131072 bytes (8 x 16kb pages)
CHR => 131072 bytes (16 x 8kb pages)
[312K - 319488 bytes]
(EX: Bo Jackson Baseball - 1MBit ROM + 1458Kbit VROM)
PRG => 131072 bytes (8 x 16kb pages)
CHR => 188416 bytes (23 x 8kb pages)
[336K - 344064 bytes]
(EX: Spiderman and the Sinister Six - 1MBit ROM + 2048Kbit VROM)
PRG => 131072 bytes (8 x 16kb pages)
CHR => 212992 bytes (26 x 8kb pages)
[384K - 393216 bytes]
(EX: Ikari Warriors 2 - 2MBit ROM + 1MBit "imbedded" VROM)
PRG => 262144 bytes (16 x 16kb pages)
CHR => (131072 bytes - "imbedded")
[384K - 393216 bytes]
(EX: Super Mario Bros. 3 - 2MBit ROM + 1MBit VROM)
PRG => 262144 bytes (16 x 16kb pages)
CHR => 131072 bytes (16 x 8kb pages)
[384K - 393216 bytes]
(EX: Gremlins 2: the New Batch = 1 MBit ROM + 2MBit VROM)
PRG => 131072 bytes (8 x 16kb pages)
CHR => 262144 bytes (32 x 8kb pages)
[512K - 524288 bytes]
(EX: CastleVania III: Dracula's Curse - 2MBit ROM + 2MBit VROM)
PRG => 262144 bytes (16 x 16kb pages)
CHR => 262144 bytes (32 x 8kb pages)
[768K - 786432 bytes] - 1st and ONLY 6MBit NES GAME!
(EX: Kirby's Adventure - 4MBit ROM + 2MBit VROM)
PRG => 524288 bytes (32 x 16kb pages)
CHR => 262144 bytes (32 x 8kb pages)
[1024K - 1048576 bytes]
(EX: Forget Name (Japanese) - 4MBit ROM + 4MBit VROM)
PRG => 524288 bytes (32 x 16kb pages)
CHR => 524288 bytes (64 x 8kb pages)
[1024K - 1048576 bytes]
(EX: 100-in-1 illegal cart - 8Mbit ROM)
PRG => 1048576 bytes (64 x 16kb pages)
CHR => (NONE - "imbedded")
* NOTE: 8MBit (Megabit) is equal to 1 MB (Megabyte). As far as I know from
reading NES technical data the 8MBit/1MB game is the largest game size
supported by the NES as of when it was discontinued in Summer 1994
with its final game Wario's Woods in the United States.
[Sect. 4: - HEXidecimal Values of the PRG/CHR]________________________________
[PRG - (Range 1 x 16kb pages -> 64 x 16kb pages)]
-There is a BARE MINIMUM required for PRG which is 1 x 16kb pages!
* NOTE: To figure out the exact size in bytes each of these pages are worth
just start at 1 x 16kb pages (aka: 16384 bytes) and just keep adding
16384 more for each "page" higher.
(1 x 16kb pages) = 01 (2 x 16kb pages) = 02 (3 x 16kb pages) = 03
(4 x 16kb pages) = 04 (5 x 16kb pages) = 05 (6 x 16kb pages) = 06
(7 x 16kb pages) = 07 (8 x 16kb pages) = 08 (9 x 16kb pages) = 09
(10 x 16kb pages) = 0A (11 x 16kb pages) = 0B (12 x 16kb pages) = 0C
(13 x 16kb pages) = 0D (14 x 16kb pages) = 0E (15 x 16kb pages) = 0F
(16 x 16kb pages) = 10 (17 x 16kb pages) = 11 (18 x 16kb pages) = 12
(19 x 16kb pages) = 13 (20 x 16kb pages) = 14 (21 x 16kb pages) = 15
(22 x 16kb pages) = 16 (23 x 16kb pages) = 17 (24 x 16kb pages) = 18
(25 x 16kb pages) = 19 (26 x 16kb pages) = 1A (27 x 16kb pages) = 1B
(28 x 16kb pages) = 1C (29 x 16kb pages) = 1D (30 x 16kb pages) = 1E
(31 x 16kb pages) = 1F (32 x 16kb pages) = 20 (33 x 16kb pages) = 21
(34 x 16kb pages) = 22 (35 x 16kb pages) = 23 (36 x 16kb pages) = 24
(37 x 16kb pages) = 25 (38 x 16kb pages) = 26 (39 x 16kb pages) = 27
(40 x 16kb pages) = 28 (41 x 16kb pages) = 29 (42 x 16kb pages) = 2A
(43 x 16kb pages) = 2B (44 x 16kb pages) = 2C (45 x 16kb pages) = 2D
(46 x 16kb pages) = 2E (47 x 16kb pages) = 2F (48 x 16kb pages) = 30
(49 x 16kb pages) = 31 (50 x 16kb pages) = 32 (51 x 16kb pages) = 33
(52 x 16kb pages) = 34 (53 x 16kb pages) = 35 (54 x 16kb pages) = 36
(55 x 16kb pages) = 37 (56 x 16kb pages) = 38 (57 x 16kb pages) = 39
(58 x 16kb pages) = 3A (59 x 16kb pages) = 3B (60 x 16kb pages) = 3C
(61 x 16kb pages) = 3D (62 x 16kb pages) = 3E (63 x 16kb pages) = 3F
(64 x 16kb pages) = 40
** SPECIAL NOTICE ** There is now DUAL MMC1 Chipset handling avaliable which
pushes the total PRG banking up to 32kb pages via 2 16kb pages PRG chips.
This was quite a feat performed with the work of imid, EFX, star69, and Marat
Fayzullin to get it to run, and because of this DRAGON WARRIOR III, and other
"like" games now work! This game for instance uses a 32kb banking mode
between two MMC1 chips, and to make them work together they communicate with
each other on the "4th" byte of the game image(not including the iNES header.)
[CHR - (Range 1 x 8kb pages -> 64 x 8kb pages)]
-There is NO MINIMUM required for CHR data because some games have the CHR
data imbedded into the PRG info.
* NOTE: To figure out the exact size in bytes each of these pages are worth
just start at 1 x 8kb pages (aka: 8192 bytes) and just keep adding
8192 bytes more for each "page" higher.
(1 x 8kb pages) = 01 (2 x 8kb pages) = 02 (3 x 8kb pages) = 03
(4 x 8kb pages) = 04 (5 x 8kb pages) = 05 (6 x 8kb pages) = 06
(7 x 8kb pages) = 07 (8 x 8kb pages) = 08 (9 x 8kb pages) = 09
(10 x 8kb pages) = 0A (11 x 8kb pages) = 0B (12 x 8kb pages) = 0C
(13 x 8kb pages) = 0D (14 x 8kb pages) = 0E (15 x 8kb pages) = 0F
(16 x 8kb pages) = 10 (17 x 8kb pages) = 11 (18 x 8kb pages) = 12
(19 x 8kb pages) = 13 (20 x 8kb pages) = 14 (21 x 8kb pages) = 15
(22 x 8kb pages) = 16 (23 x 8kb pages) = 17 (24 x 8kb pages) = 18
(25 x 8kb pages) = 19 (26 x 8kb pages) = 1A (27 x 8kb pages) = 1B
(28 x 8kb pages) = 1C (29 x 8kb pages) = 1D (30 x 8kb pages) = 1E
(31 x 8kb pages) = 1F (32 x 8kb pages) = 20 (33 x 8kb pages) = 21
(34 x 8kb pages) = 22 (35 x 8kb pages) = 23 (36 x 8kb pages) = 24
(37 x 8kb pages) = 25 (38 x 8kb pages) = 26 (39 x 8kb pages) = 27
(40 x 8kb pages) = 28 (41 x 8kb pages) = 29 (42 x 8kb pages) = 2A
(43 x 8kb pages) = 2B (44 x 8kb pages) = 2C (45 x 8kb pages) = 2D
(46 x 8kb pages) = 2E (47 x 8kb pages) = 2F (48 x 8kb pages) = 30
(49 x 8kb pages) = 31 (50 x 8kb pages) = 32 (51 x 8kb pages) = 33
(52 x 8kb pages) = 34 (53 x 8kb pages) = 35 (54 x 8kb pages) = 36
(55 x 8kb pages) = 37 (56 x 8kb pages) = 38 (57 x 8kb pages) = 39
(58 x 8kb pages) = 3A (59 x 8kb pages) = 3B (60 x 8kb pages) = 3C
(61 x 8kb pages) = 3D (62 x 8kb pages) = 3E (63 x 8kb pages) = 3F
(64 x 8kb pages) = 40
[Sect. 5: - Miscellaneous Information on the NES Format]______________________
* The End of the CART.NES file ...the Title]
If you wish you can add a title to your NES ROM and below shows you how to
do that manually, and the size limits for that title.
1) First at the very end of the ROM you will eventually ADD 128 bytes to the
ROM. But first, which is part of this 128 bytes, is the addition of the
NES Title. Starting at the first added byte type in the name normally in
the character part of the hexeditor.
2) Next, to finish this is successfully, go over to the HEXidecimal part of
the HEXeditor and add in double zeros (00) until you have added in a
a TOTAL OF 128 BYTES (which includes the the Title you added yourself.)
(So subtract the total bytes of the title from 128 so you do it right.)
3) If you did it right you now have successfully added a title to your NES
ROM and it will show in the title bar in the ROM checkers like NESImage.
[Sect. 6: - Let's Get Cracking on Prepping Your RAW/FFE/PasoFami Image]_______
* "RAW" Image Conversion to iNES
1) For starters check and see if that RAW NES rom image you got is or is not
interleaved. (See #3 if it's interleaved.)
2) Great! It's not interleaved so what you need to do is to just add 16
bytes onto the beginning of this ROM image. Then just add the standard
NES header to the ROM as stated in Section 1, and then toy around with
the mappers until you can or can't get the game to work or do something.
3) Crap, it's interleaved, don't worry it's fixable. What you need to do is
to write or find a program that will UN-interleave your ROM. This is the
process of seperating all the even and odd bytes. The even bytes are the
ROM (or PRG) data, and the odd bytes are the VROM (or CHR) data if that
exists.
4) Next, in MS-DOS, re-join the PRG and CHR data in the proper order. (Which
is PRG data before CHR data.) First take the split ROM and VROM files and
name them something like PARODIUS.PRG(ROM) and PARODIUS.CHR(VROM)...
(Parodius is a japanese side shooter game I'm using for this description.)
5) Now type: copy /B PARODIUS.PRG+PARODIUS.CHR PARODIUS.NES
(This is a BINARY copy mode in DOS which will glue the two files together
where the PRG ends and the CHR begins.)
6) Now do as it says in Step #2 and just add the 16byte header to the top of
the NES rom, and then add the NES header as stated in Section 1.
* "FFE" Image Conversion to iNES
1) To start check and see if the rom is in a standard file format as shown
in Section 3. If it isn't check to see if it is 512 bytes larger than
normal. If so, this is most likely a FFE header.
2) To remove this get into your HEXidecimal editor and just have it delete
the first 512 bytes from your NES rom.
3) Then just add a 16byte header to the top of the NES rom, and then add the
NES header as stated in Section 1.
NOTE: If this rom ends up being interleaved as well just follow the guidelines
set above in the RAW rom format section for UN-interleaving a ROM.
BE ADVISED that Some NES roms maybe seem to be 512 or 1024 bytes larger than
normal. This is because it either has a trainer, or a combination of a
trainer and a FFE header. My best advice to you is that if its a trainer
leave it, if its a FFE header remove it. If the rom is 1024 bytes its a combo
of both, just remove the first 512 bytes and you'll be ok.
* "PasoFami (*.PRG/*.CHR -ONLY-)" Image Conversion
1) Start by deleting that annoying PRM file. This file is used by the
PasoFami emulator just as the 16byte header that iNES uses.
2) Next is the easy part, a simple binary copy (again I'll use Parodius as
the example.) Type: copy /B PARODIUS.PRG+PARODIUS.CHR PARODIUS.NES
(This is a BINARY copy mode in DOS which will glue the two files together
where the PRG ends and the CHR begins.)
3) Now do as it says in Step #2 in the RAW section and just add the 16byte
header to the top of the NES rom, and then add the NES header.
NOTE: Some PasoFami images such as Super Mario Bros. 2 for example are in the
Famicom Disk System format (EX: SMB2J.DKA) and can't be converted. When
they can be, I'll add that info here.
[Sect. 7: - Information (Recommended Tools for Converting iNES Images)]_______
* RECOMMENDED TOOLS FOR USE IN THE ABOVE SECTIONS:
HEXeditor - (ie: Norton Diskedit or Bedit) -I use bedit, it's tiny with lots
of commands, and very efficient.
READCHAR.EXE - This tool shows you the PRG and CHR data in a RAW, FFE,
PasoFami, and NES file. With this you can determine the correct sizes of the
yet to be determined PRG and CHR pages. Also if you notice that things are
out of order (in a PRG, CHR, PRG, etc) format this will show you that the game
is most likely interleaved.
UNLACE.EXE - This tool is something I had custom made for me. What this does
is uninterleaves NES roms from the RAW, FFE (removes the trainer by use of
command), and iNES format. What that means is that it splits up to rom and
puts all the PRG data in one file called (ROM) and all the CHR data in a file
called (VROM). And as my manual says above you just got to binary copy them
back into one file ROM+VROM = NES rom. Then add the iNES header and you just
tinker with it until it works, that's if its supported yet.
Also to save time, I do recommend the use of DiskDude's NESimage from version
3.30+ because it can show you in its menu all the PRG and CHR sizes, as well
as all the other options avaliable to you. This is just for people that don't
want to hexedit their rom and just want to get it working right away...
impacient aren't you? :)
NESFIX.EXE - If you do use a crummy editor like DiskDude's NES Image remember
to clean out bytes 8->15 so games will work in Exteneded iNES Header format
compatible emulators. To do this find and use NESFIX, and just run it like
so... NESFIX CART.NES and it will clean out the extra data. Not only that
this will save time in that it takes a fraction of the time to do it one by
one manually.
And finally I recommend you have a NES emulator that is as far along in
development, or farther, than iNES, and a few smaller sized games to study
with in conjunction with my text.
[Sect. 8: - UPDATES (The History of the iNES Header/Format Documentation)]____
* UPDATE INFORMATION:
[2.0] - Wow v2.0! "SHOW ME THE MUSHROOM!" - Toad McGuire ...More mappers! =)
- In Sections 1-8 I reformatted some text and removed useless info.
- In Section 1 added a snipit on what byte 7 does in conjunction with byte 6
and explained that 7 = Tens digit and 6 = ones digit for the 16+ mappers.
And fixed the chart so that 0 is the beginning digit, not 1. Stupid error.
- In Section 2 I added a notice about NESFIX so people can easily repair there
polluted headers so they will work in Extened iNES Header format players.
- Added in Section 2 the all important further extension to the Extended iNES
Header format created by FanWen. Mappers 66-70 80-84 are now added, and a
rename to the Konami VRC 2 1a and 1b to VRC 1b and 1a.
- Reformatted the CHR and PRG cart size lists to fit into 1 screen in Section
2 as well.
- And in Section 7 I added the recommended tool of NESFIX.EXE to remove that
nasty garbage out of iNES headers.
- More BS errors in grammar and spelling fixed again. Common occurance is it
not? >:) Maybe I need to buy Hookt awn Fawniks and Lurn too Reed. =)
- In this Section 8 it got to damned big so now I'm limiting the list to the
three most current revisions for now on. (Like anyone really looks back to
read that stuff anyways, the important stuff is above.)
[1.9] - *SMB Fanfare please..doo doo doo, dee doo, doo, doo ..iNES 0.7 is out!
- Added to Section 1 notice of basically where the new Extended iNES format is
layed out and called from, and an "I TODL YOU SO NOTICE." >:]
- Added to Section 2 a new MAPPER chart for all the new iNES mappers that are
in iNES v0.7.
- Added to Section 2 the explanation and example of how the new iNES Extended
Header format works and is used.
- Added to Section 2 new MAPPER chart notice that the MMC5 chipset is now
emulated 100%, I checked CastleVania III and it ran perfectly! Also the
MAPPERs 1 and 4 work near 100% now, the bugs are fixed!
- Added to Section 2 new MAPPER chart notice that the MMC1 and MMC3 chipset
emulation has been bugfixed, therefore more games run that didn't before.
- Added to Section 2 Instructions on how to "clean" up games that won't work
in the new "Extended iNES v0.7 Format" because some people felt it smart to
litter the games with there name, etc. into the header, thanks jerkoffs.
- Added to Section 3 for "Stinger aka: Twin Bee 2", yet another cart size.
- Added to Section 3 a little more info to the cart sizes with imbedded CHR.
- Added to Section 4 sketchy info on why Dragon Warrior III and other 32kb
banking mode games are now playable in iNES v0.7 format.
- Changed out two quotes, added two more appropriate ones.
- Fixed a few text errors again, sorry I usually type this late at night.
[1.8] - A new attitude... Another addition/fix again! Screw iNES NESticle me!
- Added to Section 1 a warning about filling up the 8th through 16th byte in
an iNES compatible ROM set.
- Added to Section 2 NEW Mapper info which is that Mapper 7 and the long
awaited Mapper 9(MMC2 chip for Punch-Out!! is now functional.
- Added and rewrote Section 2's working mappers list for the latest players.
- Added to Section 3 a few new cart sizes so look up Dragon Warrior, Tetris 2,
and Mad Max.
- Fixed this list to no longer support iNES, now all compatibility for all the
latest players is dated. (IE: June 12, 1997)
- A small personal thanks section at the top of the list.
- Again I have fixed a few grammatical/spelling errors, yah I know not again.
[End Of File] -Enjoy!
