Rings of Saturn

Rings of Saturn is a Substack dedicated to exploring and explaining hacks in retro Sega games, particularly from the 32-bit era. It delves into game modifications, hidden content, and technical cheats across various titles, providing insights into unexplored game features and enabling unique gameplay experiences.

Retro Gaming Game Modifications Sega 32-bit Era Technical Game Analysis Hidden Content in Games Game Development Insights Playable Character Hacks Game Testing and QA

The hottest Substack posts of Rings of Saturn

And their main takeaways

The QA tester's mentality

3 HN points • 06 Feb 24
  1. In the world of testing games, attention to detail is crucial for success.
  2. Localization challenges often arise in game testing, especially with text-heavy games like RPGs.
  3. The experience gained as a QA tester can be valuable for understanding the intricacies of game development and the importance of preventing issues before they occur.

The longest fuse

2 HN points • 12 Jan 24
  1. A prototype version of Saturn Bomberman reveals hidden features and different characters from the final version.
  2. The prototype includes a unique debug menu with extra options like movie playback and save data manipulation.
  3. There are multiple prerelease builds of Saturn Bomberman with interesting differences to explore.

Christmas NiGHTS Into Sonic

2 HN points • 22 Dec 23
  1. The Christmas NiGHTS Into Sonic hack allows players to control Sonic during gameplay, instead of NiGHTS, providing a different experience.
  2. By using specific codes, players can access different game modes within Christmas NiGHTS, such as Time Attack mode and Sonic mode.
  3. To prevent crashes in Christmas NiGHTS, the fly-along mode can be utilized, which changes the gameplay dynamics and avoids certain glitches.

Independence for Psyth

0 implied HN points • 07 Mar 24
🕹 Technology Gaming Programming Internet
  1. Psyth is a hidden shoot-em-up game within the dating sim 'Tokimeki Memorial: Forever With You', offering players a surprising full-featured sub-game experience.
  2. A patch from SegaXtreme makes it easier to access and play Psyth by allowing it to boot up directly; the game includes a variety of features like multiple shot patterns and a boss battle.
  3. The technical details behind unlocking the sub-games such as Psyth involved specific function calls and patches, shedding light on the effort put into these hidden gems.

Fighting Force, unbound

0 implied HN points • 16 Feb 24
🕹 Technology Gaming Tech
  1. Development of the game _Fighting Force_ started as a potential _Streets of Rage 4_, but Core Design decided to release it themselves.
  2. By analyzing memory addresses, players were able to make the auto demo of _Fighting Force_ playable on the Sega Saturn.
  3. Despite missing elements and being incomplete, patches were discovered to restore functionalities like HUD and unlock a second player in _Fighting Force_.
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TwinBee Time Attack stands alone

0 implied HN points • 09 Mar 24
🕹 Technology Gaming Development
  1. In the game Tokimeki Memorial: Forever With You, you can access sub-games like Psyth and TwinBee Time Attack by playing in a particular way.
  2. TwinBee Time Attack is a vertical shooter game with the goal of finishing each stage as quickly as possible.
  3. To make TwinBee Time Attack launch independently, technical changes were made to the game's code to trick it into loading the mini-game from the start.

Prelude to Panzer Dragoon

0 implied HN points • 09 Feb 24
  1. There are Panzer Dragoon demo discs with hidden content allowing you to play beyond the normal demo limitations.
  2. The prerelease demo versions of Panzer Dragoon show cool differences compared to the final version.
  3. By exploring early demo versions, you can uncover unique features like different boss phases and unfinished stages.

Extending the demo: Rabbit

0 implied HN points • 14 Mar 24
🕹 Technology Gaming Software Hacking Entertainment Programming
  1. The demo version of Rabbit Mihonhin, a 2D fighter game, contains hidden options and a more-or-less complete build of the game, possibly a late prototype.
  2. By making patches to lift demo restrictions, such as unlocking the Options screen and accessing disabled characters, players can explore additional content and characters in the game.
  3. The game has a unique integrity checking function that needed to be disabled to allow for translated files, showcasing the developers' interesting approach towards file loading and error correction.

The Knight of the wind

0 implied HN points • 16 Mar 24
🕹 Technology Gaming Coding Hacking Software Hardware
  1. Clockwork Knight 2 introduces a new game mechanic with the Barobaro stages, which usually have automatic scrolling but a patch exists to play as Pepper and disable the scrolling.
  2. The technical details reveal that character selection in the game relies on specific codes and files, showcasing how modifications can alter the gameplay experience.
  3. Playing as Pepper in certain levels has some limitations like malfunctioning track bends, getting stuck at certain points, and crashes when losing all gears, but overall the gameplay is functional.

NiGHTS, camera, action

0 implied HN points • 19 Jan 24
  1. The camera controls in NiGHTS and Burning Rangers can be upgraded for smoother gameplay
  2. You can adjust the camera controls by making simple patches to the game's code
  3. These upgrades enhance the player experience in both games

Kingdom Grandprix's secret English mode

0 implied HN points • 02 Feb 24
  1. Kingdom Grandprix has a hidden English mode that can be enabled with an Action Replay code or patches.
  2. The game also has a hidden configuration to disable racing elements by entering a specific code on the Options screen.
  3. The Saturn version contains more options from the arcade version, hinting at hidden features to be explored.