whats the deal with patches

[steve456]

Look , i need help, I just a dreamcast and I need games , i know we cant ask where to download but what are patches and how do they work. Ive been to many web sites and they have dreamcast games for like 2.00 bucks a cd , but i want to learn for myself. Like for instance, I went to a site filled wioth dc game patches. and number followed each patch , so whats next ? how do i make a game? Thanx.

[Wayne]

Patches are designed to modify a game ISO so the game functions differently than the way it would if burned without the patch. Sometimes the group who released the game will find a bug later on that causes it to hang or reboot or not act right. They will release a patch that will fix the ISO file so you don't have to download a whole new copy of the game. Other times, the patch is designed to make a game originally designed for one system (PAL) to work on another system (NTSC), or vice versa. The patch has to be added to the image it was intended for and not a different image, otherwise it will either do nothing or most likely will totally trash the game where it doesn't work or works improperly. Sometimes you can create an image of a game disc you have already burned, apply the patch to the image and reburn it and it will work. This is when you make the copy using the same software the original image was created with (Disc Juggler, for instance), rather than a different package (Nero). If you have a patch for a CDI file and you make an image using Nero (NRG), the patch will not work.

I hope this helps you understand what a patch is for...