docs/PATCHES AND FIXES DRAFT.md

POPStarter Patches and Fixes Draft#

Patch taxonomy#

POPStarter documentation appears to involve several kinds of external/injected files:

• PATCH_X.BIN
• Compatibility modes and visual/IGR texture patches.
• Example: $NOPAL is described as equivalent to PATCH_9.BIN in ElOtroLado docs.
• POPSLoader package contains PATCH_5.BIN for custom IGR textures matching its UI.

• TROJAN_X.BIN
• Late/additional fix bundles.
• ElOtroLado mentions TROJAN_7.BIN created on 2020-04-02 with fixes from krHACKen and Hugopocked.
• Placement described there: copy into the game folder where VMCs live.
• Needs full changelog extraction.

• Hugopocked fixes
• Game-specific patches.
• Place in the per-game folder matching the VCD basename:
• USB: mass:/POPS/<VCD basename>/
• HDD: hdd:/__common/POPS/<VCD basename>/
• SMB: smb:/POPS/<VCD basename>/
• Verify exact file types per game.

• Loader-disable / IGR workaround patch
• Referenced by krHACKen as "disable the ELF loader".
• Exact artifact name not yet verified.
• This is a priority research gap.

Needed table#

Codex should build a table with:

| File | Type | Placement | Effect | Conflicts | Source | Confidence | |---|---|---|---|---|---|---|

Known examples to verify#

• PATCH_5.BIN
• POPSLoader IGR textures.
• PATCH_9.BIN
• Equivalent to $NOPAL.
• TROJAN_7.BIN
• Cumulative fixes from krHACKen/Hugopocked.
• Hugopocked dated pack:
• Hugopocked_POPStarter_Fixes_(2023-08-11).rar
• Password observed: hugopocked
• Tekken 3 improved fix dated 2024-01-31.