Retro Mod Pod

Feed it a game. Feed it a mod. Press the irresponsible button.

Retro Mod Pod is a single-file, local browser tool for applying supported retro-game patches without making the user learn the patching ritual first.

Give the GAME POD your own game file or game ZIP. Give the MOD POD a patch file or mod ZIP. Press KABOOMY.

The original input stays untouched. Retro Mod Pod creates a new __MODDED.zip and includes a patch receipt showing what it did.

Created by Wakka through directing, testing, and iterating with AI.

Current release: v0.1.0
Operation: local / offline
License: MIT

Why this exists

I made Retro Mod Pod because I didn't know how ROM patching worked.

I kept running into patch formats, base-game revisions, checksums, different patchers, and instructions that assumed I already knew which file mattered and what tool I was supposed to use.

I wasn't trying to become a ROM-patching expert. I knew what I wanted:

game in one side → mod in the other → KABOOMY → patched game out

So I made the knowledge part the tool's problem.

Retro Mod Pod tries to identify the patch, identify the correct game payload, verify what it can, apply the patch locally, preserve the original, and package the result. If the situation is ambiguous or the base game does not match what the patch expects, it refuses to guess.

That refusal is part of the design.

Quick start

1. Download Retro-Mod-Pod-v0.1.0.html from Releases.
2. Open it in a modern browser.
3. Put your own game file or game ZIP into GAME POD.
4. Put your patch file or mod ZIP into MOD POD.
5. Press KABOOMY.
6. If verification succeeds, Retro Mod Pod downloads a new __MODDED.zip.

Nothing needs to be installed and Retro Mod Pod does not upload your game or patch files.

What v0.1.0 does

Capability	Status
IPS patching	Supported
BPS patching	Supported
UPS patching	Supported
PPF1 / PPF2 / PPF3 patching	Supported
xdelta / VCDIFF	Detected, not applied yet
APS / RUP / MOD / BDF / BSPATCH	Recognized, not applied yet
ZIP game packages	Supported
Raw game / ROM / disc-image input	Supported
BPS / UPS source revision checking	Source size + CRC32
BPS / UPS patch and output validation	CRC32 checked
PPF2 / PPF3 validation data	Used when present
CUE/BIN targeting	Uses the BINARY image referenced by a single CUE sheet
Ambiguous multi-patch packages	Refused
Ambiguous game targets	Refused
Original input modification	Never
Patch receipt	Included in every successful output

Common game-image extensions recognized by the v0.1.0 target selector include:

bin, iso, img, gba, gb, gbc, sfc, smc, nes, n64, z64, v64, nds, md, gen, 32x, pce, rom, and chd.

NO KABOOMY

Retro Mod Pod intentionally stops instead of improvising when it cannot establish a safe target.

Examples include:

• the mod package contains more than one patch
• the game package contains multiple plausible targets
• a BPS or UPS patch expects a different source CRC32
• a PPF validation block does not match
• the patch format is recognized but not implemented in v0.1.0

One of the first real-world tests used the Pokémon Unbound patch. A FireRed file had the expected size but the wrong CRC32, so Retro Mod Pod returned NO KABOOMY instead of producing a questionable patched ROM.

That is exactly the behavior I wanted.

Patch receipt

Every successful output contains:

RETRO_MOD_POD_RECEIPT.txt

The receipt records:

• Retro Mod Pod version
• original game input name
• patched payload
• how the target was selected
• mod input and patch file
• patch format
• source CRC32 and SHA-256
• patched CRC32 and SHA-256
• confirmation that the original input was not modified

Local by design

Retro Mod Pod v0.1.0 is one HTML file containing its interface and patch engine.

It does not download games, ROMs, BIOS files, patches, or mods. It does not upload your inputs to a server.

Use files you are legally permitted to use. Retro Mod Pod itself contains no commercial game data or third-party patches.

Current limits

v0.1.0 is deliberately conservative.

• xdelta / VCDIFF is detected but not applied.
• Other recognized formats such as APS and RUP are not implemented yet.
• A mod package containing multiple patch files is rejected rather than having the tool invent an order.
• When a patch format does not provide strong source-validation data, target selection necessarily falls back to CUE/package structure and recognized game-image candidates.

Repository contents

• Retro-Mod-Pod-v0.1.0.html — the complete v0.1.0 tool
• README.md — project overview and usage
• LICENSE — MIT license
• RELEASE_NOTES_v0.1.0.md — first public release notes
• GITHUB_SETUP.txt — repository About text, topics, and release metadata

License

Retro Mod Pod's original code is released under the MIT License.

Game names, patches, ROMs, disc images, and other third-party material remain the property of their respective owners. Retro Mod Pod is an independent utility and is not affiliated with game publishers, console manufacturers, ROM-hack authors, or patch-format creators.