Tile Layer Pro is the Windows version of the Rom hacking utility program Tile Layer. Despite the sound of it's name, Tile Layer Pro is not a commercial piece of software, it is in fact freeware. The Pro suffix, so commonly used to indicate commercial versions (eg. Realplayer Pro), in this case only signifies the Windows Version of the program.

See my writeup in Tile Layer for the features of the program (functionality remains for the most part unchanged, although a few new features added besides the Windows compatibility), but an overview of the program's functions is as follows:

  • ROMs of almost any 8 or 16 bit system (NES, Game Boy/Color/Advance, Virtual Boy, Master System, Sega Genesis, SNES).
  • If you are viewing a ROM and some of it is stored ina different bitdepth than is default for the system (eg if you look at a SNES ROM - default 4BPP - and you need to find a 2BPP font, dynamic switching of viewing formats is available).
  • Opening up to 256 ROM files at once (if you have the system resources for it).
  • Individual Tile editor which has pixel by pixel editing, rotate, flip and undo commands.
  • Tile Arranger - like the Clipboard in Tile Layer, but stores Memory Addresses, so editing a tile in the tile arranger edits it in the ROM file immediately as well.
  • Palette selector, which allows you to use a pre made one, or make your own (you can specify one for each ROM image if you like) so that the graphics look correct in the editor.
  • Import /Export feature which allows hackers to export tiles to a graphics program such as Gimp or Photoshop for editing, and then to import them back into the ROM when finished.
  • Copying and pasting between different locations in (if you like) different ROMs. If, for example, you want to add an English font to a game then you can select it all in one English game, copy it, then paste it into the other game. This eliminates the tedious tile by tile approach that Tile Layer had.
  • Excellent coding which ensures it is fast and stable. I've only crashed it once, and that was doing idiotic stuff, and even then it only crashed the ROM file, leaving the main window working, so I reopened the ROM and continued.

The program is coded by SnowBro and is available for download in the graphics editors section at The Repository (http://www.romhacking.com). The program is free and runs on all (I think) versions of Windows. There are probably ports for other OSs out there, but I haven't used any of them.

Overall, TLP is an small, fast, essential tool for any serious ROM hacker.

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