resources (v0)
below is a list of sundry things, mostly for reverse engineering and game asset exploration, and especially for MIPS assembly and PSX/PS2 debugging.
this list is not intended to be exhaustive by any means, it’s just a collection of tools and documents i’ve found to be useful at some point in time.
still a work in progress. if you have any suggestions i’d love to hear them on github issues!
general
★ ghidra - open source reverse engineering framework maintained by the NSA
★ WinDbg - a convenient debugger for Windows
★ gdb - gnu debugger
playstation
★ pcsx2 - open source PS2 emulator with a very good debugger
★ mednafen - open source cross-platform PSX emulator with an on-screen debugger
★ no$psx debugger - freeware PSX emulator for windows with a good debugger
★ no$psx spec - comprehensive reference for PSX
★ ps2tek - comprehensive reference for PS2
★ psx-spx - playstation specifications
★ introduction to programming the playstation 2: fundamental concepts - contains detailed information on the sony computer entertainment ps2 library
★ mips iv instruction set - exhaustive documentation on mips assembly
★ MIPS Assembly Language Programming by Robert Britton - a gentle introduction to MIPS assembly
binary tools
★ kaitai struct - powerful tool for declaring the structures of binary formats and generating parsers/serializers
★ devel kaitai ide - latest version of the kaitai ide
★ hexed.it - powerful online free hex editor ✨
★ imhex - open source, customizable hex editor with diffing capabilities
★ construct - declarative parser/serializer for python
★ protocol buffers - Google’s cross-platform serialization format
2d/3d graphics
★ blender - open source 3d software
★ gestaltor - proprietary but very useful gltf editor
★ 3d model researcher - good for a first dive into model formats
★ gltf specification - 3d model and animation format specification from the khronos 3d formats working group
★ graphviz - good for quickly drawing graphs, e.g. for skeletons (kaitai can compile to it)
★ wgpu - safe cross-platform graphics library for rust, supports webgl and webgpu targets
★ three.js - very good and convenient webgl library for javascript