Setting up Star Rod and your modding folder

Requirements

  • Java Development Kit (JDK) version 12 or newer (JDK version 17 or 20 recommended) (OpenJDK works as well) (a "standard" installation of Java, like JRE, does not suffice!)
  • Star Rod modding tool (current version: 0.5.3) -> Download here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1OUHnb9T7m_aVm-WJY3mmEgFS_DU0F2je/
  • A valid Paper Mario US v1.0 ROM (There are a variety of tools you can use to dump a backup from your own cartridge. Please ensure your cartridge matches the required version.)
    • MD5-Checksum (.z64): a722f8161ff489943191330bf8416496
    • If you do have a clean NTSC-U ROM, but it is in the .n64 or .v64 format, use the following website to fix your ROM: https://hack64.net/tools/swapper.php

Installation

  1. Check if you already have an up-to-date version of JDK installed.
    • If you know your way around a terminal, open one up and enter java --version.
    • To check using Windows menues: TODO
  2. If you do not have JDK version 12 or newer installed, get it here: https://www.oracle.com/java/technologies/downloads/
  3. Download the current version of Star Rod (see: Requirements), then extract the .zip file somewhere you can easily find it again. It's recommended to set up a folder for your modding and have the folder for Star Rod inside of that.

Preparing your mod folder

  1. If you're on Windows, launch StarRod.exe. MacOS and Linux users launch StarRod.jar instead (you may need to set the file to allow execution first).
  2. When asked to create a new Star Rod config, choose Yes.
  3. When asked to pick a directory for your mod, choose the folder you set up during step 3) of the Installation.
  4. When asked to create a new mod config, choose Yes.
  5. You'll now be prompted to pick a clean NTSC-U (that is the North American release) ROM of Paper Mario. Commonly the correct ROM file is in the .z64 format.
  6. Once Star Rod has verified that your ROM is the correct one, Star Rod's Mod Manager will open
  7. Select Dump ROM Assets. This will extract the game's data into a new folder called dump next to your ROM file. This may take a few minutes, but only needs to be done once.
  8. Select Copy Assets to Mod to copy the relevant data of the game's dump to your mod directory.
  9. You can close Star Rod for now.

Now you're ready to start modding!