PC-Engine .pce header format

[burn_654]

Hi there, can anyone give me information on the pc-engine (.pce) header format? I'm starting to do some mild pc-engine hacking and I'm trying to figure out how large this header is and what kind of information it contains. How is one properly built?

The best information would be how large it is. Google's not turning up what I'd like.

[nodtveidt]

As far as I know, it's 512 bytes and is pretty damn useless these days.

[Arkhan]

why not just ignore the header and remove it entirely.  You don't really need the thing.

[burn_654]

Ok, good to know. I was just checking that with a header removal I was removing the correct amount.

So there's really no need for it? If I released a hack in the future, would any of the flashcards/emulators of note need this header?
For instance, if I was trying to expand the rom to use empty space on the end, would I need a header to state the proper megabit size? Or would an emulator/the real console be able to pick up on the actual file size?

[nodtveidt]

The only emulators worth a damn these days already know how to handle the ROMs, which renders the header useless, and there's at least one flash cart out there that actually has a problem with the header being present.

[Arkhan]

Ok, good to know. I was just checking that with a header removal I was removing the correct amount.

So there's really no need for it? If I released a hack in the future, would any of the flashcards/emulators of note need this header?
For instance, if I was trying to expand the rom to use empty space on the end, would I need a header to state the proper megabit size? Or would an emulator/the real console be able to pick up on the actual file size?

I strip the headers off of all the ROMs I put on NeoFlash..