How to Archive Patch Files and Translation Notes for Video Games

Archiving patch files and translation notes for video games isn’t just about saving space-it’s about saving history. Every patch, every localized dialogue tweak, every fix for a broken save file tells a story. Without proper archiving, these details vanish. A game might still run on an emulator, but the context behind why a line was changed from "I love you" to "I care for you"? Gone. A patch that fixed a crash on Windows XP? Lost. You can’t rebuild the past if you never saved the pieces.

Understand How Patches Work

Most modern games don’t patch by editing files directly. Instead, they use an archive-overlay system. Think of it like stacking transparent sheets. The base game is the bottom layer. Each patch adds a new layer on top. When the game loads, it checks the topmost layer first for any file-whether it’s a texture, sound, or script. If it finds it, it uses that version. If not, it looks down to the layer below. This means you don’t need to keep every single file from every version. You just need to keep each patch archive intact.

Take Quake 3 as an example. Its engine reads patches in order. The original game files sit in one archive. Patch 1.32 goes in another. Patch 1.33 in a third. The game doesn’t care which one has what. It just knows: use the newest version of each file. This system is clean, efficient, and perfect for archiving. You don’t need to merge files. You just need to store each patch as its own archive.

Organize Your Patch Archives

Start by creating a folder structure that mirrors how the game actually uses patches. Here’s a simple setup:

• /games/[game-name]/patches/ - All patch archives go here
• /games/[game-name]/patches/patch_1.00.zip - Original release
• /games/[game-name]/patches/patch_1.32.zip - First major update
• /games/[game-name]/patches/patch_1.33.zip - Final patch

Use clear, consistent naming. Include the version number and date. Don’t use vague names like "update_final.zip". You’ll forget what it contained in six months.

Each patch archive should contain only the files that changed from the previous version. Don’t dump the whole game folder. That’s wasteful. Use a tool like 7-Zip or WinRAR to create ZIP archives with maximum compression. Store them in ZIP format-it’s open, universal, and readable on any system, even 20 years from now.

Track Translation Notes Like Code

Translation notes aren’t just random scribbles. They’re documentation. They explain why a character’s name was changed from "Kuro" to "Black" in the English version. They note cultural references that were swapped out. They record which lines were cut due to length limits. Without them, future translators or researchers are blind.

Store these notes alongside their corresponding patch. Create a folder called /games/[game-name]/translations/. Inside, make a subfolder for each patch version:

• /games/[game-name]/translations/patch_1.32/
• /games/[game-name]/translations/patch_1.32/notes.txt
• /games/[game-name]/translations/patch_1.32/changed_lines.csv

Use plain text (.txt) or CSV (.csv) files. Avoid Word documents or PDFs unless absolutely necessary. They rely on proprietary formats that may not open in 15 years. CSV files are just comma-separated values. They open in Notepad. They’re readable by machines. They’re future-proof.

Include these details in each note file:

• Which file was changed (e.g., "dialogue_en.txt")
• What was changed (original line → new line)
• Why it was changed (cultural adaptation, character voice, censorship)
• Who made the change (translator name or team)
• Date of change

Example:

File: dialogue_en.txt
Original: "I’m not afraid of ghosts."
Changed: "I don’t believe in spirits."
Reason: "Ghosts" sounded too childish for the tone. "Spirits" better matched the game’s supernatural lore.
Translator: Maria Chen
Date: 2023-08-15

Use the 3-2-1 Rule

You’ve got your patches and notes organized. Now, protect them. The 3-2-1 backup rule is the gold standard for digital preservation:

• 3 copies of your data
• 2 different media types (e.g., external hard drive + SSD)
• 1 off-site copy (cloud storage or physical drive stored elsewhere)

For game archives, this looks like:

• Copy 1: On your main PC (working copy)
• Copy 2: On an external SSD plugged into your gaming rig
• Copy 3: Uploaded to a private cloud service like Backblaze B2 or stored on a USB drive locked in a fireproof safe

Why off-site? Because if your house burns down, or your PC gets stolen, or ransomware encrypts your drives, you still have a clean copy. Air-gapped storage-where a drive is unplugged and stored away-is the most secure. It can’t be hacked remotely. It’s your last line of defense.

Don’t Use Binary Patching for Archives

You might think tools like XDelta are perfect for patching game files. They’re not. XDelta works well for small text files or single binaries. But game patches? They’re usually archive files-ZIPs, PK3s, PAKs-that contain dozens or hundreds of smaller files. XDelta tries to compare the entire archive as one big blob. It fails. The compression savings are tiny. You end up with a 50MB patch file when you could’ve had a 5MB one.

Instead, extract the contents of each patch, compare the file list against the previous version, and archive only the changed files. Use a script if you’re comfortable with Python or PowerShell. Here’s a simple logic:

1. Unzip patch V1.32 and V1.33
2. List all filenames in each
3. Compare the two lists
4. Take any file that’s new, modified, or missing in V1.32
5. Zip those files into a new archive: patch_1.33.zip

This approach gives you clean, minimal patches. It also makes it easy to verify what changed. If a player reports a bug in V1.33, you can look at the patch archive and instantly see which files were touched.

Preserve ROM Patches for Emulation

If you’re archiving older console games-like Game Boy Advance titles-you’ll run into save compatibility issues. Many old games used battery-backed SRAM to store progress. When the battery dies, the save is gone. Emulators today use modern SRAM formats. That’s where ROM patchers come in.

Tools like GBA ROM Patcher or BatchGBA can:

• Convert battery-backed saves to flash-based saves
• Add battery-less save support
• Fix checksums so the ROM runs on modern emulators

Don’t just patch the ROM and forget it. Archive the original unpatched ROM alongside the patched version. Label them clearly:

• Pokemon_GBA_USA_UNPATCHED.gb
• Pokemon_GBA_USA_PATCHED_SRAM.gb

Also, keep a note explaining what the patch did. Was it just a save fix? Did it remove anti-piracy checks? Did it fix a crash on mGBA? That context matters.

Use Open Standards

Avoid proprietary formats. Don’t use a custom database or encrypted archive. Don’t rely on software that might disappear. ZIP files, TXT files, CSV files-they’re all open. They’re readable by anything. Even if your PC dies in 2040, someone with a Raspberry Pi and a USB reader can open your archives.

Same goes for file systems. If you’re backing up to an external drive, format it as exFAT. It works on Windows, macOS, and Linux. Avoid NTFS if you plan to use it on a Mac. Avoid HFS+ if you’re on Windows. exFAT is the neutral ground.

Test Your Archives Regularly

Archiving isn’t a one-time task. It’s maintenance. Every six months, pull one archive from your backup. Extract it. Open a translation note. Load a patched ROM in an emulator. Does it work? If not, your backup failed.

Set a calendar reminder. Treat this like changing your smoke detector batteries. If you don’t test, you don’t know if it works.

Also, document your process. Write a simple README.txt in your main archive folder:

Game: Final Fantasy Tactics Advance
Archive Version: 1.33
Last Tested: 2026-02-10
Tools Used: 7-Zip, GBA ROM Patcher v2.1
Notes: All patches applied using overlay method. Translation notes match patch versions exactly.

This helps you-and anyone else-understand what you did, even if you’re not around anymore.

What to Avoid

• Don’t store patches inside game folders-it makes cleanup messy
• Don’t use cloud sync services like Dropbox as your only backup-they’re not designed for long-term preservation
• Don’t rely on screenshots of translation notes-they’re not searchable, not copyable, not editable
• Don’t archive in .rar or .7z if you’re not sure you’ll have the software in 10 years-ZIP is safer

Keep it simple. Keep it open. Keep it redundant.

Why This Matters

Video games are more than entertainment. They’re cultural artifacts. A game like EarthBound only became beloved because of fan translations. A patch that fixed a crash in Shin Megami Tensei: Nocturne let a generation of players experience it on modern PCs. Without proper archiving, those moments disappear. The patches vanish. The notes get lost. The context fades.

You’re not just saving files. You’re saving history. And history, once gone, can’t be rewritten.