Color Code

A Color Code (top), with the intended result (bottom).

A color code, abbreviated as "CC", is a GameShark cheat code that modifies Mario's color palette in Super Mario 64. Many machinimists use color codes as simple ways to depict characters, YouTubers, or alternate costumes/abilities.

Color codes can be created with machinima tools (such as M64MM or Saturn) or manually via hex editing.

History

It's unclear who created the first color code, or when it was created, but it's likely to have been discovered by a ROM hacker sometime before 2006.

In 2009, yoshielectron created the first machinima tool - the color code generator - which allowed users to create simple color codes.

In 2015, M64MM2 released with a feature allowing users to create and edit color codes in-game. In 2019, an update allowed color codes to be stored in the program rather than Project64's cheat section.

In 2020, a visual color code editor was added to Saturn and Saturn: Moon Edition, allowing color codes to be created and modified in real-time. A small update followed shortly after, allowing color codes to be used with custom avatar models.

The same year, cometSpectrum - a Discord bot and website allowing users to store color codes online - released to the public.

In November 2020, an extended color code format known as CometSPARK released alongside an avatar model and M64MM addon. With setup, it allowed all of Mario's limbs and textures to be fully customizable. SPARK color code support was added to cometSpectrum shortly after.

In 2022, a major update was announced for Saturn, teasing full support for both CometSPARK color codes and cometSpectrum's online database. Currently, the latter is still pending release.

Format

Color codes follow the same format as other GameShark cheat codes - a hex address (left column) followed by a 16-bit hex value (right column). The address is used to determine which "limb" to color, while the right column is the color value in hexadecimal format (e.g. #FFFFFF = solid white).

Most color codes are roughly 300-350 digits long, excluding those created with CometSPARK. Some old color codes may appear shorter, as they only edit the intended replaced section - this has proven to be impractical as loading multiple color codes at a time can cause them to overwrite each other.

Examples

Megaman765's Color Code, originally used for his Blooper Mario character.

MarioMario54321's Color Code

SMG4's Color Code

Fleskhjerta's Color Code

Starman3's Color Code

Prinplup14's Color Code

FightingMario54321's Color Code

Pinkolol16's Color Code

MarioMario66666's Color Code

SuperWario9000's Color Code

Schm2000's Color Code

MarioSuperSoda's Color Code

SuperEmiga's Color Code

Generic Color Code

SuperMario231's Color Code

Hyperkirbo3's formerly-used Color Code

Garfield The Loving Lasagna Cat's Color Code

Mario 2.0's Color Code

SecretBlue64's Color Code

Jediwarriormike's Color Code

Musthast0's Color Code

Mix King’s Color Code

Mix King's Minion's Color Code

Carlos Carrillo's Color Code

Windows98Gamer's Color Code

AidenWRLD's Color Code

Hyperkirbo3's current color code

Evil Carlos' Color Code

TheSonicfan8352's Current Color Code

NobodySM64's Color Code

GlitchyHazel's current Colour code

sm64rise's Color Code

Revio Saber's color code

LuigiFan456's color code

iMatrix’s color code

DM64's Color Code

N00bh34d’s color code

TheDreamMario64's Color Code

BleemExto64's Color Code

CooingSlinky11's Color Code

Super Logan 5871's Color Code

SMG3's Color Code

SuperToon63's color code

CappyKid's Color Code