CAN ANY ONE POINT ME IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION

well i have most of the tools to start a hack but as i am a beginner i am not sure i should use a clean or patched rom and second any one got a good website for me on few tutorials on a step by step basis and third where can i get the tool AlphaEnc any suggestions would be appreciated
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on the tutorials i just need to no what tool app i have to run and when if u can

based on what i've read, it's a good idea to always use a clean ROM when creating a ROM hack...

yes i was going to do that i never thought it would be this draining researching this stuff but i am getting there have most of the tools now and just seeing what pieces go with which
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does any one have a good poketext download with the picture in with it or a link they no has the pictures