Pretty much what it says on the label. It's been a long time, fellas, but the Central is now back online and ready to dispense some new stuff at last! ...Hopefully without me procrastinatin' too much halfway through this time, heh.

DISCLAIMERS, YO~
As per usual, all rips displayed here are guaranteed 100% checked, primed and(Most of the time) complete, with no smudges or unnecessary breaks and the like, barring cases in which some sprites have to be manually polished to keep the quality consistent.

And as always, all sprites, backgrounds and stuff displayed here are all © their respective owners.

Quote:NEW RIPS

Spiderweb Island

The Nightmare Woods

<-- 10/04
Spiderweb Island/The Nightmare Woods [Shantae and the Pirate's Curse]

Mutated Soldier

<-- 10/04
Mutated Soldier [Metal Slug 2/Metal Slug X]

Di-Cokka Ver. P.M.

<-- 10/04
Di-Cokka Ver. P.M. [Metal Slug 5]

Quote:UPDATES

Assorted Items & Environm. Objects

<-- 29/04
Assorted Items and Environmental Objects [SONIC THE HEDGEHOG Series]

And with that, I'll leave ya to the show. Enjoy!

---

Let's begin with something that was LOOOONG overdue.

HUD Interface [Metal Slug 6]
<-- Hey guys, look. H-D!!

Hoo boy, we've got a blast from the past already... Remember those little icons from the MS games that I compiled in a sheet way back in Lady Palutena knows when?

In MS6, the HUD got up-scaled to roughly twice its original size, presumably to better accomodate the different aspect ratio of the Atomiswave/PS2. Oddly enough, those sprites wound up in MS7's tile data, which is how I've obtained them. A few things to note:

1. Additional sprites have been included for the "Mission Start/Complete" font and the "IN/OUT" icons, to match the original sheet.
2. Speaking of fonts, there were a few letters from the system font in the tiles, also up-scaled. For completion sake, they've been included in the sheet.

And that's that. Enjoy the sheet, and have fun!

Nice work! Glad you're still at it!

Welcome back! Always cool to see Metal Slug stuff!

*Dusts off the computerized stereo and presses ON. "Snowy Country"* starts playing in the background.*
Man, I missed doing that. We've got a new rip coming up in here, and it's one of the most complicatedly assembled Super Vehicles in the series.

Slug Gigantus [Metal Slug 7/Metal Slug XX]
<-- They're the prey, and we're the hunters.

DESCRIPTION
The last rideable Super Vehicle in MS7/MSXX, this giant behemoth is found at the tail end of Mission 6, and is piloted for the rest of the stage.
Buried in an avalanche of snow and debris, no one truly knows how this machine wound up in the snowy regions of Scrap Island. Aside from its imposing size, the Gigantus' main method of offense is, oddly enough, its "fists", along with a lone Vulcan Cannon mounted on the front.

The Gigantus can also raise and lower its arms to defend itself from enemy projectiles when necessary. To top it off, it can charge energy into its arms to fire a large plasma wave to sweep remaining enemy troops away. Be careful, however! Word on the snowfield is the Rebellion Army has their own Gigantus waiting for you outside the forest...

COMMENTS
If you can catch the reference in the tagline, you win a cookie.
Anyway, as you can tell by the demo image, every piece of the Gigantus' body uses rotation effects up the wazoo, which makes assembling the thing a considerable pain. There's also the matter of its palette, which goes from brightest to darkest: Right Arm/Leg, Main Body, and Left Arm/Leg.

And then there's the cockpit. In MSXX, the Gigantus gains a two-seat cockpit module for two-player mode. Given that I have zero access to MSXX's graphic files, I had no way of attaining those sprites. Then I remembered someone who did.
Back when MSDB was still online, esreveR made his own rip(That, like many things, got lost in the datastream when Majhost went kaput...) of the Slug Gigantus, complete with the two-seat cockpit.

As labeled by the credit tag, the MSXX-exclusive two-seat cockpit sprites are taken by esreveR's rip, and are indicated by the green BG color. Hopefully he won't mind about this... wherever he's at nowadays.

...And just because someone has to ask the devs. Of all the places you could've mounted that Vulcan Cannon, why there?

*The Mission 6 BGM from MS7/MSXX, of course. Eight years later, and that soundtrack's still pure awesome.

---

EDIT: Aaaand submitted. Added esreveR's name in the submitter tag as well, since I felt it wouldn't be fair to exclude him, all things considered.

And now for something completely different...
...And it involves this chick over here.
So I've been browsing the Shantae [GBC] section on TSR a few months back, and noticed there's still a relatively distinct lack of backgrounds rips. After some tinkerin' around, I've compiled a first batch of tileset rips, covering up to the first dungeon. Here they are below:

INTRO: The Lighthouse
<-- Some wake-up call YOU turn out to be, Risky.

---

I can't be the only one who thought of Shantae shaking her fist thinking "Dang it, I just HAD that roof fixed!", right?
Anyway, this is from the intro portion of the game, where you're dodging raining cannonballs. Took a while to get everything, seeing how I had to get animated BG parts the old-fashioned way.

Burning Town/Risky's Ship
<-- "Well, my destruction quota's filled for now." "You have a quota?"

---

Next up, the intro stage proper. Once again, animated BG parts proved a bit of a hassle, coupled with the BG palette changing at points. The ship was slightly more straightforward, despite a screw-up or two.
Also, bleepin' Tinkerbats, how do they work.

Background Set °1 [Updated 11/03]
<-- I DARE you to spot the odd bust out.

---

And now, the real game begins. Seeing how the BG graphics are shared between some areas, I'm compiling multiple area tilesets into one sheet. That, and some tilesets are a bit too small. This set contains the following tilesets:
Scarecrow Fields: Case in point, this place's tileset is flippin' tiny, compared to the rest so far. Anyway, first area to the right of Scuttle Town, and home to Dirt Dogs and(Of course) Scarecrows galore.
Forest Junction: There's quite a few places in the game that use this tileset, so I can't pinpoint it to just one area. Regardless, it should be every tile.
Mermaid Cliffs: I should probably note that those area names are all blind guessing. Progressing to the right, you'll end up here. Water Town's just beyond this joint! I wonder how Bolo's holding up...

Dribble Fountain
<-- Gaaaze into the future, genie girl.

---

First dungeon is GO! This... took a while, to put it bluntly. Something tells me the other dungeons won't be any easier, but hey. Also contains the end boss, which took its while as well, big surprise.
...So, anybody here found that secret area in Pirate's Curse yet?

As of this writing, I'm starting to prepare the next tileset batch. Barring eventual scraps with the local Nagae, it shouldn't take too long.

Hopefully.

Loving your rips, like REALLY liking them!

Oh awesome!

(01-28-2016, 06:33 PM)Gussprint Wrote: Back when MSDB was still online, esreveR made his own rip(That, like many things, got lost in the datastream when Majhost went kaput...) of the Slug Gigantus, complete with the two-seat cockpit.

Can't his stuff be accessed through Web Archive?

If it's there, it's hiding pretty dang well.

Hey, it's Valentine's Day, everybody! Hope you're having a beautiful day with your significant other and stuff... either that, or let your shipping fantasies go wild.

SOMEONE out there is probably doing that with those two right now.

The next batch of tilesets is up and ready, in surprisingly less time than I previously thought. Here's the rundown.

Background Set °2 [Updated 22/03]
<-- For the record, my money's on the Tinkerbat.

---

Once again, three different areas in one sheet. Except this one has a little something extra with it, but let's go in order.
Bay/Cliff Junction: Going east from Scuttle Town gave us a cornfield(At least I think it's a cornfield...). Going west, on the other hand, gives us the mountainside. A mountainside which sports different palettes and BG objects depending on the area you're in.
Baron Desert: ...I see what you did there, Wayforward.
But yeah, past(Or below) the rocky ridges is the desert zone, running ground of manticores, mortar bugs and... whatever those one-eyed claw monsters are supposed to be. And heat. Lots of it.
Cavern Junction: Did I mention that the tilesets can get abysmally small at times?
Also known as "shortcut central", they're scattered throughout the game waiting to get opened. ...Yeah, that's all I've got. It's so small I can't come up with anything witty to say about it.

Golem Mine
<-- "...I'll bet Megaman never had to deal with this crud."

---

Second dungeon of the game, and a real labyrinth at that. The main attraction here, no pun intended, is the magnet-centric puzzles found inside. Aside from that, this dungeon was surprisingly easy to compile. Even the end boss wasn't that much of a pain.

Two dungeons down, two relics out of Risky's grasp. Our venture's been a smooth breeze so far! Time to see where the next relic's holed up--

...FUDGE. Hope I've got enough coffee on me.

*Emerges from a warp pipe, all dusty and bruised.*
Well, this run sure was something. The next batch is up and running, but first an update for one of the previous tilesets. Details below the spoiler tag, since it got a bit... chaotic somewhere along the ride.
That zombie girl's a "bad influence", alright. Anyway, on to the batch.

Background Set °3
<-- "Wouldja like some cheese with yer NIGHTMARES?"

---

Things are starting to get dark and spooky, as we track down the Zombie Caravan. Let's get ravin'.
Drizzling Deluge: Yeah, that's the best one I've got. East of Water Town is a bay/cliff area where it's constantly raining. Good luck getting out of the rapids if you slip, unless you're a really good swimmer.
Swamp Junction: From constant deluge to the bog. A natural progression. Good legwork will keep you out of any danger, save for the local undead. Also contains the entrance to the third dungeon, which we'll cover in a sec.
Rottytops' Challenge: BONUS TIME! This is the background for the race minigame with Rottytops. I can imagine this tileset being used for a full stage, with a bit of tweaking.

Cackle Mound
<-- Who said darkness can't be beneficial to your continued existance?

---

Back to the Roots of darkness we go. Third dungeon of the game, and this is where things get serious("Level 3" rule in effect, folks). According to our "guide", a society of Shriekers dwells inside this place, along with a few Demonesses taking refuge. Couple that with the over-abundance of ghouls itchin' for a bite of half-genie flesh and you've got yourself quite the situation. Using the darkness to your advantage is key to survival.
Also of note is the end boss, AKA that lumbering pile of resilience and spinning that is resistant to pretty much everything but the kitchen sink... yet can't take a 100-feet fall. Also, I hear it hates spiders.

Well, aside from the usual shenanigans, we're one relic away from shutting Risky's plans down. Our next destination: Mount Pointy! We'll be stocking up at the nearest outpost, then off to finish this...

...By the way, is it me or does the outpost's keeper look familiar? It's like we've seen her before, but I can't quite put my finger on where exactly...

...Naaah, probably just my imagination.

EDIT: For those who missed it, I've put the update to Background Set °1 up on the first post. This was the first time I've used the "Revise" function, so let me know if I screwed something up.

And another sheet updated. The Background Set °2 sheet now has a third palette for the Bay/Cliff areas, which appears near the fourth dungeon of the game. Speaking of, guess where we're headed today?

Background Set °4
<-- Not exactly what you'd call "pleasant vacation spots".

---

Only two areas covered today, and they're the most dangerous spots in the land. On one hand we've got sub-zero temperatures. On the other, nightmare fuel central. Let's do this.
Mud Bog Pass: A top contender for "Most Inexplicable Environmental Progression" in a videogame. West of Oasis Town, the desert zone turns into a land of darkness, a grimy place infested to the brim with creatures made of TAR. Night is virtually indistiguishable from day in this place, due to the blanket of clouds extending throghout the entire area.
Oh, and it also has giant bleepin' maggot carcasses lying around on top of huge pillars. Uncanny valley central indeed.
Mount Pointy: The obligatory ice world. Sorta. Covered at 90% by a blanket of snow, this is where the paths connect in Sequin Land. The last dungeon awaits at the tippy top, and good luck reaching it without proper equipment.
And by that, I mean spontaeneously grow spider legs or a pair of wings.

Twinkle Palace
<-- ...Look, just fire the Mr. Freeze quotes already. I know you want to.

---

So, according to that eerily familiar outpost keeper, the last relic is stashed in here. Fourth dungeon of the game, it's one giant maze from start to finish. The main attraction here, aside from the warp-holes that can shoot you to the other end of the room, are these giant ice cubes containing one of three monsters: a Golem, a Demoness, or a Claw Dasher. Smashing the cube open will awaken the monster inside.
Also, along the way you'll find keys encased in, you guessed it, ice. The only way to thaw 'em out is by aligning the panels. And then there's the end boss, surprisingly a real breather compared to the rest of the dungeon... if you can separate it from its pet.

Barring the hubs and the final zone, that should be the last of it. And best of all, we've successfully halted Risky's plans for good! Boo-YAH!! Now to head back to base, and...

...Wait, what's that noise outside? It's like I'm hearing high-pitched gibberish all of a sudden, coupled with what appears to be muffled screaming and a... vicious, semi-raspy... cackle...

...Of course. She was the keeper. Crud. Well, looks like we're headed to the final zone anyways, folks! Next time, it's steam-powered terror as we tackle the last(Fo' reals) dungeon.
Now if you'll excuse me a minute, fellas, I've got an rescue op to prepare.

And with this, our half-genie's journey's come to an end. The final dungeon's up and ready, and boy was it a doozy. Unsurprisingly, the hardest part turned out to be the very end, but let's not get ahead of ourselves here. We've got a lot of cover.

EPILOGUE ~ Tinkerbat Factory
<-- "Don't keep me waiting, squirt."

---

We're going through uncharted territory here. After stealing those relics from us, Risky Boots and her crew bolted back here, in this remote island. There's only one way inside, and it involves locating a mysterious telescope floating high up in the sky...
Once we're in, the real party begins. Concealed below the island is a huge factory complex filled to the brim with Tinkerbats, Tinkerbats and more Tinkerbats. Our brave Shantae's gonna need all her skill and strength if she's to survive in this steaming machinery inferno.

Once we reach the end, however, things get even crazier. Below the complex is the All-Purpose TinkerTank, a massive steam-powered doomsday machine just waiting to get unleashed in the open. Stopping it from the outside is definitely a no-go, which means it's time to cause some internal damage.
Ripping this thing... was not easy, to put it lightly. The tileset itself got confusing almost immediately, so I opted for the next best thing: level mapping. Since the TinkerTank constitutes a stage in and of itself, I've made good use of VBA's map viewer and compiled the tiles outta that. Which, considering how huge the thing is, you can imagine how long it took.

Well, that takes care of that, then. The rest of the backgrounds, to my knowledge, were already ripped by others and are up on TSR, so I guess we're done here.

On top of that, we've avoided some big catastrophe in the process, with said doomsday machine going the way of the Doominator. Incident resolved! ...Now if you'll excuse me, I've got an enraged piratess on my tail. Laters.

Back to familiar territory with this one, while tackling uncharted waters at the same time.
*Activates the computerized stereo. "Break the Barrier"* starts playing in the background.*

So recently, a bunch of hidden stage areas have been discovered in Metal Slug Advance. Said areas were dummied out in the final game, and can only be accessed via incessantly faffin' around with Cheat Engine. For more info, go to MS:MIA(Right here, yo~) and check for yourself.

Unused Area °1 [Metal Slug Advance]
<-- "...You know you can just pass through that boulder, right?"

---

And we start with an underwater area where you can walk freely without fear of drowning. With rocks that just implode with no sound or debris after a good bashin'. Also lack of pizzazz and general noise, which kinda makes the thumbnail a tad misleading.

...Yeah, needless to say, these areas aren't quite finished. They were meant to be alternate routes for Missions 3 and 4(Possibly with the Slug Mariner), but ended up getting scrapped. Thus, this somewhat incomplete area BG, left in the game and forgotten until now.
I say "incomplete" due to how it looks. The level map has a static ripple effect to it, which probably would've been animated had this been completed. Included in this mix are the entrance/exit areas, also dummied out from the final game.

That's one of two unused areas down. The next one might be a little trickier to pull off, though... it's mostly vertical, and you're not affected by undersea physics for once. We're gonna need a trampoline.

...Or a moonjump code. That works too.

*From "Metal Slug 3D"/"Metal Slug Evolution". Considering what you gotta do to even see these areas, the name of the track is rather fitting.

---

EDIT: So appearently this sheet got approved thrice over, leading to two extra broken pages on the site. Might wanna get that checked out, fellas.

It's crash time here at HQ, fellas! Some more Metal Slug Advance backgrounds for your viewing pleasure, or however that goes.

Mission 4 (Part 3)
<-- And suddenly I feel like I'm in Elevator Action.

---

When we last left off in Mission 4(I've checked, by the way. THREE YEARS.), we were climbing up a big ol' mountain. Now we're inside, and the Rebellion Army wasted no time in trying to repel us. Kudos for the effort, if anything.
Not much else to add, seeing how there's not much to this place aside from the elevators, which you will need to use in order to get out of here. Doing the Mario alone ain't gonna cut it.

You may have noticed on the far left of the bottom floor that there's a small patch of water. A tunnel, perhaps? Either way, taking a dip isn't as advisable as you'd think, but clearly there must be a reason for it being here...

Unused Area °2
<-- "...Dangit, who let that gap witch know of this place!?"

---

...Which brings us to this. The second unused area in the game, and once again not quite finished. At first, it doesn't seem too bad, though. You're just walking on the bottom of the sea, wondering why underwater physics haven't kicked in yet, and pondering if octopi do dream of turntables, or something.
And then you reach the end of the tunnel. Only way to go from there is UP. I would like to remind the audience that, because these areas were cut early on from the retail game, undersea physics are pretty much nonexistant. Thank goodness moonjump codes are a thing.

With that, however, comes another problem in the form of a previously unseen threat to your continued health. SQUIDS! OF THE NON-INKLING VARIETY! Yep, those squids from MS5 are in this joint, with nearly finished coding too from the looks of it. Better let them to their own devices, though. The last thing we need right now is a rampaging squid rammin' us into the stratosphere.

Feels good to be back in the game, not gonna lie. Next up, we're taking the fight to the skies, as we advance towards the last agitation point. Grab your Flame Shots and stack up on Super Grenades, fellas.

We're gonna need all the firepower we can get.

What's this? I'm submitting custom sprites to TSR!? WHAT IS THIS MADNESS!?

...Ahem. It has come to my attention that, a couple days ago, it was none other than Sonic's 25th anniversary. So I figured "Huh, I should probably do something for that.", but I didn't have much ready. Except for a bunch of custom-sprited springs, containers and more that I've made over the past few years and grouped together in this dinky lil sheet. Which I'm probably going to update AGAIN in a few days, no doubt.

Actually, I know exactly what to update it with, but for now, I think there's plenty of material that's worth a look. Have a gander at this!

Assorted Items and Environmental Objects [SONIC THE HEDGEHOG Series]
<-- Open up that capsule and get your prize.

---

And what a collection of items it is! Spanning from the early days to the more recent stuff (Well, as recent as 2013/14...), what you're looking at here basically started with me needing some spring GFX for a mock-up, and ending up making my own. Which then spiraled up into this. The result of a combined FOUR YEARS of work.

Why yes, I do know how to not manage my time, thank you. Anyway, the sheet includes a plethora of items from throughout the series, from item capsules to springs, from boosters to jump pads, from containers to crusher traps, from rings to emblems... Well, you get the idea. Can you recognize what comes from where?

Once again, this'll probably get yet another update soon, but considering that spriting a new object from scratch does take some time, I think this will do for now. Soon as I can get that icon ready, this'll get submitted. Enjoy, and have fun!



...And now to sit back and wait for the hate-mail from morons who just realized I deliberately put green eyes on the classic 1-UP.