06-02-2008, 06:23 PM
Convenience and accessibility are the keys to getting effective sprite-ripping done, Hylianfox. An ideal sprite-ripper should have:
- one emulator per system in which ripping is to take place, preferably one with frame-by-frame slow motion and screenshoting capabilities (I recommend VBA for GBA games, for example)
- one copy of the ROM for the games to be ripped
- ample memory for storing screenshots and other ripped files in bulk
- one good image-editing program (like Macromedia Fireworks or Adobe Photoshop)
- PLENTY of time
- lots of savestates. This is key because if you missed a sprite in an important cutscene or whatever, chances are you can't get back to there. Cycle through each savestate (1-10) every time you need to start rippin' sprites, then slow down the frame rate, screenshot every frame, then pause emulation. If at any time you miss a sprite, load that last save state and start ripping all over again. (yes, it DOES take a while). Screenshot EVERY frame, and delete the identical ones AFTER you rip the whole sprite animation and BEFORE you start making it into a sheet.
- one emulator per system in which ripping is to take place, preferably one with frame-by-frame slow motion and screenshoting capabilities (I recommend VBA for GBA games, for example)
- one copy of the ROM for the games to be ripped
- ample memory for storing screenshots and other ripped files in bulk
- one good image-editing program (like Macromedia Fireworks or Adobe Photoshop)
- PLENTY of time
- lots of savestates. This is key because if you missed a sprite in an important cutscene or whatever, chances are you can't get back to there. Cycle through each savestate (1-10) every time you need to start rippin' sprites, then slow down the frame rate, screenshot every frame, then pause emulation. If at any time you miss a sprite, load that last save state and start ripping all over again. (yes, it DOES take a while). Screenshot EVERY frame, and delete the identical ones AFTER you rip the whole sprite animation and BEFORE you start making it into a sheet.