03-25-2017, 05:13 PM
Greetings t'ya! It is I, the great MorningFlash, and today I will be giving a proper tutorial on how to rip every sprite from an NES Rom as part of the NES complete library project.
The following tools will be needed:
VirtuaNES
Once you have the aforementioned tools downloaded, open VirtuaNES, then load the ROM you want to rip from. I'll be using the game Baseball as an example.
Immediately, you will want to the "Tool" setting. Select "Viewer". Then select "Pattern Viewer"
After that is selected, you will see a series of tiles that look like this:
[img]file:///C:/Users/amflash1/Pictures/Sprites/Nintendo%20Sports%20Series/NES/Baseball/bandicam%202017-02-27%2016-23-01-473.png[/img]
This shows everything that is currently in use within the game's files, as well as its associated palletes. Clicking on the viewer will change the pallete.
Now, open your screen capturing software.
You will also want to select "Name Table Viewer", which shows the background elements currently in use. They usually look like this:
[img]file:///C:/Users/amflash1/Pictures/Sprites/Nintendo%20Sports%20Series/NES/Baseball/Baseball%20Stadium%20(Outer).png[/img]
Take a screenshot of both the Pattern Viewing window and the Nametable Viewing window. MAKE SURE YOU GET EVERY PALLETE!!!
Once you have everything, you can close VirtuaNES.
There. Now step one is done and over with. You now have just about every sprite from within the game. We can't just leave it as a bunch of tiles, though. No one would know how to assemble them.
Fortunately, you have this tutorial that shall explain how.
Dismantling the Pattern
As stated above, we can't just leave each sprite as a cluster of tiles. So, how are we going to assemble each sprite?
That's when things get a little difficult.
First, open Paint.net with your pattern snapshot. You don't need to open the Name Table snapshot, as they are usually pre-assembled.
I'd recommend dividing the pattern into sections, based on the series of sprites (Usually, each tile for a sprite flows together nicely) that should look similar to this:
[img]file:///C:/Users/amflash1/Pictures/Sprites/Nintendo%20Sports%20Series/NES/Baseball/playertiles2.png[/img]
To divide into sections, you will need to locate the series of tiles that correspond to each sprite. Use the select tool to encompass those tiles, then crop to that selection.
After you've finished dividing each section, you'll want to name said sections based on the sprites they represent (I.E. playertiles)
Now comes the hard part. After separating each section, you will need to divide each section even further into individual tiles. How do we know the area of each tile, though? Well, they don't call 8-bit
consoles "8-bit" for nothing, because each tile has an area of 8x8 pixels.
Use the select tool on the very first tile in the top left corner, making sure it is 8x8 pixels. Continue to do this by moving the square (using the "Move Selection tool") to each tile afterwards, until every tile is individualized, as shown here:
[img]file:///C:/Users/amflash1/Pictures/Sprites/Nintendo%20Sports%20Series/NES/Baseball/Player%20Tile%201.png[/img]
Woohoo! We've just sepperated each tile! Now we can assemble them without any trouble.
Assembling the Sprites
This is probably the hardest part of NES ripping, so I'm gonna be very precise with this one.
Open a new file in Paint.net
Layer the file with the tiles you want to assemble into a full sprite. The tiles usually all go together, so you can layer, say, tiles 1-5.
Use the "Move Selected Pixels" tool to move each tile in each layer, making sure the sprite looks correct.
Once the sprite looks complete, crop to the assembled sprite.
Flatten the image using the "merge layer down" option in the layers window until it is a flat image.
In most NES sprites, a black or white background will encompass the sprite in tile form. Select around the black background using the "Union" setting in the select toolbar.
Erase the background.
AAAAAAAAAAAANNNNNNDDDDDDDD We're done! Continue to do this with each tile, and you'll have ripped your first NES game!
The following tools will be needed:
- VirtuaNES: http://www.emulator-zone.com/doc.php/nes/virtuanes.html
- Any Screen capturing tool
- Paint.net: http://www.getpaint.net/index.html (You could also use Photoshop, but P.N is cheaper)
- The ROM you want to rip from
VirtuaNES
Once you have the aforementioned tools downloaded, open VirtuaNES, then load the ROM you want to rip from. I'll be using the game Baseball as an example.
Immediately, you will want to the "Tool" setting. Select "Viewer". Then select "Pattern Viewer"
After that is selected, you will see a series of tiles that look like this:
[img]file:///C:/Users/amflash1/Pictures/Sprites/Nintendo%20Sports%20Series/NES/Baseball/bandicam%202017-02-27%2016-23-01-473.png[/img]
This shows everything that is currently in use within the game's files, as well as its associated palletes. Clicking on the viewer will change the pallete.
Now, open your screen capturing software.
You will also want to select "Name Table Viewer", which shows the background elements currently in use. They usually look like this:
[img]file:///C:/Users/amflash1/Pictures/Sprites/Nintendo%20Sports%20Series/NES/Baseball/Baseball%20Stadium%20(Outer).png[/img]
Take a screenshot of both the Pattern Viewing window and the Nametable Viewing window. MAKE SURE YOU GET EVERY PALLETE!!!
Once you have everything, you can close VirtuaNES.
There. Now step one is done and over with. You now have just about every sprite from within the game. We can't just leave it as a bunch of tiles, though. No one would know how to assemble them.
Fortunately, you have this tutorial that shall explain how.
Dismantling the Pattern
As stated above, we can't just leave each sprite as a cluster of tiles. So, how are we going to assemble each sprite?
That's when things get a little difficult.
First, open Paint.net with your pattern snapshot. You don't need to open the Name Table snapshot, as they are usually pre-assembled.
I'd recommend dividing the pattern into sections, based on the series of sprites (Usually, each tile for a sprite flows together nicely) that should look similar to this:
[img]file:///C:/Users/amflash1/Pictures/Sprites/Nintendo%20Sports%20Series/NES/Baseball/playertiles2.png[/img]
To divide into sections, you will need to locate the series of tiles that correspond to each sprite. Use the select tool to encompass those tiles, then crop to that selection.
After you've finished dividing each section, you'll want to name said sections based on the sprites they represent (I.E. playertiles)
Now comes the hard part. After separating each section, you will need to divide each section even further into individual tiles. How do we know the area of each tile, though? Well, they don't call 8-bit
consoles "8-bit" for nothing, because each tile has an area of 8x8 pixels.
Use the select tool on the very first tile in the top left corner, making sure it is 8x8 pixels. Continue to do this by moving the square (using the "Move Selection tool") to each tile afterwards, until every tile is individualized, as shown here:
[img]file:///C:/Users/amflash1/Pictures/Sprites/Nintendo%20Sports%20Series/NES/Baseball/Player%20Tile%201.png[/img]
Woohoo! We've just sepperated each tile! Now we can assemble them without any trouble.
Assembling the Sprites
This is probably the hardest part of NES ripping, so I'm gonna be very precise with this one.
Open a new file in Paint.net
Layer the file with the tiles you want to assemble into a full sprite. The tiles usually all go together, so you can layer, say, tiles 1-5.
Use the "Move Selected Pixels" tool to move each tile in each layer, making sure the sprite looks correct.
Once the sprite looks complete, crop to the assembled sprite.
Flatten the image using the "merge layer down" option in the layers window until it is a flat image.
In most NES sprites, a black or white background will encompass the sprite in tile form. Select around the black background using the "Union" setting in the select toolbar.
Erase the background.
AAAAAAAAAAAANNNNNNDDDDDDDD We're done! Continue to do this with each tile, and you'll have ripped your first NES game!