answered Modding B/W Pokemon Sprites

[Abacus]

Thanks for the info, Andibad! I'll look into it asap. I take it that you're referring to modifying the movements of sprites in-battle, correct? If so, this is far above and beyond what I'm doing. Do you have the link to the gbatemp thread, by any chance?

Edit: Success!

I got around my previous problem by taking a rather roundabout, time-intensive route. It'd be a huge time saver if someone figured out how to directly load a palette for this particular type of image in CrystalTile2 - I couldn't make the entire process work with MKDS.

Tutorial to follow shortly.

Edited March 14, 2012 by Abacus

[Abacus]

Okay, tutorial time! This time we'll be putting a big lightning bolt on a Pikachu's stomach. Note that we'll just be changing the the pixels, and not the palette this time around. If you want to change both, follow the steps I laid out on the previous page first, then these ones.

Start out by extracting two copies of a/0/0/4 (plus you'll probably want to keep a third one as backup), and open up CrystalTile2, ConsoleTool and PuyoTools (though any compression/decompression program would most likely do.) Load a/0/0/4 in ConsoleTool and find the pokemon you want to edit by multiplying its Pokedex number by 20. Like I said earlier, each pokemon has 20 files relating to it - Pikachu's files being 500-519.

518 is Pikachu's standard color palette, and 519 is its shiny palette. We can use 502 to modify male Pikachu's frontsprite and 503 to mod the female Pika's front. 511 and 512 modify their respective backsprites. In short, it's the third, fourth, twelfth and thirteenth files that you directly mod. As a timesaver, we'll only be painting a lightning bolt on a male Pikachu's gut, but the other relevant files can be modified in exactly the same way.

Now switch over to CrystalTile2 and open up a/0/0/4. Scroll down to file number 502 and export it to your desktop.

Use your decompression tool of choice (PuyoTools in my case) to decompress that file, then go back to CT2 and re-import the decompressed file 502. It should now have a pretty little "picture" icon and a .NCGR file extension.

Right click on file 502 and select the "Retrieve Tile Address" option. Then go to the Properties tab and set the width to 256 and the height to 128. Should look something like this. See the different pika-parts? These are the "sheets" that slide back and forth over each other that Shiny Sheimi mentioned on the previous page. Now to do something about those zany colors.

This was the stumbling block that I hit - if anyone can directly apply file 518's color palette to the picture we have up right now, we could save bucketloads of time. As it is, we just have to settle on the next best thing. Click on the "Palette" tab, right next to the "Properties" one that you just had up. You should see a 16x16 grid of colors.

Now, we need to manually adjust the Red/Blue/Green values for each color in the top row. The correct values (and order of colors) are viewable if you open up file 518 in ConsoleTool. You'll be switching back and forth between ConsoleTool and CT2 a lot.

Once you set the R/G/B values for all 16 colors, your pokemon's colors should look familiar.

Export the image, then edit it with Paint/Adobe/whatever. While working your art, be sure to only use existing colors - no adding in new ones! Then re-import your altered design. After this, be sure to double-click the image - this makes it "stick".

Export file 502 to your desktop or wherever, and compress it in an LZ11 format. In CrystalTile2, close the a/0/0/4 window, and open up the second, untouched copy of a/0/0/4 that you made. Find file 502 on the list, and import the modded 502 from your desktop to replace it. Save, exit, and insert this second narc back into your ROM. Voila!

Edited March 14, 2012 by Abacus

[Honeyichigo]

Awesome! Thanks a lot. I'll be playing around with some BW sprites as soon as I find the time (and a ROM, but let's not talk about that!).

[Shiny Sheimi]

When it comes to adding new colours to the sprite, shouldn't it be possible with some sprites? I found when editing Pokémon sprites that there were "blank" colours on the palette - they weren't blank, but they were colours that were not being used on the sprite, there when the Pokémon had less than 16 colours. Would it be possible to edit the palette to change one of these unused colours and then use that on the sprite, or is there some other complication stopping you from doing this?

Another issue - this is absolutely fantastic, a total breakthrough. The next step, however, would be to find out if it's possible to edit pixels outside of the already existing "sheets" while still making the pieces slide normally. For example, making Pikachu's ears longer, or, the opposite of this, shortening Pikachu's ears, presumably by creating blank or transparent pixels. It might be possible in practice, but the problem that it might cause is that the pieces of the sprite will no longer function in animation anymore. Do we know much about how the sheets function with each other, or is this still mostly a mystery?

[Honeyichigo]

I don't know much about ROM-editing, but assuming the palettes work the same way they do in any other type of image, it should be possible to create new colours to fill in blank entries in the palette. It's the same as changing any of the other colours, except that the ones you're changing aren't already being used. I don't see why this would work differently on a ROM, but hey, what do I know.

[cubera]

this may sound like a rather dumb question.. but how did you decompress the file? when i used puyo tools on the 502 file and then import it in Crystal tile 2 i get a error saying "Unknown file format, cannot record to the table ".

What settings did you use for PuyoTools? also could you show a picture for puyo tools?

id appreciate any help :eek:

[Khari]

I have Done it!

The entire sprite is modified, Baby!

[video=youtube;xqhbayurXyE]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xqhbayurXyE

Trochic and Zekrom

are completely edited.

[Detectiv]

Any know how to alter the sprites of the starters? They are located in a/2/0/5 and I feel that naltazero's cool starter editor is no fun to use until we can edit these graphics.

Sorry if this question has already been answered on another thread, I looked but couldn't find it.

[Khari]

Try using puyo tools for extraction and Kazo's sprite editor for the image editing.

[Shiny Sheimi]

I have Done it!

The entire sprite is modified, Baby!

Trochic and Zekrom

are completely edited.

This is fantastic, well done. I notice that you've done the impossible - or, what I suggested might be impossible on the previous page - and edited pixels outside of the original Pokémon's image (the Torchic has bumps that go outside of where the sprite's head originally went, and the sprite still animates naturally).

[Detectiv]

Try using puyo tools for extraction and Kazo's sprite editor for the image editing.

I just tried kazo's editor but I don't know which rgcn goes with which rlcn, I tried rgcn file 12 and rlcn file 0 and got this

which looks kind of like Snivy. Any more advice/suggestions would be appreciated.

[KazoWAR]

Here is some stuff I was messing with about a month ago.

[video=youtube;ajSTTmq-1bM]

I just tried kazo's editor but I don't know which rgcn goes with which rlcn, I tried rgcn file 12 and rlcn file 0 and got this[ATTACH]9709[/ATTACH] which looks kind of like Snivy. Any more advice/suggestions would be appreciated.

It might not have been programmed for that image size/format.

*edit* going to be releasing bwse 2, might not be perfect but i am sure a lot of people may want to use it. it uses DSDecmp and it a lot more user friendly now. just select the folder with the unpack files check pokemon if it is for pokemon sprites, unchecked for trainer. use the list for the different images. sync pal is used when importing a second, third, etc sprite of a new sprite and forces the program to use the palette from the rlcn file instead of making a new palette for the image, this is so all the sprites a Pokemon has uses the same palette. but make sure if you use it that all the colors the image has is apart of the original image other wise those pixels are skipped because there is no color for them.

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/3706406/Files/BWSE%202.rar

Edited April 2, 2012 by KazoWAR

[Khari]

Kazo does it again! bravo! we have one more step to this.....there are a couple of files out of the 20 that govern motion of that sprite. i have to look at those this week and see what i can do.

[Shiny Sheimi]

I just tried kazo's editor but I don't know which rgcn goes with which rlcn, I tried rgcn file 12 and rlcn file 0 and got this[ATTACH]9709[/ATTACH] which looks kind of like Snivy. Any more advice/suggestions would be appreciated.

Just to clarify, you're talking about the images that appear when you're choosing a starter, yes?

Edit: I'm starting to have some problems editing the sprites as per Abacus' instructions. Everything is fine up until the part where I have to "Retrieve File Address" and then change the dimensions. I can right click on the re-imported file and click Retrieve Tile Address, but nothing seems to happen and when I look in the Properties tab there isn't anywhere to enter the numbers specified. Has anybody else encountered this problem? My computer is pretty old but it seems to be capable of doing everything else just fine, so I wonder if it's something else causing the problem, or if I'm doing something wrong. Please help!

Edited April 4, 2012 by Shiny Sheimi

[Detectiv]

Just to clarify, you're talking about the images that appear when you're choosing a starter, yes?

Edit: I'm starting to have some problems editing the sprites as per Abacus' instructions. Everything is fine up until the part where I have to "Retrieve File Address" and then change the dimensions. I can right click on the re-imported file and click Retrieve Tile Address, but nothing seems to happen and when I look in the Properties tab there isn't anywhere to enter the numbers specified. Has anybody else encountered this problem? My computer is pretty old but it seems to be capable of doing everything else just fine, so I wonder if it's something else causing the problem, or if I'm doing something wrong. Please help!

Yes, I want to replace them with images of other pokemon. Or just remove them if thats not possible.

To change dimensions, you must be in tile mode so click on the tile icon (looks like a mountain) on the shortcut bar and then you can change dimensions.

[Shiny Sheimi]

Yes, I want to replace them with images of other pokemon. Or just remove them if thats not possible.

To change dimensions, you must be in tile mode so click on the tile icon (looks like a mountain) on the shortcut bar and then you can change dimensions.

Alright, cool, I'm getting there. Slowly. I changed to tile mode and managed to get the image open, but even after changing the dimensions it doesn't look right.

This is Blaziken's sheet, by the way, not Pikachu's. Are the dimensions different for each sprite? I played around with the dimensions but I'm stabbing in the dark.

Edit: Never mind, I figured out what the problem was. I'd been a bit of an idiot and had opened the static frontsprite file instead of the parts file. Solved it now, and it's working. Thanks for your help, though.

[Detectiv]

Edit: Never mind, I figured out what the problem was. I'd been a bit of an idiot and had opened the static frontsprite file instead of the parts file. Solved it now, and it's working. Thanks for your help, though.

no worries.

These are the starters with pallets applied, however they aren't in the same format as other pokemon. This makes it difficult to replace.

Any ideas on how to replace them?

[Andibad]

no worries.

These are the starters with pallets applied, however they aren't in the same format as other pokemon. This makes it difficult to replace.

[ATTACH]9715[/ATTACH][ATTACH]9716[/ATTACH][ATTACH]9717[/ATTACH]

Any ideas on how to replace them?

is need nscr (this sprite is need OAM), just using CT2 to solve that problem.

[Detectiv]

I don't understand. Doesn't nscr contain data about the size of the sprite? Please explain what I must do slowly 'cause I'm a bit confused.

[Andibad]

I don't understand. Doesn't nscr contain data about the size of the sprite? Please explain what I must do slowly 'cause I'm a bit confused.

ops sorry is not nscr, is ncer.

if you clicked nclr, ncgr, try click ncer files, will look like this :

(with ncer files)

(without ncer files) w64 h144

[Detectiv]

Thanks andibad, I'm starting to understand. The ncer file is supposed to put the sprite together, right?

But how do you apply the ncer file to the rgcn file in ct2? When I press space nothing happens. When I click it the picture disappears.

Also which ncer file must I apply for which sprite?

EDIT: screenshot of sprite and ct2

Thanks for spending your time to help me!

Edited April 7, 2012 by Detectiv
screenshot

[Shiny Sheimi]

Okay, so, I've arrived with another problem. Sorry for hogging the thread. So, I did everything as per the instructions and everything went smoothly. Edited Snivy in Paint and imported the image etc etc. I edited it to have a slightly different shaped tail. I wasn't entirely sure whether or not it would work, because I have the feeling that a lot of the animations depend on there being set borders, if that makes sense? I would also like to know a bit more about how the animations work - does anybody have any idea? I thought maybe each part had an anchor or something that the game used to place it, but I'm no expert on that kind of thing. Some people have evidently managed to edit a Pokémon (and edit pixels outside of the original borders of the sprite) and the animation still works, but I want to know if there are any restrictions with this, or if anybody has figured out how the animations work, generally.

Anyway, so, back to the problem. I edited Snivy's tail to be a different shape, as you can see here.

I reinserted the image (and double clicked it), exported the file, compressed it, imported it (and double clicked it, just to be safe). I then used Nitro Explorer to reinsert the narc to the ROM. I then ran the game on an emulator (DeSmuME) to see the results in the first battle (I picked Tepig so I'd battle Bianca with Snivy first), and I found that nothing had happened. It was as if I hadn't done anything at all - Snivy's tail was the same shape. I thought maybe I hadn't saved it properly, but when I went back into the ROM to see what the tail looked like in the file, it was exactly how I left it. So I thought maybe Snivy had several different sprites and the one I edited wasn't the one being used in that instance, so I went back and checked for other sprites, but no, I couldn't find any of them. Snivy doesn't have any alternate forms and doesn't look different female to male or anything like that.

So, after all that, I'm left at a total loss as to what happened. I'd be a bit less frustrated if the sprite had glitched or something, because at least then I'd know that I'd changed something and that it just wasn't possible, but right now I'm just confused as to how Snivy's original tail shape is still existing in the game despite the fact that those pixels no longer exist on the ROM.

Please, somebody ease my frustration!

[Khari]

you have to pick oshawott so you encounter a male snivy. You have the new image on the male and not on the female. try that.

[Shiny Sheimi]

you have to pick oshawott so you encounter a male snivy. You have the new image on the male and not on the female. try that.

Like I already said in the post, Snivy isn't any different from female to male - both female Snivy and male Snivy use the same sprite. There is only one Snivy frontsprite (parts) file and it is the one that I edited. Hence my confusion.

[Andibad]

try using tinke 0.8.3 r134 : http://www.box.com/s/1f3feddae203ddbf7243 (don't worry is not containing a virus)

this release was support OAM editing so you can moving that part as you like but i not test this, i just compile new release from google code owo

is just missing : nanr editor and nbtx reinsert support owo