How to extract ROMs?

[Pixtar]

Hello,

i try to get some graphics (called tiles?!) from some SNES games. To take screens is a bad idea, because it will be a lot of graphics.

I've searched in the forum and with google, but i found nothig how to get a graphic out of game.

First of all i want to know if its realizable to get praphics out of game?

If its possible, did i need special programs or is it like the thing i thought the whole time, that i have to read the data, beacuse its called ReadOnlyMemory ;)

So, i hope you can give me some advise.
Greez

[corn]

I don't think you can get in game screens out of the ROM, because those are user-activated. You can probably get load screens and such out, but you'd have to take the in-game screens yourself because the ROM doesn't have those saved. If it did, the game wouldn't be so small eh?

[Pixtar]

Hu? No Way .. if i look at this page: http://www.zophar.net/utilities/snesgraph.html

Then I think there is a way, because all ingame movements like running with mario are saved as some pictures in file at any place.

Greez

[Zach]

When it comes down to pictures of complete levels, those are built with map files, and reference textures inside the game data file. You can only get level/action screenshots by playing the emulator and turning off certain sprite and/or background layers.

The only real material you can extract from ROMs in a useable, complete form would be game sprites. Sprites are images of the character. A single character can have many different sprites because every frame of movement is a seperate sprite within the game data (unlike an animated gif which stores animation frames in a single file and plays them sequentially).

So if you are looking for sprites of game characters, then you need a Sprite tool like can be gotten from Zophar.

You can also search Google for terms like "Video Game Sprites", "Sprite Archives" etc.. There are some very extensive sprite archives out there if you can find them. They usually also include animated gif versions of character movements, etc.

[retroguiden]

But I get a feeling that Pixtar just wants specific tiles from the backgrounds in a game. That is very much possible. I don't know how much tile graphics have been dumped from retro games to be used in different RPG Toolkit projects and similar programs, but it's alot.

Pixtar, you might find what you're looking for in this link -->http://www.zophar.net/utilities/snesgraph.html

[Pixtar]

Thanks a lot @ Zach,

the Game Sprite Archives are a really great help and exactly that what i've searched for. :D
Because of the many sprites i have less work on my project.

Greez