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Hi, I was just wondering what the best emulator out there was to map out Arcade games.  Are there any that can turn on and off sprites of different background layers?

Sounds like a fun project, I look forward to seeing the maps.  It's always fun to see what changes they have made in the different versions of games.

Job well done, they look great!

Yes, that is true.  I mapped out Super Metroid in one big map that is 16,896 x 14,336.  I know some browsers can't display it.  So I also saved it out in smaller chunks by area as well to ensure everyone would be able to see it.  Also the main file was around 14 megs, so the smaller chunks also would work well for people that just wanted to see one area in the game and not wait for the entire file to load.

I mapped Spy Hunter and that has several maps that met the maximum height for Photoshop of 30,000 pixels by 240 wide.  The file size was only 145 KB.  The height of an image does not effect loading time at all.  It is just the file size that effects it.

I would call it personal preference if you think the map looks better broken up or not.  However there is no limit to height or width on this site.  More the limits of the program you use to create the image file.

Here is the Spy Hunter map that is 30,000 pixels tall:
http://www.nesmaps.com/maps/SpyHunter/SpyHunterArea07.html

Kewl, thanks for sharing all that.  I also try to find a walk through walls code for any game I map, as well as invincibility so the enemies won't bump me around when I'm trying to stand in a certain spot to capture the map.  Some games I'm able to find a code that stops the animations easily, other games it takes a while, or I just give up and try to pause on the same frame before capturing each screen if it is just a simple animation.  I have not tried mapping any games yet for any of the hand held systems.  So far I have just done games for NES and SNES.

Sounds like you found a lot of useful codes to make the mapping much easier.  I never played this game back in the day.  I may have to check it out sometime.

The transparent labels look nice, but depending on the game and number of colors in the image it can make the file size much larger, especially if it brings it up over 256 colors so it can no longer be indexed.  However with faster bandwidth, and unlimited space on web servers it's not as much of a big deal as it used to be.

Yes, I think the labels for the stairs stand out well and are easy to find and read.

Kewl, I must say I also like your choice in labels.  They are small so they don't cover up much of the map and the color stands out and is easy to see without hurting the eyes.

I would suggest a table off to the side of any map with Japanese names for the contents of chests that would translate what is in the chest to English.

Here is a link to the latest interim build of BizHawk.  I have been using it to map Super Mario World, and so far it is working pretty good.  The main thing to do to prevent crashing is to not open up the graphics debugger window while the emulator is paused.  As long as you stick to that it should work good.

Here is the download link to the version I'm using.
http://code.google.com/p/feos-tas/source/browse/trunk/BizHawk.zip

Also there is an on going thread at:
http://tasvideos.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=13464

So you can offer your input and suggestions for the emulator there.  They have already added several of the features I have requested to make mapping games easier.  I think it will help if they know I'm not the only person that uses their emulator to map games.  So please request some good features from them.

Yea, I agree nth Floor Elevator Access sounds good.

I would use "Cavern" instead of "cave chamber".  Lobby is the main floor where you get on the elevator typically on the ground floor.  As for elevator stops on other floors, I would call them Elevator Waiting Room.

Here is a site that gives names for Rooms in a house in English: http://www.learnenglish.de/vocabulary/rooms.htm

I hope that helps some.

I think both types of maps have their place.  A lot of my maps end up as posters so I tend to go with the mindset of showcasing the games graphics and level layout.  However I also enjoy looking at the edges of the maps that the programmers never intended people to see, and what areas they left partially complete, or filled with a pattern that does not match or line up since they figured no one would ever know.

I think this issue is kind of like the one for should enemy and item sprites be included on the maps?  It really is just a matter or personal preference and what the intended use of the map is.  There is no right or wrong answer.

Trop, I enjoy looking at your Super Castlevania IV Maps to see where the programmers stopped coding the graphics.  However if I were going to make a poster of the level to hang on the wall as art I would prefer a more complete looking map.  It really just depends on what the map is being used for.