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#1
Map Requests / Color Coding Progress
Last post by Cyartog959 - Today at 09:21:51 PMOK, I've come up with a tracking method for any games that aren't yet mapped, or are already mapped. Here it is...
GREEN - Completed!
YELLOW - In progress.
GREY - Paused/On Hold until able to resume.
RED - Not yet mapped.
What do you think?
If there are any mappers on the task, be it from my requests or anyone else's, I'll be sure to color the games' names focused on progression updates.
GREEN - Completed!
YELLOW - In progress.
GREY - Paused/On Hold until able to resume.
RED - Not yet mapped.
What do you think?
If there are any mappers on the task, be it from my requests or anyone else's, I'll be sure to color the games' names focused on progression updates.
#2
Maps In Progress / Re: Keith Courage in Alpha Zon...
Last post by JonLeung - Today at 09:02:11 PMThanks, they're up now:
https://vgmaps.com/Atlas/TG16/index.htm#KeithCourageInAlphaZones
I thank you further here:
https://www.vgmaps.com/forums/index.php?topic=2478.msg24361#msg24361
https://vgmaps.com/Atlas/TG16/index.htm#KeithCourageInAlphaZones
I thank you further here:
https://www.vgmaps.com/forums/index.php?topic=2478.msg24361#msg24361
#3
Map Requests / Re: JonLeung's Requests
Last post by JonLeung - Today at 08:57:53 PMThe other request fulfillment that is also a big deal today is that newcomer TimbreWulf mapped out the TurboGrafx 16 game, Keith Courage In Alpha Zones!
I mean, come on, it's a launch game, a pack-in game, for a retro console, in the same era as the popular NES, Super NES, and Sega Genesis! Anyone the least bit familiar with the TurboGrafx 16 is likely to know of this game!
Here's the updated infographic of my wishlist I made on VGMaps.com's 24-year anniversary, hoping to get more of these mapped before the 25th. Fifth game in five months since, that's like one a month. Gonna have to almost triple that rate (19 games in seven months!) to get them all done by then!
Thanks, TimbreWulf!
I mean, come on, it's a launch game, a pack-in game, for a retro console, in the same era as the popular NES, Super NES, and Sega Genesis! Anyone the least bit familiar with the TurboGrafx 16 is likely to know of this game!
Here's the updated infographic of my wishlist I made on VGMaps.com's 24-year anniversary, hoping to get more of these mapped before the 25th. Fifth game in five months since, that's like one a month. Gonna have to almost triple that rate (19 games in seven months!) to get them all done by then!
Thanks, TimbreWulf!
#4
Map Requests / Re: JonLeung's Requests
Last post by JonLeung - Today at 08:50:30 PMzagato blackfist came through with another one of my NES requests, this time for Parasol Stars: The Story Of Bubble Bobble III (E)!
It's yet another confusing Bubble Bobble sequel... the box says "Parasol Stars: Rainbow Islands II" or "Parasol Stars: Rainbow Islands 2" - I'm still not sure if both are actually legit or if certain European countries got one or the other - and then the in-game title (which VGMaps.com usually goes with) is "Parasol Stars: The Story Of Bubble Bobble III" (since Rainbow Islands is a sequel to Bubble Bobble, though there are two different Rainbow Islands games on the NES, and neither one is "Bubble Bobble: Part 2", yet another sequel also on the NES...) What a mess...
I requested it since there are still new Bubble Bobble games made to this day, and now that this is mapped I think we (probably) now have every NES game featuring currently active video game characters!
Thanks again, zagato blackfist!
It's yet another confusing Bubble Bobble sequel... the box says "Parasol Stars: Rainbow Islands II" or "Parasol Stars: Rainbow Islands 2" - I'm still not sure if both are actually legit or if certain European countries got one or the other - and then the in-game title (which VGMaps.com usually goes with) is "Parasol Stars: The Story Of Bubble Bobble III" (since Rainbow Islands is a sequel to Bubble Bobble, though there are two different Rainbow Islands games on the NES, and neither one is "Bubble Bobble: Part 2", yet another sequel also on the NES...) What a mess...
I requested it since there are still new Bubble Bobble games made to this day, and now that this is mapped I think we (probably) now have every NES game featuring currently active video game characters!
Thanks again, zagato blackfist!
#5
Maps In Progress / Re: Keith Courage in Alpha Zon...
Last post by TimbreWulf - Today at 02:11:16 AMLast part.
#6
Maps In Progress / Re: Keith Courage in Alpha Zon...
Last post by TimbreWulf - Today at 02:09:57 AMPart 3:
#7
Maps In Progress / Re: Keith Courage in Alpha Zon...
Last post by TimbreWulf - Today at 02:08:52 AMPart 2:
#8
Maps In Progress / Keith Courage in Alpha Zones [...
Last post by TimbreWulf - Today at 02:06:48 AMI worked with the US version since that's the one I'm familiar with. I remember some old magazines had maps for some of the stages (forgot which one) but was surprised it's not available online.
I mapped each stage over the last couple of days.
I'm not familiar with the submission process.
Since it won't let me upload a zip, I'll post them here.
I mapped each stage over the last couple of days.
I'm not familiar with the submission process.
Since it won't let me upload a zip, I'll post them here.
#9
Mapping Tips/Guides / Re: Any advice on how to get s...
Last post by Cyartog959 - Yesterday at 09:08:25 PMA nice lowdown on doing maps for any newcomer to mapping, mechaskrom, but there are loads of 2D PC games not ran on an emulator, and that's slightly a different story.
For one, I've had quite a couple of difficult times getting through some confusing sections in the whole Blaster Master Zero trilogy, such as Nora Satellite's confusing wormhole warp path in BMZ3 and the final labyrinthine enemy filled room-to-room path to Goez(the villain's actual name from Metafight, according to Kane Gardner) in BMZ1's Area 8, and I still don't know how large their areas' sizes are, because they all haven't been mapped yet.
Seriously, people. In BMZ3's 4th Area, it's very hard to tell which goes where, because all the wormholes look the same; no differentiation of which path is correct and which paths are wrong, even on the minimap, and no green straight lines to tell. Fortunately, I was able to unlock a shortcut warp to avoid that after going through the first time.
It is still hard to remember where to go or how long/large they are when such games aren't mapped.
For such when recreating them, even with screenshots at their pixel perfect native resolutions, there's Tiled, the map editor for placing tiles and creating maps. The Mummy: Demastered's maps were made that way, and it was rather quite swift. Eishiya used that to smooth the process, as I recall, and I was impressed with how that mapper did it. Surely, the same can be done for already released numerous pixel art made games.
Of course, Kayato, if you want some more details in them for additional guidance, yes, an image editor does the job, but ripping sprites, which also uses emulators and tools, for many things are needed to put them in their boundaries, like items, bosses' put together big screen-filling bodies that are oftentimes tough for using emulators, but you can place the bosses themselves out of the maps' boundaries, a bit close to their arenas they're fought in, and make unmarked maps for those just wanting to see them clear and clean.
Kayato, remember one thing. Just make sure you clear out the frontmost layers that obscure the foregrounds and backgrounds when mapping out certain areas that occupy the viewing field.
For one, I've had quite a couple of difficult times getting through some confusing sections in the whole Blaster Master Zero trilogy, such as Nora Satellite's confusing wormhole warp path in BMZ3 and the final labyrinthine enemy filled room-to-room path to Goez(the villain's actual name from Metafight, according to Kane Gardner) in BMZ1's Area 8, and I still don't know how large their areas' sizes are, because they all haven't been mapped yet.
Seriously, people. In BMZ3's 4th Area, it's very hard to tell which goes where, because all the wormholes look the same; no differentiation of which path is correct and which paths are wrong, even on the minimap, and no green straight lines to tell. Fortunately, I was able to unlock a shortcut warp to avoid that after going through the first time.
It is still hard to remember where to go or how long/large they are when such games aren't mapped.
For such when recreating them, even with screenshots at their pixel perfect native resolutions, there's Tiled, the map editor for placing tiles and creating maps. The Mummy: Demastered's maps were made that way, and it was rather quite swift. Eishiya used that to smooth the process, as I recall, and I was impressed with how that mapper did it. Surely, the same can be done for already released numerous pixel art made games.
Of course, Kayato, if you want some more details in them for additional guidance, yes, an image editor does the job, but ripping sprites, which also uses emulators and tools, for many things are needed to put them in their boundaries, like items, bosses' put together big screen-filling bodies that are oftentimes tough for using emulators, but you can place the bosses themselves out of the maps' boundaries, a bit close to their arenas they're fought in, and make unmarked maps for those just wanting to see them clear and clean.
Kayato, remember one thing. Just make sure you clear out the frontmost layers that obscure the foregrounds and backgrounds when mapping out certain areas that occupy the viewing field.
#10
Mapping Tips/Guides / Re: Any advice on how to get s...
Last post by mechaskrom - Yesterday at 09:40:43 AMWelcome!
It sounds like you're on the right track. Most maps are made by basically taking many screenshots with an emulator and then stitching them together in an image editor.
My normal process for mapping a game look like this (in broad strokes):
-Thoroughly familiarize myself with the game, play it, read guides, and so on. Create many emulator save states while playing, so I can quickly "jump" to different parts of the game.
-Search for memory addresses/codes useful for mapping the game. For example codes for the camera position, freezing animations/sprites, etc. Emulators often have memory/code search functions and hex editors. Otherwise I use the Cheat Engine program.
-Write a script or an external bot to automate the screenshot+stitch process using the addresses I found in the previous step. Sadly, very few emulators have script-support. BizHawk is one of the few that does, which is why it's my goto emulator for mapping games. Plus it has many other excellent features/tools. Creating a bot for emulators that lack scripting is more work and has other drawbacks. Still better than manually screenshot+stitch everything though. I made a post here with a link to a BizHawk script that you can look at as an example:
https://www.vgmaps.com/forums/index.php?topic=4211.msg23860#msg23860
-Put together the final map using a custom program I made and the Paint.NET image editor. Here I add text, icons, arrows and other annotations to the map.
But to get started, I suggest you choose a simple 2D game you like and just start taking screenshots and stitching them together into a map. You'll learn the more advanced stuff later. You probably want to look into memory/code search first as that is very useful and often needed for screenshotting parts of a map that you normally cannot reach.
It sounds like you're on the right track. Most maps are made by basically taking many screenshots with an emulator and then stitching them together in an image editor.
My normal process for mapping a game look like this (in broad strokes):
-Thoroughly familiarize myself with the game, play it, read guides, and so on. Create many emulator save states while playing, so I can quickly "jump" to different parts of the game.
-Search for memory addresses/codes useful for mapping the game. For example codes for the camera position, freezing animations/sprites, etc. Emulators often have memory/code search functions and hex editors. Otherwise I use the Cheat Engine program.
-Write a script or an external bot to automate the screenshot+stitch process using the addresses I found in the previous step. Sadly, very few emulators have script-support. BizHawk is one of the few that does, which is why it's my goto emulator for mapping games. Plus it has many other excellent features/tools. Creating a bot for emulators that lack scripting is more work and has other drawbacks. Still better than manually screenshot+stitch everything though. I made a post here with a link to a BizHawk script that you can look at as an example:
https://www.vgmaps.com/forums/index.php?topic=4211.msg23860#msg23860
-Put together the final map using a custom program I made and the Paint.NET image editor. Here I add text, icons, arrows and other annotations to the map.
But to get started, I suggest you choose a simple 2D game you like and just start taking screenshots and stitching them together into a map. You'll learn the more advanced stuff later. You probably want to look into memory/code search first as that is very useful and often needed for screenshotting parts of a map that you normally cannot reach.