Thank you, that's incredible. Unfortunately I don't think it's quite good enough for my needs based on the description (I didn't test it), because:
- it doesn't work on a screen capture, i.e. it requires a pre-recorded video or screenshots as input.
- It's too slow, so even if it accepted a screen capture it wouldn't be able to keep up.
- It probably won't handle variations in hue and brightness in the background - not important for NES games, but modern games make heavy use of full-screen effects (e.g. Noita, which is what prompted me to want this).
If you think I'm being picky, you're right, I am. The imaginary program I had in mind would work in real-time, making a map for you as you play the game. And I really think it's achievable, with the right algorithms.
I'm really intrigued by this idea now. So much so that I might pursue making it myself in the future! If I ever do, I'll be sure to post on this forum. But don't hold your breath, we're talking at least a couple of years in the future. I'm currently studying for a degree in computer engineering, and I might take some courses on image processing to learn about exactly the algorithms I'd need. Maybe.
Anyway, thank you for the link, it's exactly what I meant and Maxim sounds like an awesome guy. I'll look into using his program!