Sega CD/PC Ecco Screencap Help?

[Key-Glyph]

Hey everybody. I was wondering if anybody could help me with something.

I'm looking to have a high-quality screencap of Ecco's forehead constellation as seen in the first few seconds of this Sega CD/PC cutscene. Is anybody able to do this easily from the source material or an emulator? I'm hoping to have a clearer shot than what's possible from the existing YouTube videos.

Thanks in advance!

[Curlypaul]

I reckon an emulator is your best bet. Kega Fusion will allow to pause at any point, and I think you should be able to jog the frames backwards and forwards until you get the exact shot that you want.

[Hobie-wan]

Purrint is a great free screen capture program if someone gets it up in an emulator.

[CFFJR]

I looked into this last night. The problem is, I don't know where those videos appear in the sega cd games.

The video in your youtube link says it was downloaded at Caverns of Hope, which I found, and according to them these videos apparently first appeared in the CD version of Tides of Time.

I downloaded the iso and played around with it in Fusion, but I have no idea how to access the videos (I've never played the CD versions of these games) and I haven't found any info about it. Do you know how to find them in game?

[Nemoide]

I'm actually playing through Ecco: Tides of Time for Sega CD - you get a video clearly showing the stars on Ecco's head right in the first or second level, from one of the glyphs.

Unfortunately, the Sega CD has such a low-resolution, that I don't know if it would actually be helpful. The quality would only be slightly improved from the YouTube version.

[CFFJR]

Key, I was able to get a couple of shots after I opened my damn eyes and found the glyph Nemoide mentioned.

Unfortunately, the problem is as Nemoide stated. The resolution of these videos is so low originally that the shot is still pretty ugly, and may well be unusable for your purpose. Here's the clearest image I have:



As you can see, its not so hot. That's from the Sega CD, and in a lot of ways its uglier than the youtube video that I imagine was ripped from the PC version of the game, which I don't have access to.

Sorry.

[Key-Glyph]

Thanks for the inputs, everybody! I'm sorry I haven't been responsive; I've been sick for a good number of days.

CCFJR, you are the best. I was aware the source material wouldn't been clear -- what I was looking for was the most accurate capture possible of that imperfect source material, which is exactly what you gave me! I wasn't going to be satisfied until I had exactly what was on that screen, pixelated though it may be. Now I can stop losing sleep over this.

It seems like you went a bit out of your way, and I'm sorry about that. I was hoping I was making a request that would be a 0.001 second affair for somebody who already had the emulator, game file, etcetera, not a request that would send a friend on a goose chase when I could have put in the same effort myself if I hadn't opened my mouth first.

Thanks again!

[Xeogred]

Wow I don't remember these videos at all either and I just played the Sega CD version of the first game a year or two ago... strange.

Crazy crazy games. Talk about very weird and somewhat deep/complex experiences, haha. I still need to finish the second one. These games are pretty brutal though and I always hear the second one is even harder.

Then there's the fact that the Genesis versions don't have checkpoints. That's gotta be insane...

[Key-Glyph]

Someone compiled all the cutscenes into two YouTube videos and put epic music to them:
Part One
Part Two

There are spoilers, obviously, since these catalog the entire story arc of the first game.

I was aware that these existed back in the AOL Download days, but I didn't know where they'd come from. I had assumed an artist rendered them for kicks and only a month or so ago discovered they came from the Sega CD/PC versions of Tides of Time.

They're so blasted awesome. I shouldn't admit that certain parts can move me to tears... so I won't.

I still need to finish the second one. These games are pretty brutal though and I always hear the second one is even harder.

That's odd. The second one has difficulty settings that will adjust as you play, if I'm remember correctly. But you'll also get hilariously trash-talked by an incredulous dolphin in one level if you stink at it ("I am not sure you are the famous Ecco"). In my experience the first game is way harder, but I'm only speaking of the Genesis versions. I haven't played them on other consoles.

[CFFJR]

Thanks for the inputs, everybody! I'm sorry I haven't been responsive; I've been sick for a good number of days.

CCFJR, you are the best. I was aware the source material wouldn't been clear -- what I was looking for was the most accurate capture possible of that imperfect source material, which is exactly what you gave me! I wasn't going to be satisfied until I had exactly what was on that screen, pixelated though it may be. Now I can stop losing sleep over this.

It seems like you went a bit out of your way, and I'm sorry about that. I was hoping I was making a request that would be a 0.001 second affair for somebody who already had the emulator, game file, etcetera, not a request that would send a friend on a goose chase when I could have put in the same effort myself if I hadn't opened my mouth first.

Thanks again!

Well how about that! And here I was thinking it wouldn't be sharp enough.

No problem Key, I'm happy you're happy.

And don't worry, it really wasn't an issue. I already had Fusion, and while downloading the iso took a while, all I did was sit on my duff in the meantime. I actually would've posted quicker, but I was a slave to work this week.