Hi all.
I've been lurking here for some time now but signed up to ask a question that I just haven't been able to answer through the usual channels (i.e. trawling Google).
Is it possible to view and/or extract pictures from game disks; specifically, Saturn disks?
I'm thinking of title screen or loading screen images. I can find what I'm pretty sure are these pictures on several of my discs, usually in .RAW format, but I can't figure out how to view them properly. So far, the closest I come has been by using Photoshop CS5, but I just end up with a distorted mess on screen. Usually, it looks like the image is there, it's just not being displayed correctly, and is too distorted to make out.
So, is there a way to do it, does anyone know?
Apologies if this is a dumb question. My technical knowledge is pretty much zero, but I thought this would be the place to ask.
[Edit: Also, apologies if this post should've been on the "technical questions" board instead.]
Extracting pictures from Saturn game disks
Re: Extracting pictures from Saturn game disks
If you want the easiest way, you can just load the game up in an emulator and take a screen shot.
One of them even allowed you to disable layers to get only the background or sprites.
If you want it perfect (paletted) you need to use raw graphic viewing utilities.
Here's an ancient guide I made many years ago (dos programs mostly)
http://www3.telus.net/anapan8/ripping.htm
It's how I extracted sprites and other graphics from the castlevania games. The palette data is obtainable from emulator screen shots, but you will be able to get unadulterated background images (no icons or text overlayed)
It's mostly a trial-and-error process, trying different graphical decoding modes until you find the right one.
Sometimes you luck out and find BMP or TGA format files, just with a different extension.
It's different for almost every game you try. If you have something specific, I can attempt an extraction and if I'm successful I can let you know the method I found that worked.
One of them even allowed you to disable layers to get only the background or sprites.
If you want it perfect (paletted) you need to use raw graphic viewing utilities.
Here's an ancient guide I made many years ago (dos programs mostly)
http://www3.telus.net/anapan8/ripping.htm
It's how I extracted sprites and other graphics from the castlevania games. The palette data is obtainable from emulator screen shots, but you will be able to get unadulterated background images (no icons or text overlayed)
It's mostly a trial-and-error process, trying different graphical decoding modes until you find the right one.
Sometimes you luck out and find BMP or TGA format files, just with a different extension.
It's different for almost every game you try. If you have something specific, I can attempt an extraction and if I'm successful I can let you know the method I found that worked.
Re: Extracting pictures from Saturn game disks
Thanks a lot for that! Much appreciated!
Currently, I'm trying to extract clean title and loading screens from the retail and demo versions of Swagman for the Saturn. I've taken screen grabs of the title screens and early loading screens using an emulator, but I'm trying to get them without the additional layers ("press start", etc). Because it's a fairly obscure game and only got a limited release (especially on the Saturn) there are not many screen-shots floating around.
Currently, I'm trying to extract clean title and loading screens from the retail and demo versions of Swagman for the Saturn. I've taken screen grabs of the title screens and early loading screens using an emulator, but I'm trying to get them without the additional layers ("press start", etc). Because it's a fairly obscure game and only got a limited release (especially on the Saturn) there are not many screen-shots floating around.
Re: Extracting pictures from Saturn game disks
I'm out of town working but I'll be back home next week and will extract the pics then.