Part 1: ZSNES
1. You need an emulator that takes screen shots. I suggest using ZSNES. You can download it at
http://www.zsnes.com.
2. After installing ZSNES, run it. You have to set a quick key that will take a snapshot. To do this click on "MISC" in the menu then click on "GAME KEYS". In the "GAME KEYS" dialog box click on the field next to "SNAPSHOT" then set it to any key you like. I picked "Q".
3. Now open your SNES game you want to take screen shots from. For my example I'm going to use Final Fantasy VI.
4. When you're in an area of a map you want to take screen shots you should disable some backgrounds that you don't want included in the shot. To do this you use the keys 1 through 5. After take the screen shot with your quick key.
Screen shot with 2,3,4,5 disabled
Screen shot with 1,3,4,5 disabled
5. Continue taking screen shots until you feel you have included every different tile for that map.
Part 2: Paint Shop Pro 7
1. Now you need a paint program to edit your chipsets. I highly recommend Paint shop pro 7 because it's easy to use and has a lot of useful features. You can download it at
http://www.jasc.com.
2. After installing Paint Shop Pro 7 you will have to set some preferences for the grid lines. To do that click on "File" in the menu, then move your mouse pointer over "Preferences", and then click on "General Program Preferences" in the submenu.
3. Now you should be in the "Paint Shop Pro Preferences" dialog box. Click on "Rulers and Units" tab in the dialog box. Then set "Horizontal spacing" and "Vertical spacing" to 16. Then click ok.
The dialog boxs might look a little different because I'm using Windows XP.
4. Next we have to turn off "Antialias" for the selection tool. To do this press "S" to select the "Selection" tool. Then press "O" to open the "Tools Options palette" and then uncheck the Antialias check box.
5. We're ready now to start editing a chipset. Open a default chipset from the Run Time Package. I opened C:\program files\ascii\rpg2000\rtp\chipset\dungeon.png. Now press F12 to save it as another file so you don't modify the original chipset. You must save the file outside the RTP directory because later you will have to import it with RPGmaker 2000. I saved it as c:\my documents\ff6cave1.png.
6. Now set the color depth from 256 colors to 1.7 millions colors by pressing CTRL+SHIFT+0.
7. To show the grid press CTRL+ALT+G or click "View" in the menu then click on "Grid". The image should look like this:
8. Now here's where the ZSNES screen shots come into play. Press CTRL+B to browse to the directory where your SNES game is located. You should see your screen shots in the browser. Double click one of the images to open it.
9. You might notice that the SNES screen shot doesn't align to the grid right. To align it make sure "Snap to Grid" on the "View" menu is off. Then Zoom in to the image, with the Zoom tool, until it fills the windows. Press CTRL+A to select the whole image, then CTRL+C to copy it, and then CTRL+E to paste it in the same image. Move the image around until the tiles align to the grid right. Left click when the image is in the right place. Deselect the image by pressing CTRL+D.
Not Aligned
Aligned
10. You might have noticed I'm using the screen shot that represents the upper level, but the transparent color is black. We need that color to be the same color as the transparent color in the chipset which is pink. First we have to decrease the color depth to 256 colors by pressing SHIFT+CTRL+3 and selecting ok in the dialog box that pops up. To check the color code for the transparent color in the chipset we have to switch to the chipset by clicking on "Window" in the menu then click on the chipset name. Use the Dropper tool move your mouse cursor over the transparency color and write down the colors. My color code is Red: 255, Green: 103, and Blue: 139.
11. Switch back to the screen shot by clicking on "Window" in the menu then selecting your screen shot. Press SHIFT+P to pull up the "Edit Palette" dialog box, then double click the black color in the upper left hand color, and now fill in the color code for Red, Green, and Blue in the "Color" dialog box then click ok. And click ok to close the "Edit Palette" dialog box. Your screen shot should look like the one below.
12. Now turn "Snap to Grid" on in the Menu under "View". Then select some tiles from the image with the selection tool. After selected press CTRL+C to copy them, switch to your chipset by clicking on "Window" in the menu, and then selecting your chipset.
13. In the Chipset image press CTRL+E to paste the tiles in the chipset. This should be easy because they will align perfectly because "Snap to Grid" is still on. Continue switching back to the snapshot then back copying and pasting more tiles until you think you have all different tiles included in the chipset. Also follow the same procedure for the other screen shots.
14. After you're finished with adding in the tiles. Decrease the color depth of the chipset by pressing SHIFT+CTRL+3. Then finally Save the file by pressing CTRL+S. Now we are finished with part 2.
Part 3: RPG Maker 2000.
1. Now we have our chipset we need to import it into RPG Maker 2000. Start RPG Maker 2000. Make sure your project is open or create one. To import use the "Raw Material Editor" by clicking on "Tool" in the menu then click on "Raw Material EditorÂ…".
2. Select "Chipset then click on the Import button in the "Raw Material Editor" dialog box and find your file and open it. The screen below will show up. If the wrong transparent color is flashing click on the right transparent color so it is flashing. Then click ok and close the "Raw Material Editor".
3. Now press F8 to pull up the "DataBase" and click on the "Chipsets" tab. Increase the max field number and add the chipset to the database shown below:
4. What left to do is set the attributes like "Passing Block" and creating a map with your new chipset. I will leave this up to you.
Linear Mode
