ROM Hack Extracting sprites from .dat files?

[Teraman]

I unpacked a ROM and the /data/chr directory (where I presume all the character animations are) is filled with .dat files. I've searched several guides (including a few on this site), and I've seen other formats (such as .bin and .aar) mentioned but nothing about .dat. I tried the various tile viewers anyway but all I get is a jumbled mess no matter what program settings I use. Is there a certain method used to extract from .dat files, or do the formats have to be reverse-engineered on a game-by-game basis?

Alternatively, there's a program called CrystalTile2 that seems to be popular but the topic here about the latest version links to a site that seems to be dead. The mirror posted in that topic is also dead. Could anyone provide a download to the latest version of CrystalTile2?

The game in question, if it matters, is Nine Hours, Nine Persons, Nine Doors.

 

[Knyaz Vladimir]

I unpacked a ROM and the /data/chr directory (where I presume all the character animations are) is filled with .dat files. I've searched several guides (including a few on this site), and I've seen other formats (such as .bin and .aar) mentioned but nothing about .dat. I tried the various tile viewers anyway but all I get is a jumbled mess no matter what program settings I use. Is there a certain method used to extract from .dat files, or do the formats have to be reverse-engineered on a game-by-game basis?

The game in question, if it matters, is Nine Hours, Nine Persons, Nine Doors.

If it's a jumbled mess, either tweak the settings or try to figure out what kind of encryption it has. That's the closest I can get.

 

[Noitora]

Upload a sample file and I'll take a look at it. It's probably compressed.

 

[Teraman]

Upload a sample file and I'll take a look. It's probably compressed.

http://www.mediafire.com/?pbhh8ay8pm4uap8

Also I found CrystalTile2 but my initial testing yields no better results.

 

[Noitora]

Upload a sample file and I'll take a look. It's probably compressed.

http://www.mediafire.com/?pbhh8ay8pm4uap8

Also I found CrystalTile2 but my initial testing yields no better results.

OK, just had a look at it from a hex editor. The file seems to have a header. Bytes [0x00-0x10]. Manually remove the header, try to line up the contents of the file with a tile editor ( My personal choice is Tile Molester ) and see what you can get.

 

[Teraman]

Upload a sample file and I'll take a look. It's probably compressed.

http://www.mediafire.com/?pbhh8ay8pm4uap8

Also I found CrystalTile2 but my initial testing yields no better results.

OK, just had a look at it from a hex editor. The file seems to have a header. Bytes [0x00-0x10]. Manually remove the header, try to line up the contents of the file with a tile editor ( My personal choice is Tile Molester ) and see what you can get.

OK, I'll try that. Thanks for the help.

 

[jjjewel]

Bytes at Hex 0020 to Hex 021F are your color palette.

I used CrystalTile2 and got this;

You might need to change the Tile's width and height or adjust some values to make it a proper picture.
(That's beyond my knowledge. T_T)

I tried changing some values and got this;

 

[Teraman]

Bytes at Hex 0020 to Hex 021F are your color palette.

I used CrystalTile2 and got this;

You might need to change the Tile's width and height or adjust some values to make it a proper picture.
(That's beyond my knowledge. T_T)

I tried changing some values and got this;

I see. I've managed to get to this point as well.

Now, I'm pretty ignorant when it comes to sprite ripping, so could someone with more experience tell me if this is as far as I can hope to get and should piece the rest of the sprite together myself, or is there still more that I could do?