[toruzz]

Thank you for the feedback! The response has been mostly positive, so I'll introduce some slight changes ONLY if for some reason it doesn't feel right - as in the terrain. I'll probably ask you anyway 

I'm doing everything manually at the moment, so I think I'll focus on making a map/palette editor now. I haven't fully figured out the map system, so I also have some investigation to do.

BTW, I've made some changes to Port Saltwater and this is how it looks now:

Any way to keep that tree, even with a yellow + light green + dark green palette?

Actually I figured out a way to fit all the palettes, so I'll keep the tree 

[Midna]

That's looking really fantastic! If you're doing what you think an official Nintendo version would have done, though, I'm not sure if you'd want to make the cross on the building red. It's a copyrighted symbol and you can actually get in legal trouble for using it. It's why all of the red crosses on the hospitals in Mother 2 were scrubbed when it came over as EarthBound.

Of course, it's not an official "DX version" and the Red Cross can't exactly go after random hackers adding a new twist to a cult game, so do what you will.

[toruzz]

That's looking really fantastic! If you're doing what you think an official Nintendo version would have done, though, I'm not sure if you'd want to make the cross on the building red. It's a copyrighted symbol and you can actually get in legal trouble for using it. It's why all of the red crosses on the hospitals in Mother 2 were scrubbed when it came over as EarthBound.

Of course, it's not an official "DX version" and the Red Cross can't exactly go after random hackers adding a new twist to a cult game, so do what you will.

Thank you! I didn't think about that to be honest. I could change the colors or maybe change it for something like this, but it looks kinda worse to me:



I don't know, I think I'll keep it as it is for now.

[Midna]

You don't need to redraw the sign. You could change the color to something like blue, or mint green, or even pink. That's what Pokemon does.

[SCD]

That looks really cool, excellent job.

I definitely recommend that you should keep the original cross sign on the hospital building the way it is and give it the red color as well. The Red Cross is not going to care about a color hack for a old game that has their symbol in it, they're more worried about newer games that have their symbol in it than older games.

I really don't want any censorship in this game.

[ChaddyBones]

This looks fantastic so far! I don't really have any issues with the red cross as it is personally. But if it was changed to be pink or something, that wouldn't bother me at all.

The only thing I'm noticing that could be fixed is the plain patch of ground between the two houses in the top left corner. Right now you have it as just plain grey to match the stone walkways. I'd suggest filling it in with some grass. And maybe the fixing the stone in the bottom right corner by the water, but that's just nitpicking.

[Satoshi_Matrix]

I concur. Keep the cross, and keep it red. The Red Cross will almost certainly NOT come after you for its use in a colorized version of a 1992 GameBoy game that will be released for free. And even on the most remote chance they did come after you, theyd issue a C&D and not outright get you in legal trouble. You're not selling anything, and you weren't the one who used the symbol in the first place as you weren't the original developer of the game.

[Vanya]

Plus I don't even know how the Red Cross got away with copyrighting that in the first place since the red cross symbol had been in use for centuries before they came to be. Copyright law can be so... fudgey at times.

[Scapetti]

Thank you! I didn't think about that to be honest. I could change the colors or maybe change it for something like this, but it looks kinda worse to me:



I don't know, I think I'll keep it as it is for now.

It did strike me also actually but you're not doing a localisation patch, you're doing a colour patch. The cross itself would be completely removed as you have done but I am not sure what the best thing to do would be, perhaps changing it to a wine bottle? (but then there's also the issue of that being localised due to alcohol) OR a heart?

It's really up to you whether you want to change these things... as people have said, the red cross won't come after you, however that is definitely not the reason people would want it changed. There are two kinds of people on here when it comes to translations. Those that like a localised version so it is more authentic to what Nintendo would do, and those that want an uncensored literal version. I dare say we've gotten into some arguments about it in the other thread too.

If you WANT to make two versions to cater for these two kinds of people, that would be great, but you don't have to

The whole thing is looking great though! Very exciting.

[Bahamut ZERO]

I wouldn't bother changing up the cross graphic or the color you originally gave it. It looks perfect as it was.

[ShadowOne333]

Holy freaking shit, toruzz.

This is some top notch work!
I can only image the kind of black magic that you have done to make this.

Colourizing games has always been something that amazes me.

How are you doing this stuff?!
I'd love to hear the process of doing such an amazing feat!

[Midna]

The GBC hardware is pretty similar to the original Game Boy hardware. Besides the color graphics, it has the option to run at 8 MHz instead of 4, which doesn't really amount to much except less slowdown when many sprites are on-screen, and has twice the amount of VRAM, which obviously allows for better animated/more sprites and more detailed backgrounds. (Game Boy Color games that are backwards-compatible with the original Game Boy can only use half of the available VRAM, though. It's why the Korean versions of Pokemon Gold and Silver can only be run on the GBC - the graphics used for the hangul poke into the second VRAM bank.)  Other than that, the systems are extremely close, if not identical.

If I'm remembering right, adding color to a Game Boy game can be done by adding in palette data, adding in code to load the palette data (since why would the original Game Boy ever need that?), and then assigning palette attributes to individual tiles. There's a program called the Game Boy Colorizer that can automate the process to an extent, but it's very limited, and not very good besides that.

Maybe someone else can explain it better than I can, since I've never done it before, but there you go.

[toruzz]

It did strike me also actually but you're not doing a localisation patch, you're doing a colour patch. The cross itself would be completely removed as you have done but I am not sure what the best thing to do would be, perhaps changing it to a wine bottle? (but then there's also the issue of that being localised due to alcohol) OR a heart?

It's really up to you whether you want to change these things... as people have said, the red cross won't come after you, however that is definitely not the reason people would want it changed. There are two kinds of people on here when it comes to translations. Those that like a localised version so it is more authentic to what Nintendo would do, and those that want an uncensored literal version. I dare say we've gotten into some arguments about it in the other thread too.

If you WANT to make two versions to cater for these two kinds of people, that would be great, but you don't have to

The whole thing is looking great though! Very exciting.

I wouldn't bother changing up the cross graphic or the color you originally gave it. It looks perfect as it was.

Thanks! Well, as I said before I think I'll just keep the red cross (it probably hasn't been trademarked in my country anyway).
I'll finish the "DX" version first, but eventually I'd like to use the English translation (if the guy who translated it previously grant me permission) and then translate it to Spanish. So yeah, maybe it sounds a bit ambitious but I want to release it in Japanese, English and Spanish.

Holy freaking shit, toruzz.

This is some top notch work!
I can only image the kind of black magic that you have done to make this.

Colourizing games has always been something that amazes me.

How are you doing this stuff?!
I'd love to hear the process of doing such an amazing feat!

Thank you! I'm writing some sort of documentation for this hack (even though it is a mess), so maybe I could clean it up and release everything I have once it has been finished. I'd really like to see more colorization hacks.

The GBC hardware is pretty similar to the original Game Boy hardware. Besides the color graphics, it has the option to run at 8 MHz instead of 4, which doesn't really amount to much except less slowdown when many sprites are on-screen, and has twice the amount of VRAM, which obviously allows for better animated/more sprites and more detailed backgrounds. (Game Boy Color games that are backwards-compatible with the original Game Boy can only use half of the available VRAM, though. It's why the Korean versions of Pokemon Gold and Silver can only be run on the GBC - the graphics used for the hangul poke into the second VRAM bank.)  Other than that, the systems are extremely close, if not identical.

If I'm remembering right, adding color to a Game Boy game can be done by adding in palette data, adding in code to load the palette data (since why would the original Game Boy ever need that?), and then assigning palette attributes to individual tiles. There's a program called the Game Boy Colorizer that can automate the process to an extent, but it's very limited, and not very good besides that.

Maybe someone else can explain it better than I can, since I've never done it before, but there you go.

That's basically the process, yeah. The tricky part is to intercept the code at the correct time and to make sure it runs fast enough, but that's about it.

[TRIFORCE89]

Just wanted to chime in and say these screenshots look absolutely terrific. Perhaps the best "colorized" GB hack I've come across. Really impressive.

[toruzz]

Just wanted to chime in and say these screenshots look absolutely terrific. Perhaps the best "colorized" GB hack I've come across. Really impressive.

Thank you very much 

I've found some issues with the speed the boat sails. It's not a huge deal, but I haven't been able to fix it and it is bugging me a lot.
Anyway, here is some progress:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CKIiH07Yfho

[Scapetti]

Looks good! Richard is looking a little like a ghost though I think, I think you need to make his borders darker like we mentioned. Actually the whole thing is looking a little paler but perhaps it is simply the emulator you are using

[toruzz]

Looks good! Richard is looking a little like a ghost though I think, I think you need to make his borders darker like we mentioned. Actually the whole thing is looking a little paler but perhaps it is simply the emulator you are using

Yep, keep in mind that BGB's colors are washed out on purpose to make it look more like the actual GBC. Most people will play it on an emulator, though.
In any case I'll receive a flashcart soon and I'll check if the colors have to be tweaked.

[CVReynolds]

Yep, keep in mind that BGB's colors are washed out on purpose to make it look more like the actual GBC. Most people will play it on an emulator, though.
In any case I'll receive a flashcart soon and I'll check if the colors have to be tweaked.

In BGB's options, go to the Graphics tab. There's an option labeled "GBC LCD colors". Uncheck the enable box. Looks good then. :3

[mz]

Great tip, CVReynolds!

I wish I could apply it retroactively to the thousands of screenshots I took with it enabled.

[Jigglysaint]

Is the level data similar to that of Link's Awakening?  I would vote for making changes as long as they don't affect gameplay.  I know that LA did some changes, mostly to fix glitches that lead to unwinnable situations.