Paging Dr. 'Gibbon!'

[Neo]

Concerning the topic of Dreamcast screenshots:

I very recently acquired and installed a capture card, and decided to give a take at snapping the highest quality Sonic Adventure snapshots I could. And well, uh, here they are:




Now, while they aren't perfectly crisp, I think they're leagues better than the blurry, dark, JPEG-y images that littered the Adventure page of old. Plus, I wouldn't mind taking the job of snapping ~200-300 shots to fill the Dreamcast / Gamecube pages.

So, how be it? Yay? Nay? You make the call, I'm gonna grab some crackers.

[Isuka]

Is that thing on the title screen a rippling effect?

God, they did butcher the game with DX and its crappy CG renders/ 3D models/ title screen.

[Segaholic2]

Is that thing on the title screen a rippling effect?

Yes, as far as I know it was added in version 1.1, which is likely the orange-band greatest hits print.

[FlashTHD]

Is that thing on the title screen a rippling effect?

Yes, as far as I know it was added in version 1.1, which is likely the orange-band greatest hits print.

That's a no. My copy is from close to the US launch and it has the effect. Was it in the original JP version? (I know it wasn't in the demo version)

Damn, Neo! They could stand some brightening/color adjustment but those are great shots, full resolution too. What capture card you get, and is there any lag?

[Neo]

Well, I took brightness and contrast into consideration -- I just went by the SADX trial I (still) have installed on my computer (for some reason), tried to match up the colors of the background between it and the picture from my Dreamcast's composite output and called it a day. I suppose I could spend a little more time with it (and throw color saturation into the mix).

As for your questions, the card I got is a Pinnacle PCTV Analog PCI. Crappy name, but it's pretty cheap and it handles S-Video/composite output as well as normal TV antenna cable, which means my monitor can now double as an extra TV screen right next to the other. As for lag, it's there (you can tell when you set both the computer and a TV set right next to it on the same channel -- you hear a pretty obvious delay in the sound), but in practical terms it's pretty negligible. I know I didn't feel anything odd while playing around in Emerald Coast grabbing some shots.

I wish I could use a better output for making those shots with, but composite's the only thing I have to work with. At least it's not the pack-in antenna cable. Sega, what were you thinking!?

[Segaholic2]

That's a no. My copy is from close to the US launch and it has the effect. Was it in the original JP version? (I know it wasn't in the demo version)

My launch copy definitely doesn't do it.

[Locit]

Same here, no ripples on my launch copy.

[Esrever]

Mine does have the ripples, and it is a launch copy as well.

But remember how that one rental chain got the game and system a month before launch? (It was blockbuster in Canada, but I think it might have been someone else in the states.) The version that I rented from there did not have the ripples. Mysterious!

[FlashTHD]

Wooh, knowledge.

As for lag, it's there (you can tell when you set both the computer and a TV set right next to it on the same channel -- you hear a pretty obvious delay in the sound), but in practical terms it's pretty negligible. I know I didn't feel anything odd while playing around in Emerald Coast grabbing some shots.

Hmm. I have an ATI USB tv tuner and it's a nightmare with lag. There's a 3/4-second or more gap between what you press on the controller and what happens. So I had to switch to a DVD recorder, and this is the trade-off for being able to control what you're doing:

This is after color adjusting, shrinking, sharpening, and cropping out the useless dead space, and they're never quite 320x240 in the end. Makes me nut up. I forgot why these turned out different sizes too.

The sound could be slightly sucky for all I care, I just want to be able to take clean screens efficiently.

[Neo]

As promised, I mucked around a bit more with the filtering and brought it up a notch. Below are some comparison shots: left is old, right is new. This time I decided to use Adventure 2 for testing, and realised my complete save seems to have vanished. Fantastic!

[Green Gibbon!]

If you're volunteering, sure, we can use those screens. I need at least one screenshot per character per action stage plus one of each boss (as each character) and a few assorted shots of the Chao minigames and Adventure Fields. Also, a smattering of screens from Sonic Adventure 2 Battle for comparison (shoot for areas with notable differences, such as the Big Foot boss arena and White Jungle).

For the Sonic Adventure 1 page, I know there are some slight graphical differences between the original JP release and the later International release. Ideally, screenshots would be of the original version, but I'm wagering you don't have that since your favorite food is probably dick.

[Oompa Star]

Why would you prefer the original bugged up JP release when the International version is more polished? Is it because it's strictly Japanese? (That's is a stupid reason BTW) Or is it because the Japanese original has the cow-girl in Casinopolis?

[Isuka]

Maybe it'd show a bigger range of differences between it and ugly-ass DX.

Quite ironically, I have the original JPN release, but no capture card... or even a Dremcast, for that matter.

[Neo]

Why would I want a buggier version of a game I already own? I'm fucking 18, man, a guy can't be a Sonic otaku forever.

As for the green light, thanks. I was thinking of something like four screenshots per action stage, and two per boss/mini game/cutscene, but maybe you don't care about the cutscenes? You tell me.

What about Sonic Shuffle? Are you fine leaving it with the random block of screenshots at the bottom? I'd have no trouble in gathering a single screenshot per mini game and a bunch of assorted ones for the remainder of the game.

I can also add a few Mega Collection screenshots for the bottom of the page showing a bit of the new content, if you don't mind. I mean, who doesn't want to see Sonic attack Doctor Robotonik?

I'm also available for the eventual Shadow/Gems/Riders pages which may or may not come in the near future. And eventually Secret Rings, once I gather enough gold to purchase that.

[Arcade]

Sonic Adventure International is a lot better than just plain Sonic Adventure

Sonic Adventure DX is well...you can play as metal Sonic and thats cool!

[Cuckooguy]

Back when I had an e-mail account at some anime site (it was *@dragonslave.com) I contacted Gibbon! and offered to take screenshots of Sonic Shuffle. I did eventually take one of every mini-game, but I never delivered them, and also because my video capture kind of sucks so I don't know if he'd want these screenshots anymore. I have decided to dig into the abyss of old CDs I have and voila, I found them and have decided to upload them for GG! to decide if I should purge them from the internet forever or if they'll be used in the museum.

They're all also .gif files, which in restrospect I should've made them .jpeg files, but oh well.



Events (oddly enough, I have an event 2 and an event 4 and not an event 3, so I have no idea what happened to my event 3 capture)


1vs3



2vs2


vs4


Play Order


Stage Clear


Stage Specific


And there's also the generic duel


I captured a couple of stage shots, and I guess this is why I never finished it, because I've only taken pictures of firebird and nature.



Since it was never completed then maybe he shouldn't use these screenshots. If he wants I could finally take screenshots of the stages, but that all depends if GG! wants any.

[Neo]

Those were more or less the same idea I had, although I'd avoid taking screenshots after the minigame had already ended (save for ones with a boring interface like Sonicola).

Yeah, maybe you should have saved them as JPEG instead. That diffusion on the toy box hurts my eyes. x_x

[Isuka]

Aside from the image format (of course, PNG for teh win), a cheap and easy way to get a really better image quality is by just using a S-Video cable, in case your capture card has the appropriate connector for it. It'll compensate the loss in contrast and brightness, and will also keep more of the original color depth.

Even the Dreamcast ones should be pretty easy to stumble upon in eBay and the like, I think.

[Neo]

Yeah, I'm already using S-Video, but of course there's always a decrease in quality whenever you use analog output. Not much I can do about that, though. Besides, I think it looks pretty good like it is myself.

[Green Gibbon!]

Those a pretty GIFfy, but I guess they're usable unless someone wants to take some better quality ones.

[Locit]

It is Sonic Shuffle, so I'm not sure anyone will care one way or the other. I know I don't!

[Neo]

Happy New Year! As a small present, I present to you a little preview of the screenshot work for Sonic Adventure:

http://nande.planetaclix.pt/sonic/adven ... nture.html

The preview covers Sonic's game up to right before Windy Valley. I know it's short, but it's all I could provide in such a short notice. Some screenshots were particularly hard to catch, either due to being split-second scenes or due to me having to take the screenshot while playing (result of a bunch of weird bugs that make things like shadows and lights disappear during a pause), among others. It's been fun, though!

Comments and constructive criticism are always welcome.

[Oompa Star]

Good job Neo! The screenshots look great so far.

[Isuka]

Bestest shot EVAR.
Wow, I'm a really poor critique.

[Locit]

Wow, I haven't played the original SA in so long that I had forgotten it actually looked pretty good! I guess that's the power of good screenshots. Something about the DX models never quite sat right with me.

I personally would like to see a screenshot of the first time you see Sonic on a building rooftop where he does the awful shrug-shoulders-mouth-gaping-awkward-confusion thing, if only for hilarity's sake. You know the one.