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How to Make Your Own ExGFX

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I've seen lots of tutorials about editing GFX, and there are plenty about inserting ExGFX, but I haven't seen a good tutorial in making your own ExGFX. So, I hope this tutorial will be of use to those who haven't quite got the hange of it yet.

ExGFX stands for Extra Graphics. Basically, you can use it to change the graphics of a single level. This means you can have tons of different sets of graphics to be used in different levels.
In addition to Lunar Magic (obviously), you'll need a program called YY-CHR. You can get it here. YY-CHR let's you edit the graphics in Super Mario World. Once you've downloaded YY-CHR, extract the ZIP file and change the file called yychr.ENG to yychr.ENU (in caps). Otherwise, it won't be in English. Now we can begin!

1. Open your rom in Lunar Magic. Notice that there are four mushroom buttons on the toolbar.

Click the first three in order (red, green, blue). When you click the blue mushroom, a message will say no ExGFX are present in the ROM. This is normal, just click OK.
2. Open the folder where your ROM is. You'll notice you now have two folders there, Graphics and ExGraphics. Open the Graphics folder. You'll see one of two things: a bunch of files named GFX00.bin, GFX01.bin, etc., or you'll see a single file called AllGFX.bin. If you've ever edited the graphics of SMW you've probably used AllGFX.bin, but for ExGFX you'll want to use the many separate files. If you just see AllGFX.bin, go back into LM and uncheck Options -> Use Joined GFX Tiles. Then press the red mushroom again. You should now have all the separate GFX files.
3. Open YY-CHR. If you've never used YY-CHR before, I'll explain it here. First, open GFX00.bin (the one you just extracted in the Graphics folder). You'll notice the graphics change to a garbled mess. In the bottom-left corner of the window there is a drop-down list that says "1BPP (YX)". Change it to "4BPP SNES". Now the Graphics should look more like SMW graphics, but the colors are off. To fix this, make a save state in ZSNES while in a level. Then, go back into YY-CHR and press Palette -> Load Emulator State File. Then select your .zst file. Now things should look much better, though the opbjects may not all be in the correct palettes.

Now I'll explain how YY-CHR works.
There are two main viewing areas. The left side shows all the tiles in the GFX file. You can click on a tile to select it. The right side shows a close-up of the currently selected tile, and you can edit the tiles here. Also, below the right pane are the palettes. You can switch between palettes by clicking on them. Try clicking on different palettes to see how it affects the tiles on the left. On the far right, there is a list of buttons that switches between editing tools, such as the line tool, the pencil, and the rectangle tool. To choose a color to draw, click on the color in the palette. Then draw by clicking in the editor. In truth, it's not too much different from most graphics editors.
3. Now that you are (hopefully) educated in YY-CHR, let's actually edit some graphics. Let's say that you wanted to change the graphics of the mushroom for just one level. Admittedly, I don't know why anyone would want to do this, but I'll show you how as an example. First, save a copy of this file (go to File -> Save As...) and save it as ExGFX80.bin in the ExGraphics file created by Lunar Magic. ExGFX files must be named ExGFXXX.bin, where the XX is replaced by a number from 80 to FF. DO NOT use anything out of this range. Now that we've made a copy of this file, we can continue editing.
4. Select the mushroom palette (it's palette C) and edit the GFX file to anything you want. I made mine upside down and modified the eyes a bit. I was feeling unimaginative, sue me.

Save the file and exit YY-CHR.
5. Click the yellow mushroom to insert your new ExGFX. now we need to tell Lunar Magic what level we want to use our new graphics. Open the level you want and click the red poison mushroom to open the Super GFX Bypass window. Check the box that says "Enable bypass of standard FG/BG/SP GFX and the older bypass methods for this level." All the dropdown menus will become available.

Notice the one that says "SP1: 00". Hey! That's the same number as the graphics file we edited. Change it from 00 to 80 (the number we named our ExGFX file) and click OK. Save your level and test it out. The mushroom will be replaced with your new graphics! Try a different level. Notice that the mushroom graphics still look like the original SMW graphics. This is the power of ExGFX.

This is the end of how to make ExGFX, but I'll give you some more tips on how to put this to full use. First, you'll notice we edited GFX00.bin. This contains sprites, which is why it was listed as SP1: 00 in the Super GFX Bypass (SP standing for sprites). If you wanted to edit the ground, notice that it says FG1: 14. This means that the ground probably uses GFX14.bin. To edit this file, you'd do the exact same process, but save it as ExGFX81.bin (or something like that) and insert the ExGFX again using the yellow mushroom button. It's that simple. Finally, let's say you need graphics for a custom block, but this block will only be used in a select few levels. Just make an ExGFX file for it and replace the GFX of something you don't need with your custom block GFX. Then, assemble the tiles using Map16. This is one of the most powerful features of ExGFX.

I am considering expanding this tutorial to include ExAnimation, so tell me what you think and I'll update it accordingly!
That's awesome,I can finaly made my own ExGFX! #w{=)}
Well done Tutorial,it was easy to understand.
Great Job! #w{=D}

My dream has come true! 8>
Nice tutorial. It was SO easy to understand. I was able to insert a ExGFX file in less than 20 minutes! :)
That would be interesting to use ExAnimatain tiles. ;D

EDIT: One quick question: I'm trying to make ExGFX for the extra Map16 blocks (300 and over), but I don't see a special slot for them, just for the normal ones. Is there a way to apply ExGFX to the custom blocks?
If so, how? Thanks in advance. :)
Revelation 20-21: He who testifies to these things says, "Surely I am coming quickly." Amen. Even so, come Lord Jesus! The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.
just use the FG/BG Slots instead then do the Map16. Also, if you're using LM1.7x put the ExGFX in BG2/BG3
I change my layout every 4-5 months
Originally posted by Livin4Jesus
One quick question: I'm trying to make ExGFX for the extra Map16 blocks (300 and over), but I don't see a special slot for them, just for the normal ones. Is there a way to apply ExGFX to the custom blocks? If so, how? Thanks in advance.

Just so you know, the SNES can only load a certain number of GFX at a time. ExGFX doesn't change this, it just adds more GFX that can be loaded. So, to make custom block GFX, you need to replace something else. For example, let's say you have a one-way block. Open up, say, GFX17 and replace some of the bush tiles with your own custom graphics (I rarely use the SMW bush). Then save it as an ExGFX file. Now bypass the GFX and use the 8x8 tile editor to assemble your custom block using the Map16 tile editor.
I don't think I'll do a separate ExAnimation section because making ExAnimation ExGFX files is really about the same as regular ExGFX files and there's a perfectly good ExAnimation tutorial already out there. But maybe I'll add this to the main tutorial (with pictures) soon.
Glad my tutorial has helped! :)

EDIT: Oops, someone beat me. WHAT? Ninja protection FAILED!? What can it mean?
XD
Thanks you two. :)

EDIT: Another question: Is there a way to make ExGFX stay on a custom block? Let's say I wanted to apply it to the whole hack (Which I do :P ). Would I have to apply the graphics to each and every level using the same method?
Revelation 20-21: He who testifies to these things says, "Surely I am coming quickly." Amen. Even so, come Lord Jesus! The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.
If you edit the regular GFX files (without making them into ExGFX files) then it will apply to the whole hack. Remember when I said to uncheck "Use joined GFX Tiles"? Well, if you check it and click the red mushroom, it will generate a file called AllGFX.bin in the Graphics folder. This holds all the graphics in SMW in one file. Open this in YY-CHR and edit the AllGFX file. Then insert it with the green mushroom button. This will edit the graphics permanently (unless of course you make an ExGFX file to override it). Keep in mind though, if "Use joined GFX Tiles" is unchecked, it will insert the smaller GFX files when you click the green mushroom, and when checked AllGFX will be inserted.
Originally posted by me
Another question: Is there a way to make ExGFX stay on a custom block?

That would only apply to normal graphics, which is 1FF and below. :/
Revelation 20-21: He who testifies to these things says, "Surely I am coming quickly." Amen. Even so, come Lord Jesus! The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.
then you would need to insert it into every level if would want it in BG2/BG3
I change my layout every 4-5 months
I'm re-naming the file yychr.enu but it won't work.. It's still in japanese..
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Originally posted by Livin4Jesus
That would only apply to normal graphics, which is 1FF and below. :/

Err... no? You can use the normal SMW graphics for blocks above 1FF. I don't really see the issue here. What are you trying to do?

Originally posted by RivalNightmare
I'm re-naming the file yychr.enu but it won't work.. It's still in japanese..

Make sure you're actually CHANGING the file extension. Sometimes, OSes will hide extensions, you can turn this off. If you are definitely editing the extension, then I don't know what to say...
Originally posted by imjake9
Originally posted by Livin4Jesus
That would only apply to normal graphics, which is 1FF and below. :/

Err... no? You can use the normal SMW graphics for blocks above 1FF. I don't really see the issue here. What are you trying to do?

I'm trying to make a hack where custom blocks will be used in nearly every single level. I don't want to have to find the graphics, then find the tiles, then assemble them for every single level for more than 3 blocks, so it would be much easier if there was a way to have it appear in every level instantly without having to copy and paste, assemble, etc. :/
Revelation 20-21: He who testifies to these things says, "Surely I am coming quickly." Amen. Even so, come Lord Jesus! The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.
Pardon me if I don't understand, but Map16 blocks don't change level to level. So you wouldn't have to reassemble anything. And if you edited the graphics without using ExGFX, you wouldn't have to change anything for each level.
Originally posted by imjake9
Pardon me if I don't understand, but Map16 blocks don't change level to level.

Are you talking about the actual Map16 block, or it's graphic? Also, let's go ahead and continue this in a PM instead, so we don't get the topic stuffed up.

@ RivalNightmare: Like imjake9 said, make sure your actually editing the extension, but make sure it's in UPPERCASE's.
Revelation 20-21: He who testifies to these things says, "Surely I am coming quickly." Amen. Even so, come Lord Jesus! The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.
What's up with this error i got?

http://i.imgur.com/NT7LA59.png

yczedit: table stretch begone
When creating a new ExGFX file, start with a copy of an existing file rather than a blank one to get the file to have the correct size. Otherwise, the empty bottom half will also be part of the file, making it too big.
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k I feel like the dumbest one on here. (looks around yep) I read the tut's but uhmmm not helping me. I want to take a grassland sprite sheet see below and replace the grassland. what do I do? I know how to do the palette. do I use yy for this or?


Your layout has been removed.
I also want to be able to make exgfx global in the sense that i just make one new graphic and then i can use it for any level. how do i do that.
Then you edit the graphics. Not ExGraphics, though. The ones in the Graphics folder.
Originally posted by Final Theory
I also want to be able to make exgfx global in the sense that i just make one new graphic and then i can use it for any level. how do i do that.


You must open your rom in Lunar Magic, click this button #lm{extgfx} , and then go to graphics/ folder. Here you will find AllGFX.bin or a lot of GFXnn.bin (nn is the number of the GFX in hex, i.e. "GFX0E.bin"). You can overwrite some tiles in GFX14.bin and GFX17.bin (addresses 014000 and 017000 in AllGFX.bin) which are loaded automatically in every level, just note some tiles are overwritten in-game by level-specific and global animations.

Don't forget to insert modified graphics with this button#lm{insgfx} in Lunar Magic.
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