[SonicShadows]

Seeing as how this is a forum on emulation (specifically Gameboy Advance), I was hoping someone here could help me out, or at least try to. Google has lead me to about every page that COULD help me, but nobody's ever really gone into any depth on this matter.
I've been wanting to extract/rip sounds from a GBA rom so I can create a soundfont, but everything I've found hasn't really given me enough details for me to know what I'm supposed to be doing. I've read things about recording .wavs with Visualboy Advance and some stuff about using Sappy, but I've never been given a step-by-step that would help me accomplish my goal. I'm fairly new to the insides of a rom, but I'm willing to try what I can. I've seen that it's possible to do what I'm wanting to, but nobody has ever posted a tutorial or anything on how it's done.
I hope someone here could help me out, and I know I'm not the only one who'd be thankful if a decent answer is given.

 

[Hard core Rikki]

saptapper from caithsith2 can be a start (adding more later).

 

[SonicShadows]

saptapper from caithsith2 can be a start (adding more later).

Thank you for replying! =D I already have saptapper actually, but for some reason I couldn't get the minigsf's it extracted to play. It might've been the rom I tried, though.

 

[Hard core Rikki]

Which game was that?
Here ripping works without errors. Ill take no manual ripping or optimizing into minigsfs took place ?

 

[SonicShadows]

Which game was that?
Here ripping works without errors. Ill take no manual ripping or optimizing into minigsfs took place ?

The game was #2157 Shonen Jump's One Piece (US Release). Saptapper created 166 minigsf files and a gsflib file. I tried playing the minigsf's with Winamp (w/ Highly Advanced plugin) but I got nothing.

 

[Hard core Rikki]

After you optimize them, they should run fine.

Get gsfopt (from caithsith2's site), put it in the folder where the extracted gsfs are, then run the optimize.bat command in the folder where sappy ran from.

The process will take a while as it optimizes each track one by one. After a few tracks is done, you can check them early in winamp and see if they play as they should (process rechecked here, it works without fail).

 

[SonicShadows]

After you optimize them, they should run fine.

Get gsfopt (from caithsith2's site), put it in the folder where the extracted gsfs are, then run the optimize.bat command in the folder where sappy ran from.

The process will take a while as it optimizes each track one by one. After a few tracks is done, you can check them early in winamp and see if they play as they should (process rechecked here, it works without fail).

Alright, I got gsfopt in the same folder as the extracted minigsf's and optimize.bat, but when I run optimize.bat the command prompt just opens and closes without doing anything. What should I do to fix this?

 

[Hard core Rikki]

Use the commandline preferably (start menu: execute -> cmd )
Adding a few visual aids.


- In the commandline (replace mygbagame with any name for the game you try ripping):
saptapper mygbagame.gba

ripping shouldnt take any long (a folder named after the game is created with the gsf and minigsf files in)

- gsfopt.exe should be in/extracted to the 'mygbagame' folder, as optimize.bat will make call it to start optimizing/cleaning the tracks.
Then still in the commanline, invoke optimize.bat
Processing the content of the subfolders start. Takes time, but tracks already optimized should now be playable in winamp now (with HA)

 

[SonicShadows]

I was about to post a snapshot of what I was doing wrong when you edited your post. xD Thank you, it's working fine now.

EDIT: You said I could listen to a gsf that's already been optimized while gsfopt is working, I believe. I tried opening one of the files that should have been finished in Winamp, and it "encountered an error and had to close". Did I do something wrong, or should I wait until gsfopt is finished before attempting to play one of the gsf's?

 

[Hard core Rikki]

Tracks already optimized should be able to play in HA normally.
Error unusual.

 

[SonicShadows]

Playtime and Optimize bytes both = 0.

I'm pretty sure that's not supposed to happen. xD Is it my fault or is it possibly the rom?

 

[Hard core Rikki]

More likely the game (not the rom itself). Well, theres always manual ripping, I presume.

 

[SonicShadows]

More likely the game (not the rom itself). Well, theres always manual ripping, I presume.

I'm sure you're not willing to give directions on that, though. The word 'manual' makes it sound like something that would take a long time to explain. xD But while we're on the topic, I have rom2gsf which I believe does rip if done manually. Of course, I have no idea how to use it though. lol

 

[Hard core Rikki]

The word 'manual' makes it sound like something that would take a long time to explain

Not really that much. Just ripped a track (works in HA)

 

[SonicShadows]

Not really that much. Just ripped a track (works in HA)

Well I wouldn't mind learning if you don't mind giving up time to explain how it works. Especially if it doesn't take long amounts of time. xD

EDIT: Also, I was wondering if there's a known way to rip the 'instruments' used in the music. I liked the way Sappy arranged the music in a rom, track by track. You could disable/enable different tracks and hear just the sounds used in one track. Sappy had an export feature and .wav as a format too, so it's a great tool for people like me who'd like to use the sounds to create soundfonts. The only problem is that it doesn't work with a lot of games, including the one I was trying to rip music from earlier. Do you know if there is a manual way to rip the sounds/instruments along with the music?

 

[SonicShadows]

Bump!
Does anyone else have any methods or comments? I've kinda been away for 4 weeks, but I still have the same goal of ripping GBA music/instruments. xD

 

[DMI-1407]

Hi

I need help too
In the folder I have put this datas...
(look folder.jpg)
and then I have run saptapper with cmd,
but it don't work...
(look cmd.jpg)
in the txt he write this...
"sappy_main not found in MetroidFusion.GBA"

and I don't know, what is with the "msvcr71.dll" ?
in which folder comes this dll ?

please help

 

[mathpie]

I know that this post hasn't been active for a long time, but now I need help, too... After I optimize the tracks, it seems to be working fine, but when I play them in winamp, i hear no sound and all of my tracks say they are all 2 minutes and four seconds. Does anyone know how to fix this?

Thanks in advance,
mathpie

 

[DMI-1407]

you have convert the minigsf ?
or do you want to play it in winamp ?
if you want to play the minigsf in winamp you need the plugin HA_0.11.exe
hm my english isn't the best... :???:

 

[mathpie]

That's not the problem...

I already have HA version 0.11, but I still can't play the files...
Thanks for your quick reply though,
mathpie