Ripping assets - X-Hax/sa_tools GitHub Wiki

This guide explains how to use the SA Tools to extract assets from different versions of SA1/DX and SA2/B.

To get started, you need an image of the game you want to rip. Dreamcast games usually come in GDI and CDI formats, Gamecube games can be ISO or GCM. For PC, an installed copy of the game is fine.

Supported games

There are many different builds and regional revisions of the games. At the moment the tools support only specific versions of the games. Also, for each game we have a "main" version which has the most assets mapped out, and additional templates for other versions which are used for research purposes. If you're looking to get the most complete asset rip of SA1/DX or SA2/B, you need to get the "main" version of the game as follows:

Sonic Adventure / Sonic Adventure DX

  • Dreamcast: US, version 1.005 (animated title screen). Japanese, European (PAL), International, Limited, Taikenban and other versions are NOT supported. The US 1.004 version (static title screen) has a template but it's less complete than 1.005. We also have a research template for the Autodemo prototype.
  • Gamecube: US version. Japanese and European (PAL) versions are NOT supported.
  • PC: 2004 US version (Activision). Steam, Japanese, Korean and European versions (including Best Buy, Sonic PC Collection etc.) are NOT supported.

Sonic Adventure 2

  • Dreamcast: US version. Japanese and European (PAL) versions are NOT supported. We have a separate template for SA2: The Trial and Preview prototypes.
  • Gamecube: US version. Japanese and European (PAL) versions are NOT supported.
  • PC: Steam version with a decrypted EXE file. Replace the file sonic2app.exe in the game folder with the one downloaded from the link.

Where and how to get the correct version is up to you. Please do not ask us for copies of the games or ripped assets from them.

Extracting game files

If you have an ISO of the game, you need to extract it first. If you're ripping the PC version, you can skip this section assuming you have the game installed.

Extracting Dreamcast games

Extracting CDI files

If your game is in the CDI format, you can use the trial version of ISOBuster to extract it. Open the CDI file in the program, select the session on the left and the files on the right. Make sure you've selected the file 1ST_READ.BIN and the SONICADV folder. Usually these are found in Session 2 Track 02. Sometimes the SONICADV folder is also located on Session 1 Track 01. Extract both tracks in that case. If the folder is named SONICAD, you have the wrong version of the game.

Right click the selected files and click "Extract objects", then choose an output folder. If the files extracted successfully, you can proceed to the next section.

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Extracting GDI files

There are several different GDI formats, some of which require additional conversion before they can be processed by other software. The best supported dumps are TOSEC dumps, which contain a GDI file and files track01.bin, track02.raw (or track02.bin) and track03.bin. If your game is in the this format, you can use GDI2Data to extract files from it. If your BIN files are named differently, find a different dump.

Gdi2Data.zip

Extract the GDI2Data archive to any folder, copy the game's GDI file to the same folder (including all BIN and RAW files that come with the GDI file) and double click GDI2Data.bat. A command line window will open. When it says "DONE! FamilyGuy 2009", check if the data folder contains extracted files. If the files extracted successfully, you can proceed to the next section.

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Extracting Gamecube games

The easiest way to extract Gamecube games is with the Dolphin Gamecube emulator. Right click the game and select Properties. Go to the Filesystem tab, right click the "Disc" text and select "Extract entire disc". Choose an output folder. Now you can proceed to the next section.

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Creating a project with SA Tools Hub

Run SA Tools Hub and click the "New Project" button.

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Select the base game and the platform, then pick the template.

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If you haven't created rips of this specific version of the game before, SA Tools Hub will ask for the game's location. Point it to the location of 1ST_READ.BIN (Dreamcast games) or Main.dol (Gamecube games, located in the sys folder) extracted earlier, sonic.exe (SADX PC) or sonic2app.exe (SA2 PC). If the game version is correct, the "Create Project" button will be enabled. Click it and specify the location of the project file. Once the project is created, the ripped data will be in the project folder, in the subfolder with the same name as the project.

Viewing assets in SA Tools

Levels and models

When the project .sap file is opened in SA Tools Hub, you can use the icons on the right to open different programs that let you view and/or edit assets. Alternatively you can run these programs separately and open the project .sap file in them.

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When you open the .sap file in these editors, they run in Project Mode, which auto-loads additional data such as textures, level objects etc. and lets you pick assets from a list instead of browsing through files. Although you can open individual level files (.sa*lvl) in SALVL and model files (.sa*mdl) in SAMDL, using the editors in Project Mode is recommended for ease of use.

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Textures

Textures from the original game are not included in the project. If you need to view or extract textures, use Texture Editor to open PVM, GVM, PRS or PAK files in the game's source data folder (SONICADV for SA1 DC, system for SADX PC, resource\GC_PC for SA2 PC etc.).

Sounds

Sounds from the original game are not included in the project. SADXSndSharp can be used for .DAT soundbanks in SADX PC, and SonicAudioTools for CSB soundbanks in SA2 PC.

Exporting assets for use with other software

Levels, models and animations can be imported into Blender using the SAIO Blender Addon.

The import and export functionality in SAMDL and SALVL is unreliable. The SAIO addon is recommended for import and export from/to .sa*mdl and .sa*lvl files.