Netis Tile Inserting & Block Editing Tutorial

[Neti]

Netis Tile Inserting & Block Editing Tutorial


Introduction

Since many People seem to have problems inserting Tiles and editing Blocks i thought it would be a good idea to make a Tutorial about it.
Also, i planned to release a rombase with Ice and Desert Tiles, but i canceled it to save the originality of dshayabusas, .Aarons and my Hack. People should learn to insert stuff on their own instead of using other peoples data.


Understanding the Block Editor
this is necessary for both parts of the Tutorial!

First, you have to open Advance Map (Im using Version 1.92) of course, your Rom (FireRed BPRE in my case) and a map that uses the tileset you want to edit. Then open Advance Maps Block Editor, it can be found over the main part where you edit the map, movement permission etc.
The symbol is this one:

Now a window will pop up, ill explain all of its parts now.



The first square is the Block-Palette which is used for building the maps. Each block is a 16x16 pixel square consisting of 2 layers, the top and the bottom one.
Each of those two layers consists of 4 tiles.
The tiles and the block editing options can be found in square two.
The upper part is for editing the blocks (ill explain everything about it later) and the lower part are the tiles. you can view the tiles in different palettes. There are 12 possible palettes, each palette consists of 16 colors, which can be changed using advance maps palette editor, but thats not part of this tut.
And the third square are the baviour and background bytes.
Ill explain what to do with them in the seccond part of this Tutorial.


Tile editing or inserting

Step 1: Choosing the corrrect palette

First, you have to choose the correct palette for exporting the tiles. Try out different Palettes from the dropdown list above the tile window. When you found one that has the desired colors for the tiles youre going to edit/insert, go on to the next step.
Just to give you an example:
In Tileset 0, which is the main outdoor tileset, Palette 0 has many different greens: it is for the vegetation.
Palette 1 has many brown colors, so it is used for the rocks and mountains.
Why not insert a new Rock? So i choose Palette 1.

maybe you should know the following: The first 6 palettes belong to the first tileset of the map and palettes 7-12 are from the second one. You can change the first and second tileset in the header tab.
So: Each Tileset has 6 Palettes.

Step 2: Exporting the Tileset

Now that you have chosen your palette, click on picture in the menu and select "Save Tileset X" X is 1 or 2, depending on whether you want to export the first or the second tileset. For this Tutorial i was going to change the normal Rock, so it would be the first Tileset.

Now a normal save dialogue pops up letting you choose the filename and destination.
You can also change the filetype, but i recommend using .dib (standard) or .bmp if you are using graphic programs that dont support .dib (like i do).
Save your Tileset Image and open the destination folder.

Step 3: Editing the image

When you found the tileset image you just saved, open it with any graphic program you want. Im using Paint.NET (It is freeware, you can get it from getpaint.net), but for this Tutorial ill use MS Paint since nearly everybody knows how to work with it and it supports .dib files.
Now you should have something like this:

You can edit it however you want, you just have to make sure that you use the original palette! if you use other colors, they will be replaced by the second color from the palette and it will loook stupid. In order to only use correct colors, use the color picker tool:

Now just draw the desired tiles or change the old ones.
btw, the first color of each palette will be invisible ingame, in this case it is the dark black.

You cant resize the tileset image, it just wont work ;-). Well it will work, but you wont be able to import it correctly.

If you want to import tiles from somewhere, open the the image of the tiles and copy them.
If you dont know how to do that:
First, use this tool and mark the part of the image you want to copy. then right click on it and choose "copy" or "copy to clipboard".

Im german so the menu is german as well... kopieren is the german word for copy.
Now that you have done that, the image has been copied to your clipboard.

Go back to your tileset image and paste the copied image in there, using the menu or CTRL+V.

Spoiler:

The pasted image will appear at the top left (when you use MS Paint).
Now you have to move the new tiles to the place where you want them to be.
I want to replace the stone, so i move them above the stone.

Spoiler:

Just drag and drop the pasted image on the desired spot.
You should know that each tile is 8 pixel wide and high, so the stone for example consists of 4 tiles.
Make sure not to overwrite other tiles when pasting the image in or the block you created with those will contain your new tiles. If youre going to replace something like i do, its ok. but dont overwrite other tiles than the ones youre going to replace.
Btw, the order of the tiles doesnt matter, you can reorder them later when making the block data.

Ok, what do we have to do now? Weve got to make sure that the palette of the pasted tiles is correct. Just use the color picker and the filling tool for this.
My stone already has correct palettes, so i only have to replace the white background with black which will be invisible later on.

When youre done, save your image.


Step 4: Importing the Tileset Image

Alright, go back to Advance map and your map with the tileset youre going to change and open the Block Editor.
Choose "Load Tileset X" from the Picture Menu. X depends on whether you exported tileset 1 or 2 before. I exported Tileset 1, so now im going to load tileset 1.

At this point the palette chosen in the block editor is not important. Advance Map will automatically detect the palette used in the image via a file that has the same name as your image, but the filetype is .pal
This is a palette file
Just make sure you did not rename your image and did not move it to another folder.
The Palette file has to have the same filename and has to be in the same folder!

Now a window Pops up letting you chose the tileset image you wish to import. Chose the one you edited.
It has to be a .dib image at this point, .bmp wont work!

Now that youve done that, the new tiles will be in there, but sometimes you cant see them. They will be all black or something like that.
If you have that problem, close Advance Map, reopen it, your rom and the map and look: The Tiles have been changed!
If you do not have that problem, go to the Picture Menu and select "Load new Blocks". This reloads all blocks.
Now you should see your Blocks with the new tiles.

As you can see there are palette errors at the bottom of my rock. They were caused by me believing the palette was correct.
So always check the palettes of new Tiles before inserting them!
Those Errors can easily be fixed by exporting the image again, fixing them and reimporting it.

The first Part of this Tutorial ends here, you know how to insert/make new tiles now.


Editing the Block Data

Ok, I think this is not that hard.

When being in the Block Editor you see the Block Palette at the left. Select the Block you want to edit by clicking on it.

Oh, see! The things at the center and right part changed!
Ill explain all of them now.
The Blocck which Im going to edit now is marked in the Blocck Palette.
You see that the block with the tree in front the grass consists of two things: the grass at the bottom layer and the tree top at the top layer. The Bottom Layer are is the left 4x4 Tile Square at the Block Field i marked with 1. The Top Layer is of course the right 4x4 Tile Square of it. Everything on the top Layer will be displayed above the hero and other persons ingame, as long as the movement permissions on this block are Level 2 or lower (that means all bytes between 0 and D). There is an exclusion from this, but ill come back to that point later when i explain the behaviour bytes.
Of course, everything on the bottom layer will be under the hero and other persons.

The stuff in Square 2 gives you information about which tile and which block youre using and what its offset is.
The Stuff in the Third Square are the background and behaviour byte.
Behaviour Bytes normally define what happens when the hero steps on the Block, and background bytes define different stuff, like wild pokemon or animations.

Now were going to edit this Block, so that theres a Mountain in front of the grass, not a tree.

Step 1: Removing the old tiles

When you use blank tiles which are supposed to be invisible later on, i recommend using the first tile in the tileset, which is most often blank, while the others might be changed later on.
Just click on the tile and it will be selected. Now draw with it by clicking or holding the left mouse button in the block field where it shows the tiles of the bottom and top layer. It is just like normal mapping basically.

As you can see, the top layer is all black now. But its not empty, it is filled with the first tile of the tileset.

Step 2: Adding the new tiles

For Addding the mountain you first have to choose the correct Palette. In the image above it is already chosen. For Mountains you should use Palette 1.
Now just click on the mountain tiles and then on the block fields top layer part to add the mountain tiles. you can also use big blocks by holding down CTRL, right click on a tile and hold it. then drag the mouse along the tiles you want to use and release the right mouse button and CTRL.

The square with the number 1 is a preview of the big Block you chose.
As you can see i have the Mountain in the Top Layer now.
Now click save and the Block will reload and show you how it turned out:


When using single tiles you also have the option to X or Y invert them. That will reorder the pixels and view the tile inverted.


Step 3: Adjusting the Bahviour

Behaviour and Background Bytes are really usefull since theyre needed to make wild Pokemon appear, Doors open, water being animated or Warps in general work.
I dont know what to explain about them since there is a dropdown list which lets you choose the effect you want.
I can only tell you a few usefull things which you will need often or whcih are not in the list:

Behaviour Bytes:
00 00 Nothing/Normal
02 02 Grass Animation when walking on it
69 00 Door Warp
61 00 A Warp will be used when the hero steps on the tile and theres a warp on it
38 00 to 3B 00 ledges
2a 00 Stairs, The Hero walks slow when going up or down

Background Byte:
00 00 Nothing/Normal
01 01 Wild Pokemon (Grass)
00 22 Wild Pokemon (Water) -> didnt test this one yet...
00 20 The Top Layer of the Block will be covered by the Hero or other persons too


The End

Now you can insert or make own Tiles and make own Blocks! I hope you all enjoyed and understood this Tutorial and keep on hacking.

Thx to Lu-Ho for making Advance Map!

Neti

[Megiddo-san]

Did you know that you can also insert them into the blank, black part of tileset 2 then use the block editor to put it over something?

[Neti]

sure i do, but what happens when i use another second tileset? tile error

[Master_Track]

I'm a total n00b at mapping and tile editing, but I'm better than some other german online friends who I want to help xD

I think this will be of great use for me to at least be able to edit tiles, even if I'm a horrible mapper because of my lack of creativity and fantasy xD

So..yeah, thx, I'll read it more carefully now and see what I can do afterwards ^.^

@post below: great! Maybe someday I'll be both scripter and mapper xD

[Neti]

Ive just finished my Advance Map Tutorial, so you might want to check that one out as well.
Its not published yet, but it will be soon when a mod checked it

[score_under]

You know, so many people were in dire need of this tutorial. Not me, but judging by the quality of some of the map-rating-thread entrants, there are many people who think using normal tiles is acceptable.

[Eeveon]

U see, u made it easier for me!
I did not know where the copy button was, and I can't read Spanish either.
I don't know how to change the languages on MSPaint. :\
I will try this when I get back home from vacation.

[cooley]

Well, for one thing, the language is German, xD
And, you don't change the language on paint, it's for the whole computer.
Well Neti, an experienced mapper like you, I should've expected this tutorial to come by. I don't have much to say, because I already knew all of this, from learning in my noob days(back in august).

You know, that there are many more behavior bytes than that, right?

[Ryousha]

Woo hoo, Neti!

Well(I'm .Aaron )

This tutorial is very useful for behavior types.

You should add of how to add advanced tiles, or making pals

[Neti]

@cooley: of course those are nto all behyviour bytes xD didnt i write that down there?

@Ryousha: making pals is described in this tut by me: http://www.pokecommunity.com/showthr...44#post3718044
making advanced tiles? do you mean real tile making or what? that is not my job, im not good in that

[Alucus_Of_Borg]

why every time i edit the tiles like this does it seem to mess up most of the other tiles it makes them totaly glitchy and there is no way to sort it out please help

[Neti]

do you mean it messes up the tiles or the blocks?

[Alucus_Of_Borg]

i mean both i think its cus im trying to insert tiles from one tile set into another

[Neti]

i dont know what yur problem is... if you follow all these steps it will work, maybe you misunderstood sth cause i ddidnt express it well (im no native english speaker)
tell me what exactly you do, which errors appear and when they appear

[Thrace]

Haha I was going to make one on this exact same thing tomorrow but now I don't need too. XD
Seems to be very concise. Good work!

I hope you add in a section on pallete editing and indexing. I think that's where most people have trouble.

[Neti]

palette editing? i think there are tutorials out tthere for this and its not hard in my opinion...
check out myy advance map tut, i described it there

and what do you eman with indexing?
are you talking about OW Sprites now?

[Ryousha]

He means for indexing D/P sprites to>GBA format xD

or OW's.

There's a FR OW resizer> so there no need for indexing OW's unless it's a custom pallete

[Neti]

hmm this tut has nothing to do with sprites so im probably not going to answer this question...
anyway i dont have any idea what indexing sprites means, im a mapper xD

[BlackRainbow*]

I think he mean indexing the tiles? because some tiles have to be indexet befor we can insert them..

[jakerman999]

for a more complete list of background and behaviour bytes, I made a list in a new thread. just waiting for a mod to look it over before it appears.

[Alucus_Of_Borg]

i change the tiles to tileset 0-36 cus i want to use the rock tiles in set 36
i go into the block editor change the pallet to pallet 1and save tile set 2
i go into paint open it change what i want and then save it again i go back into a-map change back to tileset 1 go into the block editor and save tile set 2 so i can change it back if anything goes wrong then load the edited tiles and apply and change tileset 2 back to the default one for whichever tiles im using make sure i only edit the tiles that are in tileset 0 which never gets changed so changing the second set shouldent affect it but when i save it and test it the tiles either go really glitchy or return back to what they were origionaly
what should i do???

[PokeBud]

can you maybe make tut with tiles which are another colour. Because if I have tiles with another have for veredian city for veredian and that joint I at pellate 8 then comes that at pallet town.
Srry for the bad orthography. because i'm dutch

[Neti]

Originally Posted by f0r3v3r-70x1c

i change the tiles to tileset 0-36 cus i want to use the rock tiles in set 36
i go into the block editor change the pallet to pallet 1and save tile set 2
i go into paint open it change what i want and then save it again i go back into a-map change back to tileset 1 go into the block editor and save tile set 2 so i can change it back if anything goes wrong then load the edited tiles and apply and change tileset 2 back to the default one for whichever tiles im using make sure i only edit the tiles that are in tileset 0 which never gets changed so changing the second set shouldent affect it but when i save it and test it the tiles either go really glitchy or return back to what they were origionaly
what should i do???

phew i really dont know whats wrong... sry

Originally Posted by PokeBud

can you maybe make tut with tiles which are another colour. Because if I have tiles with another have for veredian city for veredian and that joint I at pellate 8 then comes that at pallet town.
Srry for the bad orthography. because i'm dutch

i dont really know what youre requesting here inserting tiles with other colors is just the same, just use another palette when exporting it

[PokeBud]

This is what i mean:

[Neti]

ah you mean the two tilesets do not have the same palettes? thats easy: export the palettes you need (in this case palette 10) from the tileset where they work and import them on the other one.
how to export and import correctly is described in my advance map tutorial i think, check out my signature.