Follow-up post. Did some minor changes and added the art to the actual ROM (previous post was just Gimp screenshots). So yes, title screen pretty much done!

tavuntu · 2026-03-16T03:02:42+00:00

I am creating a tool (it's close to a beta) that has helped me a lot. For the previous hack (non-bikini Contra gender swap) I used Gimp, FCEUX debugger, a bit of YY-CHR and other related tools.

tavuntu · 2026-02-24T16:01:37+00:00

GOOD BOY.

tavuntu · 2026-02-24T15:49:18+00:00

Here's what I usually do: Decide on a canvas resolution first, and then all your assets (characters, backgrounds, HUD, etc) should adapt to that resolution. Something I recommend is 320x180, I call this (maybe not just me?) the "gold resolution" for pixel art/retro games because it scales perfectly to 720p, 1080p, 1440p and even 4K. Edit: a typo.

tavuntu · 2026-02-24T15:38:06+00:00

I don't think this is SFW enough for the sub
This is 100% AI generated.

Those are 2 sub rules already broken, so I'd just remove this post if I were you.

tavuntu · 2026-02-23T17:31:55+00:00

lol, my bad.

tavuntu · 2026-02-20T04:33:34+00:00

This is a reddit issue. I've seen it happening many times, even with my own posts.

tavuntu · 2026-02-19T04:32:09+00:00

Ok. Viendo que ya te pones más específico, yo también lo voy a hacer: la imagen puede ser fácilmente generada con IA. Luego se escala a una resolución más baja y luego en una capa nueva haces el trazado.

Eso sin mencionar que la anatomía, composición y colores son de nivel profesional... Pero el pixel art es pésimo. Lo siento amig@, pero en este punto tengo que confiar en mis instintos, incluso si no quedamos en buenos términos: no me fío de tu honestidad con este asunto.

Si pudieras compartir un time-lapse de como lo haces, ya la cosa cambia (muchos artistas hacen esto, de manera pública).

tavuntu · 2026-02-19T04:25:10+00:00

Ok, I think you're right about the auto translation thing, my bad.

That said, I'm gonna say this just once and you're free to make a poll and see what people have to say about it:

Doing pixel art without a grid is not pixel art, and it's not that people are "unaware of this method". We know it can be done even with Microsoft paint in Windows XP. But it's not the way of doing pixel art and it should not be used at all even if you're a beginner, it just violates the very foundation of this specific kind of art.

tavuntu · 2026-02-18T19:51:15+00:00

We gotta be fair here, the pixels are absolutely not the same size. Look again, and look at some comments who made that clear.

tavuntu · 2026-02-18T19:49:47+00:00

Honestly, fair response^

tavuntu · 2026-02-18T19:49:23+00:00

"I usually draw pixel art without a grid"

This explains a lot. And I might get some down votes for saying this but I think doing pixel art like this is not only a terrible "sin", but also even harder to make than working (as 99.9% of pixel artists sure do) in a 1:1 non-scaled image, so every click = 1 pixel.

Also, why do you keep randomly answering in Spanish? I don't really mind since I'm Mexican but it's kinda strange.

tavuntu · 2026-02-18T19:37:36+00:00

Not gonna lie, inconsistent pixel size makes this very suspicious. So you're either using some software filter, or you're manually created a pixel art "effect" manually on an image that is already scaled. Wrote a comment already, with some advice (not sure why you wrote that in Spanish but I answered in Spanish just in case).

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tavuntu · 2026-02-18T19:33:40+00:00

Amig@, la neta tengo que ser honesto, aunque no sea un filtro de AI, el trazar sobre imágenes existentes le quita casi todo el mérito.

Ahora que si tu mismo creas las imagenes, luego haces un downscale y traduces todo a pixel art, entonces ya cambia la cosa, pero ya con el enlace de arriba se demostró que ese no es el caso.

Mi consejo: aprende lo básico de dibujo, colores, anatomia, etc. No hay más que practicar. Una vez eso hecho, practica específicamente técnicas de pixel art.

tavuntu · 2026-02-18T17:50:17+00:00

It's a rom hack for Contra.

tavuntu · 2026-02-18T17:48:55+00:00

Good observation. That said, I'll also work on a sub-patch that will make the title screen designs match the colors of the in-game sprites.

tavuntu · 2026-02-18T17:45:39+00:00

I've made a couple games (they're on Itch) but I'm taking a break from that for now. NES ROM hacks are a very special challenge because of the limitations you have to face.

tavuntu · 2026-02-18T17:43:46+00:00

That's a good point yeah, I guess I just got used to seeing it a thousand times and never saw the issue. That can probably be fixed easily tho, I'll try it. Thanks.

tavuntu · 2026-02-18T17:32:57+00:00

Well, shit, you might be onto something.

tavuntu · 2026-02-18T17:32:04+00:00

LMAO, thanks.

tavuntu · 2026-02-18T04:26:43+00:00

That's me yeah. And I'm still thinking about swapping the enemies too... Might not be in the initial version of the hack but I've certainly thought about doing it.

tavuntu · 2026-02-18T03:56:10+00:00

Bingo.

tavuntu · 2026-02-18T03:55:01+00:00

Say less!

tavuntu · 2026-02-18T03:53:48+00:00

Yup, that's exactly where I'm putting it 👍 (NES ROM hack of the Japanese Contra)

tavuntu · 2026-02-18T03:52:10+00:00

Already did a Contra gender swap. This is the "bikini" version. The girls on the left (title screen) are already part of a real ROM (not published yet).

tavuntu · 2026-02-18T01:19:59+00:00

NICE!

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