NES Assets Workshop (NAW)

A place for your artistic side. Discuss techniques and tools for pixel art on the NES, GBC, or similar platforms.

Moderator: Moderators

Post Reply
User avatar
nesrocks
Posts: 563
Joined: Thu Aug 13, 2015 4:40 pm
Location: Rio de Janeiro - Brazil
Contact:

NES Assets Workshop (NAW)

Post by nesrocks »

NAW is a graphics creation tool targeted specifically for developing NES assets. The GUI should be familiar to artists.
Currently available for Windows only. I'm looking for a way to export to Linux.

The screen area is an emulation of the NES image. It contains all of the basic building blocks: the CHR data, nametable, palette and sprites. What you see is the real thing!

It allows editing the nametables, the CHR pages and OAM data, all using a very visual workflow.
Some interesting features include:
- paste any type of image you copied from an outside program directly onto the CHR area. Color will be automatically reduced if need be.
- load a tbl file to assign tiles to keys or assign them visually inside NAW so you can write to the nametable with the write tool.
- manipulate sprites. simulate scanline sprite limit, order sprites in OAM, simulate flicker.
- draw on the sprites layer directly and sprites will be created automatically. ideal for creating static screens (title screens, cutscenes, etc).
- export NROM with the static image.
- intuitive image editing tools (brush size, paint bucket, line, rectangle, color swap, selection).

It is in constant development and is available at itch. Name your own price (or free). You can edit the suggested price to anything you like to pay:
https://nesrocks.itch.io/naw

Image

Image

Image

Image

I want to add big features to NAW:
- metatiles
- maps
- metasprites + animations
- assets management within a single project (chr, nam, pal, map, etc)
- assign assets to other assets and export asm or C code with all tables built

It takes work so I've created a patreon page last week. Please consider pledging or sharing if you like NAW! Thank you. https://www.patreon.com/bitinkstudios
Last edited by nesrocks on Sun Feb 05, 2023 10:14 am, edited 1 time in total.
https://twitter.com/bitinkstudios <- Follow me on twitter! Thanks!
https://www.patreon.com/bitinkstudios <- Support me on Patreon!
User avatar
nesrocks
Posts: 563
Joined: Thu Aug 13, 2015 4:40 pm
Location: Rio de Janeiro - Brazil
Contact:

Re: NES Assets Workshop (NAW)

Post by nesrocks »

I'm going to highlight some of the tools and features in NAW.

500 levels of undo: ctrl + Z. Redo is ctrl + Y.
5 Zoom levels. Grid helpers. UI resizing (integer scale from base 640x360).


Pen Tool: draw on the CHR or directly on the Nametable. Optionally turn on Free Draw so new tiles are automatically assigned on the nametable.

Image


Tile Tool: good old tile placement, butter smooth behavior. Easy and fast tile swap (hold control).

Image


Shape Tools: Line, Rectangle, Ellipse: Accepts different line widths (1,2,4,8,16,32,64,128,256). Can be used directly on the Nametable too (draws on already placed tiles).

Image


Bucket Tool: Paint globably or as a bucket fill. You can define a selection with the select tool and it will only act inside that selection. Can be used directly on the nametable, though since tiles are reused results may be hard to predict.

Image


Paste Import: Paste images from external programs using the Clipboard. Automatic resizing to fit the CHR page or a rectangular selection, image proportions are kept. Automatic quantization.

Image


Write Tool: Assign keys to tiles (or load .tbl files!) and start typing. Optionally use 4 directions click-place mode. You can export .tbl files too. Automatic line breaks inside a selection if you make one.

Image


PPU Import: Import graphics from games running on emulators. Mesen and FCEUx tested. This will import the PPU content (CHR, Nametables, Palettes). Games with mid frame changes will import partially. You can also import sprite data, just export OAM inside mesen and then import OAM in NAW. You may need to manually adjust some registers as shown here.

Image


Sprites editor: Add and manipulate sprites on the screen. Work in 8x8 or 8x16 mode.

Image


Draw on Sprite Layer: Excellent tool for drawing overlay sprites on static screens such as cutscenes or title screens. Use the pen tool while in the sprites module and it automatically creates sprites wherever you're drawing. There are four layers, one for each subpalette. For this feature to work it must be in 8x8 sprites mode and sprites must be aligned to a grid. It works easiest if you clear all sprites and just start drawing.
I'm going to highlight some of the tools and features in NAW.

Image
https://twitter.com/bitinkstudios <- Follow me on twitter! Thanks!
https://www.patreon.com/bitinkstudios <- Support me on Patreon!
elmernite
Posts: 4
Joined: Fri Sep 09, 2022 7:41 am

Re: NES Assets Workshop (NAW)

Post by elmernite »

Just getting started on NES dev and this looks really interesting! I'll have to give it a go.
User avatar
nesrocks
Posts: 563
Joined: Thu Aug 13, 2015 4:40 pm
Location: Rio de Janeiro - Brazil
Contact:

Re: NES Assets Workshop (NAW)

Post by nesrocks »

V 0.201 is out, now there's an optional installer!

- Added Overscan guides. It has three states: off, most TVs and all TVs (safe display). Click with Control and/or Shift for more options. This is a visual aid to keep important elements on areas of the screen that aren't hidden on some displays
- Tile tool is now always aligned to the grid on the CHR view. For free pixel stamping use only the Select tool instead
- Improved "Delete" hotkey: context based, deletes sprites and chr data. No longer deletes sprites when none are selected
- Now zoom and pan are maintained when switching modules
- CHR module: fill with solid color and with random data is now only applied to the selection, or the entire CHR page if nothing is selected
- Improvement: Right clicking with the selection tool will not change the selected color or attribute anymore
- Improvement: Right clicking with the tile tool will not change the selected pixel color anymore, but will still select the attribute
- Changed rotate left/right tool hotkeys to a more intuitive Control+Left/Right (was Shift+Left/Down)
https://twitter.com/bitinkstudios <- Follow me on twitter! Thanks!
https://www.patreon.com/bitinkstudios <- Support me on Patreon!
surfRJ
Posts: 2
Joined: Wed Mar 15, 2023 12:09 am

Re: NES Assets Workshop (NAW)

Post by surfRJ »

Fantastic stuff, thanks!
I really love the UI style
Also Seems to work flawlessy under wine linux
User avatar
Terwilf
Posts: 11
Joined: Tue May 29, 2018 3:23 pm

Re: NES Assets Workshop (NAW)

Post by Terwilf »

Hello, as I promised, I share my first impressions, ordered as if it were a list so that they are less confusing, I clarify that I have been using the application for a very short time, so it is to be expected that not everything I say is accurate.

The best part of the editor is being able to modify the background in real time, so unlike other programs, the CHR takes a back seat most of the time.

Taking this into account, it would be convenient to be able to use the division between Nametable and CHR, to resize both of them by dragging, as needed or hide either of them.
------------

Moving sprites with the keyboard is too fast to be useful; in the editor that my team develops, we solved this using.

Directional keys of the NumPad. (Fast movement)
[/] [*] Left and right (Pixel by pixel)
[-] [+] Down and Up (Pixel by pixel)

But this would be uncomfortable for users with 60% keyboards, a simple modifier like Alt + directional, seems to be the most logical solution.
------------

On the other hand, when I didn't know what to expect from the application, it took me a long time to realize, that there was a sprite tool, that I had to select, to interact with the sprites, in the sprite section.

Maybe it would be helpful, that when selecting an empty slot of "active sprites", the indicated tool would be auto selected or some alternative, to guide the novices.
------------

When deactivating the "flicker" mode, it would help that the sprites in "active sprites", returned to their original position, since it becomes more difficult to distinguish them when they mix.

In the same way, being able to rearrange them would facilitate their management.
------------

In this and all the tools that can complement the creation of graphics for NES, the background editing, is arranged to mainly use the normal tileset mode;

Therefore, it would be great, in addition to having the 8x16 sprite mode, to have a function, to convert the whole design to this mode or reimport the same CHR reorganized, to not depend on NEXXT, to do it.
------------

Switching to the mode to manage attributes by double-clicking on any of the palettes of the design, would speed up these tasks, since you usually apply the attributes, after creating the palettes.
User avatar
nesrocks
Posts: 563
Joined: Thu Aug 13, 2015 4:40 pm
Location: Rio de Janeiro - Brazil
Contact:

Re: NES Assets Workshop (NAW)

Post by nesrocks »

Thank you so much for the feedback! Don't worry, getting opinions from people who have had little time with the tool is almost as invaluable as from people who have hundreds of hours working with it. I really appreciate you taking the time to write about your impressions and suggestions.
Terwilf wrote: Fri Nov 03, 2023 6:19 amIt would be convenient to be able to use the division between Nametable and CHR, to resize both of them by dragging, as needed or hide either of them.
This is almost implemented in the new 0.5+ versions (not yet), but it was practically impossible before the UI code refactoring that I did this year. Will be added in a future version soon. I don't think I'll allow the user to completely hide either though. Probably allow it to be resized to a 16 pixels wide minimum. Or maybe I will allow a full hide, we'll see.
Terwilf wrote: Fri Nov 03, 2023 6:19 amMoving sprites with the keyboard is too fast to be useful.
Have you tried using version 0.207? You can move sprites pixel by pixel by holding control, or 8 by 8 pixels by holding shift. One user has reported that that wasn't working, but I think it was running under Wine so I can't replicate it.
Terwilf wrote: Fri Nov 03, 2023 6:19 amit took me a long time to realize, that there was a sprite tool, that I had to select, to interact with the sprites, in the sprite section.
I'm not sure how to address this. The new 0.5+ version has new tutorials, and one of them mentions the Sprite Tool specifically, but I understand that this is not the complete solution. I can also see it being somewhat confusing for the selected tool to change simply because the user selected a different module. I'll see if I can think of something.
Terwilf wrote: Fri Nov 03, 2023 6:19 amWhen deactivating the "flicker" mode, it would help that the sprites in "active sprites", returned to their original position, since it becomes more difficult to distinguish them when they mix.
This is a good idea, it has bothered me in the past. I went ahead and implemented a fix for this. It's not as simple as restoring the OAM after "flicker" is disabled because NAW allows you to edit OAM in real time while the flicker is being simulated, losing any changes made that way. My solution is to store the total shifted amount and then shift it back.
Terwilf wrote: Fri Nov 03, 2023 6:19 amIn the same way, being able to rearrange them would facilitate their management.
Version 0.207 allows you to arrange sprites individually. The buttons for that are on the right side in the Sprites module.
Terwilf wrote: Fri Nov 03, 2023 6:19 amTherefore, it would be great, in addition to having the 8x16 sprite mode, to have a function, to convert the whole design to this mode or reimport the same CHR reorganized, to not depend on NEXXT, to do it.
If I understand correctly, you'd like to be able to see the CHR page in other arrangements like in yy-chr and NEXXT? This is something complicated to do in NAW due to how surfaces are stored internally, which is what allows me to have these big brushes and drawing tools in the first place. If this ever becomes possible it will require some major rewriting in the drawing routines, so we can't expect this to happen soon.
Terwilf wrote: Fri Nov 03, 2023 6:19 amSwitching to the mode to manage attributes by double-clicking on any of the palettes of the design, would speed up these tasks, since you usually apply the attributes, after creating the palettes.
I'm not sure I understand this, can you clarify please?
https://twitter.com/bitinkstudios <- Follow me on twitter! Thanks!
https://www.patreon.com/bitinkstudios <- Support me on Patreon!
User avatar
Terwilf
Posts: 11
Joined: Tue May 29, 2018 3:23 pm

Re: NES Assets Workshop (NAW)

Post by Terwilf »

nesrocks wrote: Sat Nov 04, 2023 10:51 am Have you tried using version 0.207? [...]
You caught me, I must have tried that function in an old version and then assumed that it was still the same, I’m sorry :wink:
nesrocks wrote: Sat Nov 04, 2023 10:51 am If I understand correctly, you'd like to be able to see the CHR page in other arrangements like in yy-chr and NEXXT? [...]
In fact, the NEXXT function I mentioned allows you to create a custom CHR, with which you can import the Nametable and search for your assets from there.
Image

The bad thing about this is that although it is very practical, sometimes I would appreciate having an option to delete from the Nametable, the repeated occurrences of mosaics, however that is another topic. (https://youtu.be/J81EVRYk9cI)
nesrocks wrote: Sat Nov 04, 2023 10:51 am I'm not sure I understand this, can you clarify please?
Of course, I will do my best, in NAW currently to edit the attributes of the nametable, you must select the pencil tool and deactivate its ability to draw, but when you change tools, it simply resets its settings

That’s why, in the following maquette I propose how we could simplify the most repetitive processes, taking shortcuts to start these tasks where they really originate.
Image
Starting to edit attributes, highlighting the color of a palette to see if it is well exploited in your design and even swapping colors in one or all sub palettes could be actions that are optimized quite a bit :D
User avatar
BertTheCamelDev
Posts: 25
Joined: Sat Nov 04, 2023 7:58 pm
Contact:

Re: NES Assets Workshop (NAW)

Post by BertTheCamelDev »

Wow, every time I discover tools like this one I think that this is the best time to develop NES games. I'm super impressed with all the incredible tools everyone is creating for such an old console. The love for the NES is real :D
Thank you @nesrocks!
Post Reply