Screenshots

Sonic Retro aims to use screenshots of the best possible quality when depicting games and videos. For most video games this is typically done by running the game in an emulator and using the emulator's own screenshot feature. If the emulator has no such capability, you can manually capture the screen by pressing Print Screen and pasting it into an image editing program. THIS SHOULD ONLY BE DONE AS A LAST RESORT! The screenshot should be saved as a PNG and optimized using pngpress. Remember to disable any filters when taking a screenshot (except for contrast/brightness improvement) and save the image at the correct resolution.

General Guidelines

• Use PNG format when possible. (JPEG is only acceptable if that's the only format supported by the native uploader, e.g. Wii U and Nintendo 3DS.)
• Do NOT convert JPEG images to PNG format. This results in a bigger file and does not eliminate the JPEG artifacting.
• Use image optimization tools such as pngpress to reduce the size of the PNG image without reducing image quality.
• If using an emulator, disable filters when taking the screenshot. (If the emulator has an unfiltered screenshot option, you can use that while keeping filters enabled.)

Sega Mega Drive

Resolution should be 320x224, or less commonly 256x224.

• Kega Fusion: Set "Options > Set Config > Extras > Output Stage" to Final. Go to Video, set the window size to 320x240 and disable all filters except Brighten. Borders need to be cropped manually an image editor for the correct resolution. Kega Fusion is not recommended for 256x224 screenshots due to stretching.
• Gens/GS:
  • Disable Fast Blur (hotkey F9).
  • Set Color Scaling to "Full". (Graphics > Color Adjust > Scale Colors) [requires r7_pre5 or later]
  • Other than the above options, screenshots are taken in their original resolution without filtering.
• Gens/GS II: Screenshots are always taken unfiltered.

Sega Master System and Game Gear

Game Gear screenshots should be 160x144.
For Master System, screenshots should be 256x192. Note that most games that use horizontal scrolling also blank the leftmost 8 columns, so the image can be cropped to 248x192. (Some PAL games may use 256x224 or 256x240.)

• Emukon

Sega Saturn

• SSF: Turn off Enforce Aspect Ratio (Option > Screen).

Sega Dreamcast

Resolution should be 640x480.

• NullDC: In Options>PowerVR turn Palleted textures to act Versioned to result in best quality possible.

Nintendo Entertainment System / Family Computer

Resolution varies per game.

• FCEUX: Go to Config > Video, and in Drawing Area, change NTSC to 0 and 239 and press F12 to take a screenshot. By default, it is saved to the snaps folder in the location of FCEUX.exe.
• Nestopia: Disable all video filters and press F12 to take a screenshot.

Nintendo Game Boy Advance

Resolution should be 240x160.

• VisualBoyAdvance: Go to "Options > Emulator" and select PNG format at the bottom of the list. Screenshots can then be taken by clicking "File > Screen capture..." and simply giving the resultant PNG image a name and a directory for it to be saved to. The resultant image size should be 240x160 and the only processing needed a run though pngpress.

Nintendo DS

Resolution should be 256x192 per screen (256x384 total).

• DeSmuME: Disable Unreastically High-Precision Color Interpolation (Config > 3D Settings).
• No$GBA: Go to "Options > Emulation Setup" and set "NDS Mode/Colors" to DS-Lite or DSi.

Neo Geo Pocket Color

Resolution should be 160x152.

• NeoPop: Lacks a built-in screenshot ability, so Print Screen is needed.

Nintendo 3DS, Wii U

• Use the uploader built into the Internet Browser. During a game, press the Home button and start the Internet Browser. Browse to Special:Upload, click the Browse button, and select an image to upload. You can select either the top or bottom screen.
• Note that the built-in uploader uses JPEG format, though it appears to be good enough quality for most purposes.
• Some 3DS games, including Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS, do not support using the Internet Browser simultaneously unless you're using a New 3DS. This is due to a memory limitation.
  • 3DS resolution: Top = 400x240, Bottom = 320x240
  • Wii U resolution: TV = 1280x720, GamePad = 854x480