<< Back to contents.

CharPad 2.8 User Manual - Subchrist Software, 2021.

The Emulator Snapshot Ripper.

The Emulator Snapshot Ripper allows you to search for useable project data inside a Commodore 64 emulator snapshot file.

The ripper currently only supports snapshots made with the VICE C64 emulator.

nb. Data ripping can be a somewhat expert skill and novices attempting it may struggle to find much more than a character set.

The File menu...

- Open Snapshot : Brings up a file dialog where you can choose a snapshot (.vsf) file to load.

- Save RAM Dump : Brings up a file dialog where you can choose where to save a (raw binary) 64K RAM dump.

- Exit : Closes the tool.

The Options menu...

- Reset Configuration : Sets all controls to their default positions.

- Recall Previous Configuration : Sets all controls to the positions recorded by a previous use.

Address Specifiers...

- Character Set : Use the scroll-bar to search for a character set.

nb. A character set used by the C64 must sit on a 2K boundary, hence there are only 32 possible locations in 64K.

- Character Attributes : Use the scroll-bar (and offset control) to search for character attribute data.

nb. Character attribute data may exist literally anywhere in the 64K and may not even be in a format useable by CharPad.

nb. Character attribute searching is only available to projects using the per-char colouring method.

- Tile Set : Use the scroll-bar (and offset control) to search for a tile set.

nb. Tile set data may exist literally anywhere in the 64K and may not even be in a format useable by CharPad.

- Map : Use the scroll-bar (and offset control) to search for map data.

nb. Map data may exist literally anywhere in the 64K and may not even be in a format useable by CharPad.

Map Dimension Controls...

• Map Width : You can type a specific map width or scroll through all possibilities.

• Map Height : You can type a specific map height or scroll through all possibilities.

Tile Data Format - Choose from 8 (Z-Pattern) formats, left-right, top-bottom (LRTB) is the most common.

Map Data Format - Choose from 8 (Z-Pattern) formats, left-right, top-bottom (LRTB) is the most common.

Map Data Cipher : XOR - Choose a (byte) value with which to defeat an XOR (exclusive OR) cipher used on the map data.

Map Data Cipher : ROR - Choose a quantity with which to defeat a binary rotation cipher used on the map data (0-7).

Notes...

When the snapshot ripper is closed...

- The 64K memory is not cleared so you may return to it without having to reload the same snapshot file.

- The last configuration of the controls is automatically saved for recall using the menu option.