Sprite Editing with PSP

[Excalipur]

I'm new but I want to add a simple guide for editing sprites using the PSP version of FFT.  Any of the veterans can feel free to help make this guide better if it's too complicated or wrong in some way. I also want to add that my iso file has been extracted in a special way so i have two different files. umd_data.bin and psp_game files.  
First you will need a few things.

1. A copy of final fantasy war of the lions iso. It will be a .iso file. Its about 400 MB in size.  It cannot be a CSO file.

2. Custom firmware installed on your PSP so that it can play games without using a umd.

3. the latest CDmage application. the latest FFTpachter. Shisshi sprite editor. some kind of photoshop or paint application.  I myself use paint.net because it's highly compatible when it comes to modding different games.

4. Open fftpatcher. Click on PSP, utilities, decrypt war of the lions iso. find your iso file in your memory stick. then exit when finished.

5.Okay here is where it gets juicy. Make sure your fft iso is in your psp memory stick. Open Cdmage, go to file, open, go to your memory stick and open your fft iso. click the first option you see,M1/2048. Next you'll see a file tree. go to pspgame, usrdir, then under usrdir you will see fftpack.bin. highlight fftpack.bin then click extract files. I highly recommend you extract the files in a new folder and rename it.  

6. okay once you got the set up you need to open shishi sprite editor. Go to file, open, then find your new folder where you extracted your fftpack.bin file to. in that folder you will see another folder called BATTLE. go into BATTLE and there will be sprite files of the characters. most of the files are named accordingly. pick the file you want and open it.  youll see the image appear in the box. next go to file, export. save the image to your desktop. then close shishi editor.

7. next open your photoshop or paint application.  Go to open and open the bmp file you saved to your desktop.  Make your changes. then save and close the application.

8. Open shishi editor again. go to BATTLE, select the sprite file you want to change.  Then go to file and import.  Import the image from your desktop that you edited in your photoshop application.  then click save.

9.  After that go to fftpatcher again. click on psp, utilities, rebuild fftpack.bin.  It will ask you where the fftpack files are located.  click on the folder where you put the files.  then you will have to save it and rename it.  I renamed mine fftpack.bin.

10. exit fftpatcher, load up cdmage again. open your fft iso in your memory stick like before.  go to usrdir again where you saw fftpack.bin. Click on import.  import the fftpack.bin file that you rebuilt in step 9. then your changes should be permanently saved in your game.  I hope so at least. If anyone can make this better please feel free to do so.

[LastingDawn]

Looks good! I can't see anything that's missing, then again I can't really say as I've never really done anything with the PSP Version, looks pretty detailed though.

[Smash]

This could come in handy someday.. But im stuck on getting the custom firmware, though.

Getting some sprites to WOTL would be freaking sweet, I'd bet.

[Excalipur]

Yeah I guess it's a start.  But there are a few bugs that I need to work out.  When I load the bmp image into paint.net the colors in the avatar pictures gets all screwy.  And for some reason the sprite's colors only change when you're in battle or in a cutscene.  The sprites in the formation screen are unaffected.  I need to experiment more.

[Kourama]

Well I never extended my iso but PSP version worked the same as the regular version when I messed around with it. By the way UMDGen works just as well as CDMage for extracting the fftpack.bin

[gojoe]

i posted quite a detailed walkthrough but now i cant seem to find it

[Excalipur]

Actually Im an idiot, I dont know what Im thinking but theres actually a lot easier way to edit the sprites with WOTL. I just realized it.  Instead of repacking the fftpackbin, you can just patch the ISO sprites via shishi sprite editor.  You can still do all the editing in photoshop or paint.net too.  I just told you how to do it the two years ago way and I apologize. But both ways actually work.  But if you're really new to the whole modding scene I'd recommend that you do it the long way at least once...You know just for practice.....

[Oblivion]

To Smash:
go to this website for psp hacking help.

www.howitshould.be

this is one of the best psp hacking websites that i know.
you'll have your CFW in no time.

To Excalipur:

nice guide.
zodiac should post this in the tutorial section on the main site.

[ProjectZero]

Great guide Excalipur! I'm sure it'll help even a complete n00b when it comes to hacking like me even edit a simple sprite!

Except it doesn't seem to be so simple. I'm not if this is the right section or not, if it isn't then please don't hesitate in telling me where to go.

I decided as a trial run to edit Aliste's sprite. I just edited the standard SouthWest facing one (second from left, top row if viewed in Paint.NET). When I imported it using the Sprite Editor, an error message came up about the palette. Sure enough, upon viewing the scene where Aliste kidnaps Reis via the Chronicle, he was completely f*cked. As well as the portrait.

I was wondering if this happened to you (not just the portrait part), and if you could give me any advice as to what happened ^^;

[Archael]

good job

[Ichipoo]

(lol i haven't been to these forums in a while)

Anyway great guide. Ive been waiting for a guide on putting custom sprites in the psp versiom =D

IMO it would be great if you uploaded a tutorial video on youtube =]

[CidIII]

Yes, this way is longer and unnecessary.

ProjectZero there is a Help section, and you can't use more  than 16 colors. Which means that since you only edited one direction you probably are using more than 16 colors and the colors aren't in the first 16 slots. If you would have read my guide you would have known this, mine works for the PSP version =P

[ProjectZero]

I thought it was something like that, but I just had to be sure.

Thanks Cid, and I'm sorry about posting in the wrong place. Won't happen again (I hope   )