Sega CD, Sega Saturn, Sega Dreamcast Instruction Manual Scans

Yes, PAL stuff will be painful to ever scan because of the multiple languages. The bigger ones usually reach 100+ pages. The Saturn Sim City 2k PAL manual is a softcover booklet.

I'd be more interested in JPN stuff. Especially older, first-party ones - like the Mega CD. It's for a personal project mind you - they have 67x- labels on them, which I want to make a list of, and USA releases tended to omit those (I already have a full list of those serials for all Saturn stuff, and nearly all PAL Mega CD stuff).

And besides, look at this cover and tell me that it isn't the raddest game cover ever:

http://i50.tinypic.com/2j4rpd4.jpg

Since I've pretty much closed the door on manual scans, I'm coming back to a few systems to do pickups on back insert scans. I did a trial run this morning on Sega Saturn, and I estimate I can knock out about 10-20 of these a morning. I uploaded 3D Baseball through Baku Baku. These are in the same folders as the manual scans I've already finished:

http://www.ratigators.com/

I don't have time this morning to re-upload the zip files, so just know, if you currently download the zip files, you'll still just get the manual scans.

My goal is to have Sega Saturn back inserts wrapped up by the end of the month. I'll post in this thread when I do another batch of uploads, as I can't guarantee I'll be able to do a batch every day consistently.

The back inserts for Bases Loaded '96 through Darius Gaiden have been uploaded (42 games).

You might want to turn on descreen on your scanner to improve the image quality.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by zyrobs

You might want to turn on descreen on your scanner to improve the image quality.

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One would think descreen should be turned in, though, in my tests (yes, I did some quality tests to determine a process before doing 10k+ scans), descreen actually ruined the original image in the process. For example, over at The Cover Project, someone made this same suggestion and posted their "descreened" scan of a game I had scanned. Here's the comparison (mine is on top, theirs is in the middle and my "fixed" version at the bottom):

http://www.ratigators.com/downloads/...20(Sample).jpg

To get that "fixed" version, I just added a Photoshop Gaussian Blur at 1.0, and I got exactly what they got through "descreening."

So, from my tests, I determined "sharp" scans are the way to go because anyone can blur as much as they want to their liking, but if I had scanned in everything "descreened", there would be no way to "undo" the artificial blurring that the process results in.

The scan that really started this debate was my Street Fighter Collection for Sega Saturn scan. I even went as far as taking an actual photo to show that those artifacts are in the original cover, and a sharp scan like mine will show them in great detail, but again, everyone can blur as much as they want.

Here was the photo:

http://www.ratigators.com/downloads/...)%20(Full).jpg

And here is the crop at 100%:

http://www.ratigators.com/downloads/...20(Sample).jpg

Long story short (too late), descreening just added some post-processing that was irreversible that could easily be replicated with some blur if someone liked the effect.

Back inserts for Dark Legend through Dragon Heart: Fire and Steel have been uploaded (11 games). I had to skip Doom, as apparently, my back insert is glued in the case, and I can't remove it without damaging it. I'll keep an eye out for a cheap second copy/back insert only.

I suggested descreen because you are dealing with thousands of scans here, and it just seems faster to use it on a scanner level. You can approximate the effect in photoshop (and even surpass it quality wise), but for the best results you need very high DPI uncompressed images, not small res jpegs. I scan comics that have relatively low quality printing, and I use 1200dpi on them and multiple levels of noise reduction with different filters inbetween resizing, to counter the effects of the poor quality printing and the poor quality paper they use. The end result is in far excess of what you actually see on the paper, quality wise, but it is more akin to restoring than just simply scanning the pages.

However, it requires a lot of time and resources, again which is why I recommended descreen.

But if you did your own research regarding the matter, then I have no complaints about the quality. You are already doing a giant service to us with your work.
It would be nice if the site was better organized in some way, though - I archived most of it once, but I'm now unsure how much of your content I have saved and how much you added/replaced since (if you have something specific in mind but need time/help implementing it, I can help if you want).

Picked up copies of Casino Games and Rampage, so both of those have been scanned in and linked on the Sega Master System side of things.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by zyrobs

I suggested descreen because you are dealing with thousands of scans here, and it just seems faster to use it on a scanner level. You can approximate the effect in photoshop (and even surpass it quality wise), but for the best results you need very high DPI uncompressed images, not small res jpegs. I scan comics that have relatively low quality printing, and I use 1200dpi on them and multiple levels of noise reduction with different filters inbetween resizing, to counter the effects of the poor quality printing and the poor quality paper they use. The end result is in far excess of what you actually see on the paper, quality wise, but it is more akin to restoring than just simply scanning the pages.

However, it requires a lot of time and resources, again which is why I recommended descreen.

But if you did your own research regarding the matter, then I have no complaints about the quality. You are already doing a giant service to us with your work.
It would be nice if the site was better organized in some way, though - I archived most of it once, but I'm now unsure how much of your content I have saved and how much you added/replaced since (if you have something specific in mind but need time/help implementing it, I can help if you want).

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You and I are in total agreement on descreening. It produces, what I would say, better on screen results. Though, in my tests when printing from my own scans, non-descreened versions printed better, in my opinion, as they came out "cripser" and more true to the original. Which is why I let people make their own decision. If I chose to descreen everything, there wouldn't even be an option for someone to have access to the true originals.

As for the site's organization, I can't help it, I like to be purposefully vague (though, I think you'll agree, totally less vague than one of my other sites, mulmasterbeholdercorps.com) and let the scans speak for themselves (hence no names, aliases, credits, watermarks, banners or so much of my commentary :) Originally, I had only planned on doing Sega Saturn, and I do agree, since I expanded that into more systems, there is a decent amount of scrolling. I thought about breaking each into their own "system" columns, though, I myself like the "mobile" friendly view. On my laptop, it only takes me 10 Page Down key presses to get to the bottom, so I don't think that's too unmanagable for someone. Especially since the systems are ordered by age, and the games alphabetically.

The only items I've ever updated, were the Zillion games where I skipped a page, and Pandemonium (where I replaced my original manual that had writing) and Iron Aces (where I replaced my original that had some wrinkles). Still on the list to eventually replace is WWF Raw that had a rental sticker removed that caused damage. I also keep the original thread where I started this all updated (and where I always posted updates along the way before posting elsewhere letting people know they existed), and it's still linked in the original post, but here's a quick shortcut:

http://www.thecoverproject.net/forum...p?topic=6791.0

As far as how much of my content you saved or haven't, can't help you there :) I'm more about giving people access to things they might be missing so they can view online or download to print their own, not so much for helping people build a full downloaded collection of art, though, not that I'm opposed to that, the links are all there for you to do as you please. I'm just not sure how useful that is to pull down local copies of everything with no intent to print, since everything is already online for easy viewing. That is, unless you really want to read that 3 Ninjas Kick Back manual, and you don't want the run the chance that you might not have Internet access at the time :D

Back inserts for Duke Nukem 3D through Highway 2000 have been uploaded (26 games). My F1 Challenge apparently had a cutout UPC, though, I scanned it in anyways and added it on the "to be replaced" list. Scanning always somehow ends up costing me money :)

I was thinking something more among the lines of timestamps being visible next to the links (added on / last modified on), that alone would be enough to quickly check what I had and what I didn't. The mediafire links do list them, but it's simpler comparing 2 lists than all downloads one by one. There is a charm to simplicity and I prefer minimalistic designs myself, but only as long as it doesn't impede functionality. Of course we can probably disagree on what functionality is needed - the things I suggest would only help those who want your stuff archived, but that's not bad in itself, since your files are essentially only up as long as Mediafire keeps them up, and there have been cases of very high profile public filesharing sites getting killed in the recent past.

I know I just sort of dropped this Sega Saturn back insert project, though, had to go out of town for work, and since getting back, things have just been crazy busy (end of the year is always busy). My goal is to cross this off my list this year.

I uploaded The Horde through NBA Live '98 (42 games). My Last Bronx had a cutout UPC, though, I scanned it in anyways and I'll get that replaced sometime in the future. That leaves me with 111 more back inserts to scan.

Also, on the Sega Master System side, I posted Power Strike, and I have a copy of R.C. Grand Prix in the mail.

Just finished uploading back inserts for The Need For Speed through Sonic 3D Blast (54 games).

Just uploaded the back inserts for Sonic Jam through Virtua Cop (26 games). I had to skip True Pinball, because just like Doom, the back insert of my copy is stuck in the case, so I've added it to the list of eventual replacements.

Wrapped up my back insert scanning and uploaded Virtua Cop 2 through X-Men Children of the Atom (30 games). I also scanned in the jewel case cover and back insert for the Sega Rally and Virtual On Netlink editions. The front insert was just a single sided single piece for both.

Unless someone notices something I didn't, once I get replacements for Doom and True Pinball that I couldn't scan, and then inserts without UPCs cutout for F1 Challenge and Last Bronx, that should be it.

Also, if there's interest in me doing back insert scans for all of the Dreamcast titles, let me know.

On the Sega Master System front, R.C. Grand Prix arrived has been uploaded and linked.

I still need a copy of Alex Kidd in Shinobi World and James 'Buster' Douglas Knockout Boxing, as well as replacement manuals for Alf, Fantasy Zone, and Teddy Boy, and a replacement insert for Ghost House (without the UPC cutout). If anyone has extras of any of those and would be interested in donating or cutting me a deal, send me a PM.