Copying from your Dreamcast version
- Use either the CollectionTool or ArcTool methods to extract your Steam game. (We want the intermediate 21D3D8A7 that Paxtez's Mod Manager does not create. You only need to use CollectionTool or ArcTool for this one-time copy operation: after you're done copying and repacking, you can then use Mod Manager if you prefer.)
- Unpack your CDI (if you don't already have it unpacked)
- Launch PalMod
- Point PalMod to those Dreamcast files using the File : Load Directory : MvC2 : DC option.
- Use the File : "Copy colors to Steam" option and point it to your "mvsc2.21D3D8A7" file.
Open the game in PalMod
Now open up PalMod.
If you used the CollectionTool or ARCTool extraction steps from this guide: go to File : Load ROM : Steam : Marvel vs Capcom : MvC2 and point PalMod to the "mvsc2.21D3D8A7" file we extracted. This should now be at:
That is for Marvel vs Capcom 2. PalMod can work with the other games in the collection if you use CollectionTool.bat in the ArcTool-02.zip to extract them from the ARC files into their AFS archive forms (file extension .21D3D8A7). Those files will be:
| Game Name | Extracted English file |
|---|---|
| MSH | MVC\game_11\bin\mshh.21D3D8A7 |
| XMvSF | MVC\game_21\bin\xmvsfu.21D3D8A7 |
| MSHvSF | MVC\game_31\bin\mshvsfu.21D3D8A7 |
| X:COTA | MVC\game_01\bin\xmcotau.21D3D8A7 |
| MvC | MVC\game_41\bin\mvscu.21D3D8A7 |
| MvC2 | MVC\game_50\bin\mvsc2.21D3D8A7 |
| Punisher | MVC\game_61\bin\punisheru.21D3D8A7 |
If you used Paxtez's MvC Collection Mod Manager instead, that does not create the AFS ".21D3D8A7" file. That tool fully extracts everything (ARC -> AFS -> files). Thus you will need to use PalMod's File : Load Directory : MvC2 : Steam option to load those fully extracted files. PalMod 1.79.2213 or newer also supports fully extracted (de-AFS'd) non-MvC2 games: use PalMod's File : Load ROM by game : Steam : Marvel vs Capcom option for that game and point PalMod to the "F000.bin" file in that game's folder.
We now have the data loaded in PalMod. Let's get started!
Customizing colors
You will see in the lower part of PalMod that under the character name there is a drop-down menu with different options. The first 6 options (LP, LK, HP, HK, A1, A2) are for each button for when you choose your character. PalMod will try to handle any linked palettes (like Cyclops LP and his linked second palette, his s.HK) for you automatically so long as you leave Process Supplement Palettes checked in the Settings : Advanced Settings options. Not handling those will cause the edited color you use to revert back to the original palette during some actions (ex: If you edit a mainly blue character and make him red, you might see some blue effects when that characters does certain moves). The "Status Effects" palettes in that option list are for when your character gets affected by various attacks that set them on fire or that kind of thing. There's no real reason to change those. The "Extras" palettes in that option list are more important: the Extras section are where anything beyond the first 8 palettes per character are stored. So Cammy's counterflash palettes, Doom's intro / butler palettes, etc- those are under Extras if you want to modify them.
Now just click on a color in the palette window and begin editing the colors. You can input RGB values if you know exactly what color you want. Or you can start editing the HSL (Hue, Saturation, Luminance) until you get the colors you want. Note that the NAOMI and the Dreamcast have a limited color palette, so PalMod will have to round colors if you try to inject something that the game doesn't support. We're used to ARGB8888 (32bit color) these days, but MvC2 uses ARGB4444 (16bit color) and thus colors are somewhat limited.
If you want to turn on alpha (transparency) and create ghost-like characters, you can turn that in PalMod's settings as a special option. It looks cool but can be hard to play on competitively.
For ideas/inspiration: There's a #palmodding channel in the MvC2 Discord if you're on that. There's a discussion of people's color choices and some examples in this thread at SuperCombo. And there's a bunch of previous excellent color edits in the PalMod Gallery. Sharing color edits can be as simple as a text string - such as
If you want to share your palmod with others, go to the Preview window, select File : Export Image, then File : Save to save your palmod out as an indexed PNG. If you give that PNG to somebody else, they can drag and drop that onto PalMod to use your colors.
Finishing up
OK, now that we've got characters handled, we can either Customize the Music or we can finish up by repacking the game so Steam gets your changes.