Getting started

Introduction

To begin colorizing a ROM you will need ColorizingDMD and SortingCDump.

• ColorizingDMD is the main editor used for colorizing, editing frames, and generating the final colorization file (.cRZ).
• SortingCDump is designed for organizing frames and grouping sections of the ROM together.

Each editor serves a distinct purpose: ColorizingDMD focuses on the creative aspect, while SortingCDump helps maintain structure and organization.

Next, you will need to dump frames by playing the game through VPinMAME. This is a common misconception among beginners: you cannot simply import all the frames at once and start colorizing. Instead, you must dump the frames manually by playing the game.

Installing the software

Important

ColorizingDMD and SortingCDump are only compatible with Windows and must be installed on this operating system. Also, ensure that they are installed in separate folders, as installing them in the same folder can cause conflicts.

ColorizingDMD

1. Head over to the ColorizingDMD release section and get the latest release by clicking on ColorizingDMD.zip
2. After installing, drag and drop the ZIP file onto your desktop.
3. Right-click the ZIP file and select Properties.
4. Click on the Unblock checkbox and then Apply. This step is crucial to prevent features from being blocked.

5. Extract the ZIP file.

You are now done installing ColorizingDMD

SortingCDump

1. Head over to the SortingCDump release section and get the latest release by clicking on SortingCDump.zip
2. After installing, drag and drop the ZIP file onto your desktop.
3. Right-click the ZIP file and select Properties.
4. Click on the Unblock checkbox and then Apply. This step is crucial to prevent features from being blocked.

5. Extract the ZIP file.

You are now done installing SortingCDump

Dumping frames

Don’t have Visual Pinball nor VPinMAME installed? Follow the steps outlined in the Baller Installer tutorial.

Assuming you are set with a complete Visual Pinball and VPinMAME installation, some additional configuration is required to generate the frame dumps. Here are the steps required to be able to do so:

1. Head over to your Visual Pinball folder and navigate to VPinMAME.

Visual Pinball
  ├─ VPinMAME
      ├── ...

2. Now add a folder named dmddump to your VPinMAME directory.

Visual Pinball
  ├─ VPinMAME
      ├── dmddump

3. Next, open up VPX and go to Preferences -> Video/Graphic Options.

4. Whilst in the settings menu, double check that you have Window ticked. After that click Save Changes.

5. Now open up a table of choice, whenever it has booted press F1 on your keyboard. The following window should pop up:

6. In this settings window, make sure the Show DMD/Display window box is ticked. After, click the OK button to save. The software will now start writing the DMD data to your dmddump folder.

You are now done configuring frame dumps. Restart the table and the dumping will initiate.

Importing frame dumps

With the frames successfully dumped, the next step is to import them into the editor. For this, we’ll use SortingCDump.

1. Open up SortingCDump.exe. You should now see these buttons:

2. Since this will be the first import, use the second button in the Open/New tab. See icon below.

The P button to the left in the Open/New tab will let you open a saved project of choice.

The TXT+ button to the right in the Add tab will let you add dumps into an already existing project/dump.

3. Having clicked on the button, navigate to your VPinMAME folder and then go to dmddump.
4. Whilst in the dmddump folder, double click on a .txt file of choice. A new window will open:

5. The options in this window are mostly self-explanatory. The top option is commonly used for Bally/Williams games to filter out "transition" frames, which typically last between 10-25ms. However, there's a risk that a non-transition frame might be mistakenly removed. For the initial dump, simply click the OK button.

You have now successfully imported your first frame dump. Don't forget to click the save button and assign your project to a folder of choice!