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https://github.com/vn-tools/arc_unpacker

CLI tool for extracting images and sounds from visual novels.
https://github.com/vn-tools/arc_unpacker

Last synced: 2 months ago
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CLI tool for extracting images and sounds from visual novels.

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README 

        
arc\_unpacker - the visual novel extractor

==========================================



`arc_unpacker` is a command line tool for extracting images, sounds, music and

miscellaneous resources from visual novels (and some other Japanese games).



- [**List of supported

  games**](https://rawgit.com/vn-tools/arc_unpacker/master/GAMELIST.htm)

- [**Latest stable

  release**](https://github.com/vn-tools/arc_unpacker/releases)

- [Build instructions for Windows and

  GNU/Linux](https://github.com/vn-tools/arc_unpacker/blob/master/BUILD.md)



## Usage



Drag and drop the archive or file onto `arc_unpacker`. It will guess the format

and unpack it for you.



Caveats:



1. The file format might be detected by two or more decoders at once. In such

   cases you need to tell the program which one to use by supplying `--dec=...`

   option.



2. The file might need more parameters to be correctly unpacked. In such cases

   you need to supply them manually. For example, XP3 archives need `--plugin`

   that tells what kind of decryption to use. To tell it to use Fate/Stay Night

   decryption, supply `--dec=krkr/xp3 --plugin=fsn`.



To learn what parameter your game needs, you can either use `--help` to see all

available parameters, or refer to your game details in the [game

list](https://rawgit.com/vn-tools/arc_unpacker/master/GAMELIST.htm) that lists

all required parameters for every supported game.



To learn how to pass parameters to `arc_unpacker`, refer to [this

question](#user-content-how-do-i-pass-additional-options--parameters).



## Q&A



- ##### I drag the game files onto `arc_unpacker` and it immediately closes.



  Try running it from the command prompt to see the output and possible error

  message. Usually this behavior is a sign that the game requires additional

  parameters which are described in the [game

  list](https://rawgit.com/vn-tools/arc_unpacker/master/GAMELIST.htm), or it's

  not supported.



- ##### What is command prompt?

  On Windows, it's `cmd.exe`. On Linux, I think you already know the answer to

  this question.



- ##### How do I pass additional options / parameters?



    *(for Windows users)*



    1. Open up `cmd.exe` and navigate to the directory where you downloaded

       `arc_unpacker.exe` by typing a command that looks like this:



            cd "C:\downloads"



       Alternatively, navigate to the `arc_unpacker` directory in Explorer,

       hold Shift and click with right mouse button anywhere, and select "Open

       command window here".



    2. To run `arc_unpacker` with your game without extra parameters, type a

       command that looks like this:



            arc_unpacker "C:\games\your game\file you want to unpack.dat"



        or



            arc_unpacker "C:\games\your game\directory you want to unpack"



       Alternatively, type `arc_unpacker ` (without hitting Enter)

       and drop a file onto command prompt. It should enter the path like

       above, saving you the effort of typing it manually.



    3. To pass additional parameters such as `--dec` etc., run `arc_unpacker`

       like this:



            arc_unpacker "C:\games\Touhou 08\th08.dat" --dec=team-shanghai-alice/pbgz



       To get list of possible parameters, see `arc_unpacker --help`. If your

       game needs any extra parameters, they're also outlined inside [the game

       list](https://rawgit.com/vn-tools/arc_unpacker/master/GAMELIST.htm).



- ##### Why command line? Why no windows / GUI?



  It'd take a lot of effort to make GUI for `arc_unpacker`:



  - cross platform - I'd need to use Qt or Gtk, and this adds to the project

    complexity (consider how we support five different compilers).

  - design - it's difficult to make a GUI that caters to most of use cases

    (recursive unpacking, selecting decoder, passing game key etc.)

  - effort - implementing it easily scales to dozens, if not hundreds of man

    hours. I'd rather focus on supporting more games.



  That being said, it's not entirely impossible for this to happen in the

  future. Once C++17 comes out, I plan to ditch some of the non-conforming

  compilers, which should ease things up a bit.



- ##### What do I do with `.wavloop` files?



  These files are audio loops. You can play them like normal `.wav`,

  however, most of the players will ignore looping information that is

  contained in such files. If you're looking for players that do support looped

  `.wav`s, I recommend either

  [`vgmstream`](https://github.com/kode54/vgmstream/),

  [`foo_input_wave_loop`](http://www.slemanique.com/software/foo_input_wave_loop.html)

  or [`wavosaur`](http://www.wavosaur.com/). The extension `.wavloop` was

  chosen so that it stands out from normal `.wav`s and for compatibility with

  `foo_input_wave_loop`.



- ##### I get `std::bad_alloc`, what gives?



  One option is that an archive contains a very large file, which causes

  `arc_unpacker` to run out of RAM while it tries to decode that file. To

  circumvent this (short of buying more memory), you can try running

  `arc_unpacker` with `-t=1 --no-recurse` which should reduce its memory

  footprint. Since there only were a few such archives spotted, no special

  mechanism was developed to work around this issue, although this might change

  in the future. Other options include corrupt game files or a specific kind of

  bug in `arc_unpacker`'s decoders, but both are unlikely. If you are unable to

  unpack the files, do not hesitate to report the issue to the issue tracker.



- ##### How can I help with development?



  Thanks for asking this! There are a number of ways you can help:



  - By documenting games that are already supported but are not present on the

    games list.

  - By porting existing decoders from other projects. Example projects can be

    found in THANKS.md.

  - By reverse engineering games that are not yet supported, and coding new

    decoders for them.



  For details, check out

  [`CONTRIBUTING.md`](https://github.com/vn-tools/arc_unpacker/blob/master/CONTRIBUTING.md).



- ##### Packing / encoding support?



  Not going to happen. Compiling files for games, especially from fan

  translation standpoint, almost always needs rolling your own script compiler,

  modifying the game .exe, fixing weird quirks, etc. - many things that

  wouldn't make sense for `arc_unpacker` to support. At the same time, the user

  base that might find encoders useful would be extremely small, and writing

  encoders is often much more difficult than writing decoders, so it's not very

  practical.



## Contact



- Bug reporting: [GitHub issue

  tracker](https://github.com/vn-tools/arc_unpacker/issues)

- Game requests: [GitHub issue

  tracker](https://github.com/vn-tools/arc_unpacker/issues)