*You can also just grab the latest version here:
http://fast.filespace.org/AspiringSquire/ASQREALC.zip
[See my "website" for previous releases, if you really care to do so.]
----------------Original Post Below----------------
(If you're too lazy to read about it, just know that my file is linked below.)
~~~~The Story~~~~
I don't know about you, but I have never been fully satisfied with any color palette that has been available for NES emulators to use (.pal format).
The best that I found was custom work done by BMF. Since he got the colors directly from snapshots of the television screen (with special tools/software), it was closer to the real thing than anyone else's palettes, which most likely used hand-picked colors without a real basis for them. Still, I was disappointed that none of BMF's palettes seemed completely accurate.
However, through extensive comparisons (in several of my favorite games), I determined that the 4.0 version of his palette was the best of all his revisions (near perfect, actually), but it was simply too dark. He also had a "brightness-corrected" edition of v4.0, but it was too pale, and some colors were less accurate.
After searching for a palette editor, I found Palette Compare, a simple Windows program by Gavin that displays every color in a .pal file, along with the corresponding Hexadecimal value. It can even show two palettes at once, for easy comparison.
Using this as an invaluable reference, I was able to reliably hex-edit "bmfpal40.pal" to increase the brightness of colors—to a lesser extent than BMF's variation. I also made sure to do it properly, without disrupting the original color values.
The "Choice" NES palette has arrived.
I have no formal file-hosting right now, so you'll have to get it from here:
http://rapidshare.de/files/1618637/ASQ_PAL.zip.html
I'd appreciate any and all feedback (though positive feedback is preferred
![Wink ;)](./images/smilies/icon_wink.gif)
EDIT: I corrected a glaring typo in the "Story", and I should probably re-upload the zip (for my own peace of mind) because of the same fix in the readme.
![Confused :?](./images/smilies/icon_confused.gif)
EDIT2: New download link for minor fix in readme.
EDIT 3: Added a note to mention revisions of my palette.