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--- extraction [2026/02/20 11:56] – created ultracomfy
+++ extraction [2026/05/11 12:40] (current) – ultracomfy
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+~~NOTOC~~
 <WRAP column 18% right>
 {{page>Templates:Video_Games}}
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 <WRAP centeralign>Video Games/Assets/\\
 <fs xx-large>Extraction</fs></WRAP>
-Video game file extraction is the process of ripping assets from a video game's game files. In 2026, video game assets are still stored on the local machine and streamed from the disk. This makes all game assets accessible from the local machines, allowing talented individuals to extract them into their individual parts.
-Some games store their assets plainly, ie. their textures, sounds and many other things are just literal picture and sound files. In this case, "extraction" is as simple as copying the folder's contents elsewhere. [[DEFCON (Video Game)]] is one such case.
+Welcome! This is my hub for video game asset extraction related information and guides. I will be going through everything one step at a time to explain how everything works.
+Please note that these tutorials presume a basic, general understanding of how to work with a computer. It demands that you are comfortable with the Windows file system, understand file paths and are capable of performing basic PC procedures like installing and running applications, able to use WinRAR (or whatever alternative you use), editing standard file formats like ''.txt'', download files or programs from Github and can perform basic operations in Command Prompt or Powershell. For example, I will not be teaching how to open the Command Prompt or how to navigate between folders with it. However, this tutorial does //not// expect you to be advanced enough to actually build Github projects, for example.
+===== Step 1: Basics =====
+Before you can work with video game files, you need to understand some basic game development concepts.\\
+I have compiled the most important ones here:
+  * [[Extraction Basics]]\\
+This page includes only the strictly necessary information related to extraction.
+===== Step 2: Identify Game Files =====
+The approach to extraction depends on what the game files look like.
+Games on Android, for example, come packaged as ''.apk'' files. That's all you need to know for now and you can already move to Step 3.\\
+On Windows, you will now need to dig into the game's folder and see what you can find.
+  - Unreal games, for example, tend to place their files into the ''\<gamename>\Content\Paks'' folder and contain ''.pak'' and ''.utoc'' files.
+  - Unity games often have their files in the ''\<gamename>\<gamename>_Data'' and contain ''.assets'' and ''.res'' files.
+  - In some cases, the game might store middleware files //outside// of the game engine's files. Rocket League for example stores many Wwise files in ''rocketleague\TAGame\CookedPCConsole''.
+==== Optional: Make Copy of Game Files ====
+Instead of messing with the game's original installation, it is always a good idea to instead just make a copy of the full game folder (ie. everything). All extraction tools work just fine, even if you select to extract assets from the copies rather than the live installation. The benefit of this is that you can mess with copied files as much as you want without accidentally breaking the installation you use to actually play the game. Some games may also not like seeing foreign files in their folders and may delete them without warning. By keeping a copy of the game files, you are protecting it from game changes in the future that remove assets, and it allows you to re-extract assets from the game easily at any time in the future without needing a live installation of the game.
+===== Step 3: Select Approach =====
+Depending on the file identification, follow the following links:
+  * [[Unreal Engine Extraction|Unreal Engine]]
+  * [[Unity Extraction|Unity]]
+  * [[Android Extraction|Android .APK]]
+  * [[WWise Extraction|Loose WWise Files (.bank, .wem, etc.)]]