So, as y'all might have noticed, VT03 ROMs use a slightly non-standard format for their 4-bit-color sprites that none of the tile editors seem to be able to properly handle.
However, one nice thing about Tile Molester is that it's
very easily extendable by design: it's possible to add new formats simply by editing a human-readable XML file.
So here's the trick:
In the directory where tm.jar is stored, you'll find a file "tmspec.xml". Edit that file in your choice of text editor (Notepad works fine). Above the line "</tileformats>", add the following lines:
- Code: HTML
-
<compositetile id="CP04" formats="PL00,PL00,PL00,PL00">
<description>4bpp planar, composite (VT03)</description>
</compositetile>
Now, when you next launch TM, you'll find that in the View → Codec menu, there's a new option "4bpp planar, composite (VT03)". Choose it, and voilà. Legible sprites!