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Unit Graphics - Help appreciated

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hmmm..struggling here...

You have to use the ingame pallette ( ingame.PAL) to get the exact game colurs on the bmps.... done that and the image displays... but...

image.jpg


Each file has a referencing palette.. in this case T-DIVEBOMBER C-MIN L-1 as a 4x4 bmp (in the pallette folder) - which is the reference for the transparency colour (I assume).. but if you edit , or change, the original image file (T-DIVEBOMBER A-STAND C-MIN L-1.bmp) it places it ingame without the trans (as shown above).

Changing the palette reference bmp doesnt make any difference ... so.. what am i missing?
 
Well - finding appropriate models in the meantime:

models.gif

t26, t34, pz11, pantherg, shermanfirefly, fw190, mosquito, bf109e, bf109g, veltro italian tac bomber

actually, in terms of graphics, there are currently just GER, JAP, ENG and MIN... - any plans to increase this to cover say:

ENG, GER, ITA, FRA, USSR, JAP, USA.. ?

For now i'll just dig up german and british stuff.

modelarminf.gif


Fed - armoured Infantry - with a marder, then stug, then jagdpanzer.. that do ya?

(bear in mind these are only raw pg2 (player) images - they need to be resized and tweaked a bit to work in HOI and their size and definition go up a bit... i dont think i wll do much animation other than firing scenes for the mod though)
 
Originally posted by Darkmoor_Dragon
hmmm..struggling here...

You have to use the ingame pallette ( ingame.PAL) to get the exact game colurs on the bmps.... done that and the image displays... but...

Each file has a referencing palette.. in this case T-DIVEBOMBER C-MIN L-1 as a 4x4 bmp (in the pallette folder) - which is the reference for the transparency colour (I assume).. but if you edit , or change, the original image file (T-DIVEBOMBER A-STAND C-MIN L-1.bmp) it places it ingame without the trans (as shown above).

Changing the palette reference bmp doesnt make any difference ... so.. what am i missing?
Click to expand...
I had a similar problem when modifying graphics for a different game.

I think what's happening is that the file formats are slightly different, and it's hard to match them up so the game doesn't recognize certain colors as being transparent. Your best bet is to open up an already made sprite file (after copying it), modify that file with the new graphics, then save it (NOT save AS) to use the same format.

That's worked in my experience at least, when you don't know exactly which format to use. :)
 
its the colour table i think - just trying out the units.act now...hmmm

The images are matched - 8bpp, using the same palette and same colour table - yet they still dont work... must be doing something stupid... tiral and error time i guess.

Ah well - no joy.

Tried exporting the images using either the palette.act or units.act - neither worked. Nor does reworking original images (very oddly)... need to wait for expert adivce i reckon!

(fwiw i've got fireworks, psp and adobe photoshop - so any method suitable for any of those appreciated)

Off to the rels for crimbo until the new year now - have a good one everyone.
 
Last edited:
Originally posted by Darkmoor_Dragon
hmmm..struggling here...

You have to use the ingame pallette ( ingame.PAL) to get the exact game colurs on the bmps.... done that and the image displays... but...

Each file has a referencing palette.. in this case T-DIVEBOMBER C-MIN L-1 as a 4x4 bmp (in the pallette folder) - which is the reference for the transparency colour (I assume).. but if you edit , or change, the original image file (T-DIVEBOMBER A-STAND C-MIN L-1.bmp) it places it ingame without the trans (as shown above).

Changing the palette reference bmp doesnt make any difference ... so.. what am i missing?
Click to expand...

I'm not 100% sure I understood the exact steps you took but I think you overlooked the role of the referencing palette.

It's not the bmp as such but the color palette embeded in the bmp. You need to load the bmp in some program (I used Corel PhotoPaint) and open the color palette associated with the small bmp. Then you probably need to replace that color palette with the one asociated with your pic - make sure the first positions are the pinkish for transparency and the neon-blueish for shadow and save back the small bmp with the new color palette. I know the color palette in the, in your case T-DIVEBOMBER C-MIN L-1.bmp, overides the color palette in the T-DIVE... WALK ...whatever direction.bmp but that's all I tested until now.

(T=type A=action C=country D=direction) which leads me to suspect that (for now) there's only place for the major countries and a generic MIN country for all the others. But this can sure be expanded.
 
Originally posted by Darkmoor_Dragon
Well - finding appropriate models in the meantime:

models.gif

t26, t34, pz11, pantherg, shermanfirefly, fw190, mosquito, bf109e, bf109g, veltro italian tac bomber

actually, in terms of graphics, there are currently just GER, JAP, ENG and MIN... - any plans to increase this to cover say:

ENG, GER, ITA, FRA, USSR, JAP, USA.. ?

For now i'll just dig up german and british stuff.

modelarminf.gif


Fed - armoured Infantry - with a marder, then stug, then jagdpanzer.. that do ya?

(bear in mind these are only raw pg2 (player) images - they need to be resized and tweaked a bit to work in HOI and their size and definition go up a bit... i dont think i wll do much animation other than firing scenes for the mod though)
Click to expand...

Yes, those images would work nicely. . .

There must be a way. I am sure there is a step that we are over-looking. . .
 
grafix mod

A graphix mod, even with limited animation, would would be one of the biggest improvements this game needs. It would take the visual appeal of the game to a whole new level....

unfortunately my skills in graphix are very limited,
but for those of you who are capable, I know I speak for many in saying may the strength of a thousand panzers be with you....

take care,

Terp
 
Originally posted by inahurry
I'm not 100% sure I understood the exact steps you took but I think you overlooked the role of the referencing palette.

It's not the bmp as such but the color palette embeded in the bmp. You need to load the bmp in some program (I used Corel PhotoPaint) and open the color palette associated with the small bmp. Then you probably need to replace that color palette with the one asociated with your pic - make sure the first positions are the pinkish for transparency and the neon-blueish for shadow and save back the small bmp with the new color palette. I know the color palette in the, in your case T-DIVEBOMBER C-MIN L-1.bmp, overides the color palette in the T-DIVE... WALK ...whatever direction.bmp but that's all I tested until now.
Click to expand...

Yeah - i tried that... i'll go over it wwhen i get back in the new year - literally leaving in five minutes to go up north.
 
I haven to say I like them graphics, though dont forget they will need to increased in size slightly so thier big enough to see, and fit to the roughly same size as the unites presantly on HoI, which I hasve niticed that msot AI's get new army spirits etc etc, which is a shame, hope we can see these new graphics etc in the new patch soon :D then I can see my nice new shiny Tiger Tank rumbble over the Russian or who ever stand in my Tank Devisions way, and yes PG2 and 3 etc do that nice graphics to use to HoI, but if your going tous the graphics do ask SSI for persmision or who ever did it,m other wise thier might be trouble in the air if you know what I mean !:D ;)

So just check if you need to ask then in order to use the graphics.

But 800-900 diffrant unite types is corrrect :), bel;ive thier are about a few diffrant stuka skins or looks beacuse of thier diffrant roals like Tank Busting Stukas or the normal dive bombing ones.

Also diffrant tank modles etc :D god theirs so much lol...
 
dragon's stuka - continued

Well, maybe yo want to check this.

Files located at:

www.geocities.com/hoi_aw/gfx/stuka_8f.bmp
www.geocities.com/hoi_aw/gfx/stuka_8f_palette.bmp
www.geocities.com/hoi_aw/gfx/stuka_8f_sprite.txt


rename:

stuka_8f.bmp to T-DIVEBOMBER A-STAND C-MIN L-1.bmp
stuka_8f_palette.bmp to T-DIVEBOMBER C-MIN L-1.bmp
stuka_8f_sprite.txt to T-DIVEBOMBER A-STAND C-MIN L-1.spr (barely modified)

replace in their respective directories

(make safe copies of the originals, of course)


What you get is the 8 "frames" stuka rotating in place. Because I haven't resized anything the dimension of the frames doesn't match the required one so you get pieces of the stuka instead.

But the transparency and shadow (I added shadow for 3 frames) work fine.

The "trick" is to have the transparency color (the background for the stuka) in the color position #0 and color for shadow in color position #1 in the color table of the palette bmp (i.e. T-DIVEBOMBER C-MIN L-1.bmp).

In this case I changed the initial bkground color position but if someone can come with images where the bkground color is position #0 in image's color table the rest should be easy enough.

(just recalled it seems to be a macro-recorder in Corel Ph-P maybe can re-arange this in a more orderly and reproductible fashion)

( The units bmps in HoI are 8 bit paletted format(256 colors) with color position #0 - transparent and color position #1 - shadow. If the color position for the bkground of the pic you want transfered to HoI is position #0 in its own color table you get transparency when [palette].bmp takes control, otherwise you don't. You can access color tables with programs like PhotoPaint.)

Exhausted after trying to describe with words what's simpler when you actually do it.
 
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