Total Conversions?

[Nirgal]

Is it possible to make TC's of Alpha Centauri?

If so, are there any being made currently, how would one go about making one, is there any special software needed to do so?

Can anyone give me any info about this?

[croxis]

As with CivII, SMAC has easly editable files...graphics in pix format and text in txt format. Ifa any are being done now, I don't know. One problem has arisen, however. No one knows how to edit the unit 2D or 3D and the terrain graphics files. This pevents the making of MODifacation packs.
Special software? Notepad and MS Paint! However, I suggest you use Adobe Photoshop or Paint Shop Pro.

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"A human imprisons one of us? Intolerable!"
-Ulkesh

[Velociryx]

I'm glad you said that Croxis....I was wondering who I might be able to ask this question of...

I'm in the process of designing some new factions. I've got them fleshed out (thanks to the ever-handy ACEditor), and I've found some faces that will do the job for my faction leaders. I downloaded an eval. copy of paintshop pro, figuring I'd just do a little cut and paste magic and that would be the end of it....so I fiddled with re-sizing my images until they overlapped the default "face" images, figuring that would be all I needed to do....backed up the original file, copied my modified one into the AC directory and got....garbage. My faction's "face" came up as a half cut-off base, and my base images on the map were really hosed.... So....what did I do wrong?
-=Vel=-

[Kinjiru]

This is a commiseration post more than an answer post but I must say that SMAC uses a horribly odd palette which you have to match, or at least get close to,or else you get... crap.

I have tried a few times to put in some custom graphics and they have never turned out well. The full version of PaintShop can help but someone elsewhere said the only way they could get good resutls was with Photoshop and some plug-ins...

[croxis]

Thad is odd, because I have never tryed to edit the files is SMAC. I'm not sure on this, but I think SMAC uses 8-bit colors, and on a specific palet. I have really no clue, though. Maybe try using MSpaint. It is lousy, but I have seen simpiler programs do better then the big flashy ones.

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"A human imprisons one of us? Intolerable!"
-Ulkesh

[heardie]

I have also tried to make conversions. I found usinng psp5 if you load up the pallete.pcx file and go save as pallete an file you edit if you load pallete and load it, then it will change it to the ccorrect colors. My first couple of factions had shocking graphics but as I went along they got better as I became more at east with editing.

Currently for an Earth Mod I used the pallette for the terrain file and it didnnt work so I just used the color picker and painstakinly made the terrain file. I am about 1/3 of the way through the terrain file and it is going good.

P.S. My site is under heavy construction. the two factions there at the momment have horrible grahics. This is not an indication of my better rwork.

[Grigger]

I once tried to do a little cut and paste job, merely bringing zak's bases into the default faction .pcx from ACEdit. I also made every faction symbol necessary. I left the faces untouched stating the size. The faces did what they should, as did every icon but the bases appeared weird. They appeared as they should, but instead of having the terrain as a background, i got a weird blue square around the base. I don't know what happened, but i can't see why it would only half work. I should either work or not work, right?