Faction Base Graphics Problem

[TeknoMerc]

i need some help on modifying a faction's base graphics. i copy a standard faction file and paste in one of the *common* custom base sets from the net (conical, pyramid). when i crank up SMACX, the base shows up with the pink or blue background, instead of transparent background. btw, i can replace leader and logo pix with no problem.

it doesn't matter if the new base bkgrd matches the file bkgrd or not (pink-on-pink, blue-on-blue, pink-on-blue or blue-on-pink).

has anyone solved this problem with SMACX?
what is it that controls the base background transparency?

thanks,
- TeknoMerc

[This message has been edited by TeknoMerc (edited March 17, 2000).]

[Bblue]

Hey TecnoMerc,
The problem you are experiencing is the result of mismatched color palettes. I would try to help you out but I am not sure what graphics program you are running and I only know how to do it in "Paint Shop Pro 6.0 evaluation" (30 day freebie dl) (btw..I really like this paint program)

Anyway.. it is basically a problem you just have to keep plugging away at until you find how the paint program you use is using the color palettes. Sorry probably not what you wanted to hear

However, I made a custom faction for SMACX using the conical bases that you can download at Headie's site at http://members.xoom.com/acchiron (you may have to type this link in as it is zoom site) It is the terraformers faction with full graphics and blurbs and the AI even plays this faction well (It may be a little strong, my latest version dropped the 'hurry' bonus, this made it closer to balanced)... well I am geting off the subject... Go download it and use my base graphics files.. they are FreeChina's Conical bases and they SHOULD be pallette-friendly.. just paste your faction leader's pic over mine. It will give you at least one custom base graphic set to work with.. (hmm.... wonder why Headie never posted the custom bases I made with SCURK? I thought they were at least.... useable :P)

Note: Once you dl the file MAKE A COPY!!! In some cases modifiing the wrong part of the file can change the index value for the 'transparency color' and this causes MUCHO GRIEF

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"Power does not corrupt; it merely attracts the corruptable"

[heardie]

quote: Originally posted by Bblue on 03-17-2000 03:21 PM (hmm.... wonder why Headie never posted the custom bases I made with SCURK? I thought they were at least.... useable :P)

Im lazy too much other art, and bust with th openciv projcet

[TeknoMerc]

Bblue,

actually i have the conical bases and others that freechina did. i suspect that the copy and paste within microsoft photo editor may be the culprit.

if i change the flag/unit colors, i use MS paintbrush and Ifranview to convert to a PCX file. again, they are probably suspect. i will try the same thing with PSP and see what happens.

thanks for the help!

TeknoMerc

[TeknoMerc]

okay guys,

i got PSP 6 eval. if i take known custom bases from freechina, like conical, select, copy and paste into my new faction file, i get the colored background problem. transparency is lost. however, if i copy the original base file and paste the fact leader and icon pics in, then i am okay.

so even PSP hoses this up. BBLUE (and others): what steps do you guys use to get yours to work? if you make a new set of base graphics with PSP, what do you set to get background transparancy? i would like to give it a try.

thanks,
TeknoMerc

[Bblue]

Hi TechnoMerc,

Now that you got PSP6 I can help you out on the more technical side. The problem you are experiencing only affects the transparency color and the opaque 'shadow' color. This problem arrises from the fact that the colors used for these are identical to other colors in the palette. What happens when you cut and paste or even 'paint' the program assigns the wrong index numbers. The easiest way (at least for me) that I have found to work with this is change the color values for the transparency and opaque colors to a new unique color, do your work, then change the values back to what they were originally.

Short walkthrough: For the transparency color.. look at the color pallette, the transparency color is index# 256, click on it and it will tell you three color values that make up that color. Write these down, then change the values until you get a color you like working with and that is also 'unique' (the three values for this color are NOT identical to any other color in the pallette, usually I choose some god-aweful pea-green ) Then close the pallette: now all the colors that were #256 (transparent) will now be pea-green, at this point you can paint and copy and paste with no problem. After you get everything the way you want it go pack to the pallette and change the color values for your pea-green transparency color back to what it was originally. This will change your pea-green back to what is was originally while keeping it as the correct index number. This will fix the screwy background color problems you are experiencing. All this just to get the right index # assigned to your transparency color (Firaxis should have made the transpenecy color unique to start with, would have made things MUCH easier.)

As far as the opaque 'shadow' color.. it is exactly the same thing but it's index number is.... 242(?) I think.

Hope this helps get you started down the right track, let me know how it goes and if you have any other problems, ask and I'll try to help you out.

Keep on SMACin'


PS. When cutting and pasting (especially when transfereing pre-made custom graphics) you may have to play around with the 'copy as transparent layer' ability, also the 'replacer brush' will be a handy tool when changing one color into another (works great for changing colors with the wrong index number into your 'unique' transparency color).
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"Power does not corrupt; it merely attracts the corruptable"


[This message has been edited by Bblue (edited March 31, 2000).]

[TeknoMerc]

Bblue,

thanks for the info. that will help when i wanna mod the base graphics. i noticed that some of the base files that mike johnson posted do not have the transparency color set properly (pyramid, spires and towers). i thought i messed it up, loading the original files into SMACX says they were hosed to begin with.

so your tutorial gave me an idea to try to fix them. theoretically, if i choose the trans color (#256), i should be able to floodfill the trans color and the shadow colors. hopefully that will work. ideas?

once i figure all this stuff out, i can release my version of some of the net factions and my own. i have a sizable collection -- how about Skynet with some scary-cool terminator leader pics or the SMACX pirates with blackbeard as the leader?
i am finishing the game balance tests now....

btw, i noticed that you live in raleigh. i am in apex - just west of cary. nice to see a SMACer in the neighborhood.

thanks again,
TeknoMerc

[Bblue]

Teknomerc,


LOL, I use the net and run into someone who lives just down the road who plays SMAC Go figure. I'm in Raleigh, real close to Knightdale

Yep, the FreeChina graphics are a little screwy, the 'transparency' color has the wrong index number within the squares where the 24 base graphics are. Took me a while to figure out what was going on when I first dled them. This was the exact problem I had in mind when I added the PS and mentioned the 'replacer brush', once you change the color of #256 you can see what is happening and you can 'replacer brush' paint over the areas with the wrong index number.

Hmmm... Haven't even bothered with trying the 'paint fill' ability it may turn out this is an easier way to do it, but a warning.. some of the base graphics have small areas in them that are the identical color as the 'factory setting' for the transparency color but not indexed as #256 so that they will show up in the game, if you 'paint-fill' something something like the conical bases which has the wrong index# for the transpency background.. the 'paint-fill' may bleed over into the icon itself, resulting with a base with holes in it when viewed in the game. Just make lots of saves till you see how things work and experiment a bunch

Also when transferring base graphics from a SMAC format to a SMACX format (which is required for the FreeChina graphics) It makes things easier if you change #256 to the same color in BOTH the file your cutting from and the file your pasteing too prior to using the 'copy as transparent' layer ability.

Am looking forward to see what you put together, Good luck

[mikejohnson1]

I posted the original copy of the freechina graphics when I posted them to my site. But I was able to figure out the transparency problem when i was designing my SMAC2 modpack. I'll probably post an updated version with the transparency fixed in a few days. I use PSP 5 instead of 6, but it works just as well.

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MJ's Web Empire
MJ's Home Page.
Reviews site
Discussion Forum for Civ, college talk and general discussion.
Civilization Empire SMAC, Civ2, CTP.

[mikejohnson1]

About converting from SMAC to SMACX. I noticed no real difficulties converting the formats. After I fixed the transparency problem, i simply cut and pasted the color coding bar into the bottom of a .PCX file, and the faction graphics worked for SMACX.

------------------
MJ's Web Empire
MJ's Home Page.
Reviews site
Discussion Forum for Civ, college talk and general discussion.
Civilization Empire SMAC, Civ2, CTP.

[TeknoMerc]

Bblue,

this still ain't working quite right.... sorry, if i seem dense, but i need more detailed steps as a PSP novice. as you mentioned, everything was transp. except the base icons.

here the deal: i have PSP 6.02, in the PSP program, Colors->Set Palette Transparency pulldown menu, third radio button in the dialog box. this allows a specific pallette index entry as the transp. color. first problem: only values 0-255 are valid; #256 is not. so i set up with 255 (turn on View Transp.) and paint a little of the "color". it doesn't show as transp. and SMACX sure don't like it either.

i also tried the color replacer as you suggested, but even the help file is not exactly clear. i choose the tool, select foreground, choose color to replace, choose FG again for color to replace with. paint and error. i know i am hosing this up somehow. it must be my unfamiliarity with PSP.

anyway, if you can provide any specific directions, i will try it. otherwise, i am frustrated enough to give up! heck, call me when you get home from work 363-1947 for a walkthru (if you want), i am working from home today.

once again, i appreciate the assists. i really wanna learn how to do this, and i feel i am close. answer soon, i will be watching....

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UPDATE: -=-=-=-> SUCCESS!

i went back over your setup steps, and found that the RGB settings for #255 transp. were the same as my #208. so i did a mod of the #208 RGB, and presto!!!

instead of the color replacer, i tried floodfilling and it works great! a heck of a lot simpler than color replacer for me. also, my background shadow index is #246 and i think it works, but i will verify. so, i fixed freechina's pyramid bases and will work on the "spires" and "towers" mike posted.

thanks again dudes,
TeknoMerc

[This message has been edited by TeknoMerc (edited March 31, 2000).]
[This message has been edited by TeknoMerc (edited March 31, 2000).]
[This message has been edited by TeknoMerc (edited March 31, 2000).]

[Bblue]

Congragulations TeknoMerc!!!

Glad you got it to work They key is getting the hang of the RGB #'s vs. the index #'s. Maybe I should have warned you in one of my earlier posts that I am notorious for 'brute-force' methods. I never messed with the 'set transparency functions' just changed the RGB #'s with the 'edit pallette' function. This is the way I first got it to work and I followed the addage.. "If it's not broke.. Don't fix it"

The Pallette numbers you give are the correct ones. I was recalling them from memory. As a matter of fact I just got PSP re-installed on my system yesterday (Had to do a hard-drive re-format a while back and just now getting PSP back up and running) Sorry about that.

Mike,

Correcting the FreeChina graphics on your site is a good idea, It will make them easier for begining custom faction makers and people without a .pcx capable graphics program to use them. Also a good point on the 'cut and paste' of the 'flags' to change a SMAC to a SMACX file. I never even thought about something that simple.. the 'brute-force' thing rears it head agian


[This message has been edited by Bblue (edited March 31, 2000).]

[TeknoMerc]

thanks Bblue and Mike for your help! yup, flood-filling is the way to go -- fast, simple, and no problems.

one tip i can pass along about faction flag and border colors: make sure the foreground and background colors are set the same or the flag color i really FUNKY colored. don't ask me why.... for the brightest border colors, i found that the second box down should be black (index #205 i believe).

after i finish some more playtesting, i will package and upload my creations and mods of other's factions. btw mike, i am VERY interested in your SNAX mod. i used shining's SMAC mod and adapted it for SMACX. unfortunately, SMACX has very few tech slots open. i emailed tim train last fall and he said they would fix that if they had an opportunity to revisit SMAC after SMACX (read: will they make more $$$). if you have to ditch some current techs, it makes the job harder....

anyway, thanks again, dudes! with all this SMAC modding going on, we'll be playing this game for a long time to come!

TeknoMerc