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Post by Julius CMXCIX on Jun 29, 2010 8:52:14 GMT
Hello all. Am I perhaps the only one who hates, detests and abhors the system AoK uses for bitmaps in the introduction screen? I have no shame in admitting my Luddite tendencies when I say that I have no doubt that it is controlled by a malevolent and capricious demon. Every time I wrestle with this problem I eventually succeed through some arcane necromancy, but alas I can no longer correctly remember the solution by the next time I need it. That or no solution ever works twice in the labyrinth of illusion, deception and grainy, blacked out images that is the AoK palette.
Could therefore I suggest that a much-appreciated tool would be a simple guide on how to make a bitmap that doesn't look like I have spilt ink over it, photocopied it and described the garbled result over a crackly phone line to the third-rate artist that eventually produces it? Needless to say I think this would pretty helpful for everyone (or maybe just me).
You may say that there is already guidance on this issue. However what I am looking for is a guide that does not assume I can use abstruse software or have a damn clue how a jpeg works, and one which does not speak in such mysteries as "importing the palette". In short, I want a guide that is accessible for those of us who study an arts subject yet are not versed in the ways of the cryptic crossword. Lastly, do not tell me to start by loading an old image which already works. I don't have any. What I have is an AoK folder with 112 image files all of which are variations on a theme of distorted portal into a purple hell. Many of these rejoice in such names as Project_v12.bmp and Attempt 13c4j.png.
And if by any chance you do create such a guide, might I humbly suggest you use the title of this post?
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Jatayu
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Post by Jatayu on Jun 29, 2010 14:04:13 GMT
Okay, I think I have a reasonably noob proof guide.
First, in your aok folder search for a file called 00000409.256 or if you can't find that one, search a file called scenariobkg.bmp . You are almost certain to have one of these somewhere in your folder. If you can't find it, I can send it to you in an email.
This is your base file. Make a copy of it and rename it to mybitmap.bmp ( or whatever ). This is a 256 color bitmap in the Aok palette. Now you can do the following different things:
=>If you have photoshop: Open your mybitmap.bmp in photoshop, select all, delete , open whatever image file you are copying from, copy paste onto the mybitmap.bmp, and save.
=>If you have paint: Open your mybitmap.bmp in paint, select all, delete , open whatever image file you are copying from, copy paste onto the mybitmap.bmp, and save.
Photoshop is much better than paint for this purpose because the color transition is much better than paint.
=>Alternatively, if you already have a 256 color bitmap to start with, you can use Mod Workshop's palette converter to convert it into the Aok palette. Not to be boastful, but this is actually much better than paint's godawful palette converter ( Although to be fair they may have improved it in Windows 7, I haven't tried it )
Your bitmap is now good to go.
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Post by Basse on Jun 29, 2010 19:22:10 GMT
Yeah, opening the scneariobkg.bmp in Photshop, pasting the new picture over it and removing the parchment works pretty much all the time for me. Some colours get a little weird but generally not unbearably ugly.
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Post by Julius CMXCIX on Jun 29, 2010 19:37:17 GMT
Thanks both of you. Jatayu, I suggest you post your guide at AoKH. I think that although the process is relatively simple if you don't know it there are a few pitfalls. Generally my problems seem to revolve around accidentally using 'Save as' instead of 'Save' and there being no easy well to tell which file is using which palette. Those and complications such as image size causing me to have to go back, reopen the file and thus use 'Save as' which seems to cause the palette to break.
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Matt
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Post by Matt on Jun 30, 2010 19:50:48 GMT
Okay, I think I have a reasonably noob proof guide. First, in your aok folder search for a file called 00000409.256 or if you can't find that one, search a file called scenariobkg.bmp . You are almost certain to have one of these somewhere in your folder. If you can't find it, I can send it to you in an email. This is your base file. Make a copy of it and rename it to mybitmap.bmp ( or whatever ). This is a 256 color bitmap in the Aok palette. Now you can do the following different things: =>If you have photoshop: Open your mybitmap.bmp in photoshop, select all, delete , open whatever image file you are copying from, copy paste onto the mybitmap.bmp, and save. =>If you have paint: Open your mybitmap.bmp in paint, select all, delete , open whatever image file you are copying from, copy paste onto the mybitmap.bmp, and save. Photoshop is much better than paint for this purpose because the color transition is much better than paint. =>Alternatively, if you already have a 256 color bitmap to start with, you can use Mod Workshop's palette converter to convert it into the Aok palette. Not to be boastful, but this is actually much better than paint's godawful palette converter ( Although to be fair they may have improved it in Windows 7, I haven't tried it ) Your bitmap is now good to go. Did you ever consider adding 24 bit to 256 colour conversion in MWS? Please say yes. Anyway, I'd for sure appreciate for one.
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Jatayu
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Post by Jatayu on Jul 1, 2010 2:11:15 GMT
Okay, I think I have a reasonably noob proof guide. First, in your aok folder search for a file called 00000409.256 or if you can't find that one, search a file called scenariobkg.bmp . You are almost certain to have one of these somewhere in your folder. If you can't find it, I can send it to you in an email. This is your base file. Make a copy of it and rename it to mybitmap.bmp ( or whatever ). This is a 256 color bitmap in the Aok palette. Now you can do the following different things: =>If you have photoshop: Open your mybitmap.bmp in photoshop, select all, delete , open whatever image file you are copying from, copy paste onto the mybitmap.bmp, and save. =>If you have paint: Open your mybitmap.bmp in paint, select all, delete , open whatever image file you are copying from, copy paste onto the mybitmap.bmp, and save. Photoshop is much better than paint for this purpose because the color transition is much better than paint. =>Alternatively, if you already have a 256 color bitmap to start with, you can use Mod Workshop's palette converter to convert it into the Aok palette. Not to be boastful, but this is actually much better than paint's godawful palette converter ( Although to be fair they may have improved it in Windows 7, I haven't tried it ) Your bitmap is now good to go. Did you ever consider adding 24 bit to 256 colour conversion in MWS? Please say oui. Anyway, I'd for sure appreciate for one. I had thought about it at the time, but no one ever wrote a feedback asking for one, so I didn't bother. But I think I will add it now when I have time.
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Matt
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Post by Matt on Jul 1, 2010 6:30:19 GMT
Great. My current method is to use the converter on the blacksmith, which absolutely sucks. It's buggy, and it is about as bad as paint for quality of conversion. So yeah, it would really help.
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Jatayu
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Post by Jatayu on Jul 1, 2010 8:20:33 GMT
Great. My current method is to use the converter on the blacksmith, which absolutely sucks. It's buggy, and it is about as bad as paint for quality of conversion. So yeah, it would really help. Sure, I'll try to get it done this weekend.
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Jatayu
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Post by Jatayu on Jul 3, 2010 15:40:47 GMT
Okay, I've done the 24 bit color bitmaps. Expect an update on the MWS file at the blacksmith soon. Edit: Actually it's a standalone program. I found my old code too abstruse and bothersome . I think I will rewrite MWS as a better application.
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Matt
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Post by Matt on Jul 3, 2010 17:59:24 GMT
Okay, I've done the 24 bit color bitmaps. Expect an update on the MWS file at the blacksmith soon. Edit: Actually it's a standalone program. I found my old code too abstruse and bothersome . I think I will rewrite MWS as a better application. That's fantastic, I will watch with much anticipation.
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Matt
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Post by Matt on Jul 12, 2010 18:14:44 GMT
Whatever happened to this? The file was never updated to my knowledge...
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Matt
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Post by Matt on Jul 17, 2010 21:12:45 GMT
Still waiting for the update to appear...
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Jatayu
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Post by Jatayu on Jul 18, 2010 5:13:15 GMT
Still waiting for the update to appear... Yeah, sorry about that. 2 things.. I was incredibly busy all week, and then I was trying to integrate it into modworkshop, which was a fatal error, since I now totally do not understand that shitty buggy piece of code. I will release it as a standalone image editor soon.
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Watson
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Post by Watson on Jul 20, 2010 22:24:33 GMT
Hear, hear! The Duck picture I posted in my TTC entry gave me a headache at first. It looked like someone tried to randomize an effect of what would happen if you spilt a whole bottle of normal ink and and spilt another bottle of Red ink over it. Or so, until I just pasted it over the scenariobkg picture.
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Jatayu
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Post by Jatayu on Jul 25, 2010 15:27:17 GMT
By the way, don't think I have forgotten about this, I am committed to what I promised but it is so hard to find time for aok nowadays, and I also do some playing and reviewing. Anyway, I finally got some work done during this weekend, I'm sure to have it done this week. I said last time that I had done it, but what I really meant was that I had found out how to do it, but not got around to actually doing it. Sorry for misleading.
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Matt
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Post by Matt on Jul 26, 2010 3:31:57 GMT
By the way, don't think I have forgotten about this, I am committed to what I promised but it is so hard to find time for aok nowadays, and I also do some playing and reviewing. Anyway, I finally got some work done during this weekend, I'm sure to have it done this week. I said last time that I had done it, but what I really meant was that I had found out how to do it, but not got around to actually doing it. Sorry for misleading. No problem, glad I'll get it eventually.
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Jatayu
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Post by Jatayu on Mar 28, 2011 17:50:00 GMT
Hey Julius, can you confirm that the technique I posted works on windows 7? Because paint is screwing my palette no matter what I do.
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Post by Julius CMXCIX on Mar 29, 2011 3:05:48 GMT
Unfortunately I haven't been able to run AoK on Windows 7 so I'm afraid I can't check whether it works.
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Watson
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Post by Watson on Mar 29, 2011 9:24:07 GMT
I run Windows 7, and I have always used the scenariobkg.bmp method to convert a bitmap into 256 colours successfully, so, yes, it works on Windows 7 if that's what you mean.
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Post by Julius CMXCIX on Apr 22, 2013 20:16:31 GMT
I have Macromedia Fireworks 8. Any idea how I might use this program to convert the colours better than Paint can? The problem is that if I open up scenariobkg and then paste in something more complicated, it doesn't adjust the colours on what I've pasted in and so goes horribly wrong in AoK.
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Post by HockeySam18 on May 31, 2013 17:47:58 GMT
I actually still play AoK on a computer that is at least 10 years old (actually probably more like 12-13 ). So I am unaffected by the issues brought by Windows7 and Windows8, but I still find making the bitmaps to be a painstaking process, partially because I must use MS Paint. I'll be the first to admit that my bitmap-making is heavily influenced by Mark Stoker, and you will likely find our bitmaps quite similar (I draw seas and rivers with that light blue color and paste bmps of units, buildings, and objects onto the background, while using Papyrus script for names). All in all, it works well, but is certainly not my favorite thing to do. I wish that the companies producing new operating systems cared more about compatibility with older builds.
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