Help with resizing the images

[673f253c7ead4luigge]

alright, I downloaded the mod, and I will now do all again from "scratch".

first I just want to understand: I have noticed that some of the files are in the gif format, is that just because this format is smaller in size or in game they "gif" somehow? like for example those arrows on the ground that point to locations. or the gif is to do with the resolution being able to be scaled up to 4096x4096?

now for the second: when exporting as a gif, there's a setting about leaving a comment something like "this was made with gimp" that is not needed right?

for 3rd: when I open the files on gimp, it is opening in indexed mode by default, should I leave as is or change to rgb?

[esporting as gif on gimp.png expired]

[673f253c7ecdfvoodoo47]

- no need for the gif comment.
- yes, change everything to RGB and export as png. //forgot about textures that have transparent parts, so don't do this, just edit the SHTUP texture, and overwrite to save the changes.
- there is no sane reason for any SS2 texture to go beyond 1024, but yes, 4096x4096 should be supported.

[673f253c7ee0cluigge]

another question, is it possible to increase this image's resolution by using an mtl file aswell so the text inside would be better?

[help.gif expired]

[673f253c7eef6voodoo47]

iirc, you can't really do much with the hud elements - whatever can be done, has already been done by SHTUP.

[673f253c7f2c9ZylonBane]

- yes, change everything to RGB and export as png

Say goodbye to all your transparency if you do that.

[673f253c7f400voodoo47]

I think I didn't have a problem with this when I was doing the textures for the CZ translation. or did I just re-add it?

guess we'll see if he runs into that problem - if he is just editing SHTUP textures then I think he won't.


so to make it short - if you are working with SHTUP now, do whatever SHTUP does, very sure that's the best way.

[673f253c7f563ZylonBane]

GIF transparency absolutely will vanish if you convert to 24-bit color or even save as an indexed PNG, because Dark uses palette slot-based transparency, which paint programs have no awareness of, instead of GIF transparency. If you want transparency in a PNG you have to do it as an alpha channel, and in Paint Shop Pro this will introduce a black fringe around the borders because it throws out all pixels with 100% transparency when you save. That's why SHTUP uses TGA for transparent sign textures that don't have black  outlines.

SHTUP uses GIF instead of TGA or PNG for the floor arrows because all the transparent borders are straight or diagonal, so a full alpha channel would be overkill.

[673f253c7f6a0voodoo47]

guess I was lucky (back) then.

anyways, if he is using SHTUP now, then he won't have to deal with pcx, and as long as he just opens a SHTUP texture in gimp, makes the edit, and overwrites the file to save the changes, then he should be good, I believe.

also remember that CZ pirate that pirated the game, a bunch of mods, and the old CZ translation, but actually translated some textures to complete the bundle, and some were good enough so I've pirated them back for the actual CZ translation? fun times.

[673f253c7f799ZylonBane]

He's probably going to be screwed for any TGA textures where words have transparent borders. Maybe GIMP handles PNG transparency better than PSP so he could just use that instead of TGA.

[673f253c7f86fvoodoo47]

well, if he runs into trouble then he'll post here almost for sure.

[673f253c7f9edluigge]

as far as it goes, I am opening the images, and exporting as is with indexed mode and in regards to alpha channel, I believe most of them have an alpha channel since theres transparency in some layers when I merge them.

Sometimes I dont even merge them all I just export them and it have been working great so far. the only problem is finding where are the source ingame of some files that have text to be translated (so I can know if the edditing is correct) and knowing weather I should export as png or gif since a lot of files are exported as gif, so for example all menus like the skills, tech, psi, hack, logs etc I am exporting as gif since the others are like that. but when I don't know, I export as png.

[673f253c7faeaZylonBane]

Life will be much easier for you if you learn a little bit of DromEd, so you can look at all the game levels directly and create sign objects directly so you don't have to go looking for them.

[673f253c7fbe4luigge]

hello there, I have noticed that on these 2 images "equip.pcx" and "technic.pcx" the bottom upgrades are swapped modify and repair, I don't remember if in game they are changed or not. is the order really to be swapped like that?

[673f253c7fcb4ZylonBane]

WTF, equip.pcx isn't even used.

[673f253c7fe0fvoodoo47]

again, if you already are working with SHTUP, you can simply forget about vanilla pcx. no need to touch them anymore.

[673f253c7fefdZylonBane]

He's talking about UI panels that SHTUP doesn't even touch.

And apparently wondering if the vanilla game has things in the wrong place. Just WTF all around.

[673f253c80019voodoo47]

what I'm trying to get through here is that if he is creating a portugese translation of SHTUP, then he should work with SHTUP resources, and not ponder what can be found in the vanilla crfs.

sifting through vanilla textures and trying to translate them willy-nilly is a very bad idea.

[673f253c80105ZylonBane]

He's trying to create a Portuguese translation of the entire game, since there was never an official localization. That will require touching non-SHTUP bitmaps. Mostly UI ones.

[673f253c80231voodoo47]

then he better acquire some editor knowledge first, else this is going to be a painful journey.

or at least take a look at some other translation, to see what textures need to be translated and which can be left alone.