Converting Civilization3 unit animations

[zweihander]

It works ok, only shadow it's too big IMHO. But you can leave it for now. Details like this can be changed in the end when we will have nothing else to do.
Soldiers are still too small so reducing the size of other units is a must.

EDIT
It's strange. On your screens they look nearly the same size but on mine they are way too small although I set scale to 225.

I suggest you to use this BIF, which I haven't change to blue palette to green... I upload the green one by mistake, will reupload it.

Any way to add faction colour?

[zweihander]

Alright, a faction colour version is done! Not perfect though.

[Stazi]

Any way to add faction colour?

My method is probably not very professional but works for me. btw I use Photoshop CS6.

Start with creating two palettes - one for pinks only and one for greens only. Something like this:


1. Select the area you want to change into faction colors.

2. Make a new layer with the selected area

3. Duplicate the layer to the new file

4. Change the image mode (of the new file) to the indexed color. In the popup window choose Custom palette and find one of those two palettes you created. Photoshop will change and remap colors automatically.


5. If the result satisfies you copy the selected area again and paste it into the layer you created in 2nd step.

6. Repeat steps for all green/pink areas.

7. When done you will have to flatten the image and change to indexed color. Of course, you will need full palette containing all the colors to properly transform the image to the indexed mode.

[zweihander]

Thanks Stazi!
I found that colours in the last two line of the colour table will show as faction colour ingame, no mater they're Green/Pink or not:

My method to add faction colour is: open the frame 1.bmp with GIMP, open the colour table, drag the colours you want to show as faction colour to the last two line, save this bmp. Use this bmp as the tamplate, copy other frame on it and save.

[Stazi]

I like your method. It's certainly faster than mine. Good work!

[cegorach]

Very good.

I usually copied/pasted to opened .BMP files extracted from the game replacing old animations.



About the mounts - Stazi could you check if mounts added to those larger files cause problems with new factions? Some files tended to cause CTDs when used by added factions and I'd like to be sure.

If there are no problems some files used by horses/camels can be spared and at least to could be assigned to Landsknechte units which have to be available to new factions.


@zweihander

If mounts give us free graphic entries to use it is safe to give the Landsknechts two animation directories occupied by mounts Stazi will clear.

If you really need more tell us, but two is rather generous.


CiV3 animations give a number of interesting options. Personally I am interested in armoured handgunners in a Russian pack.

It will be useful for a number of units in E Europe esp. Russia and Georgia, perhaps even Persia.



If you don't know which pack it is from I'll try to locate it.


Overall if we can clear some directories they can be used. Perhaps even one for more than one type of animation. Seems to be easier with handgunner/musketeer units and we really need some diversity - something for the Balcans (Albania, Greece) and Turkey, something for Scotland and something more for muslim states. If we could use larger frames they all probably could fit into one or two directories.

[zweihander]

About the mounts - Stazi could you check if mounts added to those larger files cause problems with new factions? Some files tended to cause CTDs when used by added factions and I'd like to be sure.

Now, the problem was that game crashes occured as the newly defined faction left the campaign
map for the battle map--oddly this crash would only occur with certain units (e.g., peasants,
highland clansmen, kerns, etc.). I discovered that only those units which were culled from texture
folders associated with face-shields caused the crash. Units drawn from texture folders which are
Adding New Faction Guide for Viking Invasion
21
not associated with face-shields (e.g., archers--which use the texture folder "Pestunic")do not
cause a battle crash. Therefore newly defined factions, such as FN_FREE21 //WELSH, cannot
utilize units which are drawn from the following bif texture folders, as they are associated with
face-shields:
"Peasant"
"ChainHlm"
"HlPlArSH"
"LArmWCav"
"MKnight"
"MSHelm"
"PlateS"

-----Adding New Faction in VI guide, By starkhorn

As I know, only these 7 folder will cause CTD.

Currently, I simply place the new landskencht anim into LtOpHelm, which is the currently folder for Doppelsoldner unit, the other units in PMTW also using this folder are Gallowglass and Opolcheniye. I move Gallowglass and Opolcheniye to use the 'Peasant' anim. No idea you would like this idea or not...

Here is a unit I want to convert(and I have already converted it to FTG! which will reduce my work to convert it to MTW), the Estalian Swordsman, it would be useful for those Sword&Shield units in PMTW.

But unfortunately, converting the landsknecht cost me a whole day, as school days begin, I would not have time to convert Civ3 uits anymore, at least recently.

Actually, converting civ3 units is not very difficult but need time and great patience. If any one want to learn how to convert, I can tell you the key progress.(but only to those who already have some experience of dealing with unit animations BIF files of MTW, I have no time to write a complete tutorial for beginners, sorry)

[cegorach]

-----Adding New Faction in VI guide, By starkhorn

As I know, only these 7 folder will cause CTD.

I know, but with so many discoveries we might also meet new problems and I want to be true with the horses/camels before we clear those directions for our needs.

Currently, I simply place the new landskencht anim into LtOpHelm, which is the currently folder for Doppelsoldner unit, the other units in PMTW also using this folder are Gallowglass and Opolcheniye. I move Gallowglass and Opolcheniye to use the 'Peasant' anim. No idea you would like this idea or not...

Yes, it is fine. Opolcheniye will be altered somehow anyway, right now it appears way too often. Gallowglass might need new animations if we find time and space - could be useful for some Georgian and Circassian units, perhaps even for something in the Balcans and elsewhere.

Actually, converting civ3 units is not very difficult but need time and great patience. If any one want to learn how to convert, I can tell you the key progress.(but only to those who already have some experience of dealing with unit animations BIF files of MTW, I have no time to write a complete tutorial for beginners, sorry)

Oh, yes - the end of the New Year break. I've forgotten about it.

We have time for the animations. If the Dopplen. animations are done we can have them in 1.6. - the rest can wait so no hurry.


I'll stick the thread because it deserves to be close to the top.

[Stazi]

About the mounts - Stazi could you check if mounts added to those larger files cause problems with new factions? Some files tended to cause CTDs when used by added factions and I'd like to be sure.

If there are no problems some files used by horses/camels can be spared and at least to could be assigned to Landsknechte units which have to be available to new factions.

Ok. I'll check it.

If any one want to learn how to convert Civ3 units, I can tell you the key progress.(but only to those who already have some experience of dealing with unit animations BIF files of MTW, I have no time to write a complete tutorial for beginners, sorry)

Please, write it as detailed as you can. I hope I'll get the idea.

[Stazi]

About the mounts - Stazi could you check if mounts added to those larger files cause problems with new factions? Some files tended to cause CTDs when used by added factions and I'd like to be sure.

If there are no problems some files used by horses/camels can be spared and at least to could be assigned to Landsknechte units which have to be available to new factions.

For tests I chose Mousquetaires Du Roi because the unit uses "critical" MSHelm folder. For horses I chose the most popular LiHorse forder.

First, I gave them to ALL_FACTIONS and started a few custom battles. Unfortunately, this unit cause CTD with new factions like Khazan, Livonia, etc. The new 1024p textures, obviously, cause CTD too.

Second, I changed the texture in LiHorse and MSHelm folders (leaving Mousquetaires Du Roi to FN_FRENCH as intended). This time all worked smoothly. No crashes.

Both steps were tested with several different units and faction setups.

Conclusions:

1. Technically, 1024p textures works the same as 512p. CTDs are caused by "critical" folders and new factions, not textures.

2. Resizing mount textures to 1024p have to be followed by resizing all riders' folders (they have to be proportional because mounts don't have their own SCALE parameter). It involves changing/tuning all animations rectangles. Weapons and shields too. The whole procedure makes cavalry smaller so all infantry has to be scaled down accordingly or changed to 1024p too. Smaller models need also changes in UNIT_PROD (parameters like: RADIUS, FORMATION_WIDTH_SPACING, FORMATION_LENGTH_SPACING). Without it all units looks like in loose formation all the time. It looks the same like reducing a unit SCALE - leaves too much space between soldiers.

The whole process is quite easy but very time consuming. It can be done for 2.0 but probably not for 1.6.
All this testing thing gave me some new ideas. I let you know if I find something interesting.

[cegorach]

Ok, so we cannot use this approach unless ALL graphic files for units are changed as well? Is that right?

Have you encountered any problems with the palette e.g. some animations are impossible to import to the same, larger file with other animations? I think it could be a problem in some cases.


There are units in the game which are using Shogun TW and Middle Earth mod graphics - almost only for Tartar cavalry.

I wonder if LiHorse horses and those animations where the WHOLE horse & rider is placed can be thrown into the same file (similar colours should help) and used as a testing subjects.
I wonder if in the case of combined horse & rider supported by imported LiHorse graphics animations manipulating the scale will be easier and give us something which can be fielded side by side with the older graphics.

Original LiHorse would stay where it is right now, but this new file could include Tartars and horse animations from LiHorse (besides it is necessary for Tartar units with two steeds) - this way it could work better and won't require too many changes + could serve us well in the future saving space and in the end clear original LiHorse directory for something else.





BTW I realise how time consuming the process is, but perhaps in thise unique case results will be easier to implement without the need to change all animations in the game.

Also, does Middle Earth or Napoleonic TW have other mount animations? I mean white or black horses. If in the end we will find ourselves with so much space in graphic files and all cavalrymen animations will have to be changed anyway we could add some variety also in this department.

Just to be clear I have permission to use NTW animations, but not LOTR graphics except the single one PMTW uses already.

Anyway that is for the much, much later stage.


I am looking forward to the new ideas if there are any. New graphics can wait, but if we learn more about those files it will save us some trouble in the future.

If for example we get rid off the 'troublesome', CTD causing directories because we won't need them anymore that would be a nice bonus, even though the units which use them are meant to be rare and unlikely to be received by bribery.

[Stazi]

CTDs are caused by "critical" folders and new factions, not textures.

I've done some tests and it appears that the problem persists no matter what tricks I try. The problem is not directly connected with new factions. First, 20 factions declared in startpos work flawlessly. This includes Scots (19th) and Moldavian (20th) which are new factions. All the next factions (21-30) have about 90% of causing CTD. Sometimes they work, especially when one of those 20 factions used the problematic unit folder before. So, it looks like some hardcoded limit form MTW 1.0 that devs forget to change in later, more mod friendly versions.

IMHO factions 21-30 should be the smallest and poorest of all to minimize the chance of bribery and CTD.