Ancient TW: GRAPHICS discussion

[Leith]

Great news, dimitrios! I look forward to checking them out. Stazi, we might continue our LBM discussion later when my mod is closer to being released. Thank you for the valuable info though.

[macsen rufus]

Evening all,

Good to see you back, Leith.

@ DtS - thanks for that, will get to my email shortly

Stazi, I've tried out Pro Motion, and it is the dog's proverbials. However, it has so many functions, that just using it to make LBM icons is a bit like using a CNC laser cutter to trim my toenails I love the way it can remap the colour table with a single click. I don't think I need UP and PSP any more...

Also, Leith, remember that in original MTW even, the faction colours are reversed between the review panel icons and the battle icons - I don't know if this is a bug or a feature, but you can easily check it out with a unit like the desert archers - in the review panel their tunics are secondary colour, in battle icons they are primary colour. It seems the BIF and LBM faction colours were set up opposite ways round.

[dimitrios the samian]

...... is a bit like using a CNC laser cutter to trim my toenails I love the way it can remap the colour table with a single click. I don't think I need UP and PSP any more....

you must have soft nails mac !

Seriously .. I hope it can blend two different Bif Palettes into one when were making new 640x640's
... eg the Ptolemaic Hoplites & the Negro Nubian Infantry in one BifPlate .

[Stazi]

Seriously .. I hope it can blend two different Bif Palettes into one when were making new 640x640's
... eg the Ptolemaic Hoplites & the Negro Nubian Infantry in one BifPlate .

You can easily copy/paste color tables between images but you still can't exceed 256 colors. I usually combine such images in photoshop using standard RGB mode and then switch to indexed color mode using "Local (Selective)" palette. The problem arises if the image already has faction colors (green/pink) because you have to move them to the first 32 indexes manually.

[Leith]

That should explain it then, Mac! Thank you so much for providing the solution. I recoloured the LBM icons accordingly and they look as intended.

[macsen rufus]

The African hoplites look good

I haven't had them on the battlefield yet, but running the timer in BIF reader gives a good idea.

You seem to have cured them of the disfiguring skin diseases that afflicted my rough-n-ready version


As Stazi says, it's best to work with the images in RGB, though I go a slightly different route for indexing. I have saved a good, wide-ranging Photoshop palette with the faction colours in place and pretty much every colour likely to crop up, then I index via the Index>>Custom>>Load Palette route. All the colours will snap to the nearest available in the palette, you just have to be careful with that background green (#008000) and its near neighbours which are faction colour items (#007400 and #008400, iirc). I have a similar one for the 'LBM' palette where all the colours are identical to the BIF palette apart from the first and last (plus an identical palette in Pro Mo format, and that allows for the indexes to be remapped without moving them manually, if needed). It makes it easier for making icons.

(Actually, I suppose I could re-jig the 'LBM icon' palette so the faction colours are reversed, then any icons using them should come out looking the same on the review panel icons and the battle icons.... might try that someday.... would be easier than recolouring them individually)

I'll be sticking with PS for actual working - Pro Mo can probably do the job, but I'm a few years more experienced with PS and can get it to do what I want without alarming results in a reasonable time.

[macsen rufus]

Drumroll, please, as I introduce DtS's African hoplites.

I've got them up and running in campaign now, and they are great. I've made the two unit icons from a battle screenshot:



The unit to their left are thureophoroi.




This review panel gives an idea of the variety of spear/pike units available to the Ptolemies. In order, they are: Nubian spearmen, pezhetairoi, enomotia ekdromon, hypaspists, aethiopioi epilektoi, machimoi spearmen, pantodapoi and thureophoroi.