You can get the latest blender from here(free): https://www.blender.org/
Download and open my blend file: http://www.mediafire.com/download/4v...tw_unit2.blend
Rendering: Choose a folder for the images(red outline in the attached picture) then click "Run Script"(the green outline) to render all 336 frames(7 actions X 4 angles X 12 frames), it will take half an hour but you can see each of them being created in your specified folder.
The frames are in png(it makes them anti-aliased), the script crops them enough so they can fit into the 512x512 plates. Don't crop them any further because their origins won't match in the bif animation. They use a naming system that start with the number of the plate they belong to, then the rotation(1,2,3 or 4) and last is the action, this way all 28 frames for the 1st plate start with 0 and are on top, so you can select them easier.
SpriteSheets: I found 3 programs that make spritesheets: TexturePacker(limited trial version), Sprite Sheet Maker(simple GUI, you can't preview the images), darkFunction Editor(couldn't figure how to set the sheet size lower than 1024X1024).
I managed to create them the way i wanted with TexturePacker(trial). Get it from here: https://www.codeandweb.com/texturepacker
Drag and drop the first 28 frames and all weapons&shields in TexturePacker, turn off the options that need the Pro version(Trim, Algorithm, Png Optimization) because it will put a watermark on your sheet and you don't need them anyway. Then press "Publish Sprite Sheet" to save the bif frame, it will still be in png(more on that later). Rename it and do it 11 more times for the rest of the plates(if someone can think of a script to do it automatic, please let me know!).
Convert to Palette: You need Photoshop or similar image editing software for converting the png plates.
A correct 256 color palette, like this one from the ChainHlm textures: https://www.mediafire.com/?8g6ggd88t76n67b
Open one of the plates in Photoshop, create an action(Window/Actions) and start recording.
If you didn't before you can add the weapons&shields now too. Just need them in a png with the same size(512x512) in the correct position in the bottom and with transparent background. Drag it on top of the unit's spritesheet, then Layers->Merge Layers, if needed use the bucket to fill around them with R:0,G:255,B:255.
Now go to Image/Mode/Indexed Color, then choose Palette->Custom and Load ChHlm.ACT(from the above download), in Options->Matte choose Custom again and give it R:0,G:255,B:255(teal, so it won't blend in with the player colors). Set Dither(beneath Matte) to None. Press ok and keep recording, go to File/Save As and save it as BMP.
Now to run the recorded action go to File/Automate/Batch, choose the folder with the png plates, press OK and it will convert all of them.
Use Readbif(run as administrator) to create the new bif.
Photoshop have it's own bmp format and might give you an error, use XnConvert(it's free and can edit whole folders of images) or similar to open&save(convert) the bmps to bmp again https://www.xnview.com/en/xnconvert/
Modeling: My model is free to use but you'd need some knowledge in blender to start editing it. Changing the clothes and colors wouldn't be hard but making new animations(like archer's shooting) or changing the setup/size of the render might be too advanced.
If you have any questions, post in the comments and i'll answer them!
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