1.0.9 Graphics

Ok, I've seen this discussed in various places, but I'm confused as to what the final solution is. Is there a consensus, or perhaps a topic dealing with the issue?

I just patched to 1.0.9 for the Mac, now:
In at least one plug I made, the graphics are tinted red in the oufiters, some are tinted white in space (engine glow sprite), some have dissapeared completely.

What is the problem and how do I fix it?

I saw some mention of quicktime compression, but I don't think I ever used any.
I believe I simply cut and pasted PICTs from photoship into ResEdit.
In some cases cut and pasted from on resource to another (in ResEdit)

This post has been edited by Desprez : 11 March 2006 - 07:58 PM

This topic should have the answers you need.

gray_shirt_ninja, on Mar 12 2006, 12:02 AM, said:

This topic should have the answers you need.
View Post

Not really.
It seems to suggest that PICTs not working properly have layers or alpha channels.
None of my PICTs have any of those.

It's possible that the bit depths are wrong.
masks are supposed to be 1 bit
what are ship sprites supposed to be? 8 or 16?
what are outfit picts supposed to be? 8 or 16?

This post has been edited by Desprez : 11 March 2006 - 09:16 PM

Hm, somewhere in that topic I'm sure I posted something useful. Ah, there it is. How to fix an existing plug:

Guy, on Jan 9 2006, 10:10 PM, said:

You may need to do one or both of these things:

  1. Use ConText to export the PICT resources as individual files. In Graphic Converter choose Browse Folder and do a batch convert - "Convert to same folder and format". ResStore.
  2. Use BlitZen to convert to 16-bit. Do not use QuickTime compression.
    View Post

Never failed for me. Hope you have Graphic Converter.

Sprites should all be RLEs (which means the format of your source images are irrelevant) except for the main menu animation and the button sliding animations. These don't have masks so should just be single picts. All picts should be 16-bit.

This post has been edited by Guy : 11 March 2006 - 10:08 PM

Ok, I did some testing. Ready?

Masks did not work at 1 bit. They only worked for both 8 and 16 bit.
Outfit and color sprites worked for both 8 and 16 bit.

But, interestingly enough, in some cases I didn't even change the graphic.
I copied the resource PICT from ResEdit pasted into Photoshop (creating a new file in Photoshop with contents already in the clipboard defaults the new file to match the clipboard contents - size and bit depth) then I selected all and copied and pasted the image back into ResEdit - Without changing a single thing and then the image appeared correctly in the game.

Hmmm. Maybe I should mention that I'm not using the PICTS in the rel8 and relDs.
I just have the spins point to the PICT resource. (The bible says you can do this)
Does that make a difference?

This post has been edited by Desprez : 11 March 2006 - 10:48 PM

Yeah, I found the same thing with Graphic Converter - copy/paste in then copy/paste back again and it works!
I don't know what the required formats for pict-based sprites are. Yes, it is possible to make them and have them work in Nova 1.0.9 but the general rule is: Don't! Always EnRLE your sprites.

PICTs are cantakerous beasts. rlëds are much more workful.