modding the graphic interface

[mikemike]

this is embarrassing, because obviously so much detail has gone into making the game look good, but i'd like to darken the message bar, at least, so that it doesn't continually read as part of the map for me -- i'm sort of Visual, and i can't help but see the entire screen as one image. the reds of the message bar talk too much to the greens and reds of the maps.

i see that the files are png, but when i change them in photoshop they haven't the same file size and the game crashes before loading. possibly, this is because i can't save them as png 24? is there another app i should be using?

again, i apologize, and this is a particular thing for me and not a criticism of the game.

mike

[mikemike]

oh, yes... humm, examined the file in the the regular windows paint program and its editor worked fine with png-24... not subtle coloring, but it did save correctly. hope i din't confuse you'all with my arty talk, but if i didn't talk arty, i wouldn't be able to talk at all.

mike

[Jabberwock]

What version of Photoshop are you using?

[Rafiki]

again, i apologize, and this is a particular thing for me and not a criticism of the game.

No worries; constructive criticism is never a problem around here, nor should people hesitate to ask for help in making the game better for themselves, such as you are doing here

[mikemike]

What version of Photoshop are you using?

CS2 -- then, editing in image-styler and saving as png-24. for some reason it seemed to compress the file to a different size than the original, whereas the windows paint thing didn't. maybe i should open it in photoshop lite, or whatever it's called."png" must be very useful though as a file? probably for speed in loading? in HOI 2, i think all i had to do was mod jpegs or tiffs: i modded my HOI interface to look like a svelt 1930's radio console...

[Jabberwock]

I use Photoshop 6 for my graphics mod. The 'Save for the Web' command allows me to create png-24s.

[mikemike]

I use Photoshop 6 for my graphics mod. The 'Save for the Web' command allows me to create png-24s.

d'accordian, but what it does is save them in a different file-size than the app acw is expecting. it's a crc thing, i think, and photoshoppo compresses to its own order. for one thing, it asks you, no, to save the targa file into 8-bit form? so, if you can do this is six, let me know -- i've still got seven through nine and i'll work it with those.

[Jabberwock]

I avoid targas or tiffs. I convert jpegs to rgb psds, do my work in that format, and then save to png-24s. (I'm not a professional artist, and didn't take the courses that might've taught me the benefits of other formats) I've also used fireworks and have noticed the difference in file sizes, but it didn't seem to affect the game's ability to use the files.

CS2 introduced major changes to the interface, removing some filters I like, without IMO, adding much in the way of functionality. Or maybe I just never learned to use it correctly. Anyway, I'm stuck on 6.

[mikemike]

I avoid targas or tiffs. I convert jpegs to rgb psds, do my work in that format, and then save to png-24s. (I'm not a professional artist, and didn't take the courses that might've taught me the benefits of other formats) I've also used fireworks and have noticed the difference in file sizes, but it didn't seem to affect the game's ability to use the files.

CS2 introduced major changes to the interface, removing some filters I like, without IMO, adding much in the way of functionality. Or maybe I just never learned to use it correctly. Anyway, I'm stuck on 6.

so, yes, you're saying that you've used, say firework formats and used them in this game successfully?

yes, there were nice easy ways to do things back when we did easy things... humm, like never trying to do typography in photoshop for instance, or import a tiff into illustrator and export as an eps. what is hell like? i know what it's like.

modding the interface in these new games is quite easy though, with everything out in the open and unencrypted. i can think of several games which would still be around and very workable if they'd been modable -- "capitalism-plus", "railroad tycoon 2" ( the one with nicer graphics ) -- EU 2 was a very pretty game, and i liked playing it partly because of the different flavors of screen. EU 3 and the new EU Rome just suck -- so ugly in their DX 3D or whatever, and the new "supreme ruler 2020" is going 3D and ugly too. these guys ( ageod ) managed to make their game look nice, and still sell it to people who don't even care about that kind of thing.

Train Dispatcher has a nice interface and look ( a joke, since it's just a 2D train dispatch board, but that's exactly the concept, and they didn't turn it into The Sims to sell 2000 copies to bored kids and 3 copies to grownups... grownups like me who've been upgrading and sustaining it in all its iterations for the last 15 years or so. )

[Jabberwock]

The first few portraits I did were done in fireworks. When I found an old copy of PS6, I noticed the smaller file sizes, and resaved all the older ones using that to conserve video memory, but the game never seemed to have a problem with my pngs in either format.

[mikemike]

thanks, then, and i'll experiment with both fireworks and with photoshop settings.

mike