And the targetondeath of the team_hive entity now works in 3.2, where it didn't in 3.1 and the 3.2 betas thanks to puzl and his minions (and to me for spotting it <img src="style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/tounge.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":p" border="0" alt="tounge.gif" />)
Just wondering, whats the photoshop method of doing this? I see that the text layers shouldn't be made transparent, but what do you do for the base, actual map layer?
<!--quoteo(post=1632530:date=Jun 8 2007, 04:58 PM:name=StixNStonz)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(StixNStonz @ Jun 8 2007, 04:58 PM) [snapback]1632530[/snapback]</div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec--> Just wondering, whats the photoshop method of doing this? I see that the text layers shouldn't be made transparent, but what do you do for the base, actual map layer? <!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->It's basically a hack. What I've done is created a layer above my base layer that is entirely made up of alternating pixels that go: background color - <transparency> - background color - <transparency> - background color - <transparency> - [etc]
So when you flatten that and turn it into a sprite the background color becomes transparent and you can see through it. You're basically poking lots of holes into your minimap.
I think the easiest way would be to create a 2x2 pixel document with a transparent background, slap the top left and bottom right pixels a color whatever the transparent color is (probably blue 255?), not experienced with sprites, anyway... go up to Edit->define pattern. Save the pattern. Close that image, open your minimap, make a new layer, click layer->new fill layer->pattern. Hit okay on the first screen, then find your new pattern on the next screen and okay. Voila!
(Note, the transparency of the pattern ought to show the image sort of behind it. The "blue" will become the transparency in the sprite.) Someone else can fill in the details... might be alpha channels in use or something.
(This is what I'd do in Photoshop CS anyway.)
That'll give you the pattern anyway.
Edit:
Anyway.
Anyway.
Anyway.
Anyway.
Cripes, I hope that word is out of my system now, anyway.
I had no idea what I was doing when I first started working on the minimaps, so I actually created my transparency layer by hand and just copied it for every subsequent minimap. I think once I had a decent sized area done I just went to town with copy/paste <img src="style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/tounge.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":p" border="0" alt="tounge.gif" />
Nice mini-tutorials guys. Gotta love the variation in methods too.
My map has a lot of vents-over-rooms, which i've already given a half-transparency (switching every pixel between red and blue, so you can tell they're over each other).
But it sounds like the added transparency of these extra minimaps might 'overwrite' some of these, leading to players either not being able to see certain vents, or the rooms underneath the vents.
Would it work with less transparency? like, instead of this:
[] O O [] where the O's are transparent, instead try:
[] O [] []
This second one would be half of the transparency, but it would ensure that any of these already half-transparent areas would at least keep some of their full original look. I'll probably try it out and post, in a few hours. Thoughts?
Hmm... I see what you mean. That idea might work. Another possibility would be to just make it solid red (as is the case for nexus) for the vents in the level over level areas and then use the normal transparency. I think folks should be able to still figure it out that it overlaps since you use contrasting colours without borders.
Yeah... i'll play around with both methods. It sounds like once you understand how to use the 'pattern' function, it would be pretty easy to try. I'll probably post both results here in a few hours, and we'll be able to contrast them both nicely.
Comments
3.1
ns_mapname.spr
ns_mapname_labelled.spr
3.2
ns_mapname.spr <!--coloro:#666666--><span style="color:#666666"><!--/coloro-->(normal)<!--colorc--></span><!--/colorc-->
ns_mapname_1.spr <!--coloro:#666666--><span style="color:#666666"><!--/coloro-->(normal, labelled)<!--colorc--></span><!--/colorc-->
ns_mapname_2.spr <!--coloro:#666666--><span style="color:#666666"><!--/coloro-->(transparant)<!--colorc--></span><!--/colorc-->
ns_mapname_3.spr <!--coloro:#666666--><span style="color:#666666"><!--/coloro-->(transparant, labelled)<!--colorc--></span><!--/colorc-->
And the targetondeath of the team_hive entity now works in 3.2, where it didn't in 3.1 and the 3.2 betas thanks to puzl and his minions (and to me for spotting it <img src="style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/tounge.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":p" border="0" alt="tounge.gif" />)
So when you flatten that and turn it into a sprite the background color becomes transparent and you can see through it. You're basically poking lots of holes into your minimap.
Would you use that Stamp tool or something?
go up to Edit->define pattern. Save the pattern. Close that image,
open your minimap, make a new layer, click layer->new fill layer->pattern.
Hit okay on the first screen, then find your new pattern on the next screen and okay. Voila!
(Note, the transparency of the pattern ought to show the image sort of behind it. The "blue" will become the transparency in the sprite.) Someone else can fill in the details... might be alpha channels in use or something.
(This is what I'd do in Photoshop CS anyway.)
That'll give you the pattern anyway.
Edit:
Anyway.
Anyway.
Anyway.
Anyway.
Cripes, I hope that word is out of my system now, anyway.
My map has a lot of vents-over-rooms, which i've already given a half-transparency (switching every pixel between red and blue, so you can tell they're over each other).
But it sounds like the added transparency of these extra minimaps might 'overwrite' some of these, leading to players either not being able to see certain vents, or the rooms underneath the vents.
Would it work with less transparency? like, instead of this:
[] O
O [] where the O's are transparent, instead try:
[] O
[] []
This second one would be half of the transparency, but it would ensure that any of these already half-transparent areas would at least keep some of their full original look. I'll probably try it out and post, in a few hours. Thoughts?