Sprite Problems

GiGaBiTe

<div class="IPBDescription">grrr...</div> ok im trying to make some custom sprites in sprite explorer 2.12, and i cant seem to be able to get it to work right. when i make the sprite it has a black box around it or its just entirely black. i tried the sprite in additive mode, alphatest mode, and normal (in sprite explorer not VHE) and it still either shows a black box around the sprite or the entire thing is black


edit: great now every mode makes it entirely black

Jean_Luc_Picard

erm.. I believe that'll be fixed when you run it in NS... not sure why, but it worked on mine! Worth a shot!

GiGaBiTe

lol it makes ns crash. and before that it was all different colors and corrupt

Reebdoog

One thing : <a href='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/index.php?showforum=34' target='_blank'>Mapping Help and Troubleshooting</a>
You should have posted in there. Apart from that, can't help soz.

Verthandi

Perhaps using Sprite Wizard would be better?

GiGaBiTe

sprite wizard only allows 256 color bitmaps, and sprite explorer weeds out the colors that arent used to make 256. so i choose a bad looking sprite or good looking sprite. i went with good <!--emo&:p--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html//emoticons/tounge.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='tounge.gif' /><!--endemo-->

Kaine

if you want i'll make the sprite for you. just send me the pic you want as a sprite and explain what you want.

GiGaBiTe

well im going to be making alot of sprites, i just need to know what prog to use (if the one i use is bad) and how to use it (alpha color)

Kaine

I use a combination of Photoshop, Sprite Wizard and Sprite Explorer. (Sprite explorer i only really use for viewing & decompiling at the moment, but i'm sure it has more uses, i only just got it.)

most of the work is done in photoshop. its not always easy getting palletes to match for sprite frames. i may post a quick tut covering it in the Customization Help & Troubleshooting forum soon. Keep an eye out there. You'll find sprite monkeys watch Customization forums a lot more than mapping forum, so try posting there.

Verthandi

<!--QuoteBegin-GiGaBiTe+Jul 20 2004, 02:51 PM--></div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>QUOTE</b> (GiGaBiTe @ Jul 20 2004, 02:51 PM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'><!--QuoteEBegin--> sprite wizard only allows 256 color bitmaps, and sprite explorer weeds out the colors that arent used to make 256. so i choose a bad looking sprite or good looking sprite. i went with good  <!--emo&:p--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html//emoticons/tounge.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='tounge.gif' /><!--endemo--> <!--QuoteEnd--></td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'><!--QuoteEEnd-->
I fail to see the difference. All HL sprites must use a 8-bit palette, but what does Sprite Explorer do differently?

Normally, I do all the editing that's required in the image editors. The resulting images are already palette-optimized, so they look the same regardless of which program I use to compile, so I opt for the more efficient Sprite Wizard.

<!--QuoteBegin-Kaine+Jul 20 2004, 05:17 PM--></div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td><b>QUOTE</b> (Kaine @ Jul 20 2004, 05:17 PM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'><!--QuoteEBegin-->...its not always easy getting palletes to match for sprite frames.<!--QuoteEnd--></td></tr></table><div class='postcolor'><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Copy and paste all the frames into one large canvas, then create the palette from that. The result will be compatble with each and every frame.

Coblet

Sprite explorer is for lazy people, use SprWiz and witness the control over the final output of your sprites increase.

If you want to make an alpha (or indexalpha) sprite, then it needs to be greyscale, and the last colour in the colour table needs to be the colour you want the sprite to be, easy as that.
As for any other compiling methods, I'll think you'll find that either a pure green, red, blue or black background works fine for transparency.