Transparent Minimaps Available !

Pollux568Pollux568 Join Date: 2004-01-07 Member: 25122Members
edited March 2005 in NS Customization
<div class="IPBDescription">by the original makers :p</div> EDIT : <span style='color:red'><b>New version : 2.01
Opaque Minimaps available</b></span>
Changes in v 2.1:
-bug in metal fixed
-names a little brighter
-ventils in eon colorized
-minor changes...


Hello !

Transparent Minimaps are available.

I know, someone (K9 Cop) made them before me :
<a href='http://tc.paing.com/ourfiles/minimaps.zip' target='_blank'>http://tc.paing.com/ourfiles/minimaps.zip</a> for normal minimap with names
But they pleased not much to me, and apparently for other players.

So I've made other minimaps, like those which I did for the beta 4 at first <!--emo&:p--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/tounge.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='tounge.gif' /><!--endemo-->
And they aren't made with Paint... <!--emo&:p--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/tounge.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='tounge.gif' /><!--endemo-->

The file in order to download the transparent is here :
<a href='http://teamsdz.free.fr/minimaps/minimaps_trans_2.1.rar' target='_blank'>http://teamsdz.free.fr/minimaps/minimaps_trans_2.1.rar</a>
The file in order to download the opaque is here :
<a href='http://teamsdz.free.fr/minimaps/minimaps_opaq_2.1.rar' target='_blank'>http://teamsdz.free.fr/minimaps/minimaps_opaq_2.1.rar</a>


Screenshots :
<img src='http://teamsdz.free.fr/minimaps/ns_mineshaft0001.jpg' border='0' alt='user posted image' />
<img src='http://teamsdz.free.fr/minimaps/ns_tanith0000.jpg' border='0' alt='user posted image' />

As you can see, the name of the hives and the marine start are bigger, and have another fonts.
The name of the zone are too more viewable (in bright blue)

<b>How to install them ? </b>
Download them <a href='http://teamsdz.free.fr/minimaps/minimaps_trans_2.1.rar' target='_blank'>here</a>. Name : minimaps_trans_2.1.rar
Then, unzip all in your folder : steam/your_mail@thing.com/Half-Life/ns/sprites/minimaps.

If you have suggests, bugs, ideas, you can answer inthis topic or <a href='mailto:pollux568@siteduzero.com'>mail me</a>

And you can freely give these sprites <!--emo&:)--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/smile-fix.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='smile-fix.gif' /><!--endemo-->

Enjoy !

Comments

  • ViolenceViolence Join Date: 2004-10-10 Member: 32199Members
    edited March 2005
  • K9_CopK9_Cop Join Date: 2002-12-15 Member: 10857Members
    Hey, finally! Lol. I've been waiting for you to do the transparent ones. I made mine because people were requesting them and no one else had any available.

    I've changed the link in mine so that the transparent links this post.

    If you're like me and prefer non-transparent then check out this link: <a href='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=89597' target='_blank'>http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/index....showtopic=89597</a>.
  • l0tusl0tus Join Date: 2004-09-07 Member: 31492Members
    i don't like that giant font you used to label the hives and marine spawn points. other than that, not bad...
  • mirrodinmirrodin Join Date: 2004-06-29 Member: 29621Members
    Same issue as Lotus, would all-in-all a very good job.
  • Black_ViperBlack_Viper Join Date: 2003-12-08 Member: 24157Members
    OMG!1!!!!!!!1!! 1 <3 U
  • ObstObst Join Date: 2003-03-12 Member: 14436Members, Constellation
    Nice, I'm using them.
  • TykjenTykjen Join Date: 2003-01-21 Member: 12552Members, Reinforced - Shadow
    sweet, using

    BR font ftw, nice and bright
  • MattzoballMattzoball Join Date: 2003-10-27 Member: 22051Members
    Those are beautiful thank you!!
  • cvieorcvieor Join Date: 2003-01-11 Member: 12177Members
    edited March 2005
    I love the work! I'm using them, my only quirk is that the dark blue can be a little hard to read. Maybe I'm slightly colorblind, but the different shades of blue do that to me.

    edit: had to stop using them, it was too hard to read the letters. if they were a lighter color like the big letters, it would be easier to read.
  • XtofXtof Join Date: 2003-04-15 Member: 15514Members
    edited March 2005
    Hi Pollux,

    Congratulations on your beautiful work mate !!

    It's a good thing that you made the font of the hive-locations and marine start bigger. However, you can perhaps change the font (but not the size) of the hive locations and marine start, as I don't like it that much (but hey, I can live with it). I also have to admit that I would prefer that the locations - besides marine start and the hives - were in another colour, prefarably white (you can see examples of older versions <a href='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=85940' target='_blank'>here</a> and <a href='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=60560' target='_blank'>here</a>) and perhaps take a font that is less bold).
    -> On the other hand you can make the font of marine start <span style='color:blue'>blue</span> (and outlined with white) and the hive locations (preferably) <span style='color:red'>red</span> or <span style='color:green'>green</span> (outlined with white).
    -> Or as an alternative you can use a white font everywhere, but outline the bigger fonts of the rine start with <span style='color:blue'>bleu</span> and the bigger fonts of the hives with <span style='color:red'>red</span>.
    So far for my feedback.

    But anyway, congrats on the good work as I said.

    I was wondering what programs you used. I know how to extract them as bitmap files with spriteviewer and I know how you should recompile them afterwards with spritewizard. But what I don't know is how to alter them properly between them.

    MS paint is not an appropriate program to use and I don't know how to use Adobe Photoshop 7.0 properly (which I have). What program do you use?

    As I mentioned, I don't know how to properly handle the process between spriteviewer and spritewizard. Here are the problems I encountered:
    - With spriteviewer you get five .bmp-files; <span style='color:red'>4</span> of them of which each represent 1/4 of the minimap you get in game and the <span style='color:red'>5th</span> which is the minimap you can see in commander mode (1) when you use your minimap just like a rine you get a minimap without location names (2) and that also is displayed in the left bottom of the hud.

    - So how do I add these 4 together properly to add text (I the assuming you use Photoshop)? And once the text is added how do you save them again as four seperate bmp.-files in order to recompile them with spritewizard?

    - I have tried to add some text - just to test - in Adobe Photoshop, but it doesn't work out the way I wanted. First of all the colours don't change and second of all I cannot figure out how to change the borders/outline of the font in order to put them into another colour.

    - In the assumption you use Adobe Photoshop, how do you make the minimaps transparent?

    One more thing I was wondering. As I mentioned before, in commander-mode the minimap doen't show up with location names as it is the <span style='color:red'>5th</span> sprite that is used. Now from here there are two (possible) possibilities:
    - Is it possible to make the <span style='color:red'>5th</span> sprite out of the <span style='color:red'>4</span> other sprites (with the same ammount of pixels and colours). I have tried to do it, but it didn't work.
    - Or else, to put the hive-locations and marine start in the <span style='color:red'>5th</span> sprite. I don't think that would be to much work to do.

    Thanks for your reading. I'm asking all of this as I want to know how things work of course (and eventually try it myself), and I'm not that type of guy who remembers the location names ^^. Unfortunatly I don't know how to use Photoshop properly.

    Thanks for answering <!--emo&???--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/confused-fix.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='confused-fix.gif' /><!--endemo--> .

    Greetz,
    XtOf
  • Pollux568Pollux568 Join Date: 2004-01-07 Member: 25122Members
    edited March 2005
    So...
    To start, scuse me for not answering :
    I wasn't at home during these 2 weeks and we can't choose our password in this forum <!--emo&:(--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/sad-fix.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='sad-fix.gif' /><!--endemo-->


    Xtof, I've thought of the same changes (for the colors of hive/marine start) as you, but there are some problems :
    1) I must change the pallets of colors in order to have the green/red/blue...
    It isn't impossible, but it needs some minutes for each minimap, and with all the minimaps (15), it takes some hours...
    2) To stay in the ambience of NS, I found these colors adapted. Green or Red colors are too much visible (I think) for <b>transparent</b> minimaps.
    3) It is not very obstructing for the gameplay : everyone knows quickly what are hives and what is the marine start. So with the color the advantage is not significant... Apart of some newbies, but they will never have these minimaps if they are newbies <!--emo&:p--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/tounge.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='tounge.gif' /><!--endemo--> (you download often custom sprites when you begin a new game ? ? ?)

    Apart from this, you have perhaps right, for the bold font. But I've all made alone in this version (in the other, a8085 made the names), and I've tested other font. The dark fonts are here to be not too much visible, and obstruct the vision.
    But some minimaps (the first maps in the alphabetic order) have the font darker than the other : I don't have found the time to change it.
    Some people told me, the colors were perfect. I don't know, if I must change or not (the first minimaps, I'm sure)

    The name on the 5th bmp, for the commander, is not a very good idea: it is too small to read on in the game !


    For your questions on the software/pallets..., I must begin with this link :
    <a href='http://www.siteduzero.com/vostutos/?s=viewtuto&tutoid=288' target='_blank'>http://www.siteduzero.com/vostutos/?s=viewtuto&tutoid=288</a>
    I've wrote it, so it's in french. If you undestand it a little, it's very useful !

    So...
    I use Photoshop 6.0, you're right. (at the beginning I've used paint... But it's too long, pixel by pixel )

    As I can see, you know how to use Spriteview and SpriteWizard, so I'll don't explain what to do with them ^^
    You have 5 bmp, the 4 corners and the minimap for the commander.
    I didn't have tought to make only one picture (or two with the 5th bmp). The text in the middle are made separately - it is visible sometimes. But it must be possible, I'll perhaps make the newt minimaps with this method ^^
    One thing is important : translate the bmp in "RVB" mode (or CMJN). In this mode you can play with the leafs (I don't know the term in english), the colors, ...
    For that, save the pallets of colors BEFORE changing the mode. This pallet will be used after for the 5 bmp.
    Then you can make what you want with the calques. You know how to write <!--emo&:p--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/tounge.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='tounge.gif' /><!--endemo--> . For the transparency, I've inserted a red squaring (but the corridors and the names are copied above). If you want to change one color, insert it before changing the mode in the pallets of colors (and see if it changes nothing on the minimap...). Do not change the last color.
    After it, re-change the mode to "indexate colors" (I don't know the english term...), <b>with the previous paletts you've saved</b>. Warning : it must be exactly the same for the 5 bmp.
    Then you use sprite wizard, with alphatest (last color is transparent).



    Last info : I'll make a new version with the bug in metal fixed, and with the names a bit brighter in some maps (ayumi, agora, bast)


    EDIT : new version released ^^
    new address :
    <a href='http://teamsdz.free.fr/minimaps/minimaps_trans_2.1.rar' target='_blank'>http://teamsdz.free.fr/minimaps/minimaps_trans_2.1.rar</a>
  • XtofXtof Join Date: 2003-04-15 Member: 15514Members
    edited March 2005
    Hi Pollux5,

    Thanks a lot for the feedback. I will look at your tutorial on the french site as I understand french perfectly (je suis de la Belgique et je suis flamand, mais ma deuxième langue est le français <- just told him I am from Belgium and my second language is french).

    So you are telling me you put the text seperatly on the four bitmaps and you don't join them together!? That explains a lot, though I think there must be a way around that.

    I might give it a shot sooner or later.

    Still congrats on your work!!

    Greetz,
    XtOf
  • Pollux568Pollux568 Join Date: 2004-01-07 Member: 25122Members
    Fallait prévenir que tu connaissais le français, ca m'aurait évité une longue galère avec le traducteur automatique de google comme dictionnaire...


    Au fait j'ai modifié la nouvelle version il ya une heure, tu devrais la retélécharger si tu l'as fait avant. J'ai éclairci hera et lost.


    <- I'll don't translate in english ^^
  • NGENGE Join Date: 2003-11-10 Member: 22443Members
  • SLizerSLizer Join Date: 2003-11-07 Member: 22363Members, Constellation
    Definitely great. And those giant-hive/ms texts are great if we manipulate every1 who are new to ns use it(link these with ns training?)
  • Pollux568Pollux568 Join Date: 2004-01-07 Member: 25122Members
    good idea,
    but do you have a link for the ns-training ?
    I don't know it...

    I've submitted a news for the minimaps, but apparently they have not been accepted <!--emo&:(--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html/emoticons/sad-fix.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='sad-fix.gif' /><!--endemo-->
Sign In or Register to comment.