1168 replies to this topic

[Argent77]

I'm not yet really happy with the current implementation, but it would have been too much work to make palette sorting available in another way. I'll see if I can improve the situation in a future update.

[Mad Mate]

Hi Argent!

Sorry if it is stupid question, but I want to edit an item and I can see its icon, description image and ground icon, but is there a way to see equipped appearance from NI?

[Argent77]

Hi Argent!

Sorry if it is stupid question, but I want to edit an item and I can see its icon, description image and ground icon, but is there a way to see equipped appearance from NI?

Not directly. "Equipped appearance" is set as two-letter code in the ITM resource (at offset 22 h). This code is part of the filename for BAM animations, that will be applied to the creature animation while the item is equipped. These files usually start with WP or WQ, followed by a letter that indicates creature size, followed by the equipped appearance code. For example, the code for helmets can be 'J6', so the associated BAM animation overlays may start with WQLJ6, WQMJ6 or WQSJ6 for large, medium or small creatures.

[Sam.]

Hi Argent!

Sorry if it is stupid question, but I want to edit an item and I can see its icon, description image and ground icon, but is there a way to see equipped appearance from NI?

My PaletteGenerator can sort of do this.

[Mad Mate]

Not directly. "Equipped appearance" is set as two-letter code in the ITM resource (at offset 22 h). This code is part of the filename for BAM animations, that will be applied to the creature animation while the item is equipped. These files usually start with WP or WQ, followed by a letter that indicates creature size, followed by the equipped appearance code. For example, the code for helmets can be 'J6', so the associated BAM animation overlays may start with WQLJ6, WQMJ6 or WQSJ6 for large, medium or small creatures.
 

 

Thank you! This is helpful. I didn't know how to find right one between all of BAMs. I would change code and then enter a game, and all over again until I found right one.   It would be nice feature if we could see all changes from within NI. At least inventory look, if not in-game.

 

My PaletteGenerator can sort of do this.

 

Nice tool, thanks. It shows inventory looks and I like zoom feature. I think it is missing few 1pp looks. Ie, first item I tried to edit was Flail of Ages (BLUN14) and with 1pp in my game flails have 4 looks (FL, F0, F1 and F3). In your tool I only found FL. Can I import appearances from my game?

[Sam.]

My PaletteGenerator can sort of do this.

 

Nice tool, thanks. It shows inventory looks and I like zoom feature. I think it is missing few 1pp looks. Ie, first item I tried to edit was Flail of Ages (BLUN14) and with 1pp in my game flails have 4 looks (FL, F0, F1 and F3). In your tool I only found FL. Can I import appearances from my game?

You can, but you have to put the exported, "paletted" frames into the <.\PaletteGenerator\res\paperdolls> folder.  IIRC, I have only included the BG1 (non-EE) ones with the tool.  If you send me the *INV.bam files (the inventory paperdoll BAMs) of those animations or direct me to which 1PP mod they came from, I will be happy to extract the proper frames for you and include them in the tool.

Edited by Sam., 29 September 2018 - 05:27 PM.

[Mad Mate]

You can, but you have to put the exported, "paletted" frames into the <.\PaletteGenerator\res\paperdolls> folder.  IIRC, I have only included the BG1 (non-EE) ones with the tool.  If you send me the *INV.bam files (the inventory paperdoll BAMs) of those animations or direct me to which 1PP mod they came from, I will be happy to extract the proper frames for you and include them in the tool.
 

If you can, it would be great. I'm using Erephine's 1pp V4, and all new *INV.bam & *OIN.bam files are here.
I tried exporting as graphic file with NI, but I get two files and nothing like your files in paperdolls folder.
Thank you!

[Sam.]

You can, but you have to put the exported, "paletted" frames into the <.\PaletteGenerator\res\paperdolls> folder.  IIRC, I have only included the BG1 (non-EE) ones with the tool.  If you send me the *INV.bam files (the inventory paperdoll BAMs) of those animations or direct me to which 1PP mod they came from, I will be happy to extract the proper frames for you and include them in the tool.
 

If you can, it would be great. I'm using Erephine's 1pp V4, and all new *INV.bam & *OIN.bam files are here.
I tried exporting as graphic file with NI, but I get two files and nothing like your files in paperdolls folder.
Thank you!

Here you go:

 1pp paperdolls extracted.rar   360.4K   225 downloads

[Mad Mate]

Here you go:

Thank you Sam!!!!
It works great in your tool. Off to make same new items.
I hope it didn't take a lot of your time.

[Sam.]

Here you go:

Thank you Sam!!!!
It works great in your tool. Off to make same new items.
I hope it didn't take a lot of your time.

Like 20 minutes, most of which was diagnosing an idiotic copy/paste error in my PS BAM tool.

[Sam.]

@Argent77
When converting BAMs from palette-based to PVRZ-based, what approach do you take to the packing problem?

[Argent77]

@Argent77
When converting BAMs from palette-based to PVRZ-based, what approach do you take to the packing problem?

NearInfinity uses a bin packing algorithm to optimize the packing. (Implementation)

[CamDawg]

Feature request: I find myself, when editing a script/item/whatever, frequently bouncing back and forth between NI and the game as I test stuff. It would be nice to save a few clicks by having a 'Launch game' in NI direct, rather than having to open up an Explorer window or find the shortcut in my menu bar.

[jastey]

Wait - the game can run while NI is open? I always tried to prevent this from happening.

[Argent77]

Feature request: I find myself, when editing a script/item/whatever, frequently bouncing back and forth between NI and the game as I test stuff. It would be nice to save a few clicks by having a 'Launch game' in NI direct, rather than having to open up an Explorer window or find the shortcut in my menu bar.

Launching executables has to be handled in a very platform-specific way, which is usually a nightmare to code for a platform-agnostic application such as NI. I'll see if it can be implemented without too much effort.

 

Wait - the game can run while NI is open? I always tried to prevent this from happening.

Yes, that should work fine with all IE games. However, changes made in NI while the game is open are usually not registered until you restart the game.

Edited by Argent77, 29 October 2018 - 02:34 AM.

[CamDawg]

Feature request: I find myself, when editing a script/item/whatever, frequently bouncing back and forth between NI and the game as I test stuff. It would be nice to save a few clicks by having a 'Launch game' in NI direct, rather than having to open up an Explorer window or find the shortcut in my menu bar.

Launching executables has to be handled in a very platform-specific way, which is usually a nightmare to code for a platform-agnostic application such as NI. I'll see if it can be implemented without too much effort.
 

Cheers. I'll live without, but it would be nice.
 

Wait - the game can run while NI is open? I always tried to prevent this from happening.

Yes, that should work fine with all IE games. However, changes made in NI while the game is open are usually not registered until you restart the game.
 
 

 Also, it depends on the game--the original BG locks the tlk file, so NI can't read any of the strings while BG runs. BG2(EE) + NI is just fine but, as argent says, changes generally won't show up until you restart the game.

[Argent77]

 

Wait - the game can run while NI is open? I always tried to prevent this from happening.

Yes, that should work fine with all IE games. However, changes made in NI while the game is open are usually not registered until you restart the game.

 

 Also, it depends on the game--the original BG locks the tlk file, so NI can't read any of the strings while BG runs. BG2(EE) + NI is just fine but, as argent says, changes generally won't show up until you restart the game.

You're right. I think all engine revisions before (original) BG2 will lock the dialog.tlk, which also includes PST and IWD.

[Creepin]

Whenever I try to put bam into resource field of #215 opcode (Graphics: Play 3D Effect), if there's vvc with the same name NI changes resource from bam to that vvc upon saving. Either a bug or intended behaviour which I disagree with

[CamDawg]

Whenever I try to put bam into resource field of #215 opcode (Graphics: Play 3D Effect), if there's vvc with the same name NI changes resource from bam to that vvc upon saving. Either a bug or intended behaviour which I disagree with

If I'm not mistaken, this is simply a reflection of engine behavior--if you specify "foo" as the resource the engine will play foo.vvc if it exists, and will only play foo.bam if foo.vvc does not exist*. If you want to play a BAM file directly you'll have to specify one that doesn't have an identically-named VVC.

The resource field is only eight characters, so you're actually specifying "filename" not "filename.bam". NI is simply adding the file extension for your edification.

* Should note that 'foo.vef' would also take priority, but VEFs are used pretty much nowhere.

Edited by CamDawg, 12 November 2018 - 06:31 AM.

[Creepin]

Ah, I wasn't aware of that, great to know, and thanks for the explanation