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Since your still active in the community , does that mean that development on this awesome tool may start again?
Im hoping someone knows the existing file systems as i have a question...
I was just looking at the X-com base models and they appear to be kept in the .pck file. IF i want to add a new building type can i add a new one to the existing PCK file OR is it better to make a copy of the xcom units and modify pre existing templates? Also if i do the second method Can we mix and match between PCK methods if we need to ( Basically currently i only want to modify 1 building and i don't want it to replace any existing one)?
Hello DaiShiva , thank you for your help. To your answer to my first question , Why? Is the a link you can provide to find out what is and is not possible when modding for the original game ? Although i plan to use my mods in OpenX not the original Dos version i have i would still like to keep things compatible if i can.
I have also been modding some units and In your program i can select EDIT on a image, i can select my new colour out of the colour pallet but i cant Draw the new pixel onto the image, Am i doing something wrong OR did development stop prior to that?
Also the "SHOW BYTES" option when modding units. I tried to change the code for some colours via a find and replace option but i cant see any way to Save this BYTE information back to your program. Is this type of modding possible?
Really looking forward to your answers
New questions, does anyone know HOW to use images from other items EG: add alien base items to UFOs ?
Also . can anyone else get XCsuit to work i cant see how to start it, im not sure if i downloaded the correct file?
Yankes : that's exactly what I did yesterday. I wrote my own blit function with the shading done on the fly - it simplifies the whole problem a lot.
But there is still a problem with it. When running in debug mode, the handwritten blit function is also compiled with debug info, making the whole thing soooo sloooow
I'm no specialist on compilers and stuff like that, so I don't know how you can have parts of the code normally build while still being able to debug build the rest...
Oh well... i just tried PCKView to loadup some SCR (etc) using the "Uncompressed Routine" and it does - except the files are off-shoot by 75% to the left-side corner, making any of them completely unusable. I suspect most others will react the same.
So, i'll stick with the very old XCView i have and perform a few edits afterward should i need to -- unless, the man wants to compile a new version.
Daishiva,
Btw, speaking of compiling new stuff;
Would it be tooooooo much work to try integrating *all* APOC related PCKs, MAPs (etc) as well while you'd be considering it?
The REST; Cuz, lemme tell you - if it were just me... there would be a highly complex new code_program which certainly could mix-match all three major core titles into a single hell_of_a_ride of absolute Ground_Oceanic_Inter-Dimensional X-Com gameplay fest with all Alien races at once in any five Mega-Primus city-maps, T'leth (Mexican Gulf) and_or Cydonia (On Mars) through options or by default.
I'd even risk a reference to the absolute master of squad_level TBS style... Laser_Squad_Nemesis (to be fair to Gollop genius consistant work). But this might have to wait for a Gaming Industry revolution that excludes the likes of EA, Activision or whomever else has been tracking the X-Com license for quick profits.
Now, *THAT'S* a project worth killing for.
XCView (as an indirect "Background Viewer" for some tricky versions) can load all of these files;The PCKview version on Sourceforge can open all those formats (maybe it should have a different name
TFTD(BDY),
X-Com (SCR) + X-Com Large (PCK)...from UFOGRAPH folder + UFO (SPK),
8bit (BMP),), although not as intuitively as XCView. To open SCR/DAT image files you need to open the file with *.*, then on the window that pops up select Uncompressed Image and specify the size (SCR images are 320x200).
There are a bunch of issues with the program, but now knowing it's open-source, I feel guilty about reporting them instead of just fixing them myself.
So far, the actual brand new stuff you gave above is perfectly fine. I'd enjoy having XCView too but again, you decide.
EDIT (Back with some comments after a swift run);
-- PckView is now compatible with Win7Aero, smoothly operating as expected. The palettes are still acting weirdly with the usual Greens, but there's a very simple workaround once these files are extracted; Load any valid *.PAL(s) as necessary and re-save in PSPro-X3.
-- 76 DPI is working as well. I've seen 72's everywhere in other progs, but i think it doesn't matter that much for file EXIFs of BMP copies. Except for the proper saves formatting, of course.
-- I was pleasantly surprised by a few new options (Compare, Save to Directory, HQ2x..) which have potential for some later iterations, i'm guessing. Up to you, but might as well consider adding HQ3 & 4 (maybe Lanczos & Bi_Linear) while you're there, no?
-- Saw you've also included a newest copy of MapView. Note that someone at StrategyCore (Zombie) altered v1.1 to fix the extra AlienShips back in '08.
-- The only remaining fact would be that a more recent XCView is "missing" and could be fixed (DLL, pal references) if you want.
The complete package would become absolutely essential for anyone willing to tackle a complete graphics re-editing.
PS; Can anyone here contact Daishiva so that his MapView, PCKView & XCView tiny (but essential) editing programs are uploaded as working Win-7 executables at the usual SourceForge spot? Cuz, i still get the darn Green palette + the header bytes (PPI) flaws on saves and i don't own a 1500$+ MS_VB compiler to use what he has done since - it seems - forever!
