image editors / graphics programs

[Vesparco]

These png files contain images of colors 0 to 22, and a palette of exactly these 23 colors.
It means this program optimizes the image on saving, by scrapping every color which doesn't appear on the image and renumbering the remaining colors.
It may save 699 bytes in the file, but the image becomes unusable in OpenXCOM. If there's no setting in this program to disable palette optimization, --> bad list.

I've searched the topic for the png in graphics for two hours without success. It seems that as PDN, it uses a library set in stone for the image saving. You can throw it to the bad list, at least for the free version (it seems it has more options to the .gif format).

Edit: Tried also with the 30-day trial of the full edition. With gif happens the same. Bad list it is.

[moriarty]

added mtpaint, paint.net and graphicsgale to the list in the first post. is the information provided correct?

[yrizoud]

I think so. Can you also add:
Evilpixie, free open source, Windows and Linux. I tested GIF and PNG, both work fine.
GrafX2, free open source, for many operating systems.

[Warboy1982]

no room for photoshop on the good list? i use it exclusively.
(glad to see you're still around, btw moriarty)

[Solarius Scorch]

no room for photoshop on the good list? i use it exclusively.

Me too.
Curiously, there seems to be some sort of a small anti-Photoshop movement regarding modding Openxom. I don't really understand why.

[Yankes]

I think so. Can you also add:
Evilpixie, free open source, Windows and Linux. I tested GIF and PNG, both work fine.
GrafX2, free open source, for many operating systems.

I support GrafX2 I use it when I have look on or edit graphic for OXC.

[yrizoud]

Me too.
Curiously, there seems to be some sort of a small anti-Photoshop movement regarding modding Openxom. I don't really understand why.

Well, I've tested with CS2. I open the test image I made earlier

1) Color zero becomes transparent in editor, and is actually turned transparent when you save. In the case of a sprite (not a flat background) you could consider it helpful, but I think OSX verskion of OpenXcom can't load GIFs correctly when they have transparent background.
2) I see absolutely no way to differentiate between colors 15 and 255. If I use eyedropper in the "255" area and then paint, the resulting pixels are in color 15. If I save the image's palette and use it as a color swatch, when I pick the last color and draw with it, it's color 15, not 255.

[Solarius Scorch]

Well, I've tested with CS2. I open the test image I made earlier

1) Color zero becomes transparent in editor, and is actually turned transparent when you save. In the case of a sprite (not a flat background) you could consider it helpful, but I think OSX verskion of OpenXcom can't load GIFs correctly when they have transparent background.
2) I see absolutely no way to differentiate between colors 15 and 255. If I use eyedropper in the "255" area and then paint, the resulting pixels are in color 15. If I save the image's palette and use it as a color swatch, when I pick the last color and draw with it, it's color 15, not 255.

I can't explain it, because I never cared. I just save the file with the correct palette and don't think about it any more. (Using CS3.)

Yes, there is an issue with OXC not reading black correctly - this problem suddenly appeared in late 2014 - so I'm using some other dark colour and that's it.

I know my approach isn't very professional, but it works, so screw that.

[Bloax]

GrafX2, free open source, for many operating systems.

Does a proper interface exist for GrafX2? I've tinkered a little bit around with it, but I have no plans for actually getting into using it since it still thinks we're still in the eighties and no interface design improvements have been made since.

Which is a shame since it otherwise has plenty of funky features.

[yrizoud]

Does a proper interface exist for GrafX2? I've tinkered a little bit around with it, but I have no plans for actually getting into using it since it still thinks we're still in the eighties and no interface design improvements have been made since.

Sorry, no such plans. The program was revived especially because a lot of good interface design ideas from the best painting program of the 90s (Deluxe Paint) had been lost over the years : interface that doesn't get in the way, painting with both mouse buttons, single-key keyboard shortcuts for all the functions that you use all the time.

[Bloax]

Yeah, having two colors to paint with is a really nice thing that seemingly only remains(?) in Paintshop Pro of the modern editors.

But while there are good things, there are also bad things - like the really clunky interface; I'm especially bothered by the amount of screen changes.

[moriarty]

Curiously, there seems to be some sort of a small anti-Photoshop movement regarding modding Openxom. I don't really understand why.

well, I was mainly looking at open-source or otherwise free-to-use software. I've actually never used photoshop 

@Warboy: thank you! I was never really gone, just very busy. I've tried to read almost every major thread regularly, but never really got around to posting anything

I added the recently suggested software, let me know if there's anything I'm missing.

[Yankes]

its missing one important thing,  pinning

[Solarius Scorch]

well, I was mainly looking at open-source or otherwise free-to-use software. I've actually never used photoshop 

Yeah, my words were a bit too strong, and I certainly didn't mean you Moriarty. (BTW good to see you again.)

And sure, nice to have it stickied.

[Vesparco]

I have given my try to grafX2 but as some people say, I have a harsh time dealing with the interface (but I don't disregard the program, I've seen some videos on youtube doing amazing stuff).

In the end I took an old version of aseprite (v0.9.5) and managed to fix the missiles I did on paint.NET. Also by functionalities works quite well once you get around.

BTW moriarty, graphicsgale should be on the bad list. It has the same problems of color palette reduction as PDN ( just for the sake of avoiding anyone of having troubles with it).