Suggestion: 256 colour icon support

[Nixxon]

*Nixxon begs CJ to implement 256 colour "setup.ico" support in the next beta*

Edit by strazer:

Tracker entry: http://www.adventuregamestudio.co.uk/tracker.php?action=detail&id=153

[James Kay]

Seconded. 16x16, 24x24, 32x32, 48x48 b/w, 16 colour and 256 colour icon support please!  

[OverWind]

As I wrote in the beginners forum, I want it too :)

Preferably both user.ico and setup.ico :)

[jannar85]

This isn't really a big issue for me yet, since RF won't be completed in a while.. 2 years or something?

[Pumaman]

The problem is that the appropriate Windows functionality to do this is only supported on Windows 2000 and XP. It's not really possible to do on Win 98/ME.

However, I could add it as an extra feature for those OS's only, I'll look into it.

[Nixxon]

The problem is that the appropriate Windows functionality to do this is only supported on Windows 2000 and XP. It's not really possible to do on Win 98/ME.

However, I could add it as an extra feature for those OS's only, I'll look into it.

Cheers, that'd be great!
when you say "appropriate Windows functionality" I'm guessing you mean the process of actually binding the 256 colour icon to the EXE, since 98 'does' display 256 colour icons (not 95/3.11 etc). There was a programme i found a while back in which you could change the icons of any exe, was usefull for my swf files at the time.

[Gilbert]

Hey that's unfair to me WIN95 and DOS user!

hehe kidding.

Anyway, I think that won't be a problem, as icons of hicolour depth will be displayed as 16 colours under WIN95 anyway, just that they can be very ugly.

[Nixxon]

omg... oldschooool!

[edmundito]

Here's a secret tip I discovered recently:

Make your icon with your own colors, then reduce it to 16 custom colors, and convert it to ICO with IrfranView... then set the transparency with a real icon-making program.. and it works with AGS! Magic.

Just wait until you see the new 5 Days a Stranger icons.... if [m0ds] ever finished teh music for the game, that is.  

Oh, I said too much.

[strazer]

I use IconEdit32 and it allows several versions to be saved in one ico-file:

16x16/2 colors
32x32/2 colors
48x48/2 colors
16x16/16 colors
32x32/16 colors
48x48/16 colors
16x16/256 colors
32x32/256 colors
48x48/256 colors

[m0ds]

I've been working on it but it sounds shit!

But yeah, icons. Mmmm.

[Pumaman]

Ok, let me clarify.

All versions of Windows can display the icons - Win95, 98, etc all have no problems with hi-res hi-colour icons.

However, the process of replacing the icon resource in the EXE file is the problem.

Currently, AGS just does a raw byte copy of the icon file over the existing icon in the EXE file, which is 32x32 at 16-colours.

The functionality to properly manipulate the resources to add any sort of icons is only available in Win2000/XP (the UpdateResource Win32 API function).

There are other utilities (such as Resource Hacker) which can do it on all versions of Windows, because they have implemented their own resource-editing code. However, this is not something I can justify implementing into AGS.

Therefore, it is possible for you to manually replace the EXE icon with a hi-colour hi-res one using a resource editor. However, for AGS to natively support it would only work on Win 2000 and XP.

[subspark]

I appreciate the clarity Pumaman. However I beleive it is time now that we live in the 21st century for AGS to support both the standard icon format (byte swapping) and it's own resource swapping ability for icons such as 48x48 XP alpha blended icons to work.

Cheers.

[Gilbert]

I prefer 16 colour icons. o_O

[Traveler]

I appreciate the clarity Pumaman. However I beleive it is time now that we live in the 21st century for AGS to support both the standard icon format (byte swapping) and it's own resource swapping ability for icons such as 48x48 XP alpha blended icons to work.

Cheers.

What CJ meant was that it's a lot of work (fairly complicated, too), to implement putting the icon into your game EXE. Windows can display any icon and a single icon file can hold multiple icon images, but that icon file must be copied into your game EXE at compile time. This is natively supported by Win2K and XP but not by 98/ME. To implement the support for it within AGS, would take a lot of work, which I think would be better spent on new game features for AGS or optimizing existing ones.

I wouldn't mind if CJ puts this feature in for Win2K/XP - if you compile your game on these OS-s, you'll get the hicolor icon in your game and then it'll show up on *any* Windows OS (not just 2K/XP - but you must build your game on 2K/XP.)

[Sektor 13]

I tried other programs to add 256 color icon to the EXE file, thez all faild. exe became corrupted.

[Pumaman]

I appreciate the clarity Pumaman. However I beleive it is time now that we live in the 21st century for AGS to support both the standard icon format (byte swapping) and it's own resource swapping ability for icons such as 48x48 XP alpha blended icons to work.

I'm tending to agree. I'll look into doing the work to support the Win2000/XP option for supporting any icon type; anyone who's still using Windows 98 will have to make do with the 32x32x16 icon.

[subspark]

Much appreciated Pumaman. As most pc users today are using 2000/XP I beleive it is more than worth exploring.

Take care.

[Elliott Hird]

No, no, no, most PC users are NOT using 2000/XP. I for one don't intend to upgrade any time soon, and alot more don't even know it exists. Really. There's never been a feature that not anybody (not talking brainwise) in AGS could use, and that may change. That's not good.

Edit by strazer:

No need to quote the post directly above you.

Now let the matter rest. It will be implemented. Deal with it.