The 256 Color Palette Blues...and importing sprites too!

[juncmodule]

A few problems I've been having with Palettes and importing sprites.

1. When importing sprites with the remap colors to game palette option. AGS sees Black as Grey. Is this an AGS problem, or is there a way around this?

2. When I uncheck the remap colors box, and import, the transparent color thing does not seem to work at all. Is this known, a bug, a workaround?

3. This is sort of AGS unrelated...or not. Photoshop seems to flip Palettes upside down from the way AGS handles them. Could there be an option to flip the palette in AGS? At least during sprite import?

later,
-junc

[MrColossal]

hey junc,

as for 1, that's a "feature". I was able to work around it somehow [I have absolutely no idea how I did it] but it is a big problem with 256 colour palettes. Especially if you want to block out a portion of the screen with a black sprite it doesn't look good at all.

as for 3, i don't quite know what you mean. do you mean when importing a sprite or importing a palette? if it's importing a palette i had this problem too that's why i wrote this: http://www.sylpher.com/kafka/tutorials/palette.htm

eric

[juncmodule]

Hmmm...

1. Okay, if I solve 3 then I guess that "feature" can be dealt with.

3. Here:

This is the Palette as it is in AGS:


This is the color table of the exact same exported palette in photoshop:


Basically, flipping the palette in photoshop or AGS would solve the problem. It would just be nice if AGS could do this. I often import and export in and out of AGS so just being able to do it in photoshop wouldn't REALLY solve the problem.

Oh, and I mean while importing a sprite.

later,
-junc

[Finer]

Take a look at the AGS Bug entry. I too noticed this. If you set aside a colour slot with 3,3,3 values, AGS will use it and it's pretty dark. Now, i don't know, but I think this problem didn't happen in the DOSEDIT days (the DOS version of AGSedit), hmmm. At least it's been noted.

Your second problem, juncmodule, should be solved if you treat colour index 0 as the transparent colour.

While we're on the subject of palettes, I have a question: Does a purpose still exist for the first 16 colours to be locked? It would be nice if they could be freed up. I thought the reason for this was so that the DOS AGS editor could be used as it had to share the same palette as the game...

[juncmodule]

Okay, I solved the upside down palette problem, I just have to create a palette file using this cute free program called "Palette Suite 2" (you can flip the palette upside down in it ).

Problems one and two still exist however. Using Index 0 isn't really an option because that will make black be transparent...and it's not! I would rather be able to select top left pixel as the transparent color.

If problem two is solved then I will be a VERY happy monkey.

later,
-junc

EDIT: Woah, that bug tracker entry is wrong, way wrong. AGS doesn't map it to 6,6,6 it maps it to something like 20,20,20. The brightness and Gamma settings on my monitor are really obnoxious(bright), I can't tell the difference between 6,6,6 and 0,0,0. The color it remaps it to is MUCH brighter.

I double checked, AGS remaps it to about 8,8,8(using the AGS values, slot 18 on the default palette). If it was just lower there wouldn't be a problem (say...1,1,1 or 2,2,2 even)

EDIT 2: Finer, you are correct about index 0. So long as I set it to a different color while working in photoshop then I can pull it off. It's just a lot of tricks to do something so simple...

[MrColossal]

thank you muches for the link Junc...

i've been looking for a program like this for a while

woop woop

[juncmodule]

opps...

I didn't actually put up a link to that huh?

http://www.alexfinch.com/alister/palsuite/

later,
-junc

[Pumaman]

1. When importing sprites with the remap colors to game palette option. AGS sees Black as Grey. Is this an AGS problem, or is there a way around this?

Ah yes, this was reported a while back and it seems to have got lost in the midst. I'll try and get the fix in for the final 2.6

2. When I uncheck the remap colors box, and import, the transparent color thing does not seem to work at all. Is this known, a bug, a workaround?

This is how it works, if you don't check remap then AGS will not touch the palette or change any colours at all, so you have to have transparency as slot 0

[Pumaman]

(1) should be fixed in 2.6 RC 4 - coudl you check if it now works for you?