Hard Light Productions Forums

Modding, Mission Design, and Coding => The Modding Workshop => Topic started by: Killfrenzy on August 16, 2002, 03:58:15 pm

Title: Generic shield ani
Post by: Killfrenzy on August 16, 2002, 03:58:15 pm
Didn't somebody make one of these at some point? I think it was a triangle with shields....
Title: Generic shield ani
Post by: Alikchi on August 16, 2002, 04:22:41 pm
Yeah, I think I saw that one for FS1, and there was a "circle" one that comes with the SB Vindhyachal mod
Title: Generic shield ani
Post by: Killfrenzy on August 16, 2002, 04:30:44 pm
Sounds familiar.....
Title: Generic shield ani
Post by: Petrarch of the VBB on August 17, 2002, 02:48:15 pm
The Gungnir sentry gun had one, it was very good, not to mention useful. I think its on the archives.
Title: Generic shield ani
Post by: Killfrenzy on August 17, 2002, 03:49:56 pm
I'm after one for my fighters as I don't want to use any of the FS2 ones, and I can't make my own.
Title: Generic shield ani
Post by: Anaz on August 17, 2002, 06:33:03 pm
Its not that hard to make your own...
Title: Generic shield ani
Post by: Killfrenzy on August 18, 2002, 03:48:45 am
Not if you're no 'pixel painter' like I am.
Title: Generic shield ani
Post by: Anaz on August 18, 2002, 10:55:46 am
I'm not kidding...just make a top down render, convert it to greyscale, mebby mess with a few other settings... Make a circle in another window or sommat, fill it with a gradiant fill going inwards (to a point). Quarter it with a line draw tool set to black or sommat. Combine the 2 images, and play with the amount of colors until you have all the images required for the shield ani...

Quick and dirty, but it looks ok..
Title: Generic shield ani
Post by: Killfrenzy on August 18, 2002, 03:38:01 pm
And what sort of ani do I make in Aniview32?
Title: Generic shield ani
Post by: Anaz on August 18, 2002, 05:11:31 pm
extract one of the other .ani to .avi, and go through it frame by frame to see how everything is aranged...
Title: Generic shield ani
Post by: Killfrenzy on August 18, 2002, 05:21:31 pm
No, what I mean is this:

Ani options

- Ship/Weapon ani
- Command briefing ani
- Something else which I can't remember! :D
Title: Generic shield ani
Post by: Anaz on August 18, 2002, 06:08:12 pm
ok killfrenzy, lets think about this, your trying to make a ship .ani...so the logical choice would be...
Title: Generic shield ani
Post by: Killfrenzy on August 19, 2002, 05:28:02 am
They're tech-room and selection anis.
Title: Generic shield ani
Post by: Anaz on August 19, 2002, 09:51:14 am
probably the something else or the ship/weapon. I would guess ship/weapon personally
Title: Generic shield ani
Post by: Killfrenzy on August 19, 2002, 02:53:15 pm
I think I did try at one point - but it didn't come up. :(
Title: Generic shield ani
Post by: Sesquipedalian on August 19, 2002, 03:07:17 pm
It doesn't matter which type you select in this case, Killfrenzy.  It only makes a difference in anis that play like a movie.

And I am doubtful that a simple render to grayscale will produce good quality hud images, Analazon.  Hud images have to be in a specific pallette, and it isn't a simple grayscale.  If you make a hud image using a standard grayscale, all colours which do not just so happen to coincide with the colours in the proper hud image pallette will be left out, producing a very grainy, spotty shield animation.
Title: Generic shield ani
Post by: Killfrenzy on August 20, 2002, 03:28:35 am
So SQ, what would you suggest?
Title: Generic shield ani
Post by: Sesquipedalian on August 20, 2002, 01:17:46 pm
Assuming you already have the pcx files that you want to compile into an ani, just load them into AniBuilder and run it on its default setting.  It is what I do for shield anis, and works every time.

Or did you mean the part about getting the right colour pallette?  In that case, I suggest making your image in greyscale, and then copying it into a frame extracted from an already existent hud animation.  Provided you have a proper graphics program (Corel PhotoPaint, or failing that then something by Adobe), the error diffusion algorithims will smooth out any graininess caused by incompatible colour pallettes to produce a nice looking ani file.  If you don't have a proper graphics program, then open the extracted hud file and create your image in it directly so as to keep the proper pallette.

Probably the easiest thing, however, is simply to do a search for the SB Vindhyachal, and get the generic shield ani out of that.
Title: Generic shield ani
Post by: Killfrenzy on August 20, 2002, 03:18:52 pm
I've got PSP4.:)

Go on - laugh.
Title: Generic shield ani
Post by: Anaz on August 20, 2002, 03:25:44 pm
Quote
Originally posted by Sesquipedalian
Assuming you already have the pcx files that you want to compile into an ani, just load them into AniBuilder and run it on its default setting.  It is what I do for shield anis, and works every time.

Or did you mean the part about getting the right colour pallette?  In that case, I suggest making your image in greyscale, and then copying it into a frame extracted from an already existent hud animation.  Provided you have a proper graphics program (Corel PhotoPaint, or failing that then something by Adobe), the error diffusion algorithims will smooth out any graininess caused by incompatible colour pallettes to produce a nice looking ani file.  If you don't have a proper graphics program, then open the extracted hud file and create your image in it directly so as to keep the proper pallette.

Probably the easiest thing, however, is simply to do a search for the SB Vindhyachal, and get the generic shield ani out of that.


hadn't thought of the pallet thing...
Title: Generic shield ani
Post by: Killfrenzy on August 20, 2002, 03:32:31 pm
The Palette = BANE OF ANYBODY TRYING TO DO INTERFACE!!:mad:
Title: Generic shield ani
Post by: Petrarch of the VBB on August 21, 2002, 01:24:09 pm
Damn straight. 'Specially if you're makin icons, all the frames have to have the same pallette, yet some have to be shades of blue, and some of orange! UGH!

Anywho, why do you have PSP4, just get the PSP7 trial and reinstall it every two months.:drevil:
Title: Generic shield ani
Post by: Killfrenzy on August 21, 2002, 03:38:06 pm
1) I only have a 56k

2) Can't be assed to reinstall every two months.