03-11-1999 06:37									#1
	Creating palette-safe .pcx files without Photoshop!!! Support Apolyton, buy Galactic Civilizations: Deluxe Edition

To create palette-safe .pcx files for the game without buying any software or using Photoshop, follow the directions below:

1) Download the following programs:
IrfanView - image viewer/converter: http://hotfiles.zdnet.com/cgi-bin/t...ml?fcode=000ABJ
Quant - Palette/file converter: http://hotfiles.zdnet.com/cgi-bin/t...ml?fcode=000BTB
SMAC Palette: (file 'Palettes') http://home.nordnet.fr/~rpirez/smac...ces_goodies.htm

2) Unzip the files and load the software.

3) If using an original SMAC .pcx file to alter, load IrfanView. Load the .pcx file, we'll call it file.pcx. Then save a .bmp version of the file (file.bmp). Now you are ready to begin changing it. This also creates a .bmp file to be used as a palette file for Quant.

4) Create/alter your file in whatever paint program you wish. I have found MS paint to be adequate for most purposes. save it as a different file, say fileb.bmp.

5) Open Quant. i) Activate tab 'Input Files'. Load the file(s) to be converted to the correct palette settings by File/Add Images. In this case it is fileb.bmp. ii) Activate the 'Color Control' tab. Go to Palette/Load Palette. Here you can either load the .bmp file we created earlier, file.bmp, or the downloaded generic .pal file. Different files need different palettes. Most files will be fine with just the generic SMAC palette. But some have specific palettes, such as the faction .pcx files. Try it with the generic palette. If that does not work, use the .bmp created from the original .pcx file. iii) Activate the 'Output' tab. Select the output directory. it can be the same directory as fileb.bmp. Select Output Format to .bmp. NOTE the palette conversion will only work with .bmp files. iv) Push 'Convert'. You now have an altered, palette-correct .bmp file. Now all there is left is convert our new file, fileb.bmp, to pcx.

6) Load IrfanView. Load fileb.bmp. Save As .pcx, renamed to whatever filename works with the game, into the SMAC folder (or subfolder if applicable), say fileb.pcx.

That's it, that's all there is. The reasons for so many steps are that a) There are not currently any freeware paint/image viewing programs which you can load a new palette or function correctly when you load a new palette. Photoshop, Corel Draw and Paintshop Pro all do this, but they cost a substantial sum. This procedure is a way to do it without purchasing software. b) Quant somehow will not conserve palette integrity if you attempt to convert to .pcx from .bmp _and_ replace the palette. Hence the need to add the palette only to .bmp files. c) If at any stage you wish to check whether the palette has taken, simply load it into IrfanView and go to Image/Edit Palette. Irfanview, as well as Quant, will do batch conversions. (IrfanView for .bmp to .pcx or vice-versa, Quant for palette conversion).

I have done a substantial amount of research into how to do this using available freeware out there, and this, to my knowledge, is the only way. I would welcome hearing from anyone that found one program which does both .pcx<->.bmp conversion and correct palette conversion.

	14-11-1999 11:48									#2
	Inflate your Upload Space

AlexanderIII,
Well I finally got around to doing this, saw it posted a week or so ago and have been meaning to give it a try. It worked great!!! Thank a bunch. I still am going to have to learn a bit about the graphics process but I did manage to change and save a pcx file without photoshop and that was the big step! Thanks agian!

WOW, useful information on the net.. go figure
------------------
"Power does not corrupt; it merely attracts the corruptable"



[This message has been edited by Bblue (edited November 14, 1999).]

	12-12-1999 02:46									#3
	Lose 30 kilos (of popups)

One thing I forgot to mention is that Quant is a sharware program with an expiry of 30 days. Was reminded of this fact when the other day I tried to use it and it would not work, and the company wants $65 US for it (yeah, right!) But it is the most versatile and useful palette converter I've ever seen. It even has a feature photoshop does not seem to have -- the ability to extract palettes from bitmap files instead of needing it to be in a 'palette' file format like .ACO .

Oh well, now I'll have to wait till I can get my hands on a copy of Photoshop or Paintshop Pro. Darn.

	18-01-2000 07:10									#4
	Help yourself to an AD-FREE life

I have been following these posts for a while and decided to try making a few cities to use in my games. I created the city in Autocad, saved it into a bmp format, then tried the hoops listed above. When I try to load the palette it is flipped, in other words the purple is tan and vice versa. Any ideas on correcting the problem, or what I am doing wrong. By the way, thanks for the inspiration.

	04-05-2000 13:21									#5
	Suffering from ads?

--Bump--

	14-05-2000 22:03									#6
	Got spare money?

By any chance are those programs for mac also?

------------------
And I asked him,
What is thy name?
And he replied saying:
My Name is iMac: for we
are many..

	16-05-2000 09:59									#7
	Lose 30 kilos (of popups)

iMac722, I do not know of any for the mac, since that is not my forte. You will have to search, like I did, all the sharware sites, download promising programs and test out whether they can convert/port palettes properly in order to work with the interlaced palette of the SMAC .pcx files. When you do, please share your discoveries with the rest of us. You never know, there may be a few in this crowd who are using macs, now that SMAC is being released for that OS.