Can anyone help with this pcx? It should have been opened by flicster, but again it casued errors and the program to crash. :(


This is a 64frame x 8 directions storyboard.

I created the storyboard using flcster, but then had to work manually due to some problem with SBB (not familiar with it yet).

Also this is one of the only two (i think) files needed for my immobile bombard unit. One flc for the bombard, and one for death. So if someone can help then it might be ready before the end of this month :)

http://forums.civfanatics.com/uploads/36763/bombard.PNG

http://forums.civfanatics.com/uploads/36763/bombard.zip

um, what seems to be the problem...?

It appears some frames are missing borders, whether or not this is the sole cause for crashes , I do not know.

*sigh* how many times do I have to tell you, use civ3flc, man!

I corrected the border, but it still does not work :/

I tried using civ3flc, but it does not even open a flc file!!!! (it says that it is an unknown format for it). Also i first had to dl almost 10 dll files which were missing.

i use flicster frequently, so ill look into this once im at my home comp...oh, and i cant figure out civ3flc odin, i like the original flicster much better!

Ok, I opened the storyboard, and All I have to wonder, is does it have to have so many frames??? it only seems that 7 frames have any motion....

I threw this together...it wobbels a bit cause I did it fast, but with less frames it works fine...

For Civ3flicedit....I open an exsisting FLIC...convert it to a storyboard named "Unknown" and c-n-p my story board in...save and open in Civ3flicedit...now you can edit, convert to FLIC, or alter the storyboard/pallette(tho using a unit with a similar pallatte saves much time)...

PS. Flicster is useless except for viewing flics...Civ3flicedit does everything flicster does, better...and more...

Here is what I came up with...

[edit] for the record, frame borders DO NOT matter

Ty, but this will not do at all. All of the frames have motion; there is a keyboard typing sequence that takes the first 40+ frames.

Also can you tell me how i can avoid the "wobble"? :)

40+ frames of typing????
You are seriously going to have to drastically reduce that.
I don't recall the max flc size, but I'm certainly you are several times past it.
I would say keep the typing to less than 10 frames with a goal of 4-5 frames to even have a shot at it.

Although 64 frames is a bit extreme, it happens that it is also the maximum allowed number of frames in flc, so that is not the problem :/

Btw, do you know how the texture altering effect can be avoided? I kept the texture of the turret the same, but the render made it have a haze-like effect.

Check your sky settings. Turn off haze and fog completely. Or, better still use the blank I posted which has all the settings correct.

Is the 64 frames the max for a leader head or a unit? Ultimately it won't matter no one will want that big of a game slowing memory pig.
A unit so large will have a significant and negative impact on the game.
And, look at some of the better units on here.... none of them are over 20. Almost all of them are 10-16 frames.
Consider the scale, and the playback medium. No one will see or care about every little key movement in the typeing sequence.

Youa re probably right. But would it create such a problem if it is just a one-move unit? (bombard) Since that is what it is.

you have to remember that Flicster and civ3flicedit are NOT firaxis progs...just because they have a MAX frame number, doesnt mean that Civ 3 has the same limits...I have found that even having 29 frames causes a CTD in the unit flic(See my Drider's thread) so 40+ is WAY too much...

the typing is not visible(I tried converting a flic out of the first 15 frames(the limit I have found works best)) and there is no visible movement at that scale anyway, so unfortunately, your typing concept doesnt seem to work as is...

you can avoid the "bounce" in the unit by aligning the frames properly...in civ3flicedit, you can play if frame by frame, and see which frames bobble, and adjust accordingly...

I find that Flicster is terrible for anything but viewing(he repeated)

Ok...side note...talking to Vingrjoe, he apparently uses 50+ frames for some of his animations and it works fine...so take what I just said with a grain of salt...

Just my two cents... as I also had my issues with flicster until Vingrjoe pointed me in the right direction.

Here's what I do:
(0) Create 8 folders: N, NE, E, SE, S, SW, W, NW

(1) In Bryce, you render your animation frames in each direction. Let's say you do North first. Verify you're at time frame 0. Select the file type (bmp filmstrip). Select the correct folder ("N"). Make sure your filename is short and sweet, like A0000. (This is important.) Render. Your 8 folders will now have the same number of files (=number of frames) with identical names.

(2) Once you've rendered all 8 directions, exit Bryce and open the Storyboard Builder. Select source directory and initial file, for instance E/A0000.bmp. Select target directory (your choice). Now you should see a preview at the bottom left and info that shows all 8 directions checked, how large your frame is etc. Hit "generate storyboard". Zoom, you're done here. Exit SBB.

(3) Open CivFlcEdit. (yup, DON'T USE FLICSTER!) File > Import to Storyboard... There'll be a pop-up dialog window. Select source (that's where you saved your storyboard file). Select target. Select palette. Here you can also recenter and do other nifty things before you... click "import".
It'll open an anim preview as a .c3f file. If it looks to your liking, click File>Save as FLC and you are done!

This works for me all the time, everytime. Civ2FlcEdit is one of the most powerful tools ever created for Civ3 modding. Ya gotta check it out...

hey varwnos, are you sure the number of frames assigned to it in the .fxm/.flc file are the same as in the .pcx?

I think that it might be a problem with the 64 frames (?). Although in theory FLC should be able to generate 64 frame animations.
I managed to create a 56 frame one though, which probably will be enough ;)

Well then, congratulations! :beer: