Embarrassing Question number #3: How do you export a palette back into FLICster?!

[Kryten]

I would very much like to thank everybody for all their assistance, but it is still not working I'm afraid.

Originally posted by pdescobar
Kryten, I don't know if you saw my post before as no response was given. Here's a test for you to check if your problem is the same as the one I mention.

Sorry for not answering you directly pdescobar, I shall do so now:-

1) Export a PCX from Flicster
(Very well, I used the Hoplite default this time)
2) Change your storyboard in PSP and save it. Don't change the palette, just make a box or something like in your previous tests.
(Done. I have added a large yellow square to all the SW frames)
3) Verify that the change appears in Flicster.
(It does….he now has a large yellow square on the tip of his spear)
4) Back in PSP, change the palette and resave the storyboard.
(I changed the bright yellow to a darker green colour, the storyboard is correct, so I’ve saved it)
5) Verify that it does *not* appear in Flicster. DO NOT save/export from Flicster yet.
(You are correct….the storyboard square is green, but the FLICster clock-face square is still yellow)
6) Close all windows within Flicster relating to that unit.
(Forgive me, but I’m a bit confused here.
If I don’t use the FLICster export, then NONE of my changes will be applied to the original flc, so that the next time I open it, it will be untouched….no square, let alone a green one.
Nonetheless, all windows within FLICster closed)
7) Reopen the FXM in FLicster.
(As I thought….no square. The animation & storyboard look just as it was, ‘straight-from-the-box’)

I’ll try again, re-interpreting steps 6 & 7 to read:-
6) Export, THEN close all windows within Flicster relating to that unit.
(This time I exported before closing the FLICster windows)
7) Reopen the FXM in FLicster.
(Didn’t work….I now have a YELLOW square visible, both in the FLICster clock-face AND in the newly generated storyboard.
And loading the hopliteDefault.pal that I saved before has no effect, because FLICster has created a fresh .pal and has kindly overwritten my green version, using the original palette….because FLICster never accepted my green version.)

Originally posted by utahjazz
Are you saving your edited palette as a new .pal file and then applying the new .pal to the storyboard or just altering the palette and then saving the image? That'll make a difference.

Well, I did try utahjazz....but, as usual, no effect.
I have altered and saved the new palette, loaded it again back onto the storyboard, then saved the storyboard....the square stays yellow in FLICster, but green on the storyboard.
In fact, if I load a completely different palette onto my storyboard (say, the Warrior palette on top of the Hoplite storyboard), then all the colours are well messed up, but I save the palette/re-apply it/save/export/re-open it anyway....and the FLICster clock-face never changes, but sticks faithfully to the ORIGINAL palette!

Further Experiments
--------------------
In desperation I have dug out my old laptop, which is running on Windows 98 instead of Windows 2000.
Having downloaded FLICster and loaded PSP7 onto it….guess what?....I STILL cannot change the FLICster palette!!!

Now, the only common denominators are:-
* My version of Paintshop Pro7....
* And....er....ME!

Lets face it....I must be missing the blatantly obvious.

Originally posted by pdescobar
The order is important! I hate to sound like a broken record, but note that embryodead opened the FXM in flicster *after* the changes were made to the PCX. You can leave flicster open and have general image changes auto-update but, for me at least, it will *never* update the palette unless the FXM window is closed and reopened. It is a bug in Flicster, at least on my system.

I'm sorry, but I don't quite understand what you and embryodead are saying.

When I use FLICster to open a flc in order to create a storyboard, two new windows appear in FLICster:-
* The FLC Info window (which is just for looking at things)
* And the FXM Info window (which creates the storyboard and the .pal & Alpha.pal palette files).

Now if I don't use the 'export' in the FXM Info window, then no changes are applied to the original flc....nothing will be changed; the flc stays as it was before I started.
But if I 'export' then CLOSE the FXM Info window, when I open it again it creates a NEW storyboard (with my changes, which I just exported to the original flc), BUT IN ADDITION, it automatically creates two new pal files....pal files with the ORIGINAL palette colours, because my palette was never accepted by FLICster.

What am I missing?
(Am I the only person in the world who cannot change the palette?)

It's getting a bit late over here, so I'll have shutdown for the night.
Even Kryten needs his downtime.
Please don't give up everybody....I'll keep trying for as long as you are willing to coach me.

 

[pdescobar]

Originally posted by Kryten
Sorry for not answering you directly pdescobar, I shall do so now:-

6) Close all windows within Flicster relating to that unit.
(Forgive me, but I’m a bit confused here.
If I don’t use the FLICster export, then NONE of my changes will be applied to the original flc, so that the next time I open it, it will be untouched….no square, let alone a green one.
Nonetheless, all windows within FLICster closed)
7) Reopen the FXM in FLicster.
(As I thought….no square. The animation & storyboard look just as it was, ‘straight-from-the-box’)

No! Stop right here. This step is where the fundamental misunderstanding is. Let's step back a minute. You start this process by opening a unit FLC in flicster and exporting a storyboard PCX, which creates a Flicster FXM file. At this point, we are *only* worried about the storyboard and its previews via the FXM file. Forget the original FLC and forget the yet-to-be-created new FLC. Under my instructions, you have edited the storyboard and saved the PCX. Closing Flicster has no effect on any files at this point; no changes will be lost because the storyboard was already saved in PSP. You can close everything down and reboot your computer if you want and the storyboard will still contain your changes, and the storyboard is the only thing which matters right now.

The next time you open the original FLC in FLicster, it will of course be the same, which is why I said to ignore the original FLC. However, the next time you open the FXM in Flicster, which is just Flicster's way of interpteting your storyboard, it will darned sure show your changes. But to see them, I repeat, you have to reopen the FXM file. You never need to reopen the original FLC once this process has started and you don't need to be exporting anything from Flicster again unless/until you have reached the point where you want to test your changes in-game. If you are opening the FXM and indeed are not seeing the square you made, then you are screwing up the PCX save somehow or your computer is infested with demons.

On to later bits of your post:

When I use FLICster to open a flc in order to create a storyboard, two new windows appear in FLICster:-
* The FLC Info window (which is just for looking at things)
* And the FXM Info window (which creates the storyboard and the .pal & Alpha.pal palette files).

Stop again. The FXM window *creates* nothing. The FXM file, original storyboard, and .pal files are all created only when you clicked "export" on the original FLC. The FXM window is simply a preview of what's currently in the storyboard, just like the FLC window is simply a preview of what's in the original FLC.

Now if I don't use the 'export' in the FXM Info window, then no changes are applied to the original flc....nothing will be changed; the flc stays as it was before I started.

Right, that's good. Don't screw with the FLC until you actually have to. Do all your work on the storyboard and only make FLCs when you need to test them in-game.

But if I 'export' then CLOSE the FXM Info window, when I open it again it creates a NEW storyboard (with my changes, which I just exported to the original flc), BUT IN ADDITION, it automatically creates two new pal files....pal files with the ORIGINAL palette colours, because my palette was never accepted by FLICster.

What are you "exporting" here and why? You should only be using export in these two situations:
1) Open the original FLC and export as PCX storyboard as the first step of the process.
2) Open the FXM file and export back to FLC in order to test your new unit in the game as the last step of the process.

I don't know exactly what you are doing, but I am pretty sure you are exporting way too much and overwriting your changes somehow. During the editing process, the only thing you should be doing is modifying the PCX (and its internal palette) in PSP and then seeing how those changes will look in the FXM preview. If necessary, close the FXM info window (heck, close Flicster completely if you want) and then reopen it. And when I say reopen it, I mean go to File -> Open and then navigate to the FXM file and select it; no export is needed here.

 

[Kryten]

Well tweak my nipple-nuts and call me Susan....IT WORKS!
(Hurrah!)
To BeBro, Neomega, Dom Pedro II, embryodead, utahjazz7, and especially pdsecobar....I cannot thank you all enough for being soooo patient.

I have found the spot where my version of FLICster differs from everybody else’s....
....because each of my directories are jam-packed with various ‘body parts’ plus masses of other bits and pieces, I had unconsciously set the FLICster ‘open file’ setting to show ONLY .flcs instead of both .FLC AND .FXM files, so I was opening the .flc every time because that was all I could see!

Also, I was using the wrong terminology.
I was calling the PaintShop Pro Image where all the animation frames can be seen and manipulated the ‘Storyboard’....but the TRUE storyboard is that little 1KB FXM file where FLICster keeps all it’s info....so every time embryodead & pdescobar told me to open the FXM file, I was opening the FLC file to create a ‘frame image’ so that I could manipulate it!

Thanks once again everybody.
And I hope I can repay you all by making better units from now on.

Cheers!

 

[Dom Pedro II]

It's amazing you actually managed to make all those units in spite of that error, eh?

 

[utahjazz7]

Dooh!

Well, I'm glad you've straightened yourself out, Mr. nipple-nuts!

 

[Civanator]

Originally posted by Kryten
A more dramatic effect can be seen when I create a NEW flc file in FLICster, then paste a unit onto it and save it.....

That looks cool . You should make it as a unit

 

[Kryten]

What, as some sort of "Phantom Warrior" for a fantasy scenario you mean....

 

[aaglo]

Heh.. that's scary