GRAPHICS: Improved Wonder pics

[Adam7Eight]

I am getting crashes too. I just tried my first game since installing the new wonder pics and it crashed as soon as I completed the Pyramids. Never got any errors or anything, just a straight CTD. pediaicon.txt and civilopedia.txt files are just as they should be and everything is good to go in the conquests.biq file. Never had this problem before. I have some free time so I'll do some investigating too.

 

[shirleyrocks]

That's exactly what happened to me, low. I built the Oracle and...game over.

The wonder splash .pcx files opened just fine in other graphics editors (they were created in PhotoShop CS and I could open and view them just fine with the Paint Shop Pro trial version) so I don't think they're corrupted in any way.

A few guesses off the top of my head...
1) The template and action files were created with an older version of PhotoShop. When I updated them with a newer version of PhotoShop, something got messed up with the format somehow.
2) The size of the files...Mafioso's original files were all around 100kb in size. These new ones are ~250 to ~300kb in size. Could that effect CivIII somehow? I wouldn't think so, but who knows.
3) The dimensions of the files...maybe when I updated each of these, I somehow widened or lengthened the wonder splash pcx files so that they no longer fit properly with the CivIII wonderbackground.pcx file. I don't know if this is true, or if this would cause a crash, but again, who knows.

 

[Adam7Eight]

The first thing I thought was the dimensions of the files were wrong too. They all appear to be correct though. But, I would think incorrect file sizes would cause distorted/misplaced/missing images, not CTDs. Anyways, that's irrelevant because they are the correct dimensions.

As for the actual size of the files, I wouldn't think so either.

Your first guess sounds to be the best one. Maybe it is a format problem. I really don't know. I suppose it could be tested by doing a wonder splash or two with an older version of PS and see what happens.

EDIT: One thing I did notice using PSP8 is that the older, stock versions of the wonder splashes have a pixel depth\colors rate of 8\256, whereas these new ones have a rate of 24\16 million. Could this possibly have something to do with it?

EDIT again: Just ran a quick test and have found the solution. I reduced the color (bit) of the new pyramid.pcx file to match the 8\256 of the original and it now works perfectly. So, shirleyrocks, all you have to do is redo the wonder splashes with the reduced color and it should work fine. It doesn't really look any worse and it reduces the filesize.

 

[TheLastKnight]

That would be necessary indeed.
Thanks for updating these! I dind't truly put them on a reasonable standard with my own update.

 

[Pounder]

Low is right, the colour depth has to be 8 bits (256 colours) or the game will crash.

 

[shirleyrocks]

Low...check your PMs.

 

[Adam7Eight]

Originally posted by shirleyrocks
Low...check your PMs.

Gotcha.

 

[TheLastKnight]

So what?

 

[TheLastKnight]

Shirley, any chanche to fix these?

After all, they are of no use to anybody in this state.

 

[shirleyrocks]

I had fixed the color depth issue and the splashes appeared ingame without crashing but there was another problem...areas of the splashes would appear black when displayed. My guess is that it's some sort of transparency problem but I haven't been able to figure it out yet.

 

[Civrules]

Okay, I literary got a headache trying to figure out why the game crashes so much.

I literary found this by total accident (could not have been a more random discovery!!!). I had removed my graphics mod files from Civ3, PTW, and C3C from one computer but not from the other one for some reason. Gogf, suggested that I try something that wasn’t even related to anything involving graphics files. I tried his suggestion on the computer that had the original files and the game did not crash. (Hehe, I didn’t know this but after when it was supposed to crash, I had built the Pyramids.) I told myself that Gogf’s suggestion was the solution. What I did next was add back the graphics mod files to Civ3, PTW, and C3C. When I started the game, it crashed (again, before I built the Pyramids). I tested it out a few times with the new and original graphics and it kept crashing with the new ones. I figured that I should leave the other new graphics mods in the game folders and only replace the Wonder Splash folder. When I did this, I was surprised to find that the game did not crash. Then I knew that there was something with the new Wonder Splashes.
I came here and to my surprise the first thing I see a person say that the game crashes. Man, I was relieved!

Now, when will the fixed Wonder Splashes come out? We still love them, you know!




Sirleyrocks, if you are unable to fix this, then, possibly someone else can take over (someone with a different graphics program?).

But if you can fix them, please update us.

 

[Civrules]

It is easy to change the colors (as you have already done) but I think that the black pixels appear in the back because the background is not compatible with all the rest of the splashes. Anyone with knowledge on how to possible fix this?
I’ve been trying to fix it but I donno how...

Thanks

 

[GIDustin]

Sorry for the bump, but I was asked to help in this matter.

To fix the files in Paint Shop Pro:

Load the File. CTRL-SHIFT-6 (Custom Pallette)
In the number of colors box, type 253.
Re-save

Should work

- GIDustin

 

[Kaboth]

To fix the files in Paint Shop Pro:

In the number of colors box, type 253.

So we have a solution, can't someone fix them all and then upload them to civfanatics so we can dl. Not all of us own paint shop pro. Thanks.

 

[shirleyrocks]

OK, it looks all the bugs are cleared out. Thanks to GIDustin for the final little push. Again, these splashes contain the new traits, new wonders, a little Tourist Attraction deal, etc. Here's your preview once more...

And the files...

http://www.civfanatics.net/uploads7/C3CSplashes.zip

 

[Cuivienen]

Does this update include the actual Conquests themselves? The template could also be used for such Wonders as Robin Hood and The Scourge of God, which have unique (or sort of unique... Scourge of God/War Council) splashes. In additional, wonders like The Holy Roman Empire, which borrow splashes from other wonders (Sistine) should get different templates to be placed in their scenario folders.

 

[Civrules]

Thank you!

 

[Jura]

It looks very good to me! I always used these wonder splashes in my games, they help very much to know whats going on.



I'm missing War Council.pcx, are you still working on it?

 

[Gurney]

Very helpful Splashes and beautiful work. Great job!!

I am new to modding however and a bit cofused as to where they should go. Do I need to replace them individually where they are currently located?

I read somewhere that the Conquest folders override all other previous version files and so therefore I can just extract the files into C:\Program Files\Infogrames Interactive\Civilization III\Conquests\Art\Wonder Splash. Please tell me if this will work

 

[Pounder]

Should work fine.

In fact, I think it always checks the art folder in the location that the scenario bic/bix/biq was loaded from first, then checks other folders. You could have them spread through different folders, I don't think that it will load from a conquest folder if you loaded your game from PTW or Vanilla Civ3 though, it only seems to search in order from newest folder to oldest folder. So if you intend on playing PTW or vanilla, then just leave the existing splashes in place as well, that way the correct splashes will continue to show for the older games.

Example of how it finds splashes:
If you were playing a The Rise of Rome Conquest,
it would first search: \Program Files\Infogrames Interactive\Civilization III\Conquests\Conquests\Rise of Rome\Art\WonderSplash

Will next search in :\Program Files\Infogrames Interactive\Civilization III\Conquests\Art\WonderSplash

Will next search: \Program Files\Infogrames Interactive\Civilization III\CIV3PTW\Art\WonderSplash

Then: \Program Files\Infogrames Interactive\Civilization III\Art\WonderSplash

BTW, great job shirleyrocks.