Okay, this is pissing me off (Israeli flag)

[G-Max]

Here's what I do:

1) Make/get bitmap of blue Star of David on a white background
2) Open bitmap in DXT1 Bitmap Manipulator, set alpha channel to solid black, and save as DDS DXT 3
3) Fire up mod, start new game as Israel, and...
4) My flag is a dark blue Star of David against a light blue background. RAAAAAGE!!!

Help would be appreciated...

 

[embryodead]

Flags are set to use the alpha channel to paint team colors by default. To use them as bitmaps, set bWhiteFlag to 1 in ArtDefines_Civilizations (and/or WhiteFlag=1 in WBSave if it's a scenario)

 

[G-Max]

Honestly, I'd rather get the alpha channel in my .dds file to work correctly...

 

[Jarlaxe Baenre]

Honestly, I'd rather get the alpha channel in my .dds file to work correctly...

He gave you a solution! So use it. Don't whine about how it's not exactly what you wanted.

 

[G-Max]

But I need to learn how to do things properly if I'm to become as leet as you guys

 

[Jarlaxe Baenre]

But I need to learn how to do things properly if I'm to become as leet as you guys

That IS how to do it properly.

 

[G-Max]

That's how to make the alpha channel opaque in a .dds file? I don't think so.

*sigh* I'll do things this way for now, but eventually, I'm going to get some photo software that doesn't suck.

 

[mechaerik]

What did the Israeli flag ever do to you?

That's how to make the alpha channel opaque in a .dds file? I don't think so.

*sigh* I'll do things this way for now, but eventually, I'm going to get some photo software that doesn't suck.

Its not the software.

 

[embryodead]

Your alpha channel works correctly, that's why you saw light blue instead of white in game

I told you: CIV4 reads data from alpha channel to display team colors, unless you disable this feature with bWhiteFlag.

 

[G-Max]

o wise and powerful embryodead, I seek your wisdom: is there any way to make the alpha channel completely opaque using DXT1 Bitmap Manipulator, that I may use a .dds file as the Powers that Be hath intended?

(I'm currently working on other parts of my mod right now, so I haven't gotten around to the flag thing yet... but it's next, I swear, and I'll use the bitmap method if necessary)

 

[embryodead]

Yes, set it to black, but not for flags. For flags there's no opaque/transparent, there's just primary (black) and secondary (white) color. For bWhiteFlags don't use alpha.

Alternatively you could just make a proper team color flag for Israel using just alpha channel, but the civ's primary color would have to be white, and secondary blue.

 

[G-Max]

Yes, set it to black, but not for flags. For flags there's no opaque/transparent, there's just primary (white) and secondary (black) color. For bWhiteFlags don't use alpha.

Ah... I hath been enlightened. Thank you, I know what to do now.

 

[embryodead]

Just note that I switched colors and edited the post - black is primary, white is secondary. Duh.

 

[G-Max]

Well, after a series of hilariously failed results - black star on a blue flag, blue star on a near-black flag, black star on a near-black flag (?!?), etc. - I'm about to throw in the towel on this one. I still have some unit-debugging to do, so I'll let this opacity nonsense percolate while I work on that. However, I know that these flags are typically a white symbol against a background of whatever the civ's color is, and my Israeli civ's color is cyan (Persians are now dark lemon, Holy Romans are now dark indigo, Sumerians no longer exist). I know there's a way to set the "symbol" to literally everything except the Star of David, and let the Star of David be the background. It's just... eluding me.

Now, on to those units...

 

[embryodead]

Uh, well did you try the first solution? Make a normal blue on white image, remove alpha channel and set bWhiteFlag to 1 and/or WhiteFlag=1 in WBS, that's all. It'll ignore the team colors then.

 

[Jarlaxe Baenre]

Uh, well did you try the first solution? Make a normal blue on white image, remove alpha channel and set bWhiteFlag to 1 and/or WhiteFlag=1 in WBS, that's all. It'll ignore the team colors then.

He didn't do that because he thinks it's not the 'proper' way. Read his thread in GD.

 

[smeagolheart]

Wonch you post your results so we can see what happened and how your flag turned out? Yes that just happened, I made a new word 'wonch'.

 

[Jarlaxe Baenre]

What does wonch mean? Why don't'ya?

 

[Padjur]

Either way is correct, providing you're using it for the right reasons.
Do you want a decal flag, two colours the Civ's primary and secondary colour.
Or a non-decal flag, one with three colours, or different colours to your Civs colours.

If you decide to use the decal flag then you'll have to set the primary and secondary colours, to match the flag's colours (white and a shade of blue) if that don't suit
then you'll have to use the non-decal flag.

Which might make more sense if you're doing a national flag.

 

[G-Max]

I have no idea what this "second color" nonsense is about, so I'm just going to give up and use the bitmap method.