Takeno
Kris Kringle
I have the SBB, but not FLICster. Where can I get it, and how much will it cost?
Some Tips on using Poser to make Units
- Thread starter Kinboat
- Start date
Kinboat
Conan the Librarian
FLICster! I thought everyone had it 
It's almost essential if you want to make units (now of course there is another option). It's in the Utilities forum.
It's almost essential if you want to make units (now of course there is another option). It's in the Utilities forum.
Takeno
Kris Kringle
I have another problem 
. I have finished the animations, and pasted the .bmps onto storyboards I got from Civ3FlcEdit. I then convet them to Flc files. The animations work in the game, but the unit is surrounded by a civ color square 
. I'm sure this problem has happened before but I can't remember how to fix it. BTW, before anyone asks, I have checked the background color and am pretty sure its (255,0,255).
Also, CamJH, I'm having trouble converting the lightning attacks. For some reason my Civ3FlcEdit won't run them anymore.
. I have finished the animations, and pasted the .bmps onto storyboards I got from Civ3FlcEdit. I then convet them to Flc files. The animations work in the game, but the unit is surrounded by a civ color square . I'm sure this problem has happened before but I can't remember how to fix it. BTW, before anyone asks, I have checked the background color and am pretty sure its (255,0,255).Also, CamJH, I'm having trouble converting the lightning attacks. For some reason my Civ3FlcEdit won't run them anymore.
You don't need to paste the bmps onto storyboards, all you have to do is create a storyboard with SBB. Then create a new storyboad with Civ3FlcEdit (or flicster), replace that storyboard with the one you created using SBB, and then open it up with Civ3FlcEdit (or flicster). No cutting and pasting involved. 
I think I had a similar problem back when I started with a civ-colored square around the unit. Only happened once by accident, but I think it was a problem with my palette. Are you using PEdit to create your own palettes?
If it won't run the lightning animations anymore, something might have altered them. Just delete them and re-download them. If that doesn't work, let me know.
I think I had a similar problem back when I started with a civ-colored square around the unit. Only happened once by accident, but I think it was a problem with my palette. Are you using PEdit to create your own palettes?
If it won't run the lightning animations anymore, something might have altered them. Just delete them and re-download them. If that doesn't work, let me know.
Kinboat
Conan the Librarian
Definitely sounds like a palette problem. Maybe if you can post one of the FLC files here someone can take a look.
Takeno
Kris Kringle
CamJH said:You don't need to paste the bmps onto storyboards, all you have to do is create a storyboard with SBB. Then create a new storyboad with Civ3FlcEdit (or flicster), replace that storyboard with the one you created using SBB, and then open it up with Civ3FlcEdit (or flicster). No cutting and pasting involved.
What do you mean, "replace"?
Takeno
Kris Kringle
I tried it, and when I try to view the animation it says "Runtime Error: 9, Subscript out of range."CamJH said:
EDIT: Fixed the box problem, but now my unit is half invisible!
And the other half's colors are all messed up. It's still something to do with the pallette most likely. 
flamescreen
Ancient Mariner
Hi, kinboat, a question for you.
I'm doing this settler unit, in search of directions I should use, I opened the flics of Firaxis' settler and your hobbit. Using 120 frames for it, seemingly 16 for each direction.
How do you do that with a set of 15 animation poses?(after looking your files I decided to make mine on packs of 15 as well) Copy the 1st as sixteenth?
Also, this stands only for the first 7 directions. The 8th is only 8 frames, which look identical to each other. Is that(identicality) my imagination or should I do that this way also?
Oh, and something unrelated to Poser: I noticed units will have an .amb file for sounds. Why is that, how is it used and how can i make one, if you know?
I'm doing this settler unit, in search of directions I should use, I opened the flics of Firaxis' settler and your hobbit. Using 120 frames for it, seemingly 16 for each direction.
How do you do that with a set of 15 animation poses?(after looking your files I decided to make mine on packs of 15 as well) Copy the 1st as sixteenth?
Also, this stands only for the first 7 directions. The 8th is only 8 frames, which look identical to each other. Is that(identicality) my imagination or should I do that this way also?
Oh, and something unrelated to Poser: I noticed units will have an .amb file for sounds. Why is that, how is it used and how can i make one, if you know?
Kinboat
Conan the Librarian
All my recent animations have 15 frames for each direction. If you want the animation to Loop then you can copy the first frame to the 16th. I'm not sure if that's what you're asking or not.
I'm not sure why the 8th direction would show up as only 8 frames... it should be the same as all the rest. Are you using FLICster to look at the FLC files or Animation Shop? I believe Animation Shop cuts off the end of the animations for some reason.
AMB files are sound files for some units. I don't think anyone has figured out a way to make their own AMB files yet although a general post in the creation forum might help you out there.
I'm not sure why the 8th direction would show up as only 8 frames... it should be the same as all the rest. Are you using FLICster to look at the FLC files or Animation Shop? I believe Animation Shop cuts off the end of the animations for some reason.
AMB files are sound files for some units. I don't think anyone has figured out a way to make their own AMB files yet although a general post in the creation forum might help you out there.
aaglo
Furioso!
Suggestion to unit makers:
Maybe you should use the same amount of frames as firaxis does (atleast in those animations, where the sound file is an amb-file, namely run and attack animations). That way we can use existing firaxis sounds for some units - without strange sound glitches
Maybe you should use the same amount of frames as firaxis does (atleast in those animations, where the sound file is an amb-file, namely run and attack animations). That way we can use existing firaxis sounds for some units - without strange sound glitches
flamescreen
Ancient Mariner
Yeah, that was exactly what I wanted Kinboat! Thanks.
Also, you're right, Animation shop it was, I just tried flicster, and it looks ok, but no individual frames, like in AS.
Also, I agree with aaglo. Good idea. I might implement it for my next unit. Hope to find some info on .amb manipulation. Thanks for suggesting!
Also, you're right, Animation shop it was, I just tried flicster, and it looks ok, but no individual frames, like in AS.
Also, I agree with aaglo. Good idea. I might implement it for my next unit. Hope to find some info on .amb manipulation. Thanks for suggesting!
flamescreen
Ancient Mariner
I was making my first flc, under your tut's guidance Kinboat(and thank you very much for it) and I've bumped into some problems. Since I've solved at least one of them here's some tips and 2 questions:
After you save the storyboard in PSP(in .pcx format), you have to go to flickster and reopen the file you exported. Since I didn't know I tried to open the storyboard and of course Flickster can't do that. What it can do is open the .fxm file you get with the exported files.
After opening that(since you replaced the storyboard with yours, you should see it in the animation preview, also check Alpha blend, if you don't see just the unit, there's a problem) go to the last tab and export it as flc(it says it exports as 8 different files but I only got one which is how it's supposed to be).
Question 1:
Poser 4(not pro) renders as Name 0001 to 0015, not 0000 to 0014 as SBB asks. Anyway to change that?(I wrote a series of batch files for it)
Question 2:
I got a problem with palettes. The flc included the magenta background. Then I went for the Eccential palette that comes with PEdit and it came through fine, except a grey line surrounding the unit(which I hand painted magenta and then got it fine), also came out as civ-colored. I'm including the palettes I used.
The first 2 are from photoshop 5.5 I have and saved them as pal(one with civ colors first the other as last,but none helped), the other is one I used with PSP, but still nothing(all three are basically: I take the first frame of each direction paste them in one pic and save a palette that includes all colors in the pic, is that the wrong way? cause PEdit is just too fast and seems to have very little space for colors).
Also, I noticed I can't save a palette in PSP(edit it basically, maybe cause it's in .bmp? ), unless I touch it in Photoshop, go indexed mode, save then open it in PSP. Is there a manual on PEdit? One would be quite handy.
And something last, I have some units that wear too white clothing, would that be a problem with flickster?(like it is for leaderheads?)
sorry to ask so much...
Hm, I see the board doesn't accept pal and I have no time to zip. Sending through e-mail...(unfortunatelly, my disk was damaged in the process so can't send the storyboard itself, hope it isn't essential).
Might have to do with this, as I didn't expect it this way(the palette in photoshop), but asking to make sure. http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?t=44392
After you save the storyboard in PSP(in .pcx format), you have to go to flickster and reopen the file you exported. Since I didn't know I tried to open the storyboard and of course Flickster can't do that. What it can do is open the .fxm file you get with the exported files.
After opening that(since you replaced the storyboard with yours, you should see it in the animation preview, also check Alpha blend, if you don't see just the unit, there's a problem) go to the last tab and export it as flc(it says it exports as 8 different files but I only got one which is how it's supposed to be).
Question 1:
Poser 4(not pro) renders as Name 0001 to 0015, not 0000 to 0014 as SBB asks. Anyway to change that?(I wrote a series of batch files for it)
Question 2:
I got a problem with palettes. The flc included the magenta background. Then I went for the Eccential palette that comes with PEdit and it came through fine, except a grey line surrounding the unit(which I hand painted magenta and then got it fine), also came out as civ-colored. I'm including the palettes I used.
The first 2 are from photoshop 5.5 I have and saved them as pal(one with civ colors first the other as last,but none helped), the other is one I used with PSP, but still nothing(all three are basically: I take the first frame of each direction paste them in one pic and save a palette that includes all colors in the pic, is that the wrong way? cause PEdit is just too fast and seems to have very little space for colors).
Also, I noticed I can't save a palette in PSP(edit it basically, maybe cause it's in .bmp? ), unless I touch it in Photoshop, go indexed mode, save then open it in PSP. Is there a manual on PEdit? One would be quite handy.
And something last, I have some units that wear too white clothing, would that be a problem with flickster?(like it is for leaderheads?)
sorry to ask so much...
Hm, I see the board doesn't accept pal and I have no time to zip. Sending through e-mail...(unfortunatelly, my disk was damaged in the process so can't send the storyboard itself, hope it isn't essential).
Might have to do with this, as I didn't expect it this way(the palette in photoshop), but asking to make sure. http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?t=44392
Kinboat
Conan the Librarian
I use a program called Irfanview to batch rename the files and organize them for the SBB program. Or if you are using the latest version of SBB there is a check box that lets the program read 1-15 instead of 0-14. My brother is the programer in the family and he mentioned making batch files but I've never gotten around to making up my own.
(FLICster only exports as 8 seperate FLCs when you use that option from a FLC and not a FLC storyboard. Useful when you need to adjust the x/y offsets)
The palette needs to be organized in a specific way. The first 4 rows and the last two rows shouldn't be changed unless you know what you're doing. It doesn't really matter what color is in those spaces but where ever those colors appear in the unit they will be either civ-colored or smoke or shadow colors. In a normal unit you only have the rows in between to work with. Using PEdit and the essential palette I made up you can fill in those colors by clicking on an empty palette square and a color on the reference image you made up. Or when Steph finishes his latest program it will let you create a palette with a few clicks.
(FLICster only exports as 8 seperate FLCs when you use that option from a FLC and not a FLC storyboard. Useful when you need to adjust the x/y offsets)
The palette needs to be organized in a specific way. The first 4 rows and the last two rows shouldn't be changed unless you know what you're doing. It doesn't really matter what color is in those spaces but where ever those colors appear in the unit they will be either civ-colored or smoke or shadow colors. In a normal unit you only have the rows in between to work with. Using PEdit and the essential palette I made up you can fill in those colors by clicking on an empty palette square and a color on the reference image you made up. Or when Steph finishes his latest program it will let you create a palette with a few clicks.
flamescreen
Ancient Mariner
Well, too late about the program you suggested...I already wrote yesterday batch files to rename for every single animation case. Took me a while but that's ok. I think I have ver6 so it might have the option you mention, I'll check it out. It's puzzling that I got the grey ghost in flickster if it's ver 6 though. Anyway.
I'm looking forward to this program from Steph. It would be so handy for amateurs like me.
My units textures are blue so I probably can't do something with it. Might use the trick on blue you mention earlier.
I'm looking forward to this program from Steph. It would be so handy for amateurs like me.
My units textures are blue so I probably can't do something with it. Might use the trick on blue you mention earlier.
