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View Full Version : What format...tileset?


Spazzyman
Jun 2, 2001, 03:55 PM
<body bgcolor=blue><center><br><table width=99% bgcolor=seagreen text=white bordercolor=blue border=1><tr><td><center>I keep making tilesets, what format should i use to compile into the j2t? i usually use a 256 color bitmap, but it turns my colors all ugly. i want to use pcx but it rejects it, if anyone can offer some help her, id be grateful, thanx.</td></tr></TABLE></center>

Tik
Jun 2, 2001, 04:05 PM
I use bitmaps.



Hmm...well, if you don't want the tileset quality to seriously degrade, make sure that "remap tileset" isn't checked when you compile it. Note that this will screw up the sprite colors (Jazz will be black, ect).



It can also matter with what program you are using. With Paint Shop Pro, the quality doesn't lower drastically when you go to 156 colors, but if you use MS Paint then you might as well've not made a tileset at all.



Hope that helped.

Spazzyman
Jun 2, 2001, 04:13 PM
I used Adobe Photoshop, i have the .bmp [256 and 24-bit] and the .psd, which should i use, when i convert to 256 color the tileset drastically changes ugly! could u please answer that? :) please. :)

Disguise
Jun 2, 2001, 05:34 PM
The reason it becomes ugly is simple.



Your tileset started off with 16.7 million different colors to use. Now imagine having all those 16.7 million (ok your tileset doesn't use that much, considering you're using Photoshop I would guess 20000 colors) changed into only 256! Even less because the Jazz2 Palette takes up a lot of colors. That leaves about 128 colors for you to draw your tileset with, and that is VERY little. Spacey Universe had the same problem, and here are two little pieces of advice to help you along (but only a bit).



1) Reduce your primary amount of colors! For example: If you only have a few purple tiles and lots of blue ones, rather change those purple tiles to another fade of blue. It's pretty easy, all you have to do is adjust the Hue



2) Just live with the ugly change. Trust me, no matter how hard you try your tileset will always look a LOT worse than it was before. Just accept the fact that when you see your finished tileset in 24-bit mode that is sort of an uber version of the tileset only the creator gets to see because of his dedicated hard work. It's impossible to make your tileset look the way it does when it is finished.



There, that's about it. Oh, one more thing. If you've practically pulled your hair out during the process of reducing the colors and want to bash the tileset past the glory of the recycle bin straight off your hard drive, then give it to me. I will reduce the colors for you as good as it is humanly possible and then give it back to you so that you can submit it. I don't bite, and I'll be glad to help http://jazz2.nagcentral.com/forum/images/smiles/icon_smile.gif



You can find my details on this board, I'm too bored to post my e-mail, ICQ, and AIM name http://jazz2.nagcentral.com/forum/images/smiles/icon_wink.gif

Disguise
Jun 2, 2001, 05:50 PM
Oh, some other stuff:



1) I use PCX http://jazz2.nagcentral.com/forum/images/smiles/icon_wink.gif



2) Meaning that you have Paint doesn't mean that you shouldn't bother to make a tileset. I can just as easily make a tileset in Paint as I can in Paint Shop Pro, it's just a heckuva lot easier in PSP! Honestly, Paint gives you the ability to select ANY color. You don't necessarily have to use that stupid stinking lil' palette they give to you. You can edit and fiddle around with those colors as much as you like http://jazz2.nagcentral.com/forum/images/smiles/icon_smile.gif

ElectroPiZZa
Jun 2, 2001, 11:09 PM
What the others said, and what's with that table? A waste of code, I say.

Aiko
Jun 3, 2001, 01:49 AM
What Disguise said, but hes always talking about 128 colours or so left...personally i have good experiences with reducing to 160 colours (255-95=160). Apart from that i use PSP5 and the ZSoft Paintbrush format, Version 5 (PCX). It works fine in most cases.

Fquist_old
Jun 3, 2001, 05:08 AM
Aiko is making a tileset? :-P

Aiko
Jun 3, 2001, 07:54 AM
Don't you know my *coughcough* Britney Spears tileset? :-P

Newspaz
Jun 3, 2001, 08:16 AM
I rather reduce it to 128 like Disguise does. Then you'll have 32 colours left for textured backgrounds etc..

Disguise
Jun 3, 2001, 10:52 AM
The professional tileset Disguise:

I know 128 colors is a bit low, but I have a good reason for saying that. There are 9 open rows to use in your palette (that excludes your 2 background color rows and the jazz 2 colors). Those 9 rows make 144 colors. Those would be the best to use. Also, in the very first row in the palette there are 14 open spaces for you also to use. I used them with Spacey Universe and when I compiled the tileset it told me this message: "Error, too many colors in palette". Yup, you guessed it! You are not allowed to use 256 colors. You can imagine the pain I had to reduce the colors even further (I manually had to reduce it from 182 colors, which looked the best in reduction). I say 128 so that u can have extra space and not work on the least amount, but if you REALLY need to have the most possible, reduce it to 144 (176 if there is no textured background)



The crazy weirdo Disguise:

BRITNEY SPEARS?!?! WOOHOO!!! FINALLY!! Now I know I'm not the only JJ2er that likes her music http://jazz2.nagcentral.com/forum/images/smiles/icon_wink.gif



_________________

-Disguisey Wisey GPW



"Never underestimate the power of creativity"

Fquist_old
Jun 3, 2001, 11:09 AM
Eww.. :P

Aiko
Jun 3, 2001, 11:39 AM
Oh, music? She's a musician? :-P

Ice M A N
Jun 3, 2001, 11:44 AM
I'm not sure if anyone already took this into account, but when you compile the tileset, a few changes are always(?) made to the palette: 0-9 (first 10) are black. 15 (top right) is white. 255 (bottom right) is white. 246-254 (9 of the last 10) are black.



EDIT: lol @ Aiko. :)

ElectroPiZZa
Jun 3, 2001, 12:29 PM
Britney Spears... music? Does not compute... error... error...



- Piz

$tilettø
Jun 3, 2001, 12:41 PM
On , Aiko wrote:

Don't you know my *coughcough* Britney Spears tileset? :-P





You must see This one

10 i give it 10 Yay Great Tileset ;P

Disguise
Jun 3, 2001, 04:59 PM
*ends up sitting alone in a corner*



HELLLLOOOOO?!?! ANYBODY THERE?!?!?!...

...

...

...

...*total silence*



Hmm, that's strange. I suddenly seemed to have lost every possibility of social interaction within a radius of 2000 miles, I wonder why? http://jazz2.nagcentral.com/forum/images/smiles/icon_smile.gif



OH COME ON SHE'S NOT THAT BAD!! The fact that she looks nice is just a bonus. Come to think of it, a BIG bonus, but that's not the point http://jazz2.nagcentral.com/forum/images/smiles/icon_wink.gif

Aiko
Jun 4, 2001, 04:08 AM
Hmmm, London is about 300 miles from here...oh and her music is a nice little bonus, indeed ;-)