Brief Mod Sprite Tutorial

[Uh-Nu-Buh]

1. get The Gimp for graphic editing. It is like Photoshop, but open source. You will need the installer and the GTK+ graphical library from: http://gimp-win.sourceforge.net/stable.html

2. install GTK+, then The Gimp.

3. unless you are an Artiste, you will want something to start with. Sites like this:
http://www.popularcollections.com/dungeons---dragons.html
provide great small graphics that are suitable for use. Download them to your desktop. For this tutorial, click on the first one--the big red demon dude. This will take you to a page of more icons. Right click on the red demon dude from this page and choose "save image as" change the filename to bob.gif.

4. open the Gimp. open bob.gif. File-->Open File-->Desktop--Bob.gif. You'll notice Bob is 167X180 pixels. We want Bob to be about 128X128.

5. Resize Bob. Image-->Scale Image. You'll see Image Size has a Width and a Height, with chains to the right. Click the chains to break them. This allows us to resize out of scale. This is ok for Bob, as it will just make him look a bit squatter and more powerful. Make Width and Height both 128, then click the lower right hand Scale button. Look at his muscles bulge!!!

6. We need to make Bob a Targa file (.tga). This will increase his hit points tremendously, and give him the ability to teleport. Well, it will make him compatible at least. File-->Save As-->Select File Type By Extension and scroll down to .tga. Choose Save. Turn off RLE compression and click OK.

7. Bob needs to be RGB. Woe to anyone who does not make Bob RGB. Ng Thug Narfl. Image-->Mode-->RGB.

8. Bob needs a transparent background if he wants to fit in with the crowd and make friends with all the other demons and horrors in Dom III. Right click on Bob's white background. Filters-->Colors--Color to Alpha. A preview pops up with all the white turned to checkerboard. Checkerboard is Gimpese for Transparent. This is good. Choose Ok.

9. Save Bob. File-->Save

You now have a very nice looking sprite that is compatible with Dom III. Now you need to use it. Tips:

--have a sprites folder specifically for each mod, e.g. mod WatershipDown keeps all sprites of rabbits in a folder called wsd. Beware the rabbits seeking Dominion!! Their evil rabbit pretender god will nibble your celery and drink your carrot juice....
--Dom III doesn't seem to care if you use win or *nix slashes. I.e. #spr1 .\wsd\bob.tga works just as well as #spr1 ./wsd/bob.tga This is a good thing.
--if you get an error on trying to use the new mod then check filename spelling, pathing, sprite size (must be a multiple of 16; 16X16, 32X32, 64X64, etc.), rgb, indexed, uncompressed....

Enjoy!

[Uh-Nu-Buh]

You might have noticed that Bob is huge. That's ok for Bob--he is the kind of demon who eats well and isn't afraid to show it. He isn't worried about his waist size. However, if you download a nice paladin named Junior at 167X180, you will want him to be human sized (32X32 I think). Here's how to do it, substituting the following alternative and additional steps into the process above.

5(alt). Resize Junior. Image-->Scale Image. This time keep the chains unbroken. Put 32 in for Width. Hit Tab. It will automatically resize Height. Don't worry about it if it is not 32.

8(alt). Junior needs a 128X128 canvas that is transparent so he can look his best--which is what Junior is all about. Face it, with a name like Junior, Bob has to worry about his appearance. In general, chicks do not dig guys named Junior. Image-->Canvas Size. Change it to 128X128. This puts your 32X32 image in the top right. Change the Horizontal offset to about 55. Change the Vertical offset to 128. Click Resize. Done. The canvas is by default transparent--it should show a kind of checkerboard hashing.

[zepath]

Thanks for putting this out on the boards, Uh-Nu-Buh. Can we get this thread made sticky?

[Uh-Nu-Buh]

Lots of wiggle room in sizes, but in general:
--Size 1 is up to 16X16 (hobbit, dwarf)
--Size 2 is up to 32X32 (human, skeleton....)
--Size 3 is up to 64X64 (giant, elephant....)
--Size 4 is up to 128X128 (dragon)

A good tip is to make your picture, then encase it in the proper size canvas. So if your image is 32X56 and it is a giant, then simply keep it at that size, but put it in a transparent canvas at 64X64 or 128X128.

[NTJedi]

Excellent topic and worthy of sticky for this section.

More links where images can be acquired would be greatly helpful.

[Uh-Nu-Buh]

http://www.toywiz.com/dddudrmigabc.html
http://www.popularcollections.com/dungeons---dragons.html
http://www.legendgames.co.uk/acatalog/Dungeons_and_Dragons_Miniatures.html

and a metasite
http://www.barr.karoo.net/hws/dbx/fantfigs.htm

[Uh-Nu-Buh]

Colors are important. I find that the softer earth colors often make an image fade out during battle sequences, making it difficult to fathom what is happening.

This probably happens with the whites in snow battle sequences as well.

[UninspiredName]

This is a really useful thread. I'll join in the 'sticky' petition.

And so this post isn't essentially worthless, remember to always put your sprites facing left. It's a simple mistake, but still something to keep in mind. My personal instinct is still to make them face right.

[NTJedi]

UninspiredName said:
remember to always put your sprites facing left. It's a simple mistake, but still something to keep in mind. My personal instinct is still to make them face right.



True... if the sprite is facing the incorrect direction GIMP can be used to make it face the correct direction with a simple click or two.
Very sweet free tool.

[Endoperez]

NTJedi said:

True... if the sprite is facing the incorrect direction GIMP can be used to make it face the correct direction with a simple click or two.
Very sweet free tool.



Gimp can do that... But so can IrfanView (which opens much faster) and MS Paint (which also opens much faster). Gimp is for creating the sprite; there are far better programs for tweaking things.

A backwards-sprite would make for quite an interesting hero, though.

[NTJedi]

Is it possible to create magic sites which produce negative gems each turn?

Will hidden magic sites work for recruiting creatures?
The modding looks like it's only possible to make magic sites for recruiting creatures used by nations starting with the magic site.

[Endoperez]

NTJedi said:
Is it possible to create magic sites which produce negative gems each turn?



Err... It might... I hope it isn't , but it might be. If the amount of gems were ever to go below 0, though, the game would probably crash.


Will hidden magic sites work for recruiting creatures?
The modding looks like it's only possible to make magic sites for recruiting creatures used by nations starting with the magic site.



Sites have to be found to allow recruitment. This is always the case. Otherwise, it'd be really easy to find out all those Crystal Citadels and Towers of Nexus and Kingdoms of Elludia and Alchemists' Guilds and Pypriphlegatons' and the towers of the three metallic orders, not to mention Sages and Lore Masters.

Only #homecom and #homeunit are available. Similar, non-restricted commands have been requested. See the list I composed in the modding wishlist thread; it lists (most?) other things missing from site modding.

[Uh-Nu-Buh]

If your image is facing the wrong direction (the right direction is the wrong direction, of course) then you can use a number of image editors and/or viewers to fix this simply and easily. Since this tutorial uses The Gimp, here is how you can make your image face do an about face, quickly and simply.

To Flip A Right-Facing Image to Face Left for Dom III
-----------------------------------------------------
1. Start The Gimp.
2. File-->Open the picture file (steps 1 and 2 can be combined by double clicking on the image file to both start The Gimp and open the image, if you have set file attributes correctly.)
3. Image-->Transform-->Flip Horizontally
4. File-->Save

[Amos]

Sizes of canvas other than 64x64 and 128x128 might lead to loss of sharpness in game. I had this problem with a unit in Horror mod. This loss of sharpness might be useful for certain units. But if you want your units to be sharp be careful when you resize. Also, you can have canvas size larger than 128x128.

[Uh-Nu-Buh]

Good tips. I think the larger the icon the better the image too, not just for canvas but the image itself.

I wonder how much it matters having outsize units? I bet it makes the battlefields a horror. if all units are 128x128, then the size 1 units would be really crowding eachother (not a problem with transparent canvases that are 128x128, I am talking the actual unit sprite).

I will check.

[Uh-Nu-Buh]

If you are too lazy to make your new evil demonic SantaKnight have a two image sword movement, then here are some easy ways to get the two primary benefits of a second sprite: aesthetic, and to see which unit is doing what on the battlefield.

1. Open your first sprite in The Gimp (SantaKnight1.tga in this example).
2. Script-Fu-->Alpha to Logo-->Alien Glow accept the defaults. Now SantaKnight is a Green Glowing Action Enigma, easily discernible from the non-active units, and startlingly aesthetic. Beautiful even. Good for SantaKnight, because he is a demon from the Green Dimension, but only reveals himself in the depths of combat.
3. File-->Save As-->santaknight2.tga

2a. Alternative. Script-Fu-->Alpha To Logo-->Frosty, good for jotuns, or nords, or van, or any really cool race.
2b. Glowing Hot--good for hot races, radiating races, abyssian types.
2c. Neon is pretty snarky.
2d. Particle Trace is cool for mage types who might be casting spells.
2e. For Warriors, try this: Filters-->Blur-->Motion Blur. You cannot beat Motion Blur for lazy but effective #spr2 images for warriors.

[Uh-Nu-Buh]

I can't think of anything else to put in this tutorial. If anybody has any requests, let me know.

[Ragnarok-X]

How to make alpha channels in PS would be good :p

[Ragnarok-X]

wtf am i doing wrong !?

[Jack_Trowell]

Another way to make the second sprite for melee units is just to move lightly the unit on the canva to the right. It should give the impression the unit is moving forward to attack.

[Uh-Nu-Buh]

Ragnarok-X said:
wtf am i doing wrong !?



What is the problem? I'll try to help if you give details--error message, whatever.

[Ragnarok-X]

I have attached my .tga to my second post.

[Amos]

Ragnarok copy/paste gif's image onto new tga canvas, dont convert it into tga. Easy way to check if you made an incorrect tga- your colors are wrong.

[Ragnarok-X]

Ill try that, thank you.

[Ragnarok-X]

Can there be more than 2 sprites for a unit ? Sprite 1 is standing and moving, sprite 2 is "action" ?

[Uh-Nu-Buh]

Just two sprites per unit.