Creating sprites for OpenBOR

[Ralf Van Bogaert]

Hi,

I'm trying to optimize my workflow for creating graphics for use in OpenBOR.

Up until now I have used GIMP to create and export the .gif files, indexed to 16 (or less) colors, with the first color in the map serving as transparency.
The results are good, but this is time consuming.

So now I use ImageMagick to convert an entire folder of .png files into indexed .gif ones with a single command, which cuts down on time considerably, great!

But the color map is arranged differently via that method, causing palette problems in OpenBOR.

So I would love to know if there is an easy way or some tool that easily allows me to apply the same color map across a bunch of images.

 

[danno]

Stick with PNG and use this instead

PalApply

PalApply is a powerful tool by @Plombo that (as the name implies) applies color tables to images. This tool is a must get even if you have access to full featured image editors like Photoshop or Gimp. The batch mode is a fantastic time saver...

chronocrash.com

 

[Ralf Van Bogaert]

Ok thanks, but the issue is OpenBOR refuses to load .png files.

If I try, OpenBOR crashes with this in the log:

Unable to load file 'data/chars/mychar/gfx/idle/1.png'

 

[danno]

Make sure your PNGs are indexed too and the locations of the PNGs are correct.

 

[Ralf Van Bogaert]

They are indexed and the path is correct...

 

[danno]

OpenBor loads PNGs fine, you are either not correctly indexing your PNGs files or the engine is looking for a file that doesn't exist.

Did you use pal apply to apply palettes over your PNGs?

 

[Smart Kitty]

and remember, PNGs files needs to be 8bit. You can do it with GIMP or Infranview

 

[Ralf Van Bogaert]

PalApply did the trick nicely, I can now batch-prepare sprites, awesome.

I guess OpenBOR doesn't like the png files GIMP exports, even if they're indexed 8-bit color.

 

[Ralf Van Bogaert]

Alright, ran all my gfx through PalApply, works great.