Beta version 6.1.1 beta10

[_pm_]

Rice, is there any difference in speed using JPEG RGB textures instead of PNGs? Maybe it was my imagination, but using JPEG textures seem to be a bit slower here. Just asking.
Thanks.

[Rice]

Yes, JPEG is slower than PNG, but I don't think such speed difference would affect the game speed because the textures are only decompressed once.

[Rice]

Beta 5 adds the very demanded feature to replace color index textures with RGBA textures. This feature is aimed to ease the texture enhancement works on CI textures that the color palette does not change at all.

You can check this thread for more discussion about color indexed textures and about why it is difficult to manupulate them.

With beta 5, you can do for color indexed textures:
- like before, provide a color indexed BMP file which uses the same palette as the original texture.
- New, to provide a 32-bit PNG file with RGBA channels, to replace the original CI texture regardless the color palette.

The PNG filename must follow the following rule:
If the original CI texture file is named as:
"Mario Kart 64#36312DD2#2#1_ci.bmp"
Then the new PNG file must be named as:
"Mario Kart 64#36312DD2#2#1_allciByRGBA.png"
The new PNG filename is ended with "_allciByRGBA.png". It must be in 32-bit.

- New, to provide a 32-bit PNG file with RGBA channels, to replace the original CI texture if the color palette table CRC value is equal to some value.

For example, the original CI texture filename is:
'Mario Kart 64#0B4A44B1#2#1_ci.bmp"
The new PNG filename must be in the format as:
"Mario Kart 64#0B4A44B1#2#1#CBF3D34E_ciByRGBA.png"
You can see that the filename contains the 2nd CRC value which is for the color palette table. You will find the similar filenames under the "texture_dump" folder.

So there are two new ways to provide PNG RGBA texture to replace the original CI textures. The way with "_allciByRGBA.png" should be used if you are sure that the texture color palette never changes, and the other way could be used if you know that the color palette changes.
If both new PNG textures and CI textures are provided in the hires_texture folder for the same original texture, the PNG textures will be used first in the way they should be used..

Of course, no matter which way you go, the new texture size must meet the requirement as 2x or 4x of the original texture size.

There are also changes for texture dump.

You will find many new files for CI textures. CI textures are dumpped in the previous way, also dumpped in new files with color palette table CRC.

So you should not leave the texture dump option on if you don't need to, otherwise the plugin could become very slow.

[optimus$prime]

Important!!!

how to convert/save a texture in 32bit png with photoshop8?

there is only 8bit and 24bit png


rice: very nice feature

[cloudscapes]

how to convert/save a texture in 32bit png with photoshop8?

there is only 8bit and 24bit png

Include an alpha channel in the channel toolbox. The extra 8 bits stands for 8-bit alpha.

[optimus$prime]

Include an alpha channel in the channel toolbox. The extra 8 bits stands for 8-bit alpha.

i created an alpha channel but when saving there is still 8 or 24bit

[bestbiz]

wow~
only test image.

[cloudscapes]

i created an alpha channel but when saving there is still 8 or 24bit

Are you using Save To Web, or Save As? You can save to PNG with both. As far as I can tell, you only get 8 and 24 bit in save to web.

I *think* you can save PNG alpha as simple layer transparency as well too, instead of a conventional alpha channel.

I've been using Photoshop for 12 years, but unfortunatelly have little PNG experience.

[Dejital]

Awesome! It works!

The new plugin dumps plenty of them though, I had to make 4 identical pictures of this car named 4 different things to make it work, cause otherwise all it did was blink the image of the car when I only put 1. Does that mean we can also animate the karts? Since it kept blinking when I only had 1?

[Rice]

For the two new ways, were you using the way like "_allciByRGBA.png", or the other way?