So why are the colors and sizes different?

[sb iq]

I used a program called TR2View to view the raw data in the level files in Tomb Raider 2 for the PC (.TR2) and Tomb Raider 2 for the PSX (.PSX). The program views the raw data and 2 codecs can be chosen, 8-bit and 16-bit.

Tomb Raider 2 for the PC has 2 copies of textures: 1 copy in 8-bit, and one copy in 16-bit. Tomb Raider 2 for the PSX has only 1 copy of textures that are 8-bit.

I took snapshots of the program running with the 8-bit codec. The PC version is on the left and I am viewing the 8-bit textures, and the PSX version is on the right. Please copy and paste the URL into the browser. Geocities isn't very nice.

http://www.geocities.com/sbiq2/tr2view8.GIF

And in the next picture, I am running the program with the 16-bit codec. I am viewing the 8-bit textures of the PC version on the left, and the PSX version on the right.

http://www.geocities.com/sbiq2/tr2view16.GIF

My question is, why are the colors and sizes different? Before you give the answer "because they are 2 different systems you stupid n00b!" I already realized that.



TR2 for the PSX is a port of TR2 for the PC. Why are the colors and sizes of the textures different? Is it because the PSX uses different machine code than a PC? That is the only reason I can think of.

[Garstyciuks]

The colors are different because probably the raw data is written using different palletes. The playstation version may need smaller textures to be able to run tr2 without lag. (I may be wrong on this )

[Exophase]

I don't know exactly but given that PS1 has paletted textures in hardware and not a lot of VRAM I think the 8bit versions were preferable. The PC version probably offered both options and had the textures at higher resolutions because it was more feasible to store these on PC's that were expected to have more memory (I'm sure the minimum requirements were something like 16 or 32MB of RAM at least, PS1 only has 2MB of RAM + 1MB of VRAM).. and it was probably written with hardware acceleration in mind at that point. Most PC video cards of that era didn't have paletted textures, as far as I'm aware, so supporting 16bpp textures was a good idea, as well as 8bpp for when falling back on software rendering. It's just a guess though.

As for the different colors, it's probably because PS1's color space is ABGR and on PC it's usually RGB, RGBA, ARGB, etc.

[sb iq]

Hmmm.

So if one were to rip out the 8-bit texture data from the PC version via hex editor (only the texture data, not the palette) and save the raw data, how would they--for lack of a better word--"transform" the hex rip so that it would resemble the PSX version?

Also, the dimensions for the PC 8-bit texture map is 256 x 2816. Is the PSX version smaller than that? How would I determine the exact size of the PSX texture?

[GbaGuy]

With 8-bit textures, you didn't rip a palette or anything (naturally), and the ripping program is just assigning colors so you can see what's going on.

[blueshogun96]

Offtopic: Wow, are you the same gbaguy that wrote all of those neat x86, gameboy, NES, and N64 asm tutorials at this old homepage? http://k2pts.home.comcast.net/gbaguy/

Ontopic: maybe it's because the pitch calculations are different. (i.e. measured in bytes, not pixels, or vice versa).

[GbaGuy]

offtopic: LOL. *blush* yeah, that's me. Turns out I kinda suck at programming, so I've pretty much given up on anything of a technical nature. This creates somewhat of a problem for me, since I don't have anything else I can even BS that I'm good at. Every once in awhile I go see what's happening in the technical world, but I only put my foot in if I think I can talk about something with at least 90%ish accuracy.

ontopic: I dunno why they would be different sizes. I'm now out of my element .

[sb iq]

Hmmmm.

I know Paint Shop Pro can view and edit raw data.

I used a hex editor to rip out the 8-bit textures from the PC version. Can I use Paint Shop Pro to "transform" it so my hex rip is the same size and color scheme as the PSX version? I know I can change the size by just adjusting the dimensions, but it's the "color" scheme that has always been the tricky part.

Moreover, is the dimensions of the PSX textures smaller? I remember hearing from someone else that it isn't, it just appears small because of the color depth. Was the person who told me this correct? If so, how do I change the color depth?

And if anyone mentions Tile Molester (a Java-based program that views raw data as images), I have used that program to death and got nowhere with it. Moreover, the sizes and colors still look different in Tile Molester.

[Garstyciuks]

As far as I know, color depth doesn't have much to do with the size of the images. The raw data usually contains reference numbers to a color table (pallete). If you don't have the original pallete, then the image editor use default pallete and you see wrong colors.

[sb iq]

Let's say I wanted to port texture hacks for the PC version onto the PSX version. The way I see it I have to:

1.) Rip the raw 8-bit textures from the modded levels of the PC version with a hex editor (easily done).

2.) Change the dimensions and make it smaller like the PSX version (possibly with Paint Shop Pro).

3.) Make the raw data that has been ripped and shrunk refer to the same palette the PSX textures refer to--or in other words--make the colors match in the image editor program (this is where I am stumped).