Novice plug-in editor here. I have been using Bryce 5 to make ship graphics (get the demo from (url="http://"http://www.corel.com")www.corel.com(/url) for both Mac and PC) and haven't been able to figure out how to transfer the image frame by frame to the file. I open Resedit (Ship Grahics 1 methinks) and I use command + K to open a new resource. This R&R; thing is already filling it up. I double click on that and it gives me the nframes and some other info. It shows a picture of the logo animated with the ability to pause. A step by step guide (will pay if necessary) on how to get a ship graphic (frame by frame) to the ship files would be appreciated. Many thanks.

-Chimera

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Wizard's First Rule: People are Stupid - Zeddicus Zu'l Zorander

First up, don't edit the data files. Second up, you have to get the Bryce 5 graphic into whatever file you do use in PICT form. And you need at least 36 different directions (more if it is a large ship) and the program EnRLE. Then you can create a shan.

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Why are you all looking at me like that?

Quote

Originally posted by Chimera:
**Novice plug-in editor here. I have been using Bryce 5 to make ship graphics (get the demo from www.corel.com for both Mac and PC) and haven't been able to figure out how to transfer the image frame by frame to the file. I open Resedit (Ship Grahics 1 methinks) and I use command + K to open a new resource. This R &R; thing is already filling it up. I double click on that and it gives me the nframes and some other info. It shows a picture of the logo animated with the ability to pause. A step by step guide (will pay if necessary) on how to get a ship graphic (frame by frame) to the ship files would be appreciated. Many thanks.

-Chimera

**

Here's how to do it (and you don't need to pay me - though it'd be nice

1. Render your image to a movie file.
2. Download "Sprites" from (url="http://"http://homepage.mac.com/dr_ralph/")w00tware(/url)
3. And drop the animation into m2s. m2s will output your animation into a sprite layout (512 x 512 is the max).
4. Take the output and then put the two files (sprite and mask) into your plug.
5. Now make your shän.
6. Optional but highly recommended: download EnDeRLE from (url="http://"http://homepage.mac.com/dr_ralph/")w00tware(/url) and drop your plug into EnRLE. This will make the rleX(8 or D) resources that Nova uses.

There are some more advanced steps (like LASIK) that I didn't mention, but are also highly recommended. What I gave you is the bare-bones minimum to at least get your foot in the door. LASIK involved rendering at double size, going into Photoshop, using the "unsharp mask" filter and scaling to full size. This, however, requires that a new mask be made (because m2s's mask will be 2x size, and scaling your mask is not recommended.

Good luck, and welcome to the world to EV Nova graphics.

Matrix

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"Nothing is fool-proof to a sufficiently talented fool."

(This message has been edited by what_is_the_matrix (edited 09-05-2002).)

Quote

Originally posted by Sheer_falacy:
**First up, don't edit the data files. Second up, you have to get the Bryce 5 graphic into whatever file you do use in PICT form. And you need at least 36 different directions (more if it is a large ship) and the program EnRLE. Then you can create a shan.

**

Heh I know I need multiple graphics :). As for the EnRLE I didn't know that.

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Wizard's First Rule: People are Stupid - Zeddicus Zu'l Zorander

Quote

Originally posted by what_is_the_matrix:
**Here's how to do it (and you don't need to pay me - though it'd be nice;)

1. Render your image to a movie file.
   **

Yeaa, a movie file. Could I use Bryce 5 motion lab editor, or is there some specific program I need to use. And what format m2 something?

-Chimera

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Wizard's First Rule: People are Stupid - Zeddicus Zu'l Zorander

Quote

Originally posted by Chimera:
**Yeaa, a movie file. Could I use Bryce 5 motion lab editor, or is there some specific program I need to use. And what format m2 something?

-Chimera

**

I don't know much about Bryce, but what you do is your render your ship to an animation (or a series of pict files, it doesn't matter). Each frame depicts the ship rotating on regular increments to the right (the standard is 10 degrees, starting from 0 and going to 350). If you output your render to a quicktime movie, you drop it on m2s. If you output to numbered pict files, they go to p2s. There's one for pics files too.

Matrix

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"Nothing is fool-proof to a sufficiently talented fool."

Ah. So I save each rotated image as a PICT and open them with p2s?

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Wizard's First Rule: People are Stupid - Zeddicus Zu'l Zorander

Quote

Originally posted by Chimera:
**Ah. So I save each rotated image as a PICT and open them with p2s?

**

You have to drop them ALL into p2s simultaneously for p2s to work... I think. It might just ask you to point it to the folder where the rest of the picts are, but I'm not sure. Just check the documentation.

Matrix

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"Nothing is fool-proof to a sufficiently talented fool."

Okay, things are sligghtly confusing because of all the terms and jargon...

Your movie should be set out like this:

10 degrees every tenth of a second, where your ship completes a 350 degree turn. (basically, you just eyeball your timeline) The reason you use 350 degrees instead of 360 is you want the ship to loop, and 360 degrees will add an extra 5 frames that will cause Nova to do some strange things.

To render, go to File - Render Animation. Be sure to make the resolution (ie, 1024x768) a small size; I think Nova's largest resolution for a ship is around 150 pixels.

This will give you a 3.6 second long animation of your ship spinning. Plop it in m2s and it will make a mask (black and white image) and the other file which doesn't have a special name.

Now you create a new ResEdit file, create a new PICT resource, put your color image in 128, and your mask in 129 (it doesn't really matter which IDs you use, but this way is easy to remember).

Create a new shän resource, and set everything up.

Save, then put the ResEdit file into EnRle. Click "Okay".

You'll have your RleD and Rle8 wherever your ResEdit File was.

Big Note: Never edit the Data Files, unless you change everything back to what it was.

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With: The stylish monster.
I used to be sane, but then I got a 5th email address...

(This message has been edited by Mantaray (edited 09-06-2002).)

Finally got it, thanks for the help. Now on to Problem 2.... how do I get descs to link up with a planet. For instance I have 4 descs for planet say Kaser, one for the bar, one for the shipyard, one for the commodity center, and the main one. Again any suggestions would be appreciated.

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Wizard's First Rule: People are Stupid - Zeddicus Zu'l Zorander

How would I do it for weapons now? I have a torpedo I want to animate, I rendered it using Bryce 5 dropped it into m2s, put the bit file and mask into my plug, now what? (Gotta love novices)

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Wizard's First Rule: People are Stupid - Zeddicus Zu'l Zorander

Quote

Originally posted by Chimera:
**Finally got it, thanks for the help. Now on to Problem 2.... how do I get descs to link up with a planet. For instance I have 4 descs for planet say Kaser, one for the bar, one for the shipyard, one for the commodity center, and the main one. Again any suggestions would be appreciated.

**

For linking descs to spobs, look in the Nova bible.

Quote

(descID)128-2175 Stellar object descriptions, shown when landed on a planet.

I'm not so sure about bars, look in the nova data files and see what you can find. As for shipyard and commodity center descs, I think the only ones which show up there are for the ships and junks being displayed. Not too sound too mean though, next time check for the resouce in the Nova Bible before you ask here. It could save you time

Can't help you with animating the torpedo though, sorry. :frown:

MickyBIs

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Who is John Galt?
Ghoti spells fish!

Quote

Originally posted by Chimera:
**How would I do it for weapons now? I have a torpedo I want to animate, I rendered it using Bryce 5 dropped it into m2s, put the bit file and mask into my plug, now what? (Gotta love novices)

**

The weapon sprites are in the Nova Graphics files. They're .rles like ships, except they use spins rather than shans.

Matrix

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"Nothing is fool-proof to a sufficiently talented fool."

I use Bryce 5 for my graphics. Here's a brief tutorial of the (url="http://"http://homepage.mac.com/mantaray5/EV/lasik.html")LASIK(/url) technique, as well as extra steps to get it into the game. Drop me an e-mail if you need any help with rendering and animation and stuff.

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