need someone with a mac

Hello there. I'm currently finishing up the beta for a small plug called Kestrel Variants. It basically contains the Atinoda Kestrel from the original game, plus variants of it for the Vellos, Wild Geese, Pirates, and Rebels. I've altered the graphics for each of the variants.

Is there anyone out there that I could email my pc graphic files to, and have them convert these files to a format which the mac users out there can use? Or does the mac REQUIRE the rle8 files to use this plug?

-Dax

Macs can make use of rleDs instead, or Picts.

What is the current format?

The format of the RleD files is imported from .bmp "Index Color Pallet" files. I'm assumeing that's what you asked for.

Will I need to make them PICTs?

-Dax

No, you can use rle or PICT, whichever you prefer. Most people prefer rle. If you use that format, I think Nova requires both rleD and rle8 for each sprite (could be wrong about that).

I believe that once a RleD is created, it's fine on both Mac and PC, no matter what the source format was.

Not completely certain, though.

No, only if you're using a Mac with a color depth >= 16 bit or if you're using Windows. If you have it set to 8 bit, Nova will choke without the rle8s.

Ah. Didn't realize that it was for an 8-bit color depth. I'd assumed that it was for a higher image quality. How many mac users set their systems to 8 bit? I'm assumeing it's a pretty sizable percentage for ambrosia to include images of that depth.

If I do build the rle8s, is there a way I can do them on a pc? Everytime I export them, they wind up being grayscale, just like in the files themselves. Another assumption on my part, I assumed those files could only be produced on mac.

Actually, it WAS a sizeable percentage, at the time Nova was released, and I think it has now shrinked. RlëD data is used on Macs if the color depth is 16 bits (thousands; notice Nova will change depth to thousands at launch, and if you try to get it back to millions while Nova is running it will popup a message saying to revert to thousands before continuing...), and Rlë8 if the color depth is 8-bits (on Macs still). Now, the PC port has been made to use only the RlëD data, whatever the color depth is, it's dithered at loading or runtime (not sure), and if Rlë8 are included in the PC Nova files it's because no one bothered to remove them. Now, when aprosenf has made EVNEW, and especially when he announced it, he said he was having problems with the palette data for the Rlë8, and that's one problem he has not solved yet, and maybe won't be solved since there is not even any way to test the Rlë8 with PC Nova. aprosenf says in the docs that if you wish to include Rlë8 data, necessary only for 8-bit Mac users, you'll have to ask a Mac plug-in developer to do it (using En/DeRle), but you usually shouldn't bother; I really don't know if you'd be right not to bother, I really have no idea on how many Mac Nova people have a monitor/video mem unable of doing 800x600 on 16 bits. I don't know how Nova will react on Mac if the color depth is set to 8-bit (and there are two cases here: the color depth can be set to 16-bit, and can't) and Rlë8 data is not present. This is essential to know for the thing to tell in your ReadMe if your user encounters the problem: "if you experience -MacNova problem when 8-bit and no Rlë8-, you need to set your color depth to thousands before launching Nova with -your plug- installed; if you can't set to thousands, then this plug-in cannot be used with your config yet; maybe a posterior version will, contact me to inform me of your condition"

I'll do some testing ASAP.

6 Degrees, on Nov 10 2004, 06:47 PM, said:

Hello there. I'm currently finishing up the beta for a small plug called Kestrel Variants. It basically contains the Atinoda Kestrel from the original game, plus variants of it for the Vellos, Wild Geese, Pirates, and Rebels. I've altered the graphics for each of the variants.

Is there anyone out there that I could email my pc graphic files to, and have them convert these files to a format which the mac users out there can use? Or does the mac REQUIRE the rle8 files to use this plug?

-Dax
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**As long as the file size isn't too large (i.e. enough to kill hotmail inboxes) I could take care of that for you. You'd have to wait a bit until I'm home on the mac, but I could pretty easily take care of that.

_bomb

**