Interface change

[MrPhildevil]

Hi, I've been working on my rebellion interface for a while now. Priceps has given me this idea so I started to make my own interface. I like the results so far. I've changed a few planets also using planets image from Slocket's rebellion II. I'm going to show you the fleet interface. It is not perfect but I like the results so far.

http://i1027.photobucket.com/albums/y339/Mr_Phil_/rebFleetinterface.jpg

http://i1027.photobucket.com/albums/y339/Mr_Phil_/Fleetinterface.jpg

 

I've had trouble with importing the planets in game. As you may know, I found a way to import picture wich conserves a higher degree of acuracy to the imported picture. However, this method has its drawback: it also makes part of the surrounding blue become darker. Because of this, it looks like the pictures get a blue aura in game. Removing the blue is long and everytime you do it, you loose some quality and color information. Here's the result, anyway:

 

http://i1027.photobucket.com/albums/y339/Mr_Phil_/Planets.jpg

Edited March 20, 2010 by MrPhildevil

[DarthTex]

Nice new windows. I particulary like the new system layout for the Sesswenna sector Original sector/systems names, just new locations. Now where have I seen that before?

[MrPhildevil]

To be honest, I just took an old DLL from an old install and that's what hapened. Maybe I took your new layout, but I don't have the right encytext.dll as I'm using the mask's card space update so this is kind of fuzzy

Anyway, I was not showcasing any new layout, but rather the new planets icons!

[Slocket]

The planet icons look like very familiar. Did you get them from the same source off the Net?

 

http://img526.imageshack.us/img526/2452/rebsneakpeek.th.png

 

http://img526.imageshack.us/img526/2452/rebsneakpeek.png

[MrPhildevil]

Woop, made an error, they were from what you did (not Adas), right! By the way, are you modding rebellion or making your own rebellion II? If you are modding rebellion, I'd love if you could send me your pics, because yep, they come from that same picture and were especially hard to port ingame. (Practically did it 3 times.)

[Slocket]

It is a remake of Rebellion, a whole new code but use a fair amount of the original art work, sound, music, cutscenes from the original game. So it is a new game EXE that will run under XP, Vista and W7...any thing that can do DirectX 9 so maybe emulation on any OS that can do it.

 

I nicked those photos from all over the Net. I changed the resolution from 25 pixel square to 50 pixel square. It does take forever to make 200/300 planet images for the original game. I am surprised they would fit back into the original game dll. You did a good job getting those to 'fit' back into the original game.

 

So yes, that was/is the game I was/am coding from scratch back in 2008, but I did not work on it continuously (since it is free). It will look like the original but look carefully and you will see that I have the dimension problem of the orginal corrected with higher resolution, and making several nice changes to the original clumsy interface clickfest. 10 years of technology allows much more room for innovation. I hope now I can get back to it and finish it.

[MrPhildevil]

Yeah, that would be nice that you finish this

 

Meanwhile, I'm having fun at goofing around with this game. Did you say I can get a 200/300 pixel for planets? Because whenever I'd take higher than original, nothing would show up...

 

Anyway, I don't think I did such a great job. You see, my way to bring things ingame is much more time consuming than the original one, though the result in color loss are generally better. Usually, what someone do is copy the planet image, slap-it on the icon with the right pallet and reduce-it to the right size. Doing that brings horrible result and a loss of information color that is inadequate in my opinion. What I do is that I save the palette, turn the planet icon into RGB instead of the rebellion palett and THEN, I copy the planet on the image. That way, you usually do not loose very much image information (vs copying directly on a rebellion palette). When the correct size is attained, I just switch the palette to the rebellion one, but then I get some options you wouldn't get with the drag-and-drop copy. This allow for a better recolor. The only drawback of this method is that the outer pixels of the planets get recolored to different shades of blue than the original. In game, these blue are quite visible and annoying. The only way to get rid of them is to paint all those shades of blue into the invisible blue and you may have to work one pixel at a time, which is pretty long. To get good result, I had to modify them 3 times. Now here's my advice: if your going to do some planets this way, remove all the shades of blue surrounding the planet before you save. I didn't and working on/saving the .bmp's 3 times ended up in a slight (too much, at my advice) loss of color information.

 

You can see by the lenght of this paragraph how perfectionnist this work becomes

 

Edit: Is there a way to try your Remake?

[Slocket]

I wanted to place the status bars under the planets then give out the tech demo. Soon, always soon.

 

I too, had to pixel by pixel color in hand the blue (black) odd pallet color that will show as invisible. The originals came from 200*300 images found around the net and from the game itself encyclopedia. Also from in game live photo prints from other games of old that never went any where.

 

It is tricky resizing the images down due to so much distortion.

 

The techy demo is not finished, I tend to be a perfectionist also , but I need to show something to make sure this is going to work on other computer combos and OS. So, if peeps do not laugh at the fact it is not 100% done with all planets and stuff. It is alot, alot of work. Maybe others can fill in the planets, the editor tool "Galaxy Mapper" is included. You can place planets where ever you like, and set loyalty, ownership, popular support, etc. Then stuff in your own artwork for the place holder pics.

 

I have the 3D engine down, but I am keeping that seperate for now from the 2D strategic phase of the game.

[MrPhildevil]

I'd be able to test-it on W7 and WXP, if you fish so