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| Thread: Objects with transparency for WoG 3.58f+Era |  This thread is pages long: 1 2 · «PREV |
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fred79
Disgraceful
Undefeatable Hero
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posted March 25, 2014 12:20 AM |
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well, i guess i have my answer. 
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itsjustme
Promising
Known Hero
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posted May 01, 2014 10:28 PM |
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fred79 said:
itsjustme, i am working on a transparent ocean. currently, i am making the graphics without using the alpha.dll(just graphics overlaid atop the ocean).
1. is the alpha.dll part of the cause for the memory leak issue, or is it only the transparent frames causing it? is there a way to circumvent the issue(get rid of the threat of memory leaks entirely)?
2. the alpha.dll works by replacing frames in a def, from a folder under "mods"; can this same .dll(or a variant, new .dll) work to replace ONE frame with MULTIPLE frames, if the transparent frames will still cause memory leaks?
1. alpha.dll load all PNG's from "Replace" directory. All. If you have unused frames (unused by the current mod or by other reasons) these frames will load to. And frames store in memory as unpacked form - it's mean that 2 kylobytes in png will have sometimes 100 kylobytes or more in memory. No other "leaks".
2. I don't understand your question. One frame from def is replaced by png-frame from "replace" folder. If you will replace by multiple frames, what will do other frames?
And forget about mem leaks if you have gigabyte memory)) You will sight "leaks" when use thousands replacing frames.
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Hundreds of DEFs
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fred79
Disgraceful
Undefeatable Hero
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posted May 02, 2014 12:43 AM |
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Edited by fred79 at 09:11, 02 May 2014.
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itsjustme said:
1. alpha.dll load all PNG's from "Replace" directory. All. If you have unused frames (unused by the current mod or by other reasons) these frames will load to. And frames store in memory as unpacked form - it's mean that 2 kylobytes in png will have sometimes 100 kylobytes or more in memory. No other "leaks".
2. I don't understand your question. One frame from def is replaced by png-frame from "replace" folder. If you will replace by multiple frames, what will do other frames?
And forget about mem leaks if you have gigabyte memory)) You will sight "leaks" when use thousands replacing frames.
thanks for replying. i am really happy to see you here! 
i have not started on the 32x32 ocean frames yet, as i am deliberating on how/if to improve the shoreline before i start.
i am confused: when you say "unused frames will load too", how do you mean?
what i am referring to, insofar as any potentially "unused frames", is that there are 33 frames used in the "watrtl.def", for the ocean. now, i am making "transparent" frames for the ocean(where you can see under the waves, to the ocean floor), to replace the existing, opaque ocean. so:
1. is there a way to have the ocean animated with my "transparent" ocean terrain, using only one tile at a time; or would that throw off the palette for the ocean, effectively freezing it in motion, instead of leaving it animated?
2. if the above is not possible, is there a way to use the transparent object patch(via .png replacement), to replace the 33 ocean tiles, with 12 animation tiles for EACH tile? which would mean that it would require a total of 93 frames for the animated ocean, total(12 per standard ocean frame).
if neither of those is possible, then i will have to make 1,116 ocean frames, that will be made into a number of defs that are laid overtop of the ocean. which won't really be convenient, both for myself, or anyone else i might share them with.
or, alternately, is there any way to bypass the current ocean palette, by making a wholly different .dll, that will either make the ocean transparent using my replacement defs; or to make a .dll that will allow someone to use 12 animation frames to replace 1 frame each(it would be numbered like "water01a", "water01b", "water01c"; all the way to "water01zG") for frame 1 of the 33 required to make watrtl.def, and so on, for the rest of the 32?
if you need further explanations, i can make a diagram to better illustrate what i am trying to get done using a .dll, instead of an overlay, that will take a lot of time and effort, to use for each map. especially if it was to be available to the masses. i'd never hear the end of the complaints, lol. my idea would be almost useless to them, if all it is, is an overlay, and they would have to manually place each tile def themselves(of course, the bigger pieces are already done, which would be the filler).
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this would be thousands of replacing frames, if i were to use the current transparency plugin(if 1 isn't possible)...
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itsjustme
Promising
Known Hero
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posted May 02, 2014 10:05 AM |
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Quote:
when you say "unused frames will load too", how do you mean?
Extra, forgotten, redundant file. Never used but exist. Like unused seer hut and camp fire in original h3sprite.lod if you know what I mean.
About watrtl.def and other terrain defs. alpha.dll is not designed for this type defs, plugin designed for objects in map and monsters in battlescreen. I don't know what's happened if you replace terrain defs. Maybe nothing (png would be not painted - same unused frame which you ask about), maybe something strange. Never tested by me. If you have test show here screens.
And sorry I don't understand your goal, what you want to make with shoreline. By this reason I can't suggest. If it is not hard show it. Or if you have screens from other game with same shore (or already done frames) show (or upload to see) them.
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Hundreds of DEFs
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fred79
Disgraceful
Undefeatable Hero
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posted May 02, 2014 07:13 PM |
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will do later today. i gotta see about a job. 
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fred79
Disgraceful
Undefeatable Hero
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posted May 03, 2014 01:14 AM |
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itsjustme said:
About watrtl.def and other terrain defs. alpha.dll is not designed for this type defs, plugin designed for objects in map and monsters in battlescreen.
And sorry I don't understand your goal, what you want to make with shoreline. By this reason I can't suggest. If it is not hard show it. Or if you have screens from other game with same shore (or already done frames) show (or upload to see) them.
if the alpha.dll won't work for the wtrtl.def, is there a possibility of being able to make one that will work, using a different palette maybe, so that the frames will animate properly when using different colors than the typical ocean palette?
the current HoMM3 shoreline is cut and dry; from sand, to minimal waves, to ocean. what i am considering doing, is adding more waves to the edge water-pieces of wtrtl.def(that meet the land), AND getting rid of the current cookie-cutter effect, so that the water/ocean changeover is a more gradual thing. i cannot post screens of what i mean, as it is only in idea phase at the moment(i haven't worked on them yet), and i'm not using another game as a model; the idea is just something i want to do to improve the transition, from shoreline to ocean.
so, instead of:
(where green is the land, teal is the surf, and blue is the ocean)
there will be:
(where black is the land, the colors are the surf, and white is the ocean. you notice how the black gradually mixes with the white, instead of a sheer drop-off? that's what i want to do)
does that clear things up a little better?
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itsjustme
Promising
Known Hero
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posted May 03, 2014 10:08 AM |
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So I understand you. I think alpha.dll and transparency are not help for this.
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Hundreds of DEFs
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OxFEA
Promising
Famous Hero
feanor on DF2.ru
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posted May 03, 2014 01:08 PM |
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Terrains (water and lava) and river animation done with palette color-cycling.
Quote:
- for watrtl.def color ids 229-240, 242-253 are used
- for lavatl.def - 246-254
- for clrrvr.def - 183-194, 195-200
- for mudrvr.def - 183-188, 240-245
- for lavrvr.def - 240-248
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fred79
Disgraceful
Undefeatable Hero
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posted May 03, 2014 03:36 PM |
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@ itsjustme: thanks anyways. it looks like this kind of thing will only be used personally. i don't think anyone will want to place these defs themselves, manually. me, i don't care.
@ oxfea: i don't know how to interpret those numbers in relation to the color palette. if some palettes seemingly cross over one another, how can one modify only one palette without modifying the other?
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also, i just realized that i posted the old gifs, with the older ocean floor.
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fred79
Disgraceful
Undefeatable Hero
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posted May 05, 2014 04:38 AM |
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Edited by fred79 at 04:48, 05 May 2014.
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i just thought of something. is there a way to use erm to replace or add graphics overtop of others and keep the same passability in zeobjts.txt? isn't that what jimv did with his map/mod?
could defs be used, correctly, in place of others via erm?
say, you have a set of defs, that activate in WoG/Era options with the click of a button: "Transparent Ocean: On/Off"?
is that workable?
reason being, is this way, i could make this something that everyone could use, as opposed to just myself. like i said, i have no problem using these defs to manually cover the ocean on any maps i make.
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