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RE: Graphics Help

Posted: Tue Mar 04, 2014 8:33 pm
by Dabrion
I don't know if there is a definitive colour code for khaki. This is the one I find works well for the ADG maps (disclaimer: I am colour blind).

For a list of colours, have you tried the link from my post? You will have to find matching colours for the symbol interior backgrounds and fonts. A good star would be the scan on Patrice's website. The pipette tool from a graphics editor can be used to extract colour codes from anywhere on your screen.

The colour codes you extract wit the pipette tool will be in RGB encoding and look like #RrGgBb. For some reason MWiF expects ABGR encoding, so you will have to write $00BbGgRr into the files. You prolly want to read PM2, p198ff to understand the format of the CSV files better. I believe there is a flag that switches to the outlined white, don't recall the details.

Preliminary result looks like this (you can already see that there are some issues and another khaki would be more suitable for the MWiF maps as they have different contrast/saturation values than the ADG maps):

Image

RE: Graphics Help

Posted: Wed Mar 05, 2014 4:28 am
by AxelNL
Guys, it looks like I will not have to post anything if this evolves as it goes.

I also experimented with the Khaki colour, and settled on a darker one, to have more contrast with the whiteprint numbers. You can tell the difference in the screenshot I posted above. Around Londen there are three units with different shades of Khaki. I think I like the bottom right most. (I am not color blind). I can look up with exact setting those were made. The color of the transport might even be better, but it already gets a bit too dark.

Dabrion - thank you for your contribution. Although something tells me you don't like compliments.

Warhunter - I am expecting yet another mod which will blow us off our feet. You will receive a medal for this one from the beta community, I will personnally follow that through.

(and now you feel also the pressure under which Steve is working [;)] )

Edit: typo's and stuff

RE: Graphics Help

Posted: Wed Mar 05, 2014 5:25 am
by Ichirou989
Thanks for all the good info here, I will see what I can come up with myself. Just for further info, the html/css color code for Khaki is #C3B091, which would be 0091B0C3 according the info Dabrion provided, however it does seem that ADG used Light Khaki for their counters, which my pipette in Photoshop lists as #fee5a9 or 00A9E5FE. Good point made about the text though for elite units. However some nations such as China or Yugoslavia have units with black outlined text for elites, so perhaps some digging will allow that format to be used with the CW units. Time to do some exploring. [:)]

RE: Graphics Help

Posted: Wed Mar 05, 2014 6:52 am
by Centuur
ORIGINAL: Dabrion

I don't know if there is a definitive colour code for khaki. This is the one I find works well for the ADG maps (disclaimer: I am colour blind).

For a list of colours, have you tried the link from my post? You will have to find matching colours for the symbol interior backgrounds and fonts. A good star would be the scan on Patrice's website. The pipette tool from a graphics editor can be used to extract colour codes from anywhere on your screen.

The colour codes you extract wit the pipette tool will be in RGB encoding and look like #RrGgBb. For some reason MWiF expects ABGR encoding, so you will have to write $00BbGgRr into the files. You prolly want to read PM2, p198ff to understand the format of the CSV files better. I believe there is a flag that switches to the outlined white, don't recall the details.

Preliminary result looks like this (you can already see that there are some issues and another khaki would be more suitable for the MWiF maps as they have different contrast/saturation values than the ADG maps):

Image

Sorry, but for a colourblind, these counters are awful, since I can't read the white letters...

For the MOT (second counter in the row), I only see a square with a cross in it and two dots underneath...

RE: Graphics Help

Posted: Wed Mar 05, 2014 7:05 am
by Dabrion
I am color blind myself ;) So I cant help with tuning the colour schema, just wanted to point out how it is done since I came across it recently.

Also this a modding, so you do not have to use it. And I am rather certain you can find the switches that render the CW counters with the same settings like the Chinese counters, or render everything in pink. Documentations in the PM2, p.198ff is almost accurate, shouldn't be too hard to work out.

RE: Graphics Help

Posted: Wed Mar 05, 2014 7:11 am
by Centuur
ORIGINAL: Dabrion

I am color blind myself ;) So I cant help with tuning the colour schema, just wanted to point out how it is done since I came across it recently.

Also this a modding, so you do not have to use it. And I am rather certain you can find the switches that render the CW counters with the same settings like the Chinese counters, or render everything in pink. Documentations in the PM2, p.198ff is almost accurate, shouldn't be too hard to work out.

True... But dealing with the colorblind has been done quite well in MWIF. I've only got very minor issues with the program as it is at the moment regarding the use of colors.


RE: Graphics Help

Posted: Wed Mar 05, 2014 11:43 am
by YellowNo5
I am a newbie (Just bought the game and am learning it) but I love the Khaki. I would like to see how it looks on a map especially if you can outline the white numbers. IF anyone can get this to work could you PM me with how you did it?

RE: Graphics Help

Posted: Wed Mar 05, 2014 12:10 pm
by AxelNL
ORIGINAL: YellowNo5

I am a newbie (Just bought the game and am learning it) but I love the Khaki. I would like to see how it looks on a map especially if you can outline the white numbers. IF anyone can get this to work could you PM me with how you did it?
Scroll back in this thread, and you will see a screenshot of how it will look. It looks like two 'modders' are working to get this mod from the ground. I am sure they will share their results.

Welcome!

RE: Graphics Help

Posted: Wed Mar 05, 2014 1:46 pm
by WarHunter
Thanks for the help Dabrion.

Next question involves a screenshot. What exactly if anything can be done about the code that is written, clRed, clBlack, clYellow?

Trying to change Japan's Red land counters have been met with utter failure.



Image

RE: Graphics Help

Posted: Wed Mar 05, 2014 1:54 pm
by WarHunter
My brain is feeding quite happily on this new information.

So far as an experiment Italy has been transformed from sick yellowish to Imperial Purple. Well, close enough for the 1st try.



Image

RE: Graphics Help

Posted: Wed Mar 05, 2014 2:17 pm
by Ichirou989
OK, got the outline done. This just requires a flag to be set to -1 in the CSV files. This is described on pg. 199 as the Elite Outline Flag, and is basically the first number just after the colors. In the case of the CW, this needs to be done in both the CMa.CSV file as well as in the CMi.CSV file for the other countries in the CW. Works great as seen below, but there is a problem. The three letter abbreviation for the country, in this case Australia, shows up in white and is very hard to read even at full zoom. Trouble is, I can't seem to find where to change this color so it may be hardcoded, or I just missed it somewhere, though I've checked in the Map and Unit Data files as well as in the Bitmaps. If that can't be changed, then will likely need to use a darker color Khaki than was used in KiF.

Image

RE: Graphics Help

Posted: Wed Mar 05, 2014 2:41 pm
by Ichirou989
Here's an example of straight up Khaki as opposed to Light Khaki. Easier now to read the AUS, as well as CAN which was almost invisible before with the Light Khaki. However it does take away that it's not the same as KiF. Wouldn't want to go any darker than this as it starts to get too close to the USSR.

Image

RE: Graphics Help

Posted: Wed Mar 05, 2014 2:42 pm
by YellowNo5
I really like the lighter khaki but the darker is better for reading units.

RE: Graphics Help

Posted: Wed Mar 05, 2014 4:04 pm
by Dabrion
Warhunter: These will be "named" colours. clRed will be the same as $000000ff I believe, and so on. Would have thought they can be used interchangeably with the ABGR codes. Perhaps there is something mentioned in the PM or Steve can comment on it.

Khaki: The darker khaki doesn't look like the print counter's colour at all. It also might be too close to the GE and Tots minor grayish palette.


CW Dominon tags don't seem to be modable. Print counters have an inset letter in the symbol, like MIL and TERR, and only planes/ships use an either red or blue color tag. Perhaps this could be brought in line in general.

RE: Graphics Help

Posted: Wed Mar 05, 2014 4:29 pm
by AxelNL
How about the khaki color of A3R? The lighter colour is as much "sickly" as Warhunter described the Italian colour.
The darker is indeed too dark. Something in between would be nicer. What did you folks think of the colour of the CW fighter in the south east corner in my own experiment?
I think that with your approach you will loose the border effect I suddenly got. I wonder how that came to be.....

RE: Graphics Help

Posted: Wed Mar 05, 2014 4:47 pm
by Dabrion
The border was a side effect that will only kick in then counters have an entry in the CMi list. The "border" would come from the CMa enrtry and the interior colour from the CMi entry. You should still be able to recreate it for CW.

RE: Graphics Help

Posted: Wed Mar 05, 2014 5:17 pm
by AxelNL
ORIGINAL: Dabrion

The border was a side effect that will only kick in then counters have an entry in the CMi list. The "border" would come from the CMa enrtry and the interior colour from the CMi entry. You should still be able to recreate it for CW.

Ok, question: I manually changed the colour in the "pageX.bmp" files. If the interior colour is defined in the CMi entry, how can the manual changes override that? Or rather: how can the CMi entry override the bmp colors?

RE: Graphics Help

Posted: Wed Mar 05, 2014 5:34 pm
by Dabrion
My guess is, that what you perceive as a border is the leftover of the coutner background that is not covered by the cutout area from the page.bmp files. The cut out is rectangular, counters have rounded corners. So when the background colour and the fill colour from the page file are identical you dont see anything. At first I only changed the CW entry in the CMa file and had a similar effect, a khaki "border".

In other words I have no clue whats going on but this is one plausible and I saw it happen while playing around with the files..

RE: Graphics Help

Posted: Wed Mar 05, 2014 5:41 pm
by Orm
The lighter khaki is to bright for me. It almost hurt my eyes looking at those counters. The darker one is nice but I am concerned how it compares to the Soviet counters.

I think that the brighter khaki looks better on air counters where there is a darker coloured silhouette in the middle.

RE: Graphics Help

Posted: Wed Mar 05, 2014 5:48 pm
by Ichirou989
Dabrion has it. If you change the background on the bmp files only, then the extra border area that makes up the rest of the counter outside the bmp image will be the background as set in the CSV files. As for the Khaki, I believe that it does need to be in between the two examples above, but it can't go too light or the AUS/NZL and especialy CAN get very hard to read. Pity I can't seem to find where to change the color of that text, then I would just make them some more contrasting shade and stick with the KiF shade for the background. Or I suppose one could just leave it since the NATO symbol backgrounds also have different shades for the various CW nations.