3.35 Changelog..

[Banshee]

QUICK_EDIT Attach signature (signatures can be changed in profile) close

This version has been in the works since october, with many interruptions due to many random reasons.I also have a 3.4 Beta that is being continued, although I want to finish this one first. Stucuk helped with some of the features, so he's being credited too.

I don't know when I'll release it. It just depends on the time I take to finish the surprise feature that I don't wanna reveal in the moment, although some people know it. If a feature is not listed here, keep silent about it .




3.35
- Revisions by Banshee, with a big contribution from Stucuk.
- Added: SHP (TD) Support! You'll now be able to load and save SHP files from Tiberian Dawn and Red Alert 1 straight into your SHP Builder.
- Added: GIF, TGA and PNG file support for Import and Cameo Generator.
- Added: You can now export your SHP as GIF, TGA, PCX and PNG. Sequence can also be exported on these formats. GIF can be exported with shadows merged or not, zoom from 1 to 4, with loops and few other customizations.
- Added: Exporting as GIF allows you to preview your SHP with or without shadows or with shadows merged to the original picture and using transparency.
- Added: AutoSelect Background options. Due to the GIF and PNG support, you can now choose if the autoselect mode gets the transparent colour of the image or the first pixel. Most of the times, the result will be the same.
- Added: Dithering. You can now import images with dithering effect, although it's not enabled by default.
- Added: Aditional resources, palettes and maybe custom schemes, due to the SHP (TD) support.
- Added: Cameo Generator has been improved allowing users to generate cameos in TD and RA1 style. It also allows users to choose the buttonize, including two new ones like TD Bevel and RA1 Bevel.
- Added: Smarter SHP detection system (note: smarter than the previous, but very far from being perfect.). It detects game and type of SHP choosing the correct palette and settings for it.
- Added: Wider range of SHP extensions when opening files.
- Added: Wider set of palettes to choose for opening SHP files at Preferences.
- Added: User may now setup which game and type of SHP that will be made when a new SHP is started: TD, RA1, TS or RA2. This will affect the initial palette choosen by the program and how it will save the file.
- Added: Users may now choose the palette and determine the kind of SHP on the import.
- Added: Users are now able to import images into existing SHPs, in a frame determined by the user.
- Added: Split Shadows on Import. Users are now able to split the imported set of pictures to import the normal frames in a specified location and the shadow frames in the 'shadow related' frames of the existing SHP.
- Added: Convert shadows tool. You can now easily convert shadows from TS to RA2 and from RA2 to TS. Shadows from TD and RA1 seems to work similar to the TS ones.
- Added: The ammount of zoom is now variable, dependent on the size image.
- Updated: The Preferences now has cancel and reset to defaults options.
- Updated: Now 3D RGB Full Difference is the default CCM of the program, since it's the same algorithm used in almost all other programs like XCC Mixer and Photoshop.
- Updated: There were several interface updates, including some spelling fixes.
- Bug Fix: The 'z' on cameo generator has the correct colours now.
- Bug Fix: You'll no longer get 'Unable To Set Data For "' bug at Preferences if you are not using an administrative account.
- Bug Fix: Some flaws from the MDI system has been fixed. This should improve program's stability.
- Bug Fix: Invalid SHP (TS) files no longer leave opened files or memory leak.
- Bug Fix: Undo system imported from 3.4. Program no longer crashes if the frame the user was browsing disappears during an undo operation.
- Bug Fix: Import will no longer set frames to go from frame 0 to -1.
- Bug Fix: Import will no longer give access violations messages due to custom intervals of frames.
- Bug Fix: Sequence Maker option at Preferences will now display properly (thanks Stucuk).
- Bug Fix: Preview will now preview the last frame properly, specially when the last frame is the first and only frame (like in cameos).
- Bug Fix: RGB Advanced Difference no longer cause invalid floating point operations.
- Bug Fix: Building Tools is undone correctly on all situations, even if you move the mouse when dropping the left button.
- Bug Fix: Image Effects now refresh your editing window when applied.
- Bug Fix: Cameo Generator and Colour Replacement will ignore selections with one pixel.

[Mechanical]

QUICK_EDIT Attach signature (signatures can be changed in profile) close

Very good news.  I'm quite interested to know the new feature, but can you add a few more color conversions to the conversion menu?

[Crimsonum]

QUICK_EDIT Attach signature (signatures can be changed in profile) close

hrr...I can't guess what the new feature could be I have no idea...

something that helps making build-anims would be nice...

..
~

_________________

[DeathRay2K]

QUICK_EDIT Attach signature (signatures can be changed in profile) close

I think its support for old C&Cs.
I hope it is, at least.

_________________

[CCHyper]

QUICK_EDIT Attach signature (signatures can be changed in profile) close

indeed, just becasue i thought it was

[Banshee]

QUICK_EDIT Attach signature (signatures can be changed in profile) close

The list of features above is being updated constantly.

Also, regarding the smarter SHP detection system, the program isn't smart enough to distuinguish if a SHP is a TS or RA2 one, considering that it's not an easy thing to do. Although it's quite possible to know sometimes because of the shadows (the RA2 shadow frames does not have contents, unlike the TS ones, although on both, animations have no shadow),

_________________


Mods, Mods Support, Public Researchs, Map Archives, Tutorials, A Friendly Community and much more. Check it out now!

[stucuk]

QUICK_EDIT Attach signature (signatures can be changed in profile) close

ever thought about adding extra data at the end of the file? Could store things like gametype, what type of file it is, etc. So when its opened in the SHP Builder next time it would be set to whats in the header if it exists.

Basicaly u could have something like

TOSSHPHeader = Record
ID : Array [0..4] of char; // OSSH
SHPType : Byte;
TS : Boolean;
end;

U could use the Seek to seek to FileLength-SizeOf(TOSSHPHeader) and load the header. If the ID = OSSH then it would exist, if its not then it doesn't have a OS Header.

U could add in a menu something like the shadows thing, which could select which game it is for example and override the type SHP Builder is saying it is.

TS/RA2 would stop reading b4 it hits the header since it wouldn't expect more data. XCC should also do the same.

_________________
Free Map Editor - Game Requirements - Stucuk.Net

[Banshee]

QUICK_EDIT Attach signature (signatures can be changed in profile) close

That's a good idea, although I'm not sure if XCC, the games or even anything else will consider it corrupted.

I was thinking about doing OS SHP Builder Project format, which would also store undo stuff, objects, and other data used by the program...

_________________


Mods, Mods Support, Public Researchs, Map Archives, Tutorials, A Friendly Community and much more. Check it out now!

[pd]

QUICK_EDIT Attach signature (signatures can be changed in profile) close

Sure that would be cool...
but the problem then is that you need a kindof "Export to SHP" function which would hurt... because it's one trademark of the SHP Builder that you can edit SHP files really fast I think.
besides it would double the amount of files which can be really nasty if you have tons of SHPs in a folder.

I like stucuk's idea pretty much, somebody should test that with both the game and the XCC utils.
Sure you can't store that much info in 4 bytes, but it should be enough for game and SHP type info (anim, cameo).

Oh BTW, is there any way for you to add some letters to the cameo generator?
such as Ä, ä, Ö, ö, Ü, ü and ß for the German (and also Swedish, Norsk, Dutch? etc etc) guys among us ?
or is there any way I could do that? (might be better since I got the German YR with those letters on original cameos)
for the French people, a c with a cedille would probably be useful as well...

[Banshee]

QUICK_EDIT Attach signature (signatures can be changed in profile) close

PaD wrote:

Sure that would be cool...
but the problem then is that you need a kindof "Export to SHP" function which would hurt... because it's one trademark of the SHP Builder that you can edit SHP files really fast I think.
besides it would double the amount of files which can be really nasty if you have tons of SHPs in a folder.

Actually, depends on the way it's done. The .osp file would work together with the current SHP. So, when you open an SHP file, it will do some kind of 'translation' with the name of the file to find the related .osp file in the same directory, or in a special directory. Then, it will load the extra settings available on this .osp file. So, instead of being the main file, it works as a complement.

With this way, size of mods are not increased and only the author keeps the project file of his creation, unless, of course, he wants to transfer it to someone.

Quote:

Oh BTW, is there any way for you to add some letters to the cameo generator?
such as Ä, ä, Ö, ö, Ü, ü and ß for the German (and also Swedish, Norsk, Dutch? etc etc) guys among us ?
or is there any way I could do that? (might be better since I got the German YR with those letters on original cameos)
for the French people, a c with a cedille would probably be useful as well...

Hmmm... You'd need to mess up with the imagelist that is in the cameo generator and also mess with some function that I'm not aware of, since Stucuk was the one who coded that. I can do that in 3.36 if you provide me the pictures of each character. Cedille and á, à, ó, ô, é, í, ú are also interesting for brazilians .

[Banshee]

QUICK_EDIT Attach signature (signatures can be changed in profile) close

Bump. Change list is growing. I'm working hard on the Import at the moment. Then, I'll do some aditions in the custom scheme and make new options to allow users to change shp game and type.

After that, I'll do the final tests with the surprise feature to make sure it works properly... Keep checking, because the surprise feature will be revealed sooner than you think.

chat log with Carnotaurus wrote:

Carnotaurus says:
btw, I wont spill anything, but..does this mean we'll be able to edit TD Shps?  

Banshee says:
then, I just need to finish the custom schemes and the option to select game and shp type in the menu

Banshee says:
answer is comming soon

Carnotaurus says:
It must be.  

Banshee says:
What makes you think that?

Carnotaurus says:
Game and SHP tyle?  

Carnotaurus says:
*type

Carnotaurus says:
TS/RA2 read the same type of SHPs

Banshee says:
Yea, but the behaviour of the program changes...

Banshee says:
So, the program will be 'wiser' when dealing with TS or RA2 SHPs..

Update: I'm gonna sleep now. The import has been coded, but it wasn't tested yet. Then, I'll do the custom scheme part and the game/type switcher.

_________________


Mods, Mods Support, Public Researchs, Map Archives, Tutorials, A Friendly Community and much more. Check it out now!

[stucuk]

QUICK_EDIT Attach signature (signatures can be changed in profile) close

Extra header works in XCC. SHP attached. It imo would be better to have the header in the shp rather than a seperate file. Not tested it works in game.

SHP Attached.

procedure TSHPBuilderFrmMain.Save1Click(Sender: TObject);

Code:

case (savemode) of
      0: // AutoDetect compression (recommended)
        SaveSHP(ActiveData^.Filename,ActiveData^.SHP);
      1: // Force compression 3
        SaveSHPCompressed(ActiveData^.Filename,ActiveData^.SHP);
      2: // No compression 3 (old style)
        SaveSHPUncompressed(ActiveData^.Filename,ActiveData^.SHP);
      else
        SaveSHP(ActiveData^.Filename,ActiveData^.SHP);
    end;

    SaveSHPEnding(ActiveData^.Filename,ActiveData^.SHP);

SHP_Engine.Pas

Code:

Procedure SaveSHPEnding(Filename : String; SHP : TSHP);
var
F : File;
OSHeader : TOSHPHeader;
begin

AssignFile(F,Filename);
Reset(F,1);
Seek(F,FileSize(F));

OSHeader.ID[0] := 'O';
OSHeader.ID[1] := 'S';
OSHeader.ID[2] := 'S';
OSHeader.ID[3] := 'H';

OSHeader.Shadows := Random(2) = 1;
OSHeader.TS      := Random(2) = 1;
OSHeader.SHPType := Random(256);

BlockWrite(F,OSHeader,SizeOf(TOSHPHeader));

CloseFile(F);

end;

SHP_File.Pas

Code:

TOSHPHeader = Record
ID : Array [0..3] of Char; //OSSH
SHPType : Byte;
Shadows,
TS : Boolean; // TS/RA2
end;

Note: it adds 7 bytes to the file which is nothing. TC mods would increase by at max 2 KB, basicaly for every ~148 SHPS 1 KB will be added to the total size of the mod.

You should be able to add it to any file which doesn't store its own filesize and have no problems, since the game shouldn't check the length or go beond the normal place it stops. (since it isn't expecting any more data)

---

harvicon.zip
Description:		Download
Filename:	harvicon.zip
Filesize:	1.92 KB
Downloaded:	593 Time(s)

---

_________________
Free Map Editor - Game Requirements - Stucuk.Net

[Banshee]

QUICK_EDIT Attach signature (signatures can be changed in profile) close

Good. Except that some of the current SHP read algorithms used relies on filesize to find offsets. So, a separate project file is safer and easier to apply.

Today I've spent a small part of the day fixing the new bugs from the Import to make sure they do not appear in the final version. There were a lot of changes over there, so I'm having some work to fix them.

Once the Import is stable, I'll go to custom scheme.

_________________


Mods, Mods Support, Public Researchs, Map Archives, Tutorials, A Friendly Community and much more. Check it out now!

[stucuk]

QUICK_EDIT Attach signature (signatures can be changed in profile) close

Banshee wrote:

Good. Except that some of the current SHP read algorithms used relies on filesize to find offsets. So, a separate project file is safer and easier to apply.

Incorrect.

FileSize-HeaderSize = True SHP Size. Simple.

_________________
Free Map Editor - Game Requirements - Stucuk.Net

[Clazzy]

QUICK_EDIT Attach signature (signatures can be changed in profile) close

Oh, will this be something like intelligent palette selection? If you open a 60x48 image, it'll open it with the cameo.pal from TS selected by default?

_________________

[Banshee]

QUICK_EDIT Attach signature (signatures can be changed in profile) close

Yes, except that in your example it would open a RA2 cameo.pal .

_________________


Mods, Mods Support, Public Researchs, Map Archives, Tutorials, A Friendly Community and much more. Check it out now!

[Clazzy]

QUICK_EDIT Attach signature (signatures can be changed in profile) close

Yes... I was just testing you, honest!

_________________

[Banshee]

QUICK_EDIT Attach signature (signatures can be changed in profile) close

I'm still stuck at Import. Almost everything is working, except when you import a image in an existing SHP.

I am a bit bored with this problem and I started working on another new top secret feature that I'll not get into details right now. This one is almost done. I just need to finish coding for certain situations. I'm sure all of you will enjoy this feature. It's actually easier to implement than what I originally expected from it. And now, another sleep time.

_________________


Mods, Mods Support, Public Researchs, Map Archives, Tutorials, A Friendly Community and much more. Check it out now!

[Vincent93]

QUICK_EDIT Attach signature (signatures can be changed in profile) close

Banshee wrote:

I'm still stuck at Import. Almost everything is working, except when you import a image in an existing SHP.

I am a bit bored with this problem and I started working on another new top secret feature that I'll not get into details right now. This one is almost done. I just need to finish coding for certain situations. I'm sure all of you will enjoy this feature. It's actually easier to implement than what I originally expected from it. And now, another sleep time.

Any ideas on a release date?

_________________

[stucuk]

QUICK_EDIT Attach signature (signatures can be changed in profile) close

2006, sometime after this post.

_________________
Free Map Editor - Game Requirements - Stucuk.Net

[Banshee]

QUICK_EDIT Attach signature (signatures can be changed in profile) close

I plan to release it sometime in this week. However, it depends on my programming skills and ambitions...

_________________


Mods, Mods Support, Public Researchs, Map Archives, Tutorials, A Friendly Community and much more. Check it out now!

[Banshee]

QUICK_EDIT Attach signature (signatures can be changed in profile) close

I've updated the changelog. Post your comments!

_________________


Mods, Mods Support, Public Researchs, Map Archives, Tutorials, A Friendly Community and much more. Check it out now!

[Clarkson]

QUICK_EDIT Attach signature (signatures can be changed in profile) close

Hi, God? Thats really you? cool.

_________________
PPM's Reichstrollfuherer, 236th Trollenparties brigade.

[ORCACommander]

QUICK_EDIT Attach signature (signatures can be changed in profile) close

Banshee wrote:

I don't know when I'll release it. It just depends on the time I take to finish the surprise feature that I don't wanna reveal in the moment, although some people know it. If a feature is not listed here, keep silent about it .

I geusse you couldn't cause you posted it today But I won't tell
Good job with the surprise and a good job with these new features and the bug fixes keep it up


Edit:

Carnotaurus wrote:

Hi, God? Thats really you? cool.  

what are u talking about

_________________

[Sir Modsalot]

QUICK_EDIT Attach signature (signatures can be changed in profile) close

He's calling Banshee a god. For more than one reason, I'm sure. This is why he is TumSun's "Community Hero".

_________________


[quote="DCoder"]There is no sanity left in this thread.[/quote]

[m666]

QUICK_EDIT Attach signature (signatures can be changed in profile) close

OMG!  Only if I had TD or RA1.  I am probably gonna be the only one to get TFD here in the community, and every freaking patch for it...so that way I can finally have all the C&C Games, together, which has always been a dream of mine, ruined by EA, yet brought to me by EA!

I am confused.  Should I be mad, or glad, at EA?

_________________

[Clarkson]

QUICK_EDIT Attach signature (signatures can be changed in profile) close

Now I can mod TD...god save us all. =P

_________________
PPM's Reichstrollfuherer, 236th Trollenparties brigade.

[stucuk]

QUICK_EDIT Attach signature (signatures can be changed in profile) close

Banshee any chance of u adding 'Dedecated to Olaf, without him none of this would be possible' to the about or something. Rather than just in the source code where noone looks.

Code:

// Important notice: The code below is a translation from XCC
// code originally written by Olaf Van Der Spek. So, all hail
// Olaf Van Der Spek for his great job and thank him a lot

// Without him, this program would be only in our dreams ;).

// Thanks a lot, Olaf!


// ~ Banshee

_________________
Free Map Editor - Game Requirements - Stucuk.Net

[pd]

QUICK_EDIT Attach signature (signatures can be changed in profile) close

Banshee wrote:

Added: Users are now able to import images into existing SHPs, in a frame determined by the user.

Yay! that will make it a LOT easier to continue on my Santa Claus SHP  

Oh BTW, I'll do the extra letters (Ä,Ö,Ü) and more special characters later.
Just curious, in the original German version, the Ä for instance is one pixel higher than usual letters, though you can just leave one pixel so there wouldn't be any special coding required... should I do that?

oh and what also came in my mind, are there gonna be help grids for TD and RA?[/quote]

[Banshee]

QUICK_EDIT Attach signature (signatures can be changed in profile) close

Stu, it's already done in my source. I've done it few days ago, but I'll have to edit the about again, because I'm using the GifImage, libpng and TARGA library.

Quote:

Just curious, in the original German version, the Ä for instance is one pixel higher than usual letters, though you can just leave one pixel so there wouldn't be any special coding required... should I do that?

I don't know. I'll have to look into it.

Quote:

oh and what also came in my mind, are there gonna be help grids for TD and RA?

I don't think so, for this current version. I don't understand your grid logic.

_________________


Mods, Mods Support, Public Researchs, Map Archives, Tutorials, A Friendly Community and much more. Check it out now!

[pd]

QUICK_EDIT Attach signature (signatures can be changed in profile) close

you don't have to look into the letter stuff... I checked out its code already and I seem to get it (I also experimented already).
I'm just asking whether it'd be "ethically" correct to alter the Ä etc from the original German ones in order to save a LOT of work...

the grids in RA and TD aren't isometric which makes it easy...
I think I'll work on them then as soon as the source is out

[Banshee]

QUICK_EDIT Attach signature (signatures can be changed in profile) close

So, once I release the source, you do your stuff in it . Just make sure you leave some explanation in the code, so I can understand when I mess it up later.

At least, most of my code there has some kind of comment explaining them.

_________________


Mods, Mods Support, Public Researchs, Map Archives, Tutorials, A Friendly Community and much more. Check it out now!

[Banshee]

QUICK_EDIT Attach signature (signatures can be changed in profile) close

Another update in the changelog. I've still worked on the import section adding the possible final features of this version there.

The first one are new options to autoselect background, because GIF and PNG have a transparent colour attached. It might be better to use that as background, instead of the first pixel of the image, so I've left that as an option.

The other option is kinda hard to explain. I'm calling it Split Shadow. What it actually does it to place the 'shadow frames' of the imported set of pictures in the 'shadow related' frames location at the existing SHP.

To explain it better, let's go with an example. Let's say you have 16 frames of an infantry in an opened SHP file and you've just exported a walking set of frames and its shadows from your new infantry with 32 frames (16 being shadow) and you want to start pasting it at frame 8. Instead of pasting everything from frame 8, it will paste the first 16 frames from the frame 8 and the shadow part in its respective place, which would be from frame 40 till 56.

_________________


Mods, Mods Support, Public Researchs, Map Archives, Tutorials, A Friendly Community and much more. Check it out now!

[Denmon]

QUICK_EDIT Attach signature (signatures can be changed in profile) close

what about the shadow converter???

_________________
Please, read the signature rules of the forum.

[Banshee]

QUICK_EDIT Attach signature (signatures can be changed in profile) close

That's left for future versions.

_________________


Mods, Mods Support, Public Researchs, Map Archives, Tutorials, A Friendly Community and much more. Check it out now!

[Banshee]

QUICK_EDIT Attach signature (signatures can be changed in profile) close

Update: Ok, denmon. You win. Shadow converter has been included in this version, but I'm not testing it here. It's a copy and paste from 3.4.


I'm now working in a system to allow the user to set the game and type of the SHP.

_________________


Mods, Mods Support, Public Researchs, Map Archives, Tutorials, A Friendly Community and much more. Check it out now!

[Banshee]

QUICK_EDIT Attach signature (signatures can be changed in profile) close

Beta testing stage has started. We currently have a Beta 02 available and still a shitload of bugs to fix.

_________________


Mods, Mods Support, Public Researchs, Map Archives, Tutorials, A Friendly Community and much more. Check it out now!

[Banshee]

QUICK_EDIT Attach signature (signatures can be changed in profile) close

The beta testing received some delay in the week due to problems on loading and saving SHP (TD) files. Thanks to Olaf van der Spek's help that he gave yesterday, I managed to fix these issues today. I've released Beta 05 and Beta 06 today. Now these files are loaded and saved in a reliable way and GIFs are exported in a much better way than on old beta versions (thanks to Stucuk).

[Banshee]

QUICK_EDIT Attach signature (signatures can be changed in profile) close

Beta 08 has been released today. This version is quite stable and it is our first release candidate. The changelog has been updated with some of its features.

[Banshee]

QUICK_EDIT Attach signature (signatures can be changed in profile) close

Beta 09 and 10 were released today. I'm sure this version is more stable than 3.34 itself. I'm still looking for bugs and fixing whatever I find, since the beta testers aren't finding them for me anymore.

There are still few things to be done, like an updated site list, help file and maybe, improve the cameo generator. I'm still calling these versions release candidate, just in case I'm too lazy ...

[DeathRay2K]

QUICK_EDIT Attach signature (signatures can be changed in profile) close

What about RA1/TD grids?

_________________

[Banshee]

QUICK_EDIT Attach signature (signatures can be changed in profile) close

Use TS. Or... the size is different?

RA2 is 30x60, TS is 24x48... what's the size for TD and RA1?

[DeathRay2K]

QUICK_EDIT Attach signature (signatures can be changed in profile) close

Well, TD and RA are square, not isometric, and they're 24x24.

_________________

[Banshee]

QUICK_EDIT Attach signature (signatures can be changed in profile) close

Ouch . I'll see what I can do... but to be honest, I don't expect to have them at 3.35

[Banshee]

QUICK_EDIT Attach signature (signatures can be changed in profile) close

Release is imminent!