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New Army Sprite Pack - Now Correctly Positioned on Screens

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Chicken Spadge

Chicken Spadge

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Aug 3, 2009
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  • Arsenal of Democracy
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*
SMOKIN'!​

​

So, what should be the final piece of the jigsaw is now in place. There are three main changes in the current versions.

1. As you can see, I've now added gunsmoke to the Level 2-4 units. Note that the size of the smoke clouds and the colours vary because of the way the original sprite was made and the colours available on the palettes.

2. I've altered the positions of some of the Level 1 sprites in the combat screen (especially swordsmen and halberdiers) so that they are better matched. Here are some before and after comparisons:

​

3. I've also focused on the WALK files in order to correct the positions of some units and make the speeds at which they move more alike.


In addition, I've incorporated some of the changes seen further down in the thread:

I've added the missing SIEGE spr files so that the cannons will appear for all units.

I've added some of the units that people requested - namely the four Scottish sprites and the Burgundy Level 2 unit.

I've also replaced the old Japanese Level 1 sprite with the more authentic one and the old Level 2 Rebels with new ones firing guns.

If you would rather use the originals in any case, I've provided separate downloads for them in post 119 (page 6)


















This is a full replacement sprite pack with four variants (well, very nearly full, more about this later). In each version you will find 122 new sprites (according to my calculations) using Civ3 conversions for the various levels. They will work with vanilla, AGCEEP, WATKABAOI and Plvs Vltra if you follow the instructions below. Most of the sprites were originally created by Imperator1961 and Sandris (more details in second post).

Let's have a closer look at what's included, starting with

Europe: First of all, I've divided the European minority states in this pack into four groups - German (GER), Italian (ITA), Western (HEL), and Eastern (HUN). Each group has its own sprites for all four levels.

The following also have unique sprites for all four levels: France, Austria, Spain, Portugal, England/Great Britain, Scotland, Denmark, Sweden, Poland, Russia, the Ottomans and Naples

The following have unique sprites for three levels: the Netherlands, Prussia/Teutonic Knights, Savoy, Venice and Papal States

Unique sprites for two levels: Saxony, Bavaria and Burgundy

Unique sprites for one level: the Low Countries, Bohemia, Genoa, Byzantium and Mediterranean Knight Orders

Asia: Three levels - Arabs, India, China and West Asia (Persians/Timurids); Two levels - Japan; One level - Mongols, South-East Asia, Korea, Malays/Indonesia and Other Anatolian Turks

Africa: Two levels - Horn of Africa and Rest of Africa; One level - West Africa

Americas: Three levels - North America; Two levels - Central/South America

There are also three levels of rebels.

The difference between the two main versions concerns the European Level 3 sprites. I orginally decided to use Mid-18th century sprites. The problem is that, in my opinion at least, tricorne hats don't come out very well in this format. So, I've also created a version with Late-18th century uniforms in which bicorne hats feature heavily. I realise that the late 18th century is very close to Napoleonic times, but I reckon that the sprites for this period look a lot better! All the other levels and the non-European sprites are the same. Anyway, it's up to you to choose which version you prefer.

OK, here's a confession. I had terrible problems finding suitable sprites for North America. Sandris (see later) made a really good pack with all sorts of tribes, but for some reason the sprites were very small and therefore incompatible with the rest. In the end, I resorted to using figures on horseback for Levels 2 and 3 and reducing the size of the original EUII sprite for Level 1, which is the only original sprite now left.

At the same time, I've reduced the size of the various build units (the blacksmith, etc) and the missionaries so that they match the new sprites.

The new sprites may look rather small when compared to the originals, but that's partly because the old ones are so big! You'll soon get used to the new ones!


The Downloads:

Both of the original two versions of the pack have been altered (tricorne and bicorne hats in level 3). I've created four alternative packs so that if you don't want the gunsmoke you can still have the changes to the Level 1 sprites and WALK files.

For those of you that have older versions of the pack:

Again, the download folders include all the bmp files and palettes needed for the game, including the unchanged navy and build ones, etc. You don't need to re-download the country file.

Please note that some of the palettes have changed, so you need to replace that folder as well. It's obvious from the download statistics that some people only downloaded the Unit folders and not the palettes last time. Big mistake!


People who didn't install the orginal version, please read the following instructions:

Important - Read First!: Whatever you do, DO NOT simply drop the new unit folder on top of the old one! The original EUII and For the Glory sprites have various name orders, and they will not all be replaced, leaving you with a real mess. That's why before you download the new unit folder you should go to For the Glory/Gfx/Map and remove the old one (Put it to one side - if you find that you don't like the new sprites you can always easily replace it again later). The download includes all the unit files for the game in a completely new unit folder, including the navy and city files, etc (which are unchanged).

If you want to use the sprites in WATKABAOI or in Plvs Vltra you should go to For the Glory/Mods/WATKABAOI/Gfx/Map or to For the Glory/Mods/Plvs Vltra/Gfx/Map and remove that unit folder as well (again, put it to one side just in case). You will end up with another mess otherwise.

The same applies to the new palette folder; it's a complete replacement of the original one. Go to For the Glory/Gfx and remove the old one before downloading the new.

If you want to use these sprites you must also download the country files for the version concerned. Big changes have been made. Make sure you put the country files for AGCEEP, WATKABAOI and Plvs Vltra in the correct places.

The vanilla file goes in For the Glory
The AGCEEP one goes in For the Glory/Mods/AGCEEP
The WATKABAOI one goes in For the Glory/Mods/WATABAOI
The Plvs Vltra one goes in For the Glory/Mods/Plvs Vltra
Overwrite when asked.

Download Unit folder for version 1 (tricorne hats in L3) with gunsmoke
Download Unit folder for version 1 (tricorne hats in L3) no smoke
Download Unit folder for version 2 (bicorne hats in L3) with gunsmoke
Download Unit folder for version 2 (bicorne hats in L3) no smoke

Download Palette folder for version 1 with gunsmoke
Download Palette folder for version 1 no smoke
Download Palette folder for version 2 with gunsmoke
Download Palette folder for version 2 no smoke

download country file for vanilla
download country file for AGCEEP
download country file for WATKABAOI
download country file for Plvs Vltra (produced by Lord Vamp)
 
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Additional Notes

Acknowledgements

The main credit for these sprites should go the original creators of the Civ3 units, and the overwhelming number were made by just two people from the civfanatics site - Imperator1961 and Sandris

Imperator1961 made all the European Level 2 and 3 sprites, most of the European Level 1 units, the Arabs, Chinese Level 2 and 3, Indian Level 2, West Asia Levels 2 and 3, Horn of Africa and Rest of Africa Level 3, North America Levels 2 and 3, and the Level 1 and 2 rebels.

Sandris made all the European Level 4 sprites, several of the European Level 1 units, the Mongols Level 1, Chinese Level 1, Indian Level 3, West Asia Level 1, and Level 3 rebels.

Sword of Geddon made the Rest of Africa Level 1, Japanese Level 2 and Central/South American Level 1 and 2 units
ShiroKobbure made the South East Asian, Korean, Malay and Med Knight Level 1 sprites
Plotinus made the West African and Horn of Africa Level 1 units
Kinboat made the Japanese Level 1 sprite
CamJH made the Indian Level 1 unit

Imperator1961 has kindly given me his permission to use his sprites. I've also tried to contact Sandris, both via various posts on the civfanatics forum and by email, but I still haven't received a reply after several months. I get the impression from the site that he isn't around any more as he doesn't seem to have posted anything for at least a couple of years.

I'd also like to thank Inner Circle for providing the Civ3 conversions tutorial found here, and novapaddy, who posted the tutorial up and patiently answered a whole host of newbie questions. The tutorial was posted with Darkest Hour in view, but I'm sure that Inner Circle and novapaddy won't mind, as I've also made sprites for DH and they both own copies of For the Glory as well!

Special thanks to Therion for showing me how to alter the STAND and FIRE bmps so that the sprites can be correctly positioned everywhere.

Many thanks as well to Lord Vamp for producing the Plvs Vltra country file.

The Colorscales (political mode) Seen in the Screenshots

As the new sprites are smaller I was keen to do whatever I could to make them stand out better, especially in the later stages when the colours of the uniforms tend to match those of the countries. I've never been entirely happy with the existing colorscales anyway.

So, I produced my own versions. You can download them via a separate thread here.

Errors

If you find anything, please make a note of the problem and let me know so that I can fix it.

Positioning on the Map

You will find that these sprites are positioned slightly more to the north and west than usual. This is to keep them away from the troop numbers and flags.

Reducing the Size of Existing Sprites

Q: If you can reduce the size of the North American Level 1 and build/missionary sprites, couldn't you do the same for some of the newer FtG sprites?

A: Yes, but doing this is a royal pain in the arse! much more time-consuming than converting a Civ3 unit. It seems that every strip has different dimensions, meaning that you have to reduce them by different amounts. At the same time, this means that every file has to be individually repositioned on the map. If you want to have a go at this yourself, you first need to count the number of frames in the strip. Then double that number. The sprites must be reduced in size in image/scale image (GIMP) by multiples of the resultantfigure, otherwise they will shake on the map.
 
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do these files work with the Plvs Vltra game?
 
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Toio said:
do these files work with the Plvs Vltra game?
Click to expand...

Apparently Plvs Vltra has its own country file, so this would need amending in order for all the new sprites to show up.
 
Chicken Spadge said:
Apparently Plvs Vltra has its own country file, so this would need amending in order for all the new sprites to show up.
Click to expand...

thanks for advice
PV is all I play this past year and a bit.............I will talk to Therion
 
Well,there is a problems.
I use unit pack "version one" , when I play as Prussia or Austria in the last Scenario , the lv.4 sprites go wrong. When the units stand , they show sprite you made, but when they move, they show the original moving sprite.
 
Hello zweihander,

Sorry for not replying until now.

First, about the problem with the Level 4 sprites. I think that this is because you haven't installed the sprite pack according to the instructions. You're supposed to remove the old unit folder completely from the game first, and then put the new one that you've downloaded in its place. It's a complete replacement of the unit folder. The new folder contains all the (unchanged) navy and city files as well.

The reason why I did this is because the sprites files are named in various ways in the old folder, and differently from the way that I name them. This means that if you simply drop the new folder on top of the old one, many of the old files won't be replaced, including those Level 4 sprites that are showing up in your game. The new folder doesn't contain those files, so there's no way they should appear.

I know that this isn't the normal way of doing things, but it was the cleanest way I could think of.

As for the Landsknecht, I seem to remember that your conversion of that sprite was a good one. I can do it for you, but I'm very busy with other things at the moment, so you'll have to wait a while.
 
Chicken Spadge said:
Hello zweihander,

Sorry for not replying until now.

First, about the problem with the Level 4 sprites. I think that this is because you haven't installed the sprite pack according to the instructions. You're supposed to remove the old unit folder completely from the game first, and then put the new one that you've downloaded in its place. It's a complete replacement of the unit folder. The new folder contains all the (unchanged) navy and city files as well.

The reason why I did this is because the sprites files are named in various ways in the old folder, and differently from the way that I name them. This means that if you simply drop the new folder on top of the old one, many of the old files won't be replaced, including those Level 4 sprites that are showing up in your game. The new folder doesn't contain those files, so there's no way they should appear.

I know that this isn't the normal way of doing things, but it was the cleanest way I could think of.

As for the Landsknecht, I seem to remember that your conversion of that sprite was a good one. I can do it for you, but I'm very busy with other things at the moment, so you'll have to wait a while.
Click to expand...


Thanks for your reply.
I installed thr pack according to the instructions, now it is OK.
And I will wait for your Landnknecht sprite, thanks.

Besides, I don't think it is necessary to fix the "combat and reorganise windows problem" , but if you want to , here is a tutorial http://forum.paradoxplaza.com/forum...orrecting-graphic-BUGs-in-custom-unit-sprites
 
zweihander said:
Thanks for your reply.
I installed thr pack according to the instructions, now it is OK.
And I will wait for your Landnknecht sprite, thanks.

Besides, I don't think it is necessary to fix the "combat and reorganise windows problem" , but if you want to , here is a tutorial http://forum.paradoxplaza.com/forum...orrecting-graphic-BUGs-in-custom-unit-sprites
Click to expand...

Thanks for the link. I never would have found that - an EUII thread from 2006! It was especially interesting to see exactly where the hardcoded positions are.

Actually, I've already committed myself to correcting the windows problem, see this thread

''I am in it stepped in so far, that should I wade no more, returning were as weary as go o'er.''

In fact, the EUII thread highlights another reason why it's worth doing this. I've noticed that there is a problem with selecting units. Sometimes it's difficult to select just one because the big 'phases' overlap.

Also, cutting the size of the phases reduces the size of the files and the loading time.
 
Lord Vamp said:
Could you please elaborate on this? What exactly should be changed in the Plvs Vltra country file?
Click to expand...



What you have to do is go through the country file and change the codes for army (circled above).

For example, Bavaria has its own sprites (at least for two levels), so you should change 'GER' into 'BAY' Meanwhile, I've split up the minor states into German (GER), Italian (ITA), Western (HEL) and Eastern (HUN). Bearn is in Western Europe, so you should change 'MIN' into 'HEL'.

I'm not familiar with Plvs Vltra, so I didn't make a country file for that mod. I'll probably do so at some time, but I'm quite busy at the moment with other things.
 
Lord Vamp said:
Would it be enough to just copy the values from the modified Watkabaoi countries file that you uploaded in the first post?
Click to expand...

Probably, I should think that the vast majority of the countries are the same. There may be some additional countries in Plvs Vltra, but you can just modify them as you see fit.
 
Lord Vamp,

If you do make a file for Plvs Vltra, please upload it on the forum so that other people can use it. You could either give me a link to the file-sharing site, and I'll include it with the others on this thread (giving you full credit for it, of course), or you could post it on your own thread, and I'll direct people towards that.
 
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