mugaben 10 Posted February 20, 2011 This.. Problem All I've done was to add a new mask colour, and another texture for it. Why does it do this all of a sudden? :( Mask: Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bushlurker 45 Posted February 20, 2011 (edited) Hi Dampet! . Here's your mask untouched except reduced in size.... Doesn't look like it - but there's 256 different colours in this image... Here's the same image - with 2 colours... Notice the difference? The other shades not listed in your layers.cfg are freaking Visitor out... Reduce the image to indexed colour palette - with the exact number of colours you KNOW are on there... that'll force a palette of just those colours only... then - reconvert back to RGB and save right away don't do anything else or the program might start adding other colours to the palette... Edit mask - reduce to indexed colour - back to RGB - save & use..... B Edited February 20, 2011 by Bushlurker Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mugaben 10 Posted February 20, 2011 (edited) Okay, I have 5 colours. When making it into indexed, it says "minimal 9 colours". I cant force it to only use 5. And with the nine colours it does the graphical error aswell. :/ Tried unchecking the "transparency" button. That made the minimal go from 9, to 8. Trying to convert the thing once again. Edited February 20, 2011 by MugAben Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Gnome_AS 10 Posted February 21, 2011 The issue is simply that there are to many colors in use. Try using the pencil tool instead of the brush. Like in the images above, the usage of the airbrush produces a gradient of colors (typically more than 5), whereas the pencil is a truely solid storke. From an indexed palette you can select all the colors that are not in your config and delete them. Using the wand tool, selective color or whatever. Then continue as Bushlurker has recommended, RGB, save. . Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
commander1985 10 Posted February 21, 2011 I had problems with indexed colors and do it a bit different. See this as a small tip for Photoshop ;) Load your Picture and look for the posterize option and type in something like 4. (I do so) After that you will only have some colors left. Maybe one color even changed but you can easily change that one back with colormask and repainting it :) Works great for me. (Btw. I always have a bit more then 4colors,(some 480 to be exact :P) but visitor ignores them for me) Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mugaben 10 Posted February 21, 2011 Well, okay. Just to be clear its: If I use 5 colors/textures its fine. If I use more than five (6) it freaks out. Both cases I use non-edited, brushed RGB. I also tried with 6 colors, and indexed to 8 colors (minimum) with no difference. But I'll try to make the mask again from bottom up, or try your tip first commander. Thanks :) Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Gnome_AS 10 Posted February 21, 2011 Ah, well that could be related overlap and whatever the restriction is there. Can't recall the specific threshold. No more than 4 colors can intersect, including overlap. (thought the count went up in A2 or OA.. *shrug*) Maybe thats more on track with your error? . Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bushlurker 45 Posted February 21, 2011 (edited) If I use 5 colors/textures its fine.If I use more than five (6) it freaks out. Yes and no... as usual ;)... The full techie explanation is HERE and well worth reading... You'll notice it dates from Arma 1 days and uses Sahrani for an example... In those days the maximum colour limit was 4... as far as we know - it still is... There was some talk back in the early Arma 2 pre-release info about BIS using more than 4 colours, but there seems to be no evidence of it in the actual Chernarus or Utes files - and there's been no "official" explanation of those previous reports - as far as I'm aware anyway... In the absence of such info, it's safest to assume that Wiki page still applies - and the limit is still 4 colours.... That's NOT a 4 colour limit for your whole mask though! - it's 4 colours per segment... Read this bit carefully and calculate the segment size for your own particular project... By carefully following these rules you can use more than 4 colours in your overall mask... you just need to avoid having more than 4 different colours in any one particular segment - including overlap... it's when you do that Visitor freaks out... or rather, the engine does... or both really... As a quick example... find a binarised version of your own project and DEpbo it - look for a data folder - it'll be full of *.paa files... drag one into TexView and take a look.... this is your mask - cut up into segments - except it's NOT your mask colours.... they're ALL RGB... or rather, since the engine cunningly uses the alpha channel as a fourth colour - these are RGBA images and its all Red, Blue, Green - and Black... No matter what colours you use - your mask gets segmented and RGBA'd - that means 4 colours - per segment - on a different segment it can be 4 different colours - meaning 8 visible surfaces ingame!! - except - because of overlap - most segments will at best have to "share" three colours and vary on the fourth... So - not quite so bad... it's perfectly possible to have - say - seashore sand in segments by the seashore, but, further inland in segments where there's no seashore - you have a colour spare - drier upland grass maybe? You can have colours on your map that aren't used... if they're not defined in layers.cfg they'll be ignored... so the problem isn't really even about having excess colours on your mask - as Commander says... it's all about when you have more than 4 colours defined in layers.cfg... Visitor is watching for those colours - ready to RGBA them on a per-segment basis... when it hits a segment with 5 defined colours - it freaks out... The results are unpredictable... either, or both of the adjacent textures may show badly, or wrongly coloured... clutters will be dodgy too... "Funny looking" ground texture problems are often down to this... So - it IS Yes... and No... More than 4 colours is OK, quite a few more... IF you're careful about the segment thing... B Edited February 22, 2011 by Bushlurker Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Gnome_AS 10 Posted February 22, 2011 Thanks for proper reply B, after reading my quick reply I see where one might think I meant limited to 4. :p I think last one I played with used 8 or so. Tis unfortunate about the lack of increase as rumored before. Next tool set :rolleyes: . Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bushlurker 45 Posted February 22, 2011 You said the same thing Gnome - just beat me to it since I was being longwinded - as usual...:p B Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mugaben 10 Posted February 22, 2011 Ah that thing.. I forgot all about it.. I skipped that part in the beginning of my map making, because I didnt get it.. No matter how many times I read it, I dont get the segment thing and how I calculate them, where they are.. :/ Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Gnome_AS 10 Posted February 23, 2011 (edited) Was going another route in reply.. then it was wrong, so.. Oh well, short version. I believe the segment overlap is usually 16 pixels in all directions(unless you change it manually). So if you imagine a box with a frame around it, the frame is 16px wide. Now, you can't connect the frames, you can only connect the boxes. So when we connect 2 boxes (segments) side by side, we actually have a 32px overlap where they meet, at the seam. Your box (segment) is generally 512px square, unless of course you changed it manually. What you need to do is make an overlay in PS or whatever you're using, that represents the seams and the correct overlap. Use the overlay to determine whether or not you have any connecting segments that have uncommon colors within the boundaries of the overlay. Uncommon meaning not shared: (within the overlap) Segment A overlap contains: red, green, blue, pink Segment B overlap contains: red, green, blue, yellow Is NOT a valid combination. Somebody correct me if I'm wrong on this part (think the wiki actually reads, per segment. not really clear for me) ... I belive you can even do this without error: Segment A contains: red, green, blue, pink, yellow, orange Segment A overlap: red, green, blue, pink Segment B contains: red, green, blue Segment B overlap: red, green If that even helps make any sense... Gotta hit a meeting, then I can post a easy PS how-to if needed. . Edited February 23, 2011 by Gnome_AS Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mugaben 10 Posted February 24, 2011 Would be great. Very much needed! :o Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Gnome_AS 10 Posted February 24, 2011 Ah sorry bro, got diverted yesterday ... flying about in an A-10C.. I'll be back at the "rig" in a couple hours and I'll hook it up. :) Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Gnome_AS 10 Posted February 25, 2011 (edited) Ok, I started in on doing a video ... which about 20mins into setting up everything for recording I decided to come post this. That being said I'll put a video up over the weekend that includes the "how I got to" the stuff below. (lot of work, my normal workspace spans a few monitors..) File: overlay_maskGrid_512x32.7z The zip contains 2 files, overlay_maskGrid_512x32.pat & overlay_maskGrid_512x32.psd. This is the pattern and the original PS file of said pattern. Copy the .pat file to your "Presets\Patterns" folder for PS. Open your mask in PS, add a layer, select the brush tool. In your Brushes panel, select the texture option. Note: scale must be 100%, otherwise it is self defeating. In the mode dropdown, select Subtract (or whatevers clever). You can select whatever color you wish also. Simply paint the texture onto the new layer. Then turn the layer opacity down if needed and start searching. Hope it helps, if you have a different segment/overlap size let me know and I'll kick you the correct pattern. I'll show how to make patterns in the video. Of course theres a ton of good references out there. ;) --- Just dawned on me that the grid originates from the SW (bottom left) so you might want to, go edit menu and flip the new layer vertically. Should be aligned correctly then. (thanks Commander for supplying remote info) . Edited February 25, 2011 by Gnome_AS Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mugaben 10 Posted February 25, 2011 (edited) Hmm.. Im with you until you tell me to select a texture option under brushes panel. I cant seem to find it? Ill continue looking. :) Edit: Think I found it. Nice! Managed to make a nice grid over the masks. It looks like i did it right. If this doesnt work, it isnt your fault at least! Edited February 25, 2011 by MugAben Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Gnome_AS 10 Posted February 25, 2011 CS4 default is F5 for Brushes, should be 3rd, 4th down the left hand side ;) . Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
