What are the best resource (graphics) editing programs to use?

[Guest Unregistered account]

Hey! I'm having trouble making my own custom textures/sprites for Doom/Heretic/Hexen. Lately, I've been using Paint.NET, but it has no custom palette restrictions and switching between my image and an image of the PLAYPAL just to use the Eyedropper then switch back again is a real chore. Also, Paint.NET has some weird Fill tool tolerance behaviour that leaves loads of discoloured pixels in the final product.

So, I mean... what do you use? There are tons of custom textures/etc. everywhere nowadays!


I'm also having trouble with custom sprites. I can't link the WAD until afternoon, but I made a Heretic test WAD to try out my sprite-making capabilities and I finally replaced about 4 frames of the Mummy, but they only show up when testing in Zandronum. Playing in Chocolate Heretic? Completely normal, no sprite changes. Can anyone offer a solution? (Probably only after I've actually linked the WAD)

[scifista42]

1. GIMP
2. There needs to be a S_END marker placed below your custom sprites in the wad lump list. Usual practice is to place your sprites in between SS_START (with 2 "S") and S_END (with 1 "S") inside your wad.

[Guest Unregistered account]

scifista42 said:

1. GIMP

Got that already, how do I set a restricted palette?

scifista42 also said:

there needs to be a S_END marker placed below your custom sprites in the wad lump list. Usual practice is to place your sprites in between SS_START (with 2 "S") and S_END (with 1 "S") inside your wad.

Yes, I've already done that. Thanks for the help, though, and I'll post the WAD in a bit.

[scifista42]

The sprites also need to be converted to the palettized "Doom format" using SLADE3 "Graphic -> Convert To" feature.

Palette in GIMP: Go to "Image -> Mode -> Indexed", select "Use own palette", UNSELECT the option "Remove unused colors" and choose the Doom palette - but you previously need to import Doom palette into GIMP, which I've done ages ago and I really don't remember how, you can try to investigate yourself.

EDIT: WAIT, you said Chocolate Heretic? If it's like Chocolate Doom, it doesn't support custom sprites at all, unless you launch the wad via command line with -merge parameter instead of -file.

[Guest Unregistered account]

scifista42 said:

WAIT, you said Chocolate Heretic? If it's like Chocolate Doom, it doesn't support custom sprites at all, unless you launch the wad via command line with -merge parameter instead of -file.

Wait, WHAT!?? But... but there are loads of Vanilla WADs out there with replaced custom sprites! Did you think I meant entirely new entries...?

[scifista42]

Sorry for the confusion: As I said, you just need to launch the wad via command line with -merge parameter instead of -file, if you wanted to see custom sprites.

I actually know nearly nothing about Heretic's engine limits, I only know Doom's.

EDIT: Vanilla Doom only supports custom sprites if ALL of them are replaced and reincluded in the wad. Back then before Chocolate Doom, a vanilla player needed to use a program called DEUSF to add non-replaced IWAD sprites into the PWAD and only then play with custom sprites without errors. Chocolate Doom's -merge command simulates this procedure, making it much easier to load PWADs with custom sprites.

[Gez]

scifista42 said:

but you previously need to import Doom palette into GIMP, which I've done ages ago and I really don't remember how, you can try to investigate yourself.

SLADE can export palettes to Gimp's palette format. Select the PLAYPAL lump, and do Palette->Export As... You get your OS' native file save window, with a "type" drop down (at the bottom in Windows), which by default is set to "Raw palette (*.pal)", change it to "Gimp palette (*.gpl)".

You can also export to the JASC format for use in PaintShop Pro.

[GreyGhost]

Joe667 said: (of GIMP)
Got that already, how do I set a restricted palette?

I tend to get lost in GIMP's maze of options and find myself wandering aimlessly looking for an exit. Have you tried GrafX2? It's a relatively simple 8bit paint program that's closer to what was used to create Doom's graphic resources.