MrGrayyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy wb

Ya, until Krayon gets that up, just upload the maps (ELM files) here as attachments.

As for specific maps we need... hmm idk, i'll get back to u, but for now anything you like.

A big cave would probably be good (something akin to CC ;p)

[itself]

The reason it works, (I've done this with other programs, not just EL) is because the client simply looks for the .bmp extension and loads that. It doesn't care "was it saved as a bmp".

Yeah i know ;p the extension is just part of the filename, and the software looks for a particular filename. The idea of extensions dictating the format of the file is traditionally very much a Windows thing. (tho it has bled over to other OS'es now.)

To most everything, an image file is an image file. The extension it was saved in is more of a matter of compression at time of saving than anything else.

Well i have to disagree.
An image file isn't just an image file.
A JPEG renderer cannot process a PNG, a GIF renderer cannot process a TIFF, IE6's PNG renderer cannot handle standard compliant PNG transparency, and a BMP renderer cannot process a JPEG.

The fact you've encountered many softwares that are capable of rendering many different image formats doesn't mean all software will be able to. Software can only render an image it has a library for (whether in-built or otherwise). All these 'non-specialized' formats are still very different.

Your theory would dictate that using jpeg compression anywhere within the client and just renaming to .bmp would work, but it doesn't. For example, try converting some of your meshes to jpegs and giving them a .bmp extension and try to use them... it doesn't work. The software strictly expects 8bit image data for meshes, and anything that's not 8bit renders incorrectly. (i did discover tho that 8bit PNG's can be renamed to .bmp and work).

The reason i ask for Windows users to test is to find out if the EL client itself does infact have JPEG and PNG decompression in-built or if when i ran it on Linux it was just using my system image rendering libraries... but no matter, i remembered EL uses SDL_image, which supports at minimum PNG, JPEG and TIFF.

hang on hang on... all you did was change the extension by renaming the file? you didn't open it up in some software and re-save it as bmp?

Cause all renaming a file does is just that; renames it, it doesn't actually change the format.

I didn't put these up for people to download and use, when it's time to use them we'll roll them out in a data pack/installer, i put them up just to show 256colour is fine which is why i put up PNG's, but very interesting to hear they rendered fine for you as PNG's (just with the extension renamed).

edit:
@krayon
lol masohp's discovery is quite right, the client already supports loading PNG's for the login screen, it also supports loading JPG's

At GIMP's JPEG quality 90 the filesize still comes out at 235KB, less than an 8bit GZipped BMP or PNG, and looks fine, so we'll probably use that.

edit2:

If someone running Windows could confirm this works for them that'd be great, here's the image in JPEG format (already renamed to .bmp):
http://www.paradoxcomputers.com.au/qel/login_back.bmp

@masohp
ya i know in photobucket you can magnify, those earlier comments were directed to EV.

@EV
Thanks

-----------------------

Now, i'd just like to take a second to show off Photoshop's ability to produce 256 colour palettes using it's 'Adaptive' filter :>

24bit:


8bit:


24bit BMP uncompressed = 3.1MB
24bit BMP GZipped = 2.1MB (sorry EV but they aint the same size at 8bit BMP's, they're still twice the size )
8bit BMP uncompressed = 1.0MB
8bit BMP GZipped = 419KB

EDIT:
erm just used GIMP to convert to 256 colours and it still looks great, in fact GIMP has done a slightly better job at retaining the darker red of the blood:



I don't know what you guys are using to convert to 256 colours, but it must be something using a static palette, not producing one optimised for the image being converted (that's what, for example, MS Paint does... uses a specific set of 256 colours (it's actually the same set Windows uses if you run it in 256 colour)).

ok well i just fixed the map.

@krayon:
it's in usual place. senzon03-1.elm



once krayon puts it on server we'll put out new data/installer.

we just realised the client supports loading a GZipped Bitmap for the login screen image, and considering there is i guess some noteworthy degradation to the images @ 256colours, we'll use GZipped 24bit BMPs.

edit:
Just one little thing EV, in the image with "Lands of War" up the top (this one: http://l2fury.com/images/QELImages/login_back2.bmp ) the 3rd 'bloodsplat' over from the left kinda comes to a very abrupt stop, i assume left over from when it was being cut off by hitting the bottom of the image from the login screen where it was at the bottom.

1024x1024 is more appropriate considering most people will be running EL in 1024 width minimum, and 8bit colour is preferred for this anyways, as using only 256 colours really isn't as bad as you'd think when a good palette has been generated (as i just showed u irl krayon ;p) and makes the file 1/3 the size.

What would be best is if the client supported PNG's, or even JPG's.

[8bit (256 color)]

best for now to maintain full compatibility with the original EL one.

So yes, 1024x1024, and also, probably importantly: make it an 8bit (256 color) bitmap.

so when exporting the image for usage in the client you need to convert to an indexed mode.

in GIMP u goto:
Image -> Mode -> Indexed...
and u will want to use the top option "Generate optimum palette" and select 256 colors.

In Photoshop it's:
Image -> Mode -> Indexed Color...
and u want to use one of the "Local" palettes (Adaptive, Selective or Perceptual).
I think usually 'Adaptive' does the best job, but it does have a tendency to darken where the others lighten... use whichever you think produces the best result.

Alternatively; just send me a 24bit PNG or 24bit BMP (zipped/rar'ed/etc. as Krayon said above) and i can convert to 8bit for you.

Nice stuff masohp and EV

One that says "Lands of War" would be good too, although i don't know if we'll ever be doing 2 separate clients for each server... probably not tbh (krayon?)... maybe putting both "Timeless Era" and "Lands of War" on the image would be good...

[just to test that the breaks system was working]

1. ANY AND ALL breakrates are currently preliminary, some of them are still set to figures we put in place just to test that the breaks system was working.

2. The above said, the speed amulet break rate may not be changing much, cause i want people to be able to run on LoW, but i don't want it to make escaping in PK too easy... basically; it breaks easy, so don't fight with it on.

3.

Hally Spell- When you have all 3 componets of the hally set, Hally, Hally ring, and hally med: you can combine all the increases and decreases into the Hally, MAKING IT THE ULTIMATE BLU EYES...........uh <insert cool name>

Having "THE ULTIMATE" anything is exactly the opposite of what's trying to be achieved.
There will be no equivalent to EL's Bronze Sword in QELServ, ever.

damn that SenZon and his walkable tiles in buildings :<

thanks for the report. will be fixed next data update

The issue with PvP fights being too short and lucky crit-dmg dictating fights is being addressed ty for the feedback on it though, good to know others feel the same.

As for the Cyclops, at 80 a/d he isn't meant to be easy at all, try a Cockatrice with friends.

[not]

There are a million ways a computer running Windows can get a virus. Just having it connected to the internet at all is a risk in itself. I'm an I.T. consultant IRL, i know. ;p

The QELServ installer does not contain any malicious software (viruses, etc.). Anyone with a little computing know-how can easily extract the files from the installer and see everything that comes with it, and view the batch file it runs to install and see what it does for themselves.

I suggest running and keeping up-to-date good anti-virus software.
Avira AntiVir is good, keeps itself up-to-date automatically and is free for personal/home use:
http://www.free-av.com/en/download/index.html

...and I suggest running a web browser other than Microsoft Internet Explorer. Such as Firefox:
http://www.getfirefox.com/

(...or Google Chrome, Opera, etc... any of them are much safer than IE)

Combat system changes in the last couple of days:

• Creature gc drops significantly increased across the board.
• Many rare drops added to creatures. (By rare, i don't mean 'expensive', i mean things that drop rarely.)
• Critical-damage now only bypasses half the armor bonus, not all of it. (Creature stats modified to re-balance. PvP needs testing.)