Briefing Picture

[Sniper_Kyle]

Hi, I just need a simple task, I was wondering if there is a free or shareware software that can size down images so that they fit the mandatory dimensions of briefings or overviews  I know that paint can change the attributes but all that does is cut the picture to reach the dimensions, lol

Cheers,
   Sniper_Kyle ;D

[csde-PiLLe]

Freeware: Irfanview (www.irfanview.com)

Shareware/Trial: Jasc PaintShopPro (www.jasc.com)

Also, the MS Photo Editor can do this. If you have Win Me/2000/XP then you also should have this Tool

Cheers
PiLLe

€dit: Should have been "Trial" not "Trail" ^^

[Black and White]

you can just use paint for the correct dimensions, then just size the image down to fit in it... simple

[Sniper_Kyle]

Thx for the quick responses, however black&white, as i have previously stated, i cannot adjust the dimensions in paint.  They only have one tool close to this and all that does is adjust the annotation of the pic and that is not what i wanna do. :'(  However, i will try that freeware irfanview, never heard of it.

Cheers,
   Sniper_Kyle ;D

[The-Architect]

you can just use paint for the correct dimensions, then just size the image down to fit in it... simple

Erm... no. It's not simple at all. When you do that you will get the dimensions wrong 99.9% of the time, ending up with an over stretched or squished piture.

[dmakatra]

Photoshop I say... It's beautiful...

And you can draw stick figures in it. Yay!

:beat: *Gets Shot* :beat:

[Sniper_Kyle]

Ok, i tried irfanview and I saw the resizing tool and used it..now everytime i try to put in the correct dimensions, it automatically adjusts them to dimensions that OFP wont take.  PLZ HELP.


BTW:  Umm thx for the input armstrong

[Planck]

Is there an option to keep the picture aspect ratio.

If so switch it off.



Planck

[dmakatra]

Yea. Sry about that. Since I joined SoE (my CoD clan) I've been quite spammish. We got our own forum. Forum + Clan Member = Spam how much you want to!!

Anyway, here's a link for a Photoshop tryout (30 days). http://download.com.com/3000-2192-10255309.html?tag=lst-0-3

:beat: *Gets Downloaded* :beat:

[Sniper_Kyle]

Ok, i will try that aspect ratio thing and i hope it works 'cause that program is really good and it dont cost a thing.  And....armstrong....plz...photoshop trial came with my comp so my trial is all gone  

[Nosferax]

I don't know if this will help you, be here is HOW I make my own briefing pictures:

- Once I have a snapshot taken from the game, I use PAINT (bitmap editor).

- From PAINT, I first "trim down" the image to have an EXACT ration of Height/Width of 1:2 - (later, the final picture will have a size of: 256x512 pixels) Having the good proportions right from the start sure helps the image editing tools.

- I save the image in .bmp 24-bit format and open it with Photoshop: I use Adobe Photoshop CS (8.0)

- From Photoshop, you can easily RESIZE the image to whatever size you want: I read from a Tutorial on OFPEC that 256x512 pixels is the RECOMMENDED size. (use: Preserve Aspect Ratio to obtain better results).

- In Photoshop I already have a Transparent Canvas with required layers to add eye-candy stuff like white border, drop shadows etc. The Canvas I use has the following properties: size = 256x512 pixels, type = Transparent-RGB (8 bit). So, when saving the image, I already have the RIGHT dimensions. All I have to do is RESIZE my Snapshot (previously trim down to 1:2 aspect ratio) and add it to my Canvas. Of course, the snapshot is a little bit smaller than 256x512 to fit in the middle of my Canvas.

- I add ONE Alpha-Layer for transparency & Save the image in .TGA (Targa file format). The file is then ready to be Converted with BIS TexView tool to .PAA format.

This little procedure produces Outstanding results  ;D

[Sui]

Hmm... it's not so much the aspect ratio that's the big deal...

It's the dimensions of the picture itself.

OFP will spit out the error "not to ^2" if you get it wrong.
The aspect ratio can be anything you like, provided your x and y dimensions are ^2 (eg. 2,4,8,16,32,64,128,256,512,1024..etc).

So all these sizes are perfectly fine:

64 x 512 and 512 x 64
256 x 128 and 128 x 256
1024 x 4 and 4 x 1024 (stupid example, but hopefully clarify things a bit).

Anyway, once you've got the actual picture file to the correct dimensions, you can specify any size you want in the html code.

So it doesn't have to appear as a ^2 size, you can stretch it or whatever when you specify it's size in your briefing/overview code.

A technique I generally use is make 512 x 256 pictures, then make them appear as 256 x 128 in the briefing. This makes them appear like the BIS ones (looks like they have better resolution).

[Planck]

However, I have found that you can set your dimensions to ..for example.....512 X 256......Save your picture and then OFP complains about the size.

So you do it again........and again......and again.

Then you realise that there is a 'Preserve Aspect Ratio' tick box which ALWAYS takes precedence over your actual input dimensions.

So you can specify your dimensions till you are blue (or any other colour) in the face, but if the said tick box is checked, you are wasting your time, unless you uncheck it.

Having said all that, I don't know if Irfanview has a 'preserve aspect ratio' tick box or not, I know PSP does and presumably Photoshop also.



Planck

[Sniper_Kyle]

Thank you all for your responses especially Sui.  But...how do you make your dimensions ^2, because OFP IS spitting out that error message when i look at my overview or briefing.

Cheers,
     Sniper_Kyle ;D

[Planck]

Just specify your picture dimensions (in pixels).

The dimensions must be in (2^ = powers of 2).

128 X 256.......both numbers being powers of 2
4 X 4......also powers of 2

etc.

Bearing in mind the above notes about any 'Preserve Aspect Ratio' function...........if one exists on the program you are using.



Planck