The screen shots below are from Paint Shop Pro, but most all the image editing programs have the means to edit the color pallette. When you open the copy of the stock sight, the pallette it's using is also loaded.
Notice the upper left corner. [Pallette index #0] That is the totally transparent, black part of the image.DO NOT EDIT THIS BOX!
Double click one of the color boxes. [#'s 1 thru 15] This gives you the "colors" dialog box. Select one of the colors, or play with the sliders to get just the shade you want.Click OK Your new color is saved on the pallette. Some things to keep in mind:
You'll see the contents of your CFS\texture folder on the left side of the window, and three buttons on the right. Select your file from the list, and double click it. Then click on the upper button to copy your image into CFS. After a second or two the "Edit transparency"
button will activate, indicating that the file was copied successfully. Click on that button, and you will see this:
The blue numbers above the boxes are the color numbers, or pallette index numbers. Fill in each box used with a numeric value from 0 - 255. [0 being totally transparent, and 255 being a solid color] Again, experiment with these numbers to see the effect.
First, you'll need an image editing program. I use Paint Shop Pro 5 for this.
[Evaluation copy available at most download sites] Then, get the small program,Gunpnt,which is available for download on my download page.
This is the program that will handle the file/copy functions, and give you the chance to control the "Transparency" of each color you use, independently. [Experiment with this, and you can get some really cool effects]
OK, lets get started
The first thing to do is open the "CFS\texture" folder,[in Windows Explorer] and find the filename "Gunsight64.bmp".[I'm going to assume that you have a basic understanding
of how to work with files in Windows. (see windows\help for more info)]Make a copy of this file, and save it with a different filename, in the same [texture] folder. The actual name you chose is unimportant, but it must have the .bmp
extension. My advice would be to "make it easy on yourself". In other words, name it something you'll remember later.[\texture is a big folder]
The easiest way is to just remove the "64" from the name.[Gunsight.bmp]
Then we need to "edit" the image we are going to use for the new gunsight. Open your image painting program, navagate to the CFS\texture folder, and select "Gunsight.bmp". Click "open", and the image will appear on your screen.
You should see the stock sight on a black background.***IMPORTANT*** The black background has the "RGB" value of "0", completely transparent, or clear. The image size is 128 X 128 pixels. [Do not re-size the image]
Next, you need to decide what you want your new gunsight to look like.
Experiment with different designs until you come up with one that "floats your Boat", so to speak.
[See example below] I'm getting a little ahead of myself here. Part of what your going to love about your new gunsight is you can make it as colorful
as you want! But, before you can use different colors for the sight, you have to "make", or "add" the colors to the "color pallette". The color pallette is a "listing" of all the colors available for display. [256 colors for .bmp's]
However, CFS can only make use of the first fifteen colors of the pallette for the gunsight. So, if you use a color outside of the 1st 15, the game cannot display it. I can hear you already..."What if I want to use a color that's not in the 1st 15?"
Well, I'm going to show you right now.
Repeat the process to add the other colors you want to use. Make a note about which color is which number. You'll need this later.
Now, create your masterpiece!
When I made the sight I use now, I asked myself, What DONT I like about the stock sight?
Well, the color, for one thing. It's kind of the color of a soiled diaper, or worse! Seriously, it's just to plain. Sort of drab, you know? OK, we learned how to change the available colors, so what else? I always thought it was to thick,
or bold for my liking. OK, we can change that, too.
And, I've noticed, under certain conditions, like hazy clouds, it became very hard to see. OK...we can figure out something.
You will probably try out quite a few different designs before you get one that you really like. So, get busy with your creation, cause the next step is to use the Gunpnt program
to transfer your image into CFS for use.The last part: is to "install" your image into CFS. Now, if you've followed the directions in the Gunpnt.zip file, you now have "Gunpnt.exe" in your CFS\texture folder.
Start Gunpnt, and you'll see . . .
NOTE: You only need to enter values for the index numbers you have used to create your image. If no value is entered, the program defaults to 255. [Solid] Click the "send" buttons below each color used, and then click the exit button.
Now, if you've done everything correctly, and I havn't forgotten to tell you anything, you should have a new, custom gunsight.
So, get out there and open up a big can of "Whoop-ass" on all those who will challenge you!
