Icon Troubles

[ImmortalMatt]

I downloaded an icon off of wcsear.ch and never used it. I went into Ulead photo shop and used a color filter to change the colors a bit to use in my map. It doesn't show up in WE and ingame its a yellow hazy square icon. The icon tutorial didn't seem to help me but maybe I'm doing something wrong.

 

[ImmortalMatt]

No one can help?

No one knows anything about making icons? Maybe I've made an importing error? Any suggestions? Is this the right place to post this question?

 

[Sargon]

We need more detail.

 

[Jazradel]

We need to know what format the icon is in, preferably what it looks like, more detail on what you did and how exactly you imported it.

 

[Starlite]

ok, if its saved in the wc3 file ( not quite sure where) it needs to have a BTN+(name)+.blp for the normal button
then the path would have to be ReplaceableTextures\CommandButtons\BTN(name).blp

and sometimes people dont save there icons correct(just like models) so its impossible to use

 

[Blackveiled]

why dont you try removing the War3Imported\ thing it works for importing models try it out.... or maybe the icon needs to be TGA. .... or maybe ur looking at the icon too far away

 

[Starlite]

nope icons HAVE to be blp, and they also have to be saved in the correct directory, and also in the correct way(BTN(name).blp)

 

[Blackveiled]

they can be .TGA imported they just gotta be correctly done. or is it pictures?!

 

[Starlite]

hm... ive never seen a TGA work correct, always green in game. but who knows?

 

[Jazradel]

Icons can be TGA I believe. The path for a disabled item always has to be:
ReplaceableTextures\DisabledCommandButtons\DISBTN*name of icon*
It doesn't really matter what your enabled icon's path is.

 

[Starlite]

OMG its the lifeless 20 year old!!!

ok thanks for telling me!! so much less work next time.

 

[Darg]

the low-down:

icons can be either TGA or BLP. Looking at the files face-value, tga icons are larger than blp, but once you throw them into your map the tga icons get compressed to the point where they become about the same size as blps anyway. so we usually recommend staying with tga's where possible.

TGA icons: you gotta make sure the alpha channel is removed from the graphic. In Photoshop they do use the term "alpha channel" in the software, but in Ulead Photoimpact they call it the "selection area" - just merge the object onto the base image to get rid of it. A working tga icon will have a filesize of about 12-13k. If there is an alpha channel in the tga icon the filesize will be about 16k, so that's the easy way to tell if something is wrong.

BLP icons: you gotta make sure there IS an alpha channel when converting the graphic into BLP format - you MUST use Warcraft 3 Viewer to do this (http://www.wc3sear.ch/?p=Tools&ID=11).

for correcting import path issues, either read the posts above or read the icons tutorial.

 

[Starlite]

do you have to? and can you explain better.... im confused..

 

[Darg]

the irony with your post is that I'm not sure if you're talking to me, or what you're even talking about.

 

[Starlite]

uhm... im talking to you, about that TGA thingy... explain in little words and lots of details please
oh... and whats irony mean?

 

[Darg]

see pic1, which is a tga icon I have converted from blp format using War3 Image Extractor, and then opened in Ulead PhotoImpact.

The icon has a border / dashed lines around it, as I have pointed to in the pic. That is the alpha channel / selection area. You should be seeing this if you have converted a properly made blp icon into tga, because blp icons need alpha channels to work.

In PhotoImpact, to get rid of it, right click on the icon, and select "Merge All" in the menu that appears. Now just make sure your icon is saved in tga format and you are done.

pic2 shows the correct size of the icon after the alpha channel is removed.

edit: pic3 shows the size of a tga icon which has an alpha channel (the incorrect size of course)

 

[Starlite]

ok, i think i got it now thanks tons darg

 

[ImmortalMatt]

Wow Thx

I used the "druid disimbowl" icon off of wcsear.ch. It looks like some kind of claw that is dripping with blood. I went into the wc3 image extractor and changed it from blp to tag so that I could change it in Ulead Photoshop. I put a greenish filter over the icon so that the blood turned a green color and the "claw" turned darker gray and black. I'm using the icon for a scorpion's slow poison ability/buff. I then loaded it into wc3 image extractor and changed it back to blp at 75%. I imported it into my map w/ the paths:

ReplaceableTextures\BTNAbility_Druid_Disembowel.blp 8kb

ReplaceableTextures\DISBTNAbility_Druid_Disembowel.blp 5kb

I can't see the icon in World Edit and ingame the icon is a yellow square that is shaded from the center out. Maybe I'm only seeing the filter. I'm going to start over and try to see if I did something wrong.

Thanks for all the imput

 

[FireLord]

ok how would u do that in photoshop because thats what im using and my tga files are huge like 36kb

 

[UnknowVector]

Do you have the under scores

_

in the path? There not supposed to be there. Alpha channels in blp.? I better check my icons for that.