First GRF project (was "Problem getting GRF Wizard to work")

[ostlandr]

Okay, I downloaded GRFcodec and GRF wizard, ran GRF wizard, set the file locations. I downloaded and installed the Visual Basic runtime libraries also, and rebooted the machine for good measure.

When I pick a GRF to decode and hit "next" I get the following error message:

Run-time error '5':
Invalid procedure call or argument

Any ideas? It may be a Vista thing- haven't had the leisure to try it on the XP box yet.

Gonna do that one-locomotive GRF yet, just to get myself started!

[Zephyris]

I have been having problems with grfwizard with Vista and haven't managed to get it to work. In Vista it is easier to get used to the command line method:

Copy grfcodec.exe into [OpenTTD Installation Folder]/data
Shift+Right Click in the data folder (make sure no file/folder is selected) and click "Open Command Window Here"
Use: "grfcodec -d [grfname].grf" (no quotes) to decode a newgrf
Use: "grfcodec -e [nfoname]" (no quotes) to encode a newgrf
Grfcodec will, by default, decode to /sprites

Its also worth getting the nfo renumberer:
Copy renum.exe to the folder with the target nfos
Shift+Right Click in the data folder (make sure no file/folder is selected) and click "Open Command Window Here"
Use: "renum -renum [nfoname]" (no quotes) to renumber the nfo

[ostlandr]

"Command line"?!? What do I look like, some kind of DOS dinosaur?

(looks in mirror at gray hairs)

Command line- got it.

Thanks!

I have been having problems with grfwizard with Vista and haven't managed to get it to work. In Vista it is easier to get used to the command line method:

Copy grfcodec.exe into [OpenTTD Installation Folder]/data
Shift+Right Click in the data folder (make sure no file/folder is selected) and click "Open Command Window Here"
Use: "grfcodec -d [grfname].grf" (no quotes) to decode a newgrf
Use: "grfcodec -e [nfoname]" (no quotes) to encode a newgrf
Grfcodec will, by default, decode to /sprites

Its also worth getting the nfo renumberer:
Copy renum.exe to the folder with the target nfos
Shift+Right Click in the data folder (make sure no file/folder is selected) and click "Open Command Window Here"
Use: "renum -renum [nfoname]" (no quotes) to renumber the nfo

[ostlandr]

Okay, got GRFcodec working, but now NFO editor is giving me fits-

It keeps telling me the "The file sprites\(filename).pcx was not found. The opened NFO file might be invalid."

The files are right there. . .

Time to move the whole project to the XP box.

Curse you Bill Gates and your whole stinking excuse for a software company!

[DaleStan]

Curse you Bill Gates and your whole stinking excuse for a software company!

Stop blaming Microsoft for the faults in Andrexware.

The requirements for using NFOEditor[0] can be found on the Patch wiki. If you deviate even slightly from said instructions, preapare to watch your work go up in flames. If you're lucky, it'll get violently confused and crash. If you're not, it'll get not-quite-so-violently confused, and destroy your entire NFO file when you save.

[0] Contrary to the implication, NFOEditor cannot edit NFO. It can only edit real sprites in a vanishingly small proportion of NFO files. And for that job, it is somewhat obsolete.

[ostlandr]

Thanks for the info.

Right now I'm playing around in i.Mage with the decoded LV4w.pcx, using George's Model T as a starting point to draw a 1920s Mack AC. (Just for practice, to get the hang of editing/drawing sprites- would never pirate someone's work without explicit permission)

http://www.macktrucks.com/default.aspx?pageid=40

Need to find a better graphics program, though- i.Mage doesn't do a lot of what I need (or I can't figure out how, just as bad.)

Project: 1920s Mack AC

Sprites:

"Artist": ostlandr

Status: getting there

Code: still trying to translate the heiroglyphics in the decoded LV4w.nfo that I managed to open in notepad.

When I get the sprites done for this critter, I will post for comment/criticism.

Curse you Bill Gates and your whole stinking excuse for a software company!

Stop blaming Microsoft for the faults in Andrexware.

The requirements for using NFOEditor[0] can be found on the Patch wiki. If you deviate even slightly from said instructions, preapare to watch your work go up in flames. If you're lucky, it'll get violently confused and crash. If you're not, it'll get not-quite-so-violently confused, and destroy your entire NFO file when you save.

[0] Contrary to the implication, NFOEditor cannot edit NFO. It can only edit real sprites in a vanishingly small proportion of NFO files. And for that job, it is somewhat obsolete.