New To 32bit Graphics? Read This First! [updated 27-06-2012]

[GeekToo]

But as you correctly observe, having "time to put everything in the new format" includes gathering sources, license permissions, etc. Which takes far more time than running the script.

N00b question, but most of the 32bpp graphics were already available in the form of the nightly .tar's (32bpp base and 32bpp extra, I believe?). How is bundling them in a .grf different from bundling them in a .tar?

Is there a roadmap for how the source and license collection would go? It seems to me like one would start with the last version of the nightly .tar's, list off all the components, and then contact the authors/artists for each component seeking permission or clarification of the licensing status. It seems to me that sources aren't necessary, since all the images which were displated in-game are available in .png format if you un-tar the bundles. Is the information on who submitted what to the bundles readily available, or would one have to go back through the forums looking for individual posts? I'm trying to get a handle on exactly how manageable/impossible this task is.

The graphics are there, but the way they need to be packaged/encoded has changed since February or so. In the old system, 8bpp graphics where present in the (new)grf format, and 32bpp could be used by adding information in the text chunk parts of png files, with names corresponding to the spritenrs in the newgrf. These pngfiles could, if wanted for easy handling, be packaged in a tar file.
Since February, the way the game loads 32bpp has changed: tar loading, and png-decoding is not possible anymore, but the game expects a (newgrf) file, in which 8bpp AND 32bpp graphics data is present. And that is what is needed to use it now: Convert the tars to the newgrf format, so they can be loaded ingame again. Lots of it can be automated, and my previous post points to a .grf file for which I have completed the process, but there are a lot of other .tar files that still need conversion. Rubidium created a script where an individual user can do the conversion for the megapack, but due to license unclarities, that resulting newgrf will not be distrubuted. Once the conversion of the licenced tars is completed, graphics will be available again ingame.
And this conversion is now lacking progress, for various reasons. My original intention was to try to get stuff included in ogfx, but that has proven to be a difficult route. So another route could be to start with just converting what we had and publish it (if licence allows), so more 32bpp stuff is available and can get some momentum again. One of these conversions can be found in my previous post.

[GeekToo]

And a new one: Ben Robbins temperate Farm Field with lines in newgrf format:
http://dev.openttdcoop.org/projects/32bpp/files

GPL 2, sources http://jupix.info/openttd/gfxdev-repo/i ... file&id=65

NB: only works for 32bpp bliiter, 8bpp only contains empty.pcx!

Download, put in newgrf directory and activate ingame in newgrf settings.

[Lord Aro]

nice one on that. suggest submitting it to opengfx+ landscape

[Jupix]

N00b question, but most of the 32bpp graphics were already available in the form of the nightly .tar's (32bpp base and 32bpp extra, I believe?). How is bundling them in a .grf different from bundling them in a .tar?

They were not bundled as .tars in any official capacity. The requirements for official bundles haven't changed. Relatively little content meets those requirements. In theory, I could just overhaul the tar bundler script to churn out grf's instead of tars. In practice, that makes little sense as the content, without meeting our requirements, is never going to become official content.

Is there a roadmap for how the source and license collection would go? It seems to me like one would start with the last version of the nightly .tar's, list off all the components, and then contact the authors/artists for each component seeking permission or clarification of the licensing status.

Collecting licensing information and sources has been attempted by yours truly for most everyone in the artist base who worked before the GPL requirement were made part of the process. The situation in front of us now is the one we have to live with, since it's unlikely those inactive now become active again. For items with unclear info, the only things to be done are to replace them with new content in the official bundle, and in the mean time, use them in an unofficial way.

It seems to me that sources aren't necessary, since all the images which were displated in-game are available in .png format if you un-tar the bundles.

Sadly, this is not up to you. Or me, or us. It's a GPL requirement. And a subject beaten to death.

I'm trying to get a handle on exactly how manageable/impossible this task is.

It's a very simple issue to tackle: re-do all graphics with unclear licensing status and/or sources not available. And in the mean time, use the source-less graphics as standalone grf's "illegally".

[FooBar]

It seems to me that sources aren't necessary, since all the images which were displated in-game are available in .png format if you un-tar the bundles.

Sadly, this is not up to you. Or me, or us. It's a GPL requirement. And a subject beaten to death.

To clarify this a bit: the GPL defines source as "the preferred material for editing". Since most graphics are 3D renders, these 3D files are the "preferred source", because for editing purposes a PNG is less than ideal.

[GeekToo]

There used to be a nightly pack with conforming tars, and a dev-pack with non-conforming tars.
The ones in the conforming pack can be converted to grf without problems. The 2 grfs I posted above are "complete" with respect to license and sources, and can be used without legal issues.

I can not find the list anymore, though. I know the conforming pack did contain more tars.

Lord Aro, I tried the Ogfx way, but they require a lot of graphics modifications, like jagged edges. I don't like to stir up that discussion again, so I just started working on converting conforming tars to newgrf, so people can use them again, finally. Time will learn if they contain glitches that people are bothered about. Worst thing that can happen is that people don't use them, and in that situation we are already. I just want to move forward.

[peter1138]

Rubidium couldn't release the produced GRF, but that doesn't mean a GRF couldn't be released with a different licence by someone else involved.

[Jupix]

There used to be a nightly pack with conforming tars, and a dev-pack with non-conforming tars.
The ones in the conforming pack can be converted to grf without problems. The 2 grfs I posted above are "complete" with respect to license and sources, and can be used without legal issues.

I can not find the list anymore, though. I know the conforming pack did contain more tars.

This is a list of packages in the last normal nightly build:
9,22,45,65,67,68,69,72,136,137,138,157,162,167,168,170,192,
195,253,255,256,257,258,259,260,261,267,268,301,302,304,305,307,310,313,321

This is the same for the last dev build (non-conforming packages):
9,22,23,36,40,44,45,47,49,50,55,57,63,65,67,68,69,72,117,118,134,136,137,138,
139,148,155,157,162,166,167,168,170,180,192,193,195,202,206,207,210,211,212,
213,214,215,216,217,218,219,220,221,225,226,227,228,231,232,233,234,235,236,
237,238,239,240,241,242,243,244,252,253,255,256,257,258,259,260,261,262,265,
266,267,268,269,276,277,278,279,280,281,282,283,284,285,286,287,288,289,290,
291,292,293,294,295,296,297,301,302,304,305,307,309,310,313,316,317,318,319,320,321

The numbers are repo id's for packages. You can parse the list into links.
You can grab the .tars simply by going to http://jupix.info/openttd/gfxdev-repo/files/id n:o/

This process could easily be automated. But like I said, I'd prefer not to. It makes more sense to me to just work towards having the conforming packages in ogfx+.

[GeekToo]

Thanks Jupix, for the list. I agree submitting to ogfx would be better. I tried and failed, due to the jagged edges discussion, but certainly some sprites (possibly non-ground tiles) would be accepted. But the last 4 months have shown that without some action, or actual newgrfs to show off, not much graphics are actually converted. I got kind of impatient to see e.g. Bens ground tiles again, that is why I produced some newgrfs, so a bigger audience can use them (and there is a need, it seems, see several post about the non-publishable newgrf by the Rubidium script). For my personal use, I have all the sprites in newgrf format available (with some sloppy masks).

The list of usable sprites in the normal list may even be smaller, I think I recognize some CGtextures, and that would not be GPL-compliant.

The way I think now is that the right way is to make newgrfs, be it in ogfx or just separate out of the tars, and forget about tars asap. Tars will not return, and newgrf is the new (32bpp) standard, let's focus on that. If enough content is converted newgrf format, the need for the megapack conversion will diminish.

A full baseset would be the next step, but let's first try to get an active 32bpp community again, artists or coders, by showing off what we already have.