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chatGPZ
Registered: Dec 2001
Posts: 11154 |
Koala to Charset Converter wanted
I am looking for an idiot proof windows GUI tool to convert Amicapaint/Koala 4-color pictures to charset+screen (yes it's for me). I looked around existing tools a bit and was surprised to find not one that can do this. Any pointers? |
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Didi
Registered: Nov 2011
Posts: 480 |
How about this one?
Multicolor2Char V0.2 |
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TheRyk
Registered: Mar 2009
Posts: 2101 |
I used to use that one, but actually Pixcen V0.7.0.28 (MODE and then SAVE AS...) can do the same (apart from Brute-Force reducing tiles) |
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chatGPZ
Registered: Dec 2001
Posts: 11154 |
Multicolor2Char looks like what i am looking for - except it cant load Koala or Amica paint :(
Pixcen seems way too complicated to use for this task (and obviosuly reducing tiles is the core functionality that is needed for this, so if it doesnt do that, its totally useless)
Anything else? |
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Ksubi
Account closed
Registered: Nov 2007
Posts: 87 |
How about:
GFX Transformer 1.1
Disregard, not windows based. |
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chatGPZ
Registered: Dec 2001
Posts: 11154 |
For C64 native there are lots and lots (my go-to tool for this was amicaconvert)... but indeed, we are looking for a windows GUI tool (no, not commandline either :)) |
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Krill
Registered: Apr 2002
Posts: 2856 |
Quoting Groepazidiot proof windows GUI tool [...] (yes it's for me) WAT. =) Can't be for you. |
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Shine
Registered: Jul 2012
Posts: 333 |
Quoting KrillQuoting Groepazidiot proof windows GUI tool [...] (yes it's for me) WAT. =) Can't be for you.
TBRH: You are right! :D |
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chatGPZ
Registered: Dec 2001
Posts: 11154 |
BTT please :) |
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chancer
Registered: Apr 2003
Posts: 346 |
have you tried CRT's one ? I've used it a few times myself.
do you need it to show how many chars left etc?
Pixcen V0.7.0.28
used that for a few things, obviously pc based |
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Burglar
Registered: Dec 2004
Posts: 1051 |
png2prg 0.8
just use a png as source, but this only works if the result fits in a single charset. |
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Carrion
Registered: Feb 2009
Posts: 317 |
I suggest CharPad.
You can load png of any size, and it does it job flawlessly |
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Jammer
Registered: Nov 2002
Posts: 1293 |
Flawlessly apart from one thing ;) It totally fucks up which colour is background, always assuming it's the one used the most. |
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Dano
Registered: Jul 2004
Posts: 228 |
What Carrion said. Use CharPad. Works fine for me.
Yet still only BMP/PNG Import iirc. |
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chatGPZ
Registered: Dec 2001
Posts: 11154 |
Did anyone actually read the first post? :) Input should be koala or amicapaint, and it shouldnt require learning weird shortkeys. |
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Burglar
Registered: Dec 2004
Posts: 1051 |
Quote: Did anyone actually read the first post? :) Input should be koala or amicapaint, and it shouldnt require learning weird shortkeys.
of course I did not read that, it's all filled with bs :P
groepaz wants to use a GUI windows tool.... right! lies! ;)
so, I want to understand the why now, what are you really trying to do? |
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The Syndrom
Registered: Aug 2005
Posts: 56 |
pixcen does that. I use it all the time... and it does reduce tiles. |
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chatGPZ
Registered: Dec 2001
Posts: 11154 |
Pixcen apparently tries to fit the image into a charset when it has more than 256 chars and does not give an error in that case - again, that is not useful for the usecase.
Burglar: i am setting up a dev toolchain/environment for someone else |
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Carrion
Registered: Feb 2009
Posts: 317 |
as Burglar said. GUI and Windows was missleading
Besides Charpad doesnt use any useful keyboard shortcuts - mostly mouse.
and in Charpad you can have more than 256 chars.
koala -> png tool should be easy to find - right?
To automate it you can use some RPA tools to make the mouse clicks for you... I guess right from your makefiles or even maven POM files
sorry I couldnt resist ;) |
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chatGPZ
Registered: Dec 2001
Posts: 11154 |
You fail both at being funny or helpful, too bad. |
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The Syndrom
Registered: Aug 2005
Posts: 56 |
Quote: Pixcen apparently tries to fit the image into a charset when it has more than 256 chars and does not give an error in that case - again, that is not useful for the usecase.
Burglar: i am setting up a dev toolchain/environment for someone else
I still get an error in pixcen when trying to save the char to c64 executable ("too many characters") ?
so what exactly do you want to happen if there are more than 256 chars used ? just curious... should it be splitted into multiple charsets ? can charpad do that ? then this would come handy for some usecases... |
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chatGPZ
Registered: Dec 2001
Posts: 11154 |
as said, using pixcen is too errorprone. i couldnt figure out how to tell it what color becomes what either :)
meanwhile someone else mentioned PicChar V0.13, which looks almost perfect (but without preview and cant select what color becomes what) - so the search is still open :) |
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Burglar
Registered: Dec 2004
Posts: 1051 |
Quote: You fail both at being funny or helpful, too bad.
said the punchline after the joke |
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tlr
Registered: Sep 2003
Posts: 1730 |
Maybe a browser based tool would be good for this, avoiding win-specific stuff? I searched around a bit and found a hires/mc editor, and a petscii tool but no char editor or converter yet. |
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Isildur
Registered: Sep 2006
Posts: 275 |
+1 for Pixcen. You have amount of chars used in status bar at the bottom. To change color just RMB on it. |
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chatGPZ
Registered: Dec 2001
Posts: 11154 |
Again: Pixcen is not the solution. You have to know too much to use it properly for this task, and the error behaviour is misleading at best. Mentioning it once more does not change this. |
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Silver Dream !
Registered: Nov 2005
Posts: 108 |
Quote: I am looking for an idiot proof windows GUI tool to convert Amicapaint/Koala 4-color pictures to charset+screen (yes it's for me). I looked around existing tools a bit and was surprised to find not one that can do this. Any pointers?
Does it have to be for windows? Otherwise there's the
The Multi Drawer V1.1
For 64 of course ;-) |
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chatGPZ
Registered: Dec 2001
Posts: 11154 |
*sigh* |
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Silver Dream !
Registered: Nov 2005
Posts: 108 |
FWIW - I still use it occasionally after three decades since inception for exactly this type of tasks. And it minimises the charset usage, handles "charset overflow" errors, etc. |
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spider-j
Registered: Oct 2004
Posts: 450 |
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vcb08_S8KRY
XD |
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chatGPZ
Registered: Dec 2001
Posts: 11154 |
=D nails it =D
The previous solution, btw, was amicaconvert, just so you dont have to mention that it can also do this =) |
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Dano
Registered: Jul 2004
Posts: 228 |
BMP2LOGO V1.0.1
Comes to mind, still it won't load kla i think.
Guess most Windows Tools doing this task are importing high level formats such as bmp, png only.
With preview and bells and whistles there seems to be a void to be filled.. |
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tlr
Registered: Sep 2003
Posts: 1730 |
There was already mentioned a couple of working solutions deemed not idiot proof enough. Scout's tool seems the closest in idiot proofness from what I can tell. Maybe he can be summoned to tweak it to taste? |
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Scout
Registered: Dec 2002
Posts: 1568 |
You summoned me? 🧞♂️
Nice to see PicChar is still getting some love.
Yeah, It’s mainly developed to convert hires pictures into a charset.
If you load a multicolor picture PicChar only uses the bitmap part and hope for the best 🙂
I have no plans to develop this tool any further. Heck, I didn’t code a lda or sta in almost 8 years (although this was done in Delphi 😱).
Cheers all. |
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Endurion
Registered: Mar 2007
Posts: 72 |
C64Studio can also open Koala (.kla) files. Open a Graphic Screen Editor, Import Koala pic, choose "Check as Multicolor Charset", if no errors are found, Export to Charscreen.
The result is a text screen plus the custom character set. |
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Mirage
Registered: Jan 2003
Posts: 113 |
It only takes half an hour to create one |
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chatGPZ
Registered: Dec 2001
Posts: 11154 |
Mirage has leading =)
Do you have some more minutes to add amica paint loading too? That would be super awesome :)
Edit: it also does strange things when loading Images of which i know have > 256 chars. Too bad :( |
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Mirage
Registered: Jan 2003
Posts: 113 |
Handling > 256 chars was not part of your spec (unless that was the idiot-proof part) and so not part of my half hour exercise. What should it do, and do you have an example?
(The source is included, btw, if you want to add functionality yourself) |
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chatGPZ
Registered: Dec 2001
Posts: 11154 |
it should produce an error message of course, instead of screwing up the output :)
(i dont do c#, no windows here either, wouldnt know how to compile this)
edit: and now that i think about it (and if you really consider doing this...) there are some more small things :) (you knew the customer only tells you exactly what he wanted after you delivered what he said he wanted)
- error on "too many colors"
- error on "one of the 4 colors isnt one of of the 1st 8"
- display the colors that were actually used and what for (defaulting to black for colorram, please)
bonus: automatically order the colors according to their lumas, starting with colorram. that way the produced result will magically just work with all "classic" colorschemes used in logos and/or code
(yeah i could easily do all this... IF i had a c# environment... or even knew c# =P) |
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ws
Registered: Apr 2012
Posts: 235 |
[comment revoked after reading the whole thread :-D] |
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redcrab
Registered: Aug 2011
Posts: 33 |
And now when you're all involved in this topic I might point out that will be a charset compo at Fjälldata 2022 - cancelled ;) |
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Walt
Registered: May 2004
Posts: 47 |
This is for windows :
Bonzai PicConv V4.0
but requires a non C64 input image (a saved screenshot from VICE will do).
Also works under WINE |
