I'm wondering something...

[Magic Odd Effect]

Not a suggestion, I'm just trying to discuss one thing in the "Do not Suggest" list.

This:

animated graphics in maps

What I'm wondering is if this would really cause a change in the map format. I had an idea of making Soldat compatible with GIF scenery, therefore allowing animations to be in the map. Note, GIF is an image format, but can be animated.

If bitmaps are allowed, why not expand it to other formats? Such as GIF or JPG, or maybe PNG?

Would it really change the map format?

And, don't kill me for this. I'm trying to find an answer for that rule. I'm not sure what format of animation MM was thinking about when he thought up that rule.

NO, I'm not suggesting that we allow animations in the maps. Sorry. I just want to see if it would be possible without changing the map format.

[Sytrus]

The map format used for Soldat can do way more. Way more than it's used for at the moment. I think that PNGs are already used, so GIF should be possible, too, I think.

[Veritas]

Its on the Do Not Suggest list because its been suggested a million times before. You're welcome to read those threads as to why Soldat doesn't support it, this is a really good explanation though:

Yes, this has been suggested before a few times. There is a lot of wrong things being said about GIFs and BMPs... I've spent some time as a programmer and know a few things about GIFs and BMPs.

Both a GIF and a BMP are pure data files. They contain no "code" or commands that are intended to be run, just graphical data. Both have a specific format, basically, a set of rules (not included in the actual image files) that different programs use to convert the data in the file to something it can use on screen and converting something on screen to data it can store in the file type correctly.

BMP's format has very little in the way of "rules"; it stores only the pixel width, pixel height, and each pixel in the image, based on a starting pixel (I believe it is top left, but I'm not sure) and then continuing pixels based on the width/height. It also has some info about bit settings for valid colors, but that gets really complicated and doesn't help this explanation.

GIF's format has a lot more in it in terms of "rules"; it stores info such as the number of frames, the width and height, repeat length, and bit information. It also supports transparency. GIF is useful for image animations and also in the fact that images can be "compressed" in GIFs; patterns of pixels can be recorded and repeated throughout the image to save space.

The major difference between the two is that, while BMPs generally have a larger size due to lack of some form of compression in the format, they are the fastest to render because they can be pulled directly from the file and put onto the screen with little effort of the processor. GIFs, while usually smaller, allow for animations; but they require a lot more processor power to draw, especially with multiple frames or large image dimensions.

That said, both need the program that is drawing them to have a sort of "reader" in the code; and MM doesn't really want to program in a GIF reader, because a BMP reader is much easier to code and makes the game run faster; plus, image size doesn't really matter for a 640x480 game.

[Magic Odd Effect]

Thanks for that.

I wasn't really sure what they meant in that "Do Not Suggest" list when they said animations.

So it involves building a GIF reader.....Hmmm.....