Custom Loading Screen - Poor Quality

[Mr_Bean]

Hi guys,

I have imported a custom loading screen but the quality is bad! This is the original image:

Image

This is the loading screen:

Image

As you can see, it is a bit fuzzy (look at the writing at the bottom-left text). Is there any way to fix this or is this just what happens when you convert a jpg to blp? I used this converter.

Thanks!

 

[Maker]

Try http://www.hiveworkshop.com/forums/tools-560/warcraft-iii-viewer-62878/

And put the images in hidden tags

 

[Mr_Bean]

Thanks.

Used hidden tags!

 

[Adiktuz]

btw, Magos has a built-in option to convert a picture into a 512x512.blp texture for your load screen...

 

[Mr_Bean]

I used Warcraft III Viewer and the quality is the same...

 

[Adiktuz]

then live with it... or use the Four-image High Res method which uses 4 separate pictures one for each quadrant of the load screen... but it will cost a bit much of file size... (if you play DotA, that's how they made the loadscreen pretty HQ)

 

[Mr_Bean]

Hmmm, okay. That's pretty lame, but I guess I will survive.

 

[Mouse1234]

Try http://www.thehelper.net/forums/showthread.php/36757-How-to-Make-a-Loading-Screen and sroll down for high quality loading screen.

 

[Spartipilo]

I have an HQ loading screen that weights about 350k... So is not that "bad".

 

[Mr_Bean]

@Spartipilo:
How did you get yours to be so small? If I import a high quality loading screen it increases the map's size by 2MB (and the map is only about 800KB without the loading screen)!

Is it really worth it to use a high-quality one? It does look much better, but the low quality only increases the map's size by less than 1MB.

After looking at how the low quality one looks (screenshot in 1st post), I realized it actually isn't that bad.

 

[Spartipilo]

Use BLP Lab.

These settings worked for me.

The IMG quality is almost unnoticeable (viewing on Windows).

Also, I used [url="http://www.hiveworkshop.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=107905&stc=1&d=1320595046]this[/url] model

 

[Mr_Bean]

Thanks, busy checking that out!

Your second link is broken (typed wrong).

EDIT: If I import the BLP as "FullScreen.blp" and use the model you linked, no loading screen appears (just a black screen).

 

[-Kobas-]

Image quality will always be bad.
If you want high res quality, you will need to spare up to 1 MB free space for loading screen instead of standard 200KB - 300KB.

You will need to split image into 4 pieces and import all of them, together with model that will show them.

 

[Spartipilo]

MrBean987. It's not one texture. it's HQ. It uses 4 textures from a 1024 x 768 image.
LoadingScreenTL - Top Left 512 x 512 square
LoadingScreenTR - Top Right 512 x 512 square
LoadingScreenBL - Bottom Left 256 x 512 rectangle
LoadingScreenBR - Bottom Right 256 x 512 rectangle

You import the mdx LoadingScreen2, and import these four BLP with those names (LoadingScreenTL).

------------------
|       |        |
|       |        |
|       |        |
|       |        |
|       |        |
|       |        |
|       |        |
|-------|--------|
|       |        |
|       |        |
------------------

Squares are something like that. Top ones are squares of 512. The bottom ones are rectangles. Same wide, but less hight.

 

[Mr_Bean]

Yes, I know how to use the high quality loading screen. However, the tutorial I used said that for the high quality method, you import 4 tga's, NOT 4 blp's. It worked when I tried it. Should I rather use 4 blp's?

 

[Spartipilo]

Yeah.. Blp are like Blizzards JPG's. I use BLP's, and it works. My HQ loading screen weights about 350k. I used the same tutorial saying i had to use TGA's, but it's a lie Blp's works fine.

 

[Mr_Bean]

Awesome! Thanks man! Tga's are so much bigger than blp's...

EDIT: Tested your method and it doesn't work! I just see a black screen...and it works when I use the tga's :O

 

[Spartipilo]

This is a loading screen I made for someone some weeks ago. The sizes have to be exact (512x512 for top and 512x256 for bottom) from a 1024x768 image. Wc3 works with TGA's and BLP's almost like the same thing. BLP's are Blizzards JPG's (or something like that)

Here's the link to that map

It has different settings that those I showed before, but the graphic difference is almost undetectable, though the size is reduced by ~40k.

As you can see, -5% quality, and -1 mipmap count.

 

[Mr_Bean]

I know how to make the loading screen and I know what BLPs are. The problem is that when I import the four sections (LoadingScreenTR.blp etc) and I test the map, the loading screen is black, and just the L O A D I N G bar displays.

 

[Spartipilo]

Ok... and your files have the right name and right filepath when imported? Same than the image I posted before? And those images have exactly the 512/512 512/256 dimensions? Post your map to check.

 

[Mr_Bean]

Yes, all that stuff is right. It works when I import the TGA version of each quadrant. As soon as I covert each quadrant to BLP a black screen appears when I test the map.

I can try again tomorrow when I get to my PC.

 

[Spartipilo]

Post/Send the image you want...

 

[Dr Super Good]

Welcome to the wonders of lossy compression. Unless you do compress your image much (sub 10% JPEG values) and do not resize it the image will start to look less sharp than the orignal.

For a higher resolution but still highish quality image, I recommend between 20 and 25% JPEG compression atmost. Anything more starts to make artifacts easilly noticable. Ofcourse the file size is not very good for WC3 maps but it still looks great for its size compared to not compressing at all.

 

[HuanAk]

If you use photoshop, here is some tip for better quality :

1, save them as TGA (after cutted into 4 piece)
2, convert from tga to blp (don't convert from .jpg to .blp)

I use photoshop to cut 1x jpg into 4x .tga. then use warcraft 3 viwer to convert to .blp with 85%. result :

500kb original size ==> 4x .blp with same quality, same size.

My map: (map size 998kb)
http://www.hiveworkshop.com/forums/maps-564/legion-td-mega-3-41-a-194224/

my *unprotected map* for loading screen tutorial:
http://www.hiveworkshop.com/forums/maps-564/legion-td-mega-3-41-a-194224/#post1905374

 

[Spartipilo]

There you go. Enjoy.

Image

 

[Mr_Bean]

Wow, thanks so much Spartipilo!

After looking at the test map, I tried it for myself. After using BLP Lab to do all the segments, I was still getting a black screen. However, after I exported the LoadingScreen.mdx file from your map and imported it into mine, it worked!

Before you ask me whether I was using the high quality mdx file, I was. I think the version I had was for TGAs. Even when I downloaded the mdx file that you linked, it didn't work. But after importing it from your test map, it does!

Thanks again so much! Really appreciate it!

 

[Spartipilo]

Maybe I sent the wrong one before hehe. Enjoy

 

[Mr_Bean]

No problem man. Thanks again!