New Graphics - Enhanced Interface Edition - Age of Kings Heaven Forums

Topic Subject: New Graphics - Enhanced Interface Edition

Fedemantoni94
Squire

posted 10-08-18 08:37 PM CT (US)

Welcome!! My goal in this mod is to change the entire graphic interface of the game in which the player or user interacts in the game (GUI) and some parts of the HUD, including the sounds of the buttons on the interface. These graphics go from the Main Menu, the Load screens, Campaign selection to windows that appear during the game as the Objectives or Diplomacy window.

Once the mod is complete, I will make a complete guide for those who want to create their own interface mod.

These are the following elements to modify with their respective states (C: completed, P: in progress, U: unedited)

Main menu - (C)
Loading screen - (C)
Cursor - (P)
Standard Game background - (P)
Saved Game background - (P)
Campaigns Menu background - (C)
History - (U)
Technology tree - (C)
In-Game Windows:
- Objectives - (U)
- Chat - (U)
- Diplomacy - (P)
- Menu - (P)
HUD Elements
- Resources - (U)
- Age name - (U)
- Top Buttons - (U)
- Minimap Buttons - (U)
- Selection bar elements - (U)
Game Statistics - (U)
HUD Map Editor - (U)
Steam Workshop background - (U)

I also want to add an element like the DLC banners by editing the JSON files, and I want to change the buttons on the right in the main menu but I do not know how to place them in the DRS. If anyone knows how to do it, I would appreciate it.

If you want a sample, here is the link to download in the Blacksmith: Download E.I.E. (Trial version).

You like? Leave your comment to see what you think. Your opinion is very important.
Regards!!! Screenshots

Click to full size view.

#========{O}========#
-\\ Legendary Edition //-
Total conversion coming soon
Enhanced Interface Edition
Sounds of Empires
#========{O}========#

[This message has been edited by Fedemantoni94 (edited 01-10-2019 @ 12:04 PM).]

Author

Replies:

Cactiguy
Squire

posted 10-09-18 05:38 PM CT (US) 1 / 14

Niceeeeee.

I love it, looks modern and revamped, sort of like the Aoe DE menu.

- Creator of Age of Empires 2: The Next Chapter, a total conversion mod. http://aok.heavengames.com/cgi-bin/forums/display.cgi?action=st&fn=9&tn=44365&f=9,44365,0,30

Progress: 37% Complete.

Fedemantoni94
Squire

posted 10-09-18 10:57 PM CT (US) 2 / 14

Thank you!! I wanted to achieve something similar. The only bad thing is that the image is distorted with an 8-bit color palette on some screens, such as on the loading screen

#========{O}========#
-\\ Legendary Edition //-
Total conversion coming soon
Enhanced Interface Edition
Sounds of Empires
#========{O}========#

Tevious
Squire
(id: The Vampire Slayer)

posted 10-10-18 11:47 PM CT (US) 3 / 14

You should be able to change the menu palette with a new one that better matches your design.

@)₪₪₪₪ ŤΣVỊỜŮS ₪₪₪₪(@
|| ��OŢỆ .◊ ŤΡМ ◊. SLX� ||
|| �ŘĿŦŔ .◊ ŦŚŤĮ ◊. ĶǾŤ ||
@)₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪(@

Fedemantoni94
Squire

posted 10-12-18 05:01 PM CT (US) 4 / 14

You should be able to change the menu palette with a new one that better matches your design.

I do not understand much about creating new palettes but I will try and experiment with photoshop. What do you recommend me to do to create a new palette?
It would be 8 bits because if I load a 32 bit slp the game closes when loading the game

#========{O}========#
-\\ Legendary Edition //-
Total conversion coming soon
Enhanced Interface Edition
Sounds of Empires
#========{O}========#

Tevious
Squire
(id: The Vampire Slayer)

posted 10-12-18 05:43 PM CT (US) 5 / 14

Photoshop creates them for you in Image > Mode > Indexed Color > Local (Perceptual). Using your provided screenshot, I made this palette here:

(Click to download .act file.)

And here's the result:

In Notepad, just use the text below and give it the filename of the ID you're replacing (50589, I think?) and with the .bina extension.


JASC-PAL
0100
256
120 72 73
145 72 75
152 88 90
88 56 57
170 120 122
105 23 28
141 56 63
170 88 105
113 56 72
96 40 56
72 40 56
117 22 71
120 88 105
77 16 50
132 104 122
56 8 42
157 135 152
40 8 34
186 167 184
217 200 216
102 53 101
90 72 90
24 8 32
56 40 68
37 22 53
134 133 153
9 8 54
8 8 24
40 40 62
88 88 104
184 184 216
104 104 120
168 168 184
184 184 200
200 200 216
120 120 121
68 70 91
145 152 170
13 42 103
165 184 216
206 216 232
168 184 200
184 200 216
89 152 183
168 200 216
184 216 232
10 88 122
57 120 147
101 121 128
29 57 64
69 88 93
152 168 172
8 24 27
136 196 202
23 40 41
123 183 184
168 216 216
88 104 104
184 216 216
136 152 152
167 184 184
184 200 200
215 232 232
200 216 216
167 200 192
184 216 200
55 72 63
92 151 117
21 56 34
120 136 126
175 216 184
132 185 137
103 120 104
215 232 216
8 24 8
24 40 24
40 56 40
72 88 72
88 104 88
136 152 136
152 168 152
168 184 168
65 90 56
200 216 194
101 124 88
176 216 145
132 153 114
166 184 150
150 186 109
72 88 32
88 104 8
178 187 111
150 153 100
56 57 8
186 187 151
40 40 8
88 88 24
24 24 8
56 56 24
88 88 40
72 72 40
120 120 72
40 40 24
88 88 56
104 104 72
56 56 40
120 120 88
136 136 104
72 72 56
152 152 120
221 221 177
168 168 135
88 88 72
104 104 88
120 120 104
136 136 120
152 152 136
168 168 152
184 184 168
216 216 200
238 238 237
200 200 199
247 226 8
211 192 8
117 106 11
81 72 8
167 152 71
184 168 88
168 152 88
224 204 133
184 168 111
200 184 123
237 232 214
145 111 8
104 88 39
216 185 86
152 136 83
120 104 56
136 120 72
238 171 8
198 146 8
184 152 72
202 168 87
114 78 8
56 40 8
141 107 39
72 56 24
152 120 56
168 136 72
88 72 40
184 152 88
104 88 56
217 184 117
120 104 72
136 120 88
152 136 104
202 168 106
176 152 110
185 168 136
120 88 40
136 104 56
152 120 72
168 136 90
176 105 10
170 120 54
185 136 71
202 152 84
149 84 8
72 40 8
40 24 8
88 56 24
153 104 56
104 72 40
56 40 24
168 120 73
120 88 56
136 104 72
72 56 40
88 72 56
104 88 72
120 104 88
185 136 89
152 120 90
153 136 120
185 168 152
206 107 25
111 56 14
159 87 33
212 182 158
136 120 108
121 72 39
136 88 56
152 104 72
98 40 8
56 24 8
72 40 24
88 56 40
104 72 56
120 88 72
219 200 191
203 185 177
136 104 90
168 152 146
131 40 12
174 59 23
92 40 24
121 72 56
72 24 10
88 24 8
136 88 76
232 216 212
104 24 8
121 24 8
188 152 145
248 216 211
164 40 24
172 88 81
107 56 52
185 107 100
152 20 13
217 40 28
242 154 149
178 8 8
118 8 8
76 8 8
56 8 8
40 8 8
24 8 8
56 24 24
90 40 40
72 40 40
207 118 118
40 24 24
165 104 104
104 72 72
192 136 136
56 40 40
120 88 88
72 56 56
88 72 72
104 88 88
120 104 104
153 136 136
184 168 168
216 216 216
184 184 184
168 168 168
152 152 152
136 136 136
104 104 104
88 88 88
72 72 72
56 56 56
40 40 40
24 24 24
8 8 8

@)₪₪₪₪ ŤΣVỊỜŮS ₪₪₪₪(@
|| ��OŢỆ .◊ ŤΡМ ◊. SLX� ||
|| �ŘĿŦŔ .◊ ŦŚŤĮ ◊. ĶǾŤ ||
@)₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪(@

[This message has been edited by Tevious (edited 10-12-2018 @ 05:47 PM).]

Fedemantoni94
Squire

posted 10-12-18 06:45 PM CT (US) 6 / 14

I created the palette in photoshop, I charge it in the SLX studio, but when I save the SLP file and load it in the game it looks like this ...

2018-10-14-14-55-43-Greenshot

#========{O}========#
-\\ Legendary Edition //-
Total conversion coming soon
Enhanced Interface Edition
Sounds of Empires
#========{O}========#

[This message has been edited by Fedemantoni94 (edited 10-16-2018 @ 07:49 PM).]

Tevious
Squire
(id: The Vampire Slayer)

posted 10-15-18 04:11 PM CT (US) 7 / 14

Couple things it could be:

1. Make sure when you create your SLP that you're using the correct palette in SLP Color Settings:

(Since yours is custom, you should need to load it from a palette file.)

2. You may not have changed the correct palette in the DRS.

@)₪₪₪₪ ŤΣVỊỜŮS ₪₪₪₪(@
|| ��OŢỆ .◊ ŤΡМ ◊. SLX� ||
|| �ŘĿŦŔ .◊ ŦŚŤĮ ◊. ĶǾŤ ||
@)₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪(@

[This message has been edited by Tevious (edited 10-15-2018 @ 04:13 PM).]

Sebastien
Dark Samurai

posted 10-16-18 06:58 AM CT (US) 8 / 14

The main menu has it's own palette, so you'll need to create one from your image, convert it to SLP using that palette, and you'll also need to replace the original palette in the DRS.

The loading screen and so on also has it's own palette, which is different to the main menu. So again, you'll need to create your own palette and then replace the palette in the drs to the one you're using.

Now, the palettes made in photoshop (.act and microsoft .pal) are different to the ones used in game. So you'll need to make sure it's a JASC palette file (like the one Tevious posted).

To convert the .act to JASC .pal you can use a program like Cyotek palette editor, open the .act and save as the JASC .pal.

�Sengoku Total Conversion��The Modding Guild�
�Stormwind Studios�

[This message has been edited by Sebastien (edited 10-16-2018 @ 07:01 AM).]

Fedemantoni94
Squire

posted 10-16-18 10:42 AM CT (US) 9 / 14

Thank you very much Tevious! it works for me with the first step. your application is fantastic!

Sebastien The main menu image is a direct capture of the in-game menu. I only used PNG images with 32-bit depth. And for the loading screen, I loaded the image in the SLX studio, loaded the color palette in .PAL format created in Photoshop from that image and converted it into the SLX. Then I followed the first step indicated by Tevious, exported the 8-bit SLP file and that's it. It's much easier with the SLX studio. See it...

2018-10-16-21-38-31-Greenshot

#========{O}========#
-\\ Legendary Edition //-
Total conversion coming soon
Enhanced Interface Edition
Sounds of Empires
#========{O}========#

[This message has been edited by Fedemantoni94 (edited 10-16-2018 @ 07:45 PM).]

Tevious
Squire
(id: The Vampire Slayer)

posted 10-16-18 09:33 PM CT (US) 10 / 14

Quoted from Sabastien:
To convert the .act to JASC .pal you can use a program like Cyotek palette editor, open the .act and save as the JASC .pal.

Actually, SLX Studio does this. My program supports both JASC and Microsoft .pal, .act, and .gpl palette formats. You can open any of these and save as any of these in the Color Palette Editor tool, essentially converting one to another.

@)₪₪₪₪ ŤΣVỊỜŮS ₪₪₪₪(@
|| ��OŢỆ .◊ ŤΡМ ◊. SLX� ||
|| �ŘĿŦŔ .◊ ŦŚŤĮ ◊. ĶǾŤ ||
@)₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪(@

[This message has been edited by Tevious (edited 10-16-2018 @ 09:49 PM).]

Fedemantoni94
Squire

posted 10-27-18 07:19 PM CT (US) 11 / 14

Here I present the campaign menu. You can change the background button but I can not relocate the titles above. Now I'm trying that.

Tevious, now I have the following problem, with the background of Standard Game the same thing happens to me that happened with the loading screen, only that I followed the steps but it was not solved. I thought about replacing the .bina palette or adding it if possible and linking it in the .sin file, but I do not know how to create the .bina file from the color palette.

#========{O}========#
-\\ Legendary Edition //-
Total conversion coming soon
Enhanced Interface Edition
Sounds of Empires
#========{O}========#

Tevious
Squire
(id: The Vampire Slayer)

posted 10-28-18 04:35 AM CT (US) 12 / 14

Standard Game menu uses it's own color palette, IIRC. Or at least it does for SWGB, which I'm more familiar with.

To save a new palette as a .bina file, use the JASC .pal save option and just rename the extension to .bina. All the bina (or .bin) files in a DRS are actually just text-based files or in some cases bitmap files.

@)₪₪₪₪ ŤΣVỊỜŮS ₪₪₪₪(@
|| ��OŢỆ .◊ ŤΡМ ◊. SLX� ||
|| �ŘĿŦŔ .◊ ŦŚŤĮ ◊. ĶǾŤ ||
@)₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪₪(@

Fedemantoni94
Squire

posted 11-13-18 10:45 PM CT (US) 13 / 14

I was making some improvements and this is what I did... What do you think?

#========{O}========#
-\\ Legendary Edition //-
Total conversion coming soon
Enhanced Interface Edition
Sounds of Empires
#========{O}========#

[This message has been edited by Fedemantoni94 (edited 11-13-2018 @ 11:24 PM).]

Fedemantoni94
Squire

posted 01-08-19 08:03 AM CT (US) 14 / 14

Updated the Technology Tree. We just need to finish some screen resolutions.
Here is a view of the icons ages:

Dark Age	Feudal Age	Castle Age	Imperial Age

Finally, I would need to know if any 3D modeler wants to collaborate for the design of buildings and / or units, and some data editor and translators for a next project. To those interested I will give you more details

#========{O}========#
-\\ Legendary Edition //-
Total conversion coming soon
Enhanced Interface Edition
Sounds of Empires
#========{O}========#

[This message has been edited by Fedemantoni94 (edited 01-08-2019 @ 08:03 AM).]

Age of Kings Heaven » Forums » Mod Design and Discussion » New Graphics - Enhanced Interface Edition

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