.BLP's and .TGA's

[Torhal]

Ah, file size. That makes sense.

[Miiru]

*necro*

So i was wondering if blp2png is still the best programm to convert png's into blp?

I recently faced a few problems converting png files where same colors would just be wrong in the blp but i couldnt figure out why :S

Another question would be if its possible to do texture replacements with tga's; i doubt it because i never got it to work :/

[Seerah]

I still use BLP2PNG myself. The only thing I can suggest to remedy your issue is to ensure that you saved your .png file as a 32-bit. Sometimes if the program determines it automatically, it decides that 24-bit is what you want.

As for .tga files... I don't recall if I've tried manual texture replacement with .tga files or not...

[Haleth]

To my knowledge, if you replace a texture by overriding it in the Interface folder, it has to be in blp format. Tga files won't be recognised. You can use them for addons though, using SetTexture.

[zork]

Originally Posted by Torhal Ah, file size. That makes sense.

Nonsense. Zip a tga and you will be amazed. They may be big unpacked but who cares.

Photoshop Alpha Layer and WoW is easy. Just make sure to only use just one alpha layer. More are not supported in WoW.

[Torhal]

Seconded - WoW will definitely use TGA-format images.

[jeffy162]

Originally Posted by zork Nonsense. Zip a tga and you will be amazed. They may be big unpacked but who cares. Photoshop Alpha Layer and WoW is easy. Just make sure to only use just one alpha layer. More are not supported in WoW.

Originally Posted by Torhal Seconded - WoW will definitely use TGA-format images.

Yes, but I was working with the idea that using BLP's would decrease the addon memory footprint of my plug-ins. Remember, not everyone has more memory available then they will ever need.

Granted, I really have no clue how that all works, but originally my Masque_ClassButtons Masque plug-in (unzipped, on your hard drive) file size was 608 kb with the font options still in the .lua file, and .tga graphics. 580 kb of that is just the graphics. I removed the font options and converted the graphics to BLP's (and added the Monk class graphics and code to the .lua file {not much, I admit, but, still....}) and that dropped the file size to 240 kb, 220 kb of which is the graphics.

That was nice, but, perhaps a better example would be one of my other plug-ins for Minimap Button Frame: MinimapButtonFrame_sClassButtons. For this, I didn't have to remove anything form the .lua file, I only had to add the Monk graphics and the monk class to the .lua file. Originally, 420 kb (400 kb for graphics), changed to 192 kb (172 kb for graphics). All I did was add what I had to to the .lua file and the textures folder, but I converted those textures, all of them, to BLP format.

While I realize that my plug-in's are not huge, by any use of the word, I also felt that every little bit helps. That's why I did what I did. Just trying to do my bit to help everyone out.

[Phanx]

Originally Posted by jeffy162 I was working with the idea that using BLP's would decrease the addon memory footprint...

I'm pretty sure — though I could be wrong — that a texture occupies roughtly the same amount of memory once it's loaded regardless of what format it's stored in or how compressed it is on the hard disk. You may save disk space by using BLP compression, but you probably won't actually change the amount of memory your addon uses by any significant amount.

[jeffy162]

OK. Well, like I said, I really have no clue.

Phanx, you might be able to help me with another question I have: Does a plug-in for an addon count for its' own in-game memory footprint, or is it added into the addon it's a plug-in for memory footprint?