Differences

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--- en:games:star_trek_armada_1:modding:buttons [2025-03-03-20-00] – [Creating a Button Image] 7saturn
+++ en:games:star_trek_armada_1:modding:buttons [2025-03-03-20-26] (current) – [Creating a Button Image] 7saturn
@@ Line 30: / Line 30: @@
   - Use your OS' means to create a screenshot. That may be the <key>PRINT</key> key, or any other means. If the model also uses positioning lights, they will blink. Make sure you take the screenshot in a moment where they are turned off.
   - Paste the image into your favorite graphics editor (or open the resulting file in it). If your are satisfied with the image you have created so far, you can close //Storm 3D//. It is not required for the remaining steps.
-  - crop the image so that the ship is still in one piece, surrounded by a small black border (it should have some padding), **eventually fitting a square**.
+  - Crop the image so that the ship is still in one piece, surrounded by a small black border (it should have some padding), **eventually fitting a square**. Example: {{ :en:games:star_trek_armada_1:modding:button_precursor.png?nolink&200 |}}
   - Resize the image to 48 pixels x 48 pixels. This is just enough to fit well into the button templates from above.
   - If you want to, apply filters, e.g. softening, to improve the image quality (48 x 48 can give a very edgy result).
   - The next step may depend on your graphics editor: Remove the strictly black background. (This is what placing the black background in one of the former steps is helping you with.) Some editors allow for automatic selection of parts of the same color and subsequent deletion or replacement with another color. Others only allow for replacing a specific color with another. The result should be **the ship alone, before a transparent background** or alternatively **only** the ship marked, not it's surroundings, ready to be copied out.
   - Copy the proper button template (see [[#Button_Templates_Types|Button Templates/Types]]) and give it a name that makes it easy to identify your new button.
-  - Copy the just created ship or station image onto the new (still empty) button template. Position it in a way, that it is roughly centered in the white space of the button.
+  - Copy the just created ship or station image onto the new (still empty) button template. Position it in a way, that it is roughly centered in the white space of the button. Example: {{ :en:games:star_trek_armada_1:modding:button_example.png?nolink |}}
-  - Save your resulting image as an **uncompressed** TGA file, to folder //Textures\RGB//.
+  - Save your resulting image as an **uncompressed** TGA file, to folder //Textures\RGB//. Remember: It should have 24 bit color depth. Default size is 64 pixel x 64 pixels.
+You can in theory use higher resolutions here as well (e.g. 128 x 128) but it is uncommon. (But may yield better results on modern hardware with high resolution settings.) If you do, the above sizes of course have to be adapted. It makes little sense to create a 128 pixel x 128 pixel button image based on a 48 pixels x 48 pixels ship image.
 ===== Adding the Sprite =====
 Your new button image is now ready to be used for a button [[Sprites|sprite]] in file //Sprites\gui_global.spr//. If you are not yet familiar with how sprite files work, check out the article [[Sprites]] first.