SMSQ/E sprite converter v1.01
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This is a quick&dirty Windows application that can convert PNG image files 
to the new SMSQ/E file format. Unlike most other converters it can handle
the alpha channel information of the PNG format and can thus create
SMSQ/E sprites with transparency.

The program is provided "as-is" without any warranty of any kind. I did 
this program for my own developments and thought that you might enjoy it, 
too. Feedback is welcome but I must say upfront that I will probably have 
no time to significantly improve it.

The program makes use of the PNGLib library. This is supplied along in
form of a DLL and should reside in the application directory.

You can use the program free of charge. I however prohibit to redistribute
it or to directly link to the ZIP file. You may however set a link to the 
page offering it.


Quick manual
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File selection:

The file selection mechanism is pretty obvious, I think. Noteable is that
by holding down the shift key you can select several file and this way
do a batch process when hitting the "Convert" button.
There's a preview window that shows the currently selected file.


Output format:

You have the choice between "Assembly" and "Binary". Binary directly
outputs a complete _spr file that can directly be used in SMSQ/E.
"Assembly" output the assembler source for the sprite.

"_" Ext. sep. determines whether the resulting extension is "_spr" or ".spr".


Colour mode:

You have the choice between 8, 16 and 32 bit mode. 32 bit mode is mostly
just big and doesn't really offer any advantage. 8 bit mode might degrade 
image quality (preview does always show the unprocessed PNG file, not how
the result will look like).


Mask:

Choice between "Bitmask", "Alpha" and "Solid". Bitmask is only of use for 
sprites with hard transparencies. Except probably a marginal speed gain when 
drawing a sprite it doesn't really offer many advantages over the "Alpha" 
mode. It also needs more memory. "Solid" means that no mask will be produced,
which SMSQ/E from version 3.10 on will interpet as a completely opaque sprite.
Those sprites can be drawn very quickly and have the least memory consumption
of the 3 choices.


Extras:

The "RLE compression" option compresses the sprite using the RLE mechanism
built into SMSQ/E. Drawing a sprite with RLE compression enabled might 
temporarily need a bit more memory and is a bit slower than one without.
But the space saved, especially on sprites with a largely monotonous
mask is often worth the trouble.

"Add shadow" does exactly what it says, it computes a soft shadow for the
given sprite. Useful when creating new mouse pointers. This shadow does
not appear in the preview.


Sprite data:

You can specify a name that is used for the labels when generating assembler 
source code. If no name is specified the filename without extension will be
used.
Also you can specify what origin the sprite is supposed to
use. If set to "-1" the middle of the sprite it taken as the origin.


Finally
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Well, that's it already. I hope you enjoy the program and to see many new
colourful sprites in the future.

All the best, 

Marcel Kilgus, March 27th, 2005

http://www.kilgus.net/