Nifflas' Support Forum

Released Games => Knytt Underground => Pre-release topics => Topic started by: Nifflas on December 13, 2010, 01:02:26

Title: Object contribution!
Post by: Nifflas on December 13, 2010, 01:02:26
Edit: Thank you for your contributions! I still got to spend some time before I add the last material into the game! Then I'll check who contributed how much, and send Knytt T-Shirts to those of you contributed a lot!

Your help means a lot to me, the game wouldn't have been the same without it. Actually, now that I write that, I realize it would probably have been quite different. It would either have taken a lot longer to create or it would contain less graphical variation between the areas.
Title: Re: Photo contribution!
Post by: BloxMaster on December 13, 2010, 01:09:58
Four questions!

How long are you accepting the photo materials?

How do we get them to you? Via this thread or otherwise via PM?

Generally speaking, you want objects, and not patterns and the like, right?

Further, is there a limit as to how big/small the material should be?

I may contribute, but I want to be more sure about what you want. :P
Title: Re: Photo contribution!
Post by: Nifflas on December 13, 2010, 01:14:49
I'm accepting it for at least four months from now, probably much longer. I haven't thought about how I'll accept the material yet, perhaps I'll get an upload script up on ni2.se soon that also requires the contributors to accept an agreement. I just need to make sure it's done right from a legal point of view. There's no image size limit. If the image is too large I'll just downsample it, so it's better if the images are too large than if they're too small. I'm after objects, not patterns right now. The main important thing is that they blend nicely to the background, and that the edges are anti-aliased (hence the need for an alpha channel).
Title: Re: Photo contribution!
Post by: BloxMaster on December 13, 2010, 01:19:43
Okay, many thanks! I'm sure there will be a lot of great contributions! Now I'll have to see if I can find something useful in my many photos...
Title: Re: Photo contribution!
Post by: Nifflas on December 13, 2010, 01:23:52
Cool!
Title: Re: Object contribution!
Post by: chipset on December 13, 2010, 06:48:22
Sounds interesting. I'll see if I can contribute any objects (if I find anything good in my photos). I feel that it will be great to have the community contribute to this game. :)
Title: Re: Object contribution!
Post by: Grookie on December 13, 2010, 07:06:44
Great idea!
I wish that everybody will want to contribute here!

And I want to participate too, this is a great occasion to show my taking-photos skills!
(I am sooooo looking forward, I'll start photographing my room flowers when I come home from school!  :shifty: XD )
Title: Re: Object contribution!
Post by: back seat astronaut on December 15, 2010, 01:54:05
I have a question about submitting photographic objects:  Do you want us to cut out the objects from the surrounding photo and submit them ready-to-use, like the examples you posted, or would you rather we submit whole photographs and let you cut the objects out?  The only reason I ask is that you seem to be better at cutting them out than I am, so I thought maybe you would prefer to do that part yourself rather than have people submit things with sloppy-looking edges.
Title: Re: Object contribution!
Post by: Nifflas on December 15, 2010, 09:28:33
Well, if you want to do the cutting part it'd make it easier for me. The tricky thing about sending me the original photos is that I already have this whole bunch of my own photos I need to remove the background from.
Title: Re: Object contribution!
Post by: LPChip on December 15, 2010, 10:41:49
Well, if you want to do the cutting part it'd make it easier for me. The tricky thing about sending me the original photos is that I already have this whole bunch of my own photos I need to remove the background from.

Maybe it is a good idea to upload these photos unmodified, and ask for assistance in making them transparant. :) It would save you a great deal of time and its also a form of helping for those who are less photography skilled.
Title: Re: Object contribution!
Post by: Miss Paula on December 15, 2010, 12:20:43
Well, if you want to do the cutting part it'd make it easier for me. The tricky thing about sending me the original photos is that I already have this whole bunch of my own photos I need to remove the background from.

Maybe it is a good idea to upload these photos unmodified, and ask for assistance in making them transparent. :) It would save you a great deal of time and its also a form of helping for those who are less photography skilled.
I kind of agree; but more like people who have maybe good cams and ideas, but not awesome photoshop/other editing skills could do that. Then Niff could concentrate on his own photos perhaps (in case he knows best what kind of outcome he wants), and people who feel up to the task of doing it for other members could do it for them. So perhaps an "objects to be unbackgrounded"-thread could be neat where everyone could attach their pics...

As soon as uni holidays start, I love doing anything but learning for exams, so that'd be something somewhat fun. I'm not saying I'm uber at object-outcuttery, but decent enough I suppose. X)
Title: Re: Object contribution!
Post by: back seat astronaut on December 16, 2010, 06:37:14
I don't mind removing the background of the objects I plan to submit, I just thought maybe Nifflas would actually prefer doing it himself in order to make sure it's done well.  I think maybe what I'll do is remove the backgrounds as carefully as I can but also include the original photo in the zip file in case Nifflas likes the objects but wants to redo the background removal.
Title: Re: Object contribution!
Post by: Dj Gopher on December 17, 2010, 01:30:48
Following both your (Nifflas) and LPchip's idea, what if you incorporated the submit form into .ni2.se, and also created a sort of showcase/quality control in which users who are experienced enough make them transparent and submit them in a new area?
I think a quality control service could work for tilesets, too :)
Title: Re: Object contribution!
Post by: SiamJai on December 17, 2010, 05:48:15
I think I can help with this. :) I've made a few isolated objects in the past and they still sell pretty good in stock marketplaces. It'll be fun to come up with something unique for this game. ^_^

I don't know about QC; I'd imagine that the simpler the entire process, the better. But I like the idea of helping others out with isolating objects from their pics.
Title: Re: Object contribution!
Post by: Dj Gopher on December 17, 2010, 23:35:47
I think I can help with this. :) I've made a few isolated objects in the past and they still sell pretty good in stock marketplaces. It'll be fun to come up with something unique for this game. ^_^

I don't know about QC; I'd imagine that the simpler the entire process, the better. But I like the idea of helping others out with isolating objects from their pics.
That's what I meant by QC :P
Title: Re: Object contribution!
Post by: Nifflas on December 18, 2010, 18:46:03
So far all submissions have been perfect and all will make it into the game. One submission had multiple versions of the image, with less and more blurred variants. Though I appreciate it, I added a note to the main thread it's actually not needed, all graphics in KnyttWaDF are sharp, even the background (in that aspect, the game differs from both Saira and The Great Work).
Title: Re: Object contribution!
Post by: Nifflas on December 26, 2010, 17:40:59
I keep receiving objects every once in a while, and most of them will make it into the game. green cookie just sent a fantastic red corall object which I can find great uses for! Thanks so much for helping me out!

At this point, something that would be amazing is photos of rocks in the shape of squares with stuff growing on them. I guess it's a bit complicated to find, perhaps I can locate some on my own.
Title: Re: Object contribution!
Post by: back seat astronaut on December 29, 2010, 11:12:02
Do you mean like stone bricks, or natural rocks in a relatively square-like shape?  And with moss growing on them, or more than just moss?
Title: Re: Object contribution!
Post by: Comhon on January 04, 2011, 12:00:04
Before about two years. I was in Tatra Mountains. I'll try to find some rocks.
Title: Re: Object contribution!
Post by: Dj Gopher on January 05, 2011, 02:01:29
Do you mean like stone bricks, or natural rocks in a relatively square-like shape?  And with moss growing on them, or more than just moss?
Same question.. if stone or marble is ok, then I can send some:)
Title: Re: Object contribution!
Post by: back seat astronaut on January 05, 2011, 04:51:09
Yeah, I have lots of opportunities to get photos of stone walls with fairly rectangular bricks and moss and/or grass growing in the cracks.  But I don't want to go through the trouble of taking the photos and removing the backgrounds and everything if that isn't what was meant.
Title: Re: Object contribution!
Post by: Nifflas on January 05, 2011, 16:44:18
I managed to find the images I needed for that in the end! Thanks though! Generally though, there's nothing I can not use :)
Title: Re: Object contribution!
Post by: jimj316 on January 15, 2011, 19:33:56
I can't get the upload script to work. The bar climbs all the way to the top (after about half an hour) but then I get a "500 server error" and the uploader disappears completely. Is there any other way I can get the files to you?
Title: Re: Object contribution!
Post by: Nifflas on January 16, 2011, 16:28:16
I have to try to get a different upload script up that accepts files larger than the server's limit for php uploads.
Title: Re: Object contribution!
Post by: LPChip on January 16, 2011, 17:57:09
I have to try to get a different upload script up that accepts files larger than the server's limit for php uploads.
Nifflas, you should be able to get around that using .htaccess:

php_value post_max_size 7M
php_value upload_max_filesize 7M

Replace 7M with another size, like 100M if you want max of 100mb of filesize.
Title: Re: Object contribution!
Post by: Nifflas on January 16, 2011, 19:51:53
Doesn't work, neither does changing it through php.ini, I think there's an enforced limit that I can not adjust.
Title: Re: Object contribution!
Post by: SiamJai on January 17, 2011, 02:46:15
Yeah, I had the same problem a while ago when I tried to increase memory size. At the end, I had to contact the server guys to change it in a global php.ini, because local settings didn't have any effect.

I bet if you put a phpinfo.php file in your directory, it will show another php.ini file outside your control, that enforces the size limit.
Title: Re: Object contribution!
Post by: LPChip on January 17, 2011, 10:32:02
Yeah, I had the same problem a while ago when I tried to increase memory size. At the end, I had to contact the server guys to change it in a global php.ini, because local settings didn't have any effect.

I bet if you put a phpinfo.php file in your directory, it will show another php.ini file outside your control, that enforces the size limit.

Actually, Nifflas is using the same hosting as I do, and I can do it using .htaccess.

I've talked with Nifflas about this on msn, and he might've done it wrong last time. He will check it out once more.
Title: Re: Object contribution!
Post by: Nifflas on January 24, 2011, 17:44:32
It didn't turn out to work in the end. Neither modifying php.ini or setting it up with .htaccess didn't work for some reason. I got to check if there's any other settings that are currently getting in the way. There are many possible reasons I guess; memory_limit, upload_max_filesize and post_max_size, max_execution_time and max_input_time. I need to dig into this soon, there's just so much going on at the same time right now.

Edit 1: Actually, scratch that. I managed to modify php.ini to work! Now I just got to replace the upload script at the submission page.

Edit 2: Done. Hopefully it should work nicely now!
Title: Re: Object contribution!
Post by: jimj316 on January 24, 2011, 23:18:32
Yayy tanks nifflas! I am uploading my files now.

I still have quite a few more to make transparent, and probably ten million things that I am going to see and go ":O MUST TAKE PHOTO FOR NIFFLAS!!!11!!"

Also, good luck with the new game! :D
Title: Re: Object contribution!
Post by: jimj316 on January 25, 2011, 17:20:44
I still can't get the uploader to work :(

I wait forever for the file to upload, and then I get the message "This is not a zip file."
Even though it quite blatantly is!

Do I have to zip the file using a special program or something?
Title: Re: Object contribution!
Post by: Nifflas on January 25, 2011, 18:07:29
I fixed it! I learnt not to trust mime types and stick to checking the filename for the file extension.
Title: Re: Object contribution!
Post by: Headgrinder on January 26, 2011, 13:06:46
This is very interesting, but I'm having a hard time with inspiration for content.  Are there specific themes you are looking for?  Or should I assemble objects around a common theme? 
Title: Re: Object contribution!
Post by: Nifflas on January 26, 2011, 23:11:48
I guess I mainly need plants, flowers, mushrooms, various stones and rocks, or pieces of some old ruins would be neat!
Title: Re: Object contribution!
Post by: jimj316 on March 18, 2011, 17:09:31
Do you still need images? It's now spring here, so there is now lotsa awesome-looking plant life around.
Title: Re: Object contribution!
Post by: Nifflas on March 28, 2011, 18:06:44
Awesome! Sure, I'll probably accept them for another month or two.
Title: Re: Object contribution!
Post by: back seat astronaut on April 16, 2011, 05:59:53
Nifflas, I'm finally getting around to removing the backgrounds from the photos I want to submit, and I'm curious about what to resize them to (I'm assuming you want them resized, or do you want them big so you can resize them to whatever size you want?)  What will be the width and height of the game screen?

EDIT:  Oops, I see that this was already answered further down in the thread.  Please excuse my dumb question.  I will sumbit photos at a flexibly large size.
Title: Re: Object contribution!
Post by: Mr Fish on April 19, 2011, 21:28:14
Here are some rocks I got at budleigh beach

I cycled there from Newton Poppleford and took a panier full of stones back as a challenge
I singled out a few that were more patterned and thought of uploading them as objects for knyttwadf

Sorry thier still quite large images (didn't know how much detail you wanted   X-P)
Hopes you find them useful :D
Title: Re: Object contribution!
Post by: jetio4 on April 20, 2011, 16:00:37
Sorry thier still quite large images (didn't know how much detail you wanted   )
Hopes you find them useful
I.... don't see an image. o.O
Title: Re: Object contribution!
Post by: J on April 20, 2011, 16:41:55
It was most probably submitted to the page linked in the first post. (Where all object contributions need to be submitted to.)
Title: Re: Object contribution!
Post by: Nifflas on April 20, 2011, 18:00:23
Ooh, nce rocks Mr Fish! I'll definitely add them!

I just got a really nice daisy too, which I will use as well!
Title: Re: Object contribution!
Post by: Comhon on April 20, 2011, 19:19:50
I am uploading new materials, please write me, if it is useful.
Title: Re: Object contribution!
Post by: Mr Fish on April 20, 2011, 21:29:33
I'm editing some more at the moment
Title: Re: Object contribution!
Post by: Nifflas on May 04, 2011, 03:25:02
OOh, I had forgot to check the upload page in a while and suddenly there are lots of objects there! \o/

I definitely need to check them out tomorrow!
Title: Re: Object contribution!
Post by: jimj316 on May 07, 2011, 19:55:51
I tried uploading another file, but I am still getting "that is not a zip file."

Any help?
Title: Re: Object contribution!
Post by: Nifflas on May 08, 2011, 11:40:19
Seems like .zip had to be lowercase. That's fixed now, and it should work as long as the file extension is zip
Title: Re: Object contribution!
Post by: jimj316 on May 08, 2011, 23:50:03
I still can't get the file to upload, despite trying both uppercase and lowercase .zips, so here's a link to it instead: http://www.mediafire.com/?cun0t0lar6dqv9h (http://www.mediafire.com/?cun0t0lar6dqv9h)