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   Adventure Maker v4.5 Help Document  
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Introduction
   Program Overview
   List of Features
   What's New

Creating software without scripting
   Getting Started Tutorials
   Some Techniques and Tips
   Creating puzzles without scripting

   Creating third person games
   Creating interactive 360-degree panoramas
   Creating software for
PSP
   Creating software for iPhone and iPod touch

Creating software with VBScript
(Full Edition only)

   Introduction to VBScript
   Language Reference
   Objects Reference
   VBScript Techniques and Tips

   Sample Source Code

Pictures, sounds and music
   => Creating Pictures
   Music Maker help
   Creative Painter quick help
   Sounds and Music
   Videos, Icons, Cursors

Plugins (Full Edition only)
   Overview of the Plugins System
   Downloading/Uploading Plugins
   The Plugin Properties window
   About the Flash Plugin

Tips
   User Interface Tips
   Reducing the project size
   End-User System Requirements

Advanced tutorials
(Full Edition only)

   Creating a custom startup menu
   Using ActiveX components (ocx)

Troubleshooting
   Common issues and solutions
   Known bugs and limitations

About us
   Credits
   Website
   Contacting us
   Helping out

"iPhone" and "iPod" are trademarks or registered trademarks of Apple Inc. "PSP" is a trademark of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

As of the release date of this version, Adventure Maker is NOT affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by Apple Inc., Sony Corporation, SCEI, or any Apple or Sony subsidiary.

   

 

CREATING PICTURES

1. How can I create pictures for use in the games or applications created with Adventure Maker?
2. What programs can I use to create the pictures for my games or applications?
3. What is the best resolution (image size) for my pictures?
4. When I import a picture, I can notice a significant quality loss. How can I solve the problem?
5. My pictures are too large to fit the screen. How can I resize them?
6. Where can I find FREE tools to create or modify pictures, sounds, videos, icons, screenshots, help files, and more?
7. Where can I find links to 3D rendering software, free models, texture archives, file conversion tools, 3D tutorials, 2D/3D software plugins, filters, and more?
8. Where can I find tutorials, meshes and materials for Bryce?

 

You will also find tips for creating pictures on the Adventure Maker forums.

 

1. How can I create pictures for use in the games or applications created with Adventure Maker?

There are several ways to create pictures for use in your software. Here are some examples. They are listed from the easiest to the most advanced.

  • Take photos with a digital camera. Save them as JPEG (JPG), and then import them into Adventure Maker.

    Several games have been created with Adventure Maker using real photos taken with a digital camera. The result can be surprisingly good!

  • Draw pictures with MS Paint, which is a small drawing tool included in Windows (to launch it, run Adventure Maker, load a project, click "External Programs", and then click "MS Paint").

  • Use MS Paint in conjunction with Gradient Filler, which is a free tool included in the Adventure Maker package, that allows to easily improve the pictures created with MS Paint.

    To launch Gradient Filler, run Adventure Maker, load a project, click "External Programs", and then click "Gradient Filler".

    To use it, simply load a picture created with MS Paint, and then click on the areas that you want to improve. You can then save the picture as a BMP file. To convert the picture to the JPG format, simply re-open it with MS Paint and re-save it in the new format.

  • Draw pictures with Creative Painter, which is a free drawing tool included in the Adventure Maker package.

    To launch Creative Painter, run Adventure Maker, load a project, click "External Programs", and then click "Creative Painter".

    Help for this program can be found here.

  • Use Creative Painter in conjunction with "Lights Effects". "Lights Effects" is a free tool included in the Adventure Maker package, that allows to easily add lights effects to your pictures.

    To launch Lights Effects, run Adventure Maker, load a project, click "External Programs", and then click "Lights Effects".

    To use it, simply click on the location where you want to create a light. You can also specify the light color, and you can change the light parameters from the "Options" window. For example, the picture on the right was created by enabling the "Automatically adjust exposure to prevent over-exposure" option from the "Options" window.

  • Get a pen tablet and use it in conjunction with a program such as Corel Painter.

    Some affordable pen tablets are made by Wacom. The best ones have several levels of pressure and are tilt sensitive.

    It is important to note that some of them include a lite version of Corel Painter, called "Painter Classic", which allows to take the most of the pen tablet.

  • Create amazing 3D renderings with Bryce, which is a 3D modeling and rendering software that is very easy-to-use compared to the other 3D software packages. It allows to create wonderful landscapes in minutes.

  • Create advanced 3D renderings with programs like 3DStudio, Maya, Cinema4D, Blender, AnimationMaster...

    Those programs are less user-friendly than Bryce (see above), but they have many more modeling features, allowing you to create almost any object that you can think of.

    It is interesting to note that you can usually import/export 3D models from one software to another, making it possible for example to import into 3DStudio some nice 3D characters created with the software called "Poser", or to import into Bryce some advanced models created with 3DStudio.

 

2. What programs can I use to create the pictures for my games or applications?

Refer to the previous question for suggestions on which program to use.

 

3. What is the best resolution (image size) for my pictures?

640x480 is a good resolution, because it provides at the same time good compatibility, full-screen graphics*, and small file size. However, if you want better image quality, you should consider using 800x600 or 1024x768.

*the end-user can go full-screen thanks to the "Change display resolution to 640x480 (or 800x600, or 104x768)" option that appears on the startup menu ("initial screen") of the games that you create. You can configure this option from the "Options" tab of the "Project Properties" window.

Always make sure that the size of your picture (in pixels) is the same as the "Frames size" that is under the "Options" tab of the "Project Properties" window of Adventure Maker.

 

4. When I import a picture, I can notice a significant quality loss. How can I solve the problem?

The quality loss is probably due to the "color depth" of your display being set too low. For best results, the display color depth must be set to either 24-bits or 32-bits ("True Color"). To check your current display color depth and to increase it if it is too low, you must go to the Control Panel, click "Display", click "Settings", and then change the "Colors" setting.

 

5. My pictures are too large to fit the screen. How can I resize them?

You can easily resize them by using the free "Batch Picture Resize and Compress" tool that is included in the Adventure Maker package. You will find it under the "Adventure Maker" program group in the Start Menu.

 

6. Where can I find FREE tools to create or modify pictures, sounds, videos, icons, screenshots, help files, and more?

Most Internet software archives that offer shareware or demo programs do also offer free software. For example, click here to visit the Freeware directory of webattack.com. To search for free software at downloads.com, first use the "search" text field at the top of the website, and then use the "filter by" option at the bottom of the "search results" page to view only the programs that are free. You can also find a lot of free software at SourceForge.net.

 

7. Where can I find links to 3D rendering software, free models, texture archives, file conversion tools, 3D tutorials, 2D/3D software plugins, filters, and more?

A comprehensive list of links is available here.

 

8. Where can I find tutorials, meshes, and materials for Bryce?

The following page has a lot of nice tutorials for Bryce 5:
http://www.3dlinks.com/tutorials_bryce.cfm

Other tutorials can be found at:
http://www.petersharpe.com/Tutorials.htm

and
http://www.3dcafe.com/asp/tutbryce.asp

Some nice tutorials, meshes, and materials can be downloaded from:
http://www.antialias.info/

A popular Bryce forum can be found at the following URL:
http://www.tek-tips.com/gthreadminder.cfm/lev2/4/lev3/31/pid/878

Another list of websites dedicated to bryce is available here.

Note that Bryce comes with a nice help document, which can be very helpful to take the most of the program, especially when it comes to the hidden keyboard functions such as the possibility to hold down the SHIFT key while clicking with the left mouse button.