Area .jpgs?

[DavidNowlin]

Hiya.

 

A few weeks ago I downloaded about fifteen mods and started a new game and I've been going through and trying to get as much out of it as I can, and I noticed, fairly early on, that there's just no one place to get all the information I want to have while I'm playing. I mean, there's ten different walkthroughs and most of them have most of the stuff I'm looking for (for the bioware part of the game anyway) but none of them has everything and, of course, none of the walkthroughs that were written right when the game came out have anything on the mods. So I've been kind of doing my own walkthrough and one thing that I can't seem to figure out that apparently everyone else on the planet has is how did they get the area pics? Did they just do a screen shot and crop it, or is there an easier way? I've been using the ones from Dudleyville (for BG1) and Gamebanshee (for SoA) but those and every other set I've been able to find are already littered with stuff I don't need and they don't have everything I want (like container traps or where to find Sarah). So I was thinking I'd like to do my own. I've looked at a lot of the different kinds of files in near infinity (like .are files and .bmp files) but none of those seem to point the way to what I'm looking for. Does anyone know where I can find unaltered image files for the major areas?

[Miloch]

The area minimaps are saved in .mos format, which you can convert to .bmp with DLTCEP (and from there to .gif with PaintShop or the like - .jpg isn't really suitable for such small images, as it will result in loss).

 

For "which area goes to which .mos" see the Tutu/BGT area list in my signature, or the IESDP for BG2 areas. For mods, you're kind of on your own. You'll have to know the mod's content and are able to recognise the area images, and know its file naming conventions (if it has any) to find its maps (most of the time these are stored in one of the mod folders though).

[DavidNowlin]

Thanks! Just what I was looking for.

[DavidNowlin]

Er... DLTCEP appears to involve a pretty steep learning curve. How do you use it to convert the .mos to a bitmap?

[Miloch]

It's pretty simple actually. Just go to Edit > Image (MOS), Load Mos (will show a preview), Back, Save Mos As, change "Save as type" to Bitmap format, Save and there you go .

[DavidNowlin]

You're the best dude. Does sound pretty simple, doesn't it. My problem was I assumed that hitting back erased the thing I just opened.

[Miloch]

My problem was I assumed that hitting back erased the thing I just opened.

Yeah, that part is a bit counterintuitive, heh. Would be nice to have a batch mode utility so you can convert several at once too. I did one for the Lionheart maps which could probably be converted for .mos - unfortunately got a lot of other demands right now to look at it tho.

[DavidNowlin]

Would be nice to have a batch mode utility so you can convert several at once too.

 

Eh. I'm sure it would for some purposes, but I can only explore, detrap and edit one area at a time anyway.

[igi]

The area minimaps are saved in .mos format, which you can convert to .bmp with DLTCEP

 

You could also use the TBG Graphics Plugin Pack (a series of plugins that let you open common IE graphics formats straight into an image editing application, e.g. Photoshop, or Paint Shop Pro).

 

For "which area goes to which .mos" see the Tutu/BGT area list in my signature, or the IESDP for BG2 areas.

 

The IESDP contains area file listings for BG1, BG2, IWD1, PST, BGT and Tutu. If someone wants to donate an IWD2 area list, it would be appreciated.