Opening .PIC files

[mathusalem]

Ok, since this forum is rich in coders I wish to asress an issue to which we found no solutions until now.

We need to open the .pic files in the game to revamp the game's appearence. and replace those files with a format that is easier to handle.
+ to replace those files we need to know their pixel size

what we know :
These .pic files are not the Macintosh image format (Macs can't open them)
Graphic apes can't open them
These file are more probably a simple bmp image in a secure proprietary format.

basically if we want more sets in the deck builder we're going to have to face this problem one day anyway.
So if anyone out there finds a way.... please we need your help !
Thanks in advance

[Bog Wraith]

I concur.

This is a huge issue that needs addressing. The GUI for this game is based on the old
640 x480 with a hint of handling the 800 x 600 format that was prevalent when the game first came out in 1997. We would really like to have the whole look of the game's main play area and other menu items updated to today's monitor resolution capabilities.

As a Mac user myself for all my multi media work, I too want to do this work on a Mac.
If someone could help Mathy & I out with this, it would be greatly appreciated and it would allow us and any other graphic's people who want to join us in giving this game the face lift it desperately needs!

[Huggybaby]

I would try contacting one of the original programmers. It worked for the guys at Ur-Quan Masters.
If this program is abandonware then one of them would likely be happy to help.

[gmzombie]

i have the original bmp2pic file and the viewer to view the file. although it can only be done from dos and not a dos box. i will upload and maybe snacko or harry can convert it to windows??

[Huggybaby]

If you have to use DOS I have links to MS Virtual Machines in the download section. I only have Win95 though, I can find a DOS if necessary.

[gmzombie]

i will try the ms virtual machine first and tell you results

[mathusalem]

i will try the ms virtual machine first and tell you results

woops ! didn't read that ! yes please that will be greatly appreciated.

[gmzombie]

still havent gotten around to doing this yet life has taken a swerve at me but im getting back in the car lol. ill try this out probably tonight.

[mathusalem]

damn, well, you know, take the time to get back on your feet, those .pic files can wait

[gmzombie]

yea ill get to it tonight...not a big deal but i know for a fact that youc an view the pic files in dos. i had to get a bootdisk so i used an old windows 98 cd. lol i knew keeping that old stuff would be handy..anyways you can do it that way if you need to see em now. I wish someone could update or take that code from that bmp2pic and picview or whatever it is and make a windows version...

[Huggybaby]

The documentation says you can use DosBox. I read this after spending two hours installing another virtual machine and DOS.

<edit> Free XnView allows saving as four different types of pic file.

[mathusalem]

I'm trying Xnview, but it won't open the .pic files. I think it does open .pic files but those that are actual Macintosh picture format (which sadly would make sense, since you're more likely to find an old Mac owner that a Manalink player.

[Huggybaby]

lol It figures there's a fifth type.

[HarryPitfall]

I believe that is better to try decode how magic.exe loads the pic files... decompiling part of the code... so, if he know how to read, isn't that hard to figure how to write (pic2bmp/bmp2pic)

[mathusalem]

Sounds good.
remember that once we can open them, it would be handy to know where to tell the exe to load something else than those files, i think it would be more practical to work with a more common image format. it could be bmp if the exe can only load some old format but it could be Jpeg, or even png and gif so we can have transparency and fancy stuff like round buttons.