GIMP 2.8
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I've used GIMP for several years and have dreaded moving to Photoshop. Not only because of the cost (which is not inconsiderable), but because I have become so set in my ways with GIMP that this old dog would have to work hard to learn new tricks.
Well, there's new version of GIMP that recently came out that looks like it will be my saving grace! It does a few things that I've longed for that were in PS but never had in GIMP. Foremost among the new features is support for layer grouping. Hey, a single-window mode! Editing text without a separate window popup (which usually pops up behind everything else). A little thing I liked from GIMP 2.2 that was changed in 2.4 and newer was default saving bmps in 24 bit color. Newer versions defaulted to 32 bit and you had to change it each time you saved. (Need 24 bit for BRIGHT to work.) Well, that's fixed now as well as it'll save your last setting.
All in all, it looks like this new 2.8 version is a must-have for a skinner on a budget!
GIMP 2.8 Release Notes
GIMP 2.8 Downloads -
Yeeesssssss! :yahoo: I've been waiting for this for what feels like forever- thanks for posting it here! Only problem is, I think my school-related productivity might be dropping in the next few days, which is a bad thing, considering that I'm graduating in a couple weeks...
Seriously though, this is awesome news! I think I'm most excited for the layer grouping feature- it's the one thing that photoshop has that had me seriously considering buying it. I've tried all sorts of different techniques to separate my layers logically, but it's still a pain to have to scroll through the whole list looking for one thing in particular. Now, it looks like that problem's solved! Any idea if .psd layer groups are preserved when opening them with Gimp? -
The new version looks like a big step forward.
One issue I have with GIMP is, that the saturation percentage of some layers doesn't save correctly. Everytime I open a template file the saturation of some layers gets decreased a few percent. I had hoped the new version would fix this problem, but it is still there. Has anyone noticed the same? -
I've only tried it with one psd that had layer groupings and they were preserved. I need to try it with some others to see if it still has issues handling some of the layer effects from PS.
Juri, I've never noticed saturation problems, although for some reason any transparency less than 100% seems to get saved at .1% lower than specified (save at 10%, it shows 9.9% next time the file is opened). -
Jarink
Juri, I've never noticed saturation problems, although for some reason any transparency less than 100% seems to get saved at .1% lower than specified (save at 10%, it shows 9.9% next time the file is opened).
My bad English again, in the German version of Gimp the word "Deckkraft" is used and I couldn't remember the correct translation.
I was talking about transparency and not saturation. I often get a decrease of more than just .1%, especially when I save the file in psd format and not in xcf and the strange thing is, that it doesn't happen with every layer that has a transpareny of less than 100%. I wonder what is causing this problem.
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Hello Jarink,
How did you get the 'bright' plug-in to work in gimp 2.8? I've been trying and can't seem to get it to work! Thanks. =) -
I don't use the plugin; I just run it in a batch file after saving skins to 24-bit bmps. Make sure to check the advanced optinos when saving bmps since it will default to 32-bit, which BRIGHT can't handle.
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Hello Ice~Eagle
Nothing stupid about it mate, I pondered the same question once. I'm not sure when Jarink will pop in, so here's a link to the batch file. It's contained inside a folder with the exe, so this is all you'll need to get started: http://www.simmerspaintshop.com/forums/downloads/general/12/batchfile-bright-35/
To process a skin, save it directly to the Bright folder (be sure to use Jarink's "24-bit" advanced option for GIMP), then click on the batch file to execute the exe. A Command Window will momentarily appear and immediately process the file, reducing it to the correct size of 1,026 KB. Then simply drag the skin file to the appropriate folder in your IL2 installation.
Hope that helps. Let us know if you run into any additional bumps. ~ Rudi
