X-X-X Bowstars Animated Backgrounds X-X-X

[BlackJack]

The Red Galaxy background is awesome but I'm having a tiny issue with it I get a black screen flash in between the full rotations giving it like a flickering effect.

When cycling the images I cannot see the gap; any suggestions?

Yes, one : read my previous post. :p

several themes are using pictures with their extension in uppercase (.PNG instead of .png). Since FoF doesn't handle them correctly (read : it prevents them from being displayed, making animated stages skip frames), it is advised to rename them to lowercase.

For Red Galaxy in particular, it means renaming "Stage63.PNG" to "Stage63.png".

[bowstar]

What gap are you talking about? If you are talking the middle across then you would have to change the neck POV. Try to rename the.png like BlackJack said. Many of the backgrounds may have the same problem as I just copy and save over the previous background.

I'm gonna try that out blackjack. I was hoping there would be a stage select one day:)
I'll try that clapping backnforth out to see how it looks. Never use it but I'll change the order on the first page

[nefarious]

@BlackJack & bowstar

Yea my bad I guess I should of seen that :p it was exactly that.

Thanks!

[BlackJack]

What gap are you talking about?

The "uppercase bug" was previously making FoF crash, but MFH coded a workaround in his mod (which, apparently, not only skips uppercase frames, but also displays a black frame instead, until a new correct frame appears).

I'm gonna try that out blackjack. I was hoping there would be a stage select one day:)

Hopefully, there will be :

Short-term: (...)

+Add stage folder select or random function to support multiple animated stage backgrounds

Notice the "short-term".
I myself would love a stage select similar to the current neck select, with a preview of the stage.

And I know MFH has plans to "also add support for each stage folder to have an .ini file containing intended rotation order and delay settings".
*drools*

I'm sick of resizing pics so file size won't matter if u really want it (I'd resize if load time took over 20 seconds)

You're maybe already aware of that, but you can easily resize zillions (OK, maybe less :p) of pictures in the blink of an eye (OK, maybe more ), using the batch feature that's in most paint programs (Photoshop, Paint Shop Pro, etc).

[bowstar]

BlackJack--
Now I can finally put all my Backgrounds into one folder without having to switch them out and rename and all that! I only use MFHAlarian with just the GH3 theme. (I'll have to check out some other themes sometime) I have never noticed the .png glitch. I guess if it skips just that one frame in some of my created backgrounds I wouldn't even notice. But I have never seen the black frame you were talking about. Is that with updated patches or without? I didn't know you could resize multiple files all at once. I use photoshop. I'm gonna see if I can figure it out if I don't I will ask for help. I do hope they have a menu select background! That way you wouldnt have to apply settings every time you change which background you want to use. Thanks for getting this far!!!

**Figured out the batch resize. So simple!! Wish I knew this earlier. I might resize all the large file sized backgrounds I have and add them for download. That way people can choose higher quality-larger file size with a load time of 20-30 seconds or a little lesser quality and smaller size with a much faster load time.

[Vincent1333]

First, thank you Bowstar for making these great backgrounds! I have downloaded a few and they are amazing, they really add to the experience. Right now my favorite is the DMC one, I'd love to see some more game ones made.

Also thanks to Blackjack for explaining how to select different bg from in-game, it is really helpful.

[bowstar]

I might see what I can do about making some GH - Rock Band related backgrounds. About used up all the good loops from the site I use. I like these backgrounds because they are not GH or RB. But I know many would like to have them. Anyways...

Added Plasma Background --- Best name I could think of:) Not one of the better ones imo but still cool.

[BlackJack]

But I have never seen the black frame you were talking about. Is that with updated patches or without?

It's a new feature, introduced with version 2.962; after we found why animated stages would crash, MFH modified the code so that instead the program would display a blank frame, and report in the log which png is faulty :

++++UPPERCASE .PNG file extensions cause this problem! While my code can now recognize and load these .PNGs, FoF's internal functions do not process these files correctly! Renaming any .PNG to .png will fix this problem; if it does not, that particular image needs to be opened and re-saved in the correct png format (noninterlaced, optimized palette).

++Added bad animated background image / frame catching logic, will make log entry to point to problem file and display blank stage for bad frames

[bowstar]

Added Ozzy (actual game footage from GH Wourld Tour)
The file size is a bit larger than most the others but it is for image quality.
You can open the Stages folder and delete a set or two of the pictures so it loads a little faster. Takes about 30 seconds as is.

Going to take a little break from making any new backgrounds so enjoy this and all the others!!!

[Qwedgeonline]

I didn't even know they used Ozzy in GHWT! I'm guessing you get to play at Ozzfest?

[bowstar]

I didn't even know they used Ozzy in GHWT! I'm guessing you get to play at Ozzfest?

I didn't know either. Just looking for a good video to make a background of GHWT and stumbled across it. I'm going to guess now that this will be my most downloaded background. I think the loop isn't too bad and it's a good 20 seconds anyways

[contrast]

Is anyone using these successfully on Linux? I've read through this entire thread, followed all the instructions to a T, and the stages appear to just be coming up in a random order. Yes, the settings are correct - I've tried virtually every combination of stage-related options just be be extra sure. I've also tried renaming all the files to all lowercase, still no joy. This is happening with every stage pack I've tried so far. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

[fofgh3]

Dude these rock! Great loading time and preformance

[ADH]

Is anyone using these successfully on Linux? I've read through this entire thread, followed all the instructions to a T, and the stages appear to just be coming up in a random order. Yes, the settings are correct - I've tried virtually every combination of stage-related options just be be extra sure. I've also tried renaming all the files to all lowercase, still no joy. This is happening with every stage pack I've tried so far. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

i know you said that all the settings are correct but you should check to make sure that "rotate stage" is on "in order". And if that is not the problem maybe the images are named in the wrong order.

[contrast]

Checked. Moved fretsonfire.ini, set the relevant settings back and checked again. And I've tried probably a dozen different backgrounds. And they're all in the right order (flipped through them in an image viewer to be sure). And still none of them work. :bangs head:

Thanks for the reply though. So I guess I should take that to mean you're using them on Linux without issue?

Surely my hardware's up to the task - Pentium 4 3.4GHz w/ HT, 2GB DDR RAM, nVidia 7600GS 256MB (w/ latest driver from their site) - not a beast by any stretch, but I'm sure if it can play Quake Wars nearly maxed out at 1920x1080, it can handle this.

I rrreeeaaaally want to get these working - I don't think I've been this excited about anything FoF-related since multiplayer support first came out. If anyone could help me troubleshoot at the very least, I'd be most appreciative.