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Development Forum Trying to make a C1 norn, any pointers?    Nello      5/6/2013 Ok, so as a few who've seen my concepts may know, I am attempting to learn how to develop a C1 breed. I am no master sprite maker but I'm "ok" if there was a word for it. I am currently in the process of making the sprites for one of the breeds I wanted to make. Its nothing too amazing being that it's my first try and I've gotten as far as to complete all 26 head sprites for the male baby and child stages. Which added together would be about...err 52 sprites of it all. I plan to start the female heads as soon as I can complete all the male's. I was looking for someone who would know a bit about .atts and genetics...I'm also not sure how the whole slot thing goes either. I'm sorta understanding of how one goes about making the .spr files but if anyone knows anything else, I'd love to know. Also, if anyone has an idea of converting the sprites for one of the other games I could work on that as well. I'm open to learn as much as I can about creating breeds. I also learned very quickly that it takes forever to edit sprites. Thanks a bunch in advance! Maker of the C1 breed, Cheri Norns.   Jessica     5/6/2013 Right up my alley! I'm in the process of updating all of the sprites and body data files for the original C1 breeds: Just released the basic beta version yesterday! In terms of my project, I've only gotten through the sprites for the seven breeds of baby males... Adds up to about 800+ individual bitmaps. Yikes! I would love to help you out with the .att files. Body data can be kind of tricky, but it's usually not too bad. Here is my list of recommended programs: - One Stop Sprite Workshop: For importing individual bitmaps to create the sprite files. Each Norn should have 12 separate files, ranging from A-L. - NornPose: For helping to test out your body data files. - Notepad: For editing body data files, because they're basically just a list of coordinates. I've also found this Tutorial to be really helpful in figuring out what to do with body data files! One quick question: Are you building your breed from scratch, or using one of the breeds as a base? If using an existing breed as a base, you should be able to duplicate the body data files and only need to make minor tweaks. There are tons of issues with the sprites and body data files (hence my giant project) but I'm more than happy to try to help you out along the way! Discover Albia   Nello   5/6/2013 Oh wow, thanks a whole lot! You understand my problem then! I'm using the purple mountain as my base to create the breed I'm making So explain how I should use the atts to help? Also do you know which files they use? Also, Nornpose hates vista so that doesn't work so well. Maker of the C1 breed, Cheri Norns.   Jessica     5/6/2013 The Purple Mountain Norn actually suffers from some serious issues with mixed up sprites and terribly out-of-whack body data. I know I won't be done anytime soon, but I'm happy to let you use my updated sprites and body data files as a base to allow your Norns to move correctly. The one issue with Creatures 1 is the very small number of breed slots: These range from 0-9, with the official breeds occupying slots 0-6. Slot 7 is used up by another version of the official Santa Norn, although I typically only see slot 3 Santa Norns. The Wood Norns are a pretty popular third party C1 breed, which occupy slot 8. The Dragon Norns also use this slot, and I believe slot 9 is taken by some other breeds. The issue is that players then need to choose which breed to use: In C3/DS, there are many Norn breeds available, but C1 limits players to only ten. That doesn't mean you can't develop a new breed, though! Just keep in mind that you'll need to warn people which breed slot you're using. I recommend 7 or 9, though others might have better ideas. My brain is going on overload with all of the sprites I'm working on, but the Purple Mountain Norn baby males will use all .spr and .att files ending in 004. So A004, B004, etc. The Creatures Wiki has an article that should be able to help you a little bit! Without Nornpose, you might need to line up your coordinates using a program (like Paint or Photoshop) which allows you to use a cursor to locate the X,Y location on an image. There are probably a few other programs that could work, but you'll likely need to test them out in-game. Discover Albia   Nello   5/6/2013 I was thinking of using slot 9 for mine as all my other slots are occupied by other breeds. How would I go about changing my .spr files and .atts to correspond with slot 9? Should I use the purple mountain atts as a base and then finish all the sprites and figure out how to test them in game? I also think there are a few different .spr programs I can use to create the packed files for in game. I do have a few different programs I'm using to make the sprites currently. This will take a lot of work but I want to try my best to do it. Maker of the C1 breed, Cheri Norns.   Jessica     5/6/2013  1 The link above should explain it a little bit. As an example, if you're editing the Purple Mountain Norn: - A004.spr and A004.att correspond with the baby male head. For your new breed in slot 9, these would be A009.apr and A009.att. You can definitely use the Purple Mountain .att and .spr files as bases. Like I said, though, just be aware that there are some problems with them. I think most people overlook them since they're typically minor, but some body parts don't work properly. For instance, watch a PMN male baby look all the way up, and his head should be attached incorrectly. I believe the PMN female babies have their hands in an odd position in one pose, too. Good luck with everything! I might end up making a tutorial at some point, since there's a lot involved with creating/updating sprites and body data files. Hope I've helped a bit, and don't hesitate to ask any other questions! Discover Albia   Malkin Manager     5/6/2013  1 I would love to read a tutorial on what you're doing with the spriting and body data, Jessica! My TCR Norns   Jessica     5/6/2013 I'll certainly add this to my to-do list! Might happen after I get this initial release out with all of the baby males... Though with my progress, they might just be ready later this week! I was quite confused when I first started looking into the sprites and body data... I'll focus on creating something that's approachable for anyone, but with a few extra pointers to help out those more familiar with the processes! Discover Albia   Nello   5/7/2013 I have another question. What should I do with the atts now since I used a different head type for the females. I used the white-haired pixie female as a base in the female. Should I use the head atts from them? Also, what shall I do for the bodies? I planned them to look similar. But would that mess something up if I used a different body as a base? Should I use pixie body for the female? I'm very confuzzled yes... Sorry if its kinda odd, I just planned this breed to be different than some of the others. Maker of the C1 breed, Cheri Norns.   Jessica     5/7/2013 You'll likely have to change the .att files, no matter which ones you use. Have you tried opening one of the files in Notepad, just to see what it looks like? I would recommend sticking with the .att files that correspond with the base you're using: This should reduce the amount of changes you'll need to make! Mixed breeds usually end up looking pretty decent in C1, so I would say it's safe to mix and match what breed's body parts you use as a base. I might be able to help out some more if you're starting to really get stuck. I'm planning on having a little downtime from my C1 sprites in a few weeks, once the babies are all set for all breeds, males and females. Hopefully my rambling is helping you out a little bit! Discover Albia   Nello   5/7/2013 I think my only issue will be the atts and genetics. That's about all I think I'd need some real assistance in. If you'd like to test drive my breed when all the .spr files are done you can. Also, if you did want to help a bit with the breed it might be completed sooner. But when you have a break, if you'd like to help, I'd accept. I want this to be a successful breed. Also, you might like how I did on the sprites. They are very pretty colors. I wanted a little more color in C1. It seemed void of some colors, so I helped it by making a more colorful design and now hopefully a breed in due time. The adult male is shown as my icon. Males look just about the same from babies to adults. But when they reach the elder stage, unlike the PMNs they don't shrink, but their hair turns a pale pink. Females have blue hair but gradually as they age, it changes a tad. As babies their hair is light blue, then as children it darkens slightly, then as adults the get a patch of bright green in the center, and finally as elders their hair goes to an even lighter blue. Maker of the C1 breed, Cheri Norns.   Wee Scrivener Trell     5/7/2013 Ooh, whatcha got planned for genetics? Trell "Holy crap in a casket!"   Nello   5/7/2013 Oh I'm not sure yet! Its hard to say since I hardly understand what does what in the genetics kit. But as a breed, I'd like them to be a fun loving, friendly breed with some strengths like a resistance to certain plant toxins. But if you'd like to help, feel free. I'm open to anything. Maker of the C1 breed, Cheri Norns.   Wee Scrivener Trell     5/7/2013 PM any specific details, and I can mix up a tester Norn by tonight! Trell "Holy crap in a casket!"   Nello   5/7/2013 Certainly! Maker of the C1 breed, Cheri Norns.   Lollipop Lord C-Rex     5/25/2013 I'm looking forward to see how this breed turns out!   Nello   5/29/2013 I'm stuck right now on the arm sprites, I'd prefer to use horse norn arms, but coloring them will become the big issue. Also, I used PMN legs for it so it may look mismashed. So I am currently stuck. I am also still researching the topic of making the sprites into .spr files. As for the atts I don't even wanna touch those xD But slowly, I am figuring it all out. Although this is a bit of trouble. Maker of the C1 breed, Cheri Norns.

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