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!KISSTools V0.8
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
INDEX
1 - Background to KISS (and plug for my KISS viewer, !PlayKISS)
2 - Overview of !KISSTools functionality
3 - Sprite->CEL conversion
4 - CEL->Sprite conversion
5 - Palette->KCF conversion
6 - KCF->Palette conversion
7 - Multiple file loads
8 - Other tools (plug for my KISS editor, !MakeKISS)
9 - LZH files, and their problems on RiscOS
10 - License conditions
11 - Disclaimer
12 - Bug reports/contacting me
History
1. KISS Background
KISS is a paper doll program which originated in Japan in 1991.
It was originally developed for a NEC computer, but has been
ported to a number of operating systems & platforms including
Windows, MacIntosh and Amiga.
To help spread KISS, the specification was formalised (and
broadened, to allow for more capable hardware). This is known
as the KISS General Specification (KISS/GS), and is available
on the web on "The Big KISS Page" at:
http://otakuworld.com/dov/kiss/index.html
KISS/GS is absolutely required reading to create or edit your own
dolls, so this help file assumes you are familiar with the KISS/GS
terminology.
There is a (not-terribly-well-supported) variant of KiSS known as
Cherry KiSS (why, I don't know). Standard KiSS uses 4 or 8 bpp
colour images as the basic building block; Cherry KiSS uses
true-colour (24 bpp) images. From version 0.3, KiSSTools provides
support for Cherry KiSS as well.
To view KISS dolls on an Acorn RiscPC, use my !PlayKISS program
(from V3.00, PlayKISS supports Cherry KISS).
2. !KISSTools overview
!KISSTools is a very simple tool to help create and KISS dolls.
It provides 4 basic functions:
i) Convert sprites to CEL files.
ii) Convert CEL files to sprites.
iii) Convert RiscOS palette files to KISS "KCF" palettes.
iv) Convert KCF files to RiscOS palette files.
These are described in the following sections.
3. Sprite->Cel conversion
Any sprite of 256 colours or less can be converted to KISS/GS2
cels; in addition, sprites of 16 or fewer colours can be converted
to KISS/GS1 sprites.
To convert a sprite, simply drag the file it to the iconbar icon;
you will be presented with a normal "Save As" box (filetype "Data")
with a default filename generated from the sprite name.
The Save As box has the following options:
Trim : If ticked, all transparent rows and columns around the
edges of the sprite will be removed.
GS2+ : If ticked, the sprite will be converted to a KISS/GS2
or later format cel. If "Trim" is not selected, left
hand transparent columns and top transparent rows will
be removed, and the "offset" fields in the cel header
set to compensate.
Cherry : If ticked, allows 16 or 32 bpp sprites to be converted
into Cherry KiSS cels. NB. If this is selected, GS2+
rules for trimming are applied, irresepctive of
whether the GS2+ option is enabled.
If the sprite file contains more than one sprite, they will be
processed in sequence (ie after each sprite is converted, the
Save As box will open again for the next sprite).
NB As KISS defines colour 0 to mean "transparent", all pixels in
the sprite that are either masked or are colour 0 will be mapped
onto colour zero (this does not apply to Cherry KiSS).
4. Cel->Sprite conversion
To convert a CEL file, drag it to the iconbar icon; a Save As
box will appear. There are no options for this conversion.
CEL files will be converted to MODE 27 sprites (16-colour CELs)
MODE 28 sprites (256-colour CELs), or a "deep" sprite for Cherry
KiSS CELs. If the CEL file is a new-format CEL (ie KISS/GS2),
the sprite will have transparent rows and/or columns added
at the top and left to account for any "offset" fields in the CEL
header.
Sprites generated from non-Cherry KiSS cels will have a bizarre
appearance using the default desktop palette (as they have no
palette). To view it as it should be, convert its KCF file to a
RiscOS palette file, and drop the palette into the sprite editing
window in !Paint.
NB CEL files must be file-typed "Data", and should be correctedly
named (ie terminate with "/cel") for !KISSTools to recognise them.
NNB !PlayKISS also provides a Cel export facility to extract all
the cels into a single sprite file. However, they are "New Format"
sprites (ie with a 1 bit-per-pixel mask), and !Paint will not
allow the palette to be set by dragging and dropping a palette
file. The !PlayKISS cel export facility should therefore be seen
as giving an overview of the available cels, rather than a tool for
building dolls.
5. Palette->KCF conversion
To convert one or more palette files into a single KCF file, drag
them to the iconbar. A Save As box will appear, with the following
options:
GS2+ : If ticked, the resulting KCF file will be in KISS/GS2
format.
12 bit ) These define the accuracy of the palette. KISS/GS1
) files only allow 12-bit accuracy, so this is disabled
24 bit ) if the GS2+ option described above is not ticked.
KCF files contain between 1 and 10 palette groups, Multiple groups
can be contructed by dragging multiple palette files to the iconbar
(or the Save As box after it has opened); each palette file will
generate a separate group (the number of palette groups in the KCF
file is shown on the Save As box.
Palettes are not used for Cherry KiSS.
6. KCF->Palette conversion
To convert one of the palette groups in a KCF file to a RiscOS
palette, drag the KCF file to the iconbar. A SaveAs box will
appear, with a control which allows a palette group number to be
specified for the conversion.
If the palette group number specified is greater than the number of
groups in the file, the highest numbered group is converted.
NB KCF files must be typed as "Data", and should be correctedly
named (ie terminate with "/kcf") for !KISSTools to recognise them.
7. Dragging multiple files to the iconbar
A mixed set of sprites, palettes, and data files can be dragged to
the iconbar, and they will be processed in turn (but ordered by
type). If the "Cancel" button on a Save As box is selected, that
conversion AND ALL THE OUTSTANDING CONVERSIONS are discarded.
8. Other tools
!MakeKISS, a KISS doll development tool, is now available, which
provides a number of sophisticated doll editing facilities.
Although it provides similar file conversion facilities as
!KISSTools, it is not a complete replacement, as the latter is
much more convenient for converting large numbers of files.
9. LZH archives
Unfortunately, SparkFS only provides read access to LZH archives,
not write access. An appropriate archiver, lharc (and its desktop
front end, DTLharc) is available from my web site, at:
http://www.argonet.co.uk.users/tigger/programs/progs.html
10. License Conditions
!KISSTools is NOT Public Domain. However, copies may be passed on
to other people as long as the following conditions are met:
(1) Copies may be passed between private individuals as long as
this is done free of charge.
(2) It may be distributed by public domain libraries, as long as
no charge is made other than for the media.
(3) It may be distributed by remote databases such as FTP sites
or mail servers on InterNet or bulletin boards, as long as no
charge is made for downloading it (other than the cost of the
phone call).
(4) The copyright remains with me at all times.
(5) It is distributed in its entirety, including these conditions.
11. Disclaimer
!KISSTools is distributed "as is", and used at your own risk. I
accept no responsibility for damage to your computer, your data,
or even the possibly addictive effects of KISS.
12. Further information & bug reports
If you have any problems with !KISSTools, please contact me at the
email address given below, and I'll try to fix them.
Nick Roberts
tigger@argonet.co.uk
=====================================================================
History:
Version Description
0.1 First general release. Probably a bit "beta".
0.2 Fixed default name in sprite->cel conversion saveas.
0.3 Added simple support for "Cherry" KiSS truecolour cels.
0.4 Fixed minor bug with 16 colour cels.
0.5 Fixed bug with transparency for cels with an offset.
0.6 Internal rewrite to use common code with MakeKISS
0.7 Now uses version 2 of the shared KISS code.
Name of cel in a sprite->cel conversion could contain
a period (if the source sprite did). Now fixed.
0.8 Stupid error in conversion from 256-colour sprites to
cels - didn't allow for difference between GCOL and
colour number. Now fixed. Also, uses V3 of Shared KISS
code.