OMG :00555:
Is that actually Rakza btw, or did you get a picture of some random guy with a berret?
It’s really me 
So… where do we submit our entry???
Just post them right here?
Yes, just post your picture here.
the alpha channle is a data layer from 0 to 1 that determines the transparent areas of an image, whether it is moving or not, so if an image has an alpha channel and every pixel is of value 1 (white), the image has no transparency. layers in certain editing programs allow an alpha channel per layer, colour channel, depth channel etc too but yeah its all to do with transparency, nothing else
Alpha is not always for transparency.
In SDL, it’s a specific colors that make the transparency (The old way before implementing alpha layers).
And in trackmania, alpha layers is for brightness.
Yeah but you were asking about this game here, and that’s what I responded on. If it helps, here’s one of the current stickers as a template, just stick to that format:
http://scla.bplaced.net/sticker_Birthday_2.zip
(mods feel free to delete the link if that poses any problem)
@Yeahalex False. Alpha value is between 0 and 255. You can represent it between 0 and 1 if you want by doing : Alpha / 255 = value
And Alpha channel can be used like you want. On a ship skin, it’s much more usefull to use it as brightness indicator then transparency.
@Snib
I can’t see what’s in your link. And I would prefer an official answer to be sure.
There’s a problem. I looked in-game, and there’s no stickers with a medium transparency. they are composed of only full color or nothing.
There’s always a possibility that stickers have a special treatment by an algorythm.
If they are using alpha channel to transparency, then how do they make those stickers glow ? And why their stickers don’t have medium transparency ?
Made this entirely by myself on paint in the last half hour Not sure if it counts as top aerography though…
Anyway, it is based on a celtic theme.
If the colours are bad, I can change them no problemo
(PS: the spirals were a pain)
sry, forgot they f’ed up the forum attachments. rehosted: http://scla.bplaced.net/sticker_Birthday_2.zip
I don’t know what you mean by medium transparency (also yeahalex was correct in what he wrote), but as I said, just use the file I linked a template. You are welcome. 
I can’t open your file.
And no, alpha is a value between 0 and 255.
Open a png with an hexa editor.
It is stored, like R G B, in an unsigned char, witch correspond to 0xFF.
so a pixel value in picture with canal alpha is something like : 0xFFFFFFFF (ARGB).
The 0-1 value is just a representation of it.
By medium transparency I mean that the alpha chanel have a value different then 0 and the max value.
What are the consequences?
Look at a red filter.
It you pass it over blue, it won’t be red or blue, but a bit of both depending of the transparency value.
…False. Alpha value is between 0 and 255. You can represent it between 0 and 1 if you want by doing : Alpha / 255 = value
And Alpha channel can be used like you want. On a ship skin, it’s much more usefull to use it as brightness indicator then transparency.
…
If they are using alpha channel to transparency, then how do they make those stickers glow ? And why their stickers don’t have medium transparency ?
alpha channels in pngs have 256 steps, in gifs it’s only 1 bit, so it depends on the filetype. bmp can’t save any, which is why usually one color is defined as transparency.
dds textures can have multiple settings, usually its also 256 (-1 for 0).
it’s very unlikely they use alpha for glow; after all you can store more information elsewhere, to give shader commands, or use a separate glow-bitmap.
you could also use half or parts of the transparency channel for this, but i find that unlikely.
xnview can open dds files for view only.
alpha channels in pngs have 255 steps, in gifs it’s only 1 bit, so it depends on the filetype. bmp can’t save any, which is why usually one color is defined as transparency.
dds textures can have multiple settings, usually its also 255.
it’s very unlikely they use alpha for glow; after all you can store more information elsewhere, to give shader commands, or use a separate glow-bitmap.
Gif is an exception. Less quality.
Bmp can also have transparency now.
The most common is 255.
What I think is that they are using a defined color for the transparency. Like in SDL.
then they use the alpha chanel for the glow.
I don’t know about you guys, but I already have my entry sketched on paper, I just need to scan and edit to make sure my shading transferred through the scanning.
I don’t know about you guys, but I already have my entry sketched on paper, I just need to scan and edit to make sure my shading transferred through the scanning.
Hurry up and show us
And no, alpha is a value between 0 and 255.
No, it’s not, logically it’s a value between 0 and 1 and the number of steps in-between depend on the bit-depth and file format you store it in.
By medium transparency I mean that the alpha chanel have a value different then 0 and the max value.
Maybe your image editor is broken. At least the example file from the game that I uploaded for you (it downloads and opens just fine, the problem is on your end) has a shaded alpha channel (8.8.8.8 ARGB format).
Photoshop is broken? ^^
Can upload it without zipping it?
And alpha :
What I think is that they are using a defined color for the transparency. Like in SDL.
then they use the alpha chanel for the glow.
what i mean is: you would not need to save all of that into one file. you could also use DDS mipmaps for glowing bitmaps (i don’t mean bmp-files with this word), so there are a lots of possibilities.
Maybe your image editor is broken. At least the example file from the game that I uploaded for you (it downloads and opens just fine, the problem is on your end) has a shaded alpha channel.
you gotta admit, you are a dev, you probably have stuff installed that deals with texture files, but a standard windows can’t open them.
@DestroyHer:
i once read, nvidia has a free DDS plugin for photoshop (works on all cards), otherwise there are converters, and as i said, xnview opens them for view (and is free).
but i can imagine, they will do the conversion anyway, so just post a png.
Hurry up and show us
Sorry, you’ll just have to wait until the deadline for it to be shown, it makes things a little more interesting.
Photoshop is broken? ^^
Can upload it without zipping it?
download winrar or something, but any recent OS should be able to open zip files out of the box. I uploaded that file to be helpful, but you are welcome to wait for that russian dev to google translate an answer for you, I’m not fussed. I’m pretty sure everybody but you fully understands what to do, anyway.
And alpha :
Says the same thing we tried to explain to you:
“The alpha channel is normally used as an opacity channel. If a pixel has a value of 0% in its alpha channel, it is fully transparent (and, thus, invisible), whereas a value of 100% in the alpha channel gives a fully opaque pixel (traditional digital images).”
download winrar or something, but any recent OS should be able to open zip files out of the box. I uploaded that file to be helpful, but you are welcome to wait for that russian dev to google translate an answer for you, I’m not fussed.
Says the same thing we tried to explain to you:
“The alpha channel is normally used as an opacity channel. If a pixel has a value of 0% in its alpha channel, it is fully transparent (and, thus, invisible), whereas a value of 100% in the alpha channel gives a fully opaque pixel (traditional digital images).”
Man…
I’m a dev too. I know what I’m talking about.
*If course I know how to unzip, it just don’t work and say corrupted.
*Percent isn’t a value. Alpha is generally stored in a value between 0-255 like said in my link. Theyn the value is use as a percentage.
Alright dude, whatever.