Using Bitmaps?

I''m a bit of a beginner on this stuff, but I think it has something to do with the file structure, compression, and the quality of bitmaps. On a jpeg its hard to get a 1 pixel square with out it blending into 10 others. BMP files may seem big but because of them file structure load fast (This is how I see it anyway).

Before you can display a bitmap you need to move it onto a texture so that the graphics card can use it. Textures are held in different formats depending upon the coulour depth and alpha levels but for the most part they closely resemble the way bitmaps are stored, per pixel information.

You can still use JPEGs but as FlorianapoliS said they are not the best quality. If you do use them you have to load them and convert them to a format that can be loaded which takes time and isn''t as strightforward.

There are probably games out there that make good use of JPEGs but the only real advantage is the file size and if you have a large image you probably want the best quality you can get to go with it (i don''t know cos i''m no artist).

Just to point out, some games (namely, Civilization II) use GIFs. CivIII uses PCX. D3DX can also load many different file formats.

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I will not make a list of links... I will not make a list of links... I will not make a list of links...
Invader''s Realm

Bitmaps are simple. Tried, tested, and true. Nothing fancy. Big, but high quality.

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Where''d the engine go? Where''d it go? Aaaaaah!!
MSN: nmaster42@hotmail.com, AIM: LockePick42, ICQ: 74128155

You know, the term "bitmap" does not always refer to a .BMP file. I believe they were simply using it in the more general sense of an image being stored as a series of bits.

Just for you to know, JPGs are patented and if you use them without permission, somebody could send some disturbing lawyers against you.

The same with GIFs. Use PNG instead, otherwise, use PCX or BMP if you don''t care about that much compression.

Best regards,


--DK
--H. Hernán Moraldo
http://www.hhm.com.ar/
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MPEG is patented--but JPEG? The decompression scheme is easily accessible online, and so many pieces of software use JPEG casually.

Are you sure?

i am sure

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