Hi Whit, Use .gif for the counters. They are so small that the file size will be insignificant. Maps are a different matter because they are so large (in screen realestate).
Very general rule of thumb: If it's line-art, use .gif or .png If it's a digital photograph (or photo like quality like icons of tanks), use .jpg. .jpg is a lossy format and will "fudge" the surrounding colors in a photograph to give it a soft looking transition. For counters, MSPaint will work just fine as mentioned, though you're limited on the tools that you can use. Personally, I would see if I could land a cheap copy of (perhaps an older version of) Paint Shop Pro. It's fairly simple to use with Photoshop like power at a fraction of the cost. I took a quick peek at the "Just Buttons" program and it appears to be like a program that I had many moons ago (forget the name) but it basically put pretty bevels on the edges of *existing images* or *predefined templates*. In otherwords, if you had the counters drawn already, it would put a pretty edge on them, but as far as using it to add NATO symbols and tanks to the counter, I *don't think* that this will be a program that can handle that for you. GJK At 03:36 PM 8/7/2006, you wrote: >Brentt... > >A million thanks, but, my God, I feel a though I've just been >round-housed. > >I am going to print your reply and refer to it continually. I am not >at all up to your level of skill (will never be) and don't know >anything about a script, except that they used to be used in plays. > >I do have a decent hankering to complete a set of nice, active >counters for that ridiculous game and will keep on getting politely >hammered by you guys until I get it done (I hope). > >Thanks to you, at least I know that I don't want .bmps--that is a BIG >piece of knowledge. So, what I want, then, is a program that can >handle lossy files, like jpeg? (I thought .gif preserved the >attributes.) Anyway, you can see that I'm really swimming in circles >about now. > >Brent, could you (or anyone--Gary?) possibly check this link and >determine if this program could help me (I need a program that would >do some things for me--don't think I could handle the GIMP\Photoshop >route)? http://www.lincolnbeach.com/justbuttons.asp I have an >outstanding question to tech support (they replied kind of >non-responsivley, prob. due to my confusing them) about whether I can >create counters w/ complete freedom to add, delete, and change elements. > >Thanks so much for your time, and I'll continue to chip away at this. > > >All Regards, > > >Whit Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/vassalengine/ <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
