#latest vers aaplay.dll
5 messages in this thread
can anybody tell me what the date is of the latest version of
aaplay.dll. I am trying to play a flic file in a window on top of
another window which contains a bitmap. Both bitmap and flic file use
256 colours and as far as I can see use the same colour palette. When
the flic file loads the colours of the the bitmap become solarised.
Once the file is playing both bitmap and flic colours are correct.
Does anybody have a solution to this problem. I have been told that
the problem may lie in aaplay.dll hence my question at the begining
of this message.
<<Does anybody have a solution to this problem. I have been told that the
problem may lie in aaplay.dll hence my question at the begining of this
message.>>
Your problem does not lie in the version of the .DLL. This is a known
problem. There are two main reasons for this. First, FLC palettes are not quite
Windows compatable. Instead of using a palette of 256 colors, you should use a
palette of 236 colors, leaving the first and last 10 palette positions unused
within the animation. These 20 palette positions are the ones that Windows
reserves for its own use. Also, (which it sounds like you are already doing)
you should use the same palette for all FLC's bitmaps, etc… Once you convert
to a palette of 236, use that palette on all elements.
Second, The windows .DLL forces a reinitialization of the palette. this is hard
coded and there is no way to turn it off. However, by following the palette
guidlines above, you should be able to minimize the effect of the palette
flash.
-Brian
Hi Brian,
Many thanks for your very prompt reply – I'll pass the information on to the
guy who is doing all the Autodesk graphics work for me on this particular
project. However, I am almost certain that he has done all the things that you
suggest – i.e. 236 colors with first and last ten left for windows – making
sure that all flcs and bmps use the same palette – and still we get the colour
flash.
The only way we have found of overcoming the problem is reducing the bmp
background to a 16 colour picture. But, for good design reasons, that is not
what we want to do.
The problem seems to be that each time the flic file is played it "reorganises"
the palette – this is presumably what you mean by the reinitialisation of the
palette. As this is hard coded it would seem that we might have to seek an
alternative solution such as converting the flic files to avi.
Any help would be appreciated – we have a gun at our heads on the schedule on
this one <g>.
Best wishes,
Ted P.
<<The problem seems to be that each time the flic file is played it
"reorganises" the palette – this is presumably what you mean by the
reinitialisation of the palette.>>
Yes. This is called a palette re-initialization. And unfortunately we have no
control over it. It happens every time you load a new file, whether the
palettes need it or not.
Usually following the advice I gave reduces the effect to tolerable levels. If
this is not the case, you might get better results by switching over to the AVI
format.
You are not the first to run into this problem, and the development team are
alrady looking at possible solutions.
-Brian
Brian,
Many thanks for your help – it is sometimes nice to know one is not alone <g>.
We have in fact switched to AVI file format and are only using Flic files when
playing animation in full screen.
I look forward to the day when your development people have fixed this.
Many thanks for your help.
Best wishes,
Ted Poulter.