TIM File Breakdown

My method of TIM construction. Also known as Oh MY GOD! more hex editing.



Example is a 2 palette RE1 TIM file (Cut out of the EMD)

The header is always the first two rows (0-13hex). The header is always slightly different depending on if it is an 8bit, 16 bit TIM and depending on how many Sections the TIM has. Appendix: RE1 can't use 16bit tim files. RE2 Can under windows 98, under XP it has hissy fits. Never tried 16bit tims on RE3.

Each pallete is always 200Hex and the first one starts at 214hex (the 2nd would be 414hex, 3rd would be 614 and so forth).

The resolution is 12hex long. it may not necesarrily be to do with the resolution but its always different on different sized TIM Files.

The image data is the pixel by pixel colourisation. Runs to the end of file (except in PLDs/RE1 EMDs, watch out for their pointers).

If you plan to put together 2+ palette TIMs make sure one of the TIMs you make has all three sections in the image, with the other two sections loaded so they use the firsts pallette NOTE: They need to be loaded with the Pallette index kept intact, this will make the other sections the wrong colours but the game will correct it. You also make TIM files for the individual Pallettes for the other sections.

E.G:



With the example I made Steve's body section use the heads palette (bottom image). Don't worry if it looks wierd. Just remember colour 1 on one palette will be a different colour on another.You need one TIM to be a complete image to use as the donar image data as well as a palette donar You also need other TIMs made as the palette donars for the other parts.

Break Down:

Tools Needed: Hex Editor, Whatever to TIM converter, BRAIN.

1) Make 1 TIM with all Sections (With all sections loaded to use one palette preserving Palette index)
2) Make other TIM files for the other sections so you got Palettes for them.
3) Cut out from an original Capcom tim the palettes. Then paste in order from left to right your custom made TIM Palettes.
4) Cut out the original image data after the resolution header. Then Cut and paste across yours from your complete TIM.
5) Save and you are done.

Note: Remember to use the original TIM for the model. It saves complications later

Its not much more complicated to do the tim editing within a PLD for RE2/3 or EMD for RE1, Just remember in those you can't cut right to the end of file as at the end they have important Pointers.

Makes Sense? YES/NO?

Common Issues

Faulty Colours/Skin Pague on Player Models (Most common on RE2)

This is caused by two things.

1. Graphics Card
2. The fact that the Player model's second palette only uses 240 colours as the game loads in the guns TIM in the little grey square box on the TIM and also imports the Guns TIM Palette and adds it to the 2nd palette.

For some reason, some graphics cards happily ignore this issue if you use 256 colours in the 2nd palette. Others do not. Its just pot luck. ATI cards seem to ignore it. On System Memory it will occur.

Solution: Make the 2nd Palette only 240 colours. Most paint applications will allow you to decrease the colour depth to x number of colours. Tell it to do this to 240 and the remaining 15 will just be black and not used.

There is a hole in my model, its still there.

This is caused by the first colour of a palette (in RE2 and RE3. Sometimes in RE1) being a mask, making it see through. Easy solution is once you've created a tim, edit the palette and change the first colour to bright purple. You will then see what uses the first colour. If there are holes and your colours are mainly black, save the palette with the Bright purple as the first colour, edit the palette again and make the first and second colours the same. Then load the palette you just saved using nearest colour match. This will make all the colours that were colour 1, colour 2. Most paint applications put the blacks near the begining and the 1st and 2nd colour blacks have very little difference in shade.

I modifited it

Wow, with all the hex editing you do I'm amazed you haven't had a mental breakdown as well.

Anyways, my nVidia GeForce 3 Ti 200 gives me that problem, but the only paint program I have is.... well, MSpaint. Any suggestions on a free program that can get the job done? In the mean time I'll google search for some.

Here are 2 that I know of. I have GIMP but I don't use it because I have PaintShopPro. I've never used Paint.NET but I've heard about it somewhere so I figured I'd post it.

GIMP
www.gimp.org

Paint.NET
http://www.getpaint.net/download.html

Try setting RE2 to 3d Rage Pro. I'm Running a Geforce 6800 GT and under any kind of nvidia mode RE2 is either broken graphics or fast, or sluggish, where as with it set to 3d rage pro, I get no graphic tears, the game runs at a reasonable speed.

I switched over the video mode to 3D rage pro, it runs really well now and I don't even need to have windows media player open. Still having problems with the see through skins though, I'll have to mess around with gimp when I have the time.

Thanks -Rusty- for the links and Enrico for the 3D rage pro tip.

Do you mean:

1. Have the original skin which we are going to mod on. The skin should have all the 3 sections of image which we are going to mod on.
2. Have the TIMs containing each (or the modded) sections.
3. Open the original skin in a hex editor. Replace the palette(s) from the original skin with the palette(s) from the modded skin.
4. Replace the image data in the original skin with the image data from the modded skin.

Am I right? Sorry for my awful English.