None.
How does SC load images?
Can someone tell me how SC loads images from the mpq files? Does it use one of the functions from Storm.dll? Which address is function to load the image is at?
Do you mean pcx or images.dat/grp images? Pcx images are loaded using storm function #321, SBmpDecodeImage.
Images.dat iscript.bin, and any .lo, and .grp files are loaded to the memory by function located at 004D7180 (1.16.1 address, no arguments, returns nothing), which is called once during the loading screen before main menu. The .grps are not decoded there though, decoding is done every time an image has to be drawn on the screen.
Images.dat iscript.bin, and any .lo, and .grp files are loaded to the memory by function located at 004D7180 (1.16.1 address, no arguments, returns nothing), which is called once during the loading screen before main menu. The .grps are not decoded there though, decoding is done every time an image has to be drawn on the screen.
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Oh i just realized i wasn't clear on my first post. I meant the pcx graphics. I don't think I'm looking for the decoding function, something more like loading the file into memory like Load(data.mpq, "Dir1/Dir2/file.pcx)
Well, all of the files (maybe not .smks) are opened through combination of SFileOpenFileEx and SFileReadFile, is that what you need?
There is an function located at 004D2D10 which does the tedious work and returns a pointer to the file, but it's not used for all pcx files while being used for other unrelated data files:
Some of the pcx files (at least ofire.pcx and other remapping palettes) are just read with the function above and decoded with SBmpDecodeImage, but there is also Storm function #323 SBmpLoadImage, which is used at least when loading the player color pcx.
Can't really tell how it differs - it seems to do both mpq reading and decoding at once, but requires a buffer large enought to fit the uncompressed image, so it is only used when engine knows the image size beforehand?
Also menu images use function #325 SBmpAllocLoadImage, which seems to be the "best" pcx loading function, doing mpq access, memory allocation and and decoding - can't tell what parameters to pass there though.
All of those ways call SFile functions internally though to read from mpqs, if you wish to specify the mpq to read from you'll need to call SFileOpenFileEx by yourself, as the functions mentioned search all of the mpqs that have been loaded with SFileOpenArchive.
..was this even close to what you wished to know?
There is an function located at 004D2D10 which does the tedious work and returns a pointer to the file, but it's not used for all pcx files while being used for other unrelated data files:
Quote
004D2D10 = ReadMpqFile(), arg 1 char *chk_path, arg 2 unk, arg 3 unk, arg 4 char *source_file, arg 5 source_line, ecx open_mode, eax dword *out_filesize (Returns void *file)
Some of the pcx files (at least ofire.pcx and other remapping palettes) are just read with the function above and decoded with SBmpDecodeImage, but there is also Storm function #323 SBmpLoadImage, which is used at least when loading the player color pcx.
Can't really tell how it differs - it seems to do both mpq reading and decoding at once, but requires a buffer large enought to fit the uncompressed image, so it is only used when engine knows the image size beforehand?
Also menu images use function #325 SBmpAllocLoadImage, which seems to be the "best" pcx loading function, doing mpq access, memory allocation and and decoding - can't tell what parameters to pass there though.
All of those ways call SFile functions internally though to read from mpqs, if you wish to specify the mpq to read from you'll need to call SFileOpenFileEx by yourself, as the functions mentioned search all of the mpqs that have been loaded with SFileOpenArchive.
..was this even close to what you wished to know?
None.
Yes thank you, I'll look into all of those
None.
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[04:56 am]
Ultraviolet -- I suppose we'll likely never know, but my guess would be that they already saw it operating successfully and there was no monetary incentive to finish the original work. And the dev cycle in old school Blizzard was so hectic, it's possible it just got forgotten about after the original game got released. Plus there's an element of existing MPQ files that were packaged with the original discs becoming outdated if they updated it. And it's not like they remade the original MPQs, they just made new ones for BW specifically[04:26 am]
Oh_Man -- so that makes me think maybe the theory they are unfinished is not true and its a deliberate design decision, coz why not finish them wen ur making brood war?[04:25 am]
Oh_Man -- the thing is thos buildings are from classic. that means they went ahead and made brood war without ever finishing the 'unfinished' buildings[06:15 pm]
Ultraviolet -- Yeah he's talked about a lot of that stuff in his casts before. It seems plausible. Especially knowing how Blizzard of yesteryear operated.[03:47 pm]
NudeRaider -- to clarify: couldn't recall the behavior for every single Protoss building but I was aware the disparity exists.[03:43 pm]
NudeRaider -- Contained nothing new for me. Didn't know all building's behavior, but very much all unit's. Also Terran balance whine - also nothing new 
[2026-6-19. : 9:57 am]
Oh_Man -- artosis dropped pretty interesting vid: https://youtu.be/EqZHB8Blra4
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