Corrupted image files in pic.mpq?

[Abelhawk]

Hi, I'm trying to find all the original "portrait" images in LOMSE—as in, the ink-on-parchment closeup pictures of all the champions and units in the game. I was able to extract pic.mpq, convert the file types to .lbm, and then view them using XnView, but a huge majority of the images (I'm almost positive they're the portraits I'm looking for based on their scrambled colors) seem to be corrupted. Does anyone know if there's a more secure way to export those image files? It also seems to be missing random other things; for instance, it has all the closeups of the Mage Towers, including the destroyed versions, but none of the Barracks or Thieves Guilds. I also can't seem to find any of the spell icons.

Any help would be appreciated!

[tloya]

.lbm files are finicky. The only program I've found that will properly load and convert them to other image formats is IrfanView (https://www.irfanview.com/).

Within pic.mpq all of the building close-up images are under pic/lbm/building. The spell icons are all in a single file, SPELLS.LBM, in the pic/lbm directory.

[Abelhawk]

They're organized in folders? All I've seen from my MPQ editor are thousands of files called File00012.xxx. I'll check that out though. Thanks!

[tloya]

Jan 3, 2024 20:32:14 GMT -6 Abelhawk said:

They're organized in folders? All I've seen from my MPQ editor are thousands of files called File00012.xxx. I'll check that out though. Thanks!

Sounds like you need to download the listfile for Lords of Magic so that the files will be properly indexed - it's just a big text file that contains all of the file paths to be assigned to the files in the mpqs. Mantera's page has a download link with a zip file containing the listfile for Lords of Magic as well as all of the other old games that used .mpq format to compress game files (mostly old Blizzard titles like Starcraft and Warcraft 3).

mantera.xorgate.com/downloads/listfiles.zip

For Ladik's MPQ Editor you drop the listfile in a folder (e.g. Program Files/Ladik MPQ Editor/x64/Listfiles) and then in the program under Tools > Options make sure the listfile path is set to that folder. For WinMPQ same process but Options > File Lists and add the file or folder as appropriate.

Once the listfile has been loaded you should be able to see the actual folders and filenames when you unpack the .mpq files.

Note if you've installed the game from Steam or GOG rather than the original disc then the GS.mpq file may have a bunch of unindexed files that will still come through as "File00000001.xxx" - as far as I know these are just files that were changed in the modern releases of LOMSE to keep the game playable on modern computers (mainly by throttling the scroll speed) and the images in pic.mpq shouldn't be affected.

[Abelhawk]

I can't seem to access that site, but it's fine. I've already renamed so many files by hand I may as well just do the rest.

I can't find the SPELLS.lbm file you mentioned, though. The only thing in my pic/lbm file is newgame2.iff, which is some kind of loading screen.

While I've got you here, what's in the imp.mpq and the gs.mpq files? They're also full of .xxx files but I'm not sure what they're supposed to be.

[Boaster]

I use Jasc Paintshop pro, which can open the LBMs, and can also save them, but it doesn't save them like the game can read... idk why that would be.

Some of the images inside of the game, when extracted, do seem to come out corrupted. The Vampire pic is one that I can recall. If WinMPQ didn't do it, Ladik MPQ did.

[tloya]

Jan 4, 2024 8:41:07 GMT -6 Abelhawk said:

I can't seem to access that site, but it's fine. I've already renamed so many files by hand I may as well just do the rest.



I can't find the SPELLS.lbm file you mentioned, though. The only thing in my pic/lbm file is newgame2.iff, which is some kind of loading screen.



While I've got you here, what's in the imp.mpq and the gs.mpq files? They're also full of .xxx files but I'm not sure what they're supposed to be.

Hm... I guess the direct hyperlink to the Listfile zip doesn't work.

What you can do is go to Mantera's Lords of Magic website:
mantera.xorgate.com/website.html

Then click "Downloads" on the left sidebar (it's near the bottom, not the "GS5 Download" but further down) and you should see "List Files" about midway down the page. That direct download link should work.

The website for Ladik's MPQ editor also has a listfile package which includes Lords of Magic:
www.zezula.net/en/mpq/download.html
(See "Listfiles for MPQ Archives" at the bottom)

To clarify on pic/lbm, I guess I technically should have said the lbm folder within the pic.mpq archive. The mpq subfolders become visible when opened using a listfile. The Lords of Magic install directory does also have that random separate pic/lbm folder with that necromancer promo screen that as far as I know isn't actually used in the game.

Jan 4, 2024 16:58:39 GMT -6 Boaster said:

I use Jasc Paintshop pro, which can open the LBMs, and can also save them, but it doesn't save them like the game can read... idk why that would be.



Some of the images inside of the game, when extracted, do seem to come out corrupted. The Vampire pic is one that I can recall. If WinMPQ didn't do it, Ladik MPQ did.

Extracting with Ladik's seems to work for pic.mpq/portrait/decr3p00.lbm - vampire portrait opened and converted fine in IrfanView for me (also decr05p00.lbm which is the same image - I wonder if there was originally going to be a different Death legendary creature than the lich?).

A year or two ago I tried screwing around with editing/reimporting portraits... managed to get one that loaded in the game but the colors were all messed up. Not sure what the trick is to get a clean import.

[Boaster]

The palette order, and also making sure FF0000 and 00FF00 are the first two colors of the palette, even though they're for transparencies and translucencies. An artifact or portrait may not actually use those colors, but they still need to be present.

[Abelhawk]

Found it! The spells image I mean. And it looks like there aren't any corrupted images at all, which is a relief. IrfanView really worked great.
Thanks for your help!