   what graphics format should I use?
  I'm still making 2d games with DirectDraw... 3D is after I refresh my brain in calculus during winter session =)What advantages/disadvantages are there to using one file format over another? BMP, Targa, jpg...is there a format that I should use or want to use for my game? I'm going to write my own loading routines, so format ease is key, and for now I'd like to stay away from integrated compression. Any thoughts or advice would be nice. =) Ultimatley whatever format I use will be pseudo-converted into my own little format (stuck in a large resource file with scripts, sounds, etc), so speed is no issue. I just want to know what people's opinions are.Thanks everyone.   
  It's your choice - tga, png, gif, bmp - no matter which format you are using your images look the same.bmp and targa are extremely easy to read - personally i'm, using targa because of alpha channel - if you have cartoon-like graphics you can emply RLE compression which is a little bit more difficult to read than orinary uncompressed targa but decreases file size.PNG can also a good choice - good compresion but more diffucult to handle.;  If you want good looking images, BMP and TGA are the best when uncompressed.  Between the two, they are almost identical except for the header.  But the TGA format can come with a fourth channel, the alpha channel, that can be loaded into OpenGL and automatically blended or masked.  I don't know too much about PNG or RAW, but I know that JPG and GIF are usually compressed and lose quality that way.  Speedwise, they are mostly the same.  File reads are so quick if done beforehand so it shouldn't be a concern.  No matter what, the art shouldn't be loaded during runtime except during a slow wait scene or something like that.  I use currently both BMP and TGA, only depending on if I need the alpha or not.  The BMP is smaller, but if I need the alpha, I still go with TGA.  I don't ever use any of the others.   ;  Anybody here know of a good TGA tutorial for DirectX? Also, anyone seen a good tutorial on creating a dithering effect on tiles that block the character?   ;Quote:Original post by azjereiAnybody here know of a good TGA tutorial for DirectX? Also, anyone seen a good tutorial on creating a dithering effect on tiles that block the character?A "TGA tutorial"? Not much need for that. There are many free libraries available that read and write TGA files (and other formats too). However, if you want to write your own, here is the specification for the file format:  Truevision TGAª FILE FORMAT SPECIFICATION Version 2.0;  I use PNG, the alpha and compression is great.   ;  I also use png, I've been really happy with it.  It could be a pain to load, but I use SDL_image.  You could also use libpng.   ;Quote:Original post by kburkhart84I don't know too much about PNG or RAW, but I know that JPG and GIF are usually compressed and lose quality that way.JPEG (JPG) uses lossy compression and thus the picture is actually changed and degraded to save space. You can change the degree to which this happens. A high quality JPEG will be large, but low quality will be small.GIF uses lossless compression, so the picture is not changed and no degradation occurs. GIF supports a mask channel (for some very crude alpha). However, GIF only supports a 256 colour palette, and conversion from 24bit to an 8bit palette is where you would notice degradation - this is not due to compression, but a limitation of the format.RAW is probably just the straight 24bit (32 with alpha) pixels. It generally has no other information like size, bit depth, etc. You can't say for sure because often people mean different things when they say RAW - it's not really a standardised format.PNG (pronounced "ping", and my favourite format) uses lossless compression, supports full alpha channels (as does TGA), and supports numerous other things that you'll probably never use, for instance gamma correction. Loading a PNG can be a bit of a mongrel if you use libpng straight, but it can be done, and there are bound to me more "friendly" implementations out there ready to be googled. I prefer PNG since it has much better compression than TGA, and is no harder to use once your loading function is written, and libpng takes care of most of the esoteric bits.[Edited by - Doc on July 17, 2004 10:45:27 PM];  I vote for PNG for just about everything except photos. It's got full alpha and is losslessly compressed. It takes up LOTS less space then a BMP or TGA file, but loses nothing. If you use SDL, loading is just as easy as any other format. PNG trumps both BMP and TGA anytime. Use JPG for photo-looking graphics if you dont mind the lossy compression.   