I edited the files with GIMP, made them the size indicated in this thread, saved them as "Windows bitmap" BMP (which I guess is the 24-bit version). ... HELP?
You guess wrong. GIMP default save is 32-bit, you must manually check the 24-bit radio button (there will be a window after you click "save").
Anyone having trouble with the game crashing when picking a custom portrait? I've tried with several different ones and as soon as I click one the game crashes.
I still don't see the custom button under the default portraits and I don't know why. I created a portraits folder in the correct location and added portraits of the correct format and dimensions
@Nic_Mercy I mean with the CAPITAL P. Otherwise, BG:EE won't see it. Old DOS Kernel issue where cap and lowcase were seen as totally different letters.
You'll have to create it--sorry, I should have mentioned that. Create a folder called "override", and put anything in there that you want to change the game.
@Nic_Mercy Did you open them in MS PAINT and Save as (choosing 24 bit BMP), as well as double-verifying size? It has to exactly match and, I'm told, be 24 bit color bmp for BG:EE to read them as valid.
@Nic_Mercy Did you open them in MS PAINT and Save as (choosing 24 bit BMP), as well as double-verifying size? It has to exactly match and, I'm told, be 24 bit color bmp for BG:EE to read them as valid.
Hope this works for you
My issue was resolved earlier in the thread but ty for replying. My problem was the name of my pic was too long. Apparently the name cant be more than 7 characters plus the L/M/S. Mine was too long (NICMERCY_L .bmp for example). I renamed to NICL.bmp and it worked fine after that.
Ok I have named the AnL AnS and they are 24 bit bmp and the folder is named Portraits, but the image does not show up in the game even though i can see custom button and click on it.
Regarding custom portraits for your NPCs, you can actually use the same portraits/ folder you use for uour main character (rather than using an override directory). As always, the filename does need to match the expected name for a given NPC (IMONEM/IMOENS for Imoen, JAHEIRAM/JAHEIRAS for Jaheira, BRANWEM/BRANWES for Branwen, etc.) I have custom portraits for all of my NPCs using this folder, and it works fine.
I will note that the new NPCs are by default using some of the new portraits, and if your protagonist is using that same portrait, the NPC will have a different one (pulled from the standard portrait list) when you meet them, and this customization does not work. To fix this, I ended up choosing a different portrait for my protagonist, and reloading to before I met the NPC. Then, when I met them, they used their default portrait, and, when I added custom portraits with that filename, they switched to that custom portrait.
Hey, I used these instructions yesterday to give my char a custom portrait and it worked just fine, but the today when I loaded my save game my picture had been replaced with a question mark over a silhouette of a head.
Then when I tried to go to the character sheet/menu my game crashed. It does the same thing every time I try, and my other saves (auto save etc.) have the same problem. I can go to the character menus of the rest of my party, just not my main char.
Is this a problem with my custom portrait or some other kind of bug?
Edit: I went to the character creator to check if the portrait was visible there and it was.
Finally got my pics to work. Apparently, MSPaint was not saving the files as 24 bit even though I specifically told it to do so. Right-clicking and checking the properties of the portraits files was telling me that the images were still in 32 bit format. Finally used GIMP and made sure the formats got saved correctly, so if anyone is using MSPaint to save, I'd try something else.
Just an idea i Created an character on my old copy of Dragon Age 2 and uploaded it to the Bioware website. then just saved the image and it is now the portrait for my BG char.
Since a lot of folks seem to have questions about resizing portraits in MS PAINT here is the exact procedure to follow. I'm using Windows 7, but Paint really isn't very different in other versions.
1. Open the image you want in Paint. 2. In the toolbar click "Image". 3. In the drop down menu click "resize". 4. A new window opens titled "Resize and Skew". 5. In the Resize section make sure "Pixels" is checked, not "Percentage". 6. Make sure "Maintain aspect ratio" is NOT checked. 7. All the sizes listed in this thread are "Horizontal x Vertical". Enter those numbers in the appropriate boxes. 8. Click Ok. 9. Click "Save as" in the menu offered click BMP. 10. A new window opens for the folder you are saving the images to. 11. At the bottom in the line offered for "File name" type the name you want followed by the size "NAMEL" or "NAMEM" or "NAMES". The name must be 8 characters or less INCLUDING the size letter (S, M, or L). 12. In the line below that for "Save as type" choose "24-bit bitmap (.bmp)" from the drop down menu. 13. Done. Place in the appropriate directory.
Paint in XP doesn't seem to have the nifty resizing by pixels options, so I've resized by percentage (from L to M it's 82% and from M to S it's 31%) and cropped off the 1-2 pixels needed to get to the perfect size. If there's an easier way for this, do let me know ^_^ But this works too.
Comments
C:\Users\user name\Documents\Baldur's Gate - Enhanced Edition\Portrais
Yep! http://forum.baldursgate.com/discussion/comment/151685/#Comment_151685
Hope this works for you
I will note that the new NPCs are by default using some of the new portraits, and if your protagonist is using that same portrait, the NPC will have a different one (pulled from the standard portrait list) when you meet them, and this customization does not work. To fix this, I ended up choosing a different portrait for my protagonist, and reloading to before I met the NPC. Then, when I met them, they used their default portrait, and, when I added custom portraits with that filename, they switched to that custom portrait.
Then when I tried to go to the character sheet/menu my game crashed. It does the same thing every time I try, and my other saves (auto save etc.) have the same problem. I can go to the character menus of the rest of my party, just not my main char.
Is this a problem with my custom portrait or some other kind of bug?
Edit: I went to the character creator to check if the portrait was visible there and it was.
1. Open the image you want in Paint.
2. In the toolbar click "Image".
3. In the drop down menu click "resize".
4. A new window opens titled "Resize and Skew".
5. In the Resize section make sure "Pixels" is checked, not "Percentage".
6. Make sure "Maintain aspect ratio" is NOT checked.
7. All the sizes listed in this thread are "Horizontal x Vertical". Enter those numbers in the appropriate boxes.
8. Click Ok.
9. Click "Save as" in the menu offered click BMP.
10. A new window opens for the folder you are saving the images to.
11. At the bottom in the line offered for "File name" type the name you want followed by the size "NAMEL" or "NAMEM" or "NAMES". The name must be 8 characters or less INCLUDING the size letter (S, M, or L).
12. In the line below that for "Save as type" choose "24-bit bitmap (.bmp)" from the drop down menu.
13. Done. Place in the appropriate directory.