Sad over the fact that .zgp (Graphics Pack) is being removed.

[ZoriaRPG]

I don't understand why the developer decided to remove the zgp feature which exports all the graphics (Tilesets, combo table, palettes, etc) and being replaced with the confusing tile pack and combo pack. Now If I wanna make a quest with the desired graphics I created, I'll have to individually import tiles, combo table, palettes one by one which will not work most of the time as there is no compatibility. I'm gonna have to go as far as exporting single tile page one by one which is very time consuming.

What version of ZQ are you using? If you are on 2.55, you can use 2.53.1 to convert the old files by importing them, then exporting them!!

As to why this is happening: We're replacing all of the old loose file formats. They were not future-proof'd, and thus they break in 2.55. The old formats such as .cmb do not store any version metadata, so newer builds cannot read them.

We didn't do this on a whim! It was absolutely mandatory for compatibility with all future versions, and rewriting all of the formats is an obscene amount of disgusting work...

The .zgp was a huge offender: 2.10 .zgp files didn't work in 2.50.You can save .qst and load it for now. This led to .zgp being removed from the databases years ago, and it required DB staff to manually open quests in old ZQ versions and resave them, then open them in modern versions, save them again, and finally replace the .zgp files with .qst files. There was literally no 'planning ahead' with that format: It was designed to only work on the version of ZQ that created it.

2.53.1 allows exporting and importing .ztile/.ztileset, .zcombo and palettes as separate files, and you can import them to both 2.53.1 and 2.55.0. These formats support exporting all gfx elements, so you needn't do them one page at a time.

I have no clue what you mean by no compatibility. All of these formats are far ore compatible than the old, as the older formats had no version metaadata in them. We are still working on them, though.

Just export .ztileset, .zcombo, and .paltte for now. An all-in-one format may be forthcoming, but all of the old <= 2.50 formats are deprecated. 2.53.1 is the last version that will allow importing them, then you can export tge new formats, which will work in all future versions.

You can also now import combos with the option not to replace existing combos, and either as a whole package, or at a specific dest pos and starting combo ID. The new formats are designed to be more robust and offer more options both on import and on export, but we still included full dump/load stuff. We also added the ability to import/export individual enemies, weapons, and items, along with only the tiles needed to use them.

Because of this, the creator can make a small set of files (e.g. .zasm for scripts, .znpc, .zweaponspr), and create a submodule that anyone can load into another quest and just start using it/

If you have suggestions on ways to improve loose asset import/export, you can post them in the Dev forum or on the ZC Dev Discord server.

We plan to have the full feature set done by the end of Dec, 2019.

P.S. To load the old format files in 2.53.1, go to File >>> Import >>> 2.50 >>> type.