Convertron3000

Convertron3000 is a graphics converter for Commodore 64 computers. It runs on 64 bit versions of Linux, MacOS, Windows and other systems supported by Python.

Why Convertron3000?

Usage

Using Convertron3000 is pretty straight-forward:

• Open some image.
• Adjust the sliders or apply an effect.
• Convert to koala or hires format.
• Save the resulting image.

Dithering

As of now, Convertron3000 offers various dithering methods. As the PIL-library only implements "floyd-steinberg"-dithering, all other dithering methods were taken from the hitherdither library.

Please, take note that all dithering implementations except "floyd-steinberg"-dithering are quite slow when using the "Brightness palette"-mode, which is described below.

Brightness palette

Sometimes converted images look better when applying a palette based on brightness values.

• Select "brightness palette" mode.
• Choose one of the presets ("purple", "brown" etc.).

You can also create your own palette like this:

• Edit the .json file: In the .json file you specify the size of your palette and the C64-colors like in one of the examples provided.
• Open your .json file. You find this option in the drop-down menu under "open custom gradient".
• Choose "custom" as your brightness palette.

File Formats

The multicolor bitmap is stored in the widely-spread KoalaPainter (.koa) format:

• 2 bytes load address
• 8000 bytes raw bitmap data
• 1000 bytes raw "Video Matrix" (screen) data
• 1000 bytes raw "Color RAM" data
• 1 byte background data

The hires bitmap is stored in the widely-spread Advanced Art Studio (.art) format:

• 2 bytes load address
• 8000 bytes raw bitmap data
• 1000 bytes raw "Video Matrix" (screen) data

Authors

• fieserWolF/Abyss-Connection - initial work - https://github.com/fieserWolF https://csdb.dk/scener/?id=3623

Acknowledgments

• thanks to Green/ATW for spontaneously naming Convertron3000 :)
• thanks to people on csdb.dk for commenting and giving ideas how to improve
• thanks to Henrik Blidh for his hitherdither library https://github.com/hbldh/hitherdither which I use

Getting Started

Convertron3000 comes in two flavors:

• standalone executable for 64-bit systems Linux, MacOS/Darwin and Windows (see releases)
• Python3 script

Run the standalone executable

Just download your bundle at releases and enjoy. Keep in mind that only 64bit systems are supported as I could not find a 32bit system to generate the bundle.

Note for Windows users

If some antivirus scanner puts Convertron3000 into quarantine because it suspects a trojan or virus, simply put it out there again. It isn`t harmful, I used PyInstaller to bundle the standalone executable for you. Unfortunately, the PyInstaller bootloader triggers a false alarm on some systems. I even tried my best and re-compiled the PyInstaller bootloader so that this should not happen anymore. Keep your fingers crossed ;)

Note for MacOS users

Your system might complain that the code is not signed by a certificated developer. Well, I am not, so I signed the program on my own.

"Convertron3000" can`t be opened because it is from an unidentified developer.

You need to right-click or Control-click the app and select “Open”.

Run the Python3 script directly

Download convertron.py and the whole resource - directory into the same folder on your computer.

Prerequisites

At least this is needed to run the script directly:

• python 3
• python tkinter module
• python "The Python Imaging Library" (PIL)
• python "hitherdither" library

Normally, you would use pip like this:

pip3 install tk pillow git+https://www.github.com/hbldh/hitherdither

On my Debian GNU/Linux machine I use apt-get to install everything needed:

apt-get update
apt-get install python3 python3-tk python3-pil python3-pil.imagetk
pip3 install git+https://www.github.com/hbldh/hitherdither

Changelog

Future plans

• custom brightness palette editor

Any help and support in any form is highly appreciated.

If you have a feature request, a bug report or if you want to offer help, please, contact me:

http://csdb.dk/scener/?id=3623 or [email protected]

Changes in 1.2

• proper dithering support: bayer-ordered, line dither and some others
• GUI improvements
• moved standalone executables to releases

Changes in 1.1

• transfered whole code to Python3
• great speed improvement, converts much faster now
• new feature: specify image on the command-line, e.g. "convertron.py picture.jpg"
• standalone executables for 64bit-systems: Linux, Darwin (MacOS) and Windows
• GUI design adjusted for MacOS/Darwin
• numpy library not used any more
• documentation
• custom brightness palette now uses .json format

Changes in 1.01

• added licenses
• added to github with proper README.md

Changes in 1.0

• hires mode
• colodore palette
• button: reset color modifiers to default
• start address now in hex
• custom brightness palette (config file)

Changes in 0.1

• initial release

License

Convertron3000 is a graphics converter for Commodore 64 computers.

Copyright (C) 2022 fieserWolF / Abyss-Connection

This program is free software: you can redistribute it and/or modify it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by the Free Software Foundation, either version 3 of the License, or (at your option) any later version.

This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful, but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. See the GNU General Public License for more details.

You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License along with this program. If not, see http://www.gnu.org/licenses/.

See the LICENSE file for details.

For further questions, please contact me at http://csdb.dk/scener/?id=3623 or [email protected]

For Python3, The Python Imaging Library (PIL), Tcl/Tk and other used source licenses see file LICENSE_OTHERS.