Talk:GimConv

GimConv.cfg modifications made for rcomage

Rcomage uses a GimConv.cfg (configuration file) edited by Zinga Burga to improve compatibility with rcoedit/rcomage and the GIM formats used in PSP

See: a comparison GimConv.cfg official vs rcomage, and this talk

Help screen

The help screen is just informative, is posted here just to complete the list of changes accuratelly, and because is related with some of the other changes made to the file

• Removed at help screen:

//================================================================
//  gimconv configuration
//================================================================

usage {
	puts "        -F              output in faster pixel storage format"
	puts "        -R              re-convert ( don't swap RGBA <-> ABGR )"
	puts "        -viewer         start gimview.exe when process ends"

}

• Added at help screen:

//================================================================
//  gimconv configuration
//================================================================

usage {

	puts "        -bpp<n>         color output bit depth; n is: 4, 8, 16, 16p, 16a or 32"
	puts "                        4, 8 are indexed; 16, 16a, 16p, 32 are RGBA format"
	puts "        -ps3            output ps3 style GIM"
	puts "        -X              swap RGBA <-> ABGR"

}

Help screen Talk

• The removed -F (to use pixel_order = faster) is because all PSP GIM format uses it, so it was modifyed as one of the default settings (more info below)
• The removed -R and the added -X are related with the order of how RGBA channels are stored in the GIM, it seems -X was useful for PSP (and -R was not useful for PSP). This options are a bit pointless anyway, you should not swap RGBA channels this way by using this options directly
• The removed -viewer is because was intended to start an official gimviewer.exe that has never been published or leaked (the program doesnt exists, so the option -viewer is pointless)
• The added -bpp<n> are the RGBA based GIM formats used on PSP, this list includes some custom formats that was not used officially by sony (but works on PSP)
• The added -ps3 loads a custom option that was intended for PS3 GIM files, but is wrong (more info about this problem below)

Default settings

The default settings used in the GimConv.cfg used by rcomage are problematic for PS3... up to an exent because as mentioned in frontpage at the time you write a command line for GimConv.exe you can write a long line with lot of settings (that are going to override any default setting you consider is problematic or critical for what you want to achieve)

The real problem is when you write a short command line for GimConv.exe (without overriding any default settings), by doing this you are using all the default settings... and this breaks GIM files for PS3

• Changed default settings:

//----------------------------------------------------------------
//  default settings
//----------------------------------------------------------------
	pixel_order = faster		// default normal faster
	limit_image_width = 512		// off $count
	limit_image_height = 512	// off $count
	output_sequence = off		// off on

• Removed default settings:

//----------------------------------------------------------------
//  default settings
//----------------------------------------------------------------
	//  PS3 OSD default settings
	format_endian = big		// -B
	pixel_order = normal		// -N
	pixel_channel = default		// -R
	image_format = rgba8888		// --image_format rgba8888

Default settings Talk

• pixel_order
  • Originally (in the GimConv.cfg released by sony, intended for PS3) it was set to normal (this matches with the GIM formats used in PS3). For rcomage was changed to faster because all the GIM formats in PSP uses it
  • There is not a way to choose a default value for pixel_order that fits with the requirements of all known GIM formats, because one way or the other we are breaking some GIM files (either PSP or PS3), the solution is to override this setting in every "option" you want to use (more info below)
  • In short... this change causes an small harm to PS3 GIM formats, but considering there is not really a single solution to fix this problem... is ok like this

• limit_image_width and limit_image_height
  • Originally (in the GimConv.cfg released by sony, intended for PS3) both was set to 4096 pixels. For rcomage was changed to 512 because the size of the PSP screen is way smaller than PS3 (actually PSP screen is way smaller than 512 but it seems the values of this size restrictions are adjusted to an strict rule of proportions of width x height)
  • This problem affects all images bigger than 512 pixels converted by GimConv.exe GIM2PNG, GIM2GIM, PNG2GIM (and any other supported input image format to GIM). If the image is bigger than 512 it will be scaled down and the output image will have 512 pixels in one of its proportions (either width or height)
  • This settings allows to use the value off (to disable the image size restrictions ?) but when using it returns a WARNING : too large image size <width>x<height> (even with tiny images), it looks like it has a problem when geting the size so is not a good idea to disable this size restriction, instead is better to use the value 4096 that works fine and is what sony was using originally for PS3
  • As explained before... this problem can be bypassed by overriding this setting, either from command line or editing the file GimConv.cfg to create a custom option with the size values specific for PS3
  • Some GIM examples from PS3 with images bigger than 512 pixels in explore_plugin_full.rco:
    • tex_playing.gim (30x900 pixels) https://www.psdevwiki.com/ps3/File:2rjGdbe
    • tex_playing_shadow.gim (30x900 pixels)
    • tex_opt_obi.gim (660x6 pixels)
  • Some GIM examples from PS3 with images bigger than 512 pixels in custom_render_plugin.rco:
    • tex_ps3logo.gim (1200x128 pixels)
    • tex_scelogo.gim (1024x64 pixels)
  • Some GIM examples from PS3 with images bigger than 512 pixels in sysconf_plugin.rco:
    • tex_arrow_anim.gim (120x2280 pixels)
    • tex_arrow_anim_shadow.gim (120x2280 pixels)
    • tex_sce_logo (1024x64 pixels)
  • Some GIM examples from PS3 with images bigger than 512 pixels in ycon_manual_plugin.rco:
    • tex_guide.gim (520x200 pixels)

• output_sequence
  • Originally (in the GimConv.cfg released by sony, intended for PS3) it was set to on. For rcomage was changed to off. I dont really know why, in my tests this setting doesnt changes anything (setting it to either on/off results in the same output files), actually i have it enabled just incase eventually i find is doing something extra (and because originally was enabled by sony), but by now nothing, nada

• format_endian
  • Originally (in the GimConv.cfg released by sony, intended for PS3) this was added by sony as a "override default settings patch" applyed over GimConv.cfg (a section named PS3 OSD default settings) with the value format_endian = big. For rcomage it was removed (so by default it loads format_endian = little instead, that appears some lines before in GimConv.cfg)
  • This is ovbiouslly a problem for PS3, but again there is not a single way to preconfigure this setting to fill the requirements of all GIM formats. PSP needs "little", and PS3 "big", this needs to be overrided inside the "options" specific for each GIM format... or with a long command line specifying this overrides

• pixel_order
  • Originally (in the GimConv.cfg released by sony, intended for PS3) this was added by sony as a "override default settings patch" applyed over GimConv.cfg (a section named PS3 OSD default settings) with the value pixel_order = normal. For rcomage it was removed (so by default it loads pixel_order = faster instead, that appears some lines before in GimConv.cfg)
  • PSP needs to use "faster", and PS3 needs "normal", so again, this needs to be overrided inside the "options" specific for each GIM format... or with a long command line specifying this overrides

• pixel_channel
  • Originally (in the GimConv.cfg released by sony, intended for PS3) this was added by sony as a "override default settings patch" applyed over GimConv.cfg (a section named PS3 OSD default settings) with the value pixel_channel = default. For rcomage it was removed (so by default it loads pixel_channel = default that appears some lines before in GimConv.cfg). In other words, sony overrided pixel_channel with the same value. This setting is pointless, is not doing anything
  • So the removal made for rcomage is not causing any change

• image_format
  • Originally (in the GimConv.cfg released by sony, intended for PS3) this was added by sony as a "override default settings patch" applyed over GimConv.cfg (a section named PS3 OSD default settings) with the value image_format = rgba8888. For rcomage it was removed (so by default it loads image_format = default instead, that appears some lines before in GimConv.cfg)
  • This is a must to override, is one of the most critical settings, there are several values that are supported by PSP and PS3 (index4, index8, rgba5551, rgba4444, rgba5650, rgba8888, dxt5... and maybe more)
  • So the removal made for rcomage is not causing any harm, is needed to override this setting anyway

Options

• Added options:

//--------------------------------------------------------
//  process option
//--------------------------------------------------------
option -ps3 {
	format_style = ps3
	format_endian = big
}
option -bpp4 {
	image_format = index4
}
option -bpp8 {
	image_format = index8
}
option -bpp16 {
	image_format = rgba5551
}
option -bpp16a {
	image_format = rgba4444
}
option -bpp16p {
	image_format = rgba5650
}
option -bpp32 {
	image_format = rgba8888

• Removed options:

//--------------------------------------------------------
//  mode option
//--------------------------------------------------------
option -viewer {
	object_viewer = "GimView.exe"
}
//--------------------------------------------------------
//  process option
//--------------------------------------------------------
option -F {
	pixel_order = faster
//--------------------------------------------------------
//  PS3 OSD specific options
//--------------------------------------------------------
option -B {
	format_endian = big
}
option -R {
	pixel_channel = default
}
option -DXT {
	pixel_order = default
	pixel_channel = default
	image_format = default
}

Options Talk

• -ps3
  • Biggest problem when using this option is you are going to load all the default settings, and there are some default settings that results in a GIM file incompatible with PS3
  • The second problem related with this is wrong in concept, because inside PS3 RCO files are used (at least) 2 different GIM formats (that needs to be build by using different GIM settings), to make this problem even worse in most of the RCO files from PS3 firmware are included GIM files build with different GIM formats... so aplying a single collection of settings for all the GIM files inside a single RCO doesnt works ! (you can be sure some are going to be broken... becaue there are 2 GIM formats you are going to have broken a group of them... or the other)
  • Is not compatible with how rcomage automatizes the PNG-to-GIM conversions (for the same reason explained in the line above), with the actual code of rcomage is imposible to automatize the PNG-to-GIM conversions
  • "format_style = ps3". For some reason sony implemented this "tag" at the time of coding GimConv.exe but is not used in PS3 GIM files !, actually the GIM files for PS3 uses the tag "psp"

• -bpp4, -bpp8, -bpp16, -bpp16a, -bpp16p, -bpp32
  • Are the GIM formats used in PSP, keep in mind this definitions are not including some critical settings that are hardcoded in GimView.cfg as defaults (such the endianess)
  • All this options are optionals anyway, so is not causing any harm to PS3 compatibility, if you dont need them simply dont use them

• The other removed options
  • Doesnt have much importance, could cause problems depending in what you have for default settings in the lines at top of GimView.cfg you should not use this options directly or individually

GimConv.cfg notes (official version)

This is the configuration file released by sony as part of the PS3 Custom Theme Toolbox Note there are some modifications made officially by sony at a later version because GimComv was initially made for PSP (those initial GimComv versions compatibles with "PSP only" probably didnt had this PS3 specific settings), but this public release of GimConv was released as part of a toolkit to build PS3 themes so it has some settings specific for PS3

This group at top on the config file are default settings (for PS3) that overrides other default settings of an older version of GimComv (for PSP). They are overwriting default values because the same option is specifyed before in the file, so the last one overrrides the previous one with the same name (and also was added a new option named extend_edge that should be PS3 specific)

//----------------------------------------------------------------
//  default settings
//----------------------------------------------------------------

	//  PS3 OSD default settings

	format_endian = big		// -B
	pixel_order = normal		// -N
	pixel_channel = default		// -R
	image_format = rgba8888		// --image_format rgba8888

	extend_edge = off

This other group seems to be options for GIM formats used in PS3

//--------------------------------------------------------
//  PS3 OSD specific options
//--------------------------------------------------------

option -B {
	format_endian = big
}

option -X {
	pixel_channel = abgr
}

option -R {
	pixel_channel = default
}

option -DXT {
	pixel_order = default
	pixel_channel = default
	image_format = default
}

option -E {
	extend_edge = on
}

Examples

This is a sequence of image conversions that works as examples for wiki and also as an exercise for practising, the Gimconv.exe options used to create them are discussed on frontpage, -ps3rgba8888 and -ps3dxt5 are the GIM formats used in PS3, the others are just experiments

BMP

The image used for the tests has a size of 4x2 pixels because in RGBA 32bits format the color of a single pixel is stored in 4 bytes and in a hexeditor view by default there are 16 bytes in every row so one row of the image corresponds to one row of the hexeditor

The image is a BMP with 32 bits color depth, and named 4x2_CA5Exy_32bits.bmp, you can click in the image at right in the table below and download it, the small table at left below is a wiki representation of the hexadecimal values of all the pixels

4x2_CA5Exy_32bits.bmp

0xCA5E1100 0xCA5E1200 0xCA5E1300 0xCA5E1400 0xCA5E2100 0xCA5E2200 0xCA5E2300 0xCA5E2400

Offset(h) 00 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 0A 0B 0C 0D 0E 0F

00000000  42 4D 58 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 36 00 00 00 28 00  BMX.......6...(.
00000010  00 00 04 00 00 00 02 00 00 00 01 00 20 00 00 00  ............ ...
00000020  00 00 00 00 00 00 12 0B 00 00 12 0B 00 00 00 00  ................
00000030  00 00 00 00 00 00 21 5E CA 00 22 5E CA 00 23 5E  ......!^Ê."^Ê.#^
00000040  CA 00 24 5E CA 00 11 5E CA 00 12 5E CA 00 13 5E  Ê.$^Ê..^Ê..^Ê..^
00000050  CA 00 14 5E CA 00 00 00                          Ê..^Ê...

GIM PS3 DXT5

• Second most common GIM format used in PS3

GimConv.exe 4x2_CA5Exy_32bits.bmp -o 4x2_CA5Exy_32bits_ps3dxt5.gim -ps3dxt5

Offset(h) 00 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 0A 0B 0C 0D 0E 0F

00000000  2E 47 49 4D 31 2E 30 30 00 50 53 50 00 00 00 00  .GIM1.00.PSP....
00000010  00 02 00 00 00 00 00 80 00 00 00 10 00 00 00 10  .......€........
00000020  00 03 00 00 00 00 00 70 00 00 00 10 00 00 00 10  .......p........
00000030  00 04 00 00 00 00 00 60 00 00 00 60 00 00 00 10  .......`...`....
00000040  00 30 00 00 00 0A 00 00 00 04 00 02 00 08 00 04  .0..............
00000050  00 04 00 02 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 30 00 00 00 40  ...........0...@
00000060  00 00 00 50 00 00 00 00 00 01 00 01 00 03 00 01  ...P............
00000070  00 00 00 40 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00  ...@............
00000080  FF 00 49 92 24 49 92 24 E4 CA E2 CA 55 00 00 00  ÿ.I’$I’$äÊâÊU...

GimConv.exe 4x2_CA5Exy_32bits.bmp -o 4x2_CA5Exy_32bits_ps3dxt5.gis -ps3dxt5 -S

.GIS 1.00

Picture "picture-0" {
	Image "image-0" {
		Format DXT5
		Order NORMAL
		Width 4
		Height 2
		PitchAlign 4
		HeightAlign 4
		PlaneMask 0x00000000
		LevelType MIPMAP
		LevelCount 1
		FrameType SEQUENCE
		FrameCount 1
		Pixels "pixels-0" DXT5 NORMAL 4 2 4 4 {
			0x00000055 0xCAE2CAE4 0x49249249 0x00FF2492
		}
	}
}

GIM PS3 RGBA8888

• First most common GIM format used in PS3

GimConv.exe 4x2_CA5Exy_32bits.bmp -o 4x2_CA5Exy_32bits_ps3rgba8888.gim -ps3rgba8888

Offset(h) 00 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 0A 0B 0C 0D 0E 0F

00000000  2E 47 49 4D 31 2E 30 30 00 50 53 50 00 00 00 00  .GIM1.00.PSP....
00000010  00 02 00 00 00 00 00 90 00 00 00 10 00 00 00 10  ................
00000020  00 03 00 00 00 00 00 80 00 00 00 10 00 00 00 10  .......€........
00000030  00 04 00 00 00 00 00 70 00 00 00 70 00 00 00 10  .......p...p....
00000040  00 30 00 00 00 03 00 00 00 04 00 02 00 20 00 10  .0........... ..
00000050  00 01 00 02 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 30 00 00 00 40  ...........0...@
00000060  00 00 00 60 00 00 00 00 00 01 00 01 00 03 00 01  ...`............
00000070  00 00 00 40 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00  ...@............
00000080  CA 5E 11 00 CA 5E 12 00 CA 5E 13 00 CA 5E 14 00  Ê^..Ê^..Ê^..Ê^..
00000090  CA 5E 21 00 CA 5E 22 00 CA 5E 23 00 CA 5E 24 00  Ê^!.Ê^".Ê^#.Ê^$.

GimConv.exe 4x2_CA5Exy_32bits.bmp -o 4x2_CA5Exy_32bits_ps3rgba8888.gis -ps3rgba8888 -S

.GIS 1.00

Picture "picture-0" {
	Image "image-0" {
		Format RGBA8888
		Order NORMAL
		Width 4
		Height 2
		PitchAlign 16
		HeightAlign 1
		PlaneMask 0x00000000
		LevelType MIPMAP
		LevelCount 1
		FrameType SEQUENCE
		FrameCount 1
		Pixels "pixels-0" RGBA8888 NORMAL 4 2 16 1 {
			0x00115ECA 0x00125ECA 0x00135ECA 0x00145ECA
			0x00215ECA 0x00225ECA 0x00235ECA 0x00245ECA
		}
	}
}

GIM PS3 RGBA8888 with fileinfo

• First most common GIM format used in PS3 with fileinfo ! (colored in brown below)

GimConv.exe 4x2_CA5Exy_32bits.bmp -o 4x2_CA5Exy_32bits_ps3rgba8888_footer.gim -ps3rgba8888 --update_fileinfo on

Offset(h) 00 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 0A 0B 0C 0D 0E 0F

00000000  2E 47 49 4D 31 2E 30 30 00 50 53 50 00 00 00 00  .GIM1.00.PSP....
00000010  00 02 00 00 00 00 00 EC 00 00 00 10 00 00 00 10  .......ì........
00000020  00 03 00 00 00 00 00 80 00 00 00 10 00 00 00 10  .......€........
00000030  00 04 00 00 00 00 00 70 00 00 00 70 00 00 00 10  .......p...p....
00000040  00 30 00 00 00 03 00 00 00 04 00 02 00 20 00 10  .0........... ..
00000050  00 01 00 02 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 30 00 00 00 40  ...........0...@
00000060  00 00 00 60 00 00 00 00 00 01 00 01 00 03 00 01  ...`............
00000070  00 00 00 40 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00  ...@............
00000080  CA 5E 11 00 CA 5E 12 00 CA 5E 13 00 CA 5E 14 00  Ê^..Ê^..Ê^..Ê^..
00000090  CA 5E 21 00 CA 5E 22 00 CA 5E 23 00 CA 5E 24 00  Ê^!.Ê^".Ê^#.Ê^$.
000000A0  00 FF 00 00 00 00 00 5C 00 00 00 5C 00 00 00 10  .ÿ.....\...\....
000000B0  34 78 32 5F 43 41 35 45 78 79 5F 33 32 62 69 74  4x2_CA5Exy_32bit
000000C0  73 2E 62 6D 70 00 41 64 6D 69 6E 69 73 74 72 61  s.bmp.Administra
000000D0  74 6F 72 00 53 75 6E 20 41 70 72 20 31 35 20 30  tor.Sun Apr 15 0
000000E0  31 3A 32 35 3A 30 32 20 32 30 31 38 00 47 69 6D  1:25:02 2018.Gim
000000F0  43 6F 6E 76 20 31 2E 32 30 68 00 00              Conv 1.20h..

GimConv.exe 4x2_CA5Exy_32bits.bmp -o 4x2_CA5Exy_32bits_ps3rgba8888_footer.gis -ps3rgba8888 --update_fileinfo on -S

.GIS 1.00

Picture "picture-0" {
	Image "image-0" {
		Format RGBA8888
		Order NORMAL
		Width 4
		Height 2
		PitchAlign 16
		HeightAlign 1
		PlaneMask 0x00000000
		LevelType MIPMAP
		LevelCount 1
		FrameType SEQUENCE
		FrameCount 1
		Pixels "pixels-0" RGBA8888 NORMAL 4 2 16 1 {
			0x00115ECA 0x00125ECA 0x00135ECA 0x00145ECA
			0x00215ECA 0x00225ECA 0x00235ECA 0x00245ECA
		}
	}
}

FileInfo "file_info-0" {
	ProjectName "4x2_CA5Exy_32bits.bmp"
	UserName "Administrator"
	SavedDate "Sun Apr 15 01:25:02 2018"
	Originator "GimConv 1.20h"
}

GIM PS3 RGBA8888 with fileinfo and userdata

This is a test where has been removed all the paddings, by using an image named NOPADD.BMP and a file named NOPADD.DAT containing the bytes 0x555345524441544141524541 (USERDATAAREA)

GimConv.exe NOPADD.BMP -o NOPADD.gim -ps3rgba8888 --update_fileinfo on --update_userdata on

Offset(h) 00 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 0A 0B 0C 0D 0E 0F

00000000  2E 47 49 4D 31 2E 30 30 00 50 53 50 00 00 00 00  .GIM1.00.PSP....
00000010  00 02 00 00 00 00 00 E0 00 00 00 10 00 00 00 10  .......à........
00000020  00 03 00 00 00 00 00 80 00 00 00 10 00 00 00 10  .......€........
00000030  00 04 00 00 00 00 00 70 00 00 00 70 00 00 00 10  .......p...p....
00000040  00 30 00 00 00 03 00 00 00 04 00 02 00 20 00 10  .0........... ..
00000050  00 01 00 02 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 3C 00 00 00 40  ...........<...@
00000060  00 00 00 60 00 00 00 00 00 01 00 01 00 03 00 01  ...`............
00000070  55 53 45 52 44 41 54 41 41 52 45 41 00 00 00 40  USERDATAAREA...@
00000080  CA 5E 11 00 CA 5E 12 00 CA 5E 13 00 CA 5E 14 00  Ê^..Ê^..Ê^..Ê^..
00000090  CA 5E 21 00 CA 5E 22 00 CA 5E 23 00 CA 5E 24 00  Ê^!.Ê^".Ê^#.Ê^$.
000000A0  00 FF 00 00 00 00 00 50 00 00 00 50 00 00 00 10  .ÿ.....P...P....
000000B0  4E 4F 50 41 44 44 2E 42 4D 50 00 41 64 6D 69 6E  NOPADD.BMP.Admin
000000C0  69 73 74 72 61 74 6F 72 00 4D 6F 6E 20 41 70 72  istrator.Mon Apr
000000D0  20 31 36 20 31 37 3A 34 38 3A 35 37 20 32 30 31   16 17:48:57 201
000000E0  38 00 47 69 6D 43 6F 6E 76 20 31 2E 32 30 68 00  8.GimConv 1.20h.

GimConv.exe NOPADD.BMP -o NOPADD.gis -ps3rgba8888 --update_fileinfo on --update_userdata on -S

.GIS 1.00

Picture "picture-0" {
	Image "image-0" {
		Format RGBA8888
		Order NORMAL
		Width 4
		Height 2
		PitchAlign 16
		HeightAlign 1
		PlaneMask 0x00000000
		LevelType MIPMAP
		LevelCount 1
		FrameType SEQUENCE
		FrameCount 1
		UserData "userdata-0" {
			0x52455355 0x41544144 0x41455241
		}
		Pixels "pixels-0" RGBA8888 NORMAL 4 2 16 1 {
			0x00115ECA 0x00125ECA 0x00135ECA 0x00145ECA
			0x00215ECA 0x00225ECA 0x00235ECA 0x00245ECA
		}
	}
}

FileInfo "file_info-0" {
	ProjectName "NOPADD.BMP"
	UserName "Administrator"
	SavedDate "Mon Apr 16 17:49:10 2018"
	Originator "GimConv 1.20h"
}

This is another test where has been added paddings, by using an image named YESPADD.BMP and a file named YESPADD.DAT containing the bytes 0x55534552444154414152454158 (USERDATAAREAX)

GimConv.exe YESPADD.BMP -o YESPADD.gim -ps3rgba8888 --update_fileinfo on --update_userdata on

Offset(h) 00 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 0A 0B 0C 0D 0E 0F

00000000  2E 47 49 4D 31 2E 30 30 00 50 53 50 00 00 00 00  .GIM1.00.PSP....
00000010  00 02 00 00 00 00 00 F4 00 00 00 10 00 00 00 10  .......ô........
00000020  00 03 00 00 00 00 00 90 00 00 00 10 00 00 00 10  ................
00000030  00 04 00 00 00 00 00 80 00 00 00 80 00 00 00 10  .......€...€....
00000040  00 30 00 00 00 03 00 00 00 04 00 02 00 20 00 10  .0........... ..
00000050  00 01 00 02 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 40 00 00 00 50  [email protected]
00000060  00 00 00 70 00 00 00 00 00 01 00 01 00 03 00 01  ...p............
00000070  55 53 45 52 44 41 54 41 41 52 45 41 58 00 00 00  USERDATAAREAX...
00000080  00 00 00 50 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00  ...P............
00000090  CA 5E 11 00 CA 5E 12 00 CA 5E 13 00 CA 5E 14 00  Ê^..Ê^..Ê^..Ê^..
000000A0  CA 5E 21 00 CA 5E 22 00 CA 5E 23 00 CA 5E 24 00  Ê^!.Ê^".Ê^#.Ê^$.
000000B0  00 FF 00 00 00 00 00 54 00 00 00 54 00 00 00 10  .ÿ.....T...T....
000000C0  59 45 53 50 41 44 44 2E 42 4D 50 00 41 64 6D 69  YESPADD.BMP.Admi
000000D0  6E 69 73 74 72 61 74 6F 72 00 4D 6F 6E 20 41 70  nistrator.Mon Ap
000000E0  72 20 31 36 20 31 37 3A 35 31 3A 31 34 20 32 30  r 16 17:51:14 20
000000F0  31 38 00 47 69 6D 43 6F 6E 76 20 31 2E 32 30 68  18.GimConv 1.20h
00000100  00 00 00 00                                       ....

GimConv.exe YESPADD.BMP -o YESPADD.gis -ps3rgba8888 --update_fileinfo on --update_userdata on -S

.GIS 1.00

Picture "picture-0" {
	Image "image-0" {
		Format RGBA8888
		Order NORMAL
		Width 4
		Height 2
		PitchAlign 16
		HeightAlign 1
		PlaneMask 0x00000000
		LevelType MIPMAP
		LevelCount 1
		FrameType SEQUENCE
		FrameCount 1
		UserData "userdata-0" {
			0x52455355 0x41544144 0x41455241 0x00000058
		}
		Pixels "pixels-0" RGBA8888 NORMAL 4 2 16 1 {
			0x00115ECA 0x00125ECA 0x00135ECA 0x00145ECA
			0x00215ECA 0x00225ECA 0x00235ECA 0x00245ECA
		}
	}
}

FileInfo "file_info-0" {
	ProjectName "YESPADD.BMP"
	UserName "Administrator"
	SavedDate "Mon Apr 16 17:51:29 2018"
	Originator "GimConv 1.20h"
}

GIM PS3 RGBA8888 multiple images merged

It works ! better examples later

C:\Copy of GimConv 01>GimConv.exe NOPADD.BMP YESPADD.BMP -o multiimage.gim -ps3rgba8888 --update_fileinfo on --update_userdata on --merge_mode image
load "NOPADD.BMP"
load "YESPADD.BMP"
import "YESPADD.dat" ( 13 bytes )
save "./multiimage.gim"

C:\Copy of GimConv 01>GimConv.exe NOPADD.BMP YESPADD.BMP -o multiimage.gis -ps3rgba8888 --update_fileinfo on --update_userdata on --merge_mode image -S
load "NOPADD.BMP"
load "YESPADD.BMP"
import "YESPADD.dat" ( 13 bytes )
save "./multiimage.gis"

GIM PS3 RGBA8888 multiple frames merged

C:\Copy of GimConv 01>GimConv.exe NOPADD.BMP NOPADD.BMP NOPADD.BMP -o multiframe.gim -ps3rgba8888 --update_fileinfo on --update_userdata on --merge_mode frame
load "NOPADD.BMP"
load "NOPADD.BMP"
load "NOPADD.BMP"
import "NOPADD.dat" ( 12 bytes )
save "./multiframe.gim"

C:\Copy of GimConv 01>GimConv.exe NOPADD.BMP NOPADD.BMP NOPADD.BMP -o multiframe.gis -ps3rgba8888 --update_fileinfo on --update_userdata on --merge_mode frame -S
load "NOPADD.BMP"
load "NOPADD.BMP"
load "NOPADD.BMP"
import "NOPADD.dat" ( 12 bytes )
save "./multiframe.gis"

TM2 (PS1, PS2, PSP)

GimConv.exe can convert and create TM2 files, see https://wiki.vg-resource.com/wiki/TIM2 you can get some TM2 samples here: http://www.ps2-home.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=81&t=1197

The conversion from TM2 to an standard format as PNG or BMP is as easy as this:

GimConv.exe IGR_BG.TM2 -o IGR_BG.PNG

To create a TM2 mimicking the original settings from other TM2 (for replacing purposes) is not so easy because at the time of convrsion it seems are applyed some of the settings and options of GimConv.cfg

AVI

GimConv.exe can import AVI files that was created with compatible codecs (XVID works, IV41 doesnt), you can get a sample.avi here: http://techslides.com/sample-files-for-development

GimConv.exe sample.avi -o sample.gim

GimConv.exe sample.avi -o sample.gis -S

DDS

See: Multimedia Formats and Tools#DDS GimConv.exe can import compatible DDS formats, there are a lot of DDS variants though (DXT based formats are supported, and cubemap 3D textures doesnt seems to be supported). Some of the more complex featurs of GimConv.exe are directly related with DDS... in other words only can be achievd by importing a DDS file that already contains the "features" that are going to be stored in the GIM... alternativelly it looks like is posible to achieve the same goal by building the GIM from other imput formats and using the merge_mode settings, this is hardcore though and needs some scripts or additionall code to manage GimConv.exe features in a automated way

Some samples here: https://github.com/Jam3/parse-dds/tree/master/test/fixtures

GimConv.exe test-dxt5.dds -o test-dxt5.gim

GimConv.exe test-dxt5.dds -o test-dxt5.gis -S

• Notes:
  • Max number of mipmaps = 8 (otherway returns the error WARNING : too many image level count %s). This restriction can be bypassed by changing the default setting: limit_level_count = 8 on GimConv.cfg
  • Cubemaps not supported

• Links
  • https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/windows/desktop/bb153349(v=vs.85).aspx
  • https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/S3_Texture_Compression
  • https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cube_mapping
  • http://wiki.polycount.com/wiki/Mip_Mapping
  • https://developer.nvidia.com/nvidia-texture-tools-adobe-photoshop