In MED, I have tried importing Bit Maps as skins, but I am having some trouble.

Question Number 1: Do I have to match the size (320 x 200 [x 8?]) to import one of the compatible image types?
Question Number 2: Why are all the colors wierd? I have tried importing a 256 and a 16 color bitmap, but there is no change. White still comes out as a hideous shade of pink, and other colors are skewed, as if the RGB values got lost in translation.
Question Number 3: The 3DGS manual says that there is some "alpha" channel that holds the key for transperancy. What is this "alpha" channel, and how do I use it?
Question Number 4: What is MDL/MD2 mapping? What is the diffrence between the two? I realize that I have to get a map of one side of my model to apply a skin image, but how can I get one/multiple image(s) to affect every side of my model?
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Thanks for any help I recieve. I'm pretty new.

1) Your textures size should be a power of 2. It doesn't have to be square, but each length must be a power of 2.

2) I'd recommend just using 24 bit textures. Don't waste your time with 256 & 8 bit colors...

3) Alpha channel just tells how transparent a certain part of an image is. An image (with alpha) has 4 channels [R G B A]. The alpha channel is just like the other [RGB] channels, but instead of color, its transparency. Google it... or wikipedia...

4) MDL mapping just creates simple two-sided UV maps. MDL2 mapping allows greater flexibility with any different angle. These are just ways of creating UV maps, and they can be combined.

Thanks, that was very helpful. But still, why does white come out as pink?

lol, I don't know. Wait, yes I do.

3DGS and (whatever painting program your using) are using a different pallete. 256 color & 8 bit do not store the RGB values, they only store an ID to lookup in the pallete. If they use a different pallete, then it's going to match the ID's with different colors...

Ah. Thank you again, I'll use a diffrent program.

Na, just save it as a 24 bit image...

Unless you want to use 256 color or 8 bit...

Wait! But when I use the draw program within MED (those buttons along the right side of the Skins editor) the colors still turn out wierd. It doesn't matter if I import or not. Is there some kind of change of settings I need to do?

What version are you using? I recommend updating to A6.50.6 (Latest public beta)

Very Noobish Question: How do I do that? Honestly, I have no idea how to update. I don't see the option anywhere...

normally, the update should be in the download section of the gamestudio homepage.