FLICster 1.0

FLICster is a FLC file utility for working with unit .FLCs for Civization III from Firaxis/Infogrames.
Main Features :
- It can read a Civ III unit animation (.flc) file and split it into 8 standard .FLC files ( one for each direction, N,NE,E, etc ) which can be edited with a standard FLC editor like Animation Shop.
- It can read in 8 standard FLC files and turn them into a CIV III compatible unit FLC (with a truckload of limitations and caveats - keep reading).
- It can spit out a bunch of information about FLC files to help in diagnosing problems.

The FLC format is a file format for animation - a series of still frames, displayed in sequence. CIV III uses FLC files for many purposes, most complex among them for unit animations. Each unit in CIV III has several different animations - run (movement), attack, death, fidget, etc. Each animation is stored in a FLC file. Unfortunately for potential unit creators, CIV III uses a non standard FLC format. For this reason, existing FLC editing programs, such as Jasc's Animation Shop, cannot edit these files. Some programs just crash opening the CIV III files, others appear to work, but any files saved from them will crash CIV III. FLICster was created to address this problem. Keep reading for all of the gory details (at the end of this file).