Difficulty level: Medium
Hey everyone! The colors that you see on your screen in OpenRCT2 are chosen from a color palette. The color palette looks somewhat like this:
When you create a map in RollerCoaster Tycoon 2, you can choose from four different water colors if you don't use any custom scenery. These water colors are nothing more than a palette swap! Basically, the game is told to use a different color for the colors with which it normally draws the water!
The water color is not the only thing you can change with a palette though. You can change all the colors the game uses! Using this, you can create some great atmosphere changes. In most DKMP contests, it's allowed for players to change out their palettes!
The easiest way to make a palette is to use an image editing program, and simply modify the bitmap image for the normal in-game palette. The bitmap image can be downloaded here:
When you are done editing your palette, you can then go to this website and upload the palette. On the website, you can immediately see what your palette will look like on an example map. You can also modify the hue of a row if you're not completely happy with the palette yet.
When you are done, you can save the palette. You will be asked to fill out some information lower on the page, including your identifier, the name of the palette, etc. When you are finished, click Save and you should get an object with the parkobj extension. This object should be saved in your OpenRCT2/object folder. When this is done, you should be able to find the new palette in your Object selection under the water icon. Make sure the filter for 'Custom objects' is enabled! When you disable the current palette the park uses, you can now select a new palette!
Old method (not recommended)
The old method for making palettes uses a Windows application called RCT2 Palette Maker. I do not recommend using this application to still make your palettes, as it creates .DAT objects instead of .parkobj files, which are way more annoying to work with.
Here you can find a (very old) tutorial for the RCT2 Palette maker application.
Here you can download the old palette maker application (for windows):