Extract text from Descent 2 bitmaps (256)
To convert 256 bitmaps to another format, you need Descent II or other Game software.
To convert other file formats to the "Color Palette / Bitmap" file type, you need software like Descent II or a similar tool.
The .256 file extension represents a specific era of 90s computing, most commonly serving as a Descent 2 Color Palette or a raw 256-color bitmap image. In the context of the classic shooter Descent II by Interplay Entertainment, this file acts as a lookup table (palette) that defines exactly which 256 colors appear in the game's textures (stored in PIG files). Without this reference file, the game's graphics would render with incorrect, psychedelic colors.
Users also encounter .256 files as raw, headerless bitmap dumps from legacy Windows applications or Atari 8-bit emulators. Unlike a standard BMP or PNG, a .256 file often lacks the metadata header that tells modern software "I am an image with these dimensions." Consequently, standard viewers like Windows Photos or Adobe Photoshop will fail to open them, treating them as unknown binary data.
To use these files today - whether for game modding, archival, or texture extraction - you must convert them. For visual editing, converting to PNG is ideal as it preserves the indexed color palette without compression artifacts. For strictly extracting the color data for use in other design tools, converting to a standard PAL or ACO (Adobe Color) format is the recommended workflow.
Convert.Guru analyzes your 256 file, detects the exact format, and lets you read the text inside.
Users also converted 265, RGBA, PIX, CPM and HEX files.
If you want to convert 256 file to HEX, you can use Descent II or similar software from the "Legacy Game Color Palette" category. In the File menu, look for Save As… or Export….
To convert files to 256, try Descent II or another comparable tool in the "Legacy Game Color Palette" category.
The history of Convert.Guru began over 25 years ago in California with Tom Simondi’s file-format database. A former contributor to Space Shuttle development and a software pioneer of the 1980s, Simondi established a trusted resource for file type analysis that was even referenced by Microsoft Windows XP. Today, we use modern technology to process and convert thousands of file formats while continually improving our 256 converter.