diff --git a/Sources/Plasma/FeatureLib/pfPython/pyImage.cpp b/Sources/Plasma/FeatureLib/pfPython/pyImage.cpp
index 5b0fcfbc..7e019a88 100644
--- a/Sources/Plasma/FeatureLib/pfPython/pyImage.cpp
+++ b/Sources/Plasma/FeatureLib/pfPython/pyImage.cpp
@@ -200,29 +200,35 @@ PyObject* pyImage::LoadJPEGFromDisk(const wchar_t* filename, uint16_t width, uin
         }
 
         // let's create a nice name for this thing based on the filename
-        plString name = _TEMP_CONVERT_FROM_LITERAL("PtImageFromDisk_");
-        const wchar_t* i = filename;
-        int charsChecked = 0;
+        plString name = plString::Format("PtImageFromDisk_%S", filename);
 
-        while (*i != '\\' && *i != '\0' && charsChecked < 1024)
-        {
-            i++;
-            charsChecked++;
-        }
+        hsgResMgr::ResMgr()->NewKey(name, theMipmap, plLocation::kGlobalFixedLoc);
         
-        if (*i == '\0')
-        {
-            i = filename;
-        }
-        else
+        return pyImage::New( theMipmap );
+    }
+    else
+        PYTHON_RETURN_NONE;
+}
+
+PyObject* pyImage::LoadPNGFromDisk(const wchar_t* filename, uint16_t width, uint16_t height)
+{
+    plMipmap* theMipmap = plPNG::Instance().ReadFromFile(filename);
+    if (theMipmap)
+    {
+        if (width > 0 && height > 0)
         {
-            i++;
+            if (!theMipmap->ResizeNicely(width, height, plMipmap::kDefaultFilter))
+            {
+                delete theMipmap;
+                PYTHON_RETURN_NONE;
+            }
         }
 
-        name += plString::FromWchar(i);
+        // let's create a nice name for this thing based on the filename
+        plString name = plString::Format("PtImageFromDisk_%S", filename);
 
         hsgResMgr::ResMgr()->NewKey(name, theMipmap, plLocation::kGlobalFixedLoc);
-        
+
         return pyImage::New( theMipmap );
     }
     else
diff --git a/Sources/Plasma/FeatureLib/pfPython/pyImage.h b/Sources/Plasma/FeatureLib/pfPython/pyImage.h
index 86e9337f..95c2a810 100644
--- a/Sources/Plasma/FeatureLib/pfPython/pyImage.h
+++ b/Sources/Plasma/FeatureLib/pfPython/pyImage.h
@@ -168,6 +168,7 @@ public:
     void SaveAsJPEG(const wchar_t* fileName, uint8_t quality = 75);
     void SaveAsPNG(const wchar_t* fileName);
     static PyObject* LoadJPEGFromDisk(const wchar_t* filename, uint16_t width, uint16_t height); // returns pyImage
+    static PyObject* LoadPNGFromDisk(const wchar_t* filename, uint16_t width, uint16_t height); // returns pyImage
 #endif
 };
 
diff --git a/Sources/Plasma/FeatureLib/pfPython/pyImageGlue.cpp b/Sources/Plasma/FeatureLib/pfPython/pyImageGlue.cpp
index bf0c1c01..7670b48c 100644
--- a/Sources/Plasma/FeatureLib/pfPython/pyImageGlue.cpp
+++ b/Sources/Plasma/FeatureLib/pfPython/pyImageGlue.cpp
@@ -285,28 +285,43 @@ PYTHON_GLOBAL_METHOD_DEFINITION(PtLoadJPEGFromDisk, args, "Params: filename,widt
         PYTHON_RETURN_ERROR;
     }
 
-    if (PyUnicode_Check(filenameObj))
+    if (PyString_CheckEx(filenameObj))
     {
-        int strLen = PyUnicode_GetSize(filenameObj);
-        wchar_t* text = new wchar_t[strLen + 1];
-        PyUnicode_AsWideChar((PyUnicodeObject*)filenameObj, text, strLen);
-        text[strLen] = L'\0';
-        PyObject* ret = pyImage::LoadJPEGFromDisk(text, width, height);
-        delete [] text;
+        char* text = PyString_AsStringEx(filenameObj);
+        wchar_t* wText = hsStringToWString(text);
+        PyObject* ret = pyImage::LoadJPEGFromDisk(wText, width, height);
+        delete[] wText;
+        delete[] text;
         return ret;
     }
-    else if (PyString_Check(filenameObj))
+    else
     {
-        // we'll allow this, just in case something goes weird
-        char* text = PyString_AsString(filenameObj);
+        PyErr_SetString(PyExc_TypeError, "PtLoadJPEGFromDisk expects a string and two unsigned shorts");
+        PYTHON_RETURN_ERROR;
+    }
+}
+
+PYTHON_GLOBAL_METHOD_DEFINITION(PtLoadPNGFromDisk, args, "Params: filename,width,height\nThe image will be resized to fit the width and height arguments. Set to 0 if resizing is not desired.\nReturns a pyImage of the specified file.")
+{
+    PyObject* filenameObj;
+    unsigned short width, height;
+    if (!PyArg_ParseTuple(args, "Ohh", &filenameObj, &width, &height))
+    {
+        PyErr_SetString(PyExc_TypeError, "PtLoadPNGFromDisk expects a string and two unsigned shorts");
+        PYTHON_RETURN_ERROR;
+    }
+    if (PyString_CheckEx(filenameObj))
+    {
+        char* text = PyString_AsStringEx(filenameObj);
         wchar_t* wText = hsStringToWString(text);
-        PyObject* ret = pyImage::LoadJPEGFromDisk(wText, width, height);
-        delete [] wText;
+        PyObject* ret = pyImage::LoadPNGFromDisk(wText, width, height);
+        delete[] wText;
+        delete[] text;
         return ret;
     }
     else
     {
-        PyErr_SetString(PyExc_TypeError, "saveAsJPEG expects a string and a unsigned 8-bit int");
+        PyErr_SetString(PyExc_TypeError, "PtLoadPNGFromDisk expects a string and two unsigned shorts");
         PYTHON_RETURN_ERROR;
     }
 }
@@ -316,5 +331,6 @@ void pyImage::AddPlasmaMethods(std::vector<PyMethodDef> &methods)
 {
 #ifndef BUILDING_PYPLASMA
     PYTHON_GLOBAL_METHOD(methods, PtLoadJPEGFromDisk);
+    PYTHON_GLOBAL_METHOD(methods, PtLoadPNGFromDisk);
 #endif
 }
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/Sources/Plasma/FeatureLib/pfPython/pyVaultImageNode.cpp b/Sources/Plasma/FeatureLib/pfPython/pyVaultImageNode.cpp
index a64c5067..1aaea5fc 100644
--- a/Sources/Plasma/FeatureLib/pfPython/pyVaultImageNode.cpp
+++ b/Sources/Plasma/FeatureLib/pfPython/pyVaultImageNode.cpp
@@ -170,6 +170,8 @@ PyObject* pyVaultImageNode::Image_GetImage( void )
             else
                 fMipmapKey->RefObject();
         }
+        else
+            PYTHON_RETURN_NONE;
     }
     
     return pyImage::New(fMipmap);   
diff --git a/Sources/Plasma/PubUtilLib/plVault/Pch.h b/Sources/Plasma/PubUtilLib/plVault/Pch.h
index 80663e1f..9b751c76 100644
--- a/Sources/Plasma/PubUtilLib/plVault/Pch.h
+++ b/Sources/Plasma/PubUtilLib/plVault/Pch.h
@@ -74,6 +74,7 @@ You can contact Cyan Worlds, Inc. by email legal@cyan.com
 #include "pnDispatch/plDispatch.h"
 #include "plDniCoordinateInfo.h"
 #include "plGImage/plMipmap.h"
+#include "plGImage/plPNG.h"
 #include "plJPEG/plJPEG.h"
 #include "plMessage/plVaultNotifyMsg.h"
 #include "plNetClientComm/plNetClientComm.h"
diff --git a/Sources/Plasma/PubUtilLib/plVault/plVaultNodeAccess.cpp b/Sources/Plasma/PubUtilLib/plVault/plVaultNodeAccess.cpp
index 754b6288..47d520aa 100644
--- a/Sources/Plasma/PubUtilLib/plVault/plVaultNodeAccess.cpp
+++ b/Sources/Plasma/PubUtilLib/plVault/plVaultNodeAccess.cpp
@@ -633,18 +633,30 @@ void VaultImageNode::SetImageData (const uint8_t buffer[], unsigned bytes) {
 
 //============================================================================
 #ifdef CLIENT
-void VaultImageNode::StuffImage (plMipmap * src) {
+void VaultImageNode::StuffImage (plMipmap * src, int dstType) {
     hsRAMStream ramStream;
-    plJPEG::Instance().SetWriteQuality(30/*percent*/);
-    if (plJPEG::Instance().WriteToStream(&ramStream, src)) {
+    hsBool compressSuccess = false;
+
+    switch (dstType) {
+        case kJPEG:
+            plJPEG::Instance().SetWriteQuality(70/*percent*/);
+            compressSuccess = plJPEG::Instance().WriteToStream(&ramStream, src);
+            break;
+        case kPNG:
+            compressSuccess = plPNG::Instance().WriteToStream(&ramStream, src);
+            break;
+        default:
+            break;
+    }
+
+    if (compressSuccess) {
         unsigned bytes = ramStream.GetEOF();        
         uint8_t * buffer = (uint8_t *)malloc(bytes);
         ramStream.CopyToMem(buffer);
         IVaultNodeSetBlob(kImageData, base, &imgData, &imgDataLen, buffer, bytes);
-        SetImageType(kJPEG);
+        SetImageType(dstType);
         free(buffer);
-    }
-    else {
+    } else {
         IVaultNodeSetBlob(kImageData, base, &imgData, &imgDataLen, nil, 0);
         SetImageType(kNone);
     }
@@ -654,22 +666,25 @@ void VaultImageNode::StuffImage (plMipmap * src) {
 //============================================================================
 #ifdef CLIENT
 bool VaultImageNode::ExtractImage (plMipmap ** dst) {
-    
+    hsRAMStream ramStream;
+    ramStream.Write(imgDataLen, imgData);
+    ramStream.Rewind();
+
     switch (imgType) {
+        case kJPEG:
+            (*dst) = plJPEG::Instance().ReadFromStream(&ramStream);
+            break;
+
+        case kPNG:
+            (*dst) = plPNG::Instance().ReadFromStream(&ramStream);
+            break;
+
         case kNone:
+        default:
             (*dst) = nil;
-        return false;
-        
-        case kJPEG: {
-            hsRAMStream ramStream;
-            ramStream.Write(imgDataLen, imgData);
-            ramStream.Rewind();
-            (*dst) = plJPEG::Instance().ReadFromStream(&ramStream);
-        }
-        return ((*dst) != nil);
-        
-        DEFAULT_FATAL(imgType);
+            break;
     }
+    return ((*dst) != nil);
 }
 #endif
 
diff --git a/Sources/Plasma/PubUtilLib/plVault/plVaultNodeAccess.h b/Sources/Plasma/PubUtilLib/plVault/plVaultNodeAccess.h
index 83acd6c3..a15ecccd 100644
--- a/Sources/Plasma/PubUtilLib/plVault/plVaultNodeAccess.h
+++ b/Sources/Plasma/PubUtilLib/plVault/plVaultNodeAccess.h
@@ -290,7 +290,7 @@ struct VaultAgeLinkNode : NetVaultNodeAccess {
 //============================================================================
 struct VaultImageNode : NetVaultNodeAccess {
 
-    enum ImageTypes { kNone=0, kJPEG=1 };
+    enum ImageTypes { kNone=0, kJPEG=1, kPNG=2 };
 
     static const uint64_t kImageType       = NetVaultNode::kInt32_1;
     static const uint64_t kImageTitle      = NetVaultNode::kString64_1;
@@ -310,7 +310,7 @@ struct VaultImageNode : NetVaultNodeAccess {
     void SetImageData (const uint8_t buffer[], unsigned bytes);
     
 #ifdef CLIENT
-    void StuffImage (class plMipmap * src);
+    void StuffImage (class plMipmap * src, int dstType=kJPEG);
     bool ExtractImage (class plMipmap ** dst);
 #endif
 };