Just a quick clarification...
Are we to assume that transparency counts as a color and only use 4 "actual" colors (much like NES color limitations.), or do we have a full 5 colors PLUS transparency?
Fully transparent does not count to the color limit. If you have colors with an alpha value, make sure that if the translucent color when it is over another color does not create too many new colors. Lets say you have a red with an alpha of 150 and a blue with an alpha of 255, if the red gets displayed on top of the blue then it will make a new colorIf you then add a translucent green for example you will already have 8 colors in total (including white)