Vehicle Mod Questions.

[z1812]

Hi All,

I am trying to "re-paint" some of the models but am experiencing problems. For instance the PZ IIIG. I convert the dds body file to bmp. Then re-colour it as I wish. Convert it back to dds. Then prepare it for JSGME. But when I see it in game the wheels are within blocks. The rest of the model is fine but the tread wheels are inside blocks. Anyone have any idea what I am doing wrong?

Thanks for any advice.

Regards John

[Stridor]

Yes, you lost the alpha chan during conversion.

[z1812]

Hi Stridor,

Thanks for the reply. Can you or anyone else suggest how I can approach this so it works.

Regards John

[Erik Rutins]

What tool are you using to convert between BMP and DDS? What Stridor is saying is that you're losing the alpha channel in the conversion, which removes the transparency.

[junk2drive]

What graphics program are you using? MS Paint ain't gonna do it.

[z1812]

Hi Erik,

I am using DDS Convertor 2. It is free. Is there a better one that will preserve the alpha channel? If so can you point me in the right direction?


Hi Junk2drive,

Yes I have Photoshop and some other professional programs.


Regards John

[junk2drive]

For dds I used the MS SDK kit. Big download just to get the dds convertor but it was free, lol.

[Mobius]

John, I do all my skins in 1024x1024 png. I use the alpha channel to make the transparencies not the pink color key. These convert well to dds with the DDs converter.

Later when I release the model I reduce the Normal to 512^2 and have the release skin dds at 512^2. I usually also include a 1024^2 dds that can be used to replace the 512^2 skin to show more detail on higher end systems,

Check the Options in DDS converter to save alpha.

[z1812]

Hi Mobius,

Thanks a lot for the info. I have checked and I did not have save transparencies selected. Again thanks. I will try later and let you know how it works.

Regards John

[Mobius]

John, for an example here is a link to the KV-2 skin. It is 1024^2 png.
You can load the alpha channel and save it to disk. From there its easy to modify the msk file and change the transparency.

(I work in this size but release the model with 512^2 dds.)
KV2 skin