.dds ship textures not working...

[Ripperjk]

Ive created a new ship texture (hull2.dds) and followed the customization kit instructions to place it inside a /ship subdirectory within my Mercs directory - yet the texture does not seem to work.

I created a 512x512 bitmap image using the old samples from Legends - and converted it to .dds using 3 different types of converters.

Its a rather simple texture intended for testing purposes but Im not sure what Im doing wrong.

Im guessing there is perhaps, more to the process than Im aware of?

Thanks for any advice =)

[Marvin]

Most textures for Mercenary are in PNG format. Those few that aren't are usually in JPEG format. Unless the Customizing Kit specifically says to use DDS files, I'd give PNG a try.

[Ripperjk]

Unless its a typo - this is from the Mercs customization kit:

To replace the default textures for ships in the game, use a directory name of \\ships and use the following filenames:

hull2.dds = Base texture for civilian frames and components (512X512 recommended)
hull2-0.dds = Color option 1 texture for civilian frames and components (512X512 recommended)
hull2-1.dds = Color option 2 texture for civilian frames and components (512X512 recommended)
hull2-2.dds = Color option 3 texture for civilian frames and components (512X512 recommended)
hull2-3.dds = Color option 4 texture for civilian frames and components (512X512 recommended)
hull2normal.dds = Normal map for civilian frames (512X512 recommended)
hull2shader.dds = Specular map for civilian frames (512X512 recommended)
lights.dds = Emmissive map for lights for capital ships
lights2.dds = Emmissive map for lights for Vonari capital ship
mplane.dds = Base texture for military frames (512X512 recommended)
mplanenormal.dds = Normal map for military frames (512X512 recommended)
mplaneshader.dds = Specular map for military frames (512X512 recommended)
ship1_0.dds = Base texture for capital ship hulls
ship1_0normal.dds = Normal map for capital ship hulls
ship1_0shader.dds = Specular map for capital ship hulls
vonari1.dds = Base texture for Vonari capital ship and small ships (also used to define specular)
vonari1normal.dds = Normal map for Vonari capital ship and small ships


Ill certainly give a .png a try though =)

[Ripperjk]

BMP, JPG, PNG - all a no go for hull textures. I suppose with the shader effects its more complex than Legends.

[Maarschalk]

Hi Ripperjk. Welcome to the game and forum. Hope to see you out there some time. I think you have to use a combination of the mentioned files for the textures to work. I know that transparancy was a factor in Legends with applying textures.

[Marvin]

If the ReadMe says DDS, then DDS is what it should be. Check back every now and then or U2U warsign ... he created quite a few ships and cockpits for Legends and, so far, has released the only custom cockpit for Mercenary. If anyone can help you (other than Vice), it's probably warsign.

[49rTbird]

Hello Ripperjk, Welcome to the forum and the Sim. See you out there sometime.

[Vice]

Is it just showing up black or not rendered at all as though transparent? Did you apply an alpha layer to it before saving it out to DDS?

[Ripperjk]

Just wasnt showing up at all. No alpha was applied - just made a basic .bmp and converted to .dds. Do they require an alpha map? Been so long since I worked with digital art that I think Ive forgotten everything =P

Ive since read that, if I understand right, the normal and shader maps must accompany it and I had only changed the main texture.

Going to mess around with it again tonight and Ill see if I can make some progress.

[Ripperjk]

Well, Ive put a custom mplane.dds, mplanenormal.dds and mplaneshader.dds file into the \\ships folder and I see zero change - alpha channel or no. Used Nvidia's Photoshop plugin and DDS Converter 2 - although Ill admit, the plugin had so many options I was in over my head.

I would assume, if the \\ships folder overrides the default textures that I would see a texture change, even if it was rendering wrong.

Are default textures applied if the custom .dds files dont meet certain criteria?

[Vice]

Default textures would only be applied if custom ones aren't found. So perhaps it is the ship type? Which ship(s) are you observing to look for the change? The 'mplane' textures are for military frames only.

[Ripperjk]

I had used the 'hull2' files previously. Used the 'mplane' files this time since Im flying military craft currently.


Just to cover the bases - my ships directory is:

C:\\sw3dg\\EvochronMercenary\\ships

It does seem like the game just isnt seeing the files. According to the customization readme Ive got the right filenames and the right location - just no results. =)


I have a custom sound directory at:

C:\\sw3dg\\EvochronMercenary\\sounds

Games definately seeing my sounds as they're working like a charm.

[Vice]

Ok, if you'd like me to take a look at them, just include them in a ZIP and e-mail them to me.

[Marvin]

Originally posted by Ripperjk

Used Nvidia's Photoshop plugin and DDS Converter 2 - although Ill admit, the plugin had so many options I was in over my head.

You're not alone. But I think Save option 3 works better ... then, again, maybe not.

[Ripperjk]

Well whaddaya know. Either I did something a bit different this time or that Save option 3 advice did the trick.

Finally seeing the textures ingame! =D

Now to get to work...

[Marvin]

Glad to hear it. Programs with 2-D masks usually use either option 3 or (IIRC) option 5. Sometimes nothing shows up if you use the wrong option ... sometimes you just get poorer quality (blocky gradients or artifacts). Whenever possible, it's usually a good idea to experiment and take screen shots for comparison., be it 2-D masks or textures for a 3-D model.