Need help on skinning TGAs

[dmlavan]

I've been working on skinning my first U-boat. First, let me thank Danlisa and Wildboy for their help in figuring out the .dat files and TGAs.

The boat I'm working on is a IXD2, U-181. When she deployed to the Indian Ocean, she had distinctive stripes on the windscreen (the flap the wraps around the top front of the conning tower). After working w/ the Turm tga file, making dozens of colored grids, etc., to see where the parts of the tga get wrapped on the model, it looks like the section that is used for the windscreen is also used for part of the vertical portion of the conning tower. I.e. if I put the stripes on the windscreen, there will be a series of short stripes in the middle of the conning tower as well.

Is there any way to force where on the tga file the skin is selected from, such as when you work in the menu.ini file ?

[JU_88]

Best advice i can give you is to download a 3d editor, you can get wings 3d for free.
Remember how you exported the TGA from the dat? well you can use pack3d to do the same with the 3d model parts of the type 9 and open them up in wings, you can then apply your new skin as you work on it - make life much easier if you can prieveiw all the changes you make.

[dmlavan]

Thanks - will look into that. Having to save, then load GWX, then a mission just to preview it has been time consuming.

[TheDarkWraith]

Is there any way to force where on the tga file the skin is selected from, such as when you work in the menu.ini file ?

Someone correct me if I'm wrong here but I believe that would be UV mapping. You'd have to UV map that area to a 'different' place.

[dmlavan]

RB - what is "UV mapping"?

[TheDarkWraith]

When working with 3D models you 'draw' your object in a 3D modelling program like Wings3D (which i use) or 3ds Max or any of the others. That gets you the 3D shape or form of the object. Now in order to apply a texture to that object (skinning it, adding color to it, whatever you want to call it), you have to tell the object what part gets what texture. You basically outline the sides, faces, etc. to be mapped to a particular area of a certain texture (TGA file) and 'unfold' the item. In Wings3D this is done using the UV editor window. When you export your object to an OBJ file format it will contain the vertices, texture data, normals, faces, etc. of your object so that another program (SH3) can use it and know how to draw the object and texture it.
That was the simplified version.
Do a search for Wings3D tutorials on google. That's how I started learning 3D modelling and all.

[dmlavan]

RB - thanks. I've just started on my first skin and ran into this wall. I think I'm going to shift to a simpler skin first so I can figure out how to use GIMP, layers, etc., but I will definitely try Wings3D since I'm determined not to give up on this IXD skin.