Sub Skinning Tutorial (here) <------
 

Well I decided to make my own tutorial to the best of my knowledge for others that may want to try and paint some skins for there own submarine or replicate past ones. Now please remember a few things. First thing is that no matter what I do not expect my subs to come out anything like Fubars or some of the others that I have seen on different sites. Second the programs created by users like you and me are the only things that make this possible. So please give thanks to them for there hard work.



Lets start off if your like me then you have probably at one time said that you might like to make your own paint scheme for a sub, Then searched through the different forums and found little or no help in the forums. Atleast nothing that makes it idiot proof. (For some like me we need that :up: ) Well maybe this will help you out.

The first thing you need is to search for the following programs.
1. Chessmaster 10 (found in the mod section sticky near the bottom or search for it)
2. SH3 Extractor (Timetravlers program also found in the mod section sticky near the bottom of the page)
3. A program capable of working with TGA files. I personly use my copy of PSP 7.0 (old one but it works for me) You can also use Photo shop or other image software. You may need to do a search to find a trial version to use)

Start off by installing the above programs to the PC. Make sure to note where these files are extracted to.

Next Open the program called SH3 Extractor. There is a button to the right side that says mass extract. Click on this button and chose the SH3 install directory. This will now extract ALL the DAT. in the SH3 directory to the extracted folder. Wow thanks to Timetravler things are a little easier now :lol: .

Now for some reason I have never been able to get the SH3 Extractor program to repack a project so therefore i use chessmaster 10.

Chessmaster 10 is a very simple program to use. Open the folder on your desktop or where ever you installed it to. (You did take note of this right? :yep: ) Click the icon to start the program. As you can see it is a very simple program just by the interface but also very powerfull. Click the button that says "load chessset" (something along these lines) Should be the very top button. Next you will see a box asking where to look.
Browse to the correct folder for your sub. In my case i was editing a IXD2. For default install it should be.

C: -> program files --> ubisoft --> SH3 --> Data --> Submarines

Once in this file chose the submarine that you wish to texture. When you click on the sub folder there will be a DAT file inside. This is the file Chessmaster needs.

Click on this file.

Chessmaster interface should now show you in simple text that it has extracted the TGA image files.

Now click on the button that says something about viewing the texture files. I believe it is the third button down on the right side. It should be pretty easy to see what one it is.

If the above steps are correct you should be looking at folder with a few TGA files in it. THIS IS WHAT YOU NEED HERE.

DID YOU REMEMBER TO BACKUP THE SUBMARINE FOLDER BEFORE EDITING IT?
iF NOT DO SO NOW BEFORE MAKING ANY CHANGES. MINIMIZE ALL THE OPEN SCREENS AND GO BACK INTO THE DEFAULT SH3 FOLDER
C: --> Program Files --> UBISOFT --> SH3 --> DATA --> SUBMARINE --> *chose your file* Right click and chose the option to copy, now paste this somewhere else so if something goes wrong you wont be banging you head :damn:

Now where were we . . . Oh yeah about to do the fun part. Click on the taskbar and bring back the chessmaster folder and find you tga file. Now depending on what program you use this file may be a number of different icons. Double click on the tga file that has the sub name on it. example. NSSboat_***.tga. One of two things has happened now for you at this point.

a. Your in PSP or some other program with your eyes wide open staring at a picture of a mess of colors (A HUGE PUZZLE) :eek:

b. You recieved a message stating that the following file can not be opened by the program selected because it is TGA and not supported.
You did remember to get the program trial version like i said before correct?? If not go do so now. If so then we need to tell the file to open using the program of our choice.
Right click on the tga file and chose the option for "open with" You should see a list of programs in this box. Find the paint program you chose to use. It should be in the list. If not you may have to search for it. PSP files can be found in
C: --> Program Files --> Jasc --> PSP.**exe

If you did this right you should be looking good but probably a bit confused.

Still with me, I didn't lose you yet i hope. If so im sorry feel free to contact me via forum or message if questions.

For those that are still with me. Your now looking a your sub texture. Not much to look at actually and a pain to figure out but this is how SH3 and so many other programs use tga files. Well lets get to work.

Chose from the list of options at the top menu "create new rastor layer"
What you are doing now is making a new seperate layer that if you mess up can be removed without messing up the original. Layers can also be used and modified to make some really cool effects.

Go over to the left hand side of the screen and lets chose a brush and color. What the heck chose the color blue from the color box at the top right hand side of the screen. (Color palet)

Find what appears to be your torpedo tube doors. Small retangular box probably in the area of the of middle right corner of screen.

Go ahead and paint the doors blue or what ever color you chose. paint away. (You done yet:rotfl: )

Ok now your probably thinking that it looks like crap the paint doesn't blend in its to bright you covered up all the textures and the list goes on and on. Well before you banish me from the forums or come after me with a REAL U-BOAT lol take a look at some of the boxes around the screen and find the one that shows layers. This is a box showing all the layers that you have. Currently if you have followed along there should be two layers. 1 = base layer 2 = layer 1 or whatever you named it. You are currently working with layer 2. Look closely and you will see a box that says normal with an arrow. Click on the arrow and a drop down menu should appear. This is all the functions that can be done using your current layer. I have best results with using the function "overlay". Scroll down to overlay and give it a try. You should see the ugly blue color sorta sink into the original design. Also if the color is not too dark, you should see the rivits and other marking that sorta "bleed through". You can adjust how much off the effect you want visible by using the slider in the same box next to your current layer.

I sugest you play around with the features for awhile and see what your capable of. If you do a search on the net you can find many resources to help with painting guides. Go ahead and play around for a bit with colors and layers etc. Have some fun paint it pink for all i care, just dont launch it that way the guys might be a little embarrassed. :rotfl: Just let me know when you are done.

Ok you now have a uboat that looks like something from a horror film or childrens coloring book not anything like FUBAR's Skins lol. At least if your like me you do. That is ok because this is how we learn what parts are used on different areas of the sub. As far as i know there are no templates for sh3. Therefore you must figure it out yourself.

This is the way i did it. I created another layer and named it "overlay colors"
Then devided the picture into 9 different squares approx same size. This creates a grid that you color in different colored HIGH CONTRAST colors.
Then i color in over the entire image using different colors for each square. Now my pic is looking more like modern art then a submarine.
I go to the box that contains all the layers and select "overlay" as the type of layer i want.
Now all the colors of the grid are transfered over to the submarine tga but not i can actually see the parts and areas.

I do this because in Sh3 some parts of the submarine texture are used more then once and repeat or mirror on the image. This is why the sub texture look more like a puzzle then a picture. They actually are. When you see the grid layout on the 3d model sub you will finally see just how many parts are repeatedly used over again.

Now we are done creating our 3d grid map on the submarine. Time to save the file.

IMPORTANT DO NOT SAVE THE FILE AS A TGA THE FIRST TIME OR YOU WILL BE STUCK WITH THIS DESIGN WITH NO WAY TO REVERT BACK WITHOUT REPLACING THE TGA FILE. :damn:

Go to the menu and click on Save As.
You can leave the file name as the same as the tga for this it wont matter. Now where it says file type you need to find the extension. PSP (if paint shop pro). This may be the default or you may need to scroll to find it. Why PSP and not TGA.

Think of PSP as being able to save an entire art room supplies and all. This allows you to do what ever you want when you walk back in the door. PSP saves all layers and colors and everything. So if you wanted to remove the grid work and trust me you will all you have to do is delete the layer and everything would be back to normal.

Think of TGA as nothing more then the finished product that was produced from that room. The only way to fix a mistake would be to reeneter the room and start all over again. TGA is what they call a merged image. This means that ALL layers merge to become one.

So now you should have saved as a .psp image file. format ******.psp

A .psp file will not work with SH3 it wants a .TGA file due to file size

So repeat the steps above but this time when you save as chose the file type as being a .TGA file. When you do this PSP will warn you that your about to make a merge image. (Did you save as PSP first?) If so there is no worry click yes if not click no and save the PSP file first.

WOW still with me??? Hey you wake up (I'm not that boring am i?) :up:

Ok remember the program chessmaster 10 that we used earlier? We need to use it again so this time if it is not open already, open it up and select the file that you want the DAT for.

C: --> Program Files --> UBISOFT --> SH3 --> DATA --> SUBMARINE --> Find the DAT file you used.

Now using the Chessmaster program extract the DAT files contents to the default location. Just like before (Unless you still have the program open)

Ok now you that you have your new submarine texture go ahead and click the button that says repack (I dont have the program open sorry i think it is the 4th button down right side)

Once you hit that button it will ask you for a location of the file to repack into the DAT file. If you saved everything to the default location then all you have to do is select the tga file of the sub that you edited.

Once that is done the chessmaster program should show all the tga in the extracted folder have been repacked into the DAT file correctly.

WOW alot of work isn't it but well worth it in the end. Makes you feel greatfull for people that have made skins and mods lol.


Wow what an awesome game as i watch the intro movie for the millionth time

Ok your best bet is to go and start your saved career or whatever career you have that you can view the submarine. You can do this through the museum but your going to want to take screen shots.

Ok now you see the inside of your u-boat rocking back and forth sitting in the dock area where the fanfare is playign and people are screaming and waving at you. LOL. Go ahead and pull out of dock. Trust me these people do not want to see this uboat lol the German Navy will probably want to execute you for such a disgrace to their service. :rotfl:

Switch to an outside view now and go to free cam mode. Take a look at your pride and joy sub. :rotfl:

Well not all its cracked up to be lol looks more like a pratical joke. Again before you get upset and send the wolves after me. Take a close look at why we did this. See how the bow section has its own color but depending on what sub your looking at you may see several times repeated textures or colors.

Take some screen captures from all angles. Top, Bottom, Left, Right. You can use these when you go to paint a REAL submarine for reference as to where the parts are and how they are used.


Anyone that wants to chime in on where these files are and how to change only the one for your sub and not the AI please let me know..:damn: I cant find the IDX2 Coning tower to retexture.

So there you have it your now an expert at painting subs. LOL Get to work.
Well not really but at least you see how it is done now and understand the file type and structure. I hope this tutoiral proved to be some help to the community. I'm only trying to give back all that I have recieved. If there are anymore hints or tips feel free to add them to the post.




My thanks to the whole community of SH3 fans for the help
Many thanks to TimeTravlers for his mod
Fubar for tips from inside the forum
and many more...
great job everyone

I think the coning towers are in data\objects
They are called turms ???? lol

Excellent tutorial! Well done William516! :rock:

William516 Welcome!!!

Someone promote that man! No one making such good posts should ever be considered a "Bilge Rat."

aye and this should be stickied! Thanks for the tut.. was long overdue.

Cool :up:

May I include a copy of this with the NYGM Presicope Mod?

Gentleman feel free to include it in whatever you want. Its part of the community. PLease feel free to add whatever you want to the discussion as well because as i stated im new and just learning the ropes. I figured i would simply write down each little step so others could follow along. So far it has worked well for me but i have not finished my sub skin.

As for being long overdue I agree but it often takes someone to simply write everything down. The steps here in the tutorial are not hard but i tried to make it as straight to the point as i could.

Thanks to everyone for all the help, I just read through all the post and started piecing things together. I found out that the reason i could not repack the tga was because they were corrupt.

My crew is now hard at work creating the U-66 paint job. Well also repairing the many damaged sections of ship and not to mention engines.

William
Captain
U-66

Thanks for the kind words :up:

Just read William516 tutorial and I was thinking having a crack at this. William516 mention you need Chessmaster 10 and SH3 Extractor Timetravlers, I found Chessmaster 10 but where is the other one? Can some one point me to it.

Cheers. :)

Check here....
http://www.delraydepot.com/tt/

Also there is a complete tutorial in the works;) Starting from unpacking, to editing tga files, to repacking and enabling.

Is it the SH3 Unpacker I need? Just checking to make sure that is the one.

Yep:up:

Thank You. :D

Excellent Post - perhaps a sticky?

william.. i dont get the last part..can u help me out ?

You now have to make them JGSME ready.

i know what jgsme is.. but what the hell do u mean follow the sh3 structure..
really dont get it...well im a noob :P help help help