[REQ HELP] Need help with Photo shop and icons on map!

[DiveMonkey]

Trying to find a way to put text on the map and replace those ugly icons. I convert dds. to jpeg, than open in photo shop.
paint over the icon and insert text, than save, convert back to dds. and this is what I get...DOH!

[kv29]

try the same, but this time export to BMP or TGA, not jpeg.

[THE_MASK]

Look at the original dds in word and see what type it was DXT3 etc .

[l3th4l]

Sounds like you didn't account for the alpha channel.

You say you've "converted" the file to dds etc.? I'd recommend installing the nvidia dds plugin module. That way you eliminate the need to convert files and can simply open and save dds with photoshop directly.

After you've opened the dds file in photoshop you can see the existing alpha channel inside the channel palette beneath four other entries (RGB,R,G,B). A channel is always grayscale and in the case of the alpha channel white means opaque and black transparent. Depending on which type of dds compression is chosen the interpolation between the two varies a bit.

If you started from scratch and created a new psd you need to manually create a new channel which can be done with one of the buttons at the bottom of the channel palette just as you would create a new layer in the layer palette.

[DiveMonkey]

Originally Posted by l3th4l

Sounds like you didn't account for the alpha channel.

You say you've "converted" the file to dds etc.? I'd recommend installing the nvidia dds plugin module. That way you eliminate the need to convert files and can simply open and save dds with photoshop directly.

After you've opened the dds file in photoshop you can see the existing alpha channel inside the channel palette beneath four other entries (RGB,R,G,B). A channel is always grayscale and in the case of the alpha channel white means opaque and black transparent. Depending on which type of dds compression is chosen the interpolation between the two varies a bit.

If you started from scratch and created a new psd you need to manually create a new channel which can be done with one of the buttons at the bottom of the channel palette just as you would create a new layer in the layer palette.

Excellent plug in for Photo shop
Makes using dds. much easier, No kind of paint guy so this mite take me a while to figure out.

opened in note pad In the upper left corner reads
DDS
DXT5
I take it I should be saving in DXT5?

[l3th4l]

Originally Posted by DiveMonkey

opened in note pad In the upper left corner reads
DDS
DXT5
I take it I should be saving in DXT5?

sh4 supports all dxt compressions afaik. what it comes down to is size and appearance.

i think dxt5 uses a higher compression than dxt3 and using it should reduce the memory usage slightly. there is also a difference in how the alpha channel is interpreted - it is my understanding that one uses discrete (sp?) levels (dxt3) while dxt5 interpolates which can result in less apparent banding and higher quality.

unless you're compressing normal maps (iirc dxt5 has problems when dealing with that) dxt5 is usually the best choice if the program supports it.

if you don't have any partially opaque parts in your texture you can also experiment with binary alpha, i think dxt2 does that. what that means is that each pixel in your texture is either completely transparent or completely opaque, nothing in between.

also try out some of the options that plugin gives you. error diffusion can make a big difference when there are lots of slight color variations for example.

[kv29]

guys, jpeg format does NOT support alpha channel, thats why you have to export to bmp or tga.