How do I make a start screen?

I have multiple (4) installs of SH 1.5. I would like different start screens for each one. I have one from Webster, but I would like to make some myself.
Any help will be appreciated.

[peabody]

Originally Posted by dimwit

I have multiple (4) installs of SH 1.5. I would like different start screens for each one. I have one from Webster, but I would like to make some myself.
Any help will be appreciated.

Depends on what you consider the "Start Screen". I am assuming you mean the sub with the Silent Hunter UBoatMissions Logo on it? You need a program capable of handling .dds files. And the background pic and the logo elements are in data\Menu\Loading folder. Make backups and change to whatever you want. Just remember they are .dds with an alpha channel (selection) so the whole logo doesn't show only the defined shape.

Peabody

just make a copy of my mod, then replace the picture with one of your own choosing.

the key is to make the photo to be the right size and format so it looks good and works in the game.

open my photo and select the change size feature so it shows you the size, then make a copy of your photo in the DDS format and size it to the same as mine. close is usually good enough, if not you just reopen it and make it bigger.

now that its sized right and in DDS format you must name it exactly the same as the file it is to replace, in this case "Intro_logo_bkg" and thats it.

you just made your own new start screen mod so give it a name

Thanks Guys

[IronPerch]

...by the way is there a mod for changing all the loading screens, menu backgrounds and the rest of that stuff? I like the RFB from the gameplay point of wiev but i'd like to "pimp-my-sh4" with the TMO type of images.

Originally Posted by IronPerch

...by the way is there a mod for changing all the loading screens, menu backgrounds and the rest of that stuff? I like the RFB from the gameplay point of wiev but i'd like to "pimp-my-sh4" with the TMO type of images.

maybe, but its very much the same kind of mod so have fun doing your own. just remember to work the files must have the exact same name as the stock file or it wont install correctly.


there are 11 german side screens and 15 american side screens, they are found in data / menu/ skins/ american/ loading/ mission and for the german side data/ menu/ skins/ german/ loading/ mission

if you want you can just add the tmo images to rfb mod to replace the rfb image file or make your own mod for it and delete those files from both tmo and rfb mods and they wont try to change it on you after you install your mod.

when you do things like loading screens, if you want to perminently keep them you can just directly replace the file and avoid having mod conflicts with jsgme.


when you just want to take a part of a mod you like or maybe take out a part of a mod you dont like, just open the files of the mod to see what the name of the files are and see how the file path is set up. then you can figure out how to tweak it to your liking. if your ever not sure where a file is or what it does, just post a thread saying "where is the file for this or that" someone will know where it is.

[Doolittle81]

Originally Posted by peabody

...
...Just remember they are .dds with an alpha channel (selection) so the whole logo doesn't show only the defined shape.

Could you explain the alpha channel thingamajig???

Originally Posted by Doolittle81

Could you explain the alpha channel thingamajig???

its like an overlapping shader or effect thing,thats as technical as i can get lol.

basically unlike tga files where what you see is what you get, the dds with alpha layers can look way different than the image you actually see because both image and alpha layer are blended together somehow to get what you see in the game.

as an example i made a simple color change to the periscope lines and when i tried it in the game the whole periscope view image was solid black and everything around it was transparent lol. alpha layers is something you need to understand if your going to be modding dds files that use them. sorry i cant really explain them.

[Eagle1_Division]

Usually, An alpha channel is transperancy. The alpha is fitted right on top of the normal image, though instead of changing what the image looks like, It changes something else. In this case, White and Black either make the image transparent or opaque, so where its one color, its opaque, and where its another, its transparent.

But the game can read it in a lot more different ways then that.

Is there a easy way to change JPEG to dds?

Originally Posted by dimwit

Is there a easy way to change JPEG to dds?

yep, i use paint.net 3.35 http://www.filehippo.com/download_paint.net/ it is freeware and has no adware in it.

it does png, pdn, gif, tif. jpg, bmp, tga, and dds files so open your jpg image then click "file" "save as" and select dds

then you will have a copy of the file in the format you need

Great, I'll give paint.net a try. I found the others screens you mentioned. That will give me some variety.

[Doolittle81]

Originally Posted by dimwit

Is there a easy way to change JPEG to dds?

Corel PaintShopPro converts to dds also.