Changing the Color of the Lubber Line

[Soundman]

I would like to change the color of the Lubber Line on the scopes, it's a little hard to see sometimes at night. I'm thinking maybe grey or white. Anyhow, is this possible and if so, tell me what file I need to edit. Thanks!

[CapnScurvy]

Originally Posted by Soundman

I would like to change the color of the Lubber Line on the scopes, it's a little hard to see sometimes at night. I'm thinking maybe grey or white. Anyhow, is this possible and if so, tell me what file I need to edit. Thanks!

I'm assuming your using SH4 1.5, take the attack periscope image from Data\Menu\Skins\American\Gui\Layout folder named: "Periscope_Mask_1024.dds" and use a tool like Adobe PhotoShop that is capable of reading a .dds image (may have to add a plug-in for a .dds file) and color the lines as you like.

[Soundman]

Thanks, I'll give it whirl !

[vanjast]

Done it here.

When you open the DDS file, you should have 4 layers, Alpha (the mask), R,G,B
I just copied the whole 'B' image into 'R' and blanked 'B' after that.
It effectively made Red the dominant colour.
Save the DDS file as a 32 bit DDS ( Alpha=8 bit, Red=8 bit, Green=8 bit, Blue=8 bit)

[Soundman]

Well.......I did need a plugin and am trying to use photoshop. Maybe this is a little over my head, but when I open the file mentioned above, all I'm seeing are two dark grey circles on a black background. I tried some sort of converter (DXTBmp) found in this mods forum that converts the .dds file to a BMP file and will then send it to photoshop for editing. Once done, I do see the lubber line and scales, but it appears to be only one layer. Or at least I can't figure out how to separate them.:hmm:

[CapnScurvy]

Well Soundman, welcome to modding!!!

Now that you have gotten your feet wet, there are a couple of programs you should have. I'm not sure what PhotoShop version you have (and I'm no expert either) but the plug-in that works for me came from this web site. Try to match up the nVidia plug-in that best suits your PhotoShop version, download and install.

While your there also download the WTV image viewer and put the .exe shortcut into your "Send To" folder. Then when you are interested in looking for that specific image, just right mouse click the file, open the "Send To" menu and click on WTV. The particular image, and all other .dds images held within the folder can be seen.

You have the DXTBmp converter which I also have in the "Send To" folder. I have used this tool for doing simple paint and draw changes to .dds files. Either with the main image or the Alpha black and white image which is an important aspect of the .dds image. The alpha channel image is of course a mirror image of the main image. The black part of the alpha blocks whatever is visible on the main image. The white part is translucent, it allows the image to come through. The whiter the alpha the darker the true image will be when it is processed.

Really the same is true of the black parts, the lighter the black (like shades of grey) the more of the concealed image will show through. So if you put something onto the main image, like a flag or text, the addition on the alpha channel must be in the exact same position. AND, depending on how bright or dark you want the new addition to be depends on how white or dark the alpha channel specific position is.

That being said, what I've usually done is export a copy of the alpha from the image file (both .dds and .tga files have alpha channels) and work with them in PhotoShop. I've adjusted contrast to get the right translucent or blocking color that I want, then import it back to the main image using DXTBmp.

Again, I like using PhotoShop for most detail work with either the main image or the Alpha channel. There is a lot more you can do with an image using Photoshop over DXTBmp, but the export and import feature for the alpha channel is the easiest using DXTBmp.

So, to lighten the periscope lines you could use the DXTBmp to work with the alpha channel image. Send the "Alpha to the Editor" and try to lighten the lines you want with the whitest color, and as small a line as possible. For a much better job export the alpha to PhotoShop and redraw the lines with a brighter white color, then import the .bmp alpha back into the periscope_mask...... file with DXTBmp. OR if you want a slight green color, use PhotoShop to color the "main" image lines and save the .dds image using the nVidia plug-in which should automatically open up when you ask to save the image as a .dds. The nVidia DDS Format Screen will appear, choose "DXT5 ARGB 8bpp/interpolated alpha" and "save". Put the image file back where you got it and run the game to see what it looks like.

OH, by the way, before you mess around with your files, ALWAYS use "copies" of the original so you can go back to them if your work doesn't come out right.