GIMP 2.6.8 / Layers / And Me

[Ailantd]

Originally Posted by McHub532

1. Okay so I download and install GIMP 2.6.8

2. I go to File -> Open -> I find in the SH5 directory: various_books_posters_maps.dds

3. Now what? I see a grey/white checker board and I removed it (probably wasn't supposed to but didn't know what to do).

4. Ah, I see some pictures... I do my best to figure out their sizes and then go on my laptop and find a picture.. resize it to exactly the same size as the picture in the opened dds file.

5. I cut out the picture in the dds file and paste my new picture in exactly where the old one was..

6. I try and save it and it's got issues with layers not being all lined up or something.. confusing.. sort of lost.

Can someone give me a simple step-by-step example of how to open up a dds file with GIMP 2.6.8 (I have the patch thingie that lets me open dds files) and modify the SH5 dds file and then save it properly so it will then work in the game?

Thank you so much. I have been going through GIMP tutorials on their website and just am not finding anything that will help me; or is too complex for me to understand.

Whomever is helpful and generous, I thank you in advance. There are lots of us I think that would dabble and develop modding skills if we could just brake into something small and simple like this and start the learning process.

Thank YOU !!

Hi,
I´m not in gimp world, but the grey/white checker board is the representation of alpha channel ( pixels where the image is transparent ), so you should not remove that if you want to conserve the alpha. Usually the alpha channel is represented by a black/white image in one of the channels, where black is transparent and white is solid, but some programs, gimp may be one of them, use instead that checker visualization mode. Where you see the checker pattern you will see transparent in game. In gimp you may use the eraser tool over a 100% solid picture to obtain the alpha, but not sure about this.
For dds also it is important to save them in right format, wich are a lot of them, but i dont know how the gimp interface to save dds works.

Regards.